Privately protected areas increase global protected area coverage and connectivity.

Privately protected areas (PPAs) are increasing in number and extent. Yet, we know little about their contribution to conservation and how this compares to other forms of protected area (PA). We address this gap by assessing the contribution of 17,561 PPAs to the coverage, complementarity and connectivity of existing PA networks in 15 countries across 5 continents. We find that PPAs (1) are three times more likely to be in biomes with <10% of their area protected than are other PA governance types and twice as likely to be in areas with the greatest human disturbance; (2) that they protect a further 1.2% of key biodiversity areas; (3) that they account for 3.4% of land under protection; and (4) that they increase PA network connectivity by 7.05%. Our results demonstrate the unique and significant contributions that PPAs can make to the conservation estate and that PPAs deserve more attention, recognition and resources for better design and implementation.

Conservation and social outcomes of private protected areas.

Government administered protected areas (PAs) have dominated conservation strategies, discourse, and research, yet private actors are increasingly managing land for conservation. Little is known about the social and environmental outcomes of these privately protected areas (PPAs). We searched the global literature in English on PPAs and their environmental and social outcomes and identified 412 articles suitable for inclusion. Research on PPAs was geographically skewed; more studies occurred in the United States. Environmental outcomes of PPAs were mostly positive (89%), but social outcomes of PPAs were reported less (12% of all studies), and these outcomes were more mixed (65% positive). Private protected areas increased the number or extent of ecosystems, ecoregions, or species covered by PAs (representativeness) and PA network connectivity and effectively reduced deforestation and restored degraded lands. Few PPA owners reported negative social outcomes, experienced improved social capital, increased property value, or a reduction in taxes. Local communities benefited from increased employment, training, and community-wide development (e.g., building of schools), but they reported reduced social capital and no significant difference to household income. The causal mechanisms through which PPAs influence social and environmental outcomes remain unclear, as does how political, economic, and social contexts shape these mechanisms. Future research should widen the geographical scope and diversify the types of PPAs studied and focus on determining the casual mechanisms through which PPA outcomes occur in different contexts. We propose an assessment framework that could be adopted to facilitate this process.

Conservación y Consecuencias Sociales de las Áreas Protegidas Privadas Resumen Las áreas protegidas administradas por el gobierno (APs) han dominado las estrategias, el discurso y las investigaciones de la conservación a pesar de que los actores privados cada vez están administrando más tierras para la conservación. Se conoce muy poco sobre las consecuencias ambientales y sociales de estas áreas protegidas privadamente (APPs). Realizamos una búsqueda en la literatura en inglés sobre las APPs y sus consecuencias ambientales y sociales e identificamos 412 artículos apropiados para la inclusión. La investigación sobre las APPs presentó un sesgo geográfico pues la mayoría de los estudios se realizaron dentro de los Estados Unidos. Las consecuencias ambientales de las APPs fueron principalmente positivas (89%); mientras que las consecuencias sociales estuvieron menos reportadas (12% de todos los estudios) y estas resultaron generalmente mixtas (65% positivas). Las áreas protegidas privadas incrementaron el número o la extensión de los ecosistemas, las ecoregiones o las especies cubiertas por las APs (representatividad) así como la conectividad entre redes de AP y redujeron efectivamente la deforestación y restauraron los suelos degradados. Fueron pocos los dueños de una APP que reportaron consecuencias sociales negativas, experimentaron un incremento en el capital social, aumentaron el valor de su propiedad o redujeron sus impuestos. Las comunidades locales se beneficiaron con el incremento en los empleos, el entrenamiento y el desarrollo a nivel comunitario (p. ej.: la construcción de escuelas), aunque también reportaron una reducción en el capital social y ninguna diferencia importante en el ingreso doméstico. Los mecanismos causales mediante los cuales las APPs influyen sobre las consecuencias sociales y ambientales todavía no están claros, así como la manera en la que el contexto político, económico o social moldea estos mecanismos. Las siguientes investigaciones deberían ampliar el enfoque geográfico y diversificar los tipos de APPs estudiados, así como enfocarse en determinar los mecanismos causales mediante los cuales las consecuencias de las APPs ocurren en diferentes contextos. Proponemos un marco de trabajo de análisis que podría adoptarse para facilitar este proceso.

An MRI study of solute transport in the intervertebral disc.

OBJECTIVE: Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging was used to determine partition coefficients and characteristic time constants for diffusion of MRI contrast agents in disc tissue. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-two excised equine intervertebral discs were exposed to a range of contrast agents: six to manganese chloride, eight to Magnevist (gadopentetate dimeglumine) and eight to Gadovist (gadobutrol), and uptake into the disc was quantified in T1-weighted images. RESULTS: Diffusion for all contrast agents was approximately 25% faster in the nucleus than in the outer annulus; disc-average time constants ranged from (2.28 ± 0.23) × 104 s for Gadovist (uncharged, molecular mass 605 g/mol) to (5.07 ± 0.75) × 104 s for the manganese cation (charge + 2). Disc-average partition coefficients ranged from 0.77 ± 0.04 for the anion in Magnevist (charge - 2, molecular mass 548 g/mol) to 5.14 ± 0.43 for the manganese cation. CONCLUSION: The MRI technique provides high-quality quantitative data which correspond well to theoretical predictions, allowing values for partition coefficient and time constant to be readily determined. These measurements provide information to underpin similar studies in vivo and may be used as a model for the transport of nutrients and pharmaceutical agents in the disc.

Increased radiation dose and projected radiation-related lifetime cancer risk in patients with obesity due to projection radiography.

PURPOSE: Primarily to evaluate the radiation dose delivered to patients with obesity in projection radiography and its relationship to the patient's size. A secondary purpose is to estimate the subsequent projected radiation-related lifetime cancer risk to patients with obesity compared to normal-weight patients. METHOD AND MATERIAL: Data from 1964 patients from a bariatric clinic in the UK were reviewed with the relevant permission. 630 patients were identified to have a projection radiography history and were included in the study. Patients' dose area product (DAP) data were collected for all projection radiography. Multiple exams in one day including a single DAP reading and exams with no records of DAP and exposure factors were excluded. Correlations were calculated and data analysed to yield the third quartile for each examination using STATA 14. Absorbed doses were generated from PCXMC simulation, utilising DAP data from this study and the UK national diagnostic reference level (NDRL), to calculate the effective risk for patients with obesity compared to patients with normal-weight. RESULTS: Patients with obesity received higher DAPs for all examinations included in this study compared to NDRL. Abdominal and lumbar spine radiographs DAPs were the highest (17.6 and 30.31 Gy cm2) compared to the NDRL (2.5 and 4 Gy cm2). Only moderate to low correlations were found between patient's size and DAPs in the abdomen and chest radiographs. The projected radiation-related lifetime cancer risk for patients with obesity is up to 153% higher than for adult patients with normal weight. CONCLUSION: Patients with obesity receive higher DAPs than normal-weight adults which may be in excess of that expected due to their size. Therefore, radiation-related lifetime cancer risk is increased in patients with obesity as a result of medical radiation exposures. This indicates more dose optimisation research is needed in this group of patients to reduce dose rate and variation.