This project is a pilot study to assess the viability of transplantation as a technique to establish reindeer lichens on reclaimed areas of oil sands surface mines in the Athabasca region of Alberta. There were two components to this study: a) a lichen transplant trial, where I investigated which commonly available substrates found in reclaimed forest sites would promote the best lichen fragment survival and vigour for a lichen ‘seeding’ program; and b) a diversity assessment of the reclaimed site to compare the existing cryptogam community with the expected community for the target ecosite based on published descriptions from the surrounding native forests and documented chronosequences for terrestrial lichen communities. In July 2009, Cladonia mitis was transplanted into 54 plots on three sites that were planted with jack pine or spruce 12 or 24 years ago, respectively, on the Suncor Millenium/Steepbank Mine (Suncor Mine). This trial was designed to investigate possible short-term indicators of successful lichen establishment and the effect of substrate (moss, litter, or soil) on the establishment of transplanted lichen thallus fragments. The indicators of lichen establishment evaluated were vigour, movement from plots, photographic areal cover, and microscopic growth (hyphal growth, annual growth and lateral branching). After two growing seasons, the effect of substrate on lichen transplant survival varied by site; there was no significant difference in lichen fragment retention in plots by substrate on the 24-year old sites, but median fragment retention was significantly higher on moss and litter substrates than soil on the 12-year old site. There was also no significant difference in fragment vigour between substrates on each site, except on the south-facing 24-year-old forest site where average vigour was significantly higher on moss plots than on soil plots. Photographic areal measurement is not recommended as a short-term lichen establishment monitoring tool for transplanted fragments based on the difficulties encountered using the method for this trial. Forty-one percent of the fragments collected for microscopic assessment after the first growing season had grown hyphae, 23 percent of the fragments collected during September 2009 and September 2010 had formed apothecia, and 31 percent of the fragments collected in September 2010 had grown lateral branches. The results of the biodiversity assessment were compared with the successional communities previously described for spruce- and pine-lichen boreal forests. There were no lichens found on the 12-year-old site, though the cup lichens were common to abundant on the 24-year-old sites, which is consistent with the cryptogammic community expected for a regenerating natural site of that age. Cladonia mitis was also present but rare to uncommon on the 24-year-old site, while Cladonia stellaris, Cladonia rangiferina and Cladonia stygia that, together with C. mitis, are indicative of the al and c1 ecosites of the Central Mixedwood Boreal forest, were not present. / Graduate

Thesis (doctoral)--Umeå University, Sweden, 1995. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Umeå University, Sweden, 1995. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Committee in evolutionary biology, Jun. 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 227-244). Also available on the Internet.

Magister Scientiae Dentium - MSc(Dent) / Lichen planus is a systemic disease that follows a chronic course. The exact aetiology remains unknown but an immune mediated pathogenesis has been implicated. Oral lichen planus is a common form of this disease and can occur in isolation or it may include the skin, genitalia and lesions involving the scalp and hair follicles. Epidemiological studies on oral lichen planus are few. Those that have been conducted have been in developed nations such as North America and Europe as well as Asia and the Middle East. Few African studies report on the demographics of the affected patients. Factors such as patient demographics and trends of diseases are essential to investigate. Findings of such studies may be useful in determining additional patient based criteria that can assist in obtaining a definitive diagnosis and subsequently aid in the management protocols of the specific disease in question. This process is as essential for oral lichen planus as for other diseases. Oral lichen planus can have clinical similarities with other diseases of the oral mucosa. Similarities can also be seen histologically that may further complicate the process of defining the diagnosis. Oral lichen planus may not be commonly associated with frank morbidity, but severe discomfort can be experienced in some clinical variants. This disease has been described as “difficult to manage” Camacho-Alonso et al, 2007). Furthermore, there is an ongoing debate about its malignant potential (Sugerman & Savage; 2002; Scully and Carrozzo; 2008). These factors support the relevance of further investigation of oral lichen planus. This study will report the demographics of patients who have been diagnosed with oral lichen planus in a subset of the South African population, within the Western Cape. The description of the ethnic groups in South Africa was as described by Statistics South Africa, namely; “African” was used to describe Black individuals, “Coloured” was used to describe individuals of mixed ethnic origin, “Indian” was used to describe patients whose ethnic origin was of the Indian/Asian continent, the latter however excluded persons of Chinese decent and “White” described those persons of European origin. The ethnic distribution reported from within the literature will report on the terminology used by the respective authors and hence not follow the guidelines outlined above.

Yes / The role of lichens as environmental monitors is widely recognised. Not only are they valuable as indicators of habitat stability and enyironmental continuity, but they are also effectiye in monitoring environmental quality. more particularly air and soil (and more recently water) pollution. In the past. the main role of lichens in this context has been to monitor sulphur dioxide air pollution. especially stable and rising levels (Seaward 1993). Howeyer, it has also been shown that lichens arc effective monitors of falling levels of gaseous sulphur dioxide and indeed of other pollutants. some of which are manifesting themselves as a consequence of the reduction in the former; of particular interest in this respect is the use of lichens to detect and determine the extent of qualitative changes in air pollution such as the impact of acid rain and hypertrophication (Seaward 1997: Seaward & Coppins 2(04).

Abstract I start this project as my master degree project which is the last assignment during my graduate education in Sweden. I own the bachelor degree in industrial design which is the beginning I ponder in a designer’s way. With the accumulation of my knowledge and study, I am willing to attempt different design fields in sustainable perspective, like product design, furniture design, exhibition design and service design. The working and study experiences provide valuable resources for me to recognize self. And the environment in Swedish society also is a school to acquire knowledge and know the world. The project, Lav Förening, was born in these contexts.   The main study fields: Rural depopulation was addressed as a global issues in economical, ecological, socio-political and cultural contexts in sustainability perspectives. The rural economic stagnation can be restore by government policy support. However, the disappearance of cultural landscape would cause irreversible loss. With case studies and fieldwork in Varshult, I define my study field in service design involving lichen study, farm innovation and enterprise framework for re-active rural cultural landscape. It is a proposal, through figuring out local renewable resource (lichen) and integrating stakeholders’ framework, to create an attractive community for rural part-time residents and young active citizens to participate. In order to complete the concept, there are six fields need to be study: depopulation and sustainable rural development, cultural landscape, lichen and essential oil, community agriculture and Boda Glass Factory.   The major findings of my study:  The service in this project is human centered. Through studying Maslow's hierarchy of needs, I analyze the needs of my target group. For the target group in Lav Förening, rural part-time residents and young active citizens, they have a good living conditions and enough spare time for their interests and pursuits. For the organizers and land owners, we are concerning the social phenomenon, rural depopulation, and we devote ourselves to figure out the opportunities to solve the problems and keep the rural cultural landscape alive. We pursue a higher level of psychological, belonging, esteem and self-actualization needs. There are six programs on lichen journey based on the needs study: Varshult visiting & lichen planting, bottles making, lichen collection essential oil extraction & tincture making, handmade workshop and market & exhibition. The proposal will be presented with visualizations and evidences.   The Lav Förening service proposal need to be refined continually. It shows an opportunity to oppose rural depopulation in design field. It is a practice for me to analyze a complicated framework and present it. The design process and report have recorded the development and exploration on my design study.

Burned forests provide plenty of dead wood that can host rare and threatened species, especially fire dependent species that need charred wood to survive. Few studies have investigated the difference in lichen assemblages on dead wood in forests that have burned with those that have not. In this study lichens on snags of Pinus sylvestris in burnt and unburnt areas of Tyresta national park and nature reserve were investigated, with the aim to assess differences in lichen diversity and richness. In total 42 trees were analysed, and 25 species were identified. No threatened or rare species were found in the burnt area, possibly as none of the snags were charred. There was no significant difference in diversity or richness between burnt and unburnt areas. However, lichens were generally more abundant in the burnt area where the light levels also were higher, especially on the northern sides of the snags. Only macrolichen species were significantly more abundant in the burnt area. The species composition in the areas differed slightly with a majority of microlichen species in the unburnt area while the burnt area had equally many macro- and microlichen species. However, several species of microlichen were missing in the burnt area. Together with previous studies this could indicate that microhabitats forming post-fire are favourable for some lichen but not for others. Further studies are needed to confirm which species are favoured by burning to optimize the restoration and managing of burned forests as well as the conservation of threatened species.

O líquen plano oral (LPO) é uma doença inflamatória crônica de causa desconhecida, e seu potencial de malignização é um tema bastante controverso. Diversos estudos têm sugerido que pacientes portadores de líquen plano apresentam um maior risco de desenvolver câncer. Contudo, muitos autores acreditam que não haja dados suficientes que provem uma associação entre líquen plano e câncer. Para esses autores, a maioria dos casos que sofreram transformação maligna é decorrente de falhas no diagnóstico inicial da lesão. Portanto, objetivou-se avaliar a expressão imuno-histoquímica das proteínas relacionadas à apoptose e proliferação celular, respectivamente caspase-3 ativa, Bcl-2 e Ki-67 no LPO e em displasias epiteliais na tentativa de explicar a polêmica em relação ao potencial de transformação maligna do LPO e enfatizar a importância de um acompanhamento de longo prazo dos pacientes com esta doença. Com esse propósito, foram selecionadas 14 amostras de LPO, 14 amostras de leucoplasia com displasia epitelial, além de 09 amostras de mucosa bucal normal como controle. A avaliação da expressão de caspase-3 ativa, Bcl-2 e Ki-67 foi conduzida de acordo com a técnica da imunoperoxidase. A contagem das células imunomarcadas nas amostras de LPO, de leucoplasia com displasia epitelial e de mucosa bucal normal resultou em número destas células por mm2 nas diferentes regiões (camada basal, camada suprabasal e infiltrado inflamatório) para cada imunomarcador. A expressão de Bcl-2 em células epiteliais, da camada basal, ocorreu mais frequentemente no grupo da leucoplasia com displasia epitelial, com diferença estatística entre o grupo do LPO e o grupo controle. Verificou-se também, uma alta expressão da proteína Bcl-2 em células inflamatórias de lesões de LPO e de leucoplasia com displasia epitelial. A expressão do marcador Ki-67 foi superior em todos os níveis teciduais analisados nas lesões de LPO e de leucoplasia com displasia epitelial quando comparados com o grupo controle. Concluiu-se que a expressão mais elevada das proteínas Bcl-2 e Ki-67 nos casos de LPO e de leucoplasia com displasia epitelial, podem revelar a possibilidade da presença de alterações moleculares morfologicamente imperceptíveis. / The oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown cause, and its malignant potential is a very controversial issue. Several studies have suggested that patients with lichen planus have a higher risk of developing cancer. However, many authors believe that there is insufficient evidence to prove an association between lichen planus and cancer. For these authors, most of the cases that had undergone malignant transformation is due to flaws in the lesion initial diagnosis. Therefore, the aim was to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of proteins related to apoptosis and cell proliferation, respectively active caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Ki-67 in epithelial dysplasia and LPO in an attempt to explain the controversy regarding the potential malignant transformation of OLP and emphasize the importance of a long-term monitoring of patients with this disease. For this purpose, we selected 14 samples of OLP, 14 samples of leukoplakia with epithelial dysplasia, and 09 samples of normal oral mucosa as controls. The evaluation of the expression of active caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Ki-67 was conducted in accordance with the immunoperoxidase technique. The immunostained cells counting in samples of OLP, epithelial dysplasia in leukoplakia and normal oral mucosa resulted in a number of these cells per mm2 in the different regions (basal layer, suprabasal layer and inflammatory infiltrate) for each immunostained. The expression of Bcl-2 in epithelial cells, the basal layer, occurred more frequently in the group of leukoplakia with epithelial dysplasia, with statistical difference between the group of OLP and the control group. There was a high expression of Bcl-2 protein in inflammatory cells in OLP lesions and leukoplakia with epithelial dysplasia. The expression of the marker Ki-67 was superior in all analyzed tissue levels in OLP lesions and leukoplakia with epithelial dysplasia when compared to the control group. It was concluded that the highest expression of Bcl-2 protein and Ki-67 in cases of OLP and leukoplakia with epithelial dysplasia, can reveal the possible presence of molecular changes morphologically imperceptible.

A poluição atmosférica tem sido tema frequente de pesquisas, devido aos efeitos que podem afetar a saúde dos seres vivos, o meio ambiente e clima. A fim de identificar as fontes de emissão dos poluentes e de seus efeitos, o método de biomonitoramento vem sendo estudado devido ao seu baixo custo e a possibilidade de amostragem em amplas áreas geográficas. Neste trabalho, para biomonitoramento passivo da poluição atmosférica no campus da Cidade Universitária Armando Salles de Oliveira (CUASO) da Universidade de São Paulo, foi utilizado líquen epifítico da espécie Canoparmelia texana. Os liquens coletados em troncos de árvores de diferentes pontos da CUASO foram limpos, secos por liofilização e moídos para análise pelos métodos de espectrometria de fluorescência de raios X (XRFS) e análise por ativação neutrônica (NAA). Na XRFS as amostras preparadas na forma de pastilhas foram analisadas para determinação de As, Br, Ca, Cl, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Rb, S, Sr e Zn. Na NAA, alíquotas de amostras de liquens juntamente com padrões sintéticos de elementos foram irradiados no reator IEA-R1 e as atividades induzidas medidas em espectrômetro de raios gama para determinação de As, Br, Ca, Cd, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, U, V e Zn. A qualidade dos resultados analíticos foi avaliada pela análise de materiais de referência certificados. Seus resultados de desvios padrão relativos e de erros relativos foram inferiores a 15 % para a maioria dos elementos. Os valores de diferença padronizada ou En score obtidos foram inferiores a |1| indicando resultados satisfatórios. A homogeneidade da amostra de líquen foi avaliada tanto pela NAA como pela XRFS por meio das análises em replicatas e estes resultados indicaram a boa reprodutibilidade dos resultados em relação aos elementos determinados. Os resultados dos liquens da CUASO mostraram que as concentrações médias de As, Br, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Rb, Sb, Se e U foram mais altas do que daquelas das regiões consideradas não poluídas e para Fe, K, La, S, V e Zn foram da mesma ordem de grandeza. O estudo da correlação entre os elementos apresentou alta correlação (r > 0,7) para elementos originários de fontes naturais e antrópicas. A análise de componentes principais (PCA) aplicada aos resultados teve seis componentes principais, onde os componentes 1 e 2 corresponderam a 52,9 % da variância dos dados. Os resultados dos fatores de enriquecimento (FE) calculados entre os liquens da CUASO e de uma região considerada limpa foram maiores que 1 para maioria dos elementos, indicando que estes elementos podem ser de fontes antrópicas. Pelos resultados obtidos concluise que a origem dos elementos determinados nos liquens da CUASO pode ser atribuída a fontes como a resuspensão de partículas de solo e emissões antrópicas. / Air pollution has been a frequent topic of research, due to the effects that it can cause on the health of living organisms, environment and climate. In order to identify pollution sources and their effects, biomonitoring has been studied due to its low cost and possibility of sampling in wide geographic areas. In this study for passive biomonitoring of air pollution levels at the Cidade Universitária Armando Salles de Oliveira (CUASO), University of São Paulo campus, epiphytic lichens of Canoparmelia texana species were used. The lichens collected from tree barks at different sampling sites in the CUASO were cleaned, freeze-dried and ground for analyses. Lichen samples were analyzed by X - ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRFS) and neutron activation analysis (NAA). For XRFS, cylindrical pellets of samples were prepared to determine As, Br, Ca, Cl, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Rb, S, Sr and Zn. For NAA, lichen sample aliquots along with synthetic elemental standards were irradiated both for short and long periods at the IEA-R1 nuclear research reactor. The induced activities were measured by a gamma ray spectrometer to determine As, Br, Ca Cd, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, U, V and Zn. The precision and accuracy of the results were evaluated by the analysis of certified reference materials (MRCs). Their results of relative errors and standard deviations were below 15% for most of the elements. The standardized difference or En score values were lower than |1| indicating satisfactory results. Replicate analyses of a lichen sample by XRFS and NAA, indicated good homogeneity of the sample for the elements determined. The lichen results showed that the mean concentrations of As, Br, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Rb, Sb, Se and U were higher in samples from CUASO than those from regions considered unpolluted. For Fe, K, La, S, V and Zn, they were of the same order of magnitude. The correlation study between the elements showed high correlation (r > 0.7) for elements originated from the natural and anthropogenic sources. The principal component analysis (PCA) applied to the results showed six major components, where components 1 and 2 accounted for 52.9 % of the variance of the data. Enrichment factors (EF) calculated for the results of lichens from CUASO and a region considered unpolluted were EF> 1 for most elements, showing that these elements may be from anthropogenic sources. From the results obtained in this study can be concluded that the elements found in lichens from CUASO can be originated from sources such as resuspension of soil particles and anthropogenic emissions.