Conservation evo-devo: preserving biodiversity by understanding its origins

Unprecedented rates of species extinction increase the urgency for effective conservation biology management practices. Thus, any improvements in practice are vital and we suggest that conservation can be enhanced through recent advances in evolutionary biology, specifically advances put forward by evolutionary developmental biology (i.e., evo-devo). There are strong overlapping conceptual links between conservation and evo-devo whereby both fields focus on evolutionary potential. In particular, benefits to conservation can be derived from some of the main areas of evo-devo research, namely phenotypic plasticity, modularity and integration, and mechanistic investigations of the precise developmental and genetic processes that determine phenotypes. Using examples we outline how evo-devo can expand into conservation biology, an opportunity which holds great promise for advancing both fields

Solar sail formation flying for deep-space remote sensing

In this paper we consider how 'near' term solar sails can be used in formation above the ecliptic plane to provide platforms for accurate and continuous remote sensing of the polar regions of the Earth. The dynamics of the solar sail elliptical restricted three-body problem (ERTBP) are exploited for formation flying by identifying a family of periodic orbits above the ecliptic plane. Moreover, we find a family of 1 year periodic orbits where each orbit corresponds to a unique solar sail orientation using a numerical continuation method. It is found through a number of example numerical simulations that this family of orbits can be used for solar sail formation flying. Furthermore, it is illustrated numerically that Solar Sails can provide stable formation keeping platforms that are robust to injection errors. In addition practical trajectories that pass close to the Earth and wind onto these periodic orbits above the ecliptic are identified

Evolvability under climate change: bone development and shape plasticity are heritable and correspond with performance in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus)

Environmental conditions can impact the development of phenotypes and in turn the performance of individuals. Climate change, therefore, provides a pressing need to extend our understanding of how temperature will influence phenotypic variation. To address this, we assessed the impact of increased temperatures on ecologically significant phenotypic traits in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). We raised Arctic charr at 5°C and 9°C to simulate a predicted climate change scenario and examined temperature-induced variation in ossification, bone metabolism, skeletal morphology, and escape response. Fish reared at 9°C exhibited less cartilage and bone development at the same developmental stage, but also higher bone metabolism in localized regions. The higher temperature treatment also resulted in significant differences in craniofacial morphology, changes in the degree of variation, and fewer vertebrae. Both temperature regime and vertebral number affected escape response performance, with higher temperature leading to decreased latency. These findings demonstrate that climate change has the potential to impact development through multiple routes with the potential for plasticity and the release of cryptic genetic variation to have strong impacts on function through ecological performance and survival

Determination of protein thiol reduction potential by isotope labeling and intact mass measurement

Oxidation/reduction of thiol residues in proteins is an important type of post-translational modification that is implicated in regulating a range of biological processes. The nature of the modification makes it possible to define a quantifiable electrochemical potential, E⊕, for oxidation/reduction that allows cysteine-containing proteins to be ranked based on their propensity to be oxidized. Measuring oxidation of cysteine residues in proteins is difficult using standard electrochemical methods but recently top-down mass-spectrometry has been shown to enable the quantification of E⊕ for thiol oxidations. In this paper we demonstrate that mass spectrometry of intact proteins can be used in combination with an isotopic labeling strategy and an automated data analysis algorithm to measure E⊕ for the thiols in both E Coli Thioredoxin 1 and Human Thioredoxin 1. Our methodology relies on accurate mass measurement of proteins using LC-MS analyses and does not necessarily require top-down fragmentation. As well as analyzing homogeneous protein samples, we also demonstrate that our methodology can be used to determine thiol E⊕ measurements in samples which contain mixtures of proteins. Thus the combination of experiential methodology and data analysis regime have the potential to make such measurements in a high-throughput manner and in a manner more accessible to a broad community of protein scientists

Implementing telephone triage in general practice: a process evaluation of a cluster randomised controlled trial

Background: Telephone triage represents one strategy to manage demand for face-to-face GP appointments in primary care. However, limited evidence exists of the challenges GP practices face in implementing telephone triage. We conducted a qualitative process evaluation alongside a UK-based cluster randomised trial (ESTEEM) which compared the impact of GP-led and nurse-led telephone triage with usual care on primary care workload, cost, patient experience, and safety for patients requesting a same-day GP consultation. The aim of the process study was to provide insights into the observed effects of the ESTEEM trial from the perspectives of staff and patients, and to specify the circumstances under which triage is likely to be successfully implemented. Here we report perspectives of staff. Methods: The intervention comprised implementation of either GP-led or nurse-led telephone triage for a period of 2-3 months. A qualitative evaluation was conducted using staff interviews recruited from eight general practices (4 GP triage, 4 Nurse triage) in the UK, implementing triage as part of the ESTEEM trial. Qualitative interviews were undertaken with 44 staff members in GP triage and nurse triage practices (16 GPs, 8 nurses, 7 practice managers, 13 administrative staff). Results: Staff reported diverse experiences and perceptions regarding the implementation of telephone triage, its effects on workload, and on the benefits of triage. Such diversity were explained by the different ways triage was organised, the staffing models used to support triage, how the introduction of triage was communicated across practice staff, and by how staff roles were reconfigured as a result of implementing triage. Conclusion: The findings from the process evaluation offer insight into the range of ways GP practices participating in ESTEEM implemented telephone triage, and the circumstances under which telephone triage can be successfully implemented beyond the context of a clinical trial. Staff experiences and perceptions of telephone triage are shaped by the way practices communicate with staff, prepare for and sustain the changes required to implement triage effectively, as well as by existing practice culture, and staff and patient behaviour arising in response to the changes made. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN20687662. Registered 28 May 2009

A DNA nanoswitch incorporating the fluorescent base analogue 2-aminopurine detects single nucleotide mismatches in unlabelled targets

DNA nanoswitches can be designed to detect unlabelled nucleic acid targets and have been shown to discriminate between targets which differ in the identity of only one base. This paper demonstrates that the fluorescent base analogue 2-aminopurine (AP) can be used to discriminate between nanoswitches with and without targets and to discriminate between matched and mismatched targets. In particular, we have used both steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy to determine differences in AP environment at the branchpoint of nanoswitches assembled using complementary targets and targets which incorporate single base mismatches

The Chagos Islands cases: the empire strikes back

Good governance requires the accommodation of multiple interests in the cause of decision making. However, undue regard for particular sectional interests can take their toll upon public faith in government administration. Historically, broad conceptions of the good of the commonwealth were employed to outweigh the interests of groups that resisted colonisation. In the decision making of the British Empire, the standard approach for justifying the marginalisation of the interests of colonised groups was that they were uncivilised and that particular hardships were the price to be paid for bringing to them the imperial dividend of industrial society. It is widely assumed that with the dismantling of the British Empire, such impulses and their accompanying jurisprudence became a thing of the past. Even as decolonisation proceeded apace after the Second World War, however, the United Kingdom maintained control of strategically important islands with a view towards sustaining its global role. In an infamous example from this twilight period of empire, in the 1960s imperial interests were used to justify the expulsion of the Chagos islanders from the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). Into the twenty-first century, this forced elision of the UK’s interests with the imperial “common good” continues to take centre stage in courtroom battles over the islanders’ rights, being cited before domestic and international tribunals in order to maintain the Chagossians’ exclusion from their homeland. This article considers the new jurisprudence of imperialism which has emerged in a string of decisions which have continued to marginalise the Chagossians’ interests

Rotational and Nuclear-Spin Level Dependent Photodissociation Dynamics of H₂S

The photodissociation dynamics of small molecules in the vacuum ultraviolet range can have key implications for astrochemical modelling, but revealing such dynamical details is a challenging task. Here the authors, combining high resolution experimental techniques, provide a detailed description of the fragmentation dynamics of selected rotational levels of a predissociated Rydberg state of H2S