Sustaining family forests in rural landscapes: Rationale, challenges, and an illustration from Oregon, USA

Family forests are critical components of rural landscapes, societies and economies. In Oregon, where nonindustrial private forests comprise only 16% of the forestland base, the ecological, social and economic impact of this ownership category is disproportionately large. This is due to the landscape position these lands occupy, the diversification they contribute to forest cover and local economies, and the political and cultural connections they provide to urban populations. The significance of this ownership category is even greater in the United States as a whole, where nonindustrial private forests comprise nearly two-thirds of the commercial forestland base, dominating rural landscapes in many regions of the country. Despite the important role family forests play, their ability to contribute to the wellbeing of rural areas is challenged by several dynamic factors, including industrial consolidation in global wood markets, loss of family forestland to corporate ownership, and parcelization and fragmentation of family forestland at the urban fringe. Moreover, family forestry does not enjoy a strong social contract with the American public, which is largely ignorant of the existence of this ownership class. A foundation of broad social approval and appreciation for family forestry is a prerequisite to development of policies which can sustain family forestland ownerships and the contributions they make. This paper draws from recent research in Oregon to argue that, whereas most research on nonindustrial private forests has focused on economics and management at the individual producer level, these challenges demand greater attention to the role of family forests in the wider context of landscape, culture and rural economy

Breast cancer risk factors and survival by tumor subtype: pooled analyses from the breast cancer association consortium

Background: It is not known whether modifiable lifestyle factors that predict survival after invasive breast cancer differ by subtype.Methods: We analyzed data for 121,435 women diagnosed with breast cancer from 67 studies in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium with 16,890 deaths (8,554 breast cancer specific) over 10 years. Cox regression was used to estimate associations between risk factors and 10-year all-cause mortality and breast cancer-specific mortality overall, by estrogen receptor (ER) status, and by intrinsic-like subtype.Results: There was no evidence of heterogeneous associations between risk factors and mortality by subtype (P-adj > 0.30). The strongest associations were between all-cause mortality and BMI >= 30 versus 18.5-25 kg/m(2) [HR (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.19 (1.06-1.34)]; current versus never smoking [1.37 (1.27-1.47)], high versus low physical activity [0.43 (0.21-0.86)], age >= 30 years versus 0-= 10 years since last full-term birth [1.31 (1.11-1.55)]; ever versus never use of oral contraceptives [0.91 (0.87-0.96)]; ever versus never use of menopausal hormone therapy, including current estrogen-progestin therapy [0.61 (0.54-0.69)]. Similar associations with breast cancer mortality were weaker; for example, 1.11 (1.02-1.21) for current versus never smoking.Conclusions: We confirm associations between modifiable lifestyle factors and 10-year all-cause mortality. There was no strong evidence that associations differed by ER status or intrinsic-like subtype.Impact: Given the large dataset and lack of evidence that associations between modifiable risk factors and 10-year mortality differed by subtype, these associations could be cautiously used in prognostication models to inform patient-centered care.Surgical oncolog

Novel Loci for Adiponectin Levels and Their Influence on Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Traits : A Multi-Ethnic Meta-Analysis of 45,891 Individuals

J. Kaprio, S. Ripatti ja M.-L. Lokki työryhmien jäseniä.Peer reviewe

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Incidence of aeromonads in samples from an abattoir processing lambs

Two hundred and thirty three samples of lamb carcasses, livers, kidneys and faeces, collected at a local abattoir, were examined to determine the incidence of motile Aeromonas spp. Wash water from the abattoir was also tested. Direct plating on starch ampicillin agar and enrichment in alkaline peptone water were used. The incidence of aeromonads was low. They were detected only after enrichment in 5/47 faecal samples and 11/50 carcass samples. The 41 strains of Aeromonas isolated were identified to species level and 93% of them were able to grow at 5 degrees C. The ability to produce both haemolysin and enterotoxin was species-related and was more common in Aeromonas hydrophila and A. sobria strains than in A. caviae strains

The wild side of a major crop : Soybean's perennial cousins from Down Under

The accumulation of over 30 years of basic research on the biology, genetic variation, and evolution of the wild perennial relatives of soybean (Glycine max) provides a foundation to improve cultivated soybean. The cultivated soybean and its wild progenitor, G. soja, have a center of origin in eastern Asia and are the only two species in the annual subgenus Soja. Systematic and evolutionary studies of the ca. 30 perennial species of subgenus Glycine, native to Australia, have benefited from the availability of the G. max genomic sequence. The perennial species harbor many traits of interest to soybean breeders, among them resistance to major soybean pathogens such as cyst nematode and leaf rust. New species in the Australian subgenus continue to be described, due to the collection of new material and to insights gleaned through systematic studies of accessions in germplasm collections. Ongoing studies in perennial species focus on genomic regions that contain genes for key traits relevant to soybean breeding. These comparisons also include the homoeologous regions that are the result of polyploidy in the common ancestor of all Glycine species. Subgenus Glycine includes a complex of recently formed allopolyploids that are the focus of studies aimed at elucidating genomic, transcriptomic, physiological, taxonomic, morphological, developmental, and ecological processes related to polyploid evolution. Here we review what has been learned over the past 30 years and outline ongoing work on photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, and floral biology, much of it drawing on new technologies and resources

Clinical immunity to Plasmodium falciparum malaria is associated with serum antibodies to the 19-kDa C-terminal fragment of the merozoite surface antigen PfMSP-1

The development of an effective malaria vaccine depends upon identification of antigens that are targets of protective immune responses. An immunoepidemiologic approach has been used to investigate the relationship between antibody responses to a defined region of the major merozoite surface protein of Plasmodium falciparum (PfMSP-1 19) and resistance to clinical malaria in 2 populations of children from West Africa. After allowing for the confounding effects of age, antibodies to PfMSP-1 19 were shown the provide 40% protection against clinical malaria in children in Sierra Leone. In Gambian children, antibodies to one of the epidermal growth factor-like motifs of PfMSP-1 19 were strongly associated with resistance to both clinical malaria and high levels of parasitemia