Reaching a consensus on research priorities for supporting women with autoimmune rheumatic diseases during pre-conception, pregnancy and early parenting: A Nominal Group Technique exercise with lay and professional stakeholders

Background:Women with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) find it difficult to get information and support with family planning, pregnancy, and early parenting. A systematic approach to prioritising research is required to accelerate development and evaluation of interventions to meet the complex needs of this population. Methods:A Nominal Group Technique (NGT) exercise was carried out with lay and professional stakeholders (n=29). Stakeholders were prepared for debate through presentation of available evidence. Stakeholders completed three tasks to develop, individually rank, and reach consensus on research priorities: Task 1 – mapping challenges and services using visual timelines; Task 2 - identifying research topics; Task 3 - individually ranking research topics in priority order. Results of the ranking exercise were fed back to the group for comment. Results:The main themes emerging from Task 1 were the need for provision of information, multi-disciplinary care, and social and peer support. In Task 2, 15 research topics and 58 sub-topics were identified around addressing the challenges and gaps in care identified during Task 1. In Task 3, a consensus was reached on the ten research topics that should be given the highest priority. These were individually ranked, resulting in the following order of priorities (from 1 – highest to 10 – lowest): 1. Shared decision-making early in the care pathway; 2. Pre-conception counseling; 3. Information about medication use during pregnancy/breastfeeding; 4. Personalised care planning; 5. Support for partners/family members; 6. Information about local support/disease specific issues; 7. Shared decision-making across the care pathway; 8. Peer-support; 9. Social inequalities in care, and; 10. Guidance on holistic/alternative therapies. Conclusions:This systematic approach to identification of research priorities from a multi-disciplinary and lay perspective indicated that activities should focus on development and evaluation of interventions that increase patient involvement in clinical decision-making, multi-disciplinary models of care, and timely provision of information

Soil erosion modelling: A global review and statistical analysis

To gain a better understanding of the global application of soil erosion prediction models, we comprehensivelyreviewed relevant peer-reviewed research literature on soil-erosion modelling published between 1994 and2017. We aimed to identify (i) the processes and models most frequently addressed in the literature, (ii) the re-gions within which models are primarily applied, (iii) the regions which remain unaddressed and why, and (iv)how frequently studies are conducted to validate/evaluate model outcomes relative to measured data. To per-form this task, we combined the collective knowledge of 67 soil-erosion scientists from 25 countries. Theresulting database, named‘Global Applications of Soil Erosion Modelling Tracker (GASEMT)’, includes 3030 indi-vidual modelling records from 126 countries, encompassing all continents (except Antarctica). Out of the 8471articles identified as potentially relevant, we reviewed 1697 appropriate articles and systematically evaluatedand transferred 42 relevant attributes into the database. This GASEMT database provides comprehensive insightsinto the state-of-the-art of soil- erosion models and model applications worldwide. This database intends to sup-port the upcoming country-based United Nations global soil-erosion assessment in addition to helping to informsoil erosion research priorities by building a foundation for future targeted, in-depth analyses. GASEMT is anopen-source database available to the entire user-community to develop research, rectify errors, andmakefutureexpansion

Soil erosion modelling: A global review and statistical analysis

To gain a better understanding of the global application of soil erosion prediction models, we comprehensively reviewed relevant peer-reviewed research literature on soil-erosion modelling published between 1994 and 2017.We aimed to identify (i) the processes and models most frequently addressed in the literature, (ii) the regions within which models are primarily applied, (iii) the regions which remain unaddressed and why, and (iv) how frequently studies are conducted to validate/evaluate model outcomes relative to measured data. To perform this task, we combined the collective knowledge of 67 soil-erosion scientists from 25 countries. The resulting database, named ‘Global Applications of Soil ErosionModelling Tracker (GASEMT)’, includes 3030 individual modelling records from 126 countries, encompassing all continents (except Antarctica). Out of the 8471 articles identified as potentially relevant, we reviewed 1697 appropriate articles and systematically evaluated and transferred 42 relevant attributes into the database. This GASEMT database provides comprehensive insights into the state-of-the-art of soil- erosionmodels and model applicationsworldwide. This database intends to support the upcoming country-based United Nations global soil-erosion assessment in addition to helping to inform soil erosion research priorities by building a foundation for future targeted, in-depth analyses. GASEMT is an open-source database available to the entire user-community to develop research, rectify errors, andmake future expansions

Soil organic carbon concentrations and stocks on Barro Colorado Island - Digital soil mapping using Random Forests analysis

Spatial estimates of tropical soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations and stocks are crucial to understanding the role of tropical SOC in the global carbon cycle. They also allow for spatial variation of SOC in environmental process models. SOC is spatially highly variable. In traditional approaches, SOC concentrations and stocks have been derived from estimates for single or very few profiles and spatially linked to existing units of soil or vegetation maps. However, many existing soil profile data are incomplete and untested as to whether they are representative or unbiased. Also single means for soil or vegetation map units cannot characterize SOC spatial variability within these units. We here use the digital soil mapping approach to predict the spatial distribution of SOC. This relies on a soil inference model based on spatially referenced environmental layers of topographic attributes, soil units, parent material, and forest history. We sampled soils at 165 sites, stratified according to topography and lithology, on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama, at depths of 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-30 cm, and 30-50 cm, and analyzed them for SOC by dry combustion. We applied Random Forest (RF) analysis as a modeling tool to the SOC data for each depth interval in order to compare vertical and lateral distribution patterns. RF has several advantages compared to other modeling approaches, for instance, the fact that it is neither sensitive to overfitting nor to noise features. The RF-based digital SOC mapping approach provided SOC estimates of high spatial resolution and estimates of error and predictor importance. The environmental variables that explained most of the variation in the topsoil (0-10 cm) were topographic attributes. In the subsoil (10-50 cm), SOC distribution was best explained by soil texture classes as derived from soil mapping units. The estimates for SOC stocks in the upper 30 cm ranged between 38 and 116 Mg ha- 1, with lowest stocks on midslope and highest on toeslope positions. This digital soil mapping approach can be applied to similar landscapes to refine the spatial resolution of SOC estimates. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Optimizing Cooperation in Spatial Planning for eGovernment

As a reaction to societal, economic and technological changes, new forms of cooperation are applied in projects of urban and regional development. We argue,that this trend can significantly be amplified by the use of information and communication technologies (ICT): Through ICT more persons can participate in a more open, fairer and more transparent way. More complex information can be analyzed; discussions can become more focused, the process is documented and becomes reproducible and comparable. Methods and media can be combined in a very flexible way to design:more efficient and-effective processes. to the extent that projects are stored in a knowledge base, knowledge management tools can exploit growing - experience in order to continuously improve a methodology for cooperation in spatial development. Our approach aims at exploring the opportunities that new ICT offer for new cooperation methods in e-Government and planning - beyond the extension of traditional methods to electronic communication media. It acknowledges the need for experimentation and an evaluation, not only concerning isolated methods but the combination of methods based on knowledge, management concepts

Assessment of present day geomorphological dynamics to decipher landscape evolution around the Paleolithic sites of Melka Kunture, Ethiopia

Assessment of present day geomorphological dynamics to decipher landscape evolution around the Paleolithic sites of Melka Kunture, Ethiopia Michael Maerker (1,2), Calogero Schillaci (1), Rita Melis (3), and Margherita Mussi (4) (1) Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Germany ([email protected]), (2) Department of Earth Sciences, Università degli studi di Firenze, Italy, (3) Department of Earth Sciences, Università degli studi di Cagliari. Italy, (4) Dipartimento Scienze dell’Antichità. Università di Roma la Sapienza, Italy The area of Melka Kunture (central Ethiopia) is one of the most important clusters of Paleolithic sites in Eastern Africa. The archaeological record spans from c. 1.7 Ma onwards, with a number of stratified occurrences of Oldowan, Acheulean, Middle Stone Age and Late Stone Age industries, together with faunal remains and human fossils. However, the archaeological sites are endangered by flooding and soil erosion. The main excavation area lies close to the convergence of the Awash river with the Atabella river, one of the main tributaries of the upper Awash catchment. In the semi-arid Ethiopian highlands, gully networks develop especially in the vicinity of the active and inactive river meanders. Various erosion processes are linked to specific driving factors such as the rainfall regime, the land use/cover changes and vertic soils with a specific hydrological behaviour. It was documented in the field and by previous research that the origin of most of the man made erosion channels is due to animal pathways and car tracks. However, paleolandscape features increase the general erosion risk. Former wetland areas and deposition zones are particularly affected by soil erosion processes. Hence, the spatial distribution and characteristics of present day geomorphic processes also reveal information on the paleolandscape. In order to assess landscape evolution and present day geomorphologic dynamics, we mapped the geomorphology describing in detail the present-day slope processes at a 10.000 scale. We performed a detailed terrain analysis based on high resolution DEMs such as SRTM-X with 25m resolution and ALOS/PRISM with 10m resolution to characterize the main erosion processes and surface runoff dynamics. The latter ones are simulated using a Soil Conservation Service Curve Number method. Landuse was delineated for a larger area using ASTER 25m multispectral data. Finally, using calibrated topographic indices and a simple hydrological model we were able to detect and quantify the major present day soil erosion and surface runoff processes. Based on the analysis of the processes and the respective terrain features derived from the digital elevation models we also identified the major paelolandscape features. This will be the basis for assessing conservation risks related to modern land use and climate

Long-Term Outcome and Complications of IOL-Exchange

David A Märker,1 Viola Radeck,1 Teresa Barth,1 Horst Helbig,1 Nicolas CD Scherer1,2 1Department of Ophthalmology, Universitätsklinikum Regensburg, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Bavaria, GermanyCorrespondence: David A Märker, Klinik und Poliklinik für Augenheilkunde, Universitätsklinikum Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauss Allee 11, Regensburg, 93051, Germany, Tel +49 941 944 9206, Fax +49 941 944 9202, Email [email protected]: To describe the long-term outcome after intraocular lens (IOL) exchange for IOL-opacification with a focus on any occurring complications.Patients and Methods: Patients with an IOL exchange for opacified IOLs (Lentis LS-502-1) were identified. Medical records and information from the treating ophthalmologists were reviewed. Visual outcomes and any occurring complications after the IOL exchange were analyzed.Results: IOL exchange was performed in 48 eyes of 46 patients and significantly improved best-corrected distance visual acuity from 0.42 ± 0.32 logMar (mean ± SD) in opacified lenses to 0.25 ± 0.28 logMar after IOL exchange. Nine of the 48 eyes (19%) underwent 11 further surgical procedures for complications due to four indications: IOL dislocation (n = 2, 4%), retinal detachment (RD) (n = 6, 12%), epiretinal membrane (n = 2, 4%), and pupillary block (n = 1, 2%). Three eyes (6%) developed a temporarily elevated intraocular pressure. Temporary postoperative cystoid macular edema was found in 2 eyes (4%).Conclusion: IOL exchange can restore vision owing to IOL opacification in most cases. Nonetheless, IOL exchange is not an easy or risk-free procedure. This may lead to sight-threatening complications, even in eyes without predisposing ocular comorbidities.Keywords: intraocular lens (IOL) exchange, complications, IOL opacification, treatment of complication