A looming tragedy of the sand commons Torres, Aurora; Brandt, Jodi; Lear, Kristen ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
09/2017, Volume:
357, Issue:
6355
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Increasing sand extraction, trade, and consumption pose global sustainability challenges
Between 1900 and 2010, the global volume of natural resources used in buildings and transport infrastructure ...increased 23-fold (
1
). Sand and gravel are the largest portion of these primary material inputs (79% or 28.6 gigatons per year in 2010) and are the most extracted group of materials worldwide, exceeding fossil fuels and biomass (
2
). In most regions, sand is a common-pool resource, i.e., a resource that is open to all because access can be limited only at high cost. Because of the difficulty in regulating their consumption, common-pool resources are prone to tragedies of the commons as people may selfishly extract them without considering long-term consequences, eventually leading to overexploitation or degradation. Even when sand mining is regulated, it is often subject to rampant illegal extraction and trade (
3
). As a result, sand scarcity (
4
) is an emerging issue with major sociopolitical, economic, and environmental implications.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The once-dominant shallow reef-building coral Acropora palmata has suffered drastic geographical declines in the wider Caribbean from a disease epidemic that began in the late 1970s. At present there ...is a lack of quantitative data to determine whether this species is recovering over large spatial scales. Here, we use quantitative surveys conducted in 107 shallow-water reef sites between 2010 and 2012 to investigate the current distribution and abundance of A. palmata along the Mesoamerican Reef System (MRS). Using historical data we also explored how the distribution and abundance of this species has changed in the northern portion of the MRS between 1985 and 2010-2012. A. palmata was recorded in only a fifth of the surveyed reef sites in 2010-2012. In the majority of these reef sites the presence of A. palmata was patchy and rare. Only one site (Limones reef), in the northernmost portion of the MRS, presented considerably high A. palmata cover (mean: 34.7%, SD: 24.5%). At this site, the size-frequency distribution of A. palmata colonies was skewed towards small colony sizes; 84% of the colonies were healthy, however disease prevalence increased with colony size. A comparison with historical data showed that in the northern portion of the MRS, in 1985, A. palmata occurred in 74% of the 31 surveyed sites and had a mean cover of 7.7% (SD = 9.0), whereas in 2010-2012 this species was recorded in 48% of the sites with a mean cover of 2.9% (SD = 7.5). A. palmata populations along the MRS are failing to recover the distribution and abundance they had prior to the 1980s. Investigating the biological (e.g., population genetics) and environmental conditions (e.g., sources of stress) of the few standing reefs with relatively high A. palmata cover is crucial for the development of informed restoration models for this species.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Diabetes mellitus is the main health problem affecting Mexico's population. The mechanisms by which susceptibility to it is acquired and diabetes develops are topics of ongoing research. In order to ...prevent type 2 diabetes, one of the challenges is to fully understand gestational diabetes and the hormonal changes and altered carbohydrate metabolism that are associated with it during fetal development. A recent study by the Instituto Nacional de Perinatología found a 12.9% prevalence of gestational diabetes; if the current criteria suggested by the American Diabetes Association were applied, this figure would rise to almost 30%. Identifying mothers and children at high risk of developing diabetes mellitus and its comorbid conditions will help facilitate the timely implementation of preventive measures. This will be a rational use of economic resources in Mexico that will vitally benefit public health.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Sand, gravel, and crushed rock, together referred to as construction aggregates, are the most extracted solid materials. Growing demand is damaging ecosystems, triggering social conflicts, and ...fueling concerns over sand scarcity. Balancing protection efforts and extraction to meet society's needs requires designing sustainable pathways at a system level. Here, we present a perspective on global sand sustainability that shifts the focus from the mining site to the entire sand-supply network (SSN) of a region understood as a coupled human-natural system whose backbone is the physical system of construction aggregates. We introduce the idea of transitions in sand production from subsistence mining toward larger-scale regional supply systems that include mega-quarries for crushed rock, marine dredging, and recycled secondary materials. We discuss claims of an imminent global sand scarcity, evaluate whether new mining frontiers such as Greenland could alleviate it, and highlight three action fields to foster a sustainable global sand system.
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Global demand of construction minerals threatens ecosystems, triggers social conflicts, and fuels concerns over sand scarcity. Balancing protection efforts and extraction to meet society's needs requires designing sustainable pathways at a system level. This perspective on global sand sustainability shifts the focus from the mining site to the entire sand-supply network (SSN) of a region understood as a coupled human-natural system whose backbone is the physical system of construction aggregates. Ignoring this complexity can result in unsustainable “solutions”, including problem shifts.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
is a foundational yet endangered Caribbean reef-building coral species. The lack of recovery after a disease outbreak and low recruitment has led to widespread use of fragmentation to restore ...populations. Another option is the production of sexual recruits (settlers) via assisted reproduction to improve the genetic diversity of depleted populations; however, the viability of this approach has not been tested over the long term. In 2011 and 2012,
larvae were cultured, settled, and the sexual recruits raised in an
nursery. Survival and growth were monitored over time. In 2014, these two F1 cohorts were moved to an
nursery and after one year, a subset (29 colonies) was outplanted onto Cuevones Reef in the Mexican Caribbean. Growth and survival of these colonies were monitored periodically and compared to colonies that remained in the
nursery. In 2019, samples were collected and analyzed for fertility and fecundity. 53% of the colonies were gravid and fecundity was 5.61 ± 1.91 oocytes and 3.04 ± 0.26 spermaries per polyp. A further 14 colonies from these two cohorts were outplanted in 2020 onto Picudas Reef and monitored during the subsequent spawning seasons. Two years after outplanting onto Picudas Reef, all colonies were alive and spawning of three of these colonies was recorded in 2022 in synchrony with the wild population. Gametes were collected from two colonies and crossed, with 15% fertilization success. Spermatozoa from wild colonies were then added and fertilization success increased to 95%. The resultant larvae followed normal development and symbiont uptake was visible within two weeks. The F2 generation was settled, maintained in an
nursery, and monitored for survival and growth. Both F1 and F2 generations followed a Type III survival curve with high initial mortality while in the
nursery and low later-stage mortality. The growth rates of these colonies increased three-fold after outplanting when compared to their growth rates in the
and
nurseries. All colonies survived while in the
nursery and for an additional nine years after outplanting onto Cuevones Reef. Overall, our results show that colonies produced by assisted breeding, once outplanted, may contribute to the genetic diversity and establishment of self-sustaining sexually-reproducing populations, which is an overarching goal of coral restoration programs.
Overcoming resistance is one of the most challenging features in current anticancer therapy. Autophagy is a cellular process that confers resistance in some advanced tumors, since it enables cancer ...cells to adapt to stressful situations, such as anticancer treatments. Hence, the inhibition of this cytoprotective autophagy leads to tumor cells sensitization and death. In this regard, we designed a novel potent anionophore compound that specifically targets lysosomes, called LAI-1 (late-stage autophagy inhibitor-1), and evaluated its role in blocking autophagy and its potential anticancer effects in three lung cancer cell lines from different histological subtypes. Compared to other autophagy inhibitors, such as chloroquine and 3-Methyladenine, the LAI-1 treatment induced more potent anticancer effects in all tested cancer cells. LAI-1 was able to efficiently target and deacidify lysosomes, while acidifying cytoplasmic pH. Consequently, LAI-1 efficiently blocked autophagy, indicated by the increased LC3-II/I ratio and p62/SQSTM1 levels. Moreover, no colocalization was observed between autophagosomes, marked with LC3 or p62/SQSTM1, and lysosomes, stained with LAMP-1, after the LAI-1 treatment, indicating the blockage of autophagolysosome formation. Furthermore, LAI-1 induced cell death by activating apoptosis (enhancing the cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP) or necrosis, depending on the cancer cell line. Finally, LAI-1 sensitized cancer cells to the first-line chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. Altogether, LAI-1 is a new late-stage autophagy inhibitor that causes lysosomal dysfunction and the blockage of autophagolysosome formation, as well as potently induces cancer cell death and sensitization to conventional treatments at lower concentrations than other known autophagy inhibitors, appearing as a potential new therapeutic approach to overcome cancer resistance.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
Globally increasing demand for construction sand needs to be met with transparent and responsible supply-networks. Currently, there are few scalable methods for tracing construction sand ...distribution without direct observation. He wee examined sand “fingerprinting” as a tool to trace construction sand supply-networks from “source to sink” in a case study from Texas, USA. Both natural bulk major element and optical petrography fingerprints are preserved through construction sand processing and transport such that sand can be tied back to its original mining source even at the final point of distribution. Additionally, we developed an image analysis model called
sandID
that is ~90% effective at determining the original mining source of sand in the study area. Our results demonstrate that sand fingerprinting, has untapped potential to support traceability and certification schemes and to support monitoring and enforcement in areas where there are concerns about illegal, illicit or simply unknown construction sand sourcing.
Telecoupling Research: The First Five Years Kapsar, Kelly E.; Hovis, Ciara L.; Bicudo da Silva, Ramon Felipe ...
Sustainability,
02/2019, Volume:
11, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
In an increasingly interconnected world, human–environment interactions involving flows of people, organisms, goods, information, and energy are expanding in magnitude and extent, often over long ...distances. As a universal paradigm for examining these interactions, the telecoupling framework (published in 2013) has been broadly implemented across the world by researchers from diverse disciplines. We conducted a systematic review of the first five years of telecoupling research to evaluate the state of telecoupling science and identify strengths, areas to be improved, and promising avenues for future study. We identified 89 studies using any derivation of the term telecoupling. These works emphasize trade flows, information transfer, and species dispersal at international, national, and regional scales involving one or a few countries, with China, Brazil, and the United States being the most frequently studied countries. Our review showed a rising trend in publications and citations on telecoupling, with 63% of identified telecoupling studies using the framework’s specific language (e.g., “flows”, “agents”). This result suggests that future telecoupling studies could apply the standardized telecoupling language and terminology to better coordinate, synthesize, and operationalize interdisciplinary research. Compelling topics for future research include operationalization of the telecoupling framework, commonalities among telecouplings, telecoupling mechanisms and causality, and telecoupled systems governance. Overall, the first five years of telecoupling research have improved our understanding of human–environment interactions, laying a promising foundation for future social–ecological research in a telecoupled world.
El objetivo de este estudio es analizar hasta qué punto la cárcel se convierte en un lugar de nuevos aprendizajes delincuenciales, donde la lucha por la supervivencia es un desafío diario y la falta ...de dinero deja al reo en estado de vulnerabilidad frente a los grupos u organizaciones delictivas que operan dentro del penal. La resocialización a través de una ocupación, el aprendizaje de un oficio y el estudio profesional son modalidades que deben existir en toda cárcel para evitar la reincidencia, para que el castigo resulte una oportunidad para aprender un nuevo oficio y para persuadir contra el delito. Contrario a esto, existe un alto índice de reincidencia y hacinamiento, que impide que el delincuente se aparte del delito. En este artículo se hace un análisis dentro de dos cárceles en Colombia. Abstract This article aims to analyze the extent to which the prison becomes a place of new delinquent learning, where the struggle for survival is a daily challenge and the lack of money leaves the prisoner in a vulnerable state in front of groups or criminal organizations who operate inside the prison. The re-socialization through an occupation, learning a trade and professional study are modalities that must exist in every prison to avoid recidivism, for the punishment to become an opportunity to learn a new trade and to persuade against crime. On the contrary, there is a high rate of recidivism and overcrowding, which prevents the offender from separating from the crime. This article presents an analysis inside two prisons in Colombia.
D-Decarboxylase inhibitors, such as carbidopa or benserazide, have been used as adjunct therapy in Parkinson disease shortly after levodopa synthesis in the 1960s. These compounds increase ...intracerebral drug concentration and decrease adverse effects by blocking peripheral conversion to dopamine. Skin rash as part of an allergic reaction was previously described in subjects who were using levodopa in combination with carbidopa or benserazide; however, etiology was never clear. Allergic reactions to carbidopa have not previously been reported.
We report a case of a 77-year-old woman with a diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson disease, who developed autonomic and dermatological signs: conjunctival injection, rhinorrhea, excessive sweating, hypertension, and pruritic generalized rash, among others, immediately after carbidopa/levodopa administration regardless of the manufacturer. Treatment with dexamethasone combined with chloropyramine hydrochloride resulted in complete resolution of the hypersensitivity reaction each time it presented. The autonomic and dermatological manifestations did not reappear after treatment was replaced with benserazide/levodopa.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of an allergic reaction specific to carbidopa. Our case highlights the importance of identifying the source of a hypersensitivity drug response, whether it is caused by the active component or by the excipients.
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