title: Assessing nature's contributions to people

authors: Diaz, Sandra

abstract: A major challenge today and into the future is to maintain or enhance beneficial contributions of nature to a good quality of life for all people. This is among the key motivations of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a joint global effort by governments, academia, and civil society to assess and promote knowledge of Earth's biodiversity and ecosystems and their contribution to human societies in order to inform policy formulation. One of the more recent key elements of the IPBES conceptual framework (1) is the notion of nature's contributions to people (NCP), which builds on the ecosystem service concept popularized by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) (2). But as we detail below, NCP as defined and put into practice in IPBES differs from earlier work in several important ways. First, the NCP approach recognizes the central and pervasive role that culture plays in defining all links between people and nature. Second, use of NCP elevates, emphasizes, and operationalizes the role of indigenous and local knowledge in understanding nature's contribution to people.

The broad remit of IPBES requires it to engage a wide range of stakeholders, spanning from natural, social, humanistic, and engineering sciences to indigenous peoples and local communities in whose territories lie much of the world's biodiversity. Being an intergovernmental body, such inclusiveness is essential not only for advancing knowledge but also for the political legitimacy of assessment findings (3).

text: Assessing nature's contributions to people A major challenge today and into the future is to maintain or enhance beneficial contributions of nature to a good quality of life for all people. This is among the key motivations of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a joint global effort by governments, academia, and civil society to assess and promote knowledge of Earth's biodiversity and ecosystems and their contribution to human societies in order to inform policy formulation. One of the more recent key elements of the IPBES conceptual framework (1) is the notion of nature's contributions to people (NCP), which builds on the ecosystem service concept popularized by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) (2). But as we detail below, NCP as defined and put into practice in IPBES differs from earlier work in several important ways. First, the NCP approach recognizes the central and pervasive role that culture plays in defining all links between people and nature. Second, use of NCP elevates, emphasizes, and operationalizes the role of indigenous and local knowledge in understanding nature's contribution to people.

The broad remit of IPBES requires it to engage a wide range of stakeholders, spanning from natural, social, humanistic, and engineering sciences to indigenous peoples and local communities in whose territories lie much of the world's biodiversity. Being an intergovernmental body, such inclusiveness is essential not only for advancing knowledge but also for the political legitimacy of assessment findings (3).

year: 2018

title: A Reinvestigation of Salvarsan and Related Arsenic Chemistry.

authors: Lloyd, Nicholas

subjects: Salvarsan

abstract: In 1910 the first deliberately targeted search for a new chemotherapeutic agent came to fruition when Paul Ehrlich introduced Salvarsan for the treatment of syphilis. This thesis presents a detailed review of the history and literature leading up to and following on from Ehrlich’s discovery and thoroughly investigates the chemistry of Salvarsan and related species. A series of arylarsonic acids was prepared and fully characterised by electrospray mass spectrometry, NMR and X-ray crystallography for six examples. A detailed analysis of the hydrogen bonding in crystals of these molecules showed that they adopt several characteristic motifs which govern the packing in the crystals. Two of the examples containing NH2 groups crystallised as zwitterions while one NH2 containing example containing other bulky groups was is its molecular form. Salvarsan (cyclo 3-amino-4-hydroxyphenylarsenic(I)) was prepared by several different methods and analysed in detail using high resolution electrospray mass spectroscopy. This showed that Salvarsan consists of small cyclic species of the type (RAs)n where R is 3-NH2-4-OHC6H3 and n is three or greater. The dominant species in an aqueous solution of Salvarsan were found to be (RAs)3 and (RAs)5 . A detailed analysis is presented of impurities in Salvarsan prepared by different methods and also in a sample of original commercial Salvarsan. Mixtures of (RAs)n and (R’As)n exchange R groups in aqueous solution at room temperature, as shown by ESI-MS. ESI-MS studies are reported for the oxidation product of Salvarsan, RAs(OH)2 (commercially known as Mapharsen) and related As(III) compounds. Oligomers involving As-O-As linkages were found in solution and one tetrameric example (R = 3-NO2-4-OHC6H3) was isolated and structurally characterised. Preliminary ESI-MS studies showed that As(III) species bind to thioredoxin, a possible target for the pharmaceutical activity of Salvarsan and its derivatives.

text: A Reinvestigation of Salvarsan and Related Arsenic Chemistry. In 1910 the first deliberately targeted search for a new chemotherapeutic agent came to fruition when Paul Ehrlich introduced Salvarsan for the treatment of syphilis. This thesis presents a detailed review of the history and literature leading up to and following on from Ehrlich’s discovery and thoroughly investigates the chemistry of Salvarsan and related species. A series of arylarsonic acids was prepared and fully characterised by electrospray mass spectrometry, NMR and X-ray crystallography for six examples. A detailed analysis of the hydrogen bonding in crystals of these molecules showed that they adopt several characteristic motifs which govern the packing in the crystals. Two of the examples containing NH2 groups crystallised as zwitterions while one NH2 containing example containing other bulky groups was is its molecular form. Salvarsan (cyclo 3-amino-4-hydroxyphenylarsenic(I)) was prepared by several different methods and analysed in detail using high resolution electrospray mass spectroscopy. This showed that Salvarsan consists of small cyclic species of the type (RAs)n where R is 3-NH2-4-OHC6H3 and n is three or greater. The dominant species in an aqueous solution of Salvarsan were found to be (RAs)3 and (RAs)5 . A detailed analysis is presented of impurities in Salvarsan prepared by different methods and also in a sample of original commercial Salvarsan. Mixtures of (RAs)n and (R’As)n exchange R groups in aqueous solution at room temperature, as shown by ESI-MS. ESI-MS studies are reported for the oxidation product of Salvarsan, RAs(OH)2 (commercially known as Mapharsen) and related As(III) compounds. Oligomers involving As-O-As linkages were found in solution and one tetrameric example (R = 3-NO2-4-OHC6H3) was isolated and structurally characterised. Preliminary ESI-MS studies showed that As(III) species bind to thioredoxin, a possible target for the pharmaceutical activity of Salvarsan and its derivatives.

year: 2011

title: Prototype theory and the concept of taonga: Implications for Treaty-related issues such as the display and conservation of taonga Māori

authors: Hedley, Rangiiria

subjects: Taonga Māori

abstract: This paper examines, in the context of prototype theory, issues and problems associated with the concept of taonga, the specific aim being to provide an approach that could assist those who are concerned with the interpretation of Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi and Treaty-related issues such as the appropriate display and conservation of taonga Māori.

text: Prototype theory and the concept of taonga: Implications for Treaty-related issues such as the display and conservation of taonga Māori This paper examines, in the context of prototype theory, issues and problems associated with the concept of taonga, the specific aim being to provide an approach that could assist those who are concerned with the interpretation of Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi and Treaty-related issues such as the appropriate display and conservation of taonga Māori.

year: 2004-02