Intact

Connecting in vitro and in vivo studies of the mammalian brain.

The subject of the investigation is the mechanism of autoregulation of blood flow in the intact kidney. The left kidney of the anesthetized dog was exposed via a flank approach. Renal venous outflow was measured during control periods and following separate elevations of renal artery pressure, renal vein pressure, and ureteral pressure. Extravascular pressure (tissue pressure) was estimated by obtaining values of (a) deep vein pressure; (b) needle pressure; (c) and (d) large vein pressure and ureteral pressure elevations resulting in significant decreases in renal blood flow. Results are in agreement with previously reported studies regarding the important role of extravascular pressure in autoregulation. Increases in renal artery pressure result in elevations of extravascular pressure which compress the renal vasculature. Increases in renal vein and ureteral pressures did not decrease renal blood flow until approximating or exceeding resting tissue pressure. Results from carotid artery occlusion experiments indicate that extrarenal humoral influences may be superimposed on the autoregulatory phenomenon. (Author).

"In her 2006 memoir Strange Son, Portia Iversen coined the phrase "intact mind" to describe the typical cognitive abilities she believed were buried within even the most seemingly impaired autistic individuals, like her son Dov - who, at nine years old, was completely nonverbal and spent much of his time "chewing on blocks and tapping stones." Although he didn't know the alphabet, colors, or numbers; although he "could hardly point or nod his head to show what he meant"; although doctors had diagnosed Dov as "retarded" and told Iversen she "shouldn't wreck [her] marriage and destroy [her] other children's lives for his sake, when doing so was utterly and completely useless" - although all these things were true about her son, Iversen still imagined him "falling down a deep well, believed to be dead. And then years later, a light shone down that dark shaft and I could see him there, somehow still alive" (emphasis in original)"--

Biodiversity loss is accelerating at an unprecedented rate across the planet putting a great number of species on the brink of extinction. A decline in the plants, animals, and microorganisms threatens food security, sustainable development, and the supply of vital ecosystem services. In order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, there is an urgent need to take action to halt biodiversity loss and consequently ecosystem degradation. Since the introduction of the Aichi targets, released by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2010, the United Nations have been empowered with greater influence on decision-making impacting biodiversity. However, there was an urgent need for an easy-to-use tool to rapidly, yet effectively assess the impact on biodiversity posed by projects, programmes, and policies. As a timely response, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has developed the Biodiversity Integrated Assessment and Computation Tool (B-INTACT). B-INTACT extends the scope of environmental assessments to capture biodiversity concerns, which are not accounted for in conventional carbon pricing. The tool is designed for users ranging from national investment banks, international financial institutions and policy decision-makers, and allows for a thorough biodiversity assessment of project-level activities in the Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use (AFOLU) sector. The second version of the guidelines includes additional information on how to use B-INTACT together with FAO's Earthmap platform and the Ecosystem Service Valuation Database.

The forests of Fennoscandia have been in human use for many purposes for centuries, and through the last decades industrialized and cultivated in a manner that can change their ecological function with respect to biodiversity at species and ecosystem levels. In Northwest Russia we can still find large, indigenous forests where human impact is low. They represent the last intact western taiga ecosystems of high value for biodiversity preservation in Russia and Fennoscandia as reservoirs and source habitats for future dispersal of taiga species. The Conference and Workshop in Steinkjer 2007 focused on these matters, but also the ecological importance of these forests for rural culture, socio-economic importance, industrial values and how protection and sustainable societies could go hand in hand. Many of the presentations given at the conference and workshop are here presented together with the Summary and Closing Statement worked out at the end of the sessions. The presentations cover many aspects from ecology, history and culture, conservation and management strategies, inventory tools for defining habitats of specific value to biodiversity, as well as implementation of environmental issues into the forestry laws and certification and educational tools for developing sustainable societies in a broad scale.