Libri sul tema "Internal lengths"

‘A case of obsessional neurosis’ discusses the case of a patient that Sigmund Freud first met in 1907. This particular and complicated patient was known as ‘The Rat Man’. The patient faced a desperate internal situation and was also incredulous, as his analysis unfolded, that he could be so encumbered by thoughts and driven to actions that defied rational sense. Freud went to extraordinary lengths to grasp the ideas behind his patient’s apparently nonsensical activities, to trace his psychic history, and to understand how obsessional doubts governed his life. Freud’s 1923 model of the mind and its three agencies—the superego, ego, and id—are also considered.

David Lewin’s concept of timespan interval is applied to theories of hypermeter and rhythmic structure. The special property of timespan intervals is that the distances between them are measured relative to their lengths. They are therefore useful for equating hierarchical structures of timespans appearing at different levels of rhythmic structure, as an analysis of hemiolas in the F major prelude J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier book I shows. A system of transformations is defined for navigating hierarchical networks of timespans, including translations, containment relations, and projections. The operations used to define rhythmic classes (swing, squeeze, syncopation, and meter change) are defined in terms of extensions and truncations applied within a structural network.

Japanese displays a singleton/geminate contrast in obstruents and nasals, but not in glides. Patterns of emphatic gemination show that Japanese avoids creating new nasal geminates. This chapter tests hypotheses about why Japanese shows these preferences. Concerning the distinction between obstruent geminates and sonorant geminates, dispreference of sonorant geminates may exist because these geminates are easily confused with corresponding singletons. This confusability problem arises because sonorants are spectrally continuous with flanking vowels, and consequently perception of their constriction durations is difficult. Two non-speech perception experiments show that length distinctions of consonant intervals that are spectrally continuous with surrounding segments are difficult to perceive. Concerning the difference between nasal geminates and glide geminates, two further non-speech experiments show that amplitude changes facilitate discrimination and categorization of short/long contrasts. Overall, the results of the four perception experiments reported here accord well with the cross-linguistic phonological patterning of geminates.

… it is doubtful whether there will ever again be such a profusion of unexpected discoveries concentrated into so short an interval of time as there has been during the last twenty years.ARTHUR HOLMES, PRINCIPLES OF PHYSICAL GEOLOGY (1965)Scientific revolutions rarely start with a bang. In 1953, a modest article, barely a page in length, appeared in the weekly science journal ...

An introduction to technological networks and their measurement. The internet is discussed at some length, including a description of its overall structure, methods for measuring it based on traceroute and the Border Gateway Protocol, and representations of the network at the level of routers, domains, and autonomous systems. Other technological networks discussed in this chapter include the telephone network, power grids, transportation networks, and distribution networks.

The role of the brainstem in life is detailed from both medical and legal points of view. This chapter describes how the brainstem divides up the fundamental processes of human life, with the most automatic and basic ones supported most caudally and progressively more expressive functions depending on more rostral brainstem regions. The text then steps through the internal anatomy of the brainstem with a focus on cranial nerve nuclei. The location of the three long tracts is followed for the length of the brainstem, and the course of the corticobulbar tract is presented. A primer on the anatomy of the cerebellum is capped by introducing ataxia, the classic symptom stemming from ipsilateral cerebellar damage.

This chapter discusses the kinematics of point particles undergoing any type of motion. It introduces the concept of proper time—the geometric representation of the time measured by an accelerated clock. It also describes a world line, which represents the motion of a material point or point particle P, that is, an object whose spatial extent and internal structure can be ignored. The chapter then considers the interpretation of the curvilinear abscissa, which by definition measures the length of the world line L representing the motion of the point particle P. Next, the chapter discusses a mathematical result popularized by Paul Langevin in the 1920s, the so-called ‘Langevin twins’ which revealed a paradoxical result. Finally, the transformation of velocities and accelerations is discussed.

A fascinating survey of popular culture in Europe, from Celtic punk and British TV shows to Spanish fashion and Italian sports. From One Direction and Adele to Penelope Cruz and Alexander Skarsgard, many Europeans are becoming household names in the United States. This ready-reference guide covers international pop culture spanning music, literature, movies, television and radio, the Internet, sports, video games, and fashion, from the mid-20th century through the present day. The organization of the book—with entries arranged alphabetically within thematic chapters—allows readers to quickly find the topic they are seeking. Additionally, indexing allows for cross-cultural comparisons to be made between pop culture in Europe to that of the United States. An extensive chronology and lengthy introduction provide important contextual information, such as the United States' influence on movies, music, and the Internet; the effect of censorship on Internet and social media use; and the history of pop culture over the years. Topics feature key musicians, songs, books, actors and actresses, movies and television shows, popular websites, top athletes, games, clothing fads and designers, and much more.

This chapter is about the minimal-parts problem: Some eventualities and substances fail to distribute at very small scales because they have parts that are too small to satisfy certain mass terms and atelic predicates (Dowty 1979). Focusing on atelic predicates modified by for-adverbials, the chapter discusses some previous attempts to solve the problem before presenting a novel solution in detail. It is shown that stratified reference not only avoids problems that infinitely small parts cause for proposals based on the subinterval property and related notions, but also makes the right predications as far as the interaction between the respective predicate and the length of the interval denoted by the complement of for is concerned.

Offering a new perspective on male prostitution, In the Company of Men employs qualitative methodology to present a real-world view of the issues, both obvious and obscure, surrounding the world’s “second-oldest profession.” In the Company of Men: Inside the Lives of Male Prostitutes is the only book to document male prostitution from the perspective of a group of men working for a single male escort agency. The in-depth account goes behind the scenes to shed light on the very hidden world of Internet male escorts, their customers, and the niche they inhabit in modern American society. At the same time, it has much to tell us about post-modern identity, culture, and sexuality’and the transformative influence of the Internet on sexual behavior and male prostitution. Through numerous interviews, the book examines the sometimes-dichotomous relationship between the image men convey and the lengths to which they go in order to meet their most private needs. Readers travel down a cyber Sunset Boulevard to see what attracts young men to work as escorts, how an escort agency serves economic and personal goals, and how a community can evolve among the men involved.

This chapter explores the types of costs that may be awarded in arbitral proceedings, analysing the underlying principles governing the recoverability of costs in international arbitration. In particular, it focuses on how claims relating to the costs of in-house legal counsel; staff and senior management; and third-party funding arrangements are generally decided by arbitral tribunals. While most arbitral rules expressly allow for the recovery of arbitral costs and reasonable legal fees incurred by external counsel, the position is less clear where the fees of in-house lawyers, lost management time, or third-party funding arrangements are concerned. In theory, in-house counsel fees should be recoverable where parties are able to demonstrate the reasonableness and necessity of these costs. As for management costs, a party should in principle be able to recover such costs in arbitration if it can prove that the time spent on the arbitration caused substantial disruption to its business. Costs underwritten by a third-party funding arrangement should, in principle, be similarly recoverable provided the funding arrangement was agreed at arm’s length and is permitted under the applicable laws.

The lengthy history of interdisciplinary activity in higher education offers important lessons about developing, administering, and assessing interdisciplinary programs. A deepening body of literature surrounding higher education studies and organizational theory surrounds these lessons. This literature acknowledges that, like any other system, higher education institutions face multiple influences from both internal and external stakeholders. This interaction requires an understanding of the environment in which higher education institutions operate. This chapter begins from the position of a changing environment for higher education to consider the challenges associated with administering interdisciplinary programs. After establishing organizational norms unique to higher education institutions, the chapter considers three specific areas: (1) the role of boundaries in shaping the university, and how interdisciplinary programs negotiate these boundaries; (2) the persistence of disciplinary cultures, and their impact on interdisciplinary programs; and (3) the resource challenge for contemporary higher education, and how this debate affects interdisciplinary activities.

Temporal organization of nervous system function includes daily rhythms driven by a molecular-genetic hypothalamic “clock” with an intrinsic period length of approximately (circa) one day (diem). The resulting circadian rhythm influences all aspects of brain function and internally synchronizes the circadian oscillations inherent in all other body tissues. Idiosyncratic circadian characteristics interact with perceived environmental stimuli to determine each individual’s entrainment pattern of external synchronization with the day-night cycle. Idiosyncratic entrainment patterns that may come to medical attention include delayed, free-running, advanced, or absent sleep rhythms. Prolonged jet travel and shift work are difficult entrainment challenges for most people.

Chapter 6 addresses the sub-category of internal validity defined by Shadish et al., as statistical conclusion validity, or “validity of inferences about the correlation (covariance) between treatment and outcome.” The common threats to statistical conclusion validity can arise, or become plausible through either model misspecification or through hypothesis testing. The risk of a serious model misspecification is inversely proportional to the length of the time series, for example, and so is the risk of mistating the Type I and Type II error rates. Threats to statistical conclusion validity arise from the classical and modern hybrid significance testing structures, the serious threats that weigh heavily in p-value tests are shown to be undefined in Beyesian tests. While the particularly vexing threats raised by modern null hypothesis testing are resolved through the elimination of the modern null hypothesis test, threats to statistical conclusion validity would inevitably persist and new threats would arise.

A generational change at the beginning of the twenty-first century intersected with the technological advance of the Internet to provide a renaissance of Broadway music in popular culture. Downloading playlists allowed the home listener to become, in essence, his/her own record producer; length, narrative, performer were now all in the hands of the consumer’s personal preference. Following in the footsteps of Rent (as a favorite of a younger demographic), Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton emerged as the greatest pop culture/Broadway musical phenomenon of the twenty-first century; its cast album and cover recording shot up near the top of music’s pop charts. A rediscovery of the power of Broadway’s music to transform listening and consumer habits seems imminent with the addition of Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen to a devoted fan base—and beyond.

How does the Taliban wage war? How has its war changed over time? Firstly, the movement’s extraordinary military operation relies on financial backing. This volume analyses such funding. The Taliban’s external sources of support include foreign governments and non-state groups, both of which have affected the Taliban’s military campaigns and internal politics. Secondly, this is the first full-length study of the Taliban to acknowledge and discuss in detail the movement’s polycentric character. Here not only the Quetta Shura, but also the Haqqani Network and the Taliban’s other centers of power, are afforded the attention they deserve. The Taliban at War is based on extensive field research, including hundreds of interviews with Taliban members at all levels of the organization, community elders in Taliban-controlled areas, and other sources. It covers the Taliban insurgency from its first manifestations in 2002 up to the end of 2015. The five-month Battle of Kunduz epitomized the ongoing transition of the Taliban from an insurgent group to a more conventional military force, intent on fighting a protracted civil war. In this latest book, renowned Afghanistan expert Antonio Giustozzi rounds off his twenty years of studying the Taliban with an authoritative sitrep detailing the evolution of its formidable military machine.

Este libro contiene dos partes fundamentales: una primera mitad es una amplia historia de cómo se ha dado la traducción en China, muy importante desde las primeras dinastías para lograr el entendimiento entre las diversas etnias, al poco tiempo esto pasó de fines políticos a mostrar intereses literarios. Ese gran recorrido llega hasta la fundación de la República Popular y la apertura a otras lenguas y territorios. La segunda parte del libro podemos dividirla en dos, el caso más amplio del papel del español y sus autores en el interés editorial chino, el papel del Boom latinoamericano en ello y, en especial, la obra de Mario Vargas Llosa y su recepción en el país asiático. El volumen fue posible gracias al Centro de Estudios China-Veracruz, de la Universidad Veracruzana. Hou Jian es uno de los intérpretes que se internan profundamente en nuestro idioma; con talento y esfuerzo, ha conseguido que muchas de las estampas del diverso mundo hispano ingresen al imaginario de los lectores chinos.

Migration has had a strong impact on the interplay between ethnicity and nationalism in Sub-Saharan Africa. Today’s ethnic map of Africa is the outcome of a lengthy history of comings and goings. Before the European conquests, Africa was not populated by clearly bounded, territorially grounded tribes or ethnic groups in the Western sense. Instead, the most prominent characteristics of precolonial African societies were mobility, overlapping networks, multiple group membership, and the context-dependent drawing of boundaries. Colonialism was later seen as having shaped, even created ethnic identities, contributing to the African shift away from Western notions of nationalism. Afterward, with the postcolonial state taking up its mantle, ethnic loyalty continued to overpower national identity. Local ethnic associations have since acted as a substitute for national citizenship, and ethnic belonging for national consciousness. Three countries in particular demonstrate this interplay of ethnicity, nationalism, and migration in sub-Saharan Africa: Côte d’Ivoire, together with the homeland of many of its migrants, Burkina Faso, in West Africa; South Africa, together with the homeland of many of its migrants, Lesotho; and Botswana in southern Africa. They show that, even across very disparate countries and regions, a common trend is visible toward official attempts to subsume internal ethnic differences under a form of nationalism defined partly by excluding those deemed sometimes rather arbitrarily to be external to the polity.

Can great powers be confident that their peers have benign intentions? States that trust each other can live at peace; those that mistrust each other are doomed to compete for arms and allies and may even go to war. This book offers a theory—intentions pessimism—that says great powers can rarely if ever be confident that their peers have benign intentions, because it is extraordinarily difficult for them to obtain the kind of information that would allow them to reach such a conclusion. Any optimistic assertions to the contrary—and there are many—are wrong. Indeed, even in cases that supposedly involved mutual trust—Germany and Russia in the Bismarck era (1871-90); Britain and the United States during the great rapprochement (1895-1906); France and Germany, and Japan and the United States in the early interwar period (1919-30); and the Soviet Union and the United States at the end of the Cold War (1985-90)—the protagonists were acutely uncertain about each other’s intentions. As a result, they competed for security. The ramifications for the future of U.S.-China relations are profound. Uncertain about the other side’s intentions, but aware of its formidable capabilities, Washington and Beijing will go to great lengths to strengthen their military and diplomatic positions, triggering a competitive action-reaction spiral with the potential for war.

Works Righteousness is the first full-length study of the place of practice in ethical theory. It is a critique of the idealism of dominant approaches, an analysis of alternative models in which practice plays a more significant role, and an argument for taking practice seriously both in broad questions about ethical theory and in concrete case studies. The book’s main argument is that what people actually do should be central to ethical theory. Rather than assuming that pre-established moral ideas guide action, ethicists should acknowledge and explore the ways that practices generate values and the mutual shaping between ideas and actions. This argument challenges dominant philosophical and religious theories that assume that ideas are what really matter. Works Righteousness analyses the place of practice in these traditions, showing the links between their emphasis on internal states and simple, linear relationships between ideas, actions, and results. These themes are challenged by alternative models such as pragmatism, Marxism, and religious pacifism, which give practice a larger role and in the process highlight important themes such as the way social structures condition moral ideas and actions, the dangers of thinking about moral problems as polarized dilemmas, and the complex mutual shaping of ideas and actions. A practice-focused approach sheds new light on concrete case studies, underlining the value of attention to people’s concrete experiences and relationships in efforts to analyse and address contemporary problems such as hate speech, euthanasia, and climate change.

This is a textbook on general relativity and cosmology for a physics undergraduate or an entry-level graduate course. General relativity is the main subject; cosmology is also discussed in considerable detail (enough for a complete introductory course). Part 1 introduces concepts and deals with weak-field applications such as gravitation around ordinary stars, gravimagnetic effects and low-amplitude gravitational waves. The theory is derived in detail and the physical meaning explained. Sources, energy and detection of gravitational radiation are discussed. Part 2 develops the mathematics of differential geometry, along with physical applications, and discusses the exact treatment of curvature and the field equations. The electromagnetic field and fluid flow are treated, as well as geodesics, redshift, and so on. Part 3 then shows how the field equation is solved in standard cases such as Schwarzschild-Droste, Reissner-Nordstrom, Kerr, and internal stellar structure. Orbits and related phenomena are obtained. Black holes are described in detail, including horizons, wormholes, Penrose process and Hawking radiation. Part 4 covers cosmology, first in terms of metric, then dynamics, structure formation and observational methods. The meaning of cosmic expansion is explained at length. Recombination and last scattering are calculated, and the quantitative analysis of the CMB is sketched. Inflation is introduced briefly but quantitatively. Part 5 is a brief introduction to classical field theory, including spinors and the Dirac equation, proceeding as far as the Einstein-Hilbert action. Throughout the book the emphasis is on making the mathematics as clear as possible, and keeping in touch with physical observations.

Índice de Contenidos Aplicación de metodologías activas I 9 Estrategias de gamificación, y aprendizaje entre pares, para la adquisición de competencias 13 Herramientas para la gestión de los recursos digitales en los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje 28 Gamificación de la Cristalografía mediante la App XtereO 40 Educación Visual y Plástica comprometida con el entorno próximo 49 Experiencias de coordinación entre el profesorado 67 Diseño de actividades multidisciplinares de Ciencias de la Naturaleza y Matemáticas 71 Evaluación del aprendizaje 99 Impacto del Concurso de Cristalización en la Escuela en Aragón en el profesorado participante. 103 ¿Influye el género en la evaluación entre iguales? 113 Acciones de integración y orientación de estudiantes 133 Competencias digitales para estudiantes de la Universidad de Zaragoza 158 La organización emocional del aula en la gestión de la actividad docente 164 La motivación como herramienta para mejorar la tasa de aprobados en la asignatura de Contabilidad Financiera II. 20 Gamificación a través de diferentes aplicaciones como innovación docente en el grado de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte 33 Utilización de vídeos y cuestionarios para la mejora del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de conocimientos requeridos en la asignatura “Criterios de diseño de máquinas” 58 Acercando a los estudiantes de magisterio una experiencia colaborativa realizada en Educación Primaria 78 La formación de los futuros maestros desde un modelo interdisciplinar para las enseñanzas de Lengua Castellana y LIJ. 88 Evaluación de necesidades y seguimiento del aprendizaje en competencias de comunicación académica en inglés a través de un focus group en ADEi 121 Percepción de los estudiantes de los grados de la Facultad de Economía y Empresa sobre el uso y utilidad de las tutorías 137 Integración de los estudiantes de ADE en el mercado laboral a través del programa de prácticas y actividades externas. 148 Promoviendo la reflexión entre docentes acerca delas bases fundamentales sobre las que construirla ciudadanía digital 171 Estudio de opinión de los alumnos del Grado en Medicina sobre las limitaciones éticas de la ciencia 179 Percepción social de la ciencia por los alumnos del Grado en Medicina 185 La dirección de Trabajos Fin de Grado (TFG) en el marco de las nuevas modalidades de educación universitaria a distancia: algunas claves metodológicas para su adecuada ejecución 191 Experiencia piloto para mejorar las competencias de trabajo en equipo y comunicación oral en asignaturas de ingeniería 198 Otras metodologías activas II. 207 Metodologías activas basadas en juegos de razonamiento para fomentar el aprendizaje 211 El dispositivo móvil en el aula, ¿herramienta educativa o distracción? 217 Mejora de la adquisición de competencias a través del modelo de aula inversa 224 El customer journey map en la formación de la empatía y la innovación 232 La gamificación en el aula para la mejora de la participación del alumno en el estudio de la asignatura de Esplacnología. 239 Los cuestionarios Moodle como una herramienta para mejorar la calidad de la docencia y fomentar el aprendizaje en el aula universitaria 246 Un canal de YouTube como mecanismo de adquisición de competencias transversales 251 Arte y reciclaje en los entornos educativos (Trash art) 260 Didáctica con la gamificación y el videojuego mediante una intervención multidisciplinar para estudiantes del Grado de Maestro 270 YouTube como repositorio de vídeos docentes de apoyo a la docencia 278 Aplicación de Metodologías Activas III 287 Combinación de la Técnica Just in Time Teaching y los Serious Games con el enfoque pedagógico Flipped Learning en Educación Superior 291 Aprendizaje de lenguas para la inclusión social 303 Gamificación y role playing en la enseñanza de Derecho Procesal Penal, intervención de la Persona Jurídica y cumplimiento normativo 310 Integrando diferentes aplicaciones TIC en la docencia universitaria: uso de Screencast-o-matic, Canva y Pocket 317 Evaluación del uso de diferentes TIC en la docencia universitaria: grupo MultiFlipTech 323 Experiencias de mejora de la calidad de las titulaciones 335 Coordinación de agentes y mejora de los instrumentos de evaluación de las prácticas escolares: selección de las dimensiones a calificar 339 Enseñanza a distancia en el grado en Gestión y Administración Pública 345 Selección y rendimiento de los estudiantes en la asignatura Organización y Gestión Interna 356

Bones are multifunctional passive organs of movement that supports soft tissue and directly attached muscles. They also protect internal organs and are a reserve of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Each bone is covered with periosteum, and the adjacent bone surfaces are covered by articular cartilage. Histologically, the bone is an organ composed of many different tissues. The main component is bone tissue (cortical and spongy) composed of a set of bone cells and intercellular substance (mineral and organic), it also contains fat, hematopoietic (bone marrow) and cartilaginous tissue. Bones are a tissue that even in adult life retains the ability to change shape and structure depending on changes in their mechanical and hormonal environment, as well as self-renewal and repair capabilities. This process is called bone turnover. The basic processes of bone turnover are: • bone modeling (incessantly changes in bone shape during individual growth) following resorption and tissue formation at various locations (e.g. bone marrow formation) to increase mass and skeletal morphology. This process occurs in the bones of growing individuals and stops after reaching puberty • bone remodeling (processes involve in maintaining bone tissue by resorbing and replacing old bone tissue with new tissue in the same place, e.g. repairing micro fractures). It is a process involving the removal and internal remodeling of existing bone and is responsible for maintaining tissue mass and architecture of mature bones. Bone turnover is regulated by two types of transformation: • osteoclastogenesis, i.e. formation of cells responsible for bone resorption • osteoblastogenesis, i.e. formation of cells responsible for bone formation (bone matrix synthesis and mineralization) Bone maturity can be defined as the completion of basic structural development and mineralization leading to maximum mass and optimal mechanical strength. The highest rate of increase in pig bone mass is observed in the first twelve weeks after birth. This period of growth is considered crucial for optimizing the growth of the skeleton of pigs, because the degree of bone mineralization in later life stages (adulthood) depends largely on the amount of bone minerals accumulated in the early stages of their growth. The development of the technique allows to determine the condition of the skeletal system (or individual bones) in living animals by methods used in human medicine, or after their slaughter. For in vivo determination of bone properties, Abstract 10 double energy X-ray absorptiometry or computed tomography scanning techniques are used. Both methods allow the quantification of mineral content and bone mineral density. The most important property from a practical point of view is the bone’s bending strength, which is directly determined by the maximum bending force. The most important factors affecting bone strength are: • age (growth period), • gender and the associated hormonal balance, • genotype and modification of genes responsible for bone growth • chemical composition of the body (protein and fat content, and the proportion between these components), • physical activity and related bone load, • nutritional factors: – protein intake influencing synthesis of organic matrix of bone, – content of minerals in the feed (CA, P, Zn, Ca/P, Mg, Mn, Na, Cl, K, Cu ratio) influencing synthesis of the inorganic matrix of bone, – mineral/protein ratio in the diet (Ca/protein, P/protein, Zn/protein) – feed energy concentration, – energy source (content of saturated fatty acids - SFA, content of polyun saturated fatty acids - PUFA, in particular ALA, EPA, DPA, DHA), – feed additives, in particular: enzymes (e.g. phytase releasing of minerals bounded in phytin complexes), probiotics and prebiotics (e.g. inulin improving the function of the digestive tract by increasing absorption of nutrients), – vitamin content that regulate metabolism and biochemical changes occurring in bone tissue (e.g. vitamin D3, B6, C and K). This study was based on the results of research experiments from available literature, and studies on growing pigs carried out at the Kielanowski Institute of Animal Physiology and Nutrition, Polish Academy of Sciences. The tests were performed in total on 300 pigs of Duroc, Pietrain, Puławska breeds, line 990 and hybrids (Great White × Duroc, Great White × Landrace), PIC pigs, slaughtered at different body weight during the growth period from 15 to 130 kg. Bones for biomechanical tests were collected after slaughter from each pig. Their length, mass and volume were determined. Based on these measurements, the specific weight (density, g/cm3) was calculated. Then each bone was cut in the middle of the shaft and the outer and inner diameters were measured both horizontally and vertically. Based on these measurements, the following indicators were calculated: • cortical thickness, • cortical surface, • cortical index. Abstract 11 Bone strength was tested by a three-point bending test. The obtained data enabled the determination of: • bending force (the magnitude of the maximum force at which disintegration and disruption of bone structure occurs), • strength (the amount of maximum force needed to break/crack of bone), • stiffness (quotient of the force acting on the bone and the amount of displacement occurring under the influence of this force). Investigation of changes in physical and biomechanical features of bones during growth was performed on pigs of the synthetic 990 line growing from 15 to 130 kg body weight. The animals were slaughtered successively at a body weight of 15, 30, 40, 50, 70, 90, 110 and 130 kg. After slaughter, the following bones were separated from the right half-carcass: humerus, 3rd and 4th metatarsal bone, femur, tibia and fibula as well as 3rd and 4th metatarsal bone. The features of bones were determined using methods described in the methodology. Describing bone growth with the Gompertz equation, it was found that the earliest slowdown of bone growth curve was observed for metacarpal and metatarsal bones. This means that these bones matured the most quickly. The established data also indicate that the rib is the slowest maturing bone. The femur, humerus, tibia and fibula were between the values of these features for the metatarsal, metacarpal and rib bones. The rate of increase in bone mass and length differed significantly between the examined bones, but in all cases it was lower (coefficient b <1) than the growth rate of the whole body of the animal. The fastest growth rate was estimated for the rib mass (coefficient b = 0.93). Among the long bones, the humerus (coefficient b = 0.81) was characterized by the fastest rate of weight gain, however femur the smallest (coefficient b = 0.71). The lowest rate of bone mass increase was observed in the foot bones, with the metacarpal bones having a slightly higher value of coefficient b than the metatarsal bones (0.67 vs 0.62). The third bone had a lower growth rate than the fourth bone, regardless of whether they were metatarsal or metacarpal. The value of the bending force increased as the animals grew. Regardless of the growth point tested, the highest values were observed for the humerus, tibia and femur, smaller for the metatarsal and metacarpal bone, and the lowest for the fibula and rib. The rate of change in the value of this indicator increased at a similar rate as the body weight changes of the animals in the case of the fibula and the fourth metacarpal bone (b value = 0.98), and more slowly in the case of the metatarsal bone, the third metacarpal bone, and the tibia bone (values of the b ratio 0.81–0.85), and the slowest femur, humerus and rib (value of b = 0.60–0.66). Bone stiffness increased as animals grew. Regardless of the growth point tested, the highest values were observed for the humerus, tibia and femur, smaller for the metatarsal and metacarpal bone, and the lowest for the fibula and rib. Abstract 12 The rate of change in the value of this indicator changed at a faster rate than the increase in weight of pigs in the case of metacarpal and metatarsal bones (coefficient b = 1.01–1.22), slightly slower in the case of fibula (coefficient b = 0.92), definitely slower in the case of the tibia (b = 0.73), ribs (b = 0.66), femur (b = 0.59) and humerus (b = 0.50). Bone strength increased as animals grew. Regardless of the growth point tested, bone strength was as follows femur > tibia > humerus > 4 metacarpal> 3 metacarpal> 3 metatarsal > 4 metatarsal > rib> fibula. The rate of increase in strength of all examined bones was greater than the rate of weight gain of pigs (value of the coefficient b = 2.04–3.26). As the animals grew, the bone density increased. However, the growth rate of this indicator for the majority of bones was slower than the rate of weight gain (the value of the coefficient b ranged from 0.37 – humerus to 0.84 – fibula). The exception was the rib, whose density increased at a similar pace increasing the body weight of animals (value of the coefficient b = 0.97). The study on the influence of the breed and the feeding intensity on bone characteristics (physical and biomechanical) was performed on pigs of the breeds Duroc, Pietrain, and synthetic 990 during a growth period of 15 to 70 kg body weight. Animals were fed ad libitum or dosed system. After slaughter at a body weight of 70 kg, three bones were taken from the right half-carcass: femur, three metatarsal, and three metacarpal and subjected to the determinations described in the methodology. The weight of bones of animals fed aa libitum was significantly lower than in pigs fed restrictively All bones of Duroc breed were significantly heavier and longer than Pietrain and 990 pig bones. The average values of bending force for the examined bones took the following order: III metatarsal bone (63.5 kg) <III metacarpal bone (77.9 kg) <femur (271.5 kg). The feeding system and breed of pigs had no significant effect on the value of this indicator. The average values of the bones strength took the following order: III metatarsal bone (92.6 kg) <III metacarpal (107.2 kg) <femur (353.1 kg). Feeding intensity and breed of animals had no significant effect on the value of this feature of the bones tested. The average bone density took the following order: femur (1.23 g/cm3) <III metatarsal bone (1.26 g/cm3) <III metacarpal bone (1.34 g / cm3). The density of bones of animals fed aa libitum was higher (P<0.01) than in animals fed with a dosing system. The density of examined bones within the breeds took the following order: Pietrain race> line 990> Duroc race. The differences between the “extreme” breeds were: 7.2% (III metatarsal bone), 8.3% (III metacarpal bone), 8.4% (femur). Abstract 13 The average bone stiffness took the following order: III metatarsal bone (35.1 kg/mm) <III metacarpus (41.5 kg/mm) <femur (60.5 kg/mm). This indicator did not differ between the groups of pigs fed at different intensity, except for the metacarpal bone, which was more stiffer in pigs fed aa libitum (P<0.05). The femur of animals fed ad libitum showed a tendency (P<0.09) to be more stiffer and a force of 4.5 kg required for its displacement by 1 mm. Breed differences in stiffness were found for the femur (P <0.05) and III metacarpal bone (P <0.05). For femur, the highest value of this indicator was found in Pietrain pigs (64.5 kg/mm), lower in pigs of 990 line (61.6 kg/mm) and the lowest in Duroc pigs (55.3 kg/mm). In turn, the 3rd metacarpal bone of Duroc and Pietrain pigs had similar stiffness (39.0 and 40.0 kg/mm respectively) and was smaller than that of line 990 pigs (45.4 kg/mm). The thickness of the cortical bone layer took the following order: III metatarsal bone (2.25 mm) <III metacarpal bone (2.41 mm) <femur (5.12 mm). The feeding system did not affect this indicator. Breed differences (P <0.05) for this trait were found only for the femur bone: Duroc (5.42 mm)> line 990 (5.13 mm)> Pietrain (4.81 mm). The cross sectional area of the examined bones was arranged in the following order: III metatarsal bone (84 mm2) <III metacarpal bone (90 mm2) <femur (286 mm2). The feeding system had no effect on the value of this bone trait, with the exception of the femur, which in animals fed the dosing system was 4.7% higher (P<0.05) than in pigs fed ad libitum. Breed differences (P<0.01) in the coross sectional area were found only in femur and III metatarsal bone. The value of this indicator was the highest in Duroc pigs, lower in 990 animals and the lowest in Pietrain pigs. The cortical index of individual bones was in the following order: III metatarsal bone (31.86) <III metacarpal bone (33.86) <femur (44.75). However, its value did not significantly depend on the intensity of feeding or the breed of pigs.

The aim of the study was to determine the influence of different disturbances (both natural and anthropogenic) on species composition and stand structure of old-growth mixed mountain forests in the Western Carpathians. These stands are usually dominated by beech, fir and spruce, mixed in different proportions. The tree main species represent different growth strategies, and they compete against each other. The longevity of trees makes the factors influencing the stand structure difficult to identify, even during longitudinal studies conducted on permanent research plots. That is why dendroecological techniques, based upon the annual variability of tree rings, are commonly used to analyze the disturbance histories of old-growth stands. Dendroecological methods make it possible to reconstruct the stand history over several centuries in the past by analyzing the frequency, intensity, duration and spatial scale of disturbances causing the death of trees. Combining the dendroecological techniques with the detailed measurements of stand structure, snag volume, CWD volume, and the analyses of regeneration species composition and structure allows us to identify the factors responsible for the changes in dynamics of mixed mountain forests. Various disturbance agents affect some species selectively, while some disturbances promote the establishment of tree seedlings of specific species by modifying environmental conditions. Describing the disturbance regime requires a broad scope of data on stand structure, on dead wood and tree regeneration, while various factors affecting all the stages of tree growth should be taken into consideration. On the basis of the already published data from permanent sample plots, combined with the available disturbance history analyses from the Western Carpathians, three research hypotheses were formulated. 1. The species composition of mixed mountain forests has been changing for at least several decades. These directional changes are the consequence of simultaneous conifer species decline and expansion of beech. 2. The observed changes in species composition of mixed mountain forests are the effect of indirect anthropogenic influences, significantly changing tree growth conditions also in the forests that are usually considered natural or near-natural. Cumulative impact of these indirect influences leads to the decrease of fir share in the tree layer (spruce decline has also been observed recently),and it limits the representation of this species among seedlings and saplings. The final effect is the decrease of fir and spruce share in the forest stands. 3. Small disturbances, killing single trees or small groups of trees, and infrequent disturbances of medium size and intensity dominate the disturbance regime in mixed mountain forests. The present structure of beech-fir-spruce forests is shaped both by complex disturbance regime and indirect anthropogenic influences. The data were gathered in permanent sample plots in strictly protected areas of Babia Góra, Gorce, and Tatra National Parks, situated in the Western Carpathians. All plots were located in the old-growth forest stands representing Carpathian beech forest community. The results of the measurements of trees, snags, coarse woody debris (CWD) and tree regeneration were used for detailed description of changes in the species composition and structure of tree stands. Tree ring widths derived from increment cores were used to reconstruct the historical changes in tree growth trends of all main tree species, as well as the stand disturbance history within the past two to three hundred years. The analyses revealed complex disturbance history in all of the three forest stands. Intermediate disturbances of variable intensity occurred, frequently separated by the periods of low tree mortality lasting from several decades up to over one hundred years. The intervals between the disturbances were significantly shorter than the expected length of forest developmental cycle, in commonly used theories describing the dynamics of old-growth stands. During intermediate disturbances up to several dozen percent of canopy trees were killed. There were no signs of stand-replacing disturbances, killing all or nearly all of canopy trees. The periods of intense tree mortality were followed by subsequent periods of increased sapling recruitment. Variability in disturbance intensity is one of the mechanisms promoting the coexistence of beech and conifer species in mixed forests. The recruitment of conifer saplings depended on the presence of larger gaps, resulting from intermediate disturbances, while beech was more successful in the periods of low mortality. However, in the last few decades, beech seems to benefit from the period of intense fir mortality. This change results from the influence of long-term anthropogenic disturbances, affecting natural mechanisms that maintain the coexistence of different tree species and change natural disturbance regimes. Indirect anthropogenic influence on tree growth was clearly visible in the gradual decrease of fir increments in the twentieth century, resulting from the high level of air pollution in Europe. Synchronous decreases of fir tree rings’ widths were observed in all three of the sample plots, but the final outcomes depended on the fir age. In most cases, the damage to the foliage limited the competitive abilities of fir, but it did not cause a widespread increase in tree mortality, except for the oldest firs in the BGNP (Babia Góra National Park) plot. BGNP is located in the proximity of industrial agglomeration of Upper Silesia, and it could be exposed to higher level of air pollution than the other two plots. High level of fir regeneration browsing due to the deer overabundance and insufficient number of predators is the second clear indication of the indirect anthropogenic influence on mixed mountain forests. Game impact on fir regeneration is the most pronounced in Babia Góra forests, where fir was almost completely eliminated from the saplings. Deer browsing seems to be the main factor responsible for limiting the number of fir saplings and young fir trees, while the representation of fir among seedlings is high. The experiments conducted in fenced plots located in the mixed forests in BGNP proved that fir and sycamore were the most preferred by deer species among seedlings and saplings. In GNP (Gorce National Park) and TNP (Tatra National Park), the changes in species composition of tree regeneration are similar, but single firs or even small groups of firs are present among saplings. It seems that all of the analysed mixed beech-fir-spruce forests undergo directional changes, causing a systematic decrease in fir representation, and the expansion of beech. This tendency results from the indirect anthropogenic impact, past and present. Fir regeneration decline, alongside with the high level of spruce trees’ mortality in recent years, may lead to a significant decrease in conifers representation in the near future, and to the expansion of beech forests at the cost of mixed ones.