Localisation of the human hSuv3p helicase in the mitochondrial matrix and its preferential unwinding of dsDNA

We characterised the human hSuv3p protein belonging to the family of NTPases/helicases. In yeast mitochondria the hSUV3 orthologue is a component of the degradosome complex and participates in mtRNA turnover and processing, while in Caenorhabditis elegans the hSUV3 orthologue is necessary for viability of early embryos. Using immunofluorescence analysis, an in vitro mitochondrial uptake assay and sub‐fractionation of human mitochondria we show hSuv3p to be a soluble protein localised in the mitochondrial matrix. We expressed and purified recombinant hSuv3p protein from a bacterial expression system. The purified enzyme was capable of hydrolysing ATP with a Km of 41.9 µM and the activity was only modestly stimulated by polynucleotides. hSuv3p unwound partly hybridised dsRNA and dsDNA structures with a very strong preference for the latter. The presented analysis of the hSuv3p NTPase/helicase suggests that new functions of the protein have been acquired in the course of evolution

Perceptions of trends in Seychelles artisanal trap fisheries: comparing catch monitoring, underwater visual census and fishers' knowledge

Fisheries scientists and managers are increasingly engaging with fishers' knowledge (FK) to provide novel information and improve the legitimacy of fisheries governance. Disputes between the perceptions of fishers and scientists can generate conflicts for governance, but can also be a source of new perspectives or understandings. This paper compares artisanal trap fishers' reported current catch rates with landings data and underwater visual census (UVC). Fishers' reports of contemporary 'normal' catch per day tended to be higher than recent median landings records. However, fishers' reports of 'normal' catch per trap were not significantly different from the median CPUE calculated from landings data, and reports of 'good' and 'poor' catch rates were indicative of variability observed in landings data. FK, landings and UVC data all gave different perspectives of trends over a ten-year period. Fishers' perceptions indicated greater declines than statistical models fitted to landings data, while UVC evidence for trends varied between sites and according to the fish assemblage considered. Divergence in trend perceptions may have resulted from differences in the spatial, temporal or taxonomic focus of each dataset. Fishers may have experienced and understood behavioural changes and increased fishing power, which may have obscured declines from landings data. Various psychological factors affect memory and recall, and may have affected these memory-based estimates of trends, while different assumptions underlying the analysis of both interview data and conventional scientific data could also have led to qualitatively different trend perceptions. Differing perspectives from these three data sources illustrate both the potential for 'cognitive conflicts' between stakeholders who do not rely on the same data sources, as well as the importance of multiple information sources to understand dynamics of fisheries. Collaborative investigation of such divergence may facilitate learning and improve fisheries governance

Ecological knowledge and value of traded species: Local awareness of native turtles in Hainan, China

Wildlife trade is driving species extinctions globally, and the Asian Turtle Crisis is posing a threat in China as turtle species are collected from the wild and sold at high prices. Local ecological knowledge is increasingly used to determine the status of threatened taxa, but there is little understanding of wider relationships between indices of ecological knowledge and other conservation-relevant factors such as market values of traded species. To assess whether local people's awareness of potentially traded turtles might indicate direct interaction with trade in these species, we conducted 185 interviews in rural villages around Bawangling National Nature Reserve, Hainan, China. Interviewees were asked to free-list native turtles to determine species salience and then were shown photographs of the species to assess recognition and knowledge. We investigated relationships between species' salience, whether species were recognized, named and/or perceived to be traded by more people, and independently obtained market prices. Indices of species awareness varied among interviewees, but all species were reported to be traded by at least some people. There was no correlation between indices of awareness and market value, indicating that more valuable species were no more likely to be well known. However, the perception that turtles are traded irrespective of species is a concern for conservation because all species are then vulnerable to exploitation. Our results highlight that local communities should not be assumed to have accurate knowledge of traded species, with implications for the management of wildlife trade and conservation at the community level

Comparing uptake across breast, cervical and bowel screening at an individual level:a retrospective cohort study

Funding: CR-UK through its National Awareness & Early Diagnosis Initiative C9227/A17676.Background We investigated demographic and clinical predictors of lower participation in bowel screening relative to breast and cervical screening. Methods Data linkage study of routinely collected clinical data from 430,591 women registered with general practices in the Greater Glasgow & Clyde Health Board. Participation in the screening programmes was measured by attendance at breast or cervical screening or the return of a bowel screening kit. Results 72.6% of 159,993 women invited attended breast screening, 80.7% of 309,899 women invited attended cervical screening and 61.7% of 180,408 women invited completed bowel screening. Of the 68,324 women invited to participate in all three screening programmes during the study period, 52.1% participated in all three while 7.2% participated in none. Women who participated in breast (OR = 3.34 (3.21, 3.47), p < 0.001) or cervical (OR = 3.48 (3.32, 3.65), p < 0.001) were more likely to participate in bowel screening. Conclusion Participation in bowel screening was lower than breast or cervical for this population although the same demographic factors were associated with uptake, namely lower social deprivation, increasing age, low levels of comorbidity and prior non-malignant neoplasms. As women who complete breast and cervical are more likely to also complete bowel screening, interventions at these procedures to encourage bowel screening participation should be explored.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Personal traits predict conservationists’ optimism about outcomes for nature

In the face of unprecedented biodiversity loss, the belief that conservation goals can be met could play an important role in ensuring they are fulfilled. We asked conservationists how optimistic they felt about key biodiversity outcomes over the next 10 years; 2341 people familiar with conservation in 144 countries responded. Respondents expressed optimism that enabling conditions for conservation would improve but felt pressures would continue, and the state of biodiversity was unlikely to get better. Respondents with greater general optimism about life, at early-career stages, and working in practice and policy (compared to academia) reported higher conservation optimism. But most of our biodiversity and conservation status indicators were not associated with conservation optimism. Unbounded optimism without appropriate action would be misguided in the face of growing threats to biodiversity. However, supporting those struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel could help sustain efforts to overcome these threats

Density functional theory calculations of the carbon ELNES of small diameter armchair and zigzag nanotubes: core-hole, curvature and momentum transfer orientation effects

We perform density functional theory calculations on a series of armchair and zigzag nanotubes of diameters less than 1nm using the all-electron Full-Potential(-Linearised)-Augmented-Plane-Wave (FPLAPW) method. Emphasis is laid on the effects of curvature, the electron beam orientation and the inclusion of the core-hole on the carbon electron energy loss K-edge. The electron energy loss near-edge spectra of all the studied tubes show strong curvature effects compared to that of flat graphene. The curvature induced $\pi-\sigma$ hybridisation is shown to have a more drastic effect on the electronic properties of zigzag tubes than on those of armchair tubes. We show that the core-hole effect must be accounted for in order to correctly reproduce electron energy loss measurements. We also find that, the energy loss near edge spectra of these carbon systems are dominantly dipole selected and that they can be expressed simply as a proportionality with the local momentum projected density of states, thus portraying the weak energy dependence of the transition matrix elements. Compared to graphite, the ELNES of carbon nanotubes show a reduced anisotropy.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures, revtex4 submitted for publication to Phys. Rev.