| 1. |
- Guiomar, N., et al.
(författare)
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Typology and distribution of small farms in Europe : Towards a better picture
- 2018
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Ingår i: Land use policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0264-8377 .- 1873-5754. ; 75, s. 784-798
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The contribution of small farms to local food supply, food security and food sovereignty is widely acknowledged at a global level. In the particular case of Europe, they often are seen as an alternative to large and specialised farms. Assessing the real role of small farms has been limited by a lack of information, as small farms are frequently omitted from agricultural censuses and national statistics. It is also well acknowledged that small farms differ widely, and are distributed according to different spatial patterns across Europe, fulfilling different roles according to the agriculture and territorial characteristics of each region. This paper presents the result of a novel classification of small farms at NUTS-3 level in Europe, according to the relevance of small farms in the agricultural and territorial context of each region, and based on a typology of small farms considering different dimensions of farm size. The maps presented result from an extensive data collection and variables selected according to European wide expert judgement, analysed with advanced cluster procedures. The results provide a fine grained picture of the role of small farms at the regional level in Europe today, and are expected to support further data analysis and targeted policy intervention.
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| 2. |
- Biro, T, et al.
(författare)
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How best to fight that nasty itch - from new insights into the neuroimmunological, neuroendocrine, and neurophysiological bases of pruritus to novel therapeutic approaches
- 2005
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Ingår i: Experimental Dermatology. - : Wiley. - 0906-6705 .- 1600-0625. ; 14:3, s. 225-225
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While the enormous clinical and psychosocial importance of pruritus in many areas of medicine and the detrimental effects of chronic 'itch' on the quality of life of an affected individual are widely appreciated, the complexity of this sensation is still often grossly underestimated. The current Controversies feature highlights this complexity by portraying pruritus as a truly interdisciplinary problem at the crossroads of neurophysiology, neuroimmunology, neuropharmacology, protease research, internal medicine, and dermatology, which is combated most successfully if one keeps the multilayered nature of 'itch' in mind and adopts a holistic treatment approach - beyond the customary, frequently frustrane monotherapy with histamine receptor antagonists. In view of the often unsatisfactory, unidimensional, and altogether rather crude standard instruments for pruritus management that we still tend to use in clinical practice today, an interdisciplinary team of pruritus experts here critically examines recent progress in pruritus research that future itch management must take into consideration. Focusing on new insights into the neuroimmunological, neuroendocrine, and neurophysiological bases of pruritus, and discussing available neuropharmacological tools, specific research avenues are highlighted, whose pursuit promises to lead to novel, and hopefully more effective, forms of pruritus management.
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| 3. |
- Schindler, S., et al.
(författare)
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Floodplain management in temperate regions : Is multifunctionality enhancing biodiversity?
- 2013
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Ingår i: Environmental Evidence. - : BioMed Central Ltd.. - 2047-2382. ; 2:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Floodplains are among the most diverse, dynamic, productive and populated but also the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. Threats are mainly related to human activities that alter the landscape and disrupt fluvial processes to obtain benefits related to multiple ecosystem services (ESS). Floodplain management therefore requires close coordination among interest groups with competing claims and poses multi-dimensional challenges to policy-makers and project managers. The European Commission proposed in its recent Biodiversity Strategy to maintain and enhance European ecosystems and their services by establishing green infrastructure (GI). GI is assumed to provide multiple ecosystem functions and services including the conservation of biodiversity in the same spatial area. However, evidence for biodiversity benefits of multifunctional floodplain management is scattered and has not been synthesised. Methods/design: This protocol specifies the methods for conducting a systematic review to answer the following policy-relevant questions: a) what is the impact of floodplain management measures on biodiversity; b) how does the impact vary according to the level of multifunctionality of the measures; c) is there a difference in the biodiversity impact of floodplain management across taxa; d) what is the effect of the time since implementation on the impact of the most important measures; and e) are there any other factors that significantly modify the biodiversity impact of floodplain management measures? Within this systematic review we will assess multifunctionality in terms of ESS that are affected by an implemented intervention. Biodiversity indicators included in this systematic review will be related to the diversity, richness and abundance of species, other taxa or functional groups. We will consider if organisms are typical for and native to natural floodplain ecosystems. Specific inclusion criteria have been developed and the wide range of quality of primary literature will be evaluated with a tailor-made system for assessing susceptibility to bias and the reliability of the studies. The review is intended to bridge the science-policy interface and will provide a useful synthesis of knowledge for decision-makers at all governance levels. © 2013 Schindler et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
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| 4. |
- Schindler, S., et al.
(författare)
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Multifunctionality of floodplain landscapes : Relating management options to ecosystem services
- 2014
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Ingår i: Landscape Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0921-2973 .- 1572-9761. ; 29:2, s. 229-244
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The concept of green infrastructure has been recently taken up by the European Commission for ensuring the provision of ecosystem services (ESS). It aims at the supply of multiple ESS in a given landscape, however, the effects of a full suite of management options on multiple ESS and landscape multifunctionality have rarely been assessed. In this paper we use European floodplain landscapes as example to develop an expert based qualitative conceptual model for the assessment of impacts of landscape scale interventions on multifunctionality. European floodplain landscapes are particularly useful for such approach as they originally provided a high variety and quantity of ESS that has declined due to the strong human impact these landscapes have experienced. We provide an overview of the effects of floodplain management options on landscape multifunctionality by assessing the effects of 38 floodplain management interventions on 21 relevant ESS, as well as on overall ESS supply. We found that restoration and rehabilitation consistently increased the multifunctionality of the landscape by enhancing supply of provisioning, regulation/maintenance, and cultural services. In contrast, conventional technical regulation measures and interventions related to extraction, infrastructure and intensive land use cause decrease in multifunctionality and negative effects for the supply of all three aspects of ESS. The overview of the effects of interventions shall provide guidance for decision makers at multiple governance levels. The presented conceptual model could be effectively applied for other landscapes that have potential for a supply of a high diversity of ESS. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Pelisek, J, et al.
(författare)
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Biobanking: Objectives, Requirements, and Future Challenges-Experiences from the Munich Vascular Biobank
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of clinical medicine. - : MDPI AG. - 2077-0383. ; 8:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Collecting biological tissue samples in a biobank grants a unique opportunity to validate diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for translational and clinical research. In the present work, we provide our long-standing experience in establishing and maintaining a biobank of vascular tissue samples, including the evaluation of tissue quality, especially in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens (FFPE). Our Munich Vascular Biobank includes, thus far, vascular biomaterial from patients with high-grade carotid artery stenosis (n = 1567), peripheral arterial disease (n = 703), and abdominal aortic aneurysm (n = 481) from our Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery (January 2004–December 2018). Vascular tissue samples are continuously processed and characterized to assess tissue morphology, histological quality, cellular composition, inflammation, calcification, neovascularization, and the content of elastin and collagen fibers. Atherosclerotic plaques are further classified in accordance with the American Heart Association (AHA), and plaque stability is determined. In order to assess the quality of RNA from FFPE tissue samples over time (2009–2018), RNA integrity number (RIN) and the extent of RNA fragmentation were evaluated. Expression analysis was performed with two housekeeping genes—glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and beta-actin (ACTB)—using TaqMan-based quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT)-PCR. FFPE biospecimens demonstrated unaltered RNA stability over time for up to 10 years. Furthermore, we provide a protocol for processing tissue samples in our Munich Vascular Biobank. In this work, we demonstrate that biobanking is an important tool not only for scientific research but also for clinical usage and personalized medicine.
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| 8. |
- Schindler, S., et al.
(författare)
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Multifunctional floodplain management and biodiversity effects : a knowledge synthesis for six European countries
- 2016
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Ingår i: Biodiversity and Conservation. - : Springer Netherlands. - 0960-3115 .- 1572-9710. ; 25:7, s. 1349-1382
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Floodplain ecosystems are biodiversity hotspots and supply multiple ecosystem services. At the same time they are often prone to human pressures that increasingly impact their intactness. Multifunctional floodplain management can be defined as a management approach aimed at a balanced supply of multiple ecosystem services that serve the needs of the local residents, but also those of off-site populations that are directly or indirectly impacted by floodplain management and policies. Multifunctional floodplain management has been recently proposed as a key concept to reconcile biodiversity and ecosystem services with the various human pressures and their driving forces. In this paper we present biophysics and management history of floodplains and review recent multifunctional management approaches and evidence for their biodiversity effects for the six European countries Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and the Ukraine. Multifunctional use of floodplains is an increasingly important strategy in some countries, for instance in the Netherlands and Hungary, and management of floodplains goes hand in hand with sustainable economic activities resulting in flood safety and biodiversity conservation. As a result, biodiversity is increasing in some of the areas where multifunctional floodplain management approaches are implemented. We conclude that for efficient use of management resources and ecosystem services, consensual solutions need to be realized and biodiversity needs to be mainstreamed into management activities to maximize ecosystem service provision and potential human benefits. Multifunctionality is more successful where a broad range of stakeholders with diverse expertise and interests are involved in all stages of planning and implementation.
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| 9. |
- Alem, Yonas, 1974, et al.
(författare)
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Mind training, stress and behaviour-A randomised experiment
- 2021
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 16:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we evaluate the effects of a psychological training, called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on stress and risk and time preferences. MBSR is a well-known psychological technique, which is believed to improve self-control and reduce stress. We conduct the experiment with 139 participants, half of whom receive the MBSR training, while the other half are asked to watch a documentary series, both over 4 consecutive weeks. Using a range of self-reported and physiological measures (such as cortisol measures), we find evidence that mindfulness training reduces perceived stress, but we only find weak evidence of effects on risk and inter-temporal attitudes.
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| 10. |
- Austin, CC, et al.
(författare)
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Fostering global data sharing: highlighting the recommendations of the Research Data Alliance COVID-19 working group
- 2020
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Ingår i: Wellcome open research. - : F1000 Research Ltd. - 2398-502X. ; 5, s. 267-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The systemic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic require cross-disciplinary collaboration in a global and timely fashion. Such collaboration needs open research practices and the sharing of research outputs, such as data and code, thereby facilitating research and research reproducibility and timely collaboration beyond borders. The Research Data Alliance COVID-19 Working Group recently published a set of recommendations and guidelines on data sharing and related best practices for COVID-19 research. These guidelines include recommendations for clinicians, researchers, policy- and decision-makers, funders, publishers, public health experts, disaster preparedness and response experts, infrastructure providers from the perspective of different domains (Clinical Medicine, Omics, Epidemiology, Social Sciences, Community Participation, Indigenous Peoples, Research Software, Legal and Ethical Considerations), and other potential users. These guidelines include recommendations for researchers, policymakers, funders, publishers and infrastructure providers from the perspective of different domains (Clinical Medicine, Omics, Epidemiology, Social Sciences, Community Participation, Indigenous Peoples, Research Software, Legal and Ethical Considerations). Several overarching themes have emerged from this document such as the need to balance the creation of data adherent to FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable), with the need for quick data release; the use of trustworthy research data repositories; the use of well-annotated data with meaningful metadata; and practices of documenting methods and software. The resulting document marks an unprecedented cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral, and cross-jurisdictional effort authored by over 160 experts from around the globe. This letter summarises key points of the Recommendations and Guidelines, highlights the relevant findings, shines a spotlight on the process, and suggests how these developments can be leveraged by the wider scientific community.
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