As the world becomes more urbanized, key abiotic factors in cities differ strongly compared to those in adjacent wildlands. This is especially important in desert cities, which are rapidly urbanizing ...and understudied when compared to cities adjacent to temperate forests. While a taxonomic understanding of how this shift in abiotic factors affects ecological communities is important, a trait-based approach may be more comprehensive and reveal potential mechanisms of environmental filtering. Bees are particularly vulnerable to the effects of urbanization and land use change. In this study, I assess body size and life-history traits of bee in Albuquerque, New Mexico and an adjacent wildland desert. I found that bees at urban sites had 12% larger wing-bud distances and 28% larger body weights when compared to wildland sites. Life-history traits also varied across urban and wildland sites, with urban sites having 25% more bee species with specialized diets and 41% more bee species which were solitary. Overall, the urban sites had a distinct trait signature when compared to wildland sites, but one which also did not match the findings of previous studies. These findings suggest that further research is needed to understand how the rate of urbanization affects ecological communities.
A generalized framework for the integrated observational and modeling study of a typical Greek temporary river is presented. A karstic spring flow model was developed for the estimation of daily ...spring flows into the watershed from its extended karst area. The karstic model assumes the existence of an upper (faster) and a lower (slower) reservoir that represent the two different karstic formations of the region. The karstic spring flow model was coupled with a watershed model, the Hydrological Simulation Program – Fortran (HSPF) in order to simulate the hydrology, sediment transport and nutrient loads of Krathis river basin. Forty two percent of Krathis river flow was estimated to be from the contribution of the karstic springs. The combined models simulated the time response of the watershed based on geochemical and hydrologic mass balances. The seasonal variability of flow and the concentrations of suspended solids and nutrients was captured by the simulations. The karstic model was shown to be a useful tool for analyzing karstic systems by estimating the contributing area of the karst and its response to precipitation events. This framework can be used to simulate watersheds where karstic geologic formations predominate.
A telemetric high-frequency hydrologic and water quality monitoring network was deployed to obtain data for the characterization of the hydrologic and bio-geochemical processes of a complex ...Mediterranean watershed of Koiliaris River, Crete, Greece. The network measures water level, water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrate. Analysis of the hydrologic data suggests the existence of four hydrologic processes that operate in the watershed with distinctive characteristic response times. The response of the flow hydrograph of the upper reservoir of the Karstic system to a precipitation event had a characteristic time of 10 d while the characteristic time of the lower reservoir was 38 d. The flash flood events of Keramianos temporary river (tributary to Koiliaris) had a characteristic response time of 29
h while the diurnal variation of flow had a characteristic response time of 18
h. The diurnal fluctuation of the chemical parameters had a characteristic response time of 8
h for pH, 83
h for DO and 13
h for nitrates while the nitrate flush from the Neogene deposits to the river had a characteristic response time of 2.7
h. The diurnal fluctuation is related to in-stream biological activity. The results illustrate the importance of high-frequency sampling for accurate parameterization of processes operating in complex environmental systems with varying process response times.
Children's physical activity (PA) is increasingly restricted by the fast pace of modern life. Schools are the opportune setting in which to increase PA during daily recess. The purpose of this study ...was to record the degree of PA of 6th grade primary school students during recess and determine whether the playground size and available equipment can influence the degree of students' PA. The study sample comprised of 625 12-year-old students, 324 (51.8%) boys and 301 (48.2%) girls. The PA during recess was calculated by Metabolic Equivalent Time (MET*min) using a self-reference questionnaire. The impact of schoolyard size and equipment on MET*min was evaluated by Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance (ANOVA). The students' PA (MET*min) during recess was higher at schools with a large schoolyard (197.55±133.15 MET*min), compared with medium size (152.65±109.23 MET*min) and small ones (117.69±104.22 MET*min), (x2=50.629, p(0.001). Moreover, students were more physically active during recess in adequately equipped schools (187.11±124.21 MET*min), compared with partially (158.84±128.61 MET*min) or inadequately equipped ones (114.19±89.13 MET*min). This indicates a strong positive relationship between PA and equipment (x2=21.277, p(0.001). An encouraging school environment can motivate pre-adolescent children to be more physically active and therefore healthier. These data reveal that spacious schoolyards rich in outdoor facilities can lead to more physically active behaviour among students during recess. (Autor).
Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is classically described as a benign neoplasm of the larynx. Nevertheless, transformation to dysplasia and invasive carcinoma can occur. Sarcoma of the ...larynx is rare. Here, we present a case of sarcoma in a patient repeatedly treated for RRP.
We report a case of a 73- year old Caucasian male diagnosed with adult-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (AORRP) at the age of 63y. o. During the previous 10 years, he underwent multiple surgeries. In the last therapeutic intervention, he was treated with laser excision of the papilloma and topical mitomycin application. Two months after treatment, papilloma recurred and sarcoma was diagnosed.
RRP is a benign lesion. Affected patients usually require multiple interventions. It rarely degenerates to malignancy. Sarcoma in the larynx in the presence of RRP is a rare case. Extended surgical removal remains the treatment of choice. Adjuvant therapies consist of chemotherapy and radiation and are reserved for unresectable or recurrent cases.
Nutrient mitigation in a temporary river basin Tzoraki, Ourania; Nikolaidis, Nikolaos P; Cooper, David ...
Environmental monitoring and assessment,
04/2014, Volume:
186, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
We estimate the nutrient budget in a temporary Mediterranean river basin. We use field monitoring and modelling tools to estimate nutrient sources and transfer in both high and low flow conditions. ...Inverse modelling by the help of PHREEQC model validated the hypothesis of a losing stream during the dry period. Soil and Water Assessment Tool model captured the water quality of the basin. The ‘total daily maximum load’ approach is used to estimate the nutrient flux status by flow class, indicating that almost 60 % of the river network fails to meet nitrogen criteria and 50 % phosphate criteria. We recommend that existing well-documented remediation measures such as reforestation of the riparian area or composting of food process biosolids should be implemented to achieve load reduction in close conjunction with social needs.
A reach at the estuary of Krathis River in Greece was used to assess how in-stream processes alter its hydrologic and biogeochemical regime. Krathis River exhibited high annual flow variability and ...its transmission losses become significant, especially during the dry months. These transmission losses are enhanced in chemistry due to release of nutrients from river sediments. These fluxes are significant because they correspond to 11% of the dissolved inorganic nitrogen flux of the river. Release of nitrogen species was influenced by temperature, while release of phosphate was not because phosphate levels were below the equilibrium concentration. There is a significant amount of sediments with fine composition that create “hot spot” areas in the river reach. These sediments are mobilized during the first flush events in the fall carrying with them a significant load of nutrient and suspended matter to the coastal zone. The nutrient organic content of sediments was also significant and it was studied in terms of its mineralization capacity. The capacity for mineralization was influenced by soil moisture, exhibiting significant capacity even at moisture levels of 40%. Temporary rivers are sensitive ecosystems, vulnerable to climate changes. In-stream processes play a significant role in altering the hydrology and biogeochemistry of the water and its impacts to the coastal zone.
Hourly water level measurements were used to investigate the flood characteristics of a semi-arid river in Greece, the Evrotas. Flood events are analysed with respect to flood magnitude and ...occurrence and the performance of Curve Number approach over a period of 2007–2011. A distributed model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool, is used to simulate the historic floods (1970–2010) from the available rainfall data, and the performance of the model assessed. A new flood classification method was suggested the Peaks-Duration Over Threshold method that defines three flood types: ‘usual’, ‘ecological’ and ‘hazardous’. We classify the basin according to the flood type for the most serious past simulated flood events. The proportion of hazardous floods in the main stream is estimated to be 5–7% with a lower figure in tributaries. Flood Status Frequency Graphs and radar plots are used to show the seasonality of simulated floods. In the Evrotas, the seasonality pattern of hazardous flood is in agreement with other studies in Greece and differs from other major European floods. The classification in terms of flood types in combination with flood type seasonality is identified as an important tool in flood management and restoration.
INTRODUCTIONRecurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is classically described as a benign neoplasm of the larynx. Nevertheless, transformation to dysplasia and invasive carcinoma can occur. Sarcoma ...of the larynx is rare. Here, we present a case of sarcoma in a patient repeatedly treated for RRP. CASE REPORTWe report a case of a 73- year old Caucasian male diagnosed with adult-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (AORRP) at the age of 63y. o. During the previous 10 years, he underwent multiple surgeries. In the last therapeutic intervention, he was treated with laser excision of the papilloma and topical mitomycin application. Two months after treatment, papilloma recurred and sarcoma was diagnosed. CONCLUSIONSRRP is a benign lesion. Affected patients usually require multiple interventions. It rarely degenerates to malignancy. Sarcoma in the larynx in the presence of RRP is a rare case. Extended surgical removal remains the treatment of choice. Adjuvant therapies consist of chemotherapy and radiation and are reserved for unresectable or recurrent cases.
