BACKGROUND Chronic particulate matter (PM) exposure is correlated to various health effects, even at low amounts. WHO has defined PM concentration limits as daily and annual mean values which were made legally binding in the European Union. While many studies have focused on PM concentrations in special environments, little is known about the average PM- exposure for both employees and passenge...

The degradation of subterranean habitats is believed to represent a serious threat for the conservation of obligate subterranean dwellers (troglobites), many of which are short-range endemics. However, while the factors influencing cave biodiversity remain largely unknown, the influence of the surrounding landscape and patterns of subterranean connectivity of terrestrial troglobitic communities...

The underground environment imposes unique demands on life that have led subterranean species to evolve specialized traits, many of which evolved convergently. We studied convergence in evolutionary rate in subterranean mammals in order to associate phenotypic evolution with specific genetic regions. We identified a strong excess of vision- and skin-related genes that changed at accelerated rat...

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) nutrient fluxes from un-sewered suburban landscapes pose a significant eutrophication risk to coastal waters. In unconsolidated coastal aquifers, nutrients recharged to groundwater undergo diffuse discharge to the coastline during SGD. Defining pathways of nutrient attenuation is required for land management professionals to take effective nutrient remediat...

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE The objectives of this study were to identify the bilateral distolingual (DL) canals / roots of the mandibular first molars and second mesiobuccal (MB2) canals of the maxillary first molars in the same Turkish individuals using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 150 CBCT images including all mandibular and maxillary first molars were retr...

The water louse Asellus aquaticus is a widespread, euryoecious species, mostly uniform throughout its range. However, six subspecies are known from the Dinaric karst in the northwestern Balkans. They include some specialized subterranean populations. The pattern of genetic variation among subterranean and surface populations in this hydrographically highly fragmented karst region was investigat...

The objective of this study was to three-dimensionally observe the morphological characteristics of mesiobuccal root canals of Japanese maxillary first molars using microcomputed tomography (Micro-CT) and classify root canal variations. This study used 90 maxillary first molars. Three-dimensional reconstruction was performed using data obtained by Micro-CT, and cross-sections of the root canals...

Coastal waters are severely threatened by nitrogen (N) loading from direct groundwater discharge. The subterranean estuary, the mixing zone of fresh groundwater and sea water in a coastal aquifer, has a high potential to remove substantial N. A network of piezometers was used to characterize the denitrification capacity and groundwater flow paths in the subterranean estuary below a Rhode Island...

Evolution of the middle ear ossicles was a key innovation for mammals, enhancing the transmission of airborne sound. Radiation into various habitats from a terrestrial environment resulted in diversification of the auditory mechanisms among mammals. However, due to the paucity of phylogenetically controlled investigations, how middle ear traits have diversified with functional specialization re...