scholarly journals Effects of roads and adjacent areas on diversity of terrestrial isopods of Hungarian highway verges

Biologia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diána Vona-Túri ◽  
Tünde Szmatona-Túri ◽  
Balázs Kiss

AbstractTransportation infrastructure may be the most important driver of social and economic development, but it is a major cause of environmental change in landscapes. The main objective of this paper is to report road edge effects on isopods of Hungarian highway verges. We examined the isopod diversity along five highways (M0, M1, M3, M5, M7) while accounting for road edge proximity and the adjacent areas. Double-glass pitfall traps were set in a total of 15 sites and at three distances from the edge of the roads next to different types of adjacent areas. We found differences between ecological parameters of isopod communities in relation to adjacent areas as well as to road edge proximity. The highest diversity was observed near urban areas, while the lowest was near the arable fields. Isopod diversity increased with decreasing distance from a road. Species diversity of different types of verges based on adjacent areas varied strongly in relation to road edge proximity. A medium distance (40 m) from roads had a positive effect on species richness, while verges next to arable fields were the most species-rich habitats. The general conclusion of this study is that highway verges provided suitable environment conditions for generalist isopod species but may be a limiting factor for specialist isopods. Moreover, highway verges function as corridors for isopods. The proximity of roads and urban areas positively affected isopods, and verges close to roads and urban areas are considered as an attractive environment for isopods in heterogeneous roadside verges.

2016 ◽  
Vol 86 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 127-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeshan Ali ◽  
Zhenbin Wang ◽  
Rai Muhammad Amir ◽  
Shoaib Younas ◽  
Asif Wali ◽  
...  

While the use of vinegar to fi ght against infections and other crucial conditions dates back to Hippocrates, recent research has found that vinegar consumption has a positive effect on biomarkers for diabetes, cancer, and heart diseases. Different types of vinegar have been used in the world during different time periods. Vinegar is produced by a fermentation process. Foods with a high content of carbohydrates are a good source of vinegar. Review of the results of different studies performed on vinegar components reveals that the daily use of these components has a healthy impact on the physiological and chemical structure of the human body. During the era of Hippocrates, people used vinegar as a medicine to treat wounds, which means that vinegar is one of the ancient foods used as folk medicine. The purpose of the current review paper is to provide a detailed summary of the outcome of previous studies emphasizing the role of vinegar in treatment of different diseases both in acute and chronic conditions, its in vivo mechanism and the active role of different bacteria.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 474
Author(s):  
Darija Lemic ◽  
Ivana Pajač Živković ◽  
Marija Posarić ◽  
Renata Bažok

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different pre-sowing operations on the abundance and composition of total soil fauna in soybean cultivation, with special attention to carabids as biological indicators of agroecosystem quality. The study was conducted in central Croatia with six different pre-sowing activities (cover crop, mulching, ploughing, glyphosate, fertiliser removal, conventional tillage). Pitfall traps were used to collect soil fauna in April, June and September. After determining the abundance and composition of the fauna, their coenological characteristics were calculated and statistical analysis was performed. During the study, 7836 individuals of soil fauna were collected. The composition consisted of 84% beneficial, 8% harmful and 8% indifferent fauna. Class Insecta was the most numerous with a proportion of 56%, with most members of the family Carabidae (1622 individuals), followed by the class Arachnida (40%). The number of fauna collected was influenced by the interaction between pre-seeding intervention and sampling date. Pre-seeding interventions that did not involve soil activities did not affect the number and composition of soil fauna at the beginning of vegetation. Mechanical interventions in the soil and warmer and drier weather have a negative effect on the number and composition of soil fauna. As the season progresses, the influence of pre-sowing activities on soil fauna in soybean crops decreases. It seems that a reduction in mechanical activities in the shallow seed layer of the soil has a positive effect on species richness or diversity. Of particular note is the large proportion of beneficial insects that currently colonise the study area, characterising soil richness and stable natural equilibrium.


2014 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 100-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonjaua Ranogajec ◽  
Andrijana Sever-Skapin ◽  
Ognjen Rudic ◽  
Snezana Vucetic

The surfaces of building materials are constantly exposed to the actions of environmental factors, pollutants of inorganic and organic origin as well as to microorganisms, which significantly contribute to corrosion phenomena.The application of coatings decreases the negative action of the pollutants minimizing their direct contact with the substrate. Different types of coatings with additional functions have been developed. A specific problem of these applications is the lack of compatibility of the photocatalysts with the surface of the building materials and the detachment of potentially toxic TiO2nanoparticles. In the present study, this problem was solved by the proper immobilization of TiO2nanoparticles onto the photocatalyst support, layered double hydroxides (LDHs). The newly formed coating possesses acceptable porosity for a porous building material (porosity within the range of 30-46 %) and satisfied photocatalytic activity, as well as mineralogical compatibility with the substrates (mortars, renders, bricks). Additionally, a positive effect considering the self-cleaning phenomenon was attained.


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 332-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN HÖGSTRÖM

AbstractIt has been argued that economic development and democracy create new opportunities and resources for women to access political power, which should increase gender equality in politics. However, empirical evidence from previous research that supports this argument is mixed. The contribution of this study is to expand the research on gender equality in politics through an in-depth examination of the effect of development and democracy on gender equality in cabinets. This has been completed through separate analyses that include most of the countries in the world across three levels of development (least-developed, developing, and developed) and across different types of political regimes (democracies, royal dictatorships, military dictatorships, and civilian dictatorships). The results demonstrate that economic development and democracy only affect gender equality in cabinets positively in a few environments. Accordingly, the context is important and there seem to be thresholds before development and democracy have any effect. Development has a positive effect in developed countries and in democracies, but it has a negative effect in dictatorships, and the negative effect is strongest in military dictatorships. The level of democracy has a positive effect mainly in dictatorships, and the strongest effect is in civilian dictatorships. The article demonstrates the importance of dividing samples into subsets to increase understanding of what affects women's representation in cabinets in different environments, and I ask scholars to subset samples and run separate analyses more often in comparative studies.


Author(s):  
Carlo Cialdai ◽  
Dario Vangi ◽  
Antonio Virga

This paper presents an analysis of the situation in which a two-wheeler (i.e. a motorcycle, where the term motorcycles includes scooters) falls over to the side and then successively slides; this typically occurs in road accidents involving this type of vehicle. Knowing the deceleration rate of the sliding phase allows the kinetic energy dissipated and the speed of the motorcycle just before the fall to the ground to be calculated. These parameters are very important in the analysis and reconstruction of accidents. The work presented in this paper was developed in two experimental test sessions on fully faired motorcycles which are mainly of the scooter type and widely used in urban areas. In the first session, sliding tests were carried out, with the speed in the range 10–50 km/h, on three different types of road surface. Analysis of the evidence allowed the dissipative main phases of motion of the motorcycle (the impact with the ground, the rebounds and the stabilized swiping) to be identified and some factors affecting the phenomenon to be studied. The coefficient of average deceleration was calculated using two typical equations. The second test session consisted of drag tests. In these tests, the motorcycle, which had previously laid on its side, was dragged for a few metres at a constant speed of about 20 km/h, while the drag force was measured. A comparison of the results obtained in these tests with those obtained in the sliding tests yielded very good agreement in the coefficients of deceleration.


2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Diogo Rocha Sousa ◽  
Lourdes Maria Abdu Elmoor-Loureiro

AIM: This study aimed provides a checklist of cladocerans and also an evaluation of richness and species composition in the Federal District, Brazil. METHODS: Checklist of cladocerans was obtained evaluating data from the literature, from taxonomic collection (Elmoor-Loureiro's collection) and from fauna surveys conducted over more than three decades in different types of aquatic environments. RESULTS: The 57 water bodies studied showed 56 species, of which 14 are new records. The number of species contained in the list displayed corresponds to 85% of what was expected for richness estimators. The highest number of species was observed in the lentic water bodies (52), which also presented the specific composition of fauna (R = 0.110; p = 0.016), possibly because there were samples taken among the aquatic vegetation. According to our understanding, some species may be subject to local extinctions because they inhabit water bodies located exclusively in urban areas, which can lead to a decline in richness. CONCLUSION: Thus, the results of this study can assist in monitoring aquatic environments and in selection of new areas for surveys of cladocerans in the Federal District.


2007 ◽  
Vol 282 (49) ◽  
pp. 35564-35573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Defer ◽  
Anie Azroyan ◽  
Françoise Pecker ◽  
Catherine Pavoine

Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) plays a major role in chronic heart failure, signaling through two different receptor subtypes, TNFR1 and TNFR2. Our aim was to further delineate the functional role and signaling pathways related to TNFR1 and TNFR2 in cardiac myocytes. In cardiac myocytes isolated from control rats, TNFα induced ROS production, exerted a dual positive and negative action on [Ca2+] transient and cell fractional shortening, and altered cell survival. Neutralizing anti-TNFR2 antibodies exacerbated TNFα responses on ROS production and cell death, arguing for a major protective role of the TNFR2 pathway. Treatment with either neutralizing anti-TNFR1 antibodies or the glutathione precursor, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), favored the emergence of TNFR2 signaling that mediated a positive effect of TNFα on [Ca2+] transient and cell fractional shortening. The positive effect of TNFα relied on TNFR2-dependent activation of the cPLA2 activity, independently of serine 505 phosphorylation of the enzyme. Together with cPLA2 redistribution and AA release, TNFα induced a time-dependent phosphorylation of ERK, MSK1, PKCζ, CaMKII, and phospholamban on the threonine 17 residue. Taken together, our results characterized a TNFR2-dependent signaling and illustrated the close interplay between TNFR1 and TNFR2 pathways in cardiac myocytes. Although apparently predominant, TNFR1-dependent responses were under the yoke of TNFR2, acting as a critical limiting factor. In vivo NAC treatment proved to be a unique tool to selectively neutralize TNFR1-mediated effects of TNFα while releasing TNFR2 pathways.


2019 ◽  
Vol IV (III) ◽  
pp. 71-79
Author(s):  
Adnan Ahmad ◽  
Muhammad Ilyas ◽  
Muhammad Nisar Khan

This study reviews the growth strategies and their effect on the efficiency and productivity of the microfinance sector of Pakistan. The sector needs to have adopted intensive growth strategy instead of extensive strategies of wide expansion in term of physical infrastructure and human resources, which had increased the financial sustainability risks for the credit constrain institutions. The sixdimension model of outreach used in this study also shows that the sector does not achieve the targets set forth for these micro finance institutes with respect to its active borrowers’ outreach. The sector has mainly focused the big cities and urban areas whereas the poverty levels are higher in rural areas. The government has also shown its interest by launching two different types of loan schemes. Among the three different types of institution, the microfinance banks dominate the sector.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulette Carol Wright

The enthusiasm of immigrant sending countries around migration and development hinges on the fact that the flow of money, knowledge and universal ideas can have a positive effect on development in these countries. The Canadian Seasonal Agriculture Workers Program (CSAWP) was established in 1966, most of the Social Science literature on this program has emphasized its exploitative and problematic aspects. Without dismissing the significance of the focus and results of other research, this paper examines the social and economic development impact of this program on households and communities in Jamaica. Research done by academics and an analysis of Jamaica‟s newsprint media done for this research reveal that the CSAWP has had positive development impacts. Findings suggest that the program is delivering social and economic benefits to migrant workers and their families. It has increased income, consumption, child schooling and improved health care. In addition to improving the standard of living for migrant workers and their families, the CSAWP has additional benefits at the community and national levels.


Author(s):  
P. G. Gadzhieva ◽  
D. B. Giller ◽  
A. A. Glotov ◽  
O. Sh. Kesaev ◽  
V. V. Koroev ◽  
...  

Objective. To increase efficiency of cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis treatment by developing modern indications and technology of extrapleural pneumolysis with filling material.Material and methods. We reviewed 25 patients with cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis and bacterial excretion who had undergone extrapleural pneumolysis with different types of filling material in 2004–2015. In 16 cases, we performed surgery in patients with one lung.Results. 56% of operated patients demonstrated extensively drug-resistant TB, 40% had multidrug-resistant TB. Cavities were closed and bacterial excretion ceased in 92% of patients at discharge. Long-term results with observation period from 1 to 12 years were analyzed in 24 patients, 17 (71%) of them had complete clinical efficacy.Conclusion. Extrapleural pneumolysis is a mini-invasive surgical treatment that can prove positive effect in patients with non-fibrotic changes in a cavity wall and pathological process in upper parts of the lungs. 


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document