Food Sovereignty Assessment Tool

This publication provides an introduction to the food security movement in Indian Country, and provides a resource for thinking about food systems in Native communities and what can be done to regain control of Native food systems

Prioritizing Regional Wildlife Conservation by Rejuvenating the Western Hemisphere Convention on Nature Protection

Last year, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”), representing nearly every nation, signed a milestone agreement committing, among other things, to conserve thirty percent of Earth’s lands and oceans to stave off the rapid diminution of the planet’s biodiversity. Implementing these global commitments will require not only strong domestic measures, but also enhanced regional cooperation targeting the conservation of the region’s migratory wildlife and shared resources. Although the United States is the sole major holdout from the CBD, it can still reassert its leadership in regional wildlife conservation by rejuvenating the Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere (“Western Hemisphere Convention”)

Food Sovereignty Assessment Tool: 2nd Edition

This publication provides an introduction to the food security movement in Indian Country, and it provides a resource for thinking about food systems in Native communities and what can be done to regain control of Native food systems

Assessment of FIV-C infection of cats as a function of treatment with the protease inhibitor, TL-3

BACKGROUND: The protease inhibitor, TL-3, demonstrated broad efficacy in vitro against FIV, HIV and SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus), and exhibited very strong protective effects on early neurologic alterations in the CNS of FIV-PPR infected cats. In this study, we analyzed TL-3 efficacy using a highly pathogenic FIV-C isolate, which causes a severe acute phase immunodeficiency syndrome, with high early mortality rates. RESULTS: Twenty cats were infected with uncloned FIV-C and half were treated with TL-3 while the other half were left untreated. Two uninfected cats were used as controls. The general health and the immunological and virological status of the animals was monitored for eight weeks following infection. All infected animals became viremic independent of TL-3 treatment and seven of 20 FIV-C infected animals developed severe immunodepletive disease in conjunction with significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher viral RNA loads as compared to asymptomatic animals. A marked and progressive increase in CD8(+ )T lymphocytes in animals surviving acute phase infection was noted, which was not evident in symptomatic animals (p ≤ 0.05). Average viral loads were lower in TL-3 treated animals and of the 6 animals requiring euthanasia, four were from the untreated cohort. At eight weeks post infection, half of the TL-3 treated animals and only one of six untreated animals had viral loads below detection limits. Analysis of protease genes in TL-3 treated animals with higher than average viral loads revealed sequence variations relative to wild type protease. In particular, one mutant, D105G, imparted 5-fold resistance against TL-3 relative to wild type protease. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that the protease inhibitor, TL-3, when administered orally as a monotherapy, did not prevent viremia in cats infected with high dose FIV-C. However, the modest lowering of viral loads with TL-3 treatment, the greater survival rate in symptomatic animals of the treated cohort, and the lower average viral load in TL-3 treated animals at eight weeks post infection is indicative of a therapeutic effect of the compound on virus infection

Mechanical silviculture

Problem: How to mechanise tree planting in North American logged sites? Trees are presently hand planted. Preliminary exploration identified the following collection of sub-problems. Vehicle: How to carry tools reliably and cost effectively over rough obstacle strewn ground? Results: U.S.A. - patent granted European Patent Office - patent granted Canada - patent granted The patents cover the main form and mode of operation of a simple but unconventional vehicle. Silvicultural/mechanical: How to mechanise the handling and placement of trees? Results: Two International Patents allowed. They cover a magazine/feed mechanism and a placement mechanism. They form a planting tool. One man guides the vehicle/tool system. An array of planting tools is carried. Two problems arise from the need to make guidance manageable and the planting rate fast enough. Spacing: How to cause the members of a collection of simultaneously operating tools to space themselves appropriately the spacing being driven by machine perceived cues? Choice: How to cause a tool to move to and halt over a plan table spot, tool action being driven by machine perceived cues? Results: One International Patent allowed. Spacing: A conceptual solution is described. Choice: A semi-automatic solution is described. It involves a system of tool guidance and a system of tool set-up, both light guided. Two methods for the detection of light signals in the presence of sunlight have been investigated. Choice-automatic; two solutions have been explored. One uses standard data processing, the other "parallel" processing. Here an idealised device is described which will compare for likeness two two-dimensional patterns

Streamside Vegetation Regrowth After Clipping

This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management, the National Agricultural Library, and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Rangelands archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform March 202

Prioritizing Regional Wildlife Conservation by Rejuvenating the Western Hemisphere Convention on Nature Protection

Last year, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”), representing nearly every nation, signed a milestone agreement committing, among other things, to conserve thirty percent of Earth’s lands and oceans to stave off the rapid diminution of the planet’s biodiversity. Implementing these global commitments will require not only strong domestic measures, but also enhanced regional cooperation targeting the conservation of the region’s migratory wildlife and shared resources. Although the United States is the sole major holdout from the CBD, it can still reassert its leadership in regional wildlife conservation by rejuvenating the Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere (“Western Hemisphere Convention”)

Modulation of drug resistance by artificial transcription factors

The efficiency of chemotherapeutic treatments in cancer patients is often impaired by the acquisition of drug resistance. Cancer cells develop drug resistance through dysregulation of one or more genes or cellular pathways. To isolate efficient regulators of drug resistance in tumor cells, we have adopted a genome-wide scanning approach based on the screening of large libraries of artificial transcription factors (ATFs) made of three and six randomly assembled zinc finger domains. Zinc finger libraries were linked to a VP64 activation domain and delivered into a paclitaxel-sensitive tumor cell line. Following drug treatment, several ATFs were isolated that promoted drug resistance. One of these ATFs, 3ZF-1-VP, promoted paclitaxel resistance in cell lines having mutated or inactivated p53, such as MDA-MB-435 and Kaposi's sarcoma cell lines. 3ZF-1-VP also induced strong resistance to etoposide, vincristine, and cisplatinum. Linkage of a repression domain to the selected ATF resulted in enhanced sensitivity to multiple drugs, particularly vincristine, cisplatinum, and 5-fluorouracil. Small interfering RNA-mediated inhibition of p53 revealed that 3ZF-1-VP activated both p53-dependent and p53-independent mechanisms to promote survival, whereas other ATF required intact p53. Real-time expression analysis and DNA microarrays showed that several ATFs up-regulated targets of p53, such as the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21(WAF1/CIP1), and genes participating in the p14(ARF)-MDM2-p53 tumor suppressor pathway, such as hDMP1. Thus, ATF can be used to map genes and pathways involved in drug resistance phenotypes and have potential as novel therapeutic agents to inhibit drug resistance