Why do we monitor? Using seabird eggs to track trends in Arctic environmental contamination

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Bianchini ◽  
Mark L. Mallory ◽  
Birgit Braune ◽  
Derek C.G. Muir ◽  
Jennifer F. Provencher
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Contaminants ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Arctic Canada ◽  
Seabird Species ◽  
Contaminant Monitoring ◽  
History Of ◽  
Low Arctic ◽  
High Level

Contaminant levels and trends have been monitored in eggs of seabirds from the Canadian Arctic since 1975. Nearly 50 years of monitoring have provided key information regarding the temporal and spatial variation of various contaminant classes in different seabird species. However, previous work has primarily assessed individual or related contaminant classes in isolation. There is therefore a need to collectively consider all of the contaminants monitored in seabird eggs to determine where monitoring has been successful, to find areas for improvement, and to identify opportunities for future research. In this review, we evaluated monitoring data for the major legacy and emerging contaminants of concern in five seabird species from three High Arctic and three Low Arctic colonies in Canada. We review the history of Canada’s Arctic seabird egg monitoring program and discuss how monitoring efforts have changed over time; we summarize temporal, spatial, and interspecies variations in Arctic seabird egg contamination and identify important knowledge gaps; and we discuss future directions for ecotoxicology research using seabird eggs in Arctic Canada. Ultimately, this paper provides a high-level overview of the egg contaminant monitoring program and underscores the importance of long-term and continued seabird contaminant monitoring in Arctic Canada.

THE BOTANY OF SOMERSET ISLAND, DISTRICT OF FRANKLIN

1959 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 959-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. O. Savile
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Phenological Data ◽  
History Of ◽  
Low Arctic ◽  
Somerset Island ◽  
General Appearance

The geology, physiography, general appearance, climate and weather, and history of exploration of Somerset I. are discussed briefly. The principal habitats and the areas visited are described. Data are presented on prevailing winter wind directions on Somerset I. and Boothia Pen., drawn from observations on residual snowbanks and plant growth. A few phenological data are presented, which supply further evidence that spring development at low arctic sites lags behind that at both subarctic and high arctic sites. Annotated lists are given of the fungi (28 species) and vascular plants (90 species) collected. Among the fungi Puccinia helicalis sp. nov. on Pedicularis capitata, and Doassansia nearctica sp. nov. on Ranunculus hyperboreus are described; and Exobasidium warmingii, intermediate between Exobasidium and Kordyana, is made the type of Arcticomyces gen. nov. Thirty-two species of vascular plants are added to the recorded flora of the island.

Misuse of pregabalin: Case series and literature review

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S312-S312 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.E. Suardi ◽  
M. Preve ◽  
M. Godio ◽  
E. Bolla ◽  
R.A. Colombo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Previous History ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Psychomotor Activation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
High Level

IntroductionPregabalin is widely used in neurology, psychiatry and primary healthcare, and recently in literature different studies explain the possible misuse [1,2]. Pregabalin has shown greater potency in preclinical models of epilepsy, pain and anxiety, and may have potential in the treatment of cocaine addiction [3]. The purpose of this report is to review the clinical evidence for the potential of abuse and misuse of pregabalin. We propose ten different cases and literature review.MethodTen inpatients with misuse of pregabalin were assessed with: the SCID-P, Anamnestic Folio, HAM-A and DAST. We conducted a systematic review of the literature (PubMed, Embase, PsychInfo), using the terms “pregabalin”, “misuse”.ResultsAll our patients present: cocaine, alcohol and/heroin positive in drugs urine screening at admission; a significant high level of total anxiety at the HAM-A Tot (P < .001), and especially at the item 7 (P < .001); the misuse of pregabalin is made for sniffing; the predominant symptoms assessed were euphoria, psychomotor activation and sedation.Discussion and conclusionSchifano F et al., [1,2] suggest that pregabalin should carefully prescribe in patients with a possible previous history of drug abuse. Our result identifies a particular population the misuse pregabalin that are abuser of cocaine, alcohol and/or heroin. Further research is warranted to replicate our clinical and qualitative observations and, in general, quantitative studies in large samples followed up over time are needed. Methodological limitations, clinical implications and suggestions for future research directions are considered.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Partisan Gerrymandering and Political Science

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-185
Author(s):  
Eric McGhee
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Court Cases ◽  
High Profile ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Law ◽  
High Level ◽  
Scientific Questions

Recent years have seen a tremendous surge of public interest in partisan gerrymandering, including robust reform efforts and multiple high-profile court cases. Political scientists have played an important role in this debate, reaching an unusually high level of public engagement. Yet this public-facing period has to some extent obscured promising avenues for future research within the discipline. I review the history of political science and redistricting and describe how research on this topic has been shaped by the newfound interest. The goals of the law differ from those of political science, so research that focuses squarely on the former often misses opportunities to advance the latter. I lay out the contours of this difference and then suggest reframing the existing metrics of partisan gerrymandering to make them useful for more traditionally scientific questions. Finally, I offer some ideas about what those future questions might look like when reframed in this way.

Power of Modified Brown-Forsythe and Mixed-Model Approaches in Split-Plot Designs

Methodology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Livacic-Rojas ◽  
Guillermo Vallejo ◽  
Paula Fernández ◽  
Ellián Tuero-Herrero
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Covariance Structure ◽  
Simulation Method ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Repeated Measures Design ◽  
Fixed And Random Effects ◽  
Split Plot ◽  
High Level

Abstract. Low precision of the inferences of data analyzed with univariate or multivariate models of the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) in repeated-measures design is associated to the absence of normality distribution of data, nonspherical covariance structures and free variation of the variance and covariance, the lack of knowledge of the error structure underlying the data, and the wrong choice of covariance structure from different selectors. In this study, levels of statistical power presented the Modified Brown Forsythe (MBF) and two procedures with the Mixed-Model Approaches (the Akaike’s Criterion, the Correctly Identified Model [CIM]) are compared. The data were analyzed using Monte Carlo simulation method with the statistical package SAS 9.2, a split-plot design, and considering six manipulated variables. The results show that the procedures exhibit high statistical power levels for within and interactional effects, and moderate and low levels for the between-groups effects under the different conditions analyzed. For the latter, only the Modified Brown Forsythe shows high level of power mainly for groups with 30 cases and Unstructured (UN) and Autoregressive Heterogeneity (ARH) matrices. For this reason, we recommend using this procedure since it exhibits higher levels of power for all effects and does not require a matrix type that underlies the structure of the data. Future research needs to be done in order to compare the power with corrected selectors using single-level and multilevel designs for fixed and random effects.

A Confrontation between Two Doctrines: The Birth of Struggle for Hegemony in Hebrew Children's Literature during the 1930s and 1940s

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
YAEL DARR
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Educational System ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
The Political ◽  
Literary Creation ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Level ◽  
First Time ◽  
Literary Quality

This article describes a crucial and fundamental stage in the transformation of Hebrew children's literature, during the late 1930s and 1940s, from a single channel of expression to a multi-layered polyphony of models and voices. It claims that for the first time in the history of Hebrew children's literature there took place a doctrinal confrontation between two groups of taste-makers. The article outlines the pedagogical and ideological designs of traditionalist Zionist educators, and suggests how these were challenged by a group of prominent writers of adult poetry, members of the Modernist movement. These writers, it is argued, advocated autonomous literary creation, and insisted on a high level of literary quality. Their intervention not only dramatically changed the repertoire of Hebrew children's literature, but also the rules of literary discourse. The article suggests that, through the Modernists’ polemical efforts, Hebrew children's literature was able to free itself from its position as an apparatus controlled by the political-educational system and to become a dynamic and multi-layered field.

Bayesian Inference in Human Time Perception

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren Rhodes
Keyword(s):  
Time Perception ◽  
Likelihood Function ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Temporal Properties ◽  
History Of Research ◽  
Psychophysical Testing ◽  
History Of ◽  
Fundamental Dimension ◽  
Perception Of Time

Time is a fundamental dimension of human perception, cognition and action, as the perception and cognition of temporal information is essential for everyday activities and survival. Innumerable studies have investigated the perception of time over the last 100 years, but the neural and computational bases for the processing of time remains unknown. First, we present a brief history of research and the methods used in time perception and then discuss the psychophysical approach to time, extant models of time perception, and advancing inconsistencies between each account that this review aims to bridge the gap between. Recent work has advocated a Bayesian approach to time perception. This framework has been applied to both duration and perceived timing, where prior expectations about when a stimulus might occur in the future (prior distribution) are combined with current sensory evidence (likelihood function) in order to generate the perception of temporal properties (posterior distribution). In general, these models predict that the brain uses temporal expectations to bias perception in a way that stimuli are ‘regularized’ i.e. stimuli look more like what has been seen before. Evidence for this framework has been found using human psychophysical testing (experimental methods to quantify behaviour in the perceptual system). Finally, an outlook for how these models can advance future research in temporal perception is discussed.

COVID-19 Outbreak Prediction with Machine Learning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sina Faizollahzadeh Ardabili ◽  
Amir Mosavi ◽  
Pedram Ghamisi ◽  
Filip Ferdinand ◽  
Annamaria R. Varkonyi-Koczy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Fuzzy Inference ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Inference System ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Standard Models ◽  
High Level

Several outbreak prediction models for COVID-19 are being used by officials around the world to make informed-decisions and enforce relevant control measures. Among the standard models for COVID-19 global pandemic prediction, simple epidemiological and statistical models have received more attention by authorities, and they are popular in the media. Due to a high level of uncertainty and lack of essential data, standard models have shown low accuracy for long-term prediction. Although the literature includes several attempts to address this issue, the essential generalization and robustness abilities of existing models needs to be improved. This paper presents a comparative analysis of machine learning and soft computing models to predict the COVID-19 outbreak as an alternative to SIR and SEIR models. Among a wide range of machine learning models investigated, two models showed promising results (i.e., multi-layered perceptron, MLP, and adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system, ANFIS). Based on the results reported here, and due to the highly complex nature of the COVID-19 outbreak and variation in its behavior from nation-to-nation, this study suggests machine learning as an effective tool to model the outbreak. This paper provides an initial benchmarking to demonstrate the potential of machine learning for future research. Paper further suggests that real novelty in outbreak prediction can be realized through integrating machine learning and SEIR models.

A New Step in the Study of the History of the Russian Prosecutor’s Office

2019 ◽  
pp. 94-98
Keyword(s):  
Russian Federation ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
High Level ◽  
The University

The paper is a review on the textbook by A. V. Yeremin, «The History of the National Prosecutor’s office» and the anthology «The Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Empire in the Documents of 1722–1917» (authors: V. V. Lavrov, A. V. Eremin, edited by N. M. Ivanov) published at the St. Petersburg Law Institute (branch) of the University of the Prosecutor’s office of the Russian Federation in 2018. The reviewers emphasize the high relevance and high level of research, their theoretical and practical significance. The textbook and the anthology will help the students increase their legal awareness, expand their horizons.

“Ukrayinskyi Prapor” (1923—1932s): the Berlin period of the newspaper of the President of the Ukrainian National Council

2019 ◽  
pp. 13-33
Author(s):  
Nadiia Kulesha
Keyword(s):  
National Policy ◽  
Editorial Staff ◽  
National Council ◽  
Soviet Rule ◽  
Editorial Content ◽  
Paper Record ◽  
Science And Culture ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Level ◽  
Mainstream Press

The centenary of the Ukrainian Revolution (1917―1921s) made relevant the interest to the developments and the personalities of that time, specifically, to the personality of the President of the ZUNR, Petrushevych, Yevhen. The newspaper «Ukrayinskyi Prapor» founded in 1919 in Vienna, throughout its existence, was considered as an official print organ of the Dictator (i.e., Y. Petrushevych). The Vienna period of this publication lasted from August 1919 to mid-November 1923. From the end of November 1923 till April 1932, the paper was published in the capital of the Weimar Republic, Berlin. It was the only newspaper of the Ukrainian emigration published for the longest time in interwar Germany. It was an example of a socio-political periodical. There collaborated outstanding editors and publicists. The pages of this paper record the history of the diplomatic struggle of the West Ukrainian foreign representatives for the liberation of the Eastern Galicia from the protectorate of Poland and the restoration of Ukrainian statehood. Its materials documented the course of the occupation of the Eastern Galicia by Poland and the process of «Polonization» of the Ukrainian population of that region. The article explores the Berlin period of existence of the magazine. Specifically, it studies the changes in the ideological line of the magazine, more specifically, its pro-Soviet editorial orientation because of the illusions about the transformation of the national policy of the Soviet rule in Ukraine, especially during the period of Ukrainization. Then the traditional headings of the magazine were joined by the publications with positive coverage of the flourishing Ukrainianization in Soviet Ukraine. The newspaper also actively reacted to the SVU (Union for Liberation of Ukraine) trial in Kharkiv, justifying the position of the Soviet authorities. The paper’s editorial staff were well-known figures of Ukrainian politics, science, and culture: Yu. Bachynsky, O. Hrytsai, A. Zhuk, M. Lozynsky, R. Perfetsky, and others. They provided a high level of editorial content with high-quality, multifaceted texts. We conclude that in terms of the editorial content and formal aspects, the newspaper «Ukrayinskyi Prapor» matched the standards of the European mainstream press of that time.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document