What is a “good” forest?

Restoration is seen as a key strategy to counteract global issues of the climate crisis, deforestation, and land degradation. However, restoration initiatives are being criticised for failing to consider social and political dimensions, leading to negative effects on ecosystems and people. To make restoration more people-centred, it has been argued that we need explicit strategies and rights that enable local communities to make authorized decisions about forests they depend on. Community forestry offers a model that could contribute positively to those practices, as community-based approaches involve a decentralisation of power that goes beyond merely increasing participation, and often allow for the creation of formalised local institutions that are backed by rights recognised in legislation. A generally successful community forestry program is seen in Nepal, with overall positive outcomes for people and the environment, despite some challenges. It therefore offers an opportunity to study the impact of community-based reforestation programs on local resource users. Special attention is given to understanding how different rural women that use forests in their everyday life, perceive community forests and which aspects they value in their surrounding landscape. In this thesis, it is therefore asked: What can we learn from community forestry projects in Nepal about inclusion of women and creating local social benefits that can contribute to broader people-centred restoration approaches? How is community forestry in Nepal perceived by different local women and what specific aspects of the surrounding landscape do individual female resource users value? Two villages in the middle hills of Nepal, providing the context of community forestry, are used as a case study. Semi-guided interviews served as the main source of data collection. The empirical findings show that, although there are inequalities in community forestry in the study sites, and women are not always equitably included in seemingly participatory decision-making, the female respondents in this study are overall very supportive of community forestry as a way of governing forests. Respondents generally credit the way of governing forests for allowing more trees to grow. Specific aspects that women value in terms of a “good” forest in this study and that they perceive as benefits are: a variety of broadleaf tree species that provide products with domestic use value; availability and easy accessibility of products for domestic use; close, easy, safe and most importantly sustained access to collection sites to fulfil people’s daily needs; forests that serve as social places; forests that serve for provisioning shade, air, coolness, or water, and for protection from landslides/erosion. Community forestry can help to support these aspects. At the same time, if the dimension of inclusion is to be a priority for people-centred restoration approaches, work needs to be done to make local institutions more equitable over the long term

Influence of Intraoperative Hemodynamic Parameters on Outcome in Simultaneous Pancreas–Kidney Transplant Recipient

Objectives: Adequate organ perfusion, as well as appropriate blood pressure levels at the time of unclamping, is crucial for early and long-term graft function and outcome in simultaneous pancreas–kidney transplantation (SPKT). However, the optimal intraoperative mean arterial pressure (MAP) level has not well been defined. Methods: From a prospectively collected database, the medical data of 105 patients undergoing SPKT at our center were retrospectively analyzed. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was preliminarily performed for optimal cut-off value for MAP at reperfusion, to predict early pancreatic graft function. Due to these results, we divided the patients according to their MAP values at reperfusion into 91 mmHg (n = 58 patients) groups. Clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes, as well as early graft function and long-term survival, were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Donor and recipient characteristics were comparable between both groups. Rates of postoperative complications were significantly higher in the 91 mmHg group (vascular thrombosis of the pancreas: 7 (14%) versus 2 (3%); p = 0.03; pancreatitis/intraabdominal abscess: 10 (21%) versus 4 (7%); p = 0.03; renal delayed graft function (DGF): 11 (23%) versus 5 (9%); p = 0.03; postreperfusion urine output: 106 ± 50 mL versus 195 ± 45 mL; p = 0.04). There were no significant differences in intraoperative volume repletion, central venous pressure (CVP), use of vasoactive inotropic agents, and the metabolic outcome. Five-year pancreas graft survival was significantly higher in the >91 mmHg group (>91 mmHg: 82% versus 91 mmHg at the time point of reperfusion was associated with a reduced rate of postoperative complications, enhancing and recovering long-term graft function and outcome and thus increasing long-term survival in SPKT recipients

Methodologies for Housing Justice Resource Guide

This Resource Guide is the outcome of a Summer Institute on Methodologies for Housing Justice convened by the Institute on Inequality and Democracy at UCLA Luskin as part of the Housing Justice in Unequal Cities Network, which is supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS 1758774). Held in Los Angeles in August 2019, the Summer Institute brought together participants from cities around the world. As is the case with the overall scope and purpose of the Housing Justice in Unequal Cities Network, it created a shared terrain of scholarship for movement-based and university-based scholars. Dissatisfied with the canonical methods that are in use in housing studies and guided by housing justice movements that are active research communities, the Summer Institute was premised on the assertion that methodology is political. Methodology is rooted in arguments about the world and involves relations of power and knowledge. The method itself – be it countermapping or people’s diaries – does not ensure an ethics of solidarity and a purpose of justice. Such goals require methodologies for liberation. Thus, as is evident in this Resource Guide, our endeavor foregrounds innovative methods that are being used by researchers across academia and activism and explicitly situates such methods in an orientation towards housing justice

Metodologías para la justicia de la vivienda: Guia de recursos

Esta Guía de Recursos es el resultado de un Instituto de Verano sobre Metodologías para la Justicia en la Vivienda convocado por el Instituto sobre Desigualdad y Democracia de UCLA Luskin como parte de la Red de Justicia en la Vivienda en Ciudades Desiguales, que es apoyada por la Fundación Nacional de Ciencias (BCS 1758774). Celebrado en Los Ángeles en agosto de 2019, el Instituto de Verano reunió a participantes de ciudades de todo el mundo. Al igual que el alcance y el propósito general de la Red de Justicia en las Ciudades Desiguales, creó un terreno compartido de para estudiosos del movimiento y académicos de universidades. Con una insatisfacción a los métodos canónicos que se utilizan en los estudios sobre la vivienda y guiado por los movimientos de justicia de la vivienda que son comunidades de investigación activa, el Instituto de verano se basó en la afirmación de que la metodología es política. La metodología se basa en argumentos sobre el mundo e implica relaciones de poder y conocimiento. El método por sí mismo -ya sea el contra ataque al mapeo o los diarios de la genteno asegura una ética de solidaridad y un propósito de justicia. Tales objetivos requieren metodologías para la liberación. Por lo tanto, como es evidente en esta Guía de Recursos, nuestro esfuerzo pone en primer plano los métodos innovadores que están siendo utilizados por los investigadores en todo el mundo académico y el activismo y sitúa explícitamente tales métodos en una orientación hacia la vivienda la justicia

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Elevated oxysterol levels in human and mouse livers reflect nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a primary cause of liver disease, leads to complications such as fibrosis, cirrhosis, and carcinoma, but the pathophysiology of NASH is incompletely understood. Epstein Barr virus induced G protein coupled receptor 2 (EBI2) and its oxysterol ligand 7α,25-dihydroxycholesterol (7α,25-diHC) are recently discovered immune regulators. Several lines of evidence suggest a role of oxysterols in NASH pathogenesis, but rigorous testing has not been performed. We measured oxysterol levels in livers of NASH patients by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and tested the role of the EBI2-7α,25-diHC-system in a murine feeding model of NASH. Free oxysterol profiling in livers from NASH patients revealed a pronounced increase in 24- and 7-hydroxylated oxysterols in NASH compared to controls. Levels of 24- and 7-hydroxylated oxysterols correlated with histological NASH activity. Histological analysis of murine liver samples demonstrated ballooning and liver inflammation. No significant genotype related differences were observed in Ebi2-/- animals and animals with defects in the 7α,25-diHC synthesizing enzymes CH25H and CYP7B1 compared to wildtype littermate controls,arguing against an essential role of these genes in NASH pathogenesis. Elevated 24- and 7-hydroxylated oxysterol levels were confirmed in murine NASH liver samples. Our results suggest increased bile acid synthesis in NASH samples, as judged by enhanced level of 7α- hydroxycholest-4-en-3-one, and impaired 24S-hydroxycholesterol metabolism as characteristic biochemical changes in livers affected by NASH

Health related quality of life of cancer patients during combined treatment with chemotherapy and hyperthermia (PBH)

Die Arbeit beschreibt die Lebensqualität fortgeschritten erkrankter Tumorpatienten im Verlauf der Kombinationstherapie aus Teilkörperhyperthermie und Chemotherapie unter Berücksichtigung geschlechts- und dieagnoseabhängiger Besonderheiten. Die SElbsteinschätzung der Patienten erfolgte auf der Grundlage des krebsspezifischen Fragebogens EORTC QLQ-C30. Die größten Probleme, wenn auch nur mäßiger Ausprägung, stellten Fatigue sowie Einschränkungen der Rollen- und Sozialfunktion dar. Insgesamt blieb die Lebensqualität im Behandlungsverlauf stabil. Weibliche Patientinnen wiesen eine subjektiv stärker empfundene Beeinträchtigung in den Bereichen der körperlichen Belastbarkeit, Fatigue, der emotionalen Verfassung und der kognitiven Leistung auf. Männer litten unter der reduzierten Rollenfunktion. Sarkompatienten wiesen eine besonders schlechte Lebensqualität auf, die Gruppe mit kolorektalen Karzinomen eine vergleichsweise wenig beeinträchtigte.This analysis describes the quality of life of advanced cancer patients during combined treatment with hyperthermia (PBH) and chemotherapy and the gender- and diagnosis-specific differences. The self-assessment by the patients was carried out using the cancer specific questinnaire EORTC QLQ-C30. Patients suffered most, although of moderate severity, from fatigue and a reduced role and social function. Overall, the quality of life during treatment remained stable. Female patients felt more perceived impairment in physical function, fatigue, emotional function and cognitive function. Men showed a reduced role function. Sarcoma patients had a poor quality of life compared with colorectal cancer patients, who were only little affected

Business analytics on ais data: potentials, limitations and perspectives

Purpose: As maritime digitalization progresses, great opportunities for maritime transport arise: The introduction of the AIS opened up a number of possibilities and perspectives for increasing efficiency, automation and cost reduction using business analytics and machine learning in the supply chain and maritime sector. Methodology: Various analysis and forecast techniques of machine learning as well as interactive visualizations are presented for the automated analysis of ship movement patterns, risk assessments of encounter situations of two or more ships as well as anomaly detections or performance indicators to quickly extract key figures of certain ships, routes or areas. Findings: In addition to a comprehensive representation of relevant potentials and business analytics areas of AIS data, the feasibility and associated accuracy of the data mining and machine learning methods used are described. In addition, limitations will be shown and perspectives especially on autonomous surface ships will be discussed. Originality: At present, there is no information platform that bundles the areas described in the previous sections in a central source. Previous work has either been limited to the visualization of historical and current ship movements or deals with narrowly limited individual questions of isolated applications