Developing common protocols to measure tundra herbivory across spatial scales

Understanding and predicting large-scale ecological responses to global environmental change requires comparative studies across geographic scales with coordinated efforts and standardized methodologies. We designed, applied and assessed standardized protocols to measure tundra herbivory at three spatial scales: plot, site (habitat), and study area (landscape). The plot and site-level protocols were tested in the field during summers 2014-2015 at eleven sites, nine of them comprising warming experimental plots included in the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX). The study area protocols were assessed during 2014-2018 at 24 study areas across the Arctic. Our protocols provide comparable and easy-to-implement methods for assessing the intensity of invertebrate herbivory within ITEX plots and for characterizing vertebrate herbivore communities at larger spatial scales. We discuss methodological constraints and make recommendations for how these protocols can be used and how sampling effort can be optimized to obtain comparable estimates of herbivory, both at ITEX sites and at large landscape scales. The application of these protocols across the tundra biome will allow characterizing and comparing herbivore communities across tundra sites and at ecologically relevant spatial scales, providing an important step towards a better understanding of tundra ecosystem responses to large-scale environmental change.CGB was funded by the Estonian Research Council (grant IUT 20-28), and the European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence EcolChange). JDMS was supported by the Research Council of Norway (262064). OG and LB were supported by the French Polar Institute (program “1036 Interactions”) and PRC CNRS Russie 396 (program “ICCVAT”). DSH, NL, MAG, JB and JDR were supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada). NL, MAG, JB and JDR were supported by the Polar Continental Shelf Program. NL was supported by the Canada Research Chair program and the Canada Foundation for Innovation. NL and JB were supported by Environment Canada and Polar Knowledge Canada. NL and MAG were supported by the Government of Nunavut, the Igloolik Community, and Université de Moncton. NL, MAG and JB were supported by the Northern Scientific Training Program. JMA was funded by Carl Tryggers stiftelse för vetenskaplig forskning and Qatar Petroleum (QUEX-CAS-QP-RD-18_19). IHM-S was funded by the UK Natural Environmental Research Council Shrub Tundra (NE/M016323/1) grant. ISJ was funded by the University of Iceland Research Fund. Fieldwork in Yamal peninsula (Erkuta, Sabetta and Belyi) for DE, NS and AS was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (No: 18-05-60261 and No: 18-54-15013), Fram Centre project YaES (No: 362259), the Russian Center of Development of the Arctic, and the “Yamal-LNG” company. Fieldwork in Utqiaġvik was supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Fieldwork in Svalbard was supported by the Norwegian Research Council (AFG No: 246080/E10), the Norwegian Polar Institute, Climate-ecological Observatory for Arctic Tundra – COAT, the Svalbard Environmental protection fund (project number 15/20), and the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) and the AB-338/AB-838 students of 2018. Sampling at Billefjorden was supported by GACR 17- 20839S

Ekonomická hodnota knihovnických služeb pro děti: Případ českých veřejných knihoven

Public support of library services must be targeted towards children because these services play a key role in their development. However, no prior research has investigated the value of public library services for children. Specifically, earlier studies evaluated the value of public libraries as a whole, without considering library services for different stakeholders. The fact that children are not autonomous economic agents is another problem to address. These barriers can be overcome by using the contingent valuation method with parents/caregivers as the subjects queried and children used as the objects in this study. Thus, the economic value of library services for children can be obtained to support managerial decisions on services specifically designed for children. More precisely, this study is unique in that it develops a contingent valuation methodology for estimating the value of children's library services based on adults' willingness to allocate a proportion of municipal budgets. Both users and non-users were surveyed to verify the proposed methodology empirically. The results show that the perceived effectiveness (ratio between perceived benefits and costs) of children's library services is 11.2 (11.2 units of benefits for each unit invested) in Czech public libraries compared with 4.3 for a library as a whole. This finding confirms the essential role of children's library services, implying that public libraries should offer a broader selection of children's books and other services. The study also shows that the value of children's library services depends on the age, education and economic structure of the adults queried. In addition, their satisfaction with library services is another important determinant, indicating that public libraries can influence the perceived benefits of children's library services.Veřejná podpora knihovnických služeb musí být zaměřena na děti, protože tyto služby hrají klíčovou roli v jejich rozvoji. Žádný předchozí výzkum však nezkoumal hodnotu veřejných knihovnických služeb pro děti. Konkrétně dřívější studie hodnotily hodnotu veřejných knihoven jako celku, aniž by zvažovaly knihovnické služby pro různé zúčastněné strany. Skutečnost, že děti nejsou autonomními ekonomickými subjekty, je dalším problémem, který je třeba řešit. Tyto překážky lze překonat pomocí metody podmíněného oceňování s rodiči / pečovateli jako dotázanými subjekty a dětmi použitými jako objekty. Ekonomickou hodnotu knihovnických služeb pro děti tak lze získat na podporu manažerských rozhodnutí o službách specificky určených pro děti. Přesněji řečeno, tato studie je jedinečná v tom, že vyvíjí metodiku případného oceňování pro odhad hodnoty knihovnických služeb pro děti na základě ochoty dospělých přidělit část veřejných rozpočtů. Uživatelé i neuživatelé byli dotazováni, aby empiricky ověřili navrhovanou metodiku. Výsledky ukazují, že vnímaná efektivita (poměr mezi vnímanými výhodami a náklady) služeb dětských knihoven je 11,2 (11,2 jednotek přínosů pro každou investovanou jednotku) v českých veřejných knihovnách ve srovnání se 4,3 pro knihovnu jako celek. Toto zjištění potvrzuje zásadní úlohu knihovnických služeb pro děti, z čehož vyplývá, že veřejné knihovny by měly nabízet širší výběr dětských knih a dalších služeb. Studie také ukazuje, že hodnota služeb dětských knihoven závisí na věku, vzdělání a ekonomické struktuře dotazovaných dospělých. Spokojenost s knihovními službami je navíc dalším důležitým určujícím faktorem, který naznačuje, že veřejné knihovny mohou ovlivnit vnímané přínosy knihovnických služeb pro děti

Eddy covariance and environmental data of boreal bogs plant species

In boreal bogs plant species are low in number, but they differ greatly in their growth forms and photosynthetic properties. We assessed how ecosystem carbon (C) sink dynamics were affected by seasonal variations in photosynthetic rate and leaf area of different species. Photosynthetic properties (light-response parameters), leaf area development and areal cover (abundance) of the species were used to quantify species-specific net and gross photosynthesis rates (PN and PG, respectively), which were summed to express ecosystem-level PN and PG. The ecosystem-level PG was compared with a gross primary production (GPP) estimate derived from eddy covariance measurements (EC). Species areal cover rather than differences in photosynthetic properties determined the species with the highest PG of both vascular plants and Sphagna. Species-specific contributions to the ecosystem PG varied over the growing season, which in turn determined the seasonal variation in ecosystem PG. The upscaled growing-season PG estimate, 230 g C/m**2, agreed well with the GPP estimated by the EC, 243 g C/m**2. Sphagna were superior to vascular plants in ecosystem-level PG throughout the growing season but had a lower PN. PN results indicated that areal cover of the species together with their differences in photosynthetic parameters shape the ecosystem-level C balance. Species with low areal cover but high photosynthetic efficiency appear to be potentially important for the ecosystem C sink. Results imply that functional diversity may increase the stability of C sink of boreal bogs

Carfilzomib and dexamethasone versus bortezomib and dexamethasone for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (ENDEAVOR): a randomised, phase 3, open-label, multicentre study

Bortezomib with dexamethasone is a standard treatment option for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Carfilzomib with dexamethasone has shown promising activity in patients in this disease setting. The aim of this study was to compare the combination of carfilzomib and dexamethasone with bortezomib and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma