Bilingual Publishing Co. (BPC): E-Journals
Not a member yet
2424 research outputs found
Sort by
Environmental Education and Ecotourists: Experience from the Yucatan Coast, Mexico
No full textEcotourism is a tourism modality intricately linked to the principles of sustainability, due to its natural offer component and environmental education. The objective of this research is to evaluate the perception of ecotourists present on the coast of Yucatan. From a regional approach, the author selected twenty-five community-based ecotourism ventures (CBET) present in the area and analysed the perception of ecotourists through a questionnaire and its respective statistical analysis with nonparametric tests, and developed a general profile of the ecotourist applying a sociodemographic segmentation and based on a geographical segmentation the author compared the perceptions of two populations: national ecotourists and international ecotourists. The data reveal that the profile of the ecotourist on the coast of Yucatan is similar to that postulated in the literature. In terms of environmental perception the author found a significant difference in both populations, and believed that this difference is because the international market is more critical and demanding. In addition, areas of opportunity were documented in the CBETs in the way they carry out their environmental communication. The author concluded that ecotourism in the region is still an activity in consolidation and although it presents great achievements. It is still not possible to qualify it as a sustainable activity. We call for continuing deepening the studies of ecotourism demand and evaluation of perception, through comparative, longitudinal studies and with new variables that allow new test statistics, to contribute new elements to the ecotourism debate
Structure of a Semideciduous Seasonal Forest in the National Forest of Ipanema, Brazil: Contributing to the Floristic Knowledge of a Poorly Studied Protected Area
No full textStudies on composition and structure generate crucial information for characterizing plant communities and planning conservation actions. There are still substantial knowledge gaps in Brazilian protected areas, preventing design programs to mitigate biodiversity loss. This is the case of the National Forest of Ipanema (Ipanema NAFO) in São Paulo state, Brazil, where plant diversity remains uncalculated. To help fill this gap, in 1-ha of a seasonal semideciduous forest (SSF) stand on the Araçoiaba hill, the authors sampled all woody stems with dbh ≥ 5 cm in a total of 103 dead and 1,301 living plants representing 65 species, 57 genera, and 31 families. The number of species and families was lower than old-growth SSF and, together with the land-use history, which suggests the community is a secondary stand. The initial species Guazuma ulmifolia, Machaerium stipitatum, Croton floribundus, and Aloysia virgata totalized 50% of the living stems, whereas 37% of the other species summed up only 1.8%. The high abundance of these initial species and the presence of the climax species Cariniana legalis, Holocayx balansae, Myroxylon peruiferum, Zanthoxylum caribaeum and others indicate that the community is in an intermediate to advanced successional stage. Three species are considered vulnerable to extinction and 27 of least concern. Ipanema NAFO is an important conservation unit, sheltering some plants vulnerable to extinction and others locally rare. This study adds to other few studies about the flora of Ipanema NAFO, helping to estimate its biodiversity and planning conservation actions. Additionally, it is a source for defining reference values for ecological restoration in the Atlantic forest
Soil Bunds Effect on Soil Properties under Different Topographies of Southwest Ethiopia
No full textSoil erosion is a major environmental problem affecting development endeavors. Physical soil and water conservation (SWC) measures such as soil bunds are implemented to mitigate soil erosion. However, information on the effects of soil bunds on soil fertility is limited. This study aimed to evaluate soil quality in fields with soil bunds and with no soil bunds in steep, middle and lower sloping cultivated lands as well as spatial variation of soil properties in between bunds in southwest Ethiopia. About 7-15 years old bunds and nearby cultivated fields lacking bunds were assessed. From 0 cm-20 cm soil depth, 36 soil samples were collected. Soil texture, soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (Ntot) and exchangeable potassium (Kexch) were analyzed. Soil bunds showed significantly (p<0.0.5) greater clay but less sand than adjacent no-bund fields. In steep, middle, and lower slopes, concentrations of SOC and Kexch were greater in fields with soil bunds than without. Lower slope fields showed greater clay, SOC and nutrients than steep slopes. In between soil bunds, soil was more fertile at bunds than below the bunds. In Fanta watershed, soil bunds are a vital conservation measure to retain soil fertility in cultivated mountainous areas
Promoting Pedestrian Transportation to Reducing Air Pollution from Urban Transport
No full textIncreasing air pollution around the world causes many problems, especially in the field of health. Air pollution affects not only human health but also other living things' health. The factors that cause air pollution the most are heating, industry, and transportation. Many countries in the world carry out various studies to reduce the effect of these factors on air pollution. Especially in the field of transportation, studies have been done quite a lot in recent years. In this study, air pollution caused by transportation in Erzurum, Turkey has been investigated. Emission amounts of NOX, PM10, and SO2 values have been calculated according to the types of vehicles in the city. Then, the amount of emissions from transportation in the total sector has been revealed. The transportation structure of the city has examined in general terms and the missing aspects in terms of pedestrian transportation have been revealed. Finally, some solution proposals aiming to encourage the use of pedestrian transportation and micro mobility vehicles in order to reduce motor land vehicles are presented
Biopolymers applied to packaging: A brief literature review on their impact on sustainability
No full textThe replacement of fossil raw materials by renewable alternatives is imperative. Renewable, biodegradable, and compostable polymers are options to be developed and adopted. Embedded in this concept, the present study evaluates whether biopolymers are sustainable alternatives to replace traditional polymers used in packaging, such as polyethylene. To that end, a systematic literature review (SLR) was carried out on biopolymers applied to packaging, with an analysis of its impacts. Three sustainability criteria were adopted: a) Criteria for Developing Sustainable Packaging; b) Goals of Sustainable Development; and c) Circular Economy Criteria. The Methodology Section presents the state of the art of potential polymers for packaging and their characteristics vis-à-vis the evaluation criteria adopted based on the SLR. Through data collection, it was observed that advanced obtaining techniques enable polymers economically and that, environmentally speaking, there is a positive consensus about some types of those materials. However, technological maturity and productive scale capacity are necessary to reduce costs in a competitive scenario with conventional polymers
Stress Hyperglycemia: A Problem that Cannot be Ignored
No full textStress hyperglycemia is a strong neuroendocrine reaction in thehypothalamic pituitary adrenal cortex under severe infection, trauma, burns,hemorrhage, surgery and other harmful stimulated, resulting in increasedsecretion of counter-regulatory hormones. These hormones promotedthe production of sugar and cause glucose metabolism disorders withcytokines and insulin resistance. In this condition, the production of sugarexceeds the utilization of sugar by the tissues, which eventually leads to anincrease in blood glucose levels in plasma. In the intensive care unit, stresshyperglycemia is very common and can occur in patients with or withoutdiabetes. The incidence is as high as 96%, and it is an independent factorin the death of critically ill patients. Hyperglycemia not only prolongsthe hospitalization time, mechanical ventilation time and increased theincidence of serious infections in critically ill patients, but can also leadto the occurrence of type 2 diabetes. Therefore, it is very important tolearn the pathological mechanism of stress hyperglycemia, the harm ofhyperglycemia and blood sugar management
Climate Change and Its Impact on Brown Bear Distribution in Iran
No full textClimate change is one of the threats in the recent century, affecting biodiversity directly and indirectly. Modeling the patterns of species distribution is one of useful tools for predicting the impacts of climate change on endangered species. Brown bear (Ursus arctos) plays an important role as a focal species in mountainous ecosystems. This study was aims to investigate the effects of future climate changes on the distribution of this species using an ensemble modeling method in R-software. For this purpose five algorithms including MAXENT, RF, MARS, GAM, GLM and BRT were used to predict the distribution of the species in the present climatic conditions as well as in the 2050s and 2070s. The results showed that temperature and precipitation were two main factors in the distribution of brown bears in Iran. Investigating the distribution of the brown bear in the future showed that suitability of its habitat will decrease in the western and central parts and increase in the northern parts. So a shift toward higher altitude will be expected for brown bear in the future. Therefore, in this condition it is imperative to upgrade the extent of protected areas for better conservation of brown bear
Length-weight Relationship and Condition Factor of Sarotherodon Melanotheron (Perciformes: cichlidae) from Forcados River Estuary, Niger Delta, Nigeria
No full textLength-weight relationship (LWR), condition factor (k) of the black chin tilapia, Sarotherodon melanotheron (Rüppel, 1852) from Forcados River estuary Nigeria was investigated. The fish were collected monthly from fishermen for a period of 24 months (between April 2012 and March 2014). 699 specimens of the fish species were collected. The Length-weight relationship (LWR) of the fish was evaluated using the equation: W = a Lb while the condition factor of the fish was determined using the equation; K = 100W Lb . The standard length of sampled S. melanotheron ranged from 4.15 to 18.92 cm, total length 6.01 and 22.5 cm while the weight ranged from 7.85 - 286.71 g. The b value 2.1299 was less than 3 indicating that the growth pattern of the fish was allometric. The correlation co-efficient (r) value for S. melanotheron was 0.7528. The condition factor for the combined sexes fluctuated monthly. The length-weight relationships and condition factor of S. melanotheron in Forcados river estuary indicated that the fish were above average condition
Isolation and Identification of Bacteria found in the milt of cultured Clarias gariepinus
No full textBacteria identification in fish is important; hence it provides update information on emerging and existing organisms thereby enriching the gene bank on fish disease. This study investigated bacteria associated with milt in cultured samples of African catfish- Clarias gariepinus. Catfish broodstock were collected from private Fish Farm in Ogun State, Nigeria. Fish samples were taken to the Microbiology laboratory, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta Ogun State for milt microbial analyses, and amplicon were taken to International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan for molecular characterization. Bio-edit was use for importing and mining nucleotide sequences into gene bank. The results revealed that the following bacterial organisms were present in the milt of Clarias gariepinus: Aeromonas caviae, Proteus mirabilis, Serratia rubidaea, Pseudomonas mosselii, Acinetobacter soli and Klebsiella variicola. The Basic Local Alignment Search Tools revealed the percentage similarity ranging from 86- 97.04% and their accession numbers. These bacteria indicated high levels of faecal contamination in the environment. In conclusion, bacteria were found in the milt of cultured catfish and are capable of being pathogenic to humans and may increase the vertical transfer to fry during breeding and rearing stage.
