Community relationships with traditional forests and their effects on long-term conservation: a case study from Kaboli, Togo

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017Despite Togo's status as a low forest cover country, remnant forest patches play an important role in conserving biodiversity and ensuring the well-being of the country's human population. Most of these remnant forest patches are communal lands managed by local family groups, and many are sacred forests, or forests that have been protected due to their role in local religious systems. In recent years, these unique social-ecological systems have been threatened due to the degradation of traditional religion. In three manuscripts, this thesis presents a case study focusing on the social and ecological role of four community forests in and around Kaboli, Togo. The first manuscript compares the ecological value and level of degradation of sacred forests and other community forests based on measurements of tree cover within historic forest boundaries, vegetation composition, biodiversity, and biomass. The second uses focus group interviews to gain an understanding of the social and cultural factors contributing to forest degradation and conservation. Finally, the third manuscript focuses on the effects of westernization on relationships between forests and people in Kaboli. Factors identified as contributing to forest degradation include rapid population growth, overly restrictive government policies, poverty, local land use conflicts, and westernization. Early western influences during the years of the slave trade contributed to the formation of relationships between forests and people in Kaboli while later effects of conservation and development efforts (including religious, political, and economic changes) eroded traditional respect for sacred forests. Communities most successful in conserving their forests are those that have sacred sites within their forests and whose cultural connections to their forests are strongest. The evidence for this is that forests containing sacred sites were significantly less degraded than otherwise similar community forests that did not contain a sacred site, with a species composition more typical of endangered dry forest ecosystems, and higher tree cover, biomass and biodiversity. Communities whose forests contained sacred sites also identified more social and cultural values of community forests than those that did not. Thus, maintaining the traditional cultural connections to these forests might be the most effective way to conserve them.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Review of previous investigations -- Chapter 3. Comparison of the ecological value of sacred and non-sacred community forests in Kaboli, Togo -- 4. Social factors associated with the conservation of sacred forests in Kaboli, Togo -- Chapter 5. Effects of the West on human-forest interactions and identity in Kaboli, Togo -- Chapter 6. Conclusion -- Literature cited -- Appendix: interview guide

Functional Organization of the Brain at Rest and During Complex Tasks Using fMRI

How and why functional connectivity (FC), which captures the correlations among brain regions and/or networks, differs in various brain states has been incompletely understood. I review high-level background on this problem and how it relates to 1) the contributions of task-evoked activity, 2) white-matter fMRI, and 3) disease states in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, based on the notion that brain activity during a task reflects an unknown mixture of spontaneous activity and task-evoked responses, we uncovered that the difference in FC between a task state (a naturalistic movie) and resting state only marginally (3-15%) reflects task-evoked connectivity. Instead, these changes may reflect changes in spontaneously emerging networks. In Chapter 3, we were able to show subtle task-related differences in the white matter using fMRI, which has only rarely been used to study functions in this tissue type. In doing so, we also demonstrated that white matter independent components were also hierarchically organized into axonal fiber bundles, challenging the conventional practice of taking white-matter signals as noise or artifacts. Finally, in Chapter 4, we examined the utility of combining FC with task-activation studies in uncovering changes in brain activity during preclinical Alzheimer\u27s Disease (mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and subjective cognitive decline (SCD) populations), based on data collected at the Indiana University School of Medicine. We found a reduction in neural task-based activations and resting-state FC that appeared to be directly related to diagnostic severity. Taken together, the work presented in this dissertation paves the way for a novel framework for understanding neural dynamics in health and disease

An exploration of students’ experiences of the PPD pre-arrival task: Its feasibility and impact

Background and purpose: firm guidelines have been put forward on professional outcomes and standards in medical education1, yet there is no agreed model for teaching professionalism2. Following a curriculum re-design in 2013/14, Southampton medical school introduced a programme of personal and professional development (PPD) in the early years. A pre-arrival task was introduced in 2014/15 to encourage students to research and document what kind of doctor they would like to be and what they think it means to be a medical professional. Pre-arrival tasks are increasingly used in Higher Education to help students prepare for the transition to university3,4, although to our knowledge this was the first time that a pre-arrival task has been used in a UK medical school. The early feedback from students in 2014/15 was positive and the PAT was re-run in 2015/16. This research explores the student experience of the PAT, looking at whether completing the PAT was feasible, the task itself, how participants approached the task and any impact it had.Methodology: all first year students on the BM5 programme at Southampton University were eligible to participate. A total of 22 students participated, with a mix of graduate entrants (GE, n=9) and undergraduate entrants (UE, n=13). Four focus groups were conducted, ranging in length from 42-77 minutes. With participants’ consent, the focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed. The data was analysed thematically. Results: the task was feasible for most students, with the exception of 2 participants who had issues with timing. Many participants were unsure about what was expected of them, although GEs were less worried than the UEs. GEs tended to approach researching for the PAT with articles and material from the GMC, whereas UEs sought advice from family and the University website and often struggled to meet the required length. The impact of the task was more prominent for UEs: helping them to re-focus on studying, gain greater understanding into professionalism and the importance of it as future doctors. Ultimately, the PAT was considered more helpful for UEs. Discussion and conclusions: there appear to be differences in how UE and GE students understood what was expected of them, how they approached the task, and what they took away from it. This suggests that there may be some important differences in how UE and GE students engage with professionalism teaching when they arrive at medical school<br/

Constructing and Implementing a Summer Wellness Curriculum: Bridging the Gaps at YES

Introduction: Youth experiencing homelessness lack learning experiences during the summer months, potentially leading to delinquent activities and hazardous situations. The project created and implemented a summer wellness curriculum at Youth Emergency Service (YES) that aimed to identify gaps in and educate the youth on various health and wellness topics. Daily exercise actively promoted physical wellbeing. Methods: The curriculum aimed at a mixed group of adolescents facing homelessness integrated various educational and/or physical activities with wellness activities by YES staff and Title I programming. Activity description, cost, location, time and date, and number of attendees were recorded in a logbook. Qualitative analysis described reception of the activities and was compared to cost and number of attendees. Title I programming, YES wellness activities, field trips, and activities after 7/26 were not included in analysis. Results: The most attended activities with greatest apparent interest cost money (Power of Words, Tie-Dye, and Skyzone) or supplied a monetary incentive (Haven House). 16 youth learned about HIV and participated in HIV testing. The most successful inclusive free activities were yoga, cooking, and water balloon games, as both males and females participated and were consistently engaged throughout; males predominated attendance of other physical activities. Creating the Heart Smart poster and vision boards were the least popular. Conclusion: Youth at YES tended to be motivated by special activities or monetary incentives; more of these activities should be incorporated into future programming. Individualized input from female youth should be utilized to elicit greater participation during physical activities next year

The Predictive Link between Matrix and Metastasis

Cancer spread (metastasis) is responsible for 90% of cancer-related fatalities. Informing patient treatment to prevent metastasis, or kill all cancer cells in a patient\u27s body before it becomes metastatic is extremely powerful. However, aggressive treatment for all non-metastatic patients is detrimental, both for quality of life concerns, and the risk of kidney or liver-related toxicity. Knowing when and where a patient has metastatic risk could revolutionize patient treatment and care. In this review, we attempt to summarize the key work of engineers and quantitative biologists in developing strategies and model systems to predict metastasis, with a particular focus on cell interactions with the extracellular matrix (ECM), as a tool to predict metastatic risk and tropism

Morality or competence? The importance of affirming the appropriate dimension of self-integrity

Objectives: Two studies explored the relative efficacy of a morality-based versus a competence-based self-affirmation manipulation at increasing acceptance of personally relevant health-risk information. In accordance with prior theorising (e.g., Cohen & Sherman, 2014), it was hypothesized that the morality affirmation would be more effective than the competence affirmation in such contexts, as the former targets a different domain to that threatened by the health-risk information. Design: Both studies employed a cross-sectional experimental design. Methods: Participants were presented with a morality affirmation, competence affirmation or no affirmation control prior to reading a message about the risks of (a) not engaging in daily dental flossing (Study 1) and (b) red meat consumption (Study 2). Participants subsequently completed a number of measures assessing acceptance of the message. Results: In line with predictions, findings from both studies demonstrated that the morality affirmation precipitated greater acceptance of personally relevant health-risk information compared to the competence affirmation, as reflected in more positive attitudes (Studies 1 and 2) and intentions (Study 1). Study 2’s findings further suggested that the superior efficacy of the morality affirmation in health-related contexts could not simply be attributed to a general tendency for this affirmation to outperform the competence affirmation. Conclusions: The nature of the value affirmed may be a critical factor in determining the success of self-affirmation manipulations in health-related domains

What is the status of the Lee’s Lane Landfill Superfund Site?

The Lee’s Lane Landfill is located in western Louisville, KY along the Ohio River (Fig. 1) [1]. The site was used as a quarry in the 1940s before being repurposed as a landfill from 1948 to 1975 (Fig. 2). At least 212,400 tons of municipal and industrial waste were disposed of in the landfill during this period. In 1980, the Kentucky Department of Hazardous Materials and Waste Management discovered approximately 400 drums of hazardous waste within the landfill; these drums were removed by the landfill owners in the fall of 1981, but the remaining drums of non-hazardous material, as well as any empty drums, were buried in place on the landfill. The buried and capped landfill waste covers an area of 112 acres. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed the Lee’s Lane Landfill site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983. Cleanup efforts concluded in 1988 and monitoring of the site has continued since. This white paper summarizes reports published from 2013 through 2018 documenting Lee’s Lane Landfill site conditions and the effectiveness of the cap and other remedies put in place to protect human health. The condition of the site must be reviewed every five years by the EPA, and those results are made available to the public in what is referred to as a Five-Year Review (FYR). The Lee’s Lane Landfill FYR relies on information provided to the EPA by the Kentucky State Department of Environmental Protection (KDEP), information collected by the Lee’s Lane Landfill Group, monitoring data and conclusions from the Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District’s (MSD) Conceptual Site Model (CSM) report, [2] and other interim communications. Using the information in these reports as well as relevant current and historical research documents, we identify questions that remain unanswered and need to be addressed in order to confirm that the contaminants present on the site do not pose a risk to public health and to determine whether the site is ready for re-use. We conclude by proposing several next steps to fill the identified gaps in information and confirm the conclusions in the reports

Alterations in Mosquito Behaviour by Malaria Parasites: Potential Impact on Force of Infection

A variety of studies have reported that malaria parasites alter the behaviour of mosquitoes. These behavioural alterations likely increase transmission because they reduce the risk of vector death during parasite development and increase biting after parasites become infectious. A mathematical model is used to investigate the potential impact of these behavioural alterations on the lifetime number of infectious bites delivered. The model is used to explore the importance of assumptions about the magnitude and distribution of mortality as well as the importance of extrinsic incubation period and gonotrophic cycle length. Additionally, the model is applied to four datasets taken from actual transmission settings. The impact of behavioural changes on the relative number of lifetime bites is highly dependent on assumptions about the distribution of mortality over the mosquito-feeding cycle. Even using fairly conservative estimates of these parameters and field collected data, the model outputs suggest that altered feeding could easily cause a doubling in the force of infection.Infection-iduced behavioural alterations have their greatest impact on the lifetime number of infectious bites in environments with high feeding-related adult mortality and many pre-infectious feeding cycles. Interventions that increase feeding-associated mortality are predicted to amplify the relative fitness benefits and hence enhance the strength of selection for behavioural alteration\u

Task-evoked functional connectivity does not explain functional connectivity differences between rest and task conditions

During complex tasks, patterns of functional connectivity differ from those in the resting state. However, what accounts for such differences remains unclear. Brain activity during a task reflects an unknown mixture of spontaneous and task-evoked activities. The difference in functional connectivity between a task state and the resting state may reflect not only task-evoked functional connectivity, but also changes in spontaneously emerging networks. Here, we characterized the differences in apparent functional connectivity between the resting state and when human subjects were watching a naturalistic movie. Such differences were marginally explained by the task-evoked functional connectivity involved in processing the movie content. Instead, they were mostly attributable to changes in spontaneous networks driven by ongoing activity during the task. The execution of the task reduced the correlations in ongoing activity among different cortical networks, especially between the visual and non-visual sensory or motor cortices. Our results suggest that task-evoked activity is not independent from spontaneous activity, and that engaging in a task may suppress spontaneous activity and its inter-regional correlation