The nature of the conserved basic amino acid sequences found among 437 heparin binding proteins determined by network analysis.

In multicellular organisms, a large number of proteins interact with the polyanionic polysaccharides heparan sulphate (HS) and heparin. These interactions are usually assumed to be dominated by charge-charge interactions between the anionic carboxylate and/or sulfate groups of the polysaccharide and cationic amino acids of the protein. A major question is whether there exist conserved amino acid sequences for HS/heparin binding among these diverse proteins. Potentially conserved HS/heparin binding sequences were sought amongst 437 HS/heparin binding proteins. Amino acid sequences were extracted and compared using a Levenshtein distance metric. The resultant similarity matrices were visualised as graphs, enabling extraction of strongly conserved sequences from highly variable primary sequences while excluding short, core regions. This approach did not reveal extensive, conserved HS/heparin binding sequences, rather a number of shorter, more widely spaced sequences that may work in unison to form heparin-binding sites on protein surfaces, arguing for convergent evolution. Thus, it is the three-dimensional arrangement of these conserved motifs on the protein surface, rather than the primary sequence per se, which are the evolutionary elements

Socially sensitive lactation: Exploring the social context of breastfeeding

Many women report difficulties with breastfeeding and do not maintain the practice for as long as intended. Although psychologists and other researchers have explored some of the difficulties they experience, fuller exploration of the relational contexts in which breastfeeding takes place is warranted to enable more in-depth analysis of the challenges these pose for breastfeeding women. The present paper is based on qualitative data collected from 22 first-time breastfeeding mothers through two phases of interviews and audio-diaries which explored how the participants experienced their relationships with significant others and the wider social context of breastfeeding in the first five weeks postpartum. Using a thematic analysis informed by symbolic interactionism, we develop the overarching theme of ‘Practising socially sensitive lactation’ which captures how participants felt the need to manage tensions between breastfeeding and their perceptions of the needs, expectations and comfort of others. We argue that breastfeeding remains a problematic social act, despite its agreed importance for child health. Whilst acknowledging the limitations of our sample and analytic approach, we suggest ways in which perinatal and public health interventions can take more effective account of the social challenges of breastfeeding in order to facilitate the health and psychological well-being of mothers and their infants

Postcopulatory sexual selection

The female reproductive tract is where competition between the sperm of different males takes place, aided and abetted by the female herself. Intense postcopulatory sexual selection fosters inter-sexual conflict and drives rapid evolutionary change to generate a startling diversity of morphological, behavioural and physiological adaptations. We identify three main issues that should be resolved to advance our understanding of postcopulatory sexual selection. We need to determine the genetic basis of different male fertility traits and female traits that mediate sperm selection; identify the genes or genomic regions that control these traits; and establish the coevolutionary trajectory of sexes

Adaptation and risk management

Many of the existing tensions about the application of risk management are between simplicity and complexity, and between predictability and uncertainty. Users undertaking adaptation assessments want access to simple and clear methods. However, simple methods are criticized as being unable to manage the range of situations in which they may be used. On the other hand, risk management guidance that tries to be flexible and comprehensive can become too complex. This is because the adaptation assessments themselves can range from being simple to encompassing the general class of wicked problems, 70 characterized by multiple drivers of stress, significant uncertainties and contested values that cannot easily be resolved

Enhancing the relevance of Shared Socioeconomic Pathways for climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability research

This paper discusses the role and relevance of the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) and the new scenarios that combine SSPs with representative concentration pathways (RCPs) for climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability (IAV) research. It first provides an overview of uses of social–environmental scenarios in IAV studies and identifies the main shortcomings of earlier such scenarios. Second, the paper elaborates on two aspects of the SSPs and new scenarios that would improve their usefulness for IAV studies compared to earlier scenario sets: (i) enhancing their applicability while retaining coherence across spatial scales, and (ii) adding indicators of importance for projecting vulnerability. The paper therefore presents an agenda for future research, recommending that SSPs incorporate not only the standard variables of population and gross domestic product, but also indicators such as income distribution, spatial population, human health and governance

A 13C NMR study of decomposing logging residues in an Australian hoop pine plantation

Purpose Residue retention is important for nutrient and water economy in subtropical plantation forests. We examined decomposing hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii Ait. Ex D. Don) residues-foliage, branches, and stem wood-to determine the changes in structural chemistry that occur during decomposition. Materials and methods Residues were incubated in situ using 0.05 m2 microplots. We used solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to determine the structural composition of harvest residues in the first 24 months of decomposition. Results and discussion The spectral data for branch and stem residues were generally similar to one another and showed few changes during decomposition. The lignin content of branch and foliage residues decreased during decomposition. When residues were mixed together during decomposition, the O-alkyl fraction of foliage decreased initially then increased up to 24 months, while the alkyl carbon (C) fraction exhibited the opposite pattern. The decomposition of woody hoop pine residues (branch and stem wood) is surprisingly uniform across the major C forms elucidated with 13C NMR, with little evidence of preferential decomposition. When mixed with branch and stem materials, foliage residues showed significant short- and long-term compositional changes. This synergistic effect may be due to the C/N ratio of the treatments and the structure of the microbial decomposer community. Conclusions Twenty-four months of decomposition of hoop pine residues did not result in substantial accumulation of recalcitrant C forms, suggesting that they may not contribute to long-term C sequestration.No Full Tex

Self-Motion Holds a Special Status in Visual Processing

Agency plays an important role in self-recognition from motion. Here, we investigated whether our own movements benefit from preferential processing even when the task is unrelated to self-recognition, and does not involve agency judgments. Participants searched for a moving target defined by its known shape among moving distractors, while continuously moving the computer mouse with one hand. They thereby controlled the motion of one item, which was randomly either the target or any of the distractors, while the other items followed pre-recorded motion pathways. Performance was more accurate and less prone to degradation as set size increased when the target was the self-controlled item. An additional experiment confirmed that participant-controlled motion was not physically more salient than motion recorded offline. We found no evidence that self-controlled items captured attention. Taken together, these results suggest that visual events are perceived more accurately when they are the consequences of our actions, even when self-motion is task irrelevant

Inhibition of the aquaporin 3 water channel increases the sensitivity of prostate cancer cells to cryotherapy

Aquaporins (AQPs) are intrinsic membrane proteins that facilitate selective water and small solute movement across the plasma membrane. In this study, we investigate the role of inhibiting AQPs in sensitising prostate cancer cells to cryotherapy. PC-3 and DU145 prostate cancer cells were cooled to 0, −5 and −10°C. The expression of AQP3 in response to freezing was determined using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT–qPCR) and western blot analysis. Aquaporins were inhibited using mercuric chloride (HgCl2) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplex, and cell survival was assessed using a colorimetric assay. There was a significant increase in AQP3 expression in response to freezing. Cells treated with AQP3 siRNA were more sensitive to cryoinjury compared with control cells (P<0.001). Inhibition of the AQPs by HgCl2 also increased the sensitivity of both cell lines to cryoinjury and there was a complete loss of cell viability at −10°C (P<0.01). In conclusion, we have shown that AQP3 is involved directly in cryoinjury. Inhibition of AQP3 increases the sensitivity of prostate cancer cells to freezing. This strategy may be exploited in the clinic to improve the efficacy of prostate cryotherapy