Membership trends and attitudes of a Greek hunting community

The membership trends and attitudes of a Greek hunting community, the Megara Hunting Club, were determined through the analysis of 408 questionnaires. The number of hunting licences increased from 2003 to 2008, decreasing thereafter, mostly because a proportion of hunters holding a national licence quit hunting. This was in agreement with the onset of the national debt crisis and the concurrent decrease of the gross domestic product. Factor analysis revealed that hunters rather agreed that a ‘systemic’ (mean score 3.48) and rather disagreed that a ‘legal’ (2.59) factor negatively affected the practice of hunting, while they agreed that a ‘game status’ factor (4.06) was important. In particular, they contended that improved hunting administration and stakeholder collaboration are needed (systemic dimension), and game populations have declined due to anthropogenic activities such as illegal hunting, pollution, habitat loss and climate change (game status dimension). Findings suggest that, in the light of the ongoing economic crisis, immediate action should be taken toward the retention of hunters and protection and enhancement of game, through the application of appropriate policy and management measures.     

Study on the reaction of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid with molybdenum in aqueous solution. I. Synthesis and characterization of the oligomeric complexes formed

Dimeric or oligomeric oxo-complexes of Mo(VI) with 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid were prepared in aqueous solutions in the presence or not of K₂S₂O₅ (acting as a reducing agent) in various conditions. The complexes were found to contain the cis-(Mo₂O₅)²⁺ core and the ligands in the catecholate, semiquinonate or mixed valence oxidation form, depending on the reaction conditions and especially on the presence or not of the reductant. The isolated complexes in the presence or absence of reductant and the oxidation products in solution in the presence of air were studied via elemental, thermogravimetric and electrochemical analysis, Infrared, Raman, NMR and ESR spectroscopies and Electrospray Mass Spectra. The general molecular formula for the complexes is {[(PPh₄)₂(Mo₂O₅L₂X₂] · xH₂O)}_n, where the coordinated ligand’s L oxidation form varies and X involves coordinated water or hydroxyl group depending on the ligand oxidation state.     

Contrasting patterns of wetland use by sympatric larids in winter

The population dynamics and behaviour of the larid assemblage of a Mediterranean coastal wetland, the Vourkari inlet in Greece, were studied during the winter of 2008–2009. More black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus) were seen in the inlet in December, more Mediterranean gulls (Larus melanocephalus) were present from mid-January to mid-February, while little variation was observed in yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) numbers throughout winter. Bird numbers remained stable through the day for the yellow-legged gull, but fewer black-headed and Mediterranean gulls were present in the late morning than the other periods. Diurnal activity patterns showed that feeding was the primary behaviour for yellow-legged gulls and resting and sleeping for black-headed and Mediterranean gulls, with locomotion being equally important for all species. All larids were primarily feeding in the late morning period, but yellow-legged gulls were doing so in much higher proportions. These contrasting patterns suggested that the Vourkari inlet was more important as a day roost for black-headed and Mediterranean gulls and a preferred feeding ground for yellow-legged gulls. Furthermore, results suggested that resting and sleeping were interchangeable activities and all other activities had more or less the same time demands on a daily basis, and also a consistent pattern across species in sleeping proportions that might indicate cross-species synchrony in sleep patterns; however future research is needed to resolve these issues. This study provided important new information on the winter ecology of three larids and revealed patterns of wetland use by these species that could help assess the importance of certain areas and improve coastal habitat management strategies to benefit birds.     

Study of multiparameter respiratory pattern complexity in surgical critically ill patients during weaning trials

Background  

Separation from mechanical ventilation is a difficult task, whereas conventional predictive indices have not been proven accurate enough, so far. A few studies have explored changes of breathing pattern variability for weaning outcome prediction, with conflicting results. In this study, we tried to assess respiratory complexity during weaning trials, using different non-linear methods derived from theory of complex systems, in a cohort of surgical critically ill patients.