The study of human-caribou systems in the face of change: using multiple disciplinary lenses

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2016Barren-ground caribou herds are part of social-ecological systems that are of critical importance to northern Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic, contributing to nutritional, cultural, and spiritual well being that are today undergoing significant changes. This dissertation uses multiple disciplinary lenses to understand the dynamics of these systems and to clarify methods for studying them. Chapter 1 focuses on a prediction of summer (June 1- August 31) mosquito activity and potential insect harassment of caribou in response to a changing climate. The Mosquito Activity Index (MAI) was based on daily ambient temperature and wind velocity obtained from the North American Regional Reanalysis dataset (NARR) from 1979 to 2009 for summer ranges of Alaska’s four Arctic herds: Western Arctic Herd (WAH), Teshekpuk Caribou Herd (TCH), Central Arctic Herd (CAH), and Porcupine Caribou Herd (PCH). Mean MAI was lowest for TCH, followed by WAH and PCH and highest for CAH. Over 31 years there was an increasing trend in MAI that affected the summer habitat of TCH and PCH, but a decreasing trend for WAH. Intra-annual patterns in MAI among herds differed in peak MAI. Chapter 2 presents a novel method of participatory videography to document the knowledge and experiences of Caribou People. Ninety-nine interviews were videoed in six Arctic communities of North America in the summer of 2008 as part of the International Polar Year. Chapter 3 presents “Voices of Caribou People,” a composite film of those interviewed, portraying the range of topics reported. Chapter 4 presents the results of an open-coding content analysis of a sample of 34 of the Voices Project interviews. Interviews described people’s rich memories of the past, aspects of their traditional knowledge and practices, the changes they have observed, the challenges they face, and what they perceive as their needs to meet present and future challenges. A key finding of the analysis is that while the research community and funding agencies are highly focused on climate change, Caribou People expressed greater concern about their social, economic, and political challenges. Caribou people noted that more studies undertaken in full partnership with caribou user communities along with community authority in decision-making are needed to sustain their human-caribou systems.Chapter 1. Modeling seasonal mosquito activity index for summer habitat of caribou herds of Arctic Alaska, 1979 to 2009 -- Chapter 2. Voices of the caribou people: a participatory videography method to document and share local knowledge from the North American human-rangifer systems -- Chapter 3. Voices of caribou people: the film -- Chapter 4. In the words of caribou people: local perspectives on changing human-caribou systems of North America -- Epilogue

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

The mammalian communities in coffee plantations around a protected area in the Western Ghats, India

Forest reserves are increasingly becoming isolated, embedded in a matrix of various kinds of human land-use. Coffee plantations form the dominant matrix around many forest reserves in the tropics. In such a situation, the species richness and abundance of animals in coffee plantations can be expected to be determined by their proximity to the forest reserve and characteristics of the local vegetation. We tested this hypothesis with data on mammals (excluding bats, murids and insectivores) collected from 15 coffee plantations around the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary in the Western Ghats mountain ranges in India, between December 2005 and May 2006. We estimated mammal species richness and abundance from indirect evidence in belt transects and track plots, and from sightings during night surveys. We sampled the vegetation of the plantations from 36 plots of 5 m·5m, in each estate. Twenty-eight species of mammals were recorded from 15 plantations. The number of species recorded in individual estates ranged from 5 to 19, with an average of 11.8. Distance from the Sanctuary was the most important factor that negatively influenced species richness, and the abundance of many species. Local vegetation characteristics influenced only the abundance of some small species. Coffee plantations can be a buffer around forest reserves and improve connectivity between them. However, increasing conversion of native shade into silver oak and hunting are two issues that must be addressed if coffee plantations are to form high-quality matrix around forest reserves in the Western Ghats

Sustaining biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes in the Western Ghats: Remnant forests matter

Human-modified tropical landscapes under semi-natural or agro-ecosystems often harbor biodiversity of significant conservation value. In the Western Ghats of India, these ecosystems also provide connectivity between protected areas and other remnant forests. We investigated the conservation value of these landscapes and agro-ecosystems using results from 35 studies covering 14 taxonomic groups. Large, conspicuous taxonomic groups and tree-covered land-use types have received much focus in this area of research in the Western Ghats. We computed a response ratio defined as the log ratio of species richness in human land use to species richness in forest control site from 17 studies. In a meta-analysis, we investigated variation of this ratio across studies with respect to three variables: taxonomic group, the landuse type sampled and the extent of forest cover within the study landscape. Higher forest cover within the landscape emerged as a major positive influence on biodiversity in human-modified landscapes for vertebrates and vegetation while no patterns emerged for invertebrates. Our results suggest that loss of remnant forest patches from these landscapes is likely to reduce biodiversity within agro-ecosystems and exacerbate overall biodiversity loss across the Western Ghats. Conservation of these remnant forest patches through protection and restoration of habitat and connectivity to larger forest patches needs to be prioritized. In the densely populated Western Ghats, this can only be achieved by building partnerships with local land owners and stakeholders through innovative land-use policy and incentive schemes for conservatio

Oral squamous cell carcinomas in age distinct population: A comparison of p53 immunoexpression

Aims: The study aimed to assess the diffused expression of p53 protein in patients with OSCC and its association with age at diagnosis (using 50 years as a cut point). Study Design: Ten normal oral mucosa and sixty OSCC lesions from age-distinct patient populations were immunohistochemically analyzed for the expression of p53 protein. Results: In OSCC cases, 31 out of total 60 cases (51.67%) showed positive expression for p53 protein and it was more common in older study group (56.67%) than in younger study group (46.67%) but the difference was not statistically significant. Moreover, there was also no significant difference in the p53 indices (percentage of p53 positive cells) between the two study groups (P = 0.827). Conclusion: The alteration rates were found to be slightly higher in older patients although not statistically significant