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The current land use planning discourse in Switzerland highlights the need for urban redensification and the limitation of sprawl. However, little is known of the population's residential choice and preference related to urban or rural surroundings and how sub- and peri-urban residential environments are judged. We therefore analyse preferred and perceived residence, focusing on the urban-rural dimension and related urban-rural residential preference to landscape features, amenities, and the availability of public services in the immediate living environment, controlling for socio-economic, lifestyle, and life stage characteristics. The analyses of a 2014 representative online survey (N = 1208) show that a majority of the population prefers living in “rural villages”, even though, from a more functional point of view, most of the places in which these people live could be considered suburbs at the fringes of metropolitan regions. “Suburbs”, however, are among the least preferred residential environments. Moreover, an additional expert survey (N = 53) reveals a discrepancy between planning professionals and the population: experts in the fields of urban planning, nature conservancy, and monument preservation show a higher urban preference. The findings of our analyses are discussed in light of the literature on landscape and residential preferences and lead to conclusions regarding spatial planning practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In many forests of the Alps, permanent forest cover and, therefore, its continuous renewal is the main silvicultural goal. Regenerating these forests must be based on a sound understanding of the ecology of the tree species in question. The regeneration of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) in the upper montane zone of the southern central Alps has so far received little attention. The aim of this study was, therefore, to characterize the ecological niche for the establishment and growth of silver fir and Norway spruce seedlings in this zone. The study was conducted as a case study on a plot of 1.5ha in the upper montane zone of southern Switzerland, at an altitude of 1380m. The basal area of the mixed Norway spruce–silver fir stand was 43.7m2 ha−1. Seedlings were censused on 375 plots of 1.0m2 area. Seedling density was 1.30±4.25m−2 (mean±standard deviation) for Norway spruce and 0.87±1.50m−2 for silver fir. Logistic regression models were used to test the effect of microsite characteristics on seedling occurrence, and general linear models for effects on seedling height growth and biomass increment. Most seedlings received less than 10% light (photosynthetic photon flux density) as compared to values in the open. Silver fir occurrence was positively related to microsites at the edge of canopy trees, but unrelated to ground cover type, light and micro-relief. Norway spruce occurrence was only, and positively, related to the presence of mosses. Height growth and biomass increment of seedlings of both species were only loosely correlated with microsite conditions. Seedlings without canopy cover grew faster than those under canopy cover, probably as a result of light and moisture limitations under the canopy of adult trees. Diffuse radiation was positively correlated with average annual biomass increment of silver fir, but not of Norway spruce seedlings. In general, the results suggest that silver fir seedlings have less specific microsite requirements than Norway spruce seedlings in terms of ground cover. They are also more shade tolerant, and therefore, grow faster than Norway spruce in low-light environments of the upper montane zone of the southern Alps. While the microsite concept can be helpful in designing silvicultural operations, it has limitations when only patch characteristics that are easy to assess are used, and others neglected. Finally, our study suggests that counting the number of green shoots is a promising method to quickly and non-destructively estimate the biomass of a great number of small seedlings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Long-term trends of the incidence and outcome of cardiogenic shock (CS) patients are scarce. We analyze for the first time trends in the incidence and outcome of CS during a 20-year period in Switzerland. Methods and Results: The AMIS (Acute Myocardial Infarction in Switzerland) Plus Registry enrolls patients with acute myocardial infarction from 83 hospitals in Switzerland. We analyzed trends in the incidence, treatment, and in-hospital mortality of patients with CS enrolled between 1997 and 2017. The impact of revascularization strategy on outcome was assessed for the time period 2005 to 2017. Among 52 808 patients enrolled, 963 patients were excluded because of missing data and 51 842 (98%) patients remained for the purpose of the present analysis. Overall, 4090 patients (7.9%) with a mean age of 69.6±12.5 years experienced acute myocardial infarction complicated by CS. Overall, rates of CS declined from 8.7% to 7.3% between 1997 and 2017 (P for trend, <0.001; 1997–2006 versus 2007–2017). We observed a decrease in CS developing during hospitalization from 7.8% to 3.5% in the period 1997 to 2006 compared with 2007 to 2017 (P for trend, <0.001), which was partially offset by an increase in CS on admission between 2006 and 2017 (2.5% [1997–2006] to 4.6% [2007–2017]; P for trend, <0.001). In-hospital mortality declined from 62.2% in 1997 to 36.3% in 2017 (P <0.001 for temporal trend). Percutaneous coronary intervention was the strongest independent predictor for survival (odds ratio, 0.36; CI, 0.28–045; P <0.001). Among patients with acute myocardial infarction and multivessel disease, multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention was associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.59–2.21) and was an independent predictor for the development of CS during hospitalization (odds ratio, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.62–2.30). Conclusions: Rates of CS declined between 1997 and 2017 driven by a reduction of CS developing during hospitalization. In-hospital mortality from CS declined from 62.8% (1997) to <40% (2017). Multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention was associated with an increased risk of mortality and the development of CS during hospitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]