Indigenous Knowledge in Environmental Assessment

Increasingly, federal environmental guidelines require developers to consider the "traditional knowledge" of aboriginal people in assessing the impact of proposed projects on northern environments, economies, and societies. However, several factors have limited the contributions of traditional knowledge to environmental impact assessment (EIA) in the North, including confusion over the meaning of this term, who "owns" this knowledge, and its role in EIA. The term "indigenous knowledge," which comprises traditional and nontraditional, ecological and nonecological knowledge, is proposed as an alternative that should allow aboriginal people, and the full scope of their knowledge, to assume integral roles in EIA. Experience gained in attempting to give aboriginal people a voice and an assessment role in the diamond mine proposed by BHP Diamonds Inc. at Lac de Gras in the Northwest Territories has led to the development of a multiphased, holistic approach to involving aboriginal people and their knowledge in EIA. Because of their in-depth knowledge of the land, aboriginal people have a particularly important role to play in environmental monitoring and distinguishing project-related changes from natural changes in the environment. However, the strengths of traditional and Western scientific knowledge in EIA will not be realized until both are recognized as parts of a larger worldview that influences how people perceive and define reality.De plus en plus, les lignes directrices environnementales du gouvernement fédéral exigent des responsables de projets de développement qu'ils tiennent compte du «savoir traditionnel» des peuples autochtones en évaluant les incidences des projets à l'étude sur les milieux, les économies et les sociétés nordiques. Toutefois, plusieurs facteurs ont limité la contribution du savoir traditionnel à l'évaluation des incidences environnementales (EIE) dans le Grand Nord, y compris l'ambiguïté entourant le sens de cette expression, la personne qui «détient» ce savoir, et son rôle dans l'EIE. On propose l'emploi de l'expression «savoir autochtone», qui englobe savoir traditionnel et non traditionnel, savoir écologique et non écologique, comme une solution qui permettrait aux peuples autochtones, ainsi qu'à toute la dimension de leur savoir, d'assumer un rôle intégral dans l'EIE. L'expérience acquise lors des efforts en vue de donner une voix et un rôle d'évaluateurs aux autochtones dans le projet d'exploitation de la mine diamantifère de BHP Diamonds Inc. à Lac de Gras (Territoires du Nord-Ouest) a conduit à une approche holistique, à facettes multiples, qui vise à faire participer les autochtones et leur savoir à l'EIE. En raison de leur connaissance approfondie de la terre, les autochtones ont un rôle particulièrement important à jouer dans le contrôle de l'environnement et la distinction entre les changements environnementaux dus aux projets et ceux dus à la nature. Toute la force du savoir traditionnel et des connaissances scientifiques occidentales ne se manifestera toutefois que lorsqu'on admettra que les deux parties participent à une vision du monde élargie qui influence la façon dont les individus définissent la réalité

Breakthrough Propulsion Study: Assessing Interstellar Flight Challenges and Prospects

Progress toward developing an evaluation process for interstellar propulsion and power options is described. The goal is to contrast the challenges, mission choices, and emerging prospects for propulsion and power, to identify which prospects might be more advantageous and under what circumstances, and to identify which technology details might have greater impacts. Unlike prior studies, the infrastructure expenses and prospects for breakthrough advances are included. This first year's focus is on determining the key questions to enable the analysis. Accordingly, a work breakdown structure to organize the information and associated list of variables is offered. A flow diagram of the basic analysis is presented, as well as more detailed methods to convert the performance measures of disparate propulsion methods into common measures of energy, mass, time, and power. Other methods for equitable comparisons include evaluating the prospects under the same assumptions of payload, mission trajectory, and available energy. Missions are divided into three eras of readiness (precursors, era of infrastructure, and era of breakthroughs) as a first step before proceeding to include comparisons of technology advancement rates. Final evaluation "figures of merit" are offered. Preliminary lists of mission architectures and propulsion prospects are provided

Identification of molecular markers of delayed graft function based on the regulation of biological ageing

Introduction: Delayed graft function is a prevalent clinical problem in renal transplantation for which there is no objective system to predict occurrence in advance. It can result in a significant increase in the necessity for hospitalisation post-transplant and is a significant risk factor for other post-transplant complications. Methodology: The importance of microRNAs (miRNAs), a specific subclass of small RNA, have been clearly demonstrated to influence many pathways in health and disease. To investigate the influence of miRNAs on renal allograft performance post-transplant, the expression of a panel of miRNAs in pre-transplant renal biopsies was measured using qPCR. Expression was then related to clinical parameters and outcomes in two independent renal transplant cohorts. Results: Here we demonstrate, in two independent cohorts of pre-implantation human renal allograft biopsies, that a novel pre-transplant renal performance scoring system (GRPSS), can determine the occurrence of DGF with a high sensitivity (>90%) and specificity (>60%) for donor allografts pre-transplant, using just three senescence associated microRNAs combined with donor age and type of organ donation. Conclusion: These results demonstrate a relationship between pre-transplant microRNA expression levels, cellular biological ageing pathways and clinical outcomes for renal transplantation. They provide for a simple, rapid quantitative molecular pre-transplant assay to determine post-transplant allograft function and scope for future intervention. Furthermore, these results demonstrate the involvement of senescence pathways in ischaemic injury during the organ transplantation process and an indication of accelerated bio-ageing as a consequence of both warm and cold ischaemia

Calculating Tumor Volume Using Three-Dimensional Models in Preoperative Soft-Tissue Sarcoma Surgical Planning:Does Size Matter?

This feasibility study aims to explore the use of three-dimensional virtual surgical planning to preoperatively determine the need for reconstructive surgery following resection of an extremity soft-tissue sarcoma. As flap reconstruction is performed more often in advanced disease, we hypothesized that tumor volume would be larger in the group of patients that had undergone flap reconstruction. All patients that were treated by surgical resection for an extremity soft-tissue sarcoma between 1 January 2016 and 1 October 2019 in the University Medical Center Groningen were included retrospectively. Three-dimensional models were created using the diagnostic magnetic resonance scan. Tumor volume was calculated for all patients. Three-dimensional tumor volume was 107.8 (349.1) mL in the group of patients that had undergone primary closure and 29.4 (47.4) mL in the group of patients in which a flap reconstruction was performed, p = 0.004. Three-dimensional tumor volume was 76.1 (295.3) mL in the group of patients with a complication following ESTS treatment, versus 57.0 (132.4) mL in patients with an uncomplicated course following ESTS treatment, p = 0.311. Patients who had undergone flap reconstruction had smaller tumor volumes compared to those in the group of patients treated by primary closure. Furthermore, a larger tumor volume did not result in complications for patients undergoing ESTS treatment. Therefore, tumor volume does not seem to influence the need for reconstruction. Despite the capability of three-dimensional virtual surgical planning to measure tumor volume, we do not recommend its utilization in the multidisciplinary extremity soft-tissue sarcoma treatment, considering the findings of the study. </p

Pre-transplant CDKN2A expression in kidney biopsies predicts renal function and is a future component of donor scoring criteria

CDKN2A is a proven and validated biomarker of ageing which acts as an off switch for cell proliferation. We have demonstrated previously that CDKN2A is the most robust and the strongest pre-transplant predictor of post- transplant serum creatinine when compared to “Gold Standard” clinical factors, such as cold ischaemic time and donor chronological age. This report shows that CDKN2A is better than telomere length, the most celebrated biomarker of ageing, as a predictor of post-transplant renal function. It also shows that CDKN2A is as strong a determinant of post-transplant organ function when compared to extended criteria (ECD) kidneys. A multivariate analysis model was able to predict up to 27.1% of eGFR at one year post-transplant (p = 0.008). Significantly, CDKN2A was also able to strongly predict delayed graft function. A pre-transplant donor risk classification system based on CDKN2A and ECD criteria is shown to be feasible and commendable for implementation in the near future

Calculating Tumor Volume Using Three-Dimensional Models in Preoperative Soft-Tissue Sarcoma Surgical Planning:Does Size Matter?

This feasibility study aims to explore the use of three-dimensional virtual surgical planning to preoperatively determine the need for reconstructive surgery following resection of an extremity soft-tissue sarcoma. As flap reconstruction is performed more often in advanced disease, we hypothesized that tumor volume would be larger in the group of patients that had undergone flap reconstruction. All patients that were treated by surgical resection for an extremity soft-tissue sarcoma between 1 January 2016 and 1 October 2019 in the University Medical Center Groningen were included retrospectively. Three-dimensional models were created using the diagnostic magnetic resonance scan. Tumor volume was calculated for all patients. Three-dimensional tumor volume was 107.8 (349.1) mL in the group of patients that had undergone primary closure and 29.4 (47.4) mL in the group of patients in which a flap reconstruction was performed, p = 0.004. Three-dimensional tumor volume was 76.1 (295.3) mL in the group of patients with a complication following ESTS treatment, versus 57.0 (132.4) mL in patients with an uncomplicated course following ESTS treatment, p = 0.311. Patients who had undergone flap reconstruction had smaller tumor volumes compared to those in the group of patients treated by primary closure. Furthermore, a larger tumor volume did not result in complications for patients undergoing ESTS treatment. Therefore, tumor volume does not seem to influence the need for reconstruction. Despite the capability of three-dimensional virtual surgical planning to measure tumor volume, we do not recommend its utilization in the multidisciplinary extremity soft-tissue sarcoma treatment, considering the findings of the study. </p