Tätortsnära naturreservat med vandringsleder och stigar bidrar till mycket mänsklig aktivitet. Denna aktivitet kan mynna ut i skogsbränder och naturvårdsbränningar som påverkar mark, träd och annan vegetation och bidrar tillhögre naturvärden och gynnar de få arter som är beroende av brand. Syftet med studien var att inventera brandfält i naturreservat som uppkommit spontant eller av antropogena aktiviteter. Studien innefattade att utvärdera hur träden reagerat på brand och om branden lett till en förändrad biologisk mångfald.Tolv talldominerade brandfält i fyra naturreservat inventerades. Ett brandfält är efter en kontrollerad naturvårdsbränning medan orsaken till de andra är okända. Resultaten visar på lågt antal skadade och stående döda träd samt en låg andel föryngring i flera brandfält. Dessa bränder påverkar biodiversiteten genom att de har gett en förändrad struktur och livsmiljö i jämförelse med obrända miljöer.

The main goal of this Diploma thesis is to describe an approach for modeling run-off triangles of nonlife insurance (calculation of IBNR reserve) based on state space models and apply the method to the selected run-off triangles. In difference from (Atherino a kol., 2010) the KFAS package in R software is used for modeling purposes in the numerical study at the end of the thesis. One provides a preview of various possibilities of data and model adjustment applied to the same run-off triangles in order to asses added value of these steps (logartihmic transformation of input data, interventions for outliers etc.). A special attention is devoted to lognormal modification of the basic state space model. An integral part of the numerical study in the thesis is a residual diagnostic of models and simulation approach to IBNR reserves. 1

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Aims: Noninvasive fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurement with computed tomography (FFRCT) is a newly described method for assessing functional significance of coronary disease. The objective of this metaanalysis is to determine the diagnostic performance of FFRCTin the assessment of hemodynamically significant coronary artery stenosis. Methods: PubMed and the Cochrane Center Register of Controlled Trials were searched from January 2000 through February 2015. Six original studies were found comparing FFRCTto invasive FFR in evaluating hemodynamic significance of coronary lesions (1354 vessels; 812 patients). Lesions were considered hemodynamically significant if invasive FFR was 0.80 or less. FFRCTused the same cutoff as invasive FFR to be considered as a positive test. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and diagnostic odds ratio were calculated. Results: One-third of the lesions (n=443) were hemodynamically significant. The pooled per-vessel analysis showed that the sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive likelihood ratios, and diagnostic odds ratio of FFRCTto diagnose hemodynamically significant coronary disease were 0.84 [95% confidence interval (CI):0.80-0.87], 0.76 (95% CI: 0.73-0.79), 0.22 (95% CI: 0.17-0.29), 3.48 (95% CI: 2.21-5.47), and 16.82 (95% CI: 8.20-34.49), respectively. Conclusion: The results of this meta-analysis demonstrate that FFRCTresults correlate closely with invasive coronary angiography and FFR measurement. It is a feasible noninvasive method to assess hemodynamic significance of coronary lesions in patients with stable coronary artery disease.

The objective of this study is to determine the diagnostic performance of computed tomography perfusion (CTP) with and without computed tomography angiography (CTA) in assessment of hemodynamically significant coronary artery lesions in comparison to invasive fractional flow reserve (FFR). Materials and Methods PubMed and Cochrane Center Register of Controlled Trials from January 2010 searched through December 2014. Nine original studies were selected evaluating the diagnostic performance of CTP with and without CTA to invasive coronary angiography in evaluation of hemodynamic significance of coronary lesions (n = 951). Results The sensitivity, specificity, LR+ and LR- and DOR of CTA+CTP were 0.85 [95% confidence interval (CI: 0.79-0.89)] 0.94 (CI: 0.91-0.97), 15.8 (CI: 7.99-31.39), 0.146 (CI: 0.08-0.26), and 147.2 (CI: 69.77-310.66). Summary Receiver Operating Characteristics (SROC) results showed area under the curve (AUC) of 0.97 indicating that CTA+CTP may detect hemodynamically significant coronary artery lesions with high accuracy. The sensitivity, specificity, LR+ and LR- and DOR of CTP were 0.83 (CI: 0.78-0.87), 0.84 (CI: 0.80-0.87) 5.26 (CI: 2.93-9.43), 0.209 (CI: 0.12-0.36), and 31.97 (CI: 11.59-88.20). Conclusions This result suggests that CTP with CTA significantly improves diagnostic performance of coronary artery lesions compared to CTA alone and closely comparable with invasive FFR.

My dissertation within monetary macroeconomics focuses on uncovering the impact of micro level heterogeneity in household wealth portfolios and firm size on aggregate macroeconomic variables. Using household- and firm-level datasets, I study these outcomes in the context of exploring the effects of monetary policy shocks. Most macroeconomic models use a representative agent framework to study the effects of monetary policy. In such models all consumers are assumed to be similar, therefore, it is only required to know the size of the monetary policy shock and its average impact to estimate the overall effect. But recent literature has emphasized the importance of agent heterogeneity for explaining observed aggregate dynamics and optimal policy design. Here, it matters which consumers get the extra income as people react differently to the shock. In a model with a realistically calibrated household balance sheet, monetary policy has redistribution effects because different agents have differential exposure to the interest rate and inflation risk born in their portfolios. For example, short-term or nominal borrowers will win from a sudden decrease in the interest rate and a sudden increase in inflation, while short-term lenders or nominal lenders will lose. In the first chapter of the dissertation, co authored with Anastasia Burya, we study the effect of heterogeneity in consumers' portfolios on the unemployment response to monetary policy. We develop a search efforts model with heterogeneous agents and then decompose the effect of the monetary policy shock on aggregate unemployment. The direction and the magnitude of the wealth effect will determine whether people search for jobs more actively after a monetary contraction. For example, if unemployed consumers are indebted, they experience a negative wealth effect after a contraction, search for jobs more actively and increase their probability of finding a job, therefore, reducing unemployment. In this framework, the sign of the overall effect of monetary policy on unemployment will depend on whether unemployed consumers are indebted and the magnitude of their debt. We test the prediction of the model in both micro and aggregate data. To test the prediction of the model in the micro data using the PSID panel dataset, we estimate the coefficient of the interaction term between various mortgage measures and Romer \& Romer monetary policy shocks while looking at five main transition probabilities that indicate a higher increase in search efforts for indebted people after a monetary contraction: dynamic transition probability of moving from non employment to employment, moving from non participation in the labor force to employment, remaining a non participant in the labor force, remaining unemployed and taking up an extra job. In the aggregate data, we use a similar estimation approach with debt to income ratio. We also subject this to a variety of checks using age and Saiz instruments for increased robustness. In the second chapter of the dissertation, co-authored with Anastasia Burya and Martsella Davitaya, we show that inflation expectations are anchored. If inflation expectations are anchored, then their sensitivity to monetary policy should be smaller than if they are de-anchored. When the Fed pursues inflation targeting, the market expectations of Fed's reaction should affect the response to current monetary policy shocks. We use daily bond yield data to show that the sensitivity of inflation expectations to monetary policy is lower if the Fed is more responsive to inflation during the previous CPI release. Intuitively, the Fed announcement leading to a rate change that is higher than expected from the CPI release indicates that the markets expect the Fed to react more aggressively in the future. Therefore, markets do not adjust inflation expectations as much (leading to anchored inflation expectations). The empirical strategy consists of two steps. First, we measure market expectations about the Fed's reaction to inflation by regressing the changes of different interest rates around the CPI release dates on the surprise change in CPI. Second, we estimate the sensitivity of inflation expectations' response to monetary policy based on the expectations about the Fed's reaction to inflation. Product markets are characterized by the significant heterogeneity of demand elasticity between large and small firms. In many cases, the ability of larger firms to dictate prices is such that they are able to charge higher markups. In the third chapter, co-authored with Anastasia Burya, we develop a simple model of firms with heterogeneous market power. We connect the recent trend of increasing market power to the flattening of the Phillips Curve through the decreasing aggregate pass-through. We explore the sufficient statistic arising from this model and then proceed to estimate it in the data. Here, we consider heterogeneity in demand elasticity and superelasticity. In the recent literature as well, papers such as Baqaee, Farhi and Sangani (2021) and Wang and Werning (2020) have brought to attention that certain parameters of demand are important for various macroeconomic dynamics such as the flattening of the Phillips Curve. It was also shown that the degree of these effects depends on the demand parameters, such as elasticity and superelasticity. We estimate these parameters in a novel format using an empirical procedure called Granular IV, which was first described in Gabaix and Koijen (2020) and makes use of the fact that in reality, unlike baseline macroeconomic models, some firms are big enough to impact the aggregates. For this estimation, we use firm-level price data from ACNielsen Retail Scanner database. Employing the novel empirical approach we estimate these relevant demand parameters. We estimate a demand elasticity of 3.23, in line with the literature. Our estimate for super elasticity is 3.74 which is in line with Marshall's second law of demand and for constant superelasticity parametrisation would signify the curvature of the demand curve between that of CES and linear demand.

Widespread extinction is a critical threat to biodiversity and is largely caused by human overexploitation of habitat and populations. A widely used and hence well studied organism group for indication of biodiversity is birds. In Europe especially, farmland specialists have suffered from intensified agricultural practices such as increase of monoculture, use of pesticides, and heavy machinery. This has been shown to be partly caused by an EU legislation called the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). A specific type of farmland, termed High Nature Value (HNV) farmland, seems to be particularly advantageous for farmland specialist birds and makes up an important conservation target. The current study was done in the Natura2000 reserve Târnava Mare, Romania, to find out which habitat types play an essential role for occurrence of farmland species. Farmlands in Târnava Mare are highly diverse in structure, characterizing a mosaic of grassland, meadows and fields, and low-intensity farming practices. With bird point count survey data from 2015 to 2019, I evaluated the effect of different habitat types on five species listed in the Farmland Bird Indicator (FBI) and as farmland specialists: red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio), yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella), Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis), Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus), and common whitethroat (Sylvia communis). I compared habitat proportion in presence and absence of the species for 2019’s data with Mann-Whitney tests. They all showed significant results for meadow proportion. All species except the common whitethroat showed significant results for crop proportion, while only two species (red-backed shrike and yellowhammer) showed significant results for scrub. Independent of which habitat type was tested (meadow, crop or scrub), all species with significant result – except for Eurasian skylark with a negative relationship in crop habitat - showed a positive response to a higher proportion of the tested habitat. The same species except Eurasian tree sparrow were modelled with the generalized N-mixture model of Dail and Madsen (2011) to evaluate what is influencing abundance, recruitment rates, survival probabilities and detectability over five years. The day of the season affected the detectability of almost all species. The effect of habitat on recruitment rate and survival probability, however, could only be shown for yellowhammer. For the latter, proportion of meadow affected recruitment and proportion of reed affected survival. In conclusion, the presence of species seems to be generally higher in habitats associated with low-intensity farming on the single season scale. Over time, however, a significant effect on population dynamic parameters for the same species could not be shown for most species. This could be a result of insufficient data for each year, too few years of data, or that the tested habitat types are not affecting these parameters over time.

The nonparticipation of U.S. Army Reserve soldiers throughout the Army Reserve Command is a critical problem for it results in millions of dollars in lost revenue. Retaining nonparticipant soldiers is a strategic, operational, and tactical priority for Army Reserve leadership. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to determine key themes concerning the potential root causes of nonparticipation in the Army Reserve. Using Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory, research was conducted to analyze the themes that contributed to nonparticipation, particularly lack of attendance at monthly battle assembly and extended combat training. Data were collected from telephone interviews that were conducted with 20 participants and then transcribed and analyzed using auto coding and query-based coding features. Ten themes emerged from analysis of responses to the 14 interview questions. A key result was that the participants believed that family, work, and school conflicts were barriers for soldiers not attending battle assembly or extended combat training. Further exploration of the participants' experiences and perceptions resulted in the finding that communication was not effective between the leadership, staff, and first-line leaders and nonparticipant soldiers. Six participants agreed and 11 participants strongly agreed that new policy should be written to retain and recover nonparticipant soldiers. Study findings may enlighten the chain of command in the U.S. Army Reserve about the barriers leading to nonparticipation among soldiers and about how they may improve the participation rate. Such changes may foster more teamwork while contributing to productivity in the organization and safeguarding millions of dollars withheld from Army Reserve accounts.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Science, School of Botany, 1991 / The vegetation of the Nylsvley Nature Reserve situated in the Northern Transvaal, South Africa. is a semi·arid savanna dominated by Burkea qfricana and Eragrostis paUensf interspersed with patches of Acacia s_pp.and E, ie/t(lnumni(.ma. The Butkea savanna is established on soil which is naturally low in phosphorus while the A,,;acia savanna is established on soU with higber phosphorus levels. Spnres of vesictdar~arbusculat mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi Were extracted from soil samples by wet 8i:¢ving and sucrose ("mttifugation after which they.· were enumerated .and identified. Thirteen VAM species were isolated from the savanna regions. The population was composed of three Gloltlus spp .• four .4cQulosp()ra spp., one .Gigaspora sp., three Scutel!ispora spp. and tWQ species of uncertain identity. Root samples were cleated. and stained with acidic glycerol·tcypan blue and assessed for mycoufMal colonization. Significant positive correlations were indicated. between spore densities ar.d mycorrhizal root infection. The total 81)01:'e popUlation was negntively correlated wiUlavailuble P, organic C, K. Ca. Mg, and pH. ~'tldividual specles differed markedly from the population as a whole in their bltemctions with.,soil facrots, these wem. examined using linear regressions. The VA;M root colonization as assessed b)! the mycorrhizal % WassigIlfijcant!y negativr1v: (forrelated with P white. the frequency % was. negatively correlated. Wilh P and K. .The inter-relatidhs!;tips 'between the d.ifferentVA1\i ,species and enviro~~eiita1 factors were further explored using prinCipal com'ponent ana,lyt;ls. the population structure and the factors affecting the population ate discussed. ..bltemctions with.,soil facrots, these wem. examined using linear regressions. The VA;M root colonization as assessed b)! the mycorrhizal % WassigIlfijcant!y negativr1v: (forrelated with P white. the frequency % was. negatively correlated. Wilh P and K. .The inter-relatidhs!;tips 'between the d.ifferentVA1\i ,species and enviro~~eiita1 factors were further explored using prinCipal com'ponent ana,lyt;ls. the population structure and the factors affecting the population ate discussed. / MN (2017)

To keep in mind while reading and focus of the thesis: -       Sustainable tourism, what is it and who is it for?  -       How can the tourist industry affect cultures?  -       Why do some hosting population fear culture losses but happily receive tourists?  -       Why do people choose to travel?  -       What and how can I as an individual contribute?    The numbers of international tourists are steadily increasing along globalization, which makes it an important phenomenon to highlight. The tourist industry contributes to global development, which would preferably be done through sustainability’s three pillars: economically, socially, and environmentally. Sustainable development and eco-tourism are the main fields for this research. Based on the wish to avoid disturbing peace and harming people, the topic is relevant to investigate. The field study aims to explore and understand the correlations between the development of the tourist industry and the Maasai communities.    Different stakeholders were defined within the tourist industry, to collect various perspectives on this matter through semi-structured interviews and field observations. I choose to investigate the topic by focusing on the world known ethnic group Maasai´s. By centering the conditions of a village based in Siana conservancy, which is located next to Maasai Mara in Kenya. The village consists of habitats who practice traditional and culture settlements. Thus, the interest of the study is to explore and explain why Maasai cannot be viewed as an homogenic ethnic group, with the aim to reduce assumptions.    Social Exchange Theory (SET) was applied as a lens to analyze the findings. To discuss possible reasonings when calculating expected outcomes made by the stakeholders, whether to socially interact based on the key principles in the theory: evaluating profits versus costs before socially engaging.    The findings identify complications with the social exchange that the tourist industry implies. However, the Maasai´s culture based on livestock came to be a central topic from the stakeholder’s perspectives while I was processing and writing the findings. Furthermore, other topics that were highlighted were: education, equity, and education. Lastly, the village members shared a significant fear regarding culture loss, even though they welcomed the root cause of it to continue and even expand - tourism.