Robust study design is as important on the social as it is on the ecological side of applied ecological research

1. The effective management of natural systems often requires resource users to change their behaviour. This has led to many applied ecologists using research tools developed by social scientists. This comes with challenges as ecologists often lack relevant disciplinary training. 2. Using an example from the current issue of Journal of Applied Ecology that investigated how conservation interventions influenced conservation outcomes, we discuss the challenges of conducting interdisciplinary science. We illustrate our points using examples from research investigating the role of law enforcement and outreach activities in limiting illegal poaching and the application of the theory of planned behaviour to conservation. 3. Synthesis and applications. Interdisciplinary research requires equal rigour to be applied to ecological and social aspects. Researchers with a natural science background need to access expertise and training in the principles of social science research design and methodology, in order to permit a more balanced interdisciplinary understanding of social–ecological system

Cysteine Residues Contribute to the Dimerization and Enzymatic Activity of Human Nuclear dUTP Nucleotidohydrolase (nDut).

dUTPase is an enzyme found in all organisms that have thymine as a constituent of DNA. Through evolution, humans have two major isoforms of dUTPase: a mitochondrial (mDut) and a nuclear (nDut) isoform. The nuclear isoform of dUTPase is a 164-amino-acids-long protein containing three cysteine residues. nDut\u27s starting methionine is post-translationally cleaved, leaving four unique amino acids on its amino-terminus including one cysteine residue (C3). These are not present in the mitochondrial isoform (mDut). Using mass spectrometry analyses of recombinant dUTPase constructs, we have discovered an intermolecular disulfide bridge between cysteine-3 of each nDut monomer. We have found that these two residues stabilize a dimer configuration that is unique to the nDut isoform. We have also uncovered an intramolecular disulfide linkage between cysteine residues C78 and C134, stabilizing the monomeric state of the protein. Of note, both disulfide linkages are essential for nDut\u27s enzymatic activity and dimeric formation can be augmented by the addition of the oxidizing agent, hydrogen peroxide to cells. Analyses of endogenous cellular dUTPase proteins confirm these differences between the two isoforms. We observed that mDut appears to be a mixture of monomer, dimer, and trimer conformations, as well as higher-order subunit interactions. In contrast, nDut appeared to exist only in monomeric and dimeric forms. Cysteine-based redox switches have recently emerged as a distinct class of post-translational modification. In light of this and our results, we propose that nDut possesses a redox switch whereby cysteine interactions regulate nDut\u27s dUTP-hydrolyzing activity

High frequency environmental DNA metabarcoding provides rapid and effective monitoring of fish community dynamics

Long‐term monitoring is critical to measure the response of biodiversity patterns and processes to human‐mediated environmental pressures. This is particularly pertinent in freshwaters, where recent estimates indicated a third of all fish species are threatened with extinction, making ongoing biomonitoring essential for conservation management. High frequency annual monitoring is critical for identifying temporal changes in fish community composition; however, traditional survey methods are typically less practical over such timeframes. While environmental (e)DNA measurement represents a potentially powerful tool for monitoring temporal community dynamics, studies are lacking. To address this deficit, we generated a high frequency time‐series dataset of entire fish communities using eDNA metabarcoding, to directly assess the repeatability and sensitivity of this method for detecting annual population trends. We targeted two differing environments (freshwater vs. intertidal) within the Thames catchment, UK, where detailed historical records from traditional monitoring were available for comparison. To test how robust eDNA data is for inferring the known community, we applied a hierarchical, nested design encompassing short and longer‐term variation in eDNA data. Our analyses showed that irrespective of environment, eDNA metabarcoding represented known seasonal shifts in fish communities, where increased relative read abundance of eDNA coincided with known migratory and spawning events, including those of the critically endangered native species Anguilla anguilla (European eel). eDNA species detections across a single year included over 75% of species recorded in a ca. 30‐year historical dataset, highlighting the power of eDNA for species detection. Our findings provide greater insight into the utility of eDNA metabarcoding for recovering temporal trends in fish communities from dynamic freshwater systems and insight into the potential best sampling strategy for future eDNA surveys

How Medicaid Expansions and Future Community Health Center Funding Will Shape Capacity to Meet the Nation\u27s Primary Care Needs

A new report by Drs. L. Ku, J. Zur, E. Jones, P. Shin and S. Rosenbaum examines the impact of federal and state policy decisions on community health centers and their ability to continue providing primary care to the nation\u27s poorest residents. The report estimates that under a worst-case scenario the nation\u27s health centers would be forced to contract, leaving an estimated 1 million low-income people without access to health care services by 2020

Net Gain: Seeking better outcomes for local people when mitigating biodiversity loss from development

Economic development projects are increasingly applying the mitigation hierarchy to achieve No Net Loss, or even a Net Gain, of biodiversity. Because people value biodiversity and ecosystem services, this can affect the wellbeing of local people, however these types of social impacts from development receive limited consideration. We present ethical, practical and regulatory reasons why development projects applying the mitigation hierarchy should consider related social impacts. We highlight risks to local wellbeing where projects restrict access to biodiversity and ecosystem services in biodiversity offsets. We then present a framework laying out challenges and associated opportunities for delivering better biodiversity and local wellbeing outcomes. Greater coordination between social and biodiversity experts, and early and effective integration of local people in the process, will ensure that efforts to reduce the negative impacts of development on biodiversity can contribute to, rather than detract from, local people’s wellbeing

The impact of participant mental health on attendance and engagement in a trial of behavioural weight management programmes: secondary analysis of the WRAP randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Low attendance and engagement in behavioural weight management trials are common. Mental health may play an important role, however previous research exploring this association is limited with inconsistent findings. We aimed to investigate whether mental health was associated with attendance and engagement in a trial of behavioural weight management programmes. METHODS: This is a secondary data analysis of the Weight loss referrals for adults in primary care (WRAP) trial, which randomised 1267 adults with overweight or obesity to brief intervention, WW (formerly Weight Watchers) for 12-weeks, or WW for 52-weeks. We used regression analyses to assess the association of baseline mental health (depression and anxiety (by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), quality of life (by EQ5D), satisfaction with life (by Satisfaction with Life Questionnaire)) with programme attendance and engagement in WW groups, and trial attendance in all randomised groups. RESULTS: Every one unit of baseline depression score was associated with a 1% relative reduction in rate of WW session attendance in the first 12 weeks (Incidence rate ratio [IRR] 0.99; 95% CI 0.98, 0.999). Higher baseline anxiety was associated with 4% lower odds to report high engagement with WW digital tools (Odds ratio [OR] 0.96; 95% CI 0.94, 0.99). Every one unit of global quality of life was associated with 69% lower odds of reporting high engagement with the WW mobile app (OR 0.31; 95% CI 0.15, 0.64). Greater symptoms of depression and anxiety and lower satisfaction with life at baseline were consistently associated with lower odds of attending study visits at 3-, 12-, 24-, and 60-months. CONCLUSIONS: Participants were less likely to attend programme sessions, engage with resources, and attend study assessments when reporting poorer baseline mental health. Differences in attendance and engagement were small, however changes may still have a meaningful effect on programme effectiveness and trial completion. Future research should investigate strategies to maximise attendance and engagement in those reporting poorer mental health. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The original trial ( ISRCTN82857232 ) and five year follow up ( ISRCTN64986150 ) were prospectively registered with Current Controlled Trials on 15/10/2012 and 01/02/2018.The WRAP trial was funded by the National Prevention Research Initiative through research grant MR/J000493. The intervention was provided by WW (formerly Weight Watchers) at no cost via an MRC Industrial Collaboration Award. Five year follow up of the WRAP trial was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research Programme (RP-PG-0216-20010). RAJ, ALA, SJG, and SJS are supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC) (Grant MC_UU_00006/6). The University of Cambridge has received salary support in respect of SJG from the National Health Service in the East of England through the Clinical Academic Reserve. All funding bodies had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis and interpretation of the data, and in the writing of the manuscript

Defining self-awareness in the context of adult development: a systematic literature review

Self-awareness is often seen as a critical component in leadership and career success, and has therefore become a feature in MBAs, leadership development, and management education. It has become a popular “buzzword” in management literature, yet when reviewing this literature, there appears to be no consistent definition of the construct. This article reports a systematic literature review, covering how the construct of self-awareness is defined and how it differs from self-consciousness and self-knowledge within the context of management education. After screening, 31 articles were included in the review, analysis of which identified there is an overlap with how self-awareness, self-consciousness, and self-knowledge are defined. Other themes from our analysis include the identification of the components of self-awareness, how to be self-aware, and the purpose of self-awareness. The contribution of our article is the provision of clarity on the construct of self-awareness and a working definition, which can be used in the fields of leadership and management development by practitioners in education and organizations, and for future research within the context of adult development and the workplace

Exploring the role of self-awareness in coach development: a grounded theory study

Workplace coaching is a rapidly growing industry, and while there has been some research carried out to explore the effectiveness of coaching and to evaluate coaching outcomes, there has been very little research to underpin coach development and how coaches best develop coaching competence for workplace coaching. Self-awareness is perceived by many, including the professional coaching bodies, to be a core-competency for practising coaches. However, there is a lack of research evidence to underpin this perception and therefore this study, using an inductive grounded theory approach, explores the linkages between self awareness and coach development. It finishes by presenting a conceptual framework to identify the linkages between self-awareness and coach development. The paper aims to make a theoretical contribution to the literature supporting workplace coaching and in particular coach development, by developing theoretical principles to underpin those providing coach development. The findings indicate that self-awareness is an important competency for coaches to develop as it provides the backbone to developing deep and meaningful connections both for the coach in terms of self-acceptance and confidence, and for the client in terms of the depth of the relationship, thereby creating an environment in which challenging work can be carried out