Criteria for assessment of welfare impacts within regional planning of transport

Regional transport system plans present the wide framework for local transport planning, and are the means of applying the national high-level objectives regionally. Transport system plans are usually created interactively with the regional land use planning. Prediction and appraisal of the potential impacts of the alternatives under discussion form an important part of the planning process. This paper presents Finnish experience in defining criteria for assessing the potential welfare impacts of a transport plan or policy. These criteria are to be used co-operatively by the planners and decision-makers. An important issue is the link between the formation of the objectives and the actual evaluation of impacts, as well as the underlying values and views that influence the selection of planning methods and practises. The criteria were drafted based on a literature review and preliminary discussions with national transport authorities. The preliminary criteria were selected and put into order by using the multi-criteria method MACBETH. The process involved active co-operation with the national transport authorities, as well as with other interest groups. The draft criteria were prioritised based on the opinions of selected representatives of national and regional authorities and transport planners. In this paper we focus on the priorisation process of the criteria, as well as discuss the validity and usability of the criteria created. Furthermore, the suitability of multi-criteria analysis in the context of regional transport planning is discussed, in addition to the consistency requirements between the criteria and the multi-criteria model. The criteria have been created in an ongoing Finnish study that aims at supporting regional transport planning, concerning the impacts that changes in the transport system may have on the welfare of the communities and individuals. Furthermore, the suitability of certain Multi-Criteria Decision Aid (MCDA) methods in creating consensus in the planning process is tested.

Criteria for assessment of welfare impacts within regional planning of transport

Regional transport system plans present the wide framework for local transport planning, and are the means of applying the national high-level objectives regionally. Transport system plans are usually created interactively with the regional land use planning. Prediction and appraisal of the potential impacts of the alternatives under discussion form an important part of the planning process. This paper presents Finnish experience in defining criteria for assessing the potential welfare impacts of a transport plan or policy. These criteria are to be used co-operatively by the planners and decision-makers. An important issue is the link between the formation of the objectives and the actual evaluation of impacts, as well as the underlying values and views that influence the selection of planning methods and practises. The criteria were drafted based on a literature review and preliminary discussions with national transport authorities. The preliminary criteria were selected and put into order by using the multi-criteria method MACBETH. The process involved active co-operation with the national transport authorities, as well as with other interest groups. The draft criteria were prioritised based on the opinions of selected representatives of national and regional authorities and transport planners. In this paper we focus on the priorisation process of the criteria, as well as discuss the validity and usability of the criteria created. Furthermore, the suitability of multi-criteria analysis in the context of regional transport planning is discussed, in addition to the consistency requirements between the criteria and the multi-criteria model. The criteria have been created in an ongoing Finnish study that aims at supporting regional transport planning, concerning the impacts that changes in the transport system may have on the welfare of the communities and individuals. Furthermore, the suitability of certain Multi-Criteria Decision Aid (MCDA) methods in creating consensus in the planning process is tested

Troubled by the humics — effects of water colour and interspecific competition on the feeding efficiency of planktivorous perch

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Effects of water colour on the pigment content of a floating-leaved macrophyte - Implications of lake brownification

Brownification of lakes is a widely spread environmental problem. Brownification is a severe phenomenon, because water colour strongly shapes lake ecosystems through effects on the physical-chemical environment and biological communities. The effects of brownification on aquatic macrophytes are poorly known. Therefore, the aim of this study was to find out the effects of increasing water colour on the photosynthetic pigment content of the floating-leaved macrophyte Nuphar lutea. Field data on water quality and pigment content of N. lutea were collected from 27 lakes in southern and central Finland. The concentration of chlorophyll a+b in the floating laminae or in the petioles was not dependent on water colour, but the depth where the maximum chlorophyll a+b concentration was observed in the petioles, decreased with increasing water colour. Chlorophyll a:b ratio in the petioles and in the floating laminae decreased with increasing water colour. The response of the laminae was explained by decreased upward irradiance of light in high-colour lakes. However, the decreasing light intensity along increasing water colour could not alone explain the variations in chlorophyll a:b. The effects of water colour on the spectral composition of light probably also had a regulatory role. The results showed that the effects of lake brownification on pigments of macrophytes may not be limited to submerged species, but floatingleaved species can also be affected, with consequences for their photosynthesis.Peer reviewe

Pimeän perilliset : Kalojen välinen kilpailu ja vuorovaikutussuhteet humusjärvissä

Humic lakes are abundant in the temperate and cold regions of the Boreal Zone. High levels of water colour and strong thermal stratification of humic lakes limit the potential fish habitats and give a special role to the intraspecific and interspecific interactions. Water colour has different effects on species depending on species-specific life-history traits and trophic interactions. Fish species whose success in predation is based on visual cues are more susceptible to suffer in competition. The main aim of the thesis was to demonstrate the effects of water colour on European perch (Perca fluviatilis) in humic lakes. The contribution of water colour to diet, feeding, growth and competitive interactions of fish was studied both in laboratory and in small humic lakes with varying levels of water colour. The main findings of the thesis were that water colour has different effects on species, depending on species-specific life-history traits and trophic interactions. Water colour affected visually-oriented perch feeding and growth negatively, and the prolonged benthic feeding phase of perch resulting from the increased water colour could increase intraspecific competition in perch populations and may result in a partial bottleneck in growth for perch. Moreover, water colour may act as a proximate factor behind the population dependency of sexual growth dimorphism in perch.Ruskeavetiset humusjärvet ovat yleisiä pohjoisella ilmastovyöhykkeellä. Veden humuspitoisuudella tarkoitetaan maaperästä veteen liuenneiden hienojakoisten aineiden aiheuttamaa veden ruskeaa väriä. Järvien ruskeavetisyys on useimmiten luontaista. Myös ihmistoiminta järvien valuma-aluilla, kuten ojitukset ja hakkuut, sekä ilmastomuutos tummentavat järvien vesiä. Veden värillä on lukuisia vaikutuksia järvien ravintoverkkoihin. Veden väri voi vaikuttaa myös kalojen välisiin kilpailuasetelmiin. Erityisesti kalat, joiden saalistustapa perustuu pääosin näköaistiin, kärsivät ravintokilpailussa. Tässä väitöskirjatyössä tutkitaan miten veden väri vaikuttaa Suomen yleisimpään kalalajiin, ahveneen (Perca fluviatilis), joka saalistaa pääasiassa näköaistinsa avulla. Väitöskirjan osatutkimukset tarkastelevat pääasiassa ahvenen ja särjen (Rutilus rutilus) ravinnonkäyttöä, saalistustehokkuutta, kasvua ja ravintokilpailua humusjärvissä. Väitöskirjassa ahventa ja särkeä on tutkittu sekä pienissä humuksisissa metsäjärvissä että kokeellisissa kalatutkimuksissa laboratoriossa. Lisäksi väitöskirjatyössä on tarkasteltu ahvenen tuotantoa, eläinplanktonia ja pohjaeläimiä pienissä humuksissa metsäjärvissä. Väitöskirjan tutkimustulosten mukaan ahvenet ovat kirkkaissa vesissä hyökkäävämpiä ja tehokkaampia planktonin syöjiä kuin särki, mutta tummissa vesissä särki voi päästä voitolle ravintokilpailussa. Tulosten mukaan myös ahventen kasvu oli hitaampaa ja kalat pienikokoisempia voimakkaan humuksisissa järvissä. Tulosten perusteella myös eläinplankton ja pohjaeläimet, jotka ovat ahventen ja särkien ravintoa, voivat hyötyä tummasta vedestä, sillä saalistajat näkevät ne huonommin. Väitöskirjatyön merkittävimmät tulokset olivat, että veden väri voi vaikeuttaa ahventen siirtymistä petokalavaiheeseen, jolloin ahvenet jäävät pienikokoisiksi. Lisäksi havaittiin, että erityisesti naarasahventen syöntiteho heikkeni koiraita enemmän tummassa vedessä. Havainto on huolestuttava, sillä nimenomaan suurikokoiset naaraskalat ovat avainasemassa kalojen lisääntymisessä. Lisäksi kalastajatkin tavoittelevat suuria kaloja. Siksi Kalastuksen ja ympäristömuutosten yhteisvaikutus saattaa heijastua voimakkaasti kalojen evolutiiviseen säätelyyn. Kalastuksen säätelyn ohjauksessa tulisikin ottaa huomioon ympäristömuutosten vaikutukset, jotta kalastusta voitaisiin ohjata kalakantojen kestävän kehityksen periaatteiden mukaisesti

Should I stay or should I go? The diurnal behaviour of plant-attached zooplankton in lakes with different water transparency

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Symptom severity in burning mouth syndrome associates with psychological factors

Abstract Background Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) patients are psychologically distressed, but whether this associates with symptom severity is unclear. Objective To investigate the association of psychological factors with pain intensity and interference in BMS. Methods 52 women (mean age 63.1, SD 10.9) with BMS participated. Pain intensity and interference data was collected using 2-week pain diaries. Psychological factors were evaluated using Depression scale (DEPS), Pain anxiety symptom scale (PASS) and Pain vigilance and awareness questionnaire (PVAQ). The local ethical committee approved the study. Patients were divided into groups based on pain severity distribution tertiles: low intensity (NRS ≤ 3.7) or interference (NRS ≤2.9) (tertiles 1-2, n=35) and moderate to intense intensity (NRS > 3.7) or interference (>2.9)(tertile 3, n= 17). T-test, Wilcoxon Test and Pearson's Correlation Coefficient were used in the analyses. Results Patients in the highest intensity and interference tertiles reported more depression (P = .0247 and P = .0169) and pain anxiety symptoms (P = .0359 and P = .0293), and were more preoccupied with pain (P = .0004 and P = .0003) than patients in the low intensity and interference groups. The score of the pain vigilance questionnaire correlated significantly with pain intensity (r= .366, P= .009 and interference (r= .482, P = .009). Depression (r=. 399, P = .003) and pain anxiety symptoms (r= .452, P = .001) correlated with pain interference. Conclusion Symptom severity in BMS associates with symptoms of psychological distress emphasizing the need to develop multidimensional diagnostics for the assessment of BMS pain.Peer reviewe

Lettres d'Amérique

Mode of access: Internet

Population dynamics and growth of perch in a small, humic lake over a 20-year period — importance of abiotic and biotic factors

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Muscle activity and acute stress in fibromyalgia

Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) patients are likely to differ from healthy controls in muscle activity and in reactivity to experimental stress. Methods: We compared psychophysiological reactivity to cognitive stress between 51 female FM patients aged 18 to 65 years and 31 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. They underwent a 20-minute protocol consisting of three phases of relaxation and two phases of cognitive stress. We recorded surface electromyography normalized to maximum voluntary muscle contraction (%EMG), the percentage of time with no muscle activity (EMG rest time), and subjective pain and stress intensities. We compared group reactivity using linear modelling and adjusted for psychological and life-style factors. Results: The FM patients had a significantly higher mean %EMG (2.2 % vs. 1.0 %, p <0.001), pain intensity (3.6 vs. 0.2, p <0.001), and perceived stress (3.5 vs. 1.4, p <0.001) and lower mean EMG rest time (26.7 % vs. 47.2 %, p <0.001). In the FM patients, compared with controls, the pain intensity increased more during the second stress phase (0.71, p = 0.028), and the %EMG decreased more during the final relaxation phase (-0.29, p = 0.036). Within the FM patients, higher BMI predicted higher %EMG but lower stress. Leisure time physical activity predicted lower %EMG and stress and higher EMG rest time. Higher perceived stress predicted lower EMG rest time, and higher trait anxiety predicted higher pain and stress overall. Conclusions: Our results suggest that repeated cognitive stress increases pain intensity in FM patients. FM patients also had higher resting muscle activity, but their muscle activity did not increase with pain. Management of stress and anxiety might help control FM flare-ups.Peer reviewe