This paper argues that contextual constraints can significantly interfere with the conduct of research and development, and accordingly should be analyzed more honestly. It describes a five country research project, L...This paper argues that contextual constraints can significantly interfere with the conduct of research and development, and accordingly should be analyzed more honestly. It describes a five country research project, Landscape Mosaics, in which participatory action research （PAR） was intended as one of two central approaches in the original research design （the other approach being more conventional research）. The five sites, in Cameroon, Indonesia, Laos, Madagascar, and Tanzania, are described, with an emphasis on their implementation of PAR. The fact that personnel and partners on three of the five sites failed to implement PAR is analyzed, to determine the constraints to such action. These findings are then compared with our experience with two other similar projects in which PAR was more widely implemented. We conclude by identifying the most important constraints to be overcome in implementing a PAR process, something we consider important in efforts to deal with change processes in developing countries.展开更多
Elucidation of the relationships between genetic polymorphisms and environmental exposures can provide insights into the pathways and mechanisms underlying complex traits. A new approach was used to detect G×E （...Elucidation of the relationships between genetic polymorphisms and environmental exposures can provide insights into the pathways and mechanisms underlying complex traits. A new approach was used to detect G×E （gene-environment） interactions involved in human skin pigmentation variation to better understand the adaptive evolution of skin pigmentation. Specifically, we used genetic engineering, remote UVR （ultraviolet radiation） sensing and GIS （geographic information systems） to integrate the analysis of genetic and environmental factors into a coherent biological framework. Since we expected to generate large datasets for this multidimensional analysis, we used PCA （principal components analysis） as a spatial statistical analysis technique for analyzing the G×E interactions. The results suggest that skin pigmentation may be affected by mutations induced by UVR and support the hypothesis that global variation in skin pigmentation may be the result of localized adaptation to different UVR conditions via natural selection. Analyzing the relationships between heterozygous frequencies for SNP （single nucleotide polymorphism） loci and seasonal UVR levels as the environment changes will help elucidate the selective mechanisms involved in the UVR-induced evolution of skin pigmentation. Skin pigmentation fulfills the criteria for a successful evolutionary G×E interactions model.展开更多
文摘This paper argues that contextual constraints can significantly interfere with the conduct of research and development, and accordingly should be analyzed more honestly. It describes a five country research project, Landscape Mosaics, in which participatory action research （PAR） was intended as one of two central approaches in the original research design （the other approach being more conventional research）. The five sites, in Cameroon, Indonesia, Laos, Madagascar, and Tanzania, are described, with an emphasis on their implementation of PAR. The fact that personnel and partners on three of the five sites failed to implement PAR is analyzed, to determine the constraints to such action. These findings are then compared with our experience with two other similar projects in which PAR was more widely implemented. We conclude by identifying the most important constraints to be overcome in implementing a PAR process, something we consider important in efforts to deal with change processes in developing countries.
文摘Elucidation of the relationships between genetic polymorphisms and environmental exposures can provide insights into the pathways and mechanisms underlying complex traits. A new approach was used to detect G×E （gene-environment） interactions involved in human skin pigmentation variation to better understand the adaptive evolution of skin pigmentation. Specifically, we used genetic engineering, remote UVR （ultraviolet radiation） sensing and GIS （geographic information systems） to integrate the analysis of genetic and environmental factors into a coherent biological framework. Since we expected to generate large datasets for this multidimensional analysis, we used PCA （principal components analysis） as a spatial statistical analysis technique for analyzing the G×E interactions. The results suggest that skin pigmentation may be affected by mutations induced by UVR and support the hypothesis that global variation in skin pigmentation may be the result of localized adaptation to different UVR conditions via natural selection. Analyzing the relationships between heterozygous frequencies for SNP （single nucleotide polymorphism） loci and seasonal UVR levels as the environment changes will help elucidate the selective mechanisms involved in the UVR-induced evolution of skin pigmentation. Skin pigmentation fulfills the criteria for a successful evolutionary G×E interactions model.
