An Integrated Methodology to Study Riparian Vegetation Dynamics: From Field Data to Impact Modeling

Abstract Riparian environments are highly dynamic ecosystems that support biodiversity and numerous services and that are conditioned by anthropogenic activities and climate change. In this work, we propose an integrated methodology that combines different research approaches—field studies and numerical and analytical modeling—in order to calibrate an ecohydrological stochastic model for riparian vegetation. The model yields vegetation biomass statistics and requires hydrological, topographical, and biological data as input. The biological parameters, namely, the carrying capacity and the flood‐related decay rate, are the target of the calibration as they are related to intrinsic features of vegetation and site‐specific environmental conditions. The calibration is here performed for two bars located within the riparian zone of the Cinca River (Spain). According to our results, the flood‐related decay rate has a spatial dependence that reflects the zonation of different plant species over the study site. The carrying capacity depends on the depth of the phreatic surface, and it is adequately described by a right‐skewed curve. The calibrated model well reproduces the actual biogeography of the Cinca riparian zone. The overall percentage absolute difference between the real and the computed biomass amounts to 9.3% and 3.3% for the two bars. The model is further used to predict the future evolution of riparian vegetation in a climate‐change scenario. The results show that the change of hydrological regime forecast by future climate projections may induce dramatic reduction of vegetation biomass and strongly modify the Cinca riparian biogeography

Marital relationships and somatic and psychological symptoms in pregnancy

The relevance of marital relationships to somatic and psychological symptoms in late pregnancy was examined. Fifty-four primiparae at the 7th month of pregnancy completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Ryle Marital Patterns Test (RMPT), which was also completed by their husbands. Multiple regression analyses identified the husbands' ratings of nurturance behaviour as the best predictors of somatic and social dysfunction symptoms in late pregnancy. Higher perception of care by the husband was associated with a higher number of symptoms in wives. A high level of exchanged affection reported by wives is associated with lower levels of symptoms of anxiety and insomnia. The implication of these findings is discussed

Carcinoid to cecal bowel localization: a case report and literature review.

Institute of Clinical Surgery IV, La Sapienza, University of Rome, Italy

Preparation courses for childbirth in primipara. A comparison

Effects of respiratory autogenic training (RAT) for childbirth preparation on relaxation and anxiety during delivery and on pain and behavior were compared with those of the traditional psychoprophylactic course (TPP) in primipara. 34 women (ages 20-35 yrs) were assigned randomly to 1 of the 2 courses and given the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, Maudsley Personality Inventory, General Health Questionnaire, and other self-administered anxiety ratings. Both courses had similar outcomes but, having eliminated by means of covariance analyses the effects of the initial anxiety level, the RAT Ss reported less anxiety before entering the labor ward and less pain during labor. The expulsion time, corrected for "anxiety before labor" (covariate), was shorter in the RAT group. In none of the RAT participants, compared to 4 of the TPP Ss, did a vacuum extractor have to be used. (13 ref) ((c) 1997 APA/PsycINFO, all rights reserved