Take only photographs, leave only footprints: novel applications of non-invasive survey methods for rapid detection of small, arboreal animals

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.The development of appropriate wildlife survey techniques is essential to promote effective and efficient monitoring of species of conservation concern. Here, we demonstrate the utility of two rapid-assessment, non-invasive methods to detect the presence of elusive, small, arboreal animals. We use the hazel dormouse, Muscardinus avellanarius, a rodent of conservation concern, as our focal species. Prevailing hazel dormouse survey methods are prolonged (often taking months to years to detect dormice), dependent on season and habitat, and/or have low detection rates. Alternatives would be of great use to ecologists who undertake dormouse surveys, especially those assessing the need for mitigation measures, as legally required for building development projects. Camera traps and footprint tracking are well-established tools for monitoring elusive large terrestrial mammals, but are rarely used for small species such as rodents, or in arboreal habitats. In trials of these adapted methods, hazel dormice visited bait stations and were successfully detected by both camera traps and tracking equipment at each of two woodland study sites, within days to weeks of installation. Camera trap images and footprints were of adequate quality to allow discrimination between two sympatric small mammal species (hazel dormouse and wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus). We discuss the relative merits of these methods with respect to research aims, funds, time available and habitat.The work in this study was undertaken as part of a self-funded PhD and the authors have no support or funding to report for the work outlined in this manuscript

Does pleopod setation provide a measure of maturity in female southern rock lobsters Jasus edwardsii?

Processes affecting the estimation of the size at onset of maturity (SOM) using ovigerous setae were investigated in southern rock lobsters Jasus edwardsii. Comparison of estimates of SOM based on ovigerous setae in samples collected during summer months (December-March) with those based on the presence of external eggs from winter months (June-August) indicated that ovigerous setae provide an accurate classification of maturity. Females with partially developed setation on pleopods are frequently observed in research catch-sampling projects and their maturity status was unclear. Our results show that these females with partially developed setae are most appropriately classed as immature, based on comparison between estimates of SOM determined by presence of external eggs or setae. The seasonal timing of field sampling affected estimates of SOM based on ovigerous setae, though tag-recapture data indicated that this was not associated with a loss of setae during a second annual moult. Estimates of SOM for populations of Jasus edwardsii around Tasmania can be based on maturity classification using ovigerous setae but care should be taken to ensure that seasonal timing of sampling is consistent

Structure of a Complete ATP Synthase Dimer Reveals the Molecular Basis of Inner Mitochondrial Membrane Morphology

We determined the structure of a complete, dimeric F1Fo-ATP synthase from yeast Yarrowia lipolytica mitochondria by a combination of cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography. The final structure resolves 58 of the 60 dimer subunits. Horizontal helices of subunit a in Fo wrap around the c-ring rotor, and a total of six vertical helices assigned to subunits a, b, f, i, and 8 span the membrane. Subunit 8 (A6L in human) is an evolutionary derivative of the bacterial b subunit. On the lumenal membrane surface, subunit f establishes direct contact between the two monomers. Comparison with a cryo-EM map of the F1Fo monomer identifies subunits e and g at the lateral dimer interface. They do not form dimer contacts but enable dimer formation by inducing a strong membrane curvature of ∼100°. Our structure explains the structural basis of cristae formation in mitochondria, a landmark signature of eukaryotic cell morphology

Emergence of healing in the Antarctic ozone layer

Industrial chlorofluorocarbons that cause ozone depletion have been phased out under the Montreal Protocol. A chemically driven increase in polar ozone (or “healing”) is expected in response to this historic agreement. Observations and model calculations together indicate that healing of the Antarctic ozone layer has now begun to occur during the month of September. Fingerprints of September healing since 2000 include (i) increases in ozone column amounts, (ii) changes in the vertical profile of ozone concentration, and (iii) decreases in the areal extent of the ozone hole. Along with chemistry, dynamical and temperature changes have contributed to the healing but could represent feedbacks to chemistry. Volcanic eruptions have episodically interfered with healing, particularly during 2015, when a record October ozone hole occurred after the Calbuco eruption

Visualization of ATP synthase dimers in mitochondria by electron cryo-tomography

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordThe video component of this article can be found at http://www.jove.com/video/51228/Electron cryo-tomography is a powerful tool in structural biology, capable of visualizing the three-dimensional structure of biological samples, such as cells, organelles, membrane vesicles, or viruses at molecular detail. To achieve this, the aqueous sample is rapidly vitrified in liquid ethane, which preserves it in a close-to-native, frozen-hydrated state. In the electron microscope, tilt series are recorded at liquid nitrogen temperature, from which 3D tomograms are reconstructed. The signal-to-noise ratio of the tomographic volume is inherently low. Recognizable, recurring features are enhanced by subtomogram averaging, by which individual subvolumes are cut out, aligned and averaged to reduce noise. In this way, 3D maps with a resolution of 2 nm or better can be obtained. A fit of available high-resolution structures to the 3D volume then produces atomic models of protein complexes in their native environment. Here we show how we use electron cryo-tomography to study the in situ organization of large membrane protein complexes in mitochondria. We find that ATP synthases are organized in rows of dimers along highly curved apices of the inner membrane cristae, whereas complex I is randomly distributed in the membrane regions on either side of the rows. By subtomogram averaging we obtained a structure of the mitochondrial ATP synthase dimer within the cristae membrane.This work was supported by the Max Planck Society (K.M.D., B.D., A.W.M., T.B., T.B.B., D.J.M., and W.K.), the Cluster of Excellence Frankfurt “Macromolecular Complexes” funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (W.K.) and a postdoctoral EMBO Long-Term Fellowship (V.A.M.G.)

Generationing development

The articles in this special issue present a persuasive case for accounts of development to recognise the integral and fundamental roles played by age and generation. While the past two decades have witnessed a burgeoning of literature demonstrating that children and youth are impacted by development, and that they can and do participate in development, the literature has tended to portray young people as a special group whose perspectives should not be forgotten. By contrast, the articles collected here make the case that age and generation, as relational constructs, cannot be ignored. Appropriating the term ‘generationing’, the editors argue that a variety of types of age relations profoundly structure the ways in which societies are transformed through development – both immanent processes of neoliberal modernisation and the interventions of development agencies that both respond and contribute to these. Drawing on the seven empirical articles, I attempt to draw some of the ideas together into a narrative that further argues the case for ‘generationing’ but also identifies gaps, questions and implications for further research

Reducing Viral Load Measurements to Once a Year in Patients on Stable, Virologically Suppressive Cart Regimen: Findings from the Australian HIV Observational Database.

Reducing viral-load measurements to annual testing in virologically suppressed patients increases the estimated mean time those patients remain on a failing regimen by 6 months. This translates to an increase in the proportion of patients with at least one Thymidine Analogue Mutation from 10% to 32% over one year