Search results for "tick"
showing 10 items of 166 documents
A comparison of infestation patterns by Ixodes ticks in urban and rural populations of the Common Blackbird Turdus merula
2002
Although spatial variation in the patterns of parasite infestations among host populations may have important ecological and epidemiological consequences, the causes underlying such variation are poorly known. In the context of a long-term study on the population biology of Common Blackbirds Turdus merula , we examined the prevalence and intensity of infestation by Ixodes ticks between birds living in rural vs. urban habitats. The overall prevalence of tick infestations was significantly higher in the rural habitat where 74% of individuals ( n = 130) were infested. This result contrasted markedly with the situation in the urban habitat where less than 2% of individuals ( n = 360) carried ti…
Characterisation of the external features ofSchistocephalus solidus (M�ller, 1776) (Cestoda) from different geographical regions and an assessment of…
1995
A comparative study of some morphological (segment number, scolex morphology and biometry, length and weight) and biological (maturation in different hosts) features ofSchistocephalus solidus plerocercoids and adults from different geographical regions (Baltic Sea and the British Isles) was carried out. The length of the plerocercoids fromGasterosteus aculeatus was shown to be the variable that best correlated with segment number. A very clear bimodal distribution of segment numbers separated the majority of British and Baltic plerocercoids (British n=21, mean length 25.48, SD 5.63, range 14–34 mm; mean segment number 66.33, SD 8.68, range 51–86. Baltic n=30, mean length 33.23, SD 4.64, ran…
Pico: A data acquisition program for picosecond laser spectroscopy
1992
Abstract A data acquisition and control program for picosecond pump and probe experiments has been developed. The program PICO is written in C-programming language for maximum efficiency. The software which runs on an IBM PC compatible microcomputer controls a stepper motor driven optical delay, and at the same time collects data from a digital lock-in amplifier. PICO can be used to control any experiment utilizing two-beam pump probe technique. The modular structure of the software allows for easy implementation with different hardware configurations. The program includes: measurement option, manual control of the delay line using a joystick and functions for file retrieval and editing. Ad…
The Stochastic Intelligence. A Technical Model from Ancient Greece to Robotics
2019
What do we mean when we talk about the “intelligence” of robots? In what sense does a robot “reason” and “take decisions”? Answering these questions can give food for thought towards understanding whether there is either something so specific in human beings that cannot be reproduced in robots, or—as an alternative—the way to improve robots in emulating human behavior. In the following pages I will try to give my contribution by shedding light on some characteristics concerning human reasoning and rationality, mainly referring to the ancient Greek philosophical tradition.
Mediation and Conciliation in Collective Labor Conflicts in Italy.
2019
With the support of the EC (DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) a project was conducted to examine and promote third party intervention in collective labor conflicts in 12 European countries. Three studies were conducted. Study 1 was mainly a documental study offering a socio-political, institutional and legal analysis of each mediation system, including interviews with experts on the current status. Study 2 was a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of mediation systems from the users’ perspective. Interviews and focus groups were conducted in order to assess employers’ and employees’ motives to use or not use third party services for conciliation or mediation, and the satisf…
Predicting needlestick and sharps injuries in nursing students: Development of the SNNIP scale
2020
© 2020 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Aim: To develop an instrument to investigate knowledge and predictive factors of needlestick and sharps injuries (NSIs) in nursing students during clinical placements. Design: Instrument development and cross-sectional study for psychometric testing. Methods: A self-administered instrument including demographic data, injury epidemiology and predictive factors of NSIs was developed between October 2018–January 2019. Content validity was assessed by a panel of experts. The instrument's factor structure and discriminant validity were explored using principal components analysis. The STROBE guidelines were followed. Results: E…
Segregation and co-occurrence of larval cestodes in freshwater fishes in the Bothnian Bay, Finland
1992
SUMMARYTwo autogenic (Triaenophorus crassus and T. nodulosus) and four allogenic (Diphyllobothrium latum, D. dendriticum, D. ditremum and Schistocephalus solidus) larval cestode species were found in 13 out of 31 fish species studied from the Bothnian Bay, NE Baltic. Gasterosteus aculeatus was the most heavily infected fish with 4 larval cestode species; for two of them (D. ditremum and S. solidus) the three-spined stickleback was found to be the required fish intermediate host. Among allogenic cestode species, those restricted to different definitive host species segregated their larval population in relation to the fish host, while, for example, D. ditremum and S. solidus, both maturing i…
Fast Photomosaic
2005
Photomosaic is a technique which transforms an input image into a rectangular grid of thumbnail images preserving the overall appearance. The typical photomosaic algorithm searches from a large database of images one picture that approximates a block of pixels in the main image. Since the quality of the output depends on the size of the database, it turns out that the bottleneck in each photomosaic algorithm is the searching process. In this paper we present a technique to speed-up this critical phase using the Antipole Tree Data Structure. This improvement allows the use of larger databases without requiring much longer processing time.
The role of maternal effects in host-parasite interactions: examination of the development of the immune defense in a colonial seabird, the black-leg…
2004
One of the main aims of evolutionary biology is to understand the mechanisms responsible for the phenotypic variation on which natural selection can act. Maternal effects occur when a mother's phenotype or her environment influence her offspring's phenotype. Despite the importance of such effects for the ecology of host-parasite interactions, their role has been relatively neglected to date. In this thesis, we examined how mothers influence the immune defense of their young in an environment that varies in space and time. This work has primarily focused on a colonial seabird, the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). Using this model, we have first shown that specific maternal antibodi…
Adsorption and desorption surface dynamics of gaseous adsorbate on silicate-1 by molecular dynamics simulation
2013
The dynamics of adsorption and desorption of gaseous molecules on the external surface of a crystal and a membrane of zeolite silicate-1 is investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. The gases ...