scholarly journals Colombia’s bioregions as a source of useful plants

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0256457
Author(s):  
Nadia Bystriakova ◽  
Carolina Tovar ◽  
Alexandre Monro ◽  
Justin Moat ◽  
Pablo Hendrigo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Useful Plants ◽  
Online Databases ◽  
Environmental Space ◽  
Medicinal Use ◽  
Moist Forest ◽  
Global And Local

The aim of our study was to assess the importance of different Colombian bioregions in terms of the supply of useful plant species and the quality of the available distribution data. We assembled a dataset of georeferenced collection localities of all vascular plants of Colombia available from global and local online databases. We then assembled a list of species, subspecies and varieties of Colombia’s useful plants and retrieved all point locality information associated with these taxa. We overlaid both datasets with a map of Colombia’s bioregions to retrieve all species and useful species distribution records in each bioregion. To assess the reliability of our estimates of species numbers, we identified information gaps, in geographic and environmental space, by estimating their completeness and coverage. Our results confirmed that Colombia’s third largest bioregion, the Andean moist forest followed by the Amazon, Pacific, Llanos and Caribbean moist forests contained the largest numbers of useful plant species. Medicinal use was the most common useful attribute across all bioregions, followed by Materials, Environmental uses, and Human Food. In all bioregions, except for the Andean páramo, the proportion of well-surveyed 10×10 km grid cells (with ≥ 25 observation records of useful plants) was below 50% of the total number of surveyed cells. Poor survey coverage was observed in the three dry bioregions: Caribbean deserts and xeric shrublands, and Llanos and Caribbean dry forests. This suggests that additional primary data is needed. We document knowledge gaps that will hinder the incorporation of useful plants into Colombia’s stated plans for a bioeconomy and their sustainable management. In particular, future research should focus on the generation of additional primary data on the distribution of useful plants in the Amazon and Llanos (Orinoquia) regions where both survey completeness and coverage appeared to be less adequate compared with other regions.

scholarly journals The Use of Big Data in Tourism: Current Trends and Directions for Future Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 357
Author(s):  
Dimitrios Belias ◽  
Malik Sawsan ◽  
Ioannis Rossidis ◽  
Mantas Christos
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The People ◽  
Online Databases ◽  
The Future ◽  
Simple Mapping ◽  
Tourism Economy

The aim of this research is to examine the new landscape that is taking shape in the tourism economy, due to the adoption of technological innovations. The technologies and systems used to make the most of the resulting interdisciplinary and multilingual big data, the methods by which heterogeneous elements from different sources are incorporated to bring new knowledge, and the modern services that are ultimately implemented and provided to the public, as well as the people involved in this process, and those who benefit from the new services are among the issues analyzed. The work is not limited to a simple mapping of space but concludes with an evaluation of the systems already implemented and the various methods of analysis and exploitation of large-scale data for this industry, which is based on detailed research of the current literature to identify the potential gaps for future research. This is a literature review. The authors have identified the content of this research on well-known online databases which include scholar, google and Scopus. They used the appropriate keywords such as “big data” & “tourism innovation” to reach the publications used in this research, also given attention on using recent papers which are derived from reliable journals. The research has concluded that the use of big data in the tourism sector is a rising trend. Big data creates expectations for a better understanding of tourism demand and the adjustment of supply by tourism companies to meet the demands of tourists and the profitable activity of tourism businesses. There is a need to examine how can big data help the hotels to deal with Covid-19 pandemic, which can be a topic for future research. Big data is one of the most recent trends on innovation, Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and knowledge management. Hence, there is a need to gather and analyze the existing publications which concern the tourist industry. The originality of this research stems from making an analysis of the current situation as well as it is a bridge to the future by making suggestions on how future research can be shaped. The key limitation of this research resides on that it focuses on the existing literature and used secondary data. However, it gives directions for the future research which can take place with primary data collection.   Received: 3 July 2021 / Accepted: 19 August 2021 / Published: 5 September 2021

An Evidence-Based Review of Antitussive Herbs Containing Essential Oils in Traditional Persian Medicine

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayda Hosseinkhani ◽  
Bijan Ziaeian ◽  
Kamran Hessami ◽  
Mohammad Mehdi Zarshenas ◽  
Ali Kashkooe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Essential Oils ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Herbal Remedies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Online Databases ◽  
Persian Medicine ◽  
Troublesome Symptom ◽  
Traditional Persian Medicine

Background: Cough is one of the most common medical symptoms for which medical advice is sought. Although cough is a protective reflex responsible for clearing the airways from secretions and foreign bodies, it can be a troublesome symptom that causes discomfort to patients. Due to the increasing interest in herbal remedies in the both developed and developing countries, in the current study, we aimed to overview medicinal herbs containing essential oils used as antitussive agents according to the Traditional Persian Medicine [TPM] textbooks. We summarized the relevant scientific evidence on their possible pharmacological actions. Methods: To collect the evidence for treatment of cough or “seaal” [cough in ancient books] from TPM sources, five main medicinal Persian manuscripts were studied. The antitussive herbs were listed and their scientific names were identified and authenticated in accordance with botanical reference books. ScienceDirect and PubMed online databases were searched for related mechanisms of action of the reported medicinal plants. Results: The number of 49 herbs containing essential oils were recommended in TPM for the treatment of cough; 21 of them had at least one known mechanism of action for cough suppression in the scientific literature. According to this review, most of the cited medicinal plants were assessed for either nitric oxide inhibitory or antitussive/expectorant activities. Conclusion: In addition to advantageous effects of antitussive herbs noted by TPM, the present review highlighted some recent evidence-based data on these promising candidates that could be used as an outline for future research on their medicinal use.

Pharmacological Uses of the Plants Belonging to the Genus Commiphora

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subbiah Latha ◽  
Palanisamy Selvamani ◽  
Thangavelu Prabha
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Dna Cleavage ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Chemical Constituents ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Pharmacological Properties ◽  
Chemical Structures ◽  
Indigenous Uses ◽  
Available Information

: Natural products have a unique place in the healthcare industry. The genus Commiphora emerged as a potential medicinal with huge benefits as evidenced through its use in various traditional and modern systems of medicine. Therefore, we aimed to prepare a concise review on the pharmacological activities and the indigenous uses of various plant species belonging to the genus Commiphora along with the structural information of various active botanical ingredients present in these plants based on the published literatures and scientific reports. To collect the various published literatures on Commiphora in various journals; to study and classify the available information on the pharmacological uses and chemical constituents; and to present the gathered information as a precise review to serve as a potential reference for future research. Pharmacological and phytochemical data on Commiphora plant species were collected from various journals, books, reference materials, websites including scientific databases, etc for compilation. This review article describes the various pharmacological properties of plants of Commiphora species viz., Anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory, Anti-atherogenic, Antibacterial, Anti-coagulant, Anti-dicrocoeliasis, Anti-epileptic, Anti-fascioliasis, Anti-fungal, Anti-heterophyidiasis, Anti-hyper cholesterolemic, Anti-hyperlipidemic, Anti-hypothyroidism, Anti-obesity, Anti-osteoarthritic, Anti-osteoclastogenesis, Anti-oxidant, Anti-parasitic, Anti-pyretic, Anti-schistosomiasis, Anti-septic, Anti-thrombotic, Anti-ulcer, Cardioprotective, COX enzyme inhibitory, Cytotoxic /Anti-carcinogenic/Anti-cancer, DNA cleavage, Hypotensive, Inhibits lipid peroxidation, Inhibits NO and NO synthase production, Insecticidal, Local anesthetic, Molluscicidal, Smooth muscle relaxant, Tick repellent activities along with toxicity studies. Furthermore, the review also included various secondary metabolites isolated from various species of Commiphora genus along with their chemical structures serve as a ready resource for researchers. We conclude that the plant species belonging to the genus Commiphora possesses abundant pharmacological properties with a huge treasure of diverse secondary metabolites within themselves. This review indicates the necessity of further in-depth research, pre-clinical and clinical studies with Commiphora genus which may help to detect the unidentified potential of the Commiphora plant species.

Do the heterogeneous determinants of life satisfaction affect differently across borrowers of diverse credit sources? A propensity score approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1142-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiken Das ◽  
Manesh Choubey
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Probit Model ◽  
Ordered Probit ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Ordered Probit Model ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Credit Access ◽  
Physical Assets

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the non-monetary effect of credit access by providing an econometric framework which controls the problem of selection bias. Design/methodology/approach The study is conducted in Assam, India and uses a quasi-experiment design to gather primary data. The ordered probit model is used to evaluate the non-monetary impact of credit access. The paper uses a propensity score approach to check the robustness of the ordered probit model. Findings The study confirms the positive association of credit access to life satisfaction of borrowers. It is found that, in general, rural borrower’s life satisfaction is influenced by the ability and capacity to work, the value of physical assets of the borrowers as well as some other lenders’ and borrowers’ specific factors. But, the direction of causality of the factors influencing borrowers’ life satisfaction is remarkably different across credit sources. Research limitations/implications The study argues to provide productive investment opportunities to semiformal and informal borrowers while improving their life satisfaction score. Although the results are adjusted for selection and survivorship biases, it is impossible with the available data to assess which non-income factors explain the findings, and therefore this limitation is left to future research. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature of rural credit by assessing the probable differences among formal, semiformal and informal credit sources with respect to non-monetary impacts.

The identity crisis of sustainable development

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catalin Ratiu ◽  
Beverlee B. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Identity Crisis ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Larger Sample ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – There are many different conceptualizations to sustainable development and these different approaches may have led to confusion amongst the public. The purpose of this paper is to explore the identities of the term and how the confused identity may be leading to problems for sustainable development efforts. Design/methodology/approach – The design is exploratory, using both secondary and primary data to understand the different sustainable development concepts. Findings – There is no consistent understanding or use of the term “sustainable development” among various groups. Research limitations/implications – Future research should include a larger sample that is more representative of people from different backgrounds and geographical areas. Practical implications – The public is generally willing to support only projects that it understands. Without a clear understanding of sustainable development, the public will be less inclined to support these efforts. Originality/value – This study examines the perceptions and understandings of the term by the general public representing different generations.

scholarly journals Mosquito-Associated Viruses and Their Related Mosquitoes in West Africa

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 891
Author(s):  
Eric Agboli ◽  
Julien B. Z. Zahouli ◽  
Athanase Badolo ◽  
Hanna Jöst
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Valley Fever ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Mosquito Ecology ◽  
Abundance And Distribution

Mosquito-associated viruses (MAVs), including mosquito-specific viruses (MSVs) and mosquito-borne (arbo)viruses (MBVs), are an increasing public, veterinary, and global health concern, and West Africa is projected to be the next front for arboviral diseases. As in-depth knowledge of the ecologies of both western African MAVs and related mosquitoes is still limited, we review available and comprehensive data on their diversity, abundance, and distribution. Data on MAVs’ occurrence and related mosquitoes were extracted from peer-reviewed publications. Data on MSVs, and mosquito and vertebrate host ranges are sparse. However, more data are available on MBVs (i.e., dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, Zika, and Rift Valley fever viruses), detected in wild and domestic animals, and humans, with infections more concentrated in urban areas and areas affected by strong anthropogenic changes. Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Aedes albopictus are incriminated as key arbovirus vectors. These findings outline MAV, related mosquitoes, key knowledge gaps, and future research areas. Additionally, these data highlight the need to increase our understanding of MAVs and their impact on host mosquito ecology, to improve our knowledge of arbovirus transmission, and to develop specific strategies and capacities for arboviral disease surveillance, diagnostic, prevention, control, and outbreak responses in West Africa.

Ethnobotanical study in the Madonie Regional Park (Central Sicily, Italy)—Medicinal use of wild shrub and herbaceous plant species

2013 ◽  
Vol 146 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Leto ◽  
Teresa Tuttolomondo ◽  
Salvatore La Bella ◽  
Mario Licata
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Ethnobotanical Study ◽  
Herbaceous Plant ◽  
Medicinal Use

Stakeholder identification and classification: a sustainability marketing perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinod Kumar ◽  
Zillur Rahman ◽  
A. A. Kazmi
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Classification Schemes ◽  
Simplified Approach ◽  
Stakeholder Identification ◽  
Advanced Search ◽  
Online Databases ◽  
The Subject

Purpose – This paper aims to review the literature on stakeholder identification and classification related to sustainability marketing from 1998 to 2012 and provides a generalized approach to stakeholder identification and classification in the field of sustainability marketing. Design/methodology/approach – Beginning with brief introductions of the key concepts, the research discusses landmark studies on the subject in detail. The review process then begins by identifying and selecting relevant research papers from various online databases. Finally, 60 research papers are found suitable for the review and are examined to theoretically analyze the stakeholder identification and classification schemes used in sustainability marketing literature. Findings – This study identifies trends of growth in stakeholder identification and classification literature. In addition, there are two major findings. First, stakeholder identification can be done with the help of previous studies, with support from managers or via a combination of both. Second, future research can adopt generic stakeholder classification schemes or relative classification schemes based on dimensions of sustainability to classify stakeholders in relation to sustainability marketing. In relative stakeholder classification, regulatory stakeholders may be considered separately. Research limitations/implications – While the literature review may be incomplete, as it uses only a title-based advanced search, researchers and practitioners can still benefit from this simplified approach to manage stakeholders. Originality/value – The study introduces a generalized approach to stakeholder identification and classification related to sustainability marketing and provides a bibliography from 1998 to 2012 that can be used by academics and managers.

scholarly journals Harmful plant species in meadow-pastures associations on Stara Planina mountain

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 129-135
Author(s):  
Zorica Nesic ◽  
Zorica Tomic ◽  
M. Zujovic ◽  
Dragana Ruzic-Muslic
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Useful Plants ◽  
Mountain Regions ◽  
Important Resource ◽  
Livestock Feeds ◽  
Plant Associations ◽  
Food Value

Meadows and pastures are important resource of livestock feeds in mountain regions and all plant species on them don?t have same value as livestock feeds. From aspect of food value for livestock all species fundamentally can distribute as useful and harmful plants. In paper are represent two plant associations of Stara Planina Mountain Festucetum vallesiacae and Agrostietum vulgarae. In this associations, besides useful plants, are defined, harmful plant species, there present in associations and all of it in aim of ascertainment measures for their removal or reduction from sward. Group of harmful plants is segmented on three subcategory: bed and worthless plants, harmful and poorly poisons and very poisons plants. Association Festucetum vallesiacae count 75 plant species and of that, category bed and worthless plants belong 26 plants or 34.7 g kg-1, category harmful and poorly poisons belong 8 or 10.6 g kg-1, while category very poisons plants default. Association Agrostietum vulgare count 47 plant species and of that category bed and worthless plants belong 17 or 36.17 g kg-1, category harmful and poorly poisons just one plant or 2.13 g kg-1 and category very poisons plants default too.

scholarly journals Determinants of Loan Repayment of Government Funding to Vulnerable Groups; A Case of Biashara Fund in Kiambu County, Kenya

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (VI) ◽  
pp. 83-100
Author(s):  
Keziah Njoki Mbugua ◽  
George Kosimbei
Keyword(s):  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Government Funding ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Group Leadership ◽  
Inferential Statistics ◽  
Loan Repayment ◽  
The Government

In an attempt to alleviate poverty and empower the vulnerable population, many non- governmental organizations and government line agencies have provided revolving funds to its citizens. The County Government of Kiambu introduced Biashara Fund to empower its youth. The major challenge has been identifying the most deserving beneficiary and minimizing the risk of loan non-repayment. Such, has however not been possible as at times, the rate of defaulters has been reported to be substantially high, leading to writing off such debts at the expense of the revolving funds. The role of the government in providing start-up funds and ensuring sustainability is crucial. Ideally when such funds are borrowed, it is expected that they are repaid in order to empower another beneficiary thus creating a revolving fund and ensuring sustainability of the fund. However, this is often not the case as change of the government of the day at times leads to higher default rate of such funds. This study focused on determinants affecting loan repayment of government funding to venerable groups, a case study of Biashara Fund in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study specifically evaluated the influence of amount of credit borrowed, legislation put in place on loan repayment, borrowing process set and group leadership on loan repayment of government funding to venerable groups accessing Biashara Fund in Kiambu County. Descriptive survey was adopted for this study. The study targeted youth, women and persons with disability with emphasis on 60 groups and 865 individuals drawn across the 10 sub-counties in Kiambu County. The target category had advanced loans by the Biashara Fund from 2014 to 2017. A sample of 274 participants was used and was selected using stratified and simple random sampling. The study used a questionnaire as the sole primary data collection instrument. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences where both descriptive and inferential statistics were employ yed. A univariate analysis was done to get standard deviation, means frequency tables, histogram pie chart, graphs and percentages. Further inferential statistics were applied using regression analysis. The study established a relationship between group leadership and loan repayment of government funding by venerable groups accessing Biashara Fund in Kiambu County.  The study findings show that there is a significant negative relationship between the amount of credit borrowed and loan repayment of government funding by venerable groups accessing Biashara Fund in Kiambu County. The study concludes that there is a relationship between loan size and capacity to repay. The study also concludes that most of the youth, women and persons with disability were partially conversant with the Biashara loan rules. Policy makers need to come up with viable interventions to stimulate and create an enabling economic environment for innovation and business competitiveness, hence inducing performance of youth, women and disabled business projects. The youth, women and disabled problem thus requires properly planned well-structured and broad based programs. The study recommends that adequate liquidity should be ensured as depositors and borrowers should be able to access funds without subjecting the institutions to solvency and attainment of acceptable rates of return. Research and academicians with an interest in entrepreneurship and startup funding as they will understand the issues raised for future research.

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