Multi-Actor Response to the Internal Displacement of Iraqi Nationals: A Field Study on Coordination of the Humanitarian Emergency Response in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

In the summer of 2014, about one million Iraqis were forced into internal displacement in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I) following successful incursions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant into bordering areas. To mobilize assistance and respond to the immense humanitarian needs, the UN assigned the situation its highest level of emergency, L3. This thesis investigates the emergency response coordination structure that had evolved four months later between the Kurdistan Regional Government, the UN, and non-governmental organizations, and analyses factors that constrain efficient coordination. Through a field study made in the KR-I, and based on approximately 50 key informant interviews, this thesis found that the emerged structure was so complex, non-uniform, and unsystematized that few understood or trusted it. Coordination at all levels of the response was insufficient, leading to both gaps and over-lappings: inconsistencies and redundancies. Characteristics of organized anarchies (i.e. fluid partici¬pa¬tion, unclear technology, and problematic preferences) help explain the low level of coordination. Furthermore, weak leadership as well as dispersed and inadequate resources—financial and human—intensified competition among the actors involved, which further impaired incentives for coordination (e.g., lack of information sharing). This, in combination with uncertainties regarding future funding and security, poses challenges to meet the needs of the internally displaced Iraqis in a systematic, coordinated, and sustainable manner

Habitual Chocolate Consumption May Increase Body Weight in a Dose-Response Manner

Objective Habitual chocolate intake was recently found to be associated with lower body weight in three cross-sectional epidemiological studies. Our objective was to assess whether these cross-sectional results hold up in a more rigorous prospective analysis. Methods We used data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort. Usual dietary intake was assessed by questionnaire at baseline (1987–98), and after six years. Participants reported usual chocolate intake as the frequency of eating a 1-oz (∼28 g) serving. Body weight and height were measured at the two visits. Missing data were replaced by multiple imputation. Linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate cross-sectional and prospective associations between chocolate intake and adiposity. Results Data were from 15,732 and 12,830 participants at the first and second visit, respectively. More frequent chocolate consumption was associated with a significantly greater prospective weight gain over time, in a dose-response manner. For instance, compared to participants who ate a chocolate serving less often than monthly, those who ate it 1–4 times a month and at least weekly experienced an increase in Body Mass Index (kg/m2) of 0.26 (95% CI 0.08, 0.44) and 0.39 (0.23, 0.55), respectively, during the six-year study period. In cross-sectional analyses the frequency of chocolate consumption was inversely associated with body weight. This inverse association was attenuated after excluding participants with preexisting obesity-related illness. Compared to participants without such illness, those with it had higher BMI and reported less frequent chocolate intake, lower caloric intake, and diets richer in fruits and vegetables. They tended to make these dietary changes after becoming ill. Conclusions Our prospective analysis found that a chocolate habit was associated with long-term weight gain, in a dose-response manner. Our cross-sectional finding that chocolate intake was associated with lower body weight did not apply to participants without preexisting serious illness

Habitual chocolate consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease among healthy men and women

Objective: To examine the association between chocolate intake and the risk of future cardiovascular events. Methods: We conducted a prospective study using data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk cohort. Habitual chocolate intake was quantified using the baseline food frequency questionnaire (1993–1997) and cardiovascular end points were ascertained up to March 2008. A systematic review was performed to evaluate chocolate consumption and cardiovascular outcomes. Results: A total of 20 951 men and women were included in EPIC-Norfolk analysis (mean follow-up 11.3±2.8 years, median 11.9 years). The percentage of participants with coronary heart disease (CHD) in the highest and lowest quintile of chocolate consumption was 9.7% and 13.8%, and the respective rates for stroke were 3.1% and 5.4%. The multivariate-adjusted HR for CHD was 0.88 (95% CI 0.77 to 1.01) for those in the top quintile of chocolate consumption (16–99 g/day) versus non-consumers of chocolate intake. The corresponding HR for stroke and cardiovascular disease (cardiovascular disease defined by the sum of CHD and stroke) were 0.77 (95% CI 0.62 to 0.97) and 0.86 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.97). The propensity score matched estimates showed a similar trend. A total of nine studies with 157 809 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Higher compared to lower chocolate consumption was associated with significantly lower CHD risk (five studies; pooled RR 0.71, 95% CI 0.56 to 0.92), stroke (five studies; pooled RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.87), composite cardiovascular adverse outcome (two studies; pooled RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.54 to 1.05), and cardiovascular mortality (three studies; pooled RR 0.55, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.83). Conclusions: Cumulative evidence suggests that higher chocolate intake is associated with a lower risk of future cardiovascular events, although residual confounding cannot be excluded. There does not appear to be any evidence to say that chocolate should be avoided in those who are concerned about cardiovascular risk

Climate change. From an Integrated Farm Management perspective

Integrated Farm Management (IFM) is a holistic approach characterised by a continuous  improvement process in the delivery of more sustainable agriculture. Members of EISA  collaborate on this in order to create a united voice for sustainable agriculture and its practical  implementation on the ground through the development and promotion of IFM.  In this presentation impacts from integrated farmers who are associated by EISAs national  members LEAF (UK) and Skylark (the Netherlands) will be highlighted. What measures do they  take, how is the adoption rate, what are the innovations the farmers are working on and how  does it work in between these two regions that are characterised as mostly intensive agricultural  areas? The main question for debate is whether farming is able to deliver solutions to the aims of  the Paris Agreement and what MACSUR can do in order to support the farmers in achieving this

The use of species sensitivity distributions and monitoring to predict the ecological effect of longitudinal training dams

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Sensitivity of native and introduced fish species to changes in flow velocity of European rivers

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