Ecosystem services from woody vegetation in East African rangelands

Drylands cover nearly half of the Earth's land surface and are dominated by croplands and rangelands. Dryland ecosystems worldwide are affected by land degradation. Increased population pressure, climate change and unsustainable land use threaten essential ecosystem services and adversely impact people’s livelihoods and well-being. Dryland inhabitants in developing countries are highly dependent on ecosystem services from woody plants, and tree-based restoration measures are thus of utmost importance. However, effective restoration requires a better understanding of the complexity and variability of these ecosystems and the needs of the people living there, a perspective that is often lacking. Restoration interventions have mostly focused on agricultural land and farmers and less on rangelands and (agro)pastoralists. Rangelands are characterized by a naturally low tree cover, and the importance of trees in these areas has thus often been overlooked. This study aims to contribute more knowledge on the importance of woody plants to rangeland inhabitants, focusing on the contribution of different species in providing important ecosystem services, as well as how people manage woody vegetation and how this management, in turn, affects woody vegetation. Two different sites with different dominant livelihood strategies were selected for this study; Chepareria in West Pokot County, Kenya, dominated by agro-pastoralists, and Rupa in Moroto District, Uganda, dominated by pastoralists. Findings from this study show that people in these two sites possessed significant knowledge of woody plants and their benefits. People perceived several ecosystem services from woody plants, most of which were associated with native species. The most valued ecosystem services were food, firewood, fodder and improved local climate. Although most ecosystem services identified in both sites were similar, the associated species often differed. In Chepareria, the land was dominated by privately managed enclosures, while in Rupa, it was mainly open common access communal land. In both sites, people actively managed woody plants to preserve and protect them, although with more emphasis on assisted natural regeneration in Rupa. Despite this, local people perceived that the native tree cover had decreased in both sites, negatively affecting the availability of critical ecosystem services. In Chepareria, the decline was attributed to land use change and increased grazing pressure, while in Rupa, it was attributed to a shift in livelihood strategies from livestock keeping to charcoal production. Due to insufficient data, results on links between land-use, access to land, preferred species and ecosystem services, and woody species presence and abundance in the landscape were inconclusive. The many differences between the two studied sites clearly highlight that restoration requires tailored strategies with a bottom-up approach that considers the local people's knowledge, experience, needs, and aspirations

The complement system is activated in synovial fluid from subjects with knee injury and from patients with osteoarthritis

Concentrations of C4d, C3bBbP and sTCC in synovial fluid. (DOCX 37 kb

Induction of angiotensin converting enzyme after miR-143/145 deletion is critical for impaired smooth muscle contractility.

MicroRNAs have emerged as regulators of smooth muscle cell phenotype with a role in smooth muscle-related disease. Studies have shown that miR-143 and miR-145 are the most highly expressed microRNAs in smooth muscle cells, controlling differentiation and function. The effect of miR-143/145 knockout has been established in the vasculature but not in smooth muscle from other organs. Using knockout mice we found that maximal contraction induced by either depolarization or phosphatase inhibition was reduced in vascular and airway smooth muscle but maintained in the urinary bladder. Furthermore, a reduction of media thickness and reduced expression of differentiation markers was seen in the aorta but not in the bladder. Supporting the view that phenotype switching depends on a tissue-specific target of miR-143/145, we found induction of angiotensin converting enzyme in the aorta but not in the bladder where angiotensin converting enzyme was expressed at a low level. Chronic treatment with angiotensin type-1 receptor antagonist restored contractility in miR-143/145-deficient aorta while leaving bladder contractility unaffected. This shows that tissue-specific targets are critical for the effects of miR-143/145 on smooth muscle differentiation and that angiotensin converting enzyme is one such target

Regulation of smooth muscle dystrophin and synaptopodin 2 expression by actin polymerization and vascular injury

Producción CientíficaObjective: Actin dynamics in vascular smooth muscle is known to regulate contractile differentiation and may play a role in the pathogenesis of vascular disease. However, the list of genes regulated by actin polymerization in smooth muscle remains incomprehensive. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify actin-regulated genes in smooth muscle and to demonstrate the role of these genes in the regulation of vascular smooth muscle phenotype. Approach and Results: Mouse aortic smooth muscle cells were treated with an actin-stabilizing agent, jasplakinolide, and analyzed by microarrays. Several transcripts were upregulated including both known and previously unknown actin-regulated genes. Dystrophin and synaptopodin 2 were selected for further analysis in models of phenotypic modulation and vascular disease. These genes were highly expressed in differentiated versus synthetic smooth muscle and their expression was promoted by the transcription factors myocardin and myocardin-related transcription factor A. Furthermore, the expression of both synaptopodin 2 and dystrophin was significantly reduced in balloon-injured human arteries. Finally, using a dystrophin mutant mdx mouse and synaptopodin 2 knockdown, we demonstrate that these genes are involved in the regulation of smooth muscle differentiation and function. Conclusions: This study demonstrates novel genes that are promoted by actin polymerization, that regulate smooth muscle function, and that are deregulated in models of vascular disease. Thus, targeting actin polymerization or the genes controlled in this manner can lead to novel therapeutic options against vascular pathologies that involve phenotypic modulation of smooth muscle cells.Instituto de Salud Carlos III - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (grant RD12/0042/0006)Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (grants BFU2010-15898 and BFU2013-45867-R

Meeting in our commitments - learning for all : A multi-case study of two municipalities joint school improvement for accessible learning environment

This multiple case study examines organizational processes in two municipalities’ school improvement works with the aim of providing accessible learning environments for all students. Different levels of the Swedish education system share the responsibility for improving schools to provide high-quality education for all learners. Previous research shows that it is a complex task to carry that out in practice. The complexity comes from the fact that different levels and parts of the education system need to be coordinated in solving the assignment, and that it is possible to interpret how to carry out the assignment through performance in practice in a number of different ways. The aim of this study is to examine and create knowledge about organizational processes in school improvement for accessible learning environments that bring multiple schools together. The theoretical approach has been organization from a constructivist perspective where organization is seen as a constant doing. Theories about sensemaking, organizational learning as well as governance and management have provided a theoretical framework. Questions about what happens in organizational processes when coordinating the development work of several schools’ joint activities and what opportunities and challenges can be brought up in the organizing have been guiding. Documents from the two municipalities’ school improvement works have been analyzed and actors within the school systems have been interviewed on the basis of themes. The findings showed that school improvement for accessible learning environments is an ongoing dynamic activity that cannot be seen as a linear process with a beginning and an end. The findings also showed that sensemaking about what accessible learning environments can be and how it can be created is ongoing and based on each person´s previous experience but also generates in organizational learning. It was apparent that leaders cannot control and manage how the schools perceive or carry out the assignment in practice, but they can create a common framework. Leaders together with employees, students and others within and outside the school system could meet within that common framework, to collaborate and jointly explore and create future initiatives based on each other's experiences in the work of creating a school for all. These meetings could provide the conditions for responsive decision-making

Detecting whitefish divergence using remains of Cladocerans in lake sediment : Tracking shifts in the predation regime on Bosmina by measuring defense structures

Predation by northern pike is believed to have initiated a divergence in whitefish into several different morphs, differing in size, habitat use and growth rate.  The development of a small pelagic zooplankton feeding morph is expected to have large impacts on the zooplankton community. In this study the effect of a changing predation regime on Bosmina, before and after introduction of pike in Valsjön, was investigated.  By looking at the change in carapace length (and indication of the level of predation pressure from fish) and mucro index (an indication of the level of invertebrate predation) of Bosmina remains in lake sediment the changing predation pressure from invertebrates and fish could be investigated. These features proved to be good proxys for the level of defense against fish and invertebrate predation.  However, other species than whitefish, and unknown interactions seems to have affected the zooplankton community. This makes it hard to tell which effect is due to diversification in whitefish and which is not. Also it is not clear that it is pike that has induced the divergence in the whitefish population. Other species like brown trout might also have been involved

Detecting whitefish divergence using remains of Cladocerans in lake sediment : Tracking shifts in the predation regime on Bosmina by measuring defense structures

Predation by northern pike is believed to have initiated a divergence in whitefish into several different morphs, differing in size, habitat use and growth rate.  The development of a small pelagic zooplankton feeding morph is expected to have large impacts on the zooplankton community. In this study the effect of a changing predation regime on Bosmina, before and after introduction of pike in Valsjön, was investigated.  By looking at the change in carapace length (and indication of the level of predation pressure from fish) and mucro index (an indication of the level of invertebrate predation) of Bosmina remains in lake sediment the changing predation pressure from invertebrates and fish could be investigated. These features proved to be good proxys for the level of defense against fish and invertebrate predation.  However, other species than whitefish, and unknown interactions seems to have affected the zooplankton community. This makes it hard to tell which effect is due to diversification in whitefish and which is not. Also it is not clear that it is pike that has induced the divergence in the whitefish population. Other species like brown trout might also have been involved

Partnering relationships in construction: a literature review

There is no unified view as to what partnering in construction actually is. Particularly the relationship dimension of the concept is unclear. The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature in order to identify the main assumptions about partnering relationships in construction research and practice. The literature is compared to the Construction Industry Institute’s (CII 1991) frequently cited definition of partnering as a long-term commitment between two or more parties in which shared understanding and trust develop for the benefits of improving construction. The literature review reveals a tendency to focus on project partnering in dyads between clients and contractors and there is also an emphasis on formal tools to develop these relationships, even if social aspects and relationship dynamics are recognised. The paper discusses these findings and suggests that, in order to increase the understanding of the substance and function of partnering relationships, it could be useful to incorporate knowledge from theoretical perspectives that are more in line with the CII definition. Two perspectives that seem particularly interesting in this respect are Supply Chain Management (SCM) and the Industrial Network Approach (INA), both of which focus on long-term relationships between actors beyond the dyad. INA also emphasises the informal aspects of relationship development. Incorporating these dimensions of partnering relationships requires processual and longitudinal studies, which are relatively rare in the contemporary partnering literature