Optimal Forest Strategies for Addressing Tradeoffs and Uncertainty in Economic Development under Old-Growth Constraints

In Canada, governments have historically promoted economic development in rural regions by promoting exploitation of natural resources, particularly forests. Forest resources are an economic development driver in many of the more than 80% of native communities located in forest regions. But forests also provide aboriginal people with cultural and spiritual values, and non-timber forest amenities (e.g., biodiversity, wildlife harvests for meat and fur, etc.), that are incompatible with timber exploitation. Some cultural and other amenities can only be satisfied by maintaining a certain amount of timber in an old-growth state. In that case, resource constraints might be too onerous to satisfy development needs. We employ compromise programming and fuzzy programming to identify forest management strategies that best compromise between development and other objectives, applying our models to an aboriginal community in northern Alberta. In addition to describing how mathematical programming techniques can be applied to regional development and forest management, we conclude from the analysis that no management strategy is able to satisfy all of the technical, environmental and social/cultural constraints and, at the same time, offer aboriginal peoples forest-based economic development. Nonetheless, we demonstrate that extant forest management policies can be improved upon.forest-dependent aboriginal communities, boreal forest, compromise and fuzzy programming, sustainability and uncertainty, International Development, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, R11, Q23, Q01, C61,

Can Forest Management Strategies Sustain The Development Needs Of The Little Red River Cree First Nation?

In this study, we explore whether projected socio-economic needs of the Little Red River Cree Nation (LRRCN) can be met using the natural resources to which they have access. To answer this question, we employ a dynamic optimization model to assess the capacity of the available forest base to provide for anticipated future needs of the LRRCN. Results for alternative management strategies indicate that decision-makers face significant tradeoffs in deciding an appropriate management strategy for the forestlands they control.boreal forest, First Nations, forest management, sustainability

Distribution and Speciation of Heavy Metals in Soils around Some Selected Auto Repair Workshops in Oghara, Delta State, Nigeria

Soil contamination by heavy metals is a worldwide environmental problem. Hence determining the chemical forms of a metal in soils is important to evaluate its mobility and bioavailability. This study determined the distribution and speciation of some heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) in soils around some selected auto repair workshops in Oghara, Delta State, Nigeria. Soil samples were collected with the aid of soil Augar within a depth of 0 – 15 cm from the vicinity of the four selected auto repair workshops in Oghara, Delta State, Nigeria. The control samples were taken from a site free from auto repair and commercial activities. The soil samples were assessed for some physico-chemical properties, total heavy metal concentration, chemical speciation, mobility and some metal assessment indices of the heavy metals as a function of soil properties. The mean concentration of Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in all the sites analyzed were 550.54, 31.08, 36.15, 4.21 and 1.11 mg/kg respectively. Site B and the control had the highest and lowest total concentration of the five metals analyzed respectively. The levels of Cu were above the DPR target value in sites A and B, while the levels of Cd were above the target value in all the sites except in the control site. All the metals were found to be mostly concentrated in the residual fraction except Zn which was found mostly in the carbonate fraction. The mobility factors revealed that Zn is the most mobile element with an average mobility factor of 41.54% while Cd is the least mobile element with an average mobility factor of 16.51%. Contamination factors, index of geoaccumulation and pollution load index were also calculated. This study showed that mechanic workshop is one of the major sources of anthropogenic heavy metals concentration in the environment

Inflammation mobilizes copper metabolism to promote colon tumorigenesis via an IL-17-STEAP4-XIAP axis.

Copper levels are known to be elevated in inflamed and malignant tissues. But the mechanism underlying this selective enrichment has been elusive. In this study, we report a axis by which inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-17, drive cellular copper uptake via the induction of a metalloreductase, STEAP4. IL-17-induced elevated intracellular copper level leads to the activation of an E3-ligase, XIAP, which potentiates IL-17-induced NFκB activation and suppresses the caspase 3 activity. Importantly, this IL-17-induced STEAP4-dependent cellular copper uptake is critical for colon tumor formation in a murine model of colitis-associated tumorigenesis and STEAP4 expression correlates with IL-17 level and XIAP activation in human colon cancer. In summary, this study reveals a IL-17-STEAP4-XIAP axis through which the inflammatory response induces copper uptake, promoting colon tumorigenesis

A new mechanism for mtDNA pathogenesis: impairment of post-transcriptional maturation leads to severe depletion of mitochondrial tRNA(Ser(UCN)) caused by T7512C and G7497A point mutations

We have studied the consequences of two homoplasmic, pathogenic point mutations (T7512C and G7497A) in the tRNA(Ser(UCN)) gene of mitochondrial (mt) DNA using osteosarcoma cybrids. We identified a severe reduction of tRNA(Ser(UCN)) to levels below 10% of controls for both mutations, resulting in a 40% reduction in mitochondrial protein synthesis rate and in a respiratory chain deficiency resembling that in the patients muscle. Aminoacylation was apparently unaffected. On non-denaturating northern blots we detected an altered electrophoretic mobility for G7497A containing tRNA molecules suggesting a structural impact of this mutation, which was confirmed by structural probing. By comparing in vitro transcribed molecules with native RNA in such gels, we also identified tRNA(Ser(UCN)) being present in two isoforms in vivo, probably corresponding to the nascent, unmodified transcripts co-migrating with the in vitro transcripts and a second, faster moving isoform corresponding to the mature tRNA. In cybrids containing either mutations the unmodified isoforms were severely reduced. We hypothesize that both mutations lead to an impairment of post-transcriptional modification processes, ultimately leading to a preponderance of degradation by nucleases over maturation by modifying enzymes, resulting in severely reduced tRNA(Ser(UCN)) steady state levels. We infer that an increased degradation rate, caused by disturbance of tRNA maturation and, in the case of the G7497A mutant, alteration of tRNA structure, is a new pathogenic mechanism of mt tRNA point mutations

Regulation of nitric oxide production in hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a common endocrine disorder that predominantly occurs in females. It is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), but the molecular mechanism is not known. Disturbance in lipid metabolism, the regulation of oxidative stress, and inflammation characterize the progression of subclinical hypothyroidism. The initiation and progression of endothelial dysfunction also exhibit these changes, which is the initial step in developing CVD. Animal and human studies highlight the critical role of nitric oxide (NO) as a reliable biomarker for cardiovascular risk in subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism. In this review, we summarize the recent literature findings associated with NO production by the thyroid hormones in both physiological and pathophysiological conditions. We also discuss the levothyroxine treatment effect on serum NO levels in hypothyroid patients. © 2020 The Author

Genetic Regulation of Plasma Lipid Species and Their Association with Metabolic Phenotypes.

The genetic regulation and physiological impact of most lipid species are unexplored. Here, we profiled 129 plasma lipid species across 49 strains of the BXD mouse genetic reference population fed either chow or a high-fat diet. By integrating these data with genomics and phenomics datasets, we elucidated genes by environment (diet) interactions that regulate systemic metabolism. We found quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for approximately 94% of the lipids measured. Several QTLs harbored genes associated with blood lipid levels and abnormal lipid metabolism in human genome-wide association studies. Lipid species from different classes provided signatures of metabolic health, including seven plasma triglyceride species that associated with either healthy or fatty liver. This observation was further validated in an independent mouse model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and in plasma from NAFLD patients. This work provides a resource to identify plausible genes regulating the measured lipid species and their association with metabolic traits

Talking in Time: the development of a self-administered Conversation Analysis based training programme for cochlear implant users

Objectives: Training software to facilitate participation in conversations where overlapping talk is common was to be developed with the involvement of Cochlear implant (CI) users. Methods: Examples of common types of overlap were extracted from a recorded corpus of 3.5 hours of British English conversation. In eight meetings, an expert panel of five CI users tried out ideas for a computer-based training programme addressing difficulties in turn-taking. Results: Based on feedback from the panel, a training programme was devised. The first module consists of introductory videos. The three remaining modules, implemented in interactive software, focus on non-overlapped turn-taking, competitive overlaps and accidental overlaps. Discussion: The development process is considered in light of feedback from panel members and from an end of project dissemination event. Benefits, limitations and challenges of the present approach to user involvement and to the design of self-administered communication training programmes are discussed. Conclusion: The project was characterized by two innovative features: the involvement of service users not only at its outset and conclusion but throughout its course; and the exclusive use of naturally occurring conversational speech in the training programme. While both present practical challenges, the project has demonstrated the potential for ecologically valid speech rehabilitation training