387 research outputs found
Impact of reindeer grazing on ground-dwelling Carabidae and Curculionidae assemblages in Lapland
Reindeer Rangifer tarandus L. grazing shapes forest vegetation, microclimate, and
soil respiration in Lapland, especially due to grazing on lichens (Cladina). We studied
how these changes and their magnitude affect ground-dwelling species of beetle
families Carabidae (predators) and Curculionidae (herbivores), by using pitfall traps
to collect invertebrates from pairs of grazed and ungrazed study plots over a wide
range of site types. Changes in abundance, composition, richness and diversity of
beetle assemblage were tested in relation to magnitude of the impacts on vegetation.
The species compositions of Carabidae and Curculionidae differed between grazed
and ungrazed plots in all sites. The relative difference between grazed and ungrazed
plots in the number of individuals increased linearly with the impact of reindeer on
vegetation cover. Carabid beetles, as a family, were more common in grazed plots in
all sites. Curculionid beetles were more common in ungrazed plots in the birch
dominated sites. This difference was mainly due to the species that feeds on
deciduous leaves. In the pine dominated sites with high Cladina cover and more
changes in ground vegetation, the number of curculionids feeding on conifers was
higher in grazed plots. Species richness and diversity (H’) of both families were higher
in grazed plots. Of the total 27 species, 11 were found only in grazed plots, while not
a single species was found only in ungrazed plots. The relative difference between
plots in diversity and evennes (H’/H’max) had humped response to the difference in
Cladina cover. The diversity values were greater in grazed plots at the intermediate
levels of grazing impact, and only in sites with very low or extremely high Cladina
cover difference was the diversity higher in ungrazed plots. The response of beetle
diversity resembled the hypotheses suggested for the relationship between grazing and
vegetation diversity: greatest positive effect at intermediate grazing intensity and
negative effects at unproductive sites
Hyvinvoinnin turvaamisen rajat : Näköaloja talouskriisiin ja hyvinvointivaltion kehitykseen Suomessa
Miten syksyllä 2008 alkanut globaali talouskriisi vaikuttaa pitkällä aikavälillä suomalaiseen hyvinvointivaltioon? Jos olisimme antiikin Kreikassa, voisimme mennä Delfoin oraakkelin luo Apollonin temppeliin ja esittää tämän kysymyksen ennuspapittarelle. Eräänä lokakuun päivänä 2009 Kelan tiloihin kokoontui joukko suomalaisia hyvinvointivaltion huippuasiantuntijoita. He kertoivat julkisen talouden, kansalaisten toimeentulon ja terveyden näkökulmista kolmelle ”professori-oraakkelille” eli tanskalaiselle Nina Smithille, ruotsalaiselle Johan Fritzellille ja saksalaisille Karl Hinrichsille Suomen kokemuksista edellisestä, 1990-luvun alun lamasta, sen jälkeisestä kehityksestä sekä omista tulevaisuuden arvioistaan. Seuraavana päivänä oraakkelit lausuivat ennustuksensa, joka paljastetaan tässä raportissa.10,00 euro
Integral and fractional Quantum Hall Ising ferromagnets
We compare quantum Hall systems at filling factor 2 to those at filling
factors 2/3 and 2/5, corresponding to the exact filling of two lowest electron
or composite fermion (CF) Landau levels. The two fractional states are examples
of CF liquids with spin dynamics. There is a close analogy between the
ferromagnetic (spin polarization P=1) and paramagnetic (P=0) incompressible
ground states that occur in all three systems in the limits of large and small
Zeeman spin splitting. However, the excitation spectra are different. At
filling factor 2, we find spin domains at half-polarization (P=1/2), while
antiferromagnetic order seems most favorable in the CF systems. The transition
between P=0 and 1, as seen when e.g. the magnetic field is tilted, is also
studied by exact diagonalization in toroidal and spherical geometries. The
essential role of an effective CF-CF interaction is discussed, and the
experimentally observed incompresible half-polarized state is found in some
models
Kelan toimistojen lakkauttaminen ja arviot Kelan palveluista : Kuvailevat tulokset.
Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan, millä tavoin Kelaan suhtaudutaan asuinpaikkakunnilla, joissa Kelan palvelutoiminnan muutokset ovat ilmentyneet toimistojen sulkemisina. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään Kelassa asioinnin muutoksia sekä kuntalaisten näkemyksissä tapahtuneita muutoksia. Tutkimuksessa analysoidaan kuntalaisten antamia arvosanoja Kelan ja sen eri palvelukanavien toiminnalle. Lisäksi tarkastellaan heidän näkemyksiään Kelan toimistoverkon riittävyydestä, etuuksien hakemisen vaivattomuudesta ja Kelan palvelujen saavutettavuudesta.
Tutkimuksen aineisto koostuu vuosina 2010, 2011 ja 2012 kerätyistä puhelinhaastatteluista, jotka suunnattiin 12 kuntaan, jossa Kelan toimisto oli lakkautettu joko vuonna 2010 tai 2011. Puhelinhaastatteluja tehtiin kunakin vuonna noin 600 siten, että jokaisena vuotena kultakin asuinpaikkakunnalta on noin 50 havaintoa.
Tulosten mukaan välittömät reaktiot toimiston lakkautukselle ovat joissakin tapauksissa negatiivisia. Esimerkiksi Kelalle annetut yleisarvosanat heikentyivät toimiston lakkautuksen jälkeen, ja ne ovat jääneet toimiston sulkemista edeltävää tasoa matalammalle tasolle. Toisaalta toimiston lakkautuksella ei vaikuta olevan selvää yhteyttä mielipiteisiin. Mielipiteet myös näyttävät lieventyvän ajan myötä.
Toimiston lakkautus ei välittömästi vähennä toimistossa asiointia. Monissa kunnissa henkilökohtainen asiointi toimistossa on asuinpaikkakunnan toimiston sulkemisesta huolimatta kasvanut. Tulosten valossa toimiston sulkeminen edellyttää, että korvaavaan toimistopalveluun lisätään resursseja. Lähitoimistossa on varauduttava asiakasmäärien kasvuun.
Toimiston lakkautus ei tulosten valossa toimi sinällään kannusteena siirtyä käyttämään verkkopalveluja. Verkkopalvelujen käyttö ei systemaattisesti kasvanut tutkimuskunnissa. Sen sijaan puhelinasiointi ja kirjeitse asiointi kasvoivat useissa kunnissa toimiston lakkautuksen jälkeen. Lisääntynyt puhelinasiakkuus viittaa siihen, että asiakkaat hakevat neuvontaa puhelimitse henkilökohtaisen kasvokkain tapahtuvan asiakaspalvelun tarjonnan siirtyessä kauemmaksi
Habitat use by endemic and introduced rodents along a gradient of forest disturbance in Madagascar
We used logistic and Poisson regression models to determine factors of forest and landscape
structure that influence the presence and abundance of rodent species in the rain forest of Ranomafana
National Park in southeastern Madagascar. Rodents were collected using live-traps along a gradient of
human disturbance. All five endemic rodent species (Nesomys rufus, N. audeberti, Eliurus tanala, E. minor
and E. webbi) and the introduced rat Rattus rattus were captured in both secondary and primary forests, but
the introduced Mus musculus was only trapped in secondary forest. The abundance of R. rattus increased
with the level of habitat disturbance, and it was most common in the heavily logged secondary forest.
Furthermore, the probability of the presence of R. rattus increased with decreasing distance from forest
edge and decreasing canopy cover, while the probability of presence increased with increasing herbaceous
cover, altitude and overstory tree height. The species was never observed farther than 500 m away from
human habitation or camp-site. N. rufus prefered selectively-logged forest at altitudes above 900 m a.s.l. Its
probability of presence increased with increasing canopy cover, herbaceous cover and distance from forest
edge, and with decreasing density of fallen logs, overstory tree height and distance from human habitation.
N. audeberti prefered heavily-logged areas, while E. tanala was the only species occurring along the entire
range of forest disturbance. We suggest that in the Ranomafana National Park the spread of R. rattus is
associated with deforestation
Current-spin-density functional study of persistent currents in quantum rings
We present a numerical study of persistent currents in quantum rings using
current spin density functional theory (CSDFT). This formalism allows for a
systematic study of the joint effects of both spin, interactions and impurities
for realistic systems. It is illustrated that CSDFT is suitable for describing
the physical effects related to Aharonov-Bohm phases by comparing energy
spectra of impurity-free rings to existing exact diagonalization and
experimental results. Further, we examine the effects of a symmetry-breaking
impurity potential on the density and current characteristics of the system and
propose that narrowing the confining potential at fixed impurity potential will
suppress the persistent current in a characteristic way.Comment: 7 pages REVTeX, including 8 postscript figure
Poor long-term outcome in acute coronary syndrome in a real-life setting: Ten-year outcome of the TACOS study
Background: Long-term outcome of the three categories of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in real-life patient cohorts is not well known. The objective of this study was to survey the 10-year outcome of an ACS patient cohort admitted to a university hospital and to explore factors affecting the outcome.Methods: A total of 1188 consecutive patients (median age 73 years) with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) or unstable angina pectoris (UA) in 2002–2003 were included and followed up for ≥ 10 years.Results: Mortality for STEMI, NSTEMI and UA patients during the follow-up period was 52.5%, 69.9% and 41.0% (p < 0.001), respectively. In multivariable Cox regression analysis, only age and creatinine level at admission were independently associated with patient outcome in all the three ACS categories when analyzed separately.Conclusions: All the three ACS categories proved to have high mortality rates during long-term followup in a real-life patient cohort. NSTEMI patients had worse outcome than STEMI and UA patients during the whole follow-up period. Our study results indicate clear differences in the prognostic significance of various demographic and therapeutic parameters within the three ACS categories
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