1,721,188 research outputs found
Worldwide impact of alien parrots (Aves Psittaciformes) on native biodiversity and environment: A review
No full textMore than 16% of parrot species (Aves Psittaciformes) of the world have currently established at least one breeding population outside their natural distribution ranges. Though including the most introduced bird species all over the world, their interactions with native biodiversity and environments are still poorly known. In this paper, we summarize current knowledge about impacts of introduced Psittaciformes and we identify possible gaps to be filled with future research. Breeding site requirements of alien parrots, e.g. trunk cavities, indicate potential routes of direct and indirect competition with native hole-nesting bird species. Interactions with arboreal rodents, bats and insects are poorly documented, but appear to be limited. Psittaciformes potentially affect economy and human wellness, being responsible for damage to crops and to electrical infrastructures. Association with noise pollution has also been suggested, as many alien populations breed in urban parks or close to human settlements. Psittaciformes are potential reservoirs of Chlamydophila psittaci, the etiological agent of human psittacosis, and other diseases transmittable to humans and wildlife. Less is known about impact on native flora as well as on ecosystem functions. Predictive research and information on ecosystem recovery after parrot removal are scarce too, as eradication programs are often hampered by the emotional affiliation linked to these birds. © 2014 Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Italia
Resilience and its correlates in patients with narcolepsy type 1
No full textSTUDY OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore resilience and its possible association with sociodemographic and clinical features in patients with narcolepsy type 1 (NT1). METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study involving patients with NT1 and age-/sex-matched controls (comparison group). Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected through semistructured interviews and validated questionnaires, including the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)-State Anxiety, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), 36-item Short Form Survey (SF-36), and the Resilience Scale (RS). Different statistical approaches were used to investigate the relationship between resilience and NT1 and associations with sociodemographic and clinical features. RESULTS: The participants comprised 137 patients (mean age, 38.0 years; 52.6% female) and 149 controls (39.6 years; 55.7% female). Compared with controls, patients had a significantly lower (122.6 vs 135.5) mean RS score and a 2-fold risk of having low/mild-range resilience (adjusted odds ratio = 1.99, 95% confidence interval 1.13-3.52). Patients with high resilience had sociodemographic and narcolepsy characteristics similar to patients with low resilience, but they reported anxiety and depressive symptomatology less frequently (4.2% vs 55.8% and 58.3%, respectively), and their SF-36 scores were comparable to those of the comparison group. In patients, RS score was strongly associated with STAI-State Anxiety and BDI (rho = -0.57 and -0.56, respectively) and weakly with ESS (rho = -20) scores. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that resilience may play a key role in patients' adaptation to NT1. Furthermore, this study supports interventions aimed at increasing patients' resilience and provides a base for further studies, preferably longitudinal and including objective measures, directed toward understanding the relationship between resilience, depression, and quality of life in patients with narcolepsy. CITATION: D'Alterio A, Menchetti M, Zenesini C, et al. Resilience and its correlates in patients with narcolepsy type 1. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023;19(4):719-726
Evidence of carrion consumption behaviour in the long-eared owl Asio otus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Aves: Strigiformes: Strigidae)
No full textEvidence of necrophagous behaviour has been reported for 8.43% of nocturnal raptors. To determine whether preys were captured alive or consumed as carrion is challenging, as the diet of Strigiformes is mainly studied through pellet analysis, rather than direct observation. The diet of the long-eared owl Asio otus has been widely studied all over the distribution range of this species, but proven evidence of this feeding habit is still lacking. We collected 106 pellets under a suburban dormitory in Southern Tuscany (Central Italy) between December 2012 and April 2013. Prey remains (skulls, mandibles) were compared with a specific atlas. Four fragments of crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) quills and a jawbone of Martes sp. were found in pellets collected after a snowfall (20-40 cm in depth). Although voles and mice constituted the staple of the diet of this species, accordingly with previous studies, these findings represent the first proof of carrion consumption by the long-eared owl. Body sizes of crested porcupine and Martes sp, as well as the defence behaviour of the rodent, rule out a direct predation by the owl. Our study enlarges the trophic spectrum of the long-eared owl, thus adding a further dimension to the behavioural plasticity of this species. © 2014 © 2014 Unione Zoologica Italiana
Disability associated with depressive symptoms in elderly primary care attenders
No full textLate-life depression is common, disabling and frequently comorbid with physical illness. This study examines a sample of 453 primary care attenders aged 65 years or over. In the screning phase the general health questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and the brief disability questionnaire (BDQ) were administered, and the primary care physicians (PCPs) rated the severity of physical illness and recorded the frequency of consultations. PCPs assessed GHQ high scores using the WHO ICD-10 checklist for depression to diagnose ICD-10 defined major episode of depression and subsyndromal depression (SSD), according to Olfson criteria. Mean BDQ score was 5.5 (± 4.9) in non-depressed subjects, 8.8 (± 5.9) in attenders with SSD, and 12.7 (± 5.9) in depressed attenders, with significant differences in each pairwise comparison. Both physical illness and depression independently result in an increased disability and PCP consultation, and when the two conditions are present, they have additive effect. Significant functional impairment is present not only in patients with full-fledged depression, but also in those with just symptoms of depression. Depression and physical illness can negatively ampact each other, resulting in persistent disability and poor prognosis
Observer-oriented approach improves species distribution models from citizen science data
Full text linkCitizen science platforms are increasingly growing, and, storing a huge amount of data on species locations, they provide researchers with essential information to develop sound strategies for species conservation. However, the lack of information on surveyed sites (i.e., where the observers did not record the target species) and sampling effort (e.g., the number of surveys at a given site, by how many observers, and for how much time) strongly limit the use of citizen science data. Thus, we examined the advantage of using an observer-oriented approach (i.e., considering occurrences of species other than the target species collected by the observers of the target species as pseudo-absences and additional predictors relative to the total number of observations, observers, and days in which locations were collected in a given sampling unit, as proxies of sampling effort) to develop species distribution models. Specifically, we considered 15 mammal species occurring in Italy and compared the predictive accuracy of the ensemble predictions of nine species distribution models carried out considering random pseudo-absences versus observer-oriented approach. Through cross-validations, we found that the observer-oriented approach improved species distribution models, providing a higher predictive accuracy than random pseudo-absences. Our results showed that species distribution modeling developed using pseudo-absences derived citizen science data outperform those carried out using random pseudo-absences and thus improve the capacity of species distribution models to accurately predict the geographic range of species when deriving robust surrogate of sampling effort
Primary Care
No full textGender medicine aims to improve the health condition of women and men by intervening both on the disease as a disorder requiring multidimensional care and on lifestyles that represent substantial risk factors. Gender is related to behavior and life experience: it influences the adoption of healthy habits, access and use of the health-care services, and the attitude of medical personnel [1]. The final objective is to reduce the incidence of disabling chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular and respiratory ones, cancer, and diabetes
‘The early bird catches the nest’: possible competition between scops owls and ring-necked parakeets
No full textCompetition for critical resources is one of the key mechanisms through which invasive species impact on native communities. Among birds, the widely introduced ring-necked parakeet Psittacula krameri locally affects cavity-nesting communities through competition for suitable tree cavities, although it remains unclear to what extent such competition translates into population declines of native species. Here, we studied the potential for nest site competition between ring-necked parakeets and the native scops owl Otus scops, a small nocturnal migratory raptor, by comparing the spatial distribution of the nest site locations of the raptor before (2002) and after (2015) the parakeet invasion. Pre-invasion nesting sites of scops owls (2002) strongly coincided with those selected by ring-necked parakeets, but although both parakeet and scops owl populations increased during the study period, this was no longer true for 2015. Ring-necked parakeets took over several cavities formerly occupied by scops owls, and land-use data suggest that because of the higher overall breeding densities in 2015, scops owls were forced to occupy suboptimal breeding habitats to minimize nest site competition with invasive parakeets. Ring-necked parakeets start breeding early in the season, a behaviour enabling them to secure the best nest sites first, before the owls return from their wintering grounds. Our study highlights that locally observed competition not necessarily impacts on population dynamics of competing species and thus warns against uncritical extrapolation of smaller scale studies for assessing invasive species risks at larger spatial scales. Nonetheless, given the increasing number of studies demonstrating its competitive capacities, monitoring of ring-necked parakeet populations is prudent and mitigation measures (such as mounting of man-made nest-boxes, which are used by scops owls, but not by parakeets) may be justified when the parakeets are likely to invade areas harbouring cavity-nesters of conservation concern
The importance of taxonomy in species distribution models at a global scale: the case of an overlooked alien squirrel facing taxonomic revision
No full textThe Siberian chipmunk is native to north-eastern Asia, but alien populations of this squirrel, introduced through the pet trade, occur in many European countries. This rodent has been listed as an invasive species of European concern, being a potential vector of ticks spreading Lyme disease. We aimed to assess its current distribution range and to identify areas of potential invasion. Two sets of species distribution models were conducted, one considering the locations of the species (n = 625 occurrences) and the other with only the occurrences of the Korean subspecies (the invasive one in Europe; n = 255 occurrences), which might be a separate species from the Siberian one. We included 19 uncorrelated predictors (two topographic, nine land cover, five bioclimatic and three anthropogenic variables), which may represent the habitat characteristics of the target species. Most of the northern hemisphere supports the establishment of the Siberian chipmunk, particularly for the invasive Korean subspecies (especially in Europe, where it is already established), mostly in urban areas. Anthropogenic food supply was found to be an important factor promoting the growth of alien populations of chipmunks, whereas the presence of the native red squirrel at the time of introduction may limit it
First report of egg predation by an unpaired Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra, L., 1758 (Aves: Gruiformes) on Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus, L., 1758 (Aves: Charadriiformes): one case from central Italy
Full text linkThe Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra, is a gregarious Palearctic rail that only rarely occurs singly. Even if resident birds can present territorial behaviour all through the year, most aggressions are developed during the breeding season, and the scientific literature has reported inter- and intraspecific attacks by Coot breeding pairs. Unpaired individuals do not usually show any territoriality and are often subjected to attacks by breeding pairs. It is, however, possible to observe unpaired Coots defending a territory before pairing, but the typical aggressive behaviour is developed after the beginning of nest building. Egg predation by Coots is reported as a rare phenomenon, exerted only by members of breeding couples. In this note, we report two predation cases exhibited by an unpaired individual against nests and eggs of Himantopus himantopus. We discard the hypothesis of competition for food between these two species and suggest that this peculiar behaviour could have been induced by endocrine hormonal secretions, regardless of whether the individual was paired or not. © 2013 Copyright Unione Zoologica Italiana
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