Multifunctional shade‐tree management in tropical agroforestry landscapes – a review

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87099/1/j.1365-2664.2010.01939.x.pd

Effects of a partially supervised conditioning programme in cystic fibrosis: an international multi-centre randomised controlled trial (ACTIVATE-CF): study protocol

Physical activity (PA) and exercise have become an accepted and valued component of cystic fibrosis (CF) care. Regular PA and exercise can positively impact pulmonary function, improve physical fitness, and enhance health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, motivating people to be more active is challenging. Supervised exercise programs are expensive and labour intensive, and adherence falls off significantly once supervision ends. Unsupervised or partially supervised programs are less costly and more flexible, but compliance can be more problematic. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of a partially supervised exercise intervention along with regular motivation on forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) at 6 months in a large international group of CF patients. Secondary endpoints include patient reported HRQoL, as well as levels of anxiety and depression, and control of blood sugar.; It is planned that a total of 292 patients with CF 12 years and older with a FEV1 ≥ 35% predicted shall be randomised. Following baseline assessments (2 visits) patients are randomised into an intervention and a control group. Thereafter, they will be seen every 3 months for assessments in their centre for one year (4 follow-up visits). Along with individual counselling to increase vigorous PA by at least 3 h per week on each clinic visit, the intervention group documents daily PA and inactivity time and receives a step counter to record their progress within a web-based diary. They also receive monthly phone calls from the study staff during the first 6 months of the study. After 6 months, they continue with the step counter and web-based programme for a further 6 months. The control group receives standard care and keeps their PA level constant during the study period. Thereafter, they receive the intervention as well.; This is the first large, international multi-centre study to investigate the effects of a PA intervention in CF with motivational feedback on several health outcomes using modern technology. Should this relatively simple programme prove successful, it will be made available on a wider scale internationally.; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01744561 ; Registration date: December 6, 2012

Bats in the anthropogenic matrix: Challenges and opportunities for the conservation of chiroptera and their ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes

Intensification in land-use and farming practices has had largely negative effects on bats, leading to population declines and concomitant losses of ecosystem services. Current trends in land-use change suggest that agricultural areas will further expand, while production systems may either experience further intensification (particularly in developing nations) or become more environmentally friendly (especially in Europe). In this chapter, we review the existing literature on how agricultural management affects the bat assemblages and the behavior of individual bat species, as well as the literature on provision of ecosystem services by bats (pest insect suppression and pollination) in agricultural systems. Bats show highly variable responses to habitat conversion, with no significant change in species richness or measures of activity or abundance. In contrast, intensification within agricultural systems (i.e., increased agrochemical inputs, reduction of natural structuring elements such as hedges, woods, and marshes) had more consistently negative effects on abundance and species richness. Agroforestry systems appear to mitigate negative consequences of habitat conversion and intensification, often having higher abundances and activity levels than natural areas. Across biomes, bats play key roles in limiting populations of arthropods by consuming various agricultural pests. In tropical areas, bats are key pollinators of several commercial fruit species. However, these substantial benefits may go unrecognized by farmers, who sometimes associate bats with ecosystem disservices such as crop raiding. Given the importance of bats for global food production, future agricultural management should focus on “wildlife-friendly” farming practices that allow more bats to exploit and persist in the anthropogenic matrix so as to enhance provision of ecosystem services. Pressing research topics include (1) a better understanding of how local-level versus landscape-level management practices interact to structure bat assemblages, (2) the effects of new pesticide classes and GM crops on bat populations, and (3) how increased documentation and valuation of the ecosystem services provided by bats could improve attitudes of producers toward their conservation

RELACIÓN ENTRE PERFIL LIPÍDICO E ÍNDICES ATEROGÉNICOS CON EL NIVEL DE HEMOGLOBINA GLICOSILADA EN PACIENTES ATENDIDOS EN EL HOSPITAL MARÍA AUXILIADORA, 2017.

TesisEl objetivo es determinar la relación entre el perfil lipídico e índices aterogénicos con el nivel de hemoglobina glicosilada en pacientes atendidos en el Hospital María Auxiliadora, 2017. Material y Métodos: Estudio observacional, analítico, retrospectivo, transversal. Se analizó colesterol total (CT), colesterol HDL (cHDL), colesterol LDL (cLDL), triglicéridos (TG); e índices aterogénicos: CT/Chdl, cLDL/cHDL, C-no HDL/cHDL, en 5562 resultados de muestras sanguíneas, utilizando la prueba estadística Chi Cuadrado. Resultados: Los resultados de HbA1c normal presentaron nivel recomendable de CT, cHDL, cLDL y TG (72.5%, 32.2%, 68.3% y 67.6%; respectivamente). Los resultados de HbA1c prediabetes presentaron nivel recomendable de CT, cHDL, cLDL y TG (67.6%, 27.2%, 61.9% y 60.7%; respectivamente). Los resultados de HbA1c diabetes presentaron nivel recomendable de CT, cHDL, cLDL y TG (67.4%, 30.5%, 62.7% y 57.4%, respectivamente). Los índices aterogénicos presentaron un nivel recomendable en los tres grupos. Hubo relación significativa entre HbA1c y CT (p<0.001), cHDL (p= 0.016), cLDL (p<0.001), triglicéridos (p<0.001) y los índices aterogénicos CT/cHDL (p<0.001), cLDL/cHDL (p<0.001) y C-no HDL/cHDL (p<0.001). Conclusión: Existe relación significativa entre el perfil lipídico e índices aterogénicos con el nivel de HbA1c en pacientes atendidos en el Hospital María Auxiliadora, 2017

Movement patterns and habitat selection of the giant day gecko (Phelsuma madagascariensis grandis) in the Masoala rainforest exhibit, Zurich Zoo

In 2003, Zurich Zoo opened the Masoala exhibit to help preserving the endemic flora and fauna of Madagascar and to raise public awareness of the threats to this biodiversity hotspot. The enclosure houses more than 45 animal taxa and over 35000 individual plants on almost 11000 m2. After three years of establishment of food webs and demographic changes in the community, there is an urgent demand for animal population monitoring. Therefore, this paper aims (i) to determine how increasing gecko density affects gecko movement patterns in the exhibit and (ii) to assess habitat selection in 12 heterogeneous areas within the exhibit, differing in various environmental parameters (e.g., plant species, sun hours, and food sources). In contrast to an earlier study on this gecko population, our results on gecko movement patterns show that moved distances are evenly distributed amongst distances between 0 to 70 m. Moreover, geckos showed strong habitat preferences for certain areas; plants like Ravenala madagascariensis and Pandanus spp. as well as ventilation tubes and cages were most frequently used as perch sites. When discussed in the framework of the ideal free distribution theory, our results suggest that gecko movement patterns are strongly affected by increasing gecko density.Thomas C. Wanger, Iris Motzke, Samuel C. Furrer & Bernd Gruberhttp://www.salamandra-journal.com/index.php?option=com_docman&Itemid=6

allData_Dryad

"allData_Dryad" is an Exel file consisting of three sheets with data collected in the field and used in the analyses of this paper. The file includes yield data, herbivory data, and pollinator observation data

Integrating agroecological production in a robust post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

International audienc

The complete genome of the uncultivated bacterium Desulforudis audaxviator from 2.8 km beneath earth's surface

A more complete picture of life on Earth, and even life in the Earth, has recently become possible through the application of environmental genomics. We have obtained the complete genome sequence of a new genus of the Finnicutes, the uncultivated sulfate reducing bacterium Desulforudis audaxviator, by filtering fracture water from a borehole at 2.8 km depth in a South African gold mine. The DNA was sequenced using a combination of Sanger sequencing and 454 pyrosequencing, and asserrlbled into just one genome, indicating the planktonic community is extremely low in diversity. We analyzed the genome of D. audaxviator using the MicrobesOnline annotation pipeline and toolkit (http://www.microbesonline.org), which offers powerful resources for comparative genome analysis, including operon predictions and treebased comparative genome browsing. MicrobesOnline allowed us to compare the D. audaxviator genome with other sequenced members of the Firmicutes in the same clade (primarily Pelotomaculum thennoproprionicum, Desulfotomaculum reducens, Carboxydothennus hydrogenoformans, and Moorella thennoacetica), as well as other known sulfate reducers and thermophilic organisms. D. audaxviator gives a view to the set of tools necessary for what appears to be a self-contained, independent lifestyle deep in the Earth's crust. The genome is not very streamlined, and indicates a motile, endospore forming sulfate reducer with pili that can fix its own nitrogen and carbon. D. audaxviator is an obligate anaerobe, and lacks obvious homologs of many of the traditional 02 tolerance genes, consistent with the low concentration of O2 in the fracture water and its long-term isolation from the surface. D. audaxviator provides a complete genome representative of the Gram-positive bacteria to further our understanding of dissimilatory sulfate reducing bacteria and archaea. Additionally, study of the deep subsurface has offered access to the simplest community yet studied by environmental genomics, perhaps consisting of just a single species that is capable of performing all of the tasks necessary for life