Mortality rates of the Alpine Chamois : the influence of snow-meteorological factors

Especially for animals inhabiting alpine areas, winter environmental conditions can be limiting. Cold temperatures, hampered food availability and natural perils are just three of many potential threats that mountain ungulates face in winter. Understanding their sensitivity to climate variability is essential for game management. Here we focus on analyzing the influence of snow and weather conditions on the mortality pattern of Alpine chamois. Our mortality data are derived from a systematic assessment of 6,500 chamois that died of natural causes over the course of 13 years. We use population- and habitat-specific data on snow, climate and avalanche danger to identify the key environmental factors that essentially determine the spatio-temporal variations in chamois mortality. Initially, we show that most fatalities occurred in winter, with a peak around March, when typically snow depths were highest. Death causes related to poor general conditions were the major component of seasonal variations. As for the interannual variations in mortality, snow depth and avalanche risk best explained the occurrence of winters with increased numbers of fatalities. Finally, analyzing differences in mortality rates between populations, we identified sun-exposed winter habitats with little snow accumulation as favourable for alpine chamois

Webinar: Economic Impacts from Bicycle and Pedestrian Street Improvements

As many cities are investing in street improvements to provide better biking and walking experiences, the economic value and impacts of these active transportation facilities remain areas where many practitioners, planners and policy makers are seeking more conclusive evidence. With various modes competing for scarce resources, planners and transportation agencies often struggle with how to justify infrastructure investments for non-motorized modes, particularly when driving is still the predominant mode of transportation in most cities. In this project we assess property value impacts of Portland’s “Green Loop” signature bike infrastructure concept, illustrating the importance of considering both accessibility and extensiveness of bike facility networks. The Green Loop is a proposed 6-mile linear open space running through the heart of Portland, connecting existing and new open spaces, parks, gathering areas, and walking and biking pathways. As envisioned, the Green Loop concept requires significant infrastructure investments, and would result in both short-term and long-term impacts on transportation (for all travel modes), economic development and the environment. In collaboration with the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS), the Portland State University Institute for Sustainable Solutions (ISS), and in partnership with PeopleForBikes and the Summit Foundation, the goal of this research is to characterize, quantify and analyze these costs, benefits and impacts, particularly focusing on case studies of similar infrastructure investments in active transportation. In this webinar, we will further focus on the residential property value impacts associated with advanced bike facilities. We find that proximity to advanced bike facilities has significant and positive effects on all property values, highlighting household preferences for high quality bike infrastructure. The lessons and research gaps identified in this work led to the development of two ongoing NITC-funded studies: Understanding Economic and Business Impacts of Street Improvements for Bicycle and Pedestrian Mobility - A Multi-City Multi-Approach Exploration and Understanding the economic impacts of urban greenway infrastructure. We will share some updates on these ongoing projects as well. Key learning outcomes include: A framework for understanding the economic results of bicycle and pedestrian investments, with data to show: Evidence of impacts on residential property values Evidence of impacts on on business and retail activity Insight into potential short-term and long-term impacts of the Portland Green Loop A method for estimating economic impacts of similar proposed active transportation projectshttps://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/trec_webinar/1018/thumbnail.jp

What is baseline? A concussion policy analysis

Abstract Concussion symptoms are nonspecific and may be related to other causes. Symptom scores and timeline of return to activity at many institutions are based on having no symptoms at baseline with the current measurement tools. This assumption in the diagnosis and treatment of concussions may lead to prolonged return to activity, compounded concussion symptoms, and unintended psychological and social sequelae. More baseline data is needed, especially in military academies, according to the CARE Consortium Study. During the high-stress initial training period at one mid-Atlantic military college a no-symptom baseline is unlikely for first-year students. The potential overlap of concussion and typical baseline symptoms make diagnosis and release to activity a challenge for providers. A baseline survey of first-year, non-concussed students using a standard concussion scoring tool showed that 95 % of participants were symptomatic at baseline. Stakeholders were presented the results and a policy analysis using Bardach’s Eight-fold Path was performed comparing three other policy options. The policy analysis found that a narrower or less descriptive baseline description could have unintended negative impacts on clinical outcomes and provider liability. It also found that preseason baseline testing should be included for all students at the mid-Atlantic military college. Colleges, especially those in high-stress settings, should consider reevaluating baseline descriptions and testing recommendations in concussion policy to accommodate normal variations in symptomatology and provide freedom in clinical judgement

Building a Peace Economy?

This book critically examines the range of policies and programmes that attempt to manage economic activity that contributes to political violence. It offers a new framework for understanding both the problem of economic activity in conflict zones as well as programmes aimed at managing these and transforming them into more peaceful economic and political relationships. Through this examination, both the problems of liberal modes of peacebuilding, implemented by the development-security industry, and opportunities for policy innovation are explored. Useful charts and frameworks throughout the book provide the reader with a range of analytical tools that can be easily used to explore war economies and related policies in a range of contexts, making this book an essential read for students, policy makers and aid practitioners working in a range of disciplines and conflict-affected areas

Recreating the Past: Aachen and the Problem of the Architectural "Copy"

This thesis explores the formal, historiographic and critical issues of similitude and the problem of historical memory through Charlemagne's chapel at Aachen and buildings associated with it. In my study, I seek to understand some of the levels on which reference to and appropriation of Aachen reflect the historical, political and cultural moment unique to each of five selected interpretations and how, in these examples, the perception of Aachen provided an image through which contemporary concerns ad meanings could be expressed. The issue, therefore, is not so much what Aachen was like, physically or even ideologically, at the time it was built, but how the chapel was perceived in later times, and, importantly, what the terms of that image were and how that image made the chapel a viable touchstone for later references - often ambiguously termed "copies." These buildings can be seen not simply as subordinate to Aachen, but as works that incorporate an image of Aachen for their own ends; through this incorporation, Aachen can be seen as actually subject to them for its own survival. My study raises the question of what it can mean to remember Aachen and the corollary issue of what it can mean to be like Aachen. My chosen examples underscore that while the chapel remained a potent image, the perception of Aachen as a work of the past as well as the criteria for likeness are changeable and tied to time and circumstance

Unbearable wearables

As wearable devices play an increasing role in the management of health and disease, adverse skin reactions to wearables have become more common. However, the management of allergic contact dermatitis is challenging and new treatment options more compatible with wearable devices are needed. In a 40-year-old woman with contact dermatitis to a continuous glucose monitoring device, topical clobetasol propionate 0.05% spray proved to be an effective treatment that was compatible with the application of adhesive wearables. This case demonstrates that spray formulations of topical steroids are a good option for the treatment of dermatitis under wearable devices such as continuous glucose monitors or ostomy appliance

Rodent Dental Microwear Texture Analysis as a Proxy for Fine-Scale Paleoenvironment Reconstruction

Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) of fossil fauna has become a valuable tool for dietary inference and paleoenvironment reconstruction. Most of this work has utilized larger taxa with larger home ranges. These studies may result in broader-scale habitat inferences that could mask the details of complex mosaic habitats. Rodent DMTA offers an opportunity to work at finer spatial scales because most species have smaller home ranges. Rodents are also keystone species within their ecosystems, abundant, ubiquitous, and found in many fossil deposits. These attributes make them excellent proxies for environmental reconstructions. However, the application of DMTA to rodents remains relatively new. Furthermore, many rodent species are dietary generalists, and individuals available for study in museum collections lack detail on feeding behavior, which makes it difficult to develop strong dietary associations with microwear patterns. The same holds for limited environmental metadata associated with such samples. This dissertation sought to explore the efficacy of rodent DMTA as a proxy for fine-scale paleoenvironment reconstruction and to establish a baseline of extant incisor and molar textures with detailed metadata associations to aid in future comparisons to fossil taxa. The biomonitoring project at Kolomela Mine, located within South Africa’s Northern Cape, provided an ideal opportunity with which to conduct this research. Stomach content analyses conducted on 214 muroid specimens caught within the Kolomela properties examined diets by species, location, and month. These analyses indicated that the Kolomela rodent community mainly consumed grass seed despite the presence of other foodstuff within stomachs. A confocal profiler scanned high resolution casts to provide microwear textures for 198 incisors and 175 molars, from which SSFA and ISO parameter data were derived. Statistical tests explored the effects of diet, taxon, and habitat attributes on the central tendencies of these parameters, as well as effects by tooth form. Incisor microwear textures seemed to possess a stronger environmental signal than that of molars, with analyses indicating significant variation by species, macrohabitat, microhabitat, burrowing behavior, soil, and land cover classification. These results suggested that while soil characteristics had a strong influence on parameter central tendencies, incisor microwear textures seem to result from complex interactions with habitat characteristics. Molar microwear did not parse the considered dietary categories, likely because all individuals had diets dominated by grass seed that swamped any diet signal reflecting the food elements of each group. Significant variation in parameter central tendencies by both species and burrowing behavior were believed to be the result of differing molar topography between Gerbillinae and Murinae specimens. Analyses also separated molar microwear from different dust levels, which indicated that perhaps an environmental signal can be parsed, at least when diets are homogeneous and controlled for. Finally, molar and incisor microwear textures were significantly different from one another, presumably due to a) different roles in food acquisition and process, b) different rates in gross wear and surface turnover, and c) different degrees of interaction with exogenous grit and the outside environment. These results suggest that both tooth types should be considered in future paleoenvironment reconstructions