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2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misbah Tahir ◽  
Muhammad Ali ◽  
Danial Khalid Siddiqui ◽  
Noureen Durrani ◽  
Jawaid Iqbal ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND: To evaluate tunnel dialysis catheter (TDC) patency and its outcome among patients receiving TDC in a tertiary care hospital.METHODS: Retrospectively patients’ records were reviewed who underwent TDC placement during February 2016 to November 2020 at Department of Interventional Radiology, Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. Patients’ age, gender, residence, comorbidity, catheter placement site, use of antibiotics before catheter insertion, reasons for catheter removal and total catheter days were retrieved from patients’ medical record file.RESULTS: 130 patients received TDC with a median follow-up of 148 (inter-quartile range: 60.8 – 274.3) days. 94(72.3%) catheters were electively removed whereas 18(13.8%), 16(12.3%) and 2(1.5%) catheters were removed due to infections, blockage and physical damage respectively. None of the mortality was observed due to catheter related complication. The incidence of overall infection, bacteremia and other infections during one year was 7.3, 5.01 and 3.19 per 10,000 patient-days respectively. Infection free survival rate was 68% with mean time to infection was 676.63 (95% CI: 593.87 – 759.39) days. During the study, total catheter patency was 53.2%. None of the patients’ characteristics was associated with catheter related infections and catheter patency.CONCLUSION: TDCs are the best available alternative for short to intermediate term use for hemodialysis when all preventive measures are taken to avoid catheter related complications either infectious or non-infectious until permanent dialysis access is achieved or renal transplant is done. It may also serve as long term hemodialysis mode in patients in whom permanent access or transplant is not preferred.


2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sándor Gulyás ◽  
Andrea Torma ◽  
Norbert Pap ◽  
Pál Fodor ◽  
Máté Kitanics ◽  
...  

AbstractOne of the most influential rulers of the sixteenth century, Sultan Suleyman I, passed away and was buried temporarily near the fortress of Szigetvár in SW Hungary in 1566. Later, a memorial place was erected on the site in the second half of the sixteenth century. The complex was surrounded by a palisade system and a moat on its northern side. The site was fully destroyed in 1692, and the exact location vanished with time. Recent investigations of historical sources complemented by geophysical, archeological, and geoarcheological investigations managed to identify the location of the site, and probe corings revealed the moat system. This study presents the results of complex chronological, sedimentological, and geochemical investigations done on the sediments accumulated in the moat. Based on geoarcheological data, two major changes could have been noted in the nature of the deposit marking erosion and transportation of soil from the banks of the moat. Elevated concentrations of Fe and K, and high MS values mark the effects of fire on the deposit and accumulation of flue ash. A rise in heavy metals in these horizons is attributable to anthropogenic sources related to the destruction of the site. Chronological data comes from dateable artifacts reposited and 14C dates of charred cereal seeds. A Bayesian age model built using 14C ages constrained by written historical data on site use helped us to determine the age of moat construction and the referred erosion-accumulation events. The older event was dated around 1670, which is in line with historical records of the first siege of Szigetvár. The second event postdates 1684 and thus must correspond to the time of the site’s final siege and later destruction.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno David ◽  
Jean-Jacques Delannoy ◽  
Robert Gunn ◽  
Emilie Chalmin ◽  
Géraldine Castets ◽  
...  

IntroductionThe southern Arnhem Land plateau contains a rich mosaic of thousands of rock art sites located in outcrops of Proterozoic Marlgowa Sandstone of the Kombolgie formation (Carson et al. 1999) (Figure 11.1). Within this region in Jawoyn Country can be found Nawarla Gabarnmang, an impressive rockshelter exhibiting a gridded network of pillars that supports a thick ceiling of 10 cm to 40 cm thick cross-beds of hard sandstone and quartzite (Figures 11.2 and 11.3; see also Chapter 10). The inter-layer joints and fissures between these compact and poorly soluble quartz-rich sandstones and quartzites have witnessed geologically slow dissolution of the bedrock, resulting in a hollowing out of the rock in a process known as ‘ghost rock’ formation or ‘phantomisation’ (Quinif 2010), a particular cave-forming process causing the regular gridshaped structure of underground cavities and pillars (for details of site formation processes, see Chapter 13).The remnant pillars supporting ceiling rock strata at Nawarla Gabarnmang are an anthropic cave structure (Delannoy et al. 2013; see Chapter 10): in addition to the slow geological dissolution of the rock along layer planes and fissure lines, people have also entirely or partially removed individual pillars, and possibly ceiling strata, over a period commencing sometime after the site was first occupied around 50,000 years ago (e.g. David et al. 2011, completed manuscript). What catches one’s attention at Nawarla Gabarnmang are the voids between the pillars, typically c. 1–2 m apart in the southwestern corner of the site, but more than 8 m apart in the central eastern portion. In that noticeably more open central-eastern area, a large, sub-horizontal and flat ceiling is supported by some 20 sparsely distributed pillars. Here, as in most other parts of the site, the floor of the sheltered area is generally flat and sub-horizontal, consisting of ashy sand with sparsely scattered, relatively small blocks of rock originating from the ceiling but not in their original fallen positions (these blocks have all, without exception, been moved by people). Within the fill across the site are rich archaeological deposits including stone artefacts, ochre pieces and animal bones, as revealed in the archaeological excavations (David et al. 2011; Geneste et al. 2012). What we see today in the shelter are the results of tens of thousands of years of human occupation, modification of rock surfaces and site use that express well the notion of ‘dwelling’ and ‘inhabitation’ (e.g. David et al. 2013, 2014; Delannoy et al. 2013; Geneste et al. 2010; cf. Ingold 2000; Thomas 2008).


2021 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 103074
Author(s):  
Geoff M. Smith ◽  
Rosen Spasov ◽  
Naomi L. Martisius ◽  
Virginie Sinet-Mathiot ◽  
Vera Aldeias ◽  
...  

Biotropica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohit Naniwadekar ◽  
Akanksha Rathore ◽  
Ushma Shukla ◽  
Aparajita Datta
Keyword(s):  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catriona Jade Mills ◽  
K.A.I. Nekaris ◽  
Marco Campera ◽  
Erik Patel

Primate sleeping site selection is influenced by multiple ecological factors including predation avoidance, thermoregulation, and food access. To test these hypotheses, we studied the sleeping trees used by a group of wild silky sifakas (Propithecus candidus) in Marojejy National Park, Madagascar. During this ten-month study, the group slept in 828 sleeping trees from approximately 35 genera. In support of thermoregulation, generalised linear models revealed that as temperature decreased, the number of individuals sleeping together significantly increased and they slept at further distances from the trunk. As rainfall increased, sleep site height significantly increased. Weinmannia was the most frequented tree genus, despite low abundance, accounting for 29% of all sleeping trees. In support of food access, 94.8% of sleeping trees were food trees. Weinmannia is among the most highly preferred food trees. The group slept at a mean height of 16.0 m near the top of tall trees which averaged 19.5 m. Sleep trees were significantly taller than trees in botanical plots within the sifaka’s home range. They never slept in the same trees on consecutive nights, and sleeping heights were significantly higher than daytime heights which is consistent with predation avoidance. Social sleeping in groups of two or three individuals (62.9%) was more common than solitary sleeping (37.1%). At such heights, huddling may increase vigilance and lessen the risk of predation by the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) while also reducing heat loss. These patterns suggest that silky sifaka sleep site choice is influenced by thermoregulation and food access in addition to predation avoidance. We suggest that understanding sleep site use can assist in conservation of species like silky sifakas by enabling researchers to find new groups, protect habitats with key tree species, and inform reforestation efforts.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0259120
Author(s):  
Marco Pittarello ◽  
Simone Ravetto Enri ◽  
Michele Lonati ◽  
Giampiero Lombardi

Regardless of the issue, most of the research carried out on summer pastures of European Alps had to consider the effects of grazing management, as it is an intrinsic component of alpine environment. The management intensity of grazing livestock is measured in terms of livestock stocking rate, but not always a direct measure of it is easily retrievable. Therefore, the aim of the research was to test the reliability of proxies easily retrievable from open data sources (i.e. slope and distance from buildings) in approximating the pastoral site-use intensity. To test the proxies’ effectiveness two different approaches were used. With the first one, the proxies’ reliability was assessed in a case-study conducted at farm scale by using the number of positions gathered with GPS collars, which are a reliable measure of livestock site-use intensity. With the second, the proxies’ reliability was assessed by means of five Vegetation Ecological Groups (VEGs), used as a tool for indirect quantification of livestock site-use intensity at regional scale (thirty-two alpine valleys of the Western Italian Alps, Piedmont Region—Italy). At farm scale, distance from buildings and slope were both reliable predictors of the number of GPS locations as assessed with a Generalized Additive Model. Results of Generalized Linear Models at the regional scale showed that the values of both the slope and the distance from buildings were able to separate VEGs along the same site-use intensity gradient assessed by modelling the number of GPS locations at farm scale. By testing proxies’ reliability both with a direct (i.e. GPS collar positions) and indirect (i.e. VEGs) measurement of livestock site-use intensity, results indicated that slope and distance from buildings can be considered effective surrogates of site-use intensity gradient in alpine grasslands managed under livestock grazing. Therefore, when the level of site-use intensity in research carried out in alpine summer pastures is not directly available, a reliable solution consists in the use of the terrain slope and the distance from buildings, which are also easily retrievable from open data sources or computable.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaheer Hussain ◽  
Elisa Wegmann ◽  
Mark D. Griffiths

Abstract Background Social networking sites (SNSs) allow people to socially connect with each other, collaborate, and share information. However, problematic SNS use (PSNSU) may be associated with negative personality traits. The present study investigated the associations between PSNSU, dark triad personality traits, and emotion dysregulation. Method In the present study, 555 SNS users (Mage = 33.32 years, SD = 10.88) completed an online survey comprising measures of PSNSU, dark triad personality traits, and emotion dysregulation. Results Bivariate correlations showed that PSNSU was significantly associated with dark triad traits as well as emotion dysregulation. Structural equation modelling (where the effect of the dark triad traits on PSNSU was mediated by emotion dysregulation) showed that 33.5% of the variance of PSNSU was explained by Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism. Conclusion The findings provide suggestive evidence of why PSNSU may occur as a function of the presence of dark triad traits and emotion dysregulation. The study also highlighted the important role that emotion regulation plays in the association between dark triad traits and PSNSU.


Author(s):  
Manoj Pokharel ◽  
Asmit Subba ◽  
Dipa Rai ◽  
Simrik Bhandari ◽  
Yadav Ghimire

Once widespread throughout the tropical forests of the Indian Subcontinent, the sloth bears have suffered a rapid range collapse and local extirpations in the recent decades. A significant portion of their current distribution range is situated outside of the protected areas (PAs). These unprotected sloth bear populations are under tremendous human pressures, but little is known about the patterns and determinants of their occurrence in most of these regions. The situation is more prevalent in Nepal where virtually no systematic information is available for sloth bears living outside of the PAs. We undertook a sign survey-based single-season occupancy study intending to overcome this information gap for the sloth bear populations residing in the Trijuga forest of southeast Nepal. Sloth bear sign detection/non-detection data and field-based covariates data were collected at the 74 randomly chosen 4-km2 grid cells using a varying number of 400m long transects in each grid cell. From our results, the model-averaged estimate of site use probability (ψ ± SE) was estimated to be 0.432 ± 0.039, which is a 13% increase from the naïve estimate (0.297) not accounting for imperfect detections of sloth bear signs. The presence of termite mounds and the distance to the nearest water source were the most important variables affecting the habitat use probability of sloth bears. The average site-level detectability (p ± SE) of sloth bear signs was estimated to be 0.195 ± 0.003 and was significantly determined by the index of human disturbances. We recommend considering the importance of fine-scale ecological and anthropogenic factors in predicting the sloth bear-habitat relationships across their range in the Churia habitat of Nepal.


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