Ecosystem Services and Social Wellbeing Linkages: The Impact of a Marine Protected Area in Bluefields, Jamaica

This thesis examines the linkages between ecosystem services (ES) and social wellbeing (SW) for a small-scale fishing community, and analyzes how these linkages have changed in relation to the implementation of a marine protected area (MPA). The case study for this research is Bluefields, a community in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica. The Bluefields Bay Special Fishery Conservation Area (BBSFCA) is a no-take MPA that was established in the community in 2009 to promote the recovery of declining fish stocks. This MPA has a direct social and ecological impact on approximately ten adjacent communities and 400 small-scale fishers in Bluefields Bay. The following four objectives guide this research: 1) to identify the ecosystem service bundles (i.e., interconnected ES) that are valued by different community groups (e.g., inshore fishers, offshore fishers, non-fishers); 2) to define how the MPA has changed access to ES bundles for these different groups; 3) to examine how changes in access to these bundles have affected social wellbeing; and 4) to apply understanding of ES and SW to enhance the governance of MPAs (e.g., siting, design, management). This research uses a qualitative case study based mixed-methods approach. Research began with the review of primary and secondary literature. Subsequent fieldwork components included: 1) participant observation; 2) 42 semi-structured interviews (n=59 people); 3) six focus groups (n=44 people); and 4) 77 structured questionnaires (n=77 people). Major findings from this research indicate that, first, both fishers and non-fishers emphasized the importance of provisioning (e.g., fish, lobster) and cultural ecosystem services (e.g., cultural heritage, knowledge systems), and their bundled qualities (e.g., fish as food, livelihood, and cultural celebration). Fishers also noted interconnections between provisioning and supporting ecosystem services (e.g., water cycling, biodiversity)—particularly the bundling of fish with habitat and refugia (e.g., fish stocks increase when habitats are healthy and accessible). Second, inshore fishers, in comparison to offshore fishers and non-fishers, are the most impacted by the implementation of the MPA. Furthermore, inshore fishers have become the most marginalized in governance processes, despite experiencing the greatest negative change to ecosystem service access and social wellbeing. Third, co-management (i.e., collaboration between state and local actors) may be the most appropriate mode of governance for the BBSFCA. However, there are several challenges preventing effective co-management in Bluefields, including: 1) disagreement over management objectives (e.g., managing to enhance provisioning ES, versus managing to maintain cultural ES access); 2) a lack of opportunity for meaningful participation (e.g., issues surrounding trust and advocacy); and 3) the need to strengthen social networks (e.g., increase relational wellbeing between core actors and marginalized groups). Current management objectives of the MPA are misaligned with the needs of marginalized groups, thereby indicating a tradeoff between conservation and wellbeing. This tradeoff is a source of conflict that inhibits capacity building and weakens local fisher institutions—in turn, inhibiting governance of the MPA. Ultimately, this thesis contributes to resolving tensions between small-scale fishing communities and conservation initiatives. Findings on ecosystem services and social wellbeing support the need to treat coastal-marine systems as multi-faceted, with rich social and cultural dimensions. To enhance compliance and legitimacy of conservation efforts in small-scale fishing communities, this research advocates for coastal-marine governance that acknowledges and reflects these intangible dimensions

CHARACTERIZATION OF P53-MEDIATED TRANSCRIPTION DEREGULATION BY THE HEPATITIS B VIRUS X PROTEIN

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

The Determinants Factors of Womenpreneurship Performances in Low Economic Class : An Evidence from Melaka

Within this study, we want to examine factors those determine to the rise of womenpreneurship, since it is one of the most important 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to eradicate national poverty as well as to support the innovation and ever-growing economy. The increasing of women's participation in entrepreneurs demonstrated positive impact of female entrepreneurs, not only on the family but also on economic growth and development. We build our theoretical framework based on literature surveys; that factors of an inspiring role model, education on digital skills, and financial support, which taken from Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), contribute to this increasing of womenpreneurship participation. As far as we have known, we are among the first who establish the study focused on women entrepreneurs, especially among the B40 economic social class. We employ a quantitative approach of Multiple Regression Linear Analysis with a convenience sample, comprising 100 women entrepreneurs in Melaka. We find that women entrepreneurs with clear targets, would not only possess the right attitude in their entrepreneurial path, but also become the society role models at the same time. Also, when facing the social pressure, womenpreneurs will equip themselves with proper education to grasp more opportunities. Even though limited by the participation rate, especially those in the rural areas, we would like to make recommendations on ways to encourage more women to pursue entrepreneurship, especially during the Covid-19 outbreak

Ultralow-threshold, continuous-wave upconverting lasing from subwavelength plasmons.

Miniaturized lasers are an emerging platform for generating coherent light for quantum photonics, in vivo cellular imaging, solid-state lighting and fast three-dimensional sensing in smartphones1-3. Continuous-wave lasing at room temperature is critical for integration with opto-electronic devices and optimal modulation of optical interactions4,5. Plasmonic nanocavities integrated with gain can generate coherent light at subwavelength scales6-9, beyond the diffraction limit that constrains mode volumes in dielectric cavities such as semiconducting nanowires10,11. However, insufficient gain with respect to losses and thermal instabilities in nanocavities has limited all nanoscale lasers to pulsed pump sources and/or low-temperature operation6-9,12-15. Here, we show continuous-wave upconverting lasing at room temperature with record-low thresholds and high photostability from subwavelength plasmons. We achieve selective, single-mode lasing from Yb3+/Er3+-co-doped upconverting nanoparticles conformally coated on Ag nanopillar arrays that support a single, sharp lattice plasmon cavity mode and greater than wavelength λ/20 field confinement in the vertical dimension. The intense electromagnetic near-fields localized in the vicinity of the nanopillars result in a threshold of 70 W cm-2, orders of magnitude lower than other small lasers. Our plasmon-nanoarray upconverting lasers provide directional, ultra-stable output at visible frequencies under near-infrared pumping, even after six hours of constant operation, which offers prospects in previously unrealizable applications of coherent nanoscale light

Nutrition impacts the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease in the United States

ObjectiveTraditional recommendations for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) risk factor reduction include smoking cessation, low-fat/low-salt diet, exercise, and optimal medical management of chronic disease. Little attention has been paid to the role of dietary supplementation of specific nutrients in the prevention of PAD.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to determine specific nutrients that are associated with prevalent PAD in the United States (US) population. NHANES data include nationwide sampling of the US population, using physical examination, questionnaire, and laboratory testing. PAD status was defined by an ankle-brachial index (ABI) of <0.9. Nutritional information was collected by 24-hour dietary recall using the US Department of Agriculture dietary collection instrument. Data were linked to a database of foods and their nutrient composition. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate associations between specific nutrient intake and the presence of PAD. Multivariate models adjusted for the effects of age, gender, hypertension, coronary vascular disease, diabetes, and smoking.ResultsNHANES data for 1999 to 2004 included 7203 lower extremity examinations, of which 422 individuals had prevalent PAD (5.9%). Examinees with PAD had significantly higher rates of hypertension, coronary artery disease, diabetes, and smoking than those without PAD. Univariate analysis revealed that consumption of all nutrients considered were associated with lower odds of PAD, including antioxidants (vitamins A, C, and E), folate, other B vitamins (B6, B12), fiber, and polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids. After adjustment for traditional risk factors, nutrients associated with reduced prevalence of PAD were vitamin A (odds ratio [OR], 0.79; P = .036), vitamin C (OR, 0.84; P < .001), vitamin E (OR, 0.78; P = .011), vitamin B6 (OR, 0.71; P = .023), fiber (OR, 0.65; P < .001), folate (OR, 0.67; P = .006), and ω-3 (α-linolenic) fatty acid (OR, 0.79; P = .028).ConclusionsImproved nutrition is associated with a reduced prevalence of PAD in the US population. Higher consumption of specific nutrients, including antioxidants (vitamin A, C, and E), vitamin B6, fiber, folate, and ω-3 fatty acids have a significant protective effect, irrespective of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. These findings suggest specific dietary supplementation may afford additional protection, above traditional risk factor modification, for the prevention of PAD

Real-world outcomes associated with poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor monotherapy maintenance in patients with primary advanced ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE: This study used real-world population data to assess the trends of first-line (1L) poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) maintenance treatment uptake and outcomes in patients with primary advanced ovarian cancer (AOC). METHODS: Patients diagnosed with AOC between January 1, 2017, and June 30, 2021, who completed 1L chemotherapy were selected from a real-world database. Descriptive analyses were performed to evaluate patient demographics, clinicopathological characteristics, and 1L treatment patterns. Time to next treatment or death was used as a proxy for real-world progression-free survival (rwPFS). Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox models were used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: Of 705 patients who completed 1L chemotherapy, 166 received PARPi monotherapy and 539 underwent active surveillance (AS). Median follow-up was 10.9 months for PARPi monotherapy and 20.6 months for AS. PARPi monotherapy use increased from 6% in 2017 to 53% in 2021. Overall, patients receiving PARPi monotherapy had longer rwPFS than those who underwent AS (not reached vs 9.53 mo) respectively. rwPFS was also longer in patients who received PARPi monotherapy compared with AS in patients with BRCA- mutated disease (not reached vs 11.4 mo), BRCA- wild-type disease (13.5 vs 9.1 mo), homologous recombination-deficient tumors (not reached vs 10.2 mo), and homologous recombination-proficient or unknown status tumors (13.5 vs 9.3 mo). CONCLUSIONS: Our real-world analysis suggested that 47% of patients with primary AOC did not receive PARPi maintenance in the year 2021. PARPi use was associated with significantly improved outcomes compared with AS

A Novel TLR4-Mediated Signaling Pathway Leading to IL-6 Responses in Human Bladder Epithelial Cells

The vigorous cytokine response of immune cells to Gram-negative bacteria is primarily mediated by a recognition molecule, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), which recognizes lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and initiates a series of intracellular NF-κB–associated signaling events. Recently, bladder epithelial cells (BECs) were reported to express TLR4 and to evoke a vigorous cytokine response upon exposure to LPS. We examined intracellular signaling events in human BECs leading to the production of IL-6, a major urinary cytokine, following activation by Escherichia coli and isolated LPS. We observed that in addition to the classical NF-κB–associated pathway, TLR4 triggers a distinct and more rapid signaling response involving, sequentially, Ca(2+), adenylyl cyclase 3–generated cAMP, and a transcriptional factor, cAMP response element–binding protein. This capacity of BECs to mobilize secondary messengers and evoke a more rapid IL-6 response might be critical in their role as first responders to microbial challenge in the urinary tract

Loss of Bladder Epithelium Induced by Cytolytic Mast Cell Granules

Programmed death and shedding of epithelial cells is a powerful defense mechanism to reduce bacterial burden during infection but this activity cannot be indiscriminate because of the critical barrier function of the epithelium. We report that during cystitis, shedding of infected bladder epithelial cells (BECs) was preceded by the recruitment of mast cells (MCs) directly underneath the superficial epithelium where they docked and extruded their granules. MCs were responding to interleukin-1β (IL-1β) secreted by BECs after inflammasome and caspase-1 signaling. Upon uptake of granule-associated chymase (mouse MC protease 4 [mMCPT4]), BECs underwent caspase-1-associated cytolysis and exfoliation. Thus, infected epithelial cells require a specific cue for cytolysis from recruited sentinel inflammatory cells before shedding