•Douglas-fir trees teepee poles are a culturally important resource for the Mescalero Apache tribe.•Stands consist of dense, relatively old trees.•Climate-sensitive simulation modeling predicted loss ...of most Douglas-fir.•Assisted migration or other innovative strategies may be needed.
Integrating traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) with western science and modeling tools can enhance not only the delivery of culturally important species, but also community support and overall effectiveness of management. This paper presents a case study of co-producing usable science integrating TEK on a culturally important species with a modeling tool, Climate-Forest Vegetation Simulator (C-FVS). The Mescalero Apache tribe (southwestern USA) conduct a coming of age ceremony for young women who follow a traditional way of life. In order to conduct this ceremony, tall, thin teepee poles made from Douglas-fir trees are needed. Douglas-fir trees capable of producing teepee poles are a culturally important resource for the Mescalero Apache tribe. We interacted with medicine people, tribal members, and forest managers to gain insight on characteristics of teepee pole stands. We established thirty, 400 m2 circular plots with nested 100 m2 regeneration plots in teepee pole producing stands to characterize composition, structure, age, growth rates, and fuels. Teepee pole producing stands occupy an elevation range from 2012 to 2561 m, slopes of 3–43%, and aspects from NW to NE. The stands consist of dense, relatively old trees dominated by Douglas-fir, with other species of trees usually present as a minor component. Douglas-firs in teepee pole producing stands averaged 1255 ± 99 trees per ha (TPH), basal area 31.7 ± 1.5 m2/ha, and 18.5 ± 0.5 cm quadratic mean diameters (QMD). Douglas-fir trees in teepee pole producing stands were most commonly 75–100 years old with diameters at breast height (DBH) ranging from 5.1 to 25.4 cm. In order to assess future trajectories of teepee pole stands, we applied C-FVS which incorporates the effects of climate change scenarios over the next 100 years. We compared three standard scenarios ranging from moderate to severe climate change: Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5. Simulated future forests at the current plot locations even under the most mild climate change scenario (RCP 4.5) did not contain Douglas-fir after a century of modeling. Complete forest mortality was predicted under RCP 6.0 and RCP 8.5. Comparing bioclimatic niche modeling of Douglas-fir with downscaled future climate scenarios indicated that the species would have to be planted at least 305 m higher to maintain 21st century viability under RCP 4.5 and 6.0, or at least 610 m higher under RCP 8.0. The characterization of current teepee pole producing stands and simulations of future effects of climate change provide useful information to the Mescalero Apache Tribe to support management decisions on how they would like to preserve this cultural important resource.
As a subset of the organism-wide reaction to severe infection, the host vascular response has received increasing attention in recent years. The transformation that small blood vessels undergo to ...facilitate the clearance of pathogens may become harmful to the host if it occurs too broadly or if it is sustained too long. Adverse clinical manifestations of leaky and inflamed blood vessels include edema impairing the function of critical organs and circulatory shock.
The study suggests that this host vascular response may be both measurable and potentially targetable. Tie2 is a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) heavily enriched in the vascular endothelium whose tonic signaling actively maintains vascular quiescence. When Tie2 becomes inactivated, important molecular brakes are released in the endothelium, which in turn potentiate inflammation and vascular leakage. The ligands of Tie2, Angiopoietin-1 and Angiopoietin-2, regulate its activation status. Genetic and molecular studies spanning thousands of humans link Tie2 and imbalance of the Angiopoietins to major adverse clinical events arising from bacterial sepsis, other severe infections, and even acute sterile inflammation.
The Tie2 signaling axis may constitute a molecular switch in systemic inflammation that can be measured and manipulated to target the host vascular response therapeutically.
First paragraph: I was part of a plenary panel on “Bridge Builders” at the 2023 Colorado Food Summit in Denver in December 2023. Echoing a statement I first made at the U.S. Agroecology Summit 2023, ...I explained how the first “bridge” we are building at The Acequia Institute (TAI) is between Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and so-called Western Science (WS). TAI does this work not to verify and legitimize IK by invoking the presumably more rigorous and mathematical methods and materials of WS. TAI enunciates and practices IK through autonomous place-based food sovereignty initiatives. In this work we have determined how best to integrate the methods and materials of selected domains of Western knowledge systems in forms useful for us and the locality. These issues were discussed at the U.S. Agroecology Summit, but in the end they were left largely unresolved. The entire Summit was, as Carmen Cortez and others have rightly observed, plagued by being “Devoid of this spirit of place and people…” (Agroecology Summit ‘Outside Empire’ Subgroup, 2024, p. 2). In my view, it was a gathering fractured by pre-existing and possibly inadvertent and unconscious acts of epistemic violence reminding me of the difference Michael Redclift (1987) observed between top-down environmental managerialism and bottom-up collaborative environmental management. . . .
Affecting children by age 3, primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) can cause debilitating vision loss by the developmental impairment of aqueous drainage resulting in high intraocular pressure (IOP), ...globe enlargement, and optic neuropathy. TEK haploinsufficiency accounts for 5% of PCG in diverse populations, with low penetrance explained by variable dysgenesis of Schlemm's canal (SC) in mice. We report eight families with TEK-related PCG, and provide evidence for SVEP1 as a disease modifier in family 8 with a higher penetrance and severity.
Exome sequencing identified coding/splice site variants with an allele frequency less than 0.0001 (gnomAD). TEK variant effects were assayed in construct-transfected HEK293 cells via detection of autophosphorylated (active) TEK protein. An enucleated eye from an affected member of family 8 was examined via histology. SVEP1 expression in developing outflow tissues was detected by immunofluorescent staining of 7-day mouse anterior segments. SVEP1 stimulation of TEK expression in human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) was measured by TaqMan quantitative PCR.
Heterozygous TEK loss-of-function alleles were identified in eight PCG families, with parent-child disease transmission observed in two pedigrees. Family 8 exhibited greater disease penetrance and severity, histology revealed absence of SC in one eye, and SVEP1:p.R997C was identified in four of the five affected individuals. During SC development, SVEP1 is secreted by surrounding tissues. SVEP1:p.R997C abrogates stimulation of TEK expression by HUVECs.
We provide further evidence for PCG caused by TEK haploinsufficiency, affirm autosomal dominant inheritance in two pedigrees, and propose SVEP1 as a modifier of TEK expression during SC development, affecting disease penetrance and severity.
Abstract Global strategies under the scope of CBD are important in guiding policies and resources for the conservation of biological diversity. This paper emphasized the need to develop actions under ...the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) with measurable results up to 2020, regarding the status and perspectives related to Targets 12 and 13, focusing on the Brazilian context in order to identify gaps and actions to achieve the goals for conservation and sustainable use of plants. It should be noted that Target 12 also covers logging, not necessarily directly related to indigenous peoples and traditional communities, but may threaten their livelihoods. In Brazil, scientific knowledge about the ecological effects of the harvesting of non-timber forest products is still limited, and few studies have contributed to the establishment of legal regulations for collection and management. With regard to target 13, which concerns traditional and indigenous knowledge about plant use and the dependence of these peoples on plants, there are still a lack of integrative and effective policy initiatives. However, considering the negative political context of recent decades and exacerbated in recent years in relation to biodiversity conservation and indigenous peoples and local communities, profound changes are necessary in the Brazilian scenario, with strong support and recognition for indigenous peoples and local communities, so that any objective related to the achievement of the goals of the GSPC is minimally achieved.
Resumo As estratégias globais no âmbito da CDB são importantes para orientar políticas e recursos para a conservação da diversidade biológica. Este artigo enfatizou a necessidade de desenvolver ações no âmbito da Estratégia Global para a Conservação de Plantas (GSPC) com resultados mensuráveis até 2020, no que se refere ao status e as perspectivas relacionadas às metas 12 e 13, com foco no contexto brasileiro, visando identificar lacunas e ações para alcançar os objetivos para conservação e o uso sustentável das plantas. Salienta-se que a meta 12 abrange também a exploração madeireira, não necessariamente de relação direta com povos indígenas e comunidades tradicionais, porém pode vir a ameaçar seus meios de subsistência. No Brasil, o conhecimento científico sobre os efeitos ecológicos da coleta de produtos florestais não madeireiros ainda é limitado e poucos estudos contribuíram para o estabelecimento de regulamentações legais para coleta e manejo. Com relação à meta 13, que diz respeito aos conhecimentos tradicionais e indígenas sobre o uso de plantas e à dependência desses povos pelas plantas, ainda faltam iniciativas de políticas integradoras e eficazes. No entanto, considerando o contexto político negativo das últimas décadas e exacerbado nos últimos anos, em relação à conservação da biodiversidade e aos povos indígenas e comunidades locais são necessárias mudanças profundas no cenário brasileiro, com forte apoio e reconhecimento para os povos indígenas e comunidades locais, para que qualquer objetivo relacionado ao alcance das metas da GSPC seja minimamente perseguido.
Recent studies have suggested that loss-of-function mutations of the tunica intima endothelial receptor tyrosine kinase (TEK) are responsible for approximately 5% of primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) ...cases in diverse populations. However, the causative role of TEK mutations has not been studied in Chinese PCG patients. Here, we report the mutation spectrum of TEK after screening a large cohort of PCG patients of Chinese Han origin and analyze the identified variants in functional assays.
TEK-targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) was performed in 200 PCG patients. Candidate variants were prioritized by mutation type and allele frequency in public datasets. Plasmids containing wild type and identified variants of TEK were constructed and used to assess protein expression, solubility, receptor auto-phosphorylation, and response to ligand stimulation in cell-based assays.
Ten missense and one nonsense heterozygous variants were detected by NGS in 11 families. The clinical features of TEK variants carriers were comparable to that of TEK-mutated patients identified in other populations and CYP1B1-mutated individuals from in-house database. Functional analysis confirmed four variants involving evolutionarily conserved residues to be loss-of-function, while one variant (p.R1003H) located in tyrosine kinase domain seemed to be an activating mutation. However, our results did not support the pathogenicity of the other five variants (p.H52R, p.M131I, p.M228V, p.H494Y, and p.L888P).
We provide evidence for TEK variants to be causative in Chinese PCG patients for the first time. Attention needs to be paid to TEK mutations in future genetic testing.
•We have monitored a Spanish octopus fishery by using GPS-loggers and logbooks.•We have also used the knowledge of octopus fishermen to map their fishing grounds.•Annually, 700 vessels use traps to ...catch 2000t of octopus that are sold for 13M €.•The 174km2 of fishing grounds identified were the most fished and valuable areas.•Creation of a long term co-management plan is recommended to ensure sustainability.
The fishery of octopus Octopus vulgaris in Galicia (NW Spain) is a paradigmatic example of top–down management that generates conflicts between fishermen and policy makers. In the absence of scientific information to support the management of this data poor artisanal fishery, the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of fishermen was tested to map the distribution of fishing grounds and GPS data-loggers and log-books in order to estimate the intensity of effort and CPUE. Furthermore, a description of the social, technical and ecological features of the fishery was obtained to be used in conjunction with the results of questionnaires answered by experts, to improve the current management and to ensure the long-term sustainability of one of the most traditional and economically relevant fisheries in Galicia. Approximately, 700 vessels use traps in Galician coastal waters to catch 2000t of octopus annually, with a market value of 13M Є. Octopus vessels also use gillnets, hooks and lines and shellfish gathering to target common spider crab Maja brachydactyla, goose barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes and other species. The fishermen operating in the study area of the Ría of Arousa identified 174km2 of octopus fishing grounds, mainly distributed in the mid and outer parts of the study area. The fishing effort was exerted on the same rocky reefs, also the most valuable fishing grounds in terms of CPUE. The use of new techniques and tools based on participatory models is encouraged to obtain cost-effective information of this fishery and in general of other fisheries in data poor environments. Likewise, the creation of a long-term co-management plan is recommended to ensure the sustainability of stocks and the profitability of this artisanal fleet.
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