scholarly journals Disentangling chronic regeneration failure in endangered woodland ecosystems

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ami Bennett ◽  
David Hugh Duncan ◽  
Libby Rumpff ◽  
Peter Anton Vesk
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Seedling Survival ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Survey Period ◽  
Regeneration Failure ◽  
Browsing Damage ◽  
One Year ◽  
Degraded Ecosystems ◽  
Revegetation Strategies

Ecological restoration of degraded ecosystems requires the facilitation of natural regeneration by plants, often augmented by large-scale active revegetation. The success of such projects is highly variable. Risk factors may be readily identifiable in a general sense, but it is rarely clear how they play out individually, or in combination. We addressed this problem with a field experiment on the survival of, and browsing damage to, 1275 hand-planted buloke (Allocasuarina luehmannii) seedlings in a nationally endangered, semi-arid woodland community. Buloke seedlings were planted in 17 sites representing four landscape contexts and with three levels of protection from kangaroo and lagomorph browsing. We censused seedlings and measured herbivore activity four times during the first 400 days post-planting, and fitted models of mortality and browse hazard to these data using survival analysis. Increasing lagomorph activity was associated with higher mortality risk, while kangaroo activity was not. Seedling survival was lowest for each treatment within extant buloke woodland, and the highest survival rates for guarded seedlings were in locations favoured by lagomorphs. Damage from browsing was nearly ubiquitous after one year for surviving unguarded seedlings, despite moderate browser activity. On average, unguarded seedlings showed a decline in height, whereas fully guarded seedlings grew 2.3 cm across the survey period. This study demonstrates buloke seedlings should be protected from browsers, even with browsers maintained at moderate to low density, and the location that maximizes survival, and possibly growth rates, is adjacent to dunes. Further work will test this heuristic in an analysis of cost-effective revegetation strategies for this endangered community.

scholarly journals One year later: Highlighting the challenges and opportunities in disseminating a breathing-retraining digital behaviour change intervention

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 205520762093644
Author(s):  
Ben Ainsworth ◽  
Anne Bruton ◽  
Mike Thomas ◽  
Lucy Yardley
Keyword(s):  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Breathing Retraining ◽  
One Year ◽  
Randomised Controlled

Digital behaviour change interventions can provide effective and cost-effective treatments for a range of health conditions. However, after rigorous evaluation, there still remain challenges to disseminating and implementing evidence-based interventions that can hinder their effectiveness ‘in the real world’. We conducted a large-scale randomised controlled trial of self-guided breathing retraining, which we then disseminated freely as a digital intervention. Here we share our experience of this process after one year, highlighting the opportunities that digital health interventions can offer alongside the challenges that must be addressed in order to harness their effectiveness. Whilst such treatments can support many individuals at extremely low cost, careful dissemination strategies should be proactively planned in order to ensure such opportunities are maximised and interventions remain up to date in a fast-moving digital landscape.

scholarly journals Simplified Hatchery Protocols for Culture of Orange-Spotted Spinefoot Siganus guttatus (Bloch, 1787) in Palawan, Philippines

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
ELMER G. VILLANUEVA ◽  
KYRA HOEVENAARS ◽  
JONAH VAN BEIJNEN ◽  
AL P. GONZALES ◽  
LOTA A. CREENCIA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Weekly Basis ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Commercial Diet ◽  
Large Scale Production ◽  
Intensive Rearing ◽  
Commercial Feeds

Three hatchery experiments for orange-spotted spinefoot, Siganus guttatus (Bloch, 1787), were carried out in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines using larvae and fingerlings produced through induced spawning. The first experiment (E1) involving larvae raised in six 5,000-L concrete tanks until 39 days post-hatch (dph) comparing two stocking densities (T1: 3; and T2: 5 larva.L-1), obtained survival rates (SR) of 6.00 and 7.85 %. The second experiment (E2) monitored the growth and survival of 47 dph juveniles for 3 weeks, raised in 25-L plastic basins, fed with a commercial diet at three stocking densities with five replications. The initial stocking densities (6, 12, 18 ind.L-1) were reduced during the second (4, 8, 12 ind.L-1) and third (2, 4, 6 ind.L-1) week, respectively. The weekly SR for all treatments ranged between 99.2 and 100 %. Weekly final total lengths (TL) were not significantly different except during the second week. The third experiment (E3) evaluated the effects of two types of commercial feeds (T1: grouper feed; T2: milkfish feed) on the growth and survival of 47 dph juveniles in plastic basins for 3 weeks, at similar densities reduced on a weekly basis. The SR (96.2 to 99.9 %) were not significantly different, but the TL of fish in T1 (4.39 cm) were significantly bigger than in T2 (3.52 cm). While there is a need to improve the low and irregular survival of S. guttatus larvae for cost-effective large-scale production, we recommend using small basins in the intensive rearing of juveniles.

scholarly journals Termites mitigate the effects of drought in tropical rainforest

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 363 (6423) ◽  
pp. 174-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Ashton ◽  
H. M. Griffiths ◽  
C. L. Parr ◽  
T. A. Evans ◽  
R. K. Didham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Tropical Rainforest ◽  
Seedling Survival ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Tropical Rainforests ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Ecological Functions ◽  
Soil Nutrient Heterogeneity ◽  
Effects Of Drought

Termites perform key ecological functions in tropical ecosystems, are strongly affected by variation in rainfall, and respond negatively to habitat disturbance. However, it is not known how the projected increase in frequency and severity of droughts in tropical rainforests will alter termite communities and the maintenance of ecosystem processes. Using a large-scale termite suppression experiment, we found that termite activity and abundance increased during drought in a Bornean forest. This increase resulted in accelerated litter decomposition, elevated soil moisture, greater soil nutrient heterogeneity, and higher seedling survival rates during the extreme El Niño drought of 2015–2016. Our work shows how an invertebrate group enhances ecosystem resistance to drought, providing evidence that the dual stressors of climate change and anthropogenic shifts in biotic communities will have various negative consequences for the maintenance of rainforest ecosystems.

Sonographically guided, transcatheter foam sclerotherapy of the great saphenous vein

Phlebologie ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (06) ◽  
pp. 309-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Schulz ◽  
M. Jünger ◽  
M. Hahn
Keyword(s):  
Saphenous Vein ◽  
Great Saphenous Vein ◽  
Clinical Stage ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Duplex Sonography ◽  
Foam Sclerotherapy ◽  
Average Loss ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Cost

Summary Objective: The goal of the study was to assess the effectiveness and patient tolerability of single-session, sonographically guided, transcatheter foam sclerotherapy and to evaluate its economic impact. Patients, methods: We treated 20 patients with a total of 22 varicoses of the great saphenous vein (GSV) in Hach stage III-IV, clinical stage C2-C5 and a mean GSV diameter of 9 mm (range: 7 to 13 mm). We used 10 ml 3% Aethoxysklerol®. Additional varicoses of the auxiliary veins of the GSV were sclerosed immediately afterwards. Results: The occlusion rate in the treated GSVs was 100% one week after therapy as demonstrated with duplex sonography. The cost of the procedure was 207.91 E including follow-up visit, with an average loss of working time of 0.6 days. After one year one patient showed clinical signs of recurrent varicosis in the GSV; duplex sonography showed reflux in the region of the saphenofemoral junction in a total of seven patients (32% of the treated GSVs). Conclusion: Transcatheter foam sclerotherapy of the GSV is a cost-effective, safe method of treating varicoses of GSV and broadens the spectrum of therapeutic options. Relapses can be re-treated inexpensively with sclerotherapy.

Cost Avoidance and Clinical Benefits Derived from a Pharmacy-Managed Anemia Program

2000 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Quercia ◽  
Ronald Abrahams ◽  
C. Michael White ◽  
John D'Avella ◽  
Mary Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Cost Savings ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Hemodialysis Patients ◽  
Cost Avoidance ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Epoetin Alpha ◽  
Clinical Benefits ◽  
Unit Dose ◽  
One Year ◽  
Alpha Therapy

A pharmacy-managed anemia program included distribution and clinical components, with the goal of making epoetin alpha therapy for hemodialysis patients more cost-effective. The Pharmacy Department prepared epoetin alpha doses for patients in unit-dose syringes, utilizing and documenting vial overfill. Pharmacists dosed epoetin alpha and iron (oral and intravenous) per protocol for new and established patients. Baseline data were obtained in 1994, one year prior to implementation of the program, and were re-evaluated in 1995 and 1998. Cost avoidance from utilization of epoetin alpha vial overfill in 1995 and 1998 was $83,560 and $91,148 respectively. In 1995 and 1998, cost avoidance from pharmacy management of anemia was $191,159 and $203,985 respectively. The total cost avoidance from 1995 through 1998 was estimated at $1,018,638. The number of patients with hematocrits under 31% decreased from 32% in 1994 to 21% and 14% in 1995 and 1998 respectively. We conclude that a pharmacy-managed anemia program for hemodialysis patients results in significant cost savings and better achievement of target hematocrits.

Efficient Schedule of Energy-Constrained UAV Using Crowdsourced Buses in Last-Mile Parcel Delivery

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Yan Pan ◽  
Shining Li ◽  
Qianwu Chen ◽  
Nan Zhang ◽  
Tao Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Scheduling Algorithm ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
Logistics Industry ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Delivery Scheduling ◽  
Schedule Approach

Stimulated by the dramatical service demand in the logistics industry, logistics trucks employed in last-mile parcel delivery bring critical public concerns, such as heavy cost burden, traffic congestion and air pollution. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are a promising alternative tool in last-mile delivery, which is however limited by insufficient flight range and load capacity. This paper presents an innovative energy-limited logistics UAV schedule approach using crowdsourced buses. Specifically, when one UAV delivers a parcel, it first lands on a crowdsourced social bus to parcel destination, gets recharged by the wireless recharger deployed on the bus, and then flies from the bus to the parcel destination. This novel approach not only increases the delivery range and load capacity of battery-limited UAVs, but is also much more cost-effective and environment-friendly than traditional methods. New challenges therefore emerge as the buses with spatiotemporal mobility become the bottleneck during delivery. By landing on buses, an Energy-Neutral Flight Principle and a delivery scheduling algorithm are proposed for the UAVs. Using the Energy-Neutral Flight Principle, each UAV can plan a flying path without depleting energy given buses with uncertain velocities. Besides, the delivery scheduling algorithm optimizes the delivery time and number of delivered parcels given warehouse location, logistics UAVs, parcel locations and buses. Comprehensive evaluations using a large-scale bus dataset demonstrate the superiority of the innovative logistics UAV schedule approach.

scholarly journals Insectivorous songbirds as early indicators of future defoliation by spruce budworm

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Germain ◽  
Daniel Kneeshaw ◽  
Louis De Grandpré ◽  
Mélanie Desrochers ◽  
Patrick M. A. James ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Maximum Probability ◽  
Point Count ◽  
Probability Of Presence ◽  
Time Lagged ◽  
One Year ◽  
Local Sampling

Abstract Context Although the spatiotemporal dynamics of spruce budworm outbreaks have been intensively studied, forecasting outbreaks remains challenging. During outbreaks, budworm-linked warblers (Tennessee, Cape May, and bay-breasted warbler) show a strong positive response to increases in spruce budworm, but little is known about the relative timing of these responses. Objectives We hypothesized that these warblers could be used as sentinels of future defoliation of budworm host trees. We examined the timing and magnitude of the relationships between defoliation by spruce budworm and changes in the probability of presence of warblers to determine whether they responded to budworm infestation before local defoliation being observed by standard detection methods. Methods We modelled this relationship using large-scale point count surveys of songbirds and maps of cumulative time-lagged defoliation over multiple spatial scales (2–30 km radius around sampling points) in Quebec, Canada. Results All three warbler species responded positively to defoliation at each spatial scale considered, but the timing of their response differed. Maximum probability of presence of Tennessee and Cape May warbler coincided with observations of local defoliation, or provided a one year warning, making them of little use to guide early interventions. In contrast, the probability of presence of bay-breasted warbler consistently increased 3–4 years before defoliation was detectable. Conclusions Early detection is a critical step in the management of spruce budworm outbreaks and rapid increases in the probability of presence of bay-breasted warbler could be used to identify future epicenters and target ground-based local sampling of spruce budworm.

scholarly journals A review of malignant pleural mesothelioma in a large North East UK pleural centre

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Declan C. Murphy ◽  
Alexander Mount ◽  
Fiona Starkie ◽  
Leah Taylor ◽  
Avinash Aujayeb
Keyword(s):  
Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Pleural Mesothelioma ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
Pleural Thickening ◽  
North East ◽  
Total Cohort ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
One Year

AbstractObjectivesThe National Mesothelioma Audit 2020 showed Northumbria to have low rates of histopathological confirmation, treatment and one-year survival rates for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). We hypothesized that an internal analysis over a 10-year period provides valuable insights into presentation, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes.MethodsA single-centre retrospective case series of all confirmed MPM patients between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2019 was performed. Demographics, clinical, radiological and histopathological characteristics and outcomes were collected. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS V26.0.ResultsA total of 247 patients had MPM. About 86% were male, mean age 75.7 years. Dyspnoea (77.4%) and chest pain (38.5%) were commonest symptoms. 64.9 and 71.4% had pleural thickening and effusion, respectively. About 86.8% had at least one attempt to obtain a tissue biopsy, but histopathological confirmation in only 108 (43.7%). About 66.3% with PS 0 and 1 (62.7% of total cohort) had at least one anti-cancer therapy. Death within 12 months was associated with disease progression within 6 months (p≤0.001). Chemotherapy (p≤0.001) and epithelioid histological subtype (p=0.01) were protective.ConclusionsThis study confirms known epidemiology of MPM, demonstrates variability in practices and highlights how some NMA recommendations are not met. This provides the incentive for a regional mesothelioma multi-disciplinary meeting.

scholarly journals Multi-Country Scale Assessment of Available Energy Recovery Potential Using Micro-Hydropower in Drinking, Pressurised Irrigation and Wastewater Networks, Covering Part of the EU

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 899
Author(s):  
Djordje Mitrovic ◽  
Miguel Crespo Chacón ◽  
Aida Mérida García ◽  
Jorge García Morillo ◽  
Juan Antonio Rodríguez Diaz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Energy Recovery ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Net Energy ◽  
Water Networks ◽  
Scale Assessment

Studies have shown micro-hydropower (MHP) opportunities for energy recovery and CO2 reductions in the water sector. This paper conducts a large-scale assessment of this potential using a dataset amassed across six EU countries (Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Spain, and Portugal) for the drinking water, irrigation, and wastewater sectors. Extrapolating the collected data, the total annual MHP potential was estimated between 482.3 and 821.6 GWh, depending on the assumptions, divided among Ireland (15.5–32.2 GWh), Scotland (17.8–139.7 GWh), Northern Ireland (5.9–8.2 GWh), Wales (10.2–8.1 GWh), Spain (375.3–539.9 GWh), and Portugal (57.6–93.5 GWh) and distributed across the drinking water (43–67%), irrigation (51–30%), and wastewater (6–3%) sectors. The findings demonstrated reductions in energy consumption in water networks between 1.7 and 13.0%. Forty-five percent of the energy estimated from the analysed sites was associated with just 3% of their number, having a power output capacity >15 kW. This demonstrated that a significant proportion of energy could be exploited at a small number of sites, with a valuable contribution to net energy efficiency gains and CO2 emission reductions. This also demonstrates cost-effective, value-added, multi-country benefits to policy makers, establishing the case to incentivise MHP in water networks to help achieve the desired CO2 emissions reductions targets.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document