Search results for "agricultural and biological sciences"
showing 10 items of 1704 documents
The impact of wildlife and environmental factors on hantavirus infection in the host and its translation into human risk
2023
Identifying factors that drive infection dynamics in reservoir host populations is essential in understanding human risk from wildlife-originated zoonoses. We studied zoonotic Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) in the host, the bank vole ( Myodes glareolus ), populations in relation to the host population, rodent and predator community and environment-related factors and whether these processes are translated into human infection incidence. We used 5-year rodent trapping and bank vole PUUV serology data collected from 30 sites located in 24 municipalities in Finland. We found that PUUV seroprevalence in the host was negatively associated with the abundance of red foxes, but this process did no…
Right to Food and Geoengineering
2023
AbstractClimate change poses grave risks to food security, and mitigation and adaptation actions have so far been insufficient to lessen the risk of climate-induced violations of the right to food. Could safeguarding the right to food, then, justify some forms of geoengineering? This article examines geoengineering through the analytical lens of the right to food. We look at the components of food security and consider how the acceptability of geoengineering relates to the right to food via its impacts on these components. Our examination shows that results vary greatly between different forms of geoengineering: while some forms of geoengineering fail to respect the right to food, certain o…
Vesiclepedia:A Compendium for Extracellular Vesicles with Continuous Community Annotation
2012
Vesiclepedia is a community-annotated compendium of molecular data on extracellular vesicles.
Bioavailability of inorganic arsenic in cooked rice: practical aspects for human health risk assessments.
2005
Arsenic is present in rice grain mainly as inorganic arsenic. Little is known about the effect of cooking on inorganic arsenic content in rice and its bioavailability. This study evaluated total arsenic and inorganic arsenic in rice cooked with arsenic-contaminated water, the bioaccessibility of As(III) and As(V) after simulated gastrointestinal digestion, and the extent of arsenic retention and transport by Caco-2 cells used as a model of intestinal epithelia. After cooking, inorganic arsenic contents increase significantly. After simulated gastrointestinal digestion, the bioaccessibility of inorganic arsenic reached 63-99%; As(V) was the main species found. In Caco-2 cells, arsenic retent…
Analysis of Prey Composition in Eurasian Reed Warblers' Acrocephalus scirpaceus Droppings at Four Breeding Sites in Italy
2022
Our aim was to investigate the among-populations diversity of prey composition in Eurasian Reed Warblers’ diets via their droppings, both to assess the ecological validity of this sampling method and to test whether the prey species most abundant in fecal samples were also the most present in the Italian study site. We collected fecal samples at four sites throughout Italy, for a total of 144 samples. Within reedbeds, the breeding habitat of the Eurasian Reed Warbler, we also collected arthropods by carrying out entomological sweepings at one of the study sites. Within the fecal samples, we identified dozens of prey species, belonging mainly to Araneae, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and …
Preliminary study on the unusual properties in the habitat of Ranunculetum baudotii in Central Europe
2011
Abstract The study examines the patches of the saltwater association Ranunculetum baudotii in a new, atypical site; i.e., located more than 400 km away from the Baltic coastal line. They were found in a karst spring, and were the first locality of the community identified in Poland. The water and sediments within the patches were analyzed chemically in the laboratory, but, conductivity, water temperature and O2 content were measured in the field. The spring was determined to be a relatively stable aquatic habitat, with a typical chemical composition of subterranean water (a prevalence of hydro-carbonate, calcium and magnesium ions), and rich, e.g., in nitrogen and phosphorus, and disturbed …
The Unexpected profile of agricultural innovators: evidence from an empirical study
2020
[EN] Innovation capacity is essential for farmers to remain competitive and overcome the challenges facing Mediterranean agricultural systems. Based on an extensive empirical study, this paper elucidates the common attributes of innovative farmers in the Region of Valencia (Spain). The model presented in this study investigates whether an innovative attitude can be explained by market-entrepreneurial orientation, learning orientation, individual profile traits and farm size. The findings provide insights into how age and experience affect innovation in agricultural smallholdings. The study shows that the most innovative farmers run large farms and have a strong market-entrepreneurial orient…
Metabarcoding Analysis of Fungal Diversity in the Phyllosphere and Carposphere of Olive (Olea europaea)
2015
The fungal diversity associated with leaves, flowers and fruits of olive (Olea europaea) was investigated in different phenological stages (May, June, October and December) using an implemented metabarcoding approach. It consisted of the 454 pyrosequencing of the fungal ITS2 region and the subsequent phylogenetic analysis of relevant genera along with validated reference sequences. Most sequences were identified up to the species level or were associated with a restricted number of related taxa enabling supported speculations regarding their biological role. Analyses revealed a rich fungal community with 195 different OTUs. Ascomycota was the dominating phyla representing 93.6% of the total…
Might as well jump: Sound affects muscle activation in skateboarding
2014
The aim of the study is to reveal the role of sound in action anticipation and performance, and to test whether the level of precision in action planning and execution is related to the level of sensorimotor skills and experience that listeners possess about a specific action. Individuals ranging from 18 to 75 years of age - some of them without any skills in skateboarding and others experts in this sport - were compared in their ability to anticipate and simulate a skateboarding jump by listening to the sound it produces. Only skaters were able to modulate the forces underfoot and to apply muscle synergies that closely resembled the ones that a skater would use if actually jumping on a ska…
Empirical links between natural mortality and recovery in marine fishes
2017
Probability of species recovery is thought to be correlated with specific aspects of organismal life history, such as age at maturity and longevity, and how these affect rates of natural mortality ( M ) and maximum per capita population growth ( r max ). Despite strong theoretical underpinnings, these correlates have been based on predicted rather than realized population trajectories following threat mitigation. Here, we examine the level of empirical support for postulated links between a suite of life-history traits (related to maturity, age, size and growth) and recovery in marine fishes. Following threat mitigation (medium time since cessation of overfishing = 20 years), 71% of 55 tem…