Reproduction of the Roman snail (Helix pomatia L.) from a local natural population in farm conditions and in a natural habitat

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maciej Ligaszewski ◽  
Przemysław Pol
Keyword(s):  
Natural Population ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Helix Pomatia ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Animal Reproduction ◽  
Snail Helix Pomatia ◽  
June July ◽  
A Site

AbstractThe aim of this study was to compare the quality of clutches and reproduction results of two groups of Roman snails (Helix pomatia) from the same local population, laying eggs simultaneously in semi-natural farm conditions and in a natural habitat. The study material were Roman snails aged 2 or more years which had entered the third phenological season of their life and thus the first season of sexual maturity. Observations were conducted at an earthen enclosure in a greenhouse belonging to the experimental farm for edible snails at the National Research Institute of Animal Reproduction in Balice near Kraków (Poland) as well as at a site where a local population naturally occurs in the uncultivated park surrounding the Radziwiłł Palace. In the June-July season, differences among such parameters as weight of clutch, number of eggs in clutch, mean egg weight, and hatchling percentage when compared to the total number of eggs in the clutch were compared. It was determined that clutches of eggs from the natural population laid in the greenhouse were of lesser weight (P<0.01), contained fewer eggs (P<0.05), and the mean weight of individual eggs was less (P<0.05) than in clutches laid simultaneously in a natural habitat. Both in the greenhouse and the natural habitat, in the first phase of laying eggs (June) the weight of the clutch and number of eggs its contained were greater than in the second phase (July). However, only for snails laying eggs in the greenhouse were these differences statistically significant (P<0.05) and highly significant (P<0.01), respectively. Statistically significant differences were not observed in hatchling percentage between eggs laid in the greenhouse and the natural habitat. The lower number of eggs laid in the farmed conditions of the greenhouse was successfully compensated for by the absence of mass destruction by rodents which occurred in the natural habitat.

scholarly journals Operational analysis and safety audit for East York traffic network

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumit Bhasin
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Control ◽  
Site Investigation ◽  
Optimization Techniques ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Traffic Network ◽  
Simulation And Optimization ◽  
Collection Data ◽  
A Site ◽  
Road Safety Audit

Enhancing the quality of road travel is one of the main challenges present day traffic engineers and planners face. Travel delays cause loss of millions of person hours each year; and the economic toll of road accidents is staggering. Thus, engineers are always looking at opportunities for reducing delays and accidents. This project evaluates the operational and safety deficiency in a traffic network of nine intersections in the East York region and recommends appropriate and feasible corrective measures. The first phase of the project deals with the evaluation of traffic operations in the network, using simulation and optimization techniques, while the second phase encompasses a road safety audit that attempts to reduce crashes and fatalities. The study reveals that the majority of the intersections in the network are failing operationally, with level of service (LOS) F typical. Although a reduction in delays is achieved by optimization, no substantive improvement in LOS can be obtained by optimization alone. It is recommended that geometry and operations of the critical intersections be altered to enhance quality of service. Analysis of collection data was supported by a site investigation; recommendations for improving safety include relocating traffic signs, improving pavement condition and lighting and installing additional traffic control devices.

scholarly journals Operational analysis and safety audit for East York traffic network

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumit Bhasin
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Control ◽  
Site Investigation ◽  
Optimization Techniques ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Traffic Network ◽  
Simulation And Optimization ◽  
Collection Data ◽  
A Site ◽  
Road Safety Audit

Enhancing the quality of road travel is one of the main challenges present day traffic engineers and planners face. Travel delays cause loss of millions of person hours each year; and the economic toll of road accidents is staggering. Thus, engineers are always looking at opportunities for reducing delays and accidents. This project evaluates the operational and safety deficiency in a traffic network of nine intersections in the East York region and recommends appropriate and feasible corrective measures. The first phase of the project deals with the evaluation of traffic operations in the network, using simulation and optimization techniques, while the second phase encompasses a road safety audit that attempts to reduce crashes and fatalities. The study reveals that the majority of the intersections in the network are failing operationally, with level of service (LOS) F typical. Although a reduction in delays is achieved by optimization, no substantive improvement in LOS can be obtained by optimization alone. It is recommended that geometry and operations of the critical intersections be altered to enhance quality of service. Analysis of collection data was supported by a site investigation; recommendations for improving safety include relocating traffic signs, improving pavement condition and lighting and installing additional traffic control devices.

CONSERVATION OF RARE SPECIES PLANTS AND LICHENS IN SITU WITH PLANNED ANTHROPOGENIC ACTIVITIES: BASIC APPROACHES AND IMPLEMENTATION PRINCIPLES

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 38-45
Author(s):  
A. N. EFREMOV ◽  
N. V. PLIKINA ◽  
T. ABELI
Keyword(s):  
Rare Species ◽  
Technology Implementation ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Main Stage ◽  
Social Risks

Rare species are most vulnerable to man-made impacts, due to their biological characteristics or natural resource management. As a rule, the economic impact is associated with the destruction and damage of individual organisms, the destruction or alienation of habitats. Unfortunately, the conservation of habitat integrity is an important protection strategy, which is not always achievable in the implementation of industrial and infrastructural projects. The aim of the publication is to summarize the experience in the field of protection of rare species in the natural habitat (in situ), to evaluate and analyze the possibility of using existing methods in design and survey activities. In this regard, the main methodological approaches to the protection of rare species in the natural habitat (in situ) during the proposed economic activity were reflected. The algorithm suggested by the authors for implementing the in situ project should include a preparatory stage (initial data collection, preliminary risk assessments, technology development, obtaining permitting documentation), the main stage, the content of which is determined by the selected technology and a long monitoring stage, which makes it possible to assess the effectiveness of the taken measures. Among the main risks of in situ technology implementation, the following can be noted: the limited resources of the population that do not allow for the implementation of the procedure without prior reproduction of individuals in situ (in vitro); limited knowledge of the biology of the species; the possibility of invasion; the possibility of crossing for closely related species that сo-exist in the same habitat; social risks and consequences, target species or population may be important for the local population; financial risks during the recovery of the population. The available experience makes it possible to consider the approach to the conservation of rare species in situ as the best available technology that contributes to reducing negative environmental risks.

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head: Evaluation of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and quality of life

2020 ◽  
pp. 561-569
Author(s):  
Angeliki Chandrinou ◽  
◽  
Anna Korompeli ◽  
Eirini Grammatopoulou ◽  
Konstantina Gaitanou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Femoral Head ◽  
Avascular Necrosis ◽  
Hyperbaric Oxygen ◽  
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy ◽  
Oxygen Therapy ◽  
Harris Hip Score ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Second Phase

Introduction: The treatment of avascular necrosis of the femoral head (AVNFH) is based on invasive (e.g., core decompression) and non-invasive methods (e.g., hyperbaric oxygen therapy – HBO2). The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effect of HBO2 on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with AVNFH. Methods: This was a prospective observational non-controlled study of patients with AVNFH treated by HBO2. It was conducted, with the use of Steinberg scale, on 73 patients with AVNFH Stage I or II who were treated with HBO2. Patients’ QoL was assessed with EuroQol-5D-5L (EQ), Harris Hip Score (mHHS), MAHORN (MHOT), and VAS, in three different phases: before HBO2; after the completion of the first phase (20 HBO2 sessions, up to two months); and after the completion of the second phase (20 HBO2 sessions, up to two months after the first phase). A reassessment was made on the completion of each phase. Ratings were also made after the completion of each phase, over the first five months of follow-up. Results: All 73 patients (67.1% males, 32.9% females, mean age: 40.34, SD ± 9.99) participated in the study. Steinberg scale, mean EQ (F (1, 57) = 25.18, η2 = .306 and F (1, 43) = 43.402, η2 = .502); mHHS (F (1, 61) = 67.13, η2 = .524) and F (1, 43) = 31.84, η2 = .425); MHOT (F (1, 61) = 11.68, η2 = .161) and F (1, 43) = 98.01, η2 = .695); and VAS (F (1, 53) = 24.11, η2 = .313) and F (1, 39) = 45.61, η2 = .539), improved between the first and second measurements and between the second and third measurement accordingly (p < .01). Conclusions: HBO2 treatment does not induce alteration of quality of life and is well tolerated and accepted by patients.

Humanism and the Human

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Winters
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Karl Marx ◽  
Black Studies ◽  
Black Feminism ◽  
Working Through ◽  
A Site ◽  
The Ideal ◽  
Sylvia Wynter

This chapter engages humanism and its fundamental assumptions by working through critical theory, black feminism, and black studies. It contends that there is a tension at the heart of humanism—while the ideal human appears to be the most widespread and available category, it has been constructed over and against certain qualities, beings, and threats. To elaborate on this tension, this chapter revisits the work of authors like Karl Marx and Michel Foucault. Marx acknowledges that the human is a site of conflict and antagonism even as his thought betrays a lingering commitment to progress and humanism. Foucault goes further than Marx by underscoring the fabricated quality of man and the ways in which racism functions to draw lines between those who must live and those who must die. In response to Marx and Foucault’s tendency to privilege Europe, this chapter engages black feminism and Afro-pessimism—Sylvia Wynter, Hortense Spillers, and Frank Wilderson—who show how the figure of the human within humanism is defined in opposition to blackness.

scholarly journals Development and validation of a short version of the Sarcopenia Quality of Life questionnaire: the SF-SarQoL

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Geerinck ◽  
C. Beaudart ◽  
J.-Y. Reginster ◽  
M. Locquet ◽  
C. Monseur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Reduction Process ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Life Questionnaire ◽  
Quality Of Life Questionnaire ◽  
Two Phases

Abstract Purpose To facilitate the measurement of quality of life in sarcopenia, we set out to reduce the number of items in the previously validated Sarcopenia Quality of Life (SarQoL®) questionnaire, and to evaluate the clinimetric properties of this new short form. Methods The item reduction process was carried out in two phases. First, information was gathered through item-impact scores from older people (n = 1950), a Delphi method with sarcopenia experts, and previously published clinimetric data. In the second phase, this information was presented to an expert panel that decided which of the items to include in the short form. The newly created SFSarQoL was then administered to older, community-dwelling participants who previously participated in the SarcoPhAge study. We examined discriminative power, internal consistency, construct validity, test–retest reliability, structural validity and examined item parameters with a graded response model (IRT). Results The questionnaire was reduced from 55 to 14 items, a 75% reduction. A total of 214 older, community-dwelling people were recruited for the validation study. The clinimetric evaluation showed that the SF-SarQoL® can discriminate on sarcopenia status [EWGSOP2 criteria; 34.52 (18.59–43.45) vs. 42.86 (26.56–63.69); p = 0.043], is internally consistent (α = 0.915, ω = 0.917) and reliable [ICC = 0.912 (0.847–0.942)]. A unidimensional model was fitted (CFI = 0.978; TLI = 0.975; RMSEA = 0.108, 90% CI 0.094–0.123; SRMR = 0.055) with no misfitting items and good response category separation. Conclusions A new, 14-item, short form version of the Sarcopenia Quality of Life questionnaire has been developed and shows good clinimetric properties.

Access to health care and Informal Patient Payments for health care in Serbia

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Buch Mejsner ◽  
S Lavasani Kjær ◽  
L Eklund Karlsson
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health System ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Access To Health

Abstract Background Evidence often shows that migrants in the European region have poor access to quality health care. Having a large number of migrants seeking towards Europe, crossing through i.e. Serbia, it is crucial to improve migrants' access to health care and ensure equality in service provision Aim To investigate what are the barriers and facilitators of access to health care in Serbia, perceived by migrants, policy makers, health care providers, civil servants and experts working with migrants. Methods six migrants in an asylum center and eight civil servants in the field of migration were conducted. A complementary questionnaire to key civil servants working with migrants (N = 19) is being distributed to complement the data. The qualitative and quantitative data will be analysed through Grounded Theory and Logistic Regression respectively. Results According to preliminary findings, migrants reported that they were able to access the health care services quite easily. Migrants were mostly fully aware of their rights to access these health care services. However, the interviewed civil servants experienced that, despite the majority of migrants in camps were treated fairly, some migrants were treated inappropriately by health care professionals (being addressed inappropriately, poor or lacking treatment). The civil servants believed that local Serbs, from their own experiences, were treated poorer than migrants (I.e. paying Informal Patient Payments, poor quality of and access to health care services). The interviewed migrants were trusting towards the health system, because they felt protected by the official system that guaranteed them services. The final results will be presented at the conference. Conclusions There was a difference in quality of and access to health care services of local Serbs and migrants in the region. Migrants may be protected by the official health care system and thus have access to and do not pay additional fees for health care services. Key messages Despite comprehensive evidence on Informal Patient Payments (IPP) in Serbia, further research is needed to highlight how health system governance and prevailing policies affect IPP in migrants. There may be clear differences in quality of and access to health care services between the local population and migrants in Serbia.

Modernization in GUM/HIV services: what does it mean?

2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela J Robinson ◽  
Karen Rogstad
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Service ◽  
Sexually Transmitted Infections ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Working Group ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Hiv Services ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
Measuring Outcomes ◽  
Genitourinary Medicine

Genitourinary medicine services are expected to modernize in order to meet the needs of the NHS in the 21st century. Although increased funding is essential, there is a need for services to look at new ways of delivering care in order to deal with the increasing rate of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV in the community. This must include a review of skill-mix and roles. Some changes may appear to lower the quality of service. There must be auditing of changes to ensure that standards are not lowered. A short-lived working group was put together at the request of the RCP joint speciality committee for GUM consisting of representatives from diverse GUM clinics which have all been involved in extensive modernization of their service in order to meet demand. This report does not hold all the answers but provides suggestions for clinics wishing to initiate change. Changes must be appropriate to the local population and access pressures. More extreme measures may only be appropriate in the most severely stretched clinics and with consideration of measuring outcomes.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Effects of a Bullying at Work Intervention for Middle Managers

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (20) ◽  
pp. 7566
Author(s):  
Elena Baixauli ◽  
Ángela Beleña ◽  
Amelia Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Role Conflict ◽  
Leadership Practices ◽  
Role Ambiguity ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Communication Effects ◽  
Work Intervention

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of a workplace bullying intervention based on the training of middle managers regarding bullying awareness, the consequences of bullying, strategies in conflict resolution and mediation/negotiation abilities. Overall, 142 randomly selected middle managers participated in the study. First, participants completed an information record and two scales assessing bullying strategies, role conflict and role ambiguity. The last two scales were completed again in a second phase three months after the intervention had finished. The intervention produced a decrease in the following bullying strategies: effects on self-expression and communication, effects on personal reputation and effects on occupational situation and quality of life, with all of the mentioned bullying strategies being suffered by part of the sample. In addition, the conflict role decreased in the group which received the intervention. Moreover, the decrease in the effects of the bullying strategy effects on occupational situation and quality of life was especially important in managers with higher responsibilities within the workplace. Results are discussed in the framework that (1) leadership practices and, more specifically, conflict resolution skills are strongly responsible for bullying at work; and (2) the importance of intervening in the early stages of the bullying process as a key element in the correction, but also as a potential prevention element, of bullying in the workplace.

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