A Passerine Bird's Evolution Corroborates the Geologic History of the Island of New Guinea

New Guinea is a biologically diverse island, with a unique geologic history and topography that has likely played a role in the evolution of species. Few island-wide studies, however, have examined the phylogeographic history of lowland species. The objective of this study was to examine patterns of phylogeographic variation of a common and widespread New Guinean bird species (Colluricincla megarhyncha). Specifically, we test the mechanisms hypothesized to cause geographic and genetic variation (e.g., vicariance, isolation by distance and founder-effect with dispersal). To accomplish this, we surveyed three regions of the mitochondrial genome and a nuclear intron and assessed differences among 23 of the 30 described subspecies from throughout their range. We found support for eight highly divergent lineages within C. megarhyncha. Genetic lineages were found within continuous lowland habitat or on smaller islands, but all individuals within clades were not necessarily structured by predicted biogeographic barriers. There was some evidence of isolation by distance and potential founder-effects. Mitochondrial DNA sequence divergence among lineages was at a level often observed among different species or even genera of birds (5–11%), suggesting lineages within regions have been isolated for long periods of time. When topographical barriers were associated with divergence patterns, the estimated divergence date for the clade coincided with the estimated time of barrier formation. We also found that dispersal distance and range size are positively correlated across lineages. Evidence from this research suggests that different phylogeographic mechanisms concurrently structure lineages of C. megarhyncha and are not mutually exclusive. These lineages are a result of evolutionary forces acting at different temporal and spatial scales concordant with New Guinea's geological history

Tourism Partnerships in Protected Areas: Exploring Contributions to Sustainability

Partnerships between natural-area managers and the tourism industry have been suggested to contribute to sustainability in protected areas. This article explores how important sustainability outcomes of partnerships are to their members, how well they are realised and the features of partnerships leading to their achievement. In 21 case studies in Australia, interviews (n = 97) and surveys (n = 100) showed that of 14 sustainability outcomes, improved understanding of protected areas values and improved biodiversity conservation were the most important. Other highly ranked outcomes were greater respect for culture, heritage, and/or traditions; improved quality of environmental conditions; social benefits to local communities; and improved economic viability of the protected area. Scores for satisfaction with outcomes were, like those for importance, all high but were less than those for importance for the majority, with improvement in quality of environmental conditions showing the largest gap. The satisfaction score exceeded that for importance only for increased competitiveness of the protected area as a tourist destination. “Brown” aspects of sustainability, i.e., decreased waste or energy use, were among the lowest-scoring outcomes for both importance and satisfaction. The most important factor enabling sustainability outcomes was provision of benefits to partnership members. Others were increased financial support, inclusiveness, supportive organisational and administrative arrangements, direct involvement of decision makers, partnership maturity, creation of new relationships, decreased conflict, and stimulation of innovation. Improving sustainability outcomes, therefore, requires maintaining these partnership attributes and also increasing emphasis on reducing waste and resource use

Factors determining the stability, size distribution, and cellular accumulation of small, monodisperse chitosan nanoparticles as candidate vectors for anticancer drug delivery: application to the passive encapsulation of [14C]-doxorubicin

Mas Jaffri Masarudin,1 Suzanne M Cutts,2 Benny J Evison,3 Don R Phillips,2 Paul J Pigram4 1Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia; 2Department of Biochemistry, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; 3Department of Chemical Biology and Therapeutics, St Jude Children's Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA; 4Department of Physics, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Abstract: Development of parameters for the fabrication of nanosized vectors is pivotal for its successful administration in therapeutic applications. In this study, homogeneously distributed chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) with diameters as small as 62 nm and a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.15 were synthesized and purified using a simple, robust method that was highly reproducible. Nanoparticles were synthesized using modified ionic gelation of the chitosan polymer with sodium tripolyphosphate. Using this method, larger aggregates were mechanically isolated from single particles in the nanoparticle population by selective efficient centrifugation. The presence of disaggregated monodisperse nanoparticles was confirmed using atomic force microscopy. Factors such as anions, pH, and concentration were found to affect the size and stability of nanoparticles directly. The smallest nanoparticle population was ~62 nm in hydrodynamic size, with a low PDI of 0.15, indicating high particle homogeneity. CNPs were highly stable and retained their monodisperse morphology in serum-supplemented media in cell culture conditions for up to 72 hours, before slowly degrading over 6 days. Cell viability assays demonstrated that cells remained viable following a 72-hour exposure to 1 mg/mL CNPs, suggesting that the nanoparticles are well tolerated and highly suited for biomedical applications. Cellular uptake studies using fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled CNPs showed that cancer cells readily accumulate the nanoparticles 30 minutes posttreatment and that nanoparticles persisted within cells for up to 24 hours posttreatment. As a proof of principle for use in anticancer therapeutic applications, a [14C]-radiolabeled form of the anticancer agent doxorubicin was efficiently encapsulated within the CNP, confirming the feasibility of using this system as a drug delivery vector. Keywords: nanobiotechnology, drug delivery, chitosan, chitosan nanoparticles, doxorubicin, FIT

Factors determining the stability, size distribution, and cellular accumulation of small, monodisperse chitosan nanoparticles as candidate vectors for anticancer drug delivery: application to the passive encapsulation of [14C]-doxorubicin [Corrigendum]

Masarudin MJ, Cutts SM, Evison BJ et al. Nanotechnol Sci Appl. 2015;8:67–80The authors advise that Professor Geoffrey A Pietersz was erroneously omitted from the original author and affiliation list, the list should have been:Mas Jaffri Masarudin1Suzanne M Cutts2Geoffrey A Pietersz3Benny J Evison4Don R Phillips2Paul J Pigram51Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia; 2Department of Biochemistry, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; 3Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory, Centre for Biomedical Research, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; 4Department of Chemical Biology and Therapeutics, St Jude Children’s Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA; 5Department of Physics, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaThe Acknowledgment section should have contained the statement: This work was also supported by a research grant from Cancer Council Victoria.Read the original articl

Gallium and oxygen accumulations on gallium nitride surfaces following argon ion milling in ultra-high vacuum conditions

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Solid source growth of graphene with Ni-Cu catalysts: Towards high quality in situ graphene on silicon

© 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd. We obtain a monolayer graphene on epitaxial silicon carbide on silicon substrates via solid source growth mediated by a thin Ni-Cu alloy. Raman spectroscopy consistently shows an ID/IG band ratio as low as ∼0.2, indicating that the graphene obtained through this method is to-date the best quality monolayer grown on epitaxial silicon carbide films on silicon. We describe the key steps behind the graphene synthesis on the basis of extensive physical, chemical and morphological analyses. We conclude that (1) the oxidation, amorphisation and silicidation of the silicon carbide surface mediated by the Ni, (2) the liquid-phase epitaxial growth of graphene as well as (3) the self-limiting graphitization provided the molten Cu catalyst, are key characteristics of this novel synthesis method