The changing fauna and flora of Finland – discovering the bigger picture through long-term data

To discern changes in nature during the current era of unprecedented biodiversity change, there is no alternative to systematic long-term data collection efforts. Finland holds a globally unique treasure trove of long-term ecological data series, each springing from its own origins, purposes and approaches. If sensibly used, these data provide a unique baseline for what was before, insight into current directions of change, and a scientifically sound foundation for informed policies. To leverage the mobilisation of these data, we conduct a basic SWOT analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats associated with our national data treasure. As Strengths, we identify the globally unique extent, depth and coverage of data. As Weaknesses, we identify the fragmented nature of data storage, access, and taxonomic coverage. As Opportunities, we show how new syntheses spanning across decades and taxa may reveal both the extent of and mechanisms behind biodiversity change. As Threats, we point to the alarming lack of long-term funding, legislation and coordination of these time series. We conclude that these data provide a unique potential for informing relevant policies – and that this potential can only be secured, tapped and maintained by transformative changes in national monitoring strategies, funding and legislation

Czech Republic: A rapid transformation of fertility and family behaviour after the collapse of state socialism

Following the swift demise of the state-socialist regime in 1989, a profound transformation of family and fertility patterns has taken place in the Czech Republic. Family formation has been postponed and period fertility rates have fallen to very low levels, especially among young adults. Unmarried cohabitation has become relatively widespread and marriages have been progressively delayed or even foregone. These rapid shifts in family-related behaviour were primarily driven by a period change and resulted in a sharp discontinuity in cohort patterns of union formation and childbearing. We argue that the rapid change in family-related behaviour after 1990 was driven by a fundamental shift in the constraints and incentives for childbearing, which was conducive to later and more carefully planned family formation. The rapidity of observed changes can be explained as the outcome of a simultaneous occurrence of several factors, especially the expansion of higher education, the emergence of new opportunities competing with family life, increasing job competition, rising economic uncertainty in young adulthood, and changing partnership behaviour.childbearing, Czech Republic, Europe, family, fertility, state socialism

Habit formation in consumption: A meta-analysis

We examine 567 estimates of habit formation from 69 studies published in peer-reviewed journals. In contrast to previous results for most fields of empirical economics, we find no publication bias in the literature. The median estimated strength of habit formation equals 0.4, but the estimates vary widely both within and across studies. We use Bayesian model averaging to assign a pattern to this variance while taking into account model uncertainty. Studies using micro data report consistently smaller estimates than macro studies: 0.1 vs. 0.6 on average. The difference remains large when we control for 21 other study aspects, such as data frequency, geographical coverage, variable definition, estimation approach, and publication characteristics. We also find that estimates of external habit formation tend to be substantially larger than those of internal habits, that evidence for habits weakens when researchers use higher data frequencies, and that estimates differ systematically across countries

Inventering av biologiskt kulturarv

Fältmanual till biologiskt kulturarv Föreliggande skrift är framför allt en fältmanual till biologiskt kulturarv (och ett urval av andra biologiska kulturbärare), en checklista med bilder och beskrivningar. Det tar också upp några aspekter på själva metodiken för inventering, kartering och tolkning. Fältmanualen omfattar de vanligaste aspekterna av biologiskt kulturarv som man kan hitta i svenska landskap från söder till norr. Listan beskriver biologiskt kulturarv huvudsakligen från nivåerna egenskaper, individer och artförekomster enligt RAÄ:s indelning

Current epigenetic aspects the clinical kidney researcher should embrace

Chronic kidney disease (CKD), affecting 10-12% of the world's adult population, is associated with a considerably elevated risk of serious comorbidities, in particular, premature vascular disease and death. Although a wide spectrum of causative factors has been identified and/or suggested, there is still a large gap of knowledge regarding the underlying mechanisms and the complexity of the CKD phenotype. Epigenetic factors, which calibrate the genetic code, are emerging as important players in the CKD-associated pathophysiology. In this article, we review some of the current knowledge on epigenetic modifications and aspects on their role in the perturbed uraemic milieu, as well as the prospect of applying epigenotype-based diagnostics and preventive and therapeutic tools of clinical relevance to CKD patients. The practical realization of such a paradigm will require that researchers apply a holistic approach, including the full spectrum of the epigenetic landscape as well as the variability between and within tissues in the uraemic milieu

Impacts of Greenhouse and Local Gases Mitigation Options on Air Pollution in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area: Valuation of Human Health Effects

The objective of this work is to assess through the "avoided health cost method" what would be the economic benefits of undertaking greenhouse (and local) gases mitigation policies in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area. To do so, we have developed six steps: Mitigation Scenarios (which policies to undertake), Emissions Inventory according to those, an Ambient Air Pollution Model to calculate the physical impacts, Health Effects Estimation to assess the health consequences of reducing air pollution, and Economic Valuation of those health impacts. The mitigation measures valued have to do with the transportation sector (greater penetration of compressed natural gas, consumption improvements, and some mode substitution) and the energy sector (the introduction of new dams and the rational use of energy by reducing energy consumption in residential, commercial and public buildings). There are three scenarios: a Baseline or Business-as-Usual scenario, a scenario that considers GHG mitigation options for Argentina with impacts in terms of local pollution, and an Integrated scenario which in addition to GHG mitigation includes policies related to local air quality and rational use of energy programs. All scenarios were built up to the year 2012. Particulate matter is the pollutant whose impact is valued.

PynPoint: a modular pipeline architecture for processing and analysis of high-contrast imaging data

The direct detection and characterization of planetary and substellar companions at small angular separations is a rapidly advancing field. Dedicated high-contrast imaging instruments deliver unprecedented sensitivity, enabling detailed insights into the atmospheres of young low-mass companions. In addition, improvements in data reduction and PSF subtraction algorithms are equally relevant for maximizing the scientific yield, both from new and archival data sets. We aim at developing a generic and modular data reduction pipeline for processing and analysis of high-contrast imaging data obtained with pupil-stabilized observations. The package should be scalable and robust for future implementations and in particular well suitable for the 3-5 micron wavelength range where typically (ten) thousands of frames have to be processed and an accurate subtraction of the thermal background emission is critical. PynPoint is written in Python 2.7 and applies various image processing techniques, as well as statistical tools for analyzing the data, building on open-source Python packages. The current version of PynPoint has evolved from an earlier version that was developed as a PSF subtraction tool based on PCA. The architecture of PynPoint has been redesigned with the core functionalities decoupled from the pipeline modules. Modules have been implemented for dedicated processing and analysis steps, including background subtraction, frame registration, PSF subtraction, photometric and astrometric measurements, and estimation of detection limits. The pipeline package enables end-to-end data reduction of pupil-stabilized data and supports classical dithering and coronagraphic data sets. As an example, we processed archival VLT/NACO L' and M' data of beta Pic b and reassessed the planet's brightness and position with an MCMC analysis, and we provide a derivation of the photometric error budget.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, PynPoint is available at https://github.com/PynPoint/PynPoin