Greenspace and wellbeing in Tehran: A relationship conditional on a neighbourhood’s crime rate?

Greenspace is widely regarded as supportive of wellbeing. One mechanism through which this relationship is reasoned to function is through psychological and physiological restoration. This study maintains that the link between greenspace and wellbeing depends on the crime rate in the neighbourhood. This is investigated by employing data from the Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool-2 (Urban HEART-2) survey linked to Geographic Information Systems data. The results of spatial error model, estimated by Generalised Method of Moments estimation, reveal that greenspace is positively linked to wellbeing and that the crime rate is negatively linked to wellbeing. The findings also reaffirm earlier evidence indicating that link between greenspace and wellbeing is conditional on the crime rate in an individual’s local area. Moreover, the results also indicate that this dependency is not experienced in a more pronounced way for females. The findings of this study point to the need for policy makers and planners who wish to promote the wellbeing of their citizens to address neighbourhood crime rates.     

Seasonal variability of sex-ratio in<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Ips typographus</Emphasis> (L.) pheromone traps in a multivoltine population in the Southern Alps

The aim of the study was to monitor the seasonal variation in the sex-specific responses of Ips typographus to a commercial pheromone in relation to the two generations per year occurring in the Southern Alps. The study was carried out over 2 years (2000–2001). Each year, 15 Theysohn traps were baited with Pheroprax. Traps were emptied weekly and the number of beetles determined. In the same forest each year, three spruce logs were set up at the beginning of spring for natural colonisation by Ips typographus and then put in breeding boxes. All adults emerging from the logs or found in the traps were counted and a subsample sexed by genital extraction. Spring captures were always higher than summer captures (second generation). Similarly, the proportion of trapped males was always higher in spring than in summer. Except in the first and second week, the number of females was higher than males. During the first 3 weeks of monitoring, the number of trapped males dropped from above 50 to about 30%. Thereafter, the sex ratio was constant over time, about 33% males. In contrast to trap catches, about 50% of adults emerging from the breeding logs were males. The low proportion of males in traps depends both on discrimination (they avoid strong sources of male pheromone) and on differential mortality of the sex over time. As the pioneer beetles in I. typographus are males, their number is highest in the first part of the flight period when they search for suitable host trees. Such a search can be lethal for several males, decreasing the sex ratio.     

Pharmacokinetics of tobramycin in ducks and sex-related differences

The aims of the present study were to determine the disposition of tobramycin after single intravenous (IV) and intramuscular (IM) injections in ducks, and to establish any sex-related differences. Tobramycin sulfate was administered as a 2.5% water solution in a cross-over design at a dose of 5 mg/kg to 12 healthy ducks (six males and six females). Concentrations of the drug in serum were determined by a microbiological assay. The serum pharmacokinetic values for tobramycin were best represented using a one- or two-compartment open model, depending on the method of administration. Non-compartment analysis was also performed after IV administration. Tobramycin had a low degree of distribution and a relatively fast elimination. The mean volume of distribution in ducks (males and females) was higher than that reported in pigeons but lower than in chickens, with a slower rate of elimination. The IM injection resulted in a fast and complete absorption. The rate of elimination after IM administration was about twice as slow as in other avian species. Sex-related variations in tobramycin pharmacokinetics were similar to those reported for kanamycin and apramycin in hens and roosters.