Towards a historical ecology of intertidal foraging in the Mafia Archipelago: archaeomalacology and implications for marine resource management

Understanding the timing and nature of human influence on coastal and island ecosystems is becoming a central concern in archaeological research, particularly when investigated within a historical ecology framework. Unfortunately, the coast and islands of eastern Africa have not figured significantly within this growing body of literature, but are important given their historically contingent environmental, social, and political contexts, as well as the considerable threats now posed to marine ecosystems. Here, we begin developing a longer-term understanding of past marine resource use in the Mafia Archipelago (eastern Africa), an area of high ecological importance containing the Mafia Island Marine Park. Focusing on the comparatively less researched marine invertebrates provides a means for initiating discussion on potential past marine ecosystem structure, human foraging and environmental shifts, and the implications for contemporary marine resource management. The available evidence suggests that human-environment interactions over the last 2000 years were complex and dynamic; however, these data raise more questions than answers regarding the specific drivers of changes observed in the archaeomalacological record. This is encouraging as a baseline investigation and emphasizes the need for further engagement with historical ecology by a range of cognate disciplines to enhance our understanding of these complex issues

On radial limit functions for entire solutions of second order elliptic equations in

Given a homogeneous elliptic partial di®erential operator L of order two with constant complex coe±cients in R2, we consider entire solutions of the equation Lu = 0 for whic

Time-trends and treatment gaps in the antithrombotic management of patients with atrial fibrillation after percutaneous coronary intervention: Insights from the CHUM AF-STENT Registry.

BACKGROUND: The management of atrial fibrillation and flutter (AF) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has undergone a rapid recent evolution. In 2016, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) published expert recommendations to help guide clinicians in balancing bleeding and thrombotic risks in these patients. HYPOTHESIS: Antithrombotic regimen prescriptions for AF patients undergoing PCI evolved after the publication of the 2016 CCS AF guidelines. METHODS: A prospective cohort of AF patients undergoing PCI with placement of a coronary stent from a single tertiary academic center was analyzed for the recommended antithrombotic regimen at discharge. Prescribing behavior was compared between three time periods (Cohort A [2010-2011]; Cohort B [2014-2015]; Cohort C [2017]) using the χ2 test. In addition, antithrombotic management in Cohorts B and C were compared to guideline-recommended therapy. RESULTS: A total of 459 patients with AF undergoing PCI were identified. Clinical and procedural characteristics were similar between cohorts, with the exception of an increase in drug-eluting stent (DES) use over time (P < .01). Overall, the rate of oral anticoagulation (OAC) increased over time (P < .01), associated with an increase in nonvitamin K OAC prescription (P < .01) and a concomitant decrease in vitamin K antagonist prescription (P < .01). Despite this, the overall rate of anticoagulation remains below what would be predicted with perfect guideline compliance (75% vs 94%, P < .01). CONCLUSION: There has been a dramatic shift in clinical practice for AF patients requiring PCI, with increases in prescription of OAC even in the context of an increase in the use of DES. However, room for further practice optimization still exists

El papel del desarrollo sostenible en el atractivo del turismo urbano

This paper investigates the role of sustainable development in city tourism attractiveness. A tripartite theoretical model of tourism attractiveness was tested to verify the relevance of the economic, environmental, social and cultural aspects of urban sustainable development. The comparative analysis of Québec City and Bordeaux was based on visitors’ perceptions established through a questionnaire survey conducted with 499 tourists in summer 2014. This analysis produced three main findings. First, four levels of city tourism attractiveness were revealed (context, belt, complementary attractions and nucleus) and variables related to the urban living environment stood out in importance. Second, visitors recognized four sustainable development dimensions, and proved most sensitive to cultural aspects, followed by environmental concerns. Third, the correlations between tourism attractiveness and sustainable development were stronger within the broader spheres of attractiveness. The study reveals that sustainability notions are most strongly internalized by tourists when tangibly reflected in the public space. By offering visitors new perspectives on urban living, sustainable development brings smart solutions to perpetuate the urban tourism industry while improving quality of life for residents.Este artículo investiga el papel del desarrollo sostenible en el atractivo del turismo urbano. Se probó un modelo teórico tripartito de atractivo turístico para verificar la relevancia de los aspectos económicos, ambientales, sociales y culturales del desarrollo urbano sostenible. El análisis comparativo de la ciudad de Québec y Burdeos se basó en las percepciones de los visitantes establecidas a través de una encuesta realizada con 499 turistas en el verano de 2014. Este análisis arrojó tres conclusiones principales. Primero, se manifestaron cuatro niveles de atractivo para la ciudad (contexto, cinturón, atracciones complementarias y núcleos) y destacaron las variables relacionadas con el entorno urbano. En segundo lugar, los visitantes reconocieron cuatro dimensiones de desarrollo sostenible y demostraron ser más sensibles a los aspectos culturales, seguidos de las preocupaciones ambientales. En tercer lugar, las correlaciones entre el atractivo turístico y el desarrollo sostenible eran más fuertes dentro de las esferas más amplias del atractivo turístico. El estudio revela que las nociones de sostenibilidad están más fuertemente internalizadas por los turistas cuando se reflejan de manera tangible en el espacio público. Ofreciendo a los visitantes nuevas perspectivas sobre la vida urbana, el desarrollo sostenible brinda soluciones inteligentes para perpetuar la industria del turismo urbano al tiempo que mejora la calidad de vida de los residentes

A fast and reliable method for the delineation of tree crown outlines for the computation of crown openness values and other crown parameters

Numerous crown parameters (e.g., leaf area index, diameter, height, volume) can be obtained via the analysis of tree crown photographs. In all cases, parameter values are functions of the position of the crown outline. However, no standardized method to delineate crowns exists. To explore the effect of different outlines on tree crown descriptors, in this case crown openness (CO), and facilitate the adoption of a standard method free of user bias, we developed the program Crown Delineator that automatically delineates any outline around tree crowns following predetermined sensibility settings. We used different outlines to analyze tree CO in contrasting settings: using saplings from four species in young boreal mixedwood forests and medium-sized hybrid poplar trees from a low-density plantation. In both cases, the estimated CO increases when calculated from a looser outline, which had a strong influence on understory available light simulations using a forest simulator. These results demonstrate that the method used to trace crown outlines is an important step in the determination of CO values. We provide a much-needed computer-assisted solution to help standardize this procedure, which can also be used in many other situations in which the delineation of tree crowns is needed (e.g., competition and crown shyness)

Discovering Sindh’s Past: Selections from the Journal of the Sindh Historical Society, 1934-1948. Introduction

International audienceThis introduction locates conceptually and historically the selection of articles from the Journal of the Sindh Historical Society reproduced in the book. We first counter the common notion that describes Sindhi identity as “syncretic” and highlight how religious identities acquired greater political salience in Sindh in the decades leading up to Partition in 1947. This context of heightened religious polarization was the one in which the members of the Sind Historical Society wrote the articles reproduced here. Collectively, these articles not only deepen knowledge about Sindh but also the history of Pakistan and the diversity of its people. Hence, they point toward how the histories of region and nation should be “intertwined” rather than exclusive

Emotional distress in infertile women and failure of assisted reproductive technologies: meta-analysis of prospective psychosocial studies

Objective To examine whether pretreatment emotional distress in women is associated with achievement of pregnancy after a cycle of assisted reproductive technology