Nut production in Bertholletia excelsa across a logged forest mosaic: implications for multiple forest use

Although many examples of multiple-use forest management may be found in tropical smallholder systems, few studies provide empirical support for the integration of selective timber harvesting with non-timber forest product (NTFP) extraction. Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa, Lecythidaceae) is one of the world’s most economically-important NTFP species extracted almost entirely from natural forests across the Amazon Basin. An obligate out-crosser, Brazil nut flowers are pollinated by large-bodied bees, a process resulting in a hard round fruit that takes up to 14 months to mature. As many smallholders turn to the financial security provided by timber, Brazil nut fruits are increasingly being harvested in logged forests. We tested the influence of tree and stand-level covariates (distance to nearest cut stump and local logging intensity) on total nut production at the individual tree level in five recently logged Brazil nut concessions covering about 4000 ha of forest in Madre de Dios, Peru. Our field team accompanied Brazil nut harvesters during the traditional harvest period (January-April 2012 and January-April 2013) in order to collect data on fruit production. Three hundred and ninety-nine (approximately 80%) of the 499 trees included in this study were at least 100 m from the nearest cut stump, suggesting that concessionaires avoid logging near adult Brazil nut trees. Yet even for those trees on the edge of logging gaps, distance to nearest cut stump and local logging intensity did not have a statistically significant influence on Brazil nut production at the applied logging intensities (typically 1–2 timber trees removed per ha). In one concession where at least 4 trees ha-1 were removed, however, the logging intensity covariate resulted in a marginally significant (0.09) P value, highlighting a potential risk for a drop in nut production at higher intensities. While we do not suggest that logging activities should be completely avoided in Brazil nut rich forests, when a buffer zone cannot be observed, low logging intensities should be implemented. The sustainability of this integrated management system will ultimately depend on a complex series of socioeconomic and ecological interactions. Yet we submit that our study provides an important initial step in understanding the compatibility of timber harvesting with a high value NTFP, potentially allowing for diversification of forest use strategies in Amazonian Perù

Risk and Cooperation: Managing Hazardous Fuel in Mixed Ownership Landscapes

Managing natural processes at the landscape scale to promote forest health is important, especially in the case of wildfire, where the ability of a landowner to protect his or her individual parcel is constrained by conditions on neighboring ownerships. However, management at a landscape scale is also challenging because it requires cooperation on plans and actions that cross ownership boundaries. Cooperation depends on people’s beliefs and norms about reciprocity and perceptions of the risks and benefits of interacting with others. Using logistic regression tests on mail survey data and qualitative analysis of interviews with landowners, we examined the relationship between perceived wildfire risk and cooperation in the management of hazardous fuel by nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) owners in fire-prone landscapes of eastern Oregon. We found that NIPF owners who perceived a risk of wildfire to their properties, and perceived that conditions on nearby public forestlands contributed to this risk, were more likely to have cooperated with public agencies in the past to reduce fire risk than owners who did not perceive a risk of wildfire to their properties. Wildfire risk perception was not associated with past cooperation among NIPF owners. The greater social barriers to private–private cooperation than to private–public cooperation, and perceptions of more hazardous conditions on public compared with private forestlands may explain this difference. Owners expressed a strong willingness to cooperate with others in future cross-boundary efforts to reduce fire risk, however. We explore barriers to cooperative forest management across ownerships, and identify models of cooperation that hold potential for future collective action to reduce wildfire risk

Nifedipin ublažava djelovanje kokaina na enzimsku aktivnost u mozgu i jetri te smanjuje njegovo izlučivanje putem mokraće

The aim of this study was to see how nifedipine counters the effects of cocaine on hepatic and brain enzymatic activity in rats and whether it affects urinary excretion of cocaine. Male Wistar rats were divided in four groups of six: control, nifedipine group (5 mg kg-1 i.p. a day for five days); cocaine group (15 mg kg-1 i.p. a day for five days), and the nifedipine+cocaine group. Twenty-four hours after the last administration, we measured neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) activity in the brain and cytochrome P450 quantity, ethylmorphine-N-demethylase, and anilinehydroxylase activity in the liver. Urine samples were collected 24 h after the last cocaine and cocaine+nifedipine administration. Urinary cocaine concentration was determined using the GC/MS method. Cocaine administration increased brain nNOS activity by 55 % (p<0.05) in respect to control, which indicates the development of tolerance and dependence. In the combination group, nifedipine decreased the nNOS activity in respect to the cocaine-only group. In the liver, cocaine significantly decreased and nifedipine significantly increased cytochrome P450, ethylmorphine-N-demethylase, and anilinehydroxylase in respect to control. In combination, nifedipine successfully countered cocaine effects on these enzymes. Urine cocaine excretion in the cocaine+nifedipine group significantly dropped (by 35 %) compared to the cocaine-only group. Our results have confirmed the effects of nifedipine against cocaine tolerance and development of dependence, most likely due to metabolic interactions between them.Cilj je ovoga istraživanja bio utvrditi kako nifedipin ublažava djelovanje kokaina na enzimsku aktivnost u mozgu i jetri Wistar štakora te utječe li na njegovo izlučivanje putem mokraće. Mužjaci su podijeljeni u četiri skupine po šest jedinki: kontrolnu skupinu, nifedipinsku skupinu koja je pet dana intraperitonealno primala nifedipin u dozi od 5 mg kg-1; skupinu koja je pet dana primala kokain u dozi od 15 mg kg-1 na dan te skupinu koja je zajedno primala nifedipin i kokain u odgovarajućim dozama. Dvadeset i četiri sata nakon posljednje doze izmjerena je enzimska aktivnost sintaze dušičnoga oksida (nNOS) u mozgu, razina citokroma P450 te aktivnosti enzima etilmorfi n-N-demetilaze i anilinhidroksilaze u jetri štakora. Uzorci mokraće prikupljeni su 24 sata nakon posljednje doze kokaina odnosno kombinacije nifedipina i kokaina. Koncentracija kokaina u mokraći izmjerena je s pomoću vezanog sustava plinske kromatografi je i spektrometrije masa. Kokain je povećao aktivnost nNOS-a u mozgu za 55 % (p<0,05) u odnosu na kontrolnu skupinu, što upućuje na stvaranje tolerancije i ovisnosti. U kombiniranoj skupini nifedipin je značajno smanjio aktivnost nNOS-a u odnosu na skupinu koja je primila samo kokain. Kokain je značajno snizio, a nifedipin značajno povisio razinu citokroma P450 u jetri te aktivnost etilmorfi n-N-demetilaze i anilinhidroksilaze u odnosu na kontrolnu skupinu. U kombiniranoj skupini nifedipin je uspješno ublažio djelovanje kokaina na aktivnost spomenutih enzima. Izlučivanje kokaina putem mokraće u kombiniranoj skupini bilo je značajno manje (35 %) nego u skupini koja je primala samo kokain. Ovi rezultati potvrđuju da nifedipin štiti od djelovanja kokaina i stvaranja ovisnosti, najvjerojatnije zbog interakcija u metabolizmu dvaju spojeva

Increased dynamics in the 40-57 Ω-loop of the G41S variant of human cytochrome c promote its pro-apoptotic conformation

Thrombocytopenia 4 is an inherited autosomal dominant thrombocytopenia, which occurs due to mutations in the human gene for cytochrome c that results in enhanced mitochondrial apoptotic activity. The Gly41Ser mutation was the first to be reported. Here we report stopped-flow kinetic studies of azide binding to human ferricytochrome c and its Gly41Ser variant, together with backbone amide H/D exchange and 15N-relaxation dynamics using NMR spectroscopy, to show that alternative conformations are kinetically and thermodynamically more readily accessible for the Gly41Ser variant than for the wild-type protein. Our work reveals a direct conformational link between the 40-57 Ω-loop in which residue 41 resides and the dynamical properties of the axial ligand to the heme iron, Met80, such that the replacement of glycine by serine promotes the dissociation of the Met80 ligand, thereby increasing the population of a peroxidase active state, which is a key non-native conformational state in apoptosis

Election proximity and representation focus in party-constrained environments

Do elected representatives have a time-constant representation focus or do they adapt their focus depending on election proximity? In this article, we examine these overlooked theoretical and empirical puzzles by looking at how reelection-seeking actors adapt their legislative behavior according to the electoral cycle. In parliamentary democracies, representatives need to serve two competing principals: their party and their district. Our analysis hinges on how representatives make a strategic use of parliamentary written questions in a highly party-constrained institutional context to heighten their reselection and reelection prospects. Using an original data set of over 32,000 parliamentary questions tabled by Portuguese representatives from 2005 to 2015, we examine how time interacts with two key explanatory elements: electoral vulnerability and party size. Results show that representation focus is not static over time and, in addition, that electoral vulnerability and party size shape strategic use of parliamentary questions

Deliberate termination of life of newborns with spina bifida, a critical reappraisal

Objects: Deliberate termination of life of newborns (involuntary euthanasia) with meningomyelocele (MMC) is practiced openly only in the Netherlands. 'Unbearable and hopeless suffering' is the single most cited criterion for this termination, together with the notion that 'there are no other proper medical means to alleviate this suffering'. In this paper, both (and other) statements are questioned, also by putting them in a broader perspective. Methods: First, a historical overview of the treatment of newborns with MMC is presented, concentrating on the question of selection for treatment. Second, a thorough analysis is made of the criteria used for life termination. Third, a case of a newborn with a very severe MMC is presented as a 'reference case'. Conclusion: 'Unbearable and hopeless suffering' cannot be applied to newborns with MMC. They are not 'terminally ill' and do have 'prospects of a future'. In these end-of-life decisions, 'quality of life judgments' should not be applied. When such a newborn is not treated, modern palliative care always will suffice in eliminating possible discomfort. There is no reason whatsoever for active life-termination of these newborns

L'HYDROPTERE: HOW MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH MAY HELP BREAK THE SAILING SPEED RECORD

In 2009, l’Hydroptère broke the symbolic barrier of 50 knots and became the world fastest sailing boat over both 500 meters and 1 nautical mile. This major achievement relied on the high skills of the sailing team but also on technical advances of the boat, resulting from the scientific collaboration between the Hydroptère Design Team and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). In the present article, we highlight the multidisciplinary research activity performed within EPFL in the course of this collaboration involving aero- and hydrodynamics, materials and structure as well as computer vision. Various foils were tested at reduced scale in a high speed water tunnel, and the results used to validate the numerical simulations. Composite materials, their processing parameters and assembly components were tested. The structural behaviour was also investigated to determine strains and stresses in normal and extreme sailing conditions, taking waves into account, and a combined model was derived for dynamic simulation. Finally, advanced computer vision methods were developed and implemented on the boat to monitor foil immersion and cross beams deformations

A Panel of Serum MicroRNAs as Specific Biomarkers for Diagnosis of Compound- and Herb-Induced Liver Injury in Rats

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) has been a public, economic and pharmaceutical issue for many years. Enormous effort has been made for discovering and developing novel biomarkers for diagnosing and monitoring both clinical and preclinical DILI at an early stage, though progress has been relatively slow. Additionally, herb-induced liver injury is an emerging cause of liver disease because herbal medicines are increasingly being used worldwide. Recently, circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have shown potential to serve as novel, minimally invasive biomarkers to diagnose and monitor human cancers and other diseases at early stages.In order to identify candidate miRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers for DILI, miRNA expression profiles of serum and liver tissue from two parallel liver injury Sprague-Dawley rat models induced by a compound (acetaminophen, APAP) or an herb (Dioscorea bulbifera, DB) were screened in this study. The initial screens were performed on serum using a MicroRNA TaqMan low-density qPCR array and on liver tissue using a miRCURY LNA hybridization array and were followed by a TaqMan probe-based quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) assay to validate comparison with serum biochemical parameters and histopathological examination. Two sets of dysregulated miRNA candidates in serum and liver tissue were selected in the screening phase. After qRT-PCR validation, a panel of compound- and herb- related serum miRNAs was identified.We have demonstrated that this panel of serum miRNAs provides potential biomarkers for diagnosis of DILI with high sensitivity and specificity