Arms Management and Destruction in Sahel and Maghreb by Chris Loughran, Julia Wittig and Greg Crowther [ MAG (Mines Advisory Group) ]

Since January 2013, the United Nations Mine Action Service has worked to build Mali’s national capacity in explosive ordnance disposal

Prognostischer Wert von Labordaten bei Patienten mit idopathischem Hörsturz

Trotz grundlagenwissenschaftlicher und klinisch diagnostischer Fortschritte bleibt die Ursache eines akuten Hörsturzes häufig unbekannt. Für eine bessere Behandlung des akuten Hörsturzes sind Kenntnisse der Ursache und von Prognosefaktoren dringend notwendig. Ziel dieser Arbeit war das Erforschen möglicher Prognosefaktoren und deren Einfluss auf die Hörerholung nach einem akuten Hörsturz. Es wurden neben klinischen und audiologischen Daten erstmals auch einzelne Laborwerte zur Betrachtung hinzugezogen. In die retrospektive Studie wurden die Daten von insgesamt 173 Patienten mit einseitigem idiopathischem Hörsturz aufgenommen, die zwischen Dezember 2006 und Mai 2009 an der Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenheilkunde des Universitätsklinikums Jena behandelt wurden. Die Hörerholung wurde gemessen als absoluter Hörgewinn gegen den Medianwert des Studienkollektivs und anhand des Hörgewinns von 20 dB sowie nach der Siegel- und Japan-Klassifikation

Is perceived inability to procreate associated with life satisfaction? Evidence from a German panel study

Most studies of the psychosocial consequences of infertility have focused on those who seek medical treatment, leaving a research gap regarding the psychosocial consequences of perceived inability to procreate in the general population. Moreover, most studies are cross-sectional and the results are thus likely affected by omitted variable bias. Inspired by aspects of the Theory of Conjunctural Action, this study analysed 10 waves of data from the German Family Panel (pairfam) for women and men using fixed effects panel regression and including time-varying control variables suggested by theory and research. This study found that both women and men experienced lower life satisfaction in years when they perceived an inability to procreate. This association was not affected by the inclusion of relevant time-varying control variables. Furthermore, the association between perceived barriers to procreation and life satisfaction was found to differ depending on life circumstances and gender. Women with partners and men without partners had lower life satisfaction when they perceived an inability to procreate compared with when they did not. Women and men who intended to have a(nother) child had lower life satisfaction when they perceived an inability to procreate compared with when they did not. The association, however, was only significant for men. Somewhat surprisingly, women who perceived an inability to procreate also had lower life satisfaction when they were not intending to have a(nother) child. This study makes an important contribution to research on the psychosocial consequences of perceived infertility, and provides insights into why some people may pursue assisted reproductive technology for family creation

Rancidity development during the chilled storage of farmed Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)

7 páginas, 4 figuras, 2 tablasCoho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) is a fatty fish species whose farming production has greatly increased in recent years. Lipid damage produced during Coho salmon chilled storage was studied for up to 24 d. Lipid hydrolysis (free fatty acids, FFA) and oxidation (conjugated dienes; peroxide value, PV; thiobarbituric acid index, TBA-i; fluorescent compounds formation, FR; browning development) were determined and compared to lipid composition (polyene index, PI; astaxanthin, AX) changes and sensory assessment (rancid odour development) results. Most lipid damage indices developed slowly during storage; thus, values obtained for FFA, PV, TBA-i and FR were in all cases under 1.5 g/100 g, 4.0 meq oxygen/kg lipid, 0.40 mg malondialdehyde/kg muscle and 0.40, respectively. Odour assessment showed a significant (p <0.05) rancidity development at day 10, when compared to starting fish material; then, non-acceptable values were obtained at days 19 and 24. The PI analysis showed not many differences during the storage time, with the lowest mean value at day 19. AX analysis indicated a relatively high content in the white muscle, which was maintained till the end of the experiment. A low oxidation development is concluded for Coho salmon lipids when compared to other fatty fish species under the same chilling conditions. AX was found to contribute to the oxidation stability of Coho salmon lipids, due to its free radical scavenger propertiesPeer reviewe

Quantifying within-group variation in sociality—covariation among metrics and patterns across primate groups and species

It has long been recognized that the patterning of social interactions within a group can give rise to a social structure that holds very different places for different individuals. Such within-group variation in sociality correlates with fitness proxies in fish, birds, and mammals. Broader integration of this research has been hampered by the lack of agreement on how to integrate information from a plethora of dyadic interactions into individual-level metrics. As a step towards standardization, we collected comparative data on affinitive and affiliative interactions from multiple groups each of five species of primates to assess whether the same aspects of sociality are measured by different metrics and indices. We calculated 16 different sociality metrics used in previous research and thought to represent three different sociality concepts. We assessed covariation of metrics within groups and then summarized covariation patterns across all 15 study groups, which varied in size from 5 to 41 adults. With some methodological and conceptual caveats, we found that the number of weak ties individuals formed within their groups represented a dimension of sociality that was largely independent from the overall number of ties as well as from the number and strength of the strong ties they formed. Metrics quantifying indirect connectedness exhibited strong covariation with strong tie metrics and thus failed to capture a third aspect of sociality. Future research linking affiliation and affinity to fitness or other individual level outcomes should quantify inter-individual variation in three aspects: the overall number of ties, the number of weak ties, and the number or strength of strong ties individuals form, after taking into account effects of social network density. Significance statement: In recent years, long-term studies of individually known animals have revealed strong correlations between individual social bonds and social integration, on the one hand, and reproductive success and survival on the other hand, suggesting strong natural selection on affiliative and affinitive behavior within groups. It proved difficult to generalize from these studies because they all measured sociality in slightly different ways. Analyzing covariation between 16 previously used metrics identified only three rather independent dimensions of variation. Thus, different studies have tapped into the same biological phenomenon. How individuals are weakly connected within their group needs further attention.Peer Reviewe

Anticipatory action: Lessons for the future

Climate shocks are causing increasingly severe damage and amplifying humanitarian needs. So far, humanitarian action has been mostly responsive, arriving after a crisis has materialized. With recent advances in forecasting, humanitarian and development organizations have been able to anticipate and respond ahead of crises. “Anticipatory action” (AA) seeks to ensure aid is provided before the peak impact of a shock occurs, reducing suffering and humanitarian needs. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has been developing AA frameworks since 2019, coordinating collective AA and mobilizing finance. To date, these pilots have reached approximately 2.2 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Bangladesh. In six countries (Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Nepal, Niger, and The Philippines), frameworks are in place to reach a further 2.3 million people should the triggers be reached. OCHA is facilitating the design of AA plans in Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Mozambique and South Sudan. We share lessons from the pilots, focusing on three components: triggers, programming, and financing. We report that triggers must be sufficiently reliable to warrant action and funds disbursement. Forecasts are not available for all countries or hazards, and existing forecasts may not provide desired resolution or skill (accuracy) levels, especially at longer lead times. The timing of action therefore must balance forecast skill against operational needs. Funding is best when it is flexible and includes finance for framework design, evaluation and continued improvements. Finally we discuss the challenges and opportunities in scaling up AA

MACiE: exploring the diversity of biochemical reactions

MACiE (which stands for Mechanism, Annotation and Classification in Enzymes) is a database of enzyme reaction mechanisms, and can be accessed from http://www.ebi.ac.uk/thornton-srv/databases/MACiE/. This article presents the release of Version 3 of MACiE, which not only extends the dataset to 335 entries, covering 182 of the EC sub-subclasses with a crystal structure available (∼90%), but also incorporates greater chemical and structural detail. This version of MACiE represents a shift in emphasis for new entries, from non-homologous representatives covering EC reaction space to enzymes with mechanisms of interest to our users and collaborators with a view to exploring the chemical diversity of life. We present new tools for exploring the data in MACiE and comparing entries as well as new analyses of the data and new searches, many of which can now be accessed via dedicated Perl scripts