The Market for Organic Oats in Germany and the United States

This market research paper has been prepared under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Veit of Cologne University of Applied Sciences and Prof. Dr. Carol Scovotti of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the course of the inter-university cross-border collaboration student research project “Export Opportunity Surveys (EOS)”. This study explores organic oats export opportunities to the German and US markets

Worldwide trends in hypertension prevalence and progress in treatment and control from 1990 to 2019: a pooled analysis of 1201 population-representative studies with 104 million participants

Background Hypertension can be detected at the primary health-care level and low-cost treatments can effectively control hypertension. We aimed to measure the prevalence of hypertension and progress in its detection, treatment, and control from 1990 to 2019 for 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 1990 to 2019 on people aged 30–79 years from population-representative studies with measurement of blood pressure and data on blood pressure treatment. We defined hypertension as having systolic blood pressure 140 mm Hg or greater, diastolic blood pressure 90 mm Hg or greater, or taking medication for hypertension. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate the prevalence of hypertension and the proportion of people with hypertension who had a previous diagnosis (detection), who were taking medication for hypertension (treatment), and whose hypertension was controlled to below 140/90 mm Hg (control). The model allowed for trends over time to be non-linear and to vary by age. Findings The number of people aged 30–79 years with hypertension doubled from 1990 to 2019, from 331 (95% credible interval 306–359) million women and 317 (292–344) million men in 1990 to 626 (584–668) million women and 652 (604–698) million men in 2019, despite stable global age-standardised prevalence. In 2019, age-standardised hypertension prevalence was lowest in Canada and Peru for both men and women; in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and some countries in western Europe including Switzerland, Spain, and the UK for women; and in several low-income and middle-income countries such as Eritrea, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Solomon Islands for men. Hypertension prevalence surpassed 50% for women in two countries and men in nine countries, in central and eastern Europe, central Asia, Oceania, and Latin America. Globally, 59% (55–62) of women and 49% (46–52) of men with hypertension reported a previous diagnosis of hypertension in 2019, and 47% (43–51) of women and 38% (35–41) of men were treated. Control rates among people with hypertension in 2019 were 23% (20–27) for women and 18% (16–21) for men. In 2019, treatment and control rates were highest in South Korea, Canada, and Iceland (treatment >70%; control >50%), followed by the USA, Costa Rica, Germany, Portugal, and Taiwan. Treatment rates were less than 25% for women and less than 20% for men in Nepal, Indonesia, and some countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania. Control rates were below 10% for women and men in these countries and for men in some countries in north Africa, central and south Asia, and eastern Europe. Treatment and control rates have improved in most countries since 1990, but we found little change in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania. Improvements were largest in high-income countries, central Europe, and some upper-middle-income and recently high-income countries including Costa Rica, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Turkey, and Iran. Interpretation Improvements in the detection, treatment, and control of hypertension have varied substantially across countries, with some middle-income countries now outperforming most high-income nations. The dual approach of reducing hypertension prevalence through primary prevention and enhancing its treatment and control is achievable not only in high-income countries but also in low-income and middle-income settings

European LeukemiaNet recommendations for the management of chronic myeloid leukemia: 2013

Advances in chronic myeloid leukemia treatment, particularly regarding tyrosine kinase inhibitors, mandate regular updating of concepts and management. A European LeukemiaNet expert panel reviewed prior and new studies to update recommendations made in 2009. We recommend as initial treatment imatinib, nilotinib, or dasatinib. Response is assessed with standardized real quantitative polymerase chain reaction and/or cytogenetics at 3, 6, and 12 months. BCR-ABL1 transcript levels ≤10% at 3 months, 10% at 6 months and >1% from 12 months onward define failure, mandating a change in treatment. Similarly, partial cytogenetic response (PCyR) at 3 months and complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) from 6 months onward define optimal response, whereas no CyR (Philadelphia chromosome-positive [Ph+] >95%) at 3 months, less than PCyR at 6 months, and less than CCyR from 12 months onward define failure. Between optimal and failure, there is an intermediate warning zone requiring more frequent monitoring. Similar definitions are provided for response to second-line therapy. Specific recommendations are made for patients in the accelerated and blastic phases, and for allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Optimal responders should continue therapy indefinitely, with careful surveillance, or they can be enrolled in controlled studies of treatment discontinuation once a deeper molecular response is achieved.Michele Baccarani, Michael W. Deininger, Gianantonio Rosti, Andreas Hochhaus, Simona Soverini, Jane F. Apperley, Francisco Cervantes, Richard E. Clark, Jorge E. Cortes, François Guilhot, Henrik Hjorth-Hansen, Timothy P. Hughes, Hagop M. Kantarjian, Dong-Wook Kim, Richard A. Larson, Jeffrey H. Lipton, François-Xavier Mahon, Giovanni Martinelli, Jiri Mayer, Martin C. Müller, Dietger Niederwieser, Fabrizio Pane, Jerald P. Radich, Philippe Rousselot, Giuseppe Saglio, Susanne Saußele, Charles Schiffer, Richard Silver, Bengt Simonsson, Juan-Luis Steegmann, John M. Goldman, and Rüdiger Hehlman

CSES Module 3 Full Release

The module was administered as a post-election interview. The resulting data are provided along with voting, demographic, district and macro variables in a single dataset. CSES Variable List The list of variables is being provided on the CSES Website to help in understanding what content is available from CSES, and to compare the content available in each module. Themes: MICRO-LEVEL DATA: Identification and study administration variables: weighting factors; election type; date of election 1st and 2nd round; study timing (post election study, pre-election and post-election study, between rounds of majoritarian election); mode of interview; gender of interviewer; date questionnaire administered; primary electoral district of respondent; number of days the interview was conducted after the election Demography: age; gender; education; marital status; union membership; union membership of others in household; business association membership, farmers´ association membership; professional association membership; current employment status; main occupation; socio economic status; employment type - public or private; industrial sector; current employment status, occupation, socio economic status, employment type - public or private, and industrial sector of spouse; household income; number of persons in household; number of children in household under the age of 18; attendance at religious services; religiosity; religious denomination; language usually spoken at home; race; ethnicity; region of residence; rural or urban residence Survey variables: most important issues of election; candidates competencies to deal with most important issues; difference who is in power and who people vote for; evaluation of governments performance; party and leader that represent respondent´s view best; sympathy scale for selected parties and political leaders; assessment of parties and political leaders on a left-right-scale; self-assessment on a left-right-scale; differences of choice options; campaign involvement; satisfaction with democracy; party identification; intensity of party identification; respondent cast a ballot at the current and the previous election; vote choice (presidential, lower house and upper house elections) at the current and the previous election; respondent cast candidate preference vote at the current and the previous election; political information items DISTRICT-LEVEL DATA: number of seats contested in electoral district; number of candidates; number of party lists; percent vote of different parties; official voter turnout in electoral district MACRO-LEVEL DATA: election outcomes by parties in current (lower house/upper house) legislative election; percent of seats in lower house received by parties in current lower house/upper house election; percent of seats in upper house received by parties in current lower house/upper house election; percent of votes received by presidential candidate of parties in current elections; electoral turnout; party of the president and the prime minister before and after the election; number of portfolios held by each party in cabinet, prior to and after the most recent election; size of the cabinet after the most recent election; number of parties participating in election; ideological families of parties; left-right position of parties assigned by experts and alternative dimensions; most salient factors in the election; fairness of the election; formal complaints against national level results; election irregularities reported; scheduled and held date of election; irregularities of election date; extent of election violence and post election violence; geographic concentration of violence; post-election protest; electoral alliances permitted during the election campaign; existing electoral alliances; requirements for joint party lists; possibility of apparentement and types of apparentement agreements; multi-party endorsements on ballot; votes cast; voting procedure; voting rounds; party lists close, open, or flexible; transferable votes; cumulated votes if more than one can be cast; compulsory voting; party threshold; unit for the threshold; freedom house rating; democracy-autocracy polity IV rating; age of the current regime; regime: type of executive; number of months since last lower house and last presidential election; electoral formula for presidential elections; electoral formula in all electoral tiers (majoritarian, proportional or mixed); for lower and upper houses was coded: number of electoral segments; linked electoral segments; dependent formulae in mixed systems; subtypes of mixed electoral systems; district magnitude (number of members elected from each district); number of secondary and tertiary electoral districts; fused vote; size of the lower house; GDP growth (annual percent); GDP per capita; inflation, GDP Deflator (annual percent); Human development index; total population; total unemployment; constitutional federal structure; number of legislative chambers; electoral results data available; effective number of electoral and parliamentary partiesDas Modul wurde als Nachwahl-Befragung durchgeführt. Die daraus resultierenden Daten werden mit Daten über das Abstimmungsverhalten, demographischen Daten, und Variablen auf Wahlkreis- und Länderebene in einem einzelnen Datensatz bereitgestellt. CSES Variable List Eine Liste aller Variablen wird auf der Webseite des CSES bereitgestellt. Sie verdeutlicht, welche Inhalte über das CSES verfügbar sind und erlaubt es die Inhalte über verschiedene Module des CSES zu vergleichen. Themen: INDIVIDUALDATEN: Technische Variablen: Gewichtungsvariablen; Art der Wahl; Datum der Wahl 1. und 2. Wahlgang; Zeitpunkt der Studie (Nachwahlbefragung, Vorwahlbefragung und Nachwahlbefragung, Zwischen Wahlgängen in Mehrheitswahlsystemen); Erhebungsmodus; Geschlecht des Interviewers; Datum der Datenerhebung; Wahlkreis des Befragten; Anzahl der Tage zwischen Wahltag und Interview. Demographie: Alter; Geschlecht; Bildung; Familienstand; Gewerkschaftsmitgliedschaft; Gewerkschaftsmitgliedschaft anderer Haushaltsmitglieder; Mitgliedschaft in einem Unternehmerverband; Mitgliedschaft in Bauernverband; Mitgliedschaft in Berufsverband; Erwerbsstatus; Beruf; sozioökonomischer Status; Beschäftigungsform (öffentlicher oder privater Sektor, industrieller Sektor); Erwerbsstatus des Partners; Beruf des Partners; sozioökonomischer Status des Partners; Beschäftigungsform (öffentlicher oder privater Sektor, industrieller Sektor) des Partners; Haushaltseinkommen; Anzahl Personen im Haushalt; Anzahl Kinder im Haushalt; Anzahl Kinder unter 18 im Haushalt; Kirchgangshäufigkeit; Religiosität; Konfessionsmitgliedschaft; Haushaltssprache; Rasse; ethnische Zugehörigkeit; Wohnort; ländliches oder städtisches Wohnumfeld. Befragungsvariablen: Wichtigste Themen der Wahl; Beurteilung der Kandidatenkompetenz im Umgang mit wichtigsten Themen der Wahl; Relevanz von Wahlen für Politikgestaltung; Bedeutung der eigenen Stimme für Politikgestaltung; Beurteilung der Leistung der Regierung; Partei und Spitzenpolitiker, die am besten für die Meinung des Befragten stehen; Sympathie-Skalometer für ausgewählte Parteien und Spitzenpolitiker; Einstufung von Parteien und Spitzenpolitikern auf einem Links-Rechts -Kontinuum; Selbsteinstufung auf Links-Rechts-Skala; wahrgenommene Unterschiede zwischen den zur Wahl stehenden Optionen; Beteiligung an der Wahlkampagne; Demokratiezufriedenheit; Parteiidentifikation; Intensität der Parteiidentifikation; Teilnahme bei der aktuellen und der letzten Wahl; Wahlentscheidung ( Präsidentschafts-, Unterhaus und Oberhauswahlen ) in der aktuellen und der letzten Wahl; Befragter hat Stimme für bevorzugten Kandidaten abgegeben; politische Informiertheit. WAHLKREISDATEN: Anzahl der zu vergebenden Sitze im Wahlkreis; Anzahl der Kandidaten im Wahlkreis; Anzahl der Parteilisten; Prozentanteil der Parteien (Wahlergebnis); Wahlbeteiligung im Wahlkreis. LÄNDERDATEN: Wahlergebnisse der Parteien bei der aktuellen Parlamentswahl (Unterhaus / Oberhaus); Anteil der von den Parteien erhaltenen Sitze im Unterhaus; Anteil der von den Parteien erhaltenen Sitze im Oberhaus; Anteil der Stimmen der Präsidentschaftskandidaten der Parteien bei der aktuellen Wahl; Wahlbeteiligung; Parteizugehörigkeit des Präsidenten und des Ministerpräsidenten vor und nach der Wahl; Anzahl der von jeder Partei gehaltenen Kabinettsposten vor und nach der letzten Wahl; Größe des Kabinetts nach der letzten Wahl; Anzahl der an der Wahl teilnehmenden Parteien; ideologische Parteifamilien; durch Experten zugeordnete Links-Rechts-Position der Parteien und alternative Dimensionen des Parteienwettbewerbs; bedeutendste Faktoren bei der Wahl; Fairness der Wahl; formelle Beschwerden gegen die Ergebnisse auf nationaler Ebene; Unregelmäßigkeiten bei den Wahlen; geplanter und tatsächlicher Wahltermin; Unregelmäßigkeiten des Wahltermins; Umfang von Gewalt während und nach der Wahl; geographische Konzentration von Gewalt; Protest nach der Wahl; Möglichkeit zu Wahlbündnisse im Wahlkampf; existierende Wahlbündnisse; Voraussetzungen für gemeinsame Parteilisten; Möglichkeit von Koalitionen ; Art der Vereinbarungen über Wahlbündnisse; Mehrparteien-Vermerke auf Stimmzetteln; Anzahl abgegebener Stimmen; Abstimmungsverfahren; Anzahl der Wahlgänge; Parteilisten geschlossen, offen oder flexibel; Stimmen übertragbar; Stimmen kumulierbar; Wahlpflicht; Sperrklausel; Einheit der Sperrklausel; Freedom House Rating; Polity-IV Klassifikation (Demokratie-Autokratie); Alter des gegenwärtigen Regimes; Eigenschaften des Regimes: Art der Exekutive, Anzahl der Monate seit den letzten Unterhauswahl und Präsidentschaftswahl; Wahlsystem bei Präsidentschaftswahlen, Wahlsystem für alle Wahlebenen (Mehrheitswahlrecht, Verhältniswahlrecht oder Mischformen); für Unter-und Oberhäuser wurde codiert: Anzahl der Wahlsegmente, verknüpfte Wahlsegmente, Unterformen von Mischwahlsystemen, Größenordnung des Bezirks (Anzahl der aus jedem Bezirk gewählten Mitglieder), Anzahl der sekundären und tertiären Wahlkreise, Stimmabgabe für Parteienbündnisse; Größe des Unterhauses; Wachstum des Bruttoinlandsprodukt (BIP) in Prozent; BIP pro Kopf; Inflationsrate, BIP- Deflator; Human-Development-Index; Gesamtbevölkerung; Arbeitslosigkeit absolut; föderale Verfassungsstruktur; Anzahl der gesetzgebenden Kammern; Verfügbarkeit der Wahlergebnisse; effektive Anzahl der Wahl- und Parlamentsparteien

Where are we now with European forest multi-taxon biodiversity and where can we head to?

International audienceForestry implementation significantly impacts forest biodiversity. Despite the promotion of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in Europe, sustainability assessments hardly account for direct biodiversity indicators. We aim to i) gather and map the existing information on forest multitaxon biodiversity associated with stand structure and management in Europe; ii) identify knowledge gaps for forest biodiversity research; and iii) discuss the research potential associated with multitaxon biodiversity data. We established a research network focused on multi-taxon biodiversity, stand structure and management data of European forests; and fitted species records, standing trees, lying deadwood, and sampling unit metadata from 34 local datasets. Suitable information was available for 3,591 sampling units, each surveyed for on average 4.6 taxonomic groups. Standing tree diameters, tree height deadwood and tree-related microhabitats were sampled in respectively 2,889; 2,356; 2,309 and 1,388 sampling units. Sampling unit metadata includes spatial coordinates, and compositional and management descriptors. Available data cover all the 14 European forest compositional categories but are unevenly distributed among them, with European beech forests being over-represented as compared to thermophilous and boreal forests. Overall, the available information has the potential to inform the development of conservation and SFM strategies for European forests by supporting: (i) methodological harmonization and coordinated monitoring; (ii) the definition and testing of SFM indicators and thresholds; (iii) datadriven assessment of the effects of environmental and management drivers on multi-taxon forest biological and functional diversity, (iv) multi-scale forest monitoring integrating in-situ and remotely sensed information

Ultra-Rare Genetic Variation in the Epilepsies: A Whole-Exome Sequencing Study of 17,606 Individuals

Sequencing-based studies have identified novel risk genes associated with severe epilepsies and revealed an excess of rare deleterious variation in less-severe forms of epilepsy. To identify the shared and distinct ultra-rare genetic risk factors for different types of epilepsies, we performed a whole-exome sequencing (WES) analysis of 9,170 epilepsy-affected individuals and 8,436 controls of European ancestry. We focused on three phenotypic groups: severe developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs), genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE), and non-acquired focal epilepsy (NAFE). We observed that compared to controls, individuals with any type of epilepsy carried an excess of ultra-rare, deleterious variants in constrained genes and in genes previously associated with epilepsy; we saw the strongest enrichment in individuals with DEEs and the least strong in individuals with NAFE. Moreover, we found that inhibitory GABAA receptor genes were enriched for missense variants across all three classes of epilepsy, whereas no enrichment was seen in excitatory receptor genes. The larger gene groups for the GABAergic pathway or cation channels also showed a significant mutational burden in DEEs and GGE. Although no single gene surpassed exome-wide significance among individuals with GGE or NAFE, highly constrained genes and genes encoding ion channels were among the lead associations; such genes included CACNA1G, EEF1A2, and GABRG2 for GGE and LGI1, TRIM3, and GABRG2 for NAFE. Our study, the largest epilepsy WES study to date, confirms a convergence in the genetics of severe and less-severe epilepsies associated with ultra-rare coding variation, and it highlights a ubiquitous role for GABAergic inhibition in epilepsy etiology