Effect of reindeer overgrazing on vegetation and animals of tundra ecosystems of the Yamal peninsula

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail G. Golovatin ◽  
Ludmila M. Morozova ◽  
Svetlana N. Ektova
Keyword(s):  
Yamal Peninsula ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Tundra Ecosystem ◽  
Reindeer Population ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Rapid Transformation ◽  
The Yamal Peninsula

Currently, 380 000 domestic reindeers are grazed on 106000 km2 of the Yamal peninsula. This unique situation was analyzed from a view of an ecosystem role of indigenous people. Attention was paied to two key points: the impact of overgrazing on (1) vegetation and (2) vertebrates. The results of our 30-years investigations were compared with the published vegetation data from the 1930-ies. In our paper, it is demonstrated, that overgrazing has resulted in a substantial transformation of vegetation, mostly in lichen tundra. Recent situation is close to total extinction of lichen pastures on the Yamal peninsula. Due to overgrazing, total availability of grasses and shrubs have also decreased, in grasses by 1.5-2.0 times, low shrubs - almost 8 times, tall shrubs – 2.0 times. The degradation of vegetation leads to desertification of the peninsula. The area of ​​sandy spots with no vegetation is on average about 5.5% of the peninsula land, however, it could reach up to 19% locally. Overgrazing affected the animal populations too. Since 1990, the peaks of lemmings have never reached former high values and become locally-limited and patchy. This has led to a decrease in the number of predators. The number of other tundra birds decreased as well. The decrease reached almost 2 times lower numbers in geese, 3 times in hygrophillous waders, 5.5 times in Lapland bunting, and 2 times in long-tailed Duck and Willow grouse on watershed. The Nenets themselves can not control reindeer population because of rigid social and psychological attitudes based on their traditions. The main aim of the Nenets reindeer-farming is not to create marketable products for a profit, but increasing the reindeer number of itself. A situation has formed, that, on the one hand, the Nenets are not economically dependent upon the society, and on the other hand, the society contributes to preservation of their traditional farming. The Nenets reindeer-farming, thus become an important factor contributing to rapid transformation of tundra ecosystem.

The Role of Research and Innovation in the Transformation of Agri-Food Systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-63
Author(s):  
Mariana Sandu ◽  
Stefan Mantea
Keyword(s):  
Technological Progress ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Determinant Factor ◽  
Rapid Transformation

Abstract Agri-food systems include branching ramifications, which connect in the upstream the input suppliers with farmers, and downstream farmers, processors, retailers and consumers. In the last decades, at the level of the regions, food systems have undergone rapid transformation as a result of technological progress. The paper analyzes the changes made to the structure, behavior and performance of the agri-food system and the impact on farmers and consumers. Also, the role of agricultural research as a determinant factor of transformation of agri-food system is analyzed. The research objective is to develop technologies that cover the entire food chain (from farm to fork) and meet the specific requirements of consumers (from fork to farm) through scientific solutions in line with the principles of sustainable agriculture and ensuring the safety and food safety of the population.

scholarly journals How Will the Use of Technology in Translation and Testing Affect Language Learning?

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Michael Bourne
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Human Element ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
The One ◽  
Impact Of Technology ◽  
Age Range ◽  
The Impact

Technology has an ever increasing impact on how we work and live. Article adressed the issue of the impact of technology in two key areas of language learning. On the one side learners increasingly used technology to translate. Given this trend, was there any real need to learn a language. On the other side, educational institutions increasingly used technology to rate language proficiency. Given this trend, would the work of the teacher become less and less important. The survey was conducted by using quantitative method. The respondents’ age range was 18-25. There were 53 respondents, 35% were male and 65% were female. The instrument was a questionaire having 9 questions describing the students’ reliance on computer in translation. It can be concluded that learners of English indicate that they accept and welcome the role of technology in language learning, but there is a doubt that the role and participation of humans in the learning process will be completely replaced. The human element remains an important ingredient. (EE)

scholarly journals Inferring recent evolutionary changes in speech sounds

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1824) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Moran ◽  
Nicholas A. Lester ◽  
Eitan Grossman
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Past ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact

In this paper, we investigate evolutionarily recent changes in the distributions of speech sounds in the world's languages. In particular, we explore the impact of language contact in the past two millennia on today's distributions. Based on three extensive databases of phonological inventories, we analyse the discrepancies between the distribution of speech sounds of ancient and reconstructed languages, on the one hand, and those in present-day languages, on the other. Furthermore, we analyse the degree to which the diffusion of speech sounds via language contact played a role in these discrepancies. We find evidence for substantive differences between ancient and present-day distributions, as well as for the important role of language contact in shaping these distributions over time. Moreover, our findings suggest that the distributions of speech sounds across geographic macro-areas were homogenized to an observable extent in recent millennia. Our findings suggest that what we call the Implicit Uniformitarian Hypothesis, at least with respect to the composition of phonological inventories, cannot be held uncritically. Linguists who would like to draw inferences about human language based on present-day cross-linguistic distributions must consider their theories in light of even short-term language evolution. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Reconstructing prehistoric languages’.

scholarly journals Energy Saving as an Important Factor in Ensuring Product Competitiveness

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (48) ◽  
pp. 120-125
Author(s):  
O. P. Vashkiv ◽  
◽  
S. B. Smereka ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Saving ◽  
Specific Energy Consumption ◽  
Environmental Standards ◽  
Manufacturing Enterprise ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Industrial Enterprises ◽  
The Face ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact

The article is aimed at studying the features of energy saving at a manufacturing enterprise and establishing a cause-and-effect relationship between energy saving and product competitiveness. Due to analyzing and generalizing the research results of domestic and foreign scientists the views of researchers on the process of energy saving at a manufacturing enterprise are systematized; the growing role of energy saving in ensuring energy efficiency and, consequently, product competitiveness is established. The research results show that energy saving at an enterprise is one of its most important assets, the impact of which on the level of product competitiveness is becoming increasingly important in the face of the exacerbating energy and environmental crises. Energy saving, basically focusing on the intensification of production processes and use of energy and energy resources, on the one hand, reduces the level of specific energy consumption and, consequently, the price of the released product while maintaining or increasing its quality; on the other hand, it reduces the carbon loading on the environment, thus contributes to the growth of the company's image among its consumers and partners. Both components are the most important factors in ensuring product competitiveness. The development and implementation of energy saving measures at industrial enterprises, with regard to the industry-specific character of economic entities, market conditions, and the requirements of environmental standards can serve as prospects for further research

University Social Responsibility

2021 ◽  
pp. 230-241
Author(s):  
Doina Stratu-Strelet ◽  
Anna Karina López-Hernández ◽  
Vicente Guerola-Navarro ◽  
Hermenegildo Gil-Gómez ◽  
Raul Oltra-Badenes
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
The Other ◽  
Public Private Partnerships ◽  
Market Strategy ◽  
Private Partnership ◽  
The One ◽  
Dissemination Of Results ◽  
The Impact

This chapter highlights the role of technology-based universities in public-private partnerships (PPP) to strengthen and deploy the digital single market strategy. Moreover, it analyzes how these collaboration channels have link knowledge management as a tool for sustainable collaboration. Given the need to establish collaboration channels with the private sector, according to Lee, it is critical to establish the impact of sharing sophisticated knowledge and partnering at the same time. This chapter wants to highlights two relevant aspects of PPP: on the one hand, the importance of integrating the participation of a technology-based university with three objectives: (1) the coordination, (2) the funding management, and (3) the dissemination of results; and the other hand, the participation private sector that is represented by agile agents capable to execute high-value actions for society. With the recognition of these values, the investment and interest of the projects under way are justified by public-private partnership.

Representations of the (woman) judge: Hercules, the little mermaid, and the vain and naked Emperor

Legal Studies ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 602-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Rackley
Keyword(s):  
Fairy Tale ◽  
The Other ◽  
Women Judges ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Alternative Understanding ◽  
Woman Judge

This paper reconsiders images of the judge and, in particular, the position of the woman judge using fairy tale and myth. It begins by exploring the actuality of women's exclusion within the judiciary, traditional explanations for this and the impact of recent changes. It goes on to consider the image of the Herculean judge, arguing that whilst we may view him as an ideological construct, or even as a fairy tale, we routinely deny this to ourselves and to others. This both ensures the normative survival of Hercules and simultaneously constrains counter-images of judges, including that of the woman judge, who becomes almost a contradiction in terms, faced with the need to shed her difference and fit the fairy tale. Like the little mermaid, the woman judge must trade her voice for partial acceptance in the prince's world.This image of silencing which Andersen's tale so vividly captures highlights a paradox in current discourses of adjudication. On the one hand, women judges are viewed as desirable in order to broaden the range of perspectives on the bench, thus making the judiciary more representative; on the other hand, judges are supposed to be without perspective, thus suggesting there is little need for a representative judiciary. Feminists and other commentators negotiate their way uncomfortably through this territory, acknowledging a gender dimension to adjudication, but failing fully to confront its implications. This paper seeks to ‘undress’ the judge, to flush out images of adjudication which deter or prevent women from joining the judiciary and constrain their potential within it. It highlights both the role of the imagination in existing conceptions of adjudication and the increasing necessity for a re-imagined Hercules – an alternative understanding of the judge which women and other groups currently underrepresented on the bench can comfortably and constructively occupy.

scholarly journals The Role of Personality Factors in the Reduction of Intergroup Anxiety and Amelioration of Outgroup Attitudes via Intergroup Contact

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhiannon N. Turner ◽  
Kristof Dhont ◽  
Miles Hewstone ◽  
Andrew Prestwich ◽  
Christiana Vonofakou
Keyword(s):  
Intergroup Contact ◽  
Openness To Experience ◽  
Prejudice Reduction ◽  
The Other ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Intergroup Anxiety ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Potential Confound

Two studies investigated the role of personality factors in the amelioration of outgroup attitudes via intergroup contact. In study 1, the effect of extraversion on outgroup attitude operated via an increase in cross–group friendship, whereas openness to experience and agreeableness had a direct effect on outgroup attitude. In study 2, we included intergroup anxiety as a mediator explaining these relationships, and we ruled out ingroup friendship as a potential confound. We found that the relationships between openness to experience and agreeableness on the one hand and outgroup attitude on the other were mediated by reduced intergroup anxiety. In addition, the effect of extraversion on outgroup attitude operated via an increase in cross–group friendship that was in turn associated with lower levels of intergroup anxiety. Across both studies, the friendship–attitude relationship was stronger among those low in agreeableness and extraversion. We discuss the importance of integrating personality and situational approaches to prejudice reduction in optimizing the impact of contact–based interventions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

scholarly journals The Collection Efficiency of Shielded and Unshielded Precipitation Gauges. Part II: Modeling Particle Trajectories

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Colli ◽  
Luca G. Lanza ◽  
Roy Rasmussen ◽  
Julie M. Thériault
Keyword(s):  
Collection Efficiency ◽  
Time Dependent ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Turbulent Structures ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Efficiency Comparison ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The use of windshields to reduce the impact of wind on snow measurements is common. This paper investigates the catching performance of shielded and unshielded gauges using numerical simulations. In Part II, the role of the windshield and gauge aerodynamics, as well as the varying flow field due to the turbulence generated by the shield–gauge configuration, in reducing the catch efficiency is investigated. This builds on the computational fluid dynamics results obtained in Part I, where the airflow patterns in the proximity of an unshielded and single Alter shielded Geonor T-200B gauge are obtained using both time-independent [Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS)] and time-dependent [large-eddy simulation (LES)] approaches. A Lagrangian trajectory model is used to track different types of snowflakes (wet and dry snow) and to assess the variation of the resulting gauge catching performance with the wind speed. The collection efficiency obtained with the LES approach is generally lower than the one obtained with the RANS approach. This is because of the impact of the LES-resolved turbulence above the gauge orifice rim. The comparison between the collection efficiency values obtained in case of shielded and unshielded gauge validates the choice of installing a single Alter shield in a windy environment. However, time-dependent simulations show that the propagating turbulent structures produced by the aerodynamic response of the upwind single Alter blades have an impact on the collection efficiency. Comparison with field observations provides the validation background for the model results.

University Challenge? Innovation Policy and SMEs in Welsh Economic Development Policy

2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Pickernell ◽  
Gary Packham ◽  
Brychan Thomas ◽  
Robyn Keast
Keyword(s):  
Development Policy ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Economic Development Policy ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Innovation And Entrepreneurship

There is a clear research issue for Wales regarding the roles and interactions of government policy, HEIs, SMEs and the creation and dissemination of innovation. A study of the views of key policy makers concerning innovation and entrepreneurship in Wales is undertaken, especially with regard to the development of innovation within SMEs and the policy implications for economic regeneration. The role of a variety of actors (including users and suppliers) is considered, as is the impact of networks of SMEs linked together in patterns of cooperation and affiliation. From the results and the analysis of interviews, key points of significance to innovation, entrepreneurship, higher education and economic regeneration policy making in Wales are reported.

scholarly journals Direct Regulation of the T Cell Antigen Receptor's Activity by Cholesterol

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salma Pathan-Chhatbar ◽  
Carina Drechsler ◽  
Kirsten Richter ◽  
Anna Morath ◽  
Wei Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cell ◽  
Cholesterol Concentration ◽  
Cell Antigen ◽  
Tm Domain ◽  
The One ◽  
Tcr Activation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Plasma Membrane Cholesterol ◽  
Cholesterol Binding

Biological membranes consist of hundreds of different lipids that together with the embedded transmembrane (TM) proteins organize themselves into small nanodomains. In addition to this function of lipids, TM regions of proteins bind to lipids in a very specific manner, but the function of these TM region-lipid interactions is mostly unknown. In this review, we focus on the role of plasma membrane cholesterol, which directly binds to the αβ T cell antigen receptor (TCR), and has at least two opposing functions in αβ TCR activation. On the one hand, cholesterol binding to the TM domain of the TCRβ subunit keeps the TCR in an inactive, non-signaling conformation by stabilizing this conformation. This assures that the αβ T cell remains quiescent in the absence of antigenic peptide-MHC (the TCR's ligand) and decreases the sensitivity of the T cell toward stimulation. On the other hand, cholesterol binding to TCRβ leads to an increased formation of TCR nanoclusters, increasing the avidity of the TCRs toward the antigen, thus increasing the sensitivity of the αβ T cell. In mouse models, pharmacological increase of the cholesterol concentration in T cells caused an increase in TCR clustering, and thereby enhanced anti-tumor responses. In contrast, the γδ TCR does not bind to cholesterol and might be regulated in a different manner. The goal of this review is to put these seemingly controversial findings on the impact of cholesterol on the αβ TCR into perspective.

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