Reviewing the use of resilience concepts in forest sciences

Purpose of the review Resilience is a key concept to deal with an uncertain future in forestry. In recent years, it has received increasing attention from both research and practice. However, a common understanding of what resilience means in a forestry context, and how to operationalise it is lacking. Here, we conducted a systematic review of the recent forest science literature on resilience in the forestry context, synthesising how resilience is defined and assessed. Recent findings Based on a detailed review of 255 studies, we analysed how the concepts of engineering resilience, ecological resilience, and social-ecological resilience are used in forest sciences. A clear majority of the studies applied the concept of engineering resilience, quantifying resilience as the recovery time after a disturbance. The two most used indicators for engineering resilience were basal area increment and vegetation cover, whereas ecological resilience studies frequently focus on vegetation cover and tree density. In contrast, important social-ecological resilience indicators used in the literature are socio-economic diversity and stock of natural resources. In the context of global change, we expected an increase in studies adopting the more holistic social-ecological resilience concept, but this was not the observed trend. Summary Our analysis points to the nestedness of these three resilience concepts, suggesting that they are complementary rather than contradictory. It also means that the variety of resilience approaches does not need to be an obstacle for operationalisation of the concept. We provide guidance for choosing the most suitable resilience concept and indicators based on the management, disturbance and application context

Richner-Hanhart syndrome (tyrosinemia II): Early diagnosis of an incomplete presentation with unusual findings

We report a 2-year-old girl with an incomplete form of Richner-Hanhart syndrome (tyrosinemia II) whose presenting sign was the appearance of vesicles on the fingertips. In a few months these lesions evolved into typical hyperkeratotic plaques also involving the palms and soles. Photophobia and frequent tearing were observed but there was no intelligence impairment. Serum and urine tyrosine levels confirmed the diagnosis. A low tyrosine and phenylalanine diet permitted good control of the disease with a complete resolution of the oculo-cutaneous symptoms in a month. We emphasize the importance of an early diagnosis of this syndrome to avoid the risk of mental retardation. © 2006 The Authors

Whole exome sequencing approach to childhood onset familial erythrodermic psoriasis unravels a novel mutation of CARD14 requiring unusual high doses of ustekinumab

BackgroundAutosomal dominant gain of function mutations in caspase recruitment domain family member 14 (CARD14) is a rare condition associated with plaque-type psoriasis, generalized pustular psoriasis, palmoplantarpustular psoriasisand pityriasisrubrapilaris. Recently, a new CARD14 -associated phenotype defined as CAPE (CARD14-associated papulosquamous eruption) with clinical features of both psoriasis and pityriasisrubrapilaris was reported. We describe a family carrying a novel heterozygous mutation in CARD14 gene, with childhood-onset erythrodermic psoriasis requiring an unusual extremely high dose (up to 2mg/kg every 8weeks) of ustekinumab to achieve disease remission.Case presentationWe describe a large family with three pairs of twins presenting a clinical phenotype characterized by childhood-onset erythrodermic psoriasis; in some family members is also reported psoriatic arthritis. The two probands presented poor clinical response to topic and systemic therapy with antihistamine, steroid, retinoids, cyclosporine and etanercept. After exclusion of the most common genes associated to autoinflammatory diseases (IL36RN, IL1RN, MVK, TNFRSF1A, NLRP3, NLRP12, MEFV, NOD2, PSMB8, PSTPIP1, LPIN2) we approached a new gene search by subjecting to Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) analysis five members of the family. A novel heterozygous mutation (c.446T>G, leading to the missense amino acid substitution p.L149R) in the exon 4 of the CARD14 gene was identified in all affected members. Increasing dosages (up to 2mg/kg every 8weeks) of ustekinumab, a human monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interleukin-23 (IL-23), allowed the complete control of the clinical manifestations, with an evident reduction of circulating Th17 and Th22 CD4+ T cell subsets.ConclusionsWe describe the association of mutations of the CARD14 gene with an erythrodermic psoriasis pedigree, underlying the necessity to investigate CARD14 mutations in childhood-onset psoriasis cases and confirming the presence of CARD14 causative mutations also in erythrodermic psoriasis form, as recently reported. Also in pediatric age, ustekinumab represents a powerful therapeutic option for this rare condition, that is usually refractory to other treatments. In young children, high and frequent dosages allowed a complete control of the clinical manifestations without any severe side effects, with a long-term follow-up

Ecosystem services provided by agroecosystems: A qualitative and quantitative assessment of this relationship in the Pampa region, Argentina

The development of an analytical framework relating agricultural conditions and ecosystem services (ES) provision could be very useful for developing land-use systems which sustain natural resources for future use. According to this, a conceptual network was developed, based on literature review and expert knowledge, about the functional relationships between agricultural management and ES provision in the Pampa region (Argentina). We selected eight ES to develop this conceptual network: (1) carbon (C) balance, (2) nitrogen (N) balance, (3) groundwater contamination control, (4) soil water balance, (5) soil structural maintenance, (6) N2O emission control, (7) regulation of biotic adversities, and (8) biodiversity maintenance. This conceptual network revealed a high degree of interdependence among ES provided by Pampean agroecosystems, finding two trade-offs and two synergies among them. Then, we analyzed the conceptual network structure, and found that both environmental and management variables influenced ES provision. Finally, we selected four ES to parameterize and quantify along ten growing seasons (2000/2001 - 2009/2010) through a probabilistic methodology called Bayesian Networks. Only N balance was negatively impacted by agricultural management; while C balance, groundwater contamination control and N2O emission control were not. Outcomes of our work emphasize the idea that qualitative and quantitative methodologies should be implemented together to assess ES provision in Pampean agroecosystems, as well as in other agricultural systems.Fil: Ferraro, Diego Omar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Rositano, Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentin