Quercus robur L. and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. are sympatric oak species with different ecological requirements. Quercus robur is more tolerant to waterlogging than Q. petraea. This ecological divergence may play a role in the maintenance of the two species despite the absence of an insurmountable reproductive barrier between them. We predicted that the genetic architecture of traits relat...

We conducted a cross-shift study with 66 bitumen-exposed mastic asphalt workers and 49 construction workers without exposure to bitumen. Exposure was assessed using personal monitoring of airborne bitumen exposure, urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), and the sum of 1-, 2 + 9-,3-,4-hydroxyphenanthrene (OHPH). Genotoxic effects in WBC were determined with nonspecific DNA adduct levels of 8-oxo-7,8-d...

Theoretical models predict that the relative importance of facilitation and competition may vary inversely across gradients of abiotic stress. However, these predictions have not been thoroughly tested in the field, especially in semi-arid environments. In this study, we evaluated how the net effect of the tussock grass Stipa tenacissima on the shrub Pistacia lentiscus varied across a gradient ...

Low-temperature cracking is one of the most common road pavement distress types in Poland. While bitumen performance can be evaluated in detail using bending beam rheometer (BBR) or dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) tests, none of the normalized test methods gives a comprehensive representation of low-temperature performance of the asphalt mixtures. This article presents the Bending Beam Creep test...

In a large project of the German Bitumen Forum, almost all branches of industry in Germany that use bitumen have been examined with regard to bitumen exposure. A total of 1272 samples were gathered between 1991 and 2005. The measuring method includes vapours and aerosols emitted from hot bitumen; the proportions of these two components and their dependency on bitumen temperature are described. ...

drug delivery across the skin is used for several millennia to ease gastrointestinal (gi) ailments in traditional persian medicine (tpm). tpm topical remedies are generally being applied on the stomach, lower abdomen, lower back and liver to alleviate gi illnesses such as dyspepsia, gastritis, gi ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal worms and infections. the aim of the present study i...

Spontaneous ignition tests of various forest species were performed with a specifically designed apparatus. The forest species selected: Arbutus andrachne, Cistus incanus, Pinus brutia, Pinus halepensis, Cupressus sempervirens, Pistacia lentiscus, Abies cephalonica are very common in the Mediterranean region which is frequently devastated by forest fires. The same tests were performed in the pr...

Abstract Juniperus oxycedrus L. and Pistacia lentiscus are two taxa with a rigid or enough structure caused by solid pericarp resulting in strong inhibition of the germination. The objective this work was to test effectiveness certain pre-germinative treatments on germination rate seeds aim restoring perturbed ecosystems. In context 180 from each 2 examined species were tested laboratory (the n...