Biodiversity conservation in Southeast Asian timber concessions: a critical evaluation of policy mechanisms and guidelines

Tropical deforestation is leading to a loss of economically productive timber concessions, as well as areas with important environmental or socio-cultural values. To counteract this threat in Southeast Asia, sustainable forest management (SFM) practices are becoming increasingly important. We assess the tools and guidelines that have been developed to promote SFM and the progress that has been made in Southeast Asia toward better logging practices. We specifically focus on practices relevant to biodiversity issues. Various regional or national mechanisms now inform governments and the timber industry about methods to reduce the impact of production forestry on wildlife and the forest environment. However, so many guidelines have been produced that it has become difficult to judge which ones are most relevant. In addition, most guidelines are phrased in general terms and lack specific recommendations targeted to local conditions. These might be reasons for the generally slow adoption of SFM practices in the region, with only a few countries having incorporated the guidelines into national legislation. Malaysia, Indonesia, and Laos are among the frontrunners in this process. Overall there is progress, especially in the application of certification programs, the planning and management of high conservation value forests, the regulation and control of hunting, and silvicultural management. To reduce further forest loss, there is a need to accelerate the implementation of good forest management practices. We recommend specific roles for governments, the forestry industry, and nongovernmental organizations in further promoting the implementation of SFM practices for biodiversity conservation

Application of reverse micelle sol-gel synthesis for bulk doping and heteroatoms Surface Enrichment in Mo-Doped TiO 2 nanoparticles

TiO 2 nanoparticles containing 0.0, 1.0, 5.0, and 10.0 wt.% Mo were prepared by a reverse micelle template assisted sol-gel method allowing the dispersion of Mo atoms in the TiO 2 matrix. Their textural and surface properties were characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction, micro-Raman spectroscopy, N 2 adsorption/desorption isotherms at -196 °C, energy dispersive X-ray analysis coupled to field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectroscopy, and ζ-potential measurement. The photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (under visible light and low irradiance) in water was used as a test reaction as well. The ensemble of the obtained experimental results was analyzed in order to discover the actual state of Mo in the final materials, showing the occurrence of both bulk doping and Mo surface species, with progressive segregation of MoO x species occurring only at a higher Mo content

Only hearing what they want to hear: Assessing when and why performance information triggers intentions to coproduce

While performance information is often used to communicate the importance of public policies and stimulate civic engagement, we know little about the processes that connect the two. This study proposes a conceptual model that links performance information to a specific form of public engagement: coproduction. Drawing on insights from information aversion theory, we argue that the effect of performance information on engagement in coproduction depends on levels of policy understanding and the valence of performance information that individuals are exposed to. Specifically, we predict that individuals exposed to positive performance information will understand the policy better than those exposed to negative performance information. Further, we predict that higher levels of policy understanding will increase coproduction engagement intentions. These predictions are examined using two experiments and a representative sample of US residents (n = 836). Findings indicate that participants best understood positive information and that understanding significantly increased coproduction engagement intentions

Only hearing what they want to hear:Assessing when and why performance information triggers intentions to coproduce

While performance information is often used to communicate the importance of public policies and stimulate civic engagement, we know little about the processes that connect the two. This study proposes a conceptual model that links performance information to a specific form of public engagement: coproduction. Drawing on insights from information aversion theory, we argue that the effect of performance information on engagement in coproduction depends on levels of policy understanding and the valence of performance information that individuals are exposed to. Specifically, we predict that individuals exposed to positive performance information will understand the policy better than those exposed to negative performance information. Further, we predict that higher levels of policy understanding will increase coproduction engagement intentions. These predictions are examined using two experiments and a representative sample of US residents (n = 836). Findings indicate that participants best understood positive information and that understanding significantly increased coproduction engagement intentions

Sodium Thiosulfate Prevents Chondrocyte Mineralization and Reduces the Severity of Murine Osteoarthritis.

Calcium-containing crystals participate in the pathogenesis of OA. Sodium thiosulfate (STS) has been shown to be an effective treatment in calcification disorders such as calciphylaxis and vascular calcification. This study investigated the effects and mechanisms of action of STS in a murine model of OA and in chondrocyte calcification. Hydroxyapatite (HA) crystals-stimulated murine chondrocytes and macrophages were treated with STS. Mineralization and cellular production of IL-6, MCP-1 and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were assayed. STS's effects on genes involved in calcification, inflammation and cartilage matrix degradation were studied by RT-PCR. STS was administered in the menisectomy model of murine OA, and the effect on periarticular calcific deposits and cartilage degeneration was investigated by micro-CT-scan and histology. In vitro, STS prevented in a dose-dependent manner calcium crystal deposition in chondrocytes and inhibited Annexin V gene expression. In addition, there was a reduction in crystal-induced IL-6 and MCP-1 production. STS also had an antioxidant effect, diminished HA-induced ROS generation and abrogated HA-induced catabolic responses in chondrocytes. In vivo, administration of STS reduced the histological severity of OA, by limiting the size of new periarticular calcific deposits and reducing the severity of cartilage damage. STS reduces the severity of periarticular calcification and cartilage damage in an animal model of OA via its effects on chondrocyte mineralization and its attenuation of crystal-induced inflammation as well as catabolic enzymes and ROS generation. Our study suggests that STS may be a disease-modifying drug in crystal-associated OA

A new insight into MYC action: control of RNA polymerase II methylation and transcription termination

MYC oncoprotein deregulation is a common catastrophic event in human cancer and limiting its activity restrains tumor development and maintenance, as clearly shown via Omomyc, an MYC-interfering 90 amino acid mini-protein. MYC is a multifunctional transcription factor that regulates many aspects of transcription by RNA polymerase II (RNAPII), such as transcription activation, pause release, and elongation. MYC directly associates with Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5), a protein that methylates a variety of targets, including RNAPII at the arginine residue R1810 (R1810me2s), crucial for proper transcription termination and splicing of transcripts. Therefore, we asked whether MYC controls termination as well, by affecting R1810me2S. We show that MYC overexpression strongly increases R1810me2s, while Omomyc, an MYC shRNA, or a PRMT5 inhibitor and siRNA counteract this phenomenon. Omomyc also impairs Serine 2 phosphorylation in the RNAPII carboxyterminal domain, a modification that sustains transcription elongation. ChIP-seq experiments show that Omomyc replaces MYC and reshapes RNAPII distribution, increasing occupancy at promoter and termination sites. It is unclear how this may affect gene expression. Transcriptomic analysis shows that transcripts pivotal to key signaling pathways are both up- or down-regulated by Omomyc, whereas genes directly controlled by MYC and belonging to a specific signature are strongly down-regulated. Overall, our data point to an MYC/PRMT5/RNAPII axis that controls termination via RNAPII symmetrical dimethylation and contributes to rewiring the expression of genes altered by MYC overexpression in cancer cells. It remains to be clarified which role this may have in tumor development

Can stigmatizing attitudes be prevented in psychology students?

Background: Stigmatizing attitudes have been found among psychology students in many studies, and they are becoming more common with time. Aims: This study examines whether participation in clinical psychology lessons reduces levels of stigmatization in a population of psychology students and whether it leads to any change in stigmatization. Methods: The study is a pre/post evaluation of the effectiveness of clinical psychology lessons (63 hours of lectures) as a tool to fight stigma. The presence of stigmatizing attitudes was detected using the Italian version of the Attribution Questionnaire-27 (AQ-27-I). Stigmatization was described before and after the lessons with structured equation modeling (SEM). Results: Of a total of 387 students contacted, 302 (78.04%) agreed to be involved in the study, but only 266 (68.73%) completed the questionnaires at both t0 and t1. A statistically significant reduction was seen in all six scales and the total score on the AQ-27-I. The models defined by the SEM (pre- and post-intervention) showed excellent model fit indices and described different dynamics of the phenomenon of stigma. Conclusions: A cycle of clinical psychology lessons can be a useful tool for reducing stigmatizing attitudes in a population of students seeking a psychology degree

Influence of hydrogen on the structural stability of annealed ultrathin Si/Ge amorphous layers

Semiconductor structures based on Si and Ge are generally submitted to hydrogenation because H passivates the dangling bonds of Si and Ge. By this way the devices prepared from those semiconductors, e.g., solar cells, have much better electrical properties. However, H stability is still a critical issue. In fact, there is wide evidence that H is very unstable against illumination as well as heat treatment. It has been seen that H out effuses from the samples under such treatments. As this causes unsaturation of the dangling bonds the electrical properties worsen significantly. In this work we will show that in the case of ultrathin Si/Ge amorphous layers the H thermal instability also affects the structural stability even up to the micrometric scale depending on the H content. Such type of structure can also be used to prepare SiGe alloys by mixing the layers with heat treatments. The samples were amorphous multilayers (MLs) of alternating ultrathin (3 nm) layers of Si and Ge deposited by sputtering on (100) oriented Si substrate. The total thickness of the MLs was 300 nm. The samples were hydrogenated by introducing H in the sputter chamber with flow rates varying from 0.8 to 6 ml/min. The MLs underwent different heat treatments, from the one at 350 ?C for 1 h up to the one at 250 ?C for 0.5 h + 450 ?C for 5 h. The samples were analysed by AFM, TEM, energy filtering TEM and Small-Angle X-Ray Diffraction (SAXRD). AFM showed that upon annealing the structure of the samples degrades with formation of surface bumps whose size increases by increasing the annealing temperature and/or time, for the same H content, or by increasing the H content for the same annealing conditions. For high H content and/or annealing conditions AFM showed that the bumps have blown up giving rise to craters. This suggests that H was released from its dangling bonds to Si and Ge and formed H bubbles in the MLs because of the energy supplied by the annealing. Additional energy for the break of the Si-H and Ge-H bonds could be the one supplied by the recombination of thermally generated carriers associated with the band gap fluctuations caused by the not uniform distribution of H in the MLs. The first sites of H accumulation are very likely nanocavities certainly present in the amorphous MLs. By TEM it has been seen that layer intermixing occurred which could be the first step of H bubbles formation. SAXRD measurements as well as TEM energy filtering maps for Si and Ge showed that Si and Ge interdiffusion took place in an asymmetric way as Si was seen to diffuse to the Ge layers whereas Ge did not diffuse to the Si layers. This might be due to the higher density of free dangling bonds in the Ge layers created by annealing because the binding energy of the Ge-H bond is smaller than the one of the Si-H bond

Molecular mechanisms of mtdna-mediated inflammation

Besides their role in cell metabolism, mitochondria display many other functions. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), the own genome of the organelle, plays an important role in modulating the inflammatory immune response. When released from the mitochondrion to the cytosol, mtDNA is recognized by cGAS, a cGAMP which activates a pathway leading to enhanced expression of type I interferons, and by NLRP3 inflammasome, which promotes the activation of pro-inflammatory cytokines Interleukin-1beta and Interleukin-18. Furthermore, mtDNA can be bound by Toll-like receptor 9 in the endosome and activate a pathway that ultimately leads to the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. mtDNA is released in the extracellular space in different forms (free DNA, protein-bound DNA fragments) either as free circulating molecules or encapsulated in extracellular vesicles. In this review, we discussed the latest findings concerning the molecular mechanisms that regulate the release of mtDNA from mitochondria, and the mechanisms that connect mtDNA misplacement to the activation of inflammation in different pathophysiological conditions