Drones to manage the urban environment: Risks, rewards, alternatives

Aerial surveillance can detect visual, heat, vegetation, and atmospheric changes over time, and aerial transport can facilitate the collection of air, liquid and solid samples for later analysis in laboratory conditions. Drones have great potential for urban environmental analysis, but also raise valid concerns about safety, security and privacy. Ground-based monitoring (Internet of Things) can achieve many of these potentials with no risk to safety and a lower perceived risk to privacy and security. Low altitude drones may become limited to clearly defined geographic regions spatially and altitudinally, while higher altitude drones are likely to be accepted for security reasons, and then also used for environmental purposes. Safety records of military drones are still substandard for civilian application, but the technology is rapidly evolving. Whether society will rank safety of drones against that of vehicle traffic, or shark attacks, is not yet clear

A New Method for Assessing Smoking Behavior in Orthopaedic Patients

“A New Method for Assessing Smoking Behavior in Orthopaedic Patients” Background:Tobacco use is associated with post-operative complications and self-reporting often introduces a bias that underestimates the true exposure. Traditional tobacco testing methods, including serum cotinine are associated with issues of specificity, as they do not differentiate active smokers from those on nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs). This study intends to evaluate the effectiveness of point-of-care carbon monoxide (CO) breathalyzer test to assess patient smoking status and to differentiate active smokers from those using NRTs. Methods:Eligible patients will be \u3e18 years old and indicated for joint or fracture surgery at the Portland VA Orthopaedic clinic. Initially, patients will complete a self-reported smoking questionnaire, followed by CO testing with Smokerlyzer® Micro EC50 device and provision of serum cotinine labs.The primary outcome will be the sensitivity and specificity of the exhaled CO test relative to the current gold-standard test, serum cotinine levels. We will also perform a specific analysis using a subgroup of self-reported smokers and NRT-users (excluding non-smokers) to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the CO test against self-reported smoking status. This will evaluate the test’s ability to differentiate between smokers and those on NRTs. Discussion:This study seeks to reduce the error of determining smoking status that is inherent in the current methods by assessing an alternative way to test smoking status in the clinic. This would provide necessary preliminary results to allow directly testing whether NRT use, separate from tobacco use, is associated with adverse outcomes following orthopaedic surgery

Movement patterns of two Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) within a midsized reservation

© EM International. Movement behavior of ungulates within a mid-sized arid rangeland reservation has implications for both conservation management and tourism. In this qualitative study, one male and one female Arabian oryx were tracked each 15 minutes for eight months using GPS collars in the 226 km2 Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. Results were consistent with wild animals of the species for movement response to time of day, temperature, and rainfall. However, the oryx routinely used only 4.5% of their available range, despite having much larger ranges in wild populations. During summer months,the oryx actively sought drinking water on an almost daily basis, but utilized shade only opportunistically. Results were consistent with domesticated ungulates for toleration of anthropogenic proximity in exchange for artificial food and water, but avoidance of the DDCR boundary fence. An edge of 0.5-1.5 km from the fence was breached only occasionally at night, and was unrelated to anthropogenic activity outside the fence. As the edge represents 18-48% of the reserve, carrying capacity could be improved by using artificial feed and water points to encourage animals into this area

Arid rangeland degradation in an oil-rich gulf state; Inertia of perceived heritage and pro-agricultural policies

© 2010 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Over the last 35 years land management and farmer lifestyles have changed dramatically on the rangelands of the United Arab Emirates. The human relationship with rangelands has moved from subsistence to a secondary income or hobby. Both ecological health and indigenous knowledge of rangelands are in decline. Large areas of the inland desert of the country are rapidly becoming urbanized. This paper reviews threats to the 225 km2 Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (DDCR). Inland desert rangelands are threatened by groundwater depletion, habitat fragmentation, exotic species introductions and overgrazing. The paper argues that overgrazing is currently the most serious threat to the inland desert, reducing range species diversity, production and available forage. Reduction of stocking rates requires a revision of pro-agricultural policies and resolving the legal ambiguity surrounding common grazing lands. It can be reasonably expected that environmental attitudes will shift from anthropocentric to ecocentric over time, but a shift in cultural heritage perceptions may also be needed to reassert a balanced approach to rangeland management

Seed mucilage effect on water uptake and germination in five species from the hyper-arid Arabian desert

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. The effect of mucilage removal on germination percentages and velocity (Timson\u27s index) was studied for five Arabian desert species (Lavandula subnuda, Lepidium aucheri, Boerhavia elegans, Plantago ciliata and Plantago amplexicaulis) under two photoperiods (0, 12 h of light daily) and three thermoperiods (night/day temperatures of 15/25, 20/30 and 25/35 °C). Mucilage presence increased water uptake in all species, and was associated with higher germination percentages in L. subnuda, B. elegans and P. ciliata, but not L. aucheri and P. amplexicaulis. Germination velocity response to mucilage presence was mixed, being increased in L. aucheri and reduced in L. subnuda. In all species germination was increased by light and affected by temperature, but species\u27 response to temperature varied. Interactions of mucilage presence with temperature were more frequent than with light. Seed mucilage plays a role in germination regulation of these species, but the effects are species-specific. Mucilage presence inhibited germination at lower temperatures in L. subnuda and P. ciliata, at higher temperatures in B. elegans, and increased germination velocity but not percentage in L. aucheri. It had no influence on germination in P. amplexicaulis. The differences detected demonstrate as perhaps mucilage in seeds of some desert species serves also to other ecological purposes

Proximity to urban fringe recreational facilities increases native biodiversity in an arid rangeland

© 2018 Australian Rangeland Society. Urban developments affect neighbouring ecosystems in multiple ways, usually decreasing native biodiversity. Arabian arid rangeland was studied to identify the primary causes of biodiversity variation. Al Marmoum is a 990 km2 area on the urban edge of Dubai, designated for ecological \u27enhancement\u27 and outdoor recreational use. The area lacks historical biodiversity data, but is thought to be primarily influenced by Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius Linnaeus, 1758) herbivory. Perennial floral and faunal diversity was assessed at 54 sites. Counts of reintroduced ungulates (Arabian oryx Oryx leucoryx (Pallas, 1777), Arabian gazelle Gazella gazella cora (C.H. Smith, 1827) and sand gazelle G. subgutturosa marica (Thomas, 1897)) were made at 79 separate sites. Correlations of observed biodiversity with substrate type, anthropogenic structures, and ungulate distribution were assessed. Native biodiversity was substantially higher in north-north-west locations near recreational facilities, with the most likely cause being differential browsing pressure. Camel browsing faced greater communal regulation in the north-north-west, whereas oryx and gazelles congregated at feed points in the south-south-east that were farther from human activity. Arid rangeland in this socioecological landscape exhibits greater natural biodiversity at the urban fringe. Human activity reduces ungulate density, enabling a greater diversity of perennial flora, which then attracts non-ungulate fauna. Anthropogenic features can therefore offer conservation value in landscapes where ungulate populations are artificially elevated

Macromorphology and recruitment of Prosopis cineraria in the United Arab Emirates

Recruitment frequency of Prosopis cinerarium the United Arab Emirates is poorly understood, though heavy browsing by camels is often assumed to be a limiting factor. Macromorphological characteristics were recorded at eight locations from the northern United Arab Emirates. Tree size (canopy diameter, trunk diameter, and tree height) showed conformity within locations. Height of browse line was strongly affected by camels, which removed foliage to a height of 3 meters whenever present. Recruitment by seed was not observed during the study, and observed asexual recruitment was limited to root suckers produced only within the season. Presence of suckers was unrelated to browsing but strongly affected by a shifting ground surface. Viable theories for the absence of sexual recruitment include seedling destruction by herbivores, a lack of safe sites for seedling growth and establishment, and that sexual recruitment events might naturally occur rarely, but produce many recruits in the rare successful seasons. Significant recruitment of new individuals is likely to occur only with protection from current herbivory systems