Growing wheat to maturity in reduced gas pressures

The main objective of this project was to determine assimilation of CO2 and efficiency of water use in wheat grown to maturity in a low pressure total gas pressure environment. A functional test of the low pressure plant growth chamber system was accomplished in February and March of 1993 wherein this objective was partially achieved. Plants were grown to maturity in the chambers. Data were actively collected during the first 29 days. The plants were allowed to maintain themselves at the CO2 compensation point until day 45 of the study at which point active atmospheric regulation was resumed. This provided data at the vegetative and reproductive stages of the life cycle of the plants. However, this information may not be representative of the performance of the plants due to the loss of low pressure on a number of days during the study, which affected the plants by changing the pressure potential of the tissues. The performance of the system will be discussed on a component by component basis. The maintenance of the plants at the CO2 compensation point was driven by the failure of the computer program operating the system. The software problems that arose during the functional test have since been corrected. Results from the functional test also indicated that the plants were not receiving adequate light and nutrients. The growth chambers have been relocated and the growth room modified to compensate for these deficiencies

Panel dyskusyjny: „Rydzyna we wspomnieniach i refleksji”

Oddajemy do rąk Czytelnika kolejny tom z serii „Podstawowe idee i koncepcje w geografii” pt. Dorobek polskiej geografii po konferencji w Rydzynie. Ocena krytyczna. [...] Właśnie minęło 30 lat od przełomowej dla polskiej geografii konferencji w Rydzynie (1983 r.). Miała ona duże znaczenie dla przemian teorii i praktyki geografii. W Rydzynie zwrócono uwagę na odmienne od dotychczasowych możliwości interpretacyjne rzeczywistości badawczej geografii rozwijane zwłaszcza w krajach anglosaskich. W kontekście tym przedstawiono nowe pola badawcze naszej dyscypliny zwłaszcza nieistniejącą wcześniej geografię społeczną jej podejścia radykalne i behawioralne oraz zaprezentowano perspektywę humanistyczną w badaniach geograficznych. Mimo trudności instytucjonalnych w przebijaniu się efektów tej innowacyjnej konferencji do teorii i empirii polskiej geografii, czas pokazał, że jej dorobek nie został zaprzepaszczony. Niniejszy tom składa się z 13 prac, w których autorzy podjęli teoretyczną refleksję nad rolą konferencji w Rydzynie dla polskiej geografii oraz krytyczny namysł nad dorobkiem geografii po konferencji

Modelling and simulating change in reforesting mountain landscapes using a social-ecological framework

Natural reforestation of European mountain landscapes raises major environmental and societal issues. With local stakeholders in the Pyrenees National Park area (France), we studied agricultural landscape colonisation by ash (Fraxinus excelsior) to enlighten its impacts on biodiversity and other landscape functions of importance for the valley socio-economics. The study comprised an integrated assessment of land-use and land-cover change (LUCC) since the 1950s, and a scenario analysis of alternative future policy. We combined knowledge and methods from landscape ecology, land change and agricultural sciences, and a set of coordinated field studies to capture interactions and feedback in the local landscape/land-use system. Our results elicited the hierarchically-nested relationships between social and ecological processes. Agricultural change played a preeminent role in the spatial and temporal patterns of LUCC. Landscape colonisation by ash at the parcel level of organisation was merely controlled by grassland management, and in fact depended on the farmer's land management at the whole-farm level. LUCC patterns at the landscape level depended to a great extent on interactions between farm household behaviours and the spatial arrangement of landholdings within the landscape mosaic. Our results stressed the need to represent the local SES function at a fine scale to adequately capture scenarios of change in landscape functions. These findings orientated our modelling choices in the building an agent-based model for LUCC simulation (SMASH - Spatialized Multi-Agent System of landscape colonization by ASH). We discuss our method and results with reference to topical issues in interdisciplinary research into the sustainability of multifunctional landscapes

Dyskusja

Oddajemy do rąk Czytelnika kolejny tom z serii „Podstawowe idee i koncepcje w geografii” pt. Dorobek polskiej geografii po konferencji w Rydzynie. Ocena krytyczna. [...] Właśnie minęło 30 lat od przełomowej dla polskiej geografii konferencji w Rydzynie (1983 r.). Miała ona duże znaczenie dla przemian teorii i praktyki geografii. W Rydzynie zwrócono uwagę na odmienne od dotychczasowych możliwości interpretacyjne rzeczywistości badawczej geografii rozwijane zwłaszcza w krajach anglosaskich. W kontekście tym przedstawiono nowe pola badawcze naszej dyscypliny zwłaszcza nieistniejącą wcześniej geografię społeczną jej podejścia radykalne i behawioralne oraz zaprezentowano perspektywę humanistyczną w badaniach geograficznych. Mimo trudności instytucjonalnych w przebijaniu się efektów tej innowacyjnej konferencji do teorii i empirii polskiej geografii, czas pokazał, że jej dorobek nie został zaprzepaszczony. Niniejszy tom składa się z 13 prac, w których autorzy podjęli teoretyczną refleksję nad rolą konferencji w Rydzynie dla polskiej geografii oraz krytyczny namysł nad dorobkiem geografii po konferencji

Disturbance and stress - different meanings in ecological dynamics?

There is an increasing frequency of papers addressing disturbance and stress in ecology without clear delimitation of their meaning. Some authors use the terms disturbance and stress exclusively as impacts, while others use them for the entire process, including both causes and effects. In some studies, the disturbance is considered as a result of a temporary impact, which is positive for the ecosystem, while stress is a negative, debilitating impact. By developing and testing simple theoretical models, the authors propose to differentiate disturbance and stress by frequency. If the frequency of the event enables the variable to reach a dynamic equilibrium which might be exhibited without this event, then the event (plus its responses) is a disturbance for the system. If frequency prevents the variable’s return to similar pre-event dynamics and drives or shifts it to a new trajectory, then we are facing stress. The authors propose that changes triggered by the given stimuli can be evaluated on an absolute scale, therefore, direction of change of the variable must not be used to choose one term or the other, i.e. to choose between stress and disturbance

Unmet Diagnostic and Therapeutic Opportunities for COPD in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

RATIONALE: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a prevalent and burdensome condition in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Challenges to better care include more effective diagnosis, and access to affordable interventions. There are no previous reports describing therapeutic needs in LMIC populations with COPD identified through screening. OBJECTIVE: To describe unmet therapeutic need in screening-detected COPD in LMIC settings. METHODS: We compared interventions recommended by the international 'GOLD' COPD strategy document, with that received, in 1000 people with COPD identified by population screening at three LMIC sites in Nepal, Peru and Uganda. We calculated costs using data on the availability and affordability of medicines. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS: The greatest unmet need for non-pharmacological interventions was for education and vaccinations (applicable to all), pulmonary rehabilitation (49%), smoking cessation (30%) and advice on biomass smoke exposure (26%). 95% of cases were previously undiagnosed and few were receiving therapy (4.5% had short-acting beta-agonists). Only three of 47 people (6%) with a previous COPD diagnosis had access to drugs consistent with recommendations. None of those with more severe COPD were accessing appropriate maintenance inhalers. Even when available, maintenance treatments were unaffordable with 30 days of treatment more than a low-skilled workers' daily average wage. CONCLUSION: We found significant missed opportunity to reduce the burden of COPD in LMIC settings, with most cases undiagnosed. Whilst there is unmet need in developing novel therapies, in LMICs where the burden is greatest, better diagnosis together with access to affordable interventions could translate to immediate benefit. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Self-Management in Three LMICs: A Pilot Randomized Trial

INTRODUCTION: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Health systems are ill-prepared to manage the increase in COPD cases. METHODS: We carried out a pilot effectiveness-implementation randomized field trial of a community health worker (CHW)-supported, one-year self-management intervention in individuals with COPD grade B-D. The study took place in low-resource settings of Nepal, Peru, and Uganda. The primary outcome was the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) score at one year. We evaluated differences in moderate-to-severe exacerbations, all-cause hospitalizations and the EuroQol score (EQ5D-3L) at 12 months. RESULTS: We randomly assigned 239 participants (119 control, 120 intervention) with grade B-D COPD to a multi-component, CHW-supported intervention or standard of care and COPD education. 25 participants (21%) died or were lost to follow-up in the control arm compared to 11 (9%) in the intervention arm. At 12 months, there was no difference in mean total SGRQ scores between intervention and control arms (34.7 vs. 34.0 points; adjusted mean difference 1.0, 95% CI -4.2 to 6.1; p=0.71). The intervention arm had a higher proportion of hospitalizations (10% vs 5.2%; adjusted odds ratio 2.2, 95% CI 0.8-7.5; p=0.15) at 12 months compared to controls. CONCLUSION: A CHW-based intervention to support self-management of acute exacerbations of COPD in three resource-poor settings did not result in differences in SGRQ scores at one year. Fidelity was high, and intervention engagement was moderate. While results cannot differentiate between a failed intervention or implementation, it nonetheless suggests that we need to revisit our strategy. Clinical trial registration available at www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov, ID: NCT03359915

Effectiveness-implementation of COPD Case Finding and Self-management Action Plans in Low- and Middle-income Countries: Global Excellence in COPD Outcomes (GECo) Study Protocol

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the end result of a susceptible individual being exposed to sufficiently deleterious environmental stimuli. More than 90% of COPD-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). LMICs face unique challenges in managing COPD; for example, deficient primary care systems present challenges for proper diagnosis and management. Formal diagnosis of COPD requires quality-assured spirometry, which is often limited to urban health centres. Similarly, standard treatment options for COPD remain limited where few providers are trained to manage COPD. The Global Excellence in COPD Outcomes (GECo) studies aim to assess the performance of a COPD case-finding questionnaire with and without peak expiratory flow (PEF) to diagnose COPD, and inform the effectiveness and implementation of COPD self-management Action Plans in LMIC settings. The ultimate goal is to develop simple, low-cost models of care that can be implemented in LMICs. This study will be carried out in Nepal, Peru and Uganda, three distinct LMIC settings. METHODS/DESIGN: We aim to assess the diagnostic accuracy of a simple questionnaire with and without PEF to case-find COPD (GECo1), and examine the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and implementation of a community-health-worker-supported self-management Action Plan strategy for managing exacerbations of COPD (GECo2). To achieve the first aim, we will enrol a randomly selected sample of up to 10,500 adults aged ≥ 40 years across our three sites, with the goal to enrol 240 participants with moderate-to-severe COPD in to GECo2. We will apply two case-finding questionnaires (Lung Function Questionnaire and CAPTURE) with and without PEF and compare performance against spirometry. We will report ROC areas, sensitivity and specificity. Individuals who are identified as having COPD grades B-D will be invited to enrol in an effectiveness-implementation hybrid randomised trial of a multi-faceted COPD self-management Action Plan intervention delivered by CHWs. The intervention group will receive (1) COPD education, (2) facilitated-self management Action Plans for COPD exacerbations and (3) monthly visits by community health workers. The control group will receive COPD education and standard of care treatment provided by local health providers. Beginning at baseline, we will measure quality of life with the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) every 3 months over a period of 1 year. The primary endpoint is SGRQ at 12 months. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) using the Short-Form 36 version 2 will also be calculated. We will additionally assess the acceptability and feasibility of implementing COPD Action Plans in each setting among providers and individuals with COPD. DISCUSSION: This study should provide evidence to inform the use of pragmatic models of COPD diagnosis and management in LMIC settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03359915 (GECo1). Registered on 2 December 2017 and NCT03365713 (GECo2). Registered on 7 December 2017. Trial acronym: Global Excellence in COPD Outcomes (GECo1; GECo2)

Mapping Oil and Gas Development Potential in the US Intermountain West and Estimating Impacts to Species

Many studies have quantified the indirect effect of hydrocarbon-based economies on climate change and biodiversity, concluding that a significant proportion of species will be threatened with extinction. However, few studies have measured the direct effect of new energy production infrastructure on species persistence. in the western US and translate the build-out scenarios into estimated impacts on sage-grouse. We project that future oil and gas development will cause a 7–19 percent decline from 2007 sage-grouse lek population counts and impact 3.7 million ha of sagebrush shrublands and 1.1 million ha of grasslands in the study area.Maps of where oil and gas development is anticipated in the US Intermountain West can be used by decision-makers intent on minimizing impacts to sage-grouse. This analysis also provides a general framework for using predictive models and build-out scenarios to anticipate impacts to species. These predictive models and build-out scenarios allow tradeoffs to be considered between species conservation and energy development prior to implementation

Effectiveness-implementation of COPD case finding and self-management action plans in low- and middle-income countries : global excellence in COPD outcomes (GECo) study protocol

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the end result of a susceptible individual being exposed to sufficiently deleterious environmental stimuli. More than 90% of COPD-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). LMICs face unique challenges in managing COPD; for example, deficient primary care systems present challenges for proper diagnosis and management. Formal diagnosis of COPD requires quality assured spirometry, which is often limited to urban health centres. Similarly, standard treatment options for COPD remain limited where few providers are trained to manage COPD. The Global Excellence in COPD Outcomes (GECo) studies aim to assess the performance of a COPD case-finding questionnaire with and without peak expiratory flow (PEF) to diagnose COPD, and inform the effectiveness and implementation of COPD self-management Action Plans in LMIC settings. The ultimate goal is to develop simple, low-cost models of care that can be implemented in LMICs. This study will be carried out in Nepal, Peru and Uganda, three distinct LMIC settings. Methods/design: We aim to assess the diagnostic accuracy of a simple questionnaire with and without PEF to case-find COPD (GECo1), and examine the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and implementation of a communityhealth-worker-supported self-management Action Plan strategy for managing exacerbations of COPD (GECo2). To achieve the first aim, we will enrol a randomly selected sample of up to 10,500 adults aged ≥ 40 years across our three sites, with the goal to enrol 240 participants with moderate-to-severe COPD in to GECo2. We will apply two case-finding questionnaires (Lung Function Questionnaire and CAPTURE) with and without PEF and compare performance against spirometry. We will report ROC areas, sensitivity and specificity. Individuals who are identified as having COPD grades B–D will be invited to enrol in an effectiveness-implementation hybrid randomised trial of a multi-faceted COPD self-management Action Plan intervention delivered by CHWs. The intervention group will receive (1) COPD education, (2) facilitated-self management Action Plans for COPD exacerbations and (3) monthly visits by community health workers. The control group will receive COPD education and standard of care treatment provided by local health providers. Beginning at baseline, we will measure quality of life with the EuroQol-5D (EQ5D) and St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) every 3 months over a period of 1 year. The primary endpoint is SGRQ at 12 months. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) using the Short-Form 36 version 2 will also be calculated. We will additionally assess the acceptability and feasibility of implementing COPD Action Plans in each setting among providers and individuals with COPD. Discussion: This study should provide evidence to inform the use of pragmatic models of COPD diagnosis and management in LMIC settings