scholarly journals The Status of Prunus padus L. (Bird Cherry) in Forest Communities throughout Europe and Asia

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf D. J. Nestby
Keyword(s):  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
National Level ◽  
Natural Antioxidants ◽  
Forest Community ◽  
Prunus Padus ◽  
The Status ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Wood Carving ◽  
Level Monitoring

Prunus padus L. (bird cherry) belongs to the Racemosa group in subgenus Padus in the genus Prunus L. It is a hardy invasive species, which makes it valuable for securing slopes, and for eco-design. It is a good solitary park tree with early flowering of white flowers in racemes, which have a pleasant smell. However, it may be attacked by cherry-oat aphid, and the small ermine moth, which may weave giant webs over the whole tree, which demonstrates the important role of P. padus in the food web of forest ecosystems. The species is in balance with these pests, other herbivores and diseases throughout Europe and Asia. Another threat is the competition against the invasive P. serotina, but it seems that P. padus is not strongly threatened, though they compete for the same habitats. Moreover, human interference of forest community ecology is probably the greatest threat. The tree is not only winter hardy; it can also survive hot summers and tolerate a wide variety of soil types. It may form dense thickets due to the regeneration of branches bent to the ground and basal shoots, and may be invasive. These characteristics are important in determining the ecological niche of P. padus, which involves the position of the species within an ecosystem, comprising both its habitat requirements and the functional role. It is also important that P. padus has effective dispersal of pollen and seeds. This, together with the previously noted characteristics and the fact that the tree can cope well with climate change, define it as a not threatened species. However, the ssp. borealis is threatened and national level monitoring is required. Prunus padus has been exploited by farmers and rural population, but is less used today. However, it is still used for making syrup, jam and liquor. Moreover, the wood is valuable for wood carving and making cabinets. All tissues are valuable as sources of powerful natural antioxidants. However, the interest in the P. padus fruit and other tissues is overshadowed by the interest in other wild species of edible and human health-related berries. Moreover, the tree is used in horticulture as an ornamental in gardens and parks, values that deserve a new focus.

scholarly journals Geospatial technology perspectives for mining vis-a-vis sustainable forest ecosystems

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laxmi Goparaju ◽  
P. Rama Chandra Prasad ◽  
Firoz Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Biogeochemical Cycles ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
Forest Environment ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Geospatial Technology ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Forests, the backbone of biogeochemical cycles and life supporting systems, are under severe pressure due to varied anthropogenic activities. Mining activities are one among the major reasons for forest destruction questioning the survivability and sustainability of flora and fauna existing in that area. Thus, monitoring and managing the impact of mining activities on natural resources at regular intervals is necessary to check the status of their depleted conditions, and to take up restoration and conservative measurements. Geospatial technology provides means to identify the impact of different mining operations on forest ecosystems and helps in proposing initiatives for safeguarding the forest environment. In this context, the present study highlights the problems related to mining in forest ecosystems and elucidates how geospatial technology can be employed at various stages of mining activities to achieve a sustainable forest ecosystem. The study collates information from various sources and highlights the role of geospatial technology in mining industries and reclamation process.

scholarly journals Study on the Status of Health Literacy and its Relationship with Chronic Diseases in Poor Areas

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuejiao Chen ◽  
Songhe Shi ◽  
Liyong Yang ◽  
Qian Dong ◽  
Jingyang He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
National Level ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Average Score ◽  
The Status ◽  
Health Related

Abstract Aims We conducted an epidemiological survey of health literacy and chronic diseases among people in poverty-stricken areas in China to understand the current status of health literacy among poor individuals and the epidemic characteristics of chronic diseases. Methods In June 2018, multistage stratified random sampling was used to conduct a face-to-face questionnaire survey of 1,700 residents (response rate: 97.71%) in 7 national-level poverty-stricken counties in Henan Province, China. The questionnaire assessed social demographics, health literacy, health-related behaviours, and the status of chronic diseases (such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease). Structural equation models were used to examine the relationships among health literacy, health-related behaviours, and chronic diseases. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0 and Mplus 7.0. Results There were 69 people with sufficient health literacy in poverty-stricken areas, accounting for 4.15% of the total sample, with an average score of 31.95 ± 11.81 points. Individuals who were male, older, poorer, less educated and suffering from chronic diseases were less likely to have sufficient health literacy. A total of 574 patients had chronic diseases, accounting for 34.56% of the total sample. The health literacy score was related to the number of chronic diseases (β = 0.041, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.033 ~ 0.049), while health literacy and health-related behaviour were indirectly related (β = -0.002, 95% CI: -0.003~ -0.001). Health-related behaviours mediated the relationship between health literacy and the number of chronic diseases. Conclusions It is possible to further increase the health literacy level of residents in poverty-stricken areas by increasing the promotion of health literacy knowledge and avoiding unhealthy behaviours, thereby reducing the incidence of chronic diseases and improving their health status.

scholarly journals Forest and Wellbeing: Bridging Medical and Forest Research for Effective Forest-Based Initiatives

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilaria Doimo ◽  
Mauro Masiero ◽  
Paola Gatto
Keyword(s):  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Phase Method ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Human Wellbeing ◽  
Individual Traits ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Key Variables ◽  
Forest Managers

Research Highlights: This review gives an overview of existing literature on the emerging topic of human wellbeing-forest contact nexus and provides a preliminary framework linking forests to wellbeing by highlighting key variables affecting this relationship. Background and Objectives: Existing literature reveals the psychological, physiological and social wellbeing benefits of contact with forest ecosystems; however, the role of forests in this relationship remains largely unexplored. The objectives of this review are twofold: (i) to provide an overview of the contributions of forest experiences to human wellbeing and the related interplay with forest ecosystems and (ii) to identify knowledge gaps to inform future research and systematize information available for forest managers and planners to support the development of effective forest-based initiatives. Materials and Methods: A scoping review was performed with a five-phase method integrating a systematic approach on Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed databases and snowball search. Studies were analyzed using a descriptive-analytical method. Results: Overall, 93 papers were included in the review. These are mainly from health-related sciences providing limited information for forest managers, planners and practitioners. Four main underlying variables of the forest-wellbeing relationship are identified: interaction, forest features, sensorial dimension of the forest and individual traits and reactions. Conclusions: Forest-based initiatives provide good opportunities for supporting public health and time spent in contact with forests seems to have a “health-bonus”. Whether and to what extent forest management can contribute to this is still poorly investigated. There is the need to better study causal relationships between specific forest features, type of interactions, frequency and “dose” of experiences, individual reactions and needs and wellbeing effects to maximize benefits from forest-based initiatives.

scholarly journals Relational knowledge leadership and local economic development

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lummina Horlings ◽  
Chris Collinge ◽  
John Gibney
Keyword(s):  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
National Level ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Relational Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Based Economy ◽  
The Status ◽  
Knowledge Leadership ◽  
The Uk

This paper concerns the role of spatial leadership in the development of the knowledge-based economy. It is argued within academic and practitioner circles that leadership of knowledge networks requires a particular non-hierarchical style that is required to establish an ambience conducive to networking and knowledge sharing across boundaries. In this paper, we explore this hypothesis at both theoretical and empirical levels. Theoretically, we propose a conceptualization of relational knowledge leadership, which is ‘nomadic’ in its capacity to travel across multiple scales and cross sectoral, thematic and geographical boundaries. We have operationalized this type of relational knowledge leadership along four key features, derived from literatures on regional learning, organizational leadership and place leadership. Two empirical case studies are then presented, one from Birmingham in the UK and one from Eindhoven in the Netherlands, exploring how these features are expressed on the sub-national level. Also conclusions are drawn regarding the status of relational knowledge leadership. It is argued that the concept of relational knowledge leadership as viewed through our analytical lens does accord with the experience of leadership in the two cases presented. The cases also show that this style of leadership is confronted with three types of tensions that play through knowledge networking. Furthermore, it is argued that the cases exhibit this style of leadership to different degrees, reflecting their different cultural and political contexts.

scholarly journals The status of journalism and journalist education in india

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-107
Author(s):  
Matvienko Valentin Viktorovich
Keyword(s):  
Professional Ethics ◽  
National Level ◽  
Editorial Policy ◽  
Social Institution ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Education In India ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The One

Abstract Journalistic education in India in the context of booming media sector is a relatively new topic of scientific interest in the Russian Federation. The object of scientific research is vast: it includes a numerous list of problems and specific circumstances of the Indian national level concerning the freedom of journalism as a social institution and consists of fragmentary issues such as the rights of journalists, peculiar properties of journalistic trainings in India and their practical realization. It should be mentioned that journalistic education in India is a peculiar system with its specific structure, concrete goals and traditional objectives.The article is devoted to the analysis of the Indian national system of journalists training and its role in the social and partly “ political environment of the country. As the topic is rather complicated, the author researches different aspects of journalistic education in India: the process of forming the professional ethics, working on the qualification upgrade, communication with the audience and other media workers. After the conducted research the author concludes that despite the improving economic policy of the country and growing role of social responsibility, the Indian journalists are in their mass still poorly qualified on the one hand and the editorial policy doesn’t objectively reflect the kaleidoscopically changing economic and social conjuncture of the country” on the other hand.

Dinasti Politik dalam Pilkada di Indonesia

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martien Herna Susanti
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
National Level ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Political ◽  
Checks And Balances ◽  
The Status ◽  
Party Elites ◽  
Dynastic Politics

The presence of political dynasties in power struggles from regional to national level is inseparable from the role of political parties and the regulation of the regional head elections. Oligarchy on the body of a political party can be seen from the tendency of candidates nominating by political parties based more on the wishes of party elites, not through democratic mechanisms by considering the ability and integrity of the candidates. Simultaneously, political dynasties continue to establish solid networks of power so they can dominate and kill democracy within political parties. In the context of society, there is also an effort to maintain the status quo in the region by encouraging families or people close to the head of the region to replace the incumbent. Weak regulation to trim political dynasties has contributed to the widespread political dynasty in the regional head elections. The practice of dynastic politics is also suspected to make the weakness of checks and balances function to the effect of corruption acts committed by the head of the region and their relatives. In the year 2017 is the second half of a new round of regional head elections, after the first half in 2015. The regional head elections system is new, but the old faces that are nothing but the continuity of the political dynasty characterize this Pilkada event which is feared could threaten the phase of democratic transition towards consolidation of democracy.Keyword: Political Dynasties, Democracy, The Regional Head Elections

The fate of the Rocky Mountain locust, Melanoplus spretus Walsh: implications for conservation biology

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Rey Lockwood
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Biology ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
The Status ◽  
Benefit Cost ◽  
River Valleys

AbstractThe Rocky Mountain locust, Melanoplus spretus, is believed to be extinct. Habitat destruction via the conversion of montane river valleys to agriculture in the late 1800s is the currently accepted explanation for the species' disappearance. In the last decade, questions have been raised concerning both the status of the locust and the causes for its extinction. The paper addresses the arguments for and against M. spretus being extinct. Assuming it is extinct, new possibilities accounting for its decline are considered, including changes in forest ecosystems in the 1800s and the role of metapopulation dynamics. The loss of the Rocky Mountain locust provides a valuable test case for the tactics of rewilding. A benefit-cost analysis reveals that only under a narrow set of conditions would a restoration of this species or a proxy be justified. How the species might have persisted is considered, along with the possibility that M. spretus could recover. The roles of climate change and micro-evolutionary processes are evaluated with respect to the locust's return. Finally, the discovery of a surviving remnant of the Rocky Mountain locust would raise important questions with respect to our understanding of endangered species and how the concept of 'pest' pertains to conservation biology.

The study of interfacial reactions of nickel thin films on GaAs

1983 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 156-157
Author(s):  
L.J. Chen ◽  
Y.F. Hsieh
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Integrated Circuits ◽  
Interfacial Reactions ◽  
Metal Contacts ◽  
Nickel Thin Films ◽  
Thin Foils ◽  
The Status ◽  
Si Doped ◽  
Electron Microscopes

One measure of the maturity of a device technology is the ease and reliability of applying contact metallurgy. Compared to metal contact of silicon, the status of GaAs metallization is still at its primitive stage. With the advent of GaAs MESFET and integrated circuits, very stringent requirements were placed on their metal contacts. During the past few years, extensive researches have been conducted in the area of Au-Ge-Ni in order to lower contact resistances and improve uniformity. In this paper, we report the results of TEM study of interfacial reactions between Ni and GaAs as part of the attempt to understand the role of nickel in Au-Ge-Ni contact of GaAs.N-type, Si-doped, (001) oriented GaAs wafers, 15 mil in thickness, were grown by gradient-freeze method. Nickel thin films, 300Å in thickness, were e-gun deposited on GaAs wafers. The samples were then annealed in dry N2 in a 3-zone diffusion furnace at temperatures 200°C - 600°C for 5-180 minutes. Thin foils for TEM examinations were prepared by chemical polishing from the GaA.s side. TEM investigations were performed with JE0L- 100B and JE0L-200CX electron microscopes.

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