A collaborative approach to bring insights from local observations of climate change impacts into global climate change research

Bringing insights from Indigenous and local knowledge into climate change research requires addressing the transferability, integration, and scalability of this knowledge. Using a review of research on place-based observations of climate change impacts, we explore ways to address these challenges. Our search mostly captured scientist-led qualitative research, which - while facilitating place-based knowledge transferability to global research - did not include locally led efforts documenting climate change impacts. We classified and organized qualitative multi-site place-based information into a hierarchical system that fosters dialogue with global research, providing an enriched picture of climate change impacts on local social-ecological systems. A network coordinating the scalability of place-based research on climate change impacts is needed to bring Indigenous and local knowledge into global research and policy agendas.Peer reviewe

Hypothyroidism Enhances Tumor Invasiveness and Metastasis Development

11 pages, 9 figures.[Background]: Whereas there is increasing evidence that loss of expression and/or function of the thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) could result in a selective advantage for tumor development, the relationship between thyroid hormone levels and human cancer is a controversial issue. It has been reported that hypothyroidism might be a possible risk factor for liver and breast cancer in humans, but a lower incidence of breast carcinoma has been also reported in hypothyroid patients [Methodology/Principal Findings]: In this work we have analyzed the influence of hypothyroidism on tumor progression and metastasis development using xenografts of parental and TRβ1–expressing human hepatocarcinoma (SK-hep1) and breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-468). In agreement with our previous observations tumor invasiveness and metastasis formation was strongly repressed when TRβ–expressing cells were injected into euthyroid nude mice. Whereas tumor growth was retarded when cells were inoculated into hypothyroid hosts, tumors had a more mesenchymal phenotype, were more invasive and metastatic growth was enhanced. Increased aggressiveness and tumor growth retardation was also observed with parental cells that do not express TRs. [Conclusions/Significance]: These results show that changes in the stromal cells secondary to host hypothyroidism can modulate tumor progression and metastatic growth independently of the presence of TRs on the tumor cells. On the other hand, the finding that hypothyroidism can affect differentially tumor growth and invasiveness can contribute to the explanation of the confounding reports on the influence of thyroidal status in human cancer.This work was supported by grants BFU2007-62402 from MEC; RD06/0020/0036 from FIS and from the EU Project CRESCENDO (FP6-018652.Peer reviewe

Different suckling regimens and return to postpartum cyclic ovarian activity in Santa Inês ewes.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different suckling regimens on body condition and interval from lambing to onset of the cyclic ovarian activity in Santa Inês ewes. Thirty-two ewes were allocated to blocks according to parity, number of lambs, and body weight and submitted to 3 treatments: continuous suckling (n = 11 ewes, 13 lambs), controlled suckling (n = 10 ewes, 14 lambs) with 2 suckling periods per day for 1 h from Day 10 postpartum (pp), or early weaning (n = 11 ewes, 14 lambs) with total separation of the lambs from Day 10 pp. The animals were evaluated in the interval from Day 12 pp to first estrus or to Day 60 pp. Dry matter intake was evaluated daily. The body weight of ewes and lambs and body condition score (scale 1 = thin and 5 = fat) of ewes were evaluated at lambing and at every 6 days after. Lambs were weighed at weaning. Estrus was monitored twice daily with a teaser ram. Blood samples for progesterone measurement were collected and ovarian ultrasonography was done at intervals of 3 days from Day 12 pp to first estrus or to Day 60 pp. Dry matter intake was analyzed over time, considering 9 periods, with PROC MIXED of SAS (2008; SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Body weight, body condition score, interval from lambing to first ovulation, and weaning weight were analyzed using the GLM procedure, ANOVA, and an F-test. The intervals from lambing to first estrus and to follicles with a diameter &#8805;5 mm were analyzed considering a Poisson distribution and the percentage of estrus manifestation was analyzed considering a Bernoulli distribution, by generalized linear models, using PROC GENMOD. The dry matter intake did not differ (P > 0.05) among treatments (2.3 ± 0.1, 2.2 ± 0.0, and 1.6 ± 0.0 kg day?1), but it differed over time (P 0.05). The dry matter intake was correlated with body weight in ewes that were submitted to continuous suckling (r = 0.7; P 0.05). The body condition score was correlated with body weight in ewes submitted to continuous suckling (r = 0.8; P < 0.01), controlled suckling (r = 0.4; P < 0.01), and early weaning (r = 0.5; P < 0.01), and with dry matter intake in those submitted to continuous suckling (r = 0.4; P < 0.01). Weaning weight was lower (P < 0.05) in lambs subjected to early weaning (19.0 ± 1.0, 18.3 ± 1.0, and 15.2 ± 0.6 kg), but their health was not compromised. Continuous suckling did not delay the return to postpartum cyclic ovarian activity and did not influence the postpartum body condition of Santa Inês ewes and should be used by producers.Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the International Embryo Transfer Society, Hannover, Germany, 19-22 January, 2013. Papers and Abstracts for Poster Presentation

Solution Structure and Phylogenetics of Prod1, a Member of the Three-Finger Protein Superfamily Implicated in Salamander Limb Regeneration

Prod1 is a cell-surface molecule of the three-finger protein (TFP) superfamily involved in the specification of newt limb PD identity. The TFP superfamily is a highly diverse group of metazoan proteins that includes snake venom toxins, mammalian transmembrane receptors and miscellaneous signaling molecules..The available data suggest that Prod1, and thereby its role in encoding PD identity, is restricted to salamanders. The lack of comparable limb-regenerative capability in other adult vertebrates could be correlated with the absence of the Prod1 gene