Humankind draws important benefits from large-scale ecological processes termed ecosystem services, yet the status of several of them is declining. Reliable monitoring methods are essential for tracking the status of ...
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Humankind draws important benefits from large-scale ecological processes termed ecosystem services, yet the status of several of them is declining. Reliable monitoring methods are essential for tracking the status of ecosystem services. Predation is the mainstay of natural pest control, a key ecosystem service. We used green plasticine caterpillars to monitor predation pressure, and to obtain baseline data on predator activity in transgenic Bt versus non-Bt maize fields in Old and New World countries. Predation pressure was measured at ground and canopy levels using an identical, small-plot experimental design in four European countries (Denmark, Slovakia, Romania and Italy) and Argentina. Total predation rate in maize was l l.7%d^-1 (min. 7.2%d^-1 in Argentina, max. 29.0%d^-1 in Romania). Artificial caterpillars were attacked both by invertebrates (mostly chewing insects with 42.0% of the attack marks, and ants with 7.1%, but also predatory and parasitoid wasps, spiders and slugs), and vertebrates (small mammals 25.5%, and birds 20.2%). Total predation at ground level (15.7%d^-1) was significantly higher than in maize canopies (6.0%d^-1) in all countries, except Argentina. We found no significant differences between predator pressure in Bt versus non-Bt maize plots. The artificial caterpillar method provided comparable, quantitative data on predation intensity, and proved to be suitable for monitoring natural pest control. This method usefully expands the existing toolkit by directly measuring ecological function rather than structure.
BACKGROUND Secondary hypertension is a relatively rare condition most commonly caused by renovascular disease due to atherosclerotic vascular disease or fibromuscular *** accessory renal arteries are frequent,to date,...
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BACKGROUND Secondary hypertension is a relatively rare condition most commonly caused by renovascular disease due to atherosclerotic vascular disease or fibromuscular *** accessory renal arteries are frequent,to date,only six cases of secondary hypertension determined by their existence have been *** SUMMARY We describe a case of a 39-year-old female who came to the emergency department with an urgent hypertensive crisis and hypertensive *** normal renal arteries,the computed tomography angiography revealed an inferior polar artery with 50%stenosis of its *** treatment with amlodipine,indapamide and perindopril was adopted,leading to blood pressure control within one *** To the best of our knowledge,there are controversies regarding accessory renal arteries as a potential etiology for secondary hypertension,but the seven similar cases already described,along with the current case,could reinforce the necessity of more studies concerning this subject.
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