Search results for " Difference"
showing 10 items of 1369 documents
Sex specific differences recorded in the behavior of an amphipod: implications for behavioral toxicology
2020
Behaviour is a useful endpoint in ecotoxicological research; it links the biochemical effects of contamination with physiology of individuals, which can be applied to higher levels of organisation with relevance to ecology. Animals exhibit species-specific and sex specific behaviours. Previous experiments within ecotoxicology using amphipods as models have either not separated by sex or have on the assumption that they may create more variability in the results. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of time (which controlled light conditions), sex, and the interaction of time and sex on the swimming velocity in males and females of the marine amphipod Echino…
A unified vegetation index for quantifying the terrestrial biosphere
2021
[EN] Empirical vegetation indices derived from spectral reflectance data are widely used in remote sensing of the biosphere, as they represent robust proxies for canopy structure, leaf pigment content, and, subsequently, plant photosynthetic potential. Here, we generalize the broad family of commonly used vegetation indices by exploiting all higher-order relations between the spectral channels involved. This results in a higher sensitivity to vegetation biophysical and physiological parameters. The presented nonlinear generalization of the celebrated normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) consistently improves accuracy in monitoring key parameters, such as leaf area index, gross prim…
Cranial crassicaudiasis in two coastal dolphin species from South Africa is predominantly a disease of immature individuals.
2020
Crassicauda spp. (Nematoda) infest the cranial sinuses of several odontocetes, causing diagnostic trabecular osteolytic lesions. We examined skulls of 77 Indian Ocean humpback dolphins Sousa plumbea and 69 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins Tursiops aduncus, caught in bather-protecting nets off KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) from 1970-2017, and skulls of 6 S. plumbea stranded along the southern Cape coast in South Africa from 1963-2002. Prevalence of cranial crassicaudiasis was evaluated according to sex and cranial maturity. Overall, prevalence in S. plumbea and T. aduncus taken off KZN was 13 and 31.9%, respectively. Parasitosis variably affected 1 or more cranial bones (frontal, pterygoid, maxillary …
Alkaline phosphatase survey in pecorino siciliano PDO cheese
2021
The determination of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in cheeses has become an official method for controlling cheeses with a protected designation of origin (PDO), all of which use raw milk. PDO cheeses, characterized by high craftsmanship, usually have an uneven quality. However, for these cheeses, it is necessary to establish ALP values so that they can be defined as a raw milk product. In this study, a dataset with Pecorino Siciliano PDO samples was analyzed to determine ALP both at the core and under the rind. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the different zones in Pecorino cheese. A second dataset of 100 pecorino cheese samples determined that ALP was only…
Distribution of sea urchins living near shallow water CO2 vents is dependent upon species acid-base and ion-regulatory abilities.
2013
To reduce the negative effect of climate change on Biodiversity, the use of geological CO2 sequestration has been proposed; however leakage from underwater storages may represent a risk to marine life. As extracellular homeostasis is important in determining species' ability to cope with elevated CO2, we investigated the acid-base and ion regulatory responses, as well as the density, of sea urchins living around CO2 vents at Vulcano, Italy. We conducted in situ transplantation and field-based laboratory exposures to different pCO2/pH regimes. Our results confirm that sea urchins have some ability to regulate their extracellular fluid under elevated pCO2. Furthermore, we show that even in cl…
Interannual memory effects for spring NDVI in semi-arid South Africa
2008
[1] Almost 20 years of Normalized Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI) and precipitation (PPT) data are analysed to better understand the interannual memory effects on vegetation dynamics observed at regional scales in Southern Africa (SA). The study focuses on a semi-arid region (25°S–31°S; 21°E–26°E) during the austral early summer (September–December). The memory effects are examined using simple statistical approaches (linear correlations and regressions) which require the definition of an early summer vegetation predictand (December NDVI minus September NDVI) and a consistent set of potential predictors (rainfall amount, number of rainy days, rainfall intensity, NDVI and Rain-Use-Efficie…
The probable function of abdominal contractions and liquid drops during the emergence of Zygoptera and Anisoptera (Odonata)
2016
The transition between larval and adult stage in amphibious insects is called emergence. During emergence abdominal contractions and excretion of liquid drops can be observed in several insect orders. Since the function of these processes is not yet known in odonates, this study examines the probable function of abdominal contractions and excretion of liquid drops in Zygoptera and Anisoptera. By subdividing the emergence into 12 successive stages and counting abdominal contractions as well as the excreted liquid drops during these stages we set up a systematic data collection. In all investigated individuals, both processes began in the middle of the entire emergence. We found that abdomina…
Barrier crossings and winds shape daily travel schedules and speeds of a flight generalist
2021
External factors such as geography and weather strongly affect bird migration influencing daily travel schedules and flight speeds. For strictly thermal-soaring migrants, weather explains most seasonal and regional differences in speed. Flight generalists, which alternate between soaring and flapping flight, are expected to be less dependent on weather, and daily travel schedules are likely to be strongly influenced by geography and internal factors such as sex. We GPS-tracked the migration of 70 lesser kestrels (Falco naumanni) to estimate the relative importance of external factors (wind, geography), internal factors (sex) and season, and the extent to which they explain variation in trav…
In vitro comparison of primary stability of two implant designs in D3 bone
2016
Background Primary stability (PS) is a key factor for implant survival rate and depends on implant design or bone quality. The aim of this study was to compare different thread designs implants, evaluating PS with periotest values (PV) and implant stability quotient (ISQ) values through resonance frequency analysis (RFA). Material and Methods A total of 60 implants (Radhex®, Inmet-Garnick S.A., Guadalajara, Spain) were placed in freshly bovine ribs in vitro. Two designs were used: 30 tapered body with single thread design (PHI) and 30 tapered body with double thread design implants (PHIA). Both designs were 4mm wide and 12mm long. Implants were placed according to manufacturer’s guidelines.…
Modelling and Simulation of Machining Processes and Operations
2008
This chapter provides the state-of-the-art knowledge engineering and modelling techniques applied in manufacturing/machining and overviews future trends observed at a global scale. Modelling methods for machining processes and operations are classified. The chapter also highlights the multiple tasks of modelling and simulation in modern machining/manufacturing systems. The most popular techniques of numerical simulation including finite difference method and finite element method (FEM) related to mechanical and thermal problems arising in machining processes are described. Practical examples of FE models of various metal cutting operations and their importance in modern manufacturing are pr…