An assessment framework for REDD+ benefit sharing mechanisms within a forest policy mix

Policy instruments for implementing the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+) mechanism operate within an orchestra of national contexts and policy mixes that affect the forest and other land sectors. How will policymakers choose between the myriad of options for distributing REDD+ benefits, and be able to evaluate its potential effectiveness, efficiency and equity (3Es) within the various institutional and governance structures a where such a REDD+ benefit sharing mechanism is situated? This is a pressing issue given the results- based aspect of REDD+. We present here a three-element assessment framework for evaluating outcomes and performance of REDD+ benefit sharing mechanisms, using the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency and equity: (1) the structures (objective and policies) of a REDD+ benefit sharing mechanism; (2) the broader institutional and policy contexts underlying forest governance; and (3) outcomes of REDD+ including emissions reductions, ecosystem service provision and poverty alleviation. A strength of the assessment framework is its flexible design to incorporate indicators relevant to different contexts; this helps to generate a shared working understanding of what is to be evaluated in the different REDD+ benefit sharing mechanisms (BSMs) across complex socio- political contexts. In applying the framework to case studies, the assessment highlights trade-offs among the 3Es, and the need to better manage access to information, monitoring and evaluation, consideration of local perceptions of equity and inclusive decision-making processes. The framework aims not to simplify complexity but rather, serves to identify actionable ways forward towards a more efficient, effective and equitable implementation and re- evaluation of REDD+ BSMs as part of reflexive policymaking

Dynamic scaling and quasi-ordered states in the two dimensional Swift-Hohenberg equation

The process of pattern formation in the two dimensional Swift-Hohenberg equation is examined through numerical and analytic methods. Dynamic scaling relationships are developed for the collective ordering of convective rolls in the limit of infinite aspect ratio. The stationary solutions are shown to be strongly influenced by the strength of noise. Stationary states for small and large noise strengths appear to be quasi-ordered and disordered respectively. The dynamics of ordering from an initially inhomogeneous state is very slow in the former case and fast in the latter. Both numerical and analytic calculations indicate that the slow dynamics can be characterized by a simple scaling relationship, with a characteristic dynamic exponent of $1/4$ in the intermediate time regime

Annihilation of Charged Particles

The kinetics of irreversible annihilation of charged particles performing overdamped motion induced by long-range interaction force, $F(r)\sim r^{-\lambda}$, is investigated. The system exhibits rich kinetic behaviors depending on the force exponent $\lambda$. In one dimension we find that the densities decay as $t^{-1/(2+\lambda)}$ and $t^{-1/(1+2\lambda)}$ when $\lambda>1$ and $1/2<\lambda<1$, respectively, with logarithmic correction at $\lambda=1$. For $\lambda \leq 1/2$, the asymptotic behavior is shown to be dependent on system size.Comment: 17 pages, plain TeX, 3 figures available upon request from [email protected]

Emergence of Order in Textured Patterns

A characterization of textured patterns, referred to as the disorder function \bar\delta(\beta), is used to study properties of patterns generated in the Swift-Hohenberg equation (SHE). It is shown to be an intensive, configuration-independent measure. The evolution of random initial states under the SHE exhibits two stages of relaxation. The initial phase, where local striped domains emerge from a noisy background, is quantified by a power law decay \bar\delta(\beta) \sim t^{-{1/2} \beta}. Beyond a sharp transition a slower power law decay of \bar\delta(\beta), which corresponds to the coarsening of striped domains, is observed. The transition between the phases advances as the system is driven further from the onset of patterns, and suitable scaling of time and \bar\delta(\beta) leads to the collapse of distinct curves. The decay of $\bar\delta(\beta)$ during the initial phase remains unchanged when nonvariational terms are added to the underlying equations, suggesting the possibility of observing it in experimental systems. In contrast, the rate of relaxation during domain coarsening increases with the coefficient of the nonvariational term.Comment: 9 Pages, 8 Postscript Figures, 3 gif Figure

Dying of a hundred good symptoms: why good security can still fail - a literature review and analysis

Many organizations suffer serious information security incidents, despite having taken positive steps towards achieving good security standards. The authors hypothesize that these issues are often as a result of security arrangements not being sufficiently integrated with businesses. We believe that adopting an enterprise architecture (EA) approach to implementing information security – commonly referred to as an ‘Enterprise Information Security Architecture’ (EISA) – will deliver substantial benefits. Our paper has reviewed and analyzed literature concerning the root causes of information security incidents and describes a novel approach with 8 domains for ensuring critical factors are considered when building an EISA framework

Relaxation and Coarsening Dynamics in Superconducting Arrays

We investigate the nonequilibrium coarsening dynamics in two-dimensional overdamped superconducting arrays under zero external current, where ohmic dissipation occurs on junctions between superconducting islands through uniform resistance. The nonequilibrium relaxation of the unfrustrated array and also of the fully frustrated array, quenched to low temperature ordered states or quasi-ordered ones, is dominated by characteristic features of coarsening processes via decay of point and line defects, respectively. In the case of unfrustrated arrays, it is argued that due to finiteness of the friction constant for a vortex (in the limit of large spatial extent of the vortex), the typical length scale grows as $\ell_s \sim t^{1/2}$ accompanied by the number of point vortices decaying as $N_v \sim 1/t$. This is in contrast with the case that dominant dissipation occurs between each island and the substrate, where the friction constant diverges logarithmically and the length scale exhibits diffusive growth with a logarithmic correction term. We perform extensive numerical simulations, to obtain results in reasonable agreement. In the case of fully frustrated arrays, the domain growth of Ising-like chiral order exhibits the low-temperature behavior $\ell_q \sim t^{1/z_q}$, with the growth exponent $1/z_q$ apparently showing a strong temperature dependence in the low-temperature limit.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Association between Polymorphisms in Glutathione Peroxidase and Selenoprotein P Genes, Glutathione Peroxidase Activity, HRT Use and Breast Cancer Risk.

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common cancers in women. Evidence suggests that genetic variation in antioxidant enzymes could influence BC risk, but to date the relationship between selenoproteins and BC risk remains unclear. In this report, a study population including 975 Danish cases and 975 controls matched for age and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use was genotyped for five functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in SEPP1, GPX1, GPX4 and the antioxidant enzyme SOD2 genes. The influence of genetic polymorphisms on breast cancer risk was assessed using conditional logistic regression. Additionally pre-diagnosis erythrocyte GPx (eGPx) activity was measured in a sub-group of the population. A 60% reduction in risk of developing overall BC and ductal BC was observed in women who were homozygous Thr carriers for SEPP1 rs3877899. Additionally, Leu carriers for GPX1 Pro198Leu polymorphism (rs1050450) were at ∼2 fold increased risk of developing a non-ductal BC. Pre-diagnosis eGPx activity was found to depend on genotype for rs713041 (GPX4), rs3877899 (SEPP1), and rs1050450 (GPX1) and on HRT use. Moreover, depending on genotype and HRT use, eGPx activity was significantly lower in women who developed BC later in life compared with controls. Furthermore, GPx1 protein levels increased in human breast adenocarcinoma MCF7 cells exposed to β-estradiol and sodium selenite.In conclusion, our data provide evidence that SNPs in SEPP1 and GPX1 modulate risk of BC and that eGPx activity is modified by SNPs in SEPP1, GPX4 and GPX1 and by estrogens. Our data thus suggest a role of selenoproteins in BC development

Tomato juice intake suppressed serum concentration of 8-oxodG after extensive physical activity

BACKGROUND: DNA is constantly exposed to reactive oxygen species (ROS), spontaneously arising during the normal oxygen metabolism. ROS may result in temporary as well as permanent modifications in various cellular components such as lipids, proteins and DNA, which may have deleterious consequences. Demonstrating that a dietary supplementation of antioxidants can reduce oxidative DNA damage may provide evidence for the value of such supplementation in prevention of cancer and age related diseases. FINDINGS: The present study was conducted to address whether tomato juice protects against ROS induced by extensive physical exercise in untrained individuals. As a marker of oxidative stress, serum levels of 8-oxodG were monitored using a modified ELISA. An intervention was performed involving 15 untrained healthy subjects who performed a 20 min physical exercise at 80% of maximum pulse using an ergometer bicycle. Blood samples were taken before and one hour after the exercise. The procedure was repeated after 5 weeks with a daily intake of 150 ml tomato juice and followed by a 5 weeks wash-out period and another 5 weeks with a daily intake of tomato juice. The results indicated that a daily intake of tomato juice, equal to 15 mg lycopene per day, for 5 weeks significantly reduced the serum levels of 8-oxodG after an extensive physical exercise. CONCLUSION: These data strongly suggest that tomato juice has a potential antioxidant effect and may reduce the elevated level of ROS induced by oxidative stress

Stringency of COVID-19 containment response policies and air quality changes: a global analysis across 1851 cities

The COVID-19 containment response policies (CRPs) had a major impact on air quality (AQ). These CRPs have been time-varying and location-specific. So far, despite having numerous studies on the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on AQ, a knowledge gap remains on the association between stringency of CRPs and AQ changes across the world, regions, nations, and cities. Here, we show that globally across 1851 cities (each more than 300000 people) in 149 countries, after controlling for the impacts of relevant covariates (e.g., meteorology), Sentinel-5P satellite-observed nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels decreased by 4.9% (95% CI: 2.2, 7.6%) during lockdowns following stringent CRPs compared to pre-CRPs. The NO2 levels did not change significantly during moderate CRPs and even increased during mild CRPs by 2.3% (95% CI: 0.7, 4.0%), which was 6.8% (95% CI: 2.0, 12.0%) across Europe and Central Asia, possibly due to population avoidance of public transportation in favor of private transportation. Among 1768 cities implementing stringent CRPs, we observed the most NO2 reduction in more populated and polluted cities. Our results demonstrate that AQ improved when and where stringent COVID-19 CRPs were implemented, changed less under moderate CRPs, and even deteriorated under mild CRPs. These changes were location-, region-, and CRP-specific

Apparent temperature and acute myocardial infarction hospital admissions in Copenhagen, Denmark: a case-crossover study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The influence of temperature on acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has not been investigated as extensively as the effects of broader outcomes of morbidity and mortality. Sixteen studies reported inconsistent results and two considered confounding by air pollution. We addressed some of the methodological limitations of the previous studies in this study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is the first study of the association between the daily 3-hour maximum apparent temperature (Tapp_max) and AMI hospital admissions in Copenhagen. The study period covered 1 January 1999-31 December 2006, stratified in warm (April - September) and cold (October - March) periods. A case-crossover epidemiology study design was applied. Models were adjusted for public holidays and influenza, confounding by PM₁₀, NO₂and CO was investigated, the lag and non-linear effects of Tapp_maxwas examined, effect modification by age, sex and SES was explored, and the results of the case-crossover models were compared to those of the generalised additive Poisson time-series and generalised estimating equation models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>14 456 AMI hospital admissions (12 995 people) occurred during the study period. For an inter-quartile range (6 or 7°C) increase in the 5-day cumulative average of Tapp_max, a 4% (95% CI:-2%; 10%) and 9% (95% CI: 3%; 14%) decrease in the AMI admission rate was observed in the warm and cold periods, respectively. The 19-65 year old group, men and highest SES group seemed to be more susceptible in the cold period.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>An increase in Tapp_maxis associated with a decrease in AMI admissions during the colder months.</p