Linking local people's perception of wildlife and conservation to livelihood and poaching alleviation : a case study of the Dja biosphere reserve, Cameroon

This Paper examines how people's livelihoods and perceptions of wildlife are related to self-reported poaching (here defined as commercial bushmeat hunting) in 25 villages at the northern buffer zone of the Dja Biosphere Reserve, East Cameroon. Using a six-point Likert scale questionnaire among 263 households interviewed form March to June 2017, the following hypothesis were tested: (1) Households with positive perceptions of wildlife are less involved in poaching; (2) Positive perceptions of wildlife are linked to sustainable livelihood improvement of households; and (3) Sustainable livelihood improvement of households leads to poaching alleviation. The study area has been the site since 2010 for a community-centered conservation Program that aims to improve local peoples livelihoods (through the creation of income sources based on cocoa-based agroforestry and Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) Valorization) and their perceptions of wildlife (mainly through awareness raising and wildlife education) and therefore divert them from poaching. The main findings of the study indicates that positive perceptions of wildlife are linked to lower levels of poaching. Similarly, positive perception of wildlife was positively related to Livelihood improvement of the respondents. However, livelihood improvement alone did not predict poaching alleviation though we reported a significant difference in poaching frequencies of cocoa and non-cocoa producers with the firsts less involved in poaching. The findings of this study recommend more holistic approaches of biodiversity conservation that integrate simultaneously perception and livelihood improvement

"Freezing" the Tumor in a Known Position During Radiation Therapy In Regard to Boda-Heggemann et al

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First steps in studying the origins of secondary woodiness in Begonia (Begoniaceae): Combining anatomy, phylogenetics, and stem transcriptomics

Since Darwin’s observation that secondary woodiness is common on islands, the evolution of woody plants fromherbaceous ancestors has been documented in numerous angiosperm groups. However, the evolutionary processesthat give rise to this phenomenon are poorly understood. To begin addressing this we have used a range ofapproaches to study the anatomical and genetic changes associated with the evolution and development ofsecondary woodiness in a tractable group. Begonia is a large, mainly herbaceous, pantropical genus that showsmultiple shifts towards secondarily woody species inhabiting mainly tropical montane areas throughout the world.Molecular phylogenies, including only a sample of the woody species in Begonia, indicated at least eight instancesof a herbaceous–woody transition within the genus. Wood anatomical observations of the five woody speciesstudied revealed protracted juvenilism that further support the secondary derived origin of wood within Begonia.To identify potential genes involved in shifts towards secondary woodiness, stem transcriptomes of wooddevelopment in B. burbidgei were analysed and compared with available transcriptome datasets for the non-woodyB. venustra, B. conchifolia, and Arabidopsis, and with transcriptome datasets for wood development in Populus.Results identified a number of potential regulatory genes as well as variation in expression of key biosyntheticenzymes. </div

A highly conserved pocket on PP2A-B56 is required for hSgo1 binding and cohesion protection during mitosis

The shugoshin proteins are universal protectors of centromeric cohesin during mitosis and meiosis. The binding of human hSgo1 to the PP2A‐B56 phosphatase through a coiled‐coil (CC) region mediates cohesion protection during mitosis. Here we undertook a structure function analysis of the PP2A‐B56‐hSgo1 complex, revealing unanticipated aspects of complex formation and function. We establish that a highly conserved pocket on the B56 regulatory subunit is required for hSgo1 binding and cohesion protection during mitosis in human somatic cells. Consistent with this, we show that hSgo1 blocks the binding of PP2A‐B56 substrates containing a canonical B56 binding motif. We find that PP2A‐B56 bound to hSgo1 dephosphorylates Cdk1 sites on hSgo1 itself to modulate cohesin interactions. Collectively our work provides important insight into cohesion protection during mitosis

Bridging granularity gaps to decarbonize large-scale energy systems - The case of power system planning

The comprehensive evaluation of strategies for decarbonizing large- scale energy systems requires insights from many different perspectives. In energy systems analysis, optimization models are widely used for this purpose. However, they are limited in incorporating all crucial aspects of such a complex system to be sustainably transformed. Hence, they differ in terms of their spatial, temporal, technological, and economic perspective and either have a narrow focus with high resolution or a broad scope with little detail. Against this background, we introduce the so- called granularity gaps and discuss two possibilities to address them: increasing the resolutions of the established optimization models, and the different kinds of model coupling. After laying out open challenges, we propose a novel framework to design power systems in particular. Our exemplary concept exploits the capabilities of power system optimization, transmission network simulation, distribution grid planning, and agent- based simulation. This integrated framework can serve to study the energy transition with greater comprehensibility and may be a blueprint for similar multi-model analyses

Analyse der Integration erneuerbarer Energien in Deutschland und Europa unter Berücksichtigung der Versorgungssicherheit und dezentraler Flexibilitäten

Das Vorhaben greift den Forschungsbedarf auf, der aus dem vorangehenden Vorhaben INTEEVER (FKZ 03ET4020) hervorgegangen ist. Dieser betrifft zum einen den Grad der Genauigkeit und der Differenzierung der modelltechnischen Abbildung von Verbrauchern und Erzeugern im deutschen und europäischen Stromsystem und damit insbesondere die Modelleingangsdaten, die einen relevanten Einfluss auf die Ergebnisse haben. Zum anderen wird eine enge Kopplung von Energiesystemmodellierung und Leistungsflusssimulation im europäischen Verbundnetz angestrebt

Selective Induction of Cell Death in Melanoma Cell Lines through Targeting of Mcl-1 and A1

Melanoma is an often fatal form of skin cancer which is remarkably resistant against radio- and chemotherapy. Even new strategies that target RAS/RAF signaling and display unprecedented efficacy are characterized by resistance mechanisms. The targeting of survival pathways would be an attractive alternative strategy, if tumor-specific cell death can be achieved. Bcl-2 proteins play a central role in regulating survival of tumor cells. In this study, we systematically investigated the relevance of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins, i.e., Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Bcl-w, Mcl-1, and A1, in melanoma cell lines and non-malignant cells using RNAi. We found that melanoma cells required the presence of specific antiapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins: Inhibition of Mcl-1 and A1 strongly induced cell death in some melanoma cell lines, whereas non-malignant cells, i.e., primary human fibroblasts or keratinocytes were not affected. This specific sensitivity of melanoma cells was further enhanced by the combined inhibition of Mcl-1 and A1 and resulted in 60% to 80% cell death in all melanoma cell lines tested. This treatment was successfully combined with chemotherapy, which killed a substantial proportion of cells that survived Mcl-1 and A1 inhibition. Together, these results identify antiapoptotic proteins on which specifically melanoma cells rely on and, thus, provide a basis for the development of new Bcl-2 protein-targeting therapies