Do utility corridors affect movements of small terrestrial fauna?

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Carthew ◽  
Briony Horner ◽  
Katherine M. W. Jones

Linear forest clearings created by utility corridors have the potential to fragment landscapes, create edge effects and isolate populations of plants and animals. Here, we investigated the impact of utility corridors on small terrestrial fauna inhabiting Nangwarry Native Forest Reserve, south of Penola in south-eastern South Australia. Twelve sites straddling linear clearings of two widths (1.5 and 4.2 m) were surveyed over 2 years with 53 traps arranged as five transects at each site. This resulted in a total of 933 captures of 18 vertebrate species, including four amphibians, eight reptiles and six mammals. Propensity for capture near edges v. interiors, distances moved between recaptures and willingness to cross linear clearings varied among species, and was not related to taxa groups. For example, the small skink Bassiana duperreyi was extremely mobile and crossed tracks regularly. At the other extreme, the frog Neobatrachus pictus was more likely to be caught on interior transects and was never recorded moving between captures. The small dasyurid Antechinus flavipes was the most regularly caught species, and made both short- (<50 m) and long-distance (>1500 m) movements, with longer moves made by dispersing juveniles. Movements by this species often involved clearing crossings, although these were more likely when time between recaptures was longer, particularly for females. However, the overall rate of crossings for this species was not different from that expected if movements were random. In conclusion, the relatively narrow utility corridors studied here did not appear to affect the mobility of the majority of vertebrates significantly, with approximately half of the 85 movements recorded being of animals crossing a clearing, and no significant difference between the proportion crossing the wider (4.2 m) and the narrower (1.5 m) clearings. The present study is one of only a handful investigating movement patterns in reptiles and amphibians, particularly in relation to disturbances. However, sample sizes were small for some species, and future work should focus on those species that look to be either particularly mobile or sedentary, and encompass responses to the wider (up to 15 m) permanent tracks in the region.

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. MacDonald ◽  
Robert J. Taylor ◽  
Steven G. Candy

In Tasmania, a system of 100 m wide strips of native forest, referred to as wildlife habitat strips, is retained within production forest, including plantations. Thirty-nine points in 18 wildlife habitat strips within both eucalypt and pine plantations (which were not differentiated for the purposes of the present study) were paired with points in nearby extensive native forest and surveyed for birds. At non-riparian sites (upper slopes and ridges), bird species richness and total abundance were both significantly lower in habitat strips than in controls. This difference is quantitative rather than qualitative, as ordination did not distinguish strip sites and controls, and no species were obviously absent from habitat strips. Riparian zones showed no significant difference in species richness and total abundance between habitat strips and controls. Species richness and total abundance relative to controls increased as wildlife habitat strip length increased over the measured range (0.4-2.1 km). It is thought that this may be because birds perceive strips as linear forest patches rather than corridors, so that there may be a habitat area effect. Other strip characteristics such as width and plantation age were not significant in riparian areas, but may be important on upper slopes and ridges, and the former will affect strip area. Wildlife habitat strips appear to be a valuable component of a conservation programme for birds in production forests in Tasmania.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marzio Masini ◽  
Giulia Brindisi ◽  
Mattia Giovannini ◽  
Elia Pignataro ◽  
Laura Di Grande ◽  
...  

Abstract Background SARS-CoV-2 outbreak pushed the Italian government to start a strict lockdown, replacing school attendance with long-distance learning. This caused reduced exposure to sunlight but increased exposure to screens. Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a chronic inflammatory ocular condition in which exposure to light plays a cardinal role. We conducted an online survey to evaluate the impact of screen exposure in children with VKC during the lockdown. Methods We performed a survey-based observational study, asking patients followed at the Allergology of Meyer Children’s University Hospital in Florence and of Policlinico Umberto I in Rome to provide grading on 6 subjective ocular clinical manifestations presented during the lockdown and to give an estimate of the hours/day of screen exposure. Results Mean scores of signs and symptoms increased homogeneously when studying patients exposed to longer screen time. When comparing scores collected in 2019 versus 2020, there was not a significant reduction in clinical manifestations, although the situation differed between the two centres due to geographical differences in sunlight exposure. Conclusion During the lockdown, there was a reduction of sunlight exposure but conversely an increase in the time spent in front of screens that correlated with the worsening of VKC signs symptoms in direct proportion to the hours/day of screen exposure. Our results also showed a statistically significant difference in the relative impact of long-distance learning on VKC clinical manifestations in the different Italian regions.


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-84
Author(s):  
Vladimír Pospíchal ◽  
Jan Novotný

The research project focuses on the problem of the optimum cross step in long distance run. Step should be energetically most favourable – economics. We want to answer the question whether and under what conditions it is energetically preferable to endurance runner‘s pace with the impact on the forefoot or rearfoot. Testing subjects were 15 athletes. Athletes held running pace 12 km.h-1 . When we evaluated results, we focused on indicators running economy – minute oxygen uptake, minute oxygen uptake per kilogram of weight and heart rate. The aim of the study is to contribute to determine whether there is a more energy-intensive endurance running with an impact on the rearfoot or the impact on the forefoot. In this article, we focus on two important factors affecting running economy - minute oxygen uptake and minute oxygen uptake per kilogram of weight. Statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) the forefoot and rearfoot was in oxygen uptake. The average value rearfoot of minute oxygen uptake of 0.114 l.min-1 is below than forefoot. We conclude that rearfoot is more economical than forefoot. From the measured 15 runners, we cannot clearly say whether running rearfoot or forefoot is more economical.


GeroPsych ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 171-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence M. Solberg ◽  
Lauren B. Solberg ◽  
Emily N. Peterson

Stress in caregivers may affect the healthcare recipients receive. We examined the impact of stress experienced by 45 adult caregivers of their elderly demented parents. The participants completed a 32-item questionnaire about the impact of experienced stress. The questionnaire also asked about interventions that might help to reduce the impact of stress. After exploratory factor analysis, we reduced the 32-item questionnaire to 13 items. Results indicated that caregivers experienced stress, anxiety, and sadness. Also, emotional, but not financial or professional, well-being was significantly impacted. There was no significant difference between the impact of caregiver stress on members from the sandwich generation and those from the nonsandwich generation. Meeting with a social worker for resource availability was identified most frequently as a potentially helpful intervention for coping with the impact of stress.


Author(s):  
Mihail Zver'kov

To the article the results of the theoretical and experimental researches are given on questions of estimates of the dynamic rate effect of raindrop impact on soil. The aim of this work was to analyze the current methods to determine the rate of artificial rain pressure on the soil for the assessment of splash erosion. There are the developed author’s method for calculation the pressure of artificial rain on the soil and the assessment of splash erosion. The study aims to the justification of evaluation methods and the obtaining of quantitative characteristics, prevention and elimination of accelerated (anthropogenic) erosion, the creation and the realization of the required erosion control measures. The paper considers the question of determining the pressure of artificial rain on the soil. At the moment of raindrops impact, there is the tension in the soil, which is called vertical effective pressure. It is noted that the impact of rain drops in the soil there are stresses called vertical effective pressure. The equation for calculation of vertical effective pressure is proposed in this study using the known spectrum of raindrops. Effective pressure was 1.4 Pa for the artificial rain by sprinkler machine «Fregat» and 5.9 Pa for long distance sprinkler DD-30. The article deals with a block diagram of the sequence for determining the effective pressure of rain drops on the soil. This diagram was created by the author’s method of calculation of the effective pressure of rain drops on the soil. The need for an integrated approach to the description of the artificial rain impact on the soil is noted. Various parameters characterizing drop erosion are considered. There are data about the mass of splashed soil in the irrigation of various irrigation machinery and installations. For example, the rate (mass) of splashed soil was 0.28…0.78 t/ha under irrigation sprinkler apparatus RACO 4260–55/701C in the conditions of the Ryazan region. The method allows examining the environmental impact of sprinkler techniques for analyzes of the pressure, caused by raindrops, on the soil. It can also be useful in determining the irrigation rate before the runoff for different types of sprinkler equipment and soil conditions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-48
Author(s):  
Takehiro Iizuka ◽  
Kimi Nakatsukasa

This exploratory study examined the impact of implicit and explicit oral corrective feedback (CF) on the development of implicit and explicit knowledge of Japanese locative particles (activity de, movement ni and location ni) for those who directly received CF and those who observed CF in the classroom. Thirty-six college students in a beginning Japanese language course received either recast (implicit), metalinguistic (explicit) or no feedback during an information-gap picture description activity, and completed a timed picture description test (implicit knowledge) and an untimed grammaticality judgement test (explicit knowledge) in a pre-test, immediate post-test and delayed post-test. The results showed that overall there was no significant difference between CF types, and that CF benefited direct and indirect recipients similarly. Potential factors that might influence the effectiveness of CF, such as instructional settings, complexity of target structures and pedagogy styles, are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-120
Author(s):  
Ayça Aktaç Gürbüz ◽  
Orçun YORULMAZ ◽  
Gülşah DURNA

Scientific research into the reduction of stigmatization, particularly related to specific problems such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), is scarce. In the present study, we examine the impact of a video-based antistigma intervention program for OCD in a pretest-posttest control group research. After being randomly assigned to either an intervention (n= 101) or control group (n= 96), the participants reported their attitudes on a hypothetical case vignette before and after OCD vs. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) videos, and again six months later as a follow up assessment. The mixed design analyses for the group comparisons indicated that although there was no significant difference in the measures of the control group, the participants watching the anti-stigma OCD video, in which the focus was psychoeducation and interaction strategies, reported significantly lower scores on social distances and negative beliefs for the case vignettes they read, and this difference was maintained six months later. Then, the present results indicate the effectiveness of our anti-stigma intervention program for OCD. Interventions to reduce stigmatization can also be viewed as effective tools for changing the attitudes of people toward OCD, although further research and applications are needed related to specific disorders if a longlasting impact is to be achieved.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Tamrin Muchsin ◽  
Sri Sudono Saliro ◽  
Nahot Tua Parlindungan Sihaloho ◽  
Sardjana Orba Manullang

It is still found that investigating officers do not have an S1 degree or equivalent in thejurisdiction of the Sambass Resort Police as mandated in PP No. 58 of 2010 concerningAmendments to Government Regulation Number 27 of 1983 concerning theImplementation of KUHAP article 2A paragraph (1) letter a. If the requirements ofinvestigators are not fulfilled, there will automatically be limits of authority, includingthe inability to issue investigation orders, detention warrants and other administrativeletters. This study used a qualitative method with juridical empirical research. Toobtain accurate data, purposive sampling technique was used, and primary datacollection by conducting in-depth interviews. The research results found, among others:first, discretion regarding the administration of investigations in the jurisdiction of theSambas Resort Police for the Sambas District Police who do not have investigatingofficers who meet the requirements, is then taken over by the Head of the CriminalInvestigation Unit as the supervisor of the integrated criminal investigation function.Second, the impact of an integrated investigation administration causes the time tocarry out investigations to be slow due to the long distance between the Sector Policeand the Resort Police.


2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Baranchuk ◽  
G. Dagnone ◽  
P. Fowler ◽  
M. N. Harrison ◽  
L. Lisnevskaia ◽  
...  

Electrocardiography (ECG) interpretation is an essential skill for physicians as well as for many other health care professionals. Continuing education is necessary to maintain these skills. The process of teaching and learning ECG interpretation is complex and involves both deductive mechanisms and recognition of patterns for different clinical situations (“pattern recognition”). The successful methodologies of interactive sessions and real time problem based learning have never been evaluated with a long distance education model. To evaluate the efficacy of broadcasting ECG rounds to different hospitals in the Southeastern Ontario region; to perform qualitative research to determine the impact of this methodology in developing and maintaining skills in ECG interpretation. ECG rounds are held weekly at Kingston General Hospital and will be transmitted live to Napanee, Belleville, Oshawa, Peterborough and Brockville. The teaching methodology is based on real ECG cases. The audience is invited to analyze the ECG case and the coordinator will introduce comments to guide the case through the proper algorithm. Final interpretation will be achieved emphasizing the deductive process and the relevance of each case. An evaluation will be filled out by each participant at the end of each session. Videoconferencing works through a vast array of internet LANs, WANs, ISDN phone lines, routers, switches, firewalls and Codecs (Coder/Decoder) and bridges. A videoconference Codec takes the analog audio and video signal codes and compresses it into a digital signal and transmits that digital signal to another Codec where the signal is decompressed and retranslated back into analog video and audio. This compression and decompression allows large amounts of data to be transferred across a network at close to real time (384 kbps with 30 frames of video per second). Videoconferencing communication works on voice activation so whichever site is speaking has the floor and is seen by all the participating sites. A continuous presence mode allows each site to have the same visual and audio involvement as the host site. A bridged multipoint can connect between 8 and 12 sites simultaneously. This innovative methodology for teaching ECG will facilitate access to developing and maintaining skills in ECG interpretation for a large number of health care providers. Bertsch TF, Callas PW, Rubin A. Effectiveness of lectures attended via interactive video conferencing versus in-person in preparing third-year internal medicine clerkship students for clinical practice examinations. Teach Learn Med 2007; 19(1):4-8. Yellowlees PM, Hogarth M, Hilty DM. The importance of distributed broadband networks to academic biomedical research and education programs. Acad Psychaitry 2006;30:451-455


Author(s):  
Tareq Mohammed Dhannoon AL Taie

The BRICS countries have a historical aspiration for global leadership, especially Russia and China, and other countries trying to have a position in the pyramid of international powers in the twenty-first century, especially Brazil, India and South Africa, they worked to unify their efforts, in order to achieve integration in the strategic action, activate its role in International affairs, ending American domination , and restructuring an international system that have an active role in its interactions.       The research hypothesis is based on the idea that the BRICS group, despite the nature of its economic composition and its long-term goals, but its political influence as a bloc, is greater than the proportion of its economic influence in restructuring the new international order. The BRICS group has the capabilities to reshape the international order, but disputes among some of its members represent a challenge to its future work. Its goals will not be achieved without teamwork. Third world countries, especially those that reject unipolarism, have regarded one of the pillars supporting multi-polarity, aiming of giving them freedom of movement in international relations. The ultimate goal of the BRICS is a political nature, as economic mechanisms are used to achieve political goals.


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