407 research outputs found
Specialization in Plant-Hummingbird Networks Is Associated with Species Richness, Contemporary Precipitation and Quaternary Climate-Change Velocity
No full textBo Dalsgaard et al...Large-scale geographical patterns of biotic specialization and the underlying drivers are poorly understood, but it is widely believed that climate plays an important role in determining specialization. As climate-driven range dynamics should diminish local adaptations and favor generalization, one hypothesis is that contemporary biotic specialization is determined by the degree of past climatic instability, primarily Quaternary climate-change velocity. Other prominent hypotheses predict that either contemporary climate or species richness affect biotic specialization. To gain insight into geographical patterns of contemporary biotic specialization and its drivers, we use network analysis to determine the degree of specialization in plant-hummingbird mutualistic networks sampled at 31 localities, spanning a wide range of climate regimes across the Americas. We found greater biotic specialization at lower latitudes, with latitude explaining 20–22% of the spatial variation in plant-hummingbird specialization. Potential drivers of specialization - contemporary climate, Quaternary climate-change velocity, and species richness - had superior explanatory power, together explaining 53–64% of the variation in specialization. Notably, our data provides empirical evidence for the hypothesized roles of species richness, contemporary precipitation and Quaternary climate-change velocity as key predictors of biotic specialization, whereas contemporary temperature and seasonality seem unimportant in determining specialization. These results suggest that both ecological and evolutionary processes at Quaternary time scales can be important in driving large-scale geographical patterns of contemporary biotic specialization, at least for co-evolved systems such as plant-hummingbird networks.Funding for BD was supported by Frimodt-Heineke Foundation, Augustinus Foundation, Knud Højgaard Foundation, a PhD fellowship by Aarhus University, Weis-Fogh Fund at Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, and The Danish Council for Independent Research | Natural Sciences. EM was supported by the Center for Massive Data Algorithmics, a Danish National Research Foundation Center of Excellence. JF and CR thank the Danish National Research Foundation for its support of the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate. AMG was supported by Svend Fiedler & Wife Foundation, J.Olesen by the Danish Council for Independent Research - Natural Sciences and Novozymes/World Wildlife Foundation-Denmark, J.Ollerton and SW by the British Ecological Society, Idea Wild, The Biodiversity Trust, The Anglo Peruvian Society and The Leslie Church Bursary Fund, RA by The United States National Science Foundation's Predoctoral Fellowship Program and The California Alliance for Minority Participation, ACA by The Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia (FAEP) and The National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), PC by the British Ornithologists' Union, CL by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, CM by FAPESB and CNPq, IS and MS by FAPESP and CNPq, AT by Aarhus University, and J-CS by the Danish Council for Independent Research - Natural Sciences (grant 272-07-0242). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewe
Bill measurements of hummingbirds in the ecological network database
No full textHere you will find the bill measurements of 161 hummingbird species. This is the set of species present in the network database that describes the interactions between these hummingbirds and their nectar resources (Dalsgaard et al. 2011, Martin-Gonzalez et al. 2015, Maruyama et al. 2018, Sonne et al. in press). Detailed information about the measurements can be found at the enclosed documents.Further, the values for bill curvature (angle measurement) for both Topaza pyra and Trochilus polytmus were corrected in version 4 of the spreadsheet.</div
Land-Use and Climate Impacts on Plant-Pollinator Interactions and Pollination Services
No full textMost flowering plants rely on animals for pollination and most animal pollinators rely on flowering plants for food resources. However, there is an ongoing concern that anthropogenic-induced global change threatens the mutualistic association between plants and pollinators. Two of the most important factors of global change are land-use and climate change. Land-use and climate change may affect species distributions and species phenologies, leading to spatial and temporal mismatches between mutualistic partners. Land-use and climate change may also influence species abundances, nesting habitats, floral resources and the behaviors of pollinators. Thus, mutualistic plant–pollinator interactions should be more susceptible to global change than simple measures of biodiversity, such as species richness and species composition. The potential negative impacts of land-use and climate change on plant–pollinator interactions may have large consequences for the conservation of threatened plants and pollinators and economically by diminishing crop productivity. Here I highlight ‘fruitful avenues’ for research into better understanding the influence of land-use and climate change on plant–pollinator interactions
Diarrhoeal diseases among adult population in an agricultural community Hanam province, Vietnam, with high wastewater and excreta re-use
No full textDespite the potential health risks of wastewater and excreta use as fertiliser in agriculture, it is still widespread in Vietnam. However, the importance of diarrheal risk in adults' associated with the combined exposures to both excreta and wastewater use in agriculture is largely unknown. This study was carried out to determine diarrhoeal incidence and associated risk factors among the adult population exposed to wastewater and excreta used in agriculture in Hanam province, Vietnam.; An open cohort of 867 adults, aged 16-65 years, was followed weekly for 12 months to determine the incidence of diarrhoea. A nested case-control study was used to assess the risk factors of diarrhoeal episodes. Two hundred and thirty-two pairs of cases and controls were identified and exposure information related to wastewater, human and animal excreta, personal hygiene practices, and food and water consumption was collected.; The incidence rate of reported diarrhoea was 0.28 episodes per person-years at risk. The risk factors for diarrhoeal diseases included direct contact with the Nhue River water (odds ratio [OR] = 2.4, attributable fraction [AF] 27%), local pond water (OR = 2.3, AF 14%), composting of human excreta for a duration less than 3 months (OR = 2.4, AF 51%), handling human excreta in field work (OR = 5.4, AF 7%), handling animal excreta in field work (OR = 3.3, AF 36%), lack of protective measures while working (OR = 6.9, AF 78%), never or rarely washing hands with soap (OR = 3.3, AF 51%), use of rainwater for drinking (OR = 5.4, AF 77%) and eating raw vegetables the day before (OR = 2.4, AF 12%).; Our study shows that professional exposure to wastewater and excreta during agricultural activities are significantly contributing to the risk of diarrhoea in adults. The highest attributable fractions were obtained for direct contact with Nhue River and local ponds, handling practices of human and animal excreta as fertilisers, lack of protective measures while working and poor personal hygiene practices, and unsafe food and water consumption were associated with the risk of diarrhoeal episodes in adults. Improve personal hygiene practices and use of relevant treated wastewater and excreta as the public health measures to reduce these exposures will be most effective and are urgently warranted
Aesthetics of urban media façades
No full textThis paper sets out to develop and extend current literature on\ud
design practices for ambient media façades. It does this by\ud
bringing together theories of ambient media, computational\ud
aesthetics, and urban aesthetics. This unique theoretical\ud
combination has informed the design of several exemplars\ud
produced by the author, which are discussed as case studies
Qualitative study of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA) positives experiences of health care by hospitalization
No full textResume´ Titel: Kvalitativ studie af Methicillin resistent Staphyloccocus aureus (MRSA) positives oplevelser af sundhedsvæsenet ved indlæggelse på hospital Periode: 1. februar 2016 – 1. Juni 2016 Udarbejdet af: Krister Ripadal, 4. Semester, Folkesundhedsvidenskab Vejleder: Claus Dalsgaard Hansen Baggrund: Antibiotikaresistente bakterier udgør globalt en stigende trussel mod folkesundheden. MRSA er gennem de senere år øget eksplosivt i Danmark. For at undgå smittespredning med MRSA, har Sundhedsstyrelsen og Statens Serum Institut, udpeget en risikogruppe indenfor et erhverv, med hertil risiko for utilsigtede konsekvenser. Overholdelse af infektionshygiejniske retningslinjer er centrale for kvaliteten af pleje og patientsikkerhed i sundhedsvæsenet. Personer positive med Methicillinresistent Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) beskriver utilstrækkelig støtte og uprofessionel adfærd blandt sundhedspersonale. Dette interview fokuseres der på MRSA-positive, og deres oplevelser i mødet med det danske sundhedsvæsen ved hospitalisering. Formål: Formålet med dette speciale er at undersøge, hvordan MRSA-positive oplever mødet med sundhedsvæsenet ved hospitalisering samt ønskes det klarlagt om der er tale om stigmatisering af de MRSA-positive i mødet med sundhedsvæsenet. Metode: Empirien er indsamlet via ni kvalitative semistrukturerede interviews, bestående af: fire MRSA positive med erfaring fra hospitalisering, fire sundhedspersonale fra Aalborg Universitetshospital og en ekspert fra Rådgivningslinjen husdyr-MRSA, Statens Serum Institut. Fremkommen empiri analyseres og meningskondenseres, med udgangspunkt i Kvale og Brinkmanns stadier for analyse. Konklusion: Det konkluderes, at de MRSA-positive oplevelser af at føle sig dårligt behandlet, smittefarlig, møde med personale og behandlingsforløb, tilsammen opfylder Link & Phelans definitionen på stigmatisering. Der konkluderes, at de MRSA-positive er i behov af mere information om MRSA og om MRSA-retningslinjer på hospitalet. Ligeledes konkluderes det, at der findes et behov for en omarbejdelse af gældende MRSA-retningslinjer til en mere forståelig version som er tilpasset sundhedspersonalet. Forslag til forandring: Det er en begrænsning, at MRSA-retningslinjerne tolkes forskelligt af sundhedspersonalet, hvilket kan tyde på at personalet ikke fuldt ud forstår retningslinjerne eller at de ikke finder de eksisterende otte forskellige regionale retningslinjerne der skal søges op enkeltvis. Det er i følge specialet, behov for en sundhedsfremmende forandring i form af, en tydeligt, ensartet, nuanceret og enkelt forståelig regional retningslinje til klinisk brug, der man er opmærksom på et sprog som er anvendeligt for brugeren samt, at samle alle otte forskellige MRSA-retningslinjer til én retningslinje, som findes lettilgængelig på et og samme stede for sundhedspersonalet.Abstract Titel: Qualitative Study of Methicillin resistant Staphyloccocus aureus (MRSA) positives experiences of health care by hospitalization Period: February 1, 2016 - June 1, 2016 Author: Krister Ripadal, 4th semester, Public Health Science Supervisor: Claus Dalsgaard Hansen Introduction: Antibiotic-resistant bacteria present a growing global threat to public health. MRSA has in recent years increased explosively in Denmark. To prevent the spread of MRSA, the Health Protection Agency and Statens Serum Institut, appointed a risk group in a profession, with the risk of unintended consequences. Compliance with infection control guidelines is central to quality of care and patient safety in health care. Persons with positive Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) describe insufficient support and unprofessional behaviour among healthcare workers. This interview focuses on MRSA-positive, and their experience at the meeting with the Danish health of hospitalization. Aim: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how MRSA-positive individuals' perception of health care by hospitalization. It is also requested clarification on the case of the stigma of the MRSA-positive in the meeting with health care. Methodology: Data are collected through nine qualitative semi-structured interviews, consisting of: interviews with four MRSA positive with experience from hospitalization, four health workers from Aalborg University and one expert from Statens Serum Institut. The empirical data is analysed, based on Kvale and Brinkmann's stages for analysis. Conclusion: It is concluded that the MRSA-positive experiences of feeling badly treated, infectious, meeting with staff and treatment, together meet the Link & Phelan definition of stigma. It is concluded that the MRSA-positive are in need of more information about MRSA and MRSA guidelines in the hospital. Similarly, it is concluded that there is a need for a recasting of the MRSA guidelines for a more understandable version tailored to healthcare professionals. Proposal for change: It is a limitation that MRSA guidelines are interpreted differently by health professionals, which may indicate that staff do not fully understand the guidelines or that they do not find the existing eight different regional guidelines to be searched up individually. It is a need for a health promotion change in the form of a distinct, uniform, balanced and easy to understand regional guideline for clinical use. Written in a language, which is useful for the user. There is also a need to collect all eight MRSA guidelines in one guideline, which are easily accessible on a single present for health staff
The value of biotic pollination and dense forest for fruit set of Arabica coffee: A global assessment
No full text
The policy of free healthcare for children under the age of 6 years in Vietnam: assessment of the uptake for children hospitalised with acute diarrhoea in Ho Chi Minh City.
No full textOBJECTIVE: To assess the proportion of, and reasons for, households not utilising the policy of free healthcare for children under 6 years of age (FCCU6) for hospitalisation with diarrhoea, and assess the risk of catastrophic expenditure for households that forgo FCCU6 and pay out of pocket. METHODS: Invoices detailing insurance information and charges incurred from 472 hospitalised diarrhoeal cases in one paediatric hospital in Ho Chi Minh City were retrieved. Hospital charges and the utilisation of elective services were analysed for patients utilising and not utilising FCCU6. Associations between socio-economic factors with non-utilisation of FCCU6 were evaluated. RESULTS: Overall, 29% of patients were FCCU6 non-users. The FCCU6 non-users paid a median hospital charge of 18.57-46.24), consuming no more than 1.4% of a medium-income household's annual income. Seventy per cent of low-income FCCU6 non-users utilised less-expensive elective services, whereas only 43% of medium income patients and 21% of high-income patients did (P = 0.036). Patients from larger households and those with a parent working in government were more likely to use FCCU6. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of FCCU6 non-usage in this study population was 29%. A significant proportion of those that did not use FCCU6 was from lower income households and may perceive a justifiable cost-benefit ratio when forgoing FCCU6. Although a single diarrhoeal hospitalisation is unlikely to induce a catastrophic expenditure, FCCU6 non-usage may disproportionately increase the risk of catastrophic expenditure for lower income households over multiple illnesses
- …
