Global analysis of the slope of forest land

Forests of the world constitute one-third of the total land area and are critical for e.g. carbon balance, biodiversity, water supply and as source for bio-based products. Although the terrain within forest land has a great impact on accessibility, there is a lack of knowledge about the distribution of its variation in slope. The aim was to address that knowledge gap and create a globally consistent dataset of the distribution and area of forest land within different slope classes. A Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis was performed using the open-source QGIS, GDAL and R software. The core of the analysis was a digital elevation model and a forest cover mask, both with a final resolution of 90 m. The total forest area according to the forest mask was 4.15 billion hectares whereof 82 per cent was on slope < 15°. The remaining 18 per cent was distributed over the following slope classes, with 6 per cent on a 15–20° slope, 8 per cent on a 20–30° slope and 4 per cent on a slope > 30°. Out of the major forestry countries, China had the largest proportion of forest steeper than 15° followed by Chile and India. A sensitivity analysis with 20 m resolution resulted in increased steep areas by 1 per cent point in flat Sweden and by 11 per cent points in steep Austria. In addition to country-specific and aggregated results of slope distribution and forest area, a global raster dataset is also made freely available to cover user-specific areas that are not necessarily demarcated by country borders. Apart from predicting the regional possibilities for different harvesting equipment, which was the original idea behind this study, the results can be used to relate geographical forest variables to slope. The results could also be used in strategic forest fire fighting and large-scale planning of forest conservation and management.

Solid-Organ Transplantation and the Affordable Care Act: Accessibility and Outcomes

The objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on accessibility to solid organ transplant and outcomes. Data source registry: United Network of Organ Sharing database. Patients aged ≥18 years listed for kidney, liver, heart, and lung transplant between years 2010 and 2016 were classified by insurance and status of Medicaid adoption under ACA to evaluate insurance distribution. Between 2010 and 2016, states that adopted Medicaid had 2 to 4 per cent point increase in the proportion of patients listed with Medicaid across all organs. One-year waiting list survival of Medicaid patients was better in the ACA era. States that expanded Medicaid under the ACA had a significant increase in the proportion of patients listed with Medicaid and better one-year waiting list survival.

Employability outcomes for university joint honours graduates

PurposeIn the UK, the vast majority of university students specialise and study just one subject at bachelor degree level, commonly known in the UK as a single honours degree. However, nearly all British universities will permit students if they wish to study two or even three subjects, so-called joint or combined honours degrees, internationally known as a double major. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the study of a joint rather than a single honours degree had an impact on employment outcomes six months after graduation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analysed the complete data set provided from the Higher Education Statistics Agency Destination of Leavers from the Higher Education survey. The data were analysed to establish whether there was a difference in the highly skilled graduate employability of the joint honours students. The authors established whether there were any differences inherent in completing a joint honours degree in a post-1992 higher education institution, by nation within the UK or within a Russell Group higher education institution.FindingsThe authors found an approximately consistent 3 per cent point negative gap nationally in the highly skilled employment rates of joint compared with single honours graduates. This gap was at its lowest in the highly selective Russell Group universities (−1.52 per cent points) and highest in post-1992, vocationally oriented universities (−7.13 per cent points) and in Northern Ireland universities (−12.45 per cent points). Joint honours graduates of Scottish universities fared well, with a +3.09 per cent point advantage over the national average for joint honours. The authors found that universities that had a higher proportion of joint honours graduates generally had a lower employability gap between their joint and single honours graduates.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focussed on joint honours degrees in the UK where the two or three principal subjects fall into different JACS subject areas, i.e. the two or three subjects are necessarily diverse rather than academically cognate. Future work will consider the class of joint honours degrees where the principal subjects lie within the same JACS subject area, i.e. they may be closer academically, although still taught by different academic teams. This grouping will include, for example, pairs of foreign languages, some social sciences pairings such as politics and sociology, and pairings such as history and theology from the historical and philosophical subject area.Originality/valueThe potential disbenefits of studying for a joint honours degree are apparent in this study. Joint honours students may face organisational, academic and cultural challenges that require a positive, conscious and sustained effort to overcome, on both the part of the student and the higher education institution. In particular for graduates of the post-1992 universities, it appears that there is a negative relative impact on highly skilled employment. This impact is lessened if the university is Scottish (four-year degrees with in-built breadth of study) or where the proportion completing joint honours degrees is relatively high.

A STUDY OF YIELD AND PROTEIN RESPONSE OF MALTING BARLEY VARIETIES TO DIFFERENT FERTILIZERS

A study was initiated in 1952 to determine the effect of various fertilizers on yield, protein percentage and saccharifying activity of three varieties of malting barley. The varieties Montcalm, O.A.C. 21 and Olli were used throughout a 6-year testing period from 1952 to 1957. During the first 4 years of experimentation, fertilizer treatments included 20 and 40 lb./acre of 11–48–0, 72 and 96 lb./acre o f 16–20–0, and 60 lb./acre of ammonium nitrate. During the last 2 years of testing, the rates of fertilizer application consisted of 40, 60, 80 and 100 lb./acre of 11–48–0 and 96, 120 and 144 lb./acre of 16–20–0.The combined analysis of variance for yield for each of the two periods (1952–55 and 1956–57) showed fertilizer effects to be significant to the 1 per cent point. A significant "variety × fertilizer" interaction was found to occur for each period and was attributable to the differential response of the three varieties particularly at the high levels of fertilizer application.In 3 of the 5 years in which quality analyses were conducted, crude protein percentage and saccharifying activity of fertilized Montcalm and O.A.C. 21 were increased in comparison with control (unfertilized) material. In contrast, the protein percentage of Olli was not influenced by fertilizer treatment in any year.Varietal fluctuations in saccharifying activity values, either between years or between treatments, paralleled those for protein.From the practical viewpoint, it is doubtful whether the actual magnitude of protein increases, as found in the present study, was sufficient to consider fertilization as detrimental to malting quality.