Can Repeated Fertilizer Applications to Young Norway Spruce Enhance Avian Diversity in Intensively Managed Forests?

Repeated fertilization of forests to increase biomass production is an environmentally controversial proposal, the effects of which we assessed on breeding birds in stands of young Norway spruce (Picea abies), in an intensively managed forest area in southern Sweden. Our results show that fertilized stands had 38% more species and 21% more individuals than unfertilized stands. Compared with stands under traditional management, the further intensification of forestry by repeated applications of fertilizers thus seemed to enhance species richness and abundance of forest birds. We cannot conclude at this stage whether the response in the bird community was caused by changes in food resources or increased structural complexity in the forest canopy due to the skid roads used for the application of the fertilizers. Future studies should focus on structural and compositional effects of fertilization processes during the entire rotation period and at assessing its effects in a landscape context.     

An ergonomics study on wrist posture when using laparoscopic tools in four techniques in minimally invasive surgery

Purpose. With reference to four minimally invasive surgery (MIS) cholecystectomies, the aims were (a) to recognize the factors influencing dominant wrist postures manifested by the surgeon; (b) to detect risk factors involved in maintaining deviated wrist postures; (c) to compare the wrist postures of surgeons while using laparoscopic tools. Methods. Video films were recorded during live surgeries. The films were synchronized with wrist joint angles obtained from wireless electrogoniometers placed on the surgeon's hand. The analysis was conducted for five laparoscopic tools used during all surgical techniques. Results. The most common wrist posture was extension. In the case of one laparoscopic tool, the mean values defining extended wrist posture were distinct in all four surgical techniques. For one type of surgical technique, considered the most beneficial for patients, more extreme postures were noticed regarding all laparoscopic tools. We recognized a new factor, apart from the tool's handle design, that influences extreme and deviated wrist postures. It involves three areas of task specification including the type of action, type of motion patterns and motion dynamism. Conclusions. The outcomes proved that the surgical technique which is best for the patient imposes the greatest strain on the surgeon's wrist.?     

Effect of 30 years of road traffic abandonment on epiphytic moss diversity

Road traffic emits a cocktail of pollutants that can influence the vegetation and plant diversity in neighboring areas. However, the recovery potential of bryophytes after traffic abandonment is still little explored. In addition, the effects of the main pollutants of road verges, such as metals and salinity, on moss flora need to be investigated. In our study, we compared the moss richness and diversity in two closely related veteran tree allees of high conservation importance. The allees in Gry?ów and Lubrza, Poland, were chosen because of their similarity in age, geographical location, type of surrounding areas, and tree species. The only difference was that the trees in Gry?ów had not been exposed to direct road pollution for almost 30 years. The moss richness and diversity differed significantly between the sites. Altogether, 20 moss species were recorded on 229 trees, 17 species in Gry?ów (abandoned road), and 13 in Lubrza (busy road). We found considerable differences between moss cover on the road-facing and opposite sides of tree trunks. In Lubrza, mosses on the road-facing side were very scarce. The moss cover in Gry?ów was highly balanced between trunk sides as well as among trunk heights. Typical epiphytic species such as Bryum moravicum, Dicranoweisia cirrata, Leskea polycarpa, and Orthodicranum tauricum preferred the Gry?ów tree stands, where they were present in numbers almost twice as high as that at Lubrza. The study shows that constructing a bypass road could be an effective conservation measure for veteran tree protection with their epiphytic moss flora.     

Composition of weathering crusts on sandstones from natural outcrops and architectonic elements in an urban environment

This work presents mineralogical and chemical characteristics of weathering crusts developed on sandstones exposed to various air pollution conditions. The samples have been collected from sandstone tors in the Carpathian Foothill and from buildings in Kraków. It has been stated that these crusts differ in both fabric and composition. The sandstone black crust from tors is rich in organic matter and composed of amorphous silica. Sulphate incrustations accompanied by dust particles have been only sometimes observed. Beneath the black crust, a zone coloured by iron (oxyhydr)oxides occurs. The enrichment of the surface crust in silica and iron compounds protects the rock interior from atmospheric impact. The sandstones from architectonic details are also covered by a thin carbon-rich black crust, but they are visibly loosened. Numerous salts, mainly gypsum and halite, crystallise here, thus enhancing deterioration of the rock. Moreover, spherical particles originated from industrial emissions are much more common. Gypsum in natural outcrops, forms isolated and well-developed crystals, whilst these found on the architectonic details are finer and densely cover the surface. Such diversity reflects various concentrations of acid air pollutants in solutions.     

Influence of stabilizers on the antimicrobial properties of silver nanoparticles introduced into natural water

Physical, chemical and biochemical properties of silver nanoparticles(AgNPs) depend to a great extent on their size, shape, size distribution, and stabilizers located on their surface. This study focused on two typical stabilizers, namely citrates(cit), low molecular ions protecting nanoparticles by electrostatic repulsion, and polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP), a hydrophilic, neutral, high molecular polymer protecting nanoparticles by steric stabilization. Natural bacterioplankton was collected from a eutrophic, downtown lake and exposed to five concentrations(0.1–5 mg/L) of AgNPs-PVP and AgNPs-cit. Responses were monitored after 1, 3, 5 and 7 days of exposure, by evaluating the survival rate of bacteria, their respiratory activity, and the general activity of extracellular esterases. A significantly better(greater) survival rate of bacterioplankton was observed in water with an addition of AgNPs-cit. The inhibition of extracellular esterases was observed only in samples containing AgNPs-PVP. The inhibitory effect increased proportionally to the concentration of AgNPs-PVP applied. Within the studied concentration range, there was no statistically significant inhibition of bacterioplankton respiratory activity by AgNPs-PVP and AgNPs-cit.     

The influence of antibiotics on the anammox process — a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is one of the most promising processes for the treatment of ammonium-rich wastewater. It is more effective,...     

Perceived landscape values and public participation in a road-planning process – a case study in Sweden

The European Landscape Convention indicates that assessment of different dimensions that exist in landscapes should be taken into account in planning. In this study, we first investigated ecological, cultural and social values as perceived by the local people in a highway-planning process in Sweden. Next, we explored which factors influenced the local people's participation in the road-planning process. We used questionnaires, planning documents and the Theory of Planned Behavior to investigate the relations between different factors and local people's participation in the planning process. The results showed that people presumed the ecological values in the landscape to be adversely affected by the new road, while the social values would remain the same. Landowners had heard of the participatory-process, but few participated. Those who lived within 300 m of the road were more active in the planning process than people living further away. The findings suggest that people living within a few hundred metres of the road should be treated as key stakeholders in the planning process. The involvement of other stakeholders, and when in the public participation process stakeholders should be involved, is also discussed.     

Heart Rate Variability in Exposure to High Altitude Hypoxia of Short Duration

Abstract

The objective of the study is to attempt an evaluation of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) regulatory mechanisms in the presence of autonomous nervous system (ANS) components in transient exposure to high altitude hypoxia.

During 24 hrs including a stay in hypobaria, the participants had their HR continuously recorded using the Holter method. The following parameters were calculated at rest and during the stay in a thermobarochamber: spectral power in low frequency bands (LF) 0.04-0.15 Hz and high frequency bands (HF) 0.15-0.5 Hz, and the sympathetic-parasympathetic balance index LF/HF.

Under hypobaric conditions, a decrease in mean spectral power of R-R intervals was noted within both frequency ranges, compared with the study performed in normobaria. The observed differences were larger at daytime.     

Near- and mid-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy for measuring soil metal content

Rapid and nondestructive methods such as diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy provide potentially useful alternatives to time-consuming chemical methods of soil metal analysis. To assess the utility of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) and diffuse mid-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (DRIFTS) for soil metal determination, 70 soil samples from the metal mining region of Tarnowskie Gory (Upper Silesia, Poland) were analyzed by both chemical and spectroscopic methods. Soils represented a wide range of pH (4.0-8.0), total carbon (5.1-73.2 g kg(-1)), and textural classes (from sand to silty clay loam). Soils had various contents of metals (14-4500 mg kg(-1) for Zn, 18-6530 mg kg(-1) for Pb, and 0.17-34 mg kg(-1) for Cd), ranging from natural background levels to high contents indicative of industrial contamination in the region. Soil samples were scanned at the wavelengths from 400 to 2498 nm (near-infrared region) and from 2500 to 25000 nm (mid-infrared region). Calibrations were developed using the one-out validation procedure under partial least squares (PLS) regression. Mid-infrared spectroscopy markedly outperformed NIRS. Iron, Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn were successfully predicted using DRIFTS. The coefficients of determination (R(2)) between actual and predicted contents were 0.97, 0.94, 0.80, 0.99, and 0.96 for those metals, respectively. Only Pb content was predicted poorly. Calibrations using NIRS were less accurate. Root mean squared deviation (RMSD) values were from 1.27 (Pb) to 3.3 (Ni) times higher for NIRS than for DRIFTS. Results indicate that DRIFTS may be useful for accurate predictions of metals if samples originate from one region.