Monk Parakeets: Tolerance and Territoriality

The Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) is a self-sustaining introduced species of parrot found in Bridgeport and surrounding coastal towns. This species is noteworthy for its elaborate nests that it often shares other species of birds. It is also of interest because of its intelligence, beauty, and complex social life. Because they are non-native Monks are not protected by law, and power companies and others deem them a nuisance due to their noisy vocalizations and tendency to nest on buildings, generators and telephone poles1. Monk numbers are on the decline in our area. In previous studies, kestrels, owls, speckled teals, tree ducks, falconets, cuckoos, white monjita, cowbirds, squirrels, bats, and opossums have been observed in Monk nests.2 We hypothesize, the Monks’ tolerance of other species may expose them to parasites, predation and aggression. This study reports data from our observations of Monk Parakeets living on or near the UB campus

Access to Urgent Pediatric Primary Care Appointments in the District of Columbia

Background Timely access to acute primary care appointments after an emergency department (ED) visit has become a challenge for both providers and patients. Previous studies have documented disparities in accessing adult primary care and pediatric specialty care, especially among those lacking private insurance. There is little data regarding urgent pediatric primary care access. Concerns over pediatric provider access need to be addressed as public and private insurance expansions begin within health reform. Objective This study measured pediatric access to urgent primary care appointments within the District of Columbia (D.C.) following an ED visit. We hypothesized there would be a disparity in access for uninsured children or those with Medicaid. Methods We used mystery caller methodology to evaluate rates of appointment access for pediatric patients. Calls were made to randomly selected private pediatric practices as well as pediatricians at safety net clinics. Research assistants posed as a parent calling to secure an urgent appointment for their child following a recent ED visit for urinary tract infection symptoms using a standardized clinical script that varied by insurance status. We calculated rates of appointment success as well as average length of time between call date and appointment date. All appointments were canceled prior to termination of the call. We analyzed differences in appointment success rates and wait times using bivariate chi2 analysis. Results We sampled 57 safety net clinics and 29 private clinics. Although the results were not statistically significant (p=0.55), successful appointment rates were the lowest among Medicaid (27.8%) callers attempting to make appointments at private clinics. Calls made to safety net providers for the Medicaid patient scenario (48.8%, p=0.38) or uninsured patient scenario (47.7%, p=0.42) had the highest appointment success rate however had longer wait times. The average appointment wait time at safety net clinics for Medicaid patients was 12.3 days (95% CI, 3.5 to 21.1) and 10.4 days (95% CI, 6.7 to 14.1) for uninsured patients. Average appointment wait times for private patients at private practices were 1.9 days (95% CI, 1.0 to 2.7). Conclusion This study did document a disparity in access to urgent pediatric primary care appointments between callers with different types of health insurance in D.C. Although appointment success rates were not different by practice setting or insurance type, average appointment wait times were significantly longer for callers to safety net providers than private practices. Public policies that improve the capacity of pediatric safety net providers and clinics are necessary to improve access

Dendritic molecular assemblies for singlet oxygen generation: meso-tetraphenylporphyrin-based biphotonic sensitizers with remarkable luminescence

International audienceFour new TPP-based chromophores (1-4) peripherally functionalized with dendrons contg. 2-fluorenyl groups were studied for their potential to serve in photodynamic therapy. Their linear and nonlinear optical properties were investigated. With significant TPA cross-sections at 790 nm, good singlet oxygen generation capabilities and relatively large intrinsic fluorescence, sensitizers such as 1 might become particularly appealing for theranostics

Mycoplasma penetrans bacteremia and primary antiphospholipid syndrome.

Mycoplasma penetrans, a rare bacterium so far only found in HIV-infected persons, was isolated in the blood and throat of a non-HIV-infected patient with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (whose etiology and pathogenesis are unknown)

Développement de compétences interculturelles et numériques : le cas d’un dispositif de télécollaboration à l’université

International audienceLes dispositifs intégrant les Tice pour les langues étrangères, mettant notamment en oeuvre en l'interaction en ligne, sont aujourd'hui entrés dans la norme (Bax, 2009 ; 2011). La télécollaboration (Tomé, 2009 ; Helm et al., 2012) en particulier permet d'engager les participants sur la durée, dans des contextes culturels variés (O'Dowd, 2018). Elle constitue un terrain d'étude intéressant des compétences non seulement numériques mais également interculturelles. Le dispositif que nous présentons met en relation des apprenants d'anglais langue étrangère en contexte universitaire francophone, avec des étudiants polonais, futurs enseignants d'anglais, et vise à établir des liens entre apprentissage formel et informel, et espaces personnels, institutionnels et professionnels des participants. Lors de sa mise en oeuvre au second semestre 2018-2019, les participants ont notamment pu se présenter sur des applications en ligne, contribuer à un groupe de discussion qu'ils administraient, participé à des visioconférences sur des thèmes interculturels, organisées et animées par les étudiants-futurs enseignants. Ils pouvaient également communiquer en ligne, en synchrone ou asynchrone, avec les applications de leur choix, en binôme ou en groupes. De plus, des activités hors ligne, telles que l'accueil des étudiants polonais par les apprenants français, ont pu être réalisées. Dans notre présentation, nous proposons un cadre permettant de caractériser les interactions des participants, en vue d'analyser les apports de la télécollaboration. Les premiers résultats montrent l'adoption de nouvelles compétences numériques et le développement de diverses compétences interculturelles, comme la reconnaissance des possibilités offertes par des échanges virtuels interculturels et l'ouverture d'opportunités de mobilité physique informelle entre apprenants

Paramétrisation du potentiel de ruissellement des bassins versants au moyen de la Télédétection et des systèmes d'Informations Géographiques. Application à des bassins versants du Pays de Caux

International audienceThe increasing number of run-off damages occurring in Pays de Caux is a serious concern for regional authorities. The suggested method aims the assessmenl of run-off parameters using Remote Sensing and GIS. This method allows an objective comparison of the intrinsic and anthropic pressures of cultivated catchment from 1000 to 5000 ha. The potenliaI ron-off characteristics are analysed using land use components increasing or limiting run-off. and their spoliaI distrihulion on three different functional units. The selected parameters are the grassland proportion and compacity around concentrated surficial water channels (80 m wide), the proportion and compacity of the soil surfaces contributive to run-off on the top of catchments and, finally, the simple proportion of grassland and forest upon high sloped areas. The temporal evolution of these indices and the comparison between calchments show the signiflcant recorded changes whÎch favour the increase of surfaces contributing la mn-off between 1990 and /997. The interest of Ihese indices is to identify areas sensitive to run-off and to act as a decision supporl tool for a lerritorial management policy aimed al run-off reduclion on catchments. The outlook of this study is to generalize these parameters for regional applications

L'architecture et la performance énergétique : faire converger atténuation et adaptation

International audienceCet article traite des interactions qui peuvent exister entre les actions mises en oeuvre à l'échelle du bâtiment selon qu'elles visent l'atténuation ou l'adaptation au changement climatique et leur impact sur la conception du bâtiment. L'objectif est de montrer que les questions de l'atténuation et de l'adaptation ne peuvent être traitées indépendamment. Les solutions constructives adoptées pour répondre à l'une peuvent nuire à l'autre. L'article propose une méthodologie de nature à traiter de façon continue et itérative les différentes exigences et contraintes qui pèsent sur la conception, qu'elles relèvent de l'adaptation ou de l'atténuation. Cette méthode s'appuie sur le développement des outils informatiques et sur la construction de scénarios différenciés dans l'exploitation du bâtiment. Si des références manquent encore pour prouver son caractère opérationnel les outils existent et des approches partielles ont déjà été réalisées sur des cas d'étude en phase conception. En ouverture, l'article revient sur les notions d'adaptation et d'atténuation dans le contexte du changement climatique. Il part du métier de l'architecte et sa façon de jongler avec les exigences et contraintes à court ou long termes dans son exercice de création. L'étude explore, par la pratique de la conception, la présence avérée ou non d'antagonismes entre l'architecture et les économies d'énergie, levier de l'atténuation du changement climatique. Les solutions envisagées, en l'absence de références, nous amènent à proposer une démarche qui vise à sécuriser les projets innovants en quantifiant leurs limites de fonctionnement à l'aide de la modélisation. Les approches utilisées en sécurité incendie servent de support pour développer et structurer une méthodologie capable, d'une part, de sécuriser les bâtiments, d'autre part, de traiter les interfaces entre les disciplines de manière à valoriser les complémentarités dans la perspective de limiter les coûts. Il introduit finalement les étapes à franchir pour disposer d'une approche aboutie

Exploring co-occurrence of closely-related guild members in a fragmented landscape subject to rapid transformation

Quantifying biotic responses to landscape transformation is a major research focus. Most past studies have explored co-occurrence of entire communities of a given group (e.g. birds) within largely intact ecosystems or over a limited time-frame. By contrast, here we use data from a 15 yr experimental study, to explore intra-guild co-occurrence of six closely-related and functionally-similar sets of birds within 55 woodland fragments. Areas surrounding these remnants are undergoing transformation from grazed paddocks to Pinus radiata plantations, leading to a novel assemblage of forest and woodland birds. We sought to determine if the occurrence of a given species in a guild influenced the occurrence of other closely-related species in that guild, and through this relationship whether there was evidence of co-occurrence between species. After controlling for environmental and habitat variables which can affect species occurrence like time since commencement of landscape transformation, patch size and vegetation type, we found the occurrence of a given species was influenced by the occurrence of a closely-related species in the same guild. Co-occurrence varied among bird guilds and included: 1) positive co-occurrence in which occurrence of one species within fragments positively affected the occurrence of another closely-related guild member (e.g. eastern and crimson rosellas); and 2) negative co-occurrence in which the occurrence of one species was negatively associated with the occurrence of another within the same guild (e.g. willie wagtail and grey fantail). We also identified interactions between patch size and species recording frequency within members of two guilds. For example, modelling of conditional recording frequency revealed the eastern rosella increased with increasing recordings of the crimson rosella in large patches, but decreased with increasing recordings of the crimson rosella in small patches. Our results provide empirical evidence of co-occurrence among guild members and underscore the complexity of biotic responses to landscape transformation.The work at Nanangroe has been possible only because of the support of the Australian Research Council, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, the Murrum-bidgee Catchment Management Authority, and the now sadly defunct organisation Land and Water Australia