scholarly journals Preparation burning may not improve short-term seed survival in an Amazonian savanna

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor J. U. R Rodriguez Chuma ◽  
Darren Norris ◽  
Taires P. da Silva ◽  
Jéssica A. da Silva ◽  
Keison S. Cavalcante ◽  
...  

Abstract The role of fire in the management of degraded areas remains strongly debated. Here we experimentally compare removal and infestation of popcorn kernels (Zea mays L. – Poaceae) and açaí fruits (Euterpe oleracea Mart. – Arecaceae) in one burned and two unburned savanna habitats in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. In each habitat, a total of ten experimental units (five per seed type) were installed, each with three treatments: (1) open access, (2) vertebrate access, and (3) invertebrate access. Generalized linear models showed significant differences in both seed removal (P < 0.0001) and infestation (P < 0.0001) among seed type, habitats and access treatments. Burned savanna had the highest overall seed infestation rate (24.3%) and invertebrate access increased açaí seed infestation levels to 100% in the burned savanna. Increased levels of invertebrate seed infestation in burned savanna suggest that preparation burning may be of limited use for the management and restoration of such habitats in tropical regions.

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-112
Author(s):  
Richard Larouche ◽  
Nimesh Patel ◽  
Jennifer L. Copeland

The role of infrastructure in encouraging transportation cycling in smaller cities with a low prevalence of cycling remains unclear. To investigate the relationship between the presence of infrastructure and transportation cycling in a small city (Lethbridge, AB, Canada), we interviewed 246 adults along a recently-constructed bicycle boulevard and two comparison streets with no recent changes in cycling infrastructure. One comparison street had a separate multi-use path and the other had no cycling infrastructure. Questions addressed time spent cycling in the past week and 2 years prior and potential socio-demographic and psychosocial correlates of cycling, including safety concerns. Finally, we asked participants what could be done to make cycling safer and more attractive. We examined predictors of cycling using gender-stratified generalized linear models. Women interviewed along the street with a separate path reported cycling more than women on the other streets. A more favorable attitude towards cycling and greater habit strength were associated with more cycling in both men and women. Qualitative data revealed generally positive views about the bicycle boulevard, a need for education about sharing the road and for better cycling infrastructure in general. Our results suggest that, even in smaller cities, cycling infrastructure may encourage cycling, especially among women.


2010 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan M. Bacheler ◽  
Joseph E. Hightower ◽  
Summer M. Burdick ◽  
Lee M. Paramore ◽  
Jeffrey A. Buckel ◽  
...  

1994 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
BJ Kay ◽  
LE Twigg ◽  
HI Nicol

This study evaluated the effect of baiting refuge habitats around irrigated soyabeans with bromadiolone to control house mice and reduce their invasion of crops. Generalized linear models were constructed and used to predict changes in mouse abundance over time in both refuge and crop habitats of treated and untreated plots. Compared with untreated plots, bromadiolone significantly reduced the number of mice inhabiting the refuge habitat and reduced the rate at which mice invaded and colonized the adjacent crops. Despite this, no significant reductions in damage were detected as mice numbers failed to reach critical densities for crop damage on the untreated plots. This indicates a need for short-term predictive models when considering control strategies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 194008292097174
Author(s):  
Fernanda Michalski ◽  
Ricardo Luiz Pires Boulhosa ◽  
Yuri Nascimento do Nascimento ◽  
Darren Norris

Understanding people’s attitudes towards wildlife species is key for developing and effectively implementing conservation initiatives. Although attitudes towards different wildlife classes have been examined separately within a variety of regions, there have been no comprehensive comparisons of attitudes towards wildlife between different tropical ecoregions over large spatial scales. Here, we examined attitudes of 106 rural wage-earners from two ecoregions in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. We used generalized Linear Models (GLMs) to examine the influence of socioeconomic variables and ecoregion type on attitudes towards wildlife species, grouped into three classes (liked, disliked, and damage income). Overall we obtained attitudes regarding 57 wildlife species that were organized into 11 faunal groups (amphibians, ants, bats, birds, fishes, medium-bodied mammals, large-bodied mammals, primates, snakes, tortoises and turtles, and other invertebrates). Ecoregions where wage-earners lived was the strongest predictor of the total number of liked and disliked wildlife species. The total number of species damaging income was explained by socioeconomic variables related to the number of people living in the property and level of education. Medium and large-bodied mammals were most frequently reported both as liked and causing damage, while snakes were most frequently reported as disliked in both ecoregions. Although socioeconomic variables were important predictors to wage-earners’ attitudes towards wildlife species, the environment (ecoregion) was the strongest predictor affecting human-wildlife attitudes. Our findings contribute with information about the importance of considering differences in local attitudes across a representative spectrum of wildlife species to inform the identification of effective focal species in different tropical regions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Ishii ◽  
T Seki ◽  
K Sakamoto ◽  
K Kaikita ◽  
Y Miyamoto ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Asian dust (AD) is one of the health care problems because AD increases risk for mortality, respiratory, and cardiovascular disease. Previous animal studies showed that particulate matter from AD induced oxidative stress and systemic inflammation, increased blood pressure and heart rate, and decreased cardiac contraction. However, few reports show association of AD with increased blood pressure in human healthy subjects. Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate effects of AD on blood pressure and blood cell counts in human. Methods Using generalized linear models, we estimated the association between short-term exposure to AD and systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR) and white blood cell (WBC) count in 296,168 participants aged 20 and older (men n=168,579, 56.9%) who underwent medical check-ups and had no anti-hypertensive agents between April 2005 and March 2015 in a health check-up center in Japan. AD days were the days on which AD events occurred, which were defined as decreased visibility (<10km) due to AD monitored by local meteorological observatory. Propensity score matching analysis was performed to reduce the effects of possible confounders such as age, sex, mean temperature, humidity. In multivariable generalized linear models, data of other air pollutant such as SO2, NO2, Ox or suspended particulate matter was used as covariate. Results During study period, 61 AD days were observed, and there were 4,670 participants undergoing medical check-ups on AD days. In the propensity score matched population (n=4,670, each), short-term exposure to AD was significantly associated with an increased risk of higher SBP, DBP, HR, or WBC count [β=1.303, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.577 to 2.029 for SBP, β=0.630, 95% CI 0.122 to 1.138 for DBP, β=0.987, 95% CI 0.410 to 1.563 for HR, β=150.0, 95% CI 64.9 to 235.1 for WBC]. These significant associations were also observed in two-pollutant models. In subgroup analysis according to age, AD exposure had greater impact on SBP, DBP, and HR in younger people (20 to 40 years old), but WBC count in middle-high age (51 years and older). GLM analysis according to age category Conclusions The present study showed that short-term exposure to AD was associated with higher SBP, DBP, HR and WBC count. Short-term exposure to AD may exacerbate sympathetic nervous system for the young and immune system for the elderly.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi-bao Guo ◽  
Wen-xue Liu ◽  
Cong-shan Yang ◽  
Yi Yang

Abstract Objective To determine whether qEEG has the capable of predicting the onset of post-operative delirium (POD) and prognosis of cardiac surgery patients. Methods We prospectively studied a cohort of cardiac surgery patients undergoing EEG for evaluation of altered mental status. Patients were assessed for delirium with the CAM-ICU or CAM. EEG were interpreted clinically by clinician, and reports were reviewed to identify features such as aEEG,alpha,beta,theta or delta relative band energy, alpha variability and spectral entropy. Generalized linear models were used to quantify associations among EEG findings, delirium, and clinical outcomes, including length of stay and mortality. Results 60 patients were evaluated and 29 (48.33%) met delirium criteria. The EEG finding most strongly associated with delirium presence was aEEG, whether the peak value or valley value less than lower quartile or greater than upper quartile. Conclusions The peak or valley value of aEEG in F3-P3/F4-P4 derivation is a good predictor of post-operative delirium in cardiac surgery patients.Trial registration: Clinical Trials.gov Identifier, NCT03351985. Registered 1 December 201


1968 ◽  
Vol 78 (3, Pt.1) ◽  
pp. 494-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calvin F. Nodine ◽  
James H. Korn

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majid Manoochehri

Memory span in humans has been intensely studied for more than a century. In spite of the critical role of memory span in our cognitive system, which intensifies the importance of fundamental determinants of its evolution, few studies have investigated it by taking an evolutionary approach. Overall, we know hardly anything about the evolution of memory components. In the present study, I briefly review the experimental studies of memory span in humans and non-human animals and shortly discuss some of the relevant evolutionary hypotheses.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Kamlesh Kumar Shukla

FIIs are companies registered outside India. In the past four years there has been more than $41 trillion worth of FII funds invested in India. This has been one of the major reasons on the bull market witnessing unprecedented growth with the BSE Sensex rising 221% in absolute terms in this span. The present downfall of the market too is influenced as these FIIs are taking out some of their invested money. Though there is a lot of value in this market and fundamentally there is a lot of upside in it. For long-term value investors, there’s little because for worry but short term traders are adversely getting affected by the role of FIIs are playing at the present. Investors should not panic and should remain invested in sectors where underlying earnings growth has little to do with financial markets or global economy.


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