An Aboriginal family and community healing program in metropolitan Adelaide: description and evaluation

This paper describes and evaluates the process, impacts and outcomes of an Aboriginal Family and Community Healing (AFCH) Program based in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. The evaluation used participatory action oriented methodology, mixed methods and multiple data sources. The AFCH comprised complex and dynamic activities for Aboriginal men, women and youth built around community engagement, and hosted by the regional primary health care Aboriginal outreach service. The AFCH Program was designed to develop effective responses to family violence that took into account the complexities within Aboriginal families and communities. The evaluation identified strengths of the program including: evidence-based design, holistic approach, clinical focus, committed staff, intersectoral linkages, peer support, mentoring, Aboriginal cultural focus, strategic partnerships and creative use of resources. Clients and workers were unanimous in their enthusiastic support for the program; their stories highlight beneficial impacts on Aboriginal clients, families and community. Other services may be able to adapt strategies from this AFCH to address the needs of their Aboriginal communities

A general model of resonance capture in planetary systems: First and second order resonances

Mean motion resonances are a common feature of both our own Solar System and of extrasolar planetary systems. Bodies can be trapped in resonance when their orbital semi-major axes change, for instance when they migrate through a protoplanetary disc. We use a Hamiltonian model to thoroughly investigate the capture behaviour for first and second order resonances. Using this method, all resonances of the same order can be described by one equation, with applications to specific resonances by appropriate scaling. We focus on the limit where one body is a massless test particle and the other a massive planet. We quantify how the the probability of capture into a resonance depends on the relative migration rate of the planet and particle, and the particle's eccentricity. Resonant capture fails for high migration rates, and has decreasing probability for higher eccentricities. More massive planets can capture particles at higher eccentricities and migration rates. We also calculate libration amplitudes and the offset of the libration centres for captured particles, and the change in eccentricity if capture does not occur. Libration amplitudes are higher for larger initial eccentricity. The model allows for a complete description of a particle's behaviour as it successively encounters several resonances. We discuss implications for several scenarios: (i) Planet migration through gas discs trapping other planets or planetesimals in resonances. (ii) Planet migration through a debris disc. (iii) Dust migration through PR drag. The Hamiltonian model will allow quick interpretation of the resonant properties of extrasolar planets and Kuiper Belt Objects, and will allow synthetic images of debris disc structures to be quickly generated, which will be useful for predicting and interpreting disc images made with ALMA, Darwin/TPF or similar missions. [Abridged]Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures; accepted to MNRA

The habitability of Proxima Centauri b I. Irradiation, rotation and volatile inventory from formation to the present

International audienceProxima b is a planet with a minimum mass of 1.3 MEarth orbiting within the habitable zone (HZ) of Proxima Centauri, a very low-mass, active star and the Sun's closest neighbor. Here we investigate a number of factors related to the potential habitability of Proxima b and its ability to maintain liquid water on its surface. We set the stage by estimating the current high-energy irradiance of the planet and show that the planet currently receives 30 times more EUV radiation than Earth and 250 times more X-rays. We compute the time evolution of the star's spectrum, which is essential for modeling the flux received over Proxima b's lifetime. We also show that Proxima b's obliquity is likely null and its spin is either synchronous or in a 3:2 spin-orbit resonance, depending on the planet's eccentricity and level of triaxiality. Next we consider the evolution of Proxima b's water inventory. We use our spectral energy distribution to compute the hydrogen loss from the planet with an improved energy-limited escape formalism. Despite the high level of stellar activity we find that Proxima b is likely to have lost less than an Earth ocean's worth of hydrogen before it reached the HZ 100-200 Myr after its formation. The largest uncertainty in our work is the initial water budget, which is not constrained by planet formation models. We conclude that Proxima b is a viable candidate habitable planet

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Estimation of gene flow into the Scandinavian brown bear population

Alexander Kopatz, Oddmund Kleven, Jonas Kindberg, Ilpo Kojola, Jouni Aspi, Göran Spong, Niclas Gyllenstrand, Love Dalén, Ida Fløystad, Snorre B. Hagen, Øystein Flagstad. 2019. Estimation of gene flow into the Scandinavian brown bear population. NINA Report 1618. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. Background The populations of brown bear (Ursus arctos) in northern Europe have been recovering or are in the process of recovery from a severe demographic bottleneck. Especially in the main populations of Scandinavia and Finland, the number of individuals has been increasing substantially, compared to the population sizes estimated 20 years ago. Also, the populations have spatially expanded, putatively restoring connectivity and gene flow between these two, formerly separated populations. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) assigned a project to assess the connectivity and gene flow between the eastern and western parts of Fennoscandia, Finland and Scandinavia. Objective Our objective was to detect possible immigration of brown bears from eastern Fennoscandia, specifically Finland, into Scandinavia. Material and Methods For the first time with continuous sampling of brown bears, we assessed the population genetic structure and gene flow between the brown bear populations of Scandinavia and Finland. We based our analyses on the dispersing sex, male brown bears, as females tend to be philopatric. Our target area was the county of Norrbotten in northern Sweden, at the border to Finland and Norway, representing the most likely area for potential eastern immigrants into Sweden. Previous research did not reveal any influx from Finland into Sweden. However, brown bear samples from Norrbotten have to a very limited degree been included in earlier studies on genetic connectivity in the area. In addition to a large number of samples from Norrbotten and northern Finland, we included genotypes sampled in regions surrounding the target area: Västerbotten in Sweden, Troms and Finnmark in Norway and southern Finland. We utilized all samples and genotypes from male bears available, and, also, genotyped recently collected samples of male brown bears from the study area. Analyses on population genetic structure and gene flow among regions were based on 924 individual male brown bear STR-genotypes (12 short tandem repeats or microsatellite markers). In order to reveal patterns of male dispersal and the distribution of male linages we used brown bear samples genotyped with nine Y-chromosomal STRs from 826 males. Results Four different genetic clusters were identified. Assignment values for the different genotypes showed evidence of immigration of brown bears from Finland into Sweden for the first time. However, more individuals from Sweden dispersed into northern Finland than in the opposite direction. Reflective of the genetic structure, estimations resulted in asymmetrical rates of gene flow between Finland and Sweden; 1% immigration rate was detected from the east, northern Finland and Finnmark, into Norrbotten, while there was a rate of about 8% immigration from Norrbotten into northern Finland. Given the current population size, we estimated that 4.6 to 5.5 bears from the eastern populations immigrate into Norrbotten effectively per generation. Indirect methods, reflecting historical gene flow, estimated an effective number of migrants between 1.27 to 2.53 brown bears per generation between Norrbotten and Finland. The level of gene flow appears to surpass the suggested one-migrant-per-generation rule, an established standard or rule of thumb to minimize loss of genetic variation and thus counter genetic isolation. The assessment of male lineages using Y-chromosomal markers showed a similar picture with comparably more brown bears carrying haplotypes from Scandinavia in Finland, suggesting higher influx of individuals in west-east direction than the opposite way. Furthermore, STR- as well as Y-STR-analyses suggest the northernmost Norwegian county of Finnmark as another transition area or connectivity-corridor between the eastern and western brown bear populations in northern Europe. Conclusion Although levels of gene flow from Finland and Finnmark to Scandinavia appear to be relatively low, the results of this study showed immigration of brown bears from the east into Sweden for the first time. This influx might be indicative of further expansion of eastern populations and representative of an expansion front coming from the recovering Finnish brown bear population. However, it might also be that the now detected gene flow may be due to the continuous sampling applied for the first time in this study, which has not been the case in earlier studies assessing the connectivity between brown bear populations from the eastern and western parts of northern Europe.Alexander Kopatz, Oddmund Kleven, Jonas Kindberg, Ilpo Kojola, Jouni Aspi, Göran Spong, Niclas Gyllenstrand, Love Dalén, Ida Fløystad, Snorre B. Hagen, Øystein Flagstad. 2019. Estimering av genflyt til den Skandinaviske populasjoen av brunbjørn. NINA Rapport 1618. Norsk institutt for naturforskning. Bakgrunn og målsetning Etter en alvorlig demografisk flaskehals på 18- og 1900-tallet, har brunbjørnen (Ursus arctos) de siste tiårene tatt seg betydelig opp både i antall og utbredelse i Nord-Europa. Det er spesielt i Skandinavia og Finland at antall individer har økt kraftig, sammenlignet med bestandsstørrelsen bare 20 år tilbake. Økningen i antall har vært ledsaget av en betydelig ekspansjon av utbredel-sen, som potensielt er i ferd med å gjenopprette konnektvitet og genflyt mellom disse to, tidligere isolerte bestandene. Her rapporterer vi fra et prosjekt, iverksatt av Naturvårdsverket og støttet av Miljødirektoratet, der målsetningen var å undersøke konnektivitet og genflyt mellom våre østlige nabobestander og vestlige deler av Fennoskandia, dvs. identifisere eventuelle immigranter fra Finland i Skandinavia og undersøke i hvilken grad de bidrar i reproduksjon. Metoder Med kontinuerlig representasjon av prøver, som for første gang dekket store deler av Fennoskandia, undersøkte vi den populasjonsgenetiske strukturen og genflyt mellom brunbjørnbestandene i Sverige og Finland. Vi baserte våre analyser på hanner, siden hunnbjørner er såkalt filopatriske, dvs at de etablerer seg i eller i direkte tilknytning til morens hjemmeområde. Vårt fokusområde var Norrbotten, som grenser mot både Norge og Finland og representerer det mest sannsynlige området for potensielle immigranter fra øst. I tidligere studier har man ikke funnet immigranter fra Finland i Sverige. Prøver fra Norrbotten har imidlertid i svært liten grad inngått i disse studiene. I tillegg til et stort antall prøver fra Norrbotten, inkluderte vi genetiske data fra omkringliggende områder som Västerbotten, Troms, Finnmark og Finland. Vi brukte alle genetiske data som var tilgjengelig fra tidligere bjørneanalyser i området og genotypet i tillegg nyere innsamlet materiale fra det samme området. Totalt inkluderte vi genetiske data på 12 autosomale STR-markører (mikrosatelitter) for 924 hanner. For ytterligere analyse av hannenes migrasjon-mønster, inkluderte vi data fra ni Y-kromosom-markører fra 826 hanner, som spesifikt representerer hannenes slektslinjer. Resultater Fire genetiske grupper ble identifisert i Fennoskandia. Fra parametre for genetisk opphav dokumenterte vi for første gang immigranter fra Finland i Sverige. Dog var det betydelig flere bjørner med svensk opphav i Finland enn vice versa. I tråd med dette bekreftet våre analyser såkalt asymmetrisk genflyt, med 1 % immigrasjonsrate fra øst (Finland/Finnmark) til Norrbotten mot 8 % immigrasjon fra Norrbotten til nord-Finland. Gitt dagens bestandsstørrelse av brunbjørn i Fennoskandia, anslår vi en effektiv immigrasjon på mellom 4,6 og 5,5 reproduserende bjørner med østlig opphav til Norrbotten pr generasjon. Indirekte metoder, som i større grad reflekterer historisk genflyt, anslår et effektivt antall innvandrere mellom 1,27 til 2,53 bjørner. De anslåtte nivåene av immigrasjon synes å være tilstrekkelig i forhold til den anbefalte «en-migrant-per-genera-sjon»-regelen, en etablert standard for å unngå tap av genetisk variasjon og motvirke genetisk isolasjon. Y-kromosom dataene, som altså spesifikt representerer hannenes slektslinjer, viste et tilsvarende bilde med høyere immigrasjon til Finland fra Sverige enn vice versa. Et relativt stort antall bjørner i Finnmark hadde en østlig genetisk signatur, som viser at dette fylket har et stort potensiale som konnektivitetskorridor mellom våre østlige nabobestander og resten av Skandinavia. Konklusjon Selv om immigrasjon og genflyt fra Finland og Finnmark til resten av Skandinavia fortsatt framstår relativt begrenset, dokumenterer dataene i denne studien for første gang immigrasjon av bjørner med østlig opphav til Sverige. Dette kan tyde på at ekspansjonsfronten i en stadig økende finsk bjørnebestand har beveget seg vestover de siste årene. Tidsperspektivet her er dog noe usikkert, siden vi ikke kan utelukke at pågående genflyt nå endelig blir dokumentert som et resultat av en representativ prøveinnsamling, der vi for første gang hadde en kontinuerlig prøveinnsamling fra store deler av Fennoskandia

Estimation of gene flow into the Scandinavian brown bear population

Alexander Kopatz, Oddmund Kleven, Jonas Kindberg, Ilpo Kojola, Jouni Aspi, Göran Spong, Niclas Gyllenstrand, Love Dalén, Ida Fløystad, Snorre B. Hagen, Øystein Flagstad. 2019. Estimation of gene flow into the Scandinavian brown bear population. NINA Report 1618. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. Background The populations of brown bear (Ursus arctos) in northern Europe have been recovering or are in the process of recovery from a severe demographic bottleneck. Especially in the main populations of Scandinavia and Finland, the number of individuals has been increasing substantially, compared to the population sizes estimated 20 years ago. Also, the populations have spatially expanded, putatively restoring connectivity and gene flow between these two, formerly separated populations. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) assigned a project to assess the connectivity and gene flow between the eastern and western parts of Fennoscandia, Finland and Scandinavia. Objective Our objective was to detect possible immigration of brown bears from eastern Fennoscandia, specifically Finland, into Scandinavia. Material and Methods For the first time with continuous sampling of brown bears, we assessed the population genetic structure and gene flow between the brown bear populations of Scandinavia and Finland. We based our analyses on the dispersing sex, male brown bears, as females tend to be philopatric. Our target area was the county of Norrbotten in northern Sweden, at the border to Finland and Norway, representing the most likely area for potential eastern immigrants into Sweden. Previous research did not reveal any influx from Finland into Sweden. However, brown bear samples from Norrbotten have to a very limited degree been included in earlier studies on genetic connectivity in the area. In addition to a large number of samples from Norrbotten and northern Finland, we included genotypes sampled in regions surrounding the target area: Västerbotten in Sweden, Troms and Finnmark in Norway and southern Finland. We utilized all samples and genotypes from male bears available, and, also, genotyped recently collected samples of male brown bears from the study area. Analyses on population genetic structure and gene flow among regions were based on 924 individual male brown bear STR-genotypes (12 short tandem repeats or microsatellite markers). In order to reveal patterns of male dispersal and the distribution of male linages we used brown bear samples genotyped with nine Y-chromosomal STRs from 826 males. Results Four different genetic clusters were identified. Assignment values for the different genotypes showed evidence of immigration of brown bears from Finland into Sweden for the first time. However, more individuals from Sweden dispersed into northern Finland than in the opposite direction. Reflective of the genetic structure, estimations resulted in asymmetrical rates of gene flow between Finland and Sweden; 1% immigration rate was detected from the east, northern Finland and Finnmark, into Norrbotten, while there was a rate of about 8% immigration from Norrbotten into northern Finland. Given the current population size, we estimated that 4.6 to 5.5 bears from the eastern populations immigrate into Norrbotten effectively per generation. Indirect methods, reflecting historical gene flow, estimated an effective number of migrants between 1.27 to 2.53 brown bears per generation between Norrbotten and Finland. The level of gene flow appears to surpass the suggested one-migrant-per-generation rule, an established standard or rule of thumb to minimize loss of genetic variation and thus counter genetic isolation. The assessment of male lineages using Y-chromosomal markers showed a similar picture with comparably more brown bears carrying haplotypes from Scandinavia in Finland, suggesting higher influx of individuals in west-east direction than the opposite way. Furthermore, STR- as well as Y-STR-analyses suggest the northernmost Norwegian county of Finnmark as another transition area or connectivity-corridor between the eastern and western brown bear populations in northern Europe. Conclusion Although levels of gene flow from Finland and Finnmark to Scandinavia appear to be relatively low, the results of this study showed immigration of brown bears from the east into Sweden for the first time. This influx might be indicative of further expansion of eastern populations and representative of an expansion front coming from the recovering Finnish brown bear population. However, it might also be that the now detected gene flow may be due to the continuous sampling applied for the first time in this study, which has not been the case in earlier studies assessing the connectivity between brown bear populations from the eastern and western parts of northern Europe

Restoration of transborder connectivity for Fennoscandian brown bears (Ursus arctos)

Knowledge about the connectivity among natural populations is essential to identify management units for effective conservation actions. Conservation-minded management has led to the recovery of large carnivore populations in northern Europe, possibly restoring connectivity between the two separated, but expanding brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations on the Scandinavian peninsula to the west and Karelia, a part of the large Eurasian population, to the east. The degree of connectivity between these populations has been poorly understood, therefore we investigated the extent of connectivity between the two populations using autosomal microsatellites and Y chromosome haplotypes in 924 male bears (the dispersing sex), sampled during a period of 12 years (2005–2017) across the transborder area where these two populations meet. Our results showed that the two populations are not genetically isolated as reported in earlier studies. We detected recent asymmetrical gene flow at a rate (individuals per generation) of 4.6–5.5 (1%) from Karelia into Scandinavia, whereas the rate was approximately 27.1–34.5 (8%) in the opposite direction. We estimated historical gene flow of effective number of migrants to be between 1.7 and 2.5 between the populations. Analyses of Y chromosome markers supported these results. Successful recovery and expansion of both populations led to the restoration of connectivity, however, it is asymmetric, possibly due to different recovery histories and population densities. By aligning monitoring between neighboring countries, we were able to better understand the biological processes across the relevant spatial scale. Brown bear Genetic structure Male gene flow Microsatellites Migration Recovery Ursus arctos Wildlife monitoring Y chromosom