Climatic and environmental aspects of the Mongol withdrawal from Hungary in 1242 CE.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Buntgen U
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4881396 | biostudies-other | 2016
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:In their recent article published in the journal Scientific Reports, Büntgen and Di Cosmo have attempted to solve the historical mystery of the sudden Mongol withdrawal from Hungary after a year-long occupation. We cannot share the authors' viewpoint that environmental circumstances contributed to the decision of the Mongols to abandon Hungary since the hypothesis lacks support from environmental, archaeological and historical evidence. Historical source material in particular suggests that the Mongols were able to settle and sustain their herds in Hungary as is clearly stated in a letter by King Bela IV to the pope. The Mongol army arrived in the kingdom at the end of a severe drought, and we present empirical evidence that the abundant rain in the spring of 1242 CE did not worsen but rather improved their prospects for sufficient food supplies and pasturage. The marshy terrain of the Hungarian Plain likely did not precipitate the Mongol withdrawal as the Mongol high command ultimately stationed their main forces around the marshy Volga Delta. In contrast to what Büntgen and Di Cosmo have suggested, we argue that the reasons for the sudden withdrawal cannot be explained largely by environmental factors.
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Project description:BackgroundCholera remains an important public health concern in developing countries including Kenya where 11,769 cases and 274 deaths were reported in 2009 according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This ecological study investigates the impact of various climatic, environmental, and demographic variables on the spatial distribution of cholera cases in Kenya.MethodsDistrict-level data was gathered from Kenya's Division of Disease Surveillance and Response, the Meteorological Department, and the National Bureau of Statistics. The data included the entire population of Kenya from 1999 to 2009.ResultsMultivariate analyses showed that districts had an increased risk of cholera outbreaks when a greater proportion of the population lived more than five kilometers from a health facility (RR: 1.025 per 1% increase; 95% CI: 1.010, 1.039), bordered a body of water (RR: 5.5; 95% CI: 2.472, 12.404), experienced increased rainfall from October to December (RR: 1.003 per 1 mm increase; 95% CI: 1.001, 1.005), and experienced decreased rainfall from April to June (RR: 0.996 per 1 mm increase; 95% CI: 0.992, 0.999). There was no detectable association between cholera and population density, poverty, availability of piped water, waste disposal methods, rainfall from January to March, or rainfall from July to September.ConclusionBordering a large body of water, lack of health facilities nearby, and changes in rainfall were significantly associated with an increased risk of cholera in Kenya.
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Project description:Nioboaeschynite-(Ce), ideally Ce(NbTi)O(6) [cerium(III) niobium(V) titanium(IV) hexa-oxide; refined formula of the natural sample is Ca(0.25)Ce(0.79)(Nb(1.14)Ti(0.86))O(6)], belongs to the aeschynite mineral group which is characterized by the general formula AB(2)(O,OH)(6), where eight-coordinated A is a rare earth element, Ca, Th or Fe, and six-coordinated B is Ti, Nb, Ta or W. The general structural feature of nioboaeschynite-(Ce) resembles that of the other members of the aeschynite group. It is characterized by edge-sharing dimers of [(Nb,Ti)O(6)] octa-hedra which share corners to form a three-dimensional framework, with the A sites located in channels parallel to the b axis. The average A-O and B-O bond lengths in nioboaeschynite-(Ce) are 2.471 and 1.993 Å, respectively. Moreover, another eight-coordinated site, designated as the C site, is also located in the channels and is partially occupied by A-type cations. Additionally, the refinement revealed a splitting of the A site, with Ca displaced slightly from Ce (0.266 Å apart), presumably resulting from the crystal-chemical differences between the Ce(3+) and Ca(2+) cations.
| S-EPMC3414094 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Identifying environmental factors that structure intraspecific genetic diversity is of interest for both habitat preservation and biodiversity conservation. Recent advances in statistical and geographical genetics make it possible to investigate how environmental factors affect geographic organisation and population structure of molecular genetic diversity within species. Here we present a study on a common and wide ranging insect, the blue tailed damselfly Ischnuraelegans, which has been the target of many ecological and evolutionary studies. We addressed the following questions: (i) Is the population structure affected by longitudinal or latitudinal gradients?; (ii) Do geographic boundaries limit gene flow?; (iii) Does geographic distance affect connectivity and is there a signature of past bottlenecks?; (iv) Is there evidence of a recent range expansion and (vi) what is the effect of geography and climatic factors on population structure? We found low to moderate genetic sub-structuring between populations (mean F(ST)?=?0.06, D(est)?=?0.12), and an effect of longitude, but not latitude, on genetic diversity. No significant effects of geographic boundaries (e.g. water bodies) were found. F(ST)-and D(est)-values increased with geographic distance; however, there was no evidence for recent bottlenecks. Finally, we did not detect any molecular signatures of range expansions or an effect of geographic suitability, although local precipitation had a strong effect on genetic differentiation. The population structure of this small insect has probably been shaped by ecological factors that are correlated with longitudinal gradients, geographic distances, and local precipitation. The relatively weak global population structure and high degree of genetic variation within populations suggest that I. elegans has high dispersal ability, which is consistent with this species being an effective and early coloniser of new habitats.
| S-EPMC3105071 | biostudies-other
Project description:Several studies have examined the transmission dynamics of the novel COVID-19 disease in different parts of the world. Some have reported relationships with various environmental variables, suggesting that spread of the disease is enhanced in colder and drier climates. However, evidence is still scarce and mostly limited to a few countries, particularly from Asia. We examined the potential role of multiple environmental variables in COVID-19 infection rate [measured as mean relative infection rate = (number of infected inhabitants per week / total population) × 100.000) from February 23 to August 16, 2020 across 360 cities of Chile. Chile has a large climatic gradient (≈ 40º of latitude, ≈ 4000 m of altitude and 5 climatic zones, from desert to tundra), but all cities share their social behaviour patterns and regulations. Our results indicated that COVID-19 transmission in Chile was mostly related to three main climatic factors (minimum temperature, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity). Transmission was greater in colder and drier cities and when atmospheric pressure was lower. The results of this study support some previous findings about the main climatic determinants of COVID-19 transmission, which may be useful for decision-making and management of the disease.
| S-EPMC8111027 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We collected and identified 5,721 ectomycorrhizal fruiting bodies (EcM) from Naejangsan National Park from June 2004 to 2013, belonging to 1 phylum, 1 class, 6 orders, 19 families, 40 genera, and 196 species. Of these, 2,249 individuals were identified as 89 species belonging to 11 genera in 7 families in the Agaricales; 1,511 were identified as 43 species belonging to 2 genera in 1 family in the Russulales; 1,132 were identified as 50 species belonging to 21 genera in 6 families in the Boletales; 793 were identified as 8 species belonging to 3 genera in 2 families in the Cantharellales; 29 were identified as 3 species belonging to 2 genera in 2 families in the Thelephorales; and 7 were identified as 3 species belonging to 1 genus in 1 family in the Gomphales. Thus, most of the EcMs identified belonged to the following 3 orders: Agaricales, Russulales, and Boletales. Russulaceae were most common (43 species), followed by Boletaceae (39 species), and Amanitaceae (27 species); most individuals were Russulaceae (1,511), followed by Hydnagiaceae (1,071) and Boletaceae (804). The monthly distribution showed that the greatest number of individuals and species of EcM, including the dominant ones, occur around July~September at an elevation of 200~299 m, diminishing markedly above 600 m. The greatest number of individuals and species, including the dominant ones, were collected in the period with average temperatures 25.0~26.9?, lows of 21.0~22.9?, and highs of 30.0~31.9?, relative humidity > 76%, and rainfall > 400 mm.
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Project description:ObjectiveIn this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical epidemiology of lower respiratory tract infections with different respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) subtypes in hospitalized children in Suzhou and their correlation with climatic and environmental factors.MethodIn this retrospective cross-sectional study, we collected nasopharyngeal secretion samples from children hospitalized with acute lower respiratory tract infection. We collected the clinical data of children with RSV infection, and compared and analyzed their epidemiological characteristics.ResultsRSV-B was the dominant strain in 2016. In 2018, RSV-A was the dominant strain. The positive detection rate of RSV-A was negatively correlated with monthly mean temperature, monthly mean wind speed, total monthly rainfall, and O3 concentration and positively correlated with PM2.5, PM10, and NO2, SO2, and CO concentrations. The positive detection rate of RSV-B was negatively correlated with monthly average temperature, monthly total rainfall, monthly sunshine duration, and O3 concentration and positively correlated with CO concentration.ConclusionsRSV-A was the main subtype detected in this study. The positive detection rate of RSV-A was related to temperature, wind speed, rainfall, PM2.5. PM10, and NO2, SO2, CO, and O3 concentrations. The positive detection rate of RSV-B was related to temperature, rainfall, sunshine time, and O3 concentration.
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Project description:Comparative analysis of the distribution of soil bacterial communities across different Koppen climatic zones around the world.
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Project description:Since 1999, human cases of West Nile fever/neuroinvasive disease (WND) have been reported annually in Russia. The highest incidence has been recorded in three provinces of southern European Russia (Volgograd, Astrakhan and Rostov Provinces), yet in 2010-2012 the distribution of human cases expanded northwards considerably. From year to year, the number of WND cases varied widely, with major WND outbreaks in 1999, 2007, 2010, and 2012. The present study was aimed at identifying the most important climatic and environmental factors potentially affecting WND incidence in the three above-mentioned provinces and at building simple prognostic models, using those factors, by the decision trees method. The effects of 96 variables, including mean monthly temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, etc. were taken into account. The findings of this analysis show that an increase of human WND incidence, compared to the previous year, was mostly driven by higher temperatures in May and/or in June, as well as (to a lesser extent) by high August-September temperatures. Declining incidence was associated with cold winters (December and/or January, depending on the region and type of model). WND incidence also tended to decrease during year following major WND outbreaks. Combining this information, the future trend of WND may be, to some extent, predicted, in accordance with the climatic conditions observed before the summer peak of WND incidence.
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