BACKGROUND There are few reports regarding the changes within the vessels in the initial stage of type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to estimate the hemodynamic and morphological parameters in foot arteries in type 2 diabetes subjects and to compare these parameters to those obtained in a control group of healthy volunteers. MATERIAL/METHODS Ultrasound B-mode, color Doppler and pulse ...

Samples of agricultural soils were collected across North Carolina in 1992 and Nebraska in 1993 to determine which indices of nematode communities could be applied to distinguish ecological pattern at regional geographic scales. Sampling density was proportional to the area of agriculture in each region of each state. Maturity indices (based on life-history characteristics) were calculated to d...

The impact of fish and oysters on components of the pelagic microbial food web (MFW) was studied in a 10 d mesocosm experiment using Mediterranean coastal waters. Two mesocosms contained natural water only (‘Controls’), 2 contained natural water with Crassostrea gigas (‘Oyster’), and 2 contained natural water with Atherina spp. (‘Fish’). Abundances and biomasses of microorganisms (viruses, bact...

The importance of analyzing the determinants of biodiversity and community composition by using multiple trophic levels is well recognized; however, relevant data are lacking. In the present study, we investigated variations in species diversity indices and community structures of the plankton taxonomic groups-zooplankton, rotifers, ciliates, and phytoplankton-under a range of local environment...

This paper provides evidence of the effects of urban wastewater discharges on the trophic state and environmental quality of a coastal water body in a semiarid subtropical region in the Gulf of California. The concentrations of dissolved inorganic nutrients and organic matter from urban wastewater primary treatment were estimated. La Salada Cove was the receiving water body and parameters measu...

The status of the Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries was evaluated for the period 1970-2010 on a subarea basis, using various indicators including the temporal variability of total landings, the number of recorded stocks, the mean trophic level of the catch, the fishing-in-balance index and the catch-based method of stock classification. All indicators confirmed that the fisheries resources ...

Food webs are known to have myriad trophic links between resource and consumer species. While herbivores have well-understood trophic tendencies, the difficulties associated with characterizing the trophic positions of higher-order consumers have remained a major problem in food web ecology. To better understand trophic linkages in food webs, analysis of the stable nitrogen isotopic composition...

Individual and trophic efficiencies of size-structured communities are derived from mechanistically based principles at the individual level. The derivations are relevant for communities with a size-based trophic structure, i.e. where trophic level is strongly correlated with individual size as in many aquatic systems. The derivations are used to link Lindeman's trophic theory and trophic theor...

Trophic rewilding is an ecological restoration strategy that uses species introductions to restore top-down trophic interactions and associated trophic cascades to promote self-regulating biodiverse ecosystems. Given the importance of large animals in trophic cascades and their widespread losses and resulting trophic downgrading, it often focuses on restoring functional megafaunas. Trophic rewi...