Tourism and islandscapes: Cultural realignment, social-ecological resilience and change

If, as according to Robin (2015: online), "islands are idealised ecological worlds, the Edens of a fallen planet'", the rationale underpinning tourism expansion should acknowledge MacLeod's (2013) notion of "cultural realignment" that calls for optimal and resilient encounters. This introductory article to the subsequent theme section of the journal on sustainable tourism acts as a bridge toward the development of emergent themes that describe how island peoples adapt and respond in localised cultural islandscapes as a consequence of tourism expansion. The links between cultural alignment and social-ecological resilience are clear and the principal and overarching question posed in this introductory article is: To what extent are islandscapes resilient to rapidly changing utilities, significances and ways of life wrought by tourism expansion? The vulnerabilityresilience duality remains firmly entrenched in the discourse on islands where tourism has become prominent, and although tourism provides some resiliency, overall, islandscapes remain subject to externally driven fast and slow change that exercises an overwhelming influence. Islander agency will likely remain subject to the fluctuations in the demands of the tourism supply chain. Therefore, tourism as a standalone focus of islands is a high-risk proposition, especially in contexts where externally driven change is likely to intensify

Analysis of humidification of low-flow-oxygen therapy

低流量酸素吸入時の加湿について,アメリカのいくつかの学会が提唱するガイドラインでは,加湿には科学的根拠がないとしている｡このため,O大学医学部附属病院放射線部特殊検査室において,低流量酸素吸入時の加湿を廃止したが,廃止後,医療者や患者から加湿の要望が若干あった｡また,病院内の各部署から依頼をうける特殊検査室では,院内における加湿状況にばらつきがあり,明確な基準を確立する必要性を感じた｡我が国において,酸素加湿に対する基準やガイドラインは見当たらないため,国内外の文献をもとに,低流量酸素吸入時の加湿の必要性について考察した｡加湿の効果を,健常者や患者を対象として加湿の有無で比較調査した研究では,日本国内で酸素流量2L/分以下,アメリカで5L/分以下において自覚症状に有意差は認められず,加湿器を使用しなくても問題がないことが明らかにされていた｡日本国内で酸素流量を5L/分以下に設定して比較調査した研究は行われていなかった｡特記すべき点として,有意差は認められなかったものの,両群とも鼻･咽頭の乾燥感に関する訴えが多かったことが挙げられた｡これらの知見から,日本国内において,さらに酸素流量を増し,環境中の湿度を考慮した比較調査が必要であることと,鼻･咽頭の乾燥感への対策を考案することが,加湿の基準を確立する上で重要であると考える｡Guidelines proposed by several medical associations in the United States showed that there was no scientific evidence of the validity of humidification during the inhalation of low flow oxygen. Therefore we abolished the humidification in the division of special procedures of O University hospital. Afterwards, some medical staffs or patients requested humidification. Further there are patients from various departments where standardization of humidification is not identified. Thus we needed to standardize the humidification during the inhalation of oxygen in our division. We reviewed published reports regarding humidification during the inhalation of low flow oxygen because there were no standards or guidelines of the humidification in our country. As a result, we confirmed that there was no symptomatic difference during the inhalation of oxygen between with and without humidification if the flow volume was less than 2 L/min in our country, or equal and less than 5 L/min in foreign countries. On the other hand, we noticed that patients were likely to complain of dry sensation of nose and/or pharynx during the inhalation of oxygen with or without humidification. We think that reevaluation of necessity of humidification during higher volume of oxygen taking room humidity into consideration in our country the flow volume of oxygen depending on the change of its amount is now required. And it is important to. establish the way to prevent dry sensation during the inhalation of oxygen

Sulfate transporters involved in sulfate secretion in the kidney are localized in the renal proximal tubule II of the elephant fish (Callorhinchus milii)

Most vertebrates, including cartilaginous fishes, maintain their plasma SO4 (2-) concentration ([SO4 (2-)]) within a narrow range of 0.2-1 mM. As seawater has a [SO4 (2-)] about 40 times higher than that of the plasma, SO4 (2-) excretion is the major role of kidneys in marine teleost fishes. It has been suggested that cartilaginous fishes also excrete excess SO4 (2-) via the kidney. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms for SO4 (2-) transport in cartilaginous fish, largely due to the extraordinarily elaborate four-loop configuration of the nephron, which consists of at least 10 morphologically distinguishable segments. In the present study, we determined cDNA sequences from the kidney of holocephalan elephant fish (Callorhinchus milii) that encoded solute carrier family 26 member 1 (Slc26a1) and member 6 (Slc26a6), which are SO4 (2-) transporters that are expressed in mammalian and teleost kidneys. Elephant fish Slc26a1 (cmSlc26a1) and cmSlc26a6 mRNAs were coexpressed in the proximal II (PII) segment of the nephron, which comprises the second loop in the sinus zone. Functional analyses using Xenopus oocytes and the results of immunohistochemistry revealed that cmSlc26a1 is a basolaterally located electroneutral SO4 (2-) transporter, while cmSlc26a6 is an apically located, electrogenic Cl(-)/SO4 (2-) exchanger. In addition, we found that both cmSlc26a1 and cmSlc26a6 were abundantly expressed in the kidney of embryos; SO4 (2-) was concentrated in a bladder-like structure of elephant fish embryos. Our results demonstrated that the PII segment of the nephron contributes to the secretion of excess SO4 (2-) by the kidney of elephant fish. Possible mechanisms for SO4 (2-) secretion in the PII segment are discussed

Function of Sox2 in ependymal cells of lesioned spinal cords in adult zebrafish.

The sex-determining region Y-box 2 (Sox2) is related not only to pluripotency, but also to cell proliferation. Zebrafish can regain their motor function after spinal cord injury (SCI). Following SCI, new motor neurons are produced from proliferating ependymal cells. Here, we investigated the expression and function of Sox2 after SCI in zebrafish. Sox2 was upregulated as early as 1 day post-lesion (dpl) in ependymal cells, which was followed by cell proliferation. Sox2 knockdown significantly decreased the number of proliferating cells at 5 dpl. The results of this study suggest a role of Sox2 as one of the proliferation initiators in ependymal cells after SCI. © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society.12 months Embargo Perio