Aquarium fisheries as a non-timber forest product: experiences from conservation through community development in North Rupununi District, Guyana

Deforestation is one of the major global conservation issues. Solutions are being sought to tackle this ongoing forest loss, including establishment of initiatives to provide new sources of income for local communities that promote the sustainable use of forests in the interest of biodiversity conservation. One such project ‘Iwokrama’, demonstrates how tropical forests and associated habitats can be sustainably used. In the central Guyana wetlands of the Rupununi, illegal fishing of arapaima Arapaima gigas, had led to a huge reduction in its numbers. Iwokrama responded by initiating the Arapaima Management Plan in 2002. This highlighted the need for another source of local income from fisheries, and a business that undertakes sustainable harvest of fish for the aquarium trade was developed. Harvesting of a few selected fish species is carried-out by members of the local community who are paid a daily wage. Fishing methods target individual species to avoid incidental by-catch. Four species are primarily caught as they are numerous in the Rupununi and are of high trade value. To ensure ecological and economical sustainability, catch per unit effort is monitored; where this begins to drop for any given species, harvesting is suspended and the population is allowed to recover before harvesting resumes. The project has developed into a self-sustaining business, managed by the community themselves. During 2005, the project reached financial sustainability with current profits of over US$3,000 feeding back into local community initiatives

RhoJ/TCL Regulates Endothelial Motility and Tube Formation and Modulates Actomyosin Contractility and Focal Adhesion Numbers

Objective—RhoJ/TCL was identified by our group as an endothelial-expressed Rho GTPase. The aim of this study was to determine its tissue distribution, subcellular localization, and function in endothelial migration and tube formation. Methods and Results—Using in situ hybridization, RhoJ was localized to endothelial cells in a set of normal and cancerous tissues and in the vasculature of mouse embryos; endogenous RhoJ was localized to focal adhesions by immunofluorescence. The proangiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor activated RhoJ in endothelial cells. Using either small interfering (si)RNA-mediated knockdown of RhoJ expression or overexpression of constitutively active RhoJ (daRhoJ), RhoJ was found to positively regulate endothelial motility and tubule formation. Downregulating RhoJ expression increased focal adhesions and stress fibers in migrating cells, whereas daRhoJ overexpression resulted in the converse. RhoJ downregulation resulted in increased contraction of a collagen gel and increased phospho–myosin light chain, indicative of increased actomyosin contractility. Pharmacological inhibition of Rho-kinase (which phosphorylates myosin light chain) or nonmuscle myosin II reversed the defective tube formation and migration of RhoJ knockdown cells. Conclusion—RhoJ is endothelial-expressed in vivo, activated by vascular endothelial growth factor, localizes to focal adhesions, regulates endothelial cell migration and tube formation, and modulates actomyosin contractility and focal adhesion numbers

Elevated transcription of transposable elements is accompanied by het-siRNA-driven de novo DNA methylation in grapevine embryogenic callus

Background: Somatic variation is a valuable source of trait diversity in clonally propagated crops. In grapevine, which has been clonally propagated worldwide for centuries, important phenotypes such as white berry colour are the result of genetic changes caused by transposable elements. Additionally, epiallele formation may play a role in determining geo-specific (‘terroir’) differences in grapes and thus ultimately in wine. This genomic plasticity might be co-opted for crop improvement via somatic embryogenesis, but that depends on a species-specific understanding of the epigenetic regulation of transposable element (TE) expression and silencing in these cultures. For this reason, we used whole-genome bisulphite sequencing, mRNA sequencing and small RNA sequencing to study the epigenetic status and expression of TEs in embryogenic callus, in comparison with leaf tissue. Results: We found that compared with leaf tissue, grapevine embryogenic callus cultures accumulate relatively high genome-wide CHH methylation, particularly across heterochromatic regions. This de novo methylation is associated with an abundance of transcripts from highly replicated TE families, as well as corresponding 24 nt heterochromatic siRNAs. Methylation in the TE-specific CHG context was relatively low over TEs located within genes, and the expression of TE loci within genes was highly correlated with the expression of those genes. Conclusions: This multi-‘omics analysis of grapevine embryogenic callus in comparison with leaf tissues reveals a high level of genome-wide transcription of TEs accompanied by RNA-dependent DNA methylation of these sequences in trans. This provides insight into the genomic conditions underlying somaclonal variation and epiallele formation in plants regenerated from embryogenic cultures, which is an important consideration when using these tissues for plant propagation and genetic improvement

Nature Red Tooth and Claw: Studies of Extinct and Extant Arthropod Predator-Prey Systems

Records of Cambrian predation have long been recognised as unequivocal evidence for the earliest predator-prey systems. However, Cambrian predation has been somewhat poorly documented in a numerical and comparative context - a problem rectified in this thesis. The first quantitative, model-based evidence illustrating how effective Cambrian predators were at shell crushing is presented. The modern day horseshoe crab is used to understand how Cambrian prey responded to attacks. Finally, the previously purported right-side injury bias observed on Cambrian trilobites is redressed using single fossil deposits and single species - this approach reveals no right-side bias

The Interaction of 3C401 with the Surrounding Intracluster Medium

We present an observation of the radio-galaxy 3C401 and the surrounding intracluster medium (ICM) of its host galaxy cluster by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. This luminous radio-galaxy is notable in that it has characteristics intermediate between the FRI and FRII morphologies. We clearly detect point-like emission coincident with the radio-core of 3C401, although the spatial resolution of even Chandra is only 2kpc at the distance of 3C401 (z=0.201) and so the possibility remains that this is a dense (and rapidly cooling) thermal gaseous core in the center of the ICM atmosphere. Strong departures from spherical symmetry in the central 10-20kpc of the ICM clearly suggest interaction between the ICM and the radio-lobes of 3C401. A central X-ray bar probably results from the evacuation of two ICM cavities by the expanding radio lobes. Beyond these central regions, the cluster possesses a flatter profile than many clusters of comparable mass suggesting the importance of ICM heating and entropy injection by 3C401. We detect an interesting cross-like structure in the ICM on 100kpc scales. We speculate that this could be a radio-galaxy induced disturbance corresponding to a time when 3C401 was substantially more powerful. A particularly exciting possibility is that this cross-like structure corresponds to a large scale global g-mode oscillation excited by a past outburst of 3C401.Comment: 7 pages, 5 postscript figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Magmatic and geotectonic significance of Santa Elena Peninsula, Costa Rica

We present a new integrated interpretation of the geochemistry and geotectonic significance of the Santa Elena Peninsula, which is divided in three units: 1) an overthrust allocthonous unit of ultramafic and mafic rocks, the Santa Elena Nappe; 2) an autochthonous basaltic sedimentary suite, resting immediately below the overthrust, the Santa Rosa Accretionary Complex; and 3) Islas Murciélago pillow and massive basaltic flows. In the Santa Elena Nappe three petrological affinities have been recognized: 1) the ultramafic complex, that corresponds to depleted (MORB-like) mantle serpentinizated peridotites, with very low TiO2 and high Ni and Cr; 2) the pegmatitic gabbros, layered gabbros and plagiogranites and basaltic dikes with low TiO2 (0.89%). These mafic associations have geochemical signatures that suggest an island arc origin and petrographic evidences of low grade metamorphism and hydrothermal alteration. The Santa Rosa Accretionary Complex includes pelagic and volcanoclastic sediments, tuffs and alkaline magmatic rocks, originated by low degree melting of enrichment OIB mantle source, and probably related with seamount portions incorporated into the accretionary prism. Islas Murciélago pillow and massive basalts show no clear structural relationship with the rest of the units, but are geochemically similar to the dolerites of the Santa Elena Nappe. Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic ratios of the Santa Elena Nappe and the Santa Elena Accretionary Complex samples do not correspond to the Galapagos Mantle array, and have different mantle reservoirs and geochemical characteristics than the Nicoya Complex

The safety of device registries for endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: systematic review and meta-regression

Objectives New and re-designed stent grafts for endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) are released regularly. Manufacturers use data from registries to assess stent graft performance, but little is known about the ability of such registries to detect rates of clinically relevant complications. The aim of this paper was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine pooled failure rates for EVAR stent grafts, to define an acceptable non-inferiority limit for these devices, and then to calculate the number of patients needed for a new device to achieve non-inferiority against published devices. Data sources and review methods MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for studies reporting outcomes of specific EVAR grafts being used for intact infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms, from inception to November 2016. Meta-regression was performed to pool data and calculate the patient numbers needed to detect non-inferiority of a future graft performance. An expert consensus was performed to define adequate standards for device safety. Results One hundred and forty-seven moderate quality papers involving 27,058 patients were included. Multiple outcomes were pooled. Of these, the estimated rate (±standard error) of overall endoleak (excluding Type II) at 2 years was 5.7 ± 0.6%. The pooled re-intervention rate was 11.1 ± 0.7% at 2 years. There were differences in pooled endoleak rates between different stent graft types. Expert consensus defined non-inferiority as better performance than the worst performing 25% of stent grafts. The most popular outcome in the expert consensus was cumulative endoleak rate (excluding Type II). The number of patients who would need to be enrolled in a registry to demonstrate non-inferiority at this level was 525. Only two of 147 included studies achieved this. The second most popular choice in the expert consensus was re-intervention rate; 492 patients are required to demonstrate this. Conclusions Five hundred and twenty-five patients need to be entered into a registry to demonstrate non-inferiority to previous stent grafts. Almost all previous publications have captured lower patient numbers. With performance varying between devices, and new devices being introduced regularly, there is an urgent need to capture higher quality long-term data on EVAR stent grafts

Antibody Targeting of Cathepsin S Inhibits Angiogenesis and Synergistically Enhances Anti-VEGF

Angiogenesis is a key hallmark of tumourigenesis and its inhibition is a proven strategy for the development of novel anti-cancer therapeutics. An important aspect of early angiogenesis is the co-ordinated migration and invasion of endothelial cells through the hypoxic tumour tissue. Cathepsin S has been shown to play an important role in angiogenesis as has vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). We sought to assess the anti-angiogenic effect of Fsn0503, a novel cathepsin S inhibitory antibody, when combined with anti-VEGF on vascular development. where it significantly retarded the development of vasculature in human xenograft models. Furthermore, when Fsn0503 was combined with an anti-VEGF antibody, a synergistic inhibition of microvascular development was observed.Taken together, this data demonstrates that the antibody-mediated targeting of cathepsin S represents a novel method of inhibiting angiogenesis. Furthermore, when used in combination with anti-VEGF therapies, Fsn0503 has the potential to significantly enhance current treatments of tumour neovascularisation and may also be of use in the treatment of other conditions associated with inappropriate angiogenesis

Limited Occurrence of Denitrification in Four Shallow Aquifers in Agricultural Areas of the United States

The ability of natural attenuation to mitigate agricultural nitrate contamination in recharging aquifers was investigated in four important agricultural settings in the United States. The study used laboratory analyses, field measurements, and flow and transport modeling for monitoring well transects (0.5 to 2.5 km in length) in the San Joaquin watershed, California, the Elkhorn watershed, Nebraska, the Yakima watershed, Washington, and the Chester watershed, Maryland. Ground water analyses included major ion chemistry, dissolved gases, nitrogen and oxygen stable isotopes, and estimates of recharge date. Sediment analyses included potential electron donors and stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes. Within each site and among aquifer-based medians, dissolved oxygen decreases with ground water age, and excess N2 from denitrification increases with age. Stable isotopes and excess N2 imply minimal denitrifying activity at the Maryland and Washington sites, partial denitrification at the California site, and total denitrification across portions of the Nebraska site. At all sites, recharging electron donor concentrations are not sufficient to account for the losses of dissolved oxygen and nitrate, implying that relict, solid phase electron donors drive redox reactions. Zero-order rates of denitrification range from 0 to 0.14 μmol N L−1d−1, comparable to observations of other studies using the same methods. Many values reported in the literature are, however, orders of magnitude higher, which is attributed to a combination of method limitations and bias for selection of sites with rapid denitrification. In the shallow aquifers below these agricultural fields, denitrification is limited in extent and will require residence times of decades or longer to mitigate modern nitrate contamination