Indigenous protection
Anthropologists, physicians and tribal leaders develop a strategy for managing and containing COVID-19 among an indigenous population
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SANTA BARBARA
The global reach of COVID-19 is unquestionable. Every day, news reports highlight the disease's increasing toll on countries and major cities around the world.
However, little attention is paid to indigenous populations worldwide who may be especially vulnerable to COVID-19 but are largely excluded from most national or regional efforts to curb the spread of the disease. Even in high-income countries, indigenous groups like the Navajo have been hit hard by COVID-19, with per capita infection rates rivaling those of New York and New Jersey.
A team of anthropologists, physicians and tribal leaders has developed a strategy for mitigating the impact of COVID-19 among the Tsimane, an indigenous population in the Bolivian Amazon. Led by UC Santa Barbara's Michael Gurven and Hillard Kaplan of Chapman University, their multiphase plan brings together relevant stakeholders to best serve Tsmane interests. They hope to provide a general template that can be applied to other indigenous groups, and to promote a wider discussion on how to adapt strategies to local circumstances, with the goal of minimizing harm to indigenous populations due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Their work is published in the journal The Lancet.
"In Bolivia, most attention is focused in the cities, where the pandemic first appeared. Indigenous communities have not been part of any organizational plan," said Daniel Eid Rodriguez, the paper's Bolivian co-author and a physician working with the Tsimane Health and Life History Project since 2005. "Although resources in Bolivia and other countries are too limited to create the ideal response plan, there are many people and organizations who are ready to help. Finding and building collaboration is key for the success of any COVID-19 plan."
To reach a wider audience, the authors have published their paper not only in English, but also in Spanish, Portuguese and French -- languages spoken in countries where many indigenous people reside.
"We've been working with the Tsimane and other indigenous groups in Bolivia for almost two decades," said Gurven, co-director of the Tsimane Health and Life History Project. Research operations shut down in mid-March, as did most activity worldwide, but he and his team recognized that indigenous groups living in remote areas may be especially vulnerable to COVID-19, given their limited access to up-to-date information and appropriate health care.
So building on their years of active involvement with Tsimane health care, the researchers initiated conversations with tribal authorities and other local officials. Together, they began working on a plan, first to get folks informed and prepared, and then to act once COVID-19 hit the region.
"After a teenage Yanomami boy died of COVID-19 there was, understandably, a lot of panic about the potential plight of indigenous populations around the world in light of this new, unpredictable threat," Gurven said. "Since our team had already been working with the Tsimane to try and work out a reasonable plan, we thought it would be a great opportunity to move the conversation toward a concrete blueprint that could, hopefully, be adapted to work in similar areas."
While every individual around the world is vulnerable to COVID-19 because it is new and no one has developed any immunity, many indigenous communities are at additional risk because of widespread respiratory illness, including prior history of tuberculosis, bronchitis and lower respiratory tract infections and compromised immune function.
"These could make people more at risk of having COVID-19 complications," said Gurven. According to the World Bank, over 370 million indigenous people inhabit over 90 countries, in both rural and urban areas. Though health clinics may be present in rural areas, access and resources such as medication, portable oxygen and other treatments may be very limited. In Bolivia, the local hospital will likely be overloaded by the time COVID-19 reaches Tsimane villages, and the existing remote health outposts are not yet equipped to diagnose or treat COVID-19.
The potential for higher mortality among infected individuals makes COVID-19 more salient for indigenous populations, Gurven notes, for reasons different from those typically considered. "Indigenous elders are at greater risk because of their age and comorbidity; yet they are crucial for helping to pass on long-standing traditions," Gurven explained. "They are 'walking libraries,' the ones who transmit cultural practices, native language and rituals that are crucial to indigenous identity."
While certain elements of the indigenous populations make them more vulnerable to COVID-19, other factors may foster resilience. "Many indigenous populations maintain the ability to provide their own sustenance through farming, fishing, hunting and foraging activities," said Gurven. "The ability to get food in self-sustaining ways -- both in terms of the know-how and having use rights in native territories -- makes it easier for some indigenous communities to self-isolate and reduce COVID-19 exposure that might otherwise come from visits to nearby town."
"Tribal sovereignty also allows indigenous groups to make their own decisions, especially when it comes to restricting access to their communities," Gurven went on. "Also, strong family bonds and a tradition of community meetings helps provide everyone with the latest COVID-19 information and to coordinate action -- without the kind of political polarization we've seen in the U.S. that seems to shape what people know about COVID-19 and what should be done."
The multiphase plan he and his team developed began taking shape before COVID-19 was confirmed in the Beni region of Bolivia, where the Tsimane reside. The goal of Phase I was education and preparation. "Our team of trained Tsimane visited over 60 villages for awareness campaigns, using a variety of materials such as Centers for Disease Control posters translated to the Tsimane language," Gurven said. "In meetings, each community came up with a specific plan for collective isolation and for quarantining suspected cases."
They also developed a list of material needs to help with the collective isolation of Tsimane communities to minimize reliance on markets and outside merchants. Salt, for example, is used not just to flavor food, but also to preserve meat and fish. "So we made massive deliveries of these items to each community," said Gurven.
Phase II of the plan began when COVID-19 reached the Beni in mid-April. It focuses on implementing collective isolation containment of Tsimane communities, COVID-19 containment and patient management. "Our plan is adapted to a low-tech environment of inadequate hospital facilities and to lower population density where isolation is possible for whole communities," said Kaplan, co-director of the Tsimane Health and Life History Project.
"It prioritizes protecting the elderly, rapid-testing with contact-tracing and patient monitoring with portable oxygen support for those who need it," Kaplan continued. To track the location of disease 'hotspots,' the team will take advantage of a variety of communication methods and their detailed GPS data available on resident structure and social networks.
"Details are likely to change as new ways to diagnose or treat COVID-19 become available," Gurven noted. As of now, he added, no confirmed cases have been reported in the towns closest to Tsimane communities.
The authors hope their paper will serve to affect policy and call for action. "Our article is directed toward the heads of state in countries with indigenous peoples, tribal leaders, scientists, health care workers, missionaries and non-governmental organizations that work with tribal peoples," said Kaplan. "We also hope that charitable organizations and ordinary citizens will be inspired to look for ways to help reduce the wave of death that will occur in the face of inaction."
"History teaches us that the effects of a new infectious disease on a vulnerable population can be devastating," said MemorialCare's David Michalik, a co-author of the paper and a specialist in pediatric infectious disease. "Our protocol seeks to augment already existing plans that countries may have in place, and raise awareness that even in 2020, indigenous communities are at risk of being wiped out if nothing is done."
Other co-authors include Sarah Alami and Thomas Kraft of UC Santa Barbara. Other senior co-authors include Benjamin Trumble of Arizona State University, Jonathan Stieglitz of the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse and Gregory Thomas of MemorialCare.
Saturday, May 16, 2020
Gauging water loss from northern peatlands, a likely accelerant of climate change
IMAGE: DATA ON WATER LOSS FROM PEATLANDS TO THE ATMOSPHERE WAS COLLECTED BY EDDY COVARIANCE FLUX TOWERS IN 95 LOCATIONS ACROSS THE GLOBAL BOREAL BIOME. THIS FLUX TOWER IS LOCATED IN...
CREDIT: MANUEL HELBIG
WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- More carbon is stored in the forests, peatlands, and lakes of the high northern (boreal) latitudes than is currently in the atmosphere. Therefore, understanding how the boreal latitudes, which include Canada and Alaska, respond to global warming is very important for predicting its trajectory. As the climate warms, the air gets drier and can take up more water. The pines, spruces, and larches of boreal forests respond by largely retaining their water, but it hasn't been known how boreal peatlands (bogs and fens) respond.
To compensate, a team of 59 international scientists, including Inke Forbrich of the Marine Biological Laboratory, pooled their data and discovered boreal peatlands lose more water than do forests in response to drying air. This has important implications not only for projections of water availability in these regions but for global carbon-climate feedbacks. With a lower water table, peatlands are more likely to release CO2 to the atmosphere, which in turn would accelerate the pace of global warming.
Most current global climate models assume the boreal region consists only of forest ecosystems. Adding peatlands data will improve their projections. Led by scientists at Canada's McMaster University, the team published their report this week iNature Climate Change.
A team of 59 international scientists, including at McMaster University and the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, pooled their data and discovered boreal peatlands lose more water than do forests in response to drying air. This has important implications not only for projections of water availability in the boreal biome but for global carbon-climate feedbacks.
Citation:
Manuel Helbig et al (2020) Increasing contribution of peatlands to boreal evapotranspiration in a warming climate. Nature Climate Change, DOI: 10.1038/s41558-020-0763-7
The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery - exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago
Online romance scams: A modern form of fraud
This article by Dr. Andrea Pozza et al. is published in Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health, Volume 16, 2020
Over the last 20 years, the rapid development of digital communication technology has given rise to new forms of social interaction on social media. Digital communication technologies can overcome physical, social and psychological barriers in building romantic relationships. Around 1400, dating sites/chats have been created over the last decade in North America alone. Solely in the UK, 23% of Internet users have met someone online with whom they had a romantic relationship for a certain period and that even 6% of married couples met through the web.
While communication technologies have revolutionized, and continue to revolutionize, the modalities of interaction and the building of emotional attachment on the one hand, on the other, the online dating industry has given rise to new forms of pathologies and crime. Online romance scams are a modern form of fraud that have spread in Western societies along with the development of social media. Through a fictitious Internet profile, the scammer develops a romantic relationship with the victim for 6-8 months, building a deep emotional bond with the aim of extorting economic resources in a manipulative dynamic. There are two notable features: on the one hand, the double trauma of losing money and a relationship, on the other, the victim's shame upon discovery of the scam, an aspect that might lead to underestimation of the number of cases. Sixty-three percent of social media users and 3% of the general population report having been a victim at least once. Women, middle-aged people, and individuals with higher tendencies to anxiety, romantic idealization of affective relations, impulsiveness and susceptibility to relational addiction are at higher risk of being victims of the scam. Understanding the psychological characteristics of victims and scammers will allow at-risk personality profiles to be identified and prevention strategies to be developed.
This article is open access and can be obtained from the following link: https:/
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Persistent inequitable exposure to air pollution in Salt Lake County schools
Minority students experience higher concentrations of PM 2.5 levels in clean, moderate and poor air quality scenarios
IMAGE: LOCATIONS OF THE 174 PUBLIC SCHOOLS INCLUDED IN THE STUDY AND THE PM 2.5 SENSORS.
CREDIT: MULLEN ET. AL. ENVIRO RES (2020)
Salt Lake County, Utah's air pollution varies over the year, and at times it is the worst in the United States. The geography traps winter inversions and summertime smog throughout the Salt Lake Valley, but underserved neighborhoods--and their schools--experience the highest concentrations. Previous research has shown pollution disparities using annual averages of PM 2.5 levels, the tiny breathable particles that can damage lungs just hours after exposure. Children are especially at risk and experience more than just health effects; exposure to PM 2.5 affects school attendance and academic success.
A new study utilized a community-university partnership of nearly 200 PM 2.5 sensors through the University of Utah's Air Quality and U (AQ&U) network. U researchers explored social disparities in air pollution in greater detail than ever before, and their findings reveal persistent social inequalities in Salt Lake County. The paper posted online ahead of publication in the journal Environmental Research.
The researchers analyzed PM 2.5 levels at 174 public schools in Salt Lake County, Utah under three different scenarios: relatively clean, moderate inversion and major inversion days. Schools with predominately minority students were disproportionally exposed to worse air quality under all scenarios. Charter schools and schools serving students from low income households were disproportionally exposed when PM 2.5 was relatively good or moderate. The findings speak to the need for policies that protect school-aged children from environmental harm.
"The persistence of these injustices -- from the pretty clean, but health-harming levels all the way up to the horrific air days--at schools serving racial/ethnic minority kids is unacceptable," said Sara Grineski, U professor of sociology and environmental studies and senior author of the paper.
The authors expected social disparities on bad air days, but were surprised that they persisted on clean air days when PM 2.5 levels are still higher than recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"What makes this project so novel is the community-U partnership that gave us access to this larger network of sensors and helped provide the detailed study. If we had relied on Utah Department of Air Quality, we'd only have had two monitors and would have missed the nuanced variability," said Casey Mullen, a doctoral student at the U and lead author of the study.
A higher-resolution snapshot
The worst PM2.5 episodes occur during the winter, when cold air settles into the Salt Lake Valley and high pressure weather systems act as a lid that seals in particulate matter from vehicle exhaust, wood-burning fires and emission from industrial facilities. Locals refer to these periods as inversions, which can last from a few days to a few weeks. The lowest elevations experience high concentrations of PM 2.5 for the longest time, impacting the residential communities disproportionately. The study compared the PM 2.5 levels at 174 public schools in 10-minute increments over 2-day periods during each of three events: a major winter inversion (poor air quality), a moderate winter inversion (moderate air quality) and a relatively clean, fall day (good air quality). The extensive AQ&U network made up of 190 PM 2.5 sensors is extremely sensitive-- each sensor collects PM 2.5 concentrations every second, then uploads the 60-second to a database that the public can access through the U's AQ&U website: https:/
The researchers broke down 174 Salt Lake County public schools with respect to race/ethnicity, economic status, and student age. They also distinguished between school type; Title I Status (schools serving majority low-income households), charter school type, and alternative or special education school type. The average student body was 31% Hispanic, 15% non-Hispanic minority, and 54% white and about 45% of the schools were Title I eligible. Just over half of the schools were primary schools, about 16% were charter schools, and about 5% were alternative or special education schools.
During relatively clean air days, racial/ethnic minority students were disproportionally exposed to high concentrations. At the school level, a 21% increase in the proportion of Hispanic
Mean 10-min PM 2.5 levels for each 48-hour scenario at the Salt Lake County schools during a clean, moderate winter persistent air pool (PCAP, inversion) and major PCAP event. The bigger the blue dot, the higher the concentration of PM 2.5 particles. In all three scenarios, the lowest PM 2.5 concentrations were on the south and east side of the study area along the bench where elevation ascends from the valley floor.
The evolution of PM 2.5 concentrations throughout Salt Lake County during a pollution event (not included in the study). Dark purple indicates low PM 2.5 particle concentrations, blue indicates higher PM 2.5 concentrations. The west side of the county has persistently higher concentrations under all scenarios.
Voluntary collective isolation is best response to COVID-19 for indigenous populations
Chapman University-Led study shows researchers collaborating with tribal leadership and government to develop and implement a COVID-19 prevention plan
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
TSIMANE HEALTH AND LIFE HISTORY PROJECT TEAM WORKED TO TRANSLATE AND MODIFY THE U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL INFORMATIONAL POSTERS INTO THE LOCAL TSIMANE LANGUAGE.
CREDIT: TSIMANE HEALTH AND LIFE HISTORY PROJECT TEAM
Orange, Calif. - A team of anthropologists, physicians, tribal leaders and local government authorities developed and implemented a multi-phase COVID-19 prevention and containment plan among the Tsimane, an indigenous group of forager-horticulturists in the Bolivian Amazon. The collaborative effort is led by Hillard Kaplan, Ph.D., professor of health economics and anthropology and a member of the Economic Science Institute at Chapman University.
The study, published in The Lancet, proposes that indigenous populations worldwide share characteristics that make them especially vulnerable to COVID-19, including higher rates of extreme poverty, poor healthcare access and infrastructure, and widespread respiratory infections. As of May 7, Bolivia had 2,081 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 102 deaths, largely confined to the Santa Cruz and La Paz provinces. As of now, there are no confirmed cases in the towns closest to the Tsimane communities.
The Tsimane Health and Life History Project has been working with Tsimane communities since 2002, studying health and ageing while providing primary health care and biomedical surveillance. Kaplan, co-director of the project, and his team paused research activity in mid-March to redirect their efforts towards reducing the effects of COVID-19 on the tribal populations with whom they work with.
"The disease is spreading rapidly in Bolivia as is the case in many places throughout the developing world but has not yet reached the tribal territories where we work," said Kaplan, the principal investigator of this study. "It is clear from the painful lessons we have learned in this country and in Europe, advance planning is the key to mitigating the devastating effects of the disease."
"After a teenage Yanomami boy died of COVID-19, there was, understandably, a lot of panic about the potential plight of indigenous populations around the world in light of this new, unpredictable threat," said Michael Gurven, Ph.D., professor of anthropology at UC Santa Barbara and co-director of the Tsimane Project with Kaplan. "Since our team had already been working with the Tsimane to try and work out a reasonable plan, we thought it would be a great opportunity to move the conversation toward a concrete blueprint that could, hopefully, be adapted to work in similar areas."
The researchers believe that their approach with the Tsimane can be adapted more generally to tribal and aboriginal populations throughout the world to prevent widespread mortality, and will continue to adjust their plans according to the local circumstances and future COVID-19 discoveries.
Dr. Kaplan and his team developed their COVID-19 strategy based on two guidelines. The first is that preventative measures before mass infection can greatly reduce the burden of morbidity and mortality. The second is that any effective plan must be collaborative among all stakeholders and should involve the indigenous populations in the decision process.
These tribal communities have unique sources of resilience that can be used to prevent the potentially serious effects of COVID-19. The most pertinent is the group's cultural tradition of collective decision- making, where lively two-way discussions are held during village meetings to allow community members to speak up and contribute to a collective decision. The consensus among the Tsimane is that collective isolation is the most viable strategy for minimizing COVID-19 exposure until vaccines or treatments become available. Researchers utilized these community meetings to communicate best practices in collective isolation with the villages.
The research team has a two-phase plan. Phase I -- focused on education, outreach and preparation -- occurred while the novel coronavirus was spreading quickly in Bolivia but before there were confirmed cases in the Beni region where the Tsimane live.
The research team traveled to around 60 villages to hold community meetings. The researchers sent native speakers of the Tsimane language to these meetings to inform the population about the risks of COVID-19 and promote a collective decision-making process on how best to respond to the epidemic. These meetings lead to unanimous agreement by the Tsimanes to collectively isolate the tribal territory and its constituent communities to prevent interaction with the outside world.
The researchers also worked to translate and adapt U.S. Centers for Disease Control informational posters into the Tsimane language for dissemination.
"While some Tsimane people had heard about the existence of coronavirus, most were unaware of its imminent threat, how it is transmitted, who is most vulnerable or whether there was a cure for the disease," said Kaplan.
The research team is currently in Phase II: containment, patient management and quarantine strategies. This is being accomplished through ongoing radio communications about the current rates and areas of infection, coordination of rapid testing and contact-tracing and the provisioning of personal protective equipment for local health care workers. Phase II began in mid-April when COVID- 19 was diagnosed and confirmed in the Beni region.
"Our plan is adapted to a low-tech environment of inadequate hospital facilities and to lower population density where isolation is possible for whole communities and for families and individuals within communities," said Gregory Thomas, MD, a medical director of the Long Beach MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute and collaborator of the study.
"The plan places greater emphasis on testing with contact-tracing and whole-family approaches to isolation. For the management and treatment of COVID-19 cases, it emphasizes patient monitoring, especially blood oxygen, and portable oxygen support for those who need it," added David Michalik, MD, pediatric infectious disease specialist at MemorialCare Miller Women's and Children's Hospital Long Beach.
In addition to Kaplan, the paper's senior co-authors include Michael Gurven of UC Santa Barbara; Benjamin Trumble of Arizona State University; Jonathan Stieglitz of the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, France; Gregory Thomas and David Michalik of MemorialCare.
About Chapman University
Founded in 1861, Chapman University is a nationally-ranked private university located in Southern California. Chapman is categorized by the Carnegie Classification as an R2 "high research activity" institution and offers personalized education to more than 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The campus has produced a Rhodes Scholar, been named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars and hosts a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most prestigious honor society. Based in the City of Orange, Chapman also includes the Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus in Irvine. In 2019, the university opened its 11th college, Fowler School of Engineering, in its newest facility, Keck Center for Science and Engineering. Learn more about Chapman University: http://www.chapman.edu.
http://www.chapman.edu
More on this News Release
Voluntary collective isolation is best response to COVID-19 for indigenous populations
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITYJOURNAL Lancet Public Health
Tsimane Community Meeting on COVID-19(IMAGE)
Chapman University-Led study shows researchers collaborating with tribal leadership and government to develop and implement a COVID-19 prevention plan
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
TSIMANE HEALTH AND LIFE HISTORY PROJECT TEAM WORKED TO TRANSLATE AND MODIFY THE U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL INFORMATIONAL POSTERS INTO THE LOCAL TSIMANE LANGUAGE.
CREDIT: TSIMANE HEALTH AND LIFE HISTORY PROJECT TEAM
Orange, Calif. - A team of anthropologists, physicians, tribal leaders and local government authorities developed and implemented a multi-phase COVID-19 prevention and containment plan among the Tsimane, an indigenous group of forager-horticulturists in the Bolivian Amazon. The collaborative effort is led by Hillard Kaplan, Ph.D., professor of health economics and anthropology and a member of the Economic Science Institute at Chapman University.
The study, published in The Lancet, proposes that indigenous populations worldwide share characteristics that make them especially vulnerable to COVID-19, including higher rates of extreme poverty, poor healthcare access and infrastructure, and widespread respiratory infections. As of May 7, Bolivia had 2,081 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 102 deaths, largely confined to the Santa Cruz and La Paz provinces. As of now, there are no confirmed cases in the towns closest to the Tsimane communities.
The Tsimane Health and Life History Project has been working with Tsimane communities since 2002, studying health and ageing while providing primary health care and biomedical surveillance. Kaplan, co-director of the project, and his team paused research activity in mid-March to redirect their efforts towards reducing the effects of COVID-19 on the tribal populations with whom they work with.
"The disease is spreading rapidly in Bolivia as is the case in many places throughout the developing world but has not yet reached the tribal territories where we work," said Kaplan, the principal investigator of this study. "It is clear from the painful lessons we have learned in this country and in Europe, advance planning is the key to mitigating the devastating effects of the disease."
"After a teenage Yanomami boy died of COVID-19, there was, understandably, a lot of panic about the potential plight of indigenous populations around the world in light of this new, unpredictable threat," said Michael Gurven, Ph.D., professor of anthropology at UC Santa Barbara and co-director of the Tsimane Project with Kaplan. "Since our team had already been working with the Tsimane to try and work out a reasonable plan, we thought it would be a great opportunity to move the conversation toward a concrete blueprint that could, hopefully, be adapted to work in similar areas."
The researchers believe that their approach with the Tsimane can be adapted more generally to tribal and aboriginal populations throughout the world to prevent widespread mortality, and will continue to adjust their plans according to the local circumstances and future COVID-19 discoveries.
Dr. Kaplan and his team developed their COVID-19 strategy based on two guidelines. The first is that preventative measures before mass infection can greatly reduce the burden of morbidity and mortality. The second is that any effective plan must be collaborative among all stakeholders and should involve the indigenous populations in the decision process.
These tribal communities have unique sources of resilience that can be used to prevent the potentially serious effects of COVID-19. The most pertinent is the group's cultural tradition of collective decision- making, where lively two-way discussions are held during village meetings to allow community members to speak up and contribute to a collective decision. The consensus among the Tsimane is that collective isolation is the most viable strategy for minimizing COVID-19 exposure until vaccines or treatments become available. Researchers utilized these community meetings to communicate best practices in collective isolation with the villages.
The research team has a two-phase plan. Phase I -- focused on education, outreach and preparation -- occurred while the novel coronavirus was spreading quickly in Bolivia but before there were confirmed cases in the Beni region where the Tsimane live.
The research team traveled to around 60 villages to hold community meetings. The researchers sent native speakers of the Tsimane language to these meetings to inform the population about the risks of COVID-19 and promote a collective decision-making process on how best to respond to the epidemic. These meetings lead to unanimous agreement by the Tsimanes to collectively isolate the tribal territory and its constituent communities to prevent interaction with the outside world.
The researchers also worked to translate and adapt U.S. Centers for Disease Control informational posters into the Tsimane language for dissemination.
"While some Tsimane people had heard about the existence of coronavirus, most were unaware of its imminent threat, how it is transmitted, who is most vulnerable or whether there was a cure for the disease," said Kaplan.
The research team is currently in Phase II: containment, patient management and quarantine strategies. This is being accomplished through ongoing radio communications about the current rates and areas of infection, coordination of rapid testing and contact-tracing and the provisioning of personal protective equipment for local health care workers. Phase II began in mid-April when COVID- 19 was diagnosed and confirmed in the Beni region.
"Our plan is adapted to a low-tech environment of inadequate hospital facilities and to lower population density where isolation is possible for whole communities and for families and individuals within communities," said Gregory Thomas, MD, a medical director of the Long Beach MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute and collaborator of the study.
"The plan places greater emphasis on testing with contact-tracing and whole-family approaches to isolation. For the management and treatment of COVID-19 cases, it emphasizes patient monitoring, especially blood oxygen, and portable oxygen support for those who need it," added David Michalik, MD, pediatric infectious disease specialist at MemorialCare Miller Women's and Children's Hospital Long Beach.
###
In addition to Kaplan, the paper's senior co-authors include Michael Gurven of UC Santa Barbara; Benjamin Trumble of Arizona State University; Jonathan Stieglitz of the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, France; Gregory Thomas and David Michalik of MemorialCare.
About Chapman University
Founded in 1861, Chapman University is a nationally-ranked private university located in Southern California. Chapman is categorized by the Carnegie Classification as an R2 "high research activity" institution and offers personalized education to more than 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The campus has produced a Rhodes Scholar, been named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars and hosts a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most prestigious honor society. Based in the City of Orange, Chapman also includes the Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus in Irvine. In 2019, the university opened its 11th college, Fowler School of Engineering, in its newest facility, Keck Center for Science and Engineering. Learn more about Chapman University: http://www.chapman.edu.
http://www.chapman.edu
More on this News Release
Voluntary collective isolation is best response to COVID-19 for indigenous populations
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITYJOURNAL Lancet Public Health
Tsimane Community Meeting on COVID-19(IMAGE)
Researchers find the key to preserving The Scream
EUROPEAN SYNCHROTRON RADIATION FACILITY
Moisture is the main environmental factor that triggers the degradation of the masterpiece The Scream (1910?) by Edvard Munch, according to the finding of an international team of scientists led by the CNR (Italy), using a combination of in situ non-invasive spectroscopic methods and synchrotron X-ray techniques. After exploiting the capability of the European mobile platform MOLAB in situ and non-invasively at the Munch Museum in Oslo, the researchers came to the ESRF, the European Synchrotron (Grenoble, France), the world's brightest X-ray source, to carry out non-destructive experiments on micro-flakes originating from one of the most well-known versions of The Scream. The findings could help better preserve this masterpiece, which is seldom exhibited due to its degradation. The study is published in Science Advances.
The Scream is among the most famous paintings of the modern era. The now familiar image is interpreted as the ultimate representation of anxiety and mental anguish. There are a number of versions of The Scream, namely two paintings, two pastels, several lithographic prints and a few drawings and sketches. The two most well-known versions are the paintings that Edvard Munch created in 1893 and 1910. Each version of The Scream is unique. Munch clearly experimented to find the exact colours to represent his personal experience, mixing diverse binding media (tempera, oil and pastel) with brilliant and bold synthetic pigments to make 'screaming colours'. Unfortunately, the extensive use of these new coloured materials poses a challenge for the long-term preservation of Munch's artworks.
The version of the Scream (1910?) that belongs to the Munch Museum (Oslo, Norway) clearly exhibits signs of degradation in different areas where cadmium-sulfide-based pigments have been used: cadmium yellow brushstrokes have turned to an off-white colour in the sunset cloudy sky and in the neck area of the central figure. In the lake, a thickly applied opaque cadmium yellow paint is flaking. Throughout its existence, several elements have played a role in the deterioration of the masterpiece: the yellow pigments used, the environmental conditions and a theft in 2004, when the painting disappeared for two years.
Since the recovery of the painting after the theft, the masterpiece has rarely been shown to the public. Instead, it is preserved in a protected storage area in the Munch Museum, in Norway, under controlled conditions of lighting, temperature (about 18°C) and relative humidity (about 50%).
An international collaboration, led by the CNR (Italy), with the University of Perugia (Italy), the University of Antwerp (Belgium), the Bard Graduate Center in New York City (USA), the European Synchrotron (ESRF, France), the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY, Hamburg) and the Munch Museum, has studied in detail the nature of the various cadmium-sulfide pigments used by Munch, and how these have degraded over the years.
The findings provide relevant hints about the deterioration mechanism of cadmium-sulfide-based paints, with significant implication for the preventive conservation of The Scream.
"The synchrotron micro-analyses allowed us to pinpoint the main reason that made the painting decline, which is moisture. We also found that the impact of light in the paint is minor. I am very pleased that our study could contribute to preserve this famous masterpiece", explains Letizia Monico, one of the corresponding authors of the study.
Hitting the right formula for preservation
Monico and her colleagues studied selected cadmium-sulfide-based areas of The Scream (1910?), as well as a corresponding micro-sample, using a series of non-invasive in-situ spectroscopic analyses with portable equipment of the European MOLAB platform in combination with the techniques of micro X-ray diffraction, X-ray micro fluorescence and micro X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy mainly at the ESRF, the European Synchrotron, in France, the world's most powerful synchrotron. The study of the painting was integrated with investigations of artificially aged mock-ups. The latter were prepared using a historical cadmium yellow pigment powder and a cadmium yellow oil paint tube that belonged to Munch. Both mock-ups had a similar composition to the lake in the painting. "Our goal was to compare the data from all these different pigments, in order to extrapolate the causes that can lead to deterioration", says Monico.
The study shows that the original cadmium sulfide turns into cadmium sulfate in the presence of chloride-compounds in high-moisture conditions (relative humidity, or RH ?95%). This happens even if there is no light.
"The right formula to preserve and display the main version of The Scream on a permanent basis should include the mitigation of the degradation of the cadmium yellow pigment by minimising the exposure of the painting to excessively high moisture levels (trying to reach 45% RH or lower), while keeping the lighting at standard values foreseen for lightfast painting materials. The results of this study provide new knowledge, which may lead to practical adjustments to the Museum's conservation strategy", explains Irina C. A. Sandu, conservation scientist at the Munch Museum.
"Today the Munch Museum stores and exhibits Edvard Munch's artworks at a relative humidity of about 50% and at a temperature of around 20 °C. These environmental conditions will also apply to the new Munch Museum to be opened in Spring 2020. That said, the Museum will now look into how this study may affect the current regime. Part of such a review will be to consider how other materials in the collection will respond to possible adjustments", adds Eva Storevik Tveit, paintings conservator at the Munch Museum.
Cadmium-sulfide-based yellows are not only present in Munch's artwork but also in the work of other artists contemporary to him, such as Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh and James Ensor.
Photograph of The Scream (1910?) (Munch Museum, Oslo; catalogue n. Woll.M.896). Photo Credit: Irina Crina Anca Sandu and Eva Storevik Tveit, Munch Museum.
EUROPEAN SYNCHROTRON RADIATION FACILITY
Moisture is the main environmental factor that triggers the degradation of the masterpiece The Scream (1910?) by Edvard Munch, according to the finding of an international team of scientists led by the CNR (Italy), using a combination of in situ non-invasive spectroscopic methods and synchrotron X-ray techniques. After exploiting the capability of the European mobile platform MOLAB in situ and non-invasively at the Munch Museum in Oslo, the researchers came to the ESRF, the European Synchrotron (Grenoble, France), the world's brightest X-ray source, to carry out non-destructive experiments on micro-flakes originating from one of the most well-known versions of The Scream. The findings could help better preserve this masterpiece, which is seldom exhibited due to its degradation. The study is published in Science Advances.
The Scream is among the most famous paintings of the modern era. The now familiar image is interpreted as the ultimate representation of anxiety and mental anguish. There are a number of versions of The Scream, namely two paintings, two pastels, several lithographic prints and a few drawings and sketches. The two most well-known versions are the paintings that Edvard Munch created in 1893 and 1910. Each version of The Scream is unique. Munch clearly experimented to find the exact colours to represent his personal experience, mixing diverse binding media (tempera, oil and pastel) with brilliant and bold synthetic pigments to make 'screaming colours'. Unfortunately, the extensive use of these new coloured materials poses a challenge for the long-term preservation of Munch's artworks.
The version of the Scream (1910?) that belongs to the Munch Museum (Oslo, Norway) clearly exhibits signs of degradation in different areas where cadmium-sulfide-based pigments have been used: cadmium yellow brushstrokes have turned to an off-white colour in the sunset cloudy sky and in the neck area of the central figure. In the lake, a thickly applied opaque cadmium yellow paint is flaking. Throughout its existence, several elements have played a role in the deterioration of the masterpiece: the yellow pigments used, the environmental conditions and a theft in 2004, when the painting disappeared for two years.
Since the recovery of the painting after the theft, the masterpiece has rarely been shown to the public. Instead, it is preserved in a protected storage area in the Munch Museum, in Norway, under controlled conditions of lighting, temperature (about 18°C) and relative humidity (about 50%).
(from left to right). Dr. Annalisa Chieli (University of Perugia, Italy), Dr. Letizia Monico (CNR, Italy) and Dr. Gert Nuys (Univeristy of Antwerp, Belgium) during measurements of cadmium yellow micro-flakes of The Scream (1910?) at the beamline ID21 of the European Synchrotron (ESRF, Grenoble, France). Credit: ESRF.
An international collaboration, led by the CNR (Italy), with the University of Perugia (Italy), the University of Antwerp (Belgium), the Bard Graduate Center in New York City (USA), the European Synchrotron (ESRF, France), the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY, Hamburg) and the Munch Museum, has studied in detail the nature of the various cadmium-sulfide pigments used by Munch, and how these have degraded over the years.
The findings provide relevant hints about the deterioration mechanism of cadmium-sulfide-based paints, with significant implication for the preventive conservation of The Scream.
"The synchrotron micro-analyses allowed us to pinpoint the main reason that made the painting decline, which is moisture. We also found that the impact of light in the paint is minor. I am very pleased that our study could contribute to preserve this famous masterpiece", explains Letizia Monico, one of the corresponding authors of the study.
Hitting the right formula for preservation
Monico and her colleagues studied selected cadmium-sulfide-based areas of The Scream (1910?), as well as a corresponding micro-sample, using a series of non-invasive in-situ spectroscopic analyses with portable equipment of the European MOLAB platform in combination with the techniques of micro X-ray diffraction, X-ray micro fluorescence and micro X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy mainly at the ESRF, the European Synchrotron, in France, the world's most powerful synchrotron. The study of the painting was integrated with investigations of artificially aged mock-ups. The latter were prepared using a historical cadmium yellow pigment powder and a cadmium yellow oil paint tube that belonged to Munch. Both mock-ups had a similar composition to the lake in the painting. "Our goal was to compare the data from all these different pigments, in order to extrapolate the causes that can lead to deterioration", says Monico.
The study shows that the original cadmium sulfide turns into cadmium sulfate in the presence of chloride-compounds in high-moisture conditions (relative humidity, or RH ?95%). This happens even if there is no light.
"The right formula to preserve and display the main version of The Scream on a permanent basis should include the mitigation of the degradation of the cadmium yellow pigment by minimising the exposure of the painting to excessively high moisture levels (trying to reach 45% RH or lower), while keeping the lighting at standard values foreseen for lightfast painting materials. The results of this study provide new knowledge, which may lead to practical adjustments to the Museum's conservation strategy", explains Irina C. A. Sandu, conservation scientist at the Munch Museum.
"Today the Munch Museum stores and exhibits Edvard Munch's artworks at a relative humidity of about 50% and at a temperature of around 20 °C. These environmental conditions will also apply to the new Munch Museum to be opened in Spring 2020. That said, the Museum will now look into how this study may affect the current regime. Part of such a review will be to consider how other materials in the collection will respond to possible adjustments", adds Eva Storevik Tveit, paintings conservator at the Munch Museum.
Cadmium-sulfide-based yellows are not only present in Munch's artwork but also in the work of other artists contemporary to him, such as Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh and James Ensor.
View of the ESRF, the European Synchrotron, Grenoble, France.
"The integration of non-invasive in-situ investigations at the macro-scale level with synchrotron micro-analyses proved its worth in helping us to understand complex alteration processes. It can be profitably exploited for interrogating masterpieces that could suffer from the same weakness", reports Costanza Miliani, coordinator of the mobile platform MOLAB (operating in Europe under the IPERION CH project) and second corresponding author of this study.
Monico and colleagues, especially Koen Janssens (University of Antwerp), have a long-standing collaboration with the ESRF, the European Synchrotron, and in particular with the scientist Marine Cotte, to investigate these pigments and the best way to preserve the original masterpieces.
"At the ESRF, ID21 is one of the very few beamlines in the world where we can perform imaging X-ray absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy analysis of the entire sample, at low energy and with sub-micrometer spatial resolution", explains Janssens.
"EBS, the new Extremely Brilliant Source, the first-of-a-kind high-energy synchrotron, which is under commissioning at the moment at the ESRF, will further improve the capabilities of our instruments for the benefit of world heritage science. We will be able to perform microanalyses with increased sensitivity, and a greater level of detail. Considering the complexity of these artistic materials, such instrumental developments will highly benefit the analysis of our cultural heritage", adds Cotte, ESRF scientist and CNRS researcher director.
"This kind of work shows that art and science are intrinsically linked and that science can help preserve pieces of art so that the world can continue admiring them for years to come", concludes Miliani, coordinator of MOLAB.
Monico and colleagues, especially Koen Janssens (University of Antwerp), have a long-standing collaboration with the ESRF, the European Synchrotron, and in particular with the scientist Marine Cotte, to investigate these pigments and the best way to preserve the original masterpieces.
"At the ESRF, ID21 is one of the very few beamlines in the world where we can perform imaging X-ray absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy analysis of the entire sample, at low energy and with sub-micrometer spatial resolution", explains Janssens.
"EBS, the new Extremely Brilliant Source, the first-of-a-kind high-energy synchrotron, which is under commissioning at the moment at the ESRF, will further improve the capabilities of our instruments for the benefit of world heritage science. We will be able to perform microanalyses with increased sensitivity, and a greater level of detail. Considering the complexity of these artistic materials, such instrumental developments will highly benefit the analysis of our cultural heritage", adds Cotte, ESRF scientist and CNRS researcher director.
"This kind of work shows that art and science are intrinsically linked and that science can help preserve pieces of art so that the world can continue admiring them for years to come", concludes Miliani, coordinator of MOLAB.
Big data and synthetic chemistry could fight climate change and pollution
University of South Carolina chemists look to the future of materials design
IMAGE: LAURA MURDOCK, A UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA PHD CANDIDATE IN CHEMISTRY, EXAMINES A POLYMER FILM THAT OUTPERFORMED ALL OTHER KNOWN MEMBRANES USED FOR SEPARATING CARBON DIOXIDE AND METHANE. SHE CREATED... view more
CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- May 15, 2020 -- Scientists at the University of South Carolina and Columbia University have developed a faster way to design and make gas-filtering membranes that could cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce pollution.
Their new method, published today in Science Advances, mixes machine learning with synthetic chemistry to design and develop new gas-separation membranes more quickly. Recent experiments applying this approach resulted in new materials that separate gases better than any other known filtering membranes.
The discovery could revolutionize the way new materials are designed and created, Brian Benicewicz, the University of South Carolina SmartState chemistry professor, said.
"It removes the guesswork and the old trial-and-error work, which is very ineffective," Benicewicz said. "You don't have to make hundreds of different materials and test them. Now you're letting the machine learn. It can narrow your search."
Plastic films or membranes are often used to filter gases. Benicewicz explained that these membranes suffer from a tradeoff between selectivity and permeability ? a material that lets one gas through is unlikely to stop a molecule of another gas. "We're talking about some really small molecules," Benicewicz said. "The size difference is almost imperceptible. If you want a lot of permeability, you're not going to get a lot of selectivity."
Benicewicz and his collaborators at Columbia University wanted to see if big data could design a more effective membrane.
The team at Columbia University created a machine learning algorithm that analyzed the chemical structure and effectiveness of existing membranes used for separating carbon dioxide from methane. Once the algorithm could accurately predict the effectiveness of a given membrane, they turned the question around: What chemical structure would make the ideal gas separation membrane?
Sanat K. Kumar, the Bykhovsky Professor of Chemical Engineering at Columbia, compared it to Netflix's method for recommending movies. By examining what a viewer has watched and liked before, Netflix determines features that the viewer enjoys and then finds videos to recommend. His algorithm analyzed the chemical structures of existing membranes and determined which structures would be more effective.
The computer produced a list of 100 hypothetical materials that might surpass current limits. Benicewicz, who leads a synthetic chemistry research group, identified two of the proposed structures that could plausibly be made. Laura Murdock, a UofSC PhD student in chemistry, made the prescribed polymers and cast them into thin films.
When the membranes were tested, their effectiveness was close to the computer's prediction and well above presumed limits.
"Their performance was very good ? much better than what had been previously made," Murdock said. "And it was pretty easy. It has the potential for commercial use."
Separating carbon dioxide and methane has an immediate application in the natural gas industry; CO2 must be removed from natural gas to prevent corrosion in pipelines. But Murdock said the method of using big data to remove the guesswork from the process leads to another question: "What other polymer materials can we apply machine learning to and create better materials for all kinds of applications?"
Benicewicz said machine learning could help scientists design new membranes for separating greenhouse gases from coal, which can help to reduce climate change.
"This work thus points to a new way of materials design," Kumar said. "Rather than test all the materials that exist for a particular application, you look for the part of a material that best serves the need that you have. When you combine the very best materials then you have a shot at designing a better material."
Laura Murdock, a PhD candidate at the University of South Carolina, shows a polymer film she made according to a chemical design prescribed by machine learning. The film outperformed all known membranes used for separating carbon dioxide and methane, demonstrating that machine learning can help chemists more quickly develop new materials.
About the Study
The study is titled: "Designing exceptional gas-separation polymer membranes using machine learning."
The authors are: J. Wesley Barnett, Connor R. Bilchak, Yiwen Wang and Sanat K. Kumar from the Columbia University Department of Chemical Engineering; Brian C. Benicewicz and Laura A. Murdock from the University of South Carolina Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; and Tristan Bereau from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research.
The study was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (grant DGE-16-44869 to C.R.B.), the Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future Program (grant 1629502 to C.R.B., J.W.B., and S.K.K. and grant 1629052 to B.C.B. and L.A.M.), and the Emmy Noether Program of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (to T.B.). S.K.K., J.W.B., and C.R.B. acknowledge that the majority of the work was funded by NSF through DMREF grant CTS-1629502. This project was started under a previous NSF grant (DMR150730), which was continued as grant DMR-1929655.
The authors declare no financial or other conflicts of interest.
Commercial airliners monitoring CO2 emissions from cities worldwide
Statistical characterization of atmospheric CO2 variations from measurements onboard Japan Airlines' commercial aircraft
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
IMAGE: (LEFT) AIRCRAFT OF JAPAN AIRLINES WITH A SPECIAL PROJECT LOGO (CONTRAIL) TAKING OFF AT TOKYO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND (RIGHT) CONTINUOUS CO2 MEASURING EQUIPMENT ONBOARD THE AIRCRAFT view more
CREDIT: CONTRAIL TEAM (PHOTO: JAPAN AIRLINES)
Cities are responsible for more than 70% of the global total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Ability to monitor GHG emissions from cities is an important capability to develop in order to support climate mitigation activities in response to the Paris Agreement. The science community has examined the data collected from different platforms, such as ground-based, aircraft and satellites, to establish a science-based monitoring capability. A study by an international team, published in Scientific Reports, examined the data collected by commercial airliners and showed the potential of the aircraft data to contribute to the global GHG emission monitoring.
The CONTRAIL (Comprehensive Observation Network for TRace gases by AIrLiners) program is Japan's unique aircraft observation project. Since 2005, the CONTRAIL team has achieved high-precision atmospheric CO2 measurements using instruments onboard Japan Airlines' (JAL) commercial airliners. "Following the aircraft measurements conducted between Tokyo and Australia that I initiated in 1993, and had maintained during my entire career, the CONTRAIL program continuously expanded its global network and has provided numerous data to understand the carbon budget of this planet," stated Hidekazu Matsueda, co-author of the study and researcher at the Meteorological Research Institute, Japan.
Recently, the team analyzed thousands of vertical ascending and descending measurements over airports and characterized CO2 variations over 34 major cities worldwide for the first time. Airports are often located in the proximity of large cities to ensure convenient access. The CONTRAIL aircraft fly up and down over Narita International Airport many times nearly on a daily basis (7,692 times in total during 2005-2016) and are able to obtain atmospheric chemical signature of the Greater Tokyo Area (~several tens km away). With similar geographical locations of major airport relative to large urban centers, the research team examined the data collected around global airports in order to retrieve urban CO2 emission signatures from the data. "We analyzed millions of observational data collected at and around the Tokyo Narita Airport and found clear CO2 enhancements when the wind comes from the Greater Tokyo Area," Taku Umezawa, leading author of the study and researcher at the National Insititute for Enviromental Studies, Japan, said. "That was also the case globally for other airports, such as Moscow, Paris, Beijing, Osaka, Shanghai, Mexico City, Sydney, and others."
The team also examined the magnitude of CO2 variability in the lowermost atmosphere over these airports. "Short-term changes in the CO2 concentration in the lower atmosphere are associated with various factors such as the upwind pattern of CO2 emissions and uptakes, flight path and its geographical position relative to the locations of emissions and uptakes, and meteorological conditions during each landing and takeoff," said Kaz Higuchi, co-author of the study and adjunct professor of Environmental Studies, York University, Canada. "Despite these complex conditions under which the measurements are made, it was very interesting that we found a relationship between the magnitude of CO2 variability and CO2 emissions from a nearby city." The results show that the commercial airliner-based CO2 dataset can consistently provide urban emission estimates when combined with atmospheric modeling framework.
"But still there are missing pieces to examine the physical link to city emissions to establish urban monitoring," said Tomohiro Oda, scientist of the Universities Space Research Association, Maryland, USA, who collaborated with the team as a PI of a NASA-funded emission modeling project. "Cities are considered to be responsible for more than 70% of the global manmade greenhouse gas emissions. Accurate estimation of CO2 emissions from urban areas is thus important for effective emission reduction strategies." This study suggests that commercial airliner measurements can collect useful urban CO2 data that are complementary to the data collected from other observational platforms, such as ground stations and satellites, in order to monitor CO2 emissions from cities. The advantage of commercial airliners is the great global spatial coverage of the measurements even in regions where we only have sparse greenhouse gas measurement networks, especially places where securing ground-site measurements is challenging, such as in developing countries. "A further implementation of similar CO2 instruments into other domestic and international flights will significantly extend our global monitoring capability of cities," said Toshinobu Machida, project leader of the CONTRAIL program and head of the Office for Atmospheric and Oceanic Monitoring at the National Institute for Environmental Studies.
Maps of magnitude of CO2 variability over airports worldwide. Large and red circles indicate large variability. Cities are denoted by nearby airport codes. It was found that the CO2 variability was large over airports where a nearby city has large CO2 emissions.
CREDIT
CONTRAIL Team (Photo: Japan Airlines)
Exploring climate change impacts through popular proverbs
UNIVERSITAT AUTONOMA DE BARCELONA
NEWS RELEASE 15-MAY-2020
IMAGE: FARMER WORKING HIS LAND AND LOOKING AT THE MOUNTAINS, BARE OF SNOW. CREDIT: DAVID GARCÍA DEL AMO
The proverbs related to environmental issues traditionally used by the local population in rural areas of Spain are currently considered imprecise and unreliable due to climate change impacts. This is the result of a study carried out by the Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) that presents a novel way of using the local knowledge embodied in popular proverbs to explore climate change impacts at local scales.
The study, published in the journal Regional Environmental Change, took place in Sierra Nevada (Granada, Southern Spain); a perfect location to study climate change through the view of local people for two main reasons. First, because high mountainous regions are some of the most vulnerable ecosystems in the world to climate change, and second because Sierra Nevada historically has been a region in which local knowledge has been of great importance for water management and agricultural production.
Traditionally weather forecasting methods were critical to better cope with weather variability. "I was particularly impressed by the numerous indicators (clouds, wind patterns, animal behaviour) that, still nowadays, people in the area use for weather forecasting", says María Garteizgogeascoa who led the study that also included the involvement of ICTA-UAB researchers Victoria Reyes-García and David García del Amo. Although these indicators are still used by local people, their perceived reliability is changing. "I no longer pay attention to water signals because they are no longer credible" or "In the past, cattle used to announce the rain; but now they only know when it rains after they get wet, as rain now is unpredictable", are some of the statements made by the inhabitants of Sierra Nevada who participated in this study.
The study used information contained in local proverbs to explore the impacts of climate change on climatic aspects of the environment such as precipitation, on physical aspects like snow cover; and finally, on biological aspects, such as flowering periods.
For example, the proverb por Todos los Santos la nieve en los altos, por San Andrés la nieve en los pies indicates the arrival and abundance of snow cover. So, according to the proverb, at the beginning of November (Todos los Santos is celebrated on November 1st) snow can be found on the peaks of the mountains, and by the end of the month (November 30th) it normally reaches lower altitudes. When they asked participants about their current perception of the accuracy of this proverb, many stated that the proverb barely reflects the current situation, as snow arrives now later and it is less abundant. And indeed, the scientific data and literature for the region shows a delay in snow periods.
The proverb "Septiembre o lleva los puentes o seca las fuentes", describes rain variability during the month of September. In this way, September could be a time of the year in which it either rains a lot (the bridges are washed away) or barely rains (the fountains dry up). Participants explained that the proverb is no longer accurate, as there is hardly any rain in the month of September now.
Certainly, the scientific data and literature for the region shows that precipitation has decreased during that time of the year. The same could be said for 19 of the 30 proverbs used in the study.
Moreover, some of the proverbs examined provided information about climate change impacts not yet described by scientists. For example, "Cuando vienen los vilanos es conclusion del verano" encodes knowledge of the flowering period (end of August, beginning of September) of the cardus flower and other plants of the same genus that produce thistledown (small fluffy seeds that are transported by the wind). This proverb was considered not accurate nowadays by most of participants due to variations in flowering periods. However, we could not find local literature reporting those variations.
The study reveals that although the selected proverbs were still generally well recognized, many informants considered them not accurate nowadays. Specially, older informants and people working in the primary sector thought that the proverbs they use to guide their decisions in the past are not reliable anymore. The study documents how this perception of lack of accuracy goes in line with trends documented by local, regional and scientific literature and impacts of climate change documented through a Global Change Observatory established in the area in 2007. And how for others, the perceived accuracy provides novel information for scientifically undocumented climate change impacts in the area.
"Very few studies, and none in Spain, have ventured to study climate change at local scales through songs, stories or proverbs. However, this work shows that, despite some limitations, these traditional ways of encrypted local knowledge could be a useful source to do so and a window of opportunity to engage with local communities. During my work in the field, proverbs proved to be a useful tool to engage participants in discussions about climate change issues", says María Garteizgogeascoa. She hopes that this study, together with the increasing literature around climate change and local knowledge, will "contribute to bring visibility to the benefits and needs of having a climate change science that integrates different knowledge systems in part to develop a more democratic and targeted policy making".
According to researcher Victoria Reyes-García, "in the absence of meteorological data from the past, traditional knowledge collected in proverbs and other forms of popular knowledge can be an alternative source of information to understand the impacts of climate change."
UNIVERSITAT AUTONOMA DE BARCELONA
NEWS RELEASE 15-MAY-2020
IMAGE: FARMER WORKING HIS LAND AND LOOKING AT THE MOUNTAINS, BARE OF SNOW. CREDIT: DAVID GARCÍA DEL AMO
The proverbs related to environmental issues traditionally used by the local population in rural areas of Spain are currently considered imprecise and unreliable due to climate change impacts. This is the result of a study carried out by the Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) that presents a novel way of using the local knowledge embodied in popular proverbs to explore climate change impacts at local scales.
The study, published in the journal Regional Environmental Change, took place in Sierra Nevada (Granada, Southern Spain); a perfect location to study climate change through the view of local people for two main reasons. First, because high mountainous regions are some of the most vulnerable ecosystems in the world to climate change, and second because Sierra Nevada historically has been a region in which local knowledge has been of great importance for water management and agricultural production.
Traditionally weather forecasting methods were critical to better cope with weather variability. "I was particularly impressed by the numerous indicators (clouds, wind patterns, animal behaviour) that, still nowadays, people in the area use for weather forecasting", says María Garteizgogeascoa who led the study that also included the involvement of ICTA-UAB researchers Victoria Reyes-García and David García del Amo. Although these indicators are still used by local people, their perceived reliability is changing. "I no longer pay attention to water signals because they are no longer credible" or "In the past, cattle used to announce the rain; but now they only know when it rains after they get wet, as rain now is unpredictable", are some of the statements made by the inhabitants of Sierra Nevada who participated in this study.
The study used information contained in local proverbs to explore the impacts of climate change on climatic aspects of the environment such as precipitation, on physical aspects like snow cover; and finally, on biological aspects, such as flowering periods.
For example, the proverb por Todos los Santos la nieve en los altos, por San Andrés la nieve en los pies indicates the arrival and abundance of snow cover. So, according to the proverb, at the beginning of November (Todos los Santos is celebrated on November 1st) snow can be found on the peaks of the mountains, and by the end of the month (November 30th) it normally reaches lower altitudes. When they asked participants about their current perception of the accuracy of this proverb, many stated that the proverb barely reflects the current situation, as snow arrives now later and it is less abundant. And indeed, the scientific data and literature for the region shows a delay in snow periods.
The proverb "Septiembre o lleva los puentes o seca las fuentes", describes rain variability during the month of September. In this way, September could be a time of the year in which it either rains a lot (the bridges are washed away) or barely rains (the fountains dry up). Participants explained that the proverb is no longer accurate, as there is hardly any rain in the month of September now.
Certainly, the scientific data and literature for the region shows that precipitation has decreased during that time of the year. The same could be said for 19 of the 30 proverbs used in the study.
Moreover, some of the proverbs examined provided information about climate change impacts not yet described by scientists. For example, "Cuando vienen los vilanos es conclusion del verano" encodes knowledge of the flowering period (end of August, beginning of September) of the cardus flower and other plants of the same genus that produce thistledown (small fluffy seeds that are transported by the wind). This proverb was considered not accurate nowadays by most of participants due to variations in flowering periods. However, we could not find local literature reporting those variations.
The study reveals that although the selected proverbs were still generally well recognized, many informants considered them not accurate nowadays. Specially, older informants and people working in the primary sector thought that the proverbs they use to guide their decisions in the past are not reliable anymore. The study documents how this perception of lack of accuracy goes in line with trends documented by local, regional and scientific literature and impacts of climate change documented through a Global Change Observatory established in the area in 2007. And how for others, the perceived accuracy provides novel information for scientifically undocumented climate change impacts in the area.
"Very few studies, and none in Spain, have ventured to study climate change at local scales through songs, stories or proverbs. However, this work shows that, despite some limitations, these traditional ways of encrypted local knowledge could be a useful source to do so and a window of opportunity to engage with local communities. During my work in the field, proverbs proved to be a useful tool to engage participants in discussions about climate change issues", says María Garteizgogeascoa. She hopes that this study, together with the increasing literature around climate change and local knowledge, will "contribute to bring visibility to the benefits and needs of having a climate change science that integrates different knowledge systems in part to develop a more democratic and targeted policy making".
According to researcher Victoria Reyes-García, "in the absence of meteorological data from the past, traditional knowledge collected in proverbs and other forms of popular knowledge can be an alternative source of information to understand the impacts of climate change."
Members of an irrigation community doing maintenance work in an "acequia de careo" (irrigation canal built at the top of the mountain) to improve the circulation of water for irrigation and human consumption.
Bizarre new species discovered... on Twitter
IMAGE: THE PHOTO SHARED ON TWITTER OF THE MILLIPEDE CAMBALA BY DEREK HENNEN. THE TWO RED CIRCLES INDICATE THE PRESENCE OF THE FUNGUS. view more
CREDIT: DEREK HENNEN
While many of us use social media to be tickled silly by cat videos or wowed by delectable cakes, others use them to discover new species. Included in the latter group are researchers from the University of Copenhagen's Natural History Museum of Denmark. Indeed, they just found a new type of parasitic fungus via Twitter.
It all began as biologist and associate professor Ana Sofia Reboleira of the National Natural History Museum was scrolling though Twitter. There, she stumbled upon a photo of a North American millipede shared by her US colleague Derek Hennen of Virginia Tech. She spotted a few tiny dots that struck her well-trained eyes.
"I could see something looking like fungi on the surface of the millipede. Until then, these fungi had never been found on American millipedes. So, I went to my colleague and showed him the image. That's when we ran down to the museum's collections and began digging", explains Ana Sofia Reboleira.
Together with colleague Henrik Enghoff, she discovered several specimens of the same fungus on a few of the American millipedes in the Natural History Museum's enormous collection -- fungi that had never before been documented. This confirmed the existence of a previously unknown species of Laboulbeniales - an order of tiny, bizarre and largely unknown fungal parasites that attack insects and millipedes.
The newly discovered parasitic fungus has now been given its official Latin name, Troglomyces twitteri.
SoMe meets museum
Ana Sofia Reboleira points out that the discovery is an example of how sharing information on social media can result in completely unexpected results:
"As far as we know, this is the first time that a new species has been discovered on Twitter. It highlights the importance of these platforms for sharing research - and thereby being able to achieve new results. I hope that it will motivate professional and amateur researchers to share more data via social media. This is something that has been increasingly obvious during the coronavirus crisis, a time when so many are prevented from getting into the field or laboratories."
Reboleira believes that social media is generally playing a larger and larger role in research.
She stresses that the result was possible because of her access to one of the world's largest biological collections.
"Because of our vast museum collection, it was relatively easy to confirm that we were indeed looking at an entirely new species for science. This demonstrates how valuable museum collections are. There is much more hiding in these collections than we know," says Ana Sofia Reboleira.
Underappreciated parasitic fungus
Laboulbeniales-fungi look like tiny larvae. The fungi are in a class of their own because they live on the outside of host organisms, and even on specific parts of bodies - in this case, on the reproductive organs of millipedes. The fungus sucks nutrition from its host animal by piercing the host's outer shell using a special suction structure, while the other half of the fungus protrudes.
Approximately 30 different species of parasitic Laboulbeniales-fungi attack millipedes. The vast majority of these were only discovered after 2014. According to Reboleira, there are most likely a great number remaining to be discovered. Research in the area of Laboulbeniales remains extremely scarce.
Nor is much known about their own biology, says Reboleira, who researches these fungi on a daily basis. She believes that these fungi can not only teach us about the insects upon which they live, but also about the mechanisms behind parasitism itself - that is, the relationship between parasites and their hosts. She hopes that the research will also provide useful knowledge about the parasites that attack and can be harmful to human health.
FACTS:
- The new species Troglomyces twitteri belongs to the order of microscopic parasitic fungi known as Laboulbeniales. These fungi live on insects, arachnids and millipedes, and rely on their host organisms to survive.
- The research results are published in the scientific journal MycoKeys: https:/
/ mycokeys. pensoft. net/ article/ 51811 - The research was conducted by: Sergi Santamaria of the Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain; and Henrik Enghoff & Ana Sofia Reboleira from the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen.
- Follow Ana Sofia Reboleira on Twitter: https:/
/ twitter. com/ SReboleira - Millipede specimens from the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN) in Paris helped confirm the discovery of the new species of fungus.
- The Natural History Museum of Denmark's entomological collection is one of the world's largest, housing more than 3.5 million pin-mounted insects and at least as many alcohol-preserved insect and land animal specimens. About 100,000 known species are represented (out of a total number of over one million species).
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