285 research outputs found
Impacts of human activities on bats in the boreal forest
Human activities can negatively impact biodiversity, including bats, leading to excessive mortality, population declines and potentially species extinction. Amongst these threats, wind power and light pollution are both known to affect bats when foraging, commuting, or roosting. This can have consequences on species presence at a local scale, but when cumulative impacts from all wind turbines and artificial lighting sources, consequences are greater on speciesâ
survival.
As the dominating boreal forest is of great importance for Finnish bats, especially during the summer and its permanent twilight, I investigated how wind turbines and artificial lighting could affect the presence and activity of bats in this habitat. This choice was motivated by the vast proportion of wind turbines being built there at the moment, and the general increase in the use of artificial lighting at night. The final reason is that there is no data on the impacts of artificial lighting and wind power on bats in the country.
I monitored bat acoustic activity at several wind farms located in forest and observed that the presence of bats increased when getting away from wind turbines, for both Eptesicus nilssonii and Myotis spp. The range of this repelling effect was estimated at 800 m for the former species, and more than 1,000 m for the latter. This avoidance of wind turbines and their surroundings could mean a loss of commuting and foraging habitats for bats. The reasons behind this phenomenon are not understood but could be explained by the changes in landscape consequent of the construction of turbines in the forest, or the consequences of these changes on insects. Regarding light pollution, I set up flood lights in the forest and recorded bat activity to assess the effect on E. nilssonii and Myotis spp. The response of the latter was negative towards flood lights, with significantly lower presence at lit sites than dark sites. The observed response of E. nilssonii was also negative, but not significantly, and could be explained by the absence of UV emission by the flood lights, that would fail to attract insects.
In this thesis, I showed that wind power and light pollution have negative impacts on the presence of bats in Finland. At a local scale, the existence of wind turbines or artificial lighting will shape the presence of E. nilssonii and Myotis spp. When looking at the cumulative impacts of all wind turbines and artificial lighting in Finland, but also other sources of disturbance such as roads or power lines, we could see a considerable part of the countryâs total area being affected, i.e., being avoided by bats. Therefore, I recommend better consideration of bats in wind power projects and in the use of artificial lighting. More globally, I recommend that the actual impacts of wind power on bats â including fatalities - in the country to be assessed, and the use of artificial lighting to be reevaluated, as renewable energy and energy sobriety are both key components for our transition to sustainability.Ihmistoiminnan vaikutukset lepakoihin pohjoisella havumetsĂ€vyöhykkeellĂ€
Ihmistoiminnalla voi olla haitallinen vaikutus monimuotoisuuteen, kuten lepakoihin, ja se voi johtaa lisÀÀntyneeseen kuolleisuuteen, eliöiden kantojen pienenemiseen ja mahdollisesti lajien sukupuuttoon. Esimerkiksi tuulivoiman tuotannolla ja keinotekoisella valolla tiedetÀÀn olevan vaikutusta lepakoiden saalistamiseen, liikkumiseen ja pÀivÀpiilojen kÀyttöön. TÀllÀ voi olla vaikutusta lepakoiden esiintymiseen paikallisella tasolla, mutta kokonaisvaikutukset voivat uhata koko lajin olemassaoloa.
Boreaalinen metsÀ vallitsevana luontotyyppinÀ on lepakoille erittÀin tÀrkeÀ, erityisesti kesÀllÀ valon mÀÀrÀn lisÀÀntyessÀ, ja tÀstÀ syystÀ tutkin miten tuulivoimatuotanto ja keinotekoinen valo vaikuttavat lepakoihin metsissÀ. Valintaani vaikuttivat tÀmÀnhetkinen tuulivoimarakentamisen lisÀÀntyminen, sekÀ yleisesti lisÀÀntynyt keinotekoisen valon mÀÀrÀ. TÀrkeimpÀnÀ syynÀ on kuitenkin se, ettÀ tuulivoiman ja keinotekoisen valon vaikutuksista lepakoihin ei ole maassamme tutkittua tietoa.
Havainnoin lepakoiden ÀÀniaktiivisuutta useilla metsÀisillÀ tuulivoima-alueilla ja huomasin pohjanlepakon (Eptesicus nilssonii) sekÀ siippalajien (Myotis spp.) aktiivisuus lisÀÀntyi etÀÀnnyttÀessÀ tuulivoimaloista. TÀmÀ karkotusvaikutus nÀkyi pohjanlepakolla 800 metrin pÀÀhÀn, ja siipoilla vielÀ yli kilometrin etÀisyydellÀ. TÀmÀ tuulivoimaloiden ja niiden vÀlittömÀn ympÀristön vÀlttely voi johtaa lepakoiden muutto- ja saalistusalueiden vÀhentymiseen. Ilmiön syyt eivÀt ole tiedossa, mutta sitÀ voidaan selittÀÀ tuulivoiman rakentamisesta johtuvissa muutoksissa metsÀmaisemassa, tai nÀiden muutosten vaikutuksesta lepakoihin. Valosaasteen vaikutusten tutkimiseksi asetin valonlÀhteitÀ metsÀÀn, ja ÀÀnitin lepakoiden aktiivisuutta selvittÀÀkseni valon vaikutuksia pohjanlepakkoon ja siippoihin. Siippojen vastevalon mÀÀrÀn lisÀÀntymiseen oli negatiivinen, ja niitÀ esiintyi tilastollisesti merkitsevÀsti vÀhemmÀn valoisilla kuin pimeillÀ kohteilla. Myös pohjanlepakon vaste oli negatiivinen, mutta ei tilastollisesti merkitsevÀ, kuten voi olettaa, koska keinotekoinen valonlÀhde ei sisÀltÀnyt UVvaloa eikÀ nÀin ollen houkutellut hyönteisiÀ tutkimuspaikalle.
VÀitöskirjassani osoitin, ettÀ sekÀ tuulivoimatuotannolla ettÀ valosaasteella on negatiivinen vaikutus lepakoiden esiintymiseen Suomessa. Paikallisella tasolla tuulivoimaloiden tai keinovalon lÀsnÀolo muuttaa pohjanlepakon ja siippojen esiintymistÀ alueella. Kaikkien tuulivoimaloiden ja keinovalon kokonaisvaikutusta tarkasteltaessa, sekÀ laskettaessa mukaan vielÀ voimalinjojen ja tieverkoston vaikutukset, voidaan arvioida merkittÀvÀn osa Suomen pinta-alasta olevan hÀiriön kohteena ja nÀin ollen karkottavan lepakoita. TÀstÀ syystÀ suosittelen parempaa lepakoiden huomioonottamista tuulivoimaprojekteissa ja keinotekoisen valon kÀytössÀ. Laajemmin tarkasteltuna suosittelen ettÀ tuulivoiman todelliset vaikutukset lepakoihin, kuten suorat törmÀÀmiskuolemat, tutkittaisiin Suomessa huolellisesti, sekÀ keinotekoisen valon kÀyttöÀ arvioitaisiin uudelleen, sillÀ uusiutuva energia ja energiatuotannon lÀpinÀkyvyys ovat molemmat avainroolissa kestÀvÀn kehityksen siirtymÀssÀ
Le retour des grands mammifÚres sauvages dans la région méditerranéenne française.
Cet article consacré au retour des grands mammifÚres sauvages dans la région méditerranéenne française, parle du passé des extinctions, de la pénurie à l'abondance des grands mammifÚres, de l'historique de l'évolution des ongulés (sanglier, chevreuil, cerf, mouflon, chamois et bouquetin), des évolutions probables, et des connaissances prévisibles
Developing a tool to assess trainees during crisis management training for major risks
International audienceOften based on simulation exercises, crisis management training helps prepare decision-makers to manage crises better. However, this training has definite limits in terms of trainee assessment and the feed-back given during the debriefing phase. This paper presents a method for better organising the assessment of trainees involved in a real time crisis management training exercises and for giving them feedback during the debriefing phase. The approach presented is based on creating a typology of training objectives in order to or-ganise the assessment. The assessment includes expected outcomes techniques as well as the human and or-ganisational factors that can be observed within a group. The assessment tools developed were then experi-mented within crisis management exercises completed with trainees. Beyond the basic results, these tools helped redefine the basic roles played by observers and trainers during training exercises
A noncanonical role for the engulfment gene ELMO1 in neutrophils that promotes inflammatory arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by progressive joint inflammation and affects similar to 1% of the human population. We noted single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the apoptotic cell-engulfment genes ELMO1, DOCK2, and RAC1 linked to rheumatoid arthritis. As ELMO1 promotes cytoskeletal reorganization during engulfment, we hypothesized that ELMO1 loss would worsen inflammatory arthritis. Surprisingly, Elmo1-deficient mice showed reduced joint inflammation in acute and chronic arthritis models. Genetic and cell-biology studies revealed that ELMO1 associates with receptors linked to neutrophil function in arthritis and regulates activation and early neutrophil recruitment to the joints, without general inhibition of inflammatory responses. Further, neutrophils from the peripheral blood of human donors that carry the SNP in ELMO1 associated with arthritis display increased migratory capacity, whereas ELMO1 knockdown reduces human neutrophil migration to chemokines linked to arthritis. These data identify 'noncanonical' roles for ELMO1 as an important cytoplasmic regulator of specific neutrophil receptors and promoter of arthritis
Subcritical multiplicative chaos for regularized counting statistics from random matrix theory
For an NĂN random unitary matrix U_N, we consider the random field defined by counting the number of eigenvalues of U_N in a mesoscopic arc of the unit circle, regularized at an N-dependent scale Æ_N>0. We prove that the renormalized exponential of this field converges as N â â to a Gaussian multiplicative chaos measure in the whole subcritical phase. In addition, we show that the moments of the total mass converge to a Selberg-like integral and by taking a further limit as the size of the arc diverges, we establish part of the conjectures in [55]. By an analogous construction, we prove that the multiplicative chaos measure coming from the sine process has the same distribution, which strongly suggests that this limiting object should be universal. The proofs are based on the asymptotic analysis of certain Toeplitz or Fredholm determinants using the Borodin-Okounkov formula or a Riemann-Hilbert problem for integrable operators. Our approach to the LÂč-phase is based on a generalization of the construction in Berestycki [5] to random fields which are only asymptotically Gaussian. In particular, our method could have applications to other random fields coming from either random matrix theory or a different context
Modalités de recrutement des sujets dans la recherche en pédiatrie : étude prospective multicentrique
Contexte. - Une enquĂȘte qualitative exploratoire a montrĂ© que le nombre de patients Ă©ligibles et sollicitĂ©s dans les essais en pĂ©diatrie Ă©tait peu objectivĂ© ainsi que les refus. Objectif. - Estimer le nombre de refus de participation des familles dans les essais en pĂ©diatrie et lier le taux de refus aux caractĂ©ristiques protocole, investigateur et patients. MatĂ©riel et mĂ©thodes. - Ătude prospective multicentrique inter-CIC (rĂ©seau pĂ©diatrique) d'une cohorte de protocoles. Pour chaque sollicitation Ă participer, des fiches patient, investigateur et protocole Ă©taient remplies. RĂ©sultats. - L'Ă©tude a Ă©tĂ© rĂ©alisĂ©e de dĂ©cembre 2005 Ă septembre 2007 sur quatre centres et a inclus 45 protocoles : 32 Ă promotion industrielle, 36 multicentriques, 19 essais cliniques, 33 avec prises de sang et six avec examens invasifs, 26 avec des dĂ©placements spĂ©cifiques et 14 des hospitalisations supplĂ©mentaires. Sur ces protocoles, 170 investigateurs Ă©taient rĂ©fĂ©rencĂ©s comme recruteurs et 86 (51 %) ont rĂ©pondu au questionnaire : Ăąge mĂ©dian 42 ans, sex-ratio de 1, 13 sont investigateurs principal, 32 responsables pour le CIC et 50 investigateurs associĂ©s, 20 percevaient une rĂ©tribution versĂ©e au service dans 80 % des cas. La charge de travail mĂ©diane par investigateur Ă©tait d'une heure par inclusion et 67 (78 %) bĂ©nĂ©ficiaient d'une aide d'une TEC. Au total, 1022 sollicitations ont Ă©tĂ© rĂ©alisĂ©es sur 36 protocoles (neuf protocoles n'ayant eu aucune sollicitation) et 334 refus (33 %) ont Ă©tĂ© enregistrĂ©s soit une mĂ©diane de 12 % (Q1Q3 : 0-28 %) de refus par protocole. Parmi les 36 protocoles, 16 n'ont enregistrĂ© aucun refus, reprĂ©sentant 147 sollicitations et les 20 autres protocoles ont eu un taux moyen de 38 % de refus. L'analyse explicative est en cours. Conclusion. - Le taux de refus de 12 % n'est pas diffĂ©rent de celui des essais adultes et semble dĂ©pendant du type d'Ă©tude. L'absence de sollicitation concerne 20 % des Ă©tudes
Genome wide analysis of gene expression changes in skin from patients with type 2 diabetes
Non-healing chronic ulcers are a serious complication of diabetes and are a major healthcare problem. While a host of treatments have been explored to heal or prevent these ulcers from forming, these treatments have not been found to be consistently effective in clinical trials. An understanding of the changes in gene expression in the skin of diabetic patients may provide insight into the processes and mechanisms that precede the formation of non-healing ulcers. In this study, we investigated genome wide changes in gene expression in skin between patients with type 2 diabetes and non-diabetic patients using next generation sequencing. We compared the gene expression in skin samples taken from 27 patients (13 with type 2 diabetes and 14 non-diabetic). This information may be useful in identifying the causal factors and potential therapeutic targets for the prevention and treatment of diabetic related diseases
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