Global Change and the World's Mountains-Research Needs and Emerging Themes for Sustainable Development A Synthesis From the 2010 Perth II Conference

The conference on Global Change and the World’s Mountains held in Perth, Scotland, in 2010 offered a unique opportunity to analyze the state and progress of mountain research and its contribution to sustainable mountain development, as well as to reflect on required reorientations of research agendas. In this paper we provide the results of a three-step assessment of the research presented by 450 researchers from around the world. First, we determined the state of the art of mountain research and categorized it based on the analytical structure of the Global Land Project (GLP 2005). Second, we identified emerging themes for future research. Finally, we assessed the contribution of mountain research to sustainable development along the lines of the Grand Challenges in Global Sustainability Research (International Council for Science 2010). Analysis revealed that despite the growing recognition of the importance of more integrative research (inter- and transdisciplinary), the research community gathered in Perth still focuses on environmental drivers of change and on interactions within ecological systems. Only a small percentage of current research seeks to enhance understanding of social systems and of interactions between social and ecological systems. From the ecological systems perspective, a greater effort is needed to disentangle and assess different drivers of change and to investigate impacts on the rendering of ecosystem services. From the social systems perspective, significant shortcomings remain in understanding the characteristics, trends, and impacts of human movements to, within, and out of mountain areas as a form of global change. Likewise, sociocultural drivers affecting collective behavior as well as incentive systems devised by policy and decision makers are little understood and require more in-depth investigation. Both the complexity of coupled social– ecological systems and incomplete data sets hinder integrated systems research. Increased understanding of linkages and feedbacks between social and ecological systems will help to identify nonlinearities and thresholds (tipping points) in both system types. This presupposes effective collaboration between ecological and social sciences. Reflections on the Grand Challenges in Sustainability Research put forth by the International Council for Science (2010) reveal the need to intensify research on effective responses and innovations. This will help to achieve sustainable development in mountain regions while maintaining the core competence of mountain research in forecasting and observation.

Muscle metabolites: functional MR spectroscopy during exercise imposed by tetanic electrical nerve stimulation

Permission from the ethics committee and informed consent were obtained. The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate a method developed for the noninvasive assessment of muscle metabolites during exercise. Hydrogen 1 magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy peaks were measured during tetanic isometric muscle contraction imposed by supramaximal repetitive nerve stimulation. The kinetics of creatine-phosphocreatine and acetylcarnitine signal changes (P < .001) could be assessed continuously before, during, and after exercise. The control peak (trimethylammonium compounds), which served as an internal reference, did not change. This technique-that is, functional MR spectroscopy-opens the possibility for noninvasive diagnostic muscle metabolite testing in a clinical setting.

Analyzing Software Evolution through Feature Views

Features encapsulate the domain knowledge of a software system and thus are valuable sources of information for a reverse engineer. When analyzing the evolution of a system, we need to know how and which features were modified to recover both the change intention and its extent, namely which source artifacts are affected. Typically, the implementation of a feature crosscuts a number of source artifacts. To obtain a mapping between features to the source artifacts, we exercise the features and capture their execution traces. However this results in large traces that are difficult to interpret. To tackle this issue we compact the traces into simple sets of source artifacts that participate in a feature's runtime behavior. We refer to these compacted traces as feature views. Within a feature view, we partition the source artifacts into disjoint sets of characterized software entities. The characterization defines the level of participation of a source entity in the features. We then analyze the features over several versions of a system and we plot their evolution to reveal how and hich features were affected by changes in the code. We show the usefulness of our approach by applying it to a case study where we address the problem of merging parallel development tracks of the same system.

Coronary collateral flow in response to endurance exercise training

BACKGROUND: In humans, it is not known whether physical endurance exercise training promotes coronary collateral growth. The following hypotheses were tested: the expected collateral flow reduction after percutaneous coronary intervention of a stenotic lesion is prevented by endurance exercise training; collateral flow supplied to an angiographically normal coronary artery improves in response to exercise training; there is a direct relationship between the change of fitness after training and the coronary collateral flow change. METHODS AND RESULTS: Forty patients (age 61+/-8 years) underwent a 3-month endurance exercise training program with baseline and follow-up assessments of coronary collateral flow. Patients were divided into an exercise training group (n=24) and a sedentary group (n=16) according to the fact whether they adhered or not to the prescribed exercise program, and whether or not they showed increased endurance (VO2max in ml/min per kg) and performance (W/kg) during follow-up versus baseline bicycle spiroergometry. Collateral flow index (no unit) was obtained using pressure sensor guidewires positioned in the coronary artery undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention and in a normal vessel. In the vessel initially undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention, there was an increase in collateral flow index among exercising but not sedentary patients from 0.155+/-0.081 to 0.204+/-0.056 (P=0.03) and from 0.189+/-0.084 to 0.212+/-0.077 (NS), respectively. In the normal vessel, collateral flow index changes were from 0.176+/-0.075 to 0.227+/-0.070 in the exercise group (P=0.0002), and from 0.219+/-0.103 to 0.238+/-0.086 in the sedentary group (NS). A direct correlation existed between the change in collateral flow index from baseline to follow-up and the respective alteration of VO2max (P=0.007) and Watt (P=0.03). CONCLUSION: A 3-month endurance exercise training program augments coronary collateral supply to normal vessels, and even to previously stenotic arteries having undergone percutaneous coronary intervention before initiating the program. There appears to be a dose-response relation between coronary collateral flow augmentation and exercise capacity gained.

Using water balance models to approximate the effects of climate change on spring catchment discharge : Mt. Hanang, Tanzania

This project addresses the potential impacts of changing climate on dry-season water storage and discharge from a small, mountain catchment in Tanzania. Villagers and water managers around the catchment have experienced worsening water scarcity and attribute it to increasing population and demand, but very little has been done to understand the physical characteristics and hydrological behavior of the spring catchment. The physical nature of the aquifer was characterized and water balance models were calibrated to discharge observations so as to be able to explore relative changes in aquifer storage resulting from climate changes. To characterize the shallow aquifer supplying water to the Jandu spring, water quality and geochemistry data were analyzed, discharge recession analysis was performed, and two water balance models were developed and tested. Jandu geochemistry suggests a shallow, meteorically-recharged aquifer system with short circulation times. Baseflow recession analysis showed that the catchment behavior could be represented by a linear storage model with an average recession constant of 0.151/month from 2004-2010. Two modified Thornthwaite-Mather Water Balance (TMWB) models were calibrated using historic rainfall and discharge data and shown to reproduce dry-season flows with Nash-Sutcliffe efficiencies between 0.86 and 0.91. The modified TMWB models were then used to examine the impacts of nineteen, perturbed climate scenarios to test the potential impacts of regional climate change on catchment storage during the dry season. Forcing the models with realistic scenarios for average monthly temperature, annual precipitation, and seasonal rainfall distribution demonstrated that even small climate changes might adversely impact aquifer storage conditions at the onset of the dry season. The scale of the change was dependent on the direction (increasing vs. decreasing) and magnitude of climate change (temperature and precipitation). This study demonstrates that small, mountain aquifer characterization is possible using simple water quality parameters, recession analysis can be integrated into modeling aquifer storage parameters, and water balance models can accurately reproduce dry-season discharges and might be useful tools to assess climate change impacts. However, uncertainty in current climate projections and lack of data for testing the predictive capabilities of the model beyond the present data set, make the forecasts of changes in discharge also uncertain. The hydrologic tools used herein offer promise for future research in understanding small, shallow, mountainous aquifers and could potentially be developed and used by water resource professionals to assess climatic influences on local hydrologic systems.

Effect of 6-month supervised exercise on low-density lipoprotein apolipoprotein B kinetics in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Although low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is often normal in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, there is evidence for a reduced fractional catabolic rate and consequently an increased mean residence time (MRT), which can increase atherogenic risk. The dyslipidemia and insulin resistance of type 2 diabetes mellitus can be improved by aerobic exercise, but effects on LDL kinetics are unknown. The effect of 6-month supervised exercise on LDL apolipoprotein B kinetics was studied in a group of 17 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (mean age, 56.8 years; range, 38-68 years). Patients were randomized into a supervised group, who had a weekly training session, and an unsupervised group. LDL kinetics were measured with an infusion of 1-(13)C leucine at baseline in all groups and after 6 months of exercise in the patients. Eight body mass index-matched nondiabetic controls (mean age, 50.3 years; range, 40-67 years) were also studied at baseline only. At baseline, LDL MRT was significantly longer in the diabetic patients, whereas LDL production rate and fractional clearance rates were significantly lower than in controls. Percentage of glycated hemoglobin A(1c), body mass index, insulin sensitivity measured by the homeostasis model assessment, and very low-density lipoprotein triglyceride decreased (P < .02) in the supervised group, with no change in the unsupervised group. After 6 months, LDL cholesterol did not change in either the supervised or unsupervised group; but there was a significant change in LDL MRT between groups (P < .05) that correlated positively with very low-density lipoprotein triglyceride (r = 0.51, P < .04) and negatively with maximal oxygen uptake, a measure of fitness (r = -0.51, P = .035), in all patients. The LDL production and clearance rates did not change in either group. This study suggests that a supervised exercise program can reduce deleterious changes in LDL MRT.

[Diabetes update: preventing type 2 diabetes. Individualized stepwise therapy (oral antidiabetic agents). Multifactorial intervention]

Preclinical disorders of glucose metabolism should be systematically included in the high-risk group for diabetes mellitus and affected individuals provided with preventive measures. Their underlying insulin resistance is determined with the help of a checklist and a method called homeostasis model assessment (HOMA). Patients with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) must change their lifestyles. If this does not lead to a response or the patient is unable to modify behavior, medication is required. In the case of manifest type 2 diabetes mellitus, a graded schedule is used for differential management, which should be based on nutritional and exercise therapy. Oral medication with metformin is probably the drug of choice in both obese and non-obese patients. It is crucial not to delay raising the level of treatment until HbA1c has fallen to within an unsatisfactory range (wait-and-see strategy). Rather, the level should be intensified when persistent exacerbation starts to become apparent (proactive therapy). In diabetes mellitus, the same guidelines for secondary prevention apply to the associated cardiovascular risk factors as with coronary heart disease. An intensified and, especially, early treatment is to be preferred over a conservative, wait-and-see approach, in this case as well.

RV contractility and exercise-induced pulmonary hypertension in chronic mountain sickness: a stress echocardiographic and tissue Doppler imaging study

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular function and pulmonary circulation in chronic mountain sickness (CMS) patients with rest and stress echocardiography compared with healthy high-altitude (HA) dwellers. BACKGROUND CMS or Monge's disease is defined by excessive erythrocytosis (hemoglobin >21 g/dl in males, 19 g/dl in females) and severe hypoxemia. In some cases, a moderate or severe increase in pulmonary pressure is present, suggesting a similar pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension. METHODS In La Paz (Bolivia, 3,600 m sea level), 46 CMS patients and 40 HA dwellers of similar age were evaluated at rest and during semisupine bicycle exercise. Pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), pulmonary vascular resistance, and cardiac function were estimated by Doppler echocardiography. RESULTS Compared with HA dwellers, CMS patients showed RV dilation at rest (RV mid diameter: 36 ± 5 mm vs. 32 ± 4 mm, CMS vs. HA, p = 0.001) and reduced RV fractional area change both at rest (35 ± 9% vs. 43 ± 9%, p = 0.002) and during exercise (36 ± 9% vs. 43 ± 8%, CMS vs. HA, p = 0.005). The RV systolic longitudinal function (RV-S') decreased in CMS patients, whereas it increased in the control patients (p < 0.0001) at peak stress. The RV end-systolic pressure-area relationship, a load independent surrogate of RV contractility, was similar in CMS patients and HA dwellers with a significant increase in systolic PAP and pulmonary vascular resistance in CMS patients (systolic PAP: 50 ± 12 mm Hg vs. 38 ± 8 mm Hg, CMS vs. HA, p < 0.0001; pulmonary vascular resistance: 2.9 ± 1 mm Hg/min/l vs. 2.2 ± 1 mm Hg/min/l, p = 0.03). Both groups showed comparable systolic and diastolic left ventricular function both at rest and during stress. CONCLUSIONS Comparable RV contractile reserve in CMS and HA suggests that the lower resting values of RV function in CMS may represent a physiological adaptation to chronic hypoxic conditions rather than impaired RV function. (Chronic Mountain Sickness, Systemic Vascular Function [CMS]; NCT01182792).

Aerobic exercise but not resistance exercise reduces intrahepatic lipid content and visceral fat and improves insulin sensitivity in obese adolescent girls: a randomized controlled trial

It is unclear whether regular exercise alone (no caloric restriction) is a useful strategy to reduce adiposity and obesity-related metabolic risk factors in obese girls. We examined the effects of aerobic (AE) vs. resistance exercise (RE) alone on visceral adipose tissue (VAT), intrahepatic lipid, and insulin sensitivity in obese girls. Forty-four obese adolescent girls (BMI ≥95th percentile, 12-18 yr) with abdominal obesity (waist circumference 106.5 ± 11.1 cm) were randomized to 3 mo of 180 min/wk AE (n = 16) or RE (n = 16) or a nonexercising control group (n = 12). Total fat and VAT were assessed by MRI and intrahepatic lipid by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Intermuscular AT (IMAT) was measured by CT. Insulin sensitivity was evaluated by a 3-h hyperinsulinemic (80 mU·m(2)·min(-1)) euglycemic clamp. Compared with controls (0.13 ± 1.10 kg), body weight did not change (P > 0.1) in the AE (-1.31 ± 1.43 kg) and RE (-0.31 ± 1.38 kg) groups. Despite the absence of weight loss, total body fat (%) and IMAT decreased (P < 0.05) in both exercise groups compared with control. Compared with control, significant (P < 0.05) reductions in VAT (Δ-15.68 ± 7.64 cm(2)) and intrahepatic lipid (Δ-1.70 ± 0.74%) and improvement in insulin sensitivity (Δ0.92 ± 0.27 mg·kg(-1)·min(-1) per μU/ml) were observed in the AE group but not the RE group. Improvements in insulin sensitivity in the AE group were associated with the reductions in total AT mass (r = -0.65, P = 0.02). In obese adolescent girls, AE but not RE is effective in reducing liver fat and visceral adiposity and improving insulin sensitivity independent of weight loss or calorie restriction.

The effect of acute exercise and psychosocial stress on fine motor skills and testosterone concentration in the saliva of high school students

Little is known about the influence of different stressors on fine motor skills, the concentration of testosterone (T), and their interaction in adolescents. Therefore, 62 high school students aged 14–15 years were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (exercise, psychosocial stress) and a control group. Exercise stress was induced at 65–75% of the maximum heart rate by running for 15 minutes (n = 24). Psychosocial stress was generated by an intelligence test (HAWIK- IV), which was uncontrollable and characterized by social-evaluative-threat to the students (n=21). The control group followed was part of a regular school lesson with the same duration (n = 28). Saliva was collected after a normal school lesson (pre-test) as well as after the intervention/control period (post-test) and was analyzed for testosterone. Fine motor skills were assessed pre- and post-intervention using a manual dexterity test (Flower Trail) from the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2. A repeated measure ANCOVA including gender as a covariate revealed a significant group by test interaction, indicating an increase in manual dexterity only for the psychosocial stress group. Correlation analysis of all students shows that the change of testosterone from pre- to post-test was directly linked (r = 2.31, p = .01) to the changes in manual dexterity performance. Participants showing high increases in testosterone from pre- to post-test made fewer mistakes in the fine motor skills task. Findings suggest that manual dexterity increases when psychosocial stress is induced and that improvement of manual dexterity performance corresponds with the increase of testosterone.

Is there a common pattern of future gas-phase air pollution in Europe under diverse climate change scenarios?

Climate change alone influences future levels of tropospheric ozone and their precursors through modifications of gas-phase chemistry, transport, removal, and natural emissions. The goal of this study is to determine at what extent the modes of variability of gas-phase pollutants respond to different climate change scenarios over Europe. The methodology includes the use of the regional modeling system MM5 (regional climate model version)-CHIMERE for a target domain covering Europe. Two full-transient simulations covering from 1991–2050 under the SRES A2 and B2 scenarios driven by ECHO-G global circulation model have been compared. The results indicate that the spatial patterns of variability for tropospheric ozone are similar for both scenarios, but the magnitude of the change signal significantly differs for A2 and B2. The 1991–2050 simulations share common characteristics for their chemical behavior. As observed from the NO2 and α-pinene modes of variability, our simulations suggest that the enhanced ozone chemical activity is driven by a number of parameters, such as the warming-induced increase in biogenic emissions and, to a lesser extent, by the variation in nitrogen dioxide levels. For gas-phase pollutants, the general increasing trend for ozone found under A2 and B2 forcing is due to a multiplicity of climate factors, such as increased temperature, decreased wet removal associated with an overall decrease of precipitation in southern Europe, increased photolysis of primary and secondary pollutants as a consequence of lower cloudiness and increased biogenic emissions fueled by higher temperatures.

Exercise capacity, physical activity patterns and outcomes six years after cardiac rehabilitation in patients with heart failure.

OBJECTIVE To determine the short- and long-term effects of an intensive, concentrated rehabilitation programme in patients with chronic heart failure. DESIGN Randomized controlled trial, with one-month and six-year evaluations. SETTING Residential rehabilitation centre in Switzerland. SUBJECTS Fifty patients with chronic heart failure, randomized to exercise or control groups. INTERVENTIONS A rehabilitation programme lasting one month, including educational sessions, a low-fat diet, and 2 hours of individually prescribed exercise daily. MAIN MEASURES Exercise test responses, health outcomes and physical activity patterns. RESULTS Peak Vo(2) increased 21.4% in the exercise group during the rehabilitation programme (P<0.05), whereas peak Vo(2) did not change among controls. After the six-year follow-up period, peak Vo(2) was only slightly higher than that at baseline in the trained group (7%, NS), while peak Vo(2) among controls was unchanged. During long-term follow-up, 9 and 12 patients died in the exercise and control groups, respectively (P = 0.63). At six years, physical activity patterns tended to be higher in the exercise group; the mean energy expenditure values over the last year were 2,704 +/- 1,970 and 2,085 +/- 1,522 kcal/week during recreational activities for the exercise and control groups, respectively. However, both groups were more active compared to energy expenditure prior to their cardiac event (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Six years after participation in a residential rehabilitation programme, patients with chronic heart failure had slightly better outcomes than control subjects, maintained exercise capacity and engaged in activities that exceed the minimal amount recommended by guidelines for cardiovascular health.

Explicit vs implicit affiliation motives predict different social behavior in sports competition

Objectives The present study investigated the predictive value of the explicit and implicit affiliation motive for social behavior in sport competitions. From an information processing perspective, an explicit motive is linked to verbal cues and respondent behavior. The implicit motive in turn is linked to nonverbal stimuli and operant behavior (McClelland, Koestner, & Weinberger, 1989; Schultheiss, 2008). Both respondent affiliative behavior (e.g., verbal interactions with teammates) and operant nonverbal social behavior (e.g., pleasant to opponents) can be observed in racquet sports team competitions. Design & Methods Fifty-two male racquet sportsmen completed the Personality Research Form (explicit affiliation motive) and the Operant Motive Test (implicit affiliation motive). Motive measures were used to predict social behavior during competitions using multiple regression analyses. To this aim real competitive matches were videotaped and analyzed. Results Results show that the explicit affiliation motive is associated with time spent in verbal team contact. The implicit affiliation motive, by contrast, is linked to pleasant nonverbal behavior shown toward opponents. Conclusions Findings suggest that implicit and explicit affiliation motives predict different kinds of social behavior in sports competition respectively. Indirect motive measures may be of additional predictive value for different behavior in real sports settings.

Exercise and Mood: Exploring the Role of Exercise in Regulating Stress Reactivity in Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder (BD) is a recurrent and debilitating psychological disorder characterized by a chronic dysregulation of mood with fluctuations between extremely low (e.g., depression) and extremely elevated mood states (e.g., mania), and ranks as the 6th leading cause of disability in the world. Although research has consistently shown that exercise may have antidepressant and stress-attenuating benefits in other psychiatric illnesses (e.g., depression, anxiety), these benefits have not been directly investigated for BD. The current study represents the first known investigation to examine this relationship. Single-participant designs, with crossover and interaction treatment components (i.e., A/B/A/B/A, A/C/A/C/A, A/B/A/C/A, or A/C/A/B/A) were utilized to investigate the impact of participation in a prescribed regimen of exercise (EP) versus standard behavioral activation (SBA; i.e., non-exercise activity) has on stress perception and reactivity, and mood stability in a sample of individuals with BD. Individuals completed four total weeks of treatment, and psychophysiological measures of reactivity were recorded during a laboratory stress task (i.e., backward counting task) prior to and following each two-week intervention phase. No appreciable differences were found between levels of exercise participation between treatment groups. Interestingly, symptoms of depressed mood (BDI-II scores) decreased at similar rates following 4 weeks of treatment for all participants. BDI-II decreases were found to be most correlated with elective exercise participation, although this relationship was not significant. Regarding stress reactivity, elective participation in mild to moderate intensity exercise was found to reduce an individual’s perception of stress reactivity to an acute stressor, while participation in a prescribed program of exercise was more effective in reducing physiological response to the same task. Utilizing multiple forms of behavioral activation simultaneously was found to be most effective in decreasing perception of stress reactivity, and may also result in a positive change in the use of adaptive versus maladaptive coping strategies. Participation in a 4-week program of exercise appeared to provide the most benefit, consistent with exercise habituation theories. Overall, current findings provide preliminary support for the prophylactic benefits of including a prescribed and monitored program of exercise as an adjunct treatment for individuals with BD. Larger scale research is needed to more clearly determine the impact of exercise on stress reactivity and mood episode relapse in individuals with BD.