Applications of Laser Microprobe Mass Spectrometry in Biology and Medicine

Laser microprobe mass spectrometry (LMMS) provides spot analysis with a lateral resolution of 1-5 μm. Focused laser ionisation, combined with mass spectrometry, yields information on elements, molecular identification of inorganic substances, and structural characterisation of organic molecules of typically less than 2-3 kDa. Quantification in complex heterogeneous systems, such as biological materials, is not possible at the present state of the art. The strength of the method lies in the qualitative information on the molecular composition of the analyte, not just element detection, with a lateral resolution at the light microscopy level. The applications of this technique in the field of biomedicine and biology are illustrated by examples that demonstrate the use of this qualitative information in practical test cases

Variation in behavioral traits of two frugivorous mammals may lead to differential responses to human disturbance

Human activities can lead to a shift in wildlife species' spatial distribution. Understanding the specific effects of human activities on ranging behavior can improve conservation management of wildlife populations in human-dominated landscapes. This study evaluated the effects of forest use by humans on the spatial distribution of mammal species with different behavioral adaptations, using sympatric western lowland gorilla and central chimpanzee as focal species. We collected data on great ape nest locations, ecological and physical variables (habitat distribution, permanent rivers, and topographic data), and anthropogenic variables (distance to trails, villages, and a permanent research site). Here, we show that anthropogenic variables are important predictors of the distribution of wild animals. In the resource model, the distribution of gorilla nests was predicted by nesting habitat distribution, while chimpanzee nests were predicted first by elevation followed by nesting habitat distribution. In the anthropogenic model, the major predictors of gorilla nesting changed to human features, while the major predictors of chimpanzee nesting remained elevation and the availability of their preferred nesting habitats. Animal behavioral traits (body size, terrestrial/arboreal, level of specialization/generalization, and competitive inferiority/superiority) may influence the response of mammals to human activities. Our results suggest that chimpanzees may survive in human-encroached areas whenever the availability of their nesting habitat and preferred fruits can support their population, while a certain level of human activities may threaten gorillas. Consequently, the survival of gorillas in human-dominated landscapes is more at risk than that of chimpanzees. Replicating our research in other sites should permit a systematic evaluation of the influence of human activity on the distribution of mammal populations. As wild animals are increasingly exposed to human disturbance, understanding the resulting consequences of shifting species distributions due to human disturbance on animal population abundance and their long-term survival will be of growing conservation importance

Controlling user groups in traffic

On the basis of policy-based target groups, we developed a prioritization strategy for traffic streams and applied it with the adaptive urban traffic control (UTC) ImFlow. Our main aim was to gain understanding of the possibilities of a policy driven prioritization in an urban context. We conclude that traffic light control can become more rational, effective and efficient from a policy viewpoint. However, situational and operational constraints pose a limit

The InfraRed Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) for TMT: Reflective ruled diffraction grating performance testing and discussion

We present the efficiency of near-infrared reflective ruled diffraction gratings designed for the InfraRed Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). IRIS is a first light, integral field spectrograph and imager for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and narrow field infrared adaptive optics system (NFIRAOS). We present our experimental setup and analysis of the efficiency of selected reflective diffraction gratings. These measurements are used as a comparison sample against selected candidate Volume Phase Holographic (VPH) gratings (see Chen et al., this conference). We investigate the efficiencies of five ruled gratings designed for IRIS from two separate vendors. Three of the gratings accept a bandpass of 1.19-1.37 {\mu}m (J band) with ideal spectral resolutions of R=4000 and R=8000, groove densities of 249 and 516 lines/mm, and blaze angles of 9.86 and 20.54 degrees, respectively. The other two gratings accept a bandpass of 1.51-1.82 {\mu}m (H Band) with an ideal spectral resolution of R=4000, groove density of 141 lines/mm, and blaze angle of 9.86{\deg}. We measure the efficiencies off blaze angle for all gratings and the efficiencies between the polarization transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) states. The peak reflective efficiencies are 98.90 +/- 3.36% (TM) and 84.99 +/- 2.74% (TM) for the H-band R=4000 and J-band R=4000 respectively. The peak reflective efficiency for the J-band R=8000 grating is 78.78 +/- 2.54% (TE). We find that these ruled gratings do not exhibit a wide dependency on incident angle within +/-3{\deg}. Our best-manufactured gratings were found to exhibit a dependency on the polarization state of the incident beam with a ~10-20% deviation, consistent with the theoretical efficiency predictions.Comment: Proceedings of the SPIE, 9147-34

Terrains « sensibles » dans le champ des migrations internationales

Ce neuvième numéro de la revue e-migrinter est issu d’une journée d’étude organisée par Migrinter qui s’est tenue à la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme et de la Société de Poitiers le 13 mai 2011. Les contributions de ce dossier interrogent les conditions de la recherche sur des terrains dits « sensibles » dans le champ des migrations internationales. Elles questionnent les aspects méthodologiques de la recherche de terrain auprès de populations immigrées, illégales et réfugiées et s’attachent ..

Terrains « sensibles » dans le champ des migrations internationales

Ce neuvième numéro de la revue e-migrinter est issu d’une journée d’étude organisée par Migrinter qui s’est tenue à la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme et de la Société de Poitiers le 13 mai 2011. Les contributions de ce dossier interrogent les conditions de la recherche sur des terrains dits « sensibles » dans le champ des migrations internationales. Elles questionnent les aspects méthodologiques de la recherche de terrain auprès de populations immigrées, illégales et réfugiées et s’attachent ..