Gender equality boost for regenerative tourism: the case of Karenni village Huay Pu Keng (Mae Hong Son, Thailand)

Purpose – This paper display how “objectifying” forms of tourism can be converted into a more gender-equal regenerative tourism. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology generates shared understandings about the opportunities and challenges of implementing regenerative tourism by stimulating gender equality. The research design is based on qualitative research methods. Using a transformative tourism development process of the Karenni village Huay Pu Keng in Thailand, which is the first and only village that made this transition, the results of a process to stimulate the empowerment of women have been described. Findings – The desk research and conversations reported in the findings of this paper provide important insights in the social impacts in relation to gender equality and women empowerment. The community has become a role model for transformative tourism in relation to gender equality. Findings included that women are more involved in tourism activities, which has created a positive shift towards a gender balance. However, there is still a difference in education and participation between men and women. The study further reveals how tourism contributes to enliven the indigenous traditions and cultures and be a model for future developments in creating life-long meaningful experiences. Originality/value – Insights of the first and only Karenni village that made a transition to community-based tourism demonstrate how the community has been empowered. It improved the gender balance to make strategic decisions towards transforming their futures. Exploring this process is therefore valuable, as it contains knowledge that can be advantageous for other communities and research

Genome-wide association study identifies six new loci influencing pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure.

Numerous genetic loci have been associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in Europeans. We now report genome-wide association studies of pulse pressure (PP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP). In discovery (N = 74,064) and follow-up studies (N = 48,607), we identified at genome-wide significance (P = 2.7 × 10(-8) to P = 2.3 × 10(-13)) four new PP loci (at 4q12 near CHIC2, 7q22.3 near PIK3CG, 8q24.12 in NOV and 11q24.3 near ADAMTS8), two new MAP loci (3p21.31 in MAP4 and 10q25.3 near ADRB1) and one locus associated with both of these traits (2q24.3 near FIGN) that has also recently been associated with SBP in east Asians. For three of the new PP loci, the estimated effect for SBP was opposite of that for DBP, in contrast to the majority of common SBP- and DBP-associated variants, which show concordant effects on both traits. These findings suggest new genetic pathways underlying blood pressure variation, some of which may differentially influence SBP and DBP

Cholesterol 25-hydroxylase on chromosome 10q is a susceptibility gene for sporadic Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. It is characterized by beta-amyloid (A beta) plaques, neurofibrillary tangles and the degeneration of specifically vulnerable brain neurons. We observed high expression of the cholesterol 25-hydroxylase (CH25H) gene in specifically vulnerable brain regions of AD patients. CH25H maps to a region within 10q23 that has been previously linked to sporadic AD. Sequencing of the 5' region of CH25H revealed three common haplotypes, CH25Hchi2, CH25Hchi3 and CH25Hchi4; CSF levels of the cholesterol precursor lathosterol were higher in carriers of the CH25Hchi4 haplotype. In 1,282 patients with AD and 1,312 healthy control subjects from five independent populations, a common variation in the vicinity of CH25H was significantly associated with the risk for sporadic AD (p = 0.006). Quantitative neuropathology of brains from elderly non-demented subjects showed brain A beta deposits in carriers of CH25Hchi4 and CH25Hchi3 haplotypes, whereas no A beta deposits were present in CH25Hchi2 carriers. Together, these results are compatible with a role of CH25Hchi4 as a putative susceptibility factor for sporadic AD; they may explain part of the linkage of chromosome 10 markers with sporadic AD, and they suggest the possibility that CH25H polymorphisms are associated with different rates of brain A beta deposition

Remind-D: A Hybrid Energy-Economy Model of Germany

This paper presents a detailed documentation of the hybrid energy-economy model REMIND-D. REMIND-D is a Ramsey-type growth model for Germany that integrates a detailed bottom-up energy system module, coupled by a hard link. The model provides a quantitative framework for analyzing long-term domestic CO2 emission reduction scenarios. Due to its hybrid nature, REMIND-D facilitates an integrated analysis of the interplay between technological mitigation options in the different sectors of the energy system as well as overall macroeconomic dynamics. REMIND-D is an intertemporal optimization model, featuring optimal annual mitigation effort and technology deployment as a model output. In order to provide transparency on model assumptions, this paper gives an overview of the model structure, the input data used to calibrate REMIND-D to the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as the techno-economic parameters of the technologies considered in the energy system module

What’s on the menu in a Celtic town? Dietary reconstruction for individuals from settlement features and two cemeteries at Basel-Gasfabrik, Switzerland

The late Iron Age (150–80 BC) proto-urban site of Basel-Gasfabrik, Switzerland, yielded numerous human skeletal remains, with individuals of all ages and both sexes being found in two cemeteries and in various features of the settlement itself. About 200 inhumations and two cremation burials as well as isolated skulls and bones attest to complex mortuary practices. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of 90 human, 48 faunal, and seven cereal samples provide a rich database for dietary reconstruction. The results point to a diet that was largely based on C3 plants with a limited contribution of herbivore or pig meat and/or dairy products. Divergent isotope ratios can be attributed to the consumption of chicken meat/eggs or seasonally available salmon. Moreover, the contribution of C4 plants, supposedly millet, to human diets is well documented at Basel as well as at other central European Iron Age sites.We found no significant dietary distinctions between males and females. In children, indications for breastfeeding terminate between 1.5 and about 4 years of age, with isotopic differences emerging with regard to the investigated skeletal elements. The stable isotope data from different burial contexts, forms of mortuary practice, and presence or type of funerary objects overlap widely, providing only tentative indications for dietary differentiation within the living population. These findings distinguish Basel-Gasfabrik from other Iron Age sites and call for further integrative studies for deciphering the complex mechanisms behind the highly differentiated mortuary practices in the late Iron Age