Indicators of Resilience in Indigenous Community Development in Taiwan

[[abstract]]位於臺灣南投縣仁愛鄉南豐村的眉溪部落(Alang tongan)擁有豐富之生物多樣性資源及賽德克(Seediq)原住民傳統特色文化等，非常適合發展生態、深度旅遊。部落其中以蝴蝶最為著名，早期為日本及臺灣之蝴蝶標本採集地，而過去因受大量獵捕蝴蝶、土地過度開發，部落發展期間又經1999年921大地震、2004年颱風所引發的72水災之山崩及以及每年不定期颱風與超大梅雨所形成土石流潛在的威脅，使社區及生態環境遭受嚴重破壞；加上青壯年人口外流嚴重，進而影響部落經濟、生態及傳統文化傳承之種種相關問題，已成為部落發展之阻礙。然而，原住民部落面臨發展阻礙相關問題時，該如何評估部落受到影響之恢復能力？而其中之評估因素為何？本研究彙整國內外恢復力(Resilience)相關文獻，透過部落權益關係人深度訪談及模糊德爾菲法(Fuzzy Delphi Method, FDM)專家問卷，收斂出部落發展恢復力之指標。最終指標分為五大構面包含經濟(3)、社會(14)、文化(4)、生態環境(3)以及政策(2)，26種評估類型，共計45項的評估項目。研究結果指出在原住民部落中，社會恢復力指標「排除阻礙之能力」、「接納刺激之能力」、與「部落與外部資源的連結度」是在過去恢復力研究中不曾提及的。文化恢復力指標也首度將「維繫傳統祖訓與尊重祖靈規範」納入。最後，本研究建議後續研究者可延續此恢復力指標，將此指標運用於其他原住民部落發展之恢復力程度評估中。此26種評估類型也將會是未來部落、社區面臨突發狀況/災變時，在調適與重建過程中首要必須考量的因素。[[abstract]]Alang Tongan, located in Nanfeng Village, Nantou County, Taiwan, has a good geographical location with convenient transportation. It is rich in abundant resources and the traditional characteristics of Seediq (one of sixteen aboriginal tribes in Taiwan), etc., and is very suitable for development as an eco-destination.It was most famous historically for its collection of butterfly species at the End of 19th Century and in the Early 20th Century, but due to the previous over hunting of butterflies, an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale in 1999, landslides and other natural disasters, it has suffered serious damage to both the community as well as to the ecological environment. These coupled with the serious outflow of young generation from the community and also has affected the development and economy of the tribe. These ecological damages, the loss of the traditional culture and other negative issues, have obviously become obstacles to the development of tribes. However, how can an indigenous community assess the resilience of the tribe when it is affected by an array of constraints? What are the assessment factors of resilience? This study consolidated relevant domestic and foreign literature on resilience, through in-depth interviews and the Fuzzy Delphi expert questionnaire to identify an indicators of indigenous community development resilience; it eventually identified 5 domains, 26 types, and 45 evaluation indicators. The final indicators are divided into five domains: economic (3), social (14), cultural (4), ecological environment (3) and policy (2). It has been recognized that within the indigenous community, the social resilience indicators: "the ability to overcome obstacles", "the ability to accept stimuli" and "the degree of connection between tribal and external resources" were not mentioned in the past studies of resilience resaech. For the first time the cultural resilience indicator was also included: “Maintain the traditional ancestral teachings and respect for ancestral norms”. Finally, this study suggests that follow-up researchers may extend this resilience indicator, to apply these indicators to the assessment of resilience in the social, economic, cultural, environmental and policy aspects of other indigenous community. These 26 types of assessment will also be the factors that must be taken into account in the process of adaptation and reconstruction when the community is faced with emergencies or catastrophes.[[note]]碩

Selecting Key Resilience Indicators for Indigenous Community Using Fuzzy Delphi Method

Resilience is the concept that emphasizes change and adaptation and focuses on the capacity to absorb shocks and still maintain function. How can an Indigenous community assess the resilience of the tribe when it is affected by an array of obstacles? What are the assessment factors of resilience? This study consolidated relevant literature on resilience through in-depth interviews and the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) to identify the resilience indicators for Indigenous community development. It eventually identified 5 domains, 26 types, and 45 evaluation indicators. The final indicators are divided into five domains: economic, social, cultural, environmental, and policy. The social resilience indicators: “the ability to overcome obstacles”, “the ability to accept stimuli”, and “the degree of connection between tribal and external resources” were not mentioned in the past studies of resilience. For the first time, the following cultural resilience indicator was also included: “maintain the traditional ancestral teachings and respect for ancestral norms”. Finally, this study suggests that follow-up research may extend these resilience indicators and apply them to other Indigenous tribes. These 26 types of assessment will also be the factors that must be considered in the process of adaptation and reconstruction when the community is faced with emergencies or catastrophes

Synthesis of 2-Alkenyl-2H-indazoles from 2-(2-Carbonylmethyl)-2H-indazoles

A procedure has been developed for synthesis of 2-alkenyl-2H-indazoles starting from 2-(2-carbonylmethyl)-2H-indazoles, which are prepared by gallium/aluminium- and aluminium-mediated, direct, regioselective alkylation of indazoles with α-bromocarbonyl compounds. The structure of 3-(2H-indazol-2-yl)-2H-chromen-2-one was proven by X-ray crystallography. The styrene- and coumarin-2H-indazoles produced by using the new method were found to have interesting fluorescence properties

Exendin-4 protected against cognitive dysfunction in hyperglycemic mice receiving an intrahippocampal lipopolysaccharide injection.

BACKGROUND: Chronic hyperglycemia-associated inflammation plays critical roles in disease initiation and the progression of diabetic complications, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the association of chronic hyperglycemia with acute inflammation of the central nervous system in the progression of AD still needs to be elucidated. In addition, recent evidence suggests that Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) protects against neuronal damage in the brain. Therefore, the neuroprotective effects of the GLP-1R agonist exendin-4 (EX-4) against hyperglycemia/lipopolysaccharides (LPS) damage were also evaluated in this study. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Ten days after streptozotocin (STZ) or vehicle (sodium citrate) treatment in mice, EX-4 treatment (10 µg/kg/day) was applied to the mice before intrahippocampal CA1 injection of LPS or vehicle (saline) and continued for 28 days. This study examined the molecular alterations in these mice after LPS and EX4 application, respectively. The mouse cognitive function was evaluated during the last 6 days of EX-4 treatment. The results showed that the activation of NF-κB-related inflammatory responses induced cognitive dysfunction in both the hyperglycemic mice and the mice that received acute intrahippocampal LPS injection. Furthermore, acute intrahippocampal LPS injection exacerbated the impairment of spatial learning and memory through a strong decrease in monoaminergic neurons and increases in astrocytes activation and apoptosis in the hyperglycemic mice. However, EX-4 treatment protected against the cognitive dysfunction resulting from hyperglycemia or/and intrahippocampal LPS injection. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings reveal that both hyperglycemia and intrahippocampal LPS injection induced cognitive dysfunction via activation of NF-κB-related inflammatory responses. However, acute intrahippocampal LPS injection exacerbated the progression of cognitive dysfunction in the hyperglycemic mice via a large increase in astrocytes activation-related responses. Furthermore, EX-4 might be considered as a potential adjuvant entity to protect against neurodegenerative diseases

γ‑Halo-enones: A Method for their Synthesis from Arylacyl Halides and Their Application to the Preparation of Five-Membered Ring Heterocycles

A simple method has been developed for synthesis of γ-halo-enones. The approach employs a sequence involving initial indium-mediated allenylation reactions of phenacyl halides with propargyl bromide. This process is followed by acid-promoted rearrangement reactions of the formed homoallenic halohydrins. The new method can be incorporated into routes for the efficient synthesis of various five-membered heterocyclic compounds

Immunohistochemical analysis of noradrenergic and serotonergic neurons.

<p>(A–H) Representative immunostainings of noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) region. (I–P) Representative immunostainings of serotonergic neurons in the Raphe nucleus. Scale bar = 100 µm. Arrowheads indicate positive staining signals (<i>n = </i>3–5 per group).</p

Immunohistochemical analysis of apoptosis in the mouse hippocampus.

<p>(A–H) Representative immunostainings of caspase 3 are shown in the CA1 subregion of the hippocampus. Scale bar = 50 µm. Arrowheads indicate positive staining signals (<i>n = </i>3–5 per group).</p

The body weight, blood glucose, and insulin level of the mice.

<p>Gain in body weight was not affected by LPS or EX-4 treatment in the normoglycemic (A) and hyperglycemic (B) mice. EX-4 treatment continuously decreased blood glucose (C) and increased insulin (D) in the hyperglycemic mice. Data are expressed as means ± S.E.M. (<i>n = </i>15–20 per group for body weight and blood glucose, <i>n = </i>6 per group for insulin). * <i>p</i><0.05; ** <i>p</i><0.01; *** <i>p</i><0.001.</p

The responses of inflammatory-related proteins in the hippocampus of mice receiving different treatments at different time points.

a<p>Hyperglycemia compared with normoglycemia.</p>b<p>LPS compared with saline.</p>c<p>EX-4 compared with saline.</p>d<p>hyperglycemia × EX-4.</p>e<p>LPS × EX-4.</p><p>↑Increased (<i>p</i><0.05); ↑↑ increased (<i>p</i><0.01); ↑↑↑ increased (<i>p</i><0.001).</p><p>↓Decreased (<i>p</i><0.05); ↓↓ decreased (<i>p</i><0.01); ↓↓↓ decreased (<i>p</i><0.001).</p

The experimental timeline of this study.

<p>Body weight (BW) and blood glucose (BG) were measured on days 1, 10, 32, and 39. ELISA, western blot, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were performed for protein analysis. Spatial learning and memory was evaluated by the Morris water maze (MWM).</p