Room-Temperature Solid-State Transformation of Na4 SnS4 ⋅ 14H2 O into Na4 Sn2 S6 ⋅ 5H2 O: An Unusual Epitaxial Reaction Including Bond Formation, Mass Transport, and Ionic Conductivity

A highly unusual solid-state epitaxy-induced phase transformation of Na4 SnS4  ⋅ 14H2 O (I) into Na4 Sn2 S6  ⋅ 5H2 O (II) occurs at room temperature. Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations indicate an internal acid-base reaction to form [SnS3 SH]3- which condensates to [Sn2 S6 ]4- . The reaction involves a complex sequence of O-H bond cleavage, S2- protonation, Sn-S bond formation and diffusion of various species while preserving the crystal morphology. In situ Raman and IR spectroscopy evidence the formation of [Sn2 S6 ]4- . DFT calculations allowed assignment of all bands appearing during the transformation. X-ray diffraction and in situ 1 H NMR demonstrate a transformation within several days and yield a reaction turnover of ≈0.38 %/h. AIMD and experimental ionic conductivity data closely follow a Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann type T dependence with D(Na)=6×10-14  m2  s-1 at T=300 K with values increasing by three orders of magnitude from -20 to +25 °C

Room‐Temperature Solid‐State Transformation of Na4_{4}SnS4_{4} ⋅ 14H2_{2}O into Na4_{4}Sn2_{2}S6_{6} ⋅ 5H2_{2}O: An Unusual Epitaxial Reaction Including Bond Formation, Mass Transport, and Ionic Conductivity

A highly unusual solid-state epitaxy-induced phase transformation of Na$_{4}$SnS$_{4}$ ⋅ 14H$_{2}$O (I) into Na$_{4}$Sn$_{2}$S$_{6}$ ⋅ 5H$_{2}$O (II) occurs at room temperature. Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations indicate an internal acid-base reaction to form [SnS$_{3}$SH]$^{3-}$ which condensates to [Sn$_{2}$S$_{6}$]$^{4–}$. The reaction involves a complex sequence of O−H bond cleavage, S$^{2–}$ protonation, Sn−S bond formation and diffusion of various species while preserving the crystal morphology. In situ Raman and IR spectroscopy evidence the formation of [Sn$_{2}$S$_{6}$]$^{4–}$. DFT calculations allowed assignment of all bands appearing during the transformation. X-ray diffraction and in situ $^{1}$H NMR demonstrate a transformation within several days and yield a reaction turnover of ≈0.38 %/h. AIMD and experimental ionic conductivity data closely follow a Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann type T dependence with D(Na)=6×10$^{-14}$ m$^{2}$ s$^{-1}$ at T=300 K with values increasing by three orders of magnitude from −20 to +25 °C

Governança da restauração de paisagens e florestas: iniciativas e a rede de atores sociais do Vale do Paraíba paulista

Tropical forests are historically affected by deforestation, environmental degradation and socio-environmental transformations, which turns these ecosystems into priority areas for biodiversity conservation and restoration of forests and landscapes. The Mata Atlântica region brings together social, environmental and institutional conditions for the implementation of restoration initiatives, particularly in the state of São Paulo portion of the Paraíba Valley. The article aims at describing the history of initiatives, the network of social actors and the interactions that shape Forest and Landscape Restoration (FLR) governance in the Paraíba Valley. Semi-structured interviews and social landscape mapping were used for data collection, as well as content and social network analyses. Forest and Landscape Restoration actions have been taking place in the Paraíba Valley for at least 15 years, currently involving around 100 local and regional social actors. It is understood that the Paraíba Valley social landscape offers favorable conditions for the advancement of Forest and Landscape Restoration initiatives given the multiplicity of actors and interactions between levels. The results suggest that project and program decision-makers should prioritize the social roles of intermediation, dissemination and change agents to integrate peripheral actors in the Forest and Landscape Restoration network.As florestas tropicais são historicamente afetadas por ações de desmatamento, degradação ambiental e transformações socioambientais, o que faz desses ecossistemas áreas prioritárias para a conservação da biodiversidade e a restauração de paisagens e florestas. A Mata Atlântica reúne condições sociais, ambientais e institucionais para a implementação de compromissos pela restauração, em particular no Vale do Paraíba Paulista. O objetivo do artigo é descrever o histórico de iniciativas, a rede de atores sociais e as interações que configuram a governança da restauração de paisagens e florestas no Vale do Paraíba Paulista. Entrevistas semiestruturadas e o mapeamento da paisagem social foram utilizados para levantamento de dados, além de análises de conteúdo e de redes sociais. As ações de restauração de paisagens e florestas (RPF)estão ocorrendo no Vale do Paraíba Paulista há pelo menos 15 anos, envolvendo atualmente cerca de 100 atores sociais em diferentes níveis. Entende-se que a paisagem social do Vale do Paraíba Paulista oferece condições favoráveis ao avanço de iniciativas de RPF dada a multiplicidade de atores e interações entre níveis. Os resultados sugerem que tomadores de decisão de projetos e programas devem priorizar os papéis sociais de intermediação, disseminação e de agentes de mudança com o objetivo de integrar atores periféricos na rede da RPF.

Validation of an NSP-based (negative selection pattern) gene family identification strategy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gene family identification from ESTs can be a valuable resource for analysis of genome evolution but presents unique challenges in organisms for which the entire genome is not yet sequenced. We have developed a novel gene family identification method based on negative selection patterns (NSP) between family members to screen EST-generated contigs. This strategy was tested on five known gene families in Arabidopsis to see if individual paralogs could be identified with accuracy from EST data alone when compared to the actual gene sequences in this fully sequenced genome.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The NSP method uniquely identified family members in all the gene families tested. Two members of the FtsH gene family, three members each of the PAL, RF1, and ribosomal L6 gene families, and four members of the CAD gene family were correctly identified. Additionally all ESTs from the representative contigs when checked against MapViewer data successfully identify the gene locus predicted.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We demonstrate the effectiveness of the NSP strategy in identifying specific gene family members in Arabidopsis using only EST data and we describe how this strategy can be used to identify many gene families in agronomically important crop species where they are as yet undiscovered.</p

Cross-Species Analysis of Genic GC(3) Content and DNA Methylation Patterns

The GC content in the third codon position (GC3) exhibits a unimodal distribution in many plant and animal genomes. Interestingly, grasses and homeotherm vertebrates exhibit a unique bimodal distribution. High GC3 was previously found to be associated with variable expression, higher frequency of upstream TATA boxes, and an increase of GC3 from 5′ to 3′. Moreover, GC3-rich genes are predominant in certain gene classes and are enriched in CpG dinucleotides that are potential targets for methylation. Based on the GC3 bimodal distribution we hypothesize that GC3 has a regulatory role involving methylation and gene expression. To test that hypothesis, we selected diverse taxa (rice, thale cress, bee, and human) that varied in the modality of their GC3 distribution and tested the association between GC3, DNA methylation, and gene expression. We examine the relationship between cytosine methylation levels and GC3, gene expression, genome signature, gene length, and other gene compositional features. We find a strong negative correlation (Pearson’s correlation coefficient r = −0.67, P value < 0.0001) between GC3 and genic CpG methylation. The comparison between 5′-3′ gradients of CG3-skew and genic methylation for the taxa in the study suggests interplay between gene-body methylation and transcription-coupled cytosine deamination effect. Compositional features are correlated with methylation levels of genes in rice, thale cress, human, bee, and fruit fly (which acts as an unmethylated control). These patterns allow us to generate evolutionary hypotheses about the relationships between GC3 and methylation and how these affect expression patterns. Specifically, we propose that the opposite effects of methylation and compositional gradients along coding regions of GC3-poor and GC3-rich genes are the products of several competing processes

2016 AAPP Monograph Series: African American Professors Program

The African American Professors Program (AAPP) at the University of South Carolina is honored to publish this fifteenth edition of its annual monograph series. AAPP recognizes the significance of offering scholars a venue through which to engage actively in research and to publish their refereed papers. Parallel with the publication of their manuscripts is the opportunity to gain visibility among colleagues throughout postsecondary institutions at national and international levels. Scholars who have contributed papers for this monograph are acknowledged for embracing the value of including this responsibility within their academic milieu. Writing across disciplines adds to the intellectual diversity of these manuscripts. From neophytes to quite experienced individuals, the chapters have been researched and written in depth. Founded in 1997 through the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies in the College of Education, AAPP was designed originally to address the under-representation of African American professors on college and university campuses. Its mission is to expand the pool of these professors in critical academic and research areas. Sponsored historically by the University of South Carolina, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the South Carolina General Assembly, the program recruits doctoral students for disciplines in which African Americans currently are underrepresented among faculty in higher education. The continuation of this monograph series is seen as responding to a window of opportunity to be sensitive to academic expectation of graduates as they pursue career placement and, at the same time, to allow for the dissemination of products of scholarship to a broader community. The importance of this series has been voiced by one of our 2002 AAPP graduates, Dr. Shundelle LaTjuan Dogan, formerly an Administrative Fellow at Harvard University, a Program Officer for the Southern Education Foundation, and a Program Officer for the Arthur M. Blank Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia. She is currently a Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs Manager for IBM-International Business Machines in Atlanta, Georgia and has written the Foreword for the 2014 monograph. Dr. Dogan wrote: One thing in particular that I want to thank you for is having the African American Professors Program scholars publish articles for the monograph. I have to admit that writing the articles seemed like extra work at the time. However, in my recent interview process, organizations have asked me for samples of my writing. Including an article from a published monograph helped to make my portfolio much more impressive. You were \u27right on target\u27 in having us do the monograph series. (AAPP 2003 Monograph, p. xi) The African American Professors Program continues the tradition as a promoter of international scholarship in higher education evidenced through the inspiration from this group of interdisciplinary manuscripts. I hope that you will envision these published papers to serve as an invaluable contribution to your own professional development and career enhancement. John McFadden, PhD The Benjamin Elijah Mays Distinguished Professor Emeritus Director, African American Professors Program University of South Carolinahttps://scholarcommons.sc.edu/mcfadden_monographs/1003/thumbnail.jp

Structure-guided identification of a family of dual receptor-binding PfEMP1 that is associated with cerebral malaria

Cerebral malaria is a deadly outcome of infection by Plasmodium falciparum, occurring when parasite-infected erythrocytes accumulate in the brain. These erythrocytes display parasite proteins of the PfEMP1 family that bind various endothelial receptors. Despite the importance of cerebral malaria, a binding phenotype linked to its symptoms has not been identified. Here, we used structural biology to determine how a group of PfEMP1 proteins interacts with intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), allowing us to predict binders from a specific sequence motif alone. Analysis of multiple Plasmodium falciparum genomes showed that ICAM-1-binding PfEMP1s also interact with endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR), allowing infected erythrocytes to synergistically bind both receptors. Expression of these PfEMP1s, predicted to bind both ICAM-1 and EPCR, is associated with increased risk of developing cerebral malaria. This study therefore reveals an important PfEMP1-binding phenotype that could be targeted as part of a strategy to prevent cerebral malaria

Cultural attitudes are stronger predictors of bushmeat consumption and preference than economic factors among urban Amazonians from Brazil and Colombia

ABSTRACT. Bushmeat consumption persists in urban areas in the Neotropics, yet knowledge of its scale and the relative importance of cultural and economic factors in determining consumption and preference remain elusive. Moreover, the roles of cultural beliefs, social norms, and attitudes in driving urban bushmeat consumption are rarely evaluated. Therefore, we explored in this article the factors that influence consumption and preference for bushmeat in Amazonian towns. Given the availability of other sources of animal protein and the cultural and social importance of bushmeat in the region, we hypothesized that cultural attributes should be better predictors than economic factors of bushmeat consumption and preference. Data analysis involved fitting two-level mixed-effects regressions (random intercepts) to a structured sample of 227 individuals (99 households) from four towns in the Brazilian (Tabatinga and Atalaia do Norte) and Colombian (Leticia and Puerto Nariño) Amazon. The results indicate that a third of the interviewees had consumed bushmeat in the past month, which had primarily been harvested by the family or received as a gift rather than obtained through trade. In general, both economic and cultural factors predicted bushmeat consumption and preference, but the objective proxy for culture, individual origin, was unimportant. Among the tested indicators, the strongest predictor was the importance of bushmeat to social relations. Moreover, informal social norms, such as the greater importance attributed to taboos, tended to decrease the average number of wild species that a person would eat, whereas attitudes toward the illegality of hunting were less important. The two economic indicators, increased income and wealth, tended to decrease preference for bushmeat and the likelihood of consumption. Our findings highlight the importance of human beliefs, attitudes, and social norms to the understanding of bushmeat consumption and preference and may contribute to the design of more effective and locally appropriate conservation and management strategies