Agricultural land use and human presence around breeding sites increase stress-hormone levels and decrease body mass in barn owl nestlings.

Human activities can have a suite of positive and negative effects on animals and thus can affect various life history parameters. Human presence and agricultural practice can be perceived as stressors to which animals react with the secretion of glucocorticoids. The acute short-term secretion of glucocorticoids is considered beneficial and helps an animal to redirect energy and behaviour to cope with a critical situation. However, a long-term increase of glucocorticoids can impair e.g. growth and immune functions. We investigated how nestling barn owls (Tyto alba) are affected by the surrounding landscape and by human activities around their nest sites. We studied these effects on two response levels: (a) the physiological level of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, represented by baseline concentrations of corticosterone and the concentration attained by a standardized stressor; (b) fitness parameters: growth of the nestlings and breeding performance. Nestlings growing up in intensively cultivated areas showed increased baseline corticosterone levels late in the season and had an increased corticosterone release after a stressful event, while their body mass was decreased. Nestlings experiencing frequent anthropogenic disturbance had elevated baseline corticosterone levels, an increased corticosterone stress response and a lower body mass. Finally, breeding performance was better in structurally more diverse landscapes. In conclusion, anthropogenic disturbance affects offspring quality rather than quantity, whereas agricultural practices affect both life history traits.

The Sottunga-Jurmo shear zone : structure and deformation history of a crustal-scale ductile shear zone in SW Finland

The aim of this study is to gain a better understanding of the structure and the deformation history of a NW-SE trending regional, crustal-scale shear structure in the Åland archipelago, SW Finland, called the Sottunga-Jurmo shear zone (SJSZ). Approaches involving e.g. structural geology, geochronology, geochemistry and metamorphic petrology were utilised in order to reconstruct the overall deformation history of the study area. The study therefore describes several features of the shear zone including structures, kinematics and lithologies within the study area, the ages of the different deformation phases (ductile to brittle) within the shear zone, as well as some geothermobarometric results. The results indicate that the SJSZ outlines a major crustal discontinuity between the extensively migmatized rocks NE of the shear zone and the unmigmatised, amphibolite facies rocks SW of the zone. The main SJSZ shows overall dextral lateral kinematics with a SW-side up vertical component and deformation partitioning into pure shear and simple shear dominated deformation styles that was intensified toward later stages of the deformation history. The deformation partitioning resulted in complex folding and refolding against the SW margin of the SJSZ, including conical and sheath folds, and in a formation of several minor strike-slip shear zones both parallel and conjugate to the main SJSZ in order to accommodate the regional transpressive stresses. Different deformation phases within the study area were dated by SIMS (zircon U-Pb), ID-TIMS (titanite U-Pb) and 40Ar/39Ar (pseudotachylyte wholerock) methods. The first deformation phase within the ca. 1.88 Ga rocks of the study area is dated at ca. 1.85 Ga, and the shear zone was reactivated twice within the ductile regime (at ca. 1.83 Ga and 1.79 Ga), during which the strain was successively increasingly partitioned into the main SJSZ and the minor shear zones. The age determinations suggest that the orogenic processes within the study area did not occur in a temporal continuum; instead, the metamorphic zircon rims and titanites show distinct, 10-20 Ma long breaks in deformation between phases of active deformation. The results of this study further imply slow cooling of the rocks through 600-700ºC so that at 1.79 Ga, 2 the temperature was still at least 600ºC. The highest recorded metamorphic pressures are 6.4-7.1 kbar. At the late stages or soon after the last ductile phase (ca. 1.79 Ga), relatively high-T mylonites and ultramylonites were formed, witnessing extreme deformation partitioning and high strain rates. After the rocks reached lower amphibolite facies to amphibolite-greenschist facies transitional conditions (ca. 500-550ºC), they cooled rapidly, probably due to crustal uplift and exhumation. The shear zone was reactivated at least once within the semi-brittle to brittle regime between ca. 1.79 Ga and 1.58 Ga, as evidenced by cataclasites and pseudotachylytes. In summary, the results of this study suggest that the Sottunga-Jurmo shear zone (and the South Finland shear zone) defines a major crustal discontinuity, and played a central role in accommodating the regional stresses during and after the Svecofennian orogeny.

Successful long-term ambulatory norepinephrine infusions in a patient with pure autonomic failure.

We present a case study of a patient with pure autonomic failure who was successfully treated with ambulatory norepinephrine (NE) infusions over a 9-year-period of time before death occurred unexpectedly. Given this patient's response to the NE infusion treatment, we discuss the option of ambulatory NE infusions as a treatment for severe orthostatic hypotension that is refractory to common treatments.

Soil quality assessment through a multi-approach analysis in soils of abandoned terraced land in NE Spain

The abandonment of agricultural land in mountainous areas has been an outstanding problem along the last century and has captured the attention of scientists, technicians and administrations, for the dramatic consequences sometimes occurred due to soil instability, steep slopes, rainfall regimes and wildfires. Hidromorfological and pedological alterations causing exceptional floods and accelerated erosion processes has therefore been studied, identifying the cause in the loss of landscape heterogeneity. Through the disappearance of agricultural works and drainage maintenance, slope stability has resulted severely affected. The mechanization of agriculture has caused the displacement of vines, olives and corks trees cultivation in terraced areas along the Mediterranean catchment towards more economically suitable areas. On the one hand, land use and management changes have implicated sociological changes as well, transforming areas inhabited by agricultural communities into deserted areas where the colonization of disorganized spontaneous vegetation has buried a valuable rural patrimony. On the other hand, lacking of planning and management of the abandoned areas has produced badlands and infertile soils due to wildfire and high erosion rates strongly degrading the whole ecosystems. In other cases, after land abandonment a process of soil regeneration has been recorded. Investigations have been conducted in a part of NE Spain where extended areas of terraced soils previously cultivated have been abandoned in the last century. The selected environments were semi-abandoned vineyards, semi-abandoned olive groves, abandoned stands of cork trees, abandoned stands of pine trees, scrubland of Cistaceaea, scrubland of Ericaceaea, and pasture. The research work was focused on the study of most relevant physical, chemical and biological soil properties, as well as runoff and erosion under soils with different plant cover to establish the abandonment effect on soil quality, due to the peculiarity and vulnerability of these soils with a much reduced depth. The period of observation was carried out from autumn 2009 to autumn 2010. The sediment concentration of soil erosion under vines was recorded as 34.52 g/l while under pasture it was 4.66 g/l. In addition, the soil under vines showed the least amount of organic matter, which was 12 times lower than all other soil environments. The carbon dioxide (CO2) and total glomalin (TG) ratio to soil organic carbon (SOC) in this soil was 0.11 and 0.31 respectively. However, the soil under pasture contained a higher amount of organic matter and showed that the CO2 and TG ratio to SOC was 0.02 and 0.11 respectively indicating that the soil under pasture better preserves the soil carbon pool. A similar trend was found in the intermediate soils in the sequence of land use change and abandonment. Soil structural stability increased in the two soil fractions investigated (0.25-2.00 mm, 2.0-5.6 mm) especially in those soils that did not undergo periodical perturbations like wildfires. Soil quality indexes were obtained by using relevant physical and chemical soil parameters. Factor analysis carried out to study the relationship between all soil parameters allowed to related variables and environments and identify those areas that better contribute to soil quality towards others that may need more attention to avoid further degradation processes

Beyond pure public and pure private management models: Partial privatization in the European airport industry

The use of private funding and management is enjoying an increasing trend in airports. The literature has not paid enough attention to the mixed management models in this industry, although many European airports take the form of mixed public-private companies, where ownership is shared between public and private sectors. We examine the determinants of the degree of private participation in the European airport sector. Drawing on a sample of the 100 largest European airports, we estimate a multivariate equation in order to determine the role of airport characteristics, fiscal variables, and political factors on the extent of private involvement. Our results confirm the alignment between public and private interests in partially privatized airports. Fiscal constraints and market attractiveness promote private participation. Integrated governance models and the share of network carriers prevent the presence of private ownership, while the degree of private participation appears to be pragmatic rather than ideological.

Beyond pure public and pure private management models: Mixed firms in the European Airport Industry

The use of private funding and management enjoys an increasing trend in airports. The literature has not paid enough attention to the mixed management models in this industry, although many European airports take the form of mixed firms or Institutional PPP, where ownership is shared between public and private sectors. We examine the determinants of the degree of private participation in the European airport sector. Drawing on a sample of the 100 largest European airports we estimate a multivariate equation in order to determine the role of airport characteristics, fiscal variables and political factors on the extent of private involvement. Our results confirm the alignment between public and private interests in PPPs. Fiscal constraints and market attractiveness promote private participation. Integrated governance models and the share of network carriers prevent the presence of private ownership, while the degree of private participation appears to be pragmatic rather than ideological.

A New Symptom, 'Palinendophonia', Associated with Pure Verbal Palinacousis Induced by a Right Inferior Temporal Lesion.

We describe the case of a patient with pure verbal palinacousis and perseveration of inner speech after a right inferior temporal lesion. The superior temporal lobe, including the superior temporal sulcus and the interhemispheric connection between the 2 superior temporal lobes, explored by tractography, were preserved. These regions are involved in voice processing, verbal short-term memory and inner speech. It can then be hypothesised that abnormal activity in this network has occurred. Palinacousis and 'palinendophonia', a term proposed for this symptom not previously reported, may be due to common cognitive processes disorders involved in both voice hearing and inner speech.

Landscape Systems and Human Land-Use Interactions in Mediterranean Highlands and Littoral Plains during the Late Holocene: Integrated Analysis from the InterAmbAr Project (North-Eastern Catalonia).

The main goal of the InterAmbAr reseach project is to analyze the relationships between landscape systems and human land-use strategies on mountains and littoral plains from a long-term perspective. The study adopts a high resolution analysis of small-scale study areas located in the Mediterranean region of north-eastern Catalonia. The study areas are distributed along an altitudinal transect from the high mountain (above 2000m a.s.l.) to the littoral plain of Empordà (Fig. 1). High resolution interdisciplinary research has been carried out from 2010, based on the integration of palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data. The micro-scale approach is used to understand human-environmental relationships. It allows better understanding of the local-regional nature of environmental changes and the synergies between catchment-based systems, hydro-sedimentary regimes, human mobility, land-uses, human environments, demography, etc.

Orthoptic Sequelae Following Conservative Management of Pure Blowout Orbital Fractures: Anecdotal or Clinically Relevant?

The aim of this study was to prospectively assess the prevalence of orthoptic anomalies following conservative management of pure blowout orbital fractures and to evaluate their clinical relevance. Clinical and radiologic data of patients with unilateral conservatively managed pure blowout orbital fractures with a minimum follow-up of 6 months were reviewed. Eligible patients were contacted and invited to undergo an extended ophthalmologic examination as follows: distance and near visual acuities, Hertel exophthalmometry, corneal light reflex (Hirschberg test), ductions and versions in the 6 cardinal fields of gaze, eye deviation with prisms and alternate cover test in all of the 9-gaze directions with Maddox rod, degrees of incyclo/excyclotorsion with right and left eye fixation, horizontal and vertical deviation with Hess-Weiss coordimetry, degree of horizontal/vertical and incyclo/excyclotorsion deviation with Harms wall deviometry, and vertical deviation with Bielschowsky head-tilt test. Of the 69 patients contacted, 49 declined to participate given that they were asymptomatic. Twenty patients agreed to undergo the examination. One patient complained of minimal double vision limited to the extreme downgaze. Four patients had asymptomatic ocular motility disturbances limited to the extreme gaze. Seven patients had asymptomatic horizontal heterophoria. These disturbances did not interfere with daily or professional activities in any of the patients. The current study demonstrated that conservative management of pure orbital blowout fractures can result in orthoptic anomalies. These sequelae were restricted to a very limited portion of the binocular field of the vision and were not found to be clinically relevant.

Physicochemical composition of pure and adulterated royal jelly

The physicochemical composition of pure royal jelly as well as of some adulterated samples was analyzed by determining moisture, ash, lipids, nitrogen/proteins, carbohydrates, starch and 10- HDA (10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid). The solubility in alkaline medium was used to detect the main frauds for adulterating royal jelly which comprise addition of yogurt, water, egg white, sweet condensed milk mixed with propolis, unripe banana and corn starch slurry.

Relaxation and derelaxation of pure and hydrogenated amorphous silicon during thermal annealing experiments

The structural relaxation of pure amorphous silicon (a-Si) and hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) materials, that occurs during thermal annealing experiments, has been analyzed by Raman spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Unlike a-Si, the heat evolved from a-Si:H cannot be explained by relaxation of the Si-Si network strain but it reveals a derelaxation of the bond angle strain. Since the state of relaxation after annealing is very similar for pure and hydrogenated materials, our results give strong experimental support to the predicted configurational gap between a-Si and crystalline silicon

Om fabriquernes nytta och nödwändighet uti ett land

Invocatio: I.H.W.N.