Contribution of Vegetation to the Microbial Composition of Nearby Outdoor Air.

UnlabelledGiven that epiphytic microbes are often found in large population sizes on plants, we tested the hypothesis that plants are quantitatively important local sources of airborne microorganisms. The abundance of microbial communities, determined by quantifying bacterial 16S RNA genes and the fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, in air collected directly above vegetation was 2- to 10-fold higher than that in air collected simultaneously in an adjacent nonvegetated area 50 m upwind. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling revealed that the composition of airborne bacteria in upwind air samples grouped separately from that of downwind air samples, while communities on plants and downwind air could not be distinguished. In contrast, fungal taxa in air samples were more similar to each other than to the fungal epiphytes. A source-tracking algorithm revealed that up to 50% of airborne bacteria in downwind air samples were presumably of local plant origin. The difference in the proportional abundances of a given operational taxonomic unit (OTU) between downwind and upwind air when regressed against the proportional representation of this OTU on the plant yielded a positive slope for both bacteria and fungi, indicating that those taxa that were most abundant on plants proportionally contributed more to downwind air. Epiphytic fungi were less of a determinant of the microbiological distinctiveness of downwind air and upwind air than epiphytic bacteria. Emigration of epiphytic bacteria and, to a lesser extent, fungi, from plants can thus influence the microbial composition of nearby air, a finding that has important implications for surrounding ecosystems, including the built environment into which outdoor air can penetrate.ImportanceThis paper addresses the poorly understood role of bacterial and fungal epiphytes, the inhabitants of the aboveground plant parts, in the composition of airborne microbes in outdoor air. It is widely held that epiphytes contribute to atmospheric microbial assemblages, but much of what we know is limited to qualitative assessments. Elucidating the sources of microbes in outdoor air can inform basic biological processes seen in airborne communities (e.g., dispersal and biogeographical patterns). Furthermore, given the considerable contribution of outdoor air to microbial communities found within indoor environments, the understanding of plants as sources of airborne microbes in outdoor air might contribute to our understanding of indoor air quality. With an experimental design developed to minimize the likelihood of other-than-local plant sources contributing to the composition of airborne microbes, we provide direct evidence that plants are quantitatively important local sources of airborne microorganisms, with implications for the surrounding ecosystems

Socio-spatial factors associated with ethnic inequalities in districts of England and Wales, 2001–2011

This paper explores the changing geography of ethnic inequality in England and Wales drawing on data from the 2001 and 2011 censuses. Specifically, we use the 2011 Office for National Statistics (ONS) area classification to examine how ethnic inequalities within local areas with different demographic and socio-economic characteristics have changed over time. Local ethnic inequalities are examined through a set of indicators which capture differences in housing, health, employment and education between ethnic minority groups and the White British in local authority districts in England and Wales. The results suggest that ethnic inequalities are widespread and persistent, and highlight the different ways in which inequalities manifest for particular ethnic groups in different localities. Ethnic inequality in housing and employment is severe for most ethnic minority groups, particularly in large urban areas that have been traditional settlement areas for ethnic minorities. However, inequalities increased most over the decade 2001–2011 in rural and coastal areas that have low ethnic diversity levels and small ethnic minority populations. The paper considers these findings in relation to theories of service provision and racism, ethnic density, and immigrant adaptation.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Who, where and what should be the focus of addressing deprivation and ethnic inequality to promote integration?

The disadvantage of ethnic minorities is a central feature of British society. The Casey Review into Opportunity and Integration commissioned by the government shines a light on the persistent socio-economic inequalities of ethnic minority groups and calls for deprivation and inequality to be tackled as a means of promoting integration. But who, where and what should be the focus for addressing ethnic inequalities? Kitty Lymperopoulou and Nissa Finney provide some pointers, from the Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE)’s work with Runnymede on local ethnic inequalities

Pronunciation training with non-native automatic speech recognition

In this thesis I investigate the way that automatic speech recognition can be best implemented so as to be smoothly integrated in the classes of teaching a foreign language. The main goal of this thesis was to implement a speech recogniser who would identify pronunciation mistakes made by Greek native speakers when speaking German. In particular, I am investigating the recognition of duration of vowels. The proposed recogniser shows that there is a difference between conventional recognisers and those who are directed to teaching of pronunciation, given that more principles need to be taken into consideration and more fields need to work together for a satisfactory result

Tetranuclear Zn2Ln2 coordination clusters as catalysts in Petasis borono-Mannich multicomponent reaction

We report herein for the first time the efficiency of heteronuclear Zn/Ln coordination clusters (CCs) as catalysts for the multicomponent Mannich-type condensation that involves amines, aldehydes and boronic acids, known as Petasis borono-Mannich (RBR) reaction. The reaction proceeds in very good to excellent yields (84-98%, 17 products) at room temperature with catalyst loadings as low as 1.0 mol%

Ο ρόλος του εισαγγελέα κατά την απονομή της δικαιοσύνης και η προστασία δεδομένων προσωπικού χαρακτήρα

Αντικείμενο της παρούσας διπλωματικής αποτελεί η εξέταση του ρόλου που αναλαμβάνει ο εισαγγελέας στο σύστημα προστασίας δεδομένων προσωπικού χαρακτήρα κατά την άσκηση των αρμοδιοτήτων του. Η έρευνα επικεντρώνεται σε δύο βασικές εισαγγελικές αρμοδιότητες: την δυνατότητα του εισαγγελέα να επιτρέπει τη δημοσιοποίηση προσωπικών δεδομένων σχετικά με ποινικές διώξεις και καταδίκες και το ρόλο του στη διαδικασία πρόσβασης του πολίτη σε διοικητικά έγγραφα, τα οποία περιέχουν προσωπικά δεδομένα.The subject of this thesis is to examine the role of the public prosecutor in personal data protection while exercising his/her powers. The research focuses on two key public prosecutor responsibilities: the ability of the public prosecutor to allow the disclosure of personal data on criminal prosecutions and criminal convictions and its role in the process of allowing citizen access to administrative documents containing personal data

Ψυχολογικό φορτίο και μηχανισμοί άμυνας των νοσηλευτών που εργάζονται σε νεογνικές ΜΕΝ και ΜΑΦ σε τριτοβάθμια παιδιατρικά νοσοκομεία

Ιστορικό: Οι Μονάδες Εντατικής Νοσηλείας Νεογνών (ΜΕΝΝ) και οι Μονάδες Αυξημένης Φροντίδας (ΜΑΦ) είναι εργασιακά περιβάλλοντα με αυξημένο φόρτο εργασίας για νοσηλευτές, που διαδραματίζουν θεμελιώδη ρόλο στη θεραπευτική ομάδα. Οι νοσηλευτές των ΜΕΝΝ έχουν βαρύτερο φόρτο εργασίας και περισσότερες υποχρεώσεις από τους νοσηλευτές που εργάζονται σε ανοιχτά τμήματα. Συχνά καλούνται να πάρουν γρήγορες αποφάσεις ή να αντιμετωπίσουν ασθενείς που χρειάζονται πρώτες βοήθειες ή άλλη επείγουσα αντίδραση. Μέθοδος και υλικό: Ο σκοπός της παρούσας – ποιοτικής έρευνας είναι να αξιολογήσει την ψυχολογική επιβάρυνση την οποία υφίστανται οι νοσηλευτές που εργάζονται δίπλα σε νεογνά, στις ΜΕΝΝ και ΜΑΦ στα δύο παιδιατρικά νοσοκομεία ΑΓΙΑ ΣΟΦΙΑ και ΠΑΝΑΓΙΩΤΗ & ΑΓΛΑΪΑ ΚΥΡΙΑΚΟΥ καθώς και τους μηχανισμούς άμυνας που αναπτύσσουν προκειμένου να διάγουν μια ήρεμη και φυσιολογική ζωή. Διανεμήθηκε ειδικό ερωτηματολόγιο σε 107 νοσηλευτές των 2 νοσοκομείων, συλλέχθηκαν 102 και τα δεδομένα αναλύθηκαν με ποσοτική μέθοδο. Αποτελέσματα: Όσο αφορά στον παράγοντα σωματική κόπωση το δείγμα εμφανίζει αυξημένη τάση 90,2%, και άγχος το 86,3%. Ειδικότερα η συναισθηματική φόρτιση των νοσηλευτών παρουσιάζει υψηλές τιμές 64%, εξαιτίας της ιδιαιτερότητας των τμημάτων και της ηλικίας των ασθενών ενώ η σωματική καταβολή 90,2%, είναι απόρροια των πολυετών βαρδιών της δυσχέρειας της οριζόντιας και κάθετης επικοινωνίας και της μεγάλης έλλειψης προσωπικού. Η ικανοποίηση που φαίνεται να λαμβάνουν οι νοσηλευτές από την δουλειά τους φαίνεται να είναι υψηλή 94,2%. Τελικά οι νοσηλευτές που αναπτύσσουν έναν ή περισσότερους μηχανισμούς άμυνας, παρουσιάζουν λιγότερες αρνητικές αντιδράσεις. Συμπεράσματα: Η ψυχολογική και σωματική επιβάρυνση των νοσηλευτών που εργάζονται στις νεογνικές ΜΕΝ και ΜΑΦ είναι αδιαμφισβήτητη. Το σύνδρομο της επαγγελματικής εξουθένωσης (burnout) σε συνδυασμό με την έλλειψη ύπνου, τα αυξημένα επαγγελματικά και οικογενειακά καθήκοντα, τα εξαντλητικά ωράρια καθώς και ο αθέμιτος ανταγωνισμός, δημιουργεί ένα επισφαλές εργασιακό περιβάλλον και μειώνει την απόδοση των νοσηλευτών ορίζοντας έτσι έναν αέναο φαύλο κύκλο στον οποίο το στρες παίζει κυρίαρχο ρόλο. Για να αντιρροπήσουν την κατάσταση αυτή, αναπτύσσουν ο καθένας διαφορετικούς μηχανισμούς άμυνας.BACKGROUND: Intensive Care Units are increased workload environments for nurses, who play a fundamental role within the health care team. IC Nurses have more obligations than nurses working in other wards; they are often faced with situations in which they have to make quick decisions in the event of patients requiring First Aid or emergency response. AIM/METHODS: The purpose of this research is to evaluate the burnout's degree of the Neonatal Nurses of the two pediatric hospitals of Athens, AGIA SOPHIA and PANAGIOTIS & AGLAIA KYRIAKOU, who they share with the premature babies and the neonates their battle for life and their march/path towards death. Moreover, we evaluate the defense mechanisms that they develop in order to have a peaceful and normal life. A questionnaire was distributed to 107 neonatal nurses. The data got analyzed by the use of the quantitative method. Results: The professional fatigue rate is 90,2% and the stress rate is 86,3%. Furthermore the neonatal nurses' physical tiredness 90,2%, comes from the multiannual shifts, the difficulty of the communication among levels and the serious lack of stuff. The nurses who often meet family and friends had less negative reactions due to their job. The neonatal nurses' emotional load is particularly high 64%, because of the department's diversity and the age of the patients. The personal accomplishment factor of the neonatal nurses is moderate to high 94,2%. Finally, the nurses who use more the defense mechanisms, had less negative reactions due to their job. CONCLUSION: The psychological and physical burden of the neonatal nurses are indisputable. The burnout syndrome combined with the lack of sleep, the increased professional and family responsibilities, the exhausting shifts and the competition creates a precarious work environment that reduces the nurse’s performance. They are overmastered by stress. In order to counterbalance this situation they develop one or more Defense Mechanisms

Immigration, diversity and trust: the competing and intersecting role of English language ability in the community

A growing number of studies have shown adverse effects of ethnic diversity on social cohesion routed in ethnic categorical differences, competition and racial threat. We build on previous research by examining the hypothesis that cultural (language) differentiation leads to lower intra-neighbourhood trust through feelings of anomie. Our results, based on data from the 2009–2011 UK Citizenship survey and a multilevel modelling framework, do not offer support for the proposition that diversity lowers trust through linguistic diversity and poor communication. In line with other studies, we find a negative association between ethnic diversity and trust and show that for the white group, this relationship does not depend on migrants’ levels of fluency in the majority language. In contrast, in neighbourhoods where migrants cannot speak English well, increases in ethnic diversity are associated with higher levels of neighbour trust among the non-white group

Inequality in exposure to crime, social disorganisation and collective efficacy: Evidence from Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

This paper assesses the relevance of social disorganisation and collective efficacy in accounting for neighbourhood inequalities in the exposure to crime. Specifically, it questions the potential of community and voluntary organisations to enhance informal social control and reduce exposure to crime. It utilises calls-for-service (incident) data for Greater Manchester (UK) and a Bayesian spatio-temporal modelling approach. Contrary to expectations, the research finds that measures of social disorganisation (concentrated disadvantage aside) and collective efficacy hold a limited effect on neighbourhood exposure to crime. We discuss the implications of these findings for criminological inquiry and theoretical development, highlighting the necessity of such endeavour to account for the national political-economy and welfare regime of research settings

Draft genome sequences of eight bacteria isolated from the indoor environment: Staphylococcus capitis strain H36, S. capitis strain H65, S. cohnii strain H62, S. hominis strain H69, Microbacterium sp. strain H83, Mycobacterium iranicum strain H39, Plantibacter sp. strain H53, and Pseudomonas oryzihabitans strain H72

Phylogenetic tree of Pseudomonas oryzihabitans H72. (PDF 111 kb