Search results for "Seasons"
showing 10 items of 361 documents
Age–Period–Cohort Analysis of Stroke Incidence in Dijon From 1985 to 2005
2010
Background and Purpose— Variations in stroke incidence could be explained by changes in vascular and environmental factors that affect the risk of stroke and changes in risk factors that are present in early life. The aim of this study was to identify and measure the effects of 3 interrelated factors, age, calendar period of stroke onset, and birth year cohort, on the incidence rates of stroke from 1985 through 2005. Methods— Age–period–cohort models were used to analyze stroke incidence in Dijon from 1985 to 2005 from a population-based registry that collects data on all stroke patients whatever the type of management, in the public hospital, private hospitals, or at home, in the populati…
Vitellogenin from female and estradiol-stimulated male river lampreys (Lampetra fluviatilis L.)
2001
The influence of estradiol-17β (E2) on vitellogenesis is well documented for a number of oviparous craniates. We have examined the role that estradiol-17β plays in the induction and regulation of vitellogenin synthesis in the maturing European river lamprey, Lampetra fluviatilis. In both females and males the estradiol-17β concentrations in the plasma reached comparable maximum values in March, only a few weeks before spawning. Throughout the spawning run, the vitellogenin titer in the blood of females remains rather constant while the ovary volume increases. In contrast, we never found circulating VTG in untreated male lampreys. The synthesis and secretion of the yolk precursor molecule ca…
Sperm kinematic characterization of alpaca ( Vicugna pacos L.) during the reproductive season
2018
Semen analysis is a key factor when determining the fertility ability in males. South American camelids, and in particular the alpaca, have been studied very little when compared with other farm animals. The aim of this work was to perform the kinematic characterization of alpaca spermatozoa collected directly from the deferent duct by using CASA-Mot (Computer Assisted Semen Analysis for Motility) technology. Samples were obtained every three days throughout the reproductive season during two periods and with a break of seven days in the middle. During both periods, the quality of the sample's motility and kinematics increased over the first two days and then subsequently decreased. This pa…
A False Sense of Protection: Recreational Uses and Illegal Behavior in a Mediterranean Marine Protected Area and Implications for Management.
2019
Over the last 35 years, at both the European and the Italian level, great efforts have been made to increase the number of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): they are considered an effective tool for protecting oceans and biodiversity. In recent years, MPAs have become more than simply tools to improve marine conservation. In fact, their management agencies are actively involved in the sustainable development of nearby communities through the promotion of recreational activities (boating, snorkeling, diving). Even if the recreational uses of the marine environment are generally considered benign, they can potentially be highly detrimental for species and their habitats. As a result, these activ…
Effectiveness of an educational intervention on seasonal influenza vaccination campaign adherence among healthcare workers of the Palermo University …
2018
Introduction. Healthcare workers are continuously exposed to the risk of being infected by influenza viruses during their work, thus representing a threat especially for fragile patients. Although the Italian Ministry of Health strongly recommends influenza vaccination for all HCWs, coverage levels in Italy are still far from the expected. Several studies report that one of the preferred strategies to improve vaccination coverage among Healthcare Workers is improving vaccination knowledge through specific multidisciplinary courses. To assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention on influenza vaccination coverage among Healthcare Workers a study was conducted at "Paolo Giaccone" U…
Climate driven life histories: the case of the Mediterranean Storm petrel
2014
Seabirds are affected by changes in the marine ecosystem. The influence of climatic factors on marine food webs can be reflected in long-term seabird population changes. We modelled the survival and recruitment of the Mediterranean storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis) using a 21-year mark-recapture dataset involving almost 5000 birds. We demonstrated a strong influence of prebreeding climatic conditions on recruitment age and of rainfall and breeding period conditions on juvenile survival. The results suggest that the juvenile survival rate of the Mediterranean subspecies may not be negatively affected by the predicted features of climate change, i.e., warmer summers and lower rai…
Study of the influence of temperature and precipitations on the levels of BTEX in natural waters.
2013
Assessment of seasonal changes in surface water quality is an important aspect for evaluating temporal variation of water due to natural or anthropogenic inputs of point and non-point sources. The objective of this paper was to investigate the influence of seasonal temperature fluctuations and precipitations on the levels of BTEX in natural waters. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate the seasonal correlations of BTEX levels in water and to extract the parameters that are most important in assessing seasonal variations of water quality. This study was carried out as a part of VOCs monitoring program in natural water samples from Mediterranean coast. To carry out this proj…
Convergence in critical fuel moisture and fire weather thresholds associated with fire activity in the pyroregions of Mediterranean Europe
2021
Wildfires are becoming an increasing threat to many communities worldwide. There has been substantial progress towards understanding the proximal causes of increased fire activity in recent years at regional and national scales. However, subcontinental scale examinations of the commonalities and differences in the drivers of fire activity across different regions are rare in the Mediterranean zone of the European Union (EUMed). Here, we first develop a new classification of EUMed pyroregions, based on grouping different ecoregions with similar seasonal patterns of burned area. We then examine the thresholds associated with fire activity in response to different drivers related to fuel moist…
Seasonal trend of Anisakidae infestation in South Mediterranean bluefish
2020
A total of 1104 fish samples from markets of Sicily were analysed for the detection and species identification of Anisakidae nematodes. The preliminary analysis of the fish samples showed the presence of 2459 larvae. All the fish species revealed different prevalence of infestation, with a maximum of 100% for Lepidopus caudatus and a minimum of 4.5% in Sardina pilchardus. The 80% of the larvae examined by PCR-RFLP analysis belonged to Anisakis pegreffii species. The seasonal infestation trend of Anisakis was evaluated in all the fish sample examined. The results of the seasonal infestation trend showed a marked connection with the ecological aspects of the fish species examined. As far as w…
A time series study on the effects of heat on mortality and evaluation of heterogeneity into European and Eastern-Southern Mediterranean cities: resu…
2013
Background: The Mediterranean region is particularly vulnerable to the effect of summer temperature. Within the CIRCE project this time-series study aims to quantify for the first time the effect of summer temperature in Eastern-Southern Mediterranean cities and compared it with European cities around the Mediterranean basin, evaluating city characteristics that explain between-city heterogeneity. Methods: The city-specific effect of maximum apparent temperature (Tappmax) was assessed by Generalized Estimation Equations, assuming a linear threshold model. Then, city-specific estimates were included in a random effect meta-regression analysis to investigate the effect modification by several…