Soil organic carbon stock in natural and restored mangrove forests in Pichavaram south-east coast of India

801-808Mangrove ecosystem is one of the important coastal ecosystems providing ecological security of the coastal area and livelihood security to the coastal fishermen.  Besides it plays an important role in carbon sequestration as large amount of carbon is stored in the below ground biomass. The role of mangrove restoration in carbon stocking has not been studied comprehensively either globally or nationally. The aim of the present study is to quantify the soil organic carbon stock and carbon sequestration rate of the different age groups of restored and natural stands of Pichavaram mangroves forest. The soil organic carbon stock of the upper soil layer (0–90 cm) of six different sites from natural mangrove stands, 21years, 17 years, 16 years, 15 years and 12 years old stands were 146.1(Mg C ha-1), 99.29 (Mg C ha-1), 93.18 (Mg C ha-1), 57.41 (Mg C ha-1), 95.54 (Mg C ha-1) and 84.84 (Mg C ha-1), respectively. Carbon sequestration rate of Pichavaram mangrove forests ranged from 2.33 to 4.44 g C m-2 year-1. The result of the study reveals that soil organic carbon stock and burial rate were high in natural mangrove area than the restored areas. In this regard, restoration and rehabilitation of mangroves is required for preserving the ecologically important mangroves ecosystem to mitigate the impacts of climate change

Media Literacy, Social Connectedness, and Digital Citizenship in India: Mapping Stakeholders on How Parents and Young People Navigate a Social World

The ubiquity of digital and social media has led to considerable academic debate regarding their role in the lives of children and adolescents. The Global North, especially United States and Europe, has largely led this discussion in matters of research methods and approaches, as well as on conversations around screen time, wellbeing, media literacy, and digital citizenship. However, it is not clear to what extent and how these Anglo-Eurocentric approaches to digital literacy and social connectedness translate to the various local realities of the Global South, where increasing numbers of young people have either direct or indirect access to social media and the internet, but occupy very different social contexts. In India, for instance, low cost mobile phones, cheap data plans, and vernacularization of content have furthered access cutting across socioeconomic strata. What specific research priorities might emerge in this context? Which methods can be employed to study these issues? How can we contextualize existing knowledge to help support young people and their parents maximize the benefits of this digital/social world even as we take into account the nuances of the local? In this paper, we mapped local stakeholders and shared insights from in-depth personal interviews with community leaders from civil society, research and advocacy as well as professionals working with young people and parents in India as their work addresses some of these important questions. A thematic analysis of interview data helped the researchers scope out issues like lack of child-centered-design, dearth of knowledge about the opportunities and risks of social media among parents, and confusion on how to navigate this digital/social world. Suggestions about children’s wellbeing, including what parents could do about this, the possibility of and the problems with regulation, and the need to focus on how parents can foster trust and a meaningful connection with young people that would frame their engagement with technology are made. Future research should consider these relationships within the new context of the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues such as degrees of digital connectivity and access, social isolation, virtual schooling, and parents working from home

Disruption of the autoinhibited state primes the E3 ligase parkin for activation and catalysis

The PARK2 gene is mutated in 50% of autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism (ARJP) cases. It encodes parkin, an E3 ubiquitin ligase of the RBR family. Parkin exists in an autoinhibited state that is activated by phosphorylation of its N‐terminal ubiquitin‐like (Ubl) domain and binding of phosphoubiquitin. We describe the 1.8 Å crystal structure of human parkin in its fully inhibited state and identify the key interfaces to maintain parkin inhibition. We identify the phosphoubiquitin‐binding interface, provide a model for the phosphoubiquitin–parkin complex and show how phosphorylation of the Ubl domain primes parkin for optimal phosphoubiquitin binding. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the addition of phosphoubiquitin leads to displacement of the Ubl domain through loss of structure, unveiling a ubiquitin‐binding site used by the E2~Ub conjugate, thus leading to active parkin. We find the role of the Ubl domain is to prevent parkin activity in the absence of the phosphorylation signals, and propose a model for parkin inhibition, optimization for phosphoubiquitin recruitment, release of inhibition by the Ubl domain and engagement with an E2~Ub conjugate. Taken together, this model provides a mechanistic framework for activating parkin