Mixed policies give more options in multifunctional tropical forest landscapes

This archive stores data utilised in: Mixed policies give more options in multifunctional tropical forest landscapesLaw E.A., Bryan B.A., Meijaard E., Mallawaarachchi T., Struebig M.J., Watts M., Wilson K.A.Journal of Applied Ecology 2016Corresponding author:Elizabeth A. Law*The University of Queensland, School of Biological [email protected]: Jan 18, 2016----------------------DETAILS:Along with this txt file, this archive contains five csv files included, and one folder containing a shape file. These are in the typical format required for input into Marxan with Zones, available from http://www.uq.edu.au/marxan/ (also see new cloud development on Marxan.net). The data time frames relate to a start year of 2008 (see associated publication for further details.Readme.txt - this documentZones.csv - contains zone identification numbers (zoneid) and names (zonenames)FeatureTargets.csv - contains feature id (id), the targets (target; units are specified in supplementary material), species penalty factor (spf; weighting number to determine if the feature is considered as an optimisation threshold constraint, 1, or not, 0), and feature names (name; features 1-9 and 19-20 represent primate species, 10-14 forest types, and 15-17 production values smallholder agriculture, timber, and oil palm, and 18 carbon emissions reduction.Extant.csv - contains planning unit id (pu), the extant class (class; using descriptive codes), and the area (area.ha, in hectares).PuVsFeatures.csv - for every planning unit and feature combination, the 'amount' gives the maximum possible achievement for that feature in that planning unit. Units of measurement are indicated in the main text/supplementary methods and associated papers detailing data development.BaselineZoneContributions.csv - for every zone, planning unit, and feature combination (identified using zoneid, puid, featid codes found in their respective files), this gives the fraction of the full amount possible to achieve within that pu for that feature. Pulayer folder - contains a shape file created in arcgis for the planning units. Coordinate reference system is WGS 84 / UTM zone 49S. One column in the attribute table, indicating the planning unit number (pu)

Forest conservation delivers highly variable coral reef conservation outcomes

Coral reefs are threatened by human activities on both the land (e.g., deforestation) and the sea (e.g., overfishing). Most conservation planning for coral reefs focuses on removing threats in the sea, neglecting management actions on the land. A more integrated approach to coral reef conservation, inclusive of land–sea connections, requires an understanding of how and where terrestrial conservation actions influence reefs. We address this by developing a land–sea planning approach to inform fine-scale spatial management decisions and test it in Fiji. Our aim is to determine where the protection of forest can deliver the greatest return on investment for coral reef ecosystems. To assess the benefits of conservation to coral reefs, we estimate their relative condition as influenced by watershed-based pollution and fishing. We calculate the cost-effectiveness of protecting forest and find that investments deliver rapidly diminishing returns for improvements to relative reef condition. For example, protecting 2% of forest in one area is almost 500 times more beneficial than protecting 2% in another area, making prioritization essential. For the scenarios evaluated, relative coral reef condition could be improved by 8–58% if all remnant forest in Fiji were protected rather than deforested. Finally, we determine the priority of each coral reef for implementing a marine protected area when all remnant forest is protected for conservation. The general results will support decisions made by the Fiji Protected Area Committee as they establish a national protected area network that aims to protect 20% of the land and 30% of the inshore waters by 2020. Although challenges remain, we can inform conservation decisions around the globe by tackling the complex issues relevant to integrated land–sea planning

International travel between global urban centres vulnerable to yellow fever transmission.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the potential for international travel to spread yellow fever virus to cities around the world. METHODS: We obtained data on the international flight itineraries of travellers who departed yellow fever-endemic areas of the world in 2016 for cities either where yellow fever was endemic or which were suitable for viral transmission. Using a global ecological model of dengue virus transmission, we predicted the suitability of cities in non-endemic areas for yellow fever transmission. We obtained information on national entry requirements for yellow fever vaccination at travellers' destination cities. FINDINGS: In 2016, 45.2 million international air travellers departed from yellow fever-endemic areas of the world. Of 11.7 million travellers with destinations in 472 cities where yellow fever was not endemic but which were suitable for virus transmission, 7.7 million (65.7%) were not required to provide proof of vaccination upon arrival. Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Peru and the United States of America had the highest volumes of travellers arriving from yellow fever-endemic areas and the largest populations living in cities suitable for yellow fever transmission. CONCLUSION: Each year millions of travellers depart from yellow fever-endemic areas of the world for cities in non-endemic areas that appear suitable for viral transmission without having to provide proof of vaccination. Rapid global changes in human mobility and urbanization make it vital for countries to re-examine their vaccination policies and practices to prevent urban yellow fever epidemics

Decreased mass specific respiration under experimental warming is robust to the microbial biomass method employed

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Blackwell for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Ecology Letters 12 (2009): E15-E18, doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01332.x.Hartley et al. question whether reduction in Rmass, under experimental warming, arises because of the biomass method. We show the method they treat as independent yields the same result. We describe why the substrate-depletion hypothesis cannot alone explain observed responses, and urge caution in the interpretation of the seasonal data.This research was supported by the Office of Science (BER), U.S. Department of Energy, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and U.S. National Science Foundation grants to the Coweeta LTER program

Acceptability and feasibility of peer assisted supervision and support for intervention practitioners: a Q-methodology evaluation

Evidence-based interventions often include quality improvement methods to support fidelity and improve client outcomes. Clinical supervision is promoted as an effective way of developing practitioner confidence and competence in delivery; however, supervision is often inconsistent and embedded in hierarchical line management structures that may limit the opportunity for reflective learning. The Peer Assisted Supervision and Support (PASS) supervision model uses peer relationships to promote the self-regulatory capacity of practitioners to improve intervention delivery. The aim of the present study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of PASS amongst parenting intervention practitioners. A Q-methodology approach was used to generate data and 30 practitioners volunteered to participate in the study. Data were analyzed and interpreted using standard Q-methodology procedures and by-person factor analysis yielded three factors. There was consensus that PASS was acceptable. Participants shared the view that PASS facilitated an environment of support where negative aspects of interpersonal relationships that might develop in supervision were not evident. Two factors represented the viewpoint that PASS was also a feasible model of supervision. However, the third factor was comprised of practitioners who reported that PASS could be time consuming and difficult to fit into existing work demands. There were differences across the three factors in the extent to which practitioners considered PASS impacted on their intervention delivery. The findings highlight the importance of organizational mechanisms that support practitioner engagement in supervision

Land management explains major trends in forest structure and composition over the last millennium in California's Klamath Mountains

For millennia, forest ecosystems in California have been shaped by fire from both natural processes and Indigenous land management, but the notion of climatic variation as a primary controller of the pre-colonial landscape remains pervasive. Understanding the relative influence of climate and Indigenous burning on the fire regime is key because contemporary forest policy and management are informed by historical baselines. This need is particularly acute in California, where 20th-century fire suppression, coupled with a warming climate, has caused forest densification and increasingly large wildfires that threaten forest ecosystem integrity and management of the forests as part of climate mitigation efforts. We examine climatic versus anthropogenic influence on forest conditions over 3 millennia in the western Klamath Mountains—the ancestral territories of the Karuk and Yurok Tribes—by combining paleoenvironmental data with Western and Indigenous knowledge. A fire regime consisting of tribal burning practices and lightning were associated with long-term stability of forest biomass. Before Euro-American colonization, the long-term median forest biomass was between 104 and 128 Mg/ha, compared to values over 250 Mg/ha today. Indigenous depopulation after AD 1800, coupled with 20th-century fire suppression, likely allowed biomass to increase, culminating in the current landscape: a closed Douglas fir–dominant forest unlike any seen in the preceding 3,000 y. These findings are consistent with precontact forest conditions being influenced by Indigenous land management and suggest large-scale interventions could be needed to return to historic forest biomass levels

Louisville seamount subduction and its implication on mantle flow beneath the central Tonga–Kermadec arc

Subduction of intraplate seamounts beneath a geochemically depleted mantle wedge provides a seldom opportunity to trace element recycling and mantle flow in subduction zones. Here we present trace element and Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic compositions of lavas from the central Tonga–Kermadec arc, west of the contemporary Louisville–Tonga trench intersection, to provide new insights into the effects of Louisville seamount subduction. Elevated 206Pb/204Pb, 208Pb/204Pb, 86Sr/87Sr in lavas from the central Tonga–Kermadec arc front are consistent with localized input of subducted alkaline Louisville material (lavas and volcaniclastics) into sub-arc partial melts. Furthermore, absolute Pacific Plate motion models indicate an anticlockwise rotation in the subducted Louisville seamount chain that, combined with estimates of the timing of fluid release from the subducting slab, suggests primarily trench-normal mantle flow beneath the central Tonga–Kermadec arc system

Slx8 removes Pli1-dependent protein-SUMO conjugates including SUMOylated Topoisomerase I to promote genome stability

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Effect of early vasopressin vs norepinephrine on kidney failure in patients with septic shock. The VANISH Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE: Norepinephrine is currently recommended as the first-line vasopressor in septic shock; however, early vasopressin use has been proposed as an alternative. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of early vasopressin vs norepinephrine on kidney failure in patients with septic shock. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A factorial (2×2), double-blind, randomized clinical trial conducted in 18 general adult intensive care units in the United Kingdom between February 2013 and May 2015, enrolling adult patients who had septic shock requiring vasopressors despite fluid resuscitation within a maximum of 6 hours after the onset of shock. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly allocated to vasopressin (titrated up to 0.06 U/min) and hydrocortisone (n = 101), vasopressin and placebo (n = 104), norepinephrine and hydrocortisone (n = 101), or norepinephrine and placebo (n = 103). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was kidney failure-free days during the 28-day period after randomization, measured as (1) the proportion of patients who never developed kidney failure and (2) median number of days alive and free of kidney failure for patients who did not survive, who experienced kidney failure, or both. Rates of renal replacement therapy, mortality, and serious adverse events were secondary outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 409 patients (median age, 66 years; men, 58.2%) were included in the study, with a median time to study drug administration of 3.5 hours after diagnosis of shock. The number of survivors who never developed kidney failure was 94 of 165 patients (57.0%) in the vasopressin group and 93 of 157 patients (59.2%) in the norepinephrine group (difference, -2.3% [95% CI, -13.0% to 8.5%]). The median number of kidney failure-free days for patients who did not survive, who experienced kidney failure, or both was 9 days (interquartile range [IQR], 1 to -24) in the vasopressin group and 13 days (IQR, 1 to -25) in the norepinephrine group (difference, -4 days [95% CI, -11 to 5]). There was less use of renal replacement therapy in the vasopressin group than in the norepinephrine group (25.4% for vasopressin vs 35.3% for norepinephrine; difference, -9.9% [95% CI, -19.3% to -0.6%]). There was no significant difference in mortality rates between groups. In total, 22 of 205 patients (10.7%) had a serious adverse event in the vasopressin group vs 17 of 204 patients (8.3%) in the norepinephrine group (difference, 2.5% [95% CI, -3.3% to 8.2%]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among adults with septic shock, the early use of vasopressin compared with norepinephrine did not improve the number of kidney failure-free days. Although these findings do not support the use of vasopressin to replace norepinephrine as initial treatment in this situation, the confidence interval included a potential clinically important benefit for vasopressin, and larger trials may be warranted to assess this further. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: ISRCTN 20769191