Testing the environmental prediction hypothesis for mast-seeding in California oaks

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
pp. 2115-2122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter D. Koenig ◽  
Johannes M.H. Knops ◽  
William J. Carmen
Keyword(s):  
Mast Seeding ◽  
Acorn Production ◽  
Large Seed ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Seedling Germination ◽  
Environmental Prediction ◽  
Seed Crops ◽  
Independent Site

We analyzed 29 years of acorn production by five species of California oaks (genus Quercus ) to test the hypothesis that trees produce large seed crops prior to wet years, conditions facilitating seedling germination and survival. The mean crop of three of the species correlated positively and nontrivially with the following year’s rainfall, but none was statistically significant. Including the acorn crop 1 and 2 years earlier yielded several significant relationships between the acorn crop and future rainfall, but none held up when applied to a second, independent site. Across individuals, acorn production by 7% of trees correlated significantly with subsequent rainfall. Although these trees differed from other trees in several characters, differences were not sufficient to discriminate between trees that correlated significantly with subsequent rainfall from those that did not. We conclude that acorn production by California oaks does not forecast wet years and does not support the environmental prediction hypothesis.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in highway sanitary workers

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Happiness Anulika Aweto ◽  
Oluwatoyosi Babatunde Owoeye ◽  
Korede Sunday Adegbite
Keyword(s):  
Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Body Part ◽  
Sudden Onset ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Lower Back ◽  
Gradual Onset ◽  
Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Low Prevalence

Background: Highway sanitary workers are exposed to various health hazards in the course of duty. This study investigated the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among highway sanitary workers in Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Lagos, Nigeria.Method: Two hundred fifty highway sanitary workers (46 males and 204 females) of LAWMA selected from four Local Government Areas of Lagos State, Nigeria completed a 26-item questionnaire that collected information on WMSDs.Results: The 12-month prevalence of WMSDs among the workers was 24.8%. The most commonly affected body part was the lower back (22.0%). Thirty-seven (59.7%) of the respondents reported gradual onset of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) while 25 (40.3%) reported sudden onset. The mean years of working experience was 3.22 + 0.23 years with 111 (44.4%) of the respondents having worked for 4 years and 7 (2.8%) having worked for 1year. The three major job risk factors identified were: continuing to work when injured (87.2%), working in the same position for long periods (53.6%) and lifting heavy materials (52.4%). Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient analysis showed that there were significant relationships between prevalence of WMSDs and age (r = 0.42, p = 0.001*) and years on the job (r = 0.17, p = 0.01*).Conclusion: There was a low prevalence of WMSDs among highway sanitary workers of LAWMA. The most commonly affected body part was the lower back. Increasing age and years of working experience are significant factors that can contribute to the development of WMSDs among these workers.

scholarly journals Mass occurrence and habitat selection of Common Redpolls (Carduelis flammea) after a large seed crop year: snow-covered ground facilitates food access

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svein Dale
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Large Seed ◽  
Mass Occurrence ◽  
Seed Crops ◽  
Ecosystem Changes ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractIn boreal forests, food supplies typically have cyclic variations, and many species here fluctuate in numbers from year to year. One group of species showing large variations in population size is birds specialized on seeds from masting trees. Here, I analyze spatial patterns of a mass occurrence and habitat selection of the Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea) during the breeding season in southeastern Norway in 2020 after a year with large seed crops from Norway Spruce (Picea abies) and Downy Birch (Betula pubescens). I found that Common Redpoll numbers increased with elevation and towards the northwest. Numbers were also strongly and positively correlated with snow depth in early April when snow was present mainly above 400 m elevation. Sites with snow cover in early April (30% of all sites) held 96.4% of all individuals recorded. Field observations indicated that Common Redpolls foraged extensively for spruce seeds on the snow until the end of May when young were independent. I suggest that the mass occurrence was due to a unique combination of exceptionally large seed crops of two tree species coinciding in the same year. The masting produced large amounts of food both for overwintering (birch seeds) and for breeding (spruce seeds), and during the breeding season snow cover facilitated access to food resources. Dependency of Common Redpolls on snow cover suggests that climate change may negatively impact some seed-eaters in boreal regions. On the other hand, higher temperatures may induce more frequent masting which may be beneficial for seed-eaters. Thus, climate change is likely to lead to complex ecosystem changes in areas where snow cover may disappear.

scholarly journals Nurses’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Performance about Disaster Management: A Case of Iran

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 441-446
Author(s):  
Sedighe S. T. Far ◽  
Milad A. Marzaleh ◽  
Nasrin Shokrpour ◽  
Ramin Ravangard
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Management ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Teaching Hospitals ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
The Mean ◽  
And Performance

Background: Iran is a disaster-prone country in which many natural and man-made disasters happen every year. Because the health sector is vital due to its nature of treatment and rehabilitation of the injured after the disasters, all health care providers, especially hospital nurses, should be prepared to provide the services they need. Objective: The present study aimed to determine the level of knowledge, attitude, and performance of nurses about disaster management in teaching hospitals affiliated to Iran, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2019. Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study was conducted on a sample of 230 nurses working in the teaching hospitals of Iran, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, who were selected using the stratified sampling proportional to size and simple random sampling methods. The data were collected using a valid and reliable questionnaire containing 20 questions in three dimensions of knowledge, attitude, and performance. Then, the collected data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 through independent samples t-test, ANOVA and Tukey tests at the significance level of 5%. Results: The results showed that the highest and lowest mean scores were related to the attitude (2.38±0.19) and knowledge (1.70±0.50) of the nurses, respectively. However, all three dimensions were at a moderate level. The results showed significant relationships between the mean score of performance and the gender, marital status, age, and work experience of the nurses. In addition, statistically significant relationships were found between the mean score of knowledge and their age and work experience (p<0.05). Conclusion: According to the findings, the following suggestions can be made to increase the knowledge and performance of the nurses for being prepared in critical situations: reducing the duration and increasing the quality of training classes and workshops on disaster preparedness; providing some incentives for nurses, especially female, married, older, and more experienced ones to attend these classes; and improving the methods of training materials related to disaster management.

scholarly journals Alphafetoprotein in screening for congenital hypothyroidism

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 171-180
Author(s):  
R. M. Shawky ◽  
S. Abdel Fattah ◽  
M. E. El Din Azzam ◽  
M. M. Rafik ◽  
A. Osman
Keyword(s):  
Congenital Hypothyroidism ◽  
Older Patients ◽  
Thyroid Stimulating Hormone ◽  
The Other ◽  
Thyroid Status ◽  
Term Neonates ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Persistent Elevation

This study was conducted on 500 full-term neonates and 25 older patients with congenital hypothyroidism [CH], newly or previously diagnosed. Alphafetoprotein [AFP] was elevated in two neonates. In one, persistent elevation of AFP and thyroid stimulating hormone [TSH] with low thyroxine [T4] were found [congenital hypothyroidism]. In the other, AFP, TSH and T4 levels normalized [transient hypothyroidism]. The mean AFP level in new CH patients was significantly higher than in previously diagnosed patients, and was higher in CH patients than in controls. Significant relationships were found between AFP and T4, AFP and TSH, and AFP and age. AFP is a sensitive indicator of thyroid status and can be used as a screening test for hypothyroidism from the first day of life and in follow-up of CH patients.

A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE URINARY EXCRETION OF INDIVIDUAL STEROIDS IN CHILDREN FROM 3 TO 7 YEARS OLD

1971 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Gupta ◽  
W. A. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Urinary Excretion ◽  
Skeletal Maturity ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mean Trend ◽  
Steroid Excretion ◽  
Cortisol Metabolites

ABSTRACT A longitudinal study was made of the daily urinary excretion, on or near each birthday, of a number of C19 and C21 steroids in 9 healthy girls and 5 healthy boys aged 3 to 7 years. The amount of androsterone excreted by each individual increased slowly during the period of study but the absolute amounts varied greatly between individuals. The excretion of aetiocholanolone was greater than that of androsterone, contrary to reported findings in older children. Small amounts of DHA were found. Testosterone was found in only about 40% of samples; epitestosterone in 70 % and 11β-OH-androsterone in only 62 %. Cortisol metabolites were excreted in amounts which increased with age and all three metabolites of corticosterone were present in most specimens. 11-Deoxycortisol was found in about 50 % of the samples and THS in 63 %. The mean trend in the ratio of glucuronides to sulphates of the 11-deoxy-17-oxosteroids decreased with increasing age, but the 11-deoxy-11-oxy ratio of 17-oxosteroids increased as did the 5α/5β ratio of the C19 and C21 steroids. No sex differences were observed. The excretion of cortisol metabolites showed a positive correlation with height and weight. 11-Deoxy-17-oxosteroids were positively correlated with the weight. No significant relationships between steroid excretion and skeletal maturity were found.

scholarly journals High-Resolution Ensemble HFV3 Forecasts of Hurricane Michael (2018): Rapid Intensification in Shear

2020 ◽  
Vol 148 (5) ◽  
pp. 2009-2032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew T. Hazelton ◽  
Xuejin Zhang ◽  
Sundararaman Gopalakrishnan ◽  
William Ramstrom ◽  
Frank Marks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Rapid Intensification ◽  
Forecast System ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Cubed Sphere ◽  
Environmental Prediction ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract The FV3GFS is the current operational Global Forecast System (GFS) at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), which combines a finite-volume cubed sphere dynamical core (FV3) and GFS physics. In this study, FV3GFS is used to gain understanding of rapid intensification (RI) of tropical cyclones (TCs) in shear. The analysis demonstrates the importance of TC structure in a complex system like Hurricane Michael, which intensified to a category 5 hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico despite over 20 kt (10 m s−1) of vertical wind shear. Michael’s RI is examined using a global-nest FV3GFS ensemble with the nest at 3-km resolution. The ensemble shows a range of peak intensities from 77 to 159 kt (40–82 m s−1). Precipitation symmetry, vortex tilt, moisture, and other aspects of Michael’s evolution are compared through composites of stronger and weaker members. The 850–200-hPa vertical shear is 22 kt (11 m s−1) in the mean of both strong and weak members during the early stage. Tilt and moisture are two distinguishing factors between strong and weak members. The relationship between vortex tilt and humidification is complex, and other studies have shown both are important for sheared intensification. Here, it is shown that tilt reduction leads to upshear humidification and is thus a driving factor for intensification. A stronger initial vortex and early evolution of the vortex also appear to be the key to members that are able to resist the sheared environment.

scholarly journals Acute renal failure in children: outcome and prognostic factors

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 205
Author(s):  
Partini P Trihono ◽  
Ommy A Soesilo ◽  
Rulina Suradi
Keyword(s):  
Renal Failure ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Acute Renal Failure ◽  
Prognostic Factors ◽  
Poor Prognosis ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Bivariate Analysis ◽  
Female Ratio ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
The Mean

Background Acute renal failure (ARF) is an emergency conditionwith a high mortality rate despite the long-known dialysis and ad-vanced supportive care. Only few studies on prognostic factors ofARF in children are available in the literature, which are difficult tocompare to each other due to the different definitions of the ARFoutcome used.Objective To find out the clinical and laboratory characteristics ofchildren with acute renal failure and the prognostic factors affect-ing the outcome.Methods This observational prospective study was conducted onchildren with acute renal failure hospitalized in the Department ofChild Health, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, between July andDecember 2001. Patients with acute on chronic renal failure wereexcluded. Clinical and laboratory data were taken at the time ofdiagnosis and the outcomes were noted after 2 weeks of observa-tion. We classified the outcome as cured, uncured, and dead. Ana-lytical study was done to find out the relationships among variousprognostic factors.Results Fifty-six children with ARF were recruited in this study.Male to female ratio was 1.3:1; the mean age was 4.4 year-old.The most frequent presenting symptom was dyspnea (34%), fol-lowed by oliguria (29%). The most frequent primary disease wasmalignancy (20%). Most of the patients had renal-type of ARF(73%). The outcomes were cure (71%), no cure (16%), and death(13%). Bivariate analysis and logistic regression revealed thatyounger age (OR=13.6; 95%CI 1.01;183.60) and the need for di-alysis (OR=10; 95%CI 1.53;65.97) had significant relationships withmortality or no cure.Conclusion We should be aware when finding ARF patientsless than 5 year-old and have the indications for dialysis, due tothe poor prognosis they might have

scholarly journals Climatic variability of the mean flow and stationary planetary waves in the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data

2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 1233-1241 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Yu. Kanukhina ◽  
E. V. Suvorova ◽  
L. A. Nechaeva ◽  
E. K. Skrygina ◽  
A. I. Pogoreltsev
Keyword(s):  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Planetary Waves ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
Wave Number ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Environmental Prediction

Abstract. NCEP/NCAR (National Center for Environmental Prediction – National Center for Atmospheric Research) data have been used to estimate the long-term variability of the mean flow, temperature, and Stationary Planetary Waves (SPW) in the troposphere and lower stratosphere. The results obtained show noticeable climatic variabilities in the intensity and position of the tropospheric jets that are caused by temperature changes in the lower atmosphere. As a result, we can expect that this variability of the mean flow will cause the changes in the SPW propagation conditions. The simulation of the SPW with zonal wave number m=1 (SPW1), performed with a linearized model using the mean flow distributions typical for the 1960s and for the beginning of 21st century, supports this assumption and shows that during the last 40 years the amplitude of the SPW1 in the stratosphere and mesosphere increased substantially. The analysis of the SPW amplitudes extracted from the geopotential height and zonal wind NCEP/NCAR data supports the results of simulation and shows that during the last years there exists an increase in the SPW1 activity in the lower stratosphere. These changes in the amplitudes are accompanied by increased interannual variability of the SPW1, as well. Analysis of the SPW2 activity shows that changes in its amplitude have a different sign in the northern winter hemisphere and at low latitudes in the southern summer hemisphere. The value of the SPW2 variability differs latitudinally and can be explained by nonlinear interference of the primary wave propagation from below and from secondary SPW2.

scholarly journals Inter-annual variation in seed production has increased over time (1900–2014)

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1868) ◽  
pp. 20171666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian S. Pearse ◽  
Jalene M. LaMontagne ◽  
Walter D. Koenig
Keyword(s):  
Seed Production ◽  
Seed Set ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Mast Seeding ◽  
Plant Seed ◽  
Subtle Change ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Seed Crops ◽  
Over Time

Mast seeding, or masting, is the highly variable and spatially synchronous production of seeds by a population of plants. The production of variable seed crops is typically correlated with weather, so it is of considerable interest whether global climate change has altered the variability of masting or the size of masting events. We compiled 1086 datasets of plant seed production spanning 1900–2014 and from around the world, and then analysed whether the coefficient of variation (CV) in seed set, a measure of masting, increased over time. Over this 115-year period, seed set became more variable for plants as a whole and for the particularly well-studied taxa of conifers and oaks. The increase in CV corresponded with a decrease in the long-term mean of seed set of plant species. Seed set CV increased to a greater degree in plant taxa with a tendency towards masting. Seed set is becoming more variable among years, especially for plant taxa whose masting events are known to affect animal populations. Such subtle change in reproduction can have wide-ranging effects on ecosystems because seed crops provide critical resources for a wide range of taxa and have cascading effects throughout food webs.

scholarly journals Phytosterol-enriched products on the Irish market: examination of intake and consumption patterns

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Áine Hearty ◽  
Edel Duffy ◽  
Jennifer Joyce ◽  
Caitriona O’Connor ◽  
Michael J Gibney
Keyword(s):  
Fruit And Vegetables ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Irish Population ◽  
High Cholesterol ◽  
Cholesterol Lowering ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Point Of Purchase ◽  
The Mean ◽  
One Way Anova

AbstractObjectiveTo study patterns of phytosterol intakes in the Irish population from enriched sources.DesignAn interview-assisted questionnaire, which recorded information on sociodemographics, product types, intake amounts and patterns of intake. Independent samplesttests, one-way ANOVA and cross-tabulations were used to establish significant relationships between groups of variables. The top tertile of phytosterol intakes was also calculated.SettingPoint-of-purchase of phytosterol-enriched products in Irish supermarkets.SubjectsFour hundred and sixty-eight consumers (186 men and 282 women) of phytosterol-enriched foods.ResultsThe mean phytosterol intake from enriched sources for the sample population was 2·45 g/d. Men had greater intakes than women (2·71 g/dv. 2·29 g/d, respectively). A total of 62 % of consumers were unaware of the importance of consuming fruit and vegetables while taking these products. The majority of respondents reported that they had high cholesterol (61 %) and 22 % of consumers also took cholesterol-lowering medication (statins). In total, 23 % had phytosterol intakes >3·0 g/d and the majority of consumers (58 %) had been consuming these products for >1 year. The mean intake for respondents with phytosterol intakes >3·0 g/d was 4·1 g/d and 74 % of this subgroup had been consuming these products for >1 year.ConclusionIn general, phytosterol intakes are within efficacious levels in the Irish population. However, there appears to be a subgroup that has been consuming these products at intakes greater than current recommendations for >1 year.

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