Forest Biodiversity Assessment in Peruvian Andean Montane Cloud Forest

Cloud forests are unusual and fragile habitats, being one of the least studied and least understood ecosystems. The tropical Andean dominion is considered one of the most significant places in the world as rega rds biological diversity, with a very high level of endemism. The biodiversity was analysed in an isolated remnant area of a tropical montane cloud forest known as the ?Bosque de Neblina de Cuyas?, in the North of the Peruvian Andean range. Composition, structure and dead wood were measured or estimated. The values obtained were compared with other cloud forests. The study revealed a high level of forest biodiversity, although the level of biodiversity differs from one area to another: in the inner areas, where human pressure is almost inexistent, the biodiversity values increase. The high species richness and the low dominance among species bear testimony to this montane cloud forest as a real enclave of biodiversity

The construction of data to reflect the research objective, and how randomisation tests make such data usable

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"INTERNET, SCALE AND THE GLOBAL GRASSROOTS: GEOGRAPHIES OF THE INDYMEDIA NETWORK OF INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTRES"

This paper addresses the role of the Internet in global collective action through an analysis of the scale practices of the Indymedia network. Indymedia is a worldwide network of interlinked websites run by volunteers organised in local Independent Media Centres (IMCs). These websites, a global site at http://www.indymedia.org and over one hundred local sites, are meant to empower activists groups by providing them with a media platform. The case study focuses on the role of the Internet in four facets of collective action: grievances and alternatives, organisation, mobilisation and identities. The analysis deals more specifically with scales, examining scaling practices in the light of three scale metaphors (scale as level, scale as size, scale as relation). While scales are also framed as bounded areas (territorial communities to be served) and as levels when targeting specific government agencies, the prevailing scale frame is that of a network of scales in which the local and the global mutually constitute each other. Copyright (c) 2004 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.

Oxidative Stress and Anti-oxidative Defense in Schoolchildren Residing in a Petrochemical Industry Environment

Objective: To evaluate the possible relationship between industrial air pollution and oxidative stress in schoolchildren by comparing parameters from children residing in two nearby localities with contrasting environmental conditions. Participants: 42 schoolchildren (12-15 years) from Pancevo (site of Serbia's largest petrochemical installation) formed the exposed group. 82 schoolchildren from Kovacica village, located 30 km north of Pancevo, formed the non-exposed group. Methods: Oxidative stress status, anti-oxidative defense parameters, paraoxonase-1 status, lipid status, glucose concentration and leukocyte counts were compared in two groups. Results: The children from Pancevo showed higher level of oxidative stress demonstrated by an elevated malondialdehyde concentration (P lt 0.001) and decreased superoxide dismutase activity (P lt 0.01) in comparison to the non-exposed group. Conclusions: The results suggested a relationship between the presence of air pollutants and increased oxidative stress in schoolchildren residing in an industrial environment