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Population and Community: Count Variables
Published in Song S. Qian, Mark R. DuFour, Ibrahim Alameddine, Bayesian Applications in Environmental and Ecological Studies with R and Stan, 2023
Song S. Qian, Mark R. DuFour, Ibrahim Alameddine
The diatom species composition data were collected from WCA2A in 1996 [Cooper et al., 2008]. The data set includes surface sediment and soil samples from 31 sites covering most area in WCA2A, as well as three soil cores, one collected in the phosphorus-enriched northern area of WCA2A and the other two at two southerly locations in WCA2A, areas that are not visibly affected by nutrient enrichment at the time. Both the surface samples and the soil core samples were analyzed for diatoms and pollen, and total phosphorus. The collected peat soil cores were analyzed at every 2 cm interval of the cores. The samples were dated using 210Pb activity (within the range of 100–150 years) and 137Cs activity for recent sediment (~35 years). There were 90 diatom species that can be positively identified in the data set. Cooper et al. [1999] and Jensen et al. [1999] studied the changes in diatom and pollen assemblages using the same data set.
Thermal Treatments in Postcancer Care
Published in Paloma Tejero, Hernán Pinto, Aesthetic Treatments for the Oncology Patient, 2020
Peloid therapy consists of mud used therapeutically, as part of balneotherapy, or therapeutic bathing (Figure 34.3). Peloids consist of humus and minerals formed over many years by geological and biological, chemical, and physical processes. The water-soluble peat substances pass transdermally in sufficient quantities to induce a biological effect; the “human skin possesses a selective permeability for the water-soluble fulvic and ulmic acids and derivative fraction isolated as peat extract” [18]. The bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities of humic acid have a positive effect on mucous membranes [19]. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects are key in postcancer patient treatment.
Paleopathology and paleomedicine
Published in Lois N. Magner, Oliver J. Kim, A History of Medicine, 2017
In rare instances, the soft parts of prehistoric bodies have been preserved because of favorable burial and climatic conditions or through human ingenuity. Whether sophisticated or primitive, mummification techniques have much in common with the preservation of food and animal hides. Especially well-preserved bodies have been recovered from the peat bogs of northwestern Europe. Peat has been used as a fuel for millennia, giving clumsy peat-gatherers a chance to sacrifice themselves for the future enlightenment of paleopathologists. However, some ancient “bog bodies” were the victims of strange forms of punishment or religious rituals. Sacrificial victims were fed a ceremonial meal, stabbed in the heart, clobbered over the head, strangled with ropes that were left around their necks, and pushed into the bog.
Smoldering and flaming biomass wood smoke inhibit respiratory responses in mice
Published in Inhalation Toxicology, 2019
Marie McGee Hargrove, Yong Ho Kim, Charly King, Charles E. Wood, M. Ian Gilmour, Janice A. Dye, Stephen H. Gavett
Exposure to flaming or smoldering peat or oak biomass smoke had no effects on BALF cell numbers in non-allergic groups (Figure 3). Macrophage and neutrophil numbers in non-allergic smoldering and flaming eucalyptus groups were comparable to corresponding peat or oak groups, but significantly reduced in comparison with an atypically elevated air control cohort. HDM sensitization and challenge produced mild allergic inflammation indicated by increases in most BALF cell types in air-exposed control groups, though responses were variable in the three air cohorts. Smoldering peat increased macrophages, neutrophils, and eosinophils at least 2-fold compared with flaming peat, and neutrophils were also greater compared with air-exposed allergic mice. In contrast, both smoldering and flaming oak and eucalyptus exposures reduced BALF eosinophils compared with air-exposed allergic cohorts, while smoldering and flaming oak also reduced other BALF cell types. Previous studies of allergic responses in mice exposed to hardwood smoke demonstrated minimal exacerbation of some indices of inflammation (Barrett et al. 2006).
Pulmonary exposure to peat smoke extracts in rats decreases expiratory time and increases left heart end systolic volume
Published in Inhalation Toxicology, 2018
Leslie C. Thompson, Yong Ho Kim, Brandi L. Martin, Allen D. Ledbetter, Janice A. Dye, Mehdi S. Hazari, M. Ian Gilmour, Aimen K. Farraj
Peat is a biomass comprised of decaying vegetation found in wetlands around the world. Though typically fire resistant when intact and undisturbed, carbon-rich peatlands can become a unique fuel source prone to slow, smoldering burns deep in the soil that can last from months to years and release unusually high amounts of fine PM, driving serious health concerns (Page & Hooijer 2016). Peat fires are expected to rise in the coming years (Laurance & Laurance 2015) and represent a global concern given the massive acreage of peatlands burned annually for agricultural purposes in Southeast Asia, which can impact air quality over long distances across neighboring countries (Gaveau et al. 2014; Hayasaka et al. 2014; Urbancok et al. 2017). In eastern North Carolina (USA), the peat fires of Pocosin Lake in 2008 and Pains Bay in 2011 were both associated with increased hospitalizations in affected counties, all attributable to cardiovascular and pulmonary complications (Rappold et al. 2011; Tinling et al. 2016). Despite the epidemiological evidence associating peat smoke inhalation with adverse health outcomes, the specific biological responses driving these effects are unclear.