Secrecy vs. Disclosure of the Intelligence Community Budget: An Enduring Debate

Little known U.S. congressional documents, dating from the 1970s, debate public disclosure of Intelligence Community (IC) budget. The documents offer a rich repository of the arguments on both sides of the debate and shine a light on the thoughtful, measured congressional oversight practiced in formative years of the House and Senate intelligence committees

Structure of the Human FANCL RING-Ube2T Complex Reveals Determinants of Cognate E3-E2 Selection

The combination of an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme with an E3 ubiquitin-ligase is essential for ubiquitin modification of a substrate. Moreover, the pairing dictates both the substrate choice and the modification type. The molecular details of generic E3-E2 interactions are well established. Nevertheless, the determinants of selective, specific E3-E2 recognition are not understood. There are ~40 E2s and ~600 E3s giving rise to a possible ~24,000 E3-E2 pairs. Using the Fanconi Anemia pathway exclusive E3-E2 pair, FANCL-Ube2T, we report the atomic structure of the FANCL RING-Ube2T complex, revealing a specific and extensive network of additional electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. Furthermore, we show that these specific interactions are required for selection of Ube2T over other E2s by FANCL

Comparison of Climate Action Plans among Three Major Cities: Vancouver, Chicago, and Mexico City

Municipal climate action planning continues to grow as a section of climate action planning. Global climate action planning, conducted at a country level, will not suffice to stop climate change. Rather, cities need to step up and take responsibility for their emissions by creating climate action plans of their own. This paper analyzes three climate action plans of three diverse cities: Vancouver, British Columbia; Chicago, Illinois; and Mexico City, Mexico. The study analyzes for motivations behind plan creation, effectiveness of plan created, and effects each plan has had on city greenhouse gas emissions and urban heat island effects. Finally, highlights of each plan, recognized by international organizations, are discussed in order to determine applicability to other cities

Assessing the comparative risk of plant protection products to honey bees, non-target arthropods and non-Apis bees

Background: In the European Union the placing of pesticides on the market requires as a prerequisite that a risk assessment demonstrates low risks to human health and the environment, among which includes pollinators. Currently risks are evaluated for honey bees and for non-target arthropods (NTA) of cultivated ecosystems. The actual protection of pollinators other than the honey bees, as for example for non-Apis bees, in relation to these risk assessments has recently been questioned and requires further investigation. We present the findings from a comparison of Hazard Quotient (HQ) value calculations to assess the risk to honey bees, non-target arthropods and to non-Apis bees (with the application of an additional safety factor of 10). Calculations were based on publicly available ecotoxicological data. Results: The risk to NTA, honey bees and non-Apis bees, as depicted by HQ values, indicated a higher fail rate for NTA than for bees, but a similar pass / fail rate for non-Apis bees when compared to the NTA scheme. Outcome of the risk assessment for NTA using extended laboratory tests gave similar pass/fail rates compared to the screening step for honey bees. Conclusion: A screening step for non-Apis bees could be developed based on data available on honey bees and NTAs. Keywords: risk assessment, non-Apis bees, pollinators, pesticides, non-target arthropod

Exposure of honey bees and other pollinating species to pesticides

Background: When considering the risk to bees a thorough understanding of the relevant routes of exposure and the magnitude of exposure is necessary.Results: Bees forage on plants and in particular flowers to obtain food for themselves and for provisioning their young. Foliar applications during flowering will present the most extreme acute exposure situation. Bees can be exposed to direct spray and also to contaminated pollen and nectar taken back to the colony. Spray applications before flowering may lead to exposure in pollen and nectar if the substance has systemic properties and is persistent. For soil/seed treatments exposure may occur in for systemic products due to translocation from the seed or soil to the upper parts of the plant (e.g. nectar and pollen). Other possible routes for soil/seed treatments include dust-off at sowing and guttation water. Conclusion: Risk assessment requires that relevant routes of exposure for worker bees, hive bees and young should be considered in the risk assessment for both foliar applied and seed/soil treatment pesticides. The availability of exposure models would assist in the development of honey bee and pollinator risk assessment schemes.Keywords: honey bee, pesticide, risk assessment, exposur

Nature Connections 2016 conference report: Implications for research and practice

Natural England, The Wildlife Trusts, The National Trust, Historic England, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds