Contrasted influences of moon phases on the reproduction and movement patterns of four amphibian species inhabiting different habitats in central Italy

Many studies have provided evidence that prey adjust their behaviour to adaptively balance the fitness effects of reproduction and predation risk. Nocturnal terrestrial animals should deal with a range of environmental conditions during the reproductive season at the breeding sites, including a variable amount of natural ambient light. High degrees of illumination are expected to minimize those behaviours that might increase the animal detection by predators. Therefore, under habitat variable brightness conditions and in different ecosystems, the above mentioned behaviours are expected to depend on the variation in predation risk. Although moon effects on amphibian biology have been recognized, the direction of this influence is rather controversial with evidences of both increased and depressed activity under full moon. We tested in four nocturnal amphibian species (Hyla intermedia, Rana dalmatina, Rana italica, Salamandrina perspicillata) the effects of different (i) light conditions and (ii) habitats (open land vs. dense forest) on the reproductive phenology. Our results showed that the effects of the lunar cycle on the study species are associated with the change in luminosity, and there is no evidence of an endogenous rhythm controlled by biological clocks. The habitat type conditioned the amphibian reproductive strategy in relation to moon phases. Open habitat breeders (e. g., ponds with no canopy cover) strongly avoided conditions with high brightness, whereas forest habitat breeders were apparently unaffected by the different moon phases. Indeed, for all the studied species no effects of the moon phase itself on the considered metrics were found. Rather, the considered amphibian species seem to be conditioned mainly by moonlight irrespective of the moon phase. The two anurans spawning in open habitat apparently adjust their oviposition timing by balancing the fitness effects of the risk to be detected by predators and the reproduction.

Nutritional status using the Mini Nutritional Assessment questionnaire and its relationship with bone quality in a population of institutionalized elderly women.

Malnutrition, a risk factor for osteoporotic fractures, is frequent in elderly people and, is underdiagnosed and undertreated. There are only few studies on the nutritional status of elderly people in Europe. The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) is a non invasive and validated questionnaire to evaluate nutritional status in elderly people, classified in three groups: 1 degree score < 17: malnourished, 2 degrees score >17 and < 24: at risk of malnutrition, 3 degrees score >24: well-nourished, with a maximum of 30 points. Quantitative ultrasound of bone (QUS) is a method for assessing quality of bone which can be easily performed in nursing homes. Therefore, these two tests allowed to study the relationships between nutritional status and ultrasonic parameters of bone in 78 institutionalized women aged 86 +/- 6 years, living in 11 nursing homes around Lausanne (Switzerland). All were assessed by the MNA, had a measurement of the tricipital skin fold and of the grip strength. Functional status was evaluated by the scale "Activity of Daily Living" (ADL), and serum albumin level was measured when permitted. All had QUS of the calcaneus (with an Achilles, GE Lunar). The measured parameters are the Broadband Ultrasound Attenuation (BUA), attenuation of a band of ultrasonic frequencies through the medium, expressed in dB/MHz, and the Speed of Sound (SOS), speed of the ultrasounds through the medium, expressed in m/s. A third parameter, the stiffness index (SI), expressed as a percentage of the values obtained by the manufacturer in a young population and derived from BUA and SOS, was calculated automatically : SI = (0.67xBUA) + (0.28xSOS) - 420, expressed in percent compared to a young adult population (%YA). Fifteen percent of the women were undernourished and 58% were at risk of malnutrition. As expected, compared with the well-nourished minority, undernourished subjects had significant lower body mass index (BMI), tricipital skin fold (TSF), ADL score and albumin level (p < 0,01). The subjects "at risk of malnutrition" had significant lower BMI, ADL score (p < 0.01), tricipital skin fold and serum albumin (p < 0.05). Ultrasound parameters were low independently of the nutritional status. MNA score correlated significantly with tricipital skin fold (r = 0.508, p < 0.01), ADL (r = 0.538, p < 0.01) and albumin serum level (r = 0.409, p = 0.01). There was a trend for a correlation between the MNA and the ultrasound parameter BUA (r = 0.207, p = 0.07), whereas no correlation was found with SOS and SI. A multivariate analysis showed that tricipital skin fold and ADL explained 61% of the variance of the MNA. In conclusion, using simple and non invasive methods, this study showed that malnutrition and osteoporosis are frequent in institutionalized elderly persons in our country, and the ultrasound parameters are influenced by many others factors in addition to nutrition, especially at this age and in elderly residents of nursing homes.

A survey on the enlistment of pharmacists in a hospital battalion of the Swiss Armed Forces

Background: Pharmacists, mainly militiamen, are incorporated in the Swiss Armed Forces, for instance in hospital battalions to supply drugs and medical devices, as well as to coordinate hygiene service. Presently, their duties are only very globally defined. Aims: The objective of this survey was to investigate the tasks that were actually assumed by the military pharmacy of the 2nd Hospital Battalion. Methods: Two types of commitments, offering military and civilian interest's convergence, were considered between 2005 and 2011: (1) army camps for the disabled and (2) operations and supports provided to two nursing homes. While relieving the civil caregiver usually involved with disabled or elderly people, such missions offer indeed the possibility to the army medical service to train its care and logistical processes with real patients, even in the absence of any sanitary crisis or war in the country. Results: Two basis activities have been assumed: (1) centralized supply of drugs and medical devices and (2) coordination of hygiene monitoring and disinfection operations. New tasks were also performed: (3) support to the management of ward-based pharmacies, (4) pillboxes preparation, (5) medication review and (6) selective participation in clinical rounds. The last two were integrated in an interdisciplinary education process. Conclusions: Results shows that, apart from traditional duties, new clinical-oriented activities have been evenly developed and assumed by militia pharmacists. They call thus for a possible renewed definition of the tasks of military hospital pharmacists and of their related military education. A wider study in all hospital battalions is yet mandatory.

Efficient learning of reactive robot behaviors with a Neural-Q_learning approach

The purpose of this paper is to propose a Neural-Q_learning approach designed for online learning of simple and reactive robot behaviors. In this approach, the Q_function is generalized by a multi-layer neural network allowing the use of continuous states and actions. The algorithm uses a database of the most recent learning samples to accelerate and guarantee the convergence. Each Neural-Q_learning function represents an independent, reactive and adaptive behavior which maps sensorial states to robot control actions. A group of these behaviors constitutes a reactive control scheme designed to fulfill simple missions. The paper centers on the description of the Neural-Q_learning based behaviors showing their performance with an underwater robot in a target following task. Real experiments demonstrate the convergence and stability of the learning system, pointing out its suitability for online robot learning. Advantages and limitations are discussed

Autonomous underwater vehicle control using reinforcement learning policy search methods

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) represent a challenging control problem with complex, noisy, dynamics. Nowadays, not only the continuous scientific advances in underwater robotics but the increasing number of subsea missions and its complexity ask for an automatization of submarine processes. This paper proposes a high-level control system for solving the action selection problem of an autonomous robot. The system is characterized by the use of reinforcement learning direct policy search methods (RLDPS) for learning the internal state/action mapping of some behaviors. We demonstrate its feasibility with simulated experiments using the model of our underwater robot URIS in a target following task

Perspectives of auto-correcting lens distortions in mosaic-based underwater navigation

When unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) perform missions near the ocean floor, optical sensors can be used to improve local navigation. Video mosaics allow to efficiently process the images acquired by the vehicle, and also to obtain position estimates. We discuss in this paper the role of lens distortions in this context, proving that degenerate mosaics have their origin not only in the selected motion model or in registration errors, but also in the cumulative effect of radial distortion residuals. Additionally, we present results on the accuracy of different feature-based approaches for self-correction of lens distortions that may guide the choice of appropriate techniques for correcting distortions

Mission control system for dam inspection with an AUV

This paper presents a complete control architecture that has been designed to fulfill predefined missions with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The control architecture has three levels of control: mission level, task level and vehicle level. The novelty of the work resides in the mission level, which is built with a Petri network that defines the sequence of tasks that are executed depending on the unpredictable situations that may occur. The task control system is composed of a set of active behaviours and a coordinator that selects the most appropriate vehicle action at each moment. The paper focuses on the design of the mission controller and its interaction with the task controller. Simulations, inspired on an industrial underwater inspection of a dam grate, show the effectiveness of the control architecture

On AUV control architecture

This paper surveys control architectures proposed in the literature and describes a control architecture that is being developed for a semi-autonomous underwater vehicle for intervention missions (SAUVIM) at the University of Hawaii. Conceived as hybrid, this architecture has been organized in three layers: planning, control and execution. The mission is planned with a sequence of subgoals. Each subgoal has a related task supervisor responsible for arranging a set of pre-programmed task modules in order to achieve the subgoal. Task modules are the key concept of the architecture. They are the main building blocks and can be dynamically re-arranged by the task supervisor. In our architecture, deliberation takes place at the planning layer while reaction is dealt through the parallel execution of the task modules. Hence, the system presents both a hierarchical and an heterarchical decomposition, being able to show a predictable response while keeping rapid reactivity to the dynamic environment

La Universitat de Girona i el sector cultural

Estudi realitzat pels membres de la Càtedra UNESCO de Polítiques Culturals i Cooperació amb l'objectiu d'analitzar les relacions que s’estableixen entre la UdG i els altres actors culturals del territori. Aquest treball ha de servir per conscienciar, a dins i a fora de la UdG, del paper que té la Universitat i de l’actuació que ha de fer en l’àmbit cultural. Amb l'estudi volem posar a disposició de la comunitat universitària i, en especial dels òrgans, centres, unitats i persones que en són destinataris, tot un seguit de propostes en relació amb la política universitària, en aspectes estructurals, de gestió i comunicació, orientades sempre a l’obertura de les nostres missions de formació, recerca i transferència

Digital beamforming and moving target indication for future spaceborne synthetic aperture radar

During the last decade the interest on space-borne Synthetic Aperture Radars (SAR) for remote sensing applications has grown as testified by the number of recent and forthcoming missions as TerraSAR-X, RADARSAT-2, COSMO-kyMed, TanDEM-X and the Spanish SEOSAR/PAZ. In this sense, this thesis proposes to study and analyze the performance of the state-of-the-Art space-borne SAR systems, with modes able to provide Moving Target Indication capabilities (MTI), i.e. moving object detection and estimation. The research will focus on the MTI processing techniques as well as the architecture and/ or configuration of the SAR instrument, setting the limitations of the current systems with MTI capabilities, and proposing efficient solutions for the future missions. Two European projects, to which the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya provides support, are an excellent framework for the research activities suggested in this thesis. NEWA project proposes a potential European space-borne radar system with MTI capabilities in order to fulfill the upcoming European security policies. This thesis will critically review the state-of-the-Art MTI processing techniques as well as the readiness and maturity level of the developed capabilities. For each one of the techniques a performance analysis will be carried out based on the available technologies, deriving a roadmap and identifying the different technological gaps. In line with this study a simulator tool will be developed in order to validate and evaluate different MTI techniques in the basis of a flexible space-borne radar configuration. The calibration of a SAR system is mandatory for the accurate formation of the SAR images and turns to be critical in the advanced operation modes as MTI. In this sense, the SEOSAR/PAZ project proposes the study and estimation of the radiometric budget. This thesis will also focus on an exhaustive analysis of the radiometric budget considering the current calibration concepts and their possible limitations. In the framework of this project a key point will be the study of the Dual Receive Antenna (DRA) mode, which provides MTI capabilities to the mission. An additional aspect under study is the applicability of the Digital Beamforming on multichannel and/or multistatic radar platforms, which conform potential solutions for the NEWA project with the aim to fully exploit its capability jointly with MTI techniques.

The potential for vaccination in leprosy elimination: new tools for targeted interventions

Despite the huge effort and massive advances toward the elimination of leprosy over the last two decades, the disease has proven stubborn; new case detection rates have stabilised over the last few years and leprosy remains endemic in a number of localised regions. The American Leprosy Missions and Infectious Disease Research Institute have undertaken a large research effort aimed at developing new tools and a vaccine to continue the push for leprosy elimination. In this paper, we outline our strategy for the integration of rapid diagnostic tests and lab-based assays to facilitate the detection of early or asymptomatic leprosy cases, as well as the efficient and focused implementation of chemoprophylaxis and immunisation to intervene in leprosy development and transmission.

Quantitative ultrasound of bone in institutionalized elderly women: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study.

Quantitative ultrasound of bone is a promising method for bone assessment: radiation-free, portable and predictive of hip fracture. Its portability allowed us to study the relationships between ultrasonic parameters of bone with age and with non-vertebral fractures in elderly women living in 19 nursing homes. Broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) and speed of sound (SOS) of the calcaneus were measured (and the stiffness index calculated) in a sample of 270 institutionalized women, aged 85 +/- 7 years, using an Achilles bone densitometer (Lunar). The effects of age, history of non-vertebral and non-traumatic fractures, body mass index, triceps skinfold and arm circumference were assessed on BUA, SOS and stiffness index. Furthermore, to evaluate longitudinally the influence of aging on the ultrasound parameters of bone, 60 subjects from the same group had a second ultrasound measurement after 1 year. The cross-sectional analysis of the data on all 270 women showed a significant decrease (p < 0.001) with age in BUA, SOS and stiffness index (-0.47%, -0.06%, and -1.01% respectively per year). In the 94 women, (35%) with a history of previous non-vertebral fractures, ultrasound parameters were significantly lower (p < 0.0001) than in the 176 women with no history of fracture (-8.3% for BUA, -1.3% for SOS, -18.9% for stiffness index). In contrast, there was no significant difference in anthropometric measurements between the groups with and without previous non-vertebral fractures, although the measurements decreased significantly with age. In the longitudinal study, repeated quantitative ultrasound after 11.4 +/- 0.8 months showed no significant decrease in BUA (-1%) but a significant decrease in SOS (-0.3%, p < 0.0001) and in stiffness index (-3.6%, p < 0.0002). In conclusion, quantitative ultrasound of the calcaneus measures properties of bone which continue to decline in institutionalized elderly women, and is able to discriminate women with previous non-vertebral fractures.

Activity and migration of Cory's shearwater

I describe some of the features that characterize the activity and migration of Cory’s shearwater during approximately one year. I also explore the influence of Moon, photoperiod, geographic position and life-history stage on the resulting patterns and the periodicity of the latter. I have principally used time series and regression analysis. Its use here is one of the first applications to the analysis of logger data in seabirds. An intriguing finding of this work is the lunar periodicity that pervades the annual cycle of this species.

RED BLOOD CELL MICROPARTICLES: ROLE IN TRANSFUSION MEDICINE?

RésuméLes microparticules sont des vésicules phospholipidiques de moins d‟un micromètre relâchées dans le sang par différents types cellulaires, comme les cellules endothéliales, les plaquettes ou encore les globules blancs et rouges. Elles sont bioactives et impliquées dans de nombreux processus physiologiques incluant l‟hémostase. De plus, un nombre élevé de microparticules circulantes dans le sang a été observé dans différentes pathologies.Dans le domaine de la transfusion, les microparticules de globules rouges ont été détectées dans les concentrés érythrocytaires. Le but de cette recherche était de caractériser les microparticules de globules rouges et d‟évaluer si ces dernières avaient un rôle en transfusion. Pour ce faire, une approche globale utilisant différentes techniques comme la cytométrie de flux, la protéomique, la microscopie ainsi que des tests d‟hémostase de routines, a été adoptée.Le présent travail de thèse a démontré que les microparticules de globules rouges s‟accumulent dans les concentrés érythrocytaires pendant le stockage. Leur bioactivité a été démontrée de part leur rôle actif dans le processus de la coagulation. En effet, lors de test de génération de thrombine, elles peuvent non seulement supporter ce processus de coagulation, mais aussi le déclencher par un mécanisme inconnu sous certaines circonstances. Les microparticules de globules rouges présentent aussi des antigènes de groupes sanguins à leur surface, toutefois, leur implication potentielle dans l‟induction d‟une réponse immunitaire n‟est pas connue. Bien que le mécanisme de formation et d‟émissions des microparticules par les globules rouges ne soit pas complètement élucidé, il a été démontré qu‟elles n‟ont pas toutes le même contenu protéique et donc qu‟elles pourraient avoir des fonctions différentes.Au vu des résultats, notamment par leur implication dans la coagulation, il est fort probable que la présence de microparticules puisse affecter la qualité des produits sanguins, et causer des réactions transfusionnelles.

Evaluation des risques sanitaires liés à l'utilisation professionnelle des produits bitumeux et de leurs additifs

L'ANSES vient de publier un rapport formulant un certain nombre de recommandations pour prévenir les divers risques affectant la santé des travailleurs exposés aux bitumes. Au-delà du potentiel cancérogène des produits bitumineux et de leurs émissions, les experts de l'ANSES ont mis en évidence dans leur expertise l'existence d'effets respiratoires et suspectent également des effets cardiovasculaires et immunotoxiques. Selon les postes de travail, les niveaux d'exposition sont plus ou moins importants. La température est également un facteur de variation de l'émission de fumée, et par conséquent de l'exposition des travailleurs au risque chimique par voie d'inhalation. Le rapport souligne également la question du risque d'exposition par voie cutanée, à l'heure actuelle encore peu considéré. Enfin, les activités de rabotage et de recyclage de plus en plus pratiquées doivent faire l'objet d'une attention particulière en raison des matériaux précédemment utilisés qui peuvent contenir de l'amiante, des silices, d'anciens bitumes soufrés...