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Background: State Health Departments are at the helm of addressing the myriad needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, including those of vulnerable populations who do not have a place to self-isolate or quarantine to prevent the spread. An estimated 5,000 Arkansas residents face homelessness and are at increased risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19. Additionally, those living in multigenerational families face similar challenges.Objective: We share our experiences and lessons learned in planning, executing, and maintaining a quarantine and isolation facility for vulnerable population during the COVID-19 pandemic.Setting and patients: A 29-bed quarantine and isolation facility was instituted and maintained by the Arkansas Department of Health to meet the quarantine and isolation needs of vulnerable populations. Outcomes and conclusions: As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, need for a facility to meet quarantine and isolation requirements of vulnerable population is not just a critical mitigation strategy but is an ethical imperative.

The authors provide an overview of the main accomplishments of private equity since the emergence of leveraged buyouts in the 1980s, and of the challenges now facing the industry?challenges that have been encountered before during three major growth waves and two full boom-and-bust cycles In so doing, the authors review a large and growing body of academic studies responding to questions like these: (1) How have PE buyout companies performed relative to their public counterparts? And to the extent there have been improvements in operating performance and productivity gains, how have such gains been achieved? What role have PE firms played in this process? (2) Especially in light of the large fees and profit shares paid to the PE firms, or GPs, and the significant ?control? premiums over market paid to the selling companies, how have the returns to the LPs that provide the bulk of the funding for PE funds compared to the returns earned by the shareholders of comparable public companies? (3) Apart from the high fees earned by its GPs, why is PE so controversial? Beyond their effects on productivity and benefits for investors, what are the employment and other social effects of buyouts and PE? (4) What are the prospects for future PE returns to their LPs, especially in light of the volume of capital commitments and high purchase multiples that were being paid, at least until the onset of the COVID pandemic? And what role, if any, should PE activity be expected to play in the recovery from the pandemic?

Public participation in the form of public meetings and written submissions has been criticised as a democratic ritual that fails to give citizens a real voice in government decisions. Participator...

Analysis of the genes retained in the minimized Mycoplasma JCVI-Syn3A genome established that systems that repair or preempt metabolite damage are essential to life. Several genes with known metabolite damage repair or preemption functions were identified and experimentally validated, including 5-formyltetrahydrofolate cyclo-ligase, CoA disulfide reductase, and certain hydrolases. Furthermore, we discovered that an enigmatic YqeK hydrolase domain fused to NadD has a novel proofreading function in NAD synthesis and could double as a MutT-like sanitizing enzyme for the nucleotide pool. Finally, we combined metabolomics and cheminformatics approaches to extend the core metabolic map of JCVI-Syn3A to include promiscuous enzymatic reactions and spontaneous side reactions. This extension revealed that several key metabolite damage-control systems remain to be identified in JCVI-Syn3A, such as that for methylglyoxal.

Land-use conflicts can be costly and time-consuming and cause social burden to all parties. In this study, we developed an approach for mapping synergy and conflict potential between land uses and tested it on nature protection, nature-based tourism, forestry and mining. First, we calculated the ecological and socio-cultural values for the study area, and further the economic values related to forestry and mining. Second, we conducted an integrated spatial assessment of these values and used it jointly with a variant of a value compatibility analysis to locate areas with possible synergistic and conflicting land uses. This study was carried out in Finnish Lapland where land use conflicts have occurred due to the need to develop forestry and mining in areas that are also important for nature-based tourism. The method operated well as it identified sites with ongoing land-use disputes. Synergy potential between biodiversity and socio-cultural values was identified in protected areas and other sites of natural beauty, and conflict potential concerning forestry near tourist resorts and concerning mining at proposed mining project sites. The developed framework can assist in locating sites that may need proactive measurements to avoid conflicts, and sites that would benefit from multi-purpose management thereby supporting sustainable and adaptive land-use planning.

Effective wildlife conservation requires consideration of ecological and social factors, including social acceptability of conservation actions. Using the threatened koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) as a case study, we demonstrate a novel, socio-ecological approach for identifying conservation opportunity that spatially connects landscapes with community preferences to prioritize koala recovery strategies at a regional scale. We conceptualize conservation opportunity as the spatial integration of three sustainability criteria—ecological potential, social acceptability, and economic feasibility. The social acceptability criterion was assessed using a crowdsourced spatial survey that identified spatial preferences for koalas and land uses that impact koala conservation. As a novel approach, we addressed important research questions regarding the design, collection, and analysis of crowdsourced mapping data for identifying socially acceptable conservation opportunities. Public preferences for koalas were mapped closer to home, in higher suitable koala habitats than expected, were more pronounced in conservation and natural areas on public lands, and were mapped less frequently in modified agricultural landscapes. When the multiple criteria (ecological, social, and economic) were included in the conservation assessment, we found the social acceptability criterion exerted the greatest influence on spatial conservation priorities. The systematic assessment of social criteria for conservation using spatial surveys provides information that can be integrated with ecological information to prioritize conservation opportunities. Potential enhancements include expanding survey recruitment efforts and using alternative social data collection methods to achieve greater geographic and socio-demographic representation, and augmenting the economic feasibility assessment with private property values and transaction data from voluntary conservation agreements with private landowners.

Fifty years ago this summer, three men aboard Apollo 11 traveled from our planet to the Moon. On July 20, 1969, at 10:56:15 p.m. EDT, 38-year-old commander Neil Armstrong moved his left foot from the landing pad of the lunar module (LM) Eagle onto the gray, powdery surface of the Sea of Tranquility and became the first person to step onto the lunar soil. Armstrong declared: “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” Nineteen minutes later, 39-year-old LM pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin followed Armstrong onto the surface. Fifteen hours later, after spending two and a half hours outside of Eagle, the two men lifted off and returned to their command module (CM) Columbia, manned patiently by the third member of their crew, 38-year-old CM pilot Michael Collins. Four days later, the three men were back home. Although five additional lunar landings would occur, each more challenging and scientifically ambitious than its predecessor, Apollo 11 stands alone as the greatest technological accomplishment of the 20th century. The mission also signaled the beginning of the end of the “Golden Age” of America’s space program.

We conducted a statewide survey of forestry employers and forestry students in three California universities to assess whether forestry degree programs are providing students with the knowledge and skills needed for contemporary forestry careers. The survey contained a comprehensive list of general skills and technical competencies identified from previous research. We clustered skills and knowledge items into five groups: professional skills, biophysical sciences, land management, human dimensions, and current issues. Results indicate that whereas forestry programs at California universities serve different student populations, student perceptions on the importance and preparation in their forestry education were similar. Both employers and students identified professional skills as most important, especially behaving professionally, ethically, and communicating effectively. However, using an importance-performance analysis, we found that land-management skills should be the focus of curriculum improvement.

usc Research into machine learning (ML) for clinical vascular analysis, such as those useful for stroke and coronary artery disease, varies greatly between imaging modalities and vascular regions. Limited accessibility to large diverse patient imaging datasets, as well as a lack of transparency in specific methods, are obstacles to further development. This paper reviews the current status of quantitative vascular ML, identifying advantages and disadvantages common to all imaging modalities. Literature from the past 8 years was systematically collected from MEDLINE® and Scopus database searches in January 2021. Papers satisfying all search criteria, including a minimum of 50 patients, were further analysed and extracted of relevant data, for a total of 47 publications. Current ML image segmentation, disease risk prediction, and pathology quantitation methods have shown sensitivities and specificities over 70%, compared to expert manual analysis or invasive quantitation. Despite this, inconsistencies in methodology and the reporting of results have prevented inter-model comparison, impeding the identification of approaches with the greatest potential. The clinical potential of this technology has been well demonstrated in Computed Tomography of coronary artery disease, but remains practically limited in other modalities and body regions, particularly due to a lack of routine invasive reference measurements and patient datasets. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This study examined whether the neighborhood built environment moderated gestational weight gain (GWG) in LIFE-Moms clinical trials. Participants were 790 pregnant women (13.9 weeks' gestation) with overweight or obesity randomized within four clinical centers to standard care or lifestyle intervention to reduce GWG. Geographic information system (GIS) was used to map the neighborhood built environment. The intervention relative to standard care significantly reduced GWG (coefficient = 0.05; p = 0.005) and this effect remained significant (p < 0.03) after adjusting for built environment variables. An interaction was observed for presence of fast food restaurants (coefficient = -0.007; p = 0.003). Post hoc tests based on a median split showed that the intervention relative to standard care reduced GWG in participants living in neighborhoods with lower fast food density 0.08 [95% CI, 0.03,0.12] kg/week (p = 0.001) but not in those living in areas with higher fast food density (0.02 [-0.04, 0.08] kg/week; p = 0.55). Interaction effects suggested less intervention efficacy among women living in neighborhoods with more grocery/convenience stores (coefficient = -0.005; p = 0.0001), more walkability (coefficient -0.012; p = 0.007) and less crime (coefficient = 0.001; p = 0.007), but post-hoc tests were not significant. No intervention x environment interaction effects were observed for total number of eating establishments or tree canopy. Lifestyle interventions during pregnancy were effective across diverse physical environments. Living in environments with easy access to fast food restaurants may limit efficacy of prenatal lifestyle interventions, but future research is needed to replicate these findings.

Public participatory mapping is a method of crowdsourcing where the lay public can contribute spatial information for a range of applications including conservation planning. When used to collect wildlife observation data, participatory mapping becomes a type of “geographic citizen science” that involves collaboration with members of the public. While the potential of crowdsourcing to assist in wildlife conservation appears to be large, the quality and validity of the observational data collected remain a key concern. In this study, we examined the quality and validity of spatial data collected in a public participatory mapping project implemented in northern New South Wales (Australia) in 2018 where the public was asked to identify and map the location and frequency of koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) sightings using an internet mapping application. The iconic koala is a nationally-listed threatened species and has wide public recognition, making it an ideal test of our approach to examining the value of citizen science for wildlife. We assessed the validity of koala observation data from two perspectives of validity-as-accuracy (positional accuracy and data completeness) and validity-as-credibility (characteristics of spatial data contributors). To assess validity-as-accuracy, we analysed the distribution of citizen observations of koala sightings compared to an expert-derived probability distribution of koalas (likelihood model). To assess validity-as-credibility, we analysed the survey data to determine which participant characteristics increased the credibility of observational data. We found significant spatial association between crowdsourced koala observations and the likelihood model to validate koala locations, but there was under-reporting in more rural, remote areas. Significant variables contributing to accuracy in koala observations included participant knowledge of koalas, age, length of residence, and formal education. We also compared the crowdsourced results to a field-based citizen science koala observation project implemented in the same region and found crowdsourced participatory mapping provided comparable, if not superior results. Crowdsourced koala observations can augment field-based koala research by covering large geographic areas while engaging a broader public in conservation efforts. However, effective geographic citizen science projects require a significant commitment of resources, including the creation of community partnerships, to obtain high quality spatial data.

The integration of spatial concepts with social science data in natural resource management has progressed rapidly over the past 15 years. There is now a foundational understanding, and supporting ...

Polyphosphate (polyP) kinases are widely conserved enzymes with importance in basic bacterial metabolism and virulence in many pathogens. However, the molecular mechanisms of their substrate specificity and catalysis remain unknown. Here, we present the results of comprehensive biochemical and structural studies of three polyP kinases from different bacteria, which belong to different clusters of the PPK2 class III family. Purified PPK2 proteins catalyzed polyP-dependent phosphorylation of AMP, ADP, GMP, and GDP to corresponding nucleoside diphosphates and triphosphates. Crystal structures of these proteins in complex with substrates, products, Mg2+, and inhibitors revealed the binding sites for the nucleotide and polyP substrates overlapping at the Walker A and B loops. The Walker A loop is involved in the binding of polyP and the Mg2+ ion, whereas the Walker B loop coordinates the nucleotide phosphate groups. Structure-based site-directed mutagenesis of CHU0107 from Cytophaga hutchinsonii demonstrated t...

The terms NIMBY (Not-In-My-Back-Yard) and YIMBY (Yes-In-My-Back-Yard) describe negative and positive attitudes toward proposed development projects respectively. These attitudes are posited to be influenced by geographic (spatial) discounting wherein the distance from domicile may contribute to local opposition or support. In contrast to specific development projects, the potential influence of NIMBY/YIMBY in a general land use planning process has not been systematically evaluated. In this study, we analyzed empirical data from a public participation GIS (PPGIS) process implemented for a general plan revision to examine the evidence for geographic discounting for a range of land uses using mapped preferences by community residents. Using distance analysis, we found significant evidence for geographic discounting by land use type with variable discount rates influenced by location of residence and the spatial configuration of land use in the planning area represented by zoning. The findings were consistent with NIMBY/YIMBY expectations with the exception of residential development where the results were more ambiguous. Residents want future land uses with amenities (open space, recreation, and trails) closer to domicile and more intensive, developed land uses (commercial, tourism, events, parking) further away. The findings have potentially broad implications because general/comprehensive planning—a requirement of most local governments in the U.S.—is operationalized through land use zones that appear subject to spatial discounting and the manifestation of potential NIMBY/YIMBY effects in the planning process. Future research should examine other planning contexts such as large urban areas with a greater diversity of land uses.

Traditional urban park research has used self-reported surveys and activity logs to examine relationships between health benefits, park use, and park features. An alternative approach uses participating mapping methods. This study sought to validate and expand on previous participatory mapping research methods and findings and address spatial scaling by applying these methods to a large urban park system. Key challenges for spatial scaling included ambiguity in park classification and achieving representative sampling for larger and spatially-disbursed urban residents. We designed an internet-based public participation GIS (PPGIS) survey and used household and volunteer sampling to identify the type and locations of urban park benefits. Study participants (n = 816) identified locations of physical activities and other urban park benefits (psychological, social, and environmental) which were analyzed by park type. Consistent with previous suburb-scale research, we found significant associations between urban park type and different urban park benefits. Linear parks were significantly associated with higher intensity physical activities; natural parks were associated with environmental benefits; and community parks were associated with benefits from social interaction. Neighborhood parks emerged as significantly associated with psychological benefits. The diversity of park activities and benefits were positively correlated with park size. Distance analysis confirmed that physical benefits of parks were closest to participant domicile, while social and environmental benefits were more distant. These results validate previous suburb-scale findings despite greater variability in park types and sample populations. Future urban park research using participatory mapping would benefit from greater effort to obtain participation from under-represented populations that can induce nonresponse bias, and analyses to determine whether system-wide results can be disaggregated by suburb or neighborhood to address social inequities in urban park benefits Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Zoning is a ubiquitous land use planning and regulatory mechanism whose purpose is to provide for orderly community growth and development by segregating land uses that are deemed incompatible. The delineation of zones and related land use ordinances are traditional components of an expert-driven, local government process that produces a general or comprehensive land use plan as required by law. Public participation in the development of general land use plans has rarely used participatory mapping methods that engage the general public to explicitly inform zoning decisions. In this study, we demonstrate how participatory mapping methods can assess the consistency, compatibility, and potential conflict of zoning with public values and preferences in a general plan revision process using a coastal community in California as a case study. We describe the participatory mapping design, data collection, and data analyses in a workflow to illustrate the methods, and present the strengths and limitations of the approach for use in a general land use planning process. Future research should expand these methods to assess the potential effects of resident domicile and “NIMBYism” on the results, and importantly, assess the impact of public participatory mapping in land use decisions if actually implemented by local government authorities.

The theory and practice of participatory mapping (PM) has expanded significantly over the last two decades with proliferation of a wide range of methods and applications. The potential for synthesis and integration across four broad domains of PM (indigenous/rural/community, urban/regional, environmental/natural resource, and mapping technology) was examined at the Participatory Mapping/GIS 2017 conference held at California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo, USA) Jul 31-Aug 3, 2017. At the conference, PM leaders in each of the four domains participated in working groups to: (1) identify the key issues, including “barriers” and “knowledge gaps” that limit effective PM outcomes, and (2) identify the most important research priorities. This paper summarizes the findings of the working groups for the purpose of identifying common and unique challenges across the four PM domains and to discuss the desirability of stronger integration of PM knowledge and practice. In the indigenous/rural/community domain, achieving clarity in PM purpose and building trust in the process were identified as the most critical issues; in the environmental/natural resources domain, wider use and adoption of PM to inform policy and management decisions through stakeholder engagement was considered most important; and in the urban/regional domain, developing urban indicators and adapting PM to complex and heterogeneous urban environments were identified as important needs. The key issue in the domain of PM technology was understanding how technology influences PM usability and user behavior for the development and implementation of appropriate PM technology. The most significant cross-cutting theme to emerge across all PM domains was the need to evaluate PM outcomes to provide evidence of success.

Accepted manuscript. Published version at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2017.12.002. Licensed CC BY NC ND Protected area management can be highly contentious. Information about the acceptability of conservation actions can help environmental authorities design policies that are accepted locally, and identify potential areas of conflict between land users and conservation objectives. In this study, we implemented a spatially-explicit method for eliciting public preferences for land use and conservation policy (web-based public participation GIS; PPGIS). We invited randomly selected local residents in two mountainous regions in Norway to map their preferences for consumptive resource use, motorized use, land development and predator-control. We assessed whether local communities favored or opposed these human activities in nearby protected areas using mixed-effects logistic regression and controlling for landscape characteristics, accessibility and demographics. Local residents strongly favored consumptive resource use and predator control regardless of protected area status, and were more likely to oppose than favor land development inside protected areas. These preferences are largely consistent with the present protected area policy in Norway and Europe that promotes traditional consumptive use and the maintenance of cultural landscapes, but restricts land development. Our results suggest that use-based framing of conservation is more likely to resonate with these communities than narratives tied to the preservation of pristine nature and emerging conservation ideas of the rewilding of nature. Mapped community preferences can be a valuable tool for policy makers and stakeholders representing community interests in participatory processes, and for assessing the local acceptance of alternative management actions within protected areas.

Poster presented at the International Leucaena Conference, 1‒3 November 2018, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

The cariogenic pathogen Streptococcus mutans contains two CRISPR systems (type I-C and type II-A) with the Cas5c protein (SmuCas5c) involved in processing of long CRISPR RNA transcripts (pre-crRNA) containing repeats and spacers to mature crRNA guides. In this study, we determined the crystal structure of SmuCas5c at a resolution of 1.72 Å, which revealed the presence of an N-terminal modified RNA recognition motif and a C-terminal twisted β-sheet domain with four bound sulphate molecules. Analysis of surface charge and residue conservation of the SmuCas5c structure suggested the location of an RNA-binding site in a shallow groove formed by the RNA recognition motif domain with several conserved positively charged residues (Arg39, Lys52, Arg109, Arg127, and Arg134). Purified SmuCas5c exhibited metal-independent ribonuclease activity against single-stranded pre-CRISPR RNAs containing a stem–loop structure with a seven-nucleotide stem and a pentaloop. We found SmuCas5c cleaves substrate RNA within the repeat sequence at a single cleavage site located at the 3′-base of the stem but shows significant tolerance to substrate sequence variations downstream of the cleavage site. Structure-based mutational analysis revealed that the conserved residues Tyr50, Lys120, and His121 comprise the SmuCas5c catalytic residues. In addition, site-directed mutagenesis of positively charged residues Lys52, Arg109, and Arg134 located near the catalytic triad had strong negative effects on the RNase activity of this protein, suggesting that these residues are involved in RNA binding. Taken together, our results reveal functional diversity of Cas5c ribonucleases and provide further insight into the molecular mechanisms of substrate selectivity and activity of these enzymes.

Consideration of social and cultural dimensions in coastal and marine planning has increased and ecosystem services provide important framing to investigate values and priorities associated with these systems. Research efforts in coastal communities offer insights on social dimensions of ocean and coastal management decisions, but questions remain about how demographics and geographic residence affect perceptions of marine resources and management. We conducted and analyzed a public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) mapping survey of Oregon residents to capture uses and perceived values of coastal and marine areas. We measured coastal values, explored regional differences in those values, and identified a suite of coastal and marine ecosystem services that Oregonians prioritize from the recently established marine reserve network. Examining respondent demographics, conservation values, and coastal geographic features, we discovered values varied by region in Oregon, with regions demonstrating distinct value orientations. Regional differences in value orientation highlight the importance of incorporating multiple interpretations of value into coastal resource communication strategies, and the consequence of coastal proximity on attitudes and values about coastal resources. Incorporating use (indirect and direct) and non-use (existence) values into a Total Economic Value framework revealed that participants prioritized indirect use (scenic, recreation) over direct use and existence values coastwide. Spatial variation of participant’s use and value locations demonstrates the utility of participatory mapping in marine spatial planning efforts, both in documenting spatially explicit non-market values of coastal areas and identifying potential areas of conflict among coastal stakeholder groups. Within Oregon’s marine reserve network, which was not delineated in the mapping exercise, value preferences diverged from coastwide averages, wherein existence values (biodiversity/wildlife, wilderness, etc.) were elevated above other categories.

Public participation for land use planning in developing countries is challenged by multiple barriers including low public awareness and engagement with the process. This paper evaluates the capacity of the general public to effectively contribute to land use planning outcomes in Malaysia using Participatory GIS (PGIS). Spatial attributes that identify place values and land use preferences were collected from the public through a web-based PGIS using facilitated and self-administered methods and compared with land use zones developed by planning experts. We assessed the quality of the PGIS mapped data by analysing participants' mapping effort and the consistency of the mapped data with existing land use zones. The results indicate logical consistency between the mapped attributes-place values and preferences-and land use zones contained in the expert-driven land use plans. The results further indicate that the facilitated PGIS process produced higher quality spatial data compared with the self-administered PGIS survey. Our results suggest that PGIS can provide planning authorities with a viable platform to enhance public participation for land use planning in Malaysia, but that a facilitated PGIS process will be required to increase public participation and the quality of spatial data generated.

Planning and management for marine and coastal areas is often contentious, with competing interests claiming their preferences are in the ‘public interest’. Defining the public interest for marine and coastal areas remains a wicked problem, however, resistant to resolution. A focus on more tangible ‘public values’ offers an alternative for policy and planning in specific contexts. However, ambiguity surrounds who or what constitutes the ‘public’, with stakeholder engagement often used as a proxy in marine and coastal research. In this study, the outcomes of participatory processes involving the public from diverse backgrounds and geographical locales were explored. A public participation GIS (PPGIS) survey was undertaken in the remote Kimberley region of Australia to identify the spatial values and management preferences for marine and coastal areas. Similarities and differences between the volunteer public (n = 372) and online panel respondents (n = 206); and for the volunteer public only, differences between residents (n = 118) and non-residents (n = 254) were assessed. Online panelists evidenced lesser quality mapping data and did not provide a reliable means of accessing ‘public’ values. Residents were more likely to map general recreational and recreational fishing values while non-locals were more likely to map biological/conservation and wilderness values. Overall, residents and non-residents were more alike than dissimilar in their mapping of values and management preferences, suggesting that the need to preference local views may be overstated, although there may be differences in policy priorities. Future research should focus on the breadth and representativeness of stakeholder interests to access the views of wider society and hence public values, rather than current approaches where local interests are often the primary focus of participatory stakeholder engagement.

Managing visitor conflict is an important task in protected areas. This study used public participation GIS (PPGIS) mapping and a visitor survey to research conflicts between mountain bikers and ho...

Conservation success is contingent on assessing social and environmental factors so that cost-effective implementation of strategies and actions can be placed in a broad social-ecological context. Until now, the focus has been on how to include spatially explicit social data in conservation planning, whereas the value of different kinds of social data has received limited attention. In a regional systematic conservation planning case study in Australia, we examined the spatial concurrence of a range of spatially explicit social values and land-use preferences collected using a public participation geographic information system and biological data. We used Zonation to integrate the social data with the biological data in a series of spatial-prioritization scenarios to determine the effect of the different types of social data on spatial prioritization compared with biological data alone. The type of social data (i.e., conservation opportunities or constraints) significantly affected spatial prioritization outcomes. The integration of social values and land-use preferences under different scenarios was highly variable and generated spatial prioritizations 1.2-51% different from those based on biological data alone. The inclusion of conservation-compatible values and preferences added relatively few new areas to conservation priorities, whereas including noncompatible economic values and development preferences as costs significantly changed conservation priority areas (48.2% and 47.4%, respectively). Based on our results, a multifaceted conservation prioritization approach that combines spatially explicit social data with biological data can help conservation planners identify the type of social data to collect for more effective and feasible conservation actions.

Ineffective public participation in land-use planning contributes to the lack of communication and understanding between the public and experts, acting as a barrier to successful planning outcomes. In this study, we assess whether Participatory GIS (PGIS) is a suitable method to bridge the communication gap between the public and expert knowledge for planning in the developing country context of Malaysia. Through a mixed methods approach, we investigate whether expert knowledge converges or diverges with the public's perceived knowledge obtained through a PGIS process and assess the potential benefits of PGIS from public and expert planning perspectives. The results indicate more convergence than divergence in knowledge and perspective, indicating that a PGIS process can communicate local knowledge to planning authorities to inform land use and development planning in Malaysia. Both the public and planning experts recognize the potential benefits of PGIS, but successful implementation will require major changes in traditional Malaysian public participation processes.

Spatial participatory methods called ‘participatory GIS’ (PGIS) are intended to improve public participation for land use planning. An internet PGIS was implemented in Perlis, Malaysia, to examine the public capacity-building effects of PGIS. Two delivery modes (facilitated and self-administered) were evaluated. We found that PGIS significantly enhanced perceived public knowledge about place and land use planning while increasing spatial technology skills, regardless of implementation mode. The results indicate that PGIS can increase public capacity for participating in land use planning, an important finding for developing countries with historically low levels of public participation and low public awareness and knowledge of planning.

Understanding the nature and relative importance of various drivers of change is crucial for sustainable management of natural resources and in prioritizing management efforts, allocating limited resources, and understanding cumulative effects. For this article, we employed structured an expert judgments approach to identify, characterize, and assess the relative importance of the key biophysical and socioeconomic drivers of change within the Volta River Basin, West Africa. Precipitation variability, water availability, land use change, drought events, and population growth were perceived as most important, while biodiversity loss, social conflicts, pest and disease occurrence, urbanization, and pollution were viewed as less critical. A majority of these drivers were characterized as “slow” acting processes as compared to rapidly changing drivers. Intra- and interexpert groups agreement were found to be significant and convergent, indicating the reliability of the results. The implications of these results for sustainable water resources management and agricultural production are discussed.

Parks and protected areas provide a wide range of benefits, but methods to evaluate their importance to society are often ad hoc and limited. In this study, the quality of crowdsourced information from Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) and Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) sources (Flickr, OpenStreetMap (OSM), and Wikipedia) was compared with visitor counts that are presumed to reflect social importance. Using the state of Victoria, Australia as a case study, secondary crowdsourced VGI data, primary crowdsourced (PPGIS data) and visitor statistics were examined for their correspondence and differences, and to identify spatial patterns in park popularity. Data completeness—the percent of protected areas with data—varied between sources, being highest for OSM (90%), followed by Flickr (41%), PPGIS (24%), visitation counts (5%), and Wikipedia articles (4%). Statistically significant correlations were found between all five measures of popularity for protected areas. Using stepwise multiple linear regression, the explained variability in visitor numbers was greater than 70%, with PPGIS, Flickr and OSM having the largest standardized coefficients. The social importance of protected areas varied as a function of accessibility and the types of values (direct or indirect use) expressed for the areas. Crowdsourced data may provide an alternative to visitor counts for assessing protected area social importance and spatial variability of visitation. However, crowdsourced data appears to be an unreliable proxy for the full range of values and importance of protected areas, especially for non-use values such as biological conservation.

Participatory mapping in social research is characterized by methodological pluralism, with two common methods being qualitative mapping using stakeholder interviews and quantitative methods that engage larger public samples through digital, internet mapping. To date, there has been no systematic evaluation of the extent to which mixed methods in participatory mapping yield valid results when applied to the same research setting and research questions. A mixed methods research design (combined exploratory sequential and convergent parallel) was implemented in a large research project to identify marine and coastal values in the Kimberley region of Australia. Qualitative interviews (n = 167) were completed with stakeholders to identify place-based values using polygon mapping methods and internet-based public participation GIS (PPGIS) methods (n = 578). We defined and operationalized the concepts of concurrent, commensurate, and convergent validity to assess mixed methods research outcomes. We found that qualitative and quantitative methods resulted in moderate to high concurrent validity when assessing the importance of place values in the study area. Convergent validity (spatial) was highly variable by place value, with stronger convergent validity found with mapped aesthetic, recreational fishing, tourism, biodiversity, and Aboriginal culture values, and weakest with existence, therapeutic, and commercial fishing values. Convergent validity was influenced by weak commensurate validity through the use of different geometric features (polygons versus points) for mapping values across a large study area. The utility of mixed methods for planning decision support in a convergent parallel design depends on demonstrating convergence in construct meaning, spatial location, and consistency in values in the sampling populations.

Coral reefs provide important ecological services such as biodiversity, climate regulation, and cultural benefits through recreation and tourism. However, many of the world's reefs are declining, with Caribbean reefs suffering a significant decline in living corals over the past half century. This situation emphasizes the need to assess and monitor reef conditions using a variety of methods. In this study, a new method for assessing reef conditions to inform management using participatory mapping by coral reef “experts” in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) is described. Occupational SCUBA divers were recruited (n=87) to map coral reef conditions, uses, and threats (stressors) using an internet-based mapping website. The data reveal an uneven geographic distribution of reef conditions in the USVI with the most frequently mapped perceived healthy reef characteristics being: large amount of physical reef structure (n=872 markers); endangered or threatened species present (n=721); and large amount of live coral cover (n=615). The greatest perceived threats were: invasive species (n=606); water pollution (n=234); and unsustainable fishing (n=200). Areas of important reef characteristics, perceived threats to reefs, and perceived recovery potential were plotted to identify areas requiring critical management attention. The authors found that perceptions of healthy reef conditions outnumbered perceptions of reef threats for nine of the ten most familiar coral reefs; the most frequent activity type within the coral reefs was tourism diving; and for the most familiar coral reefs, the divers perceived a high recovery potential. Given the novelty of participatory mapping methods to assess coral reefs, the strengths and weaknesses of the method is evaluated. The authors further propose a management typology for categorizing reef areas to inform their future management. In the absence of primary data, or, as a supplement to underwater surveys and remotely-sensed data on reef condition, participatory mapping can provide a cost-effective means for assessing coral reef conditions while identifying place-specific reef locations requiring management attention.

Although our understanding of water resource problems has grown in recent years, our ability to improve decision-making is still limited. Participatory modelling and stakeholder engagement is seen as an important tool that can facilitate strategic decision-making in environmental/natural resource management systems. This paper presents the participatory and methodological processes involved in the development of an integrated qualitative, conceptual model using causal loops diagrams to assist integrated water resources management and sustainable agricultural development in the Volta River Basin, West Africa. The developed integrated conceptual model provides a holistic understanding of the key biophysical and socio-economic factors and processes, and the role the systemic feedbacks play in determining the basin's behaviour. An ex-post analysis of the process with stakeholders showed that the process contributed to the shared understanding of the basin's problems. Based on our experience we present some lessons for the design and application of a participatory modelling process. Display Omitted Causal loop diagrams used as tools to develop an integrated conceptual model at the basin scale.Conceptual model integrates biophysical, socio-economic, and policy sub-sectors.Multi-disciplinary stakeholders involved in the development of the model.Identification of a number of key reinforcing and balancing feedback loops.Challenges and experience of conducting participatory modelling presented.

In a rapidly changing water resources system, dynamic models based on the notion of systems thinking can serve as useful analytical tools for scientists and policy-makers to study changes in key system variables over time. In this paper, an integrated system dynamics simulation model was developed using a system dynamics modelling approach to examine the feedback processes and interaction between the population, the water resource, and the agricultural production sub-sectors of the Volta River Basin in West Africa. The objective of the model is to provide a learning tool for policy-makers to improve their understanding of the long-term dynamic behaviour of the basin, and as a decision support tool for exploring plausible policy scenarios necessary for sustainable water resource management and agricultural development. Structural and behavioural pattern tests, and statistical test were used to evaluate and validate the performance of the model. The results showed that the simulated outputs agreed well with the observed reality of the system. A sensitivity analysis also indicated that the model is reliable and robust to uncertainties in the major parameters. Results of the business as usual scenario showed that total population, agricultural, domestic, and industrial water demands will continue to increase over the simulated period. Besides business as usual, three additional policy scenarios were simulated to assess their impact on water demands, crop yield, and net-farm income. These were the development of the water infrastructure (scenario 1), cropland expansion (scenario 2) and dry conditions (scenario 3). The results showed that scenario 1 would provide the maximum benefit to people living in the basin. Overall, the model results could help inform planning and investment decisions within the basin to enhance food security, livelihoods development, socio-economic growth, and sustainable management of natural resources.

e18780 Background:In August 2019 Integra Connect (IC) partnered on a QI with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) to improve outcomes in patients with stage 3 and 4 NSCLC. This report details the findings and interventions in the unresectable stage 3 cohort of the QI. The addition of durvalumab (D) in the PACIFIC trial (Antonia et al. NEJM 2017) after completion of CRT in stage 3 patients who had not progressed showed significant Progression Free Survival and Overall Survival (OS) benefit with Food and Drug Administration approval on 2/16/2018 in this setting. An update (Gray et al. Thoracic Oncol 2020) on 10/14/2019 noted superior OS in patients in whom randomization to D occurred 1-14 days post CRT vs. those with interval 15-42 days (HR 0.43 vs. 0.79). Data suggest that CRT renders tumors more responsive to immunotherapy (McCall et al. Clin Can Res 2018). As part of the QI, we explored the question whether time from CRT to D (TTT) could be shortened. Methods:From the UPMC and IC real-world-data (RWD) databases, we identified 182 patients with Stage 3 unresectable NSCLC treated with CRT between 2/16/18 (D approval) and 11/16/20 for manual chart abstraction. We calculated the TTT from the latest day of radiation or chemotherapy to the first D dose. Time-to-scan (TTS) used a similar methodology. If post-CRT scan data was not found, those patients were excluded from TTS analysis. We captured caregiver perception with surveys and used RWD to determine the proportion of eligible patients treated with D, categorizing the data into 3 successive time periods: Phase 1 (240 days): 2/16/18 approval of D to Gray update 10/14/19, Phase 2 (321 days): 10/15/19 to physician leadership intervention 8/31/20, Phase 3 (76 days): 9/1/20 to 11/16/20. Patients were excluded in phase 3 who started CRT after 11/16/20 to allow for up to 2 months to start D. Our plan included baseline and ongoing monitoring of metrics complemented with physician leadership intervention to address identified gaps in care. Results: Median age of the 182 patients was 68 (range 46-87) with 60% male. Of eligible patients, 121 (66.5%) received at least 1 dose of D. Median TTS improved 16 days from Phase 1 to Phase 3 while TTT concomitantly improved 17 days (Table ). Conclusions: This QI resulted in simultaneous shortening of TTS and TTT following physician intervention with establishment of TTS as a key potential driver of TTT which ultimately may result in improved OS. To do so required overcoming the traditional paradigm of imaging 4-6 weeks post-CRT to capture maximal response with that of early imaging aimed at assuring no progression had occurred. This, as well as proportion treated with D and its resulting duration, plus any subsequent treatments that might indicate relapse, continue to be monitored in a real-time dashboard.[Table: see text]

Marine protected area (MPA) research continues to be dominated by biophysical interests. However, understanding social data, including people's values and preferences, is critical to both effective planning and management and long-term MPA success. Having these social data in a spatial form is essential, given that MPA planning and management increasingly uses marine spatial planning (MSP) approaches to carefully locate and mediate among potentially competing uses in both space and time. An online Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) survey was used to collect spatially explicit information on stakeholder values and management preferences for Australia's remote Kimberley region. The Kimberley coast and marine environment is characterised by a multiplicity of values and preferences. Key values included biological conservation, aesthetics, recreational fishing, Aboriginal culture and heritage, and nature based tourism. Management preferences were dominated by the desire to increase conservation/protection, exclude oil/gas development and commercial fishing, and to increase Aboriginal management. The diversity of values and preferences present suggests potential for conflict over management and permitted uses. Significant associations between value and preference distribution and the Kimberley's five marine protected areas were analysed. Accessibility and respondent familiarity appear linked to value attribution. More accessible MPAs were significantly associated with recreation values while more remote MPAs were characterised by a conservation ethos and general aversion to development. Our research demonstrates that PPGIS enables documentation of spatially explicit social data across large scales, highlighting potential synergies and conflicts in values and permitted uses, in a manner that can readily integrate with ecologically based marine spatial planning processes.

BackgroundCardiovascular disease (CVD) begins early in life and is associated with both the number of risk factors present and length of exposure to these risk factors including hyperlipidemia.ObjectivesThe clinical benefit of intensive lipid therapy over 25years was investigated in the Familial Atherosclerosis Treatment Study-Observational Study.MethodsOf 175 coronary artery disease subjects with mean low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) of 191mg/dL and mean age of 50years, who completed the randomized and placebo-controlled Familial Atherosclerosis Treatment Study, 100 chose receiving lipid management by their physicians (usual care [UC]) and 75 elected to receive an intensive treatment [IT] for lipid management with lovastatin (40mg/d), niacin (2.5g/d), and colestipol (20g/d) from 1989 to 2004, followed by double therapy with simvastatin (40-80mg/d) and niacin from 2005 to 2006 and by triple therapy of ezetimibe 10mg and simvastatin 40 to 80mg/d plus niacin during 2007 to 2012. Deaths from CVD, non-CVD, and any cause were compared between UC and IT using Cox proportional hazards model.ResultsUC and IT groups were similar in risk factors with the exception that IT had more severe coronary artery disease. Mean LDL-C levels were 167mg/dL from 1988 to 2004, 97 from 2005 to 2006, and 96 from 2007 to 2012 in surviving subjects receiving UC. IT lowered LDL-C to 119, 97, and 83 mg/dL in the 3 periods, respectively. Compared with UC, IT significantly reduced total mortality (11.1 vs 26.3 per 1000 person years [PY], hazard ratio [HR]=0.45, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26-0.77, P=.003) and CVD mortality (10.6 vs 27.7 per 1000 PY, HR=0.34, 95% CI: 0.15-0.80, P=.009). The non-CVD mortality was also reduced but was not of statistical significance (6.8 vs 12.7 per 1000 PY, HR=0.55, 95% CI: 0.27-1.14, P=.11).ConclusionsLong-term intensive lipid therapy significantly reduced total and cardiovascular mortality in Familial Atherosclerosis Treatment Study-Observational Study. These results support the importance of lifetime risk management to improve long-term outcome.

Environmental and natural resource management in Australia occurs at a regional scale with many initiatives underpinned by an ecosystem services framework that aims to integrate economic, social and ecological values in decision-making. This research examines potential influences on value integration by identifying stakeholder perspectives for coastal ecosystem services using mangroves in south-east Queensland as a case study. The study site is one of Australia's fastest growing regions and exhibits a “hotbed of issues” with institutional complexity in coastal areas where urban development is concentrated. Q-methodology was used to systematically study stakeholder perspectives on coastal ecosystem services and identify natural groupings between stakeholders with shared values. A total of 43 respondents representing nine stakeholder categories were interviewed. Factor analysis identified four perspectives that were labelled: (1) Green Infrastructure; (2) Recreational Opportunity and Well-being; (3) Sustaining Regional Industries and Communities; and (4) Coastal Living. The concept of ecosystem ‘bundles’ was conducive to analysing the range of services valued by different perspectives and highlighted stakeholder priorities that underpin demand for coastal ecosystem services. Stakeholder perspectives show potential to influence coastal policy according to the ecosystem service categories that are prioritised in decision-making and the saliency of the services to the stakeholder group. This research contributes to the field of coastal management where a lack of progress on “well-documented problems” partly stems from governance failure to capture and consider pluralistic values in decision-making and exacerbates conflict between contested views.

Stakeholders are presumed to represent different interests for marine and coastal areas with the potential to influence marine protected area planning and management. We implemented a public participation GIS (PPGIS) system in the remote Kimberley region of Australia to identify the spatial values and preferences for marine and coastal areas. We assessed similarities and differences in PPGIS participants (N = 578) using three operational definitions for "stakeholder" based on: (1) self-identified group, (2) self-identified future interests in the region, and (3) participant value orientation that reflects a preferred trade-off between environmental and economic outcomes. We found moderate levels of association between alternative stakeholder classifications that were logically related to general and place-specific participatory mapping behavior in the study region. We then analyzed how stakeholder classifications influence specific management preferences for proposed marine protected areas (MPAs) in the study region. Conservation-related values and preferences dominated the mapped results in all proposed marine reserves, the likely result of volunteer sampling bias by conservation stakeholder interests participating in the study. However, we suggest these results may also reflect the highly politicized process of marine conservation planning in the Kimberley where conservation efforts have recently emerged and galvanized to oppose a major offshore gas development and associated land-based infrastructure. Consistent with other participatory mapping studies, our results indicate that the chosen operational definition for stakeholder group such as group identity versus interests can influence participatory mapping outcomes, with implications for MPA designation and management. Future research is needed to better understand the strengths and limitations of participatory mapping that is framed in stakeholder perspectives, especially when sampling relies heavily on volunteer recruitment and participation methods that appear predisposed to participatory bias. In parallel, practical efforts to ensure that social research efforts such as this are included in MPA planning must remain of the highest priority for scientists and managers alike.

Spatially-explicit participatory planning is a relatively new approach for managing visitors to protected areas. In this study we used public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS) mapping and global positioning system (GPS) tracking to monitor mountain bikers frequenting national parks for tourism and recreation in Northern Sydney, Australia. PPGIS was implemented using both an internet application and with hardcopy maps in the field. Our research addressed two fundamental questions for park planning: (1) What is the spatial distribution of visitor activities and location-specific reasons for riding; and (2) What location-specific actions are needed to improve riding experiences? The spatial distributions of riding activities generated in PPGIS showed strong correlation with the GPS tracking results, with riding locations being related to the reasons for track selection. Riders proposed a broad range of management actions to improve riding experiences. PPGIS mapping provides a cost-effective approach to facilitate spatial decision making, allowing park agencies to prioritise future visitor management actions. We discuss the strengths and limitations of these research methods.