Detrimental effects of larval blow flies (Protocalliphora azurea) on nestlings and breeding success of Tree Sparrows (Passer montanus)

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (8) ◽  
pp. 1285-1290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Puchala

The effect of bloodsucking parasitic larvae of the blow fly Protocalliphora azurea (Fallén, 1817) (Diptera) on Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus (L., 1758), breeding success was studied in populations breeding in nest boxes in southwestern Slovakia. Out of 52 examined nests only seven broods (13%) were unparasitized. The mean number of larvae per parasitized nest was 22.6 and the total number of parasites per nest ranged from 1 to 80. Large numbers of blow fly larvae and pupae significantly influenced nestling survival and fledging success. In broods with parasite load per chick higher than nine, at least one nestling died. To record the effects of parasites on the body size of nestlings of different ages, nestlings were measured on days 5, 10, and 13 post hatch. First and second broods were analysed separately. A significant negative effect of parasite load per nestling on the body mass, wing length, tarsal length, and tail length of nestlings was found in the second broods only in the 10- and 13-day-old chicks. Tree Sparrow parents did not prolong nestling provisioning time per nestling, as there was no negative relationship between parasite load per nestling and feeding period. Contradictory to most previous studies of the genus Protocalliphora, the present study suggests that these parasites have an important negative impact on the breeding success of the studied Tree Sparrow populations.

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Farooq ◽  
Samir Aguenaou ◽  
Mohamed Amine Amor

In this paper, we document that corporate social responsibility (CSR) has a negative effect on brand value. Our results show that this negative relationship exists only in firms where investor interest and visibility is high. We show that the negative impact of CSR policies is experienced by firms with high analyst following, larger size, and high earnings. We argue that markets consider CSR activities as a form of corporate charity with no expectations of positive returns. As a result, CSR activities are unnecessary costs incurred by firms. These costs result is adversely affecting current and expected financial performances. Given that current and expected financial performances are important determinants of brand value, firms with more visible CSR activities experience decline in brand values. We also show that certain components of CSR policy – firms who audit their CSR report from external auditors, brands of firms who report their global CSR activities, and brands of firms who publish a separate CSR report – exert more negative influence on brand values than the other components. All of these components are also related to increasing visibility of CSR activities.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Laib ◽  
Larissa Wolkenstein

<p>Whereas the introduction of body scanners at airports has been accompanied by critical voices raising concerns that body scanners might have a negative impact on different minority groups, it has not been investigated thus far whether they might also have negative impacts on the average flight passenger and if the provision of adequate information might attenuate such negative impacts. Using a pre/post-design the current study examines the effect of a body scan in a controlled laboratory setting on the explicit and implicit body image of normal-weight and overweight people as assessed by questionnaires and an Implicit Association Test. Half of the sample received an information sheet concerning body scanners before they were scanned. While there was a negative impact of the body scan on the implicit body image of overweight participants, there was a positive impact on their explicit body image. The negative effect of the body scan was unaffected by receiving information. This study demonstrates that body scans do not only have negative effects on certain minority groups but potentially on a large proportion of the general public which suggests a critical reconsideration of the control procedures at airports, the training of the airport staff who is in charge of these procedures and the information flight passengers get about these procedures.</p><p> </p>


2021 ◽  
pp. 8-17
Author(s):  
OO Oke ◽  
AJ Ariba ◽  
AG Omisore

Background: The skin is the largest organ in the body and has aesthetic significance. The presence of any skin lesion or skin disease might be associated with psychosocial morbidity and negative impact on the quality of life. Objectives: To determine the level and degree of adjustment to psychosocial morbidity associated with the presence of dermatological conditions and assessing the quality of life of affected adults. Methods: Data were collected from 189 new patients attending the Dermatology Clinic at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Nigeria using systematic random sampling. The validated Adjustment to Chronic Skin (ACS) diseases questionnaire and Finlay’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire were the research instruments. Results: The respondents consisted of 80 males (42.3%) and 109 females (57.7%) with a mean age of 36.3± 15.3 years. The least adjustment to skin-related psychosocial morbidity (49.7%) was observed with the helplessness scale. The mean score on the DQoL was 9.9 ± 6.2 and over half of the respondents (53.9%) reported moderate to an extremely large negative effect on their quality of life. Conclusion: The presence of dermatological conditions impact negatively on the quality of life and the least adjustment to skin-related psychosocial morbidity was experienced on the helplessness scale. Dermatology practitioners should acquire psychological evaluation and/or counselling skills to provide holistic care.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniël J. Le Roux ◽  
Petrus A. Botha

Orientation: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) advances such as computers, tablets, and cell phones allow for information flow like never before, both in terms of speed and volume. But, unfortunately, this has resulted in technostress.Research purpose: To investigate the impact of technostress on the productivity and the overall life satisfaction of managers working in ferrochrome smelters.Motivation for the study: Limited research has been conducted on technostress in a South African context. Most of the researches on technostress were conducted amongst computer professionals and Information Technology (IT) consultants and they did not focus on non-ICT specialists such as managers who are exposed to ICT as a regular part of their workday.Research approach/design and method: This study was conducted within a quantitative paradigm using a correlational design.Main findings: The managers experience low levels of technostress, high levels of IT-enabled productivity, and above-average life satisfaction. No practically significant differences exist for any of the research factors between males and females, whilst techno-complexity and techno-uncertainty increase with age. Technostress does not affect productivity, but a negative relationship exists between technostress and life satisfaction.Practical/managerial implications: Techno-uncertainty and techno-complexity are present amongst older managerial employees. Techno-complexity decreases the self-reported levels of productivity. Strategies such as training and assistance to reduce the techno-complexity for older managerial employees should be considered.Contribution/value-add: This study creates an awareness of the potential negative impact of ICT on productivity and life satisfaction. It contributes to the body of knowledge by quantifying the impact of the managers’ perceived technostress on productivity and life satisfaction.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunita ◽  
Urvashi Singh ◽  
Shalini Singh ◽  
Rajnee Sharma

The present study was conducted to examine the relationship between organisational stress and organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) in employees of call centers. The study also further explored as how stress at work set-up has negative impact on OCBs. A sample of 250 employees working in call centre of Gurgaon belonging to an age group of 25-30 years were selected on availability basis. All were working married couples living in nuclear families. Job stress survey (Spielberger & Vagg, 1999) and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (Bateman & Organ, 1983) were administered. Data was analysed by using simple correlation and multiple regression. Results showed the negative relationship between organisational stress and OCBs. Results of regression analysis also exhibited the negative impact of stress on OCBs. The implications for the employees are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 287-294
Author(s):  
S. I. Kutukova ◽  
N. P. Beliak ◽  
G. A. Raskin ◽  
M. S. Mukhina ◽  
Yu. V. Ivaskova ◽  
...  

Relevance. Prognostic value of PD-L1 expression in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) and its effect on survival is still controversial. It should be to determine the prognostic role of PD-L1 expression on tumor and immune cells of OCSCC and assess their effect on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).Materials and methods. A prospective study included 145 patients, first diagnosed with OCSCC. PD-L1 expression on tumor and immune cells, infiltrating tumor and its microenvironment, was assessed in all tumor samples by IHC, CPS was calculated. Cut-off values were determined by ROC analysis for identification of PD-L1 expression effect on OS and PFS.Results. Most patients with oral mucosa squamous cell carcinoma showed positive expression of PD-L1 on tumor (77.2%) and immune cells (92.4%). The median PD-L1 expression on tumor cells was 13.5% [1.0-40.0], the median PD-L1 expression on immune cells was 5.0% [1.0-11.0], and the median CPS – 18.0 [3.0-7.8]. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed a significant negative effect of PD-L1 expression on immune cells ≤ 7% on OS (HR 0.66; 95% CI 0.45-0.93; p = 0.0498); PD-L1 expression in tumor cells ≤ 15% (HR 0.65; 95% CI 0.43-0.98; p = 0.0416) and CPS ≤ 21 (HR 0.62; 95% CI 0.44-0.92; p = 0.0183) for PFS. PD-L1 expression in tumor cells ≤ 6% (HR 0.71; 95% CI 0.47-1.08; p = 0.1096) and CPS ≤ 7 (RR 0.67; 95% CI 0.44-1.01; p = 0.0575) had a confident tendency to negative impact on OS.Conclusion. Positive PD-L1 expression in tumor and immune cells as well as CPS are effective additional factors in the prognosis of the disease course, OS and PFS in patients with OCSCC.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-218

Both insulin and leptin are major contributors for the body energy balance. Obesity is a state of energy imbalance and is also associated with changes in both insulin sensitivity and leptin sensitivity. The aim of this study was to find out the relationship between insulin sensitivity and body fat composition, and leptin sensitivity in non-obese and obese adults. A total of 86 adults participated: 42 non-obese and 44 over-weight/obese. Body fat (BF) percent was determined by skinfold method. Fasting plasma glucose was analyzed by glucose oxidase-phenol and 4 aminophenazone (GOD-PAP) method using spectro-photometer, fasting serum insulin and leptin concentrations by direct sandwich ELISA method and resting energy expenditure (REE) by indirect calorimetry. Leptin sensitivity index and insulin sensitivity were expressed as REE : Leptin ratio and homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), respectively. It was found that median value of HOMA-IR was significantly higher [2.93 vs 1.72, p<0.01] and leptin sensitivity was significantly lower [116.76 vs 265.66, p<0.001] in the overweight/obese adults than the non-obese adults, indicating that insulin sensitivity and leptin sensitivity were markedly reduced in overweight/obese adults in compare to non-obese adults. There was a moderate degree of positive relationship between HOMA-IR and BF only in the overweight/obese (ρ=0.509, n=44, p<0.001) and all adults (ρ=0.39, n=86, p<0.001). Similarly, a weak negative relationship between leptin sensitivity index and HOMA-IR was found in the overweight/obese (ρ=-0.328, n=44, p<0.05) and all adults (ρ=-0.35, n=86, p<0.01). It can be concluded that the insulin sensitivity was adiposity dependent, but, it did not depend on leptin sensitivity.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon C. Barlow ◽  
Sheridan N. Leckie ◽  
Peter Pyle ◽  
Michael A. Patten

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 358-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis P. Kosmas ◽  
Antonio Malvasi ◽  
Daniele Vergara ◽  
Ospan A. Mynbaev ◽  
Radmila Sparic ◽  
...  

: In recent years, the development of Assisted Reproductive Technique, the egg and embryo donation changed substantially the role of the uterus in recent years. It provided a higher chance for a pregnancy even in women over 45 years or post-menopause. In fact, the number of aged patients and in peri/post-menopause in pregnancy is nowadays increasing, but it increases obstetrical and neonatal related problems. The human uterus is richly innervated and modified especially during pregnancy and labor, and it is endowed with different sensory, parasympathetic, sympathetic and peptidergic neurofibers. They are differently distributed in uterine fundus, body and cervix, and they are mainly observed in the stroma and around arterial vessel walls in the myometrial and endometrial layers. Many neurotransmitters playing important roles in reproductive physiology are released after stimulation by adrenergic or cholinergic nerve fibers (the so called sympathetic/parasympathetic co-transmission). Immunohistochemical study demonstrated the localization and quantitative distribution of neurofibers in the fundus, the body and cervix of young women of childbearing age. : Adrenergic and cholinergic effects of the autonomous nervous system are the most implicated in the uterine functionality. In such aged women, the Adrenergic and AChE neurofibers distribution in the fundus, body and cervix is progressively reduced by increasing age. Adrenergic and AChE neurotransmitters were closely associated with the uterine arteries and myometrial smooth muscles, and they reduced markedly by ageing. The Adrenergic and AChE neurofibers decreasing has a dramatical and negative impact on uterine physiology, as the reduction of pregnancy chance and uterine growth, and the increase of abortion risk and prematurity.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document