29 research outputs found
Illness Progression, Recent Stress, and Morphometry of Hippocampal Subfields and Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Major Depression
No full textBackground
Longitudinal studies of illness progression in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) indicate that the onset of subsequent depressive episodes becomes increasingly decoupled from external stressors. A possible mechanism underlying this phenomenon is that multiple episodes induce long-lasting neurobiological changes that confer increased risk for recurrence. Prior morphometric studies have frequently reported volumetric reductions in patients with MDD—especially in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the hippocampus—but few studies have investigated whether these changes are exacerbated by prior episodes.
Methods
In a sample of 103 medication-free patients with depression and control subjects with no history of depression, structural magnetic resonance imaging was performed to examine relationships between number of prior episodes, current stress, hippocampal subfield volume and cortical thickness. Volumetric analyses of the hippocampus were performed using a recently validated subfield segmentation approach, and cortical thickness estimates were obtained using vertex-based methods. Participants were grouped on the basis of the number of prior depressive episodes and current depressive diagnosis.
Results
Number of prior episodes was associated with both lower reported stress levels and reduced volume in the dentate gyrus. Cortical thinning of the left mPFC was associated with a greater number of prior depressive episodes but not current depressive diagnosis.
Conclusions
Collectively, these findings are consistent with preclinical models suggesting that the dentate gyrus and mPFC are especially vulnerable to stress exposure and provide evidence for morphometric changes that are consistent with stress-sensitization models of recurrence in MDD
The composition of the short story \'A dreary story\' by Anton Chekhov
No full textO presente trabalho tem por objeto a análise da composição da obra Uma novela enfadonha de Antón Tchékhov. O protagonista da novela é único dentro da criação tchekhoviana. Trata-se de um cientista de renome mundial que, ao enfrentar pela primeira vez a dúvida acerca da significância de sua própria existência, tenta resolver esse problema, tão doloroso para ele próprio, por meio de reflexões lógicas registradas em seu diário. Contudo, sofre um fracasso absoluto. Redigida em primeira pessoa, nesta obra, como em toda a criação tchekhoviana, é característico um método de escrita objetivo, de tal forma que a opinião das personagens é, de fato, a opinião delas, e não representa o parecer do autor. É possível compreender a posição de Tchékhov na novela, onde não há uma única palavra direta do autor, apenas pela observação de certos sinais expressos no subtexto. A partir disso, analisamos aqueles sinais que constituem os elementos estilísticos básicos da composição partes do enredo que incluem o tempo presente e as recordações, o léxico, os temas da morte, a natureza, os animais, a música, além dos detalhes, símbolos, ritmo, a caracterização das personagens e o cronótopo. Mostramos como todos esses elementos, ao se entrelaçarem e realçarem uns aos outros, conformam o subtexto da obra, e contribuem para a realização da ideia central do autor: mostrar a situação psicológica da pessoa quando sua vida se aproxima do fim, quando é levantada a questão do sentido último e concreto da vida humana, no pano de fundo do processo histórico infinito. Além disso, examinamos a história da criação da novela, observando esse processo por meio da análise das cartas do autor. Também ponderamos os trabalhos da crítica dedicados a Uma história enfadonha em diversos momentos históricos de estudo da obra.The purpose of this work is to study the composition of the Chekhov\'s novel \"A Dreary Story\". The main character of this novel is unique for Chekhov since he is a World known scientist. Being in doubt for the first time about the meaning of his life he is trying to resolve this painful problem with the help of logical reflections in his diary - but fails. The novel has the form of a narrative of the main character. In Chekhovs\' writings the opinion of the character never reflect the opinion of the author. Therefore, to understand the Chekhov point of view in a novel that does not contain single word directly from the author, one has to be attentive to special signs in the subtext. We analyze these signs, that are main stylistic elements of the composition such as the plot, the narrative in the present and in recollections, the lexis, the themes of death, of nature, of animals, musics, as well as the details, symbols, the rhythm, the characters and the chronotop. We show that all these factors interact and clarify each other to compose the subtext of the novel. They conspire to underline the main idea of the author to show the psychology a man when his life is coming to an end and then he is concerned with the meaning of his particular finite life at the background of an infinite historic process. Besides, we consider the history of creation of \"A Dreary Story\" by looking at the author\'s correspondence and analyzing the critics dedicated to the novel
Retelling time: overview and translation of the Russian primary chronicle
No full textA Povst vremennyh lt ou, nesta versão em português, Narrativa dos anos passados é uma crônica monástica, de autoria indefinida, compilada na segunda década do século XII, no Monastério das Cavernas, em Kiev. A obra relata os feitos dos príncipes guerreiros de origem escandinava que reinaram sobre populações eslavas e fino-úgricas a partir da segunda metade do século IX, ao mesmo tempo em que busca inserir a Rus numa narrativa universal de caráter cristão. Para tanto, o texto segue de perto modelos cronográficos bizantinos e emprega constantemente episódios bíblicos, tanto canônicos, como apócrifos, além de escritos patrísticos. Por sua extensão, conteúdo, linguagem e estilo, considera-se a Povst vremennyh lt uma das principais obras da literatura eslava oriental antiga. Ademais, é a principal fonte para o estudo da história do principado de Kiev, tendo grande relevância para medievalistas, linguistas e estudiosos da cultura eslava em geral. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo apresentar uma tradução completa da crônica, direta do eslavo oriental, acompanhada de aparato crítico selecionado, comentários e apêndices. O texto da tradução é antecedido por uma breve contextualização histórica, uma apresentação do documento e dos manuscritos que o atestam, e uma reflexão a respeito das dificuldades práticas e teóricas do traduzir.The Povst vremennyh lt, known in English as the Russian Primary Chronicle or The Tale of Bygone Years, is a monastic chronicle, compiled by an unknown author, during the second decade of the 12th century in the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev. It tells the deeds of the Scandinavian warrior princes that reigned over Slavic and Finno- Ugric populations from the second half of the 9th century. At the same time, it tries to fit the land of Rus into a Christian universal narrative. For this purpose, the chronicler emulates Byzantine models, and makes constant use of Biblical episodes, not only from the canon, but also apocryphal and patristic writings. Due to its length, its content and style, the Povst vremennyh lt is considered one of the most important works in Old East Slavic Literature, and one of the main sources for the study of Kievan Rus history. It is also valuable in the fields of medieval studies and linguistics. The present work aims to present a complete version of the chronicle in portuguese, translated directly from the Old East Slavic, with a selection of textual variants, notes and appendices. As a guide to the PVL, the reader will find a brief historical overview, a short analysis of the extant manuscripts and some comments on practical and theoretical translation topics
Supplementary material: Predicting treatment response in social anxiety disorder from functional magnetic resonance imaging
No full textSupplementary material used in the analysis of data for submitted paper.Context: Current behavioral measures poorly predict treatment outcome in social anxiety disorder (SAD). This is the first study to examine neuroimaging-based treatment prediction in SAD.
Objective: To measure brain activation in patients affected by SAD as a biomarker to predict subsequent response to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Design: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected prior to CBT intervention. Changes in clinical status were regressed on brain responses and tested for selectivity for social stimuli.
Setting: Patients were treated with protocol-based CBT at anxiety disorder programs at Boston University or Massachusetts General Hospital and underwent neuroimaging data collection at MIT.
Patients: Thirty-nine medication-free patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for the generalized subtype of social anxiety disorder.
Interventions: Brain responses to angry versus neutral faces or emotional versus neutral scenes were examined with fMRI prior to initiation of CBT.
Main outcome measures: Whole-brain regression analyses with differential fMRI responses for angry versus neutral faces and changes on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale as the treatment outcome measure.
Results: Pretreatment responses significantly predicted subsequent treatment outcome of patients selectively for social stimuli and particularly in regions of higher-order visual cortex. Combining the brain measures with information on clinical severity accounted for more than forty percent of the variance in treatment response, and substantially exceeded predictions based on clinical measures at baseline. Prediction success was unaffected by testing for potential confounding factors such as depression severity at baseline.
Conclusion: The results suggest that brain imaging can provide biomarkers that substantially improve predictions for the success of cognitive behavioral interventions, and more generally suggest that such biomarkers may offer evidence-based, personalized medicine approaches for optimally selecting among treatment options for a patient.
Clinical trial registration at www.clinicaltrials.gov (Identifier: NCT00515879): http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00515879?term=Hofmann&rank=1Oliver Doehrmann is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DO-1469/1-1). Neuroimaging was supported by the Poitras Center for Affective Disorders Research. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Athinoula A. Martinos Imaging Center at McGovern Institute for Brain Research for providing an excellent neuroimaging environment. Dr. Hofmann is a paid consultant by Merck/Schering-Plough and supported by NIMH grant MH078308. Dr. Pollack also supported by NIMH grant MH078308. He additionally is a member of the advisory boards of or a consultant for Brain Cells, Eli Lilly, Johnson and Johnson, Medavante, Labopharm, Mindsite, Otsuka, Targia Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer. He has received research grants from Bristol Myers Squibb, Euthymics, Forest Laboratories, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly, NCCAM, NIDA, NIMH. CME supported activities of Dr. Pollack were sponsored by Astra-Zeneca, Sepracor, Pfizer. He holds equity in Medavante, Mensante Corporation, Mindsite, Targia Pharmaceuticals and receives royalties for SIGH-A, SAFER interviews
Application of reinforcement learning methods to autonomous driving systems in the overtaking scenario
No full textLAUREA MAGISTRALEIl concetto di guida autonoma è diventato un punto focale nella ricerca sui trasporti, in quanto promette di cambiare completamente il concetto stesso di mobilità come lo conosciamo. Grazie alle configurazioni dei sensori, oggigiorno è possibile ricevere dai veicoli enormi quantità di dati che descrivono lo stato in tempo reale, comunque programmare un controllo efficiente che sia in grado di affrontare il compito di guida è un problema estremamente complesso. Questo tipo di sfida di controllo si adatta perfettamente all'uso di metodologie provenienti dal campo dell'intelligenza artificiale. In questa tesi verranno affrontate tutte le questioni critiche della manovra di sorpasso. L'obiettivo di questa tesi è estrapolare il comportamento umano da una serie di simulazioni di sorpasso al fine di addestrare un controllore in grado di eseguire in sicurezza la stessa manovra. Partendo dalle traiettorie raccolte, ricostruiremo innanzitutto un'approssimazione del comportamento umano come una politica neurale addestrata attraverso il Behavioral Clonong. Passeremo quindi attraverso l'Inverse Reinforcement Learning (IRL) per ricostruire la funzione di ricompensa del guidatore come un modello lineare di features. Questo rappresenterà gli obiettivi del guidatore durante le attività di guida e sorpasso, che sono di validità universale, indipendentemente dal tipo di auto (dinamica del veicolo) o dalle condizioni della strada (modello di transizione). Questo insieme di regole lineari viene infine utilizzato per eseguire un addestramento diretto sul controllore finale. Il sistema di controllo è stato costruito come una struttura parametrica ibrida basata su regole personalizzate; questo nuovo sistema viene qui introdotto per la prima volta con la denominazione di HRBC. Diversamente dalle più classiche implementazioni di Reinforcement Learning (RL), ciò consente all'utente di impostare limiti fissi in termini di vincoli di sicurezza, lasciando al contempo totale libertà su come la manovra venga effettivamente eseguita. Per la formazione del modello di policy viene utilizzato il criterio del Gradiente con algoritmo di esplorazione basato su parametri; il PGPE è un algoritmo moderno che è in grado di ottenere convergenze più veloci con varianze più piccole nella stima del gradiente attraverso l'uso di un'iperpolicy. Infine, vengono eseguiti test su diversi nuovi scenari di guida. Il controllore finale ottenuto è in grado di gestire scenari di sorpasso all'interno e anche al di fuori delle condizioni di allenamento, e la procedura di addestramento complessiva si è dimostrata un chiaro miglioramento rispetto alle soluzioni precedenti in termini di efficienza del training, facilità di modellazione del sistema di controllo e prestazioni generali del prodotto finale. Tutte le simulazioni sono eseguite in IPG Carmaker, mentre il resto dell'implementazione prevede anche l'utilizzo di Matlab & Simulink; parte dell'algoritmo di Reinforcement Learning è invece implementato in Python con il supporto delle utility TensorFlow. Email autore: [email protected] concept of autonomous driving has become a focal point in transportation research, as promises to change entirely the concept of mobility itself as we know it. Thanks to sensor setups, nowadays it's possible to receive from vehicles vast amounts of data describing the status in realtime, anyway programming an efficient control that is able to deal with the driving task is an extremely complex problem. This type of control challenge perfectly suits the use of methodologies coming from the field of artificial intelligence. In this thesis all the critical issues of the overtake maneuver will be dealt with. The objective of this thesis is to extrapolate the human behavior from a set of overtake simulations in order to train a controller capable to safely perform the same maneuver. Starting from the collected trajectories we will first reconstruct an approximation of the human behavior as a trained neural policy through Behavioral Cloning. We will then pass through Inverse Reinforcement Learning(IRL) in order to reconstruct the reward function of the driver as a linear model of features. This will represent the driver's objectives during the drive and overtake tasks, and they are of universal validity, independently from the type of car (vehicle dynamics) or the road conditions (transition model). This linear set of rules is finally used to perform a direct training onto the final controller. The control system has been constructed as a custom hybrid rule-based parametrized structure, here introduced as HRBC. Unlike more classical Reinforcement Learning(RL) implementations, this allows the user to be able to set fixed boundaries in terms of safety constraints, while leaving total freedom on how the maneuver is actually performed. For training the policy model the Policy Gradient with Parameter-based Exploration algorithm is used; the PGPE is a modern algorithm that is able to obtain faster convergences with smaller variances in the gradient estimate through the use of a hyperpolicy. Finally, tests on new different driving scenarios, are performed. The final obtained controller is able to handle overtake scenarios inside and even outside the training conditions, and the overall training procedure is proved to be a clear improvement from previous solutions in terms of training efficiency, ease of control modeling and overall performance of the final product. All the simulations are performed in IPG Carmaker, while the rest of the implementation involves also the usage of Matlab & Simulink; part of the Reinforcement Learning algorithm are instead implemented in Python with the support of TensorFlow utilities. Author email: [email protected]
Bardi, streghe e altre creature magiche. Tradurre l\u27Irlanda di Lady Wilde
No full textCon questo lavoro presentiamo la traduzione italiana di cinque leggende tratte da Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland (1888), raccolta di narrazioni folcloristiche curata da Lady Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde, meglio nota come Lady Wilde, autrice di spicco nel panorama del Celtic Revival irlandese e madre del celebre Oscar Wilde. Introduce la traduzione un breve profilo della scrittrice e una presentazione del contesto socio-culturale e delle politiche identitarie decolonizzanti in cui si inserì la sua attività di recupero del patrimonio folcloristico. This paper provides the Italian translation of five tales from Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland (1888), a collection of Irish legends and folktales edited by Lady Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde. Better known as Lady Wilde, she was a major author of the Celtic Revival period and is remembered as Oscar Wilde\u27s mother. The translation is introduced by a brief outline of her bio and the presentation of the socio-cultural context within which her rediscovery of the folkloric heritage served the identitarian, decolonizing politics. PAROLE CHIAVEIrlanda; Celtic Revival; Lady Wilde; traduzione; leggende; folclore irlandese; Seanchan il Bardo.Con questo lavoro presentiamo la traduzione italiana di cinque leggende tratte da Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland (1888), raccolta di narrazioni folcloristiche curata da Lady Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde, meglio nota come Lady Wilde, autrice di spicco nel panorama del Celtic Revival irlandese e madre del celebre Oscar Wilde. Introduce la traduzione un breve profilo della scrittrice e una presentazione del contesto socio-culturale e delle politiche identitarie decolonizzanti in cui si inserì la sua attività di recupero del patrimonio folcloristico. This paper provides the Italian translation of five tales from Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland (1888), a collection of Irish legends and folktales edited by Lady Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde. Better known as Lady Wilde, she was a major author of the Celtic Revival period and is remembered as Oscar Wilde\u27s mother. The translation is introduced by a brief outline of her bio and the presentation of the socio-cultural context within which her rediscovery of the folkloric heritage served the identitarian, decolonizing politics. PAROLE CHIAVEIrlanda; Celtic Revival; Lady Wilde; traduzione; leggende; folclore irlandese; Seanchan il Bardo.Con questo lavoro presentiamo la traduzione italiana di cinque leggende tratte da Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland (1888), raccolta di narrazioni folcloristiche curata da Lady Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde, meglio nota come Lady Wilde, autrice di spicco nel panorama del Celtic Revival irlandese e madre del celebre Oscar Wilde. Introduce la traduzione un breve profilo della scrittrice e una presentazione del contesto socio-culturale e delle politiche identitarie decolonizzanti in cui si inserì la sua attività di recupero del patrimonio folcloristico. This paper provides the Italian translation of five tales from Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland (1888), a collection of Irish legends and folktales edited by Lady Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde. Better known as Lady Wilde, she was a major author of the Celtic Revival period and is remembered as Oscar Wilde\u27s mother. The translation is introduced by a brief outline of her bio and the presentation of the socio-cultural context within which her rediscovery of the folkloric heritage served the identitarian, decolonizing politics. PAROLE CHIAVEIrlanda; Celtic Revival; Lady Wilde; traduzione; leggende; folclore irlandese; Seanchan il Bardo.Con questo lavoro presentiamo la traduzione italiana di cinque leggende tratte da Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland (1888), raccolta di narrazioni folcloristiche curata da Lady Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde, meglio nota come Lady Wilde, autrice di spicco nel panorama del Celtic Revival irlandese e madre del celebre Oscar Wilde. Introduce la traduzione un breve profilo della scrittrice e una presentazione del contesto socio-culturale e delle politiche identitarie decolonizzanti in cui si inserì la sua attività di recupero del patrimonio folcloristico. This paper provides the Italian translation of five tales from Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland (1888), a collection of Irish legends and folktales edited by Lady Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde. Better known as Lady Wilde, she was a major author of the Celtic Revival period and is remembered as Oscar Wilde\u27s mother. The translation is introduced by a brief outline of her bio and the presentation of the socio-cultural context within which her rediscovery of the folkloric heritage served the identitarian, decolonizing politics. PAROLE CHIAVEIrlanda; Celtic Revival; Lady Wilde; traduzione; leggende; folclore irlandese; Seanchan il Bardo
Educação emancipatória e atualidade do pensamento ético-político de Paulo Freire: diálogo e promoção dos direitos humanos
No full textThis work aims to contribute to the demystification of the pejorative attributions suggested by different actors in the non-progressive field, supported by lack of information and lack of solid references for analysis, about the emancipatory meaning of Paulo Freire's work and its impact on human rights education. . It also aims to analyze Freire's theoretical suggestions as ways to build mechanisms for consolidating a democratic radicalism within Brazilian society. Sectors of society suggest that Paulo Freire would be an author of Marxist strand, postulator of orthodox "leftist" doctrines in formal education processes, justifying proposals whose content aims to counter this supposed indoctrination, such as the project called "School without a party" . We seek to demonstrate that Paulo Freire's primary concern is that of an ontological character in educational processes, human formation, indicating educational means for the improvement of reflection and action that are closely related, leading to the improvement of the human being and that, in the midst of this concern, there is a greater, emancipatory objective, encompassing all the orders of this improvement: the promotion of justice, the secular and universal character of the public school, the right to the free expression of ideas, respect for the cultural realities of each student, the collective construction of knowledge and the defense of human rights.Este trabajo tiene como objetivo contribuir a la desmitificación de las atribuciones peyorativas sugeridas por diferentes actores en el campo no progresivo, apoyadas por la falta de información y la falta de referencias sólidas para el análisis, sobre el significado emancipatorio del trabajo de Paulo Freire y su impacto en la educación en derechos humanos. . También tiene como objetivo analizar las sugerencias teóricas de Freire como formas de construir mecanismos para consolidar un radicalismo democrático dentro de la sociedad brasileña. Los sectores de la sociedad sugieren que Paulo Freire sería un autor de un capítulo marxista, un postulador de las doctrinas ortodoxas "izquierdistas" en los procesos de educación formal, justificando propuestas cuyo contenido apunta a contrarrestar este supuesto adoctrinamiento, como el proyecto llamado "Escuela sin partido". Buscamos demostrar que la principal preocupación de Paulo Freire es la de carácter ontológico en los procesos educativos, la formación humana, lo que indica medios educativos para la mejora de la reflexión y la acción que están estrechamente relacionadas, lo que lleva a la mejora del ser humano y que, en medio de esta preocupación, Existe un objetivo mayor emancipatorio, que abarca todos los órdenes de esta mejora: la promoción de la justicia, el carácter secular y universal de la escuela pública, el derecho a la libre expresión de ideas, el respeto a las realidades culturales de cada estudiante, la construcción colectiva del conocimiento. y la defensa de los derechos humanos.Este trabalho tem como propósito contribuir para a desmistificação das atribuições pejorativas sugeridas por diferentes atores do campo não progressista, sustentadas em desinformação e falta de referenciais sólidos de análise, sobre o sentido emancipatório da obra de Paulo Freire e suas incidências sobre a educação em direitos humanos. Também tem o objetivo de analisar as sugestões teóricas de Freire como caminhos para a construção de mecanismos de consolidação de uma radicalidade democrática no seio da sociedade brasileira. Setores da sociedade sugerem que Paulo Freire seria um autor de vertente marxista, postulador de doutrinas ortodoxas “esquerdistas” nos processos de educação formal, justificando propostas cujo teor têm como objetivo a contraposição a esta suposta doutrinação, como o projeto denominado “Escola sem partido”. Buscamos demonstrar que Paulo Freire tem como preocupação primeira o de caráter ontológico nos processos educativos, a formação humana, indicando meios educacionais para o aprimoramento da reflexão e da ação intimamente relacionadas, que levem ao aprimoramento do ser humano e que, no bojo desta preocupação, existe um objetivo maior, emancipatório, comportando todas as ordens deste aprimoramento: a promoção da justiça, o caráter laico e universal da escola pública, o direito à livre manifestação de ideias, o respeito às realidades culturais de cada estudante, a construção coletiva do conhecimento e a defesa dos direitos humanos
Uma Sátira com Final Melancólico.
No full textThis article deals with the genesis of the “Levsha”, short story by Nikolay Leskov, and with his ideological orientation, as well as with the role of proverbs in its structure. The author shows the mains points of the slavophile doctrine and the institutions, that are criticized by the writer, and discusses the arguments of the conservative and liberal critics.Este artigo trata da génese do conto “O canhoto”, de Nikolai Leskov, e da sua orientação ideológica, bem como do papel de provérbios e ditos populares na sua composição. Apresentam-se as bases da doutrina eslavófila, mostram-se os alvos da crítica do escritor e discutem-se os argumentos tanto da crítica conservadora quanto da libera
Strategic management of population programs
No full textFormal strategic planning and management appear to contribute to organizational effectiveness. The author surveys the literature on strategic management in private/for-profit organizations and applies lessons from that literature to population programs. Few would argue that population programs would not benefit from strategic planning and management, but it would be inadvisable to initiate the process when the organization is faced with a short-term crisis; during or immediately before a change in leadership; or when implementation is unlikely. Public sector programs seem to have the latitude to manage strategically. Models available for adoption include life-cycle models, strategic issues management, stakeholder analysis, and portfolio analysis. The model selected may be a function of: (1) who will use it (life-cycle/evolutionary models may be well-suited to the planning needs of donors); (2) the presence of challenges to the survival of the program or to key components of it (stakeholder analysis would find ready application in those circumstances); and (3) the relative success and stability of the program (portfolio analysis may help a program balance its activities in a stable environment whereas strategic issues management is useful in responding to a dynamic environment.) It is important to marshall top-level support, designatewho will do the leg work, analyze the organization's history and current situation, assess internal strengths and weaknesses and external threats and opportunities, and summarize critical issues facing the program. Then a strategy may be developed. Among the available approaches are: (1) scenario developments (useful for a program that senses a need to change its approach to clients); (2) critical issues analysis (useful for refining successful programs); and (3) a goal approach (useful for programs with diffuse, ill-defined objectives). There are no short-cuts, it is argued. A strategic plan typically contains: (1) a mission statement that describes the social need to be addressed, what is unique about the organization, what its values are, and who the principal stakeholders are; (2) a statement of the population to be served and goals for service delivery and quality standards; (3) a service delivery strategy; (4) a financial strategy; (5) a marketing strategy; and (6) support strategies. Most organizations will find that there is no ideal structure - all require tradeoffs - and that attention should focus on eliminating patently dysfunctional aspects of the structure.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,ICT Policy and Strategies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Educational Sciences,Enterprise Development&Reform
Merluzas del mundo (Familia Merlucciidae). Catálogo comentado e ilustrado de las merluzas conocidas
No full textRevisión de la familia Merlucciidae, con todas las especies actualmente aceptadas. Claves de identificación. Dibujos y fotografías de todas ellas, así como de piezas duras (Otolitos, hiomandibulares y Urohiales. A destacar la diferencia existente entre las especies americanas y las euroafricanas(presencia o ausencia de escamas en la membrana nasal).-- 57 pages, 12 colour plates[EN] This is a worldwide catalogue of the family Merlucciidae. Two subfamilies, Macruroninae and Merlucciinae, are recognized comprising four genera, Lyconodes, Lyconus, Macruronus and Merluccius, and 18 species. The following subspecies are proposed: Macruronus novaezelandiae magellanicus Lönnberg, 1907; Merluccius albidus magnoculus Ginsburg, 1954, Merluccius australis polylepis Ginsburg, 1954 and Merluccius polli cadenati Doutre, 1960 and Merluccius merluccius smiridus Rafinesque, 1810. The possibility of one other subspecies, Merluccius merluccius lessepsianus, represents the first record of Merluccius from the Red Sea. Merluccius paradoxus is first recorded from Madagascar.
In the introductory chapters, Merlucciidae systematics is debated, justifications for the proposed taxonomic organization are provided, and the characters used for the identifications are discussed.
Dichotomous keys are provided in the systematics chapter, enabling the identification of the hakes to the species level. Subfamilies and genera are also defined. The species are arranged in alphabetical order under each subfamily and genus to which they belong. The scientific name appears in bold at the head of each genus and species description, followed by the author, year of first description, and publication. Existing synonyms and FAO common names in English, French and Spanish are also provided. For each species there is an illustration followed by ten sections: description or diagnosis with differential characters; additional information; geographical distribution; habitat and biology; size; fisheries; fishery statistics; state of resources; local names, if any; and bibliographical references (author and year).
The review is completed by a series of colour plates showing details of different elements (heads, otoliths, hyomandibulars, urohyals) for a quick and efficient diagnosis of the genera and species of Lyconus, Macruronus and Merluccius[ES] Éste es un catálogo mundial de la familia Merlucciidae. Se presentan dos subfamilias: Macruroninae y Merlucciinae, con cuatro géneros: Lyconodes, Lyconus, Macruronus y Merluccius, debidamente comentadas e ilustradas que incluyen 18 especies. Se proponen las siguientes subespecies: Macruronus novaezelandiae magellanicus Lönnberg, 1907, Merluccius albidus magnoculus Ginsburg, 1954, Merluccius australis polylepis Ginsburg, 1954, Merluccius polli cadenati Doutre, 1960 y Merluccius merluccius smiridus Rafinesque, 1810, así como la posibilidad de la existencia de otra, Merluccius merluccius lessepsianus, que constituiría la primera cita del género Merluccius en el Mar Rojo. Igualmente se lleva a cabo el primer registro de Merluccius paradoxus en Madagascar. En los capítulos introductorios se debate la sistemática de Merlucciidae, justificando la organización taxonómica propuesta, y se discute sobre los caracteres usados para la identificación. En el capítulo sistemático se presentan las claves dicotómicas que permiten identificar los organismos tratados aquí hasta el nivel de especie. Se definen también las subfamilias y los géneros. La descripción de las especies se encabeza con el nombre científico, el autor de la primera descripción y el año de la misma, así como el lugar donde se publicó. Inmediatamente después, si existen, sus sinónimos y los nombres FAO en español, francés e inglés. A continuación se presenta una ilustración de la especie a la que siguen diez apartados: descripción o diagnosis, según el caso, con las características diferenciales, notas complementarias, distribución geográfica (acompañada de un mapa), hábitat y biología, talla, pesquería, nombres locales, si los tiene y, finalmente, las referencias bibliográficas (autor y año), utilizadas en cada caso. Finalmente, el trabajo se complementa con una serie de láminas en color que muestran aspectos y detalles de diferentes elementos (cabezas, otolitos, hiomandibulares, urohiales), que, en conjunto, permiten un rápido y eficaz diagnóstico de las especies de los géneros Lyconus, Macruronus y MerlucciusFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)Peer reviewe
