CORRELATES OF A RAINFOREST MAMMALIAN CARNIVORE COMMUNITY IN THE CHIQUIBUL FOREST RESERVE

Naturally rare and cryptic, Neotropical mammalian carnivores are difficult to study, leading to gaps in our knowledge of their ecology. Although technological advances have enhanced our knowledge of large carnivore ecology in the tropics (i.e., jaguar [Panthera onca] and puma [Puma concolor]), we have a limited understanding of factors affecting their coexistence with each other and other carnivores, particularly in areas subject to resource extraction (i.e., selective logging). My goal was to determine the factors affecting individual species site-use and carnivore coexistence in a managed forest reserve in Belize, Central America. From January–August 2016, I sampled the carnivore community in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve (CFR) via a network of trail cameras on a 2.25 x 2.25 km grid, and characterized the surrounding sites at both site-specific (e.g., vegetation structure, prey availability and cover) and landscape (e.g., distance to water sources, distance to forest reserve boundaries) levels. I used information-theoretic models in an occupancy-modeling framework to understand the 1) seasonal effects of factors on carnivore distribution throughout the CFR, 2) importance of pathway (i.e., trail, road, logging tract) characteristics in determining carnivore site-use intensity in the CFR, and 3) coexistence among carnivores. The importance of site-specific categories in determining carnivore distributions changed between seasons for all species except jaguar. Top models for carnivores at both site-specific and landscape levels confirmed that pathway characteristics impact carnivore site-use intensity, but not site-use. Except for ocelot and grey fox, all analyses provide evidence that carnivores use sites independently from other species. Variables generally failed to predict carnivore site-use, but percent vertical visual obstruction was an important predictor of species site-use intensity. The non-homogeneous, but well-structured, vegetation mosaic created by both logging activities and natural (e.g., hurricanes) disturbance appears to provide resources that facilitate carnivore presence in the CFR. However, increasing protection around key features (i.e., riparian areas) could help mitigate added pressure on carnivores from human disturbance during limiting periods. Carnivores are generally tolerant of pathways and may concentrate their activities on structures left fallow after logging

Why would medical publishers not incorporate core bioethical values into their Ethics Guidelines?

It is quite universally acknowledged by bioethicists, at least in the western world, that respect for the patients’ autonomy, non-malevolence, beneficence, and justice (also called equity) are four core ethical values in medicine. The Ethics Guidelines of key journals in laboratory medicine are not explicit about the first three of these values, and even implicitly, they seem to miss values of justice. Health equity being one of the main objectives of public health policy across the world, we suggest that values of equity explicitly become part of the Ethics Guidelines of laboratory medicine journals.Biochemia Medica could show the way to other medical publishers by incorporating into its Ethics Guidelines these very important core bioethical values

Defining laboratory medicine, or squaring the circle?

In the August 2020 issue of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Giuseppe Lippi and Mario Plebani proposed a definition of laboratory medicine, which ends with this sentence: “The results of these measurements are translated into actionable information for improving the care and/or maintaining the wellness of both a single individual and an entire population”. Nevertheless, the selfishness of individuals may, sometimes, jeopardize the interest of whole populations. The virtue of justice being within the reach of the entire human community more than of single individuals, the final sentence in the definition proposed by Giuseppe Lippi and Mario Plebani, should therefore, in our view, be rewritten, less selfishly, for example like this: “For a given investment, these measurements are preferably made when they bring as much beneficence, and non-maleficence, as possible to the whole population”

Compte rendu de l’auteur - la presse face au choix télématique : le cas de la voix du nord et du serveur SVN

La spectaculaire émergence du medium télématique depuis le début des années 80 en France - avec une très nette accélération du phénomène à partir de 1985 - constitue une étape pour le moins décisive dans la mutation inexorable, et indispensable, du monde de la communication actuel. Pourquoi ? Tout simplement parce que l’outil videotex est d’ores et déjà promis à un avenir au moins aussi exceptionnel que celui du téléphone (dont il est d’ailleurs le « prolongement » informatique). Or si le par..

Le récit contradictoire et son linguistic turn

Nous nous proposons dans cette étude de mettre en évidence les caractéristiques narratologiques, contextuelles et linguistiques de ce que nous appellerons les « récits contradictoires ». Nous désignons par là des récits qui font, en quelque façon, entorse au principe de non-contradiction tel qu’il est défini chez Aristote : « Il est impossible qu’un même attribut appartienne et n’appartienne pas en même temps et sous le même rapport à une même chose ». La contradiction narrative n’est pas un ..

« Qu’est-ce que le vide ? » L’ellipse dans Les Âmes fortes de Jean Giono

International audienceAvec Les Âmes fortes, Giono livre un roman particulièrement complexe, notamment en raison des versions contradictoires qu’il propose des mêmes événements, mais aussi à cause des silences du récits : des éléments essentiels à la compréhension sont livrés avec retard ou tout simplement tus. Nous nous penchons donc ici sur la figure structurante de l’ellipse, conçue le pendant formel d’une métaphysique du vide et de l’ennui. Alors que l’ellipse syntaxique, qui participe au travail stylisation de l’oral, n’est que modérément remarquable, les types que nous appelons ellipse logique et ellipse informationnelle, ainsi que l’ellipse narrative et sa variante la paralipse, constituent d’authentiques béances qui mettent le lecteur en demeure de tenter de reconstituer, par une inlassable activité inférentielle, la cohérence locale et globale, parfois sans succès. De ce travail peut naître le sentiment du sublime - ou bien l’impression d’être sans cesse floué et moqué par un texte qui refléterait ironiquement le mystère des événements et des caractères. Enfin, l’ellipse progressive du focalisateur (le sujet du point de vue), dans un roman pourtant dialogué, signe une paradoxale vaporisation du sujet, qui compromet les chances de l’activité herméneutique même

The Importance of Poverty in Sustainability Policies: An Approach to Understanding Online Opinion

Twitter data related to poverty and basic income was collected for 24 days in 2019, and then was cleaned and prepared for natural language processing. A 7 % subset of the data was manually labeled for sentiment analysis in order to inform the artificial intelligence (AI), which was trained and verified on this subset. We present the results for both the 7 % verification sample and the entire database. This analysis of public opinion on poverty is situated within the Sustainable Development Goals and the support for poverty reduction policies.Los datos de Twitter relacionados con la pobreza y los ingresos básicos se reco pilaron durante 24 días en el 2019, se limpiaron y se prepararon para el procesamiento del lenguaje natural (natural language processing). Un subconjunto del 7 % de los datos se etiquetó manualmente para el análisis de sentimientos con el fin de informar a la inteligencia artificial (IA). La IA fue entrenada y verificada en este subconjunto. Presentamos los resultados tanto de la muestra del 7 % como de toda la base de datos. Este análisis de la opinión pública sobre la pobreza se sitúa dentro de los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible y el apoyo a las políticas de reducción de la pobreza

Le dialogue simonien : enjeux, formes, déviances

« Je n'ai pas le don de parole », affirme S., le personnage écrivain du Jardin des Plantes (JP, 957), alter ego de Simon. Il reprend d'ailleurs mot pour mot une déclaration de Simon lui-même, datant de 1971 : « Pardonnez-moi : je n'ai pas le don de parole (c'est d'ailleurs probablement la raison pour laquelle j'écris : si tu veux être peintre, disait Matisse, commence par te couper la langue !) » L'écrivain se définit ainsi comme homme à la langue coupée, condamné au silence par une écriture ..

Can a surgeon drill accurately at a specified angle?

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the BMJ Group via https://doi.org/ /10.1136/vetreco-2016-000172OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether a surgeon can drill accurately a specified angle and whether surgeon experience, task repetition, drill bit size and perceived difficulty influence drilling angle accuracy. METHODS: The sample population consisted of final-year students (n=25), non-specialist veterinarians (n=22) and board-certified orthopaedic surgeons (n=8). Each participant drilled a hole twice in a horizontal oak plank at 30°, 45°, 60°, 80°, 85° and 90° angles with either a 2.5  or a 3.5 mm drill bit. Participants then rated the perceived difficulty to drill each angle. The true angle of each hole was measured using a digital goniometer. RESULTS: Greater drilling accuracy was achieved at angles closer to 90°. An error of ≤±4° was achieved by 84.5 per cent of participants drilling a 90° angle compared with approximately 20 per cent of participants drilling a 30-45° angle. There was no effect of surgeon experience, task repetition or drill bit size on the mean error for intended versus achieved angle. Increased perception of difficulty was associated with the more acute angles and decreased accuracy, but not experience level. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This study shows that surgeon ability to drill accurately (within ±4° error) is limited, particularly at angles ≤60°. In situations where drill angle is critical, use of computer-assisted navigation or custom-made drill guides may be preferable