What is the evidence for the contribution of forests to poverty alleviation? A systematic map protocol

This is the final version of the article. Available from BioMed Central via the DOI in this record.Background: Forests provide an essential resource that support the livelihoods of an estimated 20% of the global population. Forests are thought to serve in three primary roles to support livelihoods: subsistence, safety nets, and pathways to prosperity. While we have a working understanding of how poor people depend on forests in individual sites and countries, much of this evidence is dispersed and not easily accessible. Thus, while the importance of forest ecosystems and resources to contribute to poverty alleviation has been increasingly emphasized in international policies, conservation and development initiatives and investments- the strength of evidence to support how forests can affect poverty outcomes is still unclear. This study takes a systematic mapping approach to scope, identify and describe studies that measure the effect of forest-based activities on poverty outcomes at local and regional scales. This effort builds upon an existing systematic map on linkages between conservation and human well-being in order to make this process more efficient. We will conduct a refined and updated search strategy pertinent to forests-poverty linkages to glean additional evidence from studies outside the scope of the original map. Results of this study can be used for informing conservation and development policy and practices in global forest ecosystems and highlight evidence gaps where future primary studies and systematic reviews can add value. Methods: We build upon the search strategy outlined in McKinnon et al. (Environ Evid 1-25, 2016) and expand our search to cover a total of 7 bibliographic databases, 15 organizational websites, 8 existing systematic reviews and maps, and evidence gap maps, and solicit key informants. All searches will be conducted in English and encompass all nations. Search results will be screened at title, abstract, and full text levels, recording both the number of excluded articles and reasons for exclusion. Full text assessment will be conducted on all included article and extracted data will be reported in a narrative review that will summarize trends in the evidence, report any knowledge gaps and gluts, and provide insight for policy, practice and future research. The data from this systematic map will be made available as well, through an open access, searchable data portal and visualization tool.We are grateful for funding support from the Program on Forests (PROFOR) (SA, SO, SC, RG) and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch Project #1009327 (DM)

Diet of Kunri hill people

There are three basic needs for human life, the first of which is food. That's why it says "those who gave money are those who gave their lives". Food is essential if the body is to have life. When we think of healthy food, the first thing that comes to our mind is home cooked food. In this article, we will see how the people living in the Kunri Hills region are eating nutritious food and living happily

USCID fourth international conference

Presented at the Role of irrigation and drainage in a sustainable future: USCID fourth international conference on irrigation and drainage on October 3-6, 2007 in Sacramento, California.Includes bibliographical references.The performance of an executed subsurface drainage system was evaluated under unsteady flow conditions. The impulse-response relation has been studied for two different conditions of drain spacings, namely, the executed drain spacing based on steady state flow conditions and the drain spacing proposed on unsteady state flow conditions, incorporating the effects of drainable porosity. It is found rational to use the "Dezeeuw-Hellinga model" for prediction of impulse response relations in terms of temporal water table fluctuations against rainfall — recharge under unsteady state flow conditions. The responses of a sub-surface drainage system for the impulse of incessant rainfall have been studied. The values of calculated drain spacings varied from 11 to 15 m. However, due to economic conditions, the practical drain spacings of the layout have been fixed at wider value of 35m and 55m. It is found that the drain spacings adopted for unsteady state flow conditions might have resulted in a better performance of the drains compared to steady state drain spacing as depicted by Dezeeuw-Hellinga model run. The drainable porosity being the vital parameter in an unsteady state equation, the Dezeeuw-Hellinga model was also used for varying levels of drainable porosity under given drain spacing conditions. Generally, the reference drainable porosity value is taken as 10 per cent for most of the drainage studies and the influence on drain outflows were compared for an increased value of 20 per cent and decreased value of 5 per cent, since the drainable porosity value in the study area varied from 5 to 20 per cent. It was found that the change in drainable porosity significantly influence the drain performance as depicted by Dezeeuw-Hellinga model run over all the standard week of year. The executed sub-surface drainage system has been found satisfactory in bringing down the soil salinity levels to desirable limits below 4 dSm-1. The executed sub-surface drainage system has also resulted in appreciable crop productivity improvements in the locality

Simvastatin decreases the level of heparin-binding protein in patients with acute lung injury

Background: Heparin-binding protein is released by neutrophils during inflammation and disrupts the integrity of the alveolar and capillary endothelial barrier implicated in the development of acute lung injury and systemic organ failure. We sought to investigate whether oral administration of simvastatin to patients with acute lung injury reduces plasma heparin-binding protein levels and improves intensive care unit outcome. Methods: Blood samples were collected from patients with acute lung injury with 48 h of onset of acute lung injury (day 0), day 3, and day 7. Patients were given placebo or 80 mg simvastatin for up to 14 days. Plasma heparin-binding protein levels from patients with acute lung injury and healthy volunteers were measured by ELISA. Results: Levels of plasma heparin-binding protein were significantly higher in patients with acute lung injury than healthy volunteers on day 0 (p = 0.011). Simvastatin 80 mg administered enterally for 14 days reduced plasma level of heparin-binding protein in patients. Reduced heparin-binding protein was associated with improved intensive care unit survival. Conclusions: A reduction in heparin-binding protein with simvastatin is a potential mechanism by which the statin may modify outcome from acute lung injury

Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibition with simvastatin in acute lung injury to reduce pulmonary dysfunction (HARP-2) trial : study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a common devastating clinical syndrome characterized by life-threatening respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation and multiple organ failure. There are in vitro, animal studies and pre-clinical data suggesting that statins may be beneficial in ALI. The Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibition with simvastatin in Acute lung injury to Reduce Pulmonary dysfunction (HARP-2) trial is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, allocation concealed, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial which aims to test the hypothesis that treatment with simvastatin will improve clinical outcomes in patients with ALI

Mo (VI)/ZrO2 coated on honeycomb monolith as solid acid green catalyst for the acetylation of substituted alcohols and amines under solvent free conditions

553-561Honeycomb (HC) monolith coated with solid acids such as Mo (VI)/ZrO2 (MZ) with different Mo loadings (2, 6 and 10%) have been prepared by wet impregnation method and characterized by NH3 –TPD, BET surface area, PXRD, ICP-OES, SEM, TEM and EDAX techniques. These catalysts have been used as for the synthesis of O and N-acetylation reactions by the condensation of various alcohols with acetic anhydride under solvent free conditions in shorter times (20 min) at moderate temperature (70°C). Especially, 6% Mo (VI)/ZrO2 catalysts are found to be highly acidic and also resulted in high yields of O and N acetylated products up to ~99%. This methodology offers several advantages such as excellent yields, easy procedure, mild and environmentally benign conditions. MZ catalysts are found to be economical, efficient and highly active, recyclable and reusable up to 6 reaction cycles without much loss of their activity

A comparative study on drying of basil leaves

Basil is a popular aromatic and annual herb growing in many regions of the world.  Immediately after its harvesting, the highly perishable raw material, i.e. leaves, have to be preserved against deterioration and spoilage.  More often, during peak period, most of the crop is lost/wasted due to lack of proper post-harvest processing techniques.  Drying is by far the most widely used treatment, which needs to be performed very carefully and preciously so as to preserve the aroma and color of the leaves.  Various drying treatments and experimental methods viz., solar drying, tray drying, vacuum drying and fluidized bed drying were carried out at the temperatures of45°C,55°Cand65°Cto find and suggest the optimum drying condition for acquiring quality dried basil leaves.  Results have revealed that ‘total drying time’ is considerably reduced with the increase in drying air temperatures from45°Cto65°C.  It could be recommended that for the best drying of basil leaves, the drying operation needs to be carried out in the fluidized bed dryer at 45ºC for 30 s steam blanched sample ensuring the best results in quality of basil leaves as compared to other methods and treatments whatever considered during present study

First measurement of the Hubble Constant from a Dark Standard Siren using the Dark Energy Survey Galaxies and the LIGO/Virgo Binary–Black-hole Merger GW170814

International audienceWe present a multi-messenger measurement of the Hubble constant H 0 using the binary–black-hole merger GW170814 as a standard siren, combined with a photometric redshift catalog from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). The luminosity distance is obtained from the gravitational wave signal detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)/Virgo Collaboration (LVC) on 2017 August 14, and the redshift information is provided by the DES Year 3 data. Black hole mergers such as GW170814 are expected to lack bright electromagnetic emission to uniquely identify their host galaxies and build an object-by-object Hubble diagram. However, they are suitable for a statistical measurement, provided that a galaxy catalog of adequate depth and redshift completion is available. Here we present the first Hubble parameter measurement using a black hole merger. Our analysis results in , which is consistent with both SN Ia and cosmic microwave background measurements of the Hubble constant. The quoted 68% credible region comprises 60% of the uniform prior range [20, 140] km s−1 Mpc−1, and it depends on the assumed prior range. If we take a broader prior of [10, 220] km s−1 Mpc−1, we find (57% of the prior range). Although a weak constraint on the Hubble constant from a single event is expected using the dark siren method, a multifold increase in the LVC event rate is anticipated in the coming years and combinations of many sirens will lead to improved constraints on H 0