China’s Assertive Behavior – Part Two: The Maritime Periphery

In CLM 32, we examined how both Chinese and outside observers look at China’s growing assertiveness on the international stage, that is, the purely perceptual dimensions of the issue. In CLM 34, we assessed whether, to what extent, and in what manner the Chinese government is becoming more assertive in defining and promoting the concept of “core interests.

Regeneration in felling gaps after logging in Acre state, Western Amazon.

Regeneration of tree species in felling gaps were studied during the first two years following harvesting in a tropical forest in Acre state, Brazil. Felling gaps averaged 340 m2 in size, while canopy openings averaged 17%. Seedling mortality in adjacent undisturbed forest was 4.6% yr', and 59.6% yr·1 and 100% yr' in the crown and trunk zones respectively, two years after logging. Recruitment of new seedlings inthe undisturbed forest understorey averaged 462 plants ha' yr', two years after gap creation. Inthe crown zones of the gaps, recruitment of seedlings averaged 1350 ha' yr', and in the trunk zones 1392 ha' yr'. The entire seedling community in trunk zones after logging was composed of new recruits. lhere was a tendency for seedling growth rates to increase from the natural forest (0,21cm yr-1) to the crown zone (0.40cm yr'), Before gap creation, species richness and diversity and seedling density were quite similar. After gap creation a sharp decrease could be verified in the gap.zones, however the differences between gap and undisturbed forest decreased rapidly in the second year after gap creation. lhe regeneration of commercial species was not affected by gap creation apart from the increase in growth rates

Diversity of Poisonous Plants and their Antidotes, Affecting Ruminant Livestock Production on Rangelands in Ghana

Acknowledgement We acknowledge the support provided by the government of Ghana through the Agricultural Sub-Sector Investment Project (AgSSIP), funded by the World Bank. The project funded the entire PhD study at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Diversity of Poisonous Plants and their Antidotes, Affecting Ruminant Livestock Production on Rangelands in Ghana

The survival of the extensive livestock system, the practice for most farmers in the livestock industry in Ghana depends heavily on the natural pastures as forage resource. To efficiently use the rangelands, knowledge of the species composition, especially that of poisonous plants is essential. Documented knowledge in Ghana is scanty; documentation and dissemination of the knowledge resource would enable a wider access and wider benefit to stakeholders. A study was conducted in Ghana on poisonous plants with the aim to discover the existence and diversity of poisonous plants and associated antidotes affecting livestock for documentation and preservation of knowledge. 70 different items were cited; 22 were poisonous plants for which antidotes were not cited, 28 were poisonous plants with known antidotes and 32 antidotes. There were 575 citations of plants from 194 reported cases of suspected plant poisoning, categorized as poisonous plants for which no antidotes were cited (146), poisonous plants with cited antidotes (147) and antidotes (282). 50 plants species were identified and belonged to 29 plant families. Some plants were known only by local names. There was an extensive knowledge of the diversity of poisonous plants and antidotes within the ecological zones along with possible antidotes

Sustainable forest management for smallholder farmers in the Brazilian Amazon.

The paper describes a forest management system to be applied on smallholder farms, particularly on settlement projects in the Brazilian Amazon. The proposed forest management system was designed to generate a new source of family income and to maintain forest structure and biodiversity. The system is new in three main characteristics: the use of short cycles in the management of tropical forests, the low harvesting intensity and environmental impact, and the direct involvement of the local population in ali forest management activities. It is based on a minimum felling cycle of ten years and an annual timber harvest of 5-10 m3 ha-1

Acceptability and feasibility of an isometric resistance exercise program for abdominal cancer surgery: An embedded qualitative study

Although it is recognized in the early stages of cancer recovery that changes in lifestyle including increases in physical activity improves physical function, there are no clear findings whether low versus moderate intensity activity or home or gym exercise offer optimal benefit. Isometric-resistance exercises can be carried out with very little equipment and space and can be performed while patients are bed-bound in hospital or at home. This embedded qualitative study, based in an English hospital trust providing specialist cancer care, was undertaken as a component of a feasibility trial to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of an isometric-resistance exercise program and explore the suitability of functional assessments by drawing from the experiences of abdominal cancer patients following surgery. Telephone interviews were undertaken with 7 participants in the intervention group, and 8 interviews with the usual care group (n¼ 15). The gender composition consisted of 11 females and 4 males. Participants’ ages ranged from 27 to 84 (M¼ 60.07, SD ¼ 15.40). Interviews were conducted between August 2017 and May 2018, with audio files digitally recorded and data coded using thematic framework analysis. Our results show that blinding to intervention or usual care was a challenge, participants felt the intervention was safe and suitable aided by the assistance of a research nurse, yet, found the self-completion questionnaire tools hard to complete. Our study provides an insight of trial processes, participants’ adherence and completion of exercise interventions, and informs the design and conduct of larger RCTs based on the experiences of abdominal cancer surgery patients

Effects of pre- and post-operative resistance exercise interventions on recovery of physical function in patients undergoing abdominal surgery for cancer: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials

Objective: To systematically review the effects of pre- and post-operative resistance exercise training on the recovery of physical function in patients undergoing abdominal surgery for cancer. Data sources: A systematic review of English articles using Medline, PEDro, Cinahl and The Cochrane Library electronic databases was undertaken. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: Studies were included if they used a randomised, quasi-randomised, or controlled trial study design and compared the effects of a muscle-strengthening exercise intervention (+/- other therapy) with a comparative non-exercise group; involved adult participants (≥18 years) who had elected to undergo abdominal surgery for cancer; and used muscle strength, physical function, self-reported functional ability, range of motion and/or a performance-based test as an outcome measure. Results: Following screening of titles and abstracts of the 588 publications retrieved from the initial search, 24 studies met the inclusion criteria and were accessed for review of the full-text version of the article and 2 eligible met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. One exercise programme was undertaken pre-operatively and the other post-operatively, until discharge from hospital. There were no differences between groups in either study. Conclusion: The only two studies designed to determine whether pre- or post-operative resistance muscle-strengthening exercise programmes improved or negatively affected physical function outcomes in patients undergoing abdominal surgery for cancer provide inconclusive results. The exercise interventions of the included studies were performed for 5 and 8 session respectively

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives