Assessing the invertebrate fauna trajectories in remediation sites of Winstone Aggregates Hunua quarry in Auckland

This study monitored the invertebrates in restoration plantings in the Winstone Aggregates Hunua Quarry. This was to assess the re-establishment of invertebrates in the restoration planting sites and compare them with unplanted control and mature sites. This study follows on from a baseline study carried out in 2014-2015 measuring the restoration trajectory of invertebrates in the Winstone Aggregate Hunua quarry site. A range of entomological monitoring techniques were used and found that dung beetles, millipedes, foliage moths, leaf litter moths and some mite species increased in numbers from the control sites through to the mature sites, while ants, rove beetles, grass moths, some carabid beetles, and worms showed a downwards trend from the mature sites to the control sites. Further monitoring of invertebrates in the restoration area should be carried out

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons in pollution: a heart-breaking matter

Air pollution is associated with detrimental effects on human health, including decreased cardiovascular function. However, the causative mechanisms behind these effects have yet to be fully elucidated. Here we review the current epidemiological, clinical and experimental evidence linking pollution with cardiovascular dysfunction. Our focus is on particulate matter (PM) and the associated low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as key mediators of cardiotoxicity. We begin by reviewing the growing epidemiological evidence linking air pollution to cardiovascular dysfunction in humans. We next address the pollution‐based cardiotoxic mechanisms first identified in fish following the release of large quantities of PAHs into the marine environment from point oil spills (e.g. Deepwater Horizon). We finish by discussing the current state of mechanistic knowledge linking PM and PAH exposure to mammalian cardiovascular patho‐physiologies such as atherosclerosis, cardiac hypertrophy, arrhythmias, contractile dysfunction and the underlying alterations in gene regulation. Our aim is to show conservation of toxicant pathways and cellular targets across vertebrate hearts to allow a broad framework of the global problem of cardiotoxic pollution to be established. AhR; Aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Dark lines indicate topics discussed in this review. Grey lines indicate topics reviewed elsewhere.publishedVersio

Can the enemy release hypothesis explain the success of Rumex (Polygonaceae) species in an introduced range?

The enemy release hypothesis states that introduced plants have a competitive advantage due to their release from co-evolved natural enemies (i.e., herbivores and pathogens), which allows them to spread rapidly in new environments. This hypothesis has received mixed support to date, but previous studies have rarely examined the herbivore community, plant damage, and performance simultaneously and largely ignored below-ground herbivores. We tested for enemy release by conducting large scale field surveys of insect diversity and abundance in both the native (United Kingdom) and introduced (New Zealand) ranges of three dock (Rumex, Polygonaceae) species: R. conglomeratus Murray (clustered dock), R. crispus L. (curly dock) and R. obtusifolius L. (broad-leaved dock). We captured both above- and below-ground insect herbivores, measured herbivore damage, and plant biomass as an indicator for performance. In the introduced range, Rumex plants had a lower diversity of insect herbivores, all insect specialists present in the native range were absent and plants had lower levels of herbivore damage on both roots and leaves. Despite this, only R. crispus had greater fresh weight in the introduced range compared to the native range. This suggests that enemy release, particularly from below-ground herbivores, could be a driver for the success of R. crispus plants in New Zealand, but not for R. conglomeratus and R. obtusifolius

Therapeutic recommendations in HFE hemochromatosis for p.Cys282Tyr (C282Y/C282Y) homozygous genotype

Although guidelines are available for hereditary hemochromatosis, a high percentage of the recommendations within them are not shared between the different guidelines. Our main aim is to provide an objective, simple, brief, and practical set of recommendations about therapeutic aspects of HFE hemochromatosis for p.Cys282Tyr (C282Y/C282Y) homozygous genotype, based on the published scientific studies and guidelines, in a form that is reasonably comprehensible to patients and people without medical training. This final version was approved at the Hemochromatosis International meeting on 12th May 2017 in Los Angeles

Trends in the Discovery of New Marine Natural Products from Invertebrates over the Last Two Decades – Where and What Are We Bioprospecting?

It is acknowledged that marine invertebrates produce bioactive natural products that may be useful for developing new drugs. By exploring untapped geographical sources and/or novel groups of organisms one can maximize the search for new marine drugs to treat human diseases. The goal of this paper is to analyse the trends associated with the discovery of new marine natural products from invertebrates (NMNPI) over the last two decades. The analysis considers different taxonomical levels and geographical approaches of bioprospected species. Additionally, this research is also directed to provide new insights into less bioprospected taxa and world regions. In order to gather the information available on NMNPI, the yearly-published reviews of Marine Natural Products covering 1990–2009 were surveyed. Information on source organisms, specifically taxonomical information and collection sites, was assembled together with additional geographical information collected from the articles originally describing the new natural product. Almost 10000 NMNPI were discovered since 1990, with a pronounced increase between decades. Porifera and Cnidaria were the two dominant sources of NMNPI worldwide. The exception was polar regions where Echinodermata dominated. The majority of species that yielded the new natural products belong to only one class of each Porifera and Cnidaria phyla (Demospongiae and Anthozoa, respectively). Increased bioprospecting efforts were observed in the Pacific Ocean, particularly in Asian countries that are associated with the Japan Biodiversity Hotspot and the Kuroshio Current. Although results show comparably less NMNPI from polar regions, the number of new natural products per species is similar to that recorded for other regions. The present study provides information to future bioprospecting efforts addressing previously unexplored taxonomic groups and/or regions. We also highlight how marine invertebrates, which in some cases have no commercial value, may become highly valuable in the ongoing search for new drugs from the sea

Modelling the impact of toxic and disturbance stress on white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) populations

Several studies have related breeding success and survival of sea eagles to toxic or non-toxic stress separately. In the present investigation, we analysed single and combined impacts of both toxic and disturbance stress on populations of white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), using an analytical single-species model. Chemical and eco(toxico)logical data reported from laboratory and field studies were used to parameterise and validate the model. The model was applied to assess the impact of ∑PCB, DDE and disturbance stress on the white-tailed eagle population in The Netherlands. Disturbance stress was incorporated through a 1.6% reduction in survival and a 10–50% reduction in reproduction. ∑PCB contamination from 1950 up to 1987 was found to be too high to allow the return of white-tailed eagle as a breeding species in that period. ∑PCB and population trends simulated for 2006–2050 suggest that future population growth is still reduced. Disturbance stress resulted in a reduced population development. The combination of both toxic and disturbance stress varied from a slower population development to a catastrophical reduction in population size, where the main cause was attributed to the reduction in reproduction of 50%. Application of the model was restricted by the current lack of quantitative dose–response relationships between non-toxic stress and survival and reproduction. Nevertheless, the model provides a first step towards integrating and quantifying the impacts of multiple stressors on white-tailed eagle populations

Mapping deliberation: calculation, articulation and intervention in the politics of organ transplantation

This paper reflects on the aims and outcomes of an innovative methodology of participatory technology appraisal, called Deliberative Mapping, which seeks to contribute to theoretical debates and practical experimentation around what it might mean to bring the technosciences into democracy. Deliberative Mapping is a hybrid methodology, involving both calculative and deliberative processes, which seeks to map the entanglements of biotechnological imbroglios, and translate these connections into the contexts of decision-making. Through application to the case study of organ transplantation, these procedures of calculation and articulation are critically examined, exploring their aim to reduce asymmetries between scientific, political, economic and other framings of the issue and their operation in contexts already complexly structured through existing power relations, which indicate the challenge of co-fabricating these experimental forms of intervention into political facts