Conservation of a strongly declining butterfly species depends on traditionally managed grasslands

Introduction: Due to land-use intensification at productive soils and abandonment of marginal farmland, biodiversity has dramatically declined throughout Europe. The dryad (Minois dryas) is a grassland butterfly that has strongly suffered from land-use change across Central Europe. Aims/Methods: Here, we analysed the habitat preferences of adult M. dryas and the oviposition-site preferences in common pastures located in mire ecosystems of the German pre-Alps. Results: Our study revealed that plot occupancy was equal at common pastures and control plots. However, the abundance of M. dryas was higher at common pastures, although the composition of vegetation types did not differ between the two plot types. Discussion: Open fens and transition mires traditionally managed as common pastures or litter meadows (= meadows mown in autumn to obtain bedding for livestock) were the main habitats of M. dryas in our study area. They offered (i) sufficient host plants (Carex spp.), (ii) had a high availability of nectar resources and (iii) a vegetation that was neither too sparse nor too short. In contrast, both abandonment and intensive land use had negative impacts on the occurrence of the endangered butterfly species. Implications for Insect Conservation Based on our study and other recent research from the common pastures, we recommend to maintain the current grazing regime to foster biodiversity in general and M. dryas in particular. Additionally, where possible, abandoned fens and transition mires adjacent to common pastures should be integrated into the low-intensity pasture systems. The preservation of traditionally managed litter meadows is the second important possibility to conserve M. dryas populations.

Recent Advances in the Fabrication and Application of Graphene Microfluidic Sensors

This review reports the progress of the recent development of graphene-based microfluidic sensors. The introduction of microfluidics technology provides an important possibility for the advance of graphene biosensor devices for a broad series of applications including clinical diagnosis, biological detection, health, and environment monitoring. Compared with traditional (optical, electrochemical, and biological) sensing systems, the combination of graphene and microfluidics produces many advantages, such as achieving miniaturization, decreasing the response time and consumption of chemicals, improving the reproducibility and sensitivity of devices. This article reviews the latest research progress of graphene microfluidic sensors in the fields of electrochemistry, optics, and biology. Here, the latest development trends of graphene-based microfluidic sensors as a new generation of detection tools in material preparation, device assembly, and chip materials are summarized. Special emphasis is placed on the working principles and applications of graphene-based microfluidic biosensors, especially in the detection of nucleic acid molecules, protein molecules, and bacterial cells. This article also discusses the challenges and prospects of graphene microfluidic biosensors.

Mid-Proterozoic redox evolution and the possibility of transient oxygenation events

It is often assumed that rising environmental oxygen concentrations played a significant role in the timing of the first appearance of animals and the trajectory of their early proliferation and diversification. The inherent large size and complexity of animals come with large energy requirements — levels of energy that can best, if not only, be acquired through aerobic respiration. There is also abundant geochemical evidence for an increase in ocean–atmosphere O2 concentrations in temporal proximity with the emergence of the group. To adequately test this hypothesis, however, a thorough understanding of the history of environmental oxygenation in the time between the first appearance of eukaryotes and the eventual appearance of animals is necessary. In this review, we summarize the evidence for the prevailing long-term conditions of the Proterozoic Eon prior to the emergence of Metazoa and go on to highlight multiple independent geochemical proxy records that suggest at least two transient oxygenation events — at ca. 1.4 and ca. 1.1 billion years ago (Ga) — during this time. These emerging datasets open the door to an important possibility: while prevailing conditions during much of this time would likely have presented challenges for early animals, there were intervals when oxygenated conditions were more widespread and could have favored yet undetermined advances in eukaryotic innovation, including critical early steps toward animal evolution.

Emigrants and Mestizos in Twenty-first Century Europe

By the end of this century the majority of the European population will consist of ‘mestizos’. The majority of western intellectuals and politicians are still unprepared for this imminent change that will introduce a new Europe shaped by immigrants and mestizos. This essay seeks to reflect upon the possible implications in building a new twenty-first century Europe by approaching the issue through a historical and theoretical lens. I conclude by reflecting on the coming of millions of immigrants to Europe. This new quasi-European group is creating the melting pot of the twenty-first century, which I see as a eutopic project. Eutopia involves the idea of a just place where we can all live well together, and it offers us hope and a viable way to approach the impending European Transculturation. Overall, this article considers the phenomenon of European immigration in a constructive way, because immigrants and mestizos offer us the important possibility of a Europe decolonized from ourselves and together with them.

Interpretatio

This chapter discusses the pervasive practice in the ancient world of identifying the gods of other peoples with one’s own (so –called interpretatio) so that for instance Roman writers spoke of the Greek god Zeus by the Roman name Juppiter. It asks who made these identifications, on what basis they were made, and what implicit assumptions underly them. I argue that assumptions may well have varied, but one important possibility was the belief that the gods of all peoples were indeed the same under different names. This did not mean that the differences between forms of cult in different countries, hallowed by tradition, should be abolished; it did however mean that adherents to the various ancient polytheisms did not feel hostile to one another on religious grounds.

Comparisons of Aqueous Surfactant Solutions for Nucleate Pool Boiling

In this study, nucleate pool boiling of surfactant solutions are investigated. The surfactants chosen for the study are an ionic sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), nonionic ECOSURF™ EH-14, and nonionic ECOSURF™ SA-9. It is observed that adding a small amount of surfactant alters the water boiling phenomenon considerably. Boiling curves for different concentrations are shifted to the left. The wall temperature dropped with an increase in the concentration of aqueous surfactant solutions. Also, it is found that the boiling heat transfer enhancement of SLS is higher than that of EH-14 and SA-9 compared to water. Boiling heat transfer coefficient (h) enhancements compared to water are 46%, 30%, and 21%. (for SLS, for EH-14 and for SA-9 respectively) Boiling visualization shows that boiling with surfactant solutions compared with that in pure water is more vigorous. Bubbles are smaller, activate continuously, and collapse quickly. Also, the bubble departure frequency is observed to be higher than that of pure water. Results prove that there is an important possibility to enhance the boiling application processes by environmentally friendly EH-14, and SA-9 additives. Experimentation can be extended for searching other surfactants in order to find their most efficient quantity in water for boiling heat transfer.

Chacterization of Tensile Strength Dependence with Diameter of Sponge Gourd Fibers by Weibull Statistical Analysis

Lignocellulosic fibers with relatively unknowns mechanical properties such as those extracted from the sponge gourd, are being investigated as polymer composites reinforcement. The use of natural fibers are related to environmental , technical, economical and social advantages. An important possibility of improving the mechanical properties is the fact that lignocellulosic fibers may present tensile strength inversely correlated with their diameter. Therefore, this possibility was investigated in the present work regarding sponge gourd fibers by means of the Weibull statistic analysis. The results supported a hyperbolic inverse correlation between the strength of sponge gourd fibers with their diameter. Scanning electron microscopy observation of fibers with different diameters revealed possible mechanisms for the strength inverse correlation with diameter.

Airway responsiveness depends on the diffusion rate of methacholine across the airway wall

During methacholine challenge tests of airway responsiveness, it is invariably assumed that the administered dose of agonist is accurately reflected in the dose that eventually reaches the airway smooth muscle (ASM). However, agonist must traverse a variety of tissue obstacles to reach the ASM, during which the agonist is subjected to both enzymatic breakdown and removal by the bronchial and pulmonary circulations. This raises the possibility that a significant fraction of the deposited agonist may never actually make it to the ASM. To understand the nature of this effect, we measured the time course of changes in airway resistance elicited by various durations of methacholine aerosol in mice. We fit to these data a computational model of a dynamically contracting airway responding to agonist that diffuses through an airway compartment, thereby obtaining rate constants that reflect the diffusive barrier to methacholine. We found that these barriers can contribute significantly to the time course of airway narrowing, raising the important possibility that alterations in the diffusive barrier presented by the airway wall may play a role in pathologically altered airway responsiveness.

Bending Study for Axially Symmetric Tapping Plates with Uniform Load at All Crown by Transfer-Matrix Method

This paper presents a study of the axially symmetric plates, charged with uniform load by Transfer-Matrix Method. The analytical calculus is based of the theory of Dirac’s and Heaviside’s functions and operators. That is an important possibility to result the circular plates, with the opportunity to program the calculus to obtain the eight elements of the exterior circumference state vector and for the interior circumference state vector of a tapping plate. After, we can calculate for all the values r0<r<R, all the elements for the state vectors.

Fogyatékos személyek teljesítményértékelésének gyakorlata

Performance management is one of the most important fields of management. For the evaluation of it, I have worked out a questionnary. With the help of the questionnaire I intended to ask about the importance and method of performance evaluation. Based on my examinations I found, that in managers opinions the best way to appraisal disabled person was the individual appraisial. This result is not a suprise, because of disabled persons. Because of the managers' practise there was a difference in opinions. But in theirs opinion the most important possibility was the individual appraisal too. It is nonsense to expect self appraisal from a mentally handicapped person. Examinations show that organizations mainly apply traditional systems and think by the traditional aspect.