Gathering Sites Research Articles

Drone Congregation areas of Apis mellifera (hymenoptera: apidae) and Nosema sp. (nosematidae) in Bolivia: first report

Drone Congregation Areas (DCAs) are crucial natural gathering sites for Apis mellifera mating, like male leks in other animals. In these areas, virgin queens and drones from various hives congregate for mating, promoting genetic variability essential for colony adaptation and survival. Identifying drones in DCAs helps to understand the genetic variability within bee populations, which is crucial for promoting colony survival and resilience. Two areas in Villa Montes, Bolivia, were identified as potential DCAs through exploration methods utilizing satellite imagery. Furthermore, drones were captured within these DCAs using an attractive pheromone attached to an unmanned aerial vehicle to assess Nosema infection in the population.

Prevalence of multidrug-resistant enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) in river Gomti at Jaunpur city

The present study investigated the microbial EPEC load exhibiting three distinct marker genes: eaeA, bfp, and stx1 in the river Gomati water across Jaunpur City, India. In order to determine the prevalence of EPEC virulent strains that are multidrug-resistant, eight different public gathering sites on the river were selected from upstream to downstream flow. The highest population of total coliform (5400×103) and fecal coliforms (3500×107) were subsequently recorded from site #5 (Gopi ghat). A total of 46 EPEC strains were virulent, exhibiting eaeA and bfp genes, while none of them harbored the stx1 gene. All 46 strains contained the eaeA gene (100%); however, only 11 isolates, as 24.10%, exhibited bfp virulent genes. Most of the EPEC isolates from all seasons were resistant to more than three different classes of variable drugs and confirmed multidrug resistance. The highest 95.7% of total isolates (44) exhibited resistance against tetracycline, while the lowest four isolates (8.6%) against ciprofloxacin. Furthermore, it was evident that the bacterial population load and a load of virulent genes were found to be higher in the samples of the city's significant sites. This confirms the large-scale fecal contamination of water either through nearby animals or anthropogenic activities, which are needed to make proper management.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN ALGORITHM FOR CALCULATING COMPONENT COMPOSITION TO IMPROVE THE DEVELOPMENT OF OFFSHORE OIL FIELDS IN THE NORTH CASPIAN BASIN

The paper presents an algorithm to reconstruct the component composition of the mixture based on the results of production modeling in the black oil format and a fixed set of tables with the results of phase equilibrium calculations in a given pressure range. The approach is based on analyzing the ratio of flow rates for each phase and the ratio between average reservoir pressure and saturation pressure. The algorithm takes into account the possibility of oil degassing when saturation pressure decreases, as well as gas breakthrough of gas caps to the bottoms of producing wells.Implementation of the method is based on a unified thermodynamic model of multilayer reservoir, built on the principles of a single set of HC mixture components and uniform parameters of the equation of state on a set of fluid samples for all modeling stages: reservoir model, model of the gathering system and site facilities. In addition to steady-state flow calculations performed together with reservoir modeling, the unified model is planned to be used for dynamic flow calculations in the corresponding simulator (well start/stop), which will allow solving production problems in the process of operation of wells with complex completions.The conversion algorithm is automated using modern high-level tools: Python and data automation components from MS Excel, which eliminates the need for manual data input at all stages and makes it possible to obtain the estimated component composition of produced fluid for any set of wells and for any time step within the forecasting horizon.The obtained compositions are used to verify the reproduction of the main controlled parameters (oil density and gas oil ratio) and can be used for subsequent calculations of fluid transportation and treatment systems.The implemented algorithm has been tested for stability at different ratios of gas and oil flow rates by wells and meets the practical requirements of engineering calculations — the error of oil density is not higher than 2 % and gas factor is not higher than 10 %.

A stochastic programming model for free-floating shared bike redistribution considering bike gathering

We study a stochastic free-floating shared bike redistribution problem, which first gathers bikes randomly scattered around the hotspots of a city and then transships the gathered bikes among the hotspots to achieve a better supply–demand balance. In the literature, the bike gathering operation and the associated stochasticity, although significant for shared bike redistribution practice, are rarely considered. To fill the gap, we propose a two-stage stochastic programming model that explicitly incorporates the bike-gathering cost with two formulations. In the planning stage, the deployment of gathering sites and the allocation of gathering staff are determined. In the operation stage, the gathering, transshipment and replenishment of shared bikes are optimized based on the decisions of the planning stage and the realization of the uncertain supply and demand of free-floating shared bikes in space. With a case study based on real data from the Mobike company in Beijing, China, we illustrate the real-world applications of our proposed model, highlight the importance of considering the cost of bike gathering when planning free-floating shared bike redistribution, and gain managerial insights for better field practices.

Behavior, site use and demographics of shortfin devil rays, Mobula kuhlii, at a newly-discovered cleaning area in South Africa

Many shark and ray species show affinity to specific sites, making these areas critical for their survival. These include cleaning stations: locations on reefs where cleaner fish remove parasites and clean wounds, which is important for maintaining health. Cleaning stations also function as social gathering sites, or resting points, where courtship and mating can occur. In this study, we identify an aggregation site for the shortfin devil ray, Mobula kuhlii (Family Mobulidae) within the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, and document their behavior. Remote underwater video was used to collect footage of M. kuhlii being cleaned by blue streak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus. Generalized additive models (GAMs) were used to assess environmental predictors of M. kuhlii presence on Aliwal Shoal. Mixed models were used to assess the same environmental predictors and their correlation with mean M. kuhlii cleaning duration and number of L. dimidiatus bites per second at the identified cleaning station site. M. kuhlii were present in 56% of observation days, with group numbers up to > 150 individuals. Sea surface temperature was a significant predictor for M. kuhlii presence, while a north to south current was significantly associated with longer mean cleaning durations. These results support findings of mobulid studies in KZN that show increased habitat use during summer temperatures (24–25 °C) and suggest these sites to be important for individual health and social interaction. We hope these findings can be used for development of location-specific management plans to safeguard this Endangered species.

A ritual murder shaped the Early and Middle Neolithic across Central and Southern Europe.

In the Rhône Valley's Middle Neolithic gathering site of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux (France), the positioning of two females within a structure aligned with the solstices is atypical. Their placement (back and prone) under the overhang of a silo in front of a third in a central position suggests a ritualized form of homicidal ligature strangulation. The first occurrence dates back to the Mesolithic, and it is from the Early Neolithic of Central Europe that the practice expands, becoming a sacrificial rite associated with an agricultural context in the Middle Neolithic. Examining 20 cases from 14 sites spanning nearly two millennia from Eastern Europe to Catalonia reveals the evolution of this ritual murder practice.

Changing Settlement Organization in the Late Pleistocene of the Wadi al-Hasa, West-Central Jordan

Since the 1980s, surveys in Jordan’s Wadi al-Hasa document dozens of Late Pleistocene hunter–gatherer sites, some of them tested or partly excavated. To track landscape-scale forager mobility and settlement patterns over time, we examine 26 levels from 13 sites dated to the Middle, Upper, and Epipaleolithic using aspects of Barton’s whole assemblage behavioral indicators research protocol, a collection of methods designed to extract patterns from archeological palimpsests. Because forager ethnographies document adaptive strategies that do not map onto the discrete site types employed by archeologists, we evaluate the utility of the latter so far as behavioral inferences are concerned. We show that discrete bimodal contrasts like “curated” and “expedient” and their archeological correlates fail to capture the much more complex reality. Only by using these methods in conjunction with these analytical contrasts can a realistic picture of forager mobility and land use approximating that known from ethnography be attained.

Working conditions in non-timber forest products gathering in eastern Cameroon

Non-timber forest product (NTFP) contributes to the livelihoods of about 2 billion people worldwide, and are among the most valuable plant resources for current and future food security. However, their exploitation is becoming problematic due to their increasing scarcity and the rudimentary and arduous working conditions for rural populations whose incomes are inextricably linked. The aim of this study was to analyze the working conditions of NTFP harvesters in Eastern Cameroon, in order to detect bottlenecks and ultimately to propose ways of improvement. The methodological approach consisted of semi-structured surveys of 180 households belonging to two ethnic groups, including Baka and Bantou. This was done in three villages around Boumba Bek and Nki national parks (BBNNP). Surveys focused on working conditions related to five important NTFPs, namely Irvingia gabonensis, Ricinodendron heudelotii, Monodora myristica, Afrostyrax lepidophyllus and Afromomum melegueta. Distance walking from villages to gathering sites, working time and drudgery perception were studied comparatively for these two ethnic groups. Results show that the most active age group in NTFP gathering is between 30 and 45 for Bantou and Baka. Baka travel longer distances in forests, reaching records of over 23 km to gather NTFP. R. heudelotii is the most time-consuming species gathered. I. Gabonensis and A. lepidophyllus also require significant working time. Overall, the two ethnic groups have almost similar drudgery perceptions involved in all NTFP gathering activities. A. lepidophyllus and R. heudelotii showed the highest drudgery scores compared with other NTFPs. The domestication of priority NTFP species and the provision of shelling machines would improve the working conditions of local populations.

Anterior condylar arteriovenous fistula mainly fed by peripheral branches of the bilateral internal maxillary arteries: illustrative case.

The main feeding artery of an anterior condylar arteriovenous fistula (AC-AVF) is the ascending pharyngeal artery and rarely the internal maxillary artery. A 58-year-old male with a history of sinusitis since adolescence presented with a 5-year history of bilateral pulsatile tinnitus and a 2-month history of right ocular symptoms. Angiography showed that the peripheral branches of the bilateral internal maxillary arteries were the main feeding arteries of the AC-AVF and that they gathered in the clivus with a relatively large shunted pouch in the left jugular tubercle. Shunt flow drained to the right external jugular vein via the right superior ophthalmic vein. A sheath was placed in the right external jugular vein, and a small distal access catheter was guided to the right superior ophthalmic vein to allow the microcatheter to reach the shunted pouch. Selective angiography of the contralateral sphenopalatine artery allowed us to confirm the gathering site of the feeding arteries and the shunted pouch and archive the complete occlusion. Selective angiography of the contralateral sphenopalatine artery may be useful to confirm the gathering site of the peripheral branches of the bilateral internal maxillary arteries in an AC-AVF.

The Return of Tūtaepatu Lagoon

Tūtaepatu lagoon has been an important Ngāi Tahu mahinga kai/food gathering site for over 300 years. Following the formal colonisation that began in 1840, Ngāi Tahu meant to reserve the lagoon from the 1848 Kemp’s Deed purchase but this was not done. This article sets out the ways in which control of this mahinga kai was wrested from the control of Ngāi Tūāhuriri hapū in the mid-nineteenth century and managed by Pākehā local and central government authorities throughout the twentieth century until it was finally returned as a part of the Ngāi Tahu Treaty settlement in the 1990s. The importance of political power at both the local and central government level was fundamental to its eventual return.

A location-routing model for free-floating shared bike collection considering manual gathering and truck transportation

With the booming of free-floating bike-sharing systems globally, collecting target bikes effectively becomes increasingly more important in practice. Although many existing studies deal with the transportation of shared bikes with trucks, the process of manual gathering scattered target bikes along truck transportation is seldom explicitly addressed. This study tackles an integrated free-floating shared bike collection problem, which includes manually moving the target bikes to selected gathering sites and transporting the gathered bikes back to the depot with trucks. We propose a location-routing model to optimize the gathering site locations, the bike gathering assignments, and the truck delivering routes integrally under the goal of minimizing a total operation cost, and we develop a heuristic approach to solve the large-size instance of our model. A case study, which is based on the real data of Mobike company in Beijing, China, is conducted to verify the effectiveness of our planning model and solution approach and to generate managerial insights and suggestions for better practices of free-floating shared bike collection.

Heidegger’s Question of Being: the Unity of Topos and Logos

In this article, I elucidate the significance of Heidegger’s ‘question of being’ from a topological point of view by explaining the relationship between his thought of place and language. After exploring various hermeneutic strategies of reading Heidegger’s oeuvre, I turn to Richard Capobianco’s interpretation of Heidegger and critically engage with his idea of the experience of being itself as the ‘luminous self-showing of logos’. In doing so, I explain the later turn from ‘truth’ to ‘place’ and articulate why logos needs to be conceived as the gathering site of the presencing of being. In arguing against the primacy of passive receptivity and active projection, I put forward the primacy of language as the topos and logos of being. In returning to the Capobianco-Sheehan debate, I conclude by explaining why Heidegger’s place-related notions cannot be thought metaphorically.

Global Burden of Hypertension and Strategic Approach to Overcome It

Globally an estimated 1.28 billion people have hypertension, most (two thirds) living in low and middle income countries. It is the leading cause of preventable death and is responsible for 10-20% of all death worldwide. Moreover, untreated hypertension can lead to a number of serious health consequences like stroke, heart disease, renal failure, dementia, vision loss etc. Antihypertensive treatment substantially reduces incidence of stroke (35-40%), myocardial infarction (20-25%) and heart failure (>50%). But hypertension remains undiagnosed in about 46% cases and only about 21% hypertensive individuals have adequately controlled blood pressure. There are several misconceptions regarding hypertension among people that hinders diagnosis or leads to false diagnosis and impair proper management of hypertension. In attempt to reduce burden of hypertension awareness generation is the first necessary step. To create awareness among people several seminar, free blood pressure check-up campaigns etc can be conducted, billboard placement and leaflet distribution can be done in different public gathering sites like bazaar, fairs, mosques, school, college, hospital etc, and necessary knowledge on hypertension can be circulated through primary or secondary school textbooks and printing and electronic media. The next essential step is to provide quality service for hypertensive patients at an affordable cost through dedicated hypertension centers or hypertension corners. These centers should be designed to provide proper training for the stuff and proper education or counseling for patients and to perform necessary research works. Government initiatives to distribute free antihypertensive drugs should be enhanced and non-government aids can be added to it. National policy to control price of antihypertensive medications is also necessary. Finally, regular follow-up is necessary to ensure regular intake of medications, adherence to lifestyle advices, adequate titration of medications and early detection and treatment of any target organ damage. Proper counseling at each visit and reminder through phone calls or mobile SMS can improve follow-up tendency. Bangladesh J Medicine 2023; Vol. 34, No. 2(1) Supplement: 185

Summertime Politics: Cultural Resurgence, Resource Sovereignty, and the Aasivik Movement

While Home Rule negotiations between Kalaallit Nunaat and Denmark were underway, the Aasivik summer festivals, founded in 1976, proposed an alternative model of collective politics. Borrowing its name from a term for historical gathering sites, the modern Aasivik movement hosted debates on a wide range of topics, bringing political activity into settlements and camps. Although Aasivik’s influence on Kalaallit Nunaat’s political history has been widely recognized, the movement’s theoretical complexity has gone largely unacknowledged. In this article, I discuss several key episodes from the festival’s first decade, emphasizing how Aasivik mobilized cultural heritage as a means of responding to social inequalities introduced by Danish colonial rule. First, I outline Aasivik’s roots in local and global Indigenous decolonial movements and describe how these influences led activists to analyze topics such as dispossession, labor, Marxist thought, and collective land access in the festival’s early debates and public statements. I then examine how the presence of customary performance and avant-garde theater at several Aasiviit intersected with the movement’s political positions, focusing on the activities of the Tuukkaq Theater and the revitalization of uaajeerneq (mask dancing). Finally, I discuss the significance of Aasivik’s land-based model of politics for contemporary debates in Indigenous critical theory.

Te Ora a Ururoa

Kaitiakitanga, often translated simplistically and conveniently as ‘guardianship’ or ‘stewardship’ has in practice been intensely political - an urgent fight to stop the destruction and despoliation of sacred places and traditional food gathering sites.. Our Marsden-funded project on kaitiakitanga over harbours records the vision, strategy and hard work of Māori activists in protecting Aotearoa’s lands and waters, in the hope that we can learn from this history to clear the space in our legal and policy environment for kaitiakitanga, in its fullness, to be freely exercised. This paper journeys to four harbours – Kāwhia, Aotea, Manukau and Whāngārei - and through time, showing how kaitiaki have fought to protect and regain their authority to care for their harbours in the face of ongoing colonialism.

Evaluation of the control effect of bighead carp and silver carp on cyanobacterial blooms based on the analysis of differences in algal digestion processes

The phytoplankton community in Qiandao Lake has typical seasonal succession characteristics, and Cyanophyta, especially the genus Microcystis, are dominant in summer. To evaluate the control effects of filter-feeding fish (silver carp and bighead carp) on cyanobacterial blooms, the changes in algal species composition along the fish intestine were analyzed by microscopic examination, chlorophyll fluorescence, high-throughput DNA sequencing and pigment ratios. The microscopic examination results showed that both silver carp and bighead carp have a certain control effect on bloom-forming cyanobacteria in spring. The digestion of silver carp in summer could still effectively remove cyanobacteria and reduce the dominance of Microcystis in the phytoplankton community, while the digestion of bighead carp seemed to have little effect on cyanobacteria. The results of the chlorophyll fluorescence method were similar to those of the microscopic analysis, which indicated that silver carp could reduce the cyanobacterial biomass in spring, while bighead carp could significantly promote the dominance of cyanobacteria (p < 0.001). High-throughput DNA sequencing showed that there were significant differences in filter-feeding plankton between silver carp and bighead carp. The midgut may be the main gathering site of intestinal microorganisms, and cyanobacterial digestion mainly occurs in the intestinal segments between the foregut and midgut. The analysis of pigment ratios indicated that selective digestion of phytoplankton by silver carp significantly reduced the dominance of Cyanophyta in its hindgut (p < 0.01), while bighead carp had the opposite effect (p < 0.05), especially in seasons other than spring. The results of the above four methods are basically the same, that is, the digestion effect of silver carp on cyanobacteria is better than that of bighead carp. Therefore, the stocking proportion of silver carp should be appropriately increased in some meso-eutrophic waterbodies.

Estimating the Size, Sociodemographic Characteristics, and STI Status of Three Key Populations at Risk for HIV Infection in Panama Using Capture–Recapture Methods: The PEMAR Study

This study aims to estimate the size, sociodemographic characteristics, and rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in three key populations in Panama in 2018. Key populations included persons who self-identified as men who have sex (MSM), sex workers, and transgender women. Nationwide, trained peers conducted capture and recapture during the last quarter of 2018 at key population social gathering sites. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire and, optionally, could opt-in for a blood sample to be tested for four STIs (HIV, syphilis, and hepatitides B and C). Population estimates were calculated using the Sightability Model R package. Among the 1,886 consenting participants, 1,715 completed the study procedures (1,278 MSM, 250 sex workers, and 187 transgender women). The median age was 28 (interquartile range 23–36 years) and most participants were single, Latinx, completed at least high school, worked, and earned less than twice the minimum wage per month. The national estimates were 49,966 MSM (3.81% of adult men), 8,326 sex workers (0.63% of adult women), and 3,100 transgender women (118.4 per 100,000 population). Most (77.4%) participants consented for STI testing, which allowed estimation of positivity rates for HIV (10.0%), syphilis (2.0%), and hepatitides B (1.0%) and C (0.1%). Incorporating capture-recapture methods allowed more precise estimates of key population sizes and to characterize their sociodemographic and STI profiles, to be used in programmatic efforts for resource allocation and prevention programs. As an indirect result, we anticipate increased representation and visibility of key populations in population and public health programs.

COVID-safe behaviour before, during and after a youth mass gathering event: a longitudinal cohort study

ObjectiveAs mass gathering events resume in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a pressing need to understand (a) engagement in COVID-safe behaviour at these events and (b) how...

Phylogenetic Analysis of H5N8 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses in Ukraine, 2016-2017.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) can be carried long distances by migratory wild birds and by poultry trade. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is often lethal in domestic poultry and can sporadically infect and cause severe respiratory or systemic disease in other species including humans. Since 2003, the H5 subtype of HPAIV have spread from epicenters in China to neighboring regions in East and Southeast Asia, and across Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent, Europe, Africa, and North America. Outbreaks of H5N1 HPAIV struck poultry in Ukraine in 2005. In 2016, A H5N8 clade 2.3.4.4b HPAIV outbreaks occurred in wild and domestic birds in Ukraine concurrently with outbreaks in Central Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. We report outbreaks of HPAI in domestic backyard poultry in (2016-2017) in the southern region of Ukraine, in proximity to mass gathering sites for migratory waterfowl including mute swans (Cygnus olor). All eight genome segments of three novel H5N8 HPAIV isolated in November 2016 from two domestic backyard chickens (Gallus gallus) and one backyard mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) found dead of HPAI in Azov-Black Sea region of Ukraine were cladistically related to H5N8 2.3.4.4b HPAI viruses isolated from wild shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) and white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) in Askania Nova Biopreserve (Kherson district, Ukraine) in 2016-2017 and to other contemporary H5N8 HPAIV strains sequenced from wild birds and poultry in Eurasia. Amino acid variations in hemagglutinin were outside of the polybasic cleavage site (PLREKRRKR/GLF), and D224G suggested avian-like receptor binding specificity; neuraminidase did not have mutations characteristic of oseltamivir drug resistance. Outbreaks of HPAI in Ukraine highlight the continual need for biosurveillance and genomic sequencing of avian influenza viruses along wild bird flyways and interfaces with domestic poultry in Eurasia.

Cross-scale analysis of diversification processes in fuelwood use in three contrasting ecoregions of Argentina (Chaco, Pampa and Patagonia): the role of exotic species in subsistence

Fuelwood is one of the main sources of energy for rural populations in many environments and ecosystems. However, little research has been done on the diversification processes associated with the use of woody plants for fuel (UWPF). This study was carried out in rural communities of three eco-regions of Argentina (the phytogeographical provinces of Chaco, Pampa and Patagonia). Open and semi-structured interviews were performed in 72 households, focusing on the current richness of fuelwood, supply strategies and gathering sites. The biogeographical origin of the mentioned species was established, and the pressure of use on fuel wood was evaluated indirectly. The results were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. A total of 78 species was recorded, of which 51 were native and 27 exotic. Gathering is the most common supply strategy in all the ecoregions studied, fuelwood being obtained mainly in sites with little human intervention. Pressure of use did not vary between native and exotic species. A generalized linear model showed that the use of native versus exotic species varied according to the ecoregion and the level of human intervention in the supply area, while acquisition strategies were similar for both native and exotic species in all eco-regions. Each region presented different use patterns, but the areas with most human intervention were always used to gather exotic plants. In line with our hypothesis, the diversification processes in UWPF varied according to ecoregion, each area having intrinsic characteristics associated with its history. The exotic species currently used as fuel wood increase the repertory of plants recognised and used by the local population.