Forests and Carbon: A Synthesis of Science, Management, and Policy for Carbon Sequestration in Forests

The goal of this volume is to provide guidance for land managers and policymakers seeking to understand the complex science and policy of forest carbon as it relates to tangible problems of forest management and the more abstract problems of addressing drivers of deforestation and negotiating policy frameworks for reducing CO2 emissions from forests. It is the culmination of three graduate seminars at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies focused on carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems and their role in addressing climate change

Heavy metal resistance genes are associated with blaNDM-1 and blaCTX-M-15-Enterobacteriaceae

The occurrence of heavy metal resistance genes in multiresistant Enterobacteriaceae possessing blaNDM-1 or blaCTX-M-15 genes was examined by PCR and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with S1 nuclease. Compared with clinical susceptible isolates (10.0% to 30.0%), the pcoA, merA, silC, and arsA genes occurred with higher frequencies in blaNDM-1-positive (48.8% to 71.8%) and blaCTX-M-15-positive (19.4% to 52.8%) isolates, and they were mostly located on plasmids. Given the high association of metal resistance genes with multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, increased vigilance needs to be taken with the use of heavy metals in hospitals and the environment

Spatial variations in silicate-to-nitrate ratios in Southern Ocean surface waters are controlled in the short term by physics rather than biology

The nutrient composition (high in nitrate but low in silicate) of Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) forces diatom scarcity across much of the global surface ocean. This is because diatoms cannot grow without silicate. After formation and downwelling at the Southern Ocean's northern edge, SAMW re-emerges into the surface layers of the mid- and low-latitude oceans, providing a major nutrient source to primary producers in those regions. The distinctive nutrient composition of SAMW originates in the surface waters of the Southern Ocean, from which SAMW is formed. These waters are observed to transition from being rich in both silicate and nitrate in high-latitude areas of the Southern Ocean to being nitrate-rich but silicate-depleted at SAMW formation sites further north. Here we investigate the key controls of this change in nutrient composition with an idealised model, consisting of a chain of boxes linked by a residual (Ekman- and eddy-induced) overturning circulation. Biological processes are modelled on the basis of seasonal plankton bloom dynamics, and physical processes are modelled using a synthesis of outputs from the data-assimilative Southern Ocean State Estimate. Thus, as surface water flows northward across the Southern Ocean toward sites of SAMW formation, it is exposed in the model (as in reality) to seasonal cycles of both biology and physics. Our results challenge previous characterisations of the abrupt northward reduction in silicate-to-nitrate ratios in Southern Ocean surface waters as being predominantly driven by biological processes. Instead, our model indicates that, over shorter timescales (years to decades), physical processes connecting the deep and surface waters of the Southern Ocean (i.e. upwelling and entrainment) exert the primary control on the spatial distribution of surface nutrient ratios

TWrist: An agile compliant 3-DoF tensegrity joint

Tensegrity structures, with their unique physical characteristics, hold substantial potential in the field of robotics. However, the very structures that will give tensegrity robots potential advantages over traditional robots also hold long term challenges. Due to the inherent high redundancy of tensegrity structures and the employment of tension elements, tensegrity robots exhibit excellent stability, compliance, and flexibility, although this also results in lower structural deformation efficiency. Existing research has endeavoured to enhance the motion performance of tensegrity robots, exploring diverse approaches such as actuation schemes, structure design, aligned with control algorithms. However, the physical constraints of the elements in such structures and the absence of suitable controllers impede further advancements in the usefulness of tensegrity robots. This paper presents a novel design based on an under constrained transition region design and a tailored control approach based on inverse kinematics, improving the motion performance of the proposed novel tensegrity joint. Through this approach, the tensegrity joint, while preserving the advantages of compliance and flexibility expected from tensegrity structures, offers three degrees of rotational freedom, mirroring the controllability of conventional rigid-body joints. The results demonstrate the capability of tensegrity- based robotic joints to provide flexible actuation under situations demanding high compliance. The integration of structure design with a tailored control approach offers a pioneering model for future development of tensegrity robots, underscoring the practical viability of tensegrity structures in the realm of robotics

Does Obesity Cause Thyroid Cancer? A Mendelian Randomization Study

Background: The incidence of thyroid cancer is rising, and relatively little is known about modifiable risk factors for the condition. Observational studies have suggested a link between adiposity and thyroid cancer; however, these are subject to confounding and reverse causality. Here, we used data from the UK Biobank and Mendelian randomization approaches to investigate whether adiposity causes benign nodular thyroid disease and differentiated thyroid cancer. Methods: We analyzed data from 379 708 unrelated participants of European ancestry in the UK Biobank and identified 1812 participants with benign nodular thyroid disease and 425 with differentiated thyroid carcinoma. We tested observational associations with measures of adiposity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. One and 2-sample Mendelian randomization approaches were used to investigate causal relationships. Results: Observationally, there were positive associations between higher body mass index (odds ratio [OR], 1.15; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-1.22), higher waist-hip ratio (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.09-1.23), and benign nodular thyroid disease, but not thyroid cancer. Mendelian randomization did not support a causal link for obesity with benign nodular thyroid disease or thyroid cancer, although it did provide some evidence that individuals in the highest quartile for genetic liability of type 2 diabetes had higher odds of thyroid cancer than those in the lowest quartile (OR, 1.45; CI, 1.11-1.90). Conclusions: Contrary to the findings of observational studies, our results do not confirm a causal role for obesity in benign nodular thyroid disease or thyroid cancer. They do, however, suggest a link between type 2 diabetes and thyroid cancer.This article is freely available via Open Access. Click on the Publisher URL to access it via the publisher's site.WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdompublished version, accepted version (12 month embargo), submitted versio

An experimental study of the putative mechanism of a synthetic autonomous rotary DNA nanomotor

DNA has been used to construct a wide variety of nanoscale molecular devices. Inspiration for such synthetic molecular machines is frequently drawn from protein motors, which are naturally occurring and ubiquitous. However, despite the fact that rotary motors such as ATP synthase and the bacterial flagellar motor play extremely important roles in nature, very few rotary devices have been constructed using DNA. This paper describes an experimental study of the putative mechanism of a rotary DNA nanomotor, which is based on strand displacement, the phenomenon that powers many synthetic linear DNA motors. Unlike other examples of rotary DNA machines, the device described here is designed to be capable of autonomous operation after it is triggered. The experimental results are consistent with operation of the motor as expected, and future work on an enhanced motor design may allow rotation to be observed at the single-molecule level. The rotary motor concept presented here has potential applications in molecular processing, DNA computing, biosensing and photonics

Paroxysmal extreme pain disorder M1627K mutation in human Nav1.7 renders DRG neurons hyperexcitable

Background: Paroxysmal extreme pain disorder (PEPD) is an autosomal dominant painful neuropathy with many, but not all, cases linked to gain-of-function mutations in SCN9A which encodes voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.7. Severe pain episodes and skin flushing start in infancy and are induced by perianal probing or bowl movement, and pain progresses to ocular and mandibular areas with age. Carbamazepine has been effective in relieving symptoms, while other drugs including other anti-epileptics are less effective. Results: Sequencing of SCN9A coding exons from an English patient, diagnosed with PEPD, has identified a methionine 1627 to lysine (M1627K) substitution in the linker joining segments S4 and S5 in domain IV. We confirm that M1627K depolarizes the voltage-dependence of fast-inactivation without substantially altering activation or slow-inactivation, and inactivates from the open state with slower kinetics. We show here that M1627K does not alter development of closed-state inactivation, and that M1627K channels recover from fast-inactivation faster than wild type channels, and produce larger currents in response to a slow ramp stimulus. Using current-clamp recordings, we also show that the M1627K mutant channel reduces the threshold for single action potentials in DRG neurons and increases the number of action potentials in response to graded stimuli. Conclusion: M1627K mutation was previously identified in a sporadic case of PEPD from France, and we now report it in an English family. We confirm the initial characterization of mutant M1627K effect on fast-inactivation of Nav1.7 and extend the analysis to other gating properties of the channel. We also show that M1627K mutant channels render DRG neurons hyperexcitable. Our new data provide a link between altered channel biophysics and pain in PEPD patients

Environmental drivers of coccolithophore abundance and calcification across Drake Passage (Southern Ocean)

Although coccolithophores are not as numerically common or as diverse in the Southern Ocean as they are in subpolar waters of the North Atlantic, a few species, such as Emiliania huxleyi, are found during the summer months. Little is actually known about the calcite production (CP) of these communities or how their distribution and physiology relate to environmental variables in this region. In February 2009, we made observations across Drake Passage (between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula) of coccolithophore distribution, CP, primary production, chlorophyll a and macronutrient concentrations, irradiance and carbonate chemistry. Although CP represented less than 1% of total carbon fixation, coccolithophores were widespread across Drake Passage. The B/C morphotype of E. huxleyi was the dominant coccolithophore, with low estimates of coccolith calcite ( 0.01 pmol C coccolith-/ from biometric measurements. Both cell-normalised calcification (0.01–0.16 pmol C cell-1 d-1/ and total CP (< 20 μmol C m-1 d-1/were much lower than those observed in the subpolar North Atlantic where E. huxleyi morphotype A is dominant. However, estimates of coccolith production rates were similar (0.1–1.2 coccoliths cell-1 h-1/ to previous measurements made in the subpolar North Atlantic. A multivariate statistical approach found that temperature and irradiance together were best able to explain the observed variation in species distribution and abundance (Spearman’s rank correlation D0.4, p < 0.01). Rates of calcification per cell and coccolith production, as well as community CP and E. huxleyi abundance, were all positively correlated (p < 0.05) to the strong latitudinal gradient in temperature, irradiance and calcite saturation states across Drake Passage. Broadly, our results lend support to recent suggestions that coccolithophores, especially E. huxleyi, are advancing polewards. However, our in situ observations indicate that this may owe more to sea-surface warming and increasing irradiance rather than increasing CO2 concentrations

Local Fitness Landscape Exploration Based Genetic Algorithms

Genetic algorithms (GAs) have been used to evolve optimal/sub-optimal solutions of many problems. When using GAs for evolving solutions, often fitness evaluation is the most computationally expensive, and this discourages researchers from applying GAs for computationally challenging problems. This paper presents an approach for generating offspring based on a local fitness landscape exploration to increase the speed of the search for optimal/sub-optimal solutions and to evolve better fitness solutions. The proposed algorithm, “Fitness Landscape Exploration based Genetic Algorithm" (FLEX-GA) can be applied to single and multi-objective optimization problems. Experiments were conducted on several single and multi-objective benchmark problems with and without constraints. The performance of the FLEX-based algorithm on single-objective problems is compared with a canonical GA and other algorithms. For multi-objective benchmark problems, the comparison is made with NSGA-II, and other multi-objective optimization algorithms. Lastly, Pareto solutions are evolved on eight real-world multi-objective optimization problems, and a comparative performance is presented with NSGA-II. Experimental results show that using FLEX on most of the single and multi-objective problems, the speed of the search improves up to 50% and the quality of solutions also improves. These results provide sufficient evidence of the applicability of fitness landscape approximation-based algorithms for solving real-world optimization problems