4,773 research outputs found
Canadian Estimate of Bird Mortality Due to Collisions and Direct Habitat Loss Associated with Wind Turbine Developments
We estimated impacts on birds from the development and operation of wind turbines in Canada considering both mortality due to collisions and loss of nesting habitat. We estimated collision mortality using data from carcass searches for 43 wind farms, incorporating correction factors for scavenger removal, searcher efficiency, and carcasses that fell beyond the area searched. On average, 8.2 ± 1.4 birds (95% C.I.) were killed per turbine per year at these sites, although the numbers at individual wind farms varied from 0 - 26.9 birds per turbine per year. Based on 2955 installed turbines (the number installed in Canada by December 2011), an estimated 23,300 birds (95% C.I. 20,000 - 28,300) would be killed from collisions with turbines each year. We estimated direct habitat loss based on data from 32 wind farms in Canada. On average, total habitat loss per turbine was 1.23 ha, which corresponds to an estimated total habitat loss due to wind farms nationwide of 3635 ha. Based on published estimates of nest density, this could represent habitat for ~5700 nests of all species. Assuming nearby habitats are saturated, and 2 adults displaced per nest site, effects of direct habitat loss are less than that of direct mortality. Installed wind capacity is growing rapidly, and is predicted to increase more than 10-fold over the next 10-15 years, which could lead to direct mortality of approximately 233,000 birds / year, and displacement of 57,000 pairs. Despite concerns about the impacts of biased correction factors on the accuracy of mortality estimates, these values are likely much lower than those from collisions with some other anthropogenic sources such as windows, vehicles, or towers, or habitat loss due to many other forms of development. Species composition data suggest that < 0.2% of the population of any species is currently affected by mortality or displacement from wind turbine development. Therefore, population level impacts are unlikely, provided that highly sensitive or rare habitats, as well as concentration areas for species at risk, are avoided
The NuSTAR Extragalactic Surveys: unveiling rare, buried AGNs and detecting the contributors to the peak of the Cosmic X-ray Background
We report on the results of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) detection by NuSTAR
performed in three extragalactic survey fields (COSMOS, UDS, ECDFS) in three
hard bands, namely H1 (8-16 keV), H2 (16-24 keV) and VH (35-55 keV). The
aggregated area of the surveys is deg. While a large number of
sources is detected in the H1 band (72 at the level of reliability), the
H2 band directly probing close to the peak of the Cosmic X-ray Background (CXB)
returns four significant detections, and two tentative, although not
significant, detections are found in the VH band. All the sources detected
above 16 keV are also detected at lower energies. We compute the integral
number counts for sources in such bands, which show broad consistency with
population synthesis models of the CXB. We furthermore identify two
Compton-thick AGNs, one in the COSMOS field, associated with a hard and faint
Chandra source, and one in the UDS field, never detected in the X-ray band
before. Both sources are at the same redshift , which shifts their
Compton-hump into the H1 band, and were previously missed in the usually
employed NuSTAR bands, confirming the potential of using the H1 band to
discover obscured AGNs at in deep surveys.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
The Firebreak Problem
Suppose we have a network that is represented by a graph . Potentially a
fire (or other type of contagion) might erupt at some vertex of . We are
able to respond to this outbreak by establishing a firebreak at other
vertices of , so that the fire cannot pass through these fortified vertices.
The question that now arises is which vertices will result in the greatest
number of vertices being saved from the fire, assuming that the fire will
spread to every vertex that is not fully behind the vertices of the
firebreak. This is the essence of the {\sc Firebreak} decision problem, which
is the focus of this paper. We establish that the problem is intractable on the
class of split graphs as well as on the class of bipartite graphs, but can be
solved in linear time when restricted to graphs having constant-bounded
treewidth, or in polynomial time when restricted to intersection graphs. We
also consider some closely related problems
Cardiovascular Effects of Long Term Androgenic Anabolic Steroid Use
Background: Anabolic steroids have been a consistent area of debate when it comes to athletes. Anabolic steroids are very common in certain sports like powerlifting and bodybuilding. Negative health effects have been found to be associated with the long term use of anabolic steroids. The objective of this review is to determine if there are negative cardiovascular effects associated with chronic androgenic anabolic steroid use when compared to non-steroid users.
Methods: A literature review of past research articles was performed. Pertinent information was obtained from the sources and compiled as evidence for the topic of this paper.
Results: Using primarily bodybuilder populations, the findings obtained from the articles supported decreased left ventricular function, increase in blood pressure, atherosclerosis of blood vessels, and an increase in LDL with a decrease in HDL.
Conclusion: Anabolic steroids can be contributed to decreased left ventricular function, increased blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and increase LDL and decrease HDL leading to an overall decrease in cardiovascular function. Improving education on the cardiovascular impact anabolic steroids can have can ultimately decrease the risk of individuals abusing these drugs and having a decrease in overall health
Projected increase in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from 2015 to 2040
Although amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is relatively rare, the socioeconomic significance of the disease is extensive. It is therefore vital to project the epidemiologic trend of ALS. To date, there have been few published studies attempting to estimate the number and distribution of ALS cases in the upcoming years. Here we show that the number of ALS cases across the globe will increase from 222,801 in 2015 to 376,674 in 2040, representing an increase of 69%. This increase is predominantly due to ageing of the population, particularly among developing nations. This projection is likely an underestimate due to improving healthcare and economic conditions. The results should be used to inform healthcare policy to more efficiently allocate healthcare resources
Electrocardiogram of the Mixmaster Universe
The Mixmaster dynamics is revisited in a new light as revealing a series of
transitions in the complex scale invariant scalar invariant of the Weyl
curvature tensor best represented by the speciality index , which
gives a 4-dimensional measure of the evolution of the spacetime independent of
all the 3-dimensional gauge-dependent variables except for the time used to
parametrize it. Its graph versus time characterized by correlated isolated
pulses in its real and imaginary parts corresponding to curvature wall
collisions serves as a sort of electrocardiogram of the Mixmaster universe,
with each such pulse pair arising from a single circuit or ``complex pulse''
around the origin in the complex plane. These pulses in the speciality index
and their limiting points on the real axis seem to invariantly characterize
some of the so called spike solutions in inhomogeneous cosmology and should
play an important role as a gauge invariant lens through which to view current
investigations of inhomogeneous Mixmaster dynamics.Comment: version 3: 20 pages iopart style, 19 eps figure files for 8 latex
figures; added example of a transient true spike to contrast with the
permanent true spike example from the Lim family of true spike solutions;
remarks in introduction and conclusion adjusted and toned down; minor
adjustments to the remaining tex
From resilience to viability: a case study of indigenous communities of the North Rupununi, Guyana
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