Chimpanzee conservation in light of impending iron ore mining project in SE Senegal

Although metal mining is increasing in Africa, little is known about its effects on endangered ape populations. In Senegal, much of the metal mining is located in the southeastern region, where the effects of mining compound existing conservation problems faced by savanna chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus). As mining and, subsequently, human populations increase in Senegal, chimpanzee populations will likely be displaced from areas of suitable habitat. To understand the effects of human disturbances on chimpanzee populations prior to mining, as well as chimpanzee habitat use and behaviors, I collected survey data at two study sites that have been identified by mining company ArcelorMittal as iron ore mining sites. The sites, located in the Falèmè region, were surveyed for chimpanzee nests, behavioral artifacts, habitat types, and areas of human disturbance using reconnaissance and line transect surveys. A total of 184 nests were recorded in and around the 256 km2 Kharakhena (KR) study site and 243 nests at the 64 km2 Bofeto (BO) site. Human disturbances including villages, cultivated areas, mining activities, and tree cutting by herders, were recorded using GIS. Results show that although chimpanzees around KR appear to avoid nesting within areas of human disturbance, at the BO site nesting frequently occurs within disturbed areas. Chimpanzee behavioral data was collected opportunistically through indirect measures during reconnaissance and transect surveys. Indirect data indicate the chimpanzees of KR termite fish using brush-tipped tools and enter caves, behaviors that are relatively rare for this species. Further efforts are needed to understand the balance between shared land occupation of chimpanzees and human around the BO site, as well as reasons for displacement as mining activities and human populations increase

Chimpanzees in the Island Of Gold: Impacts of artisanal small-scale gold mining on chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Fongoli, Senegal

Despite its historical and global pervasiveness, little quantitative research has been conducted on artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) and terrestrial wildlife. Using an ethnoprimatological approach, this body of work evaluates the impacts of anthropogenic activity associated with ASGM on a community of savanna chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) living in a complex and coupled human and natural system. Research was conducted in Senegal where the recent intensification of ASGM has increased the local human population, polluted, and degraded the environment, and threatens the habitat of critically endangered West African savanna chimpanzees. To quantify the impacts of ASGM, we analyzed 10 years of chimpanzee observational data from the Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project (FSCP) database related to human-chimpanzee encounters, chimpanzee behavior, and habitat use. During the study period, ASGM increased from a few seasonal miners to seven intensively mined sites and shifted local livelihoods from non-timber resource collection to gold mining. As ASGM increased, we found corresponding increases in human-chimpanzee encounters and human-initiated interactions. Chimpanzee behavior related to ASGM was complex and varied with spatial and temporal scales. At the level of home range, we observed a shift in ranging patterns toward the largest mine during initial and low-level activity. As mining expanded and increased in intensity, the home range shifted away, resulting in the avoidance of preferred land cover types and the use of poorer quality habitat types. The expansion of the largest mine also blocked previously used travel routes to feeding patches. At the finer scale of mining areas, mining activity increased the apes’ use of anthropogenic areas, particularly on days when miners were absent. The presence of miners did not change chimpanzee use of forested and woodland areas adjacent to mining sites, however. When at the ASGM sites, the apes inspected materials left by the miners and drank water from mining pits, perhaps assessing the novel disturbance and potential risks. However, risks associated ASGM activities (i.e. mercury toxicity, exposure to human fecal pathogens, degradation of forest resources, and risks associated with uncovered and abandoned pits) are likely to go unperceived by chimpanzees and may pose a more insidious threat to chimpanzee conservation in the form of an ecological trap

Composition of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial communities in waters around the Florida reef tract

The Florida Keys, a delicate archipelago of sub-tropical islands extending from the southeastern tip of Florida, host the vast majority of the only coral barrier reef in the continental United States. Abiotic as well as microbial components of the surrounding waters are pivotal for the health of reef habitats, and thus could play an important role in understanding the development and transmission of coral diseases in Florida. In this study, we analyzed microbial community structure and abiotic factors in waters around the Florida Reef Tract. Both bacterial and eukaryotic community structure were significantly linked with variations in temperature, dissolved oxygen, and total organic carbon values. High abundances of copiotrophic bacteria as well as several potentially harmful microbes, including coral pathogens, fish parasites and taxa that have been previously associated with Red Tide and shellfish poisoning were present in our datasets and may have a pivotal impact on reef health in this ecosystem

Association of immune response with efficacy and safety outcomes in adults with phenylketonuria administered pegvaliase in phase 3 clinical trials

Background: This study assessed the immunogenicity of pegvaliase (recombinant Anabaena variabilis phenylalanine [Phe] ammonia lyase [PAL] conjugated with polyethylene glycol [PEG]) treatment in adults with phenylketonuria (PKU) and its impact on safety and efficacy. Methods: Immunogenicity was assessed during induction, upward titration, and maintenance dosing regimens in adults with PKU (n = 261). Total antidrug antibodies (ADA), neutralizing antibodies, immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG antibodies against PAL and PEG, IgG and IgM circulating immune complex (CIC) levels, complement components 3 and 4 (C3/C4), plasma Phe, and safety were assessed at baseline and throughout the study. Pegvaliase-specific IgE levels were measured in patients after hypersensitivity adverse events (HAE). Findings: All patients developed ADA against PAL, peaking by 6 months and then stabilizing. Most developed transient antibody responses against PEG, peaking by 3 months, then returning to baseline by 9 months. Binding of ADA to pegvaliase led to CIC formation and complement activation, which were highest during early treatment. Blood Phe decreased over time as CIC levels and complement activation declined and pegvaliase dosage increased. HAEs were most frequent during early treatment and declined over time. No patient with acute systemic hypersensitivity events tested positive for pegvaliase-specific IgE near the time of the event. Laboratory evidence was consistent with immune complex-mediated type III hypersensitivity. No evidence of pegvaliase-associated IC-mediated end organ damage was noted. Interpretation: Despite a universal ADA response post-pegvaliase administration, adult patients with PKU achieved substantial and sustained blood Phe reductions with a manageable safety profile. Fund: BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. Keywords: Enzyme replacement therapy, Antidrug antibody, Circulating immune complex, Hypersensitivity, Phenylalanin

Memory and Mystery: The Cultural Selection of Minimally Counterintuitive Narratives

We hypothesize that cultural narratives such as myths and folktales are more likely to achieve cultural stability if they correspond to a minimally counterintuitive (MCI) cognitive template that includes mostly intuitive concepts combined with a minority of counterintuitive ones. Two studies tested this hypothesis, examining whether this template produces a memory advantage, and whether this memory advantage explains the cultural success of folktales. In a controlled laboratory setting, Study 1 found that an MCI template produces a memory advantage after a 1‐week delay, relative to entirely intuitive or maximally counterintuitive cognitive templates. Using archival methods, Study 2 examined the cognitive structure of Grimm Brothers folktales. Compared to culturally unsuccessful folktales, those that were demonstrably successful were especially likely to fit an MCI template. These findings highlight the role of human memory processes in cultural evolution.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98200/1/s15516709cog0000_68.pd

Power and Scale: The Shifting Geography of Industrial Relations Law in Australia

In an increasingly complex literature exploring the geographies of socially constructed scale, interest has focused on the relationship between scale, power and the contested political terrains through which these relations are played out. In this paper, I argue that these interactions must be understood in specific contexts, where shifts in scale are inextricably linked to shifts in the sources and instruments of power. By applying a scale perspective to the analysis of recent industrial relations legislation in Australia, I show that the nature and direction of rescaling is “fixed” by the powers of institutional actors and the scope of their jurisdictions. I then draw on the distinctively scaled relations of the Australian context to assess the extent to which Australia's national rescaling processes can be seen as representing a process of convergence toward universal “spaces of neoliberalism”

ERK1/2 signaling induces skeletal muscle slow fiber-type switching and reduces muscular dystrophy disease severity

© 2019 American Society for Clinical Investigation. MAPK signaling consists of an array of successively acting kinases. ERK1 and -2 (ERK1/2) are major components of the greater MAPK cascade that transduce growth factor signaling at the cell membrane. Here, we investigated ERK1/2 signaling in skeletal muscle homeostasis and disease. Using mouse genetics, we observed that the muscle-specifc expression of a constitutively active MEK1 mutant promotes greater ERK1/2 signaling that mediates fber-type switching to a slow, oxidative phenotype with type I myosin heavy chain expression. Using a conditional and temporally regulated Cre strategy, as well as Mapk1 (ERK2) and Mapk3 (ERK1) genetically targeted mice, MEK1-ERK2 signaling was shown to underlie this fast-to-slow fber-type switching in adult skeletal muscle as well as during development. Physiologic assessment of these activated MEK1-ERK1/2 mice showed enhanced metabolic activity and oxygen consumption with greater muscle fatigue resistance. In addition, induction of MEK1-ERK1/2 signaling increased dystrophin and utrophin protein expression in a mouse model of limb-girdle muscle dystrophy and protected myofbers from damage. In summary, sustained MEK1-ERK1/2 activity in skeletal muscle produces a fast-to-slow fber-type switch that protects from muscular dystrophy, suggesting a therapeutic approach to enhance the metabolic effectiveness of muscle and protect from dystrophic disease

The Forum: Spring 2003

Spring 2003 journal of the Honors Program at the University of North Dakota. The issue includes stories, poems, essays and art by undergraduate students.https://commons.und.edu/und-books/1051/thumbnail.jp

Comparative Capitalism without Capitalism, and Production without Workers: The Limits and Possibilities of Contemporary Institutional Analysis

The aim of this paper is to consider the extent to which the comparative capitalism literature fully reflects the available empirical evidence in its attempts to model different versions of capitalism and, in particular, whether it adequately captures the roles of diverse stakeholders within the capitalist system. In doing so, particular attention is accorded to the varieties of capitalism literature, business systems theory and regulation theory. In addition, there is reflection in the paper on whether any strand of the literature is able to deal effectively with the recent economic crisis and systemic change. It is argued that more attention needs to be devoted to exploring the structural causes of change and the marginalization of the interests of key social groupings, most notably workers, from the process of institutional redesign