Monitoring internet trade to inform species conservation actions

Specimens, parts and products of threatened species are now commonly traded on the internet. This could threaten the survival of some wild populations if inadequately regulated. We outline two methods to monitor internet sales of threatened species in order to assess potential threats and inform conservation actions. Our first method combines systematic monitoring of online offers of plants for sale over the internet with consultation by experts experienced in identifying plants collected from the wild based on images of the specimens, species identity and details of the trade. Our second method utilises a computational model, trained using Bayesian techniques to records that have been classified by an expert as wild collected or artificially propagated, to predict unknown properties of the traded taxa, such as whether a species being sold is collected from the wild or the identity of an unknown wild collected species. We used these methods to monitor internet trade in five genera of succulent plant species endemic to Madagascar, for which some have recently been listed for trade regulation under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). This revealed potential threats to wild populations: for instance, almost all species recorded were of high conservation concern yet most offers for live plants were of apparently wild collected specimens (85%). Moreover, no records of international trade in the official CITES database were from the countries featured in our survey. Our model predicted with 89% accuracy whether the live plants were classified as propagated or wild collected by an expert, although accuracy dropped for data collected in the following summer due to a change in the patterns of sales. Our results highlight potential threats by internet trade to the survival of some CITES and non-CITES listed plant species from Madagascar. These should be addressed by further conservation actions and policy. More generally, our results reveal how standardised internet surveys can provide information on levels of trade in wild collected threatened species that could impact on natural populations and can provide data that can be incorporated into models to facilitate future monitoring and enforcement

우리말 번역: 국립생물자원관 (Cites and Cacti: a user's guide)

이 책자는 CITES에 대한 슬라이드와 상세 설명으로 이루어져 있다. 다섯 개의 소주제(서론, 부속서 I 등재 선인 장류, 부속서 II 등재 선인장류, CITES의 적용을 받지 않는 선인장류, 선인장 거래와 CITES 이행)를 다루어 관심 분야와필요에따라내용을쉽게찾고이용할수있다.또한본책자가장기간사용될수있도록최대한일반적인 용어를 사용하였다. 매 슬라이드마다 2012년 7월 기준으로 적용되고 있는 상세한 설명을 수록하였다(역자 주 2018년 12월 현재 적용되 는 주요 변경 사항은 역자 주로 추가 설명하였다.). 저자들은 이 책자의 독자들이 본 슬라이드의 내용을 적정하게 편집, 이용하여 필요에 맞게 활용할 수 있기를 기대한다. 예를 들어 독자들이 본 책자의 슬라이드에 자신의 경험이 나 이미지를 추가하여 고유의 슬라이드를 만들어 자신의 발표에 사용할 수 있으며, 참고 자료로 청중들에게 배포 할 수 있을 것이다. 이를 위하여 슬라이드가 담긴 파워포인트 프레젠테이션과 슬라이드와 설명이 모두 담긴 pdf 파 일을 동봉된 USB에 담아 제공하였다

Mitochondria interaction networks show altered topological patterns in Parkinson’s disease

Mitochondrial dysfunction is linked to pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, individual mitochondria-based analyses do not show a uniform feature in PD patients. Since mitochondria interact with each other, we hypothesize that PD-related features might exist in topological patterns of mitochondria interaction networks (MINs). Here we show that MINs formed nonclassical scale-free supernetworks in colonic ganglia both from healthy controls and PD patients; however, altered network topological patterns were observed in PD patients. These patterns were highly correlated with PD clinical scores and a machine-learning approach based on the MIN features alone accurately distinguished between patients and controls with an area-under-curve value of 0.989. The MINs of midbrain dopaminergic neurons (mDANs) derived from several genetic PD patients also displayed specific changes. CRISPR/CAS9-based genome correction of alpha-synuclein point mutations reversed the changes in MINs of mDANs. Our organelle-interaction network analysis opens another critical dimension for a deeper characterization of various complex diseases with mitochondrial dysregulation.F.Q.H. was partially supported by Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) CORE programme grant (CORE/14/BM/8231540/GeDES), FNR AFR-RIKEN bilateral programme (TregBAR, F.Q.H. and M.O.), and PRIDE programme grants (PRIDE/11012546/NEXTIMMUNE and PRIDE/10907093/CRITICS). The work was also partially supported through intramural funding of LIH and LCSB through Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR) of Luxembourg. The cooperation was achieved through the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (eCOST) Action CA15120 OpenMultiMed. Fibroblasts were obtained from the Neuro-Biobank of the University of Tübingen, Germany. This biobank is supported by the local University, the Hertie Institute, and the DZNE. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 851255). M.Z. acknowledges the Spanish State Research Agency, through the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu Program for Centers and Units of Excellence in R&D (MDM-2017-0711)

Evidence-based information on the clinical use of neurofeedback for ADHD

Neurofeedback (NF) is a training to enhance self-regulatory capacity over brain activity patterns and consequently over brain mental states. Recent findings suggest that NF is a promising alternative for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We comprehensively reviewed literature searching for studies on the effectiveness and specificity of NF for the treatment of ADHD. In addition, clinically informative evidence-based data are discussed. We found 3 systematic review on the use of NF for ADHD and 6 randomized controlled trials that have not been included in these reviews. Most nonrandomized controlled trials found positive results with medium-to-large effect sizes, but the evidence for effectiveness are less robust when only randomized controlled studies are considered. The direct comparison of NF and sham-NF in 3 published studies have found no group differences, nevertheless methodological caveats, such as the quality of the training protocol used, sample size, and sample selection may have contributed to the negative results. Further data on specificity comes from electrophysiological studies reporting that NF effectively changes brain activity patterns. No safety issues have emerged from clinical trials and NF seems to be well tolerated and accepted. Follow-up studies support long-term effects of NF. Currently there is no available data to guide clinicians on the predictors of response to NF and on optimal treatment protocol. In conclusion, NF is a valid option for the treatment for ADHD, but further evidence is required to guide its use