Cormorants have negligible seascape-scale impacts on benthic vegetation communities

Cormorant populations in the Baltic Sea have rapidly expanded since the 1990s, raising concerns about their ecosystem impacts. Nutrient runoff from colonies, as well as cormorant predation on fish, can affect surrounding producer communities. Past studies have found cormorant impacts on producers in the immediate vicinity of colonies, but the importance of cormorants over a larger spatial scale is unknown, especially compared to other environmental variables. We used an extensive underwater vegetation inventory dataset (~18 000 data points along the Finnish coast) to determine the effects of cormorant colonies on macroalgae and plants. We compared community structure and species abundance/occurrence in near-colony (10 km from a colony) points, and determined the importance of cormorant influence (using an index incorporating colony size and distance from the colony) in near-colony sites. We found no significant differences in community structure between near-colony and control points in most habitats, and adding cormorant index only infinitesimally improved statistical models after incorporating other environmental factors. However, the abundance of several species did differ, in particular the foundation species bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus) and eelgrass (Zostera marina) were either less likely to occur in near-colony points or negatively correlated with cormorant index, possibly due to the effects of nutrient enrichment from colonies. Our findings confirm that cormorants can have effects on some producer species, but highlight that these effects are negligible when taking into account the scale and magnitude of other bottom up and top-down processes occurring in the Baltic Sea.</div

Pervasive Communities in the Internet of People

Peer reviewe

Combined effects of human pressures on Europe’s marine ecosystems

Marine ecosystems are under high demand for human use, giving concerns about how pressures from human activities may affect their structure, function, and status. In Europe, recent developments in mapping of marine habitats and human activities now enable a coherent spatial evaluation of potential combined effects of human activities. Results indicate that combined effects from multiple human pressures are spread to 96% of the European marine area, and more specifically that combined effects from physical disturbance are spread to 86% of the coastal area and 46% of the shelf area. We compare our approach with corresponding assessments at other spatial scales and validate our results with European-scale status assessments for coastal waters. Uncertainties and development points are identified. Still, the results suggest that Europe’s seas are widely disturbed, indicating potential discrepancy between ambitions for Blue Growth and the objective of achieving good environmental status within the Marine Strategy Framework Directive

Recontacting biobank participants to collect lifestyle, behavioural and cognitive information via online questionnaires : lessons from a pilot study within FinnGen

OBJECTIVES: To recontact biobank participants and collect cognitive, behavioural and lifestyle information via a secure online platform. DESIGN: Biobank-based recontacting pilot study. SETTING: Three Finnish biobanks (Helsinki, Auria, Tampere) recruiting participants from February 2021 to July 2021. PARTICIPANTS: All eligible invitees were enrolled in FinnGen by their biobanks (Helsinki, Auria, Tampere), had available genetic data and were >18 years old. Individuals with severe neuropsychiatric disease or cognitive or physical disabilities were excluded. Lastly, 5995 participants were selected based on their polygenic score for cognitive abilities and invited to the study. Among invitees, 1115 had successfully participated and completed the study questionnaire(s). OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the participation rate among study invitees. Secondary outcomes included questionnaire completion rate, quality of data collected and comparison of participation rate boosting strategies. RESULTS: The overall participation rate was 18.6% among all invitees and 23.1% among individuals aged 18-69. A second reminder letter yielded an additional 9.7% participation rate in those who did not respond to the first invitation. Recontacting participants via an online healthcare portal yielded lower participation than recontacting via physical letter. The completion rate of the questionnaire and cognitive tests was high (92% and 85%, respectively), and measurements were overall reliable among participants. For example, the correlation (r) between self-reported body mass index and that collected by the biobanks was 0.92. CONCLUSION: In summary, this pilot suggests that recontacting FinnGen participants with the goal to collect a wide range of cognitive, behavioural and lifestyle information without additional engagement results in a low participation rate, but with reliable data. We suggest that such information be collected at enrolment, if possible, rather than via post hoc recontacting.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Genome-Wide Association Study in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Results from the OCGAS

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by intrusive thoughts and urges and repetitive, intentional behaviors that cause significant distress and impair functioning. The OCD Collaborative Genetics Association Study (OCGAS) is comprised of comprehensively assessed OCD patients, with an early age of OCD onset. After application of a stringent quality control protocol, a total of 1 065 families (containing 1 406 patients with OCD), combined with population-based samples (resulting in a total sample of 5 061 individuals), were studied. An integrative analyses pipeline was utilized, involving association testing at SNP- and gene-levels (via a hybrid approach that allowed for combined analyses of the family- and population-based data). The smallest P-value was observed for a marker on chromosome 9 (near PTPRD, P=4.13×10−7). Pre-synaptic PTPRD promotes the differentiation of glutamatergic synapses and interacts with SLITRK3. Together, both proteins selectively regulate the development of inhibitory GABAergic synapses. Although no SNPs were identified as associated with OCD at genome-wide significance level, follow-up analyses of GWAS signals from a previously published OCD study identified significant enrichment (P=0.0176). Secondary analyses of high confidence interaction partners of DLGAP1 and GRIK2 (both showing evidence for association in our follow-up and the original GWAS study) revealed a trend of association (P=0.075) for a set of genes such as NEUROD6, SV2A, GRIA4, SLC1A2, and PTPRD. Analyses at the gene-level revealed association of IQCK and C16orf88 (both P<1×10−6, experiment-wide significant), as well as OFCC1 (P=6.29×10−5). The suggestive findings in this study await replication in larger samples

Genomic Relationships, Novel Loci, and Pleiotropic Mechanisms across Eight Psychiatric Disorders

Genetic influences on psychiatric disorders transcend diagnostic boundaries, suggesting substantial pleiotropy of contributing loci. However, the nature and mechanisms of these pleiotropic effects remain unclear. We performed analyses of 232,964 cases and 494,162 controls from genome-wide studies of anorexia nervosa, attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and Tourette syndrome. Genetic correlation analyses revealed a meaningful structure within the eight disorders, identifying three groups of inter-related disorders. Meta-analysis across these eight disorders detected 109 loci associated with at least two psychiatric disorders, including 23 loci with pleiotropic effects on four or more disorders and 11 loci with antagonistic effects on multiple disorders. The pleiotropic loci are located within genes that show heightened expression in the brain throughout the lifespan, beginning prenatally in the second trimester, and play prominent roles in neurodevelopmental processes. These findings have important implications for psychiatric nosology, drug development, and risk prediction.Peer reviewe

Recent development of respiratory rate measurement technologies

Respiratory rate (RR) is an important physiological parameter whose abnormity has been regarded as an important indicator of serious illness. In order to make RR monitoring simple to do, reliable and accurate, many different methods have been proposed for such automatic monitoring. According to the theory of respiratory rate extraction, methods are categorized into three modalities: extracting RR from other physiological signals, RR measurement based on respiratory movements, and RR measurement based on airflow. The merits and limitations of each method are highlighted and discussed. In addition, current works are summarized to suggest key directions for the development of future RR monitoring methodologies

Relatório de estágio em farmácia comunitária

Relatório de estágio realizado no âmbito do Mestrado Integrado em Ciências Farmacêuticas, apresentado à Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Coimbr

GIS-modellering av fartygsorsakat undervattensbuller och svallvågor

Undervattensbuller och svallvågor är två mekaniska fenomen vilkas miljöpåverkningar för tillfället inte är helt förstådda. Det är dock säkert att båda fenomenen är kapabla att i betydlig grad inverka på marina djur, och förutom detta kan svallvågor också orsaka bl.a. erosion och eutrofiering. I detta examensarbete undersöktes och utvecklades metoder för att modellera fartygsorsakat undervattensbuller och svallvågor. Huvudsakligaste GIS programmet som användes var ArcGIS, men även Manifold användes i viss grad. Också Microsoft Excel, AIS (Automatic Identification System) och ArcGIS tilläggsprogrammen XTools Pro samt ET GeoWizards var väsentliga komponenter. Den utvecklade metoden för modellering av undervattensbuller tillämpades på Hangö Ekenäs skärgårdsområde, medan metoderna för modellering av svallvågor tillämpades på två mindre delområden. Delområdena var föreslagna som deponeringsplatser för muddringsmassor som skulle ha uppstått från den planerade muddringen av Pojovikens farled (ett projekt som i detta skede antagligen kommer att upphävas). Med hjälp av modellerna undersöktes om marina djur kan bli påverkade av undervattensbuller samt om svallvågor kunde förflytta deponerade massor, skada fiskars lekplatser och orsaka erosion. Modellerna tydde dock på att fartygstrafiken antagligen inte har en stor påverkan på undersökningsområdena, men fortsatt undersökning krävs. De utvecklade metoderna beaktar inte alla variabler; istället är de menade som språngbrädor för fortsatt utveckling av tekniker för att modellera undervattensbuller och svallvågor.Vedenalainen melu ja laivojen aiheuttamat aallot ovat kaksi mekaanista ilmiötä, joiden ympäristövaikutukset eivät tällä hetkellä ole täysin ymmärrettyjä. On kuitenkin varmaa, että molemmat ilmiöt kykenevät merkittävästi vaikuttamaan merieläimiin, ja laiva-aallot voivat sitä paitsi aiheuttaa myös mm. eroosiota ja rehevöitymistä. Tässä opinnäytetyössä tutkitaan ja kehitetään menetelmiä vedenalaisen melun sekä laiva aaltojen mallintamista varten. Pääasiallisesti käytetty GIS ohjelma on ArcGIS, mutta myös Manifold käytetään jossain määrin. Myös Microsoft Excel, AIS (Automatic Identification System) ja ArcGIS-lisäohjelmat XTools Pro sekä ET GeoWizards ovat tärkeitä ohjelmia. Vedenalaisen melun mallintamiseen kehitettyä menetelmää sovelletaan Hanko Tammisaari saaristoalueelle, kun taas laiva aaltojen mallintamiseen kehitettyjä menetelmiä sovelletaan kahdelle pienemmälle osa-alueelle. Osa alueet ovat ruoppausmassoille ehdotettuja läjitysalueita, jotka olisivat syntyneet Pohjanpitäjänlahden laivaväylän ruoppauksesta (suunniteltu ruoppaushanke joka kuitenkin nyttemmin luultavasti tullaan perumaan). Melumallinnuksen avulla tarkastellaan, voiko vedenalainen melu vaikuttaa vesieläimiin. Aaltomallinnuksien avulla tarkastellaan, voiko laiva aallot siirtää läjitettyä massaa, vahingoittaa kalojen kutualueita tai aiheuttaa eroosiota. Mallinnukset kuitenkin osoittavat, että laivaliikenteellä ei luultavasti ole isoa vaikutusta tutkimusalueilla, mutta lisää selvitystä vaaditaan. Kehitetyt menetelmät eivät huomioi kaikkia muuttujia; ne ovat sen sijaan tarkoitettu avuksi vedenalaisen melun ja laiva aaltojen mallintamiseen käytettyjen menetelmien kehittämiselle.Underwater noise and wakes are two mechanical phenomena with effects on the environment that are not yet fully understood. It is, however, a certainty that both phenomena are capable of affecting marine animals, and, furthermore, wakes can also cause erosion and eutrophication, among other things. This thesis focuses on developing methods for modelling underwater noise and ship wakes. The main GIS program employed was ArcGIS, but also Manifold was used to some extent. Microsoft Excel, AIS (Automatic Identification System) as well as the ArcGIS expansions XTools Pro and ET GeoWizards, were also put to good use. The method for modelling underwater noise was applied to the archipelago around the Hanko Tammisaari area, while the methods for modelling ship wakes were applied to two smaller subareas. The subareas were proposed dump sites for dredged material that would have come from the planned dredging of Pohjanlahti's fairway (a project that, as of late, will probably be cancelled). It was studied, with the help of the models, if underwater noise could impact marine animals, and if ship wakes could displace material from the planned dump sites, damage fish spawning areas or cause erosion. The models suggested that it is unlikely that ship traffic has a considerable environmental impact on the areas studied, but additional research is needed. The developed methods do not account for all variables; rather, they are meant to help and inspire continued development of methods to model underwater noise and ship wakes