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Beauvais, Maxime. "Long term seasonality of microbial vitamin B1 and B12 metabolisms and their potential interplay in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea." Electronic Thesis or Diss., Sorbonne université, 2023. http://www.theses.fr/2023SORUS641.
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L'environnement façonne les communautés microbiennes qui dirigent les cycles biogéochimiques des océans, mais les facteurs biotiques sont également d’important déterminants dans la structure des communautés. Ces systèmes dynamiques sont composés d'espèces cooccurrentes structurées dans un réseau complexe d'interactions entre organismes et avec leur environnement. Les vitamines B1 et B12 sont des cofacteurs essentiels mais la plupart des microbes marins incluant de nombreuses espèces de phytoplancton, ne peuvent pas les produire eux-mêmes (auxotrophes aux vitamines). De plus, les vitamines B1 et B12 sont rares dans l’océan. Ensemble, ces observations soulèvent la question suivante : comment les auxotrophes assurent-ils leurs besoins en vitamines dans l’océan ? Cette question reste en grande partie sans réponse car la saisonnalité des auxotrophes et leur interaction avec les producteurs de vitamines restent peu étudiées. Pour combler ces lacunes, nous avons réalisé une série temporelle métagénomique mensuelle sur 7 ans dans un site côtier de Méditerranée Nord-Ouest (station SOLA) afin d'évaluer la saisonnalité à long terme des communautés procaryotes, en se focalisant sur les métabolismes des vitamines B1 et B12 et leur interaction potentielle au cours des saisons. Tout d'abord, nous avons mis en évidence une succession saisonnière de différents organismes pouvant utiliser des voies distinctes pour produire de la B12 tout au long de l'année. En été, les bactéries du genre HIMB11, UBA8309 et Puniceispirillum peuvent utiliser la voie de production aérobie, tandis qu'en hiver, les archées du genre Nitrosopumilus et Nitrosopelagicus peuvent utiliser la voie de production anaérobie. Ensuite, nous avons montré que lors de perturbations environnementales, les organismes habituellement porteurs de gènes de synthèse de la B12 sont remplacés par d'autres porteurs du même gène (redondance fonctionnelle), maintenant ainsi le potentiel de production de B12. Cette assurance écologique pourrait contribuer à la résilience fonctionnelle à long terme des communautés microbiennes marines exposées à des conditions environnementales interannuelles contrastées. Deuxièmement, nous avons montré que les communautés procaryotes à SOLA étaient dominées par des auxotrophes HMP (Pelagibacter), dont l'abondance était plus élevée en été avec d’autre auxotrophes plus rares (doubles HET/HMP, comme HIMB59), et par des auxotrophes B1 (HIMB11), qui étaient présents tout au long de l'année. À SOLA, nous avons rapporté une plus grande contribution des producteurs de B1 que précédemment observé dans d'autres régions, incluant des bactéries (Pseudothioglobus, MB11C04), des cyanobactéries (Synechococcus) et des archées (Nitrosopumilus). Les expériences de bio-essais ont montré de multiples périodes de limitation en vitamines et précurseurs dans l'eau de mer pendant les mois d'hiver. En outre, l'ajout de vitamines et de précurseurs a eu un impact significatif sur la structure de la communauté procaryote dans nos microcosmes, en particulier en Février. Différents ASV ont été sélectivement favorisés par différentes conditions pendant la transition hiver/printemps. Cependant, la réponse des communautés reste difficile à démêler sachant que les auxotrophes et les prototrophes sont impactés par l’ajout de vitamines/précurseurs. Enfin, grâce à l’assemblage de MAGs et en identifiant leurs potentiels de production pour la B1 et la B12, nous avons montré des schémas de cooccurrence forts et récurrents entre les auxotrophes et les producteurs de vitamines, reflétant différentes complémentarités fonctionnelles potentielles en fonction des saisons. La double complémentarité pour la B1 et la B12 était prédominante dans le réseau de cooccurrence d’été (un auxotrophe B1/B12 avec un prototrophe B1/B12), tandis que la simple complémentarité pour la B1 ou la B12 était prédominante dans les cooccurrences d'hiver (un auxotrophe B1/producteur de B12 avec un producteur de B1/auxotrophe B12)The environment shapes marine microbial assemblages that drive ocean biogeochemical cycles, but biotic interactions are also strong community structuring factors. Marine microbial communities are dynamic systems of co-occurring species structured as a complex network of interactions, including microbe to environment and microbe to microbe connections. B-vitamins are essential cofactors of critical cellular processes, and most marine microbes, including many phytoplankton species require an exogenous source of vitamins or precursors to grow (i.e., vitamin or precursor auxotrophs). Despite their ecological importance, B1 and B12 are scarce in most oceanic and coastal regions. Together, the widespread vitamin scarcity observed in oceans and the high incidence of vitamin auxotrophy raises the question of how vitamin auxotrophs ensure their vitamin requirements in a large and diluted environment? This question remains largely unanswered as the seasonality of vitamin auxotrophs and their interplay with vitamin producers remain poorly studied. To tackle these knowledge gaps, we conducted a 7 years monthly metagenomic time series in the coastal NW Mediterranean Sea (SOLA station) to assess the long-term seasonality of planktonic prokaryotic communities, with a focus on B1 and B12 metabolisms and their potential interplay over time.First, we highlighted a seasonal succession of different organisms which could use distinct biosynthesis pathways to produce B12 de-novo along the year. In summer, bacteria belonging to the genera HIMB11, UBA8309 and Puniceispirillum could use the aerobic B12 production pathway, while in winter, Thaumarchaeota belonging to Nitrosopumilus and Nitrosopelagicus genera could use the anaerobic B12 production pathway. Then, we show that during irregular environmental perturbations observed in winter at SOLA station, organisms usually carrying B12 synthesis genes are replaced by others with the same gene (i.e., functional redundancy), thus maintaining the potential for B12 production. Such ecological insurance could contribute to the long-term functional resilience of marine microbial communities exposed to contrasting inter-annual environmental conditions. Secondly, we showed that SOLA prokaryotic communities were dominated by HMP auxotrophs (Pelagibacter, AAA536-G10, Litoricola), which had higher abundances in summer together with the rarer dual HET/HMP auxotrophs (HIMB59, HIMB100, Octadecabacter), and by B1 auxotrophs (HIMB11, Puniceispirillum), which were present throughout the year. At SOLA, we reported a larger contribution of B1 producers than previously reported in other regions, including bacteria (Pseudothioglobus, MB11C04), cyanobacteria (Synechococcus, Prochlorococcus) and archaea (Nitrosopumilus, Nitrosopelagicus). Bioassays experiments using showed multiple vitamin and precursor limitations periods in SOLA seawater during winter months. Moreover, the addition of vitamins and precursors had a significant impact on prokaryotic community structure in our microcosm’s experiments, especially in February. Different ASVs were selectively promoted by different conditions during the winter/spring transition (B12, H+C and B1+B12). However, the differential response of communities remains difficult to disentangle, given that both vitamin auxotrophs and prototrophs were promoted during our incubations. Finally, by assembling high-quality metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) and identifying their B1 and B12 lifestyles, we highlight strong and recurrent co-occurrence patterns between vitamin auxotrophs and producers reflecting different potential functional complementarities between them depending on the season. Double complementarity for B1 and for B12 was prevalent in summer co-occurrences networks (e.g., B1/B12 auxotroph co-occur with B1/B12 prototroph), while simple complementarity for B1 or B12 was prevalent in winter co-occurrences (e.g., B1 auxotroph / B12 producer co-occur with B1 producer/B12 auxotroph)
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Dickens, Helen Elizabeth. "Functional attributes of biodiversity in decomposer communities." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.326955.
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Brower, Sarah Curran. "RELATING DENITRIFIER COMMUNITY COMPOSITION TO FUNCTION IN FRESHWATER WETLANDS: THE INFLUENCE OF HYDROLOGY AND INTRASPECIFIC FUNCTIONAL VARIATION." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1385384882.
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Rockler, Briana E. "Communities partnering with researchers: an evaluation of coalition function in a community-engaged research approach." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/19143.
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Master of Public HealthHuman Nutrition
Sandra B. Procter
Background: Engaging community has become a fundamental approach to improving health outcomes in resource-limited settings. Community coalitions, comprised of resident activists that mobilize to improve local conditions, are frequently utilized as partners for community-engaged research. However, there is limited research that documents how these partnerships affect the coalitions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of researcher-coalition collaboration in the pilot year of a four-year intervention program targeting childhood obesity in rural, low-income communities. Methods: Twelve pre-established community coalitions from seven states were selected to partner with academic researchers in a quasi-experimental study, and then assigned to either the control (n=6) or intervention (n=6) group. Both study arms received funding and access to a menu of evidence-based tools, but the intervention groups were also provided a trained community coach. Member survey data from a Coalition Self-Assessment Survey (CSAS) tool was completed at baseline and at one-year follow-up. Results: CSAS data were analyzed to identify factors related to coalition function and efficacy, and significant changes in both experimental groups were identified. Change in measures of membership recruitment, coalition capacity and coalition communication were unique to the intervention group. Problems for participation were alleviated significantly on all measures in the control group. Comparison of the study groups at follow-up demonstrated that greater research involvement positively impacted membership recruitment and coalition action plan. Conclusion: The data suggest that coalitions with a higher degree of partnership interaction may be more successful in addressing problems impacting their communities.
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Barnes, Andrew David. "The Impact of Edge Effects & Matrix Restoration on Dung Beetle Community Structure & Ecosystem Function." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Biological Sciences, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/6265.
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Land-use change has become a force of global importance and has gained status as the most important driver of ecosystem degradation. The resulting creation of habitat edges has pervasive impacts on the distribution and persistence of species in forest ecosystems. Responses of species to edge effects can be highly dependent on ‘response’ traits, which may in turn co-vary with ‘effect’ traits that determine rates of ecosystem functioning. Therefore, non-random loss of species due to traits conferring higher susceptibility to extinction may also result in the loss of functionally-important species across a habitat edge gradient. Likewise, response and effect traits may be important in determining reassembly of communities in regenerating habitats, which may provide insight into potential scenarios of functional responses to restoration efforts. To test for potential off-site effects of adjacent matrix habitat restoration on dung beetle communities, I compared dung beetle community structure and species trait composition across Afromontane forest edges adjacent to degraded and regenerating matrix habitat at Ngel Nyaki forest reserve in Nigeria. I also measured dung removal rates across habitat edge gradients to investigate the relative off-site impacts of matrix restoration on dung beetle-mediated ecosystem processes. I found significant effects of adjacent matrix condition on edge response functions in dung beetle abundance, species distributions, and trait composition. Beetle abundances were markedly higher in forests adjacent to regenerating matrix, whereas the largest differences in trait composition were found between degraded and regenerating matrix habitat, indicating the presence of ecological filtering processes in these areas. Furthermore, I found that species traits determined community structural responses to environmental change and this had strong flow-on effects to rates of dung removal. Shifts in trait distributions explained dung removal rates above and beyond total beetle mass, suggesting that neutral processes alone could not explain functional efficiency. In particular, habitat regeneration resulted in the assembly of communities with high total beetle mass and on-average smaller beetles, which was optimal for functional efficiency. In conclusion, the restoration of adjacent matrix habitat was shown to effectively mitigate edge effects on dung beetle community structure resulting in the re-establishment of important associated ecosystem processes.
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Nefas, Saulius. "Functional local community in Lithuanian villages and towns." Doctoral thesis, Lithuanian Academic Libraries Network (LABT), 2008. http://vddb.library.lt/obj/LT-eLABa-0001:E.02~2007~D_20080211_091643-52976.
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The dissertation was prepared in 2000–2004 at the Vilnius Pedagogical University and in 2004-2007 at Mykolas Romeris University,
The dissertation is defend without PhD studies
Scientific supervisor:
Prof. Habil. Dr. Stasys Puškorius (Mykolas Romeris University, Social Sciences, Management and Administration, 03S).
The doctoral dissertation will be defended at the Management and Administration Research Council of Mykolas Romeris University:
Chairman of the Council: Prof. Habil. Dr. Adolfas Kaziliūnas (Mykolas Romeris University, Social Sciences, Management and Administration, 03S)
Members:
Prof. Dr. Eugenijus Chlivickas (Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Social Sciences, Management and Administration, 03S)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jolanta Palidauskaitė (Kaunass University of Technology, Social Science, Sociology 05S)
Prof. Dr. Alvydas Pumputis (Mykolas Romeris University, Social Sciences, Law 01S)
Prof. Habil. Dr. Stasys Puškorius (Mykolas Romeris University, Social Sciences, Management and Administration 03S)
Opponents:
Prof. Habil. Dr. Borisas Melnikas (Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Social Sciences, Management and Administration 03S)
Prof. Habil. Dr. Vygantas K. Paulikas (Mykolas Romeris University, Social Sciences, Management and Administration 03S)
The public defence of the doctoral dissertation will take place at Management and Administration Research Council on 28th December, 2007 at 10 a.m. in the Senate Hall of Mykolas Romeris University (Room... [to full text]Informacija apie disertacijos autorių: Saulius Nefas( 8 gruodžio 1960) 1978 baigė Ukmergės raj Taujėnų vidurinę mokyklą, 1978 – 1983 studijavo Vilniaus pedagoginiame institute ir įgijo istorijos mokytojo specialybę. 1997 – 2002 sociologijos studijos Vilniaus pedagoginiame universitete. Darbinė patirtis: 1983 – 1990 istorijos mokytojas Anykščių rajono Viešintų ir Anykščių Antano Vienuolio vidurinėse mokyklose. 1990 – 1995 ir 2000 – 2004 Anykščių Antano Vienuolio gimnazijos direktorius. 1995-2000 - Anykščių rajono meras. 2004 - Lietuvos Respublikos seimo narys. Nuo 2005 metų dirba lektoriumi M. Romerio universiteto Viešojo administravimo fakultete. REZIUMĖ Šiuolaikiniame pasaulyje pastebime, kaip kinta žmonių mąstysena, drauge ir įvairių socialinių grupių saviorganizacijos veiksniai. Tradicinės ideologijos vis mažiau beatspindi daugumos žmonių mąstymą, pastebime, kad įsivyraujant neribotam pliuralizmui išryškėja naujos idėjos. Kartais tai būna atgimusios senos, anksčiau gyvavusios idėjos. Pavyzdys – komunitarizmo idėja, dalies šalininkų įsitikinimu, jau nusipelnanti ideologijos vardo. <...> Nagrinėdami komunitarų idėjas, matome, kad daugelį jų galime rasti ir konservatorių, ir krikščionių demokratų, ir socialistų utopistų ar net anarchistų – komunistų ideologijose“ Todėl šiuolaikiniam žmogui būtina atsirinkti iš daugybės ryškių ir ne tokių ryškių ideologinių nuostatų ir išspręsti dvigubą uždavinį: identifikuoti naujas vertybes dažnai sietinas su vienu „naujosios viešosios... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]
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Tolonen, K. (Katri). "Taxonomic and functional organization of macroinvertebrate communities in subarctic streams." Doctoral thesis, Oulun yliopisto, 2018. http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789526217673.
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Abstract Ecological research based on both species and their traits help us to understand the main mechanisms and environmental factors structuring biological communities. In general, variation in community composition is thought to be a consequence of both stochastic and deterministic factors. In stream ecology, the traditional view has been that the local habitat conditions pose a strong environmental filter that selects only species with the right functional traits into the local communities. However, recent studies on streams have also suggested that the responses of species to environmental gradients may be independent of those of other species due to stochastic factors, such as species dispersal, which then result in more continuous communities along environmental gradients. The aim of this thesis was to explore the relative importance of the deterministic and stochastic factors in the structuring of taxonomic and functional trait-based macroinvertebrate communities in streams in a high-latitude catchment by comparing the variation in these community facets along environmental and spatial gradients. Also, the relationship between environment and the functionally-defined communities was explored closely. The results indicated how the taxonomic composition of the communities may be more closely related to the stochastic and dispersal-related factors, whereas the functional composition of the communities may be more closely related to the deterministic environmental filtering processes. However, the overall structure of the communities seems to be strongly controlled by the variation in environment, although the heterogeneous and harsh conditions of the streams may preclude the formation of predictable community types. Nonetheless, some noticeable responses of different traits to different environmental factors were found, suggesting that definable functional trait-environment relationships may be discovered if key traits of the species can be identified. Overall, these findings underline the benefits of describing both taxonomic and functional-based communities when exploring the mechanisms behind the structuring of macroinvertebrate communities. The results also have applications for conservation practices. Conservation efforts should focus on varying environmental conditions in order to cover all aspects of macroinvertebrate community variationTiivistelmä Lajeihin ja lajien toiminnallisiin lajiominaisuuksiin pohjautuva ekologinen tutkimus tuo uutta tietoa biologisten yhteisöjen taustalla vaikuttavista tekijöistä. Yleisesti yhteisöjen rakentumiseen vaikuttavat niin deterministiset kuin stokastiset ympäristössä vaikuttavat tekijät. Virtavesiyhteisöjen on perinteisesti ajateltu rakentuneen niin sanottujen ympäristösuodattimien mukaisesti, jolloin ympäristön vaihtelu suodattaa tietynlaisiin ympäristöihin vain lajit, joilla on tarvittavat ominaisuudet paikalla selviytyäkseen. Useat viimeaikaiset tutkimukset ovat kuitenkin osoittaneet virtavesiyhteisöissä elävien lajien esiintymisen vaihtelevan ympäristössä myös itsenäisesti erilaisista stokastisista, kuten lajien dispersaaliin vaikuttavista, tekijöistä johtuen. Tässä väitöstutkimuksessa tutkin näiden determinististen ja stokastisten ympäristötekijöiden suhteellisia vaikutuksia taksonomisesti ja toiminnallisesti luokiteltujen pohjaeläinyhteisöjen rakentumiseen pohjoisissa virtavesissä. Myös yksittäisten lajiominaisuuksien ja toiminnallisten yhteisöjen suhde pohjoisten virtavesien ympäristöolosuhteisiin oli tarkastelun alla. Tutkimuksen tulokset antoivat viitteitä siitä, että ympäristössä toimivat stokastiset ja lajien dispersaaliin liittyvät tekijät vaikuttaisivat voimakkaammin taksonomisesti luokiteltujen yhteisöjen vaihteluun, kun taas toiminnallisesti luokitellut yhteisöt vaikuttaisivat rakentuneen enemmän determinististen ympäristöprosessien mukaisesti. Kokonaisuudessaan yhteisöt vaikuttaisivat kuitenkin rakentuneen voimakkaasti vaihtelevien ympäristöolosuhteiden ohjaamana, ja tämä vaihtelu voi estää selkeästi ennustettavien yhteisörakenteiden synnyn. Muutamia selkeitä lajiominaisuusvasteita kuitenkin löytyi, mikä antaa viitteitä ennustettavissa olevien toiminnallisten yhteisöjen olemassaolosta, mikäli yhteisöjen menestymisen kannalta merkittävimmät lajiominaisuudet vain osataan määrittää. Nämä tulokset osoittavat, miten sekä taksonomisesti että toiminnallisesti luokiteltujen yhteisöjen käyttäminen rinnakkain yhteisöekologisissa tutkimuksissa voi auttaa selventämään yhteisöjen synnyn taustalla vaikuttavia tekijöitä. Tuloksilla on merkitystä myös virtavesiyhteisöjen suojelun kannalta. Suojelutoimenpiteet tulisi kohdistaa kattamaan ympäristöolosuhteita laajasti, jotta ympäristöolosuhteiden mukaan vaihtelevat yhteisöt tulisivat parhaalla mahdollisella tavalla katetuiksi
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Drerup, Samuel A. "Functional Responses of Stream Communities to Acid Mine Drainage Remediation." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1458822356.
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Knutson, Keith. "Britain's functional approach to integration /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p9988679.
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Giné, Garriga Maria. "Functional performance in physically frail community dwelling older adults." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Ramon Llull, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/9232.
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En països desenvolupats, la característica demogràfica actual més rellevant és l'envelliment de la població. Tenint en compte el percentatge de gent gran i la tendència de la població en el futur, es considera essencial que els professionals de la salut i entitats responsables del sistema sanitari, estableixin estratègies que ens permetin avaluar objectivament els individus amb un major dèficit funcional per oferir intervencions adequades, i per tant, ens permetin assegurar un envelliment més saludable i una millor qualitat de vida de la població. La reducció de les capacitats físiques és una part important de l'atenció mèdica en les persones grans perquè té conseqüències importants quant a mobilitat, mortalitat, i pèrdua d'independència funcional.El primer estudi va avaluar la fiabilitat i sensibilitat d'una versió modificada del test 'Timed Get Up and Go' (TGUG) en predir el risc de caigudes en gent major de 65 anys, emprant una aproximació quantitativa i qualitativa. El test TGUG modificat es va dissenyar com una eina per avaluar la funció física, per identificar la gent gran amb limitacions en una o més de les barreres físiques que tenen un efecte important en la independència de les persones: pèrdua de força muscular, dificultats en la marxa i alteració de l'equilibri. El segon estudi va avaluar la validesa del test TGUG modificat, determinant el grau en el que resultats del test s'associaven a altres mesures prèviament validades i utilitzades en la literatura mèdica per documentar modificacions causades per l'edat en la funcionalitat física i limitacions funcionals. En el tercer estudi, varem conduir un assaig clínic aleatori controlat d'un entrenament funcional en circuit (FCT) amb l'objectiu de determinar l'efecte d'un programa d'intervenció de 12 setmanes en reduir les mesures funcionals de fragilitat en un grup de gent gran fràgil resident a la comunitat. El segon objectiu d'aquest últim estudi va ser avaluar si aquestes millores funcionals es mantenien 6 mesos després de finalitzar la intervenció.
La implicació dels resultats del primer estudi suggereix que el temps total (segons) requerit per dur a terme el test TGUG modificat pot ser adequat per discriminar gent gran amb uns nivells alts o baixos de funcionalitat física. A més, basant-nos amb les altes correlacions obtingudes entre els components del test TGUG modificat i els tests amb els quals es va comparar, s'ha establert la validació de la nostra eina. El test és fàcil de dur a terme, requereix un temps baix d'administració, i es pot utilitzar a la pràctica clínica diària. Els resultats del tercer estudi indiquen que el programa FCT de 12 setmanes de durada basat en un treball funcional d'equilibri i força de les extremitats inferiors, dut a terme a l'atenció primària, és efectiu i els beneficis es mantenen 6 mesos després de finalitzar la intervenció en un grup de gent gran fràgil resident a la comunitat.
Per concloure, la població gran requereix una eina d'avaluació de la funció física adequada, i s'han d'aplicar intervencions que hagin demostrat ser efectives per disminuir la pèrdua funcional en aquest grup de població. Un bon cribatge lligat a intervencions de salut pública poden oferir una bona eina per reduir el deteriorament físic en gent gran en situació de risc.
En los países desarrollados, la característica demográfica actual más relevante es el envejecimiento de la población. Teniendo en cuenta el porcentaje de gente mayor y la tendencia de la población en el futuro, se considera esencial que los profesionales sanitarios y entidades responsables del sistema sanitario, establezcan estrategias que nos permitan evaluar objetivamente los individuos con un mayor déficit funcional para ofrecerles intervenciones adecuadas, y por lo tanto, nos permitan asegurar un envejecimiento más saludable y una mayor calidad de vida de la población. La reducción de las capacidades físicas es una parte importante de la atención médica de las personas mayores porqué tiene consecuencias importantes en su movilidad, mortalidad, y pérdida de independencia funcional.
En el primer estudio se evaluó la fiabilidad y sensibilidad de una versión modificada de la prueba 'Timed Get Up and Go' (TGUG) para predecir el riesgo de caídas en gente mayor de 65 años, utilizando una aproximación cuantitativa y cualitativa. La prueba TGUG modificada se diseñó como una herramienta para evaluar la función física, para identificar la gente mayor con limitaciones en una o más de las barreras físicas que tienen un efecto importante en la independencia de las personas: pérdida de fuerza muscular, dificultades en la marcha y alteraciones del equilibrio. El segundo estudio evaluó la validez de la prueba TGUG modificada, determinando el grado en que los resultados de la prueba se asociaban a otras medidas previamente validadas y utilizadas en la literatura médica para documentar modificaciones causadas por la edad en la funcionalidad física y limitaciones funcionales. En el tercer estudio, condujimos un ensayo clínico aleatorio controlado de un entrenamiento funcional en circuito (FCT) con el objetivo de determinar el efecto de un programa de intervención de 12 semanas en reducir las medidas funcionales de fragilidad en un grupo de gente mayor frágil residente en la comunidad. El segundo objetivo de éste último estudio fue evaluar si la mejoras producidas por la intervención se mantenían pasados 6 meses de su finalización.
La implicación de los resultados del primer estudio sugiere que el tiempo total (segundos) requerido para finalizar la prueba TGUG modificada puede ser adecuado para discriminar la gente mayor con niveles altos o bajos de funcionalidad física. Además, si nos basamos en las altas correlaciones obtenidas entre los componentes de la prueba TGUG modificada y las pruebas con las que se comparó, se ha establecido la validación de nuestra herramienta. La prueba es fácil de llevar a cabo, requiere un tiempo de administración bajo, y se puede utilizar en la práctica clínica diaria. Los resultados del tercer estudio indican que el programa FCT de 12 semanas de duración basado en el trabajo funcional del equilibrio y la fuerza de extremidades inferiores, llevado a cabo en la atención primaria, es efectivo y los beneficios se mantienen 6 meses después de finalizar la intervención, en un grupo de gente mayor frágil residente en la comunidad.
Para concluir, la población mayor requiere una herramienta de evaluación adecuada de la función física, y se deben aplicar intervenciones que hayan demostrado su efectividad para disminuir la pérdida funcional en este grupo de población. Un buen cribaje con intervenciones de salud pública pueden ofrecer una buena herramienta para reducir el deterioro físico en gente mayor en situación de riesgo.
In developed countries, the most relevant demographical characteristic of current times is the ageing of the population. Given the current number of old people and future expectations about elderly population's incidence, it is considered to be essential that health care professionals and responsible entities and organizations, establish strategies that allow us to objectively assess those areas with the highest functional deficits, to offer the appropriate intervention, and thus to ensure healthy ageing and higher quality of life to the greatest number of citizens possible. Functional decline is an important part of health care of the elderly because it has significant consequences for older adults in terms of morbidity, mortality, and loss of independence.
The first study assessed the reliability and sensitivity of a modified version of the 'Timed Get Up and Go' (TGUG) test in predicting fall risk, using both a quantitative and qualitative approach in individuals older than 65 years. The modified TGUG test had been developed as a physical function assessment to identify older people with impairments in one or more of the major physiological domains that have a substantial effect on the ability of older persons to remain independent: muscular weakness, and deficits in gait and balance. The second study assessed the construct validity of the modified TGUG test, determining the degree to which scores of a modified TGUG test were associated with other measures used in the literature to document age-related change in both functional performance and physiological impairment. In the third study, we conducted a randomized clinical trial of a functional circuit training program aiming to determine the effect of a 12-week structured, intervention program on reducing physical frailty measures in a group of community-dwelling physically frail elderly individuals. The secondary aim of the third study was to evaluate whether these improvements were sustained 6 months after the end of the training program.
The implications of the findings from the first study suggest that the modified TGUG test for total time (sec) may be suitable to discriminate older individuals of high and low functional levels. Furthermore, based on the strength of the correlations obtained between components of the modified TGUG and the comparison tests, concurrent, criterion validity of the modified TGUG has been indicated. The test is simple to administer, needs a short administration time, and is feasible for older people to undertake in community settings and for rehabilitation assessment in primary care. Findings from the third study indicate that a 12-week FCT program which focused on functional balance, and lower body strength-based exercises, conducted in a primary care setting is a safe, effective and sustainable intervention in older physically frail community-dwelling adults.
In conclusion, the elderly population require an appropriate physical function screening assessment, and specific proven interventions need to be put in place to maximize physical functioning once the deficit areas are known. A simple screening procedure linked with effective public health interventions may offer great scope for reducing functional decline in at-risk older people.
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Fieo, Robert Anthony. "Determinants of functional decline in community-dwelling older adults." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/5501.
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The overarching theme of this thesis is the prevention of progressive-type disability. Unlike catastrophic disability, progressive disability is gradual and more common in older adults. Because progressive disability can take years to develop, it is often conceptualized as a continuum, from less to more disabled. Disability prevention, by definition, is designed to identify people who are as yet nondisabled but at high risk for future functional decline by identifying an early functional state associated with increased risk of subsequent disability (Fried & Guralnik, 1997). This thesis sought to address two challenges associated with identifying an early functional state of disability. The first challenge relates to instrument calibration. Traditional instruments (based on self-report) used for assessing disability, scales of activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), were originally developed to describe levels of functional status in institutionalized older adults. Thus, these instruments poorly discriminate, as well as underestimate disability in the early stages of development. Poor discrimination refers to tasks or activities (i.e., scale items) that prove unresponsive to changes in a particular person’s ability level. Performance measures on the other hand, such as walk time or grip strength, have proven to be quite responsive to early declines in functional status. Despite the popularity of performance measures used to assess health status in epidemiology or gerontological research, evidence suggests that they measure a somewhat different construct than self-reported activities of daily living. ADLs have a long history of use in the medical community, yet it has been proposed that the relative standing of ADLs, in relation to communitydwelling older adults, could be enhanced by improving construct validities that are at least equivalent to those of physical performance measures. Item response theory (IRT) methodology can be used to improve the structure of ADL scales so that they are more sensitive in detecting the early stages of functional decline within relatively high functioning older adults; a stage that has been shown to be more responsive to clinical interventions aimed at prevention of overt disability or frailty. IRT can improve ADL scales in multiple ways: by confirming an underlying uni-dimensional continuum of disability, establishing interval level measurement or item hierarchies, and increasing scale precision. As part of this thesis I conducted a systematic review of functional status scales, applied to community-dwelling older adults, which employed IRT procedures. The review was useful in that it draws attention to areas of functional assessment that can be improved upon, most notably, the topic of establishing interval level data and construct under-representation. Using data from the Cardiovascular Health Study, I was able to show that a common hierarchy of functional decline was observed for a diverse set of conditions and diseases that are prevalent among community-dwelling older adults. Such an indicator could be used to identify hierarchical declines relating to severity in diverse patient populations. Improvements in validity of functional status scales can also lead to the use of ADL-IADLs as potential determinates of disability, rather than simply acting as outcome measures of disability. Again using data from the Cardiovascular Health Study, I examined the predictive power of IADL (mobility-type) items on later disability. Self reported difficulty in 2 or 3 of the most difficult IADL items increased the odds of being disabled eight years later by a factor of 3.5. The odds of being disabled fell to 1.9 for those reporting difficulty with one item. The second challenge of this thesis relates to defining determinants of functional decline that manifest themselves at the earliest stages of the disablement process. As previously stated physical performance measures have been shown to be sensitive to early stages of functional decline. However, can other measures, potentially spanning multiple domains, be used to identify those at high risk for future disability? In particular I was interested in whether psychosocial and cognitive variables could be used to detect changes in functional status at the preclinical stages of the disablement process. With regard to the Cardiovascular Health Study, I was able to show that, for subjects within the normal range of cognitive functioning, performance in the lowest quartile of the Digit Symbol Substitution Test resulted in a 2.2 increase in the odds of being disabled. Performance on this measure, as well as selfreported mobility noted above, could detect decrements in functional status as much as 8 years prior. With the use of the Lothian Birth Cohort sample I explicitly investigated the psychosocial domain. I found that the level of depressive symptoms increased the odds of being disabled by 56%. Again, these symptoms were assessed as much as eight years prior to self-reported disability. The general findings of this thesis indicate that refinements in ADL-IADL measures can aid in the detection of disability at the pre-clinical level, and that cognitive function and intra-individual factors play a pivotal role in speeding up or slowing down the disablement process.
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Elsayed, Ali Hamada [Verfasser], and Björn [Akademischer Betreuer] Reineking. "Plant communities in field margins of agricultural landscapes: species distributions, functional traits, and contributions to landscape function / Hamada Elsayed Ali. Betreuer: Björn Reineking." Bayreuth : Universität Bayreuth, 2015. http://d-nb.info/1077818831/34.
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Malhotra, Saimon. "Molecular biological characterisation of the functional microbial communities in anaerobic digesters." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.272792.
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Mayhew, Rebekah Jane Watts. "The species and functional composition of bird communities in regenerating tropical forests." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/27894.
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The widespread threat of species extinctions caused by the destruction and degradation of tropical primary forest (PF) could potentially be mitigated by the expansion of regenerating secondary forest (SF). However, the conservation value of SF remains controversial, and is dependent on many site- and landscape-scale factors, such as habitat age and isolation. The aim of this thesis was to assess the role that SF can play in conserving forest bird communities in central Panama. We study a chronosequence of SF aged 20 – 120-years-old, with sites either isolated from or connected to extensive PF. Our results suggest that SF supports high levels of avian species diversity, and similar community composition to PF. Whilst forest age plays a small role in determining compositional similarity to PF, connectivity to extensive PF was the main determinant of community composition. However, despite high species richness and complex community composition, some specialist PF bird species were consistently absent from SF, and isolated PF. The functional diversity of bird communities did not vary substantially across the forest age and isolation gradient, although we did find some inter-guild differences; with distinct responses in communities of avian insectivores and frugivores. Isolation caused shifts in the trophic traits of insectivores, but resulted in alterations in the dispersal traits of frugivores. The response of bird and tree community composition to forest age and isolation was similar, although isolation had a stronger impact on bird communities. Bird diversity and composition tracked changes in forest structure over succession. When examining the role of birds in seed-dispersal networks, we found bird gape width was the key predictor of seed size consumed. Large-gaped birds consume a wider variety of seed-sizes than small-gaped birds, and small-seeded trees attract a greater number of bird species than large-seeded trees. These results imply high levels of redundancy among small-gaped avian frugivores and small-seeded plant species, but low levels of redundancy among large-seeded plant species and their avian dispersers. This suggests that large-seeded plants may be most at risk of dispersal failure following any change in avian frugivore assemblages. Together, these results suggest that SF can play a key role in sustaining most tropical biodiversity, and in maintaining ecosystem services. Our findings emphasise the importance of integrating SF into conservation strategies to support and buffer tropical PF habitats.
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MacArthur, James David. "The Adams Lake physical development plan, a functional role for community in community planning." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape11/PQDD_0026/MQ48231.pdf.
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Rhodes, Rachelle Renee. "Investigating the Functional Response of a Subsurface Biofilm Community to Xenobiotic Stress." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/33412.
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Biologically-mediated subsurface remediation by biofilm communities is a poorly understood process that is spatially and temporally dynamic. Two microbial responses, catabolism and the stress response glutathione-gated potassium efflux (GGKE), to benzene, pentachlorophenol (PCP), or Cd exposure were studied in up-flow sand columns to examine the contribution of each response to the overall functional response of a subsurface biofilm. Benzene was catabolized in the aerobic zone, and did not activate the GGKE response, and exhibited the highest biomass concentrations of all columns. PCP was not catabolized during this study, but was found to elicit two responses, oxidative phosphorylation uncoupling and GGKE, that appeared to be concentration dependent. Oxidative uncoupling was the controlling metabolic response up to 10 mg/L PCP, while the GGKE stress response was activated near 20 mg/L PCP. PCP column biomass did not show long-term biomass detachment, although immediate detachment occurred during initial GGKE activation. Cd column biomass activated the GGKE response as perturbing Cd concentrations increased. Extracellular polymeric substance (EPS)-Cd complexation was a possible detoxification mechanism, as biomass concentrations did not decrease with increasing Cd concentration, and increased as Cd concentrations decreased. Results of this study suggested that the increased exposure of electrophilic contaminants to sand column biomass did not cause biomass detachment.Master of Science
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Sandhu, Navtej K. "Exploring the Influence of Functional Status on Older Adults' Social Relationships in Assisted Living Communities." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2012. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/gerontology_theses/31.
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Social relationships can have considerable influence on physical and mental well-being. AL research suggests that other residents are among the most available social contacts and that co-resident relationships can affect life satisfaction, quality of life, and well-being. Although functional status influences social relationships, research has yet to provide an in-depth understanding of how cognitive and physical function affects co-resident relationships in AL. In this thesis, I present an analysis of qualitative data collected over a one-year period in two diverse settings. The thesis addressed: 1) How does functional status influence co-resident relationships? ; and 2) What factors shape its influence? Analysis was guided by principles of Grounded Theory Method. Coming together and pulling apart signifies the key finding that functional status is multi-directional, fluid, and operates in different ways in various situations and across time. Facility and resident –level factors further affect the influence of functional status on co-resident relationships.
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Hurwitz, Bonnie Louise. "Viral Community Dynamics and Functional Specialization in the Pacific Ocean." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/265369.
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Viruses are the most abundant biological entity on Earth and outnumber their hosts ten-to-one. Ocean viruses (phages) impact bacterial-driven global biogeochemical cycles through lysis, manipulating host metabolism, and horizontal gene transfer. However, knowledge of virus-host interactions and viral roles in ecosystems remains limited due to few cultured marine phage genomes and non-quantitative culture-independent metagenomes. Here, I develop and apply novel and well-tested bioinformatic techniques to explore Pacific Ocean viral communities using quantitative datasets derived from rigorously-tested preparation methods. To evaluate concentration and purification methods, I examined triplicate metagenomes from a single ocean sample using four protocols. Concentration protocols showed statistical differences in taxonomy whereas purification protocols did not. Specifically, TFF-concentrated metagenomes contained trace bacterial contamination and had fewer abundant taxa as compared to FeCl₃-precipitated metagenomes. K-mer analysis using the complete dataset revealed polymerase choice defined access to "rare" sequences.To explore unknown viral sequences, I organized known and unknown sequence space into 27K high-confidence protein clusters (PCs) from 32 diverse Pacific Ocean Virus (POV) metagenomes, which doubled available PCs and included the first pelagic deep-sea viral metagenomes. Using PCs as a whole-viral-community diversity metric revealed decreases from coastal to open ocean, winter to summer, and deep to surface, that correlate with data from microbial genetic diversity markers (no parallel viral markers exist).Biologically, POV metagenomes showed that viruses likely reprogram central metabolic pathways in microbial communities far beyond the "photosynthesis viruses" paradigm. Gene distribution patterns from 35 viral gene families (31 new) revealed niche-specific (photic vs aphotic zone) altered pathway carbon flux presumably optimized to best locally generate energy and drive viral replication. Further, these PCs define the first "core" (180 genes) and "flexible" (423K genes total) viral community genome. Functionally, core genes again suggest niche-differentation with extensive Fe-S cluster-related genes for electron transport and metabolic enzyme catalysis in photic samples, and manipulation of host pressure-sensitive genes in aphotic samples. Taxonomically, these data deconstruct the culture-based paradigm that tailed viruses dominate in the wild - instead they appear ubiquitous, but not abundant.
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Rice, Constance Elizabeth. "Examining the effects of plant diversity and community composition on reducing conditions in the soil of experimental wetlands." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1243880360.
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Irving, Philip William. "The functional and evolutionary significance of Schreckstoff in natural communities of fish." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.307984.
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Houghton, James. "Molecular diversity and functional composition of cellulose degrading communities in anoxic environments." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2013. http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/14933/.
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The major fraction of microbial communities cannot be cultivated by artificial means in the laboratory. In order to access the full diversity of microbial life in the open environment it is necessary to employ culture independent methods. Molecular biology and now metagenomics have enabled the phylogenetic and functional investigation of microbial communities without isolation and cultivation of organisms and has led to a new appreciation of the breadth of diversity of microbes on Earth and to the discovery and characterisation of new enzymes. Here, molecular biological techniques have been applied to the study of microbial communities specifically in anaerobic environments and with an emphasis on those involved in the primary degradation of plant cellulosic biomass. Quantitative PCR was used to assess the presence of cellulolytic bacteria both in landfill leachate and specifically in association with cotton cellulose “baits” maintained in leachate microcosms. Lineages of clostridia previously associated with cellulose degrading strains were detected in all five of the landfill leachate samples, and Fibrobacter spp. were detected at low abundance (2.3% of total bacteria) in one sample. Clostridia Group III and Fibrobacter spp. were enriched on the surface of a bait (17% and 29% of total bacteria, respectively) that was rapidly degraded by the colonising community and were present in low abundance (< 1%) and absent, respectively, on another colonised by a community which did not exhibit any degradation of the cellulose. The observed correlation between high levels of cellulose degradation and presence Fibrobacter spp. demonstrates a cellulolytic role outside of the gut environment for these organisms the first time. A metatranscriptome was prepared from a set of cotton cellulose baits maintained in a lake sediment for 2-8 weeks, and Illumina sequencing was used to generated ca. 7 million paired-end reads. Just under one million putative protein coding sequences were identified and of these, MEGAN analysis determined that 40% had no blast hit to the NCBI NR database suggesting that a large number of unknown sequences were present. Analysis of this metatranscriptome and a metagenome produced from the same site revealed that bacteria accounted for 75% of the protein coding sequences and 97% of the metagenome. Genes with matches to cellulolytic lineages of clostridia were found to be present and Fibrobacter sequences were also detected in both of these datasets further demonstrating their presence in the wider environment as probable cellulose degraders ORF prediction and HMM searching were used to search for expressed cellulases in the metatranscriptome and identified 503 sequences with high similarity to glycoside hydrolase protein families, representing carbohydrate active enzymes with possible cellulolytic activity. Of these 112 were also found to have representatives in the metagenome with 100% sequence similarity. All of these sequences had a low level of identity to entries in the NCBI NR database indicating the discovery of previously unknown genes. A fosmid library was produced from the same DNA used to generate the metatranscriptome and it is possible that full-length copies of the expressed genes identified in silico will have been captured. This fosmid library can be interrogated accordingly using probe and PCR primer sequences designed using the curated metatranscriptome dataset. In this way, potentially novel cellulases can be discovered for biochemical characterisation, genetic manipulation and biotechnological exploitation.
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Campbell, Matthew Arthur. "Functional diversity of active microbial mat communities inferred fromlipid biomarkers and metatranscriptomics." Thesis, Curtin University, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81969.
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Microbial mat communities possess extensive taxonomic and functional diversity, which drive high metabolic rates and rapid cycling of major elements. These ecosystems are considered as analogues to extinct geobiological formations dating back 3.5 billion years. This PhD project applied metatranscriptomic and lipid biomaker profiling to modem microbial mat communities, providing a comprehensive characterisation of the key active metabolic pathways, adaptation mechanisms and chemotaxonomic markers under different environmental conditions.
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Burt-Smith, Graham. "Blind tests of predictions of community structure and dynamics using functional criteria." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.327642.
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Buzzard, Vanessa, and Vanessa Buzzard. "Variation of Functional Traits Across Space and Time: Assessing the Roles of Succession and Temperature on Plant and Microbial Functional Traits to Understand Biodiversity Gradients." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/625627.
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Traditionally, the study of biodiversity has focused on quantifying patterns of species diversity, or species richness, by simply counting the number of species across environmental gradients. This approach has been fundamental to ecological investigations and thinking with regards to identifying patterns of biodiversity. Although species diversity is the most commonly used dimension of biodiversity, species diversity alone does not provide a mechanistic understanding of biodiversity gradients. By also quantifying the genetic and phylogenetic diversity of a population, community or ecosystem, ecologists can become more informed on the relationships organisms have with one another, as well as their potential to adapt to changes in their environment. While each of these approaches provides methods for characterizing biodiversity, they do not offer direct insight into what species do, how they function, or how they will respond to changes in their environment. Functional, or trait-based ecology, provides an informative alternative to species-centric approaches that seeks to understand patterns of biodiversity in terms of functional traits. Functional traits capture fundamental tradeoffs in life history strategies that can be used to determine species ecological roles and can be used to scale from organisms to ecosystems to ask broad ecological questions.
The overarching goal of my dissertation is to add additional links to trait-based ecology by identifying potential sources of trait variation across different spatial and temporal gradients between varying levels of biological organization. By assessing variation across spatial-temporal scales, I tested two prominent assumptions of trait-based ecology. First, I tested the trait-environment assumption wherein traits affect ecosystem processes. Therefore, there should be a predictable relationship between traits, their environment, and ecosystem function across large ecological gradients and between broad taxonomic groups. Second, I tested the assumption that interspecific trait variation exceeds intraspecific trait variation; thus, the species mean trait value captures much of the variation for a given trait. My study systems include the latitudinal diversity gradient of North America, forests of varying successional age in the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica, and a subalpine meadow of Colorado.
First, we collected leaf trait data and soil microbial data at six sites across the latitudinal diversity gradient to test a central hypothesis of trait-based ecology, primarily that shifts in plant traits associated with decomposition and nutrient availability ramify to influence microbial functioning. We found that changes in plant traits not only reflect nutrient limitation across broad ecological gradients, but also have important regional effects on biogeochemical processes, microclimates, and energy fluxes that influence microbial diversity. Furthermore, changes in plant function correspond to changes in bacterial functional traits related to carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling, although only fungal functional traits related to nitrogen cycling change across the gradient. Our results represent one of the first comparisons of functional diversity within and across bacterial, fungal, and plant communities across a latitudinal gradient.
Next, we collected leaf functional trait and abiotic data across a 110-year chronosequence within a tropical dry forest in Costa Rica. We focused on six leaf functional traits for woody plants within 14 plots that have varying times since disturbance in the tropical dry forests of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. When we compare species composition and community function, we find that older tropical dry forest communities differ significantly from younger forests in species composition, above ground biomass, and functional traits. Species in younger forests have traits better adapted to hotter temperatures and increased drought. For example, young forests are characterized by thicker leaves with higher water use efficiency. In contrast, older forests have thinner broader leaves more susceptible to desiccation. Interestingly, in contrast to expectations, variation in these functional traits does not generally change through succession. This means that the different species within each community are converging on similar functional strategies. Our results also suggest that regenerating tropical dry forests are resilient and can be restored within a human lifetime.
Finally, we evaluated patterns of trait variation within and between three years to understand the widely-ignored source of temporal variation associated with seasonality and test the assumption that interspecific trait variation exceeds intraspecific variation and the species means account for the overall variation of a trait. To do this, we collected leaf data from eight species at a local site in Colorado throughout the growing season, over three years, as well as extracted data from a global database and made comparisons to assess sources trait variation. We found that, although the timing of collection influences one’s ability to capture fine-scale processes occurring on short time scales, collecting data locally throughout the growing season and across multiple years does not significantly influence species ranking. However, species ranking is not conserved for comparisons between local and global databases. This suggests that extra care should be taken when applying global data for species-specific studies and that ‘snap-shot’ sampling designs may over- or underestimate community trait distributions, reducing predictability.
Overall, this body of work extends beyond understanding patterns of species diversity through the inclusion of species function. It contributes to our understanding of variation in biodiversity across broad ecological gradients and between diverse taxonomic groups, how communities assemble via functional traits, and the importance of temporal variation on functional traits for detecting fine-scale patterns.
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Ribeiro, Joana Cristina Cardoso Teixeira. "Neotropical anuran communities from agricultural landscapes: an integrated approach." Doctoral thesis, Universidade de Aveiro, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10773/22247.
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Doutoramento em Biologia e Ecologia das Alterações Globais (Especialização em Ecologia e Biologia Tropical)Anthropogenic activities such as agriculture and cattle farming are the main causes of biodiversity loss. Agricultural expansion is especially detrimental in the tropics, where agricultural investment meets important social and economic demands, and biodiversity is especially high and unique. Rice is the world’s most important food crop. Given its nature, location and extension worldwide, irrigated rice fields are invariably used by the native fauna. Determining how communities living in these agroecosystems are shaped is therefore of the utmost concern. The Cerrado, the world’s largest and most diverse savanna is experiencing extreme anthropogenic pressure, with 50% of the biome currently under direct human use. Amphibians are among the world’s most threatened vertebrates, playing keystone roles in ecosystem functioning. Given the inherent complexity of their life cycle, approaching how amphibian populations are affected by anthropogenic activities requires an integrated, multidimensional approach, at multiple scales. This project sought to assess how the anuran community of the Cerrado is being affected by agricultural pressure, assessing the extinction risk, analyzing the selected traits, and variation in taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity at different scales, as well as the functional connectivity of frogs in rice crops. The official extinction risk is underestimated for the anurans of the Cerrado. Breeding site, habitat specialization, and clutch size are predictors of increased extinction risk. The southwest and central regions of the biome are the main hotspots of increased extinction risk, and should be prioritized for conservation. Habitat conversion and crop management caused profound changes to the anuran community, causing increased functional divergence and dramatic loss of functional and phylogenetic diversity in agricultural environments. Anurans with restricted range, habitat specialization, small clutches and large body size were excluded from agricultural environments. Additionally, frogs from agricultural environments had lower body condition. Thus, the conversion of natural vegetation to rice crops results in such environmental stress, that large subsets of species are driven to local extinction irrespective of their specialization, and even the more resilient species exhibit lower body condition. The presence of abundant forest fragments and water bodies is crucial for the maintenance of high levels of functional and phylogenetic diversity, and also to ensure functional connectivity for anuran populations in agricultural landscapes.
Atividades antrópicas como a agricultura e a pecuária são as principais causas da perda de biodiversidade. A expansão agrícola é especialmente nociva nos trópicos, onde o investimento agrícola responde a importantes demandas sociais e económicas, e a biodiversidade é especialmente alta e única. O arroz é a cultura alimentar mais importante do mundo. Dada a sua natureza, localização e extensão a nível global, os campos de arroz irrigado são invariavelmente utilizado pela fauna nativas. Determinar como as comunidades que vivem nesses agroecossistemas são afectadas é, portanto, de extrema importância. O Cerrado, a maior e mais diversa savana do planeta, encontra-se sob extrema pressão antropogénica, com 50% do bioma atualmente sob uso humano direto. Os anfíbios estão entre os vertebrados mais ameaçados do planeta, desempenhando papéis de destaque no funcionamento dos ecossistemas. Como o seu ciclo de vida é particularmente complexo, investigar a forma como as populações de anfíbios são afectadas por atividades antropogénicas requer uma abordagem integrada e multidimensional, a várias escalas. Com este projecto pretendeu-se avaliar a forma como a comunidade de anuros do Cerrado está a ser afetada pela pressão agrícola, avaliando o risco de extinção, analisando os traits selecionados, e a variação na diversidade taxonómica, filogenética e funcional em diferentes escalas, bem como a conectividade funcional dos anuros em culturas de arroz. Determinou-se que o risco de extinção de risco oficial dos anfíbios do Cerrado se encontra subestimado. O local de reprodução, habitat e tamanho da postura são preditores de elevado risco de extinção em anuros. O sudoeste e região central do bioma são as principais regiões de espécies de alto risco de extinção, e devem ser priorizados para a conservação. Concluiu-se também que a conversão do habitat e a gestão agrícola causaram profundas alterações na comunidade de anuros, com o aumento da divergência funcional e dramática perda de diversidade funcional e filogenética em ambientes agrícolas. Anuros com distribuição restrita, especialização de habitat, posturas pequenas e grande tamanho corporal foram excluídos dos ambientes agrícolas. Adicionalmente, anuros provenientes de culturas apresentaram menor condição corporal. Assim, a conversão de vegetação natural em plantações de arroz irrigado resulta na extinção local de muitas espécies, independentemente da sua especialização, e no decréscimo dos índices de condição corporal nas espécies mais resistentes. A presença de abundantes fragmentos florestais e de corpos de água é determinante para a manutenção de níveis elevados de diversidade funcional e filogenética, e ainda para assegurar a conectividade funcional para as populações de anuros em paisagens agrícolas.
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Andersson, Martin. "Extent and limitations of functional redundancy among bacterial communities towards dissolved organic matter." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Limnologi, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-331772.
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One of the key processes in the carbon cycle on our planet is the degradation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in aquatic environments. The use of organic matter by bacteria links energy from DOM to higher trophic levels of the ecosystem when bacteria are consumed by other organisms. This is referred to as the microbial loop. In this thesis I examined if the communities were functionally redundant in their ability to utilize organic matter, or if variation in bacterial composition and richness is of importance. To test this overarching question several experiments were conducted that include methods such as illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene for taxonomic identification of bacterial communities, flow cytometry to follow the growth of communities and spectroscopic measurement to describe the composition of the organic matter pool. Initially we demonstrated how to optimally sterilize organic matter for experimental studies in order to preserve its natural complexity. In further experiments we found that bacterial communities are redundant in their utilization of organic matter and can maintain optimal performance towards a range of organic matter pools. Related to this we found that pre-adaptation to organic matter played a small role as communities performed equally well regardless of their environmental history. We saw a small effect of richness and composition of bacterial communities on the efficiency of organic matter use, but conclude that this is of minor importance relative to abiotic factors. Still, we also show that organic matter can put strong selection pressure on bacterial communities with regards to richness and composition. Additionally we found that the supply rate of a carbon compound greatly influenced the energy utilization of the compound, i.e. a higher growth rate can be maintained if substrate is delivered in pulses relative to a continuous flow. Finally we conclude that the variation in bacterial communities is unlikely to have a major influence on carbon cycling in boreal lakes, but to enable a finer understanding, the genetics underlying the carbon utilization needs to be further explored.
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Mahmoud, Huda Mahmoud Abdullah. "Structural and functional diversity of epilithic bacterial communities in streams : effects of pollution." Thesis, University of Hull, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.271992.
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Tobin, Michelle Louise. "Applications of a functional group approach to the study of temperate algal communities." Thesis, University of York, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.341822.
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Word, Jack Q. "The infaunal trophic index, a functional approach to benthic community analyses /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/5289.
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Peters-Van, Havel Karla Ruth. "The sense of community in a geo-dispersed corporate functional subgroup." Thesis, Fielding Graduate University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10099664.
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The deep-seated qualities of the psychological sense of community (PSOC) are sometimes considered vital to human function and without them we would suffer isolation, loneliness, depression, and alienation (Sarason, 1974; Pretty, Andrews, & Collett, 1994). In the late 1980s and early 1990s studies of the psychological sense of community began in the workplace (Pretty & McCarthy, 1991; Klein & D’Aunno, 1986. Understanding this phenomenon, what it is, and the implications for those who feel a sense of community and those who do not can be a strength or benchmark for teams and groups of geographically dispersed organizations to build models for improvement. While PSOC is generally measured by an individual’s perception of a referent community to which they belong, cohesion is the collective look at PSOC (Buckner, 1988; E. E. Sampson, 1988; R. J. Sampson, 1991). This study evaluates the sense of community in the context of a geographically dispersed community, where PSOC is both relational and locational. A mixed methods approach to the case study is done through the use of surveys, ethnographic observation, and interviews. Key findings in this study include 16 unique descriptive characteristics for FSPSOC, a strong linear correlation between cohesion and the PSOC, and ambiguity in the term community. In addition, it was established that employees perceive geographic dispersion as directly impacting PSOC.
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Bakhshwin, Duaa M. "ASSOCIATION BETWEEN POLYPHARMACY AND FUNCTIONAL STATUS IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS." VCU Scholars Compass, 2018. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/5356.
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Background: Polypharmacy has no consensus definition in the literature. Previously used definitions include those based on the number of medications and those based on unnecessary or inappropriate medication use. Polypharmacy has been associated with increased risk of disability and functional limitations that impair a person's ability to live independently. Older adults are a population of interest as they are at increased risk for both polypharmacy and functional impairments. Understanding the relationship between polypharmacy and functional impairment in older adults could help health care providers and policy makers to target an at-risk population for interventions.
Objectives:
To assess the relationship between the number of medications taken and functional status in community-dwelling older adults using a nationally representative dataset.
To assess the change in the relationship between the number of medications taken and functional status over time (2 years and 4 years).
To study confounders of the relationship between polypharmacy and functional status.
Methods: Data came from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), collected in the following years: 2004, 2006 and 2008. The primary outcome was functional limitation as measured using the following validated tools: activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL and IADL). The exposure under study was polypharmacy status (no polypharmacy: < 5 prescribed medications, and polypharmacy: ≥5 prescribed medications). Both cross-sectional and longitudinal models were used to examine different aspects of the relationship between polypharmacy and functional status.
Results: A total sample size of 1,545 was included in our study. The prevalence of polypharmacy was 35.9% at the beginning of the study. Polypharmacy status was significantly associated with functional decline in both the cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses after controlling for confounders. Self-reported health (SRH) and light exercise were associated with functional decline in all cross-sectional analyses. Age, arthritis, and SRH were also associated with functional decline in all longitudinal analyses. Other confounders were also associated with functional decline.
Conclusion: Polypharmacy, defined as the use of more than five prescribed medications is a significant risk factor for functional decline in community-dwelling older adults.
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Mpezeni, Stella. "Community experiences of persons with lower limb amputations in Malawi." University of the Western Cape, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/7062.
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>Magister Scientiae - MScPersons with lower limb amputations (LLA) experience different challenges in the community. These challenges include the physical, psychological and social function of an individual. Little is known in Malawi on what persons with lower limb amputations go through in the communities where they live. Therefore, the study aimed at exploring and determining community experiences of persons with LLA in Malawi. The study sought to address the following objectives: 1) To determine the functional and psychological status of persons with LLA in the community; 2) To explore and describe experiences on social participation of persons with LLA in the community; 3). To explore experiences on community re-integration following LLA. A mixed method approach was applied where quantitative and qualitative data were collected simultaneously to provide a more holistic overview of the experiences of persons with LLA at one point in time. The study setting was Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) and Kamuzu Central Hospitals (KCH) (500 miles), located in Malawi. A sample of 180 participants was recruited to participate in the study. Three self-administered questionnaires (socio-demographic questionnaire, OPUS module of lower extremity functional status, and a Beck’s depression inventory scale) and a semi-structured interview guide were used for data collection. Thematic data analysis was used to analyze qualitative data, while quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of the Western Cape Biomedical Research Ethics Committee (BMREC) and College of Medicine Research Ethics Committee (COMREC). Permission to conduct the study was obtained from KCH (500 miles) and QECH. Privacy andconfidentiality was strictly observed such that data obtained was anonymous. It was kept in a secure place, and electronic data was secured using a password.
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Larsson, Josefin. "Aiming for change : intentional communities and ideology in function /." Örebro : Örebro University : University Library, 2004. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-89.
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Gustafsson, Stina. "The Macroinvertebrate Community in a Nature-like Fishway with Habitat Compensation Properties." Licentiate thesis, Karlstads universitet, Avdelningen för biologi, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-15116.
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Nature-like fishways are often constructed to restore connectivity in streams exploited for hydropower. They also have the potential to compensate for important habitats that have been degraded or lost. The aim of this thesis was to improve knowledge of the concept of nature-like fishway design, with special focus on their habitat compensation potential. This was done by comparing a nature-like fishway with four different habitat types, termed the biocanal, to six nearby natural reference creeks. In paper I the macroinvertebrate colonization of the biocanal was studied and the community composition was compared to that of the natural reference creeks. Furthermore, the potential for the biocanal to contain a diverse macroinvertebrate fauna was investigated. The results showed that the species composition of the benthic fauna in the biocanal was approaching that of the reference creeks and that the different habitat types in the biocanal contributed to the increased family diversity. In paper II the functional organization of the biocanal was studied using the functional feeding group approach. The results showed that after two years, the functional organization in the biocanal resembles that of the natural reference creeks.
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Grove, Jason Andrew. "Assessment of the Potential Functional Diversity of the Bacterial Community in a Biofilter." Thesis, University of Waterloo, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10012/850.
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A biofilter removes biodegradable contaminants from air by passing it through a biologically-active packed bed. The microorganism community is of fundamental interest but has been the focus of few studies. This work is an investigation of the bacterial community based on the potential functional diversity of the community. A number of experiments were performed in laboratory-scale biofilters using ethanol as a model contaminant. All biofilters were able to remove the ethanol with elimination capacities in the range 80 to 200gVOCm-3h-1; these values are comparable with published literature. Natural organic media (peat or compost) was used as packing.
The potential functional diversity of the community was assessed by Community-Level Physiological Profiling (CLPP) using sole-Carbon Source Utilisation Profile (CSUP). Community samples were used to inoculate Biolog EcoPlatesTM: microplates containing a selection of 31 different carbon-substrates and an indicator dye responding to bacterial growth. This technique was found to be sensitive to changes in the community structure over time and location.
Results showed that the community in samples taken close together (over a scale of a few centimetres) are similar and that relatively small media samples (0. 5 to 1 g) provide reproducible information. A study of a single biofilter indicated stratification of the community occurring with the community near the inlet diverging from that near the middle and outlet of the unit; this is attributed to the ethanol being degraded in the upper part of the column and the lower part of the column not being subjected to ethanol loading. In a study of two units at a higher loading rate, stratification was not observed over a period of weeks; it is suggested that the stratification may develop over this timescale as a result of the presence or absence of the Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) and not due to differences in concentration.
An acclimation period of 7 to 10 days was observed before near-complete removal of ethanol was attained. Monitoring of the community suggested a subsequent shift in diversity. It is suggested that the initial acclimation period is due to biofilm formation and the subsequent shift in community diversity is due to re-organisation of the community as species specialise. In a portion of the biofilter with minimal ethanol exposure, a sudden shift in community is observed after a period of some weeks. This may reflect changes as a result of starvation and indicates that periods of shut-down (when the biofilter is not loaded) may affect the community.
Two studies of biofilters operating in parallel were carried out. The first provided evidence of a divergence in the communities over a period of two weeks. In the second, communities in the two units underwent changes over time but observations from both units at any one time were similar. This demonstrates that biofilters set-up and operated in a similar manner may maintain similar communities but that this is not necessarily the case. This has implications for the reproducibility of laboratory experiments and for the variation of community structure with horizontal position in industrial units.
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Jaeger, Andrea L. "Invasive species impacts on ecosystem structure and function." Diss., Connect to online resource - MSU authorized users, 2006.
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Engelen, Dries. "Comparing avifauna communities and bird functional diversity of forest and farmland in southwest Ethiopia." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Botaniska institutionen, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-86015.
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Worldwide degradation and conversion of tropical forests affects many species and their provided ecosystem services. Among them are birds, responsible for pollination, seed dispersal, pest control and scavenging. This study, conducted in southwest Ethiopia, compares species composition and bird functional diversity between forest and homegardens close to and far from forest, both in terms of species numbers and bird abundances. Point counts and mist netting were used to obtain data. While the former method detected more species, abundance data from the latter revealed patterns not observed by just comparing species numbers. I found that species diversity was lower in forest compared to gardens and that the species composition of both communities was significantly distinct. Whereas forest had more forest specialists, gardens held more forest visitors and species of open country. Close and far gardens did not differ in any aspect, except that abundances of forest generalist birds were somewhat higher close to forest. Regarding bird feeding guilds, I found that granivores and nectarivores were more numerous in gardens, while frugivores were more common in forest. Carnivores and omnivores showed no effect. Insectivore proportions were the same for forest and farmland, but their numbers (including those of all sub-guilds) were higher in gardens. The Ethiopian forest avifauna is poor in comparison with other Afromontane regions, lacking several, mostly insectivorous genera. This could be the result of an extinction after which its geographic isolation made recolonization difficult, especially for dispersal-limited understory species. Nonetheless, and despite their impoverished state, the results suggest that forest remnants are important for forest-dependent species, being a stronghold for forest specialists and supporting higher numbers of forest generalists in nearby gardens. However, future forest regrowth might be at stake with ongoing agricultural encroachment, because gardens hold fewer frugivores, especially forest specialists, which might affect seed dispersal.Många arter påverkas negativt av avskogning och annan mänsklig påverkan på tropiska skogar, vilket också kan få konsekvenser för de ekosystemtjänster dessa arter levererar. En viktig artgrupp i detta avseende är fåglar, som kan ha betydelse för pollination, fröspridning, naturlig skadedjurskontroll och som asätare. Denna studie, utförd i sydvästra Etiopien, jämför artsammansättning och funktionell diversitet hos fåglar i skogar och trädgårdar både nära och långt ifrån skogen. Både antal arter och antal individer har undersökts. Data materialet bygger både på observationer från punktinventering och fåglar fångade med slöjnät. Med den första metoden noterade jag fler arter, medan abundansvärden från den andra metoden gjorde att jag såg mönster som inte syntes vid endast jämförelser av artrikedom. Jag fann att artrikedomen var lägre i skogen i jämförelse med trädgårdarna, men att artsammansättningen var signifikant skiljd däremellan. Skogarna hade fler skogsspecialister medan trädgårdarna hade fler arter från öppna marker och tillfälliga skogsbesökande arter. Trädgårdar som låg nära eller långt ifrån skogen skiljde sig inte på något sätt utom att individtätheten av skogsgeneralister var något högre i trädgårdar nära skogen. När det gäller uppdelningen av fåglarna utifrån vad de äter så fann jag att fröätande och nektarätande arter var vanligare i trädgårdar medan fruktätande arter var vanligare i skogen. Rovfåglar och allätare uppvisade inget tydligt mönster. Proportionen insektsätande fåglelarter var samma i skogen och trädgårdarna, men det absoluta antalet arter (inklusive alla olika underkategorier) var högre i trädgårdarna. Den etiopiska skogsfågelfaunan är artfattig i förhållande till andra bergstrakter i Afrika och saknar flera släkten av framförallt insektsätande fåglar. Detta skulle kunna bero på ett tidigare utdöende varefter en senare återkolonisering varit svår på grund av den geografiska isoleringen, speciellt för insektsätande fåglar som huvudsakligen finns i undervegetationen. Trots den relativa artfattigdomen så visar resultatet från min studie hursomhelst på att skogarna är viktiga för skogsberoende fåglar. Den största betydelsen har de för skogsspecialister där, men även genom en positiv effekt på abundansen av skogsgeneralister i närliggande trädgårdar. Dock kan framtida återväxt av skogar bli problematisk på grund av en pågående omvandling av skogar till trädgårdar, eftersom trädgårdar hyser färre fruktätande fåglar, vilket kan påverka fröspridning över landskapet.
Examining mismatches between management and the supply of ecosystem services in Ethiopian agroecosystems across scales in space and time
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Mora, Peter L. "Economic development functions of New Jersey community colleges." Diss., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/53591.
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Community colleges, especially in New Jersey, have been recognized as having an important role in the human resource development area of economic development. However, neither the literature nor state policy in New Jersey include a clear definition of the specific functions community colleges should have in economic development. Furthermore, current research does not include consensus on appropriate funding sources for functions in which community colleges could be involved. The purpose of this study was to determine the priorities among economic development functions of the community college as viewed by community college leaders, leaders of business and nonprofit organizations, and economic development specialists in New Jersey. These leader groups also identified how costs for these functions should be apportioned among three funding sources: the state/county; the organization; and the participant/student. Leader group views were obtained through a mail survey using a questionnaire developed for this study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Spearman Correlation Coefficient.
Major findings of the study include:
1. Leader groups displayed a moderate degree of consensus concerning importance ratings and rankings of functions. The data also revealed a high degree of agreement on the selection of a primary funding source for functions.
2. Community colleges providing job training and vocational and career counseling for unemployed persons were the most highly rated functions in the study.
3. Three functions concerning community college involvement in providing training for employees of local organizations were also rated highly: tailoring credit courses for supervisory personnel; providing certificate programs; and providing basic skills training.
4. Having the community college provide credit courses and workshops for small business leaders/entrepreneurs was also selected as an important function by all leader groups.Ed. D.
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LIMA, CHRISTINA MARTINS BORGES. "NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL AND FUNCTIONAL PROFILE OF ELDERLY BRAZILIANS SAMPLE ASSISTED AT COMMUNITY CENTERS." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2016. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=30378@1.
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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIROCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
PROGRAMA DE SUPORTE À PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO DE INSTS. DE ENSINO
A compreensão do funcionamento cognitivo no envelhecimento torna-se fundamental na atualidade diante do crescimento desta população. A presente dissertação, elaborada a partir de dois artigos, teve como objetivo investigar o perfil cognitivo, funcional e sintomas de depressão em idosos residentes na comunidade. O protocolo neuropsicológico utilizado em ambos os estudos foi composto por instrumentos de rastreio validados para a população brasileira. O estudo foi realizado com 298 idosos inseridos nas atividades oferecidas pelas Casas de Convivência da Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro. O primeiro estudo investigou o perfil cognitivo e funcional destes idosos e identificou um padrão de normalidade na amostra, apesar de um desempenho abaixo do esperado no Teste do Desenho do Relógio. Entretanto, 20,9 por cento dos idosos apresentaram sintomas leves de depressão. Desta forma, o segundo artigo avaliou estes idosos com sintomas de depressão, comparando-os com um grupo controle pareado por idade e escolaridade. Os resultados evidenciaram que os sintomas depressivos interferiram nas atividades instrumentais de vida diária, na memória episódica anterógrada e na fluência verbal. Os estudos apontaram a importância da investigação neuropsicológica em idosos para uma maior compreensão da senescência, bem como os fatores que interferem neste processo e que representam um risco potencial para uma evolução para transtornos cognitivos leves ou estágios pré-clínicos de quadros demenciais.
Understanding how the aging process affects cognitive functioning is crucial nowadays, given the growth of the elderly population in the world. This dissertation, comprised of two research papers, aimed to investigate the cognitive and functional profile, as well as symptoms of depression, in community-dwelling elderly adults. The neuropsychological protocol used in both studies consisted of screening tools validated for the Brazilian population. The studies were conducted with 298 elderly adults who participate in the activities offered by the government in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The first study investigated the cognitive and functional profile of these subjects and identified a pattern of normality in the sample, despite a below average performance in the Clock Drawing Test. However, 20,9 percent of the elderly had symptoms of mild depression. Thus, the second study specifically assessed these subjects, comparing them to a control group matched for age and education. The results showed that depressive symptoms significantly interfered with instrumental activities of daily living, anterograde episodic memory, and verbal fluency. The studies pointed out the importance of neuropsychological research of elderly adults for a greater understanding of senescence, as well as factors that interfere with this process and represent a potential risk for progression to mild cognitive impairment or preclinical stages of dementia.
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Reyes, Amanda Neumann. "Functional impairment and cognitive performance in mood disorders : a young community sample." Universidade Catolica de Pelotas, 2014. http://tede.ucpel.edu.br:8080/jspui/handle/tede/476.
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Objetivo Geral • Comparar o desempenho cognitivo e o funcionamento global entre adultos jovens com e sem o diagnóstico de Transtorno Bipolar, bem como correlacionar estas medidas nos sujeitos com Transtorno Bipolar. 2.2 Objetivos Específicos • Comparar o funcionamento global de adultos jovens com e sem diagnóstico de TB; • Comparar o desempenho cognitivo de adultos jovens com e sem diagnóstico de TB; • Correlacionar o desempenho cognitivo e o funcionamento em uma amostra populacional de adultos jovens; • Correlacionar o desempenho cognitivo e o funcionamento nos adultos jovens com Transtorno Bipolar; • Correlacionar a severidade dos sintomas maníacos e depressivos com o desempenho cognitivo e o funcionamento dos jovens com TB.
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Austin, Denise Lynmarie. "Bringing Functional Family Probation Services to the Community: A Qualitative Case Study." PDXScholar, 2013. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1436.
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In March 2011, Multnomah County's Juvenile Services Division (JSD) in Portland, Oregon implemented a new program model called Functional Family Probation Services, a case management model based on the principles of Functional Family Therapy. Under this model JSD Juvenile Court Counselors deliver Functional Family Probation Services to medium and high-risk youth on probation; both to the youth and their family in their home. This qualitative case study examined the extent to which the Juvenile Court Counselors and Community Justice Managers implemented Functional Family Probation Service's components and recorded their opinions regarding Functional Family Probation Services as a case management model. The study included observations of consultation meetings and interviews of 17 Juvenile Court Counselors, Community Justice Managers, and Senior Managers. The primary results of the study revealed that the Functional Family Probation Services intervention is well received by the county's youth and families and that Functional Family Probation Services increases family functioning. Additionally, both observations and self-reports from the Juvenile Court Counselors and Community Justice Managers indicate that Functional Family Probation Services requires individual and organizational changes critical for its successful implementation and sustainability.
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Marshall, Carolyn Bowers. "Effect of plant functional group removal on the soil microbial community diversity and composition." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/2865.
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A major objective of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BDEF) research is to determine the consequences of species loss, caused both naturally and anthropogenically, on the functioning of ecosystems. The impact of plant species loss on the soil microbial community has not received much attention even though soil microbes influence many important ecosystem functions such as decomposition and nutrient cycling. The objective of this research was to investigate how the functional group composition of the aboveground plant community influenced the belowground microbial community. Plant functional groups (graminoids, legumes and non-leguminous forbs) were removed from a northern grassland system in the Yukon Territory, Canada. One metre square plots had one of the three functional groups removed or left intact as a control and this was crossed with a fertilizer treatment and a fungicide treatment that targeted mycorrhizal fungi. After five seasons (2003-07) of implementing treatments the soil microbial community was analyzed using substrate-induced respiration (SIR, a measure of metabolic diversity) and phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA, a measure of community composition). Plant functional group removal had almost no effect on the soil microbial community. The only response detected was an increase in stress (indicated by the PLFA stress ratio of cy19:0 to 18:1ω7c) which occurred when legumes were removed and fertilizer was not added, indicating that legumes had a positive effect on the nutrient status of microbes. Likewise, soil properties (total carbon, pH, moisture and nutrients) showed limited response to plant removals. Fertilization decreased the metabolic diversity of the soil microbial community. We detected no soil microbial or plant biomass response to the fungicide indicating that mycorrhizae had little influence in this system. Based on the low-productivity of the grassland, and the lack of response in both the soil properties and the microbial community, we hypothesize that the main determinants of the microbial community may be litter input. When litter decomposition rates are slow, such as in this northern system, five growing seasons may not be sufficient to detect the impact of a changing plant community on the soil microbes.
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Chilma, Dorothy Madalo. "Nutritional status and functional ability of older people in rural Malawi." Thesis, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (University of London), 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.312510.
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Laswell, Jeffrey L. "Functional analysis of probate inventories and archaeological material of the Lick Creek community : an antebellum midwest biracial community." Virtual Press, 2008. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1399187.
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During the nineteenth century, Indiana was home to nearly two dozen agricultural communities comprised of primarily African American residents. These short lived communities represented one of the few contexts in which both African American and non-African American groups lived and worked together within a viable rural community. By analyzing one such settlement, this study presents a basis for comparative functional analysis at the household level through the use of pattern identification of material culture. This study utilized both probate inventory assessments of the period and archeological material within the same classification scheme. Advantages and disadvantages of both data sources are also presented. While the data between the two groups showed little differentiation concerning household material composition, slight differences, particularly at the class level, was evident. These differences may have been based in socio-economic concerns or may have exhibited active consumer choice, reflecting minute aspects of cultural identity.Department of Anthropology
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Romero-Saltos, Hugo G. "Community and Functional Ecology of Lianas in the Yasuní Forest Dynamics Plot, Amazonian Ecuador." Scholarly Repository, 2011. http://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/oa_dissertations/529.
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I studied the community of lianas in the Yasuní Forest Dynamics Plot (YFDP), in Amazonian Ecuador. I found that species diversity of lianas in valley habitat was higher than in ridge habitat, but liana abundance was similar. I also found that community structure (species composition and their abundances) of lianas in ridge was distinct from that in valley because of the differential distribution and abundance of certain species along the topographic gradient. In an attempt to explain this phenomenon deterministically, I took two approaches: (1) to explore if trait expression of leaf-based traits, wood specific gravity and stem growth rate was different among species with ridge habitat association, species with valley habitat association, and generalist species; and (2) to explore if frequencies of different whole-plant growth strategies in the forest understory—defined by whether a liana was free-standing or already climbing, by its climbing mechanism, and by its understory appearance—were different between ridge and valley. My underlying rationale was that if certain trait expression or understory growth strategy can be associated to a given species, or group of species, and such species also drive the community structure difference between ridge and valley, then ecological insight on the biological deterministic mechanisms driving the difference can be gained. I end this one-page dissertation abstract right here and purposely leave you, the reader, perplexed—I invite you to seek answers to the liana distribution conundrum in the YFDP by perusing this dissertation.
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Langenheder, Silke. "Links Between Structure and Function of Heterotrophic Aquatic Bacterial Communities." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala : Department of Ecology and Evolution : Univ.-bibl. [distributör], 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-4809.
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Zablocki, Daniel Jean. "Diversity and function of virus communities in hyperarid desert soils." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53566.
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Kaye, Maria Ellen. "The role of functional traits and phylogeny in assembly of tropical forest communities in Danum Valley, Sabah." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2016. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=231264.
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Tropical forests have been studied by community ecologists since the earliest days of the field because of their diversity and complexity and much of the theory behind community assembly has been developed in the tropics. However, the processes that act to assemble species in tropical forest across a very fine scale are still poorly understood. This study investigates community structure in 20ha area of hyper diverse tropical rainforest in Sabah, Malaysia. In order to examine community phylogenetic structure, I reconstructed a molecular phylogeny for all species in the study site using DNA barcoding loci. From this, I calculated phylogenetic diversity metrics for each community and then used a null model to compare observed phylogenetic diversity with that which would be expected if communities were randomly assembled with respect to phylogeny. The analyses showed that communities are more closely related than predicted by the null model. I also collected species functional trait data and showed that species assemblages and community weighted mean trait values correlate with environmental gradients on the plot. I also compared functional diversity to data simulated from null models. This showed that communities are on average more functionally similar than predicted at random. Finally, I performed a multivariate analysis with environmental, spatial, phylogenetic and trait data from communities across the plot. The analyses recovered an elevational and soil gradient that correlated strongly with community composition. Species occupying different ranges along this gradient had differing trait values and were phylogenetically distinct. These analyses demonstrate that even fine scale environmental variation is influential in assembling communities over a small area of forest. A soil nutrient gradient is consistently recovered that correlates with topography, suggesting that soil nutrient distribution is mediated by the downslope movement of water leaching soils on ridge tops and leading to accumulation of nutrients in valleys. This gradient is associated with species compositional variation and also with community weighted mean functional traits, indicating that the environment is influencing species distributions even over very small areas. Communities were both functionally and phylogenetically clustered, adding further support to this conclusion.
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Gubsch, Marlén. "Plant species and functional group responses to changes in plant community diversity and composition : functional traits, species interactions and resource use /." [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2009. http://e-collection.ethbib.ethz.ch/show?type=diss&nr=18342.
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ZANZOTTERA, MAGDA. "TRAIT-BASED FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PLANT SPECIES AND COMMUNITIES: TRENDS AND ADAPTIONS TO ENVIRONMENT IN ALPINE AND EUROPEAN VEGETATION." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Milano, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/2434/844440.
Full textAbstract:
Over the last few decades, plant functional traits (morphological, physiological or phenological features, measurable at the individual level, with a direct or indirect effect on whole-plant fitness) have become widely applied to plant ecology; they provide many insights into plant responses to ecological factors, plant resource acquisition and use, plant assemblages and relations within and between communities, from individual to ecosystem scale. A small set of traits that co-vary recurrently among environments has been used to globally identify certain axes of variation, representing the different plant strategies of resources acquisition and use. In particular, plant species have been classified within a three-way strategy model (CSR) proposed by Grime, according to the distinct trait combinations the are selected under conditions of competition (C), abiotic limitation to growth (S) and periodic biomass destruction (R). Variation in plant functioning (captured by variation in trait values) and species distribution depend on variation in environmental factors that can change gradually through space and time identifying gradients which can be determined by different variables such as altitude, latitude, successional stage, resource availability, soil composition, disturbance events (grazing, fire, trampling, floods etc.) and many others.
In this study, plant functional traits and Grime’s CSR adaptive plant strategies were applied in order to gain a functional characterization of plant communities of European vegetation at different levels (within and between communities), to highlight functional similarities and/or differences and to identify common patterns and responses to environmental factors.
In details, was investigated the role of an additional trait associated to leaf nutrient content (i.e. leaf sulfur content) within the framework of both global spectrum of plant form and function and the CSR plant adaptive strategies, which resulted to be a consistent addition to the acknowledged and commonly used trait set as it was related to other traits identifying the leaf economics spectrum. Plant inter-specific trait variation in response to changes in single ecological factors was also assessed by considering gradients of different Ecological Indicators referring to key environmental drivers, demonstrating that temperature, light conditions and nutrients were associated with clear effects on plant traits, underlining that responses to changes in land use and increased soil nutrient loading could trigger and strengthen responses to climate alteration. CSR plant strategies were also applied to investigate alien species success and adaption to different habitats, showing that alien species occupy the same CSR space and, therefore, the same niches of native species, being also particularly competitive and associated to relatively productive habitats which are highly prone to invasion.
Plant functional traits variation was then studied at the community level considering a topographic sequence in in an alpine pasture, in relation to a variety of abiotic and biotic factors, which showed a strong relationship between vegetation, soil properties, topography, and grazing supporting the ability of plant strategy variation to reflect ecological parameters. In alpine environment, multiple plant communities (floristically and ecologically defined, corresponding to Habitat of EU Commmunity interest) were also functionally characterized along a successional gradient at a regional scale, finding a clear pattern of community-level trait variation that reflected the plant economics spectrum (from acquisitive and fast-growing characteristics in pioneer succession stages, to conservative and stress-tolerant features toward the succession climax) demonstrating that plant trait trade-offs can undergo adaptation at the regional scale caused by local environmental conditions. Finally, the functional characterization of classes of European vegetation using their woody diagnostic species was applied to investigate whether traits and CSR strategies reliably indicate plant-environment relations underpinned by the phytosociological classification method, suggesting a solid link between the two main approaches to vegetation description and classification, phytosociology and functional ecology.
This Ph.D. project allowed an overall better insight into plant ecology and functioning, starting from the species-level and then moving to the community-level, analysing plant adaptive strategies and trait interactions, and identifying trends and responses to environmental factors.