scholarly journals Do Different Teams Produce Different Results in Long-Term Lichen Biomonitoring?

Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Brunialti ◽  
Luisa Frati ◽  
Cristina Malegori ◽  
Paolo Giordani ◽  
Paola Malaspina
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Species Replacement ◽  
Sampling Errors ◽  
Gamma Diversity ◽  
Epiphytic Lichen ◽  
Lichen Diversity ◽  
Data Comparability ◽  
Trends Over Time ◽  
Over Time

Lichen biomonitoring programs focus on temporal variations in epiphytic lichen communities in relation to the effects of atmospheric pollution. As repeated surveys are planned at medium to long term intervals, the alternation of different operators is often possible. This involves the need to consider the effect of non-sampling errors (e.g., observer errors). Here we relate the trends of lichen communities in repeated surveys with the contribution of different teams of specialists involved in sampling. For this reason, lichen diversity data collected in Italy within several ongoing biomonitoring programs have been considered. The variations of components of gamma diversity between the surveys have been related to the composition of the teams of operators. As a major result, the composition of the teams significantly affected data comparability: Similarity (S), Species Replacement (R), and Richness Difference (D) showed significant differences between “same” and “partially” versus “different” teams, with characteristics trends over time. The results suggest a more careful interpretation of temporal variations in biomonitoring studies.

Reduction in Stroke After Transient Ischemic Attack in a Province-Wide Cohort Between 2003 and 2015

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Ryan Wang ◽  
Arunima Kapoor ◽  
Patrice Lindsay ◽  
Cristina Goia ◽  
Amy Y. X. Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transient Ischemic Attack ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Canadian Institute ◽  
Trends Over Time ◽  
Level 1 ◽  
Ischemic Attack ◽  
Event Rates ◽  
Linear Regressions ◽  
Over Time

ABSTRACT: Background: Improvements in management of transient ischemic attack (TIA) have decreased stroke and mortality post-TIA. Studies examining trends over time on a provincial level are limited. We analyzed whether efforts to improve management have decreased the rate of stroke and mortality after TIA from 2003 to 2015 across an entire province. Methods: Using administrative data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s (CIHI) databases from 2003 to 2015, we identified a cohort of patients with a diagnosis of TIA upon discharge from the emergency department (ED). We examined stroke rates at Day 1, 2, 7, 30, 90, 180, and 365 post-TIA and 1-year mortality rates and compared trends over time between 2003 and 2015. Results: From 2003 to 2015 in Ontario, there were 61,710 patients with an ED diagnosis of TIA. Linear regressions of stroke after the index TIA showed a significant decline between 2003 and 2015, decreasing by 25% at Day 180 and 32% at 1 year (p < 0.01). The 1-year stroke rate decreased from 6.0% in 2003 to 3.4% in 2015. Early (within 48 h) stroke after TIA continued to represent approximately half of the 1-year event rates. The 1-year mortality rate after ED discharge following a TIA decreased from 1.3% in 2003 to 0.3% in 2015 (p < 0.001). Interpretation: At a province-wide level, 1-year rates of stroke and mortality after TIA have declined significantly between 2003 and 2015, suggesting that efforts to improve management may have contributed toward the decline in long-term risk of stroke and mortality. Continued efforts are needed to further reduce the immediate risk of stroke following a TIA.

scholarly journals Social care for adults with learning disabilities in England: trends over time

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-100
Author(s):  
Chris Hatton
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cent Increase ◽  
Adults With Learning Disabilities ◽  
The Face ◽  
Trends Over Time ◽  
Over Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine trends over time in social care usage and expenditure for adults with learning disabilities in England. Design/methodology/approach Returns from councils with social services responsibilities in England concerning social care usage and expenditure were analysed to examine the national picture and trends over time for adults with learning disabilities. Findings In 2017/2018, 147,915 adults with learning disabilities were receiving long-term social care, an increase of 5.7 per cent from 2014/2015. Social care expenditure increased by 10.2 per cent from 2014/2015 to £5.54bn in 2017/2018; adjusted for inflation this was a 2.7 per cent increase. For adults with learning disabilities who receive social care, increasing numbers of people are living with families or in supported accommodation/living, with gradual declines in the number of people living in residential or nursing care. The number of adults with learning disabilities in temporary accommodation is small but increasing. Social implications While councils appear to be attempting to protect social care for adults with learning disabilities in the face of cuts to council expenditure, social care expenditure and coverage are not keeping pace with likely increases in the number of adults with learning disabilities requiring social care. Originality/value This paper presents in one place statistics concerning long-term social care for adults with learning disabilities in England.

Beta diversity and similarity of lichen communities as a sign of the times

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo GIORDANI ◽  
Giorgio BRUNIALTI ◽  
Marco CALDERISI ◽  
Paola MALASPINA ◽  
Luisa FRATI
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Atmospheric Pollutants ◽  
Gamma Diversity ◽  
Effective Response ◽  
Epiphytic Lichen ◽  
Lichen Community

AbstractCurrently, change in lichen community structure depends on a combination of several pollutants instead of just one. Consequently, alpha lichen diversity no longer represents an effective response variable for assessing trends in atmospheric pollutants over time. Here we investigated the value of the relationship between alpha diversity and different aspects of gamma diversity (similarity, replacement and differences in richness of species) together with that of beta diversity (calculated as the sum of replacement and difference in richness of species), for assessing complex variations in epiphytic lichen communities in response to a changing pollution scenario. We considered an area subjected to extreme variation in atmospheric pollution in recent decades and explored temporal and spatial aspects of lichen community succession over short-, intermediate- and long-term reference periods. We found that variation in lichen communities for long- and intermediate-term reference periods was strongly dependent on the alpha diversity of single trees at the beginning of the observation period. The occurrence of nitrophytic species, which responded to the decrease in SO2 concentrations, contribute to this trend. The effect of land use was observed only over long observation periods, with trees in urban areas showing less variation than those located in rural areas. In particular, the analysis of similarity, species replacement and differences in richness of tree pairs demonstrated that trends and patterns within lichen communities are neither always nor to the same extent associated with alpha diversity. Our results show that a thorough study of gamma diversity, including beta diversity and similarity, is required to detect changes in air quality in long-term biomonitoring surveys.

scholarly journals Serving as a Charitable Trustee in England and Wales: Trends in Volunteering by Birth Cohort

Sociology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 003803852093759
Author(s):  
David Clifford
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Administrative Data ◽  
Sociological Theory ◽  
Voluntary Work ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Trends Over Time ◽  
Over Time

This article examines trends over time in the propensity to volunteer as a charitable trustee in England and Wales. It makes use of unique, newly available administrative data. The results show sizeable, progressive and extensive declines in trusteeship by birth cohort: compared to the 1945 birth cohort, more recent cohorts through to 1980 show successively lower propensities to volunteer. These results represent the strongest empirical evidence to date in support of sociological theory which argues that the nature of volunteering is changing, with a reduction in a ‘collective’ style of volunteering characterised by long-term, regular and intensive commitment. The results also highlight a key challenge for policy: to sustain the voluntary work of trustee boards – which lies at the ‘heart’ of what it means to be a charity – in the context of sizeable cohort declines in the propensity to serve.

Enhancing community welfare through improved water quality: a case for applying staggered pollution charges in the river Musi sub-basin of Andhra Pradesh, India

Water Policy ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 469-483
Author(s):  
Tishya Chatterjee
Keyword(s):  
Andhra Pradesh ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Pollution Prevention ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Marginal Costs ◽  
Community Acceptance ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Over Time

In conditions of severe water-pollution and dormant community acceptance of accumulating environmental damage, the regulator's role goes beyond pollution prevention and more towards remediation and solutions based on the community's long-term expectations of economic benefits from clean water. This paper suggests a method to enable these benefits to become perceptible progressively, through participatory clean-up operations, supported by staggered pollution charges. It analyses the relevant literature on pollution prevention and applies a cost-based “willingness to pay” model, using primary basin-level data of total marginal costs. It develops a replicable demand-side approach imposing charge-standard targets over time in urban-industrial basins of developing countries.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document