Sastav sakupljenih ličinki riba i njihova prostorna grupiranost tijekom ljetnog razdoblja u sjevernom Egejskom moru

Fish larvae were collected in two surveys, carried out at the beginning of July 2002 and 2003 in Kavala Gulf (northern Aegean Sea) aimed at studying ichthyoplankton species assemblages and station groupings. The similarity dendrograms revealed the existence of four species assemblages associated with three station groups in 2002 and five species assemblages associated with four station groups in 2003. These groupings were confirmed by non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis. Analysis of similarity showed that the station groups were significantly different for 2002 (global R=0.748; P<0.001) and 2003 (global R=0.931; P<0.001). High dissimilarity between species assemblages as obtained from dendrograms and NMDS analyses was also recorded for 2002 (global R=0.834; P<0.001) and 2003 (global R=0.767; P<0.001). The assemblage structure was mainly determined by the most abundant and frequently occurring larvae, especially the European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), and was largely influenced by the reproductive traits and spatial distribution of adult fish. Differences among station groupings were also determined by the spatial occurrence and abundance of each taxon.Riblje ličinke su prikupljene tijekom dvaju istraživanja koja su provedena početkom srpnja 2002. i 2003. godine u zaljevu Kavala (sjeverni dio Egejskog mora) s ciljem utvrđivanja strukture ribljih vrsta i postojanih populacija. Sličnost dendograma otkrila je postojanje četiri populacije povezane s tri skupine u 2002. godini i pet populacija povezanih s četiri stalne skupine u 2003. godini. Te skupine su potvrđene pomoću ne-metričke analize višedimenzionalnih skala (NMDS). Analiza je pokazala da su grupe stalnih populacija bile značajno različite za 2002. godinu (globalno R = 0,748; P <0,001) i 2003 (globalno R = 0,931; P <0,001). Visoki stupanj različitosti između grupacija dobivenih od dendograma i NMDS analize također je zabilježena za 2002. godinu (globalno, R = 0,834; P <0,001) i 2003 (globalno, R = 0,767; P <0,001). Skupna struktura uglavnom je bila određena prema najrasprostranjenijim i učestalim ličinkama, posebice brgljuna (Engraulis encrasicolus), te je uvelike bila pod utjecajem reprodukcijskih obilježja i prostornom raspodjelom odraslih riba. Razlike između utvrđenih grupacija također su određene s obzirom na prostorno pojavljivanje i brojnost svake svojte

Avvicinamento alla figura di Hercole Filogenio e studio preliminare dell'introduzione a Dell'eccellenza della donna

In 1589 Hercole Filogenio, pseudonym of Ercole Marescotti, decided to associate «to the opinion of those who strive to discover the error of many, who so much struggle to avil the feminil sex». That's why he decided to write down a speech that he called Dell'eccellenza della donna and dedicated it to Flavia Peretti Orsina. In this first presentation there will be an introduction in order to make better known the author as well as the woman to whom the work was dedicated, and also the main moments of her life and the social environment in which she lived and worked. In addition, will be presented the short speeches of other illustrious people of his time that Filogenio chose to introduce his text.Nel 1589 Hercole Filogenio, pseudonimo di Ercole Marescotti, decise di associarsi «all'opinione di coloro che si sforzano scoprire l'errore di molti, quali tanto si affannano in avilire il feminil sesso». A tal scopo scrisse un discorso che intitolò Dell'eccellenza della donna e lo dedicò a Flavia Peretti Orsina. In questa prima presentazione si verrà a introdurre e a far conoscere meglio l'autore così come la donna a cui venne dedicata l'opera, nonché i momenti principali della sua vita e l'ambiente sociale in cui lei visse e operò. In più saranno presentati i brevissimi discorsi di altre persone illustri del suo tempo che Filogenio scelse per introdurre il suo testo

The effect of short-term changes in air pollution on respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Presented at the 6th International Conference on Urban Air Quality, Limassol, March, 2007. Short-paper was submitted for peer-review and appears in proceedings of the conference.This study investigates the effect of daily changes in levels of PM10 on the daily volume of respiratory and cardiovascular admissions in Nicosia, Cyprus during 1995-2004. After controlling for long- (year and month) and short-term (day of the week) patterns as well as the effect of weather in Generalized Additive Poisson models, some positive associations were observed with all-cause and cause-specific admissions. Risk of hospitalization increased stepwise across quartiles of days with increasing levels of PM10 by 1.3% (-0.3, 2.8), 4.9% (3.3, 6.6), 5.6% (3.9, 7.3) as compared to days with the lowest concentrations. For every 10μg/m3 increase in daily average PM10 concentration, there was a 1.2% (-0.1%, 2.4%) increase in cardiovascular admissions. With respects to respiratory admissions, an effect was observed only in the warm season with a 1.8% (-0.22, 3.85) increase in admissions per 10μg/m3 increase in PM10. The effect on respiratory admissions seemed to be much stronger in women and, surprisingly, restricted to people of adult age

Associations of Fine Particulate Matter Species with Mortality in the United States: A Multicity Time-Series Analysis

Background: Epidemiological studies have examined the association between PM2.5 and mortality, but uncertainty remains about the seasonal variations in PM2.5-related effects and the relative importance of species. Objectives: We estimated the effects of PM2.5 species on mortality and how infiltration rates may modify the association. Methods: Using city–season specific Poisson regression, we estimated PM2.5 effects on approximately 4.5 million deaths for all causes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and respiratory diseases in 75 U.S. cities for 2000–2006. We added interaction terms between PM2.5 and monthly average species-to-PM2.5 proportions of individual species to determine the relative toxicity of each species. We combined results across cities using multivariate meta-regression, and controlled for infiltration. Results: We estimated a 1.18% (95% CI: 0.93, 1.44%) increase in all-cause mortality, a 1.03% (95% CI: 0.65, 1.41%) increase in CVD, a 1.22% (95% CI: 0.62, 1.82%) increase in MI, a 1.76% (95% CI: 1.01, 2.52%) increase in stroke, and a 1.71% (95% CI: 1.06, 2.35%) increase in respiratory deaths in association with a 10-μg/m3 increase in 2-day averaged PM2.5 concentration. The associations were largest in the spring. Silicon, calcium, and sulfur were associated with more all-cause mortality, whereas sulfur was related to more respiratory deaths. County-level smoking and alcohol were associated with larger estimated PM2.5 effects. Conclusions: Our study showed an increased risk of mortality associated with PM2.5, which varied with seasons and species. The results suggest that mass alone might not be sufficient to evaluate the health effects of particles. Citation: Dai L, Zanobetti A, Koutrakis P, Schwartz JD. 2014. Associations of fine particulate matter species with mortality in the United States: a multicity time-series analysis. Environ Health Perspect 122:837–842; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.130756

Distribution and conservation of Acipenser sturio L., 1758 and related species in Greek waters

Four sturgeon species have been reported to exist in Greek waters: the Atlantic sturgeon, the great sturgeon, the stellate sturgeon and the Adriatic sturgeon. The Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser sturio L., 1758 has an almost regular presence in the Evros River (Aegean Sea), and is rather rare in the Pinios and Acheloos Rivers. The great sturgeon or beluga Huso huso L., 1758 is suspected to be an occasional visitor in Greek waters, or it is a case of undocumented information. The presence of the stellate sturgeon Acipenser stellatus Pallas, 1771 has been recently verified by a specimen caught close to the Thracian shore. The Adriatic sturgeon Acipenser naccarii Bonaparte, 1836 is supposed to have its southern distribution limits in the waters around the island of Corfu, although this information has never been confirmed. The distribution of these species is obviously related to salinity, probably prohibiting the extension of other sturgeon species to the Mediterranean, except for A. sturio. The discontinuous distribution of H. huso and A. stellatus may be a result of sea-level changes, while salinity played some role in the last period of glaciation. In the marine area of the Evros River A. sturio has been economically significant until 1975, supporting a small black caviar industry. Since then, the species has become rare mainly because of overfishing, and the reduction and pollution of the Evros River, in the upstream of which some important sturgeon spawning sites have been located.Cuatro especies de esturiones han sido citadas en las aguas griegas: el esturión atlántico Acipenser sturio L., 1758, el beluga Huso huso (L., 1758), el esturión estrellado Acipenser stellatus Pallas, 1771 y el esturión del Adriático Acipenser naccarii Bonaparte, 1836. El esturión atlántico A. sturio tiene una casi regular presencia en el río Evros (mar Egeo), y es bastante raro en los ríos Pinios y Acheloos. El beluga H. huso se sospecha que es un visitante ocasional de las aguas griegas, o es un caso de información indocumentada. La presencia de esturión estrellado A. stellatus ha sido recientemente verificada con un ejemplar capturado cerca de la costa tracia. El esturión del Adriático A. naccarii se supone que tiene sus límites meridionales de distribución en las aguas alrededor de la isla de Corfú, aunque esta información nunca ha sido confirmada. La distribución de estas especies está obviamente relacionada con la salinidad, impidiendo, probablemente, la extensión de otras especies de esturiones en el Mediterráneo, con excepción de A. sturio. La distribución discontinua de H. huso y A. stellatus puede ser el resultado de cambios en el nivel del mar, mientras que la salinidad desempeñó algún papel en el último periodo glacial. En el área marina del río Evros, A. sturio ha sido económicamente significativo hasta 1975, soportando una pequeña industria de caviar. Desde entonces, la especie ha llegado a ser rara, principalmente a causa de la sobrepesca y la reducción y contaminación del río Evros, en cuya parte superior se localizaban importantes lugares de freza para el esturión.Instituto Español de Oceanografí