Monitoring and Assessment of Desertification and Land Degradation: Knowledge Management, Institutions and Economics: White Paper of the DSD Working Group 3

The White Paper is a review of leading scientific knowledge on the role of knowledge management, institutions and economics in monitoring and assessment of land degradation and desertification. It provides key recommendations for more effective policies and actions for combating desertification both withn the UNCCD and beyond. This White Paper is the result of an international collaboration and consultation led jointly by the Association of DesertNet International and the United Nations University - Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), of the Dryland Science for Development Consortium (DSD). The findings were presented at the First UNCCD Scientific Conference held during the COP-9 in Buenos Aires, 2009.

Gastrointestinal function in intensive care patients: terminology, definitions and management. Recommendations of the ESICM Working Group on Abdominal Problems

Acute gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction and failure have been increasingly recognized in critically ill patients. The variety of definitions proposed in the past has led to confusion and difficulty in comparing one study to another. An international working group convened to standardize the definitions for acute GI failure and GI symptoms and to review the therapeutic options.

CONSORT 2010 explanation and elaboration: updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomised trials

Overwhelming evidence shows the quality of reporting of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is not optimal. Without transparent reporting, readers cannot judge the reliability and validity of trial findings nor extract information for systematic reviews. Recent methodological analyses indicate that inadequate reporting and design are associated with biased estimates of treatment effects. Such systematic error is seriously damaging to RCTs, which are considered the gold standard for evaluating interventions because of their ability to minimise or avoid bias. A group of scientists and editors developed the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) statement to improve the quality of reporting of RCTs. It was first published in 1996 and updated in 2001. The statement consists of a checklist and flow diagram that authors can use for reporting an RCT. Many leading medical journals and major international editorial groups have endorsed the CONSORT statement. The statement facilitates critical appraisal and interpretation of RCTs. During the 2001 CONSORT revision, it became clear that explanation and elaboration of the principles underlying the CONSORT statement would help investigators and others to write or appraise trial reports. A CONSORT explanation and elaboration article was published in 2001 alongside the 2001 version of the CONSORT statement. After an expert meeting in January 2007, the CONSORT statement has been further revised and is published as the CONSORT 2010 Statement. This update improves the wording and clarity of the previous checklist and incorporates recommendations related to topics that have only recently received recognition, such as selective outcome reporting bias. This explanatory and elaboration document-intended to enhance the use, understanding, and dissemination of the CONSORT statement-has also been extensively revised. It presents the meaning and rationale for each new and updated checklist item providing examples of good reporting and, where possible, references to relevant empirical studies. Several examples of flow diagrams are included. The CONSORT 2010 Statement, this revised explanatory and elaboration document, and the associated website (www.consort-statement.org) should be helpful resources to improve reporting of randomised trials.

Spatial assessment of carbon stocks of living vegetation at the national level in Lao PDR

The international mechanism for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) supposedly offers new opportunities for combining climate mitigation, conservation of the environment, and socio-economic development for development countries. In Laos REDD is abundantly promoted by the government and development agencies as a potential option for rural development. Yet, basic information for carbon management is missing: to date no knowledge is available at the national level on the quantities of carbon stored in the Lao landscapes. In this study we present an approach for spatial assessment of vegetation-based carbon stocks. We used Google Earth, Landsat and MODIS satellite imagery and refined the official national land cover data to assess carbon stocks. Our study showed that more than half (52%) of carbon stock of Laos is stored in natural forests, but that 70% of this stock is located outside of national protected areas. On the basis of two carbon-centered land use scenarios we calculated that between 30 and 40 million tons of carbon could be accumulated in shifting cultivation areas; this is less than 3% of the existing total stock. Our study suggests that the main focus of REDD in Laos should be on the conservation of existing carbon stocks, giving highest priority to the prevention of deforestation outside of national protected areas.

Extent of hypoattenuation on CT angiography source images in basilar artery occlusion: prognostic value in the Basilar Artery International Cooperation Study

The posterior circulation Acute Stroke Prognosis Early CT Score (pc-ASPECTS) quantifies the extent of early ischemic changes in the posterior circulation with a 10-point grading system. We hypothesized that pc-ASPECTS applied to CT angiography source images predicts functional outcome of patients in the Basilar Artery International Cooperation Study (BASICS).

Developing European conservation and mitigation tools for pollination services: approaches of the STEP (Status and Trends of European Pollinators) project

Pollinating insects form a key component of European biodiversity, and provide a vital ecosystem service to crops and wild plants. There is growing evidence of declines in both wild and domesticated pollinators, and parallel declines in plants relying upon them. The STEP project (Status and Trends of European Pollinators, 2010-2015, www.step-project.net) is documenting critical elements in the nature and extent of these declines, examining key functional traits associated with pollination deficits, and developing a Red List for some European pollinator groups. Together these activities are laying the groundwork for future pollinator monitoring programmes. STEP is also assessing the relative importance of potential drivers of pollinator declines, including climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation, agrochemicals, pathogens, alien species, light pollution, and their interactions. We are measuring the ecological and economic impacts of declining pollinator services and floral resources, including effects on wild plant populations, crop production and human nutrition. STEP is reviewing existing and potential mitigation options, and providing novel tests of their effectiveness across Europe. Our work is building upon existing and newly developed datasets and models, complemented by spatially-replicated campaigns of field research to fill gaps in current knowledge. Findings are being integrated into a policy-relevant framework to create evidence-based decision support tools. STEP is establishing communication links to a wide range of stakeholders across Europe and beyond, including policy makers, beekeepers, farmers, academics and the general public. Taken together, the STEP research programme aims to improve our understanding of the nature, causes, consequences and potential mitigation of declines in pollination services at local, national, continental and global scales.

Classification of organisms previously reported as the SP and Stewart-Letscher groups, with descriptions of Necropsobacter gen. nov. and of Necropsobacter rosorum sp. nov. for organisms of the SP group

To allow classification of bacteria previously reported as the SP group and the Stewart-Letscher group, 35 isolates from rodents (21), rabbits (eight), a dog and humans (five) were phenotypically and genotypically characterized. Comparison of partial rpoB sequences showed that 34 of the isolates were closely related, demonstrating at least 97.4 % similarity. 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison of 20 selected isolates confirmed the monophyly of the SP group and revealed 98.5 %-100 % similarity between isolates. A blast search using the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the highest similarity outside the SP group was 95.5 % to an unclassified rat isolate. The single strain, P625, representing the Stewart-Letscher group showed the highest 16S rRNA gene similarity (94.9-95.5 %) to members of the SP group. recN gene sequence analysis of 11 representative strains resulted in similarities of 97-100 % among the SP group strains, which showed 80 % sequence similarity to the Stewart-Letscher group strain. Sequence similarity values based on the recN gene, indicative for whole genome similarity, showed the SP group being clearly separated from established genera, whereas the Stewart-Letscher group strain was associated with the SP group. A new genus, Necropsobacter gen. nov., with only one species, Necropsobacter rosorum sp. nov., is proposed to include all members of the SP group. The new genus can be separated from existing genera of the family Pasteurellaceae by at least three phenotypic characters. The most characteristic properties of the new genus are that haemolysis is not observed on bovine blood agar, positive reactions are observed in the porphyrin test, acid is produced from (+)-L-arabinose, (+)-D-xylose, dulcitol, (+)-D-galactose, (+)-D-mannose, maltose and melibiose, and negative reactions are observed for symbiotic growth, urease, ornithine decarboxylase and indole. Previous publications have documented that both ubiquinones and demethylmenaquinone were produced by the proposed type strain of the new genus, Michel A/76(T), and that the major polyamine of representative strains (type strain not included) of the genus is 1,3-diaminopropane, spermidine is present in moderate amounts and putrescine and spermine are detectable only in minor amounts. The major fatty acids of strain Michel A/76(T) are C(14 : 0), C(16 : 0), C(16:1)omega7c and summed feature C(14 : 0) 3-OH/iso-C(16 : 1) I. This fatty acid profile is typical for members of the family Pasteurellaceae. The G+C content of DNA of strain Michel A/76(T) was estimated to be 52.5 mol% in a previous investigation. The type strain is P709(T) ( = Michel A/76(T) = CCUG 28028(T) = CIP 110147(T) = CCM 7802(T)).

Placebo effect characteristics observed in a single, international, longitudinal study in Huntington's disease

BACKGROUND Classically, clinical trials are based on the placebo-control design. Our aim was to analyze the placebo effect in Huntington's disease. METHODS Placebo data were obtained from an international, longitudinal, placebo-controlled trial for Huntington's disease (European Huntington's Disease Initiative Study Group). One-hundred and eighty patients were evaluated using the Unified Huntington Disease Rating Scale over 36 months. A placebo effect was defined as an improvement of at least 50% over baseline scores in the Unified Huntington Disease Rating Scale, and clinically relevant when at least 10% of the population met it. RESULTS Only behavior showed a significant placebo effect, and the proportion of the patients with placebo effect ranged from 16% (first visit) to 41% (last visit). Nondepressed patients with better functional status were most likely to be placebo-responders over time. CONCLUSIONS In Huntington's disease, behavior seems to be more vulnerable to placebo than overall motor function, cognition, and function