Resilience, political ecology, and well-being: An interdisciplinary approach to analysing social-ecological change in coastal Bangladesh

The commodification of peasant livelihoods through export-oriented aquaculture has brought about significant social-ecological changes in low-lying coastal areas in many parts of Asia. A better understanding of the underlying drivers and distributional effects of these changes requires integration of social and ecological approaches that often have different epistemological origins. Resilience thinking has gained increased traction in social-ecological systems research because it provides a dynamic analysis of the cross-scalar interactions between multiple conditions and processes. However, the system-oriented perspective inherent in resilience thinking fails to acknowledge the heterogeneous values, interests, and power of social actors and their roles in navigating social-ecological change. Incorporation of political ecology and well-being perspectives can provide an actor-oriented analysis of the trade-offs associated with change and help to determine which state is desirable for whom. However, empirical demonstrations of such interdisciplinary approaches remain scarce. Here, we explore the combined application of resilience, political ecology, and well-being in investigating the root causes of social-ecological change and identifying the winners and losers of system transformation through empirical analysis of the differential changes in farming systems in two villages in coastal Bangladesh. Using the adaptive cycle as a structuring model, we examine the evolution of the shrimp aquaculture system over the past few decades, particularly looking at the power dynamics between households of different wealth classes. We found that although asymmetric land ownership and political ties enabled the wealthier households to reach their desired farming system in one village, social resilience achieved through memory, leadership, and crisis empowered poorer households to exercise their agency in another village. Material dimensions such as improved living standards, food security, and cash incomes were evidently important; however, freedom to pursue desired livelihood activities, better environmental quality, mental peace, and cultural identities had significant implications for relational and subjective well-being

Genome wide in silico SNP-tumor association analysis

BACKGROUND: Carcinogenesis occurs, at least in part, due to the accumulation of mutations in critical genes that control the mechanisms of cell proliferation, differentiation and death. Publicly accessible databases contain millions of expressed sequence tag (EST) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) records, which have the potential to assist in the identification of SNPs overrepresented in tumor tissue. METHODS: An in silico SNP-tumor association study was performed utilizing tissue library and SNP information available in NCBI's dbEST (release 092002) and dbSNP (build 106). RESULTS: A total of 4865 SNPs were identified which were present at higher allele frequencies in tumor compared to normal tissues. A subset of 327 (6.7%) SNPs induce amino acid changes to the protein coding sequences. This approach identified several SNPs which have been previously associated with carcinogenesis, as well as a number of SNPs that now warrant further investigation CONCLUSIONS: This novel in silico approach can assist in prioritization of genes and SNPs in the effort to elucidate the genetic mechanisms underlying the development of cancer

A Unique Modification of the Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 5A Shows the Presence of the Complete Hypusine Pathway in Leishmania donovani

Deoxyhypusine hydroxylase (DOHH) catalyzes the final step in the post-translational synthesis of an unusual amino acid hypusine (N€-(4-amino-2-hydroxybutyl) lysine), which is present on only one cellular protein, eukaryotic initiation factor 5A (eIF5A). We present here the molecular and structural basis of the function of DOHH from the protozoan parasite, Leishmania donovani, which causes visceral leishmaniasis. The L. donovani DOHH gene is 981 bp and encodes a putative polypeptide of 326 amino acids. DOHH is a HEAT-repeat protein with eight tandem repeats of α-helical pairs. Four conserved histidine-glutamate sequences have been identified that may act as metal coordination sites. A ∼42 kDa recombinant protein with a His-tag was obtained by heterologous expression of DOHH in Escherichia coli. Purified recombinant DOHH effectively catalyzed the hydroxylation of the intermediate, eIF5A-deoxyhypusine (eIF5A-Dhp), in vitro. L. donovani DOHH (LdDOHH) showed ∼40.6% sequence identity with its human homolog. The alignment of L. donovani DOHH with the human homolog shows that there are two significant insertions in the former, corresponding to the alignment positions 159-162 (four amino acid residues) and 174-183 (ten amino acid residues) which are present in the variable loop connecting the N- and C-terminal halves of the protein, the latter being present near the substrate binding site. Deletion of the ten-amino-acid-long insertion decreased LdDOHH activity to 14% of the wild type recombinant LdDOHH. Metal chelators like ciclopirox olamine (CPX) and mimosine significantly inhibited the growth of L. donovani and DOHH activity in vitro. These inhibitors were more effective against the parasite enzyme than the human enzyme. This report, for the first time, confirms the presence of a complete hypusine pathway in a kinetoplastid unlike eubacteria and archaea. The structural differences between the L. donovani DOHH and the human homolog may be exploited for structure based design of selective inhibitors against the parasite

Proteomic Analysis Reveals That Iron Availability Alters the Metabolic Status of the Pathogenic Fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is a thermodimorphic fungus and the causative agent of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM). The ability of P. brasiliensis to uptake nutrients is fundamental for growth, but a reduction in the availability of iron and other nutrients is a host defense mechanism many pathogenic fungi must overcome. Thus, fungal mechanisms that scavenge iron from host may contribute to P. brasiliensis virulence. In order to better understand how P. brasiliensis adapts to iron starvation in the host we compared the two-dimensional (2D) gel protein profile of yeast cells during iron starvation to that of iron rich condition. Protein spots were selected for comparative analysis based on the protein staining intensity as determined by image analysis. A total of 1752 protein spots were selected for comparison, and a total of 274 out of the 1752 protein spots were determined to have changed significantly in abundance due to iron depletion. Ninety six of the 274 proteins were grouped into the following functional categories; energy, metabolism, cell rescue, virulence, cell cycle, protein synthesis, protein fate, transcription, cellular communication, and cell fate. A correlation between protein and transcript levels was also discovered using quantitative RT-PCR analysis from RNA obtained from P. brasiliensis under iron restricting conditions and from yeast cells isolated from infected mouse spleens. In addition, western blot analysis and enzyme activity assays validated the differential regulation of proteins identified by 2-D gel analysis. We observed an increase in glycolytic pathway protein regulation while tricarboxylic acid cycle, glyoxylate and methylcitrate cycles, and electron transport chain proteins decreased in abundance under iron limiting conditions. These data suggest a remodeling of P. brasiliensis metabolism by prioritizing iron independent pathways

Socio-spatial and seasonal dynamics of small, private water service providers in Khulna district, Bangladesh

Small water service providers operating in informal markets across the Global South address critical gaps in public investments in the rural water sector. This study analyses the growth and operations of private desalination plants and distributing vendors in Khulna, Bangladesh, within the broader landscape of uncoordinated investments by government, donors and households. Household water choices and payment behaviour vary spatially and seasonally, with observable wealth differences in self-supply investments in rainwater tanks and tubewells. Monitoring and regulating informal private providers can improve sectoral coordination, increase efficiency of service delivery and unlock commercial finances against the backdrop of declining aid-based financing

The water diary method – proof-of-concept and policy implications for monitoring water use behaviour in rural Kenya

Africa is lagging behind global progress to meet the Sustainable Development Goal for ‘universal access to safe and affordable drinking water’ services. New knowledge needs to understand and respond to water service inequalities which are not revealed by high quality, but snapshot and infrequent, household surveys. We have designed and piloted a ‘water diary’ in Kenya to document the daily sources, uses, cost and sufficiency of water, along with weekly household expenditures. Water use behaviours vary across water supply alternatives, rainfall extremes and economic conditions to affect ‘sufficiency’ for competing drinking, bathing, laundry, hygiene, and productive uses. Findings reveal water for hygiene uses is reduced during drought, and while water expenditure is the lowest of seven categories, it spikes for a minority. We evaluate the diary method by measurement, internal and external validity criteria and conclude that the longitudinal approach offers complementary insights to address the gaps in current monitoring methods

The water diary method – proof-of-concept and policy implications for monitoring water use behaviour in rural Kenya

Africa is lagging behind global progress to meet the Sustainable Development Goal for ‘universal access to safe and affordable drinking water’ services. New knowledge needs to understand and respond to water service inequalities which are not revealed by high quality, but snapshot and infrequent, household surveys. We have designed and piloted a ‘water diary’ in Kenya to document the daily sources, uses, cost and sufficiency of water, along with weekly household expenditures. Water use behaviours vary across water supply alternatives, rainfall extremes and economic conditions to affect ‘sufficiency’ for competing drinking, bathing, laundry, hygiene, and productive uses. Findings reveal water for hygiene uses is reduced during drought, and while water expenditure is the lowest of seven categories, it spikes for a minority. We evaluate the diary method by measurement, internal and external validity criteria and conclude that the longitudinal approach offers complementary insights to address the gaps in current monitoring methods

Examining the economics of affordability through water diaries in coastal Bangladesh

Monitoring affordability of drinking water services is constrained by data gaps from traditional approaches that rely on cross-sectional data from infrequent, nationally representative surveys. Estimates of income or expenditure ratios spent on accessing a main source of drinking water are poorly equipped to reflect affordability in rural contexts where poor people often resort to multiple sources of varying costs, quality and distance to cope with unreliable or absent water supplies. Here, we present findings from an 18-week water diary study that documented daily water choices and expenditures of a stratified sample of 120 households in coastal Bangladesh. This intensive, longitudinal monitoring is supported by household surveys, water infrastructure mapping, hydrogeological analysis of salinity, automated rainfall measurements and interviews with diary participants. We identify five water expenditure typologies, ranging from those who always rely on unpaid and often poor-quality sources like shallow tubewells, pond sand filters, and rainwater, to those who purchase vended water for drinking and cooking all year-round, spending 3-7% of total household expenditure. These behavioural dynamics are shaped by environmental, infrastructure and cultural factors, with household wealth being a weak indicator of behaviour. We conclude that affordability measures should recognise the quality of service available and chosen by users across seasons, rather than being fixated on income or expenditure ratios for a main source. Measuring the latter without considering the former impedes the design of service delivery models appropriate for providing safe and reliable water supplies, at costs that users and society are willing to bear and sustain