RESUMO
Upland moorlands are important landscapes, but many are considered degraded as a result of human activities. Consequently, their protection and restoration are of substantial concern. In Europe, restoration activities are often aimed at reversing the effects of 19th and 20th century "agricultural improvements," which often involved major drainage schemes. However, the ecological effects and long-term ecological context of "agricultural improvement" are not yet fully understood. To develop this understanding, we analyze paleoecological data (pollen, coprophilous fungal spores, microcharcoal) from five upland peatland sites using a range of analytical approaches: cluster analysis, principal component analysis, rate-of-change analysis, and regression analyses incorporating documentary historical data. The sites are located on Exmoor (South West England, UK), a landscape that typifies historic upland degradation. We demonstrate that in this landscape, 19th century drainage is associated with declines in Sphagnum and non-arboreal taxon richness; over longer timescales burning is associated with enhanced graminoid monocot abundance and grazing with lower taxon richness. We also show that rate-of-change in moorland vegetation communities during the 19th century is not distinctive in a long-term context: change has been a constant in this landscape, rather than an exception during the 19th century. Our findings indicate that the aims of "restoration" interventions intended to increase Sphagnum abundances, increase taxon richness and reduce graminoid dominance are consistent with the long-term dynamics of peatland systems, such as those on Exmoor. "Restoration" deemed successful in these terms may or may not resemble pre-drainage conditions, which were themselves a function of millennia of successive moorland management regimes.
RESUMO
Objetivo: evaluar el impacto de la cirugía de catarata en la calidad de vida de los pacientes del Hospital Central de la Policía. Diseño del estudio: estudio cuasi experimental. Métodos: se incluyeron pacientes del servicio de oftalmología del Hospital Central de la Policía con diagnóstico de catarata a quienes se les realizo encuesta de calidad de vida (SF-36) previo a la cirugía, con obtención de consentimiento informado para participar en el estudio y con aprobación de la junta institucional. Luego de la cirugía se aplicó de nuevo la encuesta de calidad de vida a cada paciente a los 3 y 6 meses. Se realizó el análisis univariado y se determinaron las correlaciones existentes entre las variables de interés del estudio y la calidad de vida, se utilizó el paquete estadístico SPSS 22.0 de IBM. Resultados: se incluyeron 41 pacientes a quienes se les realizó cirugía de catarata. El puntaje de calidad de vida promedio paso de 63 antes de la cirugía a 78 y 81 en los 3 y 6 meses respectivamente posteriores a la cirugía demostrando gran mejoría en la calidad de vida de los pacientes. Conclusiones: en cuanto al puntaje de cuestionario SF-36, se encontró aumento del puntaje de calidad de vida posterior a la cirugía de catarata tanto a los 3 y 6 meses, pasando de calidad de vida regular a bueno.
Objective: to evaluate the impact of cataract surgery on quality of life of patients in the Central Police Hospital. Methods: a quasi-experimental study. Patients of the ophthalmology department of the Central Police Hospital with a diagnosis of cataract where included and the instrument to measure quality of life was applied (SF-36) before surgery; informed consent was obtained to participate in the study and approval the institutional review board was granted. After surgery the instrument was applied again for each patient at 3 and 6 months. Responses were considered for univariate analysis and correlations, the SPSS 22.0 statistical package was used. Results: 41 patients were included in whom cataract surgery was done. The quality of life score average pace of 63 before surgery to 78 and 81 at 3 and 6 months respectively after surgery showing great improvement in the quality of life of patients. Conclusions: It was evident the improvement on the score of the SF-36 instrument at both 3 and 6 months, ranging form regular quality of life to good quality of life.