The climate crisis has forced vulnerable countries in the Global South, such as Guatemala, to migrate. This study has two main focuses. The first one is identifying the region's most critical environmental mobility drivers. This is accomplished through a method called Reflective Equilibrium, which integrates justice, ethics, and community perspectives, allowing the connection of a community's judgments to its inherent principles so that the final judgments are consistent with each principle. Thus, this method enables reaching the first result of this work, which is identifying the two most critical environmental drivers in Guatemala while emphasizing the need to incorporate local voices and experiences to ensure fair and humane prioritization. The drivers identified are droughts and rainstorms. The second focus of this work proposes a framework that aims to guide decision-makers in which types of impacts arising from these drivers should be financially prioritized. The methods used for this investigation are a combination of literature review and risk assessment called the "standard model," providing a systemic approach to minimize, avert or address the identified environmental drivers. However, the need to include aspects of justice and rights in this prioritization is noted, as it is constantly neglected in public decisions. In addition, financing strategies are explored through the proposed framework in this study and can be applied beyond Guatemala, serving as a guide for prioritizing funding in other contexts where climate mobility drivers are a constant concern. The study suggests that Guatemalan decision- makers benefit from similar studies to provide evidence of the negative impacts of irresponsible activities by developed countries in their climate finance requests. The main aim of such an action would be to reach multilateral agreements that can be sought to safeguard fundamental human rights and protect Guatemala's natural resources by providing loss and damage funds. Recommendations for future research include estimating budgets for mitigation/adaptation strategies, assessing costs associated with the risks found here, and identifying thresholds for catastrophic events, specifically in Guatemala, thereby improving preparedness and response mechanisms.

The research focuses on the selection and prioritization of Continuous Improvement (CI)projects in organizations. This study emphasizes the importance of recognizing appropriatecriteria for selecting projects that align with an organization's needs, skills, and goals. Thechosen criteria are prioritized to ensure that those are crucial to the overall success and have themost significant influence on project decisions. The criteria are obtained through a literaturereview and interviews with the management team in the company. Finally, six critical criteriaare considered for the organization, Health & Safety, Impact on Customers, Financial Impact,Impact on Business Strategy, Risk of Project, and Project Duration. A survey has beenconducted to weight and prioritize the selected criteria based on their importance by using theAnalytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method.Additionally, the research focuses on the utilization of AHP and Failure Mode and EffectAnalysis (FMEA) in supporting organization project selection. In the following, six CI projectsfrom the organization portfolio are selected to be ranked and weighted based on the criteria’sweight by using the AHP method. The overall weight of each project evaluates as a benefit ofthe project. FMEA, on the other hand, helps identify and address potential failures and risksassociated with projects. By combining AHP and FMEA, organizations can gain acomprehensive understanding of project risks and benefits and make informed decisions onproject selection. To facilitate a holistic understanding, a benefit-risk matrix that integrates theevaluation of both the benefits and risks of the projects is presented. This matrix will serve as avisual representation, enabling decision-makers to assess the trade-offs and make informeddecisions. The final proposed model based on AHP simplifies and organizes the decisionmaking process for the case company and ensures structure and consistency.The overall conclusion highlights the benefits of using the proposed methods, such as improveddecision-making, alignment with organizational goals, and resource optimization. This methodemphasizes the need for a structured approach to project selection and acknowledges thesignificance of risk assessment in project management.

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No description available.

Hintergrund: Die Berlin Fat Mouse Inzuchtlinie (BFMI) ist ein Modell für Adipositas und das metabolische Syndrom. Diese Studie zielte darauf ab, genetische Varianten zu identifizieren, die mit dem gestörten Glukosestoffwechsel assoziiert sind, indem die fettleibigen Linien BFMI861-S1 und BFMI861-S2 verwendet wurden, die genetisch eng verwandt sind, sich aber in mehreren Merkmalen unterscheiden. BFMI861-S1 ist insulinresistent und speichert ektopisches Fett in der Leber, während BFMI861-S2 insulinsensitiv ist. Methoden: Die QTL-Analyse wurde in zwei fortgeschrittenen Intercross-Linien (AIL) in der Generation durchgeführt. Eine AIL wurde aus der Kreuzung BFMI861-S1 x BFMI861-S2 und die zweite AIL aus der Kreuzung BFMI861-S1 x BFMI861-B6N erhalten. Für beide AILs wurden Phänotypen über 25 bzw. 20 Wochen gesammelt. Zur Priorisierung von positionellen Kandidatengenen wurden Gesamtgenomsequenzierung und Genexpressionsdaten der Elternlinien verwendet. Ergebnisse: Für den AIL BFMI861-S1 x BFMI861-S2 wurden überlappende QTL für das Gonadenfettgewebegewicht und die Blutglukosekonzentration auf Chromosom (Chr) 3 (95,8–100,1 Mb) und für das Gonadenfettgewebegewicht, Lebergewicht und Blut nachgewiesen Glukosekonzentration auf Chr 17 (9,5–26,1 Mb). Für die AIL BFMI861-S1 x BFMI861-B6N zeigte ein hochsignifikanter QTL auf Chromosom (Chr) 1 (157–168 Mb) einen Zusammenhang mit dem Lebergewicht. Ein QTL für das Körpergewicht nach 20 Wochen wurde auf Chr 3 (34,1 – 40 Mb) gefunden, der sich mit einem QTL für das scAT-Gewicht überlappte. In einem multiplen QTL-Mapping-Ansatz wurde ein zusätzliches QTL, das das Körpergewicht bei 16 Wochen beeinflusste, auf Chr 6 (9,5–26,1 Mb) identifiziert. Schlussfolgerungen: Die QTL-Kartierung zusammen mit einem detaillierten Priorisierungsansatz ermöglichte es uns, Kandidatengene zu identifizieren, die mit Merkmalen des metabolischen Syndroms in beiden AILs assoziiert sind. / Background: The Berlin Fat Mouse Inbred line (BFMI) is a model for obesity and the metabolic syndrome. This study aimed to identify genetic variants associated with the impaired glucose metabolism using the obese lines BFMI861-S1 and BFMI861-S2, which are genetically closely related, but differ in several traits. BFMI861-S1 is insulin resistant and stores ectopic fat in the liver, whereas BFMI861-S2 is insulin sensitive. Methods: QTL-analysis was performed in two advanced intercross lines (AIL) in generation. One AIL obtained from the cross BFMI861-S1 x BFMI861-S2 and the second AIL from the cross BFMI861-S1 x BFMI861-B6N. For both AILs phenotypes were collected over 25 and 20 weeks, respectively. For prioritization of positional candidate genes whole genome sequencing and gene expression data of the parental lines were used. Results: For the AIL BFMI861-S1 x BFMI861-S2 overlapping QTL for gonadal adipose tissue weight and blood glucose concentration were detected on chromosome (Chr) 3 (95.8-100.1 Mb), and for gonadal adipose tissue weight, liver weight, and blood glucose concentration on Chr 17 (9.5-26.1 Mb). For the AIL BFMI861-S1 x BFMI861-B6N one highly significant QTL on chromosome (Chr) 1 (157–168 Mb) showed an association with liver weight. A QTL for body weight at 20 weeks was found on Chr 3 (34.1 – 40 Mb) overlapping with a QTL for scAT weight. In a multiple QTL mapping approach, an additional QTL affecting body weight at 16 weeks was identified on Chr 6 (9.5-26.1 Mb). Conclusions: QTL mapping together with a detailed prioritization approach allowed us to identify candidate genes associated with traits of the metabolic syndrome in both AILs.

The focus of strategy research has long revolved around strategy formulation rather thanstrategy implementation, despite the evidence indicating that intended strategies are rarelyachieved. Project portfolio management, PPM, assumes a crucial role in enabling strategyimplementation and can be regarded as a representation of the organization's actual pursuedstrategy. Existing research on PPM has predominantly centered around portfolios in the contextof new product development, NPD, and research and development, R&D. However, there hasbeen relatively less exploration of PPM within internal development departments, warrantingfurther investigation. To contribute to the understanding on strategy implementation throughPPM and its conditional factors, this qualitative case study expands the existing research bystudying the PPM process within an internal development department. The study wasconducted at the Business Improvement department, which oversees improvement projects forthe service branch of EnergyComp, a company specializing in the development of complexenergy solutions. Using an abductive research approach, a literature review was conducted inparallel with data collection and analysis. The empirical data was mainly collected throughsemi-structured interviews at the company, but also through meetings and companydocumentation. The results of the study show that PPM actions connected to projects, portfolio and resourceallocation are undertaken to effectively implement the organization's strategy within theinternal development department. Common to all areas is the importance of accurate andavailable information that effects the decisions connected to strategy implementation. On aproject level, Insufficient information poses challenges in accurately assessing project success,resulting in measurements that fail to cover all strategic objectives. In the context of theportfolio, the absence of project information and uncertainties can lead to a misalignmentbetween the actual prioritization criteria employed in the selection process and the strategicobjectives of the organization. Additionally, it may contribute to a less detailed and formalstrategic plan. Furthermore, the cost associated with adjusting the portfolio is directly linked tothe effort and expenses involved in obtaining project information. Regarding resources,insufficient information on supply and demand creates challenges in considering projectdependencies and synergies during the evaluation of project groups. Moreover, limitedtransparency across functional boundaries within the organization leads to a system wheredecision rules cannot be established at the portfolio level. Instead, it encourages bottom-uppriority decisions. Furthermore, a biased assessment by stakeholders in the functionaldepartments may result in an inadequate screening process, leading to an increased workloadin the portfolio structuring process. Finally, the large variation in project types, coupled withdiverse impact targets spanning individual and multiple functions, makes it difficult to createrelevant project categories for budgeting and portfolio structuring.

The Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico maintains a tribal scholarship program to assist students in their pursuit of higher education. This research was initiated to assess from the graduates' perspective how effectively the tribe utilized its subsidized academic capital. The purpose of the study was to identify obstacles, incentives, distractions, or alternative opportunities that Laguna college graduates encountered on their academic paths that influenced their perceptions about working for the tribe. Several challenges were identified that if addressed could profoundly benefit the tribe by increasing the retention of tribal graduates for the professional roles for which they were academically trained. A mixed methods research design was employed to examine why graduates educated with considerable assistance from their tribe were not working for their tribe in the capacity for which they earned degrees. Within this study, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to gather, report, and interpret the data. The combined use of a survey as the quantitative method and interviews as the qualitative method provided a balanced view of the perceptions of the Laguna graduates. An analysis of both sets of data indicated that several significant rifts existed between the arenas of tribal professional employment opportunities, college level academic attainment, and the existing secondary school system. Conversely, notions of tribal student loyalty and an intense desire to contribute to community were confirmed. Based on the findings, it was recommended that several critical decisions regarding the future of the Pueblo's higher education priorities be made. Further, it was recommended that the tribe increase their efforts to capitalize on the intrinsic community connectedness demonstrated by the Laguna graduates.

<p>U radu je izvr&scaron;ena podela 572 registrovane vrste osolikih muva sa područja jugoistočne Evrope na funkcionalne grupe, na osnovu registrovanih funkcionalnih karaktera. Za<br />odabrane 44 endemske i nativne ne-endemske vrste koje su svojim klimatskim ni&scaron;ama ograničene na istraživani prostor, kreirane su mape sada&scaron;nje i buduće potencijalne distribucije (za dva perioda, 2041 -2060 i 2061-2080) upotrebom MAXENT algoritma. Na osnovu dobijenih mapa, izračunata je potenijalna promena areala za odabrane vrste, čime je procenjen efekat klimatskih promena na distribuciju vrsta sirfida. Detektovane su vrste koje će najvi&scaron;e biti pogođene klimatskim promenama, kao i prostori sa najvećim potencijalnim bogatstvom vrsta u budućnosti i područja predviđena da će izgubiti deo diverziteta sirfida. Pokazano je da vrste sa ograničenim arealom neće u budućnosti iskusiti veće smanjenje areala u odnosu na &scaron;iroko rasprostranjene vrste. Takođe, na osnovu mapa potenicijalne sada&scaron;nje distribucije i procenjene retkosti vrsta, izvr&scaron;ena je prioretizacija područja značajnih za opstanak osolikih muva u jugoistočnoj Evropi. Primenom linearnih regresionih i linearnih modela sa me&scaron;ovitim efektom ispitana je međuzavisnost&nbsp; funkcionalnih karaktera vrsta i procenjene promene veličine areala. Definisani su&nbsp; funkcionalni karakteri koji utiču na promenu veličine areala osolikih muva. Ustanovljeni koncept može biti upotrebljen za detekciju vrsta koje se jo&scaron; uvek ne smatraju ugroženim, ali zbog svojih biolo&scaron;ko-ekolo&scaron;kih karakteristika imaju potencijal da to postanu, te stoga zaslužuju pažnju konzervacionista. Dobijeni rezultati mogu u velikoj meri poslužiti za kreiranje sistematskog konzervacionog plana za očuvanje osolikih muva na teritoriji jugoistočne Evrope.</p> / <p>In this paper, the division of 572 species of hoverflies registered in Southeast Europe into functional groups was conducted, based on their functional traits. For 44 selected&nbsp; endemic and native non-endemic species that have their climatic niches limited in the study area, maps of current and future potential distributions were created (for the periods, 2041-2060 and 2061-2080) using MAXENT algorithm. Based on the obtained &nbsp; maps, changes in potential area of occupancy were calculated, in order to estimate the &nbsp; effect of climate change on the distribution of hoverfly species. Species that will be most affected by climate change were detected, as well as the areas with the greatest potential species richness in the future and areas predicted to lose part of the diversity of hoverflies. It is shown that species with limited distribution in the future will not experience a greater reduction of its area in relation to the widespread species. Also, based on the current maps of potential distribution and assessed rarity of species,priority areas important for the survival of hoverflies in Southeast Europe were established. By using linear regression and linear mixed effect models, the interdependence between functional traits and the estimated changes in the range size was tested. Traits affecting the changes in range size of hoverflies were determined. The established concept can be used for the detection of species that are not yet considered endangered, but because of their biological and ecological traits have the potential to become threatened, and therefore deserve the attention of conservationists.&nbsp; This results can largely be used to create a systematic conservation plan for the preservation of hoverflies in Southeast Europe.</p>

According to the HTTP Archive, 75% of websites are using web fonts. Multiple conditions have to be met before modern web browsers like Chrome, Firefox and Safari decide to download the web fonts needed on a page. As a result, web fonts are late discovered resources that can delay the First Meaningful Paint (FMP). Improving the FMP is relevant for the web industry, particularly for performance-conscious web developers. This paper gives insight into how the resource prioritization approaches HTTP/2 Preload and HTTP/2 Server Push can be used to optimize the delivery of web fonts for first-time visitors. Five font loading strategies that use HTTP/2 Server Push and/or Preload were implemented on replicas of the landing pages from five real-world websites. The font loading strategies were evaluated against each other, and against the non-optimized version of each landing page. All the evaluated font loading strategies in this degree project improved the time it took to deliver the first web font content to the user’s screen, resulting in a faster FMP. It was also discovered that HTTP/2 Server Push, on its own, is not a more performance efficient resource prioritization approach than HTTP/2 Preload when it comes to delivering web font content to the client. Further, HTTP/2 Server Push and HTTP/2 Preload appears to be more efficient when used together, in the context of optimizing the delivery of web font content. However, all conclusions in this paper are based on the results gathered from testing the font loading strategies in an emulated environment and are yet to be confirmed on actual mobile devices with real network conditions.

Doenças complexas são caracterizadas por serem poligênicas e multifatoriais, o que representa um desafio em relação à busca de genes relacionados a elas. Com o advento das tecnologias de sequenciamento em larga escala do genoma e das medições de expressão gênica (transcritoma), bem como o conhecimento de interações proteína-proteína, doenças complexas têm sido sistematicamente investigadas. Particularmente, baseando-se no paradigma Network Medicine, as redes de interação proteína-proteína (PPI -- Protein-Protein Interaction) têm sido utilizadas para priorizar genes relacionados às doenças complexas segundo suas características topológicas. Entretanto, as redes PPI são afetadas pelo viés da literatura, em que as proteínas mais estudadas tendem a ter mais conexões, degradando a qualidade dos resultados. Adicionalmente, métodos que utilizam somente redes PPI fornecem apenas resultados estáticos e não-específicos, uma vez que as topologias destas redes não são específicas de uma determinada doença. Neste trabalho, desenvolvemos uma metodologia para priorizar genes e vias biológicas relacionados à uma dada doença complexa, através de uma abordagem integrativa de dados de redes PPI, transcritômica e genômica, visando aumentar a replicabilidade dos diferentes estudos e a descoberta de novos genes associados à doença. Após a integração das redes PPI com dados de expressão gênica, aplicamos as hipóteses da Network Medicine à rede resultante para conectar genes sementes (relacionados à doença, definidos a partir de estudos de associação) através de caminhos mínimos que possuam maior co-expressão entre seus genes. Dados de expressão em duas condições (controle e doença) são usados separadamente para obter duas redes, em que cada nó (gene) dessas redes é pontuado segundo fatores topológicos e de co-expressão. Baseado nesta pontuação, desenvolvemos dois escores de ranqueamento: um que prioriza genes com maior alteração entre suas pontuações em cada condição, e outro que privilegia genes com a maior soma destas pontuações. A aplicação do método a três estudos envolvendo dados de expressão de esquizofrenia recuperou com sucesso genes diferencialmente co-expressos em duas condições, e ao mesmo tempo evitou o viés da literatura. Além disso, houve uma melhoria substancial na replicação dos resultados pelo método aplicado aos três estudos, que por métodos convencionais não alcançavam replicabilidade satisfatória. / Complex diseases are characterized as being poligenic and multifactorial, so this poses a challenge regarding the search for genes related to them. With the advent of high-throughput technologies for genome sequencing and gene expression measurements (transcriptome), as well as the knowledge of protein-protein interactions, complex diseases have been sistematically investigated. Particularly, Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) networks have been used to prioritize genes related to complex diseases according to its topological features. However, PPI networks are affected by ascertainment bias, in which the most studied proteins tend to have more connections, degrading the quality of the results. Additionally, methods using only PPI networks can provide just static and non-specific results, since the topologies of these networks are not specific of a given disease. In this work, we developed a methodology to prioritize genes and biological pathways related to a given complex disease, through an approach that integrates data from PPI networks, transcriptomics and genomics, aiming to increase replicability of different studies and to discover new genes associated to the disease. The methodology integrates PPI network and gene expression data, and then applies the Network Medicine Hypotheses to the resulting network in order to connect seed genes (obtained from association studies) through shortest paths possessing larger coexpression among their genes. Gene expression data in two conditions (control and disease) are used to obtain two networks, where each node (gene) in these networks is rated according to topological and coexpression aspects. Based on this rating, we developed two ranking scores: one that prioritizes genes with the largest alteration between their ratings in each condition, and another that favors genes with the greatest sum of these scores. The application of this method to three studies involving schizophrenia expression data successfully recovered differentially co-expressed gene in two conditions, while avoiding the ascertainment bias. Furthermore, when applied to the three studies, the method achieved a substantial improvement in replication of results, while other conventional methods did not reach a satisfactory replicability.