Coral reef ecosystem services in the Anthropocene

Coral reefs underpin a range of ecosystem goods and services that contribute to the well‐being of millions of people. However, tropical coral reefs in the Anthropocene are likely to be functionally different from reefs in the past. In this perspective piece, we ask, what does the Anthropocene mean for the provision of ecosystem services from coral reefs? First, we provide examples of the provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services underpinned by coral reef ecosystems. We conclude that coral reef ecosystem service research has lagged behind multidisciplinary advances in broader ecosystem services science, such as an explicit recognition that interactions between social and ecological systems underpin ecosystem services. Second, drawing on tools from functional ecology, we outline how these social–ecological relationships can be incorporated into a mechanistic understanding of service provision and how this might be used to anticipate future changes in coral reef ecosystem services. Finally, we explore the emergence of novel reef ecosystem services, for example from tropicalized coastlines, or through changing technological connections to coral reefs. Indeed, when services are conceived as coming from social–ecological system dynamics, novelty in services can emerge from elements of the interactions between people and the ecosystem. This synthesis of the coral reef ecosystem services literature suggests the field is poorly prepared to understand the changing service provision anticipated in the Anthropocene. A new research agenda is needed that better connects reef functional ecology to ecosystem service provision. This research agenda should embrace more holistic approaches to ecosystem service research, recognizing them as co‐produced by ecosystems and society. Importantly, the likelihood of novel ecosystem service configurations requires further conceptualization and empirical assessment. As with current ecosystem services, the loss or gain of services will not affect all people equally and must be understood in the context in which they occur. With the uncertainty surrounding the future of coral reefs in the Anthropocene, research exploring how the benefits to people change will be of great importance

Seeding Change by Visioning Good Anthropocenes

Although we are surrounded by dystopian stories about the age of the Anthropocene, the future does not have to be bleak. Seeds of alternative good futures occur in many places around the world and we can use these to help us think more creatively about pathways to more desirable futures in the Anthropocene. This paper describes the Seeds of Good Anthropocenes (SOGA) project that aims to identify where elements of Good Anthropocenes (‘seeds’) currently exist on the planet and how they can be used to help us envision pathways towards new, positive futures for the Earth and humanity. Each of the seeds is a potential solution that could help to shift us onto a more sustainable trajectory that will ensure both planetary and human wellbeing. The project has developed and combined novel visioning tools that engage a broad set of stakeholders in identifying potentially game-changing seed initiatives, and exploring how these could develop and combine to create radically alternative futures. This new scenario approach has been used in intergovernmental processes such as the UN Environment’s Global Environment Outlook (GEO) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). By tapping into creativity and ingenuity, the SOGA scenario process provides a set of methodological tools through which we can think in new ways about how to navigate towards more desirable futures, starting with the pockets of these futures that are already with us in the present

Characterization of HIV-Specific CD4+T Cell Responses against Peptides Selected with Broad Population and Pathogen Coverage

CD4+ T cells orchestrate immunity against viral infections, but their importance in HIV infection remains controversial. Nevertheless, comprehensive studies have associated increase in breadth and functional characteristics of HIV-specific CD4+ T cells with decreased viral load. A major challenge for the identification of HIV-specific CD4+ T cells targeting broadly reactive epitopes in populations with diverse ethnic background stems from the vast genomic variation of HIV and the diversity of the host cellular immune system. Here, we describe a novel epitope selection strategy, PopCover, that aims to resolve this challenge, and identify a set of potential HLA class II-restricted HIV epitopes that in concert will provide optimal viral and host coverage. Using this selection strategy, we identified 64 putative epitopes (peptides) located in the Gag, Nef, Env, Pol and Tat protein regions of HIV. In total, 73% of the predicted peptides were found to induce HIV-specific CD4+ T cell responses. The Gag and Nef peptides induced most responses. The vast majority of the peptides (93%) had predicted restriction to the patient’s HLA alleles. Interestingly, the viral load in viremic patients was inversely correlated to the number of targeted Gag peptides. In addition, the predicted Gag peptides were found to induce broader polyfunctional CD4+ T cell responses compared to the commonly used Gag-p55 peptide pool. These results demonstrate the power of the PopCover method for the identification of broadly recognized HLA class II-restricted epitopes. All together, selection strategies, such as PopCover, might with success be used for the evaluation of antigen-specific CD4+ T cell responses and design of future vaccines

Active Tension Network model suggests an exotic mechanical state realized in epithelial tissues.

Mechanical interactions play a crucial role in epithelial morphogenesis, yet understanding the complex mechanisms through which stress and deformation affect cell behavior remains an open problem. Here we formulate and analyze the Active Tension Network (ATN) model, which assumes that the mechanical balance of cells within a tissue is dominated by cortical tension and introduces tension-dependent active remodeling of the cortex. We find that ATNs exhibit unusual mechanical properties. Specifically, an ATN behaves as a fluid at short times, but at long times supports external tension like a solid. Furthermore, an ATN has an extensively degenerate equilibrium mechanical state associated with a discrete conformal - "isogonal" - deformation of cells. The ATN model predicts a constraint on equilibrium cell geometries, which we demonstrate to approximately hold in certain epithelial tissues. We further show that isogonal modes are observed in the fruit y embryo, accounting for the striking variability of apical areas of ventral cells and helping understand the early phase of gastrulation. Living matter realizes new and exotic mechanical states, the study of which helps to understand biological phenomena

Bright spots: seeds of a good Anthropocene

The scale, rate, and intensity of humans’ environmental impact has engendered broad discussion about how to find plausible pathways of development that hold the most promise for fostering a better future in the Anthropocene. However, the dominance of dystopian visions of irreversible environmental degradation and societal collapse, along with overly optimistic utopias and business‐as‐usual scenarios that lack insight and innovation, frustrate progress. Here, we present a novel approach to thinking about the future that builds on experiences drawn from a diversity of practices, worldviews, values, and regions that could accelerate the adoption of pathways to transformative change (change that goes beyond incremental improvements). Using an analysis of 100 initiatives, or “seeds of a good Anthropocene”, we find that emphasizing hopeful elements of existing practice offers the opportunity to: (1) understand the values and features that constitute a good Anthropocene, (2) determine the processes that lead to the emergence and growth of initiatives that fundamentally change human–environmental relationships, and (3) generate creative, bottom‐up scenarios that feature well‐articulated pathways toward a more positive future

Multiple Lines of Evidence Risk Assessment of Terrestrial Passerines Exposed to PCDFs and PCDDs in the Tittabawassee River Floodplain, Midland, Michigan, USA

A site-specific multiple lines of evidence risk assessment was conducted for house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) and eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) along the Tittabawassee River downstream of Midland, Michigan, where concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) in flood-plain soils and sediments are greater compared to upstream areas and some of the greatest anywhere in the world. Lines of evidence supporting the population-level assessment endpoints included site-specific dietary- and tissue-based exposure assessments and population productivity measurements during breeding seasons 2005–2007. While a hazard assessment based on site-specific diets suggested that populations residing in the downstream floodplain had the potential to be affected, concentrations in eggs compared to appropriate toxicity reference values (TRVs) did not predict a potential for population-level effects. There were no significant effects on reproductive success of either species. The most probable cause of the apparent difference between the dietary- and tissue-based exposure assessments was that the dietary-based TRVs were overly conservative based on intraperitoneal injections in the ring-necked pheasant. Agreement between the risk assessment based on concentrations of PCDFs and PCDDs in eggs and reproductive performance in both species supports the conclusion of a small potential for population-level effects at this site

Anthropometric, biochemical and clinical assessment of malnutrition in Malaysian patients with advanced cirrhosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is limited data on the nutritional status of Asian patients with various aetiologies of cirrhosis. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of malnutrition and to compare nutritional differences between various aetiologies.</p> <p>Methodology</p> <p>A cross-sectional study of adult patients with decompensated cirrhosis was conducted. Nutritional status was assessed using standard anthropometry, serum visceral proteins and subjective global assessment (SGA).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty six patients (mean age 59.8 ± 12.8 years; 66.7% males; 41.6% viral hepatitis; Child-Pugh C 55.6%) with decompensated cirrhosis were recruited. Malnutrition was prevalent in 18 (50%) patients and the mean caloric intake was low at 15.2 kcal/kg/day. SGA grade C, as compared to SGA grade B, demonstrated significantly lower anthropometric values in males (BMI 18.1 ± 1.6 vs 26.3 ± 3.5 kg/m2, p < 0.0001; MAMC 19.4 ± 1.5 vs 24.5 ± 3.6 cm, p = 0.002) and females (BMI 19.4 ± 2.7 vs 28.9 ± 4.3, p = 0.001; MAMC 18.0 ± 0.9 vs 28.1 ± 3.6, p < 0.0001), but not with visceral proteins. The SGA demonstrated a trend towards more malnutrition in Child-Pugh C compared to Child-Pugh B liver cirrhosis (40% grade C vs 25% grade C, p = 0.48). Alcoholic cirrhosis had a higher proportion of SGA grade C (41.7%) compared to viral (26.7%) and cryptogenic (28.6%) cirrhosis, but this was not statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Significant malnutrition in Malaysian patients with advanced cirrhosis is common. Alcoholic cirrhosis may have more malnutrition compared to other aetiologies of cirrhosis.</p