plot size
Dotaz
Zobrazit nápovědu
The increase in farm plot size is one of the most apparent and significant trends that have influenced central and eastern European agricultural landscapes since the 1950s. In many countries where the average plot size in traditional land-use systems did not exceed several hectares, present-day plots reach the size of 200 ha or more. In recent times, efforts have been made to reverse this trend to restore important ecosystem functions and to re-establish the aesthetic values of everyday landscapes. Visual landscape quality is becoming a major driving force in the development of agricultural landscapes with known effects on people's well-being and health, and this quality plays an increasingly important role in agricultural policies. However, no comprehensive research has been carried out to establish the links between perceived visual landscape quality and the scale of the farm plot pattern. The current study was therefore designed to determine whether greater farmland pattern heterogeneity, i.e., smaller farm plot sizes, is consistent with higher visual preferences. The results showed that people preferred a small-scale plot pattern in landscapes characterized by a flat relief and a low proportion of woody vegetation. These homogeneous landscapes were also overall considered significantly less beautiful than more diverse landscapes. However, even a moderate decrease in plot size notably improved these low beauty scores. These preferences were displayed consistently by all respondents, and most strongly by older respondents, respondents with a higher level of education, and those professionally engaged in landscape design or conservation. The high level of consensus among respondents in rejecting further land consolidation in homogeneous landscapes, which form a large proportion of European farmland, underlines that the results of this study provide a valid argument for discussing sustainable agricultural plot sizes as part of agricultural policy-making.
- MeSH
- dřevo MeSH
- ekosystém * MeSH
- farmy MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- vytváření politiky MeSH
- zachování přírodních zdrojů metody MeSH
- zemědělství * metody MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Coexistence between great tits Parus major and blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus, but also other hole-nesting taxa, constitutes a classic example of species co-occurrence resulting in potential interference and exploitation competition for food and for breeding and roosting sites. However, the spatial and temporal variations in coexistence and its consequences for competition remain poorly understood. We used an extensive database on reproduction in nest boxes by great and blue tits based on 87 study plots across Europe and Northern Africa during 1957-2012 for a total of 19,075 great tit and 16,729 blue tit clutches to assess correlative evidence for a relationship between laying date and clutch size, respectively, and density consistent with effects of intraspecific and interspecific competition. In an initial set of analyses, we statistically controlled for a suite of site-specific variables. We found evidence for an effect of intraspecific competition on blue tit laying date (later laying at higher density) and clutch size (smaller clutch size at higher density), but no evidence of significant effects of intraspecific competition in great tits, nor effects of interspecific competition for either species. To further control for site-specific variation caused by a range of potentially confounding variables, we compared means and variances in laying date and clutch size of great and blue tits among three categories of difference in density between the two species. We exploited the fact that means and variances are generally positively correlated. If interspecific competition occurs, we predicted a reduction in mean and an increase in variance in clutch size in great tit and blue tit when density of heterospecifics is higher than the density of conspecifics, and for intraspecific competition, this reduction would occur when density of conspecifics is higher than the density of heterospecifics. Such comparisons of temporal patterns of means and variances revealed evidence, for both species, consistent with intraspecific competition and to a smaller extent with interspecific competition. These findings suggest that competition associated with reproductive behaviour between blue and great tits is widespread, but also varies across large spatial and temporal scales.
- MeSH
- Passeriformes * MeSH
- rozmnožování MeSH
- velikost snůšky MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Evropa MeSH
- severní Afrika MeSH
Recent advancements in particle design are common in reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC), but in chiral separations their use is still sporadic in commercially available chiral stationary phases (CSPs). Due to reported lower mass transfer resistance, they might be a promising opportunity to increase efficiency and reduce time of analysis since the relatively higher mass transfer resistance term of CSPs caused by slow adsorption-desorption kinetics is the most performance-limiting factor in enantioselective chromatography. This study was dedicated to the evaluation of new support materials for tert-butylcarbamoylquinine (tBuCQN) based CSP to provide highly efficient and fast enantioseparations. As the main focus of this study, the chiral selector tBuCQN was immobilized on sub-2 μm fully porous particles (FPPs) and 2.7 μm superficially porous particles (SPPs) and their column performance in enantioseparation was evaluated in comparison to 5 μm FPPs by van Deemter and Knox analyses as well as kinetic plots using racemic Fmoc-Phe. Both new particle types outperformed the 5 μm FPP benchmark in terms of speed and efficiency, with wider pore materials (160 or 200 Å) being advantageous (over 90 or 120 Å). Basically decisive for the performance gain was the 10-times smaller mass transfer resistance. Furthermore, 2.7 μm 160 Å SPPs outperformed their fully porous sub-2 μm 120 Å counterpart (HminR = 4.64 μm vs. HminR = 8.94 μm) due to various parameters affording reduced plate height h of 1.7. Caused by the inaccessible core, separations were about 2-times faster. Packing of 2.7 μm core-shell particles provided a very homogeneous column bed, and, owing to its higher permeability, the column backpressure was much lower. It enables packing of longer columns providing theoretically separation efficiencies of up to 106 plates per m (as indicated by kinetic plots) and versatile use without the necessity of UHPLC systems. Investigating the effect of particle size reduction (FPPs: 5 μm, 3 μm, 1.7 μm; SPPs: 2.7 μm, 2 μm) and wider pores (FPPs: 120 Å, 200 Å; SPPs: 90 Å, 160 Å), a significantly reduced mass transfer resistance was the driving force for performance gain. Individual contributions of peak dispersion were deconvoluted for 5 μm FPP CSP and confirmed that slow adsorption-desorption kinetics is the most significant contribution to peak broadening in this chromatographic system.
Host size and distance from an infected plant have been previously found to affect mistletoe occurrence in woody vegetation but the effect of host plant competition on mistletoe infection has not been empirically tested. For an individual tree, increasing competition from neighbouring trees decreases its resource availability, and resource availability is also known to affect the establishment of mistletoes on host trees. Therefore, competition is likely to affect mistletoe infection but evidence for such a mechanism is lacking. Based on this, we hypothesised that the probability of occurrence as well as the abundance of mistletoes on a tree would increase not only with increasing host size and decreasing distance from an infected tree but also with decreasing competition by neighbouring trees. Our hypothesis was tested using generalized linear models (GLMs) with data on Loranthus europaeus Jacq., one of the two most common mistletoes in Europe, on 1015 potential host stems collected in a large fully mapped plot in the Czech Republic. Because many trees were multi-stemmed, we ran the analyses for both individual stems and whole trees. We found that the probability of mistletoe occurrence on individual stems was affected mostly by stem size, whereas competition had the most important effects on the probability of mistletoe occurrence on whole trees as well as on mistletoe abundance. Therefore, we confirmed our hypothesis that competition among trees has a negative effect on mistletoe occurrence.
- MeSH
- dub (rod) * MeSH
- ekosystém * MeSH
- lesy * MeSH
- Santalaceae, Loranthaceae * MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
Atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) is a naturally occurring phenomenon, during which high concentrations of sub-10 nm particles are created through gas to particle conversion. The NPF is observed in multiple environments around the world. Although it has observable influence onto annual total and ultrafine particle number concentrations (PNC and UFP, respectively), only limited epidemiological studies have investigated whether these particles are associated with adverse health effects. One plausible reason for this limitation may be related to the absence of NPF identifiers available in UFP and PNC data sets. Until recently, the regional NPF events were usually identified manually from particle number size distribution contour plots. Identification of NPF across multi-annual and multiple station data sets remained a tedious task. In this work, we introduce a regional NPF identifier, created using an automated, machine learning based algorithm. The regional NPF event tag was created for 65 measurement sites globally, covering the period from 1996 to 2023. The discussed data set can be used in future studies related to regional NPF.
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Polyploidy and increased genome size are hypothesized to increase organismal nutrient demands, namely of phosphorus (P), which is an essential and abundant component of nucleic acids. Therefore, polyploids and plants with larger genomes are expected to be selectively disadvantaged in P-limited environments. However, this hypothesis has yet to be experimentally tested. We measured the somatic DNA content and ploidy level in 74 vascular plant species in a long-term fertilization experiment. The differences between the fertilizer treatments regarding the DNA content and ploidy level of the established species were tested using phylogeny-based statistics. The percentage and biomass of polyploid species clearly increased with soil P in particular fertilizer treatments, and a similar but weaker trend was observed for the DNA content. These increases were associated with the dominance of competitive life strategy (particularly advantageous in the P-treated plots) in polyploids and the enhanced competitive ability of dominant polyploid grasses at high soil P concentrations, indicating their increased P limitation. Our results verify the hypothesized effect of P availability on the selection of polyploids and plants with increased genome sizes, although the relative contribution of increased P demands vs increased competitiveness as causes of the observed pattern requires further evaluation.
- MeSH
- délka genomu * MeSH
- DNA rostlinná MeSH
- fosfor metabolismus MeSH
- genom rostlinný * MeSH
- lipnicovité genetika MeSH
- molekulární evoluce * MeSH
- polyploidie * MeSH
- průmyslová hnojiva * MeSH
- půda chemie MeSH
- rostliny genetika MeSH
- selekce (genetika) MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
We present a comprehensive summary of the distribution of the lizards of Iran accompanied by an annotated checklist. The updated maps of distribution of all 146 species of 41 genera of 11 families are based on all available bibliographic records, catalogues of museum collections and our own field observations. The final dataset used for the distribution maps contains 8525 georeferenced records and cover 41% of the country when plotted on a grid of 0.25° × 0.25° resolution. The dataset is publicly accessible through GBIF portal (http://www.gbif.org/dataset/7db4f705-61ae-4c6e-9de2-06674e7d46b2). Following the latest biogeographic division of the country, ~53% of the species (76 species) inhabit the Iranian Province, ~41% (60 species) the Western Asian mountain transition zone, ~9% (13 species) the Turanian Province, and ~18% (27 species) the Arabian Province. In addition, ~2% (3 species) reach Iran from the Indo-Malay biogeographic region and ~2% (3 species) are believed to have been introduced to Iran by humans. Endemic species (46) represent ~32% of the known species diversity. The most species-rich family of lizards in Iran is Lacertidae with 47 species, followed by Gekkonidae (41), Agamidae (18), Scincidae (15), Phyllodactylidae (10), Sphaerodactylidae (4), Eublepharidae and Uromastycidae (3), Anguidae and Varanidae (2), and Trogonophidae with one representative.
- MeSH
- anatomické struktury zvířat anatomie a histologie růst a vývoj MeSH
- ještěři anatomie a histologie klasifikace růst a vývoj MeSH
- kontrolní seznam MeSH
- rozšíření zvířat MeSH
- velikost orgánu MeSH
- velikost těla MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Írán MeSH
Cíl: Popsat charakteristiku a patofyziologii BTX. Účinnost BTX byla hodnocena prostřednictvím metaanalýzy klinických studií využívajících placebo kontroly. Vzhledem k nedostupnosti kontrolovaných studií ve vulvo-perineální oblasti jsme se rozhodli je nahradit kontrolovanými studiemi prováděnými na příčně pruhovaných svalech v různých jiných oblastech lidského těla. Předpokládáme, že biochemická reakce je buď totožná, nebo velmi podobná. Tato práce nastiňuje námi navrhovaná doporučení týkající se aplikací ve vulvo-perineální oblasti, včetně odpovídajícího dávkování. Metody a pacienti: Byl proveden rozbor klinických studií týkajících se aplikace BTX. Hodnoceny byly databáze z let 2000 až 2023. Nebyly zaznamenány žádné vhodné placebem kontrolované studie specificky na svalech vulvo-perineální oblasti. Kritéria placebem kontrolované BTX studie splnilo devět studií pacientů se svalovou spasticitou po cévní mozkové příhodě. Pacienti byli léčeni BTX A, Botoxem nebo Dysportem. Hodnocení změny svalové spasticity zahrnovalo výpočet rozdílu Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) před a 4-6 týdnů po léčbě u léčené a placebo skupiny. Cohenovo d bylo použito k určení velikosti tohoto rozsahu (effect size). Velikost celkového efektu u metaanalýzy byla 0,97; P < 0,001, což ukazuje na její významný statistický rozměr. Homogenita nebyla porušena, P = 0,076. Heterogenita prezentuje mírné zkreslení, I2 = 46 %. Forest Plot graf tento nález potvrzuje. Trychtýřový graf obsahuje inkorporované studie a prezentuje nevýznamné zkreslení metaanalýzy. Rozdílné dávkování BTX souvisí s faktem, že běžně používaný Botox a Dysport mají vzájemný poměr přepočtu jednotek 1 IU:2,5 IU v tomto pořadí. Dávka Botoxu ≤ 400 jednotek je považována za bezpečnou, s odds ratio (OR) 0,97 bez významného nárůstu nežádoucích účinků (AE); dávka > 600 jednotek má OR 2,98, doprovázená výrazným zvýšením AE. Aplikace Botoxu pro vulvo-perineální oblast je přibližně 100 IU, rozdělená do několika dávek. Po jednom měsíci lze aplikovat booster dávku stejného rozsahu. Diskuze: Shrnuli jsme základní fyziopatologii BTX a prokázali jeho účinnost při zmírňování bolesti a spastické bolesti u pacientů. Prezentovali jsme vhodné dávkování BTX ve vulvo-perineální oblasti a diskutovali o možné limitaci léčby.
The human body can experience pain or muscle spasms due to a wide range of factors. The pursuit of optimal pain management and alleviation has led to the use of botulinum toxin (BTX). Aim: To describe the characteristics and pathophysiology of BTX. The efficacy of BTX was assessed through a meta- analysis of clinical trials employing placebo controls. Due to the unavailability of controlled trials on the vulvo-perineal area, we opted to replace them with controlled trials conducted on striated muscles in various human body regions. We assume that the biochemical reaction is either identical or very similar. This paper outlines our proposed recommendations regarding applications in the vulvo-perineal region, including the corresponding dosage. Methods and Patients: A review of clinical trials pertaining to BTX was performed. Databases from 2000 to 2023 were evaluated. No placebo-controlled studies were conducted specifically on the muscles of the vulvo-perineal area. Nine trials of patients with muscle spasticity after stroke fulfilled the criteria. Patients were treated with BTX A Botox or Dysport. The assessment of muscle spasticity change involved calculating the mean difference of the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) before and 4-6 weeks post-treatment. Cohen‘s d was employed to indicate the effect size. The overall study‘s effect size was 0.97; P<.001, indicating a large effect size of the meta-analysis. Homogeneity was not distorted, P = 0.076. Heterogeneity implies slight distortion, I 2 = 46%. The forest plot confirms this finding. The Funnel Plot encompasses a wide range of studies, suggesting consistent findings and limited bias. The dosage of BTX pertains to the fact that commonly used Botox and Dysport have a calculation ratio of 1 IU to 2.5 IU. A Botox dosage ≤400 units is considered safe, with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.97 without a notable rise in adverse events (AEs); a dosage of >600 units has an OR of 2.98, accompanied by a notable increase in AEs. The Botox dosage for the vulvo-perineal area is approximately 100 IU divided into several punctures. After one month, a booster dose is available. Discussion: We summarized the fundamental physiopathology of BTX and demonstrated its efficacy in mitigating pain and spastic pain among patients. We presented a suitable dosage of BTX in the vulvo-perineal area and discussed potential dosage limitations.
Studies of plant invasions rarely address impacts on molluscs. By comparing pairs of invaded and corresponding uninvaded plots in 96 sites in floodplain forests, we examined effects of four invasive alien plants (Impatiens glandulifera, Fallopia japonica, F. sachalinensis, and F.× bohemica) in the Czech Republic on communities of land snails. The richness and abundance of living land snail species were recorded separately for all species, rare species listed on the national Red List, and small species with shell size below 5 mm. The significant impacts ranged from 16-48% reduction in snail species numbers, and 29-90% reduction in abundance. Small species were especially prone to reduction in species richness by all four invasive plant taxa. Rare snails were also negatively impacted by all plant invaders, both in terms of species richness or abundance. Overall, the impacts on snails were invader-specific, differing among plant taxa. The strong effect of I. glandulifera could be related to the post-invasion decrease in abundance of tall nitrophilous native plant species that are a nutrient-rich food source for snails in riparian habitats. Fallopia sachalinensis had the strongest negative impact of the three knotweeds, which reflects differences in their canopy structure, microhabitat humidity and litter decomposition. The ranking of Fallopia taxa according to the strength of impacts on snail communities differs from ranking by their invasiveness, known from previous studies. This indicates that invasiveness does not simply translate to impacts of invasion and needs to be borne in mind by conservation and management authorities.
- MeSH
- biodiverzita MeSH
- hlemýždi fyziologie MeSH
- hustota populace MeSH
- populační dynamika MeSH
- potravní řetězec MeSH
- zavlečené druhy * MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
PURPOSE: Utility of prostate-specific antigen density (PSAd) for risk-stratification to avoid unnecessary biopsy remains unclear due to the lack of standardization of prostate volume estimation. We evaluated the impact of ellipsoidal formula using multiparametric magnetic resonance (MRI) and semi-automated segmentation using tridimensional ultrasound (3D-US) on prostate volume and PSAd estimations as well as the distribution of patients in a risk-adapted table of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa). METHODS: In a prospectively maintained database of 4841 patients who underwent MRI-targeted and systematic biopsies, 971 met inclusions criteria. Correlation of volume estimation was assessed by Kendall's correlation coefficient and graphically represented by scatter and Bland-Altman plots. Distribution of csPCa was presented using the Schoots risk-adapted table based on PSAd and PI-RADS score. The model was evaluated using discrimination, calibration plots and decision curve analysis (DCA). RESULTS: Median prostate volume estimation using 3D-US was higher compared to MRI (49cc[IQR 37-68] vs 47cc[IQR 35-66], p < 0.001). Significant correlation between imaging modalities was observed (τ = 0.73[CI 0.7-0.75], p < 0.001). Bland-Altman plot emphasizes the differences in prostate volume estimation. Using the Schoots risk-adapted table, a high risk of csPCa was observed in PI-RADS 2 combined with high PSAd, and in all PI-RADS 4-5. The risk of csPCa was proportional to the PSAd for PI-RADS 3 patients. Good accuracy (AUC of 0.69 and 0.68 using 3D-US and MRI, respectively), adequate calibration and a higher net benefit when using 3D-US for probability thresholds above 25% on DCA. CONCLUSIONS: Prostate volume estimation with semi-automated segmentation using 3D-US should be preferred to the ellipsoidal formula (MRI) when evaluating PSAd and the risk of csPCa.
- MeSH
- hodnocení rizik MeSH
- klinické rozhodování MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- magnetická rezonanční tomografie metody MeSH
- multiparametrická magnetická rezonance MeSH
- nádory prostaty * patologie diagnostické zobrazování MeSH
- prospektivní studie MeSH
- prostata * patologie diagnostické zobrazování MeSH
- prostatický specifický antigen * krev MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- ultrazvukem navigovaná biopsie metody MeSH
- velikost orgánu MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
