Unusually Long Palindromes Are Abundant in Mitochondrial Control Regions of Insects and Nematodes

BACKGROUND: Palindromes are known to be involved in a variety of biological processes. In the present investigation we carried out a comprehensive analysis of palindromes in the mitochondrial control regions (CRs) of several animal groups to study their frequency, distribution and architecture to gain insights into the origin of replication of mtDNA. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Many species of Arthropoda, Nematoda, Mollusca and Annelida harbor palindromes and inverted repeats (IRs) in their CRs. Lower animals like cnidarians and higher animal groups like chordates are almost devoid of palindromes and IRs. The study revealed that palindrome occurrence is positively correlated with the AT content of CRs, and that IRs are likely to give rise to longer palindromes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The present study attempts to explain possible reasons and gives in silico evidence for absence of palindromes and IRs from CR of vertebrate mtDNA and acquisition and retention of the same in insects. Study of CRs of different animal phyla uncovered unique architecture of this locus, be it high abundance of long palindromes and IRs in CRs of Insecta and Nematoda, or short IRs of 10–20 nucleotides with a spacer region of 12–14 bases in subphylum Chelicerata, or nearly complete of absence of any long palindromes and IRs in Vertebrata, Cnidaria and Echinodermata

Cloning and characterization of Daphnia mitochondrial DNA

The mitochondrial genome of Daphnia pulex (Crustacea, Cladocera) was cloned as a single fragment into the plasmid vector pUC12. The genome size, estimated from restriction endonuclease fragment lengths, is 15,400±200 base pairs. The GC content, estimated from thermal denaturation studies, is 42%. The positions of 39 cleavage sites were mapped for 14 restriction enzymes. The distribution of these sites within the genome is random ( P =0.44). Heterologous hybridizations with Drosophila sylvestris mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) probes indicate that gene orders within Daphnia and Drosophila mtDNAs are similar.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/48044/1/239_2005_Article_BF02193629.pd

Citizen science breathes new life into participatory agricultural research : A review

Participatory research can improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and scope of research processes, and foster social inclusion, empowerment and sustainability. Yet despite four decades of agricultural research institutions exploring and developing methods for participatory research, it has never become mainstream in the agricultural technology development cycle. Citizen science promises an innovative approach to participation in research, using the unique facilities of new digital technologies, but its potential in agricultural research participation has not been systematically probed. To this end, we conducted a critical literature review. We found that citizen science opens up four opportunities for creatively reshaping research: i) new possibilities for interdisciplinary collaboration, ii) rethinking configurations of socio-computational systems, iii) research on democratization of science more broadly, and iv) new accountabilities. Citizen science also brings a fresh perspective on the barriers to institutionalizing participation in the agricultural sciences. Specifically, we show how citizen science can reconfigure cost-motivation-accountability combinations using digital tools, open up a larger conceptual space of experimentation, and stimulate new collaborations. With appropriate and persistent institutional support and investment, citizen science can therefore have a lasting impact on how agricultural science engages with farming communities and wider society, and more fully realize the promises of participation

Volunteer Engagement in Housing Co-Operatives – Civil Society “en miniature”

Housing co‐operatives host miniature versions of civil society. They vitalise a social system that is shaped by formal regulations, economic functions, and a population of private housing units. The study examines factors that influence a person’s willingness to volunteer in civic society using a multilevel analysis based on survey data from 32 co‐operatives and 1263 members. To do so, the social exchange theory is extended to include the member value approach, which connects social engagement with the fulfillment of a range of needs, thus going beyond a narrow economic cost benefit analysis. Study results show that volunteer engagement largely depends on the degree to which members can expect to experience their own achievement. This finding provides an explanation for significant differences in the engagement levels beyond factors that have already been determined (age, level of education). On an organizational level, the study reveals that the age of an organization influences volunteer engagement, but that the size and the degree of professionalization do not have an effect on it

Personality in the Cockroach (Diploptera punctate): Evidence for Stability Across Developmental Stages Despite Age Effects on Boldness

Despite a recent surge in the popularity of animal personality studies and their wide-ranging associations with various aspects of behavioural ecology, our understanding of the development of personality over ontogeny remains poorly understood. Stability over time is a central tenet of personality; ecological pressures experienced by an individual at different life stages may, however, vary considerably, which may have a significant effect on behavioural traits. Invertebrates often go through numerous discrete developmental stages and therefore provide a useful model for such research. Here we test for both differential consistency and age effects upon behavioural traits in the gregarious cockroach Diploptera punctata by testing the same behavioural traits in both juveniles and adults. In our sample, we find consistency in boldness, exploration and sociality within adults whilst only boldness was consistent in juveniles. Both boldness and exploration measures, representative of risk-taking behaviour, show significant consistency across discrete juvenile and adult stages. Age effects are, however, apparent in our data; juveniles are significantly bolder than adults, most likely due to differences in the ecological requirements of these life stages. Size also affects risk-taking behaviour since smaller adults are both bolder and more highly explorative. Whilst a behavioural syndrome linking boldness and exploration is evident in nymphs, this disappears by the adult stage, where links between other behavioural traits become apparent. Our results therefore indicate that differential consistency in personality can be maintained across life stages despite age effects on its magnitude, with links between some personality traits changing over ontogeny, demonstrating plasticity in behavioural syndromes

Reduction of Weinreb amides to aldehydes under ambient conditions with magnesium borohydride reagents Dedicated to the memory of Professor Sheldon Shore

Chloromagnesium dimethylaminoborohydride (ClMg+ [H3BNMe2]-, MgAB) is an analogue of the versatile lithium dialkylaminoborohydrides (LAB reagents), prepared by the reaction of dimethylamine-borane with methylmagnesium chloride. MgAB is a partial reducing agent for Weinreb amides under ambient conditions and is complementary to the commonly utilized lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH4) and diisobutylaluminum hydride (DIBAL) reagents, while exhibiting enhanced chemoselectivity. To prevent over-reduction, the aldehyde products are readily isolated in good yields by forming the sodium bisulfite adducts. Aldehyde products can both be stored and later used as the bisulfite adducts, or can be regenerated from the bisulfite adducts by treatment with aqueous formaldehyde

The 2010 Hans Cloos lecture : the contribution of urban geology to the development, regeneration and conservation of cities

Urban geology began to develop in the 1950s, particularly in California in relation to land-use planning, and led to Robert Legget publishing his seminal book “Cities and geology” in 1973. Urban geology has now become an important part of engineering geology. Research and practice has seen the evolution from single theme spatial datasets to multi-theme and multi-dimensional outputs for a wide range of users. In parallel to the development of these new outputs to aid urban development, regeneration and conservation, has been the growing recognition that city authorities need access to extensive databases of geo-information that are maintained in the long-term and renewed regularly. A further key advance has been the recognition that, in the urban environment, knowledge and understanding of the geology need to be integrated with those of other environmental topics (for example, biodiversity) and, increasingly, with the research of social scientists, economists and others. Despite these advances, it is suggested that the value of urban geology is not fully recognised by those charged with the management and improvement of the world’s cities. This may be because engineering geologists have failed to adequately demonstrate the benefits of urban geological applications in terms of cost and environmental improvement, have not communicated these benefits well enough and have not clearly shown the long-term contribution of geo-information to urban sustainability. Within this context future actions to improve the situation are proposed