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Gray wolf Canis lupus predation on domestic dogs Canis familiaris is a considerable wolf-human conflict issue in several regions of Europe and North America but it has not been well documented in the scientific literature. Livestock depredations by wolves may be related to the abundance of wild prey. Regardless of the presumed motivations of wolves for attacking dogs (likely due to interference competition and predation), the abundance of wild prey populations may also influence the risk of wolf attacks on dogs. We examined whether the annual number of fatal attacks by wolves on dogs was related to the abundance of primary prey, including wild boar Sus scrofa and roe deer Capreolus capreolus in Estonia, as well as the abundance of moose Alces alces in Finland. Statistical models resulted in significant negative relationships, thus providing evidence that the risk of attacks in both house yards (Estonia) and hunting situations (Finland) was highest when the density of wild prey was low. Wild ungulates cause damage to agriculture and forestry, but they seem to mitigate conflicts between wolves and humans; therefore, it is necessary to develop a holistic, multispecies management approach in which the importance of wild ungulates for large carnivore conservation is addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dispersal influences distribution and genetic structure of animal populations. Dispersal in expanding wolf (Canis lupus) populations is not well documented, especially in Europe, where no studies of dispersal based on marked wolves are available. We studied the dispersal of wolves in Finland, where a peripheral wolf population (160-180 animals) increased and expanded during 1998-2004. We equipped 60 wolves from 8 neighboring wolf pack territories with radio or GPS transmitters in east-central Finland during 1998--2004, and at least 30 wolves (50%) dispersed from the home territory. Additional information was collected by detecting the natal pack of captured wolves with multilocus microsatellite genotyping and paternity analysis. In the study area, the directions formed a sun-ray pattern. Wolves usually departed their home territory as pups and yearlings, and in unimodal seasonal fashion. The dispersal distance (median 98.5, range 35-445 km) did not differ by sex (P = 0.342). Long-distance travelers (>200 km) were found only among wolves that departed at the age of 10-12 months. Survival was linked to the direction of dispersal. All marked wolves that dispersed to reindeer management areas in the north were shot before being able to reproduce, whereas elsewhere, the majority of dispersers (10 of 16) reproduced. Key words: Canis lupus, dispersal, distance, expansion, Finland, radiocollar, reindeer, reproduction, survival, wolf

Background: The alternative prey hypothesis describes the mechanism for apparent competition whereby the mortality of the secondary prey species increases (and population size decreases decreases) by the increased predation by the shared predator if the population size of the primary prey decreases. Apparent competition is a process where the abundance of two co-existing prey species are negatively associated because they share a mutual predator, which negatively affects the abundance of both prey Here, we examined whether alternative prey and/or apparent competition hypothesis can explain the population dynamics and reproductive output of the secondary prey, wild forest reindeer (Rangifer tarandus fennicus) in Finland, in a predator-prey community in which moose (Alces alces) is the primary prey and the wolf (Canis lupus) is the generalist predator. Methods: We examined a 22-year time series (1996–2017) to determine how the population size and the calf/female ratio of wild forest reindeer in Eastern Finland were related to the abundances of wolf and moose. Only moose population size was regulated by hunting. Summer predation of wolves on reindeer focuses on calves. We used least squares regression (GLS) models (for handling autocorrelated error structures and resulting pseudo-R2s) and generalized linear mixed (GLMs) models (for avoidance of negative predictions) to determine the relationships between abundances. We performed linear and general linear models for the calf/female ratio of reindeer. Results and synthesis: The trends in reindeer population size and moose abundance were almost identical: an increase during the first years and then a decrease until the last years of our study period. Wolf population size in turn did not show long-term trends. Change in reindeer population size between consecutive winters was related positively to the calf/female ratio. The calf/female ratio was negatively related to wolf population size, but the reindeer population size was related to the wolf population only when moose abundance was entered as another independent variable. The wolf population was not related to moose abundance even though it is likely to consist the majority of the prey biomass. Because reindeer and moose populations were positively associated, our results seemed to support the alternative prey hypothesis more than the apparent competition hypothesis. However, these two hypotheses are not mutually exclusive and the primary mechanism is difficult to distinguish as the system is heavily managed by moose hunting. The recovery of wild forest reindeer in eastern Finland probably requires ecosystem management involving both habitat restoration and control of species abundances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family groups with cubs-of-the-year (cubs) in Finland's brown bear Ursus arctos population are protected from hunting, but sport hunters inadvertently shoot some cubs almost every year. In our data, 39 of 1463 bears from hunting bags (and 39 of all 1503 shot bears) during 1996-2018 were cubs. Mortality of cubs owing to inadvertent shooting by hunters was estimated to be relatively low (ca 8%) and was therefore above all an ethical problem. Male bias from the 1:1 sex ratio was significant (67%, 2 = 4.333, p = 0.037) and possibly attributed to a greater resemblance with yearlings (legal game) given their larger body size. The year trend in the proportion of cubs in hunting bag was not significant (t = -1.832, p = 0.076) We examined whether the risk of cub to being killed by hunters was related to the distance from the Russian border because bear hunting has been practised for more years in eastern Finland compared with mid- and western Finland. The risk of cub being killed was not related to the distance but the risk of female cubs being killed was highest within a narrow zone at the Russian border. If the family group escapes to the Russian side, the risk of losing the hunting dog is presumably high. Given hunters' high motivation to keep their valuable bear-hunting dogs, the proportion of female cubs might be highest near the border. Systematic educational programs for hunters would likely reduce the risk of inadvertent killing of cubs. The full legal protection of all family groups is potentially the most efficient method to reduce the risk and thereby formally provide improved ethics in bear hunting. However, this practice might also prolong the mother-offspring bond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gene flow between the two brown bear Ursus arctos populations of Fennoscandia is very weak although bear populations both in Finland and Scandinavia has been increasing substantially during the last 50 years. We examined spatial and temporal pattern in the proportion of adult females in Finland's bear population. First, we expected evidence for decreasing female proportions with increasing distance from the potential core areas in Russia and near Finnish–Russian border. Secondly, we expected increasing proportions of females during our study period of 21 years, i.e. two brown bear generations. We conducted a logistic mixed effects model that would predict a hunter-killed bear's sex based on year, the distance from the source population (Finnish–Russian border), bear management area and bear's age group (adult, sub-adult) as independent variables. Geographic coordinates were used to reduce the apparent spatial autocorrelation. Because female bears form kin clusters, in the final model we used exponential spatial autocorrelation, based on the assumption that the probability of a dead bear being a female increased when the nearest dead bear also was a female. The model demonstrated that the population's population structure did not change spatially during our study period. The only differentiating variables were bear management area and age group, the probability of females being low in reindeer husbandry area, and males predominating among subadults. Because the low proportion of females in Finland's reindeer husbandry area may weaken meta-population viability in Fennoscandia, bear management in northern Finland should save females more efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The estimation of large carnivore populations presents major logistical challenges. We examined trends in the wolf Canis lupus population in Finland using two independent methods. We compared track indices from an annual wildlife winter census based on a constant, nationwide network of transect lines (wildlife triangles) with the number of reproductions confirmed to occur in the same year during 1996 to 2009. Nationwide, and in the eastern management zone, which is the core area of Finnish wolves, the frequency of wolf tracks in wildlife triangles (% of all triangles counted in a given year having wolf tracks) predicted quite well the log transformed number of reproductions taken place in these areas (adjusted R2-values for linear regression models 0.59 and 0.68, respectively), while not for the western management zone (R2 = 0.38). However, although mean wolf densities were low (< 1 wolf/1000 km2 nationwide and <3 wolves/1000 km2 in the eastern zone), track indices could detect the major trends in Finland's wolf population. A clear reason for this was the substantial changes in population size during the study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of feeding brown bears Ursus arctos for recreational purposes is common in the easternmost areas of Finland, but this may, however, result in human-habituated bears. From 1995 to 2008, 3%of all bears killed by humans (N = 1,108 bears) in Finland represented incidents where bears were either killed for reasons of human safety under a license issued by the police or as a result of actual emergency situations where bears were shot in self defence. We constructed binary logistic regression models for comparing bears shot under police license and in self defence with bears killed in regular sport hunting by using the sex of the bear, human density, bear observation density and the distance from the nearest feeding site as independent variables. High human density was the most important factor differentiating bears shot under a license issued by police from bears killed in sport hunting. The difference in human density was largest for places located far from feeding sites. Increasing distance from feeding sites differentiated bears shot under police license and in self defence from sport hunted bears. The sex of the bears and the density of bear observation were more weakly associated with the category of shooting. Our study did not provide evidence that bear feeding for recreational purposes is associated with the nuisance-bear problemin Finland. Nevertheless, some risks for human safetymight be associated with artificial bear feeding for tourismpurposes. If the practice of feeding bears continues to be accepted by Finnish legislation, game management should include an action plan for occasions when bears visiting feeding sites will lose their wariness of humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects the status of the manufacturing of 2 Radial Plate prototypes for the EU ITER TF Coils. The production of these prototypes will supply valuable information for the manufacturing of the total required number of 70 Radial Plates, in terms of manufacturing technologies, optimization of cost, manufacturing time and risks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor is an international scientific project with the aim of building a tokamak fusion reactor capable of producing at least 10 times more energy than that spent to sustain the reaction. In a tokamak the fusion reaction is magnetically confined and the toroidal field coil system plays a primary role in this confinement. Fusion for Energy, the European Domestic Agency for ITER, is responsible for the supply of 10 out the 19 toroidal field coils. Their procurement has been subdivided in three main work packages: the production of 70 radial plates (the structural components which will house the conductors), the manufacture of 10 winding packs (the core of the magnet) and cold test and insertion into the coil cases of 10 winding packs. The cold test/insertion work package presents significant technological challenges. These include the cold test of the winding packs 14 m high, 9 m wide and weighing 110 t, the welding and inspection of the 316 LN stainless steel coil case, with welded thicknesses of up to 144 mm accessible only from one side combined with the need to minimize the deformation during the welding process (more than 70 m of weld per coil and up to 90 passes to fill the chamfer) and the resin filling of the coil case after insertion of the winding pack (the total volume to be filled up is about one cubic meter per coil). From 2009 up to mid 2011, F4E has carried out an R&D program in order to investigate the most challenging steps of the manufacturing processes associated to this work package, both to meet the demands of the ITER schedule and to minimize technological risks; in this paper an overview of the results obtained is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose For monitoring the performance of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems, it is essential to implement regular quality control (QC) protocols. We evaluated the MRI system performance of the Philips Ingenuity TF PET/MR, using the American college of radiology (ACR) QC protocol [1] and automated QC software. Methods A total of 80 QC scans were performed during years 2013 to 2018 using the ACR QC protocol. In the initial analysis, 21 scans were analyzed by a human observer and automatic software implemented in MATLAB2015b [2] , which performs the analysis according to ACR guidelines [1] . Five quantitative tests were included: geometric accuracy (148 ± 2 and 190 ± 2 mm), slice thickness accuracy (5.0 ± 0.7 mm), slice position accuracy (<5 mm), image intensity uniformity (>82 %) and percent signal ghosting (<0.025) with reference limits in parenthesis. We report the mean and standard deviation of the manual (M) and automatic (A) measurements. Results For geometric accuracy, (M = 147 ± 1), (A = 148 ± 1) and (M = 190 ± 0.5), (A = 191 ± 0.2) were measured for the localizer and T1 series. For slice thickness accuracy, (M = 5.5 ± 0.5), (A = 4.7 ± 0.8) and (M = 5.9 ± 0.5), (A = 4.5 ± 1.4) were measured for the T1 and T2 series. For slice position accuracy, (M = 5.6 ± 3.3), (A = 4.2 ± 2.7) and (M = 5.3 ± 2.8), (A = 4.0 ± 2.5) were measured for the T1 and T2 series. For image intensity uniformity, (M = 85 ± 1), (A = 96 ± 1) and (M = 89 ± 2), (A = 97 ± 2) were measured for the T1 and T2 series. For percent signal ghosting, (M = 0.0010 ± 0.0009) and (M = 0.0015 ± 0.0007) were measured. The time to analyze and report was two minutes with the automatic software. Conclusions Majority of the tests reached the acceptance criteria in the initial analysis. Slice thickness and slice position accuracy were the most common tests to fail. Automated software was beneficial for easing the analysis workflow. The QC software with a test dataset will be provided during the conference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original version of this article contained errors and corrected in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]