Learning to live with social-ecological complexity : An interpretive analysis of learning in 11 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Learning is considered a means to achieve sustainability in practice and has become a prominent goal of sustainability interventions. In this paper we explore how learning for sustainability is shaped by meaning, interpretation and experience, in the context of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BRs). The World Network of Biosphere Reserves brings environmental conservation, socio-economic development and research together in 'learning sites for sustainable development.' The World Network is globally significant, with 669 BRs in 120 countries, but as with many paradigmatic sustainability interventions BRs are perceived to suffer from a 'concept-reality gap.' We explore this gap from an interpretive perspective, focusing on participant interpretations of the meaning of BRs and their experiences of working with the concept - with the aim of painting a richer picture of learning for sustainability and the ways in which BRs might fulfil their role as learning sites. We provide a cross-case analysis of learning in 11 BRs around the world, drawing on interviews with 177 participants, and ask: How is the BR concept interpreted and enacted by people involved with BR work? What learning emerges through BR work, as described by those involved? We find that the BR concept is interpreted differently in each location, producing distinct expectations, practices and institutional designs. Learning occurs around common themes - human-environment relationships, actors and governance arrangements, and skills to navigate BR work - but is expressed very differently in each BR. The position of BRs 'in between' social, ecological and economic goals; local places and global networks; and government, private and civil society sectors, provides a valuable space for participants to learn to live with social-ecological complexity. We discuss our results in terms of their contribution to three pressing concerns in sustainability science: (i) power and politics in learning for sustainability, (ii) intermediaries and bridging organizations in multi-level governance, and (iii) reflexivity and knowledge-action relationships. Our comparative hermeneutic approach makes a novel methodological contribution to interpretive studies of sustainability policy and governance

Early pregnancy plasma fatty acid profiles of women later diagnosed with gestational diabetes

Introduction Fatty acid (FA) concentrations have previously been associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, few studies on GDM have examined FA profiles in early pregnancy or before diagnosis. This study aimed to compare early pregnancy plasma FA profiles of women with and without GDM diagnoses as well as their reported dietary consumption. Research design and methods The subjects comprised 853 women from the prospective study: Pregnant Women in Iceland II (PREWICE II), attending their 11-14 weeks ultrasound appointment in 2017-2018. During the visit, blood samples were collected for plasma FA analysis, and dietary habits were assessed using a short food frequency questionnaire. Information on GDM diagnoses was then later extracted from medical records. Differences in FA profile between GDM cases and non-cases were evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results GDM was diagnosed in 127 women (14.9%). Concentrations of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) n-6, PUFA n-3 and total FA were higher in the women who later developed GDM compared with those who did not (p≤0.05). The medians for total FA were 2898 μg/mL for the women with GDM and 2681 μg/mL for those without GDM. Mean adjusted difference for total FA between the groups was 133 μg/mL (95% CI 33 to 233). Similar results were observed in prepregnancy normal-weight women and overweight women/women with obesity. Overall diet quality in early pregnancy appeared to be lower among the women later diagnosed with GDM. Conclusion We found that plasma FA profiles in early pregnancy were different for women later diagnosed with GDM compared with those who were not, independent of the women\u27s body mass index

Development of a dietary screening questionnaire to predict excessive weight gain in pregnancy.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadExcessive gestational weight gain (GWG) is a risk factor for several adverse pregnancy outcomes, including macrosomia. Diet is one of the few modifiable risk factors identified. However, most dietary assessment methods are impractical for use in maternal care. This study evaluated whether a short dietary screening questionnaire could be used as a predictor of excessive GWG in a cohort of Icelandic women. The dietary data were collected in gestational weeks 11-14, using a 40-item food frequency screening questionnaire. The dietary data were transformed into 13 predefined dietary risk factors for an inadequate diet. Stepwise backward elimination was used to identify a reduced set of factors that best predicted excessive GWG. This set of variables was then used to calculate a combined dietary risk score (range 0-5). Information regarding outcomes, GWG (n = 1,326) and birth weight (n = 1,651), was extracted from maternal hospital records. In total, 36% had excessive GWG (Icelandic criteria), and 5% of infants were macrosomic (≥4,500 g). A high dietary risk score (characterized by a nonvaried diet, nonadequate frequency of consumption of fruits/vegetables, dairy, and whole grain intake, and excessive intake of sugar/artificially sweetened beverages and dairy) was associated with a higher risk of excessive GWG. Women with a high (≥4) versus low (≤2) risk score had higher risk of excessive GWG (relative risk = 1.23, 95% confidence interval, CI [1.002, 1.50]) and higher odds of delivering a macrosomic offspring (odds ratio = 2.20, 95% CI [1.14, 4.25]). The results indicate that asking simple questions about women's dietary intake early in pregnancy could identify women who should be prioritized for further dietary counselling and support.UoI Research Fund Technology Development Fund/The Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNIS

Can a Simple Dietary Screening in Early Pregnancy Identify Dietary Habits Associated with Gestational Diabetes?

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadGestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is predominantly a lifestyle disease, with diet being an important modifiable risk factor. A major obstacle for the prevention in clinical practice is the complexity of assessing diet. In a cohort of 1651 Icelandic women, this study examined whether a short 40-item dietary screening questionnaire administered in the 1st trimester could identify dietary habits associated with GDM. The dietary variables were aggregated into predefined binary factors reflecting inadequate or optimal intake and stepwise backward elimination was used to identify a reduced set of factors that best predicted GDM. Those binary factors were then aggregated into a risk score (range: 0-7), that was mostly characterised by frequent consumption of soft drinks, sweets, cookies, ice creams and processed meat. The women with poor dietary habits (score ≥ 5, n = 302), had a higher risk of GDM (RR = 1.38; 95%CI = 3, 85) compared with women with a more optimal diet (score ≤ 2, n = 407). In parallel, a pilot (n = 100) intervention was conducted among overweight and obese women examining the effect of internet-based personalized feedback on diet quality. Simple feedback was given in accordance with the answers provided in the screening questionnaire in 1st trimester. At the endpoint, the improvements in diet quality were observed by, as an example, soft drink consumption being reduced by ~1 L/week on average in the intervention group compared to the controls. Our results suggest that a simple dietary screening tool administered in the 1st trimester could identify dietary habits associated with GMD. This tool should be easy to use in a clinical setting, and with simple individualized feedback, improvements in diet may be achieved.University of Iceland Technology Development Fund Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNIS

Insufficient iodine status in pregnant women as a consequence of dietary changes

Background: Historically, Iceland has been an iodine-sufficient nation due to notably high fish and milk consumption. Recent data suggest that the intake of these important dietary sources of iodine has decreased considerably. Objective: To evaluate the iodine status of pregnant women in Iceland and to determine dietary factors associated with risk for deficiency. Methods: Subjects were women (n = 983; 73% of the eligible sample) attending their first ultrasound appointment in gestational weeks 11–14 in the period October 2017–March 2018. Spot urine samples were collected for assessment of urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and creatinine. The ratio of iodine to creatinine (I/Cr) was calculated. Median UIC was compared with the optimal range of 150–249 µg/L defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). Diet was assessed using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), which provided information on main dietary sources of iodine in the population studied (dairy and fish). Results: The median UIC (95% confidence interval (CI)) and I/Cr of the study population was 89 µg/L (42, 141) and 100 (94, 108) µg/g, respectively. UIC increased with higher frequency of dairy intake, ranging from median UIC of 55 (35, 79) µg/L for women consuming dairy products 2 times per day (P for trend <0.001). A small group of women reporting complete avoidance of fish (n = 18) had UIC of 50 (21, 123) µg/L and significantly lower I/Cr compared with those who did not report avoidance of fish (58 (34, 134) µg/g vs. 100 (94, 108) µg/g, P = 0.041). Women taking supplements containing iodine (n = 34, 3.5%) had significantly higher UIC compared with those who did not take supplements (141 (77, 263) µg/L vs. 87 (82, 94), P = 0.037). Conclusion: For the first time, insufficient iodine status is being observed in an Icelandic population. There is an urgent need for a public health action aiming at improving iodine status of women of childbearing age in Iceland.Recruitment and sample collection was funded by the University of Iceland Research Fund and Science Fund of Landspitali National University Hospital. Shipment of samples and part of the iodine analysis were funded by the EUthyroid Project, supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under grant agreement No 634453. The authors would like to thank nurses and midwives at the Prenatal Diagnostic Unit at Landspitali National University Hospital for their hospitality and positive attitudes, which greatly contributed to the recruitment of participants for this study.Peer Reviewe

Vitamin D status and association with gestational diabetes mellitus in a pregnant cohort in Iceland.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadBackground: Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with an increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), one of the most common pregnancy complications. The vitamin D status has never previously been studied in pregnant women in Iceland. Objective: The aim of this research study was to evaluate the vitamin D status of an Icelandic cohort of pregnant women and the association between the vitamin D status and the GDM incidence. Design: Subjects included pregnant women (n = 938) who attended their first ultrasound appointment, during gestational weeks 11-14, between October 2017 and March 2018. The use of supplements containing vitamin D over the previous 3 months, height, pre-pregnancy weight, and social status were assessed using a questionnaire, and blood samples were drawn for analyzing the serum 25‑hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentration. Information regarding the incidence of GDM later in pregnancy was collected from medical records. Results: The mean ± standard deviation of the serum 25OHD (S-25OHD) concentration in this cohort was 63±24 nmol/L. The proportion of women with an S-25OHD concentration of ≥ 50 nmol/L (which is considered adequate) was 70%, whereas 25% had concentrations between 30 and 49.9 nmol/L (insufficient) and 5% had concentrations < 30 nmol/L (deficient). The majority of women (n = 766, 82%) used supplements containing vitamin D on a daily basis. A gradual decrease in the proportion of women diagnosed with GDM was reported with increasing S-25OHD concentrations, going from 17.8% in the group with S-25OHD concentrations < 30 nmol/L to 12.8% in the group with S-25OHD concentrations ≥75 nmol/L; however, the association was not significant (P for trend = 0.11). Conclusion: Approximately one-third of this cohort had S-25OHD concentrations below adequate levels (< 50 nmol/L) during the first trimester of pregnancy, which may suggest that necessary action must be taken to increase their vitamin D levels. No clear association was observed between the vitamin D status and GDM in this study. Keywords: cod liver oil; gestational diabetes mellitus; nutritional status; pregnancy; supplements; vitamin D.University of Iceland Research Fund Science Fund of Landspitali National University Hospita

Insufficient iodine status in pregnant women as a consequence of dietary changes.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadBackground: Historically, Iceland has been an iodine-sufficient nation due to notably high fish and milk consumption. Recent data suggest that the intake of these important dietary sources of iodine has decreased considerably. Objective: To evaluate the iodine status of pregnant women in Iceland and to determine dietary factors associated with risk for deficiency. Methods: Subjects were women (n = 983; 73% of the eligible sample) attending their first ultrasound appointment in gestational weeks 11-14 in the period October 2017-March 2018. Spot urine samples were collected for assessment of urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and creatinine. The ratio of iodine to creatinine (I/Cr) was calculated. Median UIC was compared with the optimal range of 150-249 μg/L defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). Diet was assessed using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), which provided information on main dietary sources of iodine in the population studied (dairy and fish). Results: The median UIC (95% confidence interval (CI)) and I/Cr of the study population was 89 μg/L (42, 141) and 100 (94, 108) μg/g, respectively. UIC increased with higher frequency of dairy intake, ranging from median UIC of 55 (35, 79) μg/L for women consuming dairy products 2 times per day (P for trend <0.001). A small group of women reporting complete avoidance of fish (n = 18) had UIC of 50 (21, 123) μg/L and significantly lower I/Cr compared with those who did not report avoidance of fish (58 (34, 134) μg/g vs. 100 (94, 108) μg/g, P = 0.041). Women taking supplements containing iodine (n = 34, 3.5%) had significantly higher UIC compared with those who did not take supplements (141 (77, 263) μg/L vs. 87 (82, 94), P = 0.037). Conclusion: For the first time, insufficient iodine status is being observed in an Icelandic population. There is an urgent need for a public health action aiming at improving iodine status of women of childbearing age in Iceland.University of Iceland Research Fund Landspitali National University Hospital EUthyroid Project - European Unio

Current use of noninvasive prenatal testing in Europe, Australia and the USA : A graphical presentation

publishersversionPeer reviewe

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of gestational diabetes mellitus highlights genetic links with type 2 diabetes

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with increased risk of pregnancy complications and adverse perinatal outcomes. GDM often reoccurs and is associated with increased risk of subsequent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes (T2D). To improve our understanding of the aetiological factors and molecular processes driving the occurrence of GDM, including the extent to which these overlap with T2D pathophysiology, the GENetics of Diabetes In Pregnancy Consortium assembled genome-wide association studies of diverse ancestry in a total of 5485 women with GDM and 347 856 without GDM. Through multi-ancestry meta-analysis, we identified five loci with genome-wide significant association (P < 5 x 10(-8)) with GDM, mapping to/near MTNR1B (P = 4.3 x 10(-54)), TCF7L2 (P = 4.0 x 10(-16)), CDKAL1 (P = 1.6 x 10(-4)), CDKN2A-CDKN2B (P = 4.1 x 10(-9)) and HKDC1 (P = 2.9 x 10(-8)). Multiple lines of evidence pointed to the shared pathophysiology of GDM and T2D: (i) four of the five GDM loci (not HKDC1) have been previously reported at genome-wide significance for T2D; (ii) significant enrichment for associations with GDM at previously reported T2D loci; (iii) strong genetic correlation between GDM and T2D and (iv) enrichment of GDM associations mapping to genomic annotations in diabetes-relevant tissues and transcription factor binding sites. Mendelian randomization analyses demonstrated significant causal association (5% false discovery rate) of higher body mass index on increased GDM risk. Our results provide support for the hypothesis that GDM and T2D are part of the same underlying pathology but that, as exemplified by the HKDC1 locus, there are genetic determinants of GDM that are specific to glucose regulation in pregnancy.Peer reviewe

Volunteer motivations and long-term viability of volunteer-based adaptive co-management : a case study of the Noosa biosphere reserve, South East Queensland, Australia

Citizens worldwide are increasingly volunteering in natural resource management and governments as well as public and private environmental organizations rely heavily on unpaid volunteers to further their commitments. Another growing trend is adaptive and co-management approaches to ecosystem-based management. For this thesis purpose the focus will be on adaptive co-management and the knowledge gap about the sustainability and challenges of this approach when it relies greatly on and is driven by citizen volunteers. Studies stress a need to increase knowledge about volunteer-based natural resource management - who volunteers, volunteer motivations and experiences, as well as challenges associated with volunteerism in order to sustain volunteers’ commitments in the long term. The study aims to contribute to an understanding of volunteer motivations and the long-term viability of a volunteer-based adaptive co-management through a case study of Noosa biosphere reserve in Queensland, Australia. Methods used are both qualitative and quantitative; where the analysis is based on semi-structured interviews with 18 key informants and a survey conducted with 42 volunteers. The study shows an advantage of relying on volunteers to be when volunteer involvement maximizes quantity of social networks enabling communication between diverse actors and groups in society. The results also indicate that shared decision-making power amongst the volunteers enhances a creative learning environment; accumulating knowledge through experiments combined with science that fosters self-organization. However, challenges emerged such as the notion of volunteers’ pet projects where actions are not necessarily based on urgent issues of the social-ecological system. Additionally, volunteer burnout and turnover often results in knowledge and skill turnover, which in turn hampers feedback processes and the capacity to adapt. Reflecting motivations emerging as important, the study suggests three underlying motivational categories that can be used to increase managerial capacity in order to sustain volunteer commitments and the long-term viability of a volunteer-based adaptive co-management: a) the Moralist, being morally convicted to promote sustainable trajectories; the Hands-on environmentalist, wanting to use ones skills and learn and interact in ones natural environment; and the Social contributor, whose aim is to strengthen social ties and contribute to the community and future generations