Proportions Of Different Groups Research Articles

Temporal Changes in the Faecal Microbiota of Beef Cattle on Feedlot Placement.

Simple SummaryMicroorganisms inhabiting the gut influence the health and productivity of livestock. Studies in ruminants including beef cattle show that ruminal microorganisms can help convert poor-quality or indigestible feed into nutrients, thereby influencing economically important traits like feed conversion efficiency and meat quality (e.g., marbling), and also interact with receptors on intestinal epithelial cells to regulate a variety of physiological processes including immune responses. Studies have also shown that the proportions of different groups of microorganisms in the gut are influenced by exposure to stress. In beef cattle, given that most cattle are finished on feedlots, induction into feedlots can expose cattle to stress due to transportation, change in diet and change in the handling and management of animals. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to characterise how gut microorganisms change over time when cattle are inducted into feedlots. The results indicate that there are significant changes in the profiles of gut microorganisms in cattle that are visible soon after feedlot placement. These changes primarily include a reduced diversity of microorganisms within the gut of individual cattle and increased differences in the types of microorganisms that inhabit the gut of different cattle.The microbial communities that inhabit the intestinal tract play an important role in modulating health and productivity. Environmental stressors can impact microbial communities, which can significantly influence host physiology. Cattle are subjected to several environmental stressors when placed on feedlots, such as transportation stress, exposure to feedlot environments and change in diet and management. Exposure to these stressors could influence host gut microbiota, which in turn, could potentially influence host health and performance. The aim of the current study was to characterise the temporal changes that occur in intestinal microbiota as a consequence of feedlot placement by profiling 16s rRNA sequences in rectal faecal samples. When faecal microbiome profiles were compared in terms of relative abundances and alpha diversity metrics, the results showed significant, observable changes in profiles 2 days post-feedlot induction. Furthermore, beta-diversity analysis indicated that the phylogenetic similarity between samples significantly decreased on day 2 (PERMANOVA, p < 0.001). These trends were suggestive of a short-term reduction in microbial diversity coupled with decreased similarity between animals. These changes warrant further investigation and could provide opportunities for improved performance, health and even welfare of feedlot cattle in future.

Analysis of Antibiotic Consumption by AWaRe Classification in Shandong Province, China, 2012-2019: A Panel Data Analysis.

Introduction: This study aims to examine the changes in trends and patterns of clinical consumption of antibiotics in Shandong, China based on Access, Watch, and Reserve (AWaRe) Classification after 10-years national antibiotic stewardship. Methods: Antibiotic consumption data of all health care institutions for the period of 2012–2019 were obtained from the Drug Centralized Bidding Procurement System of Shandong. Shandong is a province that has the second-largest population in China. Five of the 16 cities in Shandong were high-income areas (HIAs) and the other 11 cities were grouped into upper-middle-income areas (UMIAs). The main outcome measures were the antibiotic consumption rates (DDD per 1,000 inhabitants per day, DID) and the proportions of different groups of antibiotics. Results: The overall antibiotic consumption rate increased from 12.859–15.802 DID between 2012 and 2014, then continuously decreased to 9.771 DID in 2019. The consumption rate of access, watch, and reserve antibiotics have reduced since 2014 with a compound annual growth rate of −10.1, −9.0, and −8.1%, respectively. During 2012–2019, the access group proportion reduced from 50.0 to 44.9%, while the proportion of the watch group increased from 42 to 45.2%. The antibiotic consumption rate increased from 2012 to 2019 (from 7.38 to 9.12 DID) in the HIAs but sharply decreased in the UMIAs from 2014 to 2019 (from 17.94 to 10.05 DID). The watch antibiotics had the highest proportion of consumption in the HIAs (55.3% in 2019), while the access group had the highest proportion of consumption in the UMIA (49.5% in 2019). Conclusion: The antibiotic stewardship policies launched in the last 10 years have contributed to reducing the clinical antibiotic consumption in Shandong. These policies have different effects on areas with different economic levels. The pattern of antibiotic consumption is still inappropriate in China as the watch group of antibiotics was consumed the most.

Communities of Soil Microarthropods (Acari, Collembola) at Ash Dumps of a Combined Heat and Power Plant at Different Degrees of Conservation

The features of the composition and structure of soil microarthropod communities that are formed at ash dumps of a combined heat and power plant (CHPP) at the initial stages of their self-restoration at different degrees of conservation are studied. The research was carried out in 2017 in Novosibirsk (55°00′ N, 83°04′ E) at the ash dump of CHPP no. 5 consisting of two sections: the nonreclaimed section (S1) and the section reclaimed by covering ash and slag with potentially fertile soil (S2). A plot in a birch forest adjacent to the ash dump was used as a control. The material was collected in ash-dump zones differing in degrees of moisture (three plots in both S1 and S2) and in the control (in total, seven plots). Microarthropod communities included mites (Mesostigmata, Oribatida, and Prostigmata) and springtails (Collembola). The microarthropod abundance was significantly lower at both sections of the ash dump than in the control, while no significant differences were found between the ash-dump sections. The effect of reclamation was revealed only for mites. Among them, representatives of Oribatida proved to be most sensitive. There were no significant differences in the proportion of different groups of the community at S1. In turn, Oribatida were dominant at S2 and in the control. Based on the example of Oribatida and Mesostigmata model groups, it is shown that mite communities formed at the ash dump were species-poor and consisted of widespread species with a high degree of dominance of some of them. Oribatida can serve as a good bioindicator for assessing the soil state during restoration successions at ash dumps of CHP plants.

Composition of the Synanthropic Fraction of Spontaneous Flora of the Gardens and Parks in the Middle Pobuzhzhia Region of Ukraine

AbstractThe aim of our work was to analyse synanthropic fraction of spontaneous flora of gardens and parks in the Middle Pobuzhzhia Region of Ukraine and to reveal the features of synanthropisation. The landscapes of gardens and parks in the Region include botanical gardens, arboretums and monuments of landscape art. A total of 15 objects were studied. The floras of parks were estimated by proportion of different groups (origin, naturalisation degree, time and ways of introduction) of synanthropic species. The synanthropic fraction of spontaneous flora was calculated using the indices of synanthropisation, apophytisation, anthropophytisation, archeophytisation, kenophytisation and modernisation. These indices were specified for each park and for the Middle Pobuzhzhia Region in general. The obtained data were compared to each other and to the analogous urban floras from different zones of Ukraine. It was revealed that the apophytisation processes were dominated by the processes of adventisation in most of the parks. The proportion of the synanthropic fraction of spontaneous flora of the Middle Pobuzhzhia Region was significantly lower compared to urban floras of some cities of Ukraine, and despite a considerable anthropogenic pressure retained some features of natural flora.

Composition and change in the microbiome of Diaphorina citri infected with Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus in China

Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) is the primary vector of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las), which causes the devastating disease Huanglongbing (HLB) in Asian citrus. To examine the effects of pathogens on the diversity and structure of insect-associated bacterial communities, we carried out a molecular analysis using healthy D.citri and Las-infected D.citri as a vector-pathogen model. 16S rRNA Illumina sequencing analysis of D.citri revealed shifts in its microbial diversity in response to pathogen infection. The phylum Proteobacteria predominated in D.citri representing 89.40 and 91.73% of the bacterial communities, while remaining bacterial sequences were mainly assigned to the phyla Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Acidobacteria. The relative proportions of different groups of bacteria changed significantly after pathogen infection. The relative abundance of bacterial communities between healthy D.citri and Las-infected D.citri were different, and the relative abundance of most dominant bacteria decreased, such as Oscillospira, Lactobacillus and Rubrobacter. However, the relative abundance of Wolbachia increased from 1.81 to 2.14%, and there was no difference in the abundance of Carsonella. In pairwise comparisons, the clone library from healthy D.citri contained greater 16S rRNA gene diversity, as reflected by the higher Shannon index at 2.937 versus 2.756 for the healthy and Las-infected clone libraries, respectively. These data indicated that Las infection has a profound effect on the structure and composition of the bacterial community associated with D.citri.

Using a mixture of microalgae, biochar, and organic manure to increase the capacity of soil to act as carbon sink

Microalgae, biochar, or organic manure (OM) can be used as soil amendments to enhance soil organic carbon (OC) content. In the present study, a mixture of all three was used to test whether they could further improve soil OC content and the soil’s ability to retain and fix carbon. A laboratory incubation study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of using microalgae, biochar, OM, or their mixture, as a soil amendment to improve OC in soil extract. Metabolic processes and soil microbial community structuring were analyzed to explore the mechanism by which the mixture increased the capacity of soil to act as a carbon sink. OC increased markedly (2.9 times its initial level) following the amendment of the soil with a treatment comprising microalgae, biochar, and the highest dose of OM. Microalgal metabolites were utilized by soil microorganisms as a carbon source. Biochar reduced the concentration of extracellular polysaccharides, whereas OM increased extracellular protein concentration. These metabolites affected the relative proportions of different groups of soil microorganisms, thereby increasing the proportion of Rhodobacter and Runella, which exerted a positive synergistic effect on soil OC and increased the soil’s capacity to fix carbon. A mixture including microalga, biochar, and OM as a soil amendment improved the OC of soil extract, and its effect was greater than that of any of its components alone. The findings of this study can help in devising ways to increase the OC content and the CO2-fixing capacity of the soil.

On‐capillary fluorescent labeling and capillary electrophoresis laser‐induced fluorescence analysis of glycoforms of intact prostate‐specific antigen

The test used in clinics as prostate cancer (PCa) biomarker, based on the concentration of the glycoprotein prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in serum, leads to an elevated number of false positives. In the search for new PCa biomarkers, analysis of the proportions of different groups of glycoforms of PSA is promising. Peaks of PSA, called isoforms and containing one or several glycoforms of the glycoprotein, can be separated by CE. For those samples in which PSA concentration is very low, a very sensitive detection technique, such as LIF, would be required. However, CE separation of fluorescently labeled isoforms of glycoproteins is challenging. In this work, three different methods of fluorescent derivatization of PSA were assayed with the aim of finding conditions allowing labeling of the glycoprotein compatible with CE resolution of its isoforms. NanoOrange, as a noncovalent label; 5-(iodoacetamide) fluorescein and BODIPY® FL C1 -IA, as covalent tags of thiol groups; and Chromeo™ P503, as a covalent tag of amino groups, were tried. Only the derivatization with the P503 fluorogenic dye led to the resolution by CE-LIF of several isoforms of labeled PSA. Adapting this derivatization method to be performed on-column leads to a reduction in labeling time from 4 h to 45 s. Automation of the whole analysis permitted to carry out fluorescent labeling and CE separation of PSA isoforms in less than 12 min.

Optimum designs for mixtures with relational constraints on the components

In many experimentations with mixtures, the classical mixture models are found to be inappropriate to describe the response. In pharmaceutical research, for example, the components of the mixture are often classified into groups and the proportions of different groups in the mixture are fixed. This results in relational constraints on the mixing components. In the paper, we study a mixture model appropriate in such a situation. We attempt to find optimum designs for estimation of parameters in the model, and also for estimation of the optimum proportions of components in a group. The support points of the optimum designs are found to belong to the union of barycentres of the domains of the groups involved.

Cyanobacterial diversity of Petuniabukta, Billefjorden, central Spitsbergen

Abstract The diversity of cyanobacterial assemblages from various microhabitats in the Arctic area of Petuniabukta, Billefjorden, central Svalbard, was described. The present article contains the introductory common review of the cyanobacterial diversity and ecological data concerning main habitats, while the characteristics of individual taxonomic groups will be presented in following specific studies. Eight distinct main habitats were recognized, which differed in their species composition and especially the dominant species. More than 80 morphospecies were registered during our investigation, but only about 1/3 of them could be assigned to known and described taxa. The others require additional analyses based on mod- ern taxonomic methods (the polyphasic approach). The composition of cyanobacterial micro- flora was comparable with assemblages in coastal Antarctica. The diversity of unicellular and colonial morphotypes (36 taxa) was higher than other groups. The number of filamentous spe- cies without heterocytes and akinetes, with 30 species, and heterocytous types, with only 20 species, were similar in both of these ecosystems. These numbers will be surely changed in the future, but the overall proportion of different groups will likely stay the same. In contrast to the limited species diversity, simple filamentous aheterocytous species were dominant and formed massive populations. Few heterocytous taxa,mostly groupedwithin the genus Nostoc (N. commune-complex), were dominant in tundra soils.

P262 Age and Gender Specific Differences in Excessive Daytime Sleepiness

Introduction The pictorial Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) (Ghiassi et al., Thorax 2011) has been developed and validated against the traditional ESS and allows subjects to intuitively answer the questions related to daytime sleepiness with pictorial items. Although non-specific, the ESS has been validated for sleep apnoea patients and it is widely used for screening patients. We hypothesised that the use of an online pictorial ESS can promote public awareness and help to screen for patients with undiagnosed sleep disorders. Methods Between 2011 and 2012, we collected the pictorial ESS data of 24,272 subjects on the official webpage of the British Lung Foundation. Following a short explanation to the questionnaire, eight items are marked and given a score from `0` (not likely todoze) to `3` (very likely to doze) using pictorial items, the range of the total score for the pictorial ESS being `0` to `24`. The cut-off for excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS, more than 10 points) was chosen in line with the traditional ESS. In 3,265 questionnaires the subjects’ age and gender were also recorded (starting from 03/2012). Chi-square test was used to compare the proportion of different groups. Results The total 24,272 subjects scored a mean of 9.3 (5.1) points on the pictorial ESS. Of those, 38.0% were excessively sleepy (14.6 (3.2) points) and 62.0% had normal levels of sleepiness (5.9 (2.7) points, p Conclusion The online pictorial ESS identifies gender differences in EDS on a large scale and reveals more severe levels of sleepiness associated with higher age. The use of modern media facilitates reaching out to the general population to raise awareness of conditions associated with daytime sleepiness such as sleep apnoea.

The Histopathological Profile Of Non-Neoplastic Dermatological Disorders With Special Reference To Granulomatous Lesions - Study At A Tertiary Care Centre In Pondicherry

BackgroundDermatologic disorders are common in many countries but the spectrum varies greatly. The objective of this study was to determine the histopathological profile of non-neoplastic dermatological lesions, to study the morphology and attempt to find the etiology of granulomatous lesions on skin biopsies . MethodsThis is a retrospective study over a period of two years in the department of pathology, IGMC &RI. Out of a total of 248 skin biopsies received, 112 cases with non-neoplastic skin lesions were included in the study. Incisional biopsy, excision biopsy and punch biopsy were done to obtain tissue for histopathological examination. Slides stained with routine stain and special stains like Ziehl Neelsen stain, Periodic Acid Schiff, Alcian blue and Fite faraco were reviewed. Data entry and analysis were done using statistical software SPSS for Windows Version 16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Percentages were calculated for categorical variables. Chi-square test was used for comparison of proportions of different groups. Chi-square test for trend was used for studying the linear trend in occurrence of various skin lesions with age. All p values < 0.05 were considered significant, while p values between 0.05 and 0.10 were considered marginally significant . ResultsA total of 112 patients were included in the study, 61 cases (54.5%) males and 51 cases (45.5%) females. In males, the commonest lesions were nonspecific dermatoses (n=17, 27.9%) followed by granulomatous lesions (n-14, 23%) and in females the commonest lesions were granulomatous lesions (n= 12, 23.5%) followed by nonspecific dermatoses (n= 11, 21.6%)(Table 1). The sex distribution of various non-neoplastic lesions was of no statistical significance except for vasculitis which was commoner in females (p value-0.0175). Miscellaneous lesions included cases of Hidradenitis suppurativa , folliculitis and lichen sclerosus et atrophicus. The prevalence of calcinosis cutis was highest in the age-group 41-60 years (p = 0.0117) (Table 2). All cases of nonspecific ulcers (p = 0.0389) and vasculitis ( 0.0679) were also higher in the same age group. Calcinosis cutis and vasculitis showed a statistically significant increasing linear trend with age (p value 0.0025 and 0.0140, respectively) (Figure 1). Similarly, lichen planus showed a statistically significant decreasing linear trend with age (p value= 0.0378) (Figure 1). 26 out of 112 (23.2%) skin biopsies, were found to have a granulomatous reaction pattern. The commonest etiology of granuloma in our study was leprosy accounting for 12 cases followed by 11 cases of tuberculosis. Less common causes included erythema nodosum and granuloma annulare (Table 3). The typified 5 cases of tuberculosis were lupus vulgaris (3 cases) and tuberculosis verrucosa cutis (2 cases). Special stain for AFB were positive in 11.5% of all cases. ConclusionsSkin biopsies with non-neoplastic lesions constituted 45% of the total number of skin biopsies at our institute. The age distribution pattern indicated highest percentage in the 41-6o year age group (36.6%). The sex distribution pattern revealed a male preponderance of 54.5% compared to 45.5 % females. Granulomatous dermatoses are still rampant, infections forming an important cause of granulomatous dermatitis with leprosy and tuberculosis as the leading causes. Majority of the cases of leprosy were borderline tuberculoid (BT), followed by tuberculoid (TT) leprosy . Demonstration of acid fast bacilli by ZN stain is specific, however, they are not detected with ease thereby further emphasizing the significance of adequate clinical data and workup which helps in elucidation of specific etiology.

Huanglongbing, a Systemic Disease, Restructures the Bacterial Community Associated with Citrus Roots

To examine the effect of pathogens on the diversity and structure of plant-associated bacterial communities, we carried out a molecular analysis using citrus and huanglongbing as a host-disease model. 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis of citrus roots revealed shifts in microbial diversity in response to pathogen infection. The clone library of the uninfected root samples has a majority of phylotypes showing similarity to well-known plant growth-promoting bacteria, including Caulobacter, Burkholderia, Lysobacter, Pantoea, Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Bacillus, and Paenibacillus. Infection by "Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus" restructured the native microbial community associated with citrus roots and led to the loss of detection of most phylotypes while promoting the growth of bacteria such as Methylobacterium and Sphingobacterium. In pairwise comparisons, the clone library from uninfected roots contained significantly higher 16S rRNA gene diversity, as reflected in the higher Chao 1 richness estimation (P </= 0.01) of 237.13 versus 42.14 for the uninfected and infected clone libraries, respectively. Similarly, the Shannon index of the uninfected clone library (4.46) was significantly higher than that of the infected clone library (2.61). Comparison of the uninfected clone library with the infected clone library using LIBSHUFF statistics showed a significant difference (P </= 0.05). Quantitative PCR analysis revealed that the bacterial community changes not only qualitatively but also quantitatively. The relative proportions of different groups of bacteria changed significantly after infection with the pathogen. These data indicate that infection of citrus by "Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus" has a profound effect on the structure and composition of the bacterial community associated with citrus roots.

Evaluation of Environmental Factors to Determine the Distribution of Functional Feeding Groups of Benthic Macroinvertebrates Using an Artificial Neural Network

Functional feeding groups (FFGs) of benthic macroinvertebrates are guilds of invertebrate taxa that obtain food in similar ways, regardless of their taxonomic affinities. They can represent a heterogeneous assemblage of benthic fauna and may indicate disturbances of their habitats. The proportion of different groups can change in response to disturbances that affect the food base of the system, thereby offering a means of assessing disruption of ecosystem functioning. In this study, we used benthic macroinvertebrate communities collected at 650 sites of 23 different water types in the province of Overijssel, The Netherlands. Physical and chemical environmental factors were measured at each sampling site. Each taxon was assigned to its corresponding FFG based on its food resources. A multilayer perceptron (MLP) using a backpropagation algorithm, a supervised artificial neural network, was applied to evaluate the influence of environmental variables to the FFGs of benthic macroinvertebrates through a sensitivity analysis. In the evaluation of input variables, the sensitivity analysis with partial derivatives demonstrates the relative importance of influential environmental variables on the FFG, showing that different variables influence the FFG in various ways. Collector-filterers and shredders were mainly influenced by <TEX>$Ca^{2+}$</TEX> and width of the streams, and scrapers were influenced mostly with <TEX>$Ca^{2+}$</TEX> and depth, and predators were by depth and pH. <TEX>$Ca^{2+}$</TEX> and depth displayed relatively high influence on all four FFGs, while some variables such as pH, %gravel, %silt, and %bank affected specific groups. This approach can help to characterize community structure and to ecologically assess target ecosystems.

Compositional and Structural Characterization of Waxes Isolated from Bitumens

Waxes isolated from different bitumens were investigated with respect to their chemical compositions and structural characteristics. Isolation of waxes was performed using a distillation method (European standard EN 12606-1) and a method based on size exclusion chromatography. To characterize bitumen waxes, various techniques were used, including DSC, HTGC, GC−MS, FIMS, NMR, and WAXD. The study showed that bitumen waxes were complex mixtures of hydrocarbons structured as n-alkanes (C15−C57) and isoalkanes, cycloalkanes, and aromatics, which could be larger than C57. Proportions of different groups of these compounds were strongly dependent on bitumen origins and were also influenced by separation methods. In most cases, bitumen waxes were primarily composed of paraffinic hydrocarbons but differed greatly in the content and distribution of n-alkanes. There were also cases indicating a significant contribution of naphtenic hydrocarbons and aromatics to the wax fraction. Differences between bitumen waxes wer...

A population-based, controlled study of the relation between HIV infection and cervical neoplasia.

To study a geographically defined population of women exposed to a drug-related risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), together with carefully matched neighbourhood controls, in order to examine (1) the proportion of different groups having cervical cytopathology screening; (2) the association between HIV infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; (3) the independent effect of CD4+ lymphocyte count and duration of HIV infection; and (4) the correspondence between cervical cytopathology and colposcopically directed biopsy. A population-based study. All women domiciled in Lothians with the following characteristics: between 1983 and 1987 they had a history of injection drug use or a seropositive partner with a history of injection drug use; they had a pregnancy after that exposure where their serostatus was known. In addition, neighbourhood controls were identified by computer matching for the following criteria--post-code sector, housing deprivation score, age, parity, pregnancy outcome, ethnic group, year of pregnancy, smoking. Search was carried out for the cervical smear nearest in time to the index pregnancy end date, providing serostatus was known at that time. All identified smears were assessed by a cytopathologist without knowledge of clinical information, study group or serostatus. Of 376 women, appropriate cervical smears were identified for 336. The proportions screened in the different groups were similar. There were more abnormal smears in the seropositive group than in the drug-related seronegative (P < 0.01) or the neighbourhood control groups (P < 0.001). HIV-infected women with abnormal smears had lower CD4+ lymphocyte counts (P < 0.0005). There was a reasonable correspondence between cytopathological classification and histological grading, and this was of similar strength in cases and controls (weighted kappa 0.72, 0.74). There is a definite relation between HIV infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. This is related to immune depletion but whether this is the sole mechanism for the association is unclear.

Optimizing Sampling from Trawl Catches: Contemporaneous Multistage Sampling for Age and Length structures

The objective of this study was to find out the optimal sampling strategy for contemporaneous multistage sampling of age and length structures of trawl catches. Samples were taken from a roach (Rutilus rutilus) stock of Lake Vesijärvi, southern Finland. Two-stage sampling proved to be superior to three-stage sampling (i.e. subsamples from the trawl catches are unnecessary). Assuming that all the age and length groups are equally important, the optimal strategy is to sample 34 fish from each of 46 loads. Compared with the present scheme (500 fish from each of 10 loads), this design cuts down the total variance of the estimated proportions of different age and length groups to about one third. An age–length key was used when estimating the proportions of the age groups. The benefits of the applied age–length key were obvious. The estimates of the proportions of different age groups were more accurate than those obtained with age readings only. Increasing the fraction of age-determined fish increases the costs, diminishes the optimal number of samples, and consequently increases the variance of the estimated proportions of different groups.

Maastrichtian dinoflagellate cyst assemblage from the Nkporo Shale on the Benin flank of the Niger Delta

For the first time in the Nigerian biostratigraphy, a comprehensive dinoflagellate cyst (marine) assemblage from the Maastrichtian section of the Nkporo Shale in the coastal Benin flank of the Niger delta is described. The core samples analysed are obtained from the Gbekebo-1 well. The cores yielded 16 genera and 37 species of dinoflagellate cysts; 6 genera and 6 species of pollen/spores. Six dinoflagellate zones (A-F) and four pollen/spores zones (A-1 to D-1) are recognized. The detailed palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic interpretations are based on composition and relative proportions of different groups of palynomorphs.