There is an increase in the consideration of ecosystem services (ES) within the planning, policy, and research sectors. The increase in sectors working with ES is leading to an increase in scale mismatches, where ecosystem services are being mismanaged, leading to problems. Using a combination of methods these scale issues were investigated. A systematic review of both scientific and grey literature was undertaken which analysed 112 documents and led to a survey of 72 subjects who were working with ES across different sectors, and finally 19 in-depth interviews were undertaken, in order to understand fully the scale issues, and potential solutions being used. The systematic review found that a lot of ecosystem service scientific literature was based on, or had connections with, the global issue of climate change, this was in contrast to the survey that found that both researchers and those in policy are working at a regional spatial scale or below. The in-depth interviews attributed this to many factors including the pressure to publish in high-impact journals, and applying for funding. The survey found that the different sectors are working at different scales, and where they do work at the same scale, the definition they place on that scale term is different. The survey and in-depth interviews found that funding can influence the extent of a project and funding timelines lead into the temporal scale of a project. Funding can encourage collaboration with stakeholders and between sectors in order to pool resources and expertise. Alongside clarity of terms used and expectations for the project, collaboration was also put forward as one of the methods which can alleviate scale mismatches.

Magister Curationis - MCur / Pregnancy induced hypertension is one of the causes of maternal, fetus and neonatal morbidity and mortality. It is the condition in which a pregnant woman develops hypertension because of physiological changes that result during pregnancy and both mother and fetus can be affected. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the first target of the third United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-3) is to reduce the maternal mortality rate (MMR) to less than 10 per 100.000 live births by 2030 (WHO, 2017). This is because globally, about 350 000 women die every year from pregnancy related causes (Hogan, Foreman, & Naghavi, 2010). According to the WHO (2015), these conditions namely post-partum hemorrhage, hypertension in pregnancy, infections, unsafe abortion and other delivery-related complications cause three quarters of all maternal deaths in the World. Hence the needs to prevent or successfully treat conditions that contribute to this scourge (WHO, 2011). The two main interventions that are used to prevent or treat hypertension in pregnancy are medication and lifestyle adjustment. However, it is important to understand the intervention that is most suited to a context and its patient and compare the effects of these interventions on management of hypertension in pregnant women as a patient outcome.

Background The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is rapidly increasing globally, and particularly in Africa, where the health focus, until recently, has been on infectious diseases. The response to this growing burden of NCDs in Africa has been affected owing to a poor understanding of the burden of NCDs, and the relative lack of data and low level of research on NCDs in the continent. Recent estimates on the burden of NCDs in Africa have been mostly derived from modelling based on data from other countries imputed into African countries, and not usually based on data originating from Africa itself. In instances where few data were available, estimates have been characterized by extrapolation and over-modelling of the scarce data. It is therefore believed that underestimation of NCDs burden in many parts of Africa cannot be unexpected. With a gradual increase in average life expectancy across Africa, the region now experiencing the fastest rate of urbanization globally, and an increase adoption of unhealthy lifestyles, the burden of NCDs is expected to rise. This thesis will, therefore, be focussing on understanding the prevalence, and/or where there are available data, the incidence, of four major NCDs in Africa, which have contributed highly to the burden of NCDs, not only in Africa, but also globally. Methods I conducted a systematic search of the literature on three main databases (Medline, EMBASE and Global Health) for epidemiological studies on NCDs conducted in Africa. I retained and extracted data from original population-based (cohort or cross sectional), and/or health service records (hospital or registry-based studies) on prevalence and/or incidence rates of four major NCDs in Africa. These include: cardiovascular diseases (hypertension and stroke), diabetes, major cancer types (cervical, breast, prostate, ovary, oesophagus, bladder, Kaposi, liver, stomach, colorectal, lung and non-Hodgkin lymphoma), and chronic respiratory diseases (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma). From extracted crude prevalence and incidence rates, a random effect meta-analysis was conducted and reported for each NCD. An epidemiological model was applied on all extracted data points. The fitted curve explaining the largest proportion of variance (best fit) from the model was further applied. The equation generated from the fitted curve was used to determine the prevalence and cases of the specific NCD in Africa at midpoints of the United Nations (UN) population 5-year age-group population estimates for Africa. Results From the literature search, studies on hypertension had the highest publication output at 7680, 92 of which were selected, spreading across 31 African countries. Cancer had 9762 publications and 39 were selected across 20 countries; diabetes had 3701 publications and 48 were selected across 28 countries; stroke had 1227 publications and 19 were selected across 10 countries; asthma had 790 publications and 45 were selected across 24 countries; and COPD had the lowest output with 243 publications and 13 were selected across 8 countries. From studies reporting prevalence rates, hypertension, with a total sample size of 197734, accounted for 130.2 million cases and a prevalence of 25.9% (23.5, 34.0) in Africa in 2010. This is followed by asthma, with a sample size of 187904, accounting for 58.2 million cases and a prevalence of 6.6% (2.4, 7.9); COPD, with a sample size of 24747, accounting for 26.3 million cases and a prevalence of 13.4% (9.4, 22.1); diabetes, with a sample size of 102517, accounting for 24.5 million cases and a prevalence of 4.0% (2.7, 6.4); and stroke, with a sample size of about 6.3 million, accounting for 1.94 million cases and a prevalence of 317.3 per 100000 population (314.0, 748.2). From studies reporting incidence rates, stroke accounted for 496 thousand new cases in Africa in 2010, with a prevalence of 81.3 per 100000 person years (13.2, 94.9). For the 12 cancer types reviewed, a total of 775 thousand new cases were estimated in Africa in 2010 from registry-based data covering a total population of about 33 million. Among women, cervical cancer and breast cancer had 129 thousand and 81 thousand new cases, with incidence rates of 28.2 (22.1, 34.3) and 17.7 (13.0, 22.4) per 100000 person years, respectively. Among men, prostate cancer and Kaposi sarcoma closely follows with 75 thousand and 74 thousand new cases, with incidence rates of 14.5 (10.9, 18.0) and 14.3 (11.9, 16.7) per 100000 person years, respectively. Conclusion This study suggests the prevalence rates of the four major NCDs reviewed (cardiovascular diseases (hypertension and stroke), diabetes, major cancer types, and chronic respiratory diseases (COPD and asthma) in Africa are high relative to global estimates. Due to the lack of data on many NCDs across the continent, there are still doubts on the true prevalence of these diseases relative to the current African population. There is need for improvement in health information system and overall data management, especially at country level in Africa. Governments of African nations, international organizations, experts and other stakeholders need to invest more on NCDs research, particularly mortality, risk factors, and health determinants to have evidenced-based facts on the drivers of this epidemic in the continent, and prompt better, effective and overall public health response to NCDs in Africa.

Magister Scientiae - MSc (Pharmacy Administration and Policy Regulation) / Due to inadequacy of data on the effectiveness of medicines regulatory systems in Zambia, this study was framed. The aim was to evaluate legislative provisions for medicines regulation under three legalregulatory- frameworks in place over the period from 1995 to 2015. The study was structured in two distinct phases: the first involved document review of available legislation and secondary data relevant to the subject matter, covering the study period; the second involved a questionnaire survey for health practitioners to gather opinions on the effectiveness of the medicines regulatory systems in Zambia. Assessment of secondary data reported by Ministry of Health, and World Health Organisation on treatment outcomes and medicines regulation was conducted. Reviewed data showed relative reduction in incidence of some selected diseases of national importance. It was also evident that the regulatory systems had improved considerably over the study period. Responses from Health Practitioners and other players in the health and pharmaceutical sectors indicated that they were aware of medicines regulatory requirements, supported the need for medicines regulation, and indicated the need for regional collaboration and increased public awareness raising as means for improving current medicines regulatory systems. It was recommended that more comprehensive studies be undertaken to establish causal relationships between medicines regulatory systems, and disease outcomes. A further recommendation was made to implement more integrated information management systems in the Ministry of Health, and the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority.

In my thesis I first explain taxes as a general institute, including their history. For better understanding of the following text I point out the progressive development of the berthing system. State apparatus with a growing social system comes with constantly higher and especially more detailed tax collection system. Countries, due to the need of implementing their budgets, must punish tax evasion and fight dishonesty in business to enable more capable and more honest entrepreneurs to compete with each other and therefore not to support incompetent, dishonest, and increasingly "cheekier" subjects who periodically do not pay their taxes in full. In my thesis, I also assess the complexity of the added value tax system in my country and the different rates that give room for dishonesty and new and frequent amendments to the Added Value Tax Act. I consider the control reports as a necessary and much needed institute. However, although the very first possible rating results of the Ministry of Finance data do seem to be positive, they also, in my opinion, underestimate the yields. I've come to the conclusion that the institute of the control reports from the point of view of constitutionality is not unlawful, and so I differ with the opinions of the deputies and the senators that this is a similar case...

(Contemporary Critique of Juristocracy) This theses deals with a comparative research of judiciaries of the United States, Israel and the Czech Republic. Consequently, it reaches a conclusion that all of these countries are undergoing a substantive political crisis, which leads to unhealthy empowerment of a judiciary system. The judiciary in abovementioned countries is moreover incapable of meeting challenges connected to the legislative deferrals, since the courts are unable to disconnects themselves from a social reality. The countries selected for the study was chosen in order to achieve as diverse sample as possible. That should lead to universally applicable outcome. Besides this empirical line of research, there is a deeper normative line attached. I believe it is vital to foresee a future political arrangement in a positive manner, even though there is a substantial risk of authoritarian regime's emergence during this transition. Still, the worst thing we can do is to kick a can of contemporary political imagination down the road forever. That prevents progress, but it also highlights another threat of authoritarian regime in name of protecting "freedom" against democracy or "democracy" against freedom. Regarding the content of the thesis, I pursue an abovementioned idea about highly...

The ranks of the medical profession have typically been filled by Anglo-Saxon males. A slow change in attitude appears to be leading toward a desire to increase diversity in the medical profession. Previous attempts to allow for increased representation of those underrepresented in medicine failed due to legal challenges. The Association of American Medical Colleges, an organization which oversees medical education, residency training, and research of both American and Canadian allopathic medical schools, has introduced Holistic Review as a method for creating a diverse population in a medical school class; this study investigates the way medical schools are incorporating these strategies into their medical school admissions policies and how effective these policies are in increasing diversity in medical school classes. The implication encourage admissions committees to modify the importance of certain selection criteria in an ongoing effort to increase diversity in their medical school classes.

This article reviews the academic literature (1996-2016) that emerged under value sensitive design (VSD). It investigates those VSD projects that employed the tripartite methodology, examining the use of VSD methodological elements, and illustrating common practices and identifying shortcomings. The article provides advice for VSD researchers on how to complete and enhance their methodological approach as the research community moves forward.

This scoping review examines the available evidence supporting accommodation use in the assessment of health professionals with disabilities in licensing contexts. While test accommodations are a protected right under antidiscrimination legislation, the peer-reviewed evidence informing their use is contested and widely dispersed. Furthermore, the ramifications of accommodation misuse are significant, including human rights violations and increased risks to patients. As such, this study addressed two research questions: 1) What is the current state of literature on accommodation use in the assessment of health professionals? and 2) What programs of research would address stakeholders’ concerns about the use of accommodations in the assessment of those professionals? Systematic searches of five prominent databases identified 15 articles for analysis. Several major themes emerged from that analysis: interpreting legislation, administration and process, relationships between education and licensure, and psychometrics and test development. Stakeholder consultation revealed that stakeholders face challenges managing accommodation requests and defining reasonable accommodations. While there is a paucity of literature on the topic overall, especially of an empirical nature, this study mapped the available evidence and laid the foundation for future studies by delineating the gaps in the scholarly literature as defined by stakeholders’ needs.

As revisões sistemáticas são consideradas os desenhos experimentais capazes de guiar os cuidados em saúde. Contudo, as revisões narrativas ainda são largamente publicadas até o presente momento. No âmbito do tratamento das doenças periodontais, diversos estudos têm reportado que o uso adjuvante de estatinas à terapia periodontal mecânica pode acarretar melhorias nos parâmetros clínicos periodontais, como adicionais reduções de profundidade de sondagem e ganhos de inserção clínica. O objetivo deste trabalho é contextualizar a informação advinda de uma revisão sistemática realizada sobre um tema clínico significativo e compreender qual o seu papel como suporte da atenção ao paciente periodontal, a partir da compreensão obtida no estudo bibliométrico de revisões de literatura. No estudo bibliométrico, uma amostra representativa das revisões de literatura, publicadas na base Scopus, foi selecionada. Tipo de revisão, número de citações, ano de publicação, temática do estudo e outras variáveis foram coletadas. Nesse estudo, observou-se que o número de revisões sistemática tem aumentado significativamente ao longo dos anos quando comparados com o número de revisões narrativas. Apesar disso, o número ajustado de citações das revisões sistemáticas não difere significativamente das recebidas nas revisões narrativas. Já na revisão sistemática de uso adjuvante de estatinas, uma estratégia de busca nas bases Pubmed, Scopus e Embase foi realizada para identificar todos os ensaios clínicos que tenham utilizado estatinas como adjuvantes ao tratamento periodontal mecânico em comparação à terapia periodontal mecânica isolada ou associada a placebo. Quinze estudos foram selecionados. Observou-se que, na maioria dos estudos, o uso adjuvante de estatina apresentou adicionais reduções de profundidade de sondagem e ganhos de inserção clínica quando comparado com seus respectivos grupos controles. Contudo, a alta heterogeneidade desse resultado e o grande número de estudos ser executado por um mesmo grupo de pesquisa são fatores limitadores dessa revisão sistemática. Dessa maneira, pode-se concluir que o número de revisões sistemáticas vem aumentando a longo do tempo, porém o seu número de citações parece não acompanhar as mesmas tendências. Além disso, o uso adjuvante de estatina na terapia periodontal ainda não deve ser recomendado até a execução de outros estudos com melhor qualidade. / Systematic review is considered the experimental design capable of guiding the health care. However, narrative reviews are broadly published nowadays. Regarding periodontal diseases treatment, several studies reported that the adjuvant use of statins to mechanical periodontal treatment may promote additional improvements in clinical periodontal parameters, such as additional reduction in probing depth and clinical attachment gain. This study aimed to contextualize the information obtained in a systematic review about a significant clinical thematic and comprehend is its role in the periodontal care, through information gathered in a bibliometric study of literature review studies in Dentistry. In the bibliometric study, a representative sample of literature reviews studies, published in Scopus database, was selected. Type of review, number of citations, year of publication, study thematic, and other variables were collected. It was showed that the number of systematic reviews increased throughout the years in comparison to narrative reviews. Additionally, the Dentistry clinical fields presented the highest number of published systematic reviews. Despite of that, the mean adjusted number of citations granted for systematic reviews did not differ from the narrative ones. Regarding the performed systematic review, a search strategy was conducted on Pubmed, Scopus, and Embase databases to identify all clinical trials that used statins as adjuvant to mechanical periodontal treatment in comparison to mechanical periodontal treatment alone or in association with placebo. Fifteen studies were included. It was showed that most of the included studies presented additional reduction in probing depth and clinical attachment gain in comparison to their control groups. However, the high heterogeneity among the studies and the high number of studies conducted by the same research group are limitations of the present systematic review. It was concluded that the number of systematic review are increasing dramatically throughout the years, but this trend is not followed by the number of citations granted to this type of study. Furthermore, the adjuvant use of statin in the mechanical periodontal therapy may not be recommended until further well-designed studies have been published.