Search results for "Local population"

Validation of a food frequency questionnaire for use in Italian adults living in Sicily.

2015

The objective of this study was to validate two interviewer-led food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) of very different lengths: a medium-length FFQ (medium-FFQ) of 36 items and a short-length FFQ (short-FFQ) of 18 items, intending to measure levels of intakes in a local population. Both FFQs were validated against intakes derived from a 3-day dietary record (3-day DR). Sixty-five non-diabetic adults with no known cardiovascular, renal or other systemic diseases were included. High correlation coefficients between the FFQ and the 3-day DR (0.45-0.73) were observed for energy intake, carbohydrates and lipid and protein intake. Bland-Altman plots showed good agreement between the methods. Low …

Assessment of production and qualitative characteristics of different populations of Salvia sclarea L. found in Sicily (Italy)

2021

Salvia sclarea L. is an important industrial crop, valued for its herbal-aromatic properties and high quality essential oils, that is used in food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. In this study, carried out from 2009 to 2010, the morphological and production characteristics and essential oil content and composition of three Sicilian populations were studied. In particular, the composition of essential oils extracted from primary and secondary inflorescences using steam distillation was assessed. Morphological, production and qualitative data from the three populations were subjected to analysis of variance and cluster analysis. Regarding the quality of the oils, only the most prevalent compo…

High-density single nucleotide polymorphism markers reveal the population structure of 2 local chicken genetic resources

2023

Italy counts a large number of local chicken populations, some without a recognized genetic structure, such as Val Platani (VPL) and Cornuta (COS), which represent noteworthy local genetic resources. In this study, the genotype data of 34 COS and 42 VPL, obtained with the Affymetrix Axiom600KChicken Genotyping Array, were used with the aim to investigate the genetic diversity, the runs of homozygosity (ROH) pattern, as well as the population structure and relationship within the framework of other local Italian and commercial chickens. The genetic diversity indices, estimated using different approaches, displayed moderate levels of genetic diversity in both populations. The identified ROH h…

Alia: Antropologia di una comunità dell'entroterra siciliano

2002

In the spring of 1995, during works for the rehabilitation of a wall that closed the grotto of the Old Cemetery in the Sicilian village of Alia, the skeletal remains of the victims of the cholera outbreak of 1837 that had been rapidly interred here were brought to light. From that moment on, the Alia project was developed without interruption, analysing the biological evolution of the local population by exploiting study methods characteristic of different anthropological disciplines, such as skeletal biology, population genetics and biodemography. The book renders account of research completed and in progress carried out by academics from the Universities of Florence, Palermo, Parma, Cagli…

Traditional knowledge and practice of the Triassic variegated clay from Silesia (Krasiejów), Poland, in human medicine.

2021

AbstractBackgroundKrasiejów clay (in German: Krascheow) became famous following the discovery of numerous fossilised bones of Upper Triassic amphibians and reptiles, which have been extracted from clay deposits since the 1980s. These organic remnants remained in Krasiejów clay due to the large amount of slime deposits and the optimal concentration of basal mineral salts.The main aims of the paper are to determine the historical evolution of the use of clay in Silesia for therapeutic purposes and to provide a summary of the historical uses of Krasiejów clay as a medical treatment, based on the knowledge of the local population.MethodsThe mode of utilisation of Triassic variegated claystone t…

Effects of patch number and dispersal patterns on population dynamics and synchrony.

2000

In this paper, we examine the effects of patch number and different dispersal patterns on dynamics of local populations and on the level of synchrony between them. Local population renewal is governed by the Ricker model and we also consider asymmetrical dispersal as well as the presence of environmental heterogeneity. Our results show that both population dynamics and the level of synchrony differ markedly between two and a larger number of local populations. For two patches different dispersal rules give very versatile dynamics. However, for a larger number of local populations the dynamics are similar irrespective of the dispersal rule. For example, for the parameter values yielding stab…

1993

Let us sit on the terrace of a street cafe and watch the crowds pass by. The first basic unit we observe is the individual: tall, small, fat, long-faced, round-faced — the diversity is large. Among these individuals there will be a few with particular features, such as colour of skin or type of hair, which differ from the vast majority of local individuals, thereby indicating that they originated from another part of the world. We shall install a video camera at this site and will carry out the same observations simultaneously in Paris, Dakar, and Tokyo. When the films are then brought together and shown in the same room, the observers will not fail to note that the individuals of one city …

Levels of trace elements in human hair samples of adolescents living near petrochemical plants

2020

The aim of the study is a comparative analysis to investigate human hair metal profiles of adolescents residing near petrochemical plants (Sicily, Italy). We selected the small town of Augusta, Gela, and Pace del Mela, and a control area made up of the towns characterized by low anthropogenic activity. Twenty trace elements were measured in samples of scalp hair from adolescents (11–14 years old) of both genders. Hair samples were cleaned using a rigorous cleaning method, mineralized, and processed for analyses by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In industrial sites, zinc was always the most abundant element, ranging from186 to 217 μg g−1. Following zinc, the elements …

Random walks in dynamic random environments and ancestry under local population regulation

2015

We consider random walks in dynamic random environments, with an environment generated by the time-reversal of a Markov process from the oriented percolation universality class. If the influence of the random medium on the walk is small in space-time regions where the medium is typical, we obtain a law of large numbers and an averaged central limit theorem for the walk via a regeneration construction under suitable coarse-graining. Such random walks occur naturally as spatial embeddings of ancestral lineages in spatial population models with local regulation. We verify that our assumptions hold for logistic branching random walks when the population density is sufficiently high.

European response to issues in recycling car plastics

1999

Abstract This paper discusses the issue of recycling of plastics in the automobile industry which has gained importance due to the proposed European Commission regulation on End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) where the EC sets targets on the percent recyclablity or reusability of a car by the year 2015. This proposed regulation puts pressure on the car manufacturers to increase the recyclable and/or reusable components of their product. Plastic poses a critical challenge as on one hand it is necessary to meet the customer demands related to esthetics, light weight and the technological advantages, while on the other hand it is a hurdle in achieving a higher percent recyclability of the ELVs. A clo…