Transitions of social-ecological subsistence systems in the Arctic

Transitions of social-ecological systems (SES) expose governance systems to new challenges. This is particularly so in the Arctic where resource systems are increasingly subjected to global warming, industrial development and globalization which subsequently alter the local SES dynamics. Based on common-pool resource theory, we developed a dynamic conceptual model explaining how exogenous drivers might alter a traditional subsistence system from a provisioning to an appropriation actions situation. In a provisioning action situation the resource users do not control the resource level but adapt to the fluctuating availability of resources, and the collective challenge revolve around securing the subsistence in the community. An increased harvest pressure enabled by exogenous drivers could transform the SES to an appropriation action situation where the collective challenge has changed to avoid overuse of a common-pool resource. The model was used as a focal lens to investigate the premises for broad-scale transitions of subsistence-oriented SESs in Arctic Alaska, Canada and Greenland. We synthesized data from documents, official statistics and grey and scientific literature to explore the different components of our model. Our synthesis suggests that the traditional Arctic subsistence SESs mostly comply with a provisioning action situation. Despite population growth and available technology; urbanization, increased wage labor and importation of food have reduced the resource demand, and we find no evidence for a broad-scale transition to an appropriation action situation throughout the Western Arctic. However, appropriation challenges have emerged in some cases either as a consequence of commercialization of the resource or by severely reduced resource stocks due to various exogenous drivers. Future transitions of SESs could be triggered by the emergence of commercial local food markets and Arctic warming. In particular, Arctic warming is an intensifying exogenous driver that is threatening many important Arctic wildlife resources inflicting increased appropriation challenges to the governance of local harvest.Ye

Microbial populations associated with fixed- and floating-bed reactors during a two-stage anaerobic process

Microbial populations associated with methanogenic fixed- or floating-bed bioreactors used for anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic waste were investigated. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to characterize microorganisms in samples obtained from different heights in the reactors, which were operated in a semi-continuous manner (feeding and mixing once every 2 days). The FISH results showed that Methanosaeta concilii cells were most numerous at the bottom of both reactors. M. concilii cells were more abundant in the fixed-bed reactor (FXBR), which performed better than the floating-bed reactor (FLBR). Species of the Methanosarcina genera (mainly M. barkeri and M. mazei) were also observed in the FLBR but rarely in the FXBR. Methane production in each of the reactors ranged from 0.29 to 0.33 m3 CH4/kgCODrem (chemical oxygen demand removed). The removal of volatile fatty acids (VFA; 70–75 h) in the FXBR was more efficient than in the FLBR. [Int Microbiol 2007; 10(4):245-251

Composition and Distribution of Extracellular Polymeric Substances in Aerobic Flocs and Granular Sludge

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were quantified in flocculent and aerobic granular sludge developed in two sequencing batch reactors with the same shear force but different settling times. Several EPS extraction methods were compared to investigate how different methods affect EPS chemical characterization, and fluorescent stains were used to visualize EPS in intact samples and 20-µm cryosections. Reactor 1 (operated with a 10-min settle) enriched predominantly flocculent sludge with a sludge volume index (SVI) of 120 ± 12 ml g–1, and reactor 2 (2-min settle time) formed compact aerobic granules with an SVI of 50 ± 2 ml g–1. EPS extraction by using a cation-exchange resin showed that proteins were more dominant than polysaccharides in all samples, and the protein content was 50% more in granular EPS than flocculent EPS. NaOH and heat extraction produced a higher protein and polysaccharide content from cell lysis. In situ EPS staining of granules showed that cells and polysaccharides were localized to the outer edge of granules, whereas the center was comprised mostly of proteins. These observations confirm the chemical extraction data and indicate that granule formation and stability are dependent on a noncellular, protein core. The comparison of EPS methods explains how significant cell lysis and contamination by dead biomass leads to different and opposing conclusions

Pan-Arctic Analysis of Cultural Ecosystem Services Using Social Media and Automated Content Analysis

In the Arctic, as in many parts of the world, interactions with the natural world are an important part of people\u27s experience and are often recorded in photographs. Emerging methods for automated content analysis of social media data offers opportunities to discover information on cultural ecosystem services from photographs across large samples of people and countries. We analysed over 800,000 Flickr photographs using Google\u27s Cloud Vision algorithm to identify the components of the natural environment most photographed and to map how and where different people interact with nature across eight Arctic countries. Almost all (91.1%) of users took one or more photographs of biotic nature, and such photos account for over half (53.2%) of Arctic photos on Flickr. We find that although the vast majority of Arctic human-nature interactions occur outside protected areas, people are slightly more likely to photograph nature inside protected areas after accounting for the low accessibility of Arctic protected areas. Wildlife photographers travel further from roads than people who take fewer photographs of wildlife, and people venture much further from roads inside protected areas. A large diversity of nature was reflected in the photographs, from mammals, birds, fish, fungi, plants and invertebrates, signalling an untapped potential to connect and engage people in the appreciation and conservation of the natural world. Our findings suggest that, despite limitations, automated content analysis can be a rapid and readily accessed source of data on how and where people interact with nature, and a large-scale method for assessing cultural ecosystem services across countries and cultures

Inuit Attitudes towards Co-Managing Wildlife in Three Communities in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada

We explored Inuit attitudes towards co-managing wildlife in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada, working in partnership with the hunters and trappers’ organizations of Igluligaarjuk (Chesterfield Inlet), Tikirarjuaq (Whale Cove), and Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake). In mixed-methods interviews, study participants in the two coastal communities described dissatisfaction with polar bear (Ursus maritimus) management outcomes, in contrast to a general satisfaction with (or indifference to) the management of other species. Interviewees expressed concern about grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) and, more prominently, caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) populations in Qamani’tuaq, the inland community. Researchers have predicted that conflicts specific to polar bear management could lead to regulations being ignored or even defied and endanger the entire system of wildlife co-management. Our results indicate that dissatisfaction over decisions is specific to polar bear management outcomes and does not necessarily apply to the broader system of wildlife co-management. The results suggest that the Nunavut wildlife co-management system is quite functional: polar bear issues aside, Inuit in Qamani’tuaq, Tikirarjuaq, and Igluligaarjuk are largely content with the current functioning of the wildlife co-management regime.Nous avons étudié les attitudes des Inuits à l’égard de la cogestion de la faune dans la région de Kivalliq, au Nunavut, Canada, en collaboration avec les organisations de chasseurs et de trappeurs d’Igluligaarjuk (inlet Chesterfield), de Tikirarjuaq (Whale Cove) et de Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake). Dans le cadre d’entretiens effectués au moyen de diverses méthodes, les participants à l’étude des deux collectivités côtières ont exprimé leur mécontentement à l’égard des résultats de la gestion de l’ours polaire (Ursus maritimus), comparativement à leur satisfaction générale (ou à leur indifférence) quant à la gestion des autres espèces. Par ailleurs, les personnes interrogées ont exprimé des inquiétudes par rapport aux populations de grizzli (Ursus arctos) et des inquiétudes encore plus grandes par rapport aux populations de caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) à Qamani’tuaq, la collectivité intérieure. Selon les chercheurs, les conflits en matière de gestion de l’ours polaire pourraient se traduire par le non-respect ou la non-considération des règlements, et mettre en danger le système de cogestion de la faune dans son ensemble. D’après nos résultats, le mécontentement à l’égard des décisions a précisément trait aux résultats de la gestion des ours polaires et ne concerne pas nécessairement le système général de cogestion de la faune. Selon les résultats, le système de cogestion de la faune du Nunavut est bien fonctionnel : mis à part la question des ours polaires, les Inuits de Qamani’tuaq, de Tikirarjuaq et d’Igluligaarjuk sont en grande partie satisfaits du fonctionnement actuel du régime de cogestion de la faune

Ongoing outbreaks of hepatitis A among men who have sex with men (MSM), Berlin, November 2016 to January 2017 – linked to other German cities and European countries

Since 14 November 2016, 38 cases of hepatitis A have been notified in Berlin; of these, 37 were male and 30 reported to have sex with men (MSM). Median age of MSM cases is 31 years (range: 24–52 years). Phylogenetic analysis revealed three distinct sequences, linking cases in Berlin to those in other German cities and to clusters recognised in other European countries in 2016

An Extended Network of Genomic Maintenance in the Archaeon Pyrococcus abyssi Highlights Unexpected Associations between Eucaryotic Homologs.

In Archaea, the proteins involved in the genetic information processing pathways, including DNA replication, transcription, and translation, share strong similarities with those of eukaryotes. Characterizations of components of the eukaryotic-type replication machinery complex provided many interesting insights into DNA replication in both domains. In contrast, DNA repair processes of hyperthermophilic archaea are less well understood and very little is known about the intertwining between DNA synthesis, repair and recombination pathways. The development of genetic system in hyperthermophilic archaea is still at a modest stage hampering the use of complementary approaches of reverse genetics and biochemistry to elucidate the function of new candidate DNA repair gene. To gain insights into genomic maintenance processes in hyperthermophilic archaea, a protein-interaction network centred on informational processes of Pyrococcus abyssi was generated by affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry. The network consists of 132 interactions linking 87 proteins. These interactions give insights into the connections of DNA replication with recombination and repair, leading to the discovery of new archaeal components and of associations between eucaryotic homologs. Although this approach did not allow us to clearly delineate new DNA pathways, it provided numerous clues towards the function of new molecular complexes with the potential to better understand genomic maintenance processes in hyperthermophilic archaea. Among others, we found new potential partners of the replication clamp and demonstrated that the single strand DNA binding protein, Replication Protein A, enhances the transcription rate, in vitro, of RNA polymerase. This interaction map provides a valuable tool to explore new aspects of genome integrity in Archaea and also potentially in Eucaryotes

Solvable Lie algebras with triangular nilradicals

All finite-dimensional indecomposable solvable Lie algebras $L(n,f)$, having the triangular algebra T(n) as their nilradical, are constructed. The number of nonnilpotent elements $f$ in $L(n,f)$ satisfies $1\leq f\leq n-1$ and the dimension of the Lie algebra is $\dim L(n,f)=f+{1/2}n(n-1)$

Distributed temperature sensing as a down-hole tool in hydrogeology

Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) technology enables down-hole temperature monitoring to study hydrogeological processes at unprecedentedly high frequency and spatial resolution. DTS has been widely applied in passive mode in site investigations of groundwater flow, in-well flow, and subsurface thermal property estimation. However, recent years have seen the further development of the use of DTS in an active mode (A-DTS) for which heat sources are deployed. A suite of recent studies using A-DTS down-hole in hydrogeological investigations illustrate the wide range of different approaches and creativity in designing methodologies. The purpose of this review is to outline and discuss the various applications and limitations of DTS in down-hole investigations for hydrogeological conditions and aquifer geological properties. To this end, we first review examples where passive DTS has been used to study hydrogeology via down-hole applications. Secondly, we discuss and categorize current A-DTS borehole methods into three types. These are thermal advection tests, hybrid cable flow logging, and heat pulse tests. We explore the various options with regards to cable installation, heating approach, duration, and spatial extent in order to improve their applicability in a range of settings. These determine the extent to which each method is sensitive to thermal properties, vertical in well flow, or natural gradient flow. Our review confirms that the application of DTS has significant advantages over discrete point temperature measurements, particularly in deep wells, and highlights the potential for further method developments in conjunction with other emerging fiber optic based sensors such as Distributed Acoustic Sensing. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved