The phytosociological analysis of saline area of Tehsil Ferozewala, District Sheikhupura (Punjab), Pakistan

This study is a broad ecological survey, and classification of the vegetation of Agro Farm plantations of a Tehsil Ferozewala (District Sheikhupura) Punjab, Pakistan. The vegetation survey description and classification was according to Zurich-Montpellier School of thought is based on over 300 Relevé Method. In all twelve associations i.e. Suaedetum fruticosae, Kochietum indicum Diplachnetum fuscae, Desmostochyetum bipinnatae, maurorae, Polypogaetum monspeliensae, Erythraeo-Polypogaetum monspeliensae, Veteviarietum cylindrieae, Scirpetum maritimae and Typhetum angustitae are recognized and each association is further sub-divided into sub-associations and classified into its respective class, order and alliances according to central European Phyto-sociological methods. Several relationships of the plant community types have been worked out during this study. The soil characteristics of each vegetation type are discussed in relation to soil texture; pH, Conductivity, Carbonates, Bicarbonates, Chlorides and Sulphate as well as ecological affinities of each association are also described. By reintegrating these trees and shrubs back into agriculture landscape to reverse salinity such as Atriplex amnicla, Tamarix aphylla, Phoenix dactilifera, Prosopis spp. Susbenia bispinasa, Sesbenia sesbena, Casorina, Grewia asiatie, Psidium guava etc. The incorporation of these plants (grasses, shrubs and trees) into agriculture land system of the Punjab has potential to increase crop, fiber, wood and animal production and degradation of land will also be halted.Key words: Phyto-sociological, agroforestry, relev’es, plant associations, characteristic species, differential species, companion species

Second record of Pseudimares aphrodite H. Asp?ck et U. Asp?ck, 2009 (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae)

Some adults of Pseudimares aphrodite H. Asp?ck et U. Asp?ck, 2009 were observed and photographed while attracted by light in Southern Morocco, in August 2009 and 2011. Only the typus of this species, a male, was known previously from South Morocco too. Moreover the genus Pseudimares Kimmins, 1933 is perhaps the most enigmatic taxon among Neuroptera Myrmeleontidae. Its second species Pseudimares iris Kimmins, 1933 from Southern Iran is known also only in the type series, a male and a female. What little information we know about Pseudimares is reporte

Are chimpanzees really so poor at understanding imperative pointing? Some new data and an alternative view of canine and ape social cognition

There is considerable interest in comparative research on different species’ abilities to respond to human communicative cues such as gaze and pointing. It has been reported that some canines perform significantly better than monkeys and apes on tasks requiring the comprehension of either declarative or imperative pointing and these differences have been attributed to domestication in dogs. Here we tested a sample of chimpanzees on a task requiring comprehension of an imperative request and show that, though there are considerable individual differences, the performance by the apes rival those reported in pet dogs. We suggest that small differences in methodology can have a pronounced influence on performance on these types of tasks. We further suggest that basic differences in subject sampling, subject recruitment and rearing experiences have resulted in a skewed representation of canine abilities compared to those of monkeys and apes

Las estrategias de afrontamiento que utilizan los adolescentes ante situaciones que provocan miedo/ Coping strategies assumed by teenagers in situations that cause fear

objetivo: Identificar las estrategias de afrontamiento que usan los adolescentes mexicanos ante situaciones que provocan miedo. Método: El tipo de estudio fue no experimental. Los partici- pantes fueron 400 adolescentes mexicanos de nivel secundaria (50 % hombres y 50 % mujeres), Media de edad = 13.90 (DE= 0.96). Un instrumento midió la intensidad del miedo ante nueve tipos de situaciones: violencia social, animales, estar solo, médicos, situaciones sociales, lo desco- nocido, violencia doméstica, escuela y muerte (? = .93). Por medio de preguntas abiertas se pre- guntó a los participantes qué harían ante cada una de las situaciones, lo que permitió identificar el tipo de afrontamiento. Resultados: Las mujeres informaron mayor miedo que los hombres en todas las situaciones, excepto en miedo a la escuela, donde ellas tuvieron mayor puntaje. El patrón general fue que las mujeres usan más estrategias de desahogo emocional y búsqueda de apoyo, mientras que los hombres usan estrategias directas al problema, agresivas y de distracción. En particular, ante el miedo a la muerte, los hombres usan estrategias evitativas, distracción y búsqueda de apoyo, mientras que las mujeres usan estrategias directas al problema, desahogo emocional, búsqueda de apoyo, evitativas, distracción y agresivas. Ante el miedo a lo desconocido, los varones usan estrategias de distracción, agresivas y directas al problema, mientras que las muje- res usan desahogo emocional, directo al problema y agresivas. Las estrategias de afrontamiento no son buenas ni malas, su conveniencia depende del apoyo que brindan para resolver la situación que genera miedo

The plight of the sense-making ape

This is a selective review of the published literature on object-choice tasks, where participants use directional cues to find hidden objects. This literature comprises the efforts of researchers to make sense of the sense-making capacities of our nearest living relatives. This chapter is written to highlight some nonsensical conclusions that frequently emerge from this research. The data suggest that when apes are given approximately the same sense-making opportunities as we provide our children, then they will easily make sense of our social signals. The ubiquity of nonsensical contemporary scientific claims to the effect that humans are essentially--or inherently--more capable than other great apes in the understanding of simple directional cues is, itself, a testament to the power of preconceived ideas on human perception

In vitro toxicity of industrially relevant engineered nanoparticles in human alveolar epithelial cells: air–liquid interface versus submerged cultures

Diverse industries have already incorporated within their production processes engineered nanoparticles (ENP), increasing the potential risk of worker inhalation exposure. In vitro models have been widely used to investigate ENP toxicity. Air–liquid interface (ALI) cell cultures have been emerging as a valuable alternative to submerged cultures as they are more representative of the inhalation exposure to airborne nano-sized particles. We compared the in vitro toxicity of four ENP used as raw materials in the advanced ceramics sector in human alveolar epithelial-like cells cultured under submerged or ALI conditions. Submerged cultures were exposed to ENP liquid suspensions or to aerosolised ENP at ALI. Toxicity was assessed by determining LDH release, WST-1 metabolisation and DNA damage. Overall, cells were more sensitive to ENP cytotoxic effects when cultured and exposed under ALI. No significant cytotoxicity was observed after 24 h exposure to ENP liquid suspensions, although aerosolised ENP clearly affected cell viability and LDH release. In general, all ENP increased primary DNA damage regardless of the exposure mode, where an increase in DNA strand-breaks was only detected under submerged conditions. Our data show that at relevant occupational concentrations, the selected ENP exert mild toxicity to alveolar epithelial cells and exposure at ALI might be the most suitable choice when assessing ENP toxicity in respiratory models under realistic exposure conditions

In Vitro Toxicity of Industrially Relevant Engineered Nanoparticles in Human Alveolar Epithelial Cells: Air-Liquid Interface versus Submerged Cultures

This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineered Nanomaterials Exposure and Risk Assessment: Occupational Health and SafetyDiverse industries have already incorporated within their production processes engineered nanoparticles (ENP), increasing the potential risk of worker inhalation exposure. In vitro models have been widely used to investigate ENP toxicity. Air-liquid interface (ALI) cell cultures have been emerging as a valuable alternative to submerged cultures as they are more representative of the inhalation exposure to airborne nano-sized particles. We compared the in vitro toxicity of four ENP used as raw materials in the advanced ceramics sector in human alveolar epithelial-like cells cultured under submerged or ALI conditions. Submerged cultures were exposed to ENP liquid suspensions or to aerosolised ENP at ALI. Toxicity was assessed by determining LDH release, WST-1 metabolisation and DNA damage. Overall, cells were more sensitive to ENP cytotoxic effects when cultured and exposed under ALI. No significant cytotoxicity was observed after 24 h exposure to ENP liquid suspensions, although aerosolised ENP clearly affected cell viability and LDH release. In general, all ENP increased primary DNA damage regardless of the exposure mode, where an increase in DNA strand-breaks was only detected under submerged conditions. Our data show that at relevant occupational concentrations, the selected ENP exert mild toxicity to alveolar epithelial cells and exposure at ALI might be the most suitable choice when assessing ENP toxicity in respiratory models under realistic exposure conditions.This research was funded by CERASAFE (www.cerasafe.eu; accessed on 26 October 2021), with the support of ERA-NET SIINN (project id:16) and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT; SIINN/0004/2014). This work was also supported by the NanoBioBarriers project (PTDC/MED-TOX/31162/2017), co-financed by the Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI) through European Regional Development Funds (FEDER/FNR) and FCT; Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (projects PCIN-2015-173-C02-01 and CEX2018-000794- S-Severo Ochoa), and by the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation (CCCDI-UEFISCDI, project number 29/2016 within PNCDI III). M.J. Bessa (SFRH/BD/120646/2016) and F. Brandão (SFRH/BD/101060/2014) are recipients of FCT PhD scholarships under the framework of Human Capital Operating Program (POCH) and European Union funding. The Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences, of the ICBAS—University of Porto, offered additional funds. S. Fraga thanks FCT for funding through program DL 57/2016–Norma transitória (Ref. DL-57/INSA-06/2018). Thanks are also due to FCT/MCTES for the financial support to EPIUnit (UIDB/04750/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The science of clinical practice: disease diagnosis or patient prognosis? Evidence about "what is likely to happen" should shape clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis is the traditional basis for decision-making in clinical practice. Evidence is often lacking about future benefits and harms of these decisions for patients diagnosed with and without disease. We propose that a model of clinical practice focused on patient prognosis and predicting the likelihood of future outcomes may be more useful. DISCUSSION: Disease diagnosis can provide crucial information for clinical decisions that influence outcome in serious acute illness. However, the central role of diagnosis in clinical practice is challenged by evidence that it does not always benefit patients and that factors other than disease are important in determining patient outcome. The concept of disease as a dichotomous 'yes' or 'no' is challenged by the frequent use of diagnostic indicators with continuous distributions, such as blood sugar, which are better understood as contributing information about the probability of a patient's future outcome. Moreover, many illnesses, such as chronic fatigue, cannot usefully be labelled from a disease-diagnosis perspective. In such cases, a prognostic model provides an alternative framework for clinical practice that extends beyond disease and diagnosis and incorporates a wide range of information to predict future patient outcomes and to guide decisions to improve them. Such information embraces non-disease factors and genetic and other biomarkers which influence outcome. SUMMARY: Patient prognosis can provide the framework for modern clinical practice to integrate information from the expanding biological, social, and clinical database for more effective and efficient care

Plan de negocio para determinar la viabilidad de una empresa que implemente una plataforma de crowdlearning digital

El plan de negocios busca la creaci?n de una empresa que ofrezca un espacio que facilite el intercambio de conocimientos entre usuarios que tengan la necesidad de adquirir y/o compartir conocimientos, a trav?s de una plataforma digital de crowdlearning. ?CrowdX? es una empresa que ofrece un espacio que facilita el intercambio de conocimientos entre sus usuarios a trav?s de una plataforma digital de crowdlearning. Est? dirigido a personas que tengan la necesidad de adquirir y/o compartir conocimiento. La plataforma permitir? a los usuarios crear una ?b?squeda de asesor?a? sobre alg?n problema puntual de ?ndole profesional o acad?mico, mediante la cual podr?n ponerse en contacto con otros usuarios que se hayan postulado o hayan sido sugeridos por la plataforma a trav?s de recomendaciones inteligentes y valoraciones otorgadas por la comunidad, con el fin de concretar la asesor?a a trav?s de reuniones virtuales s?ncronas