Mapping the economic value of landslide regulation by forests

The role of forests in regulating landslide risks is well established but estimates of the economic value of this ecosystem service are limited. In order to incorporate the role of forests for landslide risk mitigation in spatial planning and other decision-making contexts, there is a need for spatially explicit information regarding the value of this service. We develop a methodological framework to combine bio-physical modelling of natural hazard risk and socio-economic exposure in a predictive model to estimate and map of the economic value of forest regulation of landslides. This method is applied in a case study of Adjara Autonomous Republic of Georgia to examine alternative scenarios for forest management and associated land cover change. The approach produces credible spatially explicit results to inform policy decisions regarding investment in forest management; and has the potential for replication in other data scarce regions

Thermal and mechanical sensory and pain testing in healthy students

Several lines of clinical and experimental investigations of a wide variety of painful conditions have suggested ethnic and gender differences in pain perception. In this study we report some findings of cold and heat sensations, thermal pain thresholds, mechanical pressure thresholds and pressure pain thresholds in healthy student volunteers. We did not find any statistical significant differences in thermal assessment. However, we revealed gender differences on the mechanical pressure sensation threshold and the mechanical pressure pain threshold. Our study confirmed significant variability across trials and individuals, which appeared greater at lower heat and mechanical pressure intensities. Additional studies and collecting more data are needed to determine ethnic and gender differences between groups