Books on the topic 'Biotic factors'

From the point of view of the new science of globalism, the problems of the ecological, socio-economic state of the world and countries are considered through the prism of the interaction of the human psyche and society and the inhabited world. The criteria of ecological civilization of countries and peoples are justified. Optimizing the consumption of natural bio-and energy resources is becoming a fundamental environmental factor for sustainable development. The "Law of the maximum for humanity" as the law of the biosphere can be the arbitration court, the neutral force that will explain the historical need for mutual understanding, taking into account the interests of ecology and economy for the survival of man as a biovid on Earth; a new reality will begin to form — the phenomenon of co-residence of the world society with the biosphere. The world's population, its energy and bio-consumption, as well as all living matter on the planet, must correspond to the biological capacity of the Earth and not go beyond its boundaries. The task of the society is to implement a worldview breakthrough at the current stage of development, its own cultural mutation, which in the future will create the basis for adaptive technological and socio-cultural development. The task is to classify the entire Earth as a "Green Book" and to solve systemic environmental problems of a global nature. An integral part of sustainable development should be the principle of "vital consumption" at both the personal and social level, instead of the dominant principle of"expanded production and consumption". The indicator of the" culture of consumption "of natural resources, both at the individual level and at the level of society, should be included as an integral part of the integral indicator in the "True Indicator of Progress" and the "Human Development Index".
 The book is interdisciplinary in nature; it is a kind of scientific and philosophical poetic essay intended for teachers and students of universities in the field of sociology, ecology, biology and related fields, as well as for everyone who cares about the future of society.

This book is a unique and integrated account of the history of North American vegetation and paleoenvironments over the past 70 million years. It includes discussions of the modern plant communities, causal factors for environmental change, biotic response, and methodologies. The history reveals a North American vegetation that is vast, immensely complex, and dynamic.

The Biology of Lakes and Ponds focuses on the interactions between the abiotic frame, such as turbulence, temperature, pH and nutrients, and the organisms, including interactions with and among organisms at the individual, population and community level. The book fills this niche between traditional limnology and evolutionary ecology by focusing on physiological, morphological and behavioural adaptations among organisms to abiotic and biotic factors and how interactions between biotic processes and abiotic constraints determine the structure and dynamics of lake and pond systems. In addition, the book describes and analyses the causes and consequences of human activities on freshwater organisms and ecosystems and covers longstanding environmental threats, such as eutrophication and acidification, as well as novel threats, such as biodiversity loss, use of everyday chemicals and global climate change. However, also signs of improvement and the possibilities to restore degraded ecosystems are discussed and provide hope for future generations.

If biological interactions, such as competition and predation, have any effect on population dynamics, or if abiotic factors alone determine which organisms, how many of them do we see in a specific ecosystem, was for long a controversial question. This chapter aims at providing the basis for the understanding of biological interactions, as well as showing ample examples of how important those interactions are in shaping both population dynamics and ecosystem function of natural systems. In addition to the many examples, the reader is introduced to the history and the theoretical basis for biological interactions.

The book is devoted to the problems of preserving the biodiversity of insects and pollinators through the use of inoffensive methods of agricultural crops cultivating and bio-rational means of protecting them from pests and diseases in an ecological crisis. The results of many years of research on the development of technological processes for obtaining biological preparations based on secondary metabolites of higher plants and microorganisms are presented. Their effectiveness in increasing the resistance of cultivated plants to the influences of abiotic and biotic environmental factors has been shown. The results of plant extracts testing with biopesticidal activity against insects and mites-phytophages and as growth regulators of vegetable and cereal crops are presented. The characteristic features of the interaction of useful fauna organisms and pests of agricultural crops, as well as the possibility of attracting pollinators through the use of semiochemicals are described. The mechanisms of microbiological preparations action and their effectiveness against phytopathogens are revealed. The prospects of biological preparations introducing for a gentle impact on the environment and beneficial insects, as well as obtaining safe food products, have been demonstrated. The book is intended for farmers and beekeepers, and can be used as a teaching aid in various courses on ecology, biology, plant protection and entomology.

The book is devoted to the problems of preserving the biodiversity of insects and pollinators through the use of inoffensive methods of agricultural crops cultivating and bio-rational means of protecting them from pests and diseases in an ecological crisis. The results of many years of research on the development of technological processes for obtaining biological preparations based on secondary metabolites of higher plants and microorganisms are presented. Their effectiveness in increasing the resistance of cultivated plants to the influences of abiotic and biotic environmental factors has been shown. The results of plant extracts testing with biopesticidal activity against insects and mites-phytophages and as growth regulators of vegetable and cereal crops are presented. The characteristic features of the interaction of useful fauna organisms and pests of agricultural crops, as well as the possibility of attracting pollinators through the use of semiochemicals are described. The mechanisms of microbiological preparations action and their effectiveness against phytopathogens are revealed. The prospects of biological preparations introducing for a gentle impact on the environment and beneficial insects, as well as obtaining safe food products, have been demonstrated. The book is intended for farmers and beekeepers, and can be used as a teaching aid in various courses on ecology, biology, plant protection and entomology.

The term environment is often used as a short form for the biophysical environment, which refers to the biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. All life that has survived must have adapted to conditions of its environment. On one hand, part of the study of environmental science is the investigation of the effect of human activity on the environment. On the other hand, scholars also examine threats posed by environmental events and trends to individuals, communities, or nations, otherwise known as environmental security. It studies the impact of human conflict and international relations on the environment, or on how environmental problems cross state borders. Environmental security is a significant concept in two fields: international relations and international development. Within international development, projects may aim to improve aspects of environmental security such as food security or water security, along with connected aspects such as energy security. The importance of environmental security lies in the fact that it affects humankind and its institutions anywhere and at anytime. To the extent that humankind neglects to maintain the planet’s life-supporting eco-systems generating water, food, medicine, and clean air, current and future generations will be confronted with increasingly severe instances of environmentally induced changes.

The chapter introduces the reader to the book structure, including the overall topics the abiotic frame, the organisms, biotics, food web interactions and biodiversity and environmental threats. In addition to laying out the structure, this chapter brings up some overarching concepts such as the niche, generalists versus specialists and factors determining the distribution of organisms in natural ecosystems.

This book will provide a complete overview of an alpine ecosystem, based on the long-term research conducted at the Niwot Ridge LTER. There is, at present, no general book on alpine ecology. The alpine ecosystem features conditions near the limits of biological existence, and is a useful laboratory for asking more general ecological questions, because it offers large environmental change over relatively short distances. Factors such as macroclimate, microclimate, soil conditions, biota, and various biological factors change on differing scales, allowing insight into the relative contributions of the different factors on ecological outcomes.

Monograph is prepared on the basis of the materials collected in near-shore waters of Crimea in 2003, and the retrospective data. Modern condition of biological diversity in near-shore zone of Crimea is shown on the basis of analysis of qualitative and quantitative composition of micro- and zooplankton, phyto- and zoobenthos, ichthyofauna and parasite fauna; the recommendations on conservation of biological diversity are given. Responses of biota on the appearance of new species in communities and on the impact of some anthropogenic factors are analyzed. Characteristics of the Black Sea plankton bioluminescents and the bioluminescence field forming by them in neritic zone of Crimea are shown. Lists of species of main groups of flora and fauna from the different regions of near-shore waters of Crimea are made.

Una de las funciones sustantiva de la Universidad Autónoma Chapingo es la investigación, entendida como la generación de nuevos conocimientos sobre problemas vinculados a la solución de grandes conflictos socioam­bientales, educativos y humanísticos en el medio rural mexicano. En este libro, valorando la diversidad de formaciones de los investigadores del Instituto de Investigaciones Socioambientales, Educativas y Humanísticas para el Medio Rural (IISEHMR) y de los enfoques en que trabajan, ofrecemos un abanico de miradas de lo que representa investigar. Se trata de un conjunto de ensayos en los que se ponen de relieve los ángulos de la investigación desde su propia organización dentro de la universidad, así como desde una tarea formativa. Se abordan temas como la educación, el lenguaje de la ciencia, la importancia de las redes temáticas de investigadores, los factores emocionales, la bioética, la gestión ambiental y la gestión del conocimiento.

En este libro «Introducción a la medicina interna» se ofrece al lector información actualizada sobre diversos temas referentes a patologías que cursan como causa principal de alta morbimortalidad en el mundo contemporáneo. Todos de gran interés y vital importancia para la preservación de la salud. En el capítulo I, se enfoca en la discusión de los «conceptos elementales» relacionados con la medicina interna, las competencias profesionales del médico internista y la bioética en la práctica médica. En el capítulo II, se aborda el tema de las «enfermedades del sistema cardiovascular». Entre estas: La epidemiología de la enfermedad cardiovascular, los factores de riesgo de las enfermedades cardiovasculares, la hipertensión arterial, el edema agudo del pulmón, el paro cardiaco y la reanimación. En el capítulo III, se exponen algunas de las principales «enfermedades del sistema respiratorio». En primer lugar, se describe el aparato respiratorio humano, para seguidamente hacer referencia a la historia clínica en las patologías respiratorias y exponer con detalle la enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica, el derrame plural y la disnea.

This convenient, insightful resource on the depiction of historical events in film and on television combines the latest scholarship with reviews of specific works. Can films tweak the facts and still be faithful to history? How much of what they present as true is inaccurate or distorted?History in the Media: Film and Televisionlooks at the growing research exploring these questions. It is the only reference guide that discuss the latest scholarship on history in film and on television and evaluates specific films and programs for quality, accuracy, and ideological biases. Coverage ranges from biopics (Gandhi), meticulous restagings (Apollo 13), and true crime (Bonnie and Clyde) to documentaries such as the World War II newsreelsWhy We Fightand Ken Burns'sThe Civil War. Historic dramas come up big at the Oscars. Cable television offers a History and a Biography channel. Hollywood blockbusters depicting historical events are huge moneymakers. It is the ideal time to look at what happens when events and people become stories and characters, andHistory in the Mediais the ideal introduction to that study.

Post-glacial aquatic ecosystems in Eurasia and North America, such as the Baltic Sea, evolved in the freshwater, brackish, and marine environments that fringed the melting glaciers. Warming of the climate initiated sea level and land rise and subsequent changes in aquatic ecosystems. Seminal ideas on ancient developing ecosystems were based on findings in Swedish large lakes of species that had arrived there from adjacent glacial freshwater or marine environments and established populations which have survived up to the present day. An ecosystem of the first freshwater stage, the Baltic Ice Lake initially consisted of ice-associated biota. Subsequent aquatic environments, the Yoldia Sea, the Ancylus Lake, the Litorina Sea, and the Mya Sea, are all named after mollusc trace fossils. These often convey information on the geologic period in question and indicate some physical and chemical characteristics of their environment. The ecosystems of various Baltic Sea stages are regulated primarily by temperature and freshwater runoff (which affects directly and indirectly both salinity and nutrient concentrations). Key ecological environmental factors, such as temperature, salinity, and nutrient levels, not only change seasonally but are also subject to long-term changes (due to astronomical factors) and shorter disturbances, for example, a warm period that essentially formed the Yoldia Sea, and more recently the “Little Ice Age” (which terminated the Viking settlement in Iceland).There is no direct way to study the post-Holocene Baltic Sea stages, but findings in geological samples of ecological keystone species (which may form a physical environment for other species to dwell in and/or largely determine the function of an ecosystem) can indicate ancient large-scale ecosystem features and changes. Such changes have included, for example, development of an initially turbid glacial meltwater to clearer water with increasing primary production (enhanced also by warmer temperatures), eventually leading to self-shading and other consequences of anthropogenic eutrophication (nutrient-rich conditions). Furthermore, the development in the last century from oligotrophic (nutrient-poor) to eutrophic conditions also included shifts between the grazing chain (which include large predators, e.g., piscivorous fish, mammals, and birds at the top of the food chain) and the microbial loop (filtering top predators such as jellyfish). Another large-scale change has been a succession from low (freshwater glacier lake) biodiversity to increased (brackish and marine) biodiversity. The present-day Baltic Sea ecosystem is a direct descendant of the more marine Litorina Sea, which marks the beginning of the transition from a primeval ecosystem to one regulated by humans. The recent Baltic Sea is characterized by high concentrations of pollutants and nutrients, a shift from perennial to annual macrophytes (and more rapid nutrient cycling), and an increasing rate of invasion by non-native species. Thus, an increasing pace of anthropogenic ecological change has been a prominent trend in the Baltic Sea ecosystem since the Ancylus Lake.Future development is in the first place dependent on regional factors, such as salinity, which is regulated by sea and land level changes and the climate, and runoff, which controls both salinity and the leaching of nutrients to the sea. However, uncertainties abound, for example the future development of the Gulf Stream and its associated westerly winds, which support the sub-boreal ecosystems, both terrestrial and aquatic, in the Baltic Sea area. Thus, extensive sophisticated, cross-disciplinary modeling is needed to foresee whether the Baltic Sea will develop toward a freshwater or marine ecosystem, set in a sub-boreal, boreal, or arctic climate.

The book of well-known Russian scientists systematically presents a new theoretical approach to studying nature's fundamental phenomena using the hypothesis of the physical vacuum, or the ether, as some environment in which all the processes develop. In the proposed studies, the ether is represented as some one-component continuous media that satisfies generally accepted conservation laws: of matter and momentum. From the appropriate two equations, a number of consequences are obtained to which a physical interpretation is given. For the first time, 150 years after studies of Faraday and Maxwell, it is shown that these single premises mathematically give basic physical laws established experimentally: the Maxwell equations, the Lorentz force, the Gauss theorem; the laws: Coulomb, Biot - Savard, Ampere, electromagnetic induction, Ohm, Joule - Lenz, Wiedemann - Franz, universal gravitation, and etc. Details of mechanisms of many processes, that seemed previously paradoxical, have been disclosed. A method of the model substantiation adopted in the mathematical modeling methodology allows to conclude that the presented mathematical model of the ether adequately describes electromagnetic and gravitational processes. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of hundreds of known and new experimental facts allows in the methodology of physics, as science summarizing the experiments data, to confirm a conclusion about the existence of the ether (physical vacuum). The content of the book is based on the works of authors done during the last fourteen years. Many results are published for the first time. The book is intended for specialists in the field of electrodynamics, electrical engineering, gravity and kinetics, as well as for graduate students and students, interested in the fundamental principles of these scientific directions. This book is unique in terms of the comprehensive consideration of the problem and the depth of its analysis.

La presente obra es un avance del proyecto de investigación “El Crimen de Tortura en Colombia” realizado en el marco del Grupo de Investigación Estudios de Bioética, Ecología Humana y Ecología Política - Consciencia - de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad Libre. La tortura en Colombia ha existido, incluso antes del nacimiento de nuestra nación, si bien es cierto el tipo penal de tortura es más reciente, su práctica ha sido un factor común en el transcurrir de estos más de dos siglos. El primer capítulo del texto realiza una aproximación histórica a la tortura como técnica corporal de dominación y control social en Colombia desde la época de la colonia, donde la narración que hizo Bartolomé de Las Casas en su Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias, pone de manifiesto las diversas formas de tormentos a las que fueron sometidos los indígenas que poblaban estas tierras. A partir de ese momento, se han escrito en los cuerpos de miles de personas los lenguajes más despiadados y crueles y las páginas más nefastas de la historia de nuestro país, este capítulo también analiza el período de consolidación del proyecto republicano y las guerras civiles decimonónicas. Ulteriormente, se detiene en la época de la llamada Violencia, donde las clases dominantes del país indujeron a los sectores más pobres de la sociedad a enfrentar de manera violenta a sus vecinos, amigos e incluso parientes. Hicieron creer a los sectores populares que el país estaba dividido en dos bandos y necesariamente cada familia debida escoger uno de ellos: Liberal o Conservador. Se presentaron formas de violencia incompresibles y el empleo de “rituales macabros, como el descuartizamiento de hombres vivos, las exhibiciones de cabeza cortadas y la dispersión de partes de cuerpos por los caminos rurales, que aún perviven en la memoria de la población colombiana, le imprimieron su sello distinto a ese periodo” (Uribe, 2004). Varios investigadores han desentrañado la fórmula de extrema crueldad que se utilizó en muchas regiones del país “Matar, rematar, contramatar”, matar con el mayor dolor para la víctima, luego colocar todo tipo de marcas sobre los cuerpos, muchas veces aún con vida y luego colocar sus órganos o algunas de sus partes en algún sitio y creando montículos con sus viseras para enviar mensajes de terror a los demás miembros de ese colectivo. Pero no era suficiente destrozar el cuerpo, prolongar la muerte, hacer sufrir a la víctima e insultarla El cuerpo de la víctima, aún parecía un escenario de inmensas ritualidades dispuestas a causar terror. “Los muertos debían quedar bien muertos, y por ello se decapitaba a los cadáveres ya que se creía que «el muerto no estaba muerto mientras tuviera la cabeza sobre los hombros»” (Uribe, 2004). Por otro lado, los centros carcelarios y penitenciarios de nuestro país son diariamente escenarios de actos de tortura contra los reclusos y reclusas. Prácticas como las golpizas; el uso de armas taser y bombas de gas; internamientos prolongados en las llamadas Unidades de tratamiento Especial UTEs; la negación a los servicios médico-asistenciales ante enfermedades que requieren tratamiento especial; la violación sexual, etc., se han convertido en algo cotidiano en todos los centros de reclusión. Este tipo de prácticas se producen a gran escala incluso en los centros de reclusión para menores infractores. En el centro detención de menores El Redentor, ubicado en el sur occidente de Bogotá, el 8 de octubre de 2018 fueron grabados en video siete (7) servidores públicos de la Policía Nacional sometiendo a golpizas y tratos crueles, inhumanoS y degradantes que la Fiscalía General de la Nación calificó inicialmente como tortura (Fiscal, 2018). Por lo anterior, el segundo capítulo del libro se centra en los hechos de tortura que se cometen en los centros de reclusión y cárceles del país, particularmente, alrededor de los esfuerzos de las organizaciones colombianas que promueven los derechos de la población privada de la libertad, puntualizando en la labor de la Defensoría del Pueblo como la entidad que defiende y garantiza el derecho de los reclusos a no ser sometidos a tratos crueles, inhumanos y degradantes u otros constitutivos de tortura. De esta manera, el doctor José Manuel Díaz caracteriza las estrategias de la Defensoría del Pueblo desde un enfoque cuasiconstructivista de la garantía de los Derechos Humanos que reconoce el valor de las acciones conjuntas entre autoridades estatales y actores sociales nacionales (sub-estatales) en la generación de estándares mínimos para su prevención y protección. Con este propósito, el texto brinda una aproximación conceptual a la tortura y los tratos crueles, inhumanos y degradantes y describe el fenómeno generalizado de la tortura en algunos centros penitenciarios y carcelarios del país, para luego, exponer la funcionalidad y eficacia de planes de acción con enfoque cuasi-constructivista –como el mecanismo de denuncia implementado en el establecimiento penitenciario y carcelario de máxima seguridad de la ciudad de Valledupar–, en la defensa de los derechos humanos de las personas privadas de la libertad. En el tercer capítulo del libro, la doctora Bolívar aborda uno de los temas más inquietantes y menos trajinados, desde el punto de la calificación jurídica, de lo que podemos considerar un acto constitutivo de tortura; en qué circunstancias la violencia sexual –en este caso la que se ejerce por razón de género– puede considerarse como una forma de tortura, esto es, qué características debe revestir una agresión sexual para que podamos considerarla –jurídicamente– a partir de tratados internacionales de derechos humanos, conceptos de órganos internacionales y pronunciamientos judiciales de tribunales internacionales de derechos humanos, como mecanismo de tortura. Lo anterior le permitirá al lector reconocer en qué circunstancias este tipo de violencia contra las mujeres “se constituye como expresión instrumental de la tortura, y puede denominarse, tramitarse procesalmente y resolverse judicialmente como tortura sexual”. Finalmente, incluimos en uno de los anexos el concepto del Ministerio de Justicia y del Derecho donde señala las razones jurídicas por las cuales el Estado colombiano debe ratificar el Protocolo Facultativo a la Convención Contra la Tortura. En este sentido, no se entiende cómo el órgano del Estado competente en los temas de política criminal y penitenciaria emite un concepto favorable y el Ministerio de Relaciones Internacionales se niega sistemáticamente a acatar este concepto e iniciar los procesos para la ratificación del Protocolo. Miles de Personas Privadas de la Libertad víctimas de tortura esperan del Gobierno Nacional una decisión humanitaria, centrada solo en el principio “Pro Homine” y no en consideraciones de oportunidad política. Esperamos que este texto sea el primero de una serie de publicaciones para visibilizar este crimen que efectivamente se encuentra tipificado en el artículo 178 del Código Penal, pero sobre el que existen un escaso número de sentencias condenatorias.