The major food trees of the Angola black-andwhite colobus (Colobus angolensis palliatus) in Diani Forest, Kenya

The Angola black-and-white colobus (Colobus angolensis palliatus) is a subspecies of Colobus angolensis inhabiting fragmented forests in coastal Kenya and Tanzania. C. angolensis is regarded as Least Concern in the red list of IUCN because its populations are abundant. However, the populations of C. a. palliatus are relatively isolated from each other and their habitats are constantly undergoing deforestation which makes this subspecies vulnerable to extinction. In 2001, the estimated number of Angola black-and-white colobus in Kenya was 3100 to 5000 individuals confined to the forests of the Kwale District. The Diani Forest is an unprotected forest in the district and has been highlighted as a key habitat for future Angola black-and-white colobus conservation. There are few observations on C. a. palliatus and to conserve this subspecies more information is needed. The aim of this study was to investigate which tree species that the Angola black-and-white colobus forages from in the Diani Forest. Observations were carried out on four troops during eight days between 25th of March and 2nd of April 2011. The recording method being used was instantaneous sampling with an interval of one minute. In each study session, two focal animals were observed and registrations were made on the monkey´s behaviour and position as well as utilized tree species. When the monkey was feeding, the food tree species and the food item were also recorded. In total, the Angola black-and-white colobus foraged from 42 tree species in the observed sites of the Diani Forest. The major food trees were Adansonia digitata, Adenanthera pavonina, Bougainville spectabilis, Delonix regia, Hunteria zeylanica, Lecaniodiscus fraxinifolius, Lannae welwitschii, Pithecellobium dulce, Trichilia emetica, and Zanthoxylum chalybeum. The subspecies ate a high proportion of mature leaves (35.4 %) followed by flowers (27.6 %), young leaves (21.1 %), fruits (9.5 %), unidentified leaves (4.1 %) and other food items (2.3 %). The results from this study show that the Angola black-and-white colobus is primarily folivorous since more than 50 % of its diet is composed of leaves. However, previous studies have shown that the dietary composition of Colobines varies between habitats, seasons and years and it is therefore difficult to draw any conclusions from this minor study. Future observations on the feeding ecology of Colobus angolensis palliatus should be performed on more troops of monkeys in different forest habitats during long time periods to achieve more accurate information on monkey diets and thereby better conserve the subspecies and its habitats in Diani Forest. In addition, the nutritional quality of consumed plant parts should be examined. The results of this study are based on few observations during a short time period and should therefore be interpreted cautiously.Den angolanska svartvita colobusapan (Colobus angolensis palliatus) är en underart till Colobus angolensis och lever i fragmenterade skogar längs Kenyas och Tanzanias kuster. C. angolensis är klassad som Livskraftig på IUCN:s rödlista eftersom populationerna är stora. Populationer av C. a. palliatus är dock isolerade från varandra och habitaten skövlas ständigt vilket gör underarten sårbar. År 2001 var antalet angolanska svartvita colobusapor i Kenya mellan 3100 och 5000 individer vilka lever i skogarna i Kwale District. Diani Forest är en oskyddad skog i distriktet och anses vara ett nyckelhabitat för framtida bevarandeinsatser för underarten. Det finns dock bara ett fåtal studier på C. a. palliatus och för att kunna bevara denna underart behövs mer information. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vilka trädarter som äts av den angolanska svartvita colobusapan i Diani Forest. Observationer utfördes på fyra trupper under åtta dagar mellan den 25:e mars och 2:a april 2011. Den registreringsmetod som användes var momentanregistrering med ett intervall på en minut. I varje observationspass studerades två fokaldjur och registreringar utfördes på apornas beteende, position och vilken trädart som användes. När aporna åt registrerades även födoträd och äten växtdel. Aporna åt från totalt 42 trädarter i det studerade området av Diani Forest. De tio viktigaste födoträden var Adansonia digitata, Adenanthera pavonina, Bougainville spectabilis, Delonix regia, Hunteria zeylanica, Lecaniodiscus fraxinifolius, Lannae welwitschii, Pithecellobium dulce, Trichilia emetica och Zanthoxylum chalybeum. Aporna åt en hög andel mogna blad (35.4 %) följt av blommor (27.6 %), unga blad (21.1 %), frukt (9.5 %), oidentifierade blad (4.1 %) och andra växtdelar (2.3 %). Min studie visar att den angolanska svartvita colobusapan huvudsakligen är en bladätare eftersom mer än 50 procent av dieten utgörs av blad. Tidigare studier har dock visat att dieten hos colobusapor varierar mellan habitat, årstid och år och det är därför svårt att dra några slutsatser från denna enkla studie. Framtida observationer på födobeteende hos C. a. palliatus bör genomföras på flera trupper i olika skogshabitat under långa tidsperioder för att få fram mer tillförlitlig information om apans diet och därmed på ett bättre sätt kunna bevara underarten och dess habitat i Diani Forest. Därtill bör näringsinnehållet i ätna växtdelar undersökas. Resultatet från denna studie är baserat på ett fåtal observationer under en kort tidsperiod och bör därför beaktas med försiktighet

Två perspektiv på fördomsfullhet : Personlighet eller kontakt?

Only abstract. Paper copies of master’s theses are listed in the Helka database (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Electronic copies of master’s theses are either available as open access or only on thesis terminals in the Helsinki University Library.Vain tiivistelmä. Sidottujen gradujen saatavuuden voit tarkistaa Helka-tietokannasta (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Digitaaliset gradut voivat olla luettavissa avoimesti verkossa tai rajoitetusti kirjaston opinnäytekioskeilla.Endast sammandrag. Inbundna avhandlingar kan sökas i Helka-databasen (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Elektroniska kopior av avhandlingar finns antingen öppet på nätet eller endast tillgängliga i bibliotekets avhandlingsterminaler.Undersökningens design är en internationell jämförelse, en replikation av undersökningar utförda i Förenta Staterna, Tjeckien, Chile, Ungern och Spanien. Materialet för Finlands del samlades in som surveyundersökning våren 2001. Respondenterna bestod av studeranden vid Helsingfors universitet (N = 195). Den totala svarsprocenten var ca. 70 % och materialet analyserades med statistiska metoder. Målet för denna undersökning är dels att utreda om två personlighetsdrag, allmän misstänksamhet och autoritarianism, hör ihop å ena sidan med fördomar mot judar och å andra sidan med fördomar mot romer. Dels undersöks om kontakten med dessa två minoriteter påverkar fördomarna mot dessa minoritetsgrupper. Sambandet mellan personlighet och fördomar mättes med ett test för autoritär personlighet (RWA, Altemeyer 1988) och test för allmän misstänksamhet (Pr/To, Gough, 1951) och test för fördomar (ROMA, Dunbar & Simonova, och SSASI, Selznick & Steinberg 1969). Kontakterna till de två minoritetsgrupperna, mättes med en skala för olika kontaktdimensioner (Tzeng & Jackson 1994). Materialet analyserades med hjälp av hierarkisk regressionsanalys. Både autoritarianism och allmän misstänksamhet förutspådde fördomar i Finland. De viktigaste resultaten i denna undersökning kan sammanfattas på följande sätt: 1) Samplets respondenter förhåller sig mycket olika till de två undersökta minoritetsgrupperna, romerna och judarna. 2) Beträffande de två förklaringsmodellerna, den ena med betoning på personlighet, den andra med betoning på kontakt över gruppgränserna, var det olika faktorer som förklarade fördomarna mot dessa två minoritetsgrupper: kontakten med judar förklarade fördomar mot dem mer än personlighetsskalorna för autoritär personlighet och allmän misstänksamhet. Däremot förklarade autoritarianism fördomar mot romer mer än kontakterna med romer. 3) Könsskillnader i fördomar förekom i hela samplet. Då kontaktens olika dimensioner analyserades enligt kön visade det sig att mäns och kvinnors attityder påverkas av olika dimensioner. De viktigaste källorna: Allport 1954; Duckitt 1992; Dunbar, Simonova 2000; Bachner 1999; Brown 1995; Eysenck 1970; Lazarus 1974; Cattell – Kline 1977; Altemeyer 198

Spridningsvägar för invasiva främmande arter av unionsbetydelse och nationell betydelse - en sammanfattning

Denna kortrapport är en sammanfattning av rapporten Spridningsvägar för invasiva främmande arter av unionsbetydelse och nationell betydelse, som färdigställdes under 2022-2024 av Camilla Jansson och Torbjörn Ebenhard, CBM, på uppdrag av Naturvårdsverket. I rapporten redovisas identifierade och prioriterade spridningsvägar för totalt 101 invasiva främmande arter, i nuläget och för ett framtida scenario. Informationen kan användas i myndigheternas arbete för att förhindra spridningen av arterna. I denna kortrapport sammanfattas resultaten och slutsatserna från den längre rapporten

The social organization of assistance in multilingual interaction in Swedish residential care

In this article, we explore the organization of assistance in multilingual interaction in Swedish residential care. The data that form the basis for the study cover care encounters involving three residents with a language background other than Swedish, totalling 13 hours and 14 minutes of video documentation. The empirical data consists of a collection of 134 instances where residents seek assistance with the realization of a practical action. For this article, three examples that involve the manipulation of an object have been selected for analysis. We use the concept of ‘recruitment’ to encompass the various methods by which assistance is sought in the care encounter. In the first example, the need for assistance concerns the transfer of an object that is recognizable and physically available for both participants. This, in combination with the resident’s gestural work that pinpoints the description of the action, facilitates its realization. In the second and third examples, the realization of the action becomes more difficult because the object involved is not recognizable for the caregiver. The article highlights the collaborative ways in which residents manage to support their talk through bodily practices, and the strong and empathetic engagement with which caregivers become involved in interpreting the meaning of these practices. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for care provision in multilingual circumstances.Peer reviewe

Proliferation and differentiation potential of chondrocytes from osteoarthritic patients

Autologous chondrocyte transplantation (ACT) has been shown, in long-term follow-up studies, to be a promising treatment for the repair of isolated cartilage lesions. The method is based on an implantation of in vitro expanded chondrocytes originating from a small cartilage biopsy harvested from a non-weight-bearing area within the joint. In patients with osteoarthritis (OA), there is a need for the resurfacing of large areas, which could potentially be made by using a scaffold in combination with culture-expanded cells. As a first step towards a cell-based therapy for OA, we therefore investigated the expansion and redifferentiation potential in vitro of chondrocytes isolated from patients undergoing total knee replacement. The results demonstrate that OA chondrocytes have a good proliferation potential and are able to redifferentiate in a three-dimensional pellet model. During the redifferentiation, the OA cells expressed increasing amounts of DNA and proteoglycans, and at day 14 the cells from all donors contained type II collagen-rich matrix. The accumulation of proteoglycans was in comparable amounts to those from ACT donors, whereas total collagen was significantly lower in all of the redifferentiated OA chondrocytes. When the OA chondrocytes were loaded into a scaffold based on hyaluronic acid, they bound to the scaffold and produced cartilage-specific matrix proteins. Thus, autologous chondrocytes are a potential source for the biological treatment of OA patients but the limited collagen synthesis of the OA chondrocytes needs to be further explained

Rewiring of interactions in a changing environment: nettle‐feeding butterflies and their parasitoids

Climate and land use change can alter the incidence and strength of biotic interactions, with important effects on the distribution, abundance and function of species. To assess the importance of these effects and their dynamics, studies quantifying how biotic interactions change in space and time are needed. We studied interactions between nettle‐feeding butterflies and their shared natural enemies (parasitoids) locally and across 500 km latitudinal gradient in Sweden. We also examined the potential impact of the range‐expansion of the butterfly Araschnia levana on resident butterflies via shared parasitoids, by studying how parasitism in resident butterflies covaries with the presence or absence of the newly‐established species. We collected 6777 larvae of four nettle‐feeding butterfly species (Aglais urticae, Aglais io, Ar. levana and Vanessa atalanta), over two years, at 19 sites distributed along the gradient. We documented the parasitoid complex for each butterfly species and measured their overlap, and analysed how parasitism rates were affected by butterfly species assemblage, variations in abundance, time, and the arrival of Ar. levana. Parasitoids caused high mortality, with substantial overlap in the complex of parasitoids associated with the four host butterflies. Levels of parasitism differed significantly among butterflies and were influenced by the local butterfly species assemblage. Our results also suggest that parasitism in resident butterflies is elevated at sites where Ar. levana has been established for a longer period. In our study system, variations in butterfly species assemblages were associated in a predictable way with substantial variations in rates of parasitism. This relationship is likely to affect the dynamics of the butterfly host species, and potentially cascade to the larger number of species with which they interact. These results highlight the importance of indirect interactions and their potential to reorganise ecological communities, especially in the context of shifts in species distributions in a warmer world

Fetal Growth versus Birthweight: The Role of Placenta versus Other Determinants

in utero. We aimed to study the effects of maternal characteristics on both birthweight and fetal growth in third trimester and introduce placental weight as a possible determinant of both birthweight and fetal growth in third trimester.The STORK study is a prospective cohort study including 1031 healthy pregnant women of Scandinavian heritage with singleton pregnancies. Maternal determinants (age, parity, body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain and fasting plasma glucose) of birthweight and fetal growth estimated by biometric ultrasound measures were explored by linear regression models. Two models were fitted, one with only maternal characteristics and one which included placental weight.Placental weight was a significant determinant of birthweight. Parity, BMI, weight gain and fasting glucose remained significant when adjusted for placental weight. Introducing placental weight as a covariate reduced the effect estimate of the other variables in the model by 62% for BMI, 40% for weight gain, 33% for glucose and 22% for parity. Determinants of fetal growth were parity, BMI and weight gain, but not fasting glucose. Placental weight was significant as an independent variable. Parity, BMI and weight gain remained significant when adjusted for placental weight. Introducing placental weight reduced the effect of BMI on fetal growth by 23%, weight gain by 14% and parity by 17%.In conclusion, we find that placental weight is an important determinant of both birthweight and fetal growth. Our findings indicate that placental weight markedly modifies the effect of maternal determinants of both birthweight and fetal growth. The differential effect of third trimester glucose on birthweight and growth parameters illustrates that birthweight and fetal growth are not identical entities

Physical activity attenuates the influence of FTO variants on obesity risk: A meta-analysis of 218,166 adults and 19,268 children

Background: The FTO gene harbors the strongest known susceptibility locus for obesity. While many individual studies have suggested that physical activity (PA) may attenuate the effect of FTO on obesity risk, other studies have not been able to confirm this interaction. To confirm or refute unambiguously whether PA attenuates the association of FTO with obesity risk, we meta-analyzed data from 45 studies of adults (n = 218,166) and nine studies of children and adolescents (n = 19,268). Methods and Findings: All studies identified to have data on the FTO rs9939609 variant (or any proxy [r2>0.8]) and PA were invited to participate, regardless of ethnicity or age of the participants. PA was standardized by categorizing it into a dichotomous variable (physically inactive versus active) in each study. Overall, 25% of adults and 13% of children were categorized as inactive. Interaction analyses were performed within each study by including the FTO×PA interaction term in an additive model, adjusting for age and sex. Subsequently, random effects meta-analysis was used to pool the interaction terms. In adults, the minor (A-) allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity by 1.23-fold/allele (95% CI 1.20-1.26), but PA attenuated this effect (pinteraction= 0.001). More specifically, the minor allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity less in the physically active group (odds ratio = 1.22/allele, 95% CI 1.19-1.25) than in the inactive group (odds ratio = 1.30/allele, 95% CI 1.24-1.36). No such interaction was found in children and adolescents. Concl

Genome-wide association identifies nine common variants associated with fasting proinsulin levels and provides new insights into the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Proinsulin is a precursor of mature insulin and C-peptide. Higher circulating proinsulin levels are associated with impaired β-cell function, raised glucose levels, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Studies of the insulin processing pathway could provide new insights about T2D pathophysiology. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We have conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association tests of ∼2.5 million genotyped or imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and fasting proinsulin levels in 10,701 nondiabetic adults of European ancestry, with follow-up of 23 loci in up to 16,378 individuals, using additive genetic models adjusted for age, sex, fasting insulin, and study-specific covariates. RESULTS: Nine SNPs at eight loci were associated with proinsulin levels (P < 5 × 10(-8)). Two loci (LARP6 and SGSM2) have not been previously related to metabolic traits, one (MADD) has been associated with fasting glucose, one (PCSK1) has been implicated in obesity, and four (TCF7L2, SLC30A8, VPS13C/C2CD4A/B, and ARAP1, formerly CENTD2) increase T2D risk. The proinsulin-raising allele of ARAP1 was associated with a lower fasting glucose (P = 1.7 × 10(-4)), improved β-cell function (P = 1.1 × 10(-5)), and lower risk of T2D (odds ratio 0.88; P = 7.8 × 10(-6)). Notably, PCSK1 encodes the protein prohormone convertase 1/3, the first enzyme in the insulin processing pathway. A genotype score composed of the nine proinsulin-raising alleles was not associated with coronary disease in two large case-control datasets. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified nine genetic variants associated with fasting proinsulin. Our findings illuminate the biology underlying glucose homeostasis and T2D development in humans and argue against a direct role of proinsulin in coronary artery disease pathogenesis