Clinical experience with THC:CBD oromucosal spray in patients with multiple sclerosis-related spasticity.

Science.gov (United States)

Koehler, Jürgen; Feneberg, Wolfgang; Meier, Martin; Pöllmann, Walter

2014-09-01

This detailed medical charts' data collection study conducted at a multiple sclerosis (MS) clinic in Germany evaluated the effectiveness of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)/cannabidiol (CBD) oromucosal spray in patients with resistant MS spasticity. Over a 15-month timeframe, THC:CBD spray was initiated in 166 patients. Mean follow-up was 9 months. In all, 120 patients remained on treatment for a response rate of 72%. THC:CBD spray was used as add-on therapy in 95 patients and as monotherapy in 25 patients to achieve best-possible therapeutic results. Among responders, the mean spasticity 0-10 numerical rating scale (NRS) score decreased by 57%, from 7.0 before treatment to 3.0 within 10 days of starting THC:CBD spray. The mean dosage was 4 sprays/day. Most patients who withdrew from treatment (40/46) had been receiving THC:CBD spray for less than 60 days. Main reasons for treatment discontinuation were: adverse drug reactions, mainly dizziness, fatigue and oral discomfort (23 patients; 13.9%); lack of efficacy (14 patients; 8.4%); or need for a baclofen pump (9 patients; 5.4%). No new safety signals were noted with THC:CBD spray during the evaluation period. In this routine clinical practice setting at an MS clinic in Germany, THC:CBD spray was effective and well tolerated as add-on therapy or as monotherapy in a relevant proportion of patients with resistant MS spasticity.

Biological Diversity. Global Issues Education Packet.

Science.gov (United States)

Holm, Amy E.

Biological diversity, also commonly called genetic diversity, refers to the variety of organisms on Earth. Scientists are concerned that many species will become extinct because of extensive development in the tropical regions. This packet is designed to increase student's awareness about direct and indirect causes of extinction, endangered…

Application of CBD-Zinc Sulfide Film as an Antireflection Coating on Very Large Area Multicrystalline Silicon Solar Cell

OpenAIRE

U. Gangopadhyay; K. Kim; S. K. Dhungel; H. Saha; J. Yi

2007-01-01

The low-cost chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique is used to prepare CBD-ZnS films as antireflective (AR) coating for multicrystalline silicon solar cells. The uniformity of CBD-ZnS film on large area of textured multicrystalline silicon surface is the major challenge of CBD technique. In the present work, attempts have been made for the first time to improve the rate of deposition and uniformity of deposited film by controlling film stoichiometry and refractive index and also to minimize...

Tales of the unpredictable : learning about institutional frameworks that support farmer management of agro-biodiversity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boef, de W.S.

2000-01-01

In 1992, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was signed by a large number of countries in Rio de Janeiro. This Convention constitutes a framework linking biodiversity conservation and development. CBD also emphasises the in situ strategy for biodiversity

Monitoring biological diversity: strategies, tools, limitations, and challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Beever, E.A.

2006-01-01

Monitoring is an assessment of the spatial and temporal variability in one or more ecosystem properties, and is an essential component of adaptive management. Monitoring can help determine whether mandated environmental standards are being met and can provide an early-warning system of ecological change. Development of a strategy for monitoring biological diversity will likely be most successful when based upon clearly articulated goals and objectives and may be enhanced by including several key steps in the process. Ideally, monitoring of biological diversity will measure not only composition, but also structure and function at the spatial and temporal scales of interest. Although biodiversity monitoring has several key limitations as well as numerous theoretical and practical challenges, many tools and strategies are available to address or overcome such challenges; I summarize several of these. Due to the diversity of spatio-temporal scales and comprehensiveness encompassed by existing definitions of biological diversity, an effective monitoring design will reflect the desired sampling domain of interest and its key stressors, available funding, legal requirements, and organizational goals.

Amphibian beta diversity in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: contrasting the roles of historical events and contemporary conditions at different spatial scales.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, Fernando Rodrigues; Almeida-Neto, Mário; Arena, Mariana Victorino Nicolosi

2014-01-01

Current patterns of biodiversity distribution result from a combination of historical and contemporary processes. Here, we compiled checklists of amphibian species to assess the roles of long-term climate stability (Quaternary oscillations), contemporary environmental gradients and geographical distance as determinants of change in amphibian taxonomic and phylogenetic composition in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We calculated beta diversity as both variation in species composition (CBD) and phylogenetic differentiation (PBD) among the assemblages. In both cases, overall beta diversity was partitioned into two basic components: species replacement and difference in species richness. Our results suggest that the CBD and PBD of amphibians are determined by spatial turnover. Geographical distance, current environmental gradients and long-term climatic conditions were complementary predictors of the variation in CBD and PBD of amphibian species. Furthermore, the turnover components between sites from different regions and between sites within the stable region were greater than between sites within the unstable region. On the other hand, the proportion of beta-diversity due to species richness difference for both CBD and PBD was higher between sites in the unstable region than between sites in the stable region. The high turnover components from CBD and PBD between sites in unstable vs stable regions suggest that these distinct regions have different biogeographic histories. Sites in the stable region shared distinct clades that might have led to greater diversity, whereas sites in the unstable region shared close relatives. Taken together, these results indicate that speciation, environmental filtering and limited dispersal are complementary drivers of beta-diversity of amphibian assemblages in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Conservation businesses and conservation planning in a biological diversity hotspot.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Minin, Enrico; Macmillan, Douglas Craig; Goodman, Peter Styan; Escott, Boyd; Slotow, Rob; Moilanen, Atte

2013-08-01

The allocation of land to biological diversity conservation competes with other land uses and the needs of society for development, food, and extraction of natural resources. Trade-offs between biological diversity conservation and alternative land uses are unavoidable, given the realities of limited conservation resources and the competing demands of society. We developed a conservation-planning assessment for the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, which forms the central component of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biological diversity hotspot. Our objective was to enhance biological diversity protection while promoting sustainable development and providing spatial guidance in the resolution of potential policy conflicts over priority areas for conservation at risk of transformation. The conservation-planning assessment combined spatial-distribution models for 646 conservation features, spatial economic-return models for 28 alternative land uses, and spatial maps for 4 threats. Nature-based tourism businesses were competitive with other land uses and could provide revenues of >US$60 million/year to local stakeholders and simultaneously help meeting conservation goals for almost half the conservation features in the planning region. Accounting for opportunity costs substantially decreased conflicts between biological diversity, agricultural use, commercial forestry, and mining. Accounting for economic benefits arising from conservation and reducing potential policy conflicts with alternative plans for development can provide opportunities for successful strategies that combine conservation and sustainable development and facilitate conservation action. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Application of CBD-Zinc Sulfide Film as an Antireflection Coating on Very Large Area Multicrystalline Silicon Solar Cell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U. Gangopadhyay

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The low-cost chemical bath deposition (CBD technique is used to prepare CBD-ZnS films as antireflective (AR coating for multicrystalline silicon solar cells. The uniformity of CBD-ZnS film on large area of textured multicrystalline silicon surface is the major challenge of CBD technique. In the present work, attempts have been made for the first time to improve the rate of deposition and uniformity of deposited film by controlling film stoichiometry and refractive index and also to minimize reflection loss by proper optimization of molar percentage of different chemical constituents and deposition conditions. Reasonable values of film deposition rate (12.13 Å′/min., good film uniformity (standard deviation <1, and refractive index (2.35 along with a low percentage of average reflection (6-7% on a textured mc-Si surface are achieved with proper optimization of ZnS bath. 12.24% efficiency on large area (125 mm × 125 mm multicrystalline silicon solar cells with CBD-ZnS antireflection coating has been successfully fabricated. The viability of low-cost CBD-ZnS antireflection coating on large area multicrystalline silicon solar cell in the industrial production level is emphasized.

76 FR 62259 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Partial 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List 404...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-06

... electronic mail, a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), Alabama Rivers Alliance, Clinch... electronic mail to Noah Greenwald at CBD, we acknowledged receipt of the Petition. On May 10, 2010, we... the petition. Crystal Darter (Crystallaria asprella) The crystal darter is a slender, cigar-shaped...

The effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on cognition and symptoms in outpatients with chronic schizophrenia a randomized placebo controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Boggs, Douglas L; Surti, Toral; Gupta, Aarti; Gupta, Swapnil; Niciu, Mark; Pittman, Brian; Schnakenberg Martin, Ashley M; Thurnauer, Halle; Davies, Andrew; D'Souza, Deepak C; Ranganathan, Mohini

2018-07-01

Preliminary evidence suggests that cannabidiol (CBD) may be effective in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders; however, CBD has never been evaluated for the treatment of cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia (CIAS). This study compared the cognitive, symptomatic, and side effects of CBD versus placebo in a clinical trial. This study was a 6-week, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel group, fixed-dose study of oral CBD (600 mg/day) or placebo augmentation in 36 stable antipsychotic-treated patients diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia. All subjects completed the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) at baseline and at end of 6 weeks of treatment. Psychotic symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at baseline and biweekly. There was no main effect of time or drug on MCCB Composite score, but a significant drug × time effect was observed (p = 0.02). Post hoc analyses revealed that only placebo-treated subjects improved over time (p = 0.03). There was a significant decrease in PANSS Total scores over time (p < 0. 0001) but there was no significant drug × time interaction (p = 0.18). Side effects were similar between CBD and placebo, with the one exception being sedation, which was more prevalent in the CBD group. At the dose studied, CBD augmentation was not associated with an improvement in MCCB or PANSS scores in stable antipsychotic-treated outpatients with schizophrenia. Overall, CBD was well tolerated with no worsening of mood, suicidality, or movement side effects. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00588731.

Development of a simple and sensitive liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the determination of cannabidiol (CBD), Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its metabolites in rat whole blood after oral administration of a single high dose of CBD.

Science.gov (United States)

Palazzoli, Federica; Citti, Cinzia; Licata, Manuela; Vilella, Antonietta; Manca, Letizia; Zoli, Michele; Vandelli, Maria Angela; Forni, Flavio; Cannazza, Giuseppe

2018-02-20

The investigation of the possible conversion of cannabidiol (CBD) into Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in vivo after oral administration of CBD is reported herein since recent publications suggested a rapid conversion in simulated gastric fluid. To this end, single high dose of CBD (50mg/kg) was administered orally to rats and their blood was collected after 3 and 6h. A highly sensitive and selective LC-MS/MS method was developed and fully validated in compliance with the Scientific Working Group of Forensic Toxicology (SWGTOX) standard practices for method validation in forensic toxicology. This method also involved the optimization of cannabinoids and their metabolites extraction in order to remove co-eluting phospholipids and increase the sensitivity of the MS detection. Neither THC nor its metabolites were detected in rat whole blood after 3 or 6h from CBD administration. After oral administration, the amount of CBD dissolved in olive oil was higher than that absorbed from an ethanolic solution. This could be explained by the protection of lipid excipients towards CBD from acidic gastric juice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Short-Term Efficacy of CBD-Enriched Hemp Oil in Girls with Dysautonomic Syndrome after Human Papillomavirus Vaccination.

Science.gov (United States)

Palmieri, Beniamino; Laurino, Carmen; Vadalà, Maria

2017-02-01

Cannabidiol (CBD)-based treatments for several diseases, including Tourette's syndrome, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, movement disorders and glaucoma, are proving to be beneficial and the scientific clinical background of the drug is continuously evolving. To investigate the short-term effect of CBD-enriched hemp oil for relieving symptoms and improving the life quality (QOL) in young girls with adverse drug effects (ADRs) following human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. In this anecdotal, retrospective, "compassionate-use", observational, open-label study, 12 females (age 12-24 years) with severe somatoform and dysautonomic syndrome following HPV vaccination were given sublingual CBD-rich hemp oil drops, 25 mg/kg per day supplemented by 2-5 mg/ml CBD once a week until a maximum dose of 150 mg/ml CBD per day was reached over a 3 month period. Patients' quality of life was evaluated using the medical outcome short-form health survey questionnaire (SF-36). Two patients dropped out due to iatrogenic adverse events and another two patients stopped the treatment early due to lack of any improvement. SF-36 showed significant benefits in the physical component score (P oil also significantly reduced body pain according to the SF-36 assessment. No significant differences from the start of treatment to several months post-treatment were detected in role limitations due to emotional reactions (P = 0.02). This study demonstrated the safety and tolerability of CBD-rich hemp oil and the primary efficacy endpoint. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to characterize the safety profile and efficacy of this compound.

Conserving forest biological diversity: How the Montreal Process helps achieve sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Mark Nelson; Guy Robertson; Kurt. Riitters

2015-01-01

Forests support a variety of ecosystems, species and genes — collectively referred to as biological diversity — along with important processes that tie these all together. With the growing recognition that biological diversity contributes to human welfare in a number of important ways such as providing food, medicine and fiber (provisioning services...

Expanding Kenya's protected areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity to maximize coverage of plant diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Scherer, Laura; Curran, Michael; Alvarez, Miguel

2017-04-01

Biodiversity is highly valuable and critically threatened by anthropogenic degradation of the natural environment. In response, governments have pledged enhanced protected-area coverage, which requires scarce biological data to identify conservation priorities. To assist this effort, we mapped conservation priorities in Kenya based on maximizing alpha (species richness) and beta diversity (species turnover) of plant communities while minimizing economic costs. We used plant-cover percentages from vegetation surveys of over 2000 plots to build separate models for each type of diversity. Opportunity and management costs were based on literature data and interviews with conservation organizations. Species richness was predicted to be highest in a belt from Lake Turkana through Mount Kenya and in a belt parallel to the coast, and species turnover was predicted to be highest in western Kenya and along the coast. Our results suggest the expanding reserve network should focus on the coast and northeastern provinces of Kenya, where new biological surveys would also fill biological data gaps. Meeting the Convention on Biological Diversity target of 17% terrestrial coverage by 2020 would increase representation of Kenya's plant communities by 75%. However, this would require about 50 times more funds than Kenya has received thus far from the Global Environment Facility. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Comparative PL study of individual ZnO nanorods, grown by APMOCVD and CBD techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khranovskyy, Volodymyr, E-mail: volkh@ifm.liu.se [Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linkoeping University, 58183 Linkoeping (Sweden); Yakimova, Rositza; Karlsson, Fredrik; Syed, Abdul S.; Holtz, Per-Olof [Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linkoeping University, 58183 Linkoeping (Sweden); Nigussa Urgessa, Zelalem [Department of Physics, P.O Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth 6031 (South Africa); Samuel Oluwafemi, Oluwatobi [Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha Campus, Private Bag XI 5117 (South Africa); Reinhardt Botha, Johannes [Department of Physics, P.O Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth 6031 (South Africa)

2012-05-15

The photoluminescence properties of individual ZnO nanorods, grown by atmospheric pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (APMOCV) and chemical bath deposition (CBD) are investigated by means of temperature dependent micro-PL. It was found that the low temperature PL spectra are driven by neutral donor bound exciton emission D{sup 0}X, peaked at 3.359 and 3.363 eV for APMOCVD and CBD ZnO nanorods, respectively. The temperature increase causes a red energy shift of the peaks and enhancement of the free excitonic emission (FX). The FX was found to dominate after 150 K for both samples. It was observed that while APMOCVD ZnO nanorods possess a constant low signal of visible deep level emission with temperature, the ZnO nanorods grown by CBD revealed the thermal activation of deep level emission (DLE) after 130 K. The resulting room temperature DLE was a wide band located at 420-550 nm. The PL properties of individual ZnO nanorods can be of importance for their forthcoming application in future optoelectronics and photonics.

Comparative PL study of individual ZnO nanorods, grown by APMOCVD and CBD techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khranovskyy, Volodymyr; Yakimova, Rositza; Karlsson, Fredrik; Syed, Abdul S.; Holtz, Per-Olof; Nigussa Urgessa, Zelalem; Samuel Oluwafemi, Oluwatobi; Reinhardt Botha, Johannes

2012-01-01

The photoluminescence properties of individual ZnO nanorods, grown by atmospheric pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (APMOCV) and chemical bath deposition (CBD) are investigated by means of temperature dependent micro-PL. It was found that the low temperature PL spectra are driven by neutral donor bound exciton emission D 0 X, peaked at 3.359 and 3.363 eV for APMOCVD and CBD ZnO nanorods, respectively. The temperature increase causes a red energy shift of the peaks and enhancement of the free excitonic emission (FX). The FX was found to dominate after 150 K for both samples. It was observed that while APMOCVD ZnO nanorods possess a constant low signal of visible deep level emission with temperature, the ZnO nanorods grown by CBD revealed the thermal activation of deep level emission (DLE) after 130 K. The resulting room temperature DLE was a wide band located at 420–550 nm. The PL properties of individual ZnO nanorods can be of importance for their forthcoming application in future optoelectronics and photonics.

Biotic prognostications: Global warming and biological diversity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peters, R.L.; Lovejoy, T.E. [eds.

1992-12-31

This book focuses on the impacts of the greenhouse effect on biological diversity and on natural ecosystems. Included are chapters which include the following topics: government attitudes to climate change problems; general conclusions and deficiencies of general circulation models; impacts of past climate changes on global biota; effects of climate on vegetation, soils, wildlife diversity, animal physiology, ecology, behavior, migration, and parasites and diseases; arctic mariene ecosystems and coasta marine zones; tropical forests; arctic tundra; western North American forests, etc.; indirect linkages and snyergisms among climate change, biodiversity, geosphere, and anthropogenic stresses.

Biological diversity in the patent system.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Oldham

Full Text Available Biological diversity in the patent system is an enduring focus of controversy but empirical analysis of the presence of biodiversity in the patent system has been limited. To address this problem we text mined 11 million patent documents for 6 million Latin species names from the Global Names Index (GNI established by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF and Encyclopedia of Life (EOL. We identified 76,274 full Latin species names from 23,882 genera in 767,955 patent documents. 25,595 species appeared in the claims section of 136,880 patent documents. This reveals that human innovative activity involving biodiversity in the patent system focuses on approximately 4% of taxonomically described species and between 0.8-1% of predicted global species. In this article we identify the major features of the patent landscape for biological diversity by focusing on key areas including pharmaceuticals, neglected diseases, traditional medicines, genetic engineering, foods, biocides, marine genetic resources and Antarctica. We conclude that the narrow focus of human innovative activity and ownership of genetic resources is unlikely to be in the long term interest of humanity. We argue that a broader spectrum of biodiversity needs to be opened up to research and development based on the principles of equitable benefit-sharing, respect for the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, human rights and ethics. Finally, we argue that alternative models of innovation, such as open source and commons models, are required to open up biodiversity for research that addresses actual and neglected areas of human need. The research aims to inform the implementation of the 2010 Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization and international debates directed to the governance of genetic resources. Our research also aims to inform debates under the Intergovernmental Committee on

Does Accessibility to the Central Business District (CBD Have an Impact on High-Rise Condominium Price Gradient in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dziauddin Mohd Faris

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper uses a spatial econometric method known as Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR to investigate the impact of accessibility to the CBD on the high-rise condominium price gradient in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Using a GWR method, after having controlled other factors, this study clearly reveal the impact of accessibility to the CBD on high-rise condominium varying prices across the study area, having a much larger positive impact in some areas but less and counterintuitive impact in others. In general, the results from this study show accessibility to the CBD measured by the travel times does affect high-rise condominium prices (high-rise condominium prices decrease as travel times to the CBD increase in most part of the areas, hence proved Alonso, Muth and Mills were still right.

THC/CBD oromucosal spray in patients with multiple sclerosis overactive bladder: a pilot prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Maniscalco, Giorgia Teresa; Aponte, R; Bruzzese, D; Guarcello, G; Manzo, V; Napolitano, M; Moreggia, O; Chiariello, F; Florio, C

2018-01-01

Lower urinary tract dysfunctions (LUTDs) are commonly reported in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and are mainly related to neurogenic overactive bladder (OAB). The aim of this observational study was to assess the effect of a tetrahydrocannabinol-cannabidiol (THC/CBD) oromucosal spray on resistant OAB by means of clinical and instrumental tools. Twenty-one MS patients were screened, and 15 cases have been evaluated. They underwent a specific clinical assessment (overactive bladder symptom score, OABSS) and a urodynamic assessment evaluating the maximal cystometric capacity (CCmax), bladder compliance (Qmax), maximum detrusor pressure (Pdet max), detrusor pressure at the first desire (Pdet first), bladder volume at the first desire (BVFD), leakage volume (LV), and post-void residual volume (PVR), before and after 4 weeks of THC/CBD administration. A complete neurological evaluation, including the assessment of their spasticity using the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and the spasticity 0-10 numerical rating scale (NRS), was performed at the same times. Mobility was evaluated through the 25-ft walking-time test (T25-WT). The THC/CBD treatment successfully reduced the OAB symptoms (p = 0.001). Regarding the urodynamic findings after the end of treatment, PVR was significantly reduced (p = 0.016). Regarding the urodynamic findings after the end of treatment, PVR was significantly reduced (p = 0.016), while BVFD and CCmax were increased although the difference was not statistically significant. THC/CBD oromucosal spray has shown to be effective in improving overactive bladder symptoms in MS patients demonstrating a favorable impact on detrusor overactivity.

Co-occurrence of linguistic and biological diversity in biodiversity hotspots and high biodiversity wilderness areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorenflo, L J; Romaine, Suzanne; Mittermeier, Russell A; Walker-Painemilla, Kristen

2012-05-22

As the world grows less biologically diverse, it is becoming less linguistically and culturally diverse as well. Biologists estimate annual loss of species at 1,000 times or more greater than historic rates, and linguists predict that 50-90% of the world's languages will disappear by the end of this century. Prior studies indicate similarities in the geographic arrangement of biological and linguistic diversity, although conclusions have often been constrained by use of data with limited spatial precision. Here we use greatly improved datasets to explore the co-occurrence of linguistic and biological diversity in regions containing many of the Earth's remaining species: biodiversity hotspots and high biodiversity wilderness areas. Results indicate that these regions often contain considerable linguistic diversity, accounting for 70% of all languages on Earth. Moreover, the languages involved are frequently unique (endemic) to particular regions, with many facing extinction. Likely reasons for co-occurrence of linguistic and biological diversity are complex and appear to vary among localities, although strong geographic concordance between biological and linguistic diversity in many areas argues for some form of functional connection. Languages in high biodiversity regions also often co-occur with one or more specific conservation priorities, here defined as endangered species and protected areas, marking particular localities important for maintaining both forms of diversity. The results reported in this article provide a starting point for focused research exploring the relationship between biological and linguistic-cultural diversity, and for developing integrated strategies designed to conserve species and languages in regions rich in both.

[Medicinal chemistry and pharmacology focused on cannabidiol, a major component of the fiber-type cannabis].

Science.gov (United States)

Takeda, Shuso

2013-01-01

Considerable attention has focused on cannabidiol (CBD), a major non-psychotropic constituent of fiber-type cannabis plant, and it has been reported to possess diverse biological activities. Although CBD is obtained from non-enzymatic decarboxylation of its parent molecule, cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), several studies have investigated whether CBDA itself is biologically active. In the present report, the author summarizes findings indicating that; 1) CBDA is a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, and ii) CBDA possesses an anti-migrative potential for highly invasive cancer cells, apparently through a mechanism involving inhibition of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A, coupled with an activation of the small GTPase, RhoA. Further, the author introduces recent findings on the medicinal chemistry and pharmacology of the CBD derivative, CBD-2',6'-dimethyl ether (CBDD), that exhibits inhibitory activity toward 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX), an enzyme responsible for the production of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL). These studies establish CBD as both an important experimental tool and as a lead compound for pharmaceutical development. In this review, the author further discusses the potential uses of CBD and its derivatives in future medicines.

The effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) self-administration in male and female Long-Evans rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Wakeford, Alison G P; Wetzell, Bradley B; Pomfrey, Rebecca L; Clasen, Matthew M; Taylor, William W; Hempel, Briana J; Riley, Anthony L

2017-08-01

Despite widespread cannabis use in humans, few rodent models exist demonstrating significant Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) self-administration, possibly due to THC's co-occurring aversive effects, which impact drug reinforcement. Cannabis contains a number of phytocannabinoids in addition to THC, one of which, cannabidiol (CBD), has been reported to antagonize some of the aversive effects of THC. Given such effects of CBD, it is possible that it might influence THC intravenous self-administration in rodents. Accordingly, male and female Long-Evans rats were trained to self-administer THC over a 3-week period and then were assessed for the effects of CBD on responding for THC at 1:1 and 1:10 dose ratios or for the establishment of cocaine self-administration (as a positive control for drug self-administration). Consistent with previous research, THC self-administration was modest and only evident in a subset of animals (and unaffected by sex). Cocaine self-administration was high and evident in the majority of animals tested, indicating that the design was sensitive to drug reinforcement. There was no effect of CBD pretreatment on THC intravenous self-administration at any CBD:THC dose ratio. Future developments of animal models of THC self-administration and the examination of factors that affect its display remain important to establish procedures designed to assess the basis for and treatment of cannabis use and abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Efficacy of CBD-enriched medical cannabis for treatment of refractory epilepsy in children and adolescents - An observational, longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hausman-Kedem, Moran; Menascu, Shay; Kramer, Uri

2018-04-16

The objective of this observational study was to evaluate the efficacy of medical cannabis for the treatment of refractory epilepsy. Fifty-seven patients (age 1-20 years) with epilepsy of various etiologies were treated with Cannabis oil extract (CBD/THC ratio of 20:1) for at least 3 months (Median follow up time-18 months). Forty-Six Patients were included in the efficacy analysis. Average CBD dose was11.4 mg/kg/d. Twenty-six patients (56%) had ≤50% reduction in mean monthly seizure frequency. There was no statistically significant difference in response rate among various epilepsy etiologies, and cannabis strain used. Younger age at treatment onset (CBD dose (>11 mg/kg/d) were associated with better response to treatment. Adverse reactions were reported in 46% of patients and were the main reason for treatment cessation. Our results suggest that adding CBD-enriched cannabis extract to the treatment regimen of patients with refractory epilepsy may result in a significant reduction in seizure frequency according to parental reports. Randomized controlled trials are necessary to assess its true efficacy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A phase I study to assess the effect of food on the single dose bioavailability of the THC/CBD oromucosal spray.

Science.gov (United States)

Stott, C G; White, L; Wright, S; Wilbraham, D; Guy, G W

2013-04-01

To assess the effect of food on the single-dose bioavailability of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)/cannabidiol (CBD) spray, an endocannabinoid system modulator, when administered to healthy male subjects. Twelve subjects took part in this fed-fasted cross-over study and received a single dose of THC/CBD spray (4 sprays = 10.8 mg THC + 10 mg CBD) in the fasted then fed state (or vice versa) with a 3-day wash-out period between treatments. Plasma samples were collected at designated time-points for analysis of CBD, THC, and its active metabolite, 11-hydroxy delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-OH-THC). Statistically significant increases in the mean area under the curve (AUC) and mean maximum plasma drug concentration (Cmax) were observed in subjects during fed conditions. Mean AUC and Cmax were one to three-fold higher for THC and 11-OH-THC, and five and three-fold higher for CBD respectively during fed conditions. A large inter-subject variability in exposure from the same dose was observed, particularly for THC. The Cmax for THC in fed versus fasted subjects was higher in 7 subjects (4.80-14.91 ng/ml) and lower in 5 subjects (2.81-3.51 ng/ml) compared with the mean Cmax of 3.98 ng/ml (range 0.97-9.34 ng/ml) observed in the fasted state. Increases in mean AUC(0-t), AUC(0-inf), and Cmax for THC, CBD, and 11-OH-THC in the fed state were within the range of inter-subject variability, which was considerable. Food also appeared to delay the time to peak concentration (Tmax) of all analytes by approximately 2-2.5 h. Only mild adverse events were reported. The THC/CBD spray was well tolerated in male subjects at a single dose of four sprays. The large inter-subject variability in exposure suggests that the changes observed are unlikely to be clinically relevant.

75 FR 45497 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Threatened Status for Five...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-03

... comment on the proposed rule. On March 9, 2010, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a... pathological and serological findings at the time conformed to those known for avian malaria outbreaks...

Monitoring biological diversity: strategies, tools, limitations, and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Erik A. Beever

2006-01-01

Monitoring is an assessment of the spatial and temporal variability in one or more ecosystem properties, and is an essential component of adaptive management. Monitoring can help determine whether mandated environmental standards are being met and can provide an early-warning system of ecological change. Development of a strategy for monitoring biological diversity...

Effects of Various Parameters on Structural and Optical Properties of CBD-Grown ZnS Thin Films: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Sinha, Tarkeshwar; Lilhare, Devjyoti; Khare, Ayush

2018-02-01

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films deposited by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique have proved their capability in a wide area of applications including electroluminescent and display devices, solar cells, sensors, and field emitters. These semiconducting thin films have attracted a much attention from the scientific community for industrial and research purposes. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review on the effect of various parameters on various properties of CBD-grown ZnS films. In the first part, we discuss the historical background of ZnS, its basic properties, and the advantages of the CBD technique. Detailed discussions on the film growth, structural and optical properties of ZnS thin films affected by various parameters, such as bath temperature and concentration, deposition time, stirring speed, complexing agents, pH value, humidity in the environment, and annealing conditions, are also presented. In later sections, brief information about the recent studies and findings is also added to explore the scope of research work in this field.

Race and diversity in U.S. Biological Anthropology: A decade of AAPA initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Antón, Susan C; Malhi, Ripan S; Fuentes, Agustín

2018-01-01

Biological Anthropology studies the variation and evolution of living humans, non-human primates, and extinct ancestors and for this reason the field should be in an ideal position to attract scientists from a variety of backgrounds who have different views and experiences. However, the origin and history of the discipline, anecdotal observations, self-reports, and recent surveys suggest the field has significant barriers to attracting scholars of color. For a variety of reasons, including quantitative research that demonstrates that diverse groups do better science, the discipline should strive to achieve a more diverse composition. Here we discuss the background and underpinnings of the current and historical dearth of diversity in Biological Anthropology in the U.S. specifically as it relates to representation of minority and underrepresented minority (URM) (or racialized minority) scholars. We trace this lack of diversity to underlying issues of recruitment and retention in the STEM sciences generally, to the history of Anthropology particularly around questions of race-science, and to the absence of Anthropology at many minority-serving institutions, especially HBCUs, a situation that forestalls pathways to the discipline for many minority students. The AAPA Committee on Diversity (COD) was conceived as a means of assessing and improving diversity within the discipline, and we detail the history of the COD since its inception in 2006. Prior to the COD there were no systematic AAPA efforts to consider ethnoracial diversity in our ranks and no programming around questions of diversity and inclusion. Departmental survey data collected by the COD indicate that undergraduate majors in Biological Anthropology are remarkably diverse, but that the discipline loses these scholars between undergraduate and graduate school and systematically up rank. Our analysis of recent membership demographic survey data (2014 and 2017) shows Biological Anthropology to have less

Biological and cultural diversity in the context of botanic garden conservation strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher P. Dunn

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Impacts of global climate change, habitat loss, and other environmental changes on the world's biota and peoples continue to increase, especially on islands and in high elevation areas. Just as floristic diversity is affected by environmental change, so too are cultural and linguistic diversity. Of the approximately 7000 extant languages in the world, fully 50% are considered to be at risk of extinction, which is considerably higher than most estimates of extinction risks to plants and animals. To maintain the integrity of plant life, it is not enough for botanic gardens to consider solely the effects of environmental change on plants within the context of major conservation strategies such as the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Rather, botanic gardens should actively engage in understanding and communicating the broader impacts of environmental change to biological and cultural diversity.

National forest inventory contributions to forest biodiversity monitoring

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chirici, Cherardo; McRoberts, Ronald; Winter, Susanne

2012-01-01

. The primary international processes dealing with biodiversity and sustainable forest management, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Forest Europe, Streamlining European Biodiversity Indicators 2010 of the European Environmental Agency, and the Montréal Process, all include indicators related...... (ground vegetation and regeneration) NFIs should invest more in harmonization efforts. On the basis of these key findings, we recommend that NFIs should represent a main component of a future global biodiversity monitoring network as urgently requested by the CBD....

3D bioprinting of BMSC-laden methacrylamide gelatin scaffolds with CBD-BMP2-collagen microfibers.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Mingchun; Chen, Bing; Meng, Qingyuan; Liu, Sumei; Zheng, Xiongfei; Zhang, Cheng; Wang, Heran; Li, Hongyi; Wang, Nuo; Dai, Jianwu

2015-12-18

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting combines biomaterials, cells and functional components into complex living tissues. Herein, we assembled function-control modules into cell-laden scaffolds using 3D bioprinting. A customized 3D printer was able to tune the microstructure of printed bone mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC)-laden methacrylamide gelatin scaffolds at the micrometer scale. For example, the pore size was adjusted to 282 ± 32 μm and 363 ± 60 μm. To match the requirements of the printing nozzle, collagen microfibers with a length of 22 ± 13 μm were prepared with a high-speed crusher. Collagen microfibers bound bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) with a collagen binding domain (CBD) as differentiation-control module, from which BMP2 was able to be controllably released. The differentiation behaviors of BMSCs in the printed scaffolds were compared in three microenvironments: samples without CBD-BMP2-collagen microfibers in the growth medium, samples without microfibers in the osteogenic medium and samples with microfibers in the growth medium. The results indicated that BMSCs showed high cell viability (>90%) during printing; CBD-BMP2-collagen microfibers induced BMSC differentiation into osteocytes within 14 days more efficiently than the osteogenic medium. Our studies suggest that these function-control modules are attractive biomaterials and have potential applications in 3D bioprinting.

Biology Teachers' Conceptions of the Diversity of Life and the Historical Development of Evolutionary Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, Paloma Rodrigues; de Andrade, Mariana A. Bologna Soares; de Andrade Caldeira, Ana Maria

2015-01-01

Biology is a science that involves study of the diversity of living organisms. This diversity has always generated questions and has motivated cultures to seek plausible explanations for the differences and similarities between types of organisms. In biology teaching, these issues are addressed by adopting an evolutionary approach. The aim of this…

Environmental-Economic Accounts and Financial Resource Mobilisation for Implementation the Convention on Biological Diversity

OpenAIRE

Cesare Costantino; Emanuela Recchini

2015-01-01

At the Rio “Earth Summit” the Convention on Biological Diversity introduced a global commitment to conservation of biological diversity and sustainable use of its components. An implementation process is going on, based on a strategic plan, biodiversity targets and a strategy for mobilizing financial resources. According to target “2”, by 2020 national accounts should include monetary aggregates related to biodiversity. Environmental accounts can play an important role – together with other i...

The legal status of cannabis (marijuana) and cannabidiol (CBD) under U.S. law.

Science.gov (United States)

Mead, Alice

2017-05-01

In the United States, federal and state laws regarding the medical use of cannabis and cannabinoids are in conflict and have led to confusion among patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Currently, cannabis is legal for medical purposes in 50% of the states, and another seventeen states allow products that are high in cannabidiol (CBD) and low in THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) for medical use. Many of these artisanal products are sold in dispensaries or over the internet. However, none of these products has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Understanding how federal laws apply to clinical research and practice can be challenging, and the complexity of these laws has resulted in particular confusion regarding the legal status of CBD. This paper provides an up-to-date overview (as of August 2016) of the legal aspects of cannabis and cannabidiol, including cultivation, manufacture, distribution, and use for medical purposes. This article is part of a Special Issue title, Cannabinoids and Epilepsy. Copyright © 2017 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modeling the Biological Diversity of Pig Carcasses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Erbou, Søren Gylling Hemmingsen

This thesis applies methods from medical image analysis for modeling the biological diversity of pig carcasses. The Danish meat industry is very focused on improving product quality and productivity by optimizing the use of the carcasses and increasing productivity in the abattoirs. In order...... equipment is investigated, without the need for a calibration against a less accurate manual dissection. The rest of the contributions regard the construction and use of point distribution models (PDM). PDM’s are able to capture the shape variation of a population of shapes, in this case a 3D surface...

Diversity and Biological Activities of Endophytic Fungi Associated with Micropropagated Medicinal Plant Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-01

1105 Diversity and Biological Activities of Endophytic Fungi Associated with Micropropagated Medicinal Plant Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench Luiz H...fungal community and micropropagated clones of E. purpurea was re-established after acclimatization to soil and the endophytic fungi produced compounds...Diversity and Biological Activities of Endophytic Fungi Associated with Micropropagated Medicinal Plant Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench 5a. CONTRACT

Can we manage for biological diversity in the absence of science?

Science.gov (United States)

Trauger, D.L.; Hall, R.J.

1995-01-01

Conservation of biological diversity is dependent on sound scientific information about underlying ecological processes. Current knowledge of the composition, distribution, abundance and life cycles of most species of plants and animals is incomplete, insufficient, unreliable, or nonexistent. Contemporary managers are also confronted with additional levels of complexity related to varying degrees of knowledge and understanding about interactions of species and ecosystems. Consequently, traditional species-oriented management schemes may have unintended consequences and ecosystem-oriented management initiatives may fail in the face of inadequate or fragmentary information on the structure, function, and dynamics of biotic communities and ecological systems. Nevertheless, resource managers must make decisions and manage based on the best biological information currently available. Adaptive resource management may represent a management paradigm that allows managers to learn something about the species or systems that they are managing while they are managing, but potential pitfalls lurk for such approaches. In addition to lack of control over the primary physical, chemical, and ecological processes, managers also lack control over social, economic, and political parameters affecting resource management options. Moreover, appropriate goals may be difficult to identify and criteria for determining success may be elusive. Some management responsibilities do not lend themselves to adaptive strategies. Finally, the lessons learned from adaptive management are usually obtained from a highly situational context that may limit applicability in a wider range of situations or undermine confidence that problems and solutions were properly diagnosed and addressed. Several scenarios are critically examined where adaptive management approaches may be inappropriate or ineffective and where management for biological diversity may be infeasible or inefficient without a sound

A comparison of the performance of male and female CBD distributors in Peru.

Science.gov (United States)

Foreit, J R; Garate, M R; Brazzoduro, A; Guillen, F; Herrera, M C; Suarez, F C

1992-01-01

This report presents the results of an operations research project to increase male involvement in family planning in Peru. Two community-based distribution (CBD) programs, PROFAMILIA of Lima and CENPROF of Trujillo, Peru, recruited male contraceptive distributors and compared their performance to that of female distributors recruited at the same time. Both programs found it harder to recruit men than women as distributors. Program supervisors, who were women, were less comfortable with men than with other women, even though there were no differences in distributor compliance with program norms. Male distributors were more likely to serve male clients and sell male methods (condoms), while female distributors were more likely to serve female clients and sell female methods (pills). Men sold as much or more total couple-years of protection than did women, and they recruited as many or more new acceptors. Gender was found to exert an impact on method mix independent of other distributor characteristics, such as age, education, marital status, and number of living children. The study suggests that family planning programs can influence method mix and client characteristics by recruiting men as CBD distributors.

Biotecnologia no contexto da Convenção de Diversidade Biológica: análise da implementação do Art. 19 deste Acordo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mônica Cibele Amâncio

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Modern biotechnology is one of the most important technological tools nowadays, and its development involves discussions related to food and environmental safety of their products. These discussions occur within various international organizations, originating different Agreements about the theme. One of the most important is the Convention on Biological Diversity – CBD – and its associated agreement, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. This work sought to identify how biotechnology is handled in the CBD, analyzing the implementation of Article 19 and its consequences in terms of discussions about theregulatory framework related to biosafety. It presents the concept of biotechnology and its implications, the approach to the subject under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Cartagena Protocol,and the Brazilian law on biosafety. This work concluded that, although the purpose of Article 19 of the CBD was much broader, namely, regulating the handling of biotechnology and distribution of benefitsamong member countries of this Agreement, such claims were not obtained, restricting the discussion to the scope of issues related to GMO biosafety. The challenge now is to expand this discussion so thatthe benefits of this new technology can actually be achieved and distributed both between developed countries and developing countries, always in a sustainable manner.

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The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which Ghana became a signatory in ... diminish the variety of genes and species, or destroy important habitats and ecosystems worldwide. ... alleviation programmes targeted especially at rural communities are also steps in ... Causes of extinction of birds and mammals since.

Bioprospection in Brazil and Mexico, a new El Dorado?: Between the Instability of Practices and the Permanence of Representations

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Geoffroy Filoche

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Because of their exceptional biodiversity, Brazil and Mexico seemed to be the ideal candidates for the valorization of their genetic resources, as promoted by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD. But almost twenty years after the Rio Conference, the actual results of this valorization are disappointing. It can be explained either by the slowness in adopting domestic laws translating the CBD or by the difficulties in controlling and regulating very complex and unstable practices and objects. This leads to put into question the pertinence of the CDB framework, along with its categories and mechanisms. In spite of the relative obsolescence of this framework and the emergence of new environmental issues, which appear as more important, the question of the access to genetic resources and their exploitation through contracts of bioprospection is still being debated because of the various symbolic issues at stake, such as national sovereignty and the defense of biological and cultural diversity.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) as a Tool for Early Diagnosis and Prognostication in Cortico-Basal Ganglia Degeneration (CBD) Syndromes: Review of Literature and Case Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Issac, Thomas Gregor; Chandra, Sadanandavalli Retnaswami; Nagaraju, B C

2016-01-01

Cortico basal degeneration (CBD) of the brain is a rare progressive neurodegenerative disease which encompasses unique neuropsychiatric manifestations. Early diagnosis is essential for initiating proper treatment and favorable outcome. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a well-known technique for assessment of cortical excitatory and inhibitory properties. It was suggested that in a degenerative disease like CBD which involves the cortex as well as the subcortical structures, comparing both hemispheres, a differential pattern in TMS can be obtained which would help in early identification, prognostication and early therapeutic intervention. We describe a case of CBD with corroborative clinical and imaging picture wherein single pulse TMS was used over both the hemispheres measuring the following parameters of interest which included: Motor Threshold (MT), Central Motor Conduction Time (CMCT) and Silent Period (SP). Differential patterns of MT, CMCT and SP was obtained by stimulating over both the hemispheres with the affected hemisphere showing significantly reduced MT and prolonged CMCT implying early impairment of cortical and subcortical structures thereby revealing the potential application of TMS being utilized in a novel way for early detection and prognostication in CBD syndromes.

National report on sustainable forests—2015: conservation of biological diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Mark D. Nelson; Curtis Flather; Kurt H. Riitters; Carolyn Sieg; James D. Garner

2015-01-01

The National Report on Sustainable Forests—2015 relies on Montrèal Process Criteria and Indicators (C&I) for Forest Sustainability to organize and present data relevant to U.S. forests. The 2015 report addresses seven criteria, the first of which is Conservation of Biological Diversity, which is organized into nine indicators that address three sub-criteria:...

ESD and the Rio Conventions

Science.gov (United States)

Sarabhai, Kartikeya V.; Ravindranath, Shailaja; Schwarz, Rixa; Vyas, Purvi

2012-01-01

Chapter 36 of Agenda 21, a key document of the 1992 Earth Summit, emphasised reorienting education towards sustainable development. While two of the Rio conventions, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), developed communication, education and public awareness (CEPA)…

The effect of Pro NanoLipospheres (PNL) formulation containing natural absorption enhancers on the oral bioavailability of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) in a rat model.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherniakov, Irina; Izgelov, Dvora; Domb, Abraham J; Hoffman, Amnon

2017-11-15

The lipophilic phytocannabinoids cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) show therapeutic efficacy in various medical conditions. Both molecules are poorly water soluble and subjected to extensive first pass metabolism in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to a limited oral bioavailability of approximately 9%. We have developed an advanced lipid based Self-Emulsifying Drug Delivery System termed Advanced Pro-NanoLiposphere (PNL) pre-concentrate. The PNL is composed of lipid and emulsifying excipients of GRAS status and are known to increase solubility and reduce Phase I metabolism of lipophilic active compounds. Advanced PNLs are PNLs with an incorporated natural absorption enhancers. These molecules are natural alkaloids and phenolic compounds which were reported to inhibit certain phase I and phase II metabolism processes. Here we use piperine, curcumin and resveratrol to formulate the Advanced-PNL formulations. Consequently, we have explored the utility of these Advanced-PNLs on CBD and THC oral bioavailability. Oral administration of CBD-piperine-PNL resulted in 6-fold increase in AUC compared to CBD solution, proving to be the most effective of the screened formulations. The same trend was found in pharmacokinetic experiments of THC-piperine-PNL which resulted in a 9.3-fold increase in AUC as compared to THC solution. Our Piperine-PNL can be used as a platform for synchronized delivery of piperine and CBD or THC to the enterocyte site. This co-localization provides an increase in CBD and THC bioavailability by its effect at the pre-enterocyte and the enterocyte levels of the absorption process. The extra augmentation in the absorption of CBD and THC by incorporating piperine into PNL is attributed to the inhibition of Phase I and phase II metabolism by piperine in addition to the Phase I metabolism and P-gp inhibition by PNL. These novel results pave the way to utilize piperine-PNL delivery system for other poorly soluble, highly metabolized

Challenges of Biodiversity Education: A Review of Education Strategies for Biodiversity Education

Science.gov (United States)

Navarro-Perez, Moramay; Tidball, Keith G.

2012-01-01

Biodiversity conservation has increasingly gained recognition in national and international agendas. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has positioned biodiversity as a key asset to be protected to ensure our well-being and that of future generations. Nearly 20 years after its inception, results are not as expected, as shown in the…

GEOSPATIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF BIODIVERSITY: NEED AND CHALLENGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. S. Roy

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Explaining the distribution of species and understanding their abundance and spatial distribution at multiple scales using remote sensing and ground based observation have been the central aspect of the meeting of COP10 for achieving CBD 2020 targets. In this respect the Biodiveristy Characterization at Landscape Level for India is a milestone in biodiversity study in this country. Satellite remote sensing has been used to derive the spatial extent and vegetation composition patterns. Sensitivity of different multi-scale landscape metrics, species composition, ecosystem uniqueness and diversity in distribution of biological diversity is assessed through customized landscape analysis software to generate the biological richness surface. The uniqueness of the study lies in the creation of baseline geo-spatial data on vegetation types using multi-temporal satellite remote sensing data (IRS LISS III, deriving biological richness based on spatial landscape analysis and inventory of location specific information about 7964 unique plant species recorded in 20,000 sample plots in India and their status with respect to endemic, threatened and economic/medicinal importance. The results generated will serve as a baseline database for various assessment of the biodiversity for addressing CBD 2020 targets.

The context and development of a global framework for plant conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Peter Wyse; Sharrock, Suzanne

2011-01-01

A new international initiative for plant conservation was first called for as a resolution of the International Botanical Congress in 1999. The natural home for such an initiative was considered to be the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the CBD agreed to consider a Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) at its 5th meeting in 2000. It was proposed that the GSPC could provide an innovative model approach for target setting within the CBD and, prior to COP5, a series of inter-sessional papers on proposed targets and their justification were developed by plant conservation experts. Key factors that ensured the adoption of the GSPC by the CBD in 2002 included: (1) ensuring that prior to and during COP5, key Parties in each region were supportive of the Strategy; (2) setting targets at the global level and not attempting to impose these nationally; and (3) the offer by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) to support a GSPC position in the CBD Secretariat for 3 years, which provided a clear indication of the support for the GSPC from non-governmental organizations (NGO).

An ecologically-based method for selecting ecological indicators for assessing risks to biological diversity from genetically-engineered plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andow, D. A.; Lövei, Gabor L; Arpaia, Salvatore

2013-01-01

into ecological functional groups and selecting those that deliver the identified environmental values. (3) All of the species or ecosystem processes related to the selected functional groups are identified and (4) multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is used to rank the indicator endpoint entities, which may...... adverse effects to biological diversity. The approach starts by (1) identifying the local environmental values so the ERA addresses specific concerns associated with local biological diversity. The model simplifies the indicator endpoint selection problem by (2) classifying biological diversity...... be species or ecological processes. MCDA focuses on those species and processes that are critical for the identified ecological functions and are likely to be highly exposed to the GE organism. The highest ranked indicator entities are selected for the next step. (5) Relevant risk hypotheses are identified...

Land value as a function of distance from the CBD: The case of the eastern suburbs of Pretoria

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AC Jordaan

2004-04-01

Full Text Available The greater the benefit derived from using a piece of land for any particular purpose the higher the price the prospective user is willing to pay.  The demand for land is thus a reflection of the utility derived from its use by current or potential users.  The ability to compete for sites depends on whether they have the means to benefit from accessibility and complementarity within the urban framework. Conventional theory states that productivity determines urban rent, which is the highest at the place of maximum accessibility, i.e. the central business district (CBD. This paper review selected residential location theories and the factors influencing location decisions. Using selected eastern suburbs of Pretoria, the paper tries to determine whether residential land values decrease as distance from the CBD increase as theory suggests.Foreign aid and poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-country investigation

Simultaneous quantification of delta-9-THC, THC-acid A, CBN and CBD in seized drugs using HPLC-DAD.

Science.gov (United States)

Ambach, Lars; Penitschka, Franziska; Broillet, Alain; König, Stefan; Weinmann, Wolfgang; Bernhard, Werner

2014-10-01

An HPLC-DAD method for the quantitative analysis of Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid-A (THCA-A), cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabinol (CBN) in confiscated cannabis products has been developed, fully validated and applied to analyse seized cannabis products. For determination of the THC content of plant material, this method combines quantitation of THCA-A, which is the inactive precursor of THC, and free THC. Plant material was dried, homogenized and extracted with methanol by ultrasonication. Chromatographic separation was achieved with a Waters Alliance 2695 HPLC equipped with a Merck LiChrospher 60 RP-Select B (5μm) precolumn and a Merck LiChroCart 125-4 LiChrospher 60 RP-Select B (5μm) analytical column. Analytes were detected and quantified using a Waters 2996 photo diode array detector. This method has been accepted by the public authorities of Switzerland (Bundesamt für Gesundheit, Federal Office of Public Health), and has been used to analyse 9092 samples since 2000. Since no thermal decarboxylation of THCA-A occurs, the method is highly reproducible for different cannabis materials. Two calibration ranges are used, a lower one for THC, CBN and CBD, and a higher one for THCA-A, due to its dominant presence in fresh plant material. As provider of the Swiss proficiency test, the robustness of this method has been tested over several years, and homogeneity tests even in the low calibration range (1%) show high precision (RSD≤4.3%, except CBD) and accuracy (bias≤4.1%, except CBN). Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Diversity of Secondary Metabolites from Marine Bacillus Species: Chemistry and Biological Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Mondol, Muhammad Abdul Mojid; Shin, Hee Jae; Islam, Mohammad Tofazzal

2013-01-01

Marine Bacillus species produce versatile secondary metabolites including lipopeptides, polypeptides, macrolactones, fatty acids, polyketides, and isocoumarins. These structurally diverse compounds exhibit a wide range of biological activities, such as antimicrobial, anticancer, and antialgal activities. Some marine Bacillus strains can detoxify heavy metals through reduction processes and have the ability to produce carotenoids. The present article reviews the chemistry and biological activities of secondary metabolites from marine isolates. Side by side, the potential for application of these novel natural products from marine Bacillus strains as drugs, pesticides, carotenoids, and tools for the bioremediation of heavy metal toxicity are also discussed. PMID:23941823

The detection of THC, CBD and CBN in the oral fluid of Sativex® patients using two on-site screening tests and LC-MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Molnar, Anna; Fu, Shanlin; Lewis, John; Allsop, David J; Copeland, Jan

2014-05-01

Sativex(®) is an oromucosal spray used to treat spasticity in multiple sclerosis sufferers in some European countries, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand. The drug has also recently been registered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia for treatment of multiple sclerosis. Sativex(®) contains high concentrations of Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), with the former being the subject of random roadside drug tests across Australia to detect cannabis use. This pilot study aims to determine whether or not patients taking Sativex(®) will test positive to THC using these roadside screening tests. Detectable levels of THC, CBD and cannabinol (CBN) in their oral fluid were also confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The study was a double-blind, placebo controlled design. Oral fluid was tested prior to and immediately after dosing with either Sativex(®) or placebo at intervals up to 2h after the dose. Two Sativex(®) doses were studied. The low dose contained 5.4mg THC, the high dose 21.6mg THC. Results indicate that the primary screening test used in Australian roadside drug testing, the DrugWipe(®) II Twin, often gave a false negative response for THC, even with high concentrations present. However, secondary screening test, Cozart(®) DDS (used by police after a DrugWipe test gives a positive result), gave true positive results in all cases where patients were being treated with Sativex(®). Confirmatory testing showed high concentrations of THC and CBD (>5356ng/mL THC and >3826ng/mL CBD) in the oral fluid shortly after dosing and also elevated concentrations of CBN. Levels dropped quickly but remained at detectable concentrations (>67.6ng/mL) two hours after drug administration. The average concentration ratio of THC/CBD across all positive samples was 1.10 (%RSD 19.9) reflecting the composition of the Sativex(®) spray. In conclusion, Sativex(®) users may test positive for THC by

Genetic diversity and connectivity in the East African giant mud crab Scylla serrata: Implications for fisheries management.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cyrus Rumisha

Full Text Available The giant mud crab Scylla serrata provides an important source of income and food to coastal communities in East Africa. However, increasing demand and exploitation due to the growing coastal population, export trade, and tourism industry are threatening the sustainability of the wild stock of this species. Because effective management requires a clear understanding of the connectivity among populations, this study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity and connectivity in the East African mangrove crab S. serrata. A section of 535 base pairs of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI gene and eight microsatellite loci were analysed from 230 tissue samples of giant mud crabs collected from Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, and South Africa. Microsatellite genetic diversity (He ranged between 0.56 and 0.6. The COI sequences showed 57 different haplotypes associated with low nucleotide diversity (current nucleotide diversity = 0.29%. In addition, the current nucleotide diversity was lower than the historical nucleotide diversity, indicating overexploitation or historical bottlenecks in the recent history of the studied population. Considering that the coastal population is growing rapidly, East African countries should promote sustainable fishing practices and sustainable use of mangrove resources to protect mud crabs and other marine fauna from the increasing pressure of exploitation. While microsatellite loci did not show significant genetic differentiation (p > 0.05, COI sequences revealed significant genetic divergence between sites on the East coast of Madagascar (ECM and sites on the West coast of Madagascar, mainland East Africa, as well as the Seychelles. Since East African countries agreed to achieve the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD target to protect over 10% of their marine areas by 2020, the observed pattern of connectivity and the measured genetic diversity can serve to provide useful information for designing

Biological diversity, ecology and global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jutro, P.R.

1991-01-01

Worldwide climate change and loss of biodiversity are issues of global scope and importance that have recently become subjects of considerable public concern. Their perceived threat lies in their potential to disrupt ecological functioning and stability rather than from any direct threat they may pose to human health. Over the last 5 years, the international scientific community and the general public have become aware of the implications that atmospheric warming might have for world climate patterns and the resulting changes in the persistence, location, and composition of ecosystems worldwide. Human activities are currently responsible for a species loss rate that is the most extreme in millions of years, and an alarmingly increasing rate of transformation and fragmentation of natural landscapes. In the case of both global warming and reduction of biological diversity, man is affecting nature in an unprecedented fashion, on a global scale, and with unpredictable and frequently irreversible results

Diversity Generator Mechanisms Are Essential Components of Biological Systems: The Two Queen Hypothesis

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Eric Muraille

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Diversity is widely known to fuel adaptation and evolutionary processes and increase robustness at the population, species and ecosystem levels. The Neo-Darwinian paradigm proposes that the diversity of biological entities is the consequence of genetic changes arising spontaneously and randomly, without regard for their usefulness. However, a growing body of evidence demonstrates that the evolutionary process has shaped mechanisms, such as horizontal gene transfer mechanisms, meiosis and the adaptive immune system, which has resulted in the regulated generation of diversity among populations. Though their origins are unrelated, these diversity generator (DG mechanisms share common functional properties. They (i contribute to the great unpredictability of the composition and/or behavior of biological systems, (ii favor robustness and collectivism among populations and (iii operate mainly by manipulating the systems that control the interaction of living beings with their environment. The definition proposed here for DGs is based on these properties and can be used to identify them according to function. Interestingly, prokaryotic DGs appear to be mainly reactive, as they generate diversity in response to environmental stress. They are involved in the widely described Red Queen/arms race/Cairnsian dynamic. The emergence of multicellular organisms harboring K selection traits (longer reproductive life cycle and smaller population size has led to the acquisition of a new class of DGs that act anticipatively to stress pressures and generate a distinct dynamic called the “White Queen” here. The existence of DGs leads to the view of evolution as a more “intelligent” and Lamarckian-like process. Their repeated selection during evolution could be a neglected example of convergent evolution and suggests that some parts of the evolutionary process are tightly constrained by ecological factors, such as the population size, the generation time and

Fewer specialists support using medical marijuana and CBD in treating epilepsy patients compared with other medical professionals and patients: result of Epilepsia's survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathern, Gary W; Beninsig, Laurie; Nehlig, Astrid

2015-01-01

From May 20 to September 1 2014, Epilepsia conducted an online survey seeking opinions about the use of medical marijuana and cannabidiol (CBD) for people with epilepsy. This study reports the findings of that poll. The survey consisted of eight questions. Four questions asked if there were sufficient safety and efficacy data, whether responders would advise trying medical marijuana in cases of severe refractory epilepsy, and if pharmacologic grade compounds containing CBD should be available. Four questions addressed occupation, geographic region of residence, if responders had read the paper, and if they were International League Against Epilepsy/International Bureau for Epilepsy (ILAE/IBE) members. Of 776 who started or completed the survey, 58% were patients from North America, and 22% were epileptologists and general neurologists from Europe and North America. A minority of epileptologists and general neurologists said that there were sufficient safety (34%) and efficacy (28%) data, and 48% would advise using medical marijuana in severe cases of epilepsy. By comparison, nearly all patients and the public said there were sufficient safety (96%) and efficacy (95%) data, and 98% would recommend medical marijuana in cases of severe epilepsy. General physicians, basic researchers, nurses, and allied health professions sided more with patients, saying that there were sufficient safety (70%) and efficacy (71%) data, and 83% would advise using marijuana in severe cases. A majority (78%) said there should be pharmacologic grade compounds containing CBD, and there were no differences between specialists, general medical personal, and patients and the public. This survey indicates that there is a wide disparity in opinion on the use of medical marijuana and CBD in the treatment of people with epilepsy, which varied substantially, with fewer medical specialists supporting its use compared with general medical personal, and patients and the public. Wiley Periodicals, Inc

An open-label extension study to investigate the long-term safety and tolerability of THC/CBD oromucosal spray and oromucosal THC spray in patients with terminal cancer-related pain refractory to strong opioid analgesics.

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Johnson, Jeremy R; Lossignol, Dominique; Burnell-Nugent, Mary; Fallon, Marie T

2013-08-01

Chronic pain in patients with advanced cancer poses a serious clinical challenge. The Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)/cannabidiol (CBD) oromucosal spray (U.S. Adopted Name, nabiximols; Sativex(®)) is a novel cannabinoid formulation currently undergoing investigation as an adjuvant therapy for this treatment group. This follow-up study investigated the long-term safety and tolerability of THC/CBD spray and THC spray in relieving pain in patients with advanced cancer. In total, 43 patients with cancer-related pain experiencing inadequate analgesia despite chronic opioid dosing, who had participated in a previous three-arm (THC/CBD spray, THC spray, or placebo), two-week parent randomized controlled trial, entered this open-label, multicenter, follow-up study. Patients self-titrated THC/CBD spray (n=39) or THC spray (n=4) to symptom relief or maximum dose and were regularly reviewed for safety, tolerability, and evidence of clinical benefit. The efficacy end point of change from baseline in mean Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form scores for "pain severity" and "worst pain" domains showed a decrease (i.e., improvement) at each visit in the THC/CBD spray patients. Similarly, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-C30 scores showed a decrease (i.e., improvement) from baseline in the domains of insomnia, pain, and fatigue. No new safety concerns associated with the extended use of THC/CBD spray arose from this study. This study showed that the long-term use of THC/CBD spray was generally well tolerated, with no evidence of a loss of effect for the relief of cancer-related pain with long-term use. Furthermore, patients who kept using the study medication did not seek to increase their dose of this or other pain-relieving medication over time, suggesting that the adjuvant use of cannabinoids in cancer-related pain could provide useful benefit. Copyright © 2013 U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee. Published by Elsevier Inc

Coral Reef Health Indices versus the Biological, Ecological and Functional Diversity of Fish and Coral Assemblages in the Caribbean Sea.

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Díaz-Pérez, Leopoldo; Rodríguez-Zaragoza, Fabián Alejandro; Ortiz, Marco; Cupul-Magaña, Amílcar Leví; Carriquiry, Jose D; Ríos-Jara, Eduardo; Rodríguez-Troncoso, Alma Paola; García-Rivas, María Del Carmen

2016-01-01

This study evaluated the relationship between the indices known as the Reef Health Index (RHI) and two-dimensional Coral Health Index (2D-CHI) and different representative metrics of biological, ecological and functional diversity of fish and corals in 101 reef sites located across seven zones in the western Caribbean Sea. Species richness and average taxonomic distinctness were used to asses biological estimation; while ecological diversity was evaluated with the indices of Shannon diversity and Pielou´s evenness, as well as by taxonomic diversity and distinctness. Functional diversity considered the number of functional groups, the Shannon diversity and the functional Pielou´s evenness. According to the RHI, 57.15% of the zones were classified as presenting a "poor" health grade, while 42.85% were in "critical" grade. Based on the 2D-CHI, 28.5% of the zones were in "degraded" condition and 71.5% were "very degraded". Differences in fish and coral diversity among sites and zones were demonstrated using permutational ANOVAs. Differences between the two health indices (RHI and 2D-CHI) and some indices of biological, ecological and functional diversity of fish and corals were observed; however, only the RHI showed a correlation between the health grades and the species and functional group richness of fish at the scale of sites, and with the species and functional group richness and Shannon diversity of the fish assemblages at the scale of zones. None of the health indices were related to the metrics analyzed for the coral diversity. In general, our study suggests that the estimation of health indices should be complemented with classic community indices, or should at least include diversity indices of fish and corals, in order to improve the accuracy of the estimated health status of coral reefs in the western Caribbean Sea.

Widespread distribution and a new recombinant species of Brazilian virus associated with cotton blue disease

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Silvie P

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cotton blue disease (CBD, an important global cotton crop pathology responsible for major economic losses, is prevalent in the major cotton-producing states of Brazil. Typical CBD symptoms include stunting due to internodal shortening, leaf rolling, intense green foliage, and yellowing veins. Atypical CBD symptoms, including reddish and withered leaves, were also observed in Brazilian cotton fields in 2007. Recently, a Polerovirus named Cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV was shown to be associated with CBD. Results To understand the distribution and genetic diversity of CLRDV in Brazil, we analyzed 23 CBD-symptomatic plants from susceptible cotton varieties originating from five of the six most important cotton-growing states, from 2004–2007. Here, we report on CLRDV diversity in plants with typical or atypical CBD symptoms by comparing viral coat protein, RNA polymerase (RdRp, and intergenic region genomic sequences. Conclusion The virus had a widespread distribution with a low genetic diversity; however, three divergent isolates were associated with atypical CBD symptoms. These divergent isolates had a CLRDV-related coat protein but a distinct RdRp sequence, and probably arose from recombination events. Based on the taxonomic rules for the family Luteoviridae, we propose that these three isolates represent isolates of a new species in the genus Polerovirus.

Widespread distribution and a new recombinant species of Brazilian virus associated with cotton blue disease.

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Silva, T F; Corrêa, R L; Castilho, Y; Silvie, P; Bélot, J-L; Vaslin, M F S

2008-10-20

Cotton blue disease (CBD), an important global cotton crop pathology responsible for major economic losses, is prevalent in the major cotton-producing states of Brazil. Typical CBD symptoms include stunting due to internodal shortening, leaf rolling, intense green foliage, and yellowing veins. Atypical CBD symptoms, including reddish and withered leaves, were also observed in Brazilian cotton fields in 2007. Recently, a Polerovirus named Cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV) was shown to be associated with CBD. To understand the distribution and genetic diversity of CLRDV in Brazil, we analyzed 23 CBD-symptomatic plants from susceptible cotton varieties originating from five of the six most important cotton-growing states, from 2004-2007. Here, we report on CLRDV diversity in plants with typical or atypical CBD symptoms by comparing viral coat protein, RNA polymerase (RdRp), and intergenic region genomic sequences. The virus had a widespread distribution with a low genetic diversity; however, three divergent isolates were associated with atypical CBD symptoms. These divergent isolates had a CLRDV-related coat protein but a distinct RdRp sequence, and probably arose from recombination events. Based on the taxonomic rules for the family Luteoviridae, we propose that these three isolates represent isolates of a new species in the genus Polerovirus.

Microbial diversity and structure are drivers of the biological barrier effect against Listeria monocytogenes in soil.

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Vivant, Anne-Laure; Garmyn, Dominique; Maron, Pierre-Alain; Nowak, Virginie; Piveteau, Pascal

2013-01-01

Understanding the ecology of pathogenic organisms is important in order to monitor their transmission in the environment and the related health hazards. We investigated the relationship between soil microbial diversity and the barrier effect against Listeria monocytogenes invasion. By using a dilution-to-extinction approach, we analysed the consequence of eroding microbial diversity on L. monocytogenes population dynamics under standardised conditions of abiotic parameters and microbial abundance in soil microcosms. We demonstrated that highly diverse soil microbial communities act as a biological barrier against L. monocytogenes invasion and that phylogenetic composition of the community also has to be considered. This suggests that erosion of diversity may have damaging effects regarding circulation of pathogenic microorganisms in the environment.

Preserving biological diversity in the face of large-scale demands for biofuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cook, J.J.; Beyea, J.; Keeler, K.H.

1991-01-01

Large-scale production and harvesting of biomass to replace fossil fuels could reduce biological diversity by eliminating habitat for native species. Forests would be managed and harvested more intensively, and virtually all arable land unsuitable for high-value agriculture or silviculture might be used to grow crops dedicated to energy. Given the prospects for a potentially large increase in biofuel production, it is time now to develop strategies for mitigating the loss of biodiversity that might ensue. Planning at micro to macro scales will be crucial to minimize the ecological impacts of producing biofuels. In particular, cropping and harvesting systems will need to provide the biological, spatial, and temporal diversity characteristics of natural ecosystems and successional sequences, if we are to have this technology support the environmental health of the world rather than compromise it. Incorporation of these ecological values will be necessary to forestall costly environmental restoration, even at the cost of submaximal biomass productivity. It is therefore doubtful that all managers will take the longer view. Since the costs of biodiversity loss are largely external to economic markets, society cannot rely on the market to protect biodiversity, and some sort of intervention will be necessary. 116 refs., 1 tab

A 2018 Horizon Scan of Emerging Issues for Global Conservation and Biological Diversity.

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Sutherland, William J; Butchart, Stuart H M; Connor, Ben; Culshaw, Caroline; Dicks, Lynn V; Dinsdale, Jason; Doran, Helen; Entwistle, Abigail C; Fleishman, Erica; Gibbons, David W; Jiang, Zhigang; Keim, Brandon; Roux, Xavier Le; Lickorish, Fiona A; Markillie, Paul; Monk, Kathryn A; Mortimer, Diana; Pearce-Higgins, James W; Peck, Lloyd S; Pretty, Jules; Seymour, Colleen L; Spalding, Mark D; Tonneijck, Femke H; Gleave, Rosalind A

2018-01-01

This is our ninth annual horizon scan to identify emerging issues that we believe could affect global biological diversity, natural capital and ecosystem services, and conservation efforts. Our diverse and international team, with expertise in horizon scanning, science communication, as well as conservation science, practice, and policy, reviewed 117 potential issues. We identified the 15 that may have the greatest positive or negative effects but are not yet well recognised by the global conservation community. Themes among these topics include new mechanisms driving the emergence and geographic expansion of diseases, innovative biotechnologies, reassessments of global change, and the development of strategic infrastructure to facilitate global economic priorities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Drug-drug interactions as a result of co-administering Δ9-THC and CBD with other psychotropic agents.

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Rong, Carola; Carmona, Nicole E; Lee, Yena L; Ragguett, Renee-Marie; Pan, Zihang; Rosenblat, Joshua D; Subramaniapillai, Mehala; Shekotikhina, Margarita; Almatham, Fahad; Alageel, Asem; Mansur, Rodrigo; Ho, Roger C; McIntyre, Roger S

2018-01-01

To determine, via narrative, non-systematic review of pre-clinical and clinical studies, whether the effect of cannabis on hepatic biotransformation pathways would be predicted to result in clinically significant drug-drug interactions (DDIs) with commonly prescribed psychotropic agents. Areas covered: A non-systematic literature search was conducted using the following databases: PubMed, PsycInfo, and Scopus from inception to January 2017. The search term cannabis was cross-referenced with the terms drug interactions, cytochrome, cannabinoids, cannabidiol, and medical marijuana. Pharmacological, molecular, and physiologic studies evaluating the pharmacokinetics of Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ 9 -THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), both in vitro and in vivo, were included. Bibliographies were also manually searched for additional citations that were relevant to the overarching aim of this paper. Expert opinion: Δ 9 -Tetrahydrocannabinol and CBD are substrates and inhibitors of cytochrome P450 enzymatic pathways relevant to the biotransformation of commonly prescribed psychotropic agents. The high frequency and increasing use of cannabis invites the need for healthcare providers to familiarize themselves with potential DDIs in persons receiving select psychotropic agents, and additionally consuming medical marijuana and/or recreational marijuana.

2-Aminothiophene scaffolds: Diverse biological and pharmacological attributes in medicinal chemistry.

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Bozorov, Khurshed; Nie, Li Fei; Zhao, Jiangyu; Aisa, Haji A

2017-11-10

2-Aminothiophenes are important five-membered heterocyclic building blocks in organic synthesis, and the chemistry of these small molecules is still developing based on the discovery of cyclization by Gewald. Another attractive feature of 2-aminothiophene scaffolds is their ability to act as synthons for the synthesis of biological active thiophene-containing heterocycles, conjugates and hybrids. Currently, the biological actions of 2-aminothiophenes or their 2-N-substituted analogues are still being investigated because of their various mechanisms of action (e.g., pharmacophore and pharmacokinetic properties). Likewise, the 2-aminothiophene family is used as diverse promising selective inhibitors, receptors, and modulators in medicinal chemistry, and these compounds even exhibit effective pharmacological properties in the various clinical phases of appropriate diseases. In this review, major biological and pharmacological reports on 2-aminothiophenes and related compounds have been highlighted; most perspective drug-candidate hits were selected for discussion and described, along with additional synthetic pathways. In addition, we focused on the literature dedicated to 2-aminothiophenes and 2-N-substituted derivatives, which have been published from 2010 to 2017. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The U.S. Culture Collection Network Responding to the Requirements of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing

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Kevin McCluskey

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The U.S. Culture Collection Network held a meeting to share information about how culture collections are responding to the requirements of the recently enacted Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD. The meeting included representatives of many culture collections and other biological collections, the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Secretariat of the CBD, interested scientific societies, and collection groups, including Scientific Collections International and the Global Genome Biodiversity Network. The participants learned about the policies of the United States and other countries regarding access to genetic resources, the definition of genetic resources, and the status of historical materials and genetic sequence information. Key topics included what constitutes access and how the CBD Access and Benefit-Sharing Clearing-House can help guide researchers through the process of obtaining Prior Informed Consent on Mutually Agreed Terms. U.S. scientists and their international collaborators are required to follow the regulations of other countries when working with microbes originally isolated outside the United States, and the local regulations required by the Nagoya Protocol vary by the country of origin of the genetic resource. Managers of diverse living collections in the United States described their holdings and their efforts to provide access to genetic resources. This meeting laid the foundation for cooperation in establishing a set of standard operating procedures for U.S. and international culture collections in response to the Nagoya Protocol.

Environmental-Economic Accounts and Financial Resource Mobilisation for Implementation the Convention on Biological Diversity

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Cesare Costantino

2015-12-01

Full Text Available At the Rio “Earth Summit” the Convention on Biological Diversity introduced a global commitment to conservation of biological diversity and sustainable use of its components. An implementation process is going on, based on a strategic plan, biodiversity targets and a strategy for mobilizing financial resources. According to target “2”, by 2020 national accounts should include monetary aggregates related to biodiversity. Environmental accounts can play an important role – together with other information – in monitoring processes connected with target “20”: contribute to identifying activities needed to preserve biodiversity, calculating the associated costs and eventually assessing funding needs. In particular, EPEA and ReMEA are valuable accounting tools for providing data on biodiversity expenditure. The high quality of the information provided by these accounts makes them good candidates for being adopted world-wide within the Convention’s monitoring processes. Enhanced interaction between statisticians and officials from ministries of environment would be crucial to reach significant advancement towards standardization of the information used in support of the Convention.

Derivation of the extrinsic values of biological diversity from its intrinsic value and of both from the first principles of evolution.

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White, Peter S

2013-12-01

Conservation ethics have been based on 2 philosophical value systems: extrinsic value (defined broadly to include all values that derive from something external to the thing valued) and intrinsic value. Valuing biological diversity on the basis of an extrinsic value system is problematic because measurement is often difficult; extrinsic value changes as spatial or temporal scales change; extrinsic value differs on the basis of external factors; some species have trivial or negative extrinsic values; and extrinsic value varies across human cultures and societies and with such factors as socioeconomic conditions, individual experiences, and educational backgrounds. Valuing biological diversity on the basis of an intrinsic value system also poses challenges because intrinsic value can be seen as a disguised form of human extrinsic value; intrinsic value is initially ambiguous as to which objects or characteristics of biological diversity are to being valued; all aspects of biological diversity (e.g., species and ecosystems) are transitory; species and ecosystems are not static concrete entities; and intrinsic value of one species is often in conflict with the intrinsic value of other species. Extrinsic and intrinsic value systems share a common origin, such that extrinsic values are always derived from intrinsic value and life mutely expresses both intrinsic and extrinsic values-these are derived from and are products of biological evolution. Probing the values that underlie conservation helps the community clearly articulate its aims. Derivación de los Valores Extrínsecos de la Biodiversidad a Partir de sus Valores Intrínsecos y de Ambos a Partir de los Primeros Principios de la Evolución. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Diversity from genes to ecosystems: A unifying framework to study variation across biological metrics and scales

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Biological diversity is a key concept in the life sciences and plays a fundamental role in many ecological and evolutionary processes. Although biodiversity is inherently a hierarchical concept covering different levels of organization (genes, population, species, ecological communities and ecosyst...

Comparison of transhepatic and extrahepatic routes for EUS-guided rendezvous procedure for distal CBD obstruction.

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Dhir, Vinay; Bhandari, Suryaprakash; Bapat, Mukta; Joshi, Nitin; Vivekanandarajah, Suhirdan; Maydeo, Amit

2013-04-01

EUS-guided rendezvous procedure (EUS-RV) can be done by the transhepatic (TH) or the extrahepatic (EH) route. There is no data on the preferred access route when both routes are available. To compare the success, complications, and duration of hospitalization for patients undergoing EUS-RV by the TH or the EH route. Patients with distal common bile duct (CBD) obstruction, who failed selective cannulation, underwent EUS-RV by the TH route through the stomach or the EH route through the duodenum. A total of 35 patients were analysed (17 TH, 18 EH). The mean procedure time was significantly longer for the TH group (34.4 vs. 25.7 min; p = 0.0004). There was no difference in the technical success (94.1 vs. 100%). However, the TH group had a higher incidence of post-procedure pain (44.1 vs. 5.5%; p = 0.017), bile leak (11.7 vs. 0; p = 0.228), and air under diaphragm (11.7 vs. 0; p = 0.228). All bile leaks were small and managed conservatively. Duration of hospitalization was significantly higher for the TH group (2.52 vs. 0.17 days; p = 0.015). EUS-RV has similar success rate by the TH or the EH route. However, the TH route has higher post-procedure pain, longer procedure time, and longer duration of hospitalization. The EH route should be preferred for EUS-RV in patients with distal CBD obstruction when both access routes are technically feasible.

The need to disentangle key concepts from ecosystem-approach jargon.

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Waylen, K A; Hastings, E J; Banks, E A; Holstead, K L; Irvine, R J; Blackstock, K L

2014-10-01

The ecosystem approach--as endorsed by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB) in 2000-is a strategy for holistic, sustainable, and equitable natural resource management, to be implemented via the 12 Malawi Principles. These principles describe the need to manage nature in terms of dynamic ecosystems, while fully engaging with local peoples. It is an ambitious concept. Today, the term is common throughout the research and policy literature on environmental management. However, multiple meanings have been attached to the term, resulting in confusion. We reviewed references to the ecosystem approach from 1957 to 2012 and identified 3 primary uses: as an alternative to ecosystem management or ecosystem-based management; in reference to an integrated and equitable approach to resource management as per the CBD; and as a term signifying a focus on understanding and valuing ecosystem services. Although uses of this term and its variants may overlap in meaning, typically, they do not entirely reflect the ethos of the ecosystem approach as defined by the CBD. For example, there is presently an increasing emphasis on ecosystem services, but focusing on these alone does not promote decentralization of management or use of all forms of knowledge, both of which are integral to the CBD's concept. We highlight that the Malawi Principles are at risk of being forgotten. To better understand these principles, more effort to implement them is required. Such efforts should be evaluated, ideally with comparative approaches, before allowing the CBD's concept of holistic and socially engaged management to be abandoned or superseded. It is possible that attempts to implement all 12 principles together will face many challenges, but they may also offer a unique way to promote holistic and equitable governance of natural resources. Therefore, we believe that the CBD's concept of the ecosystem approach demands more attention. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Toward equality of biodiversity knowledge through technology transfer.

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Böhm, Monika; Collen, Ben

2015-10-01

To help stem the continuing decline of biodiversity, effective transfer of technology from resource-rich to biodiversity-rich countries is required. Biodiversity technology as defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a complex term, encompassing a wide variety of activities and interest groups. As yet, there is no robust framework by which to monitor the extent to which technology transfer might benefit biodiversity. We devised a definition of biodiversity technology and a framework for the monitoring of technology transfer between CBD signatories. Biodiversity technology within the scope of the CBD encompasses hard and soft technologies that are relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, or make use of genetic resources, and that relate to all aspects of the CBD, with a particular focus on technology transfer from resource-rich to biodiversity-rich countries. Our proposed framework introduces technology transfer as a response indicator: technology transfer is increased to stem pressures on biodiversity. We suggest an initial approach of tracking technology flow between countries; charting this flow is likely to be a one-to-many relationship (i.e., the flow of a specific technology from one country to multiple countries). Future developments should then focus on integrating biodiversity technology transfer into the current pressure-state-response indicator framework favored by the CBD (i.e., measuring the influence of technology transfer on changes in state and pressure variables). Structured national reporting is important to obtaining metrics relevant to technology and knowledge transfer. Interim measures, that can be used to assess biodiversity technology or knowledge status while more in-depth indicators are being developed, include the number of species inventories, threatened species lists, or national red lists; databases on publications and project funding may provide measures of international cooperation. Such a

A 2017 Horizon Scan of Emerging Issues for Global Conservation and Biological Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Sutherland, William J; Barnard, Phoebe; Broad, Steven; Clout, Mick; Connor, Ben; Côté, Isabelle M; Dicks, Lynn V; Doran, Helen; Entwistle, Abigail C; Fleishman, Erica; Fox, Marie; Gaston, Kevin J; Gibbons, David W; Jiang, Zhigang; Keim, Brandon; Lickorish, Fiona A; Markillie, Paul; Monk, Kathryn A; Pearce-Higgins, James W; Peck, Lloyd S; Pretty, Jules; Spalding, Mark D; Tonneijck, Femke H; Wintle, Bonnie C; Ockendon, Nancy

2017-01-01

We present the results of our eighth annual horizon scan of emerging issues likely to affect global biological diversity, the environment, and conservation efforts in the future. The potential effects of these novel issues might not yet be fully recognized or understood by the global conservation community, and the issues can be regarded as both opportunities and risks. A diverse international team with collective expertise in horizon scanning, science communication, and conservation research, practice, and policy reviewed 100 potential issues and identified 15 that qualified as emerging, with potential substantial global effects. These issues include new developments in energy storage and fuel production, sand extraction, potential solutions to combat coral bleaching and invasive marine species, and blockchain technology. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Chemical Diversity and Biological Properties of Secondary Metabolites from Sea Hares of Aplysia Genus

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Renato B. Pereira

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The marine environment is an important source of structurally-diverse and biologically-active secondary metabolites. During the last two decades, thousands of compounds were discovered in marine organisms, several of them having inspired the development of new classes of therapeutic agents. Marine mollusks constitute a successful phyla in the discovery of new marine natural products (MNPs. Over a 50-year period from 1963, 116 genera of mollusks contributed innumerous compounds, Aplysia being the most studied genus by MNP chemists. This genus includes 36 valid species and should be distinguished from all mollusks as it yielded numerous new natural products. Aplysia sea hares are herbivorous mollusks, which have been proven to be a rich source of secondary metabolites, mostly of dietary origin. The majority of secondary metabolites isolated from sea hares of the genus Aplysia are halogenated terpenes; however, these animals are also a source of compounds from other chemical classes, such as macrolides, sterols and alkaloids, often exhibiting cytotoxic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and/or antifeedant activities. This review focuses on the diverse structural classes of secondary metabolites found in Aplysia spp., including several compounds with pronounced biological properties.

Landscape Diversity and Crop Vigor Influence Biological Control of the Western Grape Leafhopper (E. elegantula Osborn in Vineyards.

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Houston Wilson

Full Text Available This study evaluated how the proportional area of natural habitat surrounding a vineyard (i.e. landscape diversity worked in conjunction with crop vigor, cultivar and rootstock selection to influence biological control of the western grape leafhopper (Erythroneura elegantula Osborn. The key natural enemies of E. elegantula are Anagrus erythroneurae S. Trjapitzin & Chiappini and A. daanei Triapitsyn, both of which are likely impacted by changes in landscape diversity due to their reliance on non-crop habitat to successfully overwinter. Additionally, E. elegantula is sensitive to changes in host plant quality which may influence densities on specific cultivars, rootstocks and/or vines with increased vigor. From 2010-2013, data were collected on natural enemy and leafhopper densities, pest parasitism rates and vine vigor from multiple vineyards that represented a continuum of landscape diversity. Early in the season, vineyards in more diverse landscapes had higher Anagrus spp. densities and lower E. elegantula densities, which led to increased parasitism of E. elegantula. Although late season densities of E. elegantula tended to be lower in vineyards with higher early season parasitism rates and lower total petiole nitrogen content, they were also affected by rootstock and cultivar. While diverse landscapes can support higher natural enemy populations, which can lead to increased biological control, leafhopper densities also appear to be mediated by cultivar, rootstock and vine vigor.

Wide band gap p-type windows by CBD and SILAR methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sankapal, B.R.; Goncalves, E.; Ennaoui, A.; Lux-Steiner, M.Ch

2004-03-22

Chemical deposition methods, namely, chemical bath deposition (CBD) and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) have been used to deposit wide band gap p-type CuI and CuSCN thin films at room temperature (25 deg. C) in aqueous medium. Growth of these films requires the use of Cu (I) cations as a copper ions source. This is achieved by complexing Cu (II) ions using Na{sub 2}S{sub 2}O{sub 3}. The anion sources are either KI as iodine or KSCN as thiocyanide ions for CuI and CuSCN films, respectively. The preparative parameters are optimized with the aim to use these p-type materials as windows for solar cells. Different substrates are used, namely: glass, fluorine doped tin oxide coated glass and CuInS{sub 2} (CIS). X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and optical absorption spectroscopy are used for structural, surface morphological and optical studies, and the results are discussed.

Wide band gap p-type windows by CBD and SILAR methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sankapal, B.R.; Goncalves, E.; Ennaoui, A.; Lux-Steiner, M.Ch.

2004-01-01

Chemical deposition methods, namely, chemical bath deposition (CBD) and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) have been used to deposit wide band gap p-type CuI and CuSCN thin films at room temperature (25 deg. C) in aqueous medium. Growth of these films requires the use of Cu (I) cations as a copper ions source. This is achieved by complexing Cu (II) ions using Na 2 S 2 O 3 . The anion sources are either KI as iodine or KSCN as thiocyanide ions for CuI and CuSCN films, respectively. The preparative parameters are optimized with the aim to use these p-type materials as windows for solar cells. Different substrates are used, namely: glass, fluorine doped tin oxide coated glass and CuInS 2 (CIS). X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and optical absorption spectroscopy are used for structural, surface morphological and optical studies, and the results are discussed

Diversity as a measure of water pollution and an aid for biological water analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verma, S.R.; Sharma, A.K.; Goel, D.P.

1987-01-01

Five aquatic ecosystems, Yamuna river, Krishna river Eastern Kalinadi, Kadrabad drain and Peacock lake have been studied with reference to disversity and physico-chemical characteristics and biological indices; a list of species have been selected with reference to polluted, mildly polluted or unpolluted water conditions. Though it is difficult to call any species strictly indicator species, certain species of Bacillariophyceae, bottom biota and Entomostraca can be regarded as indicative species; the quantitative distributions of the species of different groups have been analysed statistically. Margalef's Community Diversity Index (d), Shannon Weaver Function, coefficient of rank correlation and partial and multiple correlation coefficient were calculated as to find out the order of precedence in different taxonomical groups and the linear regression against BOD and the whole biocenosis were calculated, which indicate the relation as diversity d=6.7854-0.0080 BOD+-0.9695 where r/sup 2/=B=0.7365. Similarly, multiple linear regressions were also calculated using diversity against BOD, pH and temperature for each aquatic ecosystem. All these observations indicate that diversity of organisms can be used to measure the water pollution intensity.

Optical and structural study of In{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films growth by co-evaporation and chemical bath deposition (CBD) on Cu{sub 3}BiS{sub 3}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mesa, F., E-mail: fgmesar@unal.edu.co [Unidad de Estudios Universitarios, Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Cra. 24 N° 63C-69, Bogotá (Colombia); Chamorro, W. [Université de Lorraine, Institut Jean Lamour, Nancy (France); Hurtado, M. [Departamento de Quimica, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Cra. 30 N° 45-03, Bogotá (Colombia); Departamento de Física, Universidad de los Andes, Calle 21 No. 1-20, Bogotá (Colombia)

2015-09-30

Highlights: • In{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films usually grow like an ultrathin. • Samples grown by CBD have a higher degree of coverage of the substrate unlike co-evaporation method. • Solar cells of Al/TCO/In{sub 2}S{sub 3}/Cu{sub 3}BiS{sub 3}/Mo structure. • In{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films were deposited on Cu{sub 3}BiS{sub 3} (CBS), with of In{sub 2}S{sub 3} β-phase with tetragonal structure. - Abstract: We present the growth of In{sub 2}S{sub 3} onto Cu{sub 3}BiS{sub 3} layers and soda-lime glass (SLG) substrates by using chemical bath deposition (CBD) and physical co-evaporation. The results reveal that the microstructure and the optical properties of the In{sub 2}S{sub 3} films are highly dependent on the growth method. X-ray diffractrograms show that In{sub 2}S{sub 3} films have a higher crystallinity when growing by co-evaporation than by CBD. In{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films grown by CBD with a thickness below 170 nm have an amorphous structure however when increasing the thickness the films exhibit two diffraction peaks associated to the (1 0 3) and (1 0 7) planes of the β-In{sub 2}S{sub 3} tetragonal structure. It was also found that the In{sub 2}S{sub 3} films present an energy bandgap (E{sub g}) of about 2.75 eV, regardless of the thickness of the samples.

Actinobacteria from arid and desert habitats: diversity and biological activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joachim eWink

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract The lack of new antibiotics in the pharmaceutical pipeline guides more and more researchers to leave the classical isolation procedures and to look in special niches and ecosystems. Bioprospecting of extremophilic Actinobacteria through mining untapped strains and avoiding resiolation of known biomolecules is among the most promising strategies for this purpose. With this approach, members of acidtolerant, alkalitolerant, psychrotolerant, thermotolerant, halotolerant and xerotolerant Actinobacteria have been obtained from respective habitats. Among these, little survey exists on the diversity of Actinobacteria in arid areas, which are often adapted to relatively high temperatures, salt concentrations, and radiation. Therefore, arid and desert habitats are special ecosystems which can be recruited for the isolation of uncommon Actinobacteria with new metabolic capability.At the time of this writing, members of Streptomyces, Micromonospora, Saccharothrix, Streptosporangium, Cellulomonas, Amycolatopsis, Geodermatophilus, Lechevalieria, Nocardia and Actinomadura are reported from arid habitats. However, metagenomic data present dominant members of the communities in desiccating condition of areas with limited water availability that are not yet isolated. Furthermore, significant diverse types of polyketide synthase (PKS and nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS genes are detected in xerophilic and xerotolerant Actinobacteria and some bioactive compounds are reported from them. Rather than pharmaceutically active metabolites, molecules with protection activity against drying such as Ectoin and Hydroxyectoin with potential application in industry and agriculture have also been identified from xerophilic Actinobacteria. In addition, numerous biologically active small molecules are expected to be discovered from arid adapted Actinobacteria in the future. In the current survey, the diversity and biotechnological potential of Actinobacteria

Actinobacteria from Arid and Desert Habitats: Diversity and Biological Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadipanah, Fatemeh; Wink, Joachim

2015-01-01

The lack of new antibiotics in the pharmaceutical pipeline guides more and more researchers to leave the classical isolation procedures and to look in special niches and ecosystems. Bioprospecting of extremophilic Actinobacteria through mining untapped strains and avoiding resiolation of known biomolecules is among the most promising strategies for this purpose. With this approach, members of acidtolerant, alkalitolerant, psychrotolerant, thermotolerant, halotolerant and xerotolerant Actinobacteria have been obtained from respective habitats. Among these, little survey exists on the diversity of Actinobacteria in arid areas, which are often adapted to relatively high temperatures, salt concentrations, and radiation. Therefore, arid and desert habitats are special ecosystems which can be recruited for the isolation of uncommon Actinobacteria with new metabolic capability. At the time of this writing, members of Streptomyces, Micromonospora, Saccharothrix, Streptosporangium, Cellulomonas, Amycolatopsis, Geodermatophilus, Lechevalieria, Nocardia, and Actinomadura are reported from arid habitats. However, metagenomic data present dominant members of the communities in desiccating condition of areas with limited water availability that are not yet isolated. Furthermore, significant diverse types of polyketide synthase (PKS) and non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) genes are detected in xerophilic and xerotolerant Actinobacteria and some bioactive compounds are reported from them. Rather than pharmaceutically active metabolites, molecules with protection activity against drying such as Ectoin and Hydroxyectoin with potential application in industry and agriculture have also been identified from xerophilic Actinobacteria. In addition, numerous biologically active small molecules are expected to be discovered from arid adapted Actinobacteria in the future. In the current survey, the diversity and biotechnological potential of Actinobacteria obtained from arid ecosystems

Actinobacteria from Arid and Desert Habitats: Diversity and Biological Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadipanah, Fatemeh; Wink, Joachim

2016-01-01

The lack of new antibiotics in the pharmaceutical pipeline guides more and more researchers to leave the classical isolation procedures and to look in special niches and ecosystems. Bioprospecting of extremophilic Actinobacteria through mining untapped strains and avoiding resiolation of known biomolecules is among the most promising strategies for this purpose. With this approach, members of acidtolerant, alkalitolerant, psychrotolerant, thermotolerant, halotolerant and xerotolerant Actinobacteria have been obtained from respective habitats. Among these, little survey exists on the diversity of Actinobacteria in arid areas, which are often adapted to relatively high temperatures, salt concentrations, and radiation. Therefore, arid and desert habitats are special ecosystems which can be recruited for the isolation of uncommon Actinobacteria with new metabolic capability. At the time of this writing, members of Streptomyces, Micromonospora, Saccharothrix, Streptosporangium, Cellulomonas, Amycolatopsis, Geodermatophilus, Lechevalieria, Nocardia, and Actinomadura are reported from arid habitats. However, metagenomic data present dominant members of the communities in desiccating condition of areas with limited water availability that are not yet isolated. Furthermore, significant diverse types of polyketide synthase (PKS) and non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) genes are detected in xerophilic and xerotolerant Actinobacteria and some bioactive compounds are reported from them. Rather than pharmaceutically active metabolites, molecules with protection activity against drying such as Ectoin and Hydroxyectoin with potential application in industry and agriculture have also been identified from xerophilic Actinobacteria. In addition, numerous biologically active small molecules are expected to be discovered from arid adapted Actinobacteria in the future. In the current survey, the diversity and biotechnological potential of Actinobacteria obtained from arid ecosystems

A socio-economic analysis of african female street traders in the Johannesburg CBD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P Lalthapersad-Pillay

2004-07-01

Full Text Available In recent years the informal sector in both less developed countries and in developing countries, including South Africa, has undergone rapid growth. In South Africa, high levels of unemployment and poverty have pushed many of the unemployed into self-employment activities in the informal sector. The informal sector is a highly diversified segment, and street trading is one type of survivalist activity. In South Africa, street trading is conducted mainly by African women, who sell mostly fruits, vegetables and cooked foods. The quintessential feature of informal sector work is its precarious nature, especially as it evades the ambit of social security and labour legislation. This article explores the nature of street trading undertaken in the Johannesburg CBD, characterised by poor working conditions, low income, extremely long hours and overcrowding.

Environmental constraints on the compositional and phylogenetic beta-diversity of tropical forest snake assemblages.

Science.gov (United States)

Moura, Mario R; Costa, Henrique C; Argôlo, Antônio J S; Jetz, Walter

2017-09-01

The ongoing biodiversity crisis increases the importance and urgency of studies addressing the role of environmental variation on the composition and evolutionary history of species assemblages, but especially the tropics and ectotherms remain understudied. In regions with rainy summers, coexistence of tropical ectothermic species may be determined by the partitioning of the climatic niche, as ectotherms can rely on water availability and thermoregulatory behaviour to buffer constraints along their climatic niche. Conversely, tropical ectotherms facing dry summers would have fewer opportunities to climatic niche partitioning and other processes rather than environmental filtering would mediate species coexistence. We used 218 snake assemblages to quantify the compositional (CBD) and phylogenetic (PBD) beta-diversity of snakes in the Atlantic Forest (AF) hotspot, South America. We identify two AF regions with distinct climatological regimes: dry summers in the northern-AF and rainy summers in the southern-AF. While accounting for the influence of multiscale spatial processes, we disentangle the relative contribution of thermal, water-related and topographic conditions in structuring the CBD and PBD of snake assemblages, and determine the extent in which snake assemblages under distinct climatological regimes are affected by environmental filtering. Thermal conditions best explain CBD and PBD of snakes for the whole AF, whereas water-related factors best explain the structure of snake assemblages within a same climatological regime. CBD and PBD patterns are similarly explained by spatial factors but snake assemblages facing dry summers are more affected by spatial processes operating at fine to intermediate spatial scale, whereas those assemblages in regions with rainy summers have a stronger signature of coarse-scale processes. As expected, environmental filtering plays a stronger role in southern-AF than northern-AF, and the synergism between thermal and water

Sustainability or Colonialism? Legislative obstacles to research and development of natural products and patents on traditional knowledge in Brazil

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Camilo Tomazini Pedrollo

2015-09-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACTHistorically, developed countries have benefited from the biodiversity and traditional knowledge of developing countries. Since the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD was approved, the world-view regarding access to biological resources has changed. This change marked the introduction of legal agreements regarding access to genetic resources, traditional knowledge and benefit sharing, seeking a fair return for owners and local communities. Unfortunately, as with most national laws, these legal devices complicated collection programs and research initiatives, and diminished the emphasis on the discovery of natural products. There remains a lack of discussion on the establishment of a fair international market value for the access to genetic resources. While Brazil still has advantages and opportunities in this arena, the issue sets barriers for research and development. The protective measures are being reviewed in the project bill 7735/2014, which brings improvements, yet it is still controversial. For this short communication we consulted journals, conference proceedings, as well as scientific and journalistic magazines to report some of the disastrous consequences of the implementation of national laws regarding CBD. We suggest a new focus for decision-making policies based on more efficient field inspections, the empowerment of traditional communities and further associated research in order to ensure the claims of CBD as well as to ratify the Nagoya Protocol.

Diversity and equity: dealing with biological and social differences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Friedhelm Nachreiner

2004-12-01

Full Text Available In the context of the design of working hours inequities in health associated with biological, psychological, social, and socioeconomic diversities can be observed. The paper first tries to set up a frame of reference for a discussion of this topic, relating to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and some recent discussions on equity in health and then goes into some factors that produce inequities in health in the context of the design of working hours, dealing with sex or gender, age and job age, personality traits, marital status, social support, diversities in values, and socio-economic differences; the discussion deals with approaches on how to deal with these differences and inequities.No contexto do planejamento das horas de trabalho, observam-se iniqüidades na saúde associadas à diversidade biológica, psicológica, social e socioeconômica. Inicialmente, procura-se criar uma estrutura de referência para a discussão do assunto, relacionando-o à Declaração Universal dos Direitos Humanos e a discussões recentes sobre eqüidade em saúde. Em seguida, passa-se a alguns fatores que causam iniqüidades em saúde no contexto do planejamento das horas de trabalho, associados ao sexo ou gênero, idade e tempo de permanência no serviço, características de personalidade, estado civil, apoio social, diversidades de valores e diferenças socioeconômicas; a discussão estende-se sobre enfoques para lidar com estas diferenças e iniqüidades.

Use of inverse spatial conservation prioritization to avoid biological diversity loss outside protected areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Kareksela, Santtu; Moilanen, Atte; Tuominen, Seppo; Kotiaho, Janne S

2013-12-01

Globally expanding human land use sets constantly increasing pressure for maintenance of biological diversity and functioning ecosystems. To fight the decline of biological diversity, conservation science has broken ground with methods such as the operational model of systematic conservation planning (SCP), which focuses on design and on-the-ground implementation of conservation areas. The most commonly used method in SCP is reserve selection that focuses on the spatial design of reserve networks and their expansion. We expanded these methods by introducing another form of spatial allocation of conservation effort relevant for land-use zoning at the landscape scale that avoids negative ecological effects of human land use outside protected areas. We call our method inverse spatial conservation prioritization. It can be used to identify areas suitable for economic development while simultaneously limiting total ecological and environmental effects of that development at the landscape level by identifying areas with highest economic but lowest ecological value. Our method is not based on a priori targets, and as such it is applicable to cases where the effects of land use on, for example, individual species or ecosystem types are relatively small and would not lead to violation of regional or national conservation targets. We applied our method to land-use allocation to peat mining. Our method identified a combination of profitable production areas that provides the needed area for peat production while retaining most of the landscape-level ecological value of the ecosystem. The results of this inverse spatial conservation prioritization are being used in land-use zoning in the province of Central Finland. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Deep Corals, Deep Learning: Moving the Deep Net Towards Real-Time Image Annotation

OpenAIRE

Lea-Anne Henry; Sankha S. Mukherjee; Neil M. Roberston; Laurence De Clippele; J. Murray Roberts

2016-01-01

The mismatch between human capacity and the acquisition of Big Data such as Earth imagery undermines commitments to Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Aichi targets. Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to Big Data issues are urgently needed as these could prove to be faster, more accurate, and cheaper. Reducing costs of managing protected areas in remote deep waters and in the High Seas is of great importance, and this is a realm where autonomous technology will be transformative.

Changes on metabolic parameters induced by acute cannabinoid administration (CBD, THC) in a rat experimental model of nutritional vitamin A deficiency

OpenAIRE

El Amrani, Loubna; Porres, Jesus M.; Merzouki, Abderrahmane; Louktibi, Abdelaziz; Aranda, Pilar; Lopez-Jurado, María; Urbano, Gloria

2013-01-01

Introduction: Vitamin A deficiency can result from malnutrition, malabsorption of vitamin A, impaired vitamin metabolism associated with liver disease, or chronic debilitating diseases like HIV infection or cancer. Background & aims: Cannabis administration has been described as a palliative symptom management therapy in such pathological stages. Therefore, this research aimed to study the effects of acute administration of cannabidiol (CBD) or thetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on the levels of ret...

Photosensitive nanostructured TiO{sub 2} grown at room temperature by novel 'bottom-up' approached CBD method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patil, U.M.; Kulkarni, S.B.; Deshmukh, P.R.; Salunkhe, R.R. [Thin Film Physics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416 004 (India); Lokhande, C.D., E-mail: l_chandrakant@yahoo.com [Thin Film Physics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416 004 (India)

2011-05-26

Research highlights: > The TiO{sub 2} nanoflakes like morphology have been controllably synthesized by the CBD method with NH{sub 4}Cl as complexing agent. > The XRD and FTIR studies confirmed the formation of anatase TiO{sub 2} thin film. > The SEM images reveal the improvement in flower size of TiO{sub 2} as an effect of heat treatment. > The strong influence of wide band gap of this electrode in spite this, PEC performance can motivate to check its feasibility in DSSC's devices. - Abstract: The current paper incorporates with a 'bottom-up' approached chemical bath deposition method to grow titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) nanostructure at room temperature on glass and stainless steel substrates. The room temperature deposited TiO{sub 2} films are heat treated at 673 K for 1 h in air and the corresponding change in structural, morphological and optical properties are studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer. The heat-treated films are utilized as a photocathode in photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell in 1 M NaOH electrolyte. The experimental results show that, the CBD method allows formation of photosensitive, anatase TiO{sub 2} thin film, which can be potentially tuned in many functional applications with feasibility.

Diversity of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in the Boraginaceae Structures, Distribution, and Biological Properties

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Assem El-Shazly

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Among the diversity of secondary metabolites which are produced by plants as means of defence against herbivores and microbes, pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs are common in Boraginaceae, Asteraceae and some other plant families. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are infamous as toxic compounds which can alkylate DNA und thus cause mutations and even cancer in herbivores and humans. Almost all genera of the family Boraginaceae synthesize and store this type of alkaloids. This review reports the available information on the present status (literature up to early 2014 of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the Boraginaceae and summarizes the topics structure, distribution, chemistry, chemotaxonomic significance, and biological properties.

The genus Scrophularia: a source of iridoids and terpenoids with a diverse biological activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasdaran, Ardalan; Hamedi, Azadeh

2017-12-01

Scrophularia genus (Scrophulariaceae) includes about 350 species commonly known as figwort. Many species of this genus grow wild in nature and have not been cultivated yet. However, some species are in danger of extinction. This paper reviews the chemical compounds, biological activities and the ethnopharmacology of some Scrophularia species. All information was obtained through reported data on bibliographic database such as Scopus, United States National Agricultural Library, Biological Abstracts, EMBASE, PubMed, MedlinePlus, PubChem and Springer Link (1934-2017). The information in different Pharmacopoeias on this genus was also gathered from 1957 to 2007. The structures of 204 compounds and their biological activity were presented in the manuscript: glycoside esters, iridoid glycosides and triterpenoids are the most common compounds in this genus. Among them, scropolioside like iridoids have shown potential for anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and wound healing activity. Among the less frequently isolated compounds, resin glycosides such as crypthophilic acids have shown potent antiprotozoal and antimicrobial activities. The Scrophularia genus seems to be a rich source of iridoids and terpenoids, but isolation and identification of its alkaloids have been a neglected area of scientific study. The diverse chemical compounds and biological activities of this genus will motivate further investigation on Scrophularia genus as a source of new therapeutic medications.

Characterization of CBD-CdS layers with different S/Cd ratios in the chemical bath and their relation with the efficiency of CdS/CdTe solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vigil-Galan, O.; Morales-Acevedo, A.; Cruz-Gandarilla, F.; Jimenez-Escamilla, M.G.; Aguilar-Hernandez, J.; Contreras-Puente, G.; Sastre-Hernandez, J.; Sanchez-Meza, E.; Ramon-Garcia, M.L.

2007-01-01

In previous papers we have reported the improvement of the efficiency of CdS/CdTe solar cells by varying the thiourea/CdCl 2 ratio (R tc ) in the chemical bath solution used for the deposition of the CdS layers. In this work, a more complete study concerning the physical properties of Chemical Bath Deposited (CBD) CdS layers studied by photoluminescence, X-ray diffraction and optical spectroscopy are correlated to the I-V characteristics under AM 1.5 sunlight and the spectral response of CdS/CdTe solar cells. It is confirmed that the optimum R tc for the CBD CdS films is R tc = 5, since in this case the best solar cells were obtained and these films show the better optical and structural characteristics

Access to genetic resources in indigenous peoples and the Convention on Biological Diversity

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Diana Rocío Bernal Camargo

2013-06-01

Full Text Available After the Convention on Biological Diversity a deepening debate is taking place concerning the protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples, which involves a discussion about the application of biotechnology and its impact on the protection of life and environment, and an analysis of the participation of these in the process of developing strategies to protect their resources and traditional knowledge, which gives rise to legal pluralism from the development of the different Conferences of the Parties, which today allows for a more comprehensive regulatory framework and a possibility of its strengthening.

Characterization of Sn Doped ZnS thin films synthesized by CBD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mukherjee, Ayan; Mitra, Partha, E-mail: mitrapartha1@rediffmail.com [Department of Physics, The University of Burdwan, Burdwan (India)

2017-03-15

Zinc sulphide (ZnS) thin film were prepared using chemical bath deposition (CBD) process and tin (Sn) doping was successfully carried out in ZnS. Structural, morphological and microstructural characterization was carried out using XRD, TEM, FESEM and EDX. XRD and SAED pattern confirms presence of hexagonal phase. Rietveld analysis using MAUD software was used for particle size estimation. A constantly decreasing trend in particle size was observed with increasing tin incorporation in ZnS film which was due to enhanced microstrain resulting for tin incorporation. The particle size of prepared hexagonal wurtzite ZnS was around 14-18 nm with average size of ~16.5 nm. The bandgap of the film increases from ~ 3.69 eV for ZnS to ~ 3.90 eV for 5% Sn doped ZnS film which might be due to more ordered hexagonal structure as a result of tin incorporation. Band gap tenability property makes Sn doped ZnS suitable for application in different optoelectronics devices. PL study shows variation of intensity with excitation wavelength and a red shift is noticed for increasing excitation wavelength. (author)

RNA damage in biological conflicts and the diversity of responding RNA repair systems

Science.gov (United States)

Burroughs, A. Maxwell; Aravind, L.

2016-01-01

RNA is targeted in biological conflicts by enzymatic toxins or effectors. A vast diversity of systems which repair or ‘heal’ this damage has only recently become apparent. Here, we summarize the known effectors, their modes of action, and RNA targets before surveying the diverse systems which counter this damage from a comparative genomics viewpoint. RNA-repair systems show a modular organization with extensive shuffling and displacement of the constituent domains; however, a general ‘syntax’ is strongly maintained whereby systems typically contain: a RNA ligase (either ATP-grasp or RtcB superfamilies), nucleotidyltransferases, enzymes modifying RNA-termini for ligation (phosphatases and kinases) or protection (methylases), and scaffold or cofactor proteins. We highlight poorly-understood or previously-uncharacterized repair systems and components, e.g. potential scaffolding cofactors (Rot/TROVE and SPFH/Band-7 modules) with their respective cognate non-coding RNAs (YRNAs and a novel tRNA-like molecule) and a novel nucleotidyltransferase associating with diverse ligases. These systems have been extensively disseminated by lateral transfer between distant prokaryotic and microbial eukaryotic lineages consistent with intense inter-organismal conflict. Components have also often been ‘institutionalized’ for non-conflict roles, e.g. in RNA-splicing and in RNAi systems (e.g. in kinetoplastids) which combine a distinct family of RNA-acting prim-pol domains with DICER-like proteins. PMID:27536007

The role of fire in managing for biological diversity on native rangelands of the Northern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Carolyn Hull Sieg

1997-01-01

A strategy for using fire to manage for biological diversity on native rangelands in the Northern Great Plains incorporates an understanding of its past frequency, timing and intensity. Historically, lightning and humans were the major fire setters, and the role of fire varied both in space and time. A burning regime that includes fires at various intervals, seasons...

Influence of diatom diversity on the ocean biological carbon pump

Science.gov (United States)

Tréguer, Paul; Bowler, Chris; Moriceau, Brivaela; Dutkiewicz, Stephanie; Gehlen, Marion; Aumont, Olivier; Bittner, Lucie; Dugdale, Richard; Finkel, Zoe; Iudicone, Daniele; Jahn, Oliver; Guidi, Lionel; Lasbleiz, Marine; Leblanc, Karine; Levy, Marina; Pondaven, Philippe

2018-01-01

Diatoms sustain the marine food web and contribute to the export of carbon from the surface ocean to depth. They account for about 40% of marine primary productivity and particulate carbon exported to depth as part of the biological pump. Diatoms have long been known to be abundant in turbulent, nutrient-rich waters, but observations and simulations indicate that they are dominant also in meso- and submesoscale structures such as fronts and filaments, and in the deep chlorophyll maximum. Diatoms vary widely in size, morphology and elemental composition, all of which control the quality, quantity and sinking speed of biogenic matter to depth. In particular, their silica shells provide ballast to marine snow and faecal pellets, and can help transport carbon to both the mesopelagic layer and deep ocean. Herein we show that the extent to which diatoms contribute to the export of carbon varies by diatom type, with carbon transfer modulated by the Si/C ratio of diatom cells, the thickness of the shells and their life strategies; for instance, the tendency to form aggregates or resting spores. Model simulations project a decline in the contribution of diatoms to primary production everywhere outside of the Southern Ocean. We argue that we need to understand changes in diatom diversity, life cycle and plankton interactions in a warmer and more acidic ocean in much more detail to fully assess any changes in their contribution to the biological pump.

Equitably sharing benefits from the utilization of natural genetic resources: the Brazilian interpretation of the Convention of Biological Diversity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pena-Neira, S.; Dieperink, C.; Addink, G.H.

2002-01-01

The utilization of natural genetic resources could yield great benefits. The Convention on Biological Diversity introduced a number of rules concerning the sharing of these benefits. However, the interpretation and application (legal implementation) of these rules is a matter of discussion among

Effect of Low Concentration Sn Doping on Optical Properties of CdS Films Grown by CBD Technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohd Sabri Mohd Ghazali

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Thin and transparent films of doped cadmium sulfide (CdS were obtained on commercial glass substrates by Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD technique. The films were doped with low concentration of Sn, and annealed in air at 300 °C for 45 min. The morphological characterization of the films with different amounts of dopant was made using SEM and EDAX analysis. Optical properties of the films were evaluated by measuring transmittance using the UV-vis spectrophotometer. A comparison of the results revealed that lower concentration of Sn doping improves transmittance of CdS films and makes them suitable for application as window layer of CdTe/CIGS solar cells.

Synthetic biology to access and expand nature’s chemical diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Smanski, Michael J.; Zhou, Hui; Claesen, Jan; Shen, Ben; Fischbach, Michael; Voigt, Christopher A.

2016-01-01

Bacterial genomes encode the biosynthetic potential to produce hundreds of thousands of complex molecules with diverse applications, from medicine to agriculture and materials. Economically accessing the potential encoded within sequenced genomes promises to reinvigorate waning drug discovery pipelines and provide novel routes to intricate chemicals. This is a tremendous undertaking, as the pathways often comprise dozens of genes spanning as much as 100+ kiliobases of DNA, are controlled by complex regulatory networks, and the most interesting molecules are made by non-model organisms. Advances in synthetic biology address these issues, including DNA construction technologies, genetic parts for precision expression control, synthetic regulatory circuits, computer aided design, and multiplexed genome engineering. Collectively, these technologies are moving towards an era when chemicals can be accessed en mass based on sequence information alone. This will enable the harnessing of metagenomic data and massive strain banks for high-throughput molecular discovery and, ultimately, the ability to forward design pathways to complex chemicals not found in nature. PMID:26876034

Biology, diversity and strategies for the monitoring and control of triatomines--Chagas disease vectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Jane; Lorenzo, Marcelo

2009-07-01

Despite the relevant achievements in the control of the main Chagas disease vectors Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus, several factors still promote the risk of infection. The disease is a real threat to the poor rural regions of several countries in Latin America. The current situation in Brazil requires renewed attention due to its high diversity of triatomine species and to the rapid and drastic environmental changes that are occurring. Using the biology, behaviour and diversity of triatomines as a basis for new strategies for monitoring and controlling the vectorial transmission are discussed here. The importance of ongoing long-term monitoring activities for house infestations by T. infestans, Triatoma brasiliensis, Panstrongylus megistus, Triatoma rubrovaria and R. prolixus is also stressed, as well as understanding the invasion by sylvatic species. Moreover, the insecticide resistance is analysed. Strong efforts to sustain and improve surveillance procedures are crucial, especially when the vectorial transmission is considered interrupted in many endemic areas.

Synthetic Biology: Advancing Biological Frontiers by Building Synthetic Systems

OpenAIRE

Chen, Yvonne Yu-Hsuan; Galloway, Kate E; Smolke, Christina D

2012-01-01

Advances in synthetic biology are contributing to diverse research areas, from basic biology to biomanufacturing and disease therapy. We discuss the theoretical foundation, applications, and potential of this emerging field.

A Tryptoline Ring-Distortion Strategy Leads to Complex and Diverse Biologically Active Molecules from the Indole Alkaloid Yohimbine.

Science.gov (United States)

Paciaroni, Nicholas G; Ratnayake, Ranjala; Matthews, James H; Norwood, Verrill M; Arnold, Austin C; Dang, Long H; Luesch, Hendrik; Huigens, Robert W

2017-03-28

High-throughput screening (HTS) is the primary driver to current drug-discovery efforts. New therapeutic agents that enter the market are a direct reflection of the structurally simple compounds that make up screening libraries. Unlike medically relevant natural products (e.g., morphine), small molecules currently being screened have a low fraction of sp 3 character and few, if any, stereogenic centers. Although simple compounds have been useful in drugging certain biological targets (e.g., protein kinases), more sophisticated targets (e.g., transcription factors) have largely evaded the discovery of new clinical agents from screening collections. Herein, a tryptoline ring-distortion strategy is described that enables the rapid synthesis of 70 complex and diverse compounds from yohimbine (1); an indole alkaloid. The compounds that were synthesized had architecturally complex and unique scaffolds, unlike 1 and other scaffolds. These compounds were subjected to phenotypic screens and reporter gene assays, leading to the identification of new compounds that possessed various biological activities, including antiproliferative activities against cancer cells with functional hypoxia-inducible factors, nitric oxide inhibition, and inhibition and activation of the antioxidant response element. This tryptoline ring-distortion strategy can begin to address diversity problems in screening libraries, while occupying biologically relevant chemical space in areas critical to human health. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Compulsive buying disorder: a review and update.

Science.gov (United States)

Aboujaoude, Elias

2014-01-01

Compulsive buying disorder (CBD) refers to the chronic purchasing of unneeded or unwanted items, causing significant negative consequences. There are no established criteria for CBD, and operational definitions have relied on similarities with OCD, substance use disorders, and impulse control disorders. Compulsive buying disorder is common, affecting 5.8% of the general population, according to one study. Typically, CBD has early onset, frequent comorbidities, and a chronic course. The etiology of CBD is unknown, with biological, psychological and sociocultural factors proposed as likely contributors. Treatment data are limited and suggest addressing comorbid conditions and considering cognitive behavioral therapy, financial and family counseling, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and naltrexone, among other possible interventions, to target CBD. Beyond treatment, educational, legislative and family-based public policy initiatives can likely help individuals with CBD and other excessive spenders.

The distribution of cultural and biological diversity in Africa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moore, Joslin L; Manne, Lisa; Brooks, Thomas

2002-01-01

Anthropologists, biologists and linguists have all noted an apparent coincidence in species diversity and human cultural or linguistic diversity. We present, to our knowledge, one of the first quantitative descriptions of this coincidence and show that, for 2 degrees x 2 degrees grid cells across...... sub-Saharan Africa, cultural diversity and vertebrate species diversity exhibit marked similarities in their overall distribution. In addition, we show that 71% of the observed variation in species richness and 36% in language richness can be explained on the basis of environmental factors, suggesting...

Diversity: A Philosophical Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sahotra Sarkar

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, diversity, whether it be ecological, biological, cultural, or linguistic diversity, has emerged as a major cultural value. This paper analyzes whether a single concept of diversity can underwrite discussions of diversity in different disciplines. More importantly, it analyzes the normative justification for the endorsement of diversity as a goal in all contexts. It concludes that no more than a relatively trivial concept of diversity as richness is common to all contexts. Moreover, there is no universal justification for the endorsement of diversity. Arguments to justify the protection of diversity must be tailored to individual contexts.

Divergence Measures as Diversity Indices

OpenAIRE

Abou-Moustafa, Karim T.

2014-01-01

Entropy measures of probability distributions are widely used measures in ecology, biology, genetics, and in other fields, to quantify species diversity of a community. Unfortunately, entropy-based diversity indices, or diversity indices for short, suffer from three problems. First, when computing the diversity for samples withdrawn from communities with different structures, diversity indices can easily yield non-comparable and hard to interpret results. Second, diversity indices impose weig...

Soil microbial community structure in diverse land use systems:A comparative study using Biolog,DGGE,and PLFA analyses

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

XUE Dong; YAO Huai-Ying; GE De-Yong; HUANG Chang-Yong

2008-01-01

Biolog,16S rRNA gene denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE),and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analyses were used to assess soil microbial community characteristics in a chronosequence of tea garden systems (8-,50-,and 90year-old tea gardens),an adjacent wasteland,and a 90-year-old forest.Biolog analysis showed that the average well color development (AWCD) of all carbon sources and the functional diversity based on the Shannon index decreased (P＜0.05)in the following order:wasteland＞forest＞tea garden.For the DGGE analysis,the genetic diversity based on the Shannon index was significantly lower in the tea garden soils than in the wasteland.However,compared to the 90-year-old forest,the tea garden soils showed significantly higher genetic diversity.PLFA analysis showed that the ratio of Gram positive bacteria to Gram negative bacteria was significantly higher in the tea garden soils than in the wasteland,and the highest value was found in the 90-year-old forest.Both the fungal PLFA and the ratio of fungi to bacteria were significantly higher in the three tea garden soils than in the wasteland and forest,indicating that fungal PLFA was significantly affected by land-use change.Based on cluster analysis of the soil microbial community structure,all three analytical methods showed that land-use change had a greater effect on soil microbial community structure than tea garden age.

A generic approach to integrate biodiversity considerations in screening and scoping for EIA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slootweg, Roel; Kolhoff, Arend

2003-01-01

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) requires parties to apply environmental impact assessment (EIA) to projects that potentially negatively impact on biodiversity. As members of the International Association of Impact Assessment, the authors have developed a conceptual framework to integrate biodiversity considerations in EIA. By defining biodiversity in terms of composition, structure, and key processes, and by describing the way in which human activities affect these so-called components of biodiversity, it is possible to assess the potential impacts of human activities on biodiversity. Furthermore, the authors have translated this conceptual framework in generic guidelines for screening and scoping in impact assessment. Countries can use these generic guidelines to further operationalise the framework within the existing national procedures for impact assessment. This paper is fully coherent and partly overlapping with the guidelines recently adopted by the CBD, but differs in the sense that it provides more scientific background and is less policy-oriented

POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR UTILIZATION AND CONSERVATION OF BELOW-GROUND BIODIVERSITY IN KENYA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Celline Achieng

2009-10-01

Full Text Available The reasons for the lack of inclusion of below-ground biodiversity in the Kenyan policy and legal framework were sought. Gaps were identified in the relevant sectoral policies and laws in regard to the domestication of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD. Below -ground biodiversity had no specific schedule in any of the sectoral laws. Most sectoral laws were particular about the larger biodiversity and soils but had no mention of below-ground biodiversity. Material Transfer Agreements and Material Acquisition Agreements that are regarded as tools of domestication of the CBD to guide transfers, exchanges and acquisition of soil organisms lacked a regulating policy. The lack of regulating policy could be attributed to the delay in approval of draft regulations by the Ministry of Environment while the lack of inclusion of below-ground biodiversity in Kenya’s legal and policy framework could be as a result of lack of awareness and appreciation among stakeholders.

Anthraquinones and Derivatives from Marine-Derived Fungi: Structural Diversity and Selected Biological Activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mireille Fouillaud

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Anthraquinones and their derivatives constitute a large group of quinoid compounds with about 700 molecules described. They are widespread in fungi and their chemical diversity and biological activities recently attracted attention of industries in such fields as pharmaceuticals, clothes dyeing, and food colorants. Their positive and/or negative effect(s due to the 9,10-anthracenedione structure and its substituents are still not clearly understood and their potential roles or effects on human health are today strongly discussed among scientists. As marine microorganisms recently appeared as producers of an astonishing variety of structurally unique secondary metabolites, they may represent a promising resource for identifying new candidates for therapeutic drugs or daily additives. Within this review, we investigate the present knowledge about the anthraquinones and derivatives listed to date from marine-derived filamentous fungi′s productions. This overview highlights the molecules which have been identified in microorganisms for the first time. The structures and colors of the anthraquinoid compounds come along with the known roles of some molecules in the life of the organisms. Some specific biological activities are also described. This may help to open doors towards innovative natural substances.

Anthraquinones and Derivatives from Marine-Derived Fungi: Structural Diversity and Selected Biological Activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Fouillaud, Mireille; Venkatachalam, Mekala; Girard-Valenciennes, Emmanuelle; Caro, Yanis; Dufossé, Laurent

2016-03-25

Anthraquinones and their derivatives constitute a large group of quinoid compounds with about 700 molecules described. They are widespread in fungi and their chemical diversity and biological activities recently attracted attention of industries in such fields as pharmaceuticals, clothes dyeing, and food colorants. Their positive and/or negative effect(s) due to the 9,10-anthracenedione structure and its substituents are still not clearly understood and their potential roles or effects on human health are today strongly discussed among scientists. As marine microorganisms recently appeared as producers of an astonishing variety of structurally unique secondary metabolites, they may represent a promising resource for identifying new candidates for therapeutic drugs or daily additives. Within this review, we investigate the present knowledge about the anthraquinones and derivatives listed to date from marine-derived filamentous fungi's productions. This overview highlights the molecules which have been identified in microorganisms for the first time. The structures and colors of the anthraquinoid compounds come along with the known roles of some molecules in the life of the organisms. Some specific biological activities are also described. This may help to open doors towards innovative natural substances.

Remotely sensed indicators of habitat heterogeneity and biological diversity: A preliminary report

Science.gov (United States)

Imhoff, Marc; Sisk, Thomas; Milne, Anthony; Morgan, Garth; Orr, Tony

1995-01-01

The relationship between habitat area, spatial dynamics of the landscape, and species diversity is an important theme in population and conservation biology. Of particular interest is how populations of various species are affected by increasing habitat edges due to fragmentation. Over the last decade, assumptions regarding the effects of habitat edges on biodiversity have fluctuated wildly, from the belief that they have a positive effect to the belief that they have a clearly negative effect. This change in viewpoint has been brought about by an increasing recognition of the importance of geographic scale and a reinterpretation of natural history observations. In this preliminary report from an ongoing project, we explore the use of remote sensing technology and geographic information systems to further our understanding of how species diversity and population density are affected by habitat heterogeneity and landscape composition. A primary feature of this study is the investigation of SAR for making more rigorous investigations of habitat structure by exploiting the interaction between radar backscatter and vegetation structure and biomass. A major emphasis will be on the use of SAR data to define relative structural types based on measures of structural consolidation using the vegetation surface area to volume ratio (SA/V). Past research has shown that SAR may be sensitive to this form of structural expression which may affect biodiversity.

Linking biological soil crust diversity to ecological functions

Science.gov (United States)

Glaser, Karin; Borchhardt, Nadine; Schulz, Karoline; Mikhailyuk, Tatiana; Baumann, Karen; Leinweber, Peter; Ulf, Karsten

2016-04-01

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are an association of different microorganisms and soil particles in the top millimeters of the soil. They are formed by algae, cyanobacteria, microfungi, bacteria, bryophytes and lichens in various compositions. Our aim was to determine and compare the biodiversity of all occurring organisms in biogeographically different habitats, ranging from polar (both Arctic and Antarctic), subpolar (Scandinavia), temperate (Germany) to dry regions (Chile). The combination of microscopy and molecular techniques (next-generation sequencing) revealed highly diverse crust communities, whose composition clustered by region and correlates with habitat characteristics such as water content. The BSC biodiversity was then linked to the ecological function of the crusts. The functional role of the BSCs in the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous is evaluated using an array of state of the art soil chemistry methods including Py-FIMS (pyrolysis field ionization mass spectrometry) and XANES (x-ray absorbance near edge structure). Total P as well as P fractions were quantified in all BSCs, adjacent soil underneath and comparable nearby soil of BSC-free areas revealing a remarkable accumulation of total phosphorous and a distinct pattern of P fractions in the crust. Further, we observed an indication of a different P-speciation composition in the crust compared with BSC-free soil. The data allow answering the question whether BSCs act as sink or source for these compounds, and how biodiversity controls the biogeochemical function of BSCs.

An Overview on Medicinal Chemistry of Synthetic and Natural Derivatives of Cannabidiol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Morales

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Cannabidiol (CBD has been traditionally used in Cannabis-based preparation, however historically, it has received far less interest as a single drug than the other components of Cannabis. Currently, CBD generates considerable interest due to its beneficial neuroprotective, antiepileptic, anxiolytic, antipsychotic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, the CBD scaffold becomes of increasing interest for medicinal chemists. This review provides an overview of the chemical structure of natural and synthetic CBD derivatives including the molecular targets associated with these compounds. A clear identification of their biological targets has been shown to be still very challenging.

Development trend of radiation biology research-systems radiation biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Min Rui

2010-01-01

Radiation biology research has past 80 years. We have known much more about fundamentals, processes and results of biology effects induced by radiation and various factors that influence biology effects wide and deep, however many old and new scientific problems occurring in the field of radiation biology research remain to be illustrated. To explore and figure these scientific problems need systemic concept, methods and multi dimension view on the base of considerations of complexity of biology system, diversity of biology response, temporal and spatial process of biological effects during occurrence, and complex feed back network of biological regulations. (authors)

Phylogenetic diversity and biological activity of culturable Actinobacteria isolated from freshwater fish gut microbiota.

Science.gov (United States)

Jami, Mansooreh; Ghanbari, Mahdi; Kneifel, Wolfgang; Domig, Konrad J

2015-06-01

biosynthetic genes, one-fourth of them harbours more than four. This study demonstrates the significant diversity of Actinobacteria in the fish gut microbiota and it's potential to produce biologically active compounds. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Frequent fire promotes diversity and cover of biological soil crusts in a derived temperate grassland.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Bryan, Katharine E; Prober, Suzanne Mary; Lunt, Ian D; Eldridge, David J

2009-04-01

The intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) predicts that species diversity is maximized at moderate disturbance levels. This model is often applied to grassy ecosystems, where disturbance can be important for maintaining vascular plant composition and diversity. However, effects of disturbance type and frequency on cover and diversity of non-vascular plants comprising biological soil crusts are poorly known, despite their potentially important role in ecosystem function. We established replicated disturbance regimes of different type (fire vs. mowing) and frequency (2, 4, 8 yearly and unburnt) in a high-quality, representative Themeda australis-Poa sieberiana derived grassland in south-eastern Australia. Effects on soil crust bryophytes and lichens (hereafter cryptogams) were measured after 12 years. Consistent with expectations under IDH, cryptogam richness and abundance declined under no disturbance, likely due to competitive exclusion by vascular plants as well as high soil turnover by soil invertebrates beneath thick grass. Disturbance type was also significant, with burning enhancing richness and abundance more than mowing. Contrary to expectations, however, cryptogam richness increased most dramatically under our most frequent and recent (2 year) burning regime, even when changes in abundance were accounted for by rarefaction analysis. Thus, from the perspective of cryptogams, 2-year burning was not an adequately severe disturbance regime to reduce diversity, highlighting the difficulty associated with expression of disturbance gradients in the application of IDH. Indeed, significant correlations with grassland structure suggest that cryptogam abundance and diversity in this relatively mesic (600 mm annual rainfall) grassland is maximised by frequent fires that reduce vegetation and litter cover, providing light, open areas and stable soil surfaces for colonisation. This contrasts with detrimental effects of 2-year burning on native perennial grasses

Room temperature synthesis and characterization of CdO nanowires by chemical bath deposition (CBD) method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dhawale, D.S.; More, A.M.; Latthe, S.S.; Rajpure, K.Y.; Lokhande, C.D.

2008-01-01

A chemical synthesis process for the fabrication of CdO nanowires is described. In the present work, transparent and conductive CdO films were synthesized on the glass substrate using chemical bath deposition (CBD) at room temperature. These films were annealed in air at 623 K and characterized for the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical and electrical resistivity. The XRD analysis showed that the as-deposited amorphous can be converted in to polycrystalline after annealing. Annealed CdO nanowires are 60-65 nm in diameter and length ranges typically from 2.5 to 3 μm. The optical properties revealed the presence of direct and indirect band gaps with energies 2.42 and 2.04 eV, respectively. Electrical resistivity measurement showed semiconducting behavior and thermoemf measurement showed n-type electrical conductivity

Fewer specialists support using medical marijuana and CBD in treating epilepsy patients compared with other medical professionals and patients: Result of Epilepsia's survey

OpenAIRE

Mathern, GW; Beninsig, L; Nehlig, A

2015-01-01

© Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2014 International League Against Epilepsy. Summary Objective From May 20 to September 1 2014, Epilepsia conducted an online survey seeking opinions about the use of medical marijuana and cannabidiol (CBD) for people with epilepsy. This study reports the findings of that poll. Methods The survey consisted of eight questions. Four questions asked if there were sufficient safety and efficacy data, whether responders would advise trying medical marijuana in cases of s...

Applying the dark diversity concept to nature conservation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lewis, Rob; de Bello, Francesco; A Bennett, Jonathan

2017-01-01

is currently an underappreciated source of information that is valuable for conservation applications ranging from macroscale conservation prioritization to more locally scaled restoration ecology and the management of invasive species. Introduction Conservation biology has strong scientific underpinnings (e...... to improve understanding of how biological diversity is governed and maintained. We illustrate our viewpoint by clarifying how measuring, monitoring, and understanding dark diversity can prove beneficial in the context of 3 facets of conservation biology: biodiversity conservation, habitat restoration......Linking diversity to biological processes is central for developing informed and effective conservation decisions. Unfortunately, observable patterns provide only a proportion of the information necessary for fully understanding the mechanisms and processes acting on a particular population...

Cyanobacterial Diversity in Biological Soil Crusts along a Precipitation Gradient, Northwest Negev Desert, Israel.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagemann, Martin; Henneberg, Manja; Felde, Vincent J M N L; Drahorad, Sylvie L; Berkowicz, Simon M; Felix-Henningsen, Peter; Kaplan, Aaron

2015-07-01

Cyanobacteria occur worldwide but play an important role in the formation and primary activity of biological soil crusts (BSCs) in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. The cyanobacterial diversity in BSCs of the northwest Negev desert of Israel was surveyed at three fixed sampling stations situated along a precipitation gradient in the years 2010 to 2012. The three stations also are characterized by marked differences in soil features such as soil carbon, nitrogen, or electrical conductivity. The cyanobacterial biodiversity was analyzed by sequencing inserts of clone libraries harboring partial 16S rRNA gene sequences obtained with cyanobacteria-specific primers. Filamentous, non-diazotrophic strains (subsection III), particularly Microcoleus-like, dominated the cyanobacterial community (30% proportion) in all years. Specific cyanobacterial groups showed increased (e.g., Chroococcidiopsis, Leptolyngbya, and Nostoc strains) or decreased (e.g., unicellular strains belonging to the subsection I and Scytonema strains) abundances with declining water availability at the most arid, southern station, whereas many cyanobacterial strains were frequently found in the soils of all three stations. The cyanobacterial diversity at the three sampling stations appears dependent on the available precipitation, whereas the differences in soil chemistry were of lower importance.

Answering biological questions: Querying a systems biology database for nutrigenomics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Evelo, C.T.; Bochove, K. van; Saito, J.T.

2011-01-01

The requirement of systems biology for connecting different levels of biological research leads directly to a need for integrating vast amounts of diverse information in general and of omics data in particular. The nutritional phenotype database addresses this challenge for nutrigenomics. A

Impact of parking supply and demand management on central business district (CBD) traffic congestion, transit performance measures and sustainable land use : a study of the impact of parking supply and demand management.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-01

Parking is one of the thorniest problems facing local officials who wish to maintain the vitality of central business districts (CBD). Viewed in isolation, the solution often is seen as more parking, at least, and more free parking, if possible. But ...

Biolog for the determination of diversity in microbial communities

African Journals Online (AJOL)

drinie

2002-01-01

Jan 1, 2002 ... be related to the functional diversity of the species present in the community. ... The hypothesis is that the more substrates utilised, the higher the diversity, due to the collective action of individual species. Any one organism will not necessarily utilise all the ..... biofouling control in industrial water systems.

Functional soil microbial diversity across Europe estimated by EEA, MicroResp and BIOLOG

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Winding, Anne; Rutgers, Michiel; Creamer, Rachel

consisting of 81 soil samples covering five Biogeograhical Zones and three land-uses in order to test the sensitivity, ease and cost of performance and biological significance of the data output. The techniques vary in how close they are to in situ functions; dependency on growth during incubation......Soil microorganisms are abundant and essential for the bio-geochemical processes of soil, soil quality and soil ecosystem services. All this is dependent on the actual functions the microbial communities are performing in the soil. Measuring soil respiration has for many years been the basis...... of estimating soil microbial activity. However, today several techniques are in use for determining microbial functional diversity and assessing soil biodiversity: Methods based on CO2 development by the microbes such as substrate induced respiration (SIR) on specific substrates have lead to the development...

Some Like it High! Phylogenetic Diversity of High-Elevation Cyanobacterial Community from Biological Soil Crusts of Western Himalaya.

Science.gov (United States)

Čapková, Kateřina; Hauer, Tomáš; Řeháková, Klára; Doležal, Jiří

2016-01-01

The environment of high-altitudinal cold deserts of Western Himalaya is characterized by extensive development of biological soil crusts, with cyanobacteria as dominant component. The knowledge of their taxonomic composition and dependency on soil chemistry and elevation is still fragmentary. We studied the abundance and the phylogenetic diversity of the culturable cyanobacteria and eukaryotic microalgae in soil crusts along altitudinal gradients (4600-5900 m) at two sites in the dry mountains of Ladakh (SW Tibetan Plateau and Eastern Karakoram), using both microscopic and molecular approaches. The effects of environmental factors (altitude, mountain range, and soil physico-chemical parameters) on the composition and biovolume of phototrophs were tested by multivariate redundancy analysis and variance partitioning. Both phylogenetic diversity and composition of morphotypes were similar between Karakorum and Tibetan Plateau. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene revealed strains belonging to at least five genera. Besides clusters of common soil genera, e.g., Microcoleus, Nodosilinea, or Nostoc, two distinct clades of simple trichal taxa were newly discovered. The most abundant cyanobacterial orders were Oscillatoriales and Nostacales, whose biovolume increased with increasing elevation, while that of Chroococales decreased. Cyanobacterial species richness was low in that only 15 morphotypes were detected. The environmental factors accounted for 52 % of the total variability in microbial data, 38.7 % of which was explained solely by soil chemical properties, 14.5 % by altitude, and 8.4 % by mountain range. The elevation, soil phosphate, and magnesium were the most important predictors of soil phototrophic communities in both mountain ranges despite their different bedrocks and origin. The present investigation represents a first record on phylogenetic diversity of the cyanobacterial community of biological soil crusts from Western Himalayas and first record

Biological Diversity, Ecological Health and Condition of Aquatic Assemblages at National Wildlife Refuges in Southern Indiana, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Simon

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The National Wildlife Refuge system is a vital resource for the protection and conservation of biodiversity and biological integrity in the United States. Surveys were conducted to determine the spatial and temporal patterns of fish, macroinvertebrate, and crayfish populations in two watersheds that encompass three refuges in southern Indiana. The Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge had the highest number of aquatic species with 355 macroinvertebrate taxa, six crayfish species, and 82 fish species, while the Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge had 163 macroinvertebrate taxa, seven crayfish species, and 37 fish species. The Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge had the lowest diversity of macroinvertebrates with 96 taxa and six crayfish species, while possessing the second highest fish species richness with 51 species. Habitat quality was highest in the Muscatatuck River drainage with increased amounts of forested habitats compared to the Patoka River drainage. Biological integrity of the three refuges ranked the Patoka NWR as the lowest biological integrity (mean IBI reach scores = 35 IBI points, while Big Oaks had the highest biological integrity (mean IBI reach score = 41 IBI points. The Muscatatuck NWR had a mean IBI reach score of 31 during June, which seasonally increased to a mean of 40 IBI points during summer. Watershed IBI scores and habitat condition were highest in the Big Oaks NWR.

Biological Diversity, Ecological Health and Condition of Aquatic Assemblages at National Wildlife Refuges in Southern Indiana, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Charles C.; Robb, Joseph R.; McCoy, William

2015-01-01

Abstract The National Wildlife Refuge system is a vital resource for the protection and conservation of biodiversity and biological integrity in the United States. Surveys were conducted to determine the spatial and temporal patterns of fish, macroinvertebrate, and crayfish populations in two watersheds that encompass three refuges in southern Indiana. The Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge had the highest number of aquatic species with 355 macroinvertebrate taxa, six crayfish species, and 82 fish species, while the Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge had 163 macroinvertebrate taxa, seven crayfish species, and 37 fish species. The Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge had the lowest diversity of macroinvertebrates with 96 taxa and six crayfish species, while possessing the second highest fish species richness with 51 species. Habitat quality was highest in the Muscatatuck River drainage with increased amounts of forested habitats compared to the Patoka River drainage. Biological integrity of the three refuges ranked the Patoka NWR as the lowest biological integrity (mean IBI reach scores = 35 IBI points), while Big Oaks had the highest biological integrity (mean IBI reach score = 41 IBI points). The Muscatatuck NWR had a mean IBI reach score of 31 during June, which seasonally increased to a mean of 40 IBI points during summer. Watershed IBI scores and habitat condition were highest in the Big Oaks NWR. PMID:25632261

Shortfalls in the global protected area network at representing marine biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Carissa J; Brown, Christopher J; Halpern, Benjamin S; Segan, Daniel B; McGowan, Jennifer; Beger, Maria; Watson, James E M

2015-12-03

The first international goal for establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) to conserve the ocean's biodiversity was set in 2002. Since 2006, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has driven MPA establishment, with 193 parties committed to protecting >10% of marine environments globally by 2020, especially 'areas of particular importance for biodiversity' (Aichi target 11). This has resulted in nearly 10 million km(2) of new MPAs, a growth of ~360% in a decade. Unlike on land, it is not known how well protected areas capture marine biodiversity, leaving a significant gap in our understanding of existing MPAs and future protection requirements. We assess the overlap of global MPAs with the ranges of 17,348 marine species (fishes, mammals, invertebrates), and find that 97.4% of species have biodiversity. Our results offer strategic guidance on where MPAs should be placed to support the CBD's overall goal to avert biodiversity loss. Achieving this goal is imperative for nature and humanity, as people depend on biodiversity for important and valuable services.

Carbohydrates in diversity-oriented synthesis: challenges and opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Lenci, E; Menchi, G; Trabocchi, A

2016-01-21

Over the last decade, Diversity-Oriented Synthesis (DOS) has become a new paradigm for developing large collections of structurally diverse small molecules as probes to investigate biological pathways, and to provide a larger array of the chemical space. Drug discovery and chemical biology are taking advantage of DOS approaches to exploit highly-diverse and complex molecular platforms, producing advances in both target and ligand discovery. In this view, carbohydrates are attractive building blocks for DOS libraries, due to their stereochemical diversity and high density of polar functional groups, thus offering many possibilities for chemical manipulation and scaffold decoration. This review will discuss research contributions and perspectives on the application of carbohydrate chemistry to explore the accessible chemical space through appendage, stereochemical and scaffold diversity.

Forest biological diversity interactions with resource utilization

Science.gov (United States)

S.T. Mok

1992-01-01

The most important forest resources of the Asia-Pacific region are the highly diverse rain forests. Utilization of the resource is a natural and inevitable consequence of the region's socio-economic development. The sustainable management and development of forest resources in the region can be achieved by implementing conservational forestry, which is based on...

Eukaryotic plankton diversity in the sunlit ocean

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

de Vargas, C.; Audic, S.; Henry, N.; Decelle, J.; Mahé, F.; Logares, R.; Lara, E.; Berney, C.; Le Bescot, N.; Probert, I.; Carmichael, M.; Poulain, J.; Romac, S.; Colin, S.; Aury, J.-M.; Bittner, L.; Chaffron, S.; Dunthorn, M.; Engelen, S.; Flegontova, Olga; Guidi, L.; Horák, Aleš; Jaillon, O.; Lima-Mendez, G.; Lukeš, Julius

2015-01-01

Roč. 348, č. 6237 (2015), UNSP 1261605 ISSN 0036-8075 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : ribosomal RNA gene * protistan diversity * extreme diversity Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 34.661, year: 2015

The Manila Declaration concerning the ethical utilization of Asian biological resources

NARCIS (Netherlands)

NN,

1992-01-01

— the maintenance of biological and cultural diversity is of global concern — developing countries are major centres of biological and cultural diversity — there is increased interest in biological material with medicinal and other economic values — indigenous peoples frequently possess knowledge

[Advance in molecular biology of Dendrobium (Orchidaceae)].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qing; Li, Biao; Guo, Shun-Xing

2016-08-01

With the development of molecular biology, the process in molecular biology research of Dendrobium is going fast. Not only did it provide new ways to identify Dendrobium quickly, reveal the genetic diversity and relationship of Dendrobium, but also lay the vital foundation for explaining the mechanism of Dendrobium growth and metabolism. The present paper reviews the recent process in molecular biology research of Dendrobium from three aspects, including molecular identification, genetic diversity and functional genes. And this review will facilitate the development of this research area and Dendrobium. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

High bacterial diversity of biological soil crusts in water tracks over permafrost in the high arctic polar desert.

Science.gov (United States)

Steven, Blaire; Lionard, Marie; Kuske, Cheryl R; Vincent, Warwick F

2013-01-01

In this study we report the bacterial diversity of biological soil crusts (biocrusts) inhabiting polar desert soils at the northern land limit of the Arctic polar region (83° 05 N). Employing pyrosequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes this study demonstrated that these biocrusts harbor diverse bacterial communities, often as diverse as temperate latitude communities. The effect of wetting pulses on the composition of communities was also determined by collecting samples from soils outside and inside of permafrost water tracks, hill slope flow paths that drain permafrost-affected soils. The intermittent flow regime in the water tracks was correlated with altered relative abundance of phylum level taxonomic bins in the bacterial communities, but the alterations varied between individual sampling sites. Bacteria related to the Cyanobacteria and Acidobacteria demonstrated shifts in relative abundance based on their location either inside or outside of the water tracks. Among cyanobacterial sequences, the proportion of sequences belonging to the family Oscillatoriales consistently increased in relative abundance in the samples from inside the water tracks compared to those outside. Acidobacteria showed responses to wetting pulses in the water tracks, increasing in abundance at one site and decreasing at the other two sites. Subdivision 4 acidobacterial sequences tended to follow the trends in the total Acidobacteria relative abundance, suggesting these organisms were largely responsible for the changes observed in the Acidobacteria. Taken together, these data suggest that the bacterial communities of these high latitude polar biocrusts are diverse but do not show a consensus response to intermittent flow in water tracks over high Arctic permafrost.

Global status of and prospects for protection of terrestrial geophysical diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanderson, Eric W; Segan, Daniel B; Watson, James E M

2015-06-01

Conservation of representative facets of geophysical diversity may help conserve biological diversity as the climate changes. We conducted a global classification of terrestrial geophysical diversity and analyzed how land protection varies across geophysical diversity types. Geophysical diversity was classified in terms of soil type, elevation, and biogeographic realm and then compared to the global distribution of protected areas in 2012. We found that 300 (45%) of 672 broad geophysical diversity types currently meet the Convention on Biological Diversity's Aichi Target 11 of 17% terrestrial areal protection, which suggested that efforts to implement geophysical diversity conservation have a substantive basis on which to build. However, current protected areas were heavily biased toward high elevation and low fertility soils. We assessed 3 scenarios of protected area expansion and found that protection focused on threatened species, if fully implemented, would also protect an additional 29% of geophysical diversity types, ecoregional-focused protection would protect an additional 24%, and a combined scenario would protect an additional 42%. Future efforts need to specifically target low-elevation sites with productive soils for protection and manage for connectivity among geophysical diversity types. These efforts may be hampered by the sheer number of geophysical diversity facets that the world contains, which makes clear target setting and prioritization an important next step. © 2015 Society for Conservation Biology.

Network Analyses in Systems Biology: New Strategies for Dealing with Biological Complexity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Green, Sara; Serban, Maria; Scholl, Raphael

2018-01-01

of biological networks using tools from graph theory to the application of dynamical systems theory to understand the behavior of complex biological systems. We show how network approaches support and extend traditional mechanistic strategies but also offer novel strategies for dealing with biological...... strategies? When and how can network and mechanistic approaches interact in productive ways? In this paper we address these questions by focusing on how biological networks are represented and analyzed in a diverse class of case studies. Our examples span from the investigation of organizational properties...

Budget impact model in moderate-to-severe psoriasis vulgaris assessing effects of calcipotriene and betamethasone dipropionate foam on per-patient standard of care costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Asche, Carl V; Kim, Minchul; Feldman, Steven R; Zografos, Panagiotis; Lu, Minyi

2017-09-01

To develop a budget impact model (BIM) for estimating the financial impact of formulary adoption and uptake of calcipotriene and betamethasone dipropionate (C/BD) foam (0.005%/0.064%) on the costs of biologics for treating moderate-to-severe psoriasis vulgaris in a hypothetical US healthcare plan with 1 million members. This BIM incorporated epidemiologic data, market uptake assumptions, and drug utilization costs, simulating the treatment mix for patients who are candidates for biologics before (Scenario #1) and after (Scenario #2) the introduction of C/BD foam. Predicted outcomes were expressed in terms of the annual cost of treatment (COT) and the COT per member per month (PMPM). At year 1, C/BD foam had the lowest per-patient cost ($9,913) necessary to achieve a Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI)-75 response compared with etanercept ($73,773), adalimumab ($92,871), infliximab ($34,048), ustekinumab ($83,975), secukinumab ($113,858), apremilast ($47,960), and ixekizumab ($62,707). Following addition of C/BD foam to the formulary, the annual COT for moderate-to-severe psoriasis would decrease by $36,112,572 (17.91%, from $201,621,219 to $165,508,647). The COT PMPM is expected to decrease by $3.00 (17.86%, from $16.80 to $13.80). Drug costs were based on Medi-Span reference pricing (January 21, 2016); differences in treatment costs for drug administration, laboratory monitoring, or adverse events were not accounted for. Potentially confounding were the definition of "moderate-to-severe" and the heterogeneous efficacy data. The per-patient cost for PASI-75 response at year 1 was estimated from short-term efficacy data for C/BD foam and apremilast only. The introduction of C/BD foam is expected to decrease the annual COT for moderate-to-severe psoriasis treatable with biologics by $36,112,572 for a hypothetical US healthcare plan with 1 million plan members, and to lower the COT PMPM by $3.00.

Genetic Diversity of Turf-Type Tall Fescue Using Diversity Arrays Technology

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Baird, J. H.; Kopecký, David; Lukaszewski, A.J.; Green, R. J.; Bartoš, Jan; Doležel, Jaroslav

2012-01-01

Roč. 52, č. 1 (2012), s. 408-412 ISSN 0011-183X Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50380511 Keywords : Festuca arundinacea * Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) * Low genetic polymorphism Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 1.513, year: 2012

The Biological Contributions to Gender Identity and Gender Diversity: Bringing Data to the Table.

Science.gov (United States)

Polderman, Tinca J C; Kreukels, Baudewijntje P C; Irwig, Michael S; Beach, Lauren; Chan, Yee-Ming; Derks, Eske M; Esteva, Isabel; Ehrenfeld, Jesse; Heijer, Martin Den; Posthuma, Danielle; Raynor, Lewis; Tishelman, Amy; Davis, Lea K

2018-03-01

The American Psychological Association defines gender identity as, "A person's deeply-felt, inherent sense of being a boy, a man, or a male; a girl, a woman, or a female; or an alternative gender (e.g., genderqueer, gender nonconforming, gender neutral) that may or may not correspond to a person's sex assigned at birth or to a person's primary or secondary sex characteristics" (American Psychological Association, Am Psychol 70(9):832-864, 2015). Here we review the evidence that gender identity and related socially defined gender constructs are influenced in part by innate factors including genes. Based on the data reviewed, we hypothesize that gender identity is a multifactorial complex trait with a heritable polygenic component. We argue that increasing the awareness of the biological diversity underlying gender identity development is relevant to all domains of social, medical, and neuroscience research and foundational for reducing health disparities and promoting human-rights protections for gender minorities.

CRMP-2 peptide mediated decrease of high and low voltage-activated calcium channels, attenuation of nociceptor excitability, and anti-nociception in a model of AIDS therapy-induced painful peripheral neuropathy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piekarz Andrew D

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The ubiquity of protein-protein interactions in biological signaling offers ample opportunities for therapeutic intervention. We previously identified a peptide, designated CBD3, that suppressed inflammatory and neuropathic behavioral hypersensitivity in rodents by inhibiting the ability of collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP-2 to bind to N-type voltage-activated calcium channels (CaV2.2 [Brittain et al. Nature Medicine 17:822–829 (2011]. Results and discussion Here, we utilized SPOTScan analysis to identify an optimized variation of the CBD3 peptide (CBD3A6K that bound with greater affinity to Ca2+ channels. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that the CBD3A6K peptide was more stable and less prone to the unfolding observed with the parent CBD3 peptide. This mutant peptide, conjugated to the cell penetrating motif of the HIV transduction domain protein TAT, exhibited greater anti-nociception in a rodent model of AIDS therapy-induced peripheral neuropathy when compared to the parent TAT-CBD3 peptide. Remarkably, intraperitoneal administration of TAT-CBD3A6K produced none of the minor side effects (i.e. tail kinking, body contortion observed with the parent peptide. Interestingly, excitability of dissociated small diameter sensory neurons isolated from rats was also reduced by TAT-CBD3A6K peptide suggesting that suppression of excitability may be due to inhibition of T- and R-type Ca2+ channels. TAT-CBD3A6K had no effect on depolarization-evoked calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP release compared to vehicle control. Conclusions Collectively, these results establish TAT-CBD3A6K as a peptide therapeutic with greater efficacy in an AIDS therapy-induced model of peripheral neuropathy than its parent peptide, TAT-CBD3. Structural modifications of the CBD3 scaffold peptide may result in peptides with selectivity against a particular subset of voltage-gated calcium channels resulting in a multipharmacology of

Best Practices for Managing Organizational Diversity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kreitz, Patricia A.; /SLAC

2007-05-18

In the twentieth century, ecologists and agriculturists developed an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the value of biological diversity, specifically the resilience and adaptability it brings to ecosystems. In the twenty-first century, the ecosystem model has been applied to human systems, particularly to understanding how organizations are structured and how they operate. Twenty-first century organizations are challenged by diversity in many arenas. Demographic changes in workforce composition and customer populations, combined with globalized markets and international competition are increasing the amount of diversity organizations must manage, both internally and externally. Many diversity specialists and business leaders argue that businesses and organizations interested in surviving and thriving in the twenty-first century need to take competitive advantage of a diverse workplace (Soutar, 2004; Yang, 2005). But to do so successfully, leaders and human resources (HR) managers must redefine management and leadership (Jones, 1989). Just as mono-cropping destroys biological diversity, and, in extreme cases, such as the Irish potato famine--human as well as natural ecosystems (Keohane, n.d.), so does mono-managing similarly destroy diversity within organizations. Leaders wanting to build strong, diverse organizations will not be successful if they rely on one approach or solution. Single-threaded diversity solutions, such as focusing only on recruitment or single-approach management techniques, such as requiring every employee to take diversity training, do not create lasting change (Kossek & Lobel, 1996; McMahon, 2006; Thomas, 1990). Bringing about the changes needed to build and sustain diversity requires commitment, strategy, communication, and concrete changes in organizational structure and processes. How, then, can managers and leaders develop diverse organizations and ensure that they are managed to take optimum advantage of diversity? What role

Managing Diversity in the International Nuclear Information System

OpenAIRE

Savić, Dobrica (IAEA-NIS); GreyNet, Grey Literature Network Service

2017-01-01

Although diversity is defined as the state of having many different forms, types, ideas or properties, most often it is associated with cultural diversity or different ethnic backgrounds. Biology, religion, and political science researchers have their own view of diversity, such as biodiversity (i.e. variety of life on earth); religious pluralism (i.e. multiconfessionalism, multi-faith), or various shades of democracy (i.e. freedom of opinion or expression). Diversity is also applicable to in...

Differential induction and spread of tau pathology in young PS19 tau transgenic mice following intracerebral injections of pathological tau from Alzheimer’s disease or corticobasal degeneration brains

Science.gov (United States)

Boluda, Susana; Iba, Michiyo; Zhang, Bin; Raible, Kevin M.; Lee, Virginia M-Y.; Trojanowski, John Q.

2015-01-01

Filamentous tau pathologies are hallmark lesions of several neurodegenerative tauopathies including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD) which show cell type-specific and topographically distinct tau inclusions. Growing evidence supports templated transmission of tauopathies through functionally interconnected neuroanatomical pathways suggesting that different self-propagating strains of pathological tau could account for the diverse manifestations of neurodegenerative tauopathies. Here, we describe the rapid and distinct cell type-specific spread of pathological tau following intracerebral injections of CBD or AD brain extracts enriched in pathological tau (designated CBD-Tau and AD-Tau, respectively) in young human mutant P301S tau transgenic (Tg) mice (line PS19) ~6–9 months before they show onset of mutant tau transgene-induced tau pathology. At 1 month post-injection of CBD-Tau, tau inclusions developed predominantly in oligodendrocytes of the fimbria and white matter near the injection sites with infrequent intraneuronal tau aggregates. In contrast, injections of AD-Tau in young PS19 mice induced tau pathology predominantly in neuronal perikarya with little or no oligodendrocyte involvement 1 month post-injection. With longer post-injection survival intervals of up to 6 months, CBD-Tau- and AD-Tau-induced tau pathology spread to different brain regions distant from the injection sites while maintaining the cell type-specific pattern noted above. Finally, CA3 neuron loss was detected 3 months post-injection of AD-Tau but not CBD-Tau. Thus, AD-Tau and CBD-Tau represent specific pathological tau strains that spread differentially and may underlie distinct clinical and pathological features of these two tauopathies. Hence, these strains could become targets to develop disease-modifying therapies for CBD and AD. PMID:25534024

Facile construction of structurally diverse thiazolidinedione-derived compounds via divergent stereoselective cascade organocatalysis and their biological exploratory studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yongqiang; Wang, Shengzheng; Wu, Shanchao; Zhu, Shiping; Dong, Guoqiang; Miao, Zhenyuan; Yao, Jianzhong; Zhang, Wannian; Sheng, Chunquan; Wang, Wei

2013-06-10

In this article, we present a new approach by merging two powerful synthetic tactics, divergent synthesis and cascade organocatalysis, to create a divergent cascade organocatalysis strategy for the facile construction of new "privileged" substructure-based DOS (pDOS) library. As demonstrated, notably 5 distinct molecular architectures are produced facilely from readily available simple synthons thiazolidinedione and its analogues and α,β-unsaturated aldehydes in 1-3 steps with the powerful strategy. The beauty of the chemistry is highlighted by the efficient formation of structurally new and diverse products from structurally close reactants under the similar reaction conditions. Notably, structurally diverse spiro-thiazolidinediones and -rhodanines are produced from organocatalytic enantioselective 3-component Michael-Michael-aldol cascade reactions of respective thiazolidinediones and rhodanines with enals. Nevertheless, under the similar reaction conditions, reactions of isorhodanine via a Michael-cyclization cascade lead to structurally different fused thiopyranoid scaffolds. This strategy significantly minimizes time- and cost-consuming synthetic works. Furthermore, these molecules possess high structural complexity and functional, stereochemical, and skeletal diversity with similarity to natural scaffolds. In the preliminary biological studies of these molecules, compounds 4f, 8a, and 10a exhibit inhibitory activity against the human breast cancer cells, while compounds 8a, 9a, and 9b display good antifungal activities against Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Notably, their structures are different from clinically used triazole antifungal drugs. Therefore, they could serve as good lead compounds for the development of new generation of antifungal agents.

Mammalian synthetic biology for studying the cell.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathur, Melina; Xiang, Joy S; Smolke, Christina D

2017-01-02

Synthetic biology is advancing the design of genetic devices that enable the study of cellular and molecular biology in mammalian cells. These genetic devices use diverse regulatory mechanisms to both examine cellular processes and achieve precise and dynamic control of cellular phenotype. Synthetic biology tools provide novel functionality to complement the examination of natural cell systems, including engineered molecules with specific activities and model systems that mimic complex regulatory processes. Continued development of quantitative standards and computational tools will expand capacities to probe cellular mechanisms with genetic devices to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the cell. In this study, we review synthetic biology tools that are being applied to effectively investigate diverse cellular processes, regulatory networks, and multicellular interactions. We also discuss current challenges and future developments in the field that may transform the types of investigation possible in cell biology. © 2017 Mathur et al.

Diversity in a Hidden Community: Tardiagrades in Lichens.

Science.gov (United States)

Shofner, Marcia; Vodopich, Darrell

1993-01-01

Describes an interesting field experiment examining the distribution and diversity of a single community using lichens and the animals living in them. Combining field experience and laboratory work reveals not only the biology of some unusual organisms, but also community ecology and diversity. (PR)

Merging metagenomics and geochemistry reveals environmental controls on biological diversity and evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Alsop, Eric B; Boyd, Eric S; Raymond, Jason

2014-05-28

The metabolic strategies employed by microbes inhabiting natural systems are, in large part, dictated by the physical and geochemical properties of the environment. This study sheds light onto the complex relationship between biology and environmental geochemistry using forty-three metagenomes collected from geochemically diverse and globally distributed natural systems. It is widely hypothesized that many uncommonly measured geochemical parameters affect community dynamics and this study leverages the development and application of multidimensional biogeochemical metrics to study correlations between geochemistry and microbial ecology. Analysis techniques such as a Markov cluster-based measure of the evolutionary distance between whole communities and a principal component analysis (PCA) of the geochemical gradients between environments allows for the determination of correlations between microbial community dynamics and environmental geochemistry and provides insight into which geochemical parameters most strongly influence microbial biodiversity. By progressively building from samples taken along well defined geochemical gradients to samples widely dispersed in geochemical space this study reveals strong links between the extent of taxonomic and functional diversification of resident communities and environmental geochemistry and reveals temperature and pH as the primary factors that have shaped the evolution of these communities. Moreover, the inclusion of extensive geochemical data into analyses reveals new links between geochemical parameters (e.g. oxygen and trace element availability) and the distribution and taxonomic diversification of communities at the functional level. Further, an overall geochemical gradient (from multivariate analyses) between natural systems provides one of the most complete predictions of microbial taxonomic and functional composition. Clustering based on the frequency in which orthologous proteins occur among metagenomes

DiversePathsJ: diverse shortest paths for bioimage analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Uhlmann, Virginie; Haubold, Carsten; Hamprecht, Fred A; Unser, Michael

2018-02-01

We introduce a formulation for the general task of finding diverse shortest paths between two end-points. Our approach is not linked to a specific biological problem and can be applied to a large variety of images thanks to its generic implementation as a user-friendly ImageJ/Fiji plugin. It relies on the introduction of additional layers in a Viterbi path graph, which requires slight modifications to the standard Viterbi algorithm rules. This layered graph construction allows for the specification of various constraints imposing diversity between solutions. The software allows obtaining a collection of diverse shortest paths under some user-defined constraints through a convenient and user-friendly interface. It can be used alone or be integrated into larger image analysis pipelines. http://bigwww.epfl.ch/algorithms/diversepathsj. michael.unser@epfl.ch or fred.hamprecht@iwr.uni-heidelberg.de. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Programa de pesquisa em produtos naturais: a experiência da CEME

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sant' Ana Paulo José Péret de

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The Brazilian effort on R&D of products from the national biodiversity dates back to the 70's. The Central de Medicamentos - CEME - was tailored to add scientific and technological competence to the production of pharmaceutical drugs derived from the Brazilian biodiversity by means of the Research Programme on Medicinal Plants - PPPM. Although previous to the Convention on Biological Diversity - CBD - and to the current debate and the ever-growing interest on phytomedicines, CEME has historical importance in the present governmental efforts on fostering the R&D on phytomedicines. This article makes a historical redemption of the PPPM, the actions and the results in the course of its existence.

Assessing biological invasions in European Seas: Biological traits of the most widespread non-indigenous species

Science.gov (United States)

Cardeccia, Alice; Marchini, Agnese; Occhipinti-Ambrogi, Anna; Galil, Bella; Gollasch, Stephan; Minchin, Dan; Narščius, Aleksas; Olenin, Sergej; Ojaveer, Henn

2018-02-01

The biological traits of the sixty-eight most widespread multicellular non-indigenous species (MWNIS) in European Seas: Baltic Sea, Western European Margin of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea were examined. Data for nine biological traits was analyzed, and a total of 41 separate categories were used to describe the biological and ecological functions of these NIS. Our findings show that high dispersal ability, high reproductive rate and ecological generalization are the biological traits commonly associated with MWNIS. The functional groups that describe most of the 68 MWNIS are: photoautotrophic, zoobenthic (both sessile and motile) and nektonic predatory species. However, these 'most widespread' species comprise a wide range of taxa and biological trait profiles; thereby a clear "identikit of a perfect invader" for marine and brackish environments is difficult to define. Some traits, for example: "life form", "feeding method" and "mobility", feature multiple behaviours and strategies. Even species introduced by a single pathway, e.g. vessels, feature diverse biological trait profiles. MWNIS likely to impact community organization, structure and diversity are often associated with brackish environments. For many traits ("life form", "sociability", "reproductive type", "reproductive frequency", "haploid and diploid dispersal" and "mobility"), the categories mostly expressed by the impact-causing MWNIS do not differ substantially from the whole set of MWNIS.

Benefit sharing: an exploration on the contextual discourse of a changing concept.

Science.gov (United States)

Dauda, Bege; Dierickx, Kris

2013-09-12

The concept of benefit sharing has been a topical issue on the international stage for more than two decades, gaining prominence in international law, research ethics and political philosophy. In spite of this prominence, the concept of benefit sharing is not devoid of controversies related to its definition and justification. This article examines the discourses and justifications of benefit sharing concept. We examine the discourse on benefit sharing within three main spheres; namely: common heritage of humankind, access and use of genetic resources according to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and international clinical research. Benefit sharing has changed from a concept that is enshrined in a legally binding regulation in the contexts of common heritage of humankind and CBD to a non-binding regulation in international clinical research. Nonetheless, there are more ethical justifications that accentuate benefit sharing in international clinical research than in the contexts of common heritage of humankind and the CBD. There is a need to develop a legal framework in order to strengthen the advocacy and decisiveness of benefit sharing practice in international health research. Based on this legal framework, research sponsors would be required to provide a minimum set of possible benefits to participants and communities in research. Such legal framework on benefit sharing will encourage research collaboration with local communities; and dispel mistrust between research sponsors and host communities. However, more research is needed, drawing from other international legal frameworks, to understand how such a legal framework on benefit sharing can be successfully formulated in international health research.

Metabolic diversity of the heterotrophic microorganisms and potential link to pollution of the Rouge River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiquia, S.M.

2010-01-01

The heterotrophic microbial communities of the Rouge River were tracked using Biolog Ecoplates to understand the metabolic diversity at different temporal and spatial scales, and potential link to river pollution. Site less impacted by anthrophogenic sources (site 1), showed markedly lower metabolic diversity. The only substrates that were utilized in the water samples were carbohydrates. Sites more impacted by anthrophogenic sources (sites 8 and 9) showed higher metabolic diversity. Higher functional diversity was linked to the physico-chemical and biological properties of the water samples (i.e. higher concentrations of DO, DOC, chlorophyll, and bacterial density). Biolog analysis was found to be useful in differentiating metabolic diversity between microbial communities; in determining factors that most influence the separation of communities; and in identifying which substrates were most utilized by the communities. It can also be used as an effective ecological indicator of changes in river function attributable to urbanization and pollution. - BIOLOG differentiated metabolic diversity between microbial communities and can be used as ecological indicator of river function attributable to urbanization and pollution.

Metabolic diversity of the heterotrophic microorganisms and potential link to pollution of the Rouge River

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tiquia, S.M., E-mail: smtiquia@umd.umich.ed [Department of Natural Sciences, University of Michigan, 115F Science Building, Dearborn, MI 48128 (United States)

2010-05-15

The heterotrophic microbial communities of the Rouge River were tracked using Biolog Ecoplates to understand the metabolic diversity at different temporal and spatial scales, and potential link to river pollution. Site less impacted by anthrophogenic sources (site 1), showed markedly lower metabolic diversity. The only substrates that were utilized in the water samples were carbohydrates. Sites more impacted by anthrophogenic sources (sites 8 and 9) showed higher metabolic diversity. Higher functional diversity was linked to the physico-chemical and biological properties of the water samples (i.e. higher concentrations of DO, DOC, chlorophyll, and bacterial density). Biolog analysis was found to be useful in differentiating metabolic diversity between microbial communities; in determining factors that most influence the separation of communities; and in identifying which substrates were most utilized by the communities. It can also be used as an effective ecological indicator of changes in river function attributable to urbanization and pollution. - BIOLOG differentiated metabolic diversity between microbial communities and can be used as ecological indicator of river function attributable to urbanization and pollution.

Bringing the Real World into the Biology Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Jenny

2006-01-01

This study followed a small but diverse group of biology teachers through the first two years of the pilot for a new Advanced Level Biology course--Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology. SNAB aims to modernise A-level Biology using real world contexts and examples as the starting point, promoting conceptual understanding rather than factual recall,…

Applicability of Montreal Process Criterion 1 - conservation of biological diversity - to rangeland sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis H. Flather; Carolyn Hull Sieg

2000-01-01

Nine indicators of biodiversity conservation have been defined by the nations participating in the Montreal Process for assessing sustainability of temperate and boreal forests. Five of these indicators address compositional and spatial diversity of ecosystems; two address species diversity; and two are indirect measures of genetic diversity. Our objective was to...

Characterization of CBD grown ZnO films with high c-axis orientation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kahraman, S., E-mail: suleymanmku@gmail.com [Physics Department, Mustafa Kemal University, 31034 Hatay (Turkey); Bayansal, F.; Cetinkara, H.A.; Cakmak, H.M.; Gueder, H.S. [Physics Department, Mustafa Kemal University, 31034 Hatay (Turkey)

2012-06-15

Highly c-axis oriented ZnO films were deposited on seeded glass substrates. Successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method and chemical bath deposition (CBD) method were used to obtain seed layers and ZnO films. To see the effects of seed layer and deposition time, structural (e.g. grain size, microstrain and dislocation density), morphological, and electrical (e.g. resistivity, activation energy) properties of the films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and four point probe method. From the SEM images, resultant structures were found as well defined nanorods nearly perpendicular to the substrate surfaces and densely cover the substrates. The XRD patterns showed that ZnO films have hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferred c-axis orientation along (002) plane. C-axis orientation was also supported by texture coefficient calculations. The lattice parameters of the structures were determined as a = 3.2268 A, b = 5.2745 A, {alpha} = {beta} = 90 Degree-Sign and {gamma} = 120 Degree-Sign . From the XRD patterns, it was revealed that, microstrain and dislocation density values of the structures decreased whereas grain size increased. This was attributed to enhancement occurred in lattice structure of the ZnO films. Activation energy values of the films were found in between 0.12 and 0.15 eV from the dark electrical resistivity-temperature characteristics in a temperature range of 300-500 K. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Hexagonal wurtzite structured ZnO nanorods (preferred orientation along (002) plane). Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Electrical activation energies were calculated in between 0.12 and 0.15 eV. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Microstrain and dislocation density decreased with increasing deposition time. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Increasing deposition time was resulted in an increase in preferred orientation.

Diversity in soil seed bank of Sinai and implications for conservation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Understanding the diversity level of seed bank is important for designing conservation and restoration programs especially in arid ecosystems. A diverse of diversity indices has been used in evaluating seed communities regardless of its suitability to measure the ecological quality of the targeted biological community.

Paradigms for biologically inspired design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lenau, T. A.; Metzea, A.-L.; Hesselberg, T.

2018-01-01

engineering, medical engineering, nanotechnology, photonics,environmental protection and agriculture. However, a major obstacle for the wider use of biologically inspired design isthe knowledge barrier that exist between the application engineers that have insight into how to design suitable productsand......Biologically inspired design is attracting increasing interest since it offers access to a huge biological repository of wellproven design principles that can be used for developing new and innovative products. Biological phenomena can inspireproduct innovation in as diverse areas as mechanical...... the biologists with detailed knowledge and experience in understanding how biological organisms function in theirenvironment. The biologically inspired design process can therefore be approached using different design paradigmsdepending on the dominant opportunities, challenges and knowledge characteristics...

Handmade Extraction of Coloring Natural, an Alternative of Use of the Biological Diversity of Chocó, Colombia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wilber Pino Chalá

2003-07-01

and Solanum aff. incomptum, traditionally used by the people of Quibdó, Colombia for this purpose, to identify new alternatives of sustainable use of the biological diversity and resources of the Colombian Pacific. Samples from shafts, leaves, seeds and fruits of the selected species were extracted using domestic chemical methods (salt, vinegar to fix the extracted ink on different kinds of cloths and natural fibers (cotton, rayon, linen, among others. Natural colorants extracted with salt gave the best staining results. The extracted colorants achieved different tonalities from violet, lived, clear and dark, green, black coffee, dark red, rose, lilac, among others. These extracting methods are alternative ways to avail Choco’s tropical rain forest, to appreciate the traditional knowledge of these communities and could contribute to improve the region’s life quality.

Biological anti-TNF drugs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Prado, Mônica Simon; Bendtzen, Klaus; Andrade, Luis Eduardo Coelho

2017-01-01

practice shows a significant percentage of individuals who do not exhibit the desired response. Loss of therapeutic benefit after initial successful response is designated secondary failure. Immune-biological agents are not self-antigens and are therefore potentially immunogenic. Secondary failure...... is frequently caused by antibodies against immune-biologicals, known as anti-drug antibodies (ADA). ADA that neutralize circulating immune-biologicals and/or promote their clearance can reduce treatment efficacy. Furthermore, ADA can induce adverse events by diverse immunological mechanisms. This review...... provides a comprehensive overview of ADA in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with anti-TNF immune-biologicals, and explores the concept of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) as an effective strategy to improve therapeutic management. Expert opinion: Monitoring circulating ADA and therapeutic immune-biological...

Effect of TEA on characteristics of CdS/PbS thin film solar cells prepared by CBD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sattarian H.

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In this study, a solar cell with a glass/ITO/CdS/PbS/Al structure was constructed. Both window (CdS and absorption (PbS layers were deposited by chemical bath deposition (CBD method. The CdS window layer was deposited on ITO-glass. The PbS nanocrystalline thin film was prepared with and without triethanolamine on CdS films at bath temperature of 25 °C. CdS and PbS nanocrystals were identified using XRD and SEM. The cells are photosensitive in a large spectral range (at visible and near infrared regions. The cell with absorbing layer obtained from the bath without TEA has higher efficiency with the following parameters: the open circuit voltage (Voc is 275 mV, short circuit current (Jsc is 12.24 mA/cm2, maximum voltage (Vmax is 165 mV and maximum current (Jmax is 7.11 mA/cm2 with the efficiency η = 1.31 %, fill factor FF is 32 % under the illumination intensity of 90 mW/cm2. The cells have an area of 0.15 cm2.

[Research on functional diversity of microorganisms on jujube fruit surface in storage].

Science.gov (United States)

Sha, Yuexia

2009-10-01

Disease during storage caused by microbial infection is a serious problem of jujube fruits. The aim of the study was to characterize the microbial diversity in stored jujube fruits. I used Biolog in experiment. The types of micro-plates were Filamentous Fungi micro-plate and Economicmicro-plate. There was much difference in microbial functional diversity on the surface of stored jujube fruit. The microbial functional diversity of stored 30 days was richer than it of stored 15 days. The diversity, homogeneity and average well color development of jujube used by fruit perservatives were lower than it not used by fruit preservatives. There were six kinds of the characteristic carbon. Our study firstly showed microbial diversity on the surface of stored jujube fruit. Biolog could be applied in the research on microbial functional diversity of fruit surface.

Floristic composition and diversity of three forest types at Caparu, Vaupus Biological Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cano, Angela; Stevenson, Pablo R

2009-01-01

The Amazon forests are among the most diverse ecosystems in the planet. Although some countries of the Amazon Basin have a fairly complete record of their plants, in Colombia much effort is still needed to have a good idea of the plant diversity patterns and floristic composition. Three one-hectare vegetation-land plots (DBH? 10 cm) were established in Vaupes, Colombia, regarding three types of forest: Colina, Terraza (Terra Firme forests) and Igapo (periodically flooded). Plant diversity was estimated and floristic composition was described classifying the most important families and species. The highest diversity was found in Colina (Fisher's ? = 160.3), followed by Terraza (? = 78.4) and Igapo (? = 44.7). Fabaceae s.l. was the most important family of all plots, but in Terraza forest the importance of Arecaceae was similar to that of Fabaceae. Floristic composition was also remarkably different amongst the three forest types, especially Igapo, which was the most dissimilar. However, both Terra Firme forests showed strong floristic differences, which may be caused by differences in abiotic factors (i.e. soils). High plant diversity reported in this study agrees with the hypothesis that central and western Amazon forests are the most diverse of the Amazon Basin.

A Common Ca2+-Driven Interdomain Module Governs Eukaryotic NCX Regulation

Science.gov (United States)

Giladi, Moshe; Sasson, Yehezkel; Fang, Xianyang; Hiller, Reuben; Buki, Tal; Wang, Yun-Xing; Hirsch, Joel A.; Khananshvili, Daniel

2012-01-01

Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) proteins mediate Ca2+-fluxes across the cell membrane to maintain Ca2+ homeostasis in many cell types. Eukaryotic NCX contains Ca2+-binding regulatory domains, CBD1 and CBD2. Ca2+ binding to a primary sensor (Ca3-Ca4 sites) on CBD1 activates mammalian NCXs, whereas CALX, a Drosophila NCX ortholog, displays an inhibitory response to regulatory Ca2+. To further elucidate the underlying regulatory mechanisms, we determined the 2.7 Å crystal structure of mammalian CBD12-E454K, a two-domain construct that retains wild-type properties. In conjunction with stopped-flow kinetics and SAXS (small-angle X-ray scattering) analyses of CBD12 mutants, we show that Ca2+ binding to Ca3-Ca4 sites tethers the domains via a network of interdomain salt-bridges. This Ca2+-driven interdomain switch controls slow dissociation of “occluded” Ca2+ from the primary sensor and thus dictates Ca2+ sensing dynamics. In the Ca2+-bound conformation, the interdomain angle of CBD12 is very similar in NCX and CALX, meaning that the interdomain distances cannot account for regulatory diversity in NCX and CALX. Since the two-domain interface is nearly identical among eukaryotic NCXs, including CALX, we suggest that the Ca2+-driven interdomain switch described here represents a general mechanism for initial conduction of regulatory signals in NCX variants. PMID:22768191

e-Biologics: Fabrication of Sustainable Electronics with "Green" Biological Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Lovley, Derek R

2017-06-27

The growing ubiquity of electronic devices is increasingly consuming substantial energy and rare resources for materials fabrication, as well as creating expansive volumes of toxic waste. This is not sustainable. Electronic biological materials (e-biologics) that are produced with microbes, or designed with microbial components as the guide for synthesis, are a potential green solution. Some e-biologics can be fabricated from renewable feedstocks with relatively low energy inputs, often while avoiding the harsh chemicals used for synthesizing more traditional electronic materials. Several are completely free of toxic components, can be readily recycled, and offer unique features not found in traditional electronic materials in terms of size, performance, and opportunities for diverse functionalization. An appropriate investment in the concerted multidisciplinary collaborative research required to identify and characterize e-biologics and to engineer materials and devices based on e-biologics could be rewarded with a new "green age" of sustainable electronic materials and devices. Copyright © 2017 Lovley.

Maximizing the phylogenetic diversity of seed banks.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffiths, Kate E; Balding, Sharon T; Dickie, John B; Lewis, Gwilym P; Pearce, Tim R; Grenyer, Richard

2015-04-01

Ex situ conservation efforts such as those of zoos, botanical gardens, and seed banks will form a vital complement to in situ conservation actions over the coming decades. It is therefore necessary to pay the same attention to the biological diversity represented in ex situ conservation facilities as is often paid to protected-area networks. Building the phylogenetic diversity of ex situ collections will strengthen our capacity to respond to biodiversity loss. Since 2000, the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership has banked seed from 14% of the world's plant species. We assessed the taxonomic, geographic, and phylogenetic diversity of the Millennium Seed Bank collection of legumes (Leguminosae). We compared the collection with all known legume genera, their known geographic range (at country and regional levels), and a genus-level phylogeny of the legume family constructed for this study. Over half the phylogenetic diversity of legumes at the genus level was represented in the Millennium Seed Bank. However, pragmatic prioritization of species of economic importance and endangerment has led to the banking of a less-than-optimal phylogenetic diversity and prioritization of range-restricted species risks an underdispersed collection. The current state of the phylogenetic diversity of legumes in the Millennium Seed Bank could be substantially improved through the strategic banking of relatively few additional taxa. Our method draws on tools that are widely applied to in situ conservation planning, and it can be used to evaluate and improve the phylogenetic diversity of ex situ collections. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

An efficient BTX sensor based on ZnO nanoflowers grown by CBD method

Science.gov (United States)

Acharyya, D.; Bhattacharyya, P.

2015-04-01

In this paper, sensing performance of ZnO nanoflower like structures derived by chemical bath deposition method (CBD), towards Benzene Toluene and Xylene (BTX) vapors is reported. Relatively higher bath temperature (110 °C) and high pH value (pH: 11) of solution escort to higher growth rate along [0 0 0 1] plane of ZnO, which eventually resulted in pointed edge nanorod based flower like structures after 3 h. After detailed structural characterizations (field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD)), existence of different defect states (viz. oxygen vacancy (Vo), Zinc vacancy (VZn) and Zinc interstitials (Zni)) were authenticated by Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. BTX sensing performance, employing the nanoflowers as the sensing layer, was carried out in resistive mode with two Pd lateral electrodes. The sensor study was performed at different temperatures (150-350 °C) in the concentration range of 0.5-700 ppm of the respective vapors. The highest normalized resistance response (NRR%) was achieved at 200 °C. At this optimum temperature, normalized resistance responses (39.3/92.6%, 45.8/96.9%, and 47.8/99% respectively) were found to be promising towards 0.5/700 ppm of benzene, toluene and xylene. The response time of the sensor towards the target species were also found to be appreciably fast (15 s, 6 s, and 5 s) towards 700 ppm of benzene, toluene and xylene respectively. Detailed sensing mechanism for BTX with such flower like ZnO structures was explained with the help of interaction of band structures (of ZnO) with the corresponding highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the target species.

Monitoring tree secies diversity over large spatial and temporal scales

Science.gov (United States)

James F. Rosson; Clifford C. Amundsen

2004-01-01

The prospect of decline in biological diversity has become a central concern in the life sciences, both around the world and across the United States. Anthropogenic disturbance has been identified as a major factor affecting species diversity trends. An increase in the harvesting of naturally diverse timber stands in the South has become an important issue. The...

Study on genetic diversity of some Iranian Pistachio (Pistacia vera L ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

hope&shola

2010-11-08

Nov 8, 2010 ... Keywords: Pistacia vera, genetic diversity, clustering, population parameters. .... used to detect DNA polymorphism and genetic diversity in ..... Project on Underutilized ... 2nd. nat. symp. of cellular and molecular biology.

Using aquatic macroinvertebrate species traits to build test batteries for sediment toxicity assessment: accounting for the diversity of potential biological responses to toxicants.

Science.gov (United States)

Ducrot, Virginie; Usseglio-Polatera, Philippe; Péry, T Alexandre R R; Mouthon, Jacques; Lafont, Michel; Roger, Marie-Claude; Garric, Jeanne; Férard, Jean-François

2005-09-01

An original species-selection method for the building of test batteries is presented. This method is based on the statistical analysis of the biological and ecological trait patterns of species. It has been applied to build a macroinvertebrate test battery for the assessment of sediment toxicity, which efficiently describes the diversity of benthic macroinvertebrate biological responses to toxicants in a large European lowland river. First, 109 potential representatives of benthic communities of European lowland rivers were selected from a list of 479 taxa, considering 11 biological traits accounting for the main routes of exposure to a sediment-bound toxicant and eight ecological traits providing an adequate description of habitat characteristics used by the taxa. Second, their biological and ecological trait patterns were compared using coinertia analysis. This comparison allowed the clustering of taxa into groups of organisms that exhibited similar life-history characteristics, physiological and behavioral features, and similar habitat use. Groups exhibited various sizes (7-35 taxa), taxonomic compositions, and biological and ecological features. Main differences among group characteristics concerned morphology, substrate preferendum and habitat utilization, nutritional features, maximal size, and life-history strategy. Third, the best representatives of the mean biological and ecological characteristics of each group were included in the test battery. The final selection was composed of Chironomus riparius (Insecta: Diptera), Branchiura sowerbyi (Oligochaeta: Tubificidae), Lumbriculus variegatus (Oligochaeta: Lumbriculidae), Valvata piscinalis (Gastropoda: Valvatidae), and Sericostoma personatum (Trichoptera: Sericostomatidae). This approach permitted the biological and ecological variety of the battery to be maximized. Because biological and ecological traits of taxa determine species sensitivity, such maximization should permit the battery to better account

Evaluation of microbial diversity of different soil layers at a contaminated diesel site

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Maila, MP

2005-01-01

Full Text Available with high TPH removal. Analysis of the microbial diversity in the different soil layers using functional diversity (community-level physiological profile, via Biolog) and genetic diversity using polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel...

Investigations on the synthesis, optical and electrical properties of TiO{sub 2} thin films by Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Govindasamy, Geetha [Bharathiar University, Coimbatore (India); Murugasen, Priya [Department of Physics, Saveetha Engineering College (India); Sagadevan, Suresh [Department of Physics, AMET University, Chennai (India)

2016-03-15

Titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2} ) thin films were prepared by Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was used to examine the structure and to determine the crystallite size of TiO{sub 2} thin film. The surface morphology of the film was studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).The optical properties were studied using the UV-Visible and photoluminescence (PL) spectrum. Optical constants such as band gap, refractive index, extinction coefficient and electric susceptibility were determined. The FTIR spectrum revealed the strong presence of TiO{sub 2} . The dielectric properties of TiO{sub 2} thin films were studied for different frequencies and different temperatures. The AC electrical conductivity test revealed that the conduction depended both on the frequency and the temperature. Photoconductivity study was carried out in order to ascertain the positive photoconductivity of the TiO{sub 2} thin films. (author)

Synthetic Biology: Mapping the Scientific Landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Oldham, Paul; Hall, Stephen; Burton, Geoff

2012-01-01

This article uses data from Thomson Reuters Web of Science to map and analyse the scientific landscape for synthetic biology. The article draws on recent advances in data visualisation and analytics with the aim of informing upcoming international policy debates on the governance of synthetic biology by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. We use mapping techniques to identify how synthetic biology can best be understood and the range of institutions, researchers and funding agencies involved. Debates under the Convention are likely to focus on a possible moratorium on the field release of synthetic organisms, cells or genomes. Based on the empirical evidence we propose that guidance could be provided to funding agencies to respect the letter and spirit of the Convention on Biological Diversity in making research investments. Building on the recommendations of the United States Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues we demonstrate that it is possible to promote independent and transparent monitoring of developments in synthetic biology using modern information tools. In particular, public and policy understanding and engagement with synthetic biology can be enhanced through the use of online interactive tools. As a step forward in this process we make existing data on the scientific literature on synthetic biology available in an online interactive workbook so that researchers, policy makers and civil society can explore the data and draw conclusions for themselves. PMID:22539946

Systematization of the protein sequence diversity in enzymes related to secondary metabolic pathways in plants, in the context of big data biology inspired by the KNApSAcK motorcycle database.

Science.gov (United States)

Ikeda, Shun; Abe, Takashi; Nakamura, Yukiko; Kibinge, Nelson; Hirai Morita, Aki; Nakatani, Atsushi; Ono, Naoaki; Ikemura, Toshimichi; Nakamura, Kensuke; Altaf-Ul-Amin, Md; Kanaya, Shigehiko

2013-05-01

Biology is increasingly becoming a data-intensive science with the recent progress of the omics fields, e.g. genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics. The species-metabolite relationship database, KNApSAcK Core, has been widely utilized and cited in metabolomics research, and chronological analysis of that research work has helped to reveal recent trends in metabolomics research. To meet the needs of these trends, the KNApSAcK database has been extended by incorporating a secondary metabolic pathway database called Motorcycle DB. We examined the enzyme sequence diversity related to secondary metabolism by means of batch-learning self-organizing maps (BL-SOMs). Initially, we constructed a map by using a big data matrix consisting of the frequencies of all possible dipeptides in the protein sequence segments of plants and bacteria. The enzyme sequence diversity of the secondary metabolic pathways was examined by identifying clusters of segments associated with certain enzyme groups in the resulting map. The extent of diversity of 15 secondary metabolic enzyme groups is discussed. Data-intensive approaches such as BL-SOM applied to big data matrices are needed for systematizing protein sequences. Handling big data has become an inevitable part of biology.

Genomes, Phylogeny, and Evolutionary Systems Biology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Medina, Monica

2005-03-25

With the completion of the human genome and the growing number of diverse genomes being sequenced, a new age of evolutionary research is currently taking shape. The myriad of technological breakthroughs in biology that are leading to the unification of broad scientific fields such as molecular biology, biochemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science are now known as systems biology. Here I present an overview, with an emphasis on eukaryotes, of how the postgenomics era is adopting comparative approaches that go beyond comparisons among model organisms to shape the nascent field of evolutionary systems biology.

Biodiversity for the Millennium Development Goals: What local organisations can do

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roe, Dilys; Bond, Ivan

2007-03-15

In 2002 the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted a target to significantly reduce biodiversity loss by 2010 'as a contribution to poverty alleviation'. In 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) offered compelling evidence of the positive links between biodiversity conservation and human well-being. In practice, however, biodiversity conservation and local people's livelihoods often compete – particularly in some 'top-down' approaches to conservation such as certain national parks. Can 'bottom-up' approaches to conservation – decentralisation and community management – provide the answer? A recent review shows that community-led conservation can contribute to human well-being and to the achievement of many Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but in the majority of cases, it remains small-scale, isolated and not integrated within the formal conservation sector. We suggest that, given appropriate support, community conservation could achieve much more for poverty reduction. Indeed, without further local action, the international targets set within the CBD and the MDGs are likely to be unattainable. We suggest a range of actions for donor and government agencies to help unleash this potential – including payments for ecosystem services, mainstreaming biodiversity into sector-wide initiatives, and better integration of biodiversity within the MDG framework.

Biodiversity for the Millennium Development Goals: What local organisations can do

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roe, Dilys; Bond, Ivan

2007-03-15

In 2002 the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted a target to significantly reduce biodiversity loss by 2010 'as a contribution to poverty alleviation'. In 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) offered compelling evidence of the positive links between biodiversity conservation and human well-being. In practice, however, biodiversity conservation and local people's livelihoods often compete – particularly in some 'top-down' approaches to conservation such as certain national parks. Can 'bottom-up' approaches to conservation – decentralisation and community management – provide the answer? A recent review shows that community-led conservation can contribute to human well-being and to the achievement of many Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but in the majority of cases, it remains small-scale, isolated and not integrated within the formal conservation sector. We suggest that, given appropriate support, community conservation could achieve much more for poverty reduction. Indeed, without further local action, the international targets set within the CBD and the MDGs are likely to be unattainable. We suggest a range of actions for donor and government agencies to help unleash this potential – including payments for ecosystem services, mainstreaming biodiversity into sector-wide initiatives, and better integration of biodiversity within the MDG framework.

Grassland ecology and diversity (Ecologia y diversidad de pastizales)

Science.gov (United States)

Laurie B. Abbott

2006-01-01

Grasslands of the Chihuahuan Desert region are ecologically and economically important. These grasslands are valued for their rangeland, wildlife, watershed, and recreation resources. Biological diversity also raises the value of grassland communities. The potential for multiple uses within the region increases as the diversity of the resource base increases. In order...

The ecological representativeness of the global protected areas estate in 2009: progress towards the CBD 2010 target

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Coad, Lauren; Burgess, Neil David; Loucks, Colby

The Convention on Biological Diversity has established a global target for the protection of 10% of each of the world's ecological regions by 2010. This report uses the WWF Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World and the 2009 version of the World Database of Protected Areas to analyse progress towards...... are still working to develop their protected area networks and it is likely that further ecoregions will reach the 10% protected area coverage target for terrestrial ecological regions by 2010. Although protection of the Global 200 priority ecoregions is higher than for the total set of ecoregions, with 72...... % reaching the 10% target, previous studies have suggested that areas of high biodiversity may require higher levels of protection and conservation planning. The approaching 2010 deadline provides a further opportunity to discuss and assess the effectiveness of the 10% target in affording adequate protection...

Stakeholder Visions for Biodiversity Conservation in Developing Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ademola A. Adenle

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The 2014 Conference of the Parties (COP 12 for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD was another step on the road to achieving the Aichi Targets the CBD agreed in 2010. It was also a key step on the way to making progress towards the vision of a more balanced relationship between people and the rest of biodiversity by 2050. Many key issues were left for this COP by negotiators from COP 11 and earlier meetings; such as settling financial issues, articulating clearly the Aichi Targets for national implementation by 2020, or providing clear guidance on capacity-building for developing states. This paper utilizes 22 stakeholder interviews taken at the 2012 Hyderabad COP to develop discussion of ongoing issues in the CBD negotiations. These interviews yielded a number of tractable policy opportunities available for the 2014 Conference to create significant space for developing countries to contribute effectively to global achievement of the Aichi Targets. Breakthroughs and developments at the COP, despite the inevitability of some difficult discussions, will be provided by developing country perspectives. Despite that potential traction, Ministers at the high-level segment noted that progress towards the Aichi targets is insufficient and recognizing there was still much to do on resource mobilization, reaffirmed their commitment to mobilize financial resources from all sources for the effective implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020. As we enter the second half of the 2011–2020 decade, developing countries must be placed at the center of efforts to improve sustainable use, conservation and benefit sharing of biodiversity around the world.

Selection platforms for directed evolution in synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Tizei, Pedro A G; Csibra, Eszter; Torres, Leticia; Pinheiro, Vitor B

2016-08-15

Life on Earth is incredibly diverse. Yet, underneath that diversity, there are a number of constants and highly conserved processes: all life is based on DNA and RNA; the genetic code is universal; biology is limited to a small subset of potential chemistries. A vast amount of knowledge has been accrued through describing and characterizing enzymes, biological processes and organisms. Nevertheless, much remains to be understood about the natural world. One of the goals in Synthetic Biology is to recapitulate biological complexity from simple systems made from biological molecules-gaining a deeper understanding of life in the process. Directed evolution is a powerful tool in Synthetic Biology, able to bypass gaps in knowledge and capable of engineering even the most highly conserved biological processes. It encompasses a range of methodologies to create variation in a population and to select individual variants with the desired function-be it a ligand, enzyme, pathway or even whole organisms. Here, we present some of the basic frameworks that underpin all evolution platforms and review some of the recent contributions from directed evolution to synthetic biology, in particular methods that have been used to engineer the Central Dogma and the genetic code. © 2016 The Author(s).

A reliable and validated LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantification of 4 cannabinoids in 40 consumer products.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Qingfang; Buchanan, Beth; Zuccolo, Jonathan; Poulin, Mathieu-Marc; Gabriele, Joseph; Baranowski, David Charles

2018-01-01

In the past 50 years, Cannabis sativa (C. sativa) has gone from a substance essentially prohibited worldwide to one that is gaining acceptance both culturally and legally in many countries for medicinal and recreational use. As additional jurisdictions legalize Cannabis products and the variety and complexity of these products surpass the classical dried plant material, appropriate methods for measuring the biologically active constituents is paramount to ensure safety and regulatory compliance. While there are numerous active compounds in C. sativa the primary cannabinoids of regulatory and safety concern are (-)-Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and their respective acidic forms THCA-A and CBDA. Using the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bioanalytical method validation guidelines we developed a sensitive, selective, and accurate method for the simultaneous analysis CBD, CBDA, THC, and THCA-A in oils and THC & CBD in more complex matrices. This HPLC-MS/MS method was simple and reliable using standard sample dilution and homogenization, an isocratic chromatographic separation, and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) for analytes was 0.195 ng/mL over a 0.195-50.0 ng/mL range of quantification with a coefficient of correlation of >0.99. Average intra-day and inter-day accuracies were 94.2-112.7% and 97.2-110.9%, respectively. This method was used to quantify CBD, CBDA, THC, and THCA-A in 40 commercial hemp products representing a variety of matrices including oils, plant materials, and creams/cosmetics. All products tested met the federal regulatory restrictions on THC content in Canada (CBD, the majority of analyzed products contained low CBD levels and a CBD: CBDA ratio of CBD and a CBD: CBDA ratio of >1,000 (an oil-based product). Overall, the method proved amenable to the analysis of various commercial products including oils, creams, and plant material and may be diagnostically indicative of

Evolution of egg coats: linking molecular biology and ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Shu, Longfei; Suter, Marc J-F; Räsänen, Katja

2015-08-01

One central goal of evolutionary biology is to explain how biological diversity emerges and is maintained in nature. Given the complexity of the phenotype and the multifaceted nature of inheritance, modern evolutionary ecological studies rely heavily on the use of molecular tools. Here, we show how molecular tools help to gain insight into the role of egg coats (i.e. the extracellular structures surrounding eggs and embryos) in evolutionary diversification. Egg coats are maternally derived structures that have many biological functions from mediating fertilization to protecting the embryo from environmental hazards. They show great molecular, structural and functional diversity across species, but intraspecific variability and the role of ecology in egg coat evolution have largely been overlooked. Given that much of the variation that influences egg coat function is ultimately determined by their molecular phenotype, cutting-edge molecular tools (e.g. proteomics, glycomics and transcriptomics), combined with functional assays, are needed for rigorous inferences on their evolutionary ecology. Here, we identify key research areas and highlight emerging molecular techniques that can increase our understanding of the role of egg coats in the evolution of biological diversity, from adaptation to speciation. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Crystal Structure of the CTP1L Endolysin Reveals How Its Activity Is Regulated by a Secondary Translation Product.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunne, Matthew; Leicht, Stefan; Krichel, Boris; Mertens, Haydyn D T; Thompson, Andrew; Krijgsveld, Jeroen; Svergun, Dmitri I; Gómez-Torres, Natalia; Garde, Sonia; Uetrecht, Charlotte; Narbad, Arjan; Mayer, Melinda J; Meijers, Rob

2016-03-04

Bacteriophages produce endolysins, which lyse the bacterial host cell to release newly produced virions. The timing of lysis is regulated and is thought to involve the activation of a molecular switch. We present a crystal structure of the activated endolysin CTP1L that targets Clostridium tyrobutyricum, consisting of a complex between the full-length protein and an N-terminally truncated C-terminal cell wall binding domain (CBD). The truncated CBD is produced through an internal translation start site within the endolysin gene. Mutants affecting the internal translation site change the oligomeric state of the endolysin and reduce lytic activity. The activity can be modulated by reconstitution of the full-length endolysin-CBD complex with free CBD. The same oligomerization mechanism applies to the CD27L endolysin that targets Clostridium difficile and the CS74L endolysin that targets Clostridium sporogenes. When the CTP1L endolysin gene is introduced into the commensal bacterium Lactococcus lactis, the truncated CBD is also produced, showing that the alternative start codon can be used in other bacterial species. The identification of a translational switch affecting oligomerization presented here has implications for the design of effective endolysins for the treatment of bacterial infections. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Radiation chemistry in development and research of radiation biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Min Rui

2010-01-01

During the establishment and development of radiation biology, radiation chemistry acts like bridge which units the spatial and temporal insight coming from radiation physics with radiation biology. The theory, model, and methodology of radiation chemistry play an important role in promoting research and development of radiation biology. Following research development of radiation biology effects towards systems radiation biology the illustration and exploration both diversity of biological responses and complex process of biological effect occurring remain to need the theory, model, and methodology come from radiation chemistry. (authors)

Characteristics of phylogenetic diversity in airborne bacterial populations in China

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudhry, Zahra; Santarpia, Joshua L.; Martins, J. V.

2011-05-01

Considering their potential implications for human health, agricultural productivity, and ecosystem stability, surprisingly little is known about the composition or dynamics of the atmosphere's biological aerosols. The few studies that have examined phylogenetic diversity in China focused on a single sampling period, whereas this study spans 3 months and includes over 300 samples. The 300+ samples were categorized by month and direction of their back-trajectory. DNA extraction was carried out on the pooled samples in a quantitative manner to allow for comparison between the amount of extracted material and the amount of initial total aerosol mass. Within an individual month, samples originating from similar land types and approximately equidistant to the sampling location exhibited similar diversity, whereas samples originating from much greater distances and from different land types included phyla unique to that location. Phyla from the same origin also varied from one month to the next. The biological diversity found from the Phylochips reinforces the hypothesis that air samples carry a biological record of their history.

The diversity and abundance of bacteria and oxygenic phototrophs in saline biological desert crusts in Xinjiang, northwest China.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ke; Liu, Ruyin; Zhang, Hongxun; Yun, Juanli

2013-07-01

Although microorganisms, particularly oxygenic phototrophs, are known as the major players in the biogeochemical cycles of elements in desert soil ecosystems and have received extensive attention, still little is known about the effects of salinity on the composition and abundances of microbial community in desert soils. In this study, the diversity and abundance of bacteria and oxygenic phototrophs in biological desert crusts from Xinjiang province, which were under different salinity conditions, were investigated by using clone library and quantitative PCR (qPCR). The 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis showed that cyanobacteria, mainly Microcoleus vagnitus of the order Oscillatoriales, were predominant in the low saline crusts, while other phototrophs, such as diatom, were the main microorganism group responsible for the oxygenic photosynthesis in the high saline crusts. Furthermore, the higher salt content in crusts may stimulate the growth of other bacteria, including Deinococcus-Thermus, Bacteroidetes, and some subdivisions of Proteobacteria (β-, γ-, and δ-Proteobacteria). The cpcBA-IGS gene analysis revealed the existence of novel M. vagnitus strains in this area. The qPCR results showed that the abundance of oxygenic phototrophs was significantly higher under lower saline condition than that in the higher saline crusts, suggesting that the higher salinity in desert crusts could suppress the numbers of total bacteria and phototrophic bacteria but did highly improve the diversity of salt-tolerant bacteria.

Molecular Diversity of Sea Spray Aerosol Particles: Impact of Ocean Biology on Particle Composition and Hygroscopicity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cochran, Richard E.; Laskina, Olga; Trueblood, Jonathan; Estillore, Armando D.; Morris, Holly S.; Jayarathne, Thilina; Sultana, Camile M.; Lee, Christopher; Lin, Peng; Laskin, Julia; Laskin, Alexander; Dowling, Jackie; Qin, Zhen; Cappa, Christopher; Bertram, Timothy; Tivanski, Alexei V.; Stone, Elizabeth; Prather, Kimberly; Grassian, Vicki H.

2017-05-01

The impact of sea spray aerosol (SSA) on climate depends on the size and chemical composition of individual particles that make-up the total SSA ensemble. While the organic fraction of SSA has been characterized from a bulk perspective, there remains a lack of understanding as to the composition of individual particles within the SSA ensemble. To better understand the molecular components within SSA particles and how SSA composition changes with ocean biology, simultaneous measurements of seawater and SSA were made during a month-long mesocosm experiment performed in an ocean-atmosphere facility. Herein, we deconvolute the composition of freshly emitted SSA devoid of anthropogenic and terrestrial influences by characterizing classes of organic compounds as well as specific molecules within individual SSA particles. Analysis of SSA particles show that the diversity of molecules within the organic fraction varies between two size fractions (submicron and supermicron) with contributions from fatty acids, monosaccharides, polysaccharides and siliceous material. Significant changes in the distribution of these compounds within individual particles are observed to coincide with the rise and fall of phytoplankton and bacterial populations within the seawater. Furthermore, water uptake is impacted as shown by hygroscopicity measurements of model systems composed of representative organic compounds. Thus, the how changes in the hygroscopic growth of SSA evolves with composition can be elucidated. Overall, this study provides an important connection between biological processes that control the composition of seawater and changes in single particle composition which will enhances our ability to predict the impact of SSA on climate.

Program Solicitation 2001.2. Closing Date: 15 August 2001. FY 2001 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

2001-01-01

...), and Chemical and Biological Defense (CBD) hereafter referred to as DoD Components, invite small business firms to submit proposals under this solicitation for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program...

Dynamics of forest ecosystems regenerated on burned and harvested areas in mountain regions of Siberia: characteristics of biological diversity, structure and productivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. M. Danilin

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Complex estimation of forest ecosystems dynamics based on detailing characteristics of structure, growth and productivity of the stands and describing general geographical and biological management options for preserving their biodiversity and sustaining stability are discussed in the paper by describing examples of tree stands restored on burned and logged areas in mountain regions of Siberia. On vast areas in Siberia, characterized as sub-boreal, subarid and with a strongly continental climate, forests grow on seasonally frozen soils and in many cases are surrounded by vast steppe and forest-steppe areas and uplands. Developing criteria for sustainability of mountain forest ecosystems is necessary for forest resource management and conservation. It is therefore important to obtain complex biometric characteristics on forest stands and landscapes and to thoroughly study their structure, biological diversity and productivity. Morphometric methods, Weibull simulation and allometric equations were used to determine the dimensional hierarchies of coenopopulation individuals. Structure and productivity of the aboveground stand components were also studied.

2011 Archaea: Ecology, Metabolism, & Molecular Biology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keneth Stedman

2011-08-05

Archaea, one of three major evolutionary lineages of life, are a fascinating and diverse group of microbes with deep roots overlapping those of eukaryotes. The focus of the 'Archaea: Ecology Metabolism & Molecular Biology' GRC conference expands on a number of emerging topics highlighting new paradigms in archaeal metabolism, genome function and systems biology; information processing; evolution and the tree of life; the ecology and diversity of archaea and their viruses. The strength of this conference lies in its ability to couple a field with a rich history in high quality research with new scientific findings in an atmosphere of stimulating exchange. This conference remains an excellent opportunity for younger scientists to interact with world experts in this field.

Biological indicators for monitoring water quality of MTF canals system

Science.gov (United States)

Sethi, S. L.

1975-01-01

Biological models, diversity indexes, were developed to predict environmental effects of NASA's Mississippi test facility (MTF) chemical operations on canal systems in the area. To predict the effects on local streams, a physical model of unpolluted streams was established. The model is fed by artesian well water free of background levels of pollutants. The species diversity and biota composition of unpolluted MTF stream was determined; resulting information will be used to form baseline data for future comparisons. Biological modeling was accomplished by adding controlled quantities or kinds of chemical pollutants and evaluating the effects of these chemicals on the biological life of the stream.

Echinococcus as a model system: biology and epidemiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, R C A; Jenkins, D J

2014-10-15

The introduction of Echinococcus to Australia over 200 years ago and its establishment in sheep rearing areas of the country inflicted a serious medical and economic burden on the country. This resulted in an investment in both basic and applied research aimed at learning more about the biology and life cycle of Echinococcus. This research served to illustrate the uniqueness of the parasite in terms of developmental biology and ecology, and the value of Echinococcus as a model system in a broad range of research, from fundamental biology to theoretical control systems. These studies formed the foundation for an international, diverse and ongoing research effort on the hydatid organisms encompassing stem cell biology, gene regulation, strain variation, wildlife diseases and models of transmission dynamics. We describe the development, nature and diversity of this research, and how it was initiated in Australia but subsequently has stimulated much international and collaborative research on Echinococcus. Copyright © 2014 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Soil bacterial diversity in degraded and restored lands of Northeast Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Araújo, Ademir Sérgio Ferreira; Borges, Clovis Daniel; Tsai, Siu Mui; Cesarz, Simone; Eisenhauer, Nico

2014-11-01

Land degradation deteriorates biological productivity and affects environmental, social, and economic sustainability, particularly so in the semi-arid region of Northeast Brazil. Although some studies exist reporting gross measures of soil microbial parameters and processes, limited information is available on how land degradation and restoration strategies influence the diversity and composition of soil microbial communities. In this study we compare the structure and diversity of bacterial communities in degraded and restored lands in Northeast Brazil and determine the soil biological and chemical properties influencing bacterial communities. We found that land degradation decreased the diversity of soil bacteria as indicated by both reduced operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness and Shannon index. Soils under native vegetation and restoration had significantly higher bacterial richness and diversity than degraded soils. Redundancy analysis revealed that low soil bacterial diversity correlated with a high respiratory quotient, indicating stressed microbial communities. By contrast, soil bacterial communities in restored land positively correlated with high soil P levels. Importantly, however, we found significant differences in the soil bacterial community composition under native vegetation and in restored land, which may indicate differences in their functioning despite equal levels of bacterial diversity.

Legislative Regulation of Traditional Medicinal Knowledge in Eritrea vis-à-vis Eritrea's Commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity: Issues and Alternatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Senai Andemariam

2010-09-01

Full Text Available On 21 March 1996, Eritrea acceded to the Convention on Biological Diversity which, among others, obliges states to sustainably conserve and develop customary uses of biological resources. Among the many forms of traditional practices of biological resources is traditional medicinal knowledge. Research has revealed that Eritrea has abundant pool of such knowledge and a high percentage of its population, as it is true with many developing and underdeveloped countries, resorts to traditional medicine for curing numerous ailments. However, no specific policy or legislative framework has yet been developed to sift, preserve and encourage the practice. Analysis of existing Eritrean laws and policies will show that they are neither adequate nor specific enough to be used in the preservation and development of Eritrean traditional medicinal knowledge. This article will, therefore, in view of the rich, yet unregulated, traditional medicinal knowledge resource in Eritrea, highlight the need for the development of a specific legal instrument legislation for Eritrea from the perspective of international and country level experiences. It will be argued that the development of a specific legislation is preferred to the alternative of keeping traditional medicinal knowledge as a component of a legal instrument developed for a larger mass such as health or traditional knowledge.

A review exploring biological activities of hydrazones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Garima Verma

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The development of novel compounds, hydrazones has shown that they possess a wide variety of biological activities viz. antimicrobial, anticonvulsant, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antiplatelet, antimalarial, anticancer, antifungal, antitubercular, antiviral, cardio protective etc., Hydrazones/azomethines/imines possess-NHN = CH- and constitute an important class of compounds for new drug development. A number of researchers have synthesized and evaluated the biological activities of hydrazones. This review aims at highlighting the diverse biological activities of hydrazones.

Ethnic Diversity in Malaysia-Lessons Learned from Bio-Diversity Research

OpenAIRE

Evers, Hans-Dieter; Anis, Yusuf; Shamsul, A.B.

2010-01-01

Biology and Anthropology/Sociology have dealt with issues of diversity for a long time,developing different concepts, theories and methods. In recent years there has been, if not a convergence, but at least a recognition that problems in nature and in society are interrelated. This paper attempts to use methods of biodiversity research and test their applicability for a study of ethnic relations. It is noted that the preservation of biodiversity ranks high on the agenda of researchers and pol...

Mammalian Synthetic Biology: Engineering Biological Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Joshua B; Perez-Pinera, Pablo; Gersbach, Charles A

2017-06-21

The programming of new functions into mammalian cells has tremendous application in research and medicine. Continued improvements in the capacity to sequence and synthesize DNA have rapidly increased our understanding of mechanisms of gene function and regulation on a genome-wide scale and have expanded the set of genetic components available for programming cell biology. The invention of new research tools, including targetable DNA-binding systems such as CRISPR/Cas9 and sensor-actuator devices that can recognize and respond to diverse chemical, mechanical, and optical inputs, has enabled precise control of complex cellular behaviors at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. These tools have been critical for the expansion of synthetic biology techniques from prokaryotic and lower eukaryotic hosts to mammalian systems. Recent progress in the development of genome and epigenome editing tools and in the engineering of designer cells with programmable genetic circuits is expanding approaches to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease and to establish personalized theranostic strategies for next-generation medicines. This review summarizes the development of these enabling technologies and their application to transforming mammalian synthetic biology into a distinct field in research and medicine.

Structure, Surface Morphology, and Optical and Electronic Properties of Annealed SnS Thin Films Obtained by CBD

Science.gov (United States)

Reghima, Meriem; Akkari, Anis; Guasch, Cathy; Turki-Kamoun, Najoua

2014-09-01

SnS thin films were initially coated onto Pyrex substrates by the chemical bath deposition (CBD) method and annealed at various temperatures ranging from 200°C to 600°C for 30 min in nitrogen gas. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that a structural transition from face-centered cubic to orthorhombic occurs when the annealing temperature is over 500°C. The surface morphology of all thin layers was investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The elemental composition of Sn and S, as measured by energy dispersive spectroscopy, is near the stoichiometric ratio. Optical properties studied by means of transmission and reflection measurements show an increase in the absorption coefficient with increasing annealing temperatures. The band gap energy is close to 1.5 eV, which corresponds to the optimum for photovoltaic applications. Last, the thermally stimulated current measurements show that the electrically active traps located in the band gap disappear after annealing at 500°C. These results suggest that, once again, annealing as a post-deposition treatment may be useful for improving the physical properties of the SnS layers included in photovoltaic applications. Moreover, the thermo-stimulated current method may be of practical relevance to explore the electronic properties of more conventional industrial methods, such as sputtering and chemical vapor deposition.

Chromatin regulation at the frontier of synthetic biology

Science.gov (United States)

Keung, Albert J.; Joung, J. Keith; Khalil, Ahmad S.; Collins, James J.

2016-01-01

As synthetic biology approaches are extended to diverse applications throughout medicine, biotechnology and basic biological research, there is an increasing need to engineer yeast, plant and mammalian cells. Eukaryotic genomes are regulated by the diverse biochemical and biophysical states of chromatin, which brings distinct challenges, as well as opportunities, over applications in bacteria. Recent synthetic approaches, including `epigenome editing', have allowed the direct and functional dissection of many aspects of physiological chromatin regulation. These studies lay the foundation for biomedical and biotechnological engineering applications that could take advantage of the unique combinatorial and spatiotemporal layers of chromatin regulation to create synthetic systems of unprecedented sophistication. PMID:25668787

Effects of tillage on the activity density and biological diversity of carabid beetles in spring and winter crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Hatten, Timothy D; Bosque-Pérez, Nilsa A; Labonte, James R; Guy, Stephen O; Eigenbrode, Sanford D

2007-04-01

The effects of tillage regimen (conventional [CT] and no-tillage [NT]) on the activity density and diversity of carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) was studied by pitfall trapping within a rain-fed cropping system in northwestern Idaho, 2000-2002. The cropping rotation consisted of a spring cereal (barley, Hordeum vulgare L., in 2000 and 2001; and wheat, Triticum aestivum L., in 2002), spring dry pea (Pisum sativum L.) 2000-2002, and wheat (T. aestivum), spring in 2000 and 2001, and winter in 2002. A total of 14,480 beetles comprised of 30 species was captured, with five numerically dominant species [Poecilus scitulus L., Poecilus lucublandus Say, Microlestes linearis L., Pterostichus melanarius Ill., and Calosoma cancellatum (Eschscholtz)], accounting for 98% of all captures. All species including the dominants responded idiosyncratically to tillage regimen. Adjusting for trapping biases did not significantly change seasonal activity density of Poecilus spp. or Pt. melanarius to tillage. More beetles were captured in CT than in NT crops because of the dominance of P. scitulus in CT, whereas species richness and biological diversity were generally higher in NT crops. Observed patterns suggest that direct effects of tillage affected some species, whereas indirect effects related to habitat characteristics affected others. CT may provide habitat preferable to xerophilic spring breeders. A relationship was found between beetle species size and tillage regimen in pea and to a lesser extent across all spring crops, with large species (>14 mm) conserved more commonly in NT, small species (tillage systems.

Analysis of genetic diversity in Arrhenatherum elatius Germplasm ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Jane

2011-07-25

Jul 25, 2011 ... The genetic diversity of 19 Arrhenatherum elatius accessions was analyzed ... can be used as novel DNA markers for genomic .... phylogenies and evolutionary biology. .... struction Project of the Beijing Academy of Agriculture.

Partitioning taxonomic diversity of aquatic insect assemblages ...

Science.gov (United States)

Biological diversity can be divided into: alpha (α, local), beta (β, difference in assemblage composition among locals), and gamma (γ, total diversity). We assessed the partitioning of taxonomic diversity of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) and of functional feeding groups (FFG) in Neotropical Savanna (southeastern Brazilian Cerrado) streams. To do so, we considered three diversity components: stream site (α), among stream sites (β1), and among hydrologic units (β2). We also evaluated the association of EPT genera composition with heterogeneity in land use, instream physical habitat structure, and instream water quality variables. The percent of EPT taxonomic α diversity (20.7%) was lower than the β1 and β2 diversities (53.1% and 26.2%, respectively). The EPT FFG α diversity (26.5%) was lower than the β1 diversity (55.8%) and higher than the β2 (17.7%) diversity. The collector-gatherer FFG was predominant and had the greatest β diversity among stream sites (β1, 55.8%). Our findings support the need for implementing regional scale conservation strategies in the Cerrado biome, which has been degraded by anthropogenic activities. Using adaptations of the US EPA’s National Aquatic Resource Survey (NARS) designs and methods, Ferreira and colleagues examined the distribution of taxonomic and functional diversity of aquatic insects among basins, stream sites within basins, and within stream sample reaches. They sampled 160 low-order stre

Spatiotemporal variation of plant diversity on ditch banks under different management regimes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leng, X.; Musters, C.J.M.; Snoo, de G.R.

2011-01-01

Agricultural intensification has led to a loss of biological diversity at various spatial and temporal scales and understanding the mechanisms driving these changes would help target conservation efforts accordingly. In this study we used additive partitioning of diversity and the Jaccard index of

Evaluating the effectiveness of protected areas for maintaining biodiversity, securing habitats, and reducing threats

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geldmann, Jonas

of this thesis has been to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of protected area in securing biodiversity, by evaluating their ability to either improve conservation responses, the state of biodiversity, or alternatively to reduce the human pressures responsible for the loss of biodiversity. The scope......Protected areas are amongst the most important conservation responses to halt the loss of biodiversity and cover more than 12.7% of the terrestrial surface of earth. Likewise, protected areas are an important political instrument and a key component of the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD......); seeking to protect at least 17% of the terrestrial surface and 10% of the coastal and marine areas by 2020. Protected areas are expected to deliver on many different objectives covering biodiversity, climate change mitigation, local livelihood, and cultural & esthetic values. Within each...

The structure of cross-cultural musical diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Rzeszutek, Tom; Savage, Patrick E.; Brown, Steven

2012-01-01

Human cultural traits, such as languages, musics, rituals and material objects, vary widely across cultures. However, the majority of comparative analyses of human cultural diversity focus on between-culture variation without consideration for within-culture variation. In contrast, biological approaches to genetic diversity, such as the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) framework, partition genetic diversity into both within- and between-population components. We attempt here for the first time to quantify both components of cultural diversity by applying the AMOVA model to music. By employing this approach with 421 traditional songs from 16 Austronesian-speaking populations, we show that the vast majority of musical variability is due to differences within populations rather than differences between. This demonstrates a striking parallel to the structure of genetic diversity in humans. A neighbour-net analysis of pairwise population musical divergence shows a large amount of reticulation, indicating the pervasive occurrence of borrowing and/or convergent evolution of musical features across populations. PMID:22072606

The structure of cross-cultural musical diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Rzeszutek, Tom; Savage, Patrick E; Brown, Steven

2012-04-22

Human cultural traits, such as languages, musics, rituals and material objects, vary widely across cultures. However, the majority of comparative analyses of human cultural diversity focus on between-culture variation without consideration for within-culture variation. In contrast, biological approaches to genetic diversity, such as the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) framework, partition genetic diversity into both within- and between-population components. We attempt here for the first time to quantify both components of cultural diversity by applying the AMOVA model to music. By employing this approach with 421 traditional songs from 16 Austronesian-speaking populations, we show that the vast majority of musical variability is due to differences within populations rather than differences between. This demonstrates a striking parallel to the structure of genetic diversity in humans. A neighbour-net analysis of pairwise population musical divergence shows a large amount of reticulation, indicating the pervasive occurrence of borrowing and/or convergent evolution of musical features across populations.

Integrating Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Goal Structure, Target Areas and Means of Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul L. Lucas

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The United Nations’ discussions on defining a new set of post-2015 development goals focus on poverty eradication and sustainable development. Biodiversity and ecosystem services are essential for poverty eradication, which is also one of the foundations of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD. Based on an assessment of current proposals of goals and targets, and a quantitative pathway analysis to meet long term biodiversity and food security goals, this paper discusses how biodiversity and ecosystem services can be integrated into a broad set of goals and targets, and concludes with relevant target areas and means of implementation for which specific targets need to be defined. Furthermore, it responds to the call of the CBD to consider the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and the related Aichi biodiversity targets in the post-2015 development agenda. The paper’s analysis identifies three overlapping but also supplemental ways to integrate biodiversity and ecosystem services in the post-2015 agenda: integrated goals, goals addressing earth system functioning and goals addressing environmental limits. It further concludes seven target areas to be included under the goals to address biodiversity and ecosystem services in the context of food and agriculture: access to food, demand for agricultural products, sustainable intensification, ecosystem fragmentation, protected areas, essential ecosystem services and genetic diversity. The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity provides a good basis for integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services in the post-2015 development agenda. Many Aichi targets address the proposed target areas and the means of implementation discussed, while they need to be complemented with targets that specifically address human well-being, as well as institutions and governance.

Influence of Irradiation Time on Structural, Morphological Properties of ZnO-NRs Films Deposited by MW-CBD and Their Photodiode Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saliha Ilican

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Microwave-assisted chemical bath deposition (MW-CBD was used to deposit zinc oxide nanorods (ZnO-NRs films by using different microwave irradiation time. The films exhibit a good crystallinity having a hexagonal wurtzite phase formation. Although the dominant preferred orientation was not observed for the ZnO-5 and ZnO-10, ZnO-8 showed (002 preferred orientation. The emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM showed almost randomly oriented hexagonal nanorods on the surface. A slight decrease in the length of the observed hexagonal nanorods due to the increase in the irradiation time was observed, changing from 550 nm to 300 nm. The p-Si/n-ZnO-NRs heterojunction photodiodes were fabricated. The current-voltage characteristics of these photodiodes were investigated under dark and different illumination intensity. An increase in the reverse current with increasing illumination intensity confirmed that the fabricated photodiodes exhibited a photoconducting behavior. In addition, the barrier height and series resistance values of the photodiodes were determined from capacitance-voltage measurements.

2009 Archaea: Ecology, Metabolism & Molecular Biology GRC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furlow, Julie Maupin- [Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)

2009-07-26

Archaea, one of three major evolutionary lineages of life, are a fascinating and diverse group of microbes with deep roots overlapping those of eukaryotes. The focus of the 'Archaea: Ecology Metabolism & Molecular Biology' GRC conference expands on a number of emerging topics highlighting new paradigms in archaeal metabolism, genome function and systems biology; information processing; evolution and the tree of life; the ecology and diversity of archaea and their viruses; and industrial applications. The strength of this conference lies in its ability to couple a field with a rich history in high quality research with new scientific findings in an atmosphere of stimulating exchange. This conference remains an excellent opportunity for younger scientists to interact with world experts in this field.

Physicochemical characteristics of aerosol particles generated during the milling of beryllium silicate ores: implications for risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Stefaniak, Aleksandr B; Chipera, Steve J; Day, Gregory A; Sabey, Phil; Dickerson, Robert M; Sbarra, Deborah C; Duling, Mathew G; Lawrence, Robert B; Stanton, Marcia L; Scripsick, Ronald C

2008-01-01

Inhalation of beryllium dusts generated during milling of ores and cutting of beryl-containing gemstones is associated with development of beryllium sensitization and low prevalence of chronic beryllium disease (CBD). Inhalation of beryllium aerosols generated during primary beryllium production and machining of the metal, alloys, and ceramics are associated with sensitization and high rates of CBD, despite similar airborne beryllium mass concentrations among these industries. Understanding the physicochemical properties of exposure aerosols may help to understand the differential immunopathologic mechanisms of sensitization and CBD and lead to more biologically relevant exposure standards. Properties of aerosols generated during the industrial milling of bertrandite and beryl ores were evaluated. Airborne beryllium mass concentrations among work areas ranged from 0.001 microg/m(3) (beryl ore grinding) to 2.1 microg/m(3) (beryl ore crushing). Respirable mass fractions of airborne beryllium-containing particles were 80% in high-energy input areas (beryl melting, beryl grinding). Particle specific surface area decreased with processing from feedstock ores to drumming final product beryllium hydroxide. Among work areas, beryllium was identified in three crystalline forms: beryl, poorly crystalline beryllium oxide, and beryllium hydroxide. In comparison to aerosols generated by high-CBD risk primary production processes, aerosol particles encountered during milling had similar mass concentrations, generally lower number concentrations and surface area, and contained no identifiable highly crystalline beryllium oxide. One possible explanation for the apparent low prevalence of CBD among workers exposed to beryllium mineral dusts may be that characteristics of the exposure material do not contribute to the development of lung burdens sufficient for progression from sensitization to CBD. In comparison to high-CBD risk exposures where the chemical nature of aerosol

Synthetic Biology for Specialty Chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Markham, Kelly A; Alper, Hal S

2015-01-01

In this review, we address recent advances in the field of synthetic biology and describe how those tools have been applied to produce a wide variety of chemicals in microorganisms. Here we classify the expansion of the synthetic biology toolbox into three different categories based on their primary function in strain engineering-for design, for construction, and for optimization. Next, focusing on recent years, we look at how chemicals have been produced using these new synthetic biology tools. Advances in producing fuels are briefly described, followed by a more thorough treatment of commodity chemicals, specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals. Throughout this review, an emphasis is placed on how synthetic biology tools are applied to strain engineering. Finally, we discuss organism and host strain diversity and provide a future outlook in the field.

Do species conservation assessments capture genetic diversity?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malin C. Rivers

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The best known system for classifying threat status of species, the IUCN Red List, currently lacks explicit considerations of genetic diversity, and consequently may not account for potential adaptation of species to future environmental change. To address this gap, we integrate range-wide genetic analysis with IUCN Red List assessments.We calculated the loss of genetic diversity under simulated range loss for species of Delonix (Leguminosae. Simulated range loss involved random loss of populations and was intended to model ongoing habitat destruction. We found a strong relationship between loss of genetic diversity and range. Moreover, we found correspondence between levels of genetic diversity and thresholds for ‘non-threatened’ versus ‘threatened’ IUCN Red List categories.Our results support the view that current threat thresholds of the IUCN Red List criteria reflect genetic diversity, and hence evolutionary potential; although the genetic diversity distinction between threatened categories was less evident. Thus, by supplementing conventional conservation assessments with genetic data, new insights into the biological robustness of IUCN Red List assessments for targeted conservation initiatives can be achieved. Keywords: Conservation assessment, Conservation genetics, Extinction risk, Genetic diversity, IUCN Red List, Range

Analysis of the functional diversity of the microbial communities in a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Biolog method was thus evaluated in a paper-mill water system. The influence of the production of various paper grades, biocide combinations and monthly maintenance shut-downs on the functional diversity of the microbial communities were determined using the Biolog technique. The communities in the planktonic ...

Partitioning taxonomic diversity of aquatic insect assemblages and functional feeding groups in Neotropical Savanna headwater streams

Science.gov (United States)

Biological diversity can be divided into: alpha (α, local), beta (β, difference in assemblage composition among locals), and gamma (γ, total diversity). We assessed the partitioning of taxonomic diversity of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) and of functional feedin...

Biological Soft Robotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Feinberg, Adam W

2015-01-01

In nature, nanometer-scale molecular motors are used to generate force within cells for diverse processes from transcription and transport to muscle contraction. This adaptability and scalability across wide temporal, spatial, and force regimes have spurred the development of biological soft robotic systems that seek to mimic and extend these capabilities. This review describes how molecular motors are hierarchically organized into larger-scale structures in order to provide a basic understanding of how these systems work in nature and the complexity and functionality we hope to replicate in biological soft robotics. These span the subcellular scale to macroscale, and this article focuses on the integration of biological components with synthetic materials, coupled with bioinspired robotic design. Key examples include nanoscale molecular motor-powered actuators, microscale bacteria-controlled devices, and macroscale muscle-powered robots that grasp, walk, and swim. Finally, the current challenges and future opportunities in the field are addressed.

CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS FROM MULTIPLE OSCILLATORS: LESSONS FROM DIVERSE ORGANISMS

OpenAIRE

Bell-Pedersen, Deborah; Cassone, Vincent M.; Earnest, David J.; Golden, Susan S.; Hardin, Paul E.; Thomas, Terry L.; Zoran, Mark J.

2005-01-01

The organization of biological activities into daily cycles is universal in organisms as diverse as cyanobacteria, fungi, algae, plants, flies, birds and man. Comparisons of circadian clocks in unicellular and multicellular organisms using molecular genetics and genomics have provided new insights into the mechanisms and complexity of clock systems. Whereas unicellular organisms require stand-alone clocks that can generate 24-hour rhythms for diverse processes, organisms with differentiated t...

Molecular diversity of fungi from marine oxygen-deficient environments (ODEs)

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Manohar, C.S.; Forster, D.; Kauff, F.; Stoeck, T.

. Sparrow Jr F K (1936) Biological observations of the marine fungi of woods hole waters. Biol Bull 70: 236-263. States JS & Christensen M (2001) Fungi Associated with Biological Soil Crusts in Desert Grasslands of Utah and Wyoming. Mycologia 93: 432... version: Biology of marine fungi. Ed. by: Raghukumar, C. (Prog. Mol. Subcellular Biol). Springer, vol.53 (Chap 10); 2012; 189-208 Chapter # 10 Molecular diversity of fungi from marine oxygen-deficient environments (ODEs) Cathrine S. Jebaraj 1...

Transport and characterization of ambient biological aerosol near Laurel, MD

Science.gov (United States)

Santarpia, J. L.; Cunningham, D.; Gilberry, J.; Kim, S.; Smith, E. E.; Ratnesar-Shumate, S.; Quizon, J.

2010-09-01

Bacterial aerosol have been observed and studied in the ambient environment since the mid nineteenth century. These studies have sought to provide a better understanding of the diversity, variability and factors that control the biological aerosol population. In this study, we show comparisons between diversity of culturable bacteria and fungi, using culture and clinical biochemical tests, and 16S rRNA diversity using Affymetrix PhyloChips. Comparing the culturable fraction and surveying the total 16S rRNA of each sample provides a comprehensive look at the bacterial population studied and allows comparison with previous studies. Thirty-six hour back-trajectories of the air parcels sampled, over the two day period beginning 4 November 2008, provide information on the sources of aerosol sampled on the campus of Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD. This study indicates that back-trajectory modeling of air parcels may provide insights into the observed diversity of biological aerosol.

The next step in biology: a periodic table?

Science.gov (United States)

Dhar, Pawan K

2007-08-01

Systems biology is an approach to explain the behaviour of a system in relation to its individual components. Synthetic biology uses key hierarchical and modular concepts of systems biology to engineer novel biological systems. In my opinion the next step in biology is to use molecule-to-phenotype data using these approaches and integrate them in the form a periodic table. A periodic table in biology would provide chassis to classify, systematize and compare diversity of component properties vis-a-vis system behaviour. Using periodic table it could be possible to compute higher- level interactions from component properties. This paper examines the concept of building a bio-periodic table using protein fold as the fundamental unit.

Integration of a Faculty's Ongoing Research into an Undergraduate Laboratory Teaching Class in Developmental Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Nam, Sang-Chul

2018-01-01

Traditional developmental biology laboratory classes have utilized a number of different model organisms to allow students to be exposed to diverse biological phenomena in developing organisms. This traditional approach has mainly focused on the diverse morphological and anatomical descriptions of the developing organisms. However, modern…

Functional diversity through the mean trait dissimilarity: resolving shortcomings with existing paradigms and algorithms.

Science.gov (United States)

de Bello, Francesco; Carmona, Carlos P; Lepš, Jan; Szava-Kovats, Robert; Pärtel, Meelis

2016-04-01

While an increasing number of indices for estimating the functional trait diversity of biological communities are being proposed, there is a growing demand by ecologists to clarify their actual implications and simplify index selection. Several key indices relate to mean trait dissimilarity between species within biological communities. Among them, the most widely used include (a) the mean species pairwise dissimilarity (MPD) and (b) the Rao quadratic entropy (and related indices). These indices are often regarded as redundant and promote the unsubstantiated yet widely held view that Rao is a form of MPD. Worryingly, existing R functions also do not always simplify the use and differentiation of these indices. In this paper, we show various distinctions between these two indices that warrant mathematical and biological consideration. We start by showing an existing form of MPD that considers species abundances and is different from Rao both mathematically and conceptually. We then show that the mathematical relationship between MPD and Rao can be presented simply as Rao = MPD × Simpson, where the Simpson diversity index is defined as 1 - dominance. We further show that this relationship is maintained for both species abundances and presence/absence. This evidence dismantles the paradigm that the Rao diversity is an abundance-weighted form of MPD and indicates that both indices can differ substantially at low species diversities. We discuss the different interpretations of trait diversity patterns in biological communities provided by Rao and MPD and then provide a simple R function, called "melodic," which avoids the unintended results that arise from existing mainstream functions.

Tracking the emergence of synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Shapira, Philip; Kwon, Seokbeom; Youtie, Jan

2017-01-01

Synthetic biology is an emerging domain that combines biological and engineering concepts and which has seen rapid growth in research, innovation, and policy interest in recent years. This paper contributes to efforts to delineate this emerging domain by presenting a newly constructed bibliometric definition of synthetic biology. Our approach is dimensioned from a core set of papers in synthetic biology, using procedures to obtain benchmark synthetic biology publication records, extract keywords from these benchmark records, and refine the keywords, supplemented with articles published in dedicated synthetic biology journals. We compare our search strategy with other recent bibliometric approaches to define synthetic biology, using a common source of publication data for the period from 2000 to 2015. The paper details the rapid growth and international spread of research in synthetic biology in recent years, demonstrates that diverse research disciplines are contributing to the multidisciplinary development of synthetic biology research, and visualizes this by profiling synthetic biology research on the map of science. We further show the roles of a relatively concentrated set of research sponsors in funding the growth and trajectories of synthetic biology. In addition to discussing these analyses, the paper notes limitations and suggests lines for further work.

A summarization approach for Affymetrix GeneChip data using a reference training set from a large, biologically diverse database

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tripputi Mark

2006-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Many of the most popular pre-processing methods for Affymetrix expression arrays, such as RMA, gcRMA, and PLIER, simultaneously analyze data across a set of predetermined arrays to improve precision of the final measures of expression. One problem associated with these algorithms is that expression measurements for a particular sample are highly dependent on the set of samples used for normalization and results obtained by normalization with a different set may not be comparable. A related problem is that an organization producing and/or storing large amounts of data in a sequential fashion will need to either re-run the pre-processing algorithm every time an array is added or store them in batches that are pre-processed together. Furthermore, pre-processing of large numbers of arrays requires loading all the feature-level data into memory which is a difficult task even with modern computers. We utilize a scheme that produces all the information necessary for pre-processing using a very large training set that can be used for summarization of samples outside of the training set. All subsequent pre-processing tasks can be done on an individual array basis. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by defining a new version of the Robust Multi-chip Averaging (RMA algorithm which we refer to as refRMA. Results We assess performance based on multiple sets of samples processed over HG U133A Affymetrix GeneChip® arrays. We show that the refRMA workflow, when used in conjunction with a large, biologically diverse training set, results in the same general characteristics as that of RMA in its classic form when comparing overall data structure, sample-to-sample correlation, and variation. Further, we demonstrate that the refRMA workflow and reference set can be robustly applied to naïve organ types and to benchmark data where its performance indicates respectable results. Conclusion Our results indicate that a biologically diverse

Experimental Manipulation of Grassland Plant Diversity Induces Complex Shifts in Aboveground Arthropod Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hertzog, Lionel R; Meyer, Sebastian T; Weisser, Wolfgang W; Ebeling, Anne

2016-01-01

Changes in producer diversity cause multiple changes in consumer communities through various mechanisms. However, past analyses investigating the relationship between plant diversity and arthropod consumers focused only on few aspects of arthropod diversity, e.g. species richness and abundance. Yet, shifts in understudied facets of arthropod diversity like relative abundances or species dominance may have strong effects on arthropod-mediated ecosystem functions. Here we analyze the relationship between plant species richness and arthropod diversity using four complementary diversity indices, namely: abundance, species richness, evenness (equitability of the abundance distribution) and dominance (relative abundance of the dominant species). Along an experimental gradient of plant species richness (1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 60 plant species), we sampled herbivorous and carnivorous arthropods using pitfall traps and suction sampling during a whole vegetation period. We tested whether plant species richness affects consumer diversity directly (i), or indirectly through increased productivity (ii). Further, we tested the impact of plant community composition on arthropod diversity by testing for the effects of plant functional groups (iii). Abundance and species richness of both herbivores and carnivores increased with increasing plant species richness, but the underlying mechanisms differed between the two trophic groups. While higher species richness in herbivores was caused by an increase in resource diversity, carnivore richness was driven by plant productivity. Evenness of herbivore communities did not change along the gradient in plant species richness, whereas evenness of carnivores declined. The abundance of dominant herbivore species showed no response to changes in plant species richness, but the dominant carnivores were more abundant in species-rich plant communities. The functional composition of plant communities had small impacts on herbivore communities, whereas

Experimental Manipulation of Grassland Plant Diversity Induces Complex Shifts in Aboveground Arthropod Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Hertzog, Lionel R.; Meyer, Sebastian T.; Weisser, Wolfgang W.; Ebeling, Anne

2016-01-01

Changes in producer diversity cause multiple changes in consumer communities through various mechanisms. However, past analyses investigating the relationship between plant diversity and arthropod consumers focused only on few aspects of arthropod diversity, e.g. species richness and abundance. Yet, shifts in understudied facets of arthropod diversity like relative abundances or species dominance may have strong effects on arthropod-mediated ecosystem functions. Here we analyze the relationship between plant species richness and arthropod diversity using four complementary diversity indices, namely: abundance, species richness, evenness (equitability of the abundance distribution) and dominance (relative abundance of the dominant species). Along an experimental gradient of plant species richness (1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 60 plant species), we sampled herbivorous and carnivorous arthropods using pitfall traps and suction sampling during a whole vegetation period. We tested whether plant species richness affects consumer diversity directly (i), or indirectly through increased productivity (ii). Further, we tested the impact of plant community composition on arthropod diversity by testing for the effects of plant functional groups (iii). Abundance and species richness of both herbivores and carnivores increased with increasing plant species richness, but the underlying mechanisms differed between the two trophic groups. While higher species richness in herbivores was caused by an increase in resource diversity, carnivore richness was driven by plant productivity. Evenness of herbivore communities did not change along the gradient in plant species richness, whereas evenness of carnivores declined. The abundance of dominant herbivore species showed no response to changes in plant species richness, but the dominant carnivores were more abundant in species-rich plant communities. The functional composition of plant communities had small impacts on herbivore communities, whereas

Conservation biological control and enemy diversity on a landscape scale

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tscharntke, T.; Bommarco, R.; Clough, Y.; Crist, T.O.; Kleijn, D.; Rand, T.A.; Tylianakis, J.M.; Nouhuys, S.; Vidal, S.

2007-01-01

Conservation biological control in agroecosystems requires a landscape management perspective, because most arthropod species experience their habitat at spatial scales beyond the plot level, and there is spillover of natural enemies across the crop–noncrop interface. The species pool in the

"A mission-driven discipline": the growth of conservation biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Meine, Curt; Soulé, Michael; Noss, Reed E

2006-06-01

Conservation biology emerged in the mid-1980s, drawing on established disciplines and integrating them in pursuit of a coherent goal: the protection and perpetuation of the Earth's biological diversity. Opportunistic in its borrowing and application of knowledge, conservation biology had its roots within the established biological sciences and resource management disciplines but has continually incorporated insights from the empirical experience of resource managers, from the social sciences and humanities, and from diverse cultural sources. The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) has represented the field's core constituency, while expanding that constituency in keeping with the field's integrative spirit. Conservation Biology has served as SCB's flagship publication, promoting research, dialog, debate, and application of the field's essential concepts. Over the last 20 years the field, SCB, and the journal have evolved to meet changing conservation needs, to explore gaps in our knowledge base, to incorporate new information from related fields, to build professional capacity, and to provide expanded opportunities for international participation. In turn, the field, SCB, and journal have prompted change in related fields, organizations, and publications. In its dedication to advancing the scientific foundations of biodiversity conservation and placing that science at the service of society in a world whose variety, wildness, and beauty we care for conservation biology represents both a continuation and radical reconfiguration of the traditional relationship between science and conservation.

Floral biology and the effects of plant-pollinator interaction on ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Reproductive biology and patterns of plant-pollinator interaction are fundamental to gene flow, diversity and evolutionary success of plants. Consequently, we examined the magnitude of insect-plant interaction based on the dynamics of breeding systems and floral biology and their effects on pollination intensity, fruit and ...

A living foundry for Synthetic Biological Materials: A synthetic biology roadmap to new advanced materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Feuvre, Rosalind A; Scrutton, Nigel S

2018-06-01

Society is on the cusp of harnessing recent advances in synthetic biology to discover new bio-based products and routes to their affordable and sustainable manufacture. This is no more evident than in the discovery and manufacture of Synthetic Biological Materials , where synthetic biology has the capacity to usher in a new Materials from Biology era that will revolutionise the discovery and manufacture of innovative synthetic biological materials. These will encompass novel, smart, functionalised and hybrid materials for diverse applications whose discovery and routes to bio-production will be stimulated by the fusion of new technologies positioned across physical, digital and biological spheres. This article, which developed from an international workshop held in Manchester, United Kingdom, in 2017 [1], sets out to identify opportunities in the new materials from biology era. It considers requirements, early understanding and foresight of the challenges faced in delivering a Discovery to Manufacturing Pipeline for synthetic biological materials using synthetic biology approaches. This challenge spans the complete production cycle from intelligent and predictive design, fabrication, evaluation and production of synthetic biological materials to new ways of bringing these products to market. Pathway opportunities are identified that will help foster expertise sharing and infrastructure development to accelerate the delivery of a new generation of synthetic biological materials and the leveraging of existing investments in synthetic biology and advanced materials research to achieve this goal.

How diverse are diversity assessment methods? A comparative analysis and benchmarking of molecular descriptor space.

Science.gov (United States)

Koutsoukas, Alexios; Paricharak, Shardul; Galloway, Warren R J D; Spring, David R; Ijzerman, Adriaan P; Glen, Robert C; Marcus, David; Bender, Andreas

2014-01-27

Chemical diversity is a widely applied approach to select structurally diverse subsets of molecules, often with the objective of maximizing the number of hits in biological screening. While many methods exist in the area, few systematic comparisons using current descriptors in particular with the objective of assessing diversity in bioactivity space have been published, and this shortage is what the current study is aiming to address. In this work, 13 widely used molecular descriptors were compared, including fingerprint-based descriptors (ECFP4, FCFP4, MACCS keys), pharmacophore-based descriptors (TAT, TAD, TGT, TGD, GpiDAPH3), shape-based descriptors (rapid overlay of chemical structures (ROCS) and principal moments of inertia (PMI)), a connectivity-matrix-based descriptor (BCUT), physicochemical-property-based descriptors (prop2D), and a more recently introduced molecular descriptor type (namely, "Bayes Affinity Fingerprints"). We assessed both the similar behavior of the descriptors in assessing the diversity of chemical libraries, and their ability to select compounds from libraries that are diverse in bioactivity space, which is a property of much practical relevance in screening library design. This is particularly evident, given that many future targets to be screened are not known in advance, but that the library should still maximize the likelihood of containing bioactive matter also for future screening campaigns. Overall, our results showed that descriptors based on atom topology (i.e., fingerprint-based descriptors and pharmacophore-based descriptors) correlate well in rank-ordering compounds, both within and between descriptor types. On the other hand, shape-based descriptors such as ROCS and PMI showed weak correlation with the other descriptors utilized in this study, demonstrating significantly different behavior. We then applied eight of the molecular descriptors compared in this study to sample a diverse subset of sample compounds (4%) from an

Teaching Diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kay Young McChesney

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This article is targeted to faculty teaching race and ethnicity, racism, diversity, and multicultural courses. Many students equate race with skin color. The premise of this article is that to teach students about the social construction of race, teachers must first know enough science to teach students that race is not biological. This article examines the biology of race by showing how advances in DNA sequencing led to genetics research that supports arguments that race is not biological. DNA comparisons show that all human populations living today are one species that came from Africa. The article explains the migration of humans out of Africa about 60,000 years ago and how they populated Australia, then Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The article shows how recent research maps the timing of the migration and admixture of specific population groups into Europe and India. The article shows how a mutation in one nucleotide can result in a trait like blue eyes, or Hemoglobin S (which confers resistance to malaria, which can be subject to evolution through natural selection. DNA comparisons show how natural selection shaped the genetics of human skin color to adapt to less UV light in the northern latitudes of Europe and Asia. The article shows that there is no relation between skin color or other “racial” characteristics and complex traits like intelligence. The science in this article will help teachers explain that as race is not biological, race is socially constructed and culturally enacted.

Early Phase in the Development of Cannabidiol as a Treatment for Addiction: Opioid Relapse Takes Initial Center Stage.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurd, Yasmin L; Yoon, Michelle; Manini, Alex F; Hernandez, Stephanie; Olmedo, Ruben; Ostman, Maria; Jutras-Aswad, Didier

2015-10-01

Multiple cannabinoids derived from the marijuana plant have potential therapeutic benefits but most have not been well investigated, despite the widespread legalization of medical marijuana in the USA and other countries. Therapeutic indications will depend on determinations as to which of the multiple cannabinoids, and other biologically active chemicals that are present in the marijuana plant, can be developed to treat specific symptoms and/or diseases. Such insights are particularly critical for addiction disorders, where different phytocannabinoids appear to induce opposing actions that can confound the development of treatment interventions. Whereas Δ(9)-tetracannabinol has been well documented to be rewarding and to enhance sensitivity to other drugs, cannabidiol (CBD), in contrast, appears to have low reinforcing properties with limited abuse potential and to inhibit drug-seeking behavior. Other considerations such as CBD's anxiolytic properties and minimal adverse side effects also support its potential viability as a treatment option for a variety of symptoms associated with drug addiction. However, significant research is still needed as CBD investigations published to date primarily relate to its effects on opioid drugs, and CBD's efficacy at different phases of the abuse cycle for different classes of addictive substances remain largely understudied. Our paper provides an overview of preclinical animal and human clinical investigations, and presents preliminary clinical data that collectively sets a strong foundation in support of the further exploration of CBD as a therapeutic intervention against opioid relapse. As the legal landscape for medical marijuana unfolds, it is important to distinguish it from "medical CBD" and other specific cannabinoids, that can more appropriately be used to maximize the medicinal potential of the marijuana plant.

The Influence of Edaphic and Orographic Factors on Algal Diversity in Biological Soil Crusts on Bare Spots in the Polar and Subpolar Urals

Science.gov (United States)

Patova, E. N.; Novakovskaya, I. V.; Deneva, S. V.

2018-03-01

The influence of edaphic and orographic factors on the formation of algal diversity in biological soil crusts was studied in mountain tundras of the Polar and Subpolar Urals. Bare spots developed in the soils on different parent materials and overgrown to different extents were investigated. Overall, 221 algal species from six divisions were identified. Among them, eighty-eight taxa were new for the region studied. The Stigonema minutum, S. ocellatum, Nostoc commune, Gloeocapsopsis magma, Scytonema hofmannii, Leptolyngbya foveolarum, Pseudococcomyxa simplex, Sporotetras polydermatica species and species of the Cylindrocystis, Elliptochloris, Fischerella, Leptosira, Leptolyngbya, Myrmecia, Mesotaenium, Phormidium, Schizothrix genera were permanent components of biological soil crusts. The basis of the algal cenoses in soil crusts was composed of cosmopolitan cyanoprokaryotes, multicellular green algae with thickened covers and abundant mucus. The share of nitrogen fixers was high. The physicochemical properties of primary soils forming under the crusts of spots are described. The more important factors affecting the species composition of algae in the crusts are the elevation gradient, temperature, soil moisture, and the contents of Ca, Mg, mobile phosphorus, and total nitrogen.

Harnessing natural diversity to probe metabolic pathways.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oliver R Homann

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Analyses of cellular processes in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae rely primarily upon a small number of highly domesticated laboratory strains, leaving the extensive natural genetic diversity of the model organism largely unexplored and unexploited. We asked if this diversity could be used to enrich our understanding of basic biological processes. As a test case, we examined a simple trait: the utilization of di/tripeptides as nitrogen sources. The capacity to import small peptides is likely to be under opposing selective pressures (nutrient utilization versus toxin vulnerability and may therefore be sculpted by diverse pathways and strategies. Hitherto, dipeptide utilization in S. cerevisiae was solely ascribed to the activity of a single protein, the Ptr2p transporter. Using high-throughput phenotyping and several genetically diverse strains, we identified previously unknown cellular activities that contribute to this trait. We find that the Dal5p allantoate/ureidosuccinate permease is also capable of facilitating di/tripeptide transport. Moreover, even in the absence of Dal5p and Ptr2p, an additional activity--almost certainly the periplasmic asparaginase II Asp3p--facilitates the utilization of dipeptides with C-terminal asparagine residues by a different strategy. Another, as-yet-unidentified activity enables the utilization of dipeptides with C-terminal arginine residues. The relative contributions of these activities to the utilization of di/tripeptides vary among the strains analyzed, as does the vulnerability of these strains to a toxic dipeptide. Only by sampling the genetic diversity of multiple strains were we able to uncover several previously unrecognized layers of complexity in this metabolic pathway. High-throughput phenotyping facilitates the rapid exploration of the molecular basis of biological complexity, allowing for future detailed investigation of the selective pressures that drive microbial evolution.

A living foundry for Synthetic Biological Materials: A synthetic biology roadmap to new advanced materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosalind A. Le Feuvre

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Society is on the cusp of harnessing recent advances in synthetic biology to discover new bio-based products and routes to their affordable and sustainable manufacture. This is no more evident than in the discovery and manufacture of Synthetic Biological Materials, where synthetic biology has the capacity to usher in a new Materials from Biology era that will revolutionise the discovery and manufacture of innovative synthetic biological materials. These will encompass novel, smart, functionalised and hybrid materials for diverse applications whose discovery and routes to bio-production will be stimulated by the fusion of new technologies positioned across physical, digital and biological spheres. This article, which developed from an international workshop held in Manchester, United Kingdom, in 2017 [1], sets out to identify opportunities in the new materials from biology era. It considers requirements, early understanding and foresight of the challenges faced in delivering a Discovery to Manufacturing Pipeline for synthetic biological materials using synthetic biology approaches. This challenge spans the complete production cycle from intelligent and predictive design, fabrication, evaluation and production of synthetic biological materials to new ways of bringing these products to market. Pathway opportunities are identified that will help foster expertise sharing and infrastructure development to accelerate the delivery of a new generation of synthetic biological materials and the leveraging of existing investments in synthetic biology and advanced materials research to achieve this goal. Keywords: Synthetic biology, Materials, Biological materials, Biomaterials, Advanced materials

Options for Online Undergraduate Courses in Biology at American Colleges and Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Varty, Alison K.

2016-01-01

I aimed to document the online undergraduate course supply in biology to evaluate how well biology educators are serving the diverse and growing population of online students. I documented online biology course offerings in the 2015-2016 academic year at 96 American colleges and universities. I quantified differences in variety, extent, and…

The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin induces heterogeneity in lipid membranes: potential implication for its diverse biological action.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong Zhou

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID, indomethacin (Indo, has a large number of divergent biological effects, the molecular mechanism(s for which have yet to be fully elucidated. Interestingly, Indo is highly amphiphilic and associates strongly with lipid membranes, which influence localization, structure and function of membrane-associating proteins and actively regulate cell signaling events. Thus, it is possible that Indo regulates diverse cell functions by altering micro-environments within the membrane. Here we explored the effect of Indo on the nature of the segregated domains in a mixed model membrane composed of dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl-choline (di16:0 PC, or DPPC and dioleoyl phosphatidyl-choline (di18:1 PC or DOPC and cholesterol that mimics biomembranes.Using a series of fluorescent probes in a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET study, we found that Indo induced separation between gel domains and fluid domains in the mixed model membrane, possibly by enhancing the formation of gel-phase domains. This effect originated from the ability of Indo to specifically target the ordered domains in the mixed membrane. These findings were further confirmed by measuring the ability of Indo to affect the fluidity-dependent fluorescence quenching and the level of detergent resistance of membranes.Because the tested lipids are the main lipid constituents in cell membranes, the observed formation of gel phase domains induced by Indo potentially occurs in biomembranes. This marked Indo-induced change in phase behavior potentially alters membrane protein functions, which contribute to the wide variety of biological activities of Indo and other NSAIDs.

Use of biological indicators for evaluating environmental stress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Letourneau, C.; Castonguay, J.

1988-09-01

This report examines the usefulness of biological analyses for evaluating environmental stress. All forms of stress are addressed; particular attention, however, is paid to the use of biological analyses to evaluate the impact on the environment from radioactive releases of the nuclear industry. First, we will review different biological analyses which are grouped into two approaches: the holistic approach (biotic and diversity indices) and the reductionist approach ('biological indicators' per se). Secondly, we will compare the usefulness of plants and animals as indicators based on the established criteria. This report ends with a compilation of letters received from different organizations which outline the present use in Canada of biological indicators for evaluating environmental stress

Use of biological indicators to evaluate environmental stress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Letourneau, C.; Castonguay, J.

1987-09-01

This report examines the usefulness of biological analyses for evaluating environmental stress. All forms of stress are addressed; particular attention, however, is paid to the use of biological analyses to evaluate the impact on the environment from radioactive releases of the nuclear industry. First, we will review different biological analyses which are grouped into two approaches: the holistic approach (biotic and diversity indices) and the reductionist approach ('biological indicators' per se). Secondly, we will compare the usefulness of plants and animals as indicators based on the established criteria. This report ends with a compilation of letters received from different organizations which outline the present usage in Canada of biological indicators for evaluating environmental stress

Mitochondrial genome diversity and population structure of the giant squid Architeuthis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Winkelmann, Inger Eleanor Hall; Campos, Paula; Strugnell, Jan

2013-01-01

techniques, considerable controversy exists with regard to topics as varied as their taxonomy, biology and even behaviour. In this study, we have characterized the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) diversity of 43 Architeuthis samples collected from across the range of the species, in order to use genetic...... a recent population expansion or selective sweep, which may explain the low level of genetic diversity....

[Principles of management in biological infections].

Science.gov (United States)

Płusa, Tadeusz

2012-11-01

The effectiveness of the management in respiratory infection is depending on the nature of the biological pathogen and the immune status of the patient. For this reason, providing assistance to victims the organ function support, similarly as defining the pathogen and targeted antibiotic therapy should be applied. Available diagnostic tests provide rapid ability to identify the pathogen and antibiotics are able to control infection. Lack of efficacy of treatment may indicate the diversity of the pathogen than previously known and raises suspicion of biological warfare pathogen.

Computational Modeling of Biological Systems From Molecules to Pathways

CERN Document Server

2012-01-01

Computational modeling is emerging as a powerful new approach for studying and manipulating biological systems. Many diverse methods have been developed to model, visualize, and rationally alter these systems at various length scales, from atomic resolution to the level of cellular pathways. Processes taking place at larger time and length scales, such as molecular evolution, have also greatly benefited from new breeds of computational approaches. Computational Modeling of Biological Systems: From Molecules to Pathways provides an overview of established computational methods for the modeling of biologically and medically relevant systems. It is suitable for researchers and professionals working in the fields of biophysics, computational biology, systems biology, and molecular medicine.

77 FR 30261 - Petition To List 83 Species of Coral as Threatened or Endangered Under the Endangered Species Act...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-22

... List 83 Species of Coral as Threatened or Endangered Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) AGENCY... Diversity (CBD) to list 83 coral species as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA... the U.S. Endangered Species Act (Status Review Report) and the draft Management Report for 82 Corals...

Bacteriophages: The viruses for all seasons of molecular biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karam Jim D

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Bacteriophage research continues to break new ground in our understanding of the basic molecular mechanisms of gene action and biological structure. The abundance of bacteriophages in nature and the diversity of their genomes are two reasons why phage research brims with excitement. The pages of Virology Journal will reflect the excitement of the "New Phage Biology."

Stimulation of the photoluminescent properties of CBD-CdS thin films achieved by structural modifications resulting from Ag{sup +} doping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flores-Pacheco, A.; Contreras-Rascon, J.I.; Castillo, S.J.; Alvarez-Ramos, M.E. [Posgrado en Nanotecnologia, Departamento de Fisica, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo (Mexico); Diaz-Reyes, J. [Centro de Investigacion en Biotecnologia Aplicada, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Tepetitla, Tlaxcala (Mexico); Angel-Vicente, P.D. [Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Direccion de Investigacion y Posgrado, Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico); Enriquez, J.P. [Centro de Investigacion y Desarrollo Tecnologico en Energias Renovables, Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutierrez (Mexico)

2017-08-15

The present study details the changes in photoluminescence properties stimulated by the structural changes in consequence of doping the II-VI nanocomposite thin-film semiconductor cadmium sulfide (CdS) with the IB metallic ion Ag{sup +}. The synthesis of the matrix and doped semiconductors was performed using low-temperature chemical bath deposition (CBD). The doping percentage of the CdS matrix was determined by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) with a value around 3%. The crystallographic study shows a cubic (1 1 1) preferential growth plane for the undoped material. Both X-ray and HRTEM characterizations show the presence of a polycrystalline structure for the Ag{sup +}-doped sample. Measurements of particle size from HRTEM micrographs confirm quantum confinement with a reduction of the average particle size from 5.46 to 4.12 nm in the doped sample. The photoluminescence study shows intense downshifted emissions in the green range of the visible spectrum. This could be due to the shallow electron traps formed by crystalline defects in the lattice, which are induced by the metallic ion. This study also shows higher-energy emissions due to the decrease of the particle size below the effective CdS exciton Bohr radius. (copyright 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Relaxed Observance of Traditional Marriage Rules Allows Social Connectivity without Loss of Genetic Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Guillot, Elsa G; Hazelton, Martin L; Karafet, Tatiana M; Lansing, J Stephen; Sudoyo, Herawati; Cox, Murray P

2015-09-01

Marriage rules, the community prescriptions that dictate who an individual can or cannot marry, are extremely diverse and universally present in traditional societies. A major focus of research in the early decades of modern anthropology, marriage rules impose social and economic forces that help structure societies and forge connections between them. However, in those early anthropological studies, the biological benefits or disadvantages of marriage rules could not be determined. We revisit this question by applying a novel simulation framework and genome-wide data to explore the effects of Asymmetric Prescriptive Alliance, an elaborate set of marriage rules that has been a focus of research for many anthropologists. Simulations show that strict adherence to these marriage rules reduces genetic diversity on the autosomes, X chromosome and mitochondrial DNA, but relaxed compliance produces genetic diversity similar to random mating. Genome-wide data from the Indonesian community of Rindi, one of the early study populations for Asymmetric Prescriptive Alliance, are more consistent with relaxed compliance than strict adherence. We therefore suggest that, in practice, marriage rules are treated with sufficient flexibility to allow social connectivity without significant degradation of biological diversity. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

An engineering design approach to systems biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Janes, Kevin A; Chandran, Preethi L; Ford, Roseanne M; Lazzara, Matthew J; Papin, Jason A; Peirce, Shayn M; Saucerman, Jeffrey J; Lauffenburger, Douglas A

2017-07-17

Measuring and modeling the integrated behavior of biomolecular-cellular networks is central to systems biology. Over several decades, systems biology has been shaped by quantitative biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and engineers in different ways. However, the basic and applied versions of systems biology are not typically distinguished, which blurs the separate aspirations of the field and its potential for real-world impact. Here, we articulate an engineering approach to systems biology, which applies educational philosophy, engineering design, and predictive models to solve contemporary problems in an age of biomedical Big Data. A concerted effort to train systems bioengineers will provide a versatile workforce capable of tackling the diverse challenges faced by the biotechnological and pharmaceutical sectors in a modern, information-dense economy.

Monitoring of airborne biological particles in outdoor atmosphere. Part 2: Metagenomics applied to urban environments

OpenAIRE

Núñez, Andrés; Amo de Paz, Guillermo; Rastrojo, Alberto; García, Ana M.; Alcamí, Antonio; Gutiérrez-Bustillo, A. Montserrat; Moreno, Diego A.

2016-01-01

The air we breathe contains microscopic biological particles such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and pollen, some of them with relevant clinic importance. These organisms and/or their propagules have been traditionally studied by different disciplines and diverse methodologies like culture and microscopy. These techniques require time, expertise and also have some important biases. As a consequence, our knowledge on the total diversity and the relationships between the different biological entit...

Harpacticoid copepod diversity at two physically reworked sites in the deep sea

Science.gov (United States)

Thistle, David

1998-01-01

Grassle's and Jumars' theories of diversity maintenance in the quiescent deep sea view millimeter-to-meter-scale patchiness (mostly of biological origin) as crucial. In other deep-sea regions, episodes of strong near-bottom flow put the surficial sediment layers into motion, obliterating the biologically produced, millimeter-to-meter-scale patchiness. Under these theories, sites eroded so frequently that such patchiness is eliminated almost as soon as it is created should have lower diversities than sites where the time between erosive events is sufficient for this type of patchiness to be produced and exploited. I tested this prediction by comparing the diversities of harpacticoid copepods at two sites on Fieberling Guyot to determine whether Grassle's and Jumars' theories can be extended to the portion of the deep sea that experiences episodic erosive flows. At White Sand Swale (=WSS) (32°27.581'N, 127°47.839'W), strong near-bottom flows erode the surficial sediment daily. At Sea Pen Rim (=SPR) (32°27.631'N, 127°49.489'W), strong near-bottom flows erode the surficial sediment a few times annually. Contrary to expectation, the diversity of harpacticoid copepods was significantly greater at WSS than at SPR. However, the erosion regime at WSS may create small-scale patchiness that promotes harpacticoid diversity.

Economic development and conservation of biological and cultural diversity in Yunnan Province, China

Science.gov (United States)

Stendell, R.C.; Johnson, Richard L.; Mosesso, J.P.; Zhang, X.

2001-01-01

Chinese and American scientists are co-operating to develop concepts, strategies, agreements, and proposals in support of an economic development and sustainable ecosystems project in Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. Yunnan's Provincial Government has initiated a major programme to develop and further utilise its biological resources to help improve economic conditions for its citizens. They are co-operating with the US Geological Survey (USGS) on evaluation and management of biological resources so economic development will be compatible with sustainable ecological systems. Scientists from the USGS and co-operating universities will provide expertise on synthesising biological data, conducting a Gap Analysis for the Province, evaluating innovative economic opportunities, and designing an effective education, training, and outreach programme.

Biological interactions and cooperative management of multiple species.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Jinwei; Min, Yong; Chang, Jie; Ge, Ying

2017-01-01

Coordinated decision making and actions have become the primary solution for the overexploitation of interacting resources within ecosystems. However, the success of coordinated management is highly sensitive to biological, economic, and social conditions. Here, using a game theoretic framework and a 2-species model that considers various biological relationships (competition, predation, and mutualism), we compute cooperative (or joint) and non-cooperative (or separate) management equilibrium outcomes of the model and investigate the effects of the type and strength of the relationships. We find that cooperation does not always show superiority to non-cooperation in all biological interactions: (1) if and only if resources are involved in high-intensity predation relationships, cooperation can achieve a win-win scenario for ecosystem services and resource diversity; (2) for competitive resources, cooperation realizes higher ecosystem services by sacrificing resource diversity; and (3) for mutual resources, cooperation has no obvious advantage for either ecosystem services or resource evenness but can slightly improve resource abundance. Furthermore, by using a fishery model of the North California Current Marine Ecosystem with 63 species and seven fleets, we demonstrate that the theoretical results can be reproduced in real ecosystems. Therefore, effective ecosystem management should consider the interconnection between stakeholders' social relationship and resources' biological relationships.

Symbiotic diversity in the cosmopolitan genus Acacia

Science.gov (United States)

James K. Leary; Paul W. Singleton; Paul G. Scowcroft; Dulal Borthakur

2006-01-01

Acacia is the second largest genus within the Leguminosae, with 1352 species identified. This genus is now known to be polyphyletic and the international scientific community will presumably split Acacia into five new genera. This review examines the diversity of biological nitrogen fixation symbiosis within Acacia as a single genus. Due to its global importance, an...

Marine litter in an EBSA (Ecologically or Biologically Significant Area) of the central Mediterranean Sea: Abundance, composition, impact on benthic species and basis for monitoring entanglement.

Science.gov (United States)

Consoli, Pierpaolo; Andaloro, Franco; Altobelli, Chiara; Battaglia, Pietro; Campagnuolo, Silvana; Canese, Simonepietro; Castriota, Luca; Cillari, Tiziana; Falautano, Manuela; Pedà, Cristina; Perzia, Patrizia; Sinopoli, Mauro; Vivona, Pietro; Scotti, Gianfranco; Esposito, Valentina; Galgani, Francois; Romeo, Teresa

2018-05-01

Marine litter is commonly observed everywhere in the ocean. In this study, we analyzed 17 km of video footage, collected by a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) at depths ranging between 20 and 220 m, during 19 transects performed on the rocky banks of the Straits of Sicily. Recently, the Contracting Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recognized this site as an Ecologically or Biologically Significant Area (EBSA). The research aim was to quantify the abundance of marine litter and its impact on benthic fauna. Litter density ranged from 0 items/100 m 2 to 14.02 items/100 m 2 with a mean (±standard error) of 2.13 (±0.84) items/100 m 2 . The observed average density was higher (5.2 items/100 m 2 ) at depths >100 m than at shallower depths (fishing lines contributed to 98.07% of the overall litter density, then representing the dominant source of marine debris. Litter interactions with fauna were frequently observed, with 30% of litter causing "entanglement/coverage" and 15% causing damage to sessile fauna. A total of 16 species showed interaction (entanglement/coverage or damage) with litter items and 12 of these are species of conservation concern according to international directives and agreements (CITES, Berne Convention, Habitat Directive, SPA/BD Protocol, IUCN Red List); we also observed 7 priority habitats of the SPA/BD Protocol. This research will support the implementation of monitoring "Harm" as recommended by the UN Environment/MAP Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean, and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The institution of a SPAMI in the investigated area could represent a good management action for the protection of this hotspot of biodiversity and to achieve a Good Environmental Status (GES) for the marine environment by 2020, under the MSFD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microarray Glycan Profiling Reveals Algal Fucoidan Epitopes in Diverse Marine Metazoans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Armando A. Salmeán

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Despite the biological importance and pharmacological potential of glycans from marine organisms, there are many unanswered questions regarding their distribution, function, and evolution. Here we describe microarray-based glycan profiling of a diverse selection of marine animals using antibodies raised against fucoidan isolated from a brown alga. We demonstrate the presence of two fucoidan epitopes in six animals belonging to three phyla including Porifera, Molusca, and Chordata. We studied the spatial distribution of these epitopes in Cliona celata (“boring sponge” and identified their restricted localization on the surface of internal chambers. Our results show the potential of high-throughput screening and probes commonly used in plant and algal cell wall biology to study the diversity and distribution of glycan structures in metazoans.

Diversity, Structure and Regeneration Status of the Woodland and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Bheema

Department of Biology, Debre Berhan University, P.O. Box 293, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia. 2 ... range of ecological conditions coupled with the corresponding diverse socio-culture has made the country ... the remaining vegetation resources upon which sound management plans of conservation and ...... Doctoral Dissertation.

Diversity of the Cryptococcus neoformans-Cryptococcus gattii species complex.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bovers, M.; Hagen, F.; Boekhout, T.

2008-01-01

More than 110 years of study of the Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii species complex has resulted in an enormous accumulation of fundamental and applied biological and clinical knowledge. Recent developments in our understanding of the diversity within the species complex are

Molecular genetic diversity in populations of the stingless bee Plebeia remota: A case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flávio de Oliveira Francisco

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Genetic diversity is a major component of the biological diversity of an ecosystem. The survival of a population may be seriously threatened if its genetic diversity values are low. In this work, we measured the genetic diversity of the stingless bee Plebeia remota based on molecular data obtained by analyzing 15 microsatellite loci and sequencing two mitochondrial genes. Population structure and genetic diversity differed depending on the molecular marker analyzed: microsatellites showed low population structure and moderate to high genetic diversity, while mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA showed high population structure and low diversity in three populations. Queen philopatry and male dispersal behavior are discussed as the main reasons for these findings.

The diverse and expanding role of mass spectrometry in structural and molecular biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Lössl, Philip; van de Waterbeemd, Michiel; Heck, Albert Jr

2016-12-15

The emergence of proteomics has led to major technological advances in mass spectrometry (MS). These advancements not only benefitted MS-based high-throughput proteomics but also increased the impact of mass spectrometry on the field of structural and molecular biology. Here, we review how state-of-the-art MS methods, including native MS, top-down protein sequencing, cross-linking-MS, and hydrogen-deuterium exchange-MS, nowadays enable the characterization of biomolecular structures, functions, and interactions. In particular, we focus on the role of mass spectrometry in integrated structural and molecular biology investigations of biological macromolecular complexes and cellular machineries, highlighting work on CRISPR-Cas systems and eukaryotic transcription complexes. © 2016 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY NC ND 4.0 license.

Similar levels of diversity and population Structure in superflock and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

superflock cichlid fishes from Lake Victoria, Africa. ... Tropical Freshwater Biology ... We use DNA microsatellite loci to estimate neutral genetic diversity and the level of gene flow among populations of two cichlid species from southern Lake Victoria, ...

Testing the effect of the rock record on diversity: a multidisciplinary approach to elucidating the generic richness of sauropodomorph dinosaurs through time.

Science.gov (United States)

Mannion, Philip D; Upchurch, Paul; Carrano, Matthew T; Barrett, Paul M

2011-02-01

The accurate reconstruction of palaeobiodiversity patterns is central to a detailed understanding of the macroevolutionary history of a group of organisms. However, there is increasing evidence that diversity patterns observed directly from the fossil record are strongly influenced by fluctuations in the quality of our sampling of the rock record; thus, any patterns we see may reflect sampling biases, rather than genuine biological signals. Previous dinosaur diversity studies have suggested that fluctuations in sauropodomorph palaeobiodiversity reflect genuine biological signals, in comparison to theropods and ornithischians whose diversity seems to be largely controlled by the rock record. Most previous diversity analyses that have attempted to take into account the effects of sampling biases have used only a single method or proxy: here we use a number of techniques in order to elucidate diversity. A global database of all known sauropodomorph body fossil occurrences (2024) was constructed. A taxic diversity curve for all valid sauropodomorph genera was extracted from this database and compared statistically with several sampling proxies (rock outcrop area and dinosaur-bearing formations and collections), each of which captures a different aspect of fossil record sampling. Phylogenetic diversity estimates, residuals and sample-based rarefaction (including the first attempt to capture 'cryptic' diversity in dinosaurs) were implemented to investigate further the effects of sampling. After 'removal' of biases, sauropodomorph diversity appears to be genuinely high in the Norian, Pliensbachian-Toarcian, Bathonian-Callovian and Kimmeridgian-Tithonian (with a small peak in the Aptian), whereas low diversity levels are recorded for the Oxfordian and Berriasian-Barremian, with the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary seemingly representing a real diversity trough. Observed diversity in the remaining Triassic-Jurassic stages appears to be largely driven by sampling effort. Late

Towards conserving regional mammalian species diversity: a case ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

1995-03-03

Mar 3, 1995 ... Species richness maps were derived for the Transvaal region from two different databases, namely a primary point database based on ... of biological diversity is internationally supported, there is no agreement on the ..... example is that of the Rodentia. where greatest species diver- sity. based on survey ...

Biology and pathogenesis of Acanthamoeba

OpenAIRE

Siddiqui, Ruqaiyyah; Khan, Naveed Ahmed

2012-01-01

Abstract Acanthamoeba is a free-living protist pathogen, capable of causing a blinding keratitis and fatal granulomatous encephalitis. The factors that contribute to Acanthamoeba infections include parasite biology, genetic diversity, environmental spread and host susceptibility, and are highlighted together with potential therapeutic and preventative measures. The use of Acanthamoeba in the study of cellular differentiation mechanisms, motility and phagocytosis, bacterial pathogenesis and ev...

The Nagoya Protocol: Fragmentation or Consolidation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Richerzhagen

2014-02-01

Full Text Available In October, 2010, a protocol on access and benefit-sharing (ABS of genetic resources was adopted, the so-called Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Before the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol, the governance architecture of ABS was already characterized by a multifaceted institutional environment. The use of genetic resources is confronted with many issues (conservation, research and development, intellectual property rights, food security, health issues, climate change that are governed by different institutions and agreements. The Nagoya Protocol contributes to increased fragmentation. However, the question arises whether this new regulatory framework can help to advance the implementation of the ABS provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD. This paper attempts to find an answer to that question by following three analytical steps. First, it analyzes the causes of change against the background of theories of institutional change. Second, it aims to assess the typology of the architecture in order to find out if this new set of rules will contribute to a more synergistic, cooperative or conflictive architecture of ABS governance. Third, the paper looks at the problem of “fit” and identifies criteria that can be used to assess the new ABS governance architecture with regard to its effectiveness.

Influence of landslides on biophysical diversity — A perspective from British Columbia

Science.gov (United States)

Geertsema, Marten; Pojar, James J.

2007-09-01

Landslides have long been overlooked or underestimated as important natural disturbance agents. In particular the ecological role of landslides in maintaining biological diversity has been largely ignored. Here we provide a western Canadian ( British Columbian) perspective on the influences of landslides on biophysical diversity, which is related in several ways to biological diversity. We recognize several types of biophysical/ecological diversity: site diversity, soil diversity, and the derivative habitat or ecosystem (including aquatic ecosystems) diversity. There are also a variety of landslide types, depending on materials and on the rate and style of movement. We discuss the roles of different landslide types on various aspects of terrestrial diversity. Landslides are simultaneously depositional and erosional processes that influence sites by redistributing materials and changing surface expression — usually creating a complex microtopography that can include very dry ridges and hummocks, and sometimes depressions with standing water. Landslide impacts to site also influence soil and soil development. Portions of landslides with exposed parent material are set back to the initial stages of soil development and ecological succession. Landslides can also change soil density, structure, porosity, surface texture, chemistry and microclimate. By changing site and soil, landslides also influence habitat. Landslides influence habitat diversity by engendering a mosaic of seral stages (often both primary and secondary), and in overwhelmingly forested landscapes often create nodes or hotspots of non-forested habitat and biota. In some areas, like the boreal forest, there is an important interplay between landslides and fire, while on the coast of British Columbia debris and snow avalanches can be the dominant disturbance agent. Low-gradient and deep-seated landslides are often opportunistically colonized by beaver and other water and shrub-loving fauna. Sag ponds and

Regulatory challenges for GM crops in developing economies: the African experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Nang'ayo, Francis; Simiyu-Wafukho, Stella; Oikeh, Sylvester O

2014-12-01

Globally, transgenic or genetically modified (GM) crops are considered regulated products that are subject to regulatory oversight during trans-boundary movement, testing and environmental release. In Africa, regulations for transgenic crops are based on the outcomes of the historic Earth Summit Conference held in Rio, Brazil two decades ago, namely, the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the subsequent adoption of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. To exploit the potential benefits of transgenic crops while safeguarding the potential risks on human health and environment, most African countries have signed and ratified the CBD and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Consequently, these countries are required to take appropriate legal, administrative and other measures to ensure that the handling and utilization of living modified organisms are undertaken in a manner that reduces the risks to humans and the environment. These countries are also expected to provide regulatory oversight on transgenic crops through functional national biosafety frameworks (NBFs). While in principle this approach is ideal, NBFs in most African countries are steeped in a host of policy, legal and operational challenges that appear to be at cross-purposes with the noble efforts of seeking to access, test and deliver promising GM crops for use by resource-limited farmers in Africa. In this paper we discuss the regulatory challenges faced during the development and commercialization of GM crops based on experiences from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

[Classification of organisms and structuralism in biology].

Science.gov (United States)

Vasil'eva, L I

2001-01-01

Structuralism in biology is the oldest trend oriented to the search for natural "laws of forms" comparable with laws of growth of crystal, was revived at the end of 20th century on the basis of structuralist thought in socio-humanitarian sciences. The development of principal ideas of the linguistic structuralism in some aspects is similar to that of biological systematics, especially concerning the relationships between "system" and "evolution". However, apart from this general similarity, biological structuralism is strongly focused on familiar problems of the origin of diversity in nature. In their striving for the renovation of existing views, biological structuralists oppose the neo-darwinism emphasizing the existence of "law of forms", that are independent on heredity and genetic "determinism". The trend to develop so-called "rational taxonomy" is also characteristic of biological structuralism but this attempt failed being connected neither with Darwin's historicism nor with Plato's typology.

Evolutionary cell biology: functional insight from "endless forms most beautiful".

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Elisabeth; Zerr, Kelly; Tsaousis, Anastasios; Dorrell, Richard G; Dacks, Joel B

2015-12-15

In animal and fungal model organisms, the complexities of cell biology have been analyzed in exquisite detail and much is known about how these organisms function at the cellular level. However, the model organisms cell biologists generally use include only a tiny fraction of the true diversity of eukaryotic cellular forms. The divergent cellular processes observed in these more distant lineages are still largely unknown in the general scientific community. Despite the relative obscurity of these organisms, comparative studies of them across eukaryotic diversity have had profound implications for our understanding of fundamental cell biology in all species and have revealed the evolution and origins of previously observed cellular processes. In this Perspective, we will discuss the complexity of cell biology found across the eukaryotic tree, and three specific examples of where studies of divergent cell biology have altered our understanding of key functional aspects of mitochondria, plastids, and membrane trafficking. © 2015 Richardson et al. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). Two months after publication it is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Dew formation and activity of biological crusts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veste, M.; Heusinkveld, B.G.; Berkowicz, S.M.; Breckle, S.W.; Littmann, T.; Jacobs, A.F.G.

2008-01-01

Biological soil crusts are prominent in many drylands and can be found in diverse parts of the globe including the Atacama desert, Chile, the Namib desert, Namibia, the Succulent-Karoo desert, South Africa, and the Negev desert, Israel. Because precipitation can be negligible in deserts ¿ the

Natural product diversity of actinobacteria in the Atacama Desert.

Science.gov (United States)

Rateb, Mostafa E; Ebel, Rainer; Jaspars, Marcel

2018-02-14

The Atacama Desert of northern Chile is considered one of the most arid and extreme environment on Earth. Its core region was described as featuring "Mars-like" soils that were at one point deemed too extreme for life to exist. However, recent investigations confirmed the presence of diverse culturable actinobacteria. In the current review, we discuss a total of 46 natural products isolated to date representing diverse chemical classes characterized from different actinobacteria isolated from various locations in the Atacama Desert. Their reported biological activities are also discussed.

Ecosystems and diversity of the Sierra Madre Occidental

Science.gov (United States)

M. S. Gonzalez-Elizondo; M. Gonzalez-Elizondo; L. Ruacho Gonzalez; I. L. Lopez Enriquez; F. I . Retana Renteria; J. A. Tena Flores

2013-01-01

The Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO) is the largest continuous ignimbrite plate on Earth. Despite its high biological and cultural diversity and enormous environmental and economical importance, it is yet not well known. We describe the vegetation and present a preliminary regionalization based on physiographic, climatic, and floristic criteria. A confluence of three main...

Lipid Cell Biology: A Focus on Lipids in Cell Division.

Science.gov (United States)

Storck, Elisabeth M; Özbalci, Cagakan; Eggert, Ulrike S

2018-06-20

Cells depend on hugely diverse lipidomes for many functions. The actions and structural integrity of the plasma membrane and most organelles also critically depend on membranes and their lipid components. Despite the biological importance of lipids, our understanding of lipid engagement, especially the roles of lipid hydrophobic alkyl side chains, in key cellular processes is still developing. Emerging research has begun to dissect the importance of lipids in intricate events such as cell division. This review discusses how these structurally diverse biomolecules are spatially and temporally regulated during cell division, with a focus on cytokinesis. We analyze how lipids facilitate changes in cellular morphology during division and how they participate in key signaling events. We identify which cytokinesis proteins are associated with membranes, suggesting lipid interactions. More broadly, we highlight key unaddressed questions in lipid cell biology and techniques, including mass spectrometry, advanced imaging, and chemical biology, which will help us gain insights into the functional roles of lipids.

Synthetic Biology: Engineering, Evolution and Design (SEED) Conference 2014

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Voigt, Christopher [Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2014-07-01

SEED2014 focused on advances in the science and technology emerging from the field of synthetic biology. We broadly define this as technologies that accelerate the process of genetic engineering. It highlighted new tool development, as well as the application of these tools to diverse problems in biotechnology, including therapeutics, industrial chemicals and fuels, natural products, and agriculture. Systems spanned from in vitro experiments and viruses, through diverse bacteria, to eukaryotes (yeast, mammalian cells, plants).

Multi-way multi-group segregation and diversity indices.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorelick, Root; Bertram, Susan M

2010-06-01

How can we compute a segregation or diversity index from a three-way or multi-way contingency table, where each variable can take on an arbitrary finite number of values and where the index takes values between zero and one? Previous methods only exist for two-way contingency tables or dichotomous variables. A prototypical three-way case is the segregation index of a set of industries or departments given multiple explanatory variables of both sex and race. This can be further extended to other variables, such as disability, number of years of education, and former military service. We extend existing segregation indices based on Euclidean distance (square of coefficient of variation) and Boltzmann/Shannon/Theil index from two-way to multi-way contingency tables by including multiple summations. We provide several biological applications, such as indices for age polyethism and linkage disequilibrium. We also provide a new heuristic conceptualization of entropy-based indices. Higher order association measures are often independent of lower order ones, hence an overall segregation or diversity index should be the arithmetic mean of the normalized association measures at all orders. These methods are applicable when individuals self-identify as multiple races or even multiple sexes and when individuals work part-time in multiple industries. The policy implications of this work are enormous, allowing people to rigorously test whether employment or biological diversity has changed.

Pythium species and isolate diversity influence inhibition by the biological control agent Streptomyces lydicus

Science.gov (United States)

Disease control of soilborne pathogens by biological control agents has often been inconsistent under field conditions. One factor that may contribute to this inconsistency is the variability in response among pathogen populations and/or communities to the selected biological control agent. One hund...

Birds, traditional coffee plantations and spatial complexity: the diversity puzzle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leyequien Abarca, E.

2006-01-01

As the current accelerated and increasing loss of biological diversity have become apparent land managers and ecologists have sought to identify significant habitats to the preservation of biodiversity. A critical component of biodiversity protection is the understanding of the ecological forces

River Quality Investigations, Part 1: Some Diversity and Biotic Indices.

Science.gov (United States)

Hewitt, G.

1991-01-01

The following indices for assessing river water quality are described: Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index, Sorenson Quotient of Similarity, Czekanowski's Index of Similarity, Trent Biotic Index, Chandler Score, and Biological Monitoring Working Party Score. Their advantages and disadvantages are outlined. (Author)

A review on biological and chemical diversity in Berberis (Berberidaceae)

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, Sharad; Srivastava, Manjoosha; Misra, Ankita; Pandey, Garima; Rawat, AKS

2015-01-01

Berberis is an important genus and well known in the Indian as well as European systems of traditional medicine. It is used since ancient times for curing eye disease, fever, jaundice, rheumatism, vomiting during pregnancy, kidney and gall balder stones and various other ailments due to the presence of biologically active alkaloid berberine. Action of the root extracts of few species are believed to be as powerful as quinine in the treatment of malarial fever. A plethora of literature pertaining to the taxonomy, biology, chemistry, traditional and ethnic uses of Berberis in different countries and indigenous cultures was collected by both offline (library, journals, textbooks etc.) and online mode (electronic search of available databases). In addition to this, books on traditional medicine and ethno pharmacological knowledge were also referred to extract ancient uses of Berberis in different traditional medicine systems. Most of the folklore, traditional and ethno botanical claims about Berberis species were validated by broad spectrum in vitro and vivo pharmacological studies. The present article summarizes its usage in eye and liver disorder, fever, kidney and gall stones along with anticancer activity. This comprehensive review will not only help researchers for further evaluation but also provide substantial information for future exploitation of species to develop novel herbal formulations. PMID:26535033

A review on biological and chemical diversity in Berberis (Berberidaceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, Sharad; Srivastava, Manjoosha; Misra, Ankita; Pandey, Garima; Rawat, Aks

2015-01-01

Berberis is an important genus and well known in the Indian as well as European systems of traditional medicine. It is used since ancient times for curing eye disease, fever, jaundice, rheumatism, vomiting during pregnancy, kidney and gall balder stones and various other ailments due to the presence of biologically active alkaloid berberine. Action of the root extracts of few species are believed to be as powerful as quinine in the treatment of malarial fever. A plethora of literature pertaining to the taxonomy, biology, chemistry, traditional and ethnic uses of Berberis in different countries and indigenous cultures was collected by both offline (library, journals, textbooks etc.) and online mode (electronic search of available databases). In addition to this, books on traditional medicine and ethno pharmacological knowledge were also referred to extract ancient uses of Berberis in different traditional medicine systems. Most of the folklore, traditional and ethno botanical claims about Berberis species were validated by broad spectrum in vitro and vivo pharmacological studies. The present article summarizes its usage in eye and liver disorder, fever, kidney and gall stones along with anticancer activity. This comprehensive review will not only help researchers for further evaluation but also provide substantial information for future exploitation of species to develop novel herbal formulations.

Rhizospheric fungi of Panax notoginseng: diversity and antagonism to host phytopathogens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cui-Ping Miao

2016-04-01

Conclusion: Our results suggest that diverse fungi including potential pathogenic ones exist in the rhizosphere soil of 2-yr-old P. notoginseng and that antagonistic isolates may be useful for biological control of pathogens.

Retaining of botanical diversity of steppe ecosystems at the Semipalatinsk test site area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sultanova, B.M.

2005-01-01

The nuclear tests conducted on the STS area have an effect on steppe biome. Regime of military secrecy allowed retaining extensive diversity of steppe vegetation at the area of the former Semipalatinsk test site, although the vegetation was liquidated in the most part of Kazakhstan. Unique biologic diversity of the steppe vegetation requires status of particularly secured vegetation of the STS area. (author)

Biological Diversity and Resilience: Lessons from the Recovery of Cichlid Species in Lake Victoria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex O. Awiti

2011-03-01

Full Text Available A fundamental feature of the Anthropocene is the inexorable erosion of the self-repairing capacity or adaptive renewal of natural systems because of natural perturbation, exploitation, or management failure. The concept of resilience offers a systematic framework for understanding the dynamics and variables that govern response dynamics of ecosystems. Resilience of haplochromine cichlids is assessed using limnological and biodiversity changes in Lake Victoria, the world's second largest freshwater lake, over the last five decades. The review explores the resurgence of the haplochromine cichlids using Holling's adaptive renewal cycle and attempts to illustrate how resilience-based management approaches might learn from an inadvertent management experiment. The introduction in the 1980s of the Nile perch (Lates niloticus, a fecund and voracious predator of the endemic phytoplankton feeding haplochromine cichlids, anthropogenic eutrophication, and deep water hypoxia have combined in a synergistic way to increase the vulnerability of the lake ecosystem to perturbations that were hitherto absorbed. However, the upsurge in commercial Nile perch fishing appears to be enabling the resurgence of the haplochromine cichlids. The resurgence of haplochromine cichlids is characterized by phenotypic plasticity, ecological and life history traits and demonstrates the critical role of response diversity in the maintenance of systems resilience. Resilience of the haplochromine cichlids resides in the requisite functional response diversity and habitat diversity that provide the resources for renewal and regeneration. This paper concludes that management of Nile perch fisheries and control of nutrient loading into Lake Victoria could halt or reverse eutrophication, hence offer the best promise for a diverse, productive, and resilient social-ecological system.

Effect of deposition temperature on the structural and optical properties of CdSe QDs thin films deposited by CBD method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laatar, F.; Harizi, A.; Smida, A.; Hassen, M.; Ezzaouia, H.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Synthesis of CdSe QDs with L-Cysteine capping agent for applications in nanodevices. • The films of CdSe QDs present uniform and good dispersive particles at the surface. • Effect of bath temperature on the structural and optical properties of CdSe QDs thin films. • Investigation of the optical constants and dispersion parameters of CdSe QDs thin films. - Abstract: Cadmium selenide quantum dots (CdSe QDs) thin films were deposited onto glass substrates by a chemical bath deposition (CBD) method at different temperatures from an aqueous solution containing L-Cysteine (L-Cys) as capping agent. The evolution of the surface morphology and elemental composition of the CdSe films were studied by AFM, SEM, and EDX analyses. Structural and optical properties of CdSe thin films were investigated by XRD, UV–vis and PL spectroscopy. The dispersion behavior of the refractive index is described using the single oscillator Wemple-DiDomenico (W-D) model, and the physical dispersion parameters are calculated as a function of deposition temperature. The dispersive optical parameters such as average oscillator energy (E_o), dispersion energy (E_d), and static refractive index (n_o) were found to vary with the deposition temperature. Besides, the electrical free carrier susceptibility (χ_e) and the carrier concentration of the effective mass ratio (N/m*) were evaluated according to the Spitzer-Fan model.

Protected Areas: How much is enough?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hollands, Martin [Fauna and Flora International (International organizations without location); Roe, Dilys

2004-07-01

Protected areas have long been the cornerstone of international conservation policy. The 2003 United Nations List of Protected Areas shows that in the last 40 years coverage has increased dramatically from 2.4 to 18.8 million km2. At the same time, the continuing decline of biodiversity has been a cause for international concern culminating in the agreement of an international Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the 1992 'Earth Summit'. In the same year, the IUCN World Parks Congress (WPC) set a target for protected area coverage at 10 per cent of the world's surface area – a target that was endorsed by the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The following year, at the 2003 IUCN World Parks Congress it was announced that total coverage had actually exceeded the 10 per cent target and was in fact closer to 12 per cent.

Microbial Diversity: A Summer Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Harwood, Caroline

2004-01-01

.... The value of the course lies in its historical success in training scientists to recognize and take advantage of the incredible metabolic diversity of microbes as a means of generating fundamental and applied knowledge...

Myricetin: A Dietary Molecule with Diverse Biological Activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deepak Kumar Semwal

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Myricetin is a common plant-derived flavonoid and is well recognised for its nutraceuticals value. It is one of the key ingredients of various foods and beverages. The compound exhibits a wide range of activities that include strong anti-oxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory activities. It displays several activities that are related to the central nervous system and numerous studies have suggested that the compound may be beneficial to protect against diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The use of myricetin as a preserving agent to extend the shelf life of foods containing oils and fats is attributed to the compound’s ability to protect lipids against oxidation. A detailed search of existing literature revealed that there is currently no comprehensive review available on this important molecule. Hence, the present work includes the history, synthesis, pharmaceutical applications and toxicity studies of myricetin. This report also highlights structure-activity relationships and mechanisms of action for various biological activities.

Functional Diversity of Fungal Communities in Soil Contaminated with Diesel Oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agata Borowik

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The widespread use and consumption of crude oil draws the public’s attention to the fate of petroleum hydrocarbons in the environment, as they can permeate the soil environment in an uncontrollable manner. Contamination of soils with petroleum products, including diesel oil (DO, can cause changes in the microbiological soil properties. The effect of diesel oil on the functional diversity of fungi was tested in a model experiment during 270 days. Fungi were isolated from soil and identified. The functional diversity of fungal communities was also determined. Fungi were identified with the MALDI-TOF method, while the functional diversity was determined using FF-plates made by Biolog®, with 95 carbon sources. Moreover, the diesel oil degradation dynamics was assessed. The research showed that soil contaminated with diesel oil is characterized by a higher activity of oxireductases and a higher number of fungi than soil not exposed to the pressure of this product. The DO pollution has an adverse effect on the diversity of fungal community. This is proved by significantly lower values of the Average Well-Color Development, substrates Richness (R and Shannon–Weaver (H indices at day 270 after contamination. The consequences of DO affecting soil not submitted to remediation are persistent. After 270 days, only 64% of four-ringed, 28% of five-ringed, 21% of 2–3-ringed and 16% of six-ringed PAHs underwent degradation. The lasting effect of DO on communities of fungi led to a decrease in their functional diversity. The assessment of the response of fungi to DO pollution made on the basis of the development of colonies on Petri dishes [Colony Development (CD and Eco-physiological Diversity (EP indices] is consistent with the analysis based on the FF MicroPlate system by Biolog®. Thus, a combination of the FF MicroPlate system by Biolog® with the simultaneous calculation of CD and EP indices alongside the concurrent determination of the content of

Global diversity of free living flatworms (Platyhelminthes, "Turbellaria") in freshwater

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schockaert, E.R.; Hooge, M.; Sluys, R.; Schilling, S.; Tyler, S.; Artois, T.

2008-01-01

This contribution reviews diversity of turbellarian species by biogeographical regions, with comments on species biology. The review draws on the database available at http://www.devbio.umesci.maine.edu/styler/turbellaria. Comparisons between regions suggest that species richness may be at least one

Molecular diversity and tools for deciphering the methanogen community structure and diversity in freshwater sediments.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudhary, Prem Prashant; Brablcová, Lenka; Buriánková, Iva; Rulík, Martin

2013-09-01

Methanogenic archaeal communities existing in freshwater sediments are responsible for approximately 50 % of the total global emission of methane. This process contributes significantly to global warming and, hence, necessitates interventional control measures to limit its emission. Unfortunately, the diversity and functional interactions of methanogenic populations occurring in these habitats are yet to be fully characterized. Considering several disadvantages of conventional culture-based methodologies, in recent years, impetus is given to molecular biology approaches to determine the community structure of freshwater sedimentary methanogenic archaea. 16S rRNA and methyl coenzyme M reductase (mcrA) gene-based cloning techniques are the first choice for this purpose. In addition, electrophoresis-based (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, temperature gradient gel electrophoresis, and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction techniques have also found extensive applications. These techniques are highly sensitive, rapid, and reliable as compared to traditional culture-dependent approaches. Molecular diversity studies revealed the dominance of the orders Methanomicrobiales and Methanosarcinales of methanogens in freshwater sediments. The present review discusses in detail the status of the diversity of methanogens and the molecular approaches applied in this area of research.

Polychaete functional diversity in shallow habitats: Shelter from the storm

Science.gov (United States)

Wouters, Julia M.; Gusmao, Joao B.; Mattos, Gustavo; Lana, Paulo

2018-05-01

Innovative approaches are needed to help understanding how species diversity is related to the latitudinal gradient at large or small scales. We have applied a novel approach, by combining morphological and biological traits, to assess the relative importance of the large scale latitudinal gradient and regional morphodynamic drivers in shaping the functional diversity of polychaete assemblages in shallow water habitats, from exposed to estuarine sandy beaches. We used literature data on polychaetes from beaches along the southern and southeastern Brazilian coast together with data on beach types, slope, grain size, temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll a concentration. Generalized linear models on the FDis index for functional diversity calculated for each site and a combined RLQ and fourth-corner analysis were used to investigate relationships between functional traits and environmental variables. Functional diversity was not related to the latitudinal gradient but negatively correlated with grain size and beach slope. Functional diversity was highest in flat beaches with small grain size, little wave exposure and enhanced primary production, indicating that small scale morphodynamic conditions are the primary drivers of polychaete functional diversity.

Mathematical Problems in Biology : Victoria Conference

CERN Document Server

1974-01-01

A conference on "Some Mathematical Problems in Biology" was held at the University of Victoria, Victoria, B. C. , Canada, from May 7 - 10, 1973. The participants and invited speakers were mathematicians interested in problems of a biological nature, and scientists actively engaged in developing mathematical models in biological fields. One aim of the conference was to attempt to assess what the recent rapid growth of mathematical interaction with the biosciences has accomplished and may accomplish in the near future. The conference also aimed to expose the problems of communication bet~",een mathematicians and biological scientists, and in doing so to stimulate the interchange of ideas. It was recognised that the topic spans an enormous breadth, and little attempt was made to balance the very diverse areas. Widespread active interest was shown in the conference, and just over one hundred people registered. The varied departments and institutions across North America from which the participants came made it bo...

A stratified myeloid system, the challenge of understanding macrophage diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Geissmann, F; Mass, E

2015-12-01

The present issue of 'Seminars in Immunology' addresses the topic of macrophage biology, 100 years after the death of Elie Metchnikoff (May 1845-July 1916). As foreseen by Metchnikoff, the roles of macrophages in the maintenance of homeostasis and immunity against pathogens have become a broad and active area of investigation. We now start to realize that the myeloid system includes a multiplicity of cell types with diverse developmental origins and functions. Therefore, the textbook picture of a plastic and multifunctional macrophage does not meet the requirements of our current knowledge anymore. Further development toward a quantitative and molecular understanding of myeloid cell biology in vivo and their roles in tissue homeostasis and remodeling will benefit from taking this complexity into account. A tentative model to help in this pursuit and account for myeloid cell and macrophage diversity is discussed below. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Evolutionary cell biology: two origins, one objective.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, Michael; Field, Mark C; Goodson, Holly V; Malik, Harmit S; Pereira-Leal, José B; Roos, David S; Turkewitz, Aaron P; Sazer, Shelley

2014-12-02

All aspects of biological diversification ultimately trace to evolutionary modifications at the cellular level. This central role of cells frames the basic questions as to how cells work and how cells come to be the way they are. Although these two lines of inquiry lie respectively within the traditional provenance of cell biology and evolutionary biology, a comprehensive synthesis of evolutionary and cell-biological thinking is lacking. We define evolutionary cell biology as the fusion of these two eponymous fields with the theoretical and quantitative branches of biochemistry, biophysics, and population genetics. The key goals are to develop a mechanistic understanding of general evolutionary processes, while specifically infusing cell biology with an evolutionary perspective. The full development of this interdisciplinary field has the potential to solve numerous problems in diverse areas of biology, including the degree to which selection, effectively neutral processes, historical contingencies, and/or constraints at the chemical and biophysical levels dictate patterns of variation for intracellular features. These problems can now be examined at both the within- and among-species levels, with single-cell methodologies even allowing quantification of variation within genotypes. Some results from this emerging field have already had a substantial impact on cell biology, and future findings will significantly influence applications in agriculture, medicine, environmental science, and synthetic biology.

Use of Graph Database for the Integration of Heterogeneous Biological Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Byoung-Ha; Kim, Seon-Kyu; Kim, Seon-Young

2017-03-01

Understanding complex relationships among heterogeneous biological data is one of the fundamental goals in biology. In most cases, diverse biological data are stored in relational databases, such as MySQL and Oracle, which store data in multiple tables and then infer relationships by multiple-join statements. Recently, a new type of database, called the graph-based database, was developed to natively represent various kinds of complex relationships, and it is widely used among computer science communities and IT industries. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of using a graph-based database for complex biological relationships by comparing the performance between MySQL and Neo4j, one of the most widely used graph databases. We collected various biological data (protein-protein interaction, drug-target, gene-disease, etc.) from several existing sources, removed duplicate and redundant data, and finally constructed a graph database containing 114,550 nodes and 82,674,321 relationships. When we tested the query execution performance of MySQL versus Neo4j, we found that Neo4j outperformed MySQL in all cases. While Neo4j exhibited a very fast response for various queries, MySQL exhibited latent or unfinished responses for complex queries with multiple-join statements. These results show that using graph-based databases, such as Neo4j, is an efficient way to store complex biological relationships. Moreover, querying a graph database in diverse ways has the potential to reveal novel relationships among heterogeneous biological data.

Assessment of the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test using statistical process control.

Science.gov (United States)

Cher, Daniel J; Deubner, David C; Kelsh, Michael A; Chapman, Pamela S; Ray, Rose M

2006-10-01

Despite more than 20 years of surveillance and epidemiologic studies using the beryllium blood lymphocyte proliferation test (BeBLPT) as a measure of beryllium sensitization (BeS) and as an aid for diagnosing subclinical chronic beryllium disease (CBD), improvements in specific understanding of the inhalation toxicology of CBD have been limited. Although epidemiologic data suggest that BeS and CBD risks vary by process/work activity, it has proven difficult to reach specific conclusions regarding the dose-response relationship between workplace beryllium exposure and BeS or subclinical CBD. One possible reason for this uncertainty could be misclassification of BeS resulting from variation in BeBLPT testing performance. The reliability of the BeBLPT, a biological assay that measures beryllium sensitization, is unknown. To assess the performance of four laboratories that conducted this test, we used data from a medical surveillance program that offered testing for beryllium sensitization with the BeBLPT. The study population was workers exposed to beryllium at various facilities over a 10-year period (1992-2001). Workers with abnormal results were offered diagnostic workups for CBD. Our analyses used a standard statistical technique, statistical process control (SPC), to evaluate test reliability. The study design involved a repeated measures analysis of BeBLPT results generated from the company-wide, longitudinal testing. Analytical methods included use of (1) statistical process control charts that examined temporal patterns of variation for the stimulation index, a measure of cell reactivity to beryllium; (2) correlation analysis that compared prior perceptions of BeBLPT instability to the statistical measures of test variation; and (3) assessment of the variation in the proportion of missing test results and how time periods with more missing data influenced SPC findings. During the period of this study, all laboratories displayed variation in test results that

Cannabidiol Activates Neuronal Precursor Genes in Human Gingival Mesenchymal Stromal Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Soundara Rajan, Thangavelu; Giacoppo, Sabrina; Scionti, Domenico; Diomede, Francesca; Grassi, Gianpaolo; Pollastro, Federica; Piattelli, Adriano; Bramanti, Placido; Mazzon, Emanuela; Trubiani, Oriana

2017-06-01

In the last years, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) from oral tissues have received considerable interest in regenerative medicine since they can be obtained with minimal invasive procedure and exhibit immunomodulatory properties. This study was aimed to investigate whether in vitro pre-treatment of MSCs obtained from human gingiva (hGMSCs) with Cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabinoid component produced by the plant Cannabis sativa, may promote human gingiva derived MSCs to differentiate toward neuronal precursor cells. Specifically, we have treated the hGMSCs with CBD (5 µM) for 24 h in order to evaluate the expression of genes involved in cannabidiol signaling, cell proliferation, self-renewal and multipotency, and neural progenitor cells differentiation. Next generation sequencing (NGS) demonstrated that CBD activates genes associated with G protein coupled receptor signaling in hGMSCs. Genes involved in DNA replication, cell cycle, proliferation, and apoptosis were regulated. Moreover, genes associated with the biological process of neuronal progenitor cells (NCPs) proliferation, neuron differentiation, neurogenesis, and nervous system development were significantly modulated. From our results, we hypothesize that human gingiva-derived MSCs conditioned with CBD could represent a valid method for improving the hGMSCs phenotype and thus might be a potential therapeutic tool in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 1531-1546, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of pancreaticobiliary maljunction associated with congenital cystic dilatation of bile duct].

Science.gov (United States)

Funabiki, T; Matsubara, T; Ochiai, M

1996-08-01

The concept of congenital biliary dilatation (CBD) was established by Alonso-Lej whose classification has been widely accepted and become a standard. Todani, Komi and several investigators then added additional subclassifications and/or made a proposal of new classification. The trias, abdominal pain, abdominal mass and jaundice, had been characteristically found in these cases, but recently asymptomatic cases are often found. Many reports have shown that the cases with cystic dilation of the biliary duct frequently associated with biliary carcinoma and pancreaticobiliary maljunction (PBM), an anomalous union of pancreatic duct with biliary tree since the Rabbit's first report. Whereas extracorporeal ultrasound and CT scan are minimally invasive diagnostic procedures for these cases, a direct cholangiography, ERCP and PTC are the diagnostic procedures that make a definite diagnosis for the appropriate treatment. Recently, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), helical CT and magnetic resonance cholangiopan-creatography (MRCP) have drawn an attention since these methods are less invasive than those ever being used. In particular, MRCP will be suitable for the screening of preoperative examination. Whereas cystoduodenostomy used to be performed in the past for these cases, the resection of dilatted bule duct along with the diversion of bile from pancreatic juice should be performed to prevent biliary carcinoma. Cholecystectomy along with the resection of bile duct and the biliary diversion from pancreatic juice should also be performed for cases of PBM without CBD because mutagenicity of bile mixed with pancreatic juice and K-ras point mutation in noncancerous bile duct epithelium in cases of PBM without CBD were demonstrated.

The Strategies of Modeling in Biology Education

Science.gov (United States)

Svoboda, Julia; Passmore, Cynthia

2013-01-01

Modeling, like inquiry more generally, is not a single method, but rather a complex suite of strategies. Philosophers of biology, citing the diverse aims, interests, and disciplinary cultures of biologists, argue that modeling is best understood in the context of its epistemic aims and cognitive payoffs. In the science education literature,…

Bath atomic composition and deposition time influence on the properties of nanostructured CdS{sub 0.5}Se{sub 0.5} thin films synthesized by CBD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanchez-Ramirez, E.A. [Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Química e Industrias Extractivas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CP 07738 México D.F. (Mexico); Hernandez-Perez, M.A., E-mail: angeleshp@yahoo.com [Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Química e Industrias Extractivas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CP 07738 México D.F. (Mexico); Aguilar-Hernandez, J.R.; Contreras-Puente, G. [Escuela Superior de Física y Matemáticas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CP 07738 México D.F. (Mexico)

2015-09-01

Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) was used to grow CdS{sub 1−xf}Se{sub xf} (x{sub f} = 0.5) thin films on Corning glass substrates at 75 °C. The atomic composition of the bath was varied until an x{sub f} of 0.5 was obtained, maintaining the deposition time at 120 min. Then the deposition time was modified from 5 to 360 min. The structural and optical properties of the films were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, UV–Vis Spectroscopy, Profilometry and Inductive Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). A bath atomic composition of Cd:S:Se equal to 0.76:0.55:0.45 was employed to obtain a film of x{sub f} = 0.5. The films are constituted by clusters of semispherical nanoparticles (ϕ{sub av} = 15 nm), which are well-arranged in a “nanoworm” structure. The nucleation time of the particles is lower than 5 min. All the films are polycrystalline with hexagonal phase and preferentially orientated on the (002) plane. The crystal size (11–6 nm) and the band gap (2.17–1.99 eV) decrease with the content of Se and remain constant with the deposition time. The composition x{sub f} = 0.5 is achieved at different times to the heterogeneous (60 min) and homogeneous reactions (15 min). The kinetics of deposition and the consumption rate of Se change in a similar way, reaching the stability after 60 min. - Highlights: • CdS{sub 1−x}Se{sub x} ternary alloy thin films with x = 0.5 ± 0.05 can be grown by CBD at 75 °C. • CdS{sub 1−x}Se{sub x} nanocrystals are well arranged in a “worm” structure from 30 min and x ≥ 0.25. • The E{sub g} of (002) oriented hexagonal film is strongly affected by x and crystal size. • Films with x = 0.5 are obtained from 30 min using a Cd:S:Se = 0.76:0.5:0.6 bath ratio. • Consumption rate has the same behavior that growth rate, changing around 60 min.

Functional diversity of macrobenthic assemblages decreases in response to sewage discharges

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gusmao, Joao B.; Brauko, Kalina M.; Eriksson, Britas K.; Lana, Paulo C.

We analyzed the effects of sewage discharge on a subtropical estuary by comparing the functional diversity of intertidal macroinvertebrate assemblages in contaminated with non-contaminated reference areas. Functional structure was assessed using biological traits analysis (BTA) and four multivariate

Identity, Diversity and Diversity Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holck, Lotte; Muhr, Sara Louise; Villeseche, Florence

2016-01-01

– The work can encourage policy makers, diversity and HR managers to question their own practices and assumptions leading to more theoretical informed diversity management practices. Originality/value – The theoretical connections between identity and diversity literature have so far not been reviewed......The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the identity and diversity literatures and discuss how a better understanding of the theoretical connections between the two informs both diversity research and diversity management practices. Design/methodology/approach – Literature...... and limitations – is crucial for successful diversity management research and practice. Research limitations/implications – The authors argue for a better understanding of differences, overlaps and limits of different identity perspectives, and for a stronger engagement with practice. Practical implications...

Biological Control Strategies for Mosquito Vectors of Arboviruses.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yan-Jang S; Higgs, Stephen; Vanlandingham, Dana L

2017-02-10

Historically, biological control utilizes predatory species and pathogenic microorganisms to reduce the population of mosquitoes as disease vectors. This is particularly important for the control of mosquito-borne arboviruses, which normally do not have specific antiviral therapies available. Although development of resistance is likely, the advantages of biological control are that the resources used are typically biodegradable and ecologically friendly. Over the past decade, the advancement of molecular biology has enabled optimization by the manipulation of genetic materials associated with biological control agents. Two significant advancements are the discovery of cytoplasmic incompatibility induced by Wolbachia bacteria, which has enhanced replacement programs, and the introduction of dominant lethal genes into local mosquito populations through the release of genetically modified mosquitoes. As various arboviruses continue to be significant public health threats, biological control strategies have evolved to be more diverse and become critical tools to reduce the disease burden of arboviruses.

Synergistic Synthetic Biology: Units in Concert

Science.gov (United States)

Trosset, Jean-Yves; Carbonell, Pablo

2013-01-01

Synthetic biology aims at translating the methods and strategies from engineering into biology in order to streamline the design and construction of biological devices through standardized parts. Modular synthetic biology devices are designed by means of an adequate elimination of cross-talk that makes circuits orthogonal and specific. To that end, synthetic constructs need to be adequately optimized through in silico modeling by choosing the right complement of genetic parts and by experimental tuning through directed evolution and craftsmanship. In this review, we consider an additional and complementary tool available to the synthetic biologist for innovative design and successful construction of desired circuit functionalities: biological synergies. Synergy is a prevalent emergent property in biological systems that arises from the concerted action of multiple factors producing an amplification or cancelation effect compared with individual actions alone. Synergies appear in domains as diverse as those involved in chemical and protein activity, polypharmacology, and metabolic pathway complementarity. In conventional synthetic biology designs, synergistic cross-talk between parts and modules is generally attenuated in order to verify their orthogonality. Synergistic interactions, however, can induce emergent behavior that might prove useful for synthetic biology applications, like in functional circuit design, multi-drug treatment, or in sensing and delivery devices. Synergistic design principles are therefore complementary to those coming from orthogonal design and may provide added value to synthetic biology applications. The appropriate modeling, characterization, and design of synergies between biological parts and units will allow the discovery of yet unforeseeable, novel synthetic biology applications. PMID:25022769

Synergistic Synthetic Biology: Units in Concert

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trosset, Jean-Yves; Carbonell, Pablo

2013-01-01

Synthetic biology aims at translating the methods and strategies from engineering into biology in order to streamline the design and construction of biological devices through standardized parts. Modular synthetic biology devices are designed by means of an adequate elimination of cross-talk that makes circuits orthogonal and specific. To that end, synthetic constructs need to be adequately optimized through in silico modeling by choosing the right complement of genetic parts and by experimental tuning through directed evolution and craftsmanship. In this review, we consider an additional and complementary tool available to the synthetic biologist for innovative design and successful construction of desired circuit functionalities: biological synergies. Synergy is a prevalent emergent property in biological systems that arises from the concerted action of multiple factors producing an amplification or cancelation effect compared with individual actions alone. Synergies appear in domains as diverse as those involved in chemical and protein activity, polypharmacology, and metabolic pathway complementarity. In conventional synthetic biology designs, synergistic cross-talk between parts and modules is generally attenuated in order to verify their orthogonality. Synergistic interactions, however, can induce emergent behavior that might prove useful for synthetic biology applications, like in functional circuit design, multi-drug treatment, or in sensing and delivery devices. Synergistic design principles are therefore complementary to those coming from orthogonal design and may provide added value to synthetic biology applications. The appropriate modeling, characterization, and design of synergies between biological parts and units will allow the discovery of yet unforeseeable, novel synthetic biology applications.

Cannabinoid effects on β amyloid fibril and aggregate formation, neuronal and microglial-activated neurotoxicity in vitro.

Science.gov (United States)

Janefjord, Emelie; Mååg, Jesper L V; Harvey, Benjamin S; Smid, Scott D

2014-01-01

Cannabinoid (CB) ligands have demonstrated neuroprotective properties. In this study we compared the effects of a diverse set of CB ligands against β amyloid-mediated neuronal toxicity and activated microglial-conditioned media-based neurotoxicity in vitro, and compared this with a capacity to directly alter β amyloid (Aβ) fibril or aggregate formation. Neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells were exposed to Aβ1-42 directly or microglial (BV-2 cells) conditioned media activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the presence of the CB1 receptor-selective agonist ACEA, CB2 receptor-selective agonist JWH-015, phytocannabinoids Δ(9)-THC and cannabidiol (CBD), the endocannabinoids 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) and anandamide or putative GPR18/GPR55 ligands O-1602 and abnormal-cannabidiol (Abn-CBD). TNF-α and nitrite production was measured in BV-2 cells to compare activation via LPS or albumin with Aβ1-42. Aβ1-42 evoked a concentration-dependent loss of cell viability in SH-SY5Y cells but negligible TNF-α and nitrite production in BV-2 cells compared to albumin or LPS. Both albumin and LPS-activated BV-2 conditioned media significantly reduced neuronal cell viability but were directly innocuous to SH-SY5Y cells. Of those CB ligands tested, only 2-AG and CBD were directly protective against Aβ-evoked SH-SY5Y cell viability, whereas JWH-015, THC, CBD, Abn-CBD and O-1602 all protected SH-SY5Y cells from BV-2 conditioned media activated via LPS. While CB ligands variably altered the morphology of Aβ fibrils and aggregates, there was no clear correlation between effects on Aβ morphology and neuroprotective actions. These findings indicate a neuroprotective action of CB ligands via actions at microglial and neuronal cells.

The crucial contribution of veterinarians to conservation biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Reading, Richard P; Kenny, David E; Fitzgerald, Kevin T

2013-11-01

Conservation biology is a relatively new (began in the 1980s), value-based discipline predicated on the belief that biological diversity-from genes to populations to species to communities to ecosystems-is good and extinction is bad. Conservation biology grew from the recognition that the Earth has entered its sixth great extinction event, one that differs from previous great extinctions in that a single species-Homo sapiens-has caused this biodiversity crisis. A diverse, interacting set of variables drive current extinctions. As such, to succeed, conservation efforts usually require broad-based, interdisciplinary approaches. Conservationists increasingly recognize the importance of contributions by veterinary science, among many other disciplines, to collaborative efforts aimed at stemming the loss of biodiversity. We argue that, to improve success rates, many wildlife conservation programs must incorporate veterinarians as part of an interdisciplinary team to assess and address problems. Ideally, veterinarians who participate in conservation would receive specialized training and be willing to work as partners as part of a larger team of experts who effectively integrate their work rather than work independently (i.e., work as interdisciplinary, as opposed to multidisciplinary, teams, respectively). In our opinion, the most successful and productive projects involve interdisciplinary teams involving both biological and nonbiological specialists. Some researchers hold multiple degrees in biology and veterinary medicine or the biological and social sciences. These experts can often offer unique insight. We see at least 3 major areas in which veterinarians can immediately offer great assistance to conservation efforts: (1) participation in wildlife capture and immobilization, (2) leadership or assistance in addressing wildlife health issues, and (3) leadership or assistance in addressing wildlife disease issues, including using wildlife as sentinels to identify new

Modification of Morphological, Structural and Optical Properties of CBD-Based Growth of PbS Films on Glass Substrates by Addition of Saccharin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yasin YÜCEL

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Saccharin which so-called as benzoic sulfimide is an artificial sweetener. In this paper, nanostructured lead sulfide (PbS thin films were produced in the presence of additive known as saccharin via chemical bath deposition (CBD. Effect of the saccharin content on the morphological, optical and structural properties of the films has been investigated. Lead sulfide (PbS films that included additive were prepared at five different concentrations of saccharin (from 0 to 5%. The fabricated samples were characterized by surface roughness, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, X-Ray diffraction and UV-vis spectroscopy. It was found that the presence of saccharin highly affected the optical and structural properties of PbS thin films. According to the X-Ray diffraction results, crystallite size values of the films decreased from 12.88 to 5.25 nm with increasing of saccharin content. UV-vis measurements showed that both the band gap and transmission properties of the films increased as a result of increasing saccharin concentration. Further, Surface roughness measurements exhibited that average surface roughness was diminished with increasing saccharin content. As a result, it has been found that the presence of saccharin in growth solution played a significant mission in adjusting the main physical properties of the samples.

The loss of genetic diversity in the Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Unknown

The loss of genetic diversity in the Chinese paddlefish. (Psephurus gladius Martens) as revealed by DNA fingerprinting. XUE-CHANG WU*. College of Life Sciences and the Key Laboratory of Conservation Genetics and Reproductive Biology for Endangered. Wild Animals of the Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University, ...

Efficacy of artisanal preparations of cannabidiol for the treatment of epilepsy: Practical experiences in a tertiary medical center.

Science.gov (United States)

Porcari, Giulia S; Fu, Cary; Doll, Emily D; Carter, Emma G; Carson, Robert P

2018-03-01

Medically refractory epilepsy continues to be a challenge worldwide, and despite an increasing number of medical therapies, approximately 1 in 3 patients continues to have seizures. Cannabidiol (CBD), one of many constituents of the Cannabis sativa or marijuana plant, has received renewed interest in the treatment of epilepsy. While highly purified CBD awaits Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, artisanal formulations of CBD are readily available and are seeing increased use in our patient population. Although randomized controlled trials of CBD are ongoing and promising, data regarding artisanal formulations of CBD are minimal and largely anecdotal. Here, we report a retrospective study to define the efficacy of artisanal CBD preparations in children with epilepsy. Given the known interaction between CBD and clobazam, we also conducted a subgroup comparison to determine if clobazam use was related to any beneficial effects of CBD. Additionally, we compared response rates with CBD and with clobazam alone within an overlapping patient cohort. A pediatric cohort with epilepsy of 108 patients was identified through a medical record search for patients using CBD oil. The addition of CBD resulted in 39% of patients having a >50% reduction in seizures, with 10% becoming seizure-free. The responder rate for clobazam was similar. No patients achieved CBD monotherapy, although the weaning of other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) became possible in 22% of patients. A comparable proportion had AED additions during CBD therapy. With concomitant use of clobazam, 44% of patients had a 50% reduction in seizures upon addition of CBD compared with 33% in the population not taking clobazam; this difference was not statistically significant. The most common reported side effect of CBD was sedation in less than 4% of patients, all of whom were also taking clobazam. Increased alertness and improved verbal interactions were reported in 14% of patients in the CBD group and 8% of

US Competitiveness in Synthetic Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Gronvall, Gigi Kwik

2015-01-01

Synthetic biology is an emerging technical field that aims to make biology easier to engineer; the field has applications in strategically important sectors for the US economy. While the United States currently leads in synthetic biology R&D, other nations are heavily investing in order to boost their economies, which will inevitably diminish the US leadership position. This outcome is not entirely negative--additional investments will expand markets--but it is critical that the US government take steps to remain competitive: There are applications from which the US population and economy may benefit; there are specific applications with importance for national defense; and US technical leadership will ensure that US experts have a leading role in synthetic biology governance, regulation, and oversight. Measures to increase competitiveness in S&T generally are broadly applicable for synthetic biology and should be pursued. However, the US government will also need to take action on fundamental issues that will affect the field's development, such as countering anti-GMO (genetically modified organism) sentiments and anti-GMO legislation. The United States should maintain its regulatory approach so that it is the product that is regulated, not the method used to create a product. At the same time, the United States needs to ensure that the regulatory framework is updated so that synthetic biology products do not fall into regulatory gaps. Finally, the United States needs to pay close attention to how synthetic biology applications may be governed internationally, such as through the Nagoya Protocol of the Convention on Biological Diversity, so that beneficial applications may be realized.

Some guiding concepts for conservation biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindenmayer, David; Hunter, Malcolm

2010-12-01

The search for generalities in ecology has often been thwarted by contingency and ecological complexity that limit the development of predictive rules. We present a set of concepts that we believe succinctly expresses some of the fundamental ideas in conservation biology. (1) Successful conservation management requires explicit goals and objectives. (2) The overall goal of biodiversity management will usually be to maintain or restore biodiversity, not to maximize species richness. (3) A holistic approach is needed to solve conservation problems. (4) Diverse approaches to management can provide diverse environmental conditions and mitigate risk. (5) Using nature's template is important for guiding conservation management, but it is not a panacea. (6) Focusing on causes not symptoms enhances efficacy and efficiency of conservation actions. (7) Every species and ecosystem is unique, to some degree. (8) Threshold responses are important but not ubiquitous. (9) Multiple stressors often exert critical effects on species and ecosystems. (10) Human values are variable and dynamic and significantly shape conservation efforts. We believe most conservation biologists will broadly agree these concepts are important. That said, an important part of the maturation of conservation biology as a discipline is constructive debate about additional or alternative concepts to those we have proposed here. Therefore, we have established a web-based, online process for further discussion of the concepts outlined in this paper and developing additional ones. © 2010 Society for Conservation Biology.

Synthetic biology approaches to fluorinated polyketides.

Science.gov (United States)

Thuronyi, Benjamin W; Chang, Michelle C Y

2015-03-17

The catalytic diversity of living systems offers a broad range of opportunities for developing new methods to produce small molecule targets such as fuels, materials, and pharmaceuticals. In addition to providing cost-effective and renewable methods for large-scale commercial processes, the exploration of the unusual chemical phenotypes found in living organisms can also enable the expansion of chemical space for discovery of novel function by combining orthogonal attributes from both synthetic and biological chemistry. In this context, we have focused on the development of new fluorine chemistry using synthetic biology approaches. While fluorine has become an important feature in compounds of synthetic origin, the scope of biological fluorine chemistry in living systems is limited, with fewer than 20 organofluorine natural products identified to date. In order to expand the diversity of biosynthetically accessible organofluorines, we have begun to develop methods for the site-selective introduction of fluorine into complex natural products by engineering biosynthetic machinery to incorporate fluorinated building blocks. To gain insight into how both enzyme active sites and metabolic pathways can be evolved to manage and select for fluorinated compounds, we have studied one of the only characterized natural hosts for organofluorine biosynthesis, the soil microbe Streptomyces cattleya. This information provides a template for designing engineered organofluorine enzymes, pathways, and hosts and has allowed us to initiate construction of enzymatic and cellular pathways for the production of fluorinated polyketides.

Bioluminescence in the Ocean: Origins of Biological, Chemical, and Ecological Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Widder, E. A.

2010-05-01

From bacteria to fish, a remarkable variety of marine life depends on bioluminescence (the chemical generation of light) for finding food, attracting mates, and evading predators. Disparate biochemical systems and diverse phylogenetic distribution patterns of light-emitting organisms highlight the ecological benefits of bioluminescence, with biochemical and genetic analyses providing new insights into the mechanisms of its evolution. The origins and functions of some bioluminescent systems, however, remain obscure. Here, I review recent advances in understanding bioluminescence in the ocean and highlight future research efforts that will unite molecular details with ecological and evolutionary relationships.

Bringing genetic diversity to the forefront of conservation policy and management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoban, S.M.; Hauffe, H.C.; Pérez-Espona, S.

2013-01-01

In this essay we explore questions on how to increase the visibility and utility of genetic information for biodiversity managers and policy makers. This is discussed in the light of Aichi CBD Target 13, which for the first time impels signatories to minimise genetic erosion and safeguard genetic...... genetics. We then discuss the implications of these findings for academics involved in conservation genetics and suggest that a much closer partnership between academic conservation geneticists and conservation practitioners is necessary if the full potential of genetic tools in conservation...

The functions of biological diversity in an age of extinction.

Science.gov (United States)

Naeem, Shahid; Duffy, J Emmett; Zavaleta, Erika

2012-06-15

Ecosystems worldwide are rapidly losing taxonomic, phylogenetic, genetic, and functional diversity as a result of human appropriation of natural resources, modification of habitats and climate, and the spread of pathogenic, exotic, and domestic plants and animals. Twenty years of intense theoretical and empirical research have shown that such biotic impoverishment can markedly alter the biogeochemical and dynamic properties of ecosystems, but frontiers remain in linking this research to the complexity of wild nature, and in applying it to pressing environmental issues such as food, water, energy, and biosecurity. The question before us is whether these advances can take us beyond merely invoking the precautionary principle of conserving biodiversity to a predictive science that informs practical and specific solutions to mitigate and adapt to its loss.

Fluctuating Thermodynamics for Biological Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Ham, Sihyun

Because biomolecular processes are largely under thermodynamic control, dynamic extension of thermodynamics is necessary to uncover the mechanisms and driving factors of fluctuating processes. The fluctuating thermodynamics technology presented in this talk offers a practical means for the thermodynamic characterization of conformational dynamics in biomolecules. The use of fluctuating thermodynamics has the potential to provide a comprehensive picture of fluctuating phenomena in diverse biological processes. Through the application of fluctuating thermodynamics, we provide a thermodynamic perspective on the misfolding and aggregation of the various proteins associated with human diseases. In this talk, I will present the detailed concepts and applications of the fluctuating thermodynamics technology for elucidating biological processes. This work was supported by Samsung Science and Technology Foundation under Project Number SSTF-BA1401-13.

Biologically Inspired Micro-Flight Research

Science.gov (United States)

Raney, David L.; Waszak, Martin R.

2003-01-01

Natural fliers demonstrate a diverse array of flight capabilities, many of which are poorly understood. NASA has established a research project to explore and exploit flight technologies inspired by biological systems. One part of this project focuses on dynamic modeling and control of micro aerial vehicles that incorporate flexible wing structures inspired by natural fliers such as insects, hummingbirds and bats. With a vast number of potential civil and military applications, micro aerial vehicles represent an emerging sector of the aerospace market. This paper describes an ongoing research activity in which mechanization and control concepts for biologically inspired micro aerial vehicles are being explored. Research activities focusing on a flexible fixed- wing micro aerial vehicle design and a flapping-based micro aerial vehicle concept are presented.

Molecular biology approaches in bioadhesion research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcelo Rodrigues

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The use of molecular biology tools in the field of bioadhesion is still in its infancy. For new research groups who are considering taking a molecular approach, the techniques presented here are essential to unravelling the sequence of a gene, its expression and its biological function. Here we provide an outline for addressing adhesion-related genes in diverse organisms. We show how to gradually narrow down the number of candidate transcripts that are involved in adhesion by (1 generating a transcriptome and a differentially expressed cDNA list enriched for adhesion-related transcripts, (2 setting up a BLAST search facility, (3 perform an in situ hybridization screen, and (4 functional analyses of selected genes by using RNA interference knock-down. Furthermore, latest developments in genome-editing are presented as new tools to study gene function. By using this iterative multi-technologies approach, the identification, isolation, expression and function of adhesion-related genes can be studied in most organisms. These tools will improve our understanding of the diversity of molecules used for adhesion in different organisms and these findings will help to develop innovative bio-inspired adhesives.

Cannabinoid-like anti-inflammatory compounds from flax fiber.

Science.gov (United States)

Styrczewska, Monika; Kulma, Anna; Ratajczak, Katarzyna; Amarowicz, Ryszard; Szopa, Jan

2012-09-01

Flax is a valuable source of fibers, linseed and oil. The compounds of the latter two products have already been widely examined and have been proven to possess many health-beneficial properties. In the course of analysis of fibers extract from previously generated transgenic plants overproducing phenylpropanoids a new terpenoid compound was discovered.The UV spectra and the retention time in UPLC analysis of this new compound reveal similarity to a cannabinoid-like compound, probably cannabidiol (CBD). This was confirmed by finding two ions at m/z 174.1 and 231.2 in mass spectra analysis. Further confirmation of the nature of the compound was based on a biological activity assay. It was found that the compound affects the expression of genes involved in inflammatory processes in mouse and human fibroblasts and likely the CBD from Cannabis sativa activates the specific peripheral cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) gene expression. Besides fibers, the compound was also found in all other flax tissues. It should be pointed out that the industrial process of fabric production does not affect CBD activity.The presented data suggest for the first time that flax products can be a source of biologically active cannabinoid-like compounds that are able to influence the cell immunological response. These findings might open up many new applications for medical flax products, especially for the fabric as a material for wound dressing with anti-inflammatory properties.

Monitoring biodiversity loss with primary species-occurrence data: toward national-level indicators for the 2010 target of the convention on biological diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Soberón, Jorge; Peterson, A Townsend

2009-02-01

Development of effective indicators is indispensable for countries and societies to monitor effects of their actions on biodiversity, as is recognized in decision VI/26 of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Good indicators would ideally be scalable, at least for the different scales that characterize biodiversity patterns and process. Existing indicators are mostly global in scope, and often based on secondary information, such as classifications of endangered species, rather than on primary data. We propose a complementary approach, based on the increased availability of raw data about occurrences of species, cutting-edge modeling techniques for estimating distributional areas, and land-use information based on remotely sensed data to allow estimation of rates of range loss for species affected by land-use conversion. This method can be implemented by developing countries, given increasing availability of data and the open and well-documented nature of the techniques required.

Mediating objects: scientific and public functions of models in nineteenth-century biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ludwig, David

2013-01-01

The aim of this article is to examine the scientific and public functions of two- and three-dimensional models in the context of three episodes from nineteenth-century biology. I argue that these models incorporate both data and theory by presenting theoretical assumptions in the light of concrete data or organizing data through theoretical assumptions. Despite their diverse roles in scientific practice, they all can be characterized as mediators between data and theory. Furthermore, I argue that these different mediating functions often reflect their different audiences that included specialized scientists, students, and the general public. In this sense, models in nineteenth-century biology can be understood as mediators between theory, data, and their diverse audiences.

The DNA-damage response in human biology and disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jackson, Stephen P; Bartek, Jiri

2009-01-01

, signal its presence and mediate its repair. Such responses, which have an impact on a wide range of cellular events, are biologically significant because they prevent diverse human diseases. Our improving understanding of DNA-damage responses is providing new avenues for disease management....

Studying cell biology in the skin.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrow, Angel; Lechler, Terry

2015-11-15

Advances in cell biology have often been driven by studies in diverse organisms and cell types. Although there are technical reasons for why different cell types are used, there are also important physiological reasons. For example, ultrastructural studies of vesicle transport were aided by the use of professional secretory cell types. The use of tissues/primary cells has the advantage not only of using cells that are adapted to the use of certain cell biological machinery, but also of highlighting the physiological roles of this machinery. Here we discuss advantages of the skin as a model system. We discuss both advances in cell biology that used the skin as a driving force and future prospects for use of the skin to understand basic cell biology. A unique combination of characteristics and tools makes the skin a useful in vivo model system for many cell biologists. © 2015 Morrow and Lechler. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). Two months after publication it is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Hyperpolarized NMR Probes for Biological Assays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebastian Meier

2014-01-01

Full Text Available During the last decade, the development of nuclear spin polarization enhanced (hyperpolarized molecular probes has opened up new opportunities for studying the inner workings of living cells in real time. The hyperpolarized probes are produced ex situ, introduced into biological systems and detected with high sensitivity and contrast against background signals using high resolution NMR spectroscopy. A variety of natural, derivatized and designed hyperpolarized probes has emerged for diverse biological studies including assays of intracellular reaction progression, pathway kinetics, probe uptake and export, pH, redox state, reactive oxygen species, ion concentrations, drug efficacy or oncogenic signaling. These probes are readily used directly under natural conditions in biofluids and are often directly developed and optimized for cellular assays, thus leaving little doubt about their specificity and utility under biologically relevant conditions. Hyperpolarized molecular probes for biological NMR spectroscopy enable the unbiased detection of complex processes by virtue of the high spectral resolution, structural specificity and quantifiability of NMR signals. Here, we provide a survey of strategies used for the selection, design and use of hyperpolarized NMR probes in biological assays, and describe current limitations and developments.

Population genetic diversity and fitness in multiple environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McGreevy Thomas J

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background When a large number of alleles are lost from a population, increases in individual homozygosity may reduce individual fitness through inbreeding depression. Modest losses of allelic diversity may also negatively impact long-term population viability by reducing the capacity of populations to adapt to altered environments. However, it is not clear how much genetic diversity within populations may be lost before populations are put at significant risk. Development of tools to evaluate this relationship would be a valuable contribution to conservation biology. To address these issues, we have created an experimental system that uses laboratory populations of an estuarine crustacean, Americamysis bahia with experimentally manipulated levels of genetic diversity. We created replicate cultures with five distinct levels of genetic diversity and monitored them for 16 weeks in both permissive (ambient seawater and stressful conditions (diluted seawater. The relationship between molecular genetic diversity at presumptive neutral loci and population vulnerability was assessed by AFLP analysis. Results Populations with very low genetic diversity demonstrated reduced fitness relative to high diversity populations even under permissive conditions. Population performance decreased in the stressful environment for all levels of genetic diversity relative to performance in the permissive environment. Twenty percent of the lowest diversity populations went extinct before the end of the study in permissive conditions, whereas 73% of the low diversity lines went extinct in the stressful environment. All high genetic diversity populations persisted for the duration of the study, although population sizes and reproduction were reduced under stressful environmental conditions. Levels of fitness varied more among replicate low diversity populations than among replicate populations with high genetic diversity. There was a significant correlation

Assessing the genetic diversity of cultivars and wild soybeans using ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

2010-08-02

Aug 2, 2010 ... The average genetic diversity index of wild soybeans and landraces was 1.5421 and ... genetic identity (0.5265) and gene flow (1.8338) between wild soybeans and cultivars ..... The project was financed by the National Natural Science .... Biology and Biotechnology Centre, University of Alberta, Alberta.

Genetic diversity in the oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis: molecular mechanisms and biological consequences

Science.gov (United States)

Tribble, Gena D; Kerr, Jennifer E; Wang, Bing-Yan

2013-01-01

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a Gram-negative anaerobic bacterium that colonizes the human oral cavity. It is implicated in the development of periodontitis, a chronic periodontal disease affecting half of the adult population in the USA. To survive in the oral cavity, these bacteria must colonize dental plaque biofilms in competition with other bacterial species. Long-term survival requires P. gingivalis to evade host immune responses, while simultaneously adapting to the changing physiology of the host and to alterations in the plaque biofilm. In reflection of this highly variable niche, P. gingivalis is a genetically diverse species and in this review the authors summarize genetic diversity as it relates to pathogenicity in P. gingivalis. Recent studies revealing a variety of mechanisms by which adaptive changes in genetic content can occur are also reviewed. Understanding the genetic plasticity of P. gingivalis will provide a better framework for understanding the host–microbe interactions associated with periodontal disease. PMID:23642116

Effect of deposition temperature on the structural and optical properties of CdSe QDs thin films deposited by CBD method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laatar, F., E-mail: fakher8laatar@gmail.com [Photovoltaic Laboratory, Centre for Research and Technology Energy, Tourist Route Soliman, BP 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif (Tunisia); Harizi, A. [Photovoltaic and Semiconductor Materials Laboratory, Engineering Industrial Department, ENIT, Tunis El Manar University, BP 37, Le Belvédère, 1002 Tunis (Tunisia); Smida, A. [Photovoltaic Laboratory, Centre for Research and Technology Energy, Tourist Route Soliman, BP 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif (Tunisia); Hassen, M. [Photovoltaic Laboratory, Centre for Research and Technology Energy, Tourist Route Soliman, BP 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif (Tunisia); Higher Institute of Applied Science and Technology of Sousse, City Taffala (Ibn Khaldun), 4003 Sousse (Tunisia); Ezzaouia, H. [Photovoltaic Laboratory, Centre for Research and Technology Energy, Tourist Route Soliman, BP 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif (Tunisia)

2016-06-15

Highlights: • Synthesis of CdSe QDs with L-Cysteine capping agent for applications in nanodevices. • The films of CdSe QDs present uniform and good dispersive particles at the surface. • Effect of bath temperature on the structural and optical properties of CdSe QDs thin films. • Investigation of the optical constants and dispersion parameters of CdSe QDs thin films. - Abstract: Cadmium selenide quantum dots (CdSe QDs) thin films were deposited onto glass substrates by a chemical bath deposition (CBD) method at different temperatures from an aqueous solution containing L-Cysteine (L-Cys) as capping agent. The evolution of the surface morphology and elemental composition of the CdSe films were studied by AFM, SEM, and EDX analyses. Structural and optical properties of CdSe thin films were investigated by XRD, UV–vis and PL spectroscopy. The dispersion behavior of the refractive index is described using the single oscillator Wemple-DiDomenico (W-D) model, and the physical dispersion parameters are calculated as a function of deposition temperature. The dispersive optical parameters such as average oscillator energy (E{sub o}), dispersion energy (E{sub d}), and static refractive index (n{sub o}) were found to vary with the deposition temperature. Besides, the electrical free carrier susceptibility (χ{sub e}) and the carrier concentration of the effective mass ratio (N/m*) were evaluated according to the Spitzer-Fan model.

Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) - Light Emitting Diode (LED)

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Howard G.; Caron, Allison

2016-01-01

The Biological Research in Canisters - LED (BRIC-LED) is a biological research system that is being designed to complement the capabilities of the existing BRIC-Petri Dish Fixation Unit (PDFU) for the Space Life and Physical Sciences (SLPS) Program. A diverse range of organisms can be supported, including plant seedlings, callus cultures, Caenorhabditis elegans, microbes, and others. In the event of a launch scrub, the entire assembly can be replaced with an identical back-up unit containing freshly loaded specimens.

Biosynthesis of therapeutic natural products using synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Awan, Ali R; Shaw, William M; Ellis, Tom

2016-10-01

Natural products are a group of bioactive structurally diverse chemicals produced by microorganisms and plants. These molecules and their derivatives have contributed to over a third of the therapeutic drugs produced in the last century. However, over the last few decades traditional drug discovery pipelines from natural products have become far less productive and far more expensive. One recent development with promise to combat this trend is the application of synthetic biology to therapeutic natural product biosynthesis. Synthetic biology is a young discipline with roots in systems biology, genetic engineering, and metabolic engineering. In this review, we discuss the use of synthetic biology to engineer improved yields of existing therapeutic natural products. We further describe the use of synthetic biology to combine and express natural product biosynthetic genes in unprecedented ways, and how this holds promise for opening up completely new avenues for drug discovery and production. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biological Control Strategies for Mosquito Vectors of Arboviruses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan-Jang S. Huang

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Historically, biological control utilizes predatory species and pathogenic microorganisms to reduce the population of mosquitoes as disease vectors. This is particularly important for the control of mosquito-borne arboviruses, which normally do not have specific antiviral therapies available. Although development of resistance is likely, the advantages of biological control are that the resources used are typically biodegradable and ecologically friendly. Over the past decade, the advancement of molecular biology has enabled optimization by the manipulation of genetic materials associated with biological control agents. Two significant advancements are the discovery of cytoplasmic incompatibility induced by Wolbachia bacteria, which has enhanced replacement programs, and the introduction of dominant lethal genes into local mosquito populations through the release of genetically modified mosquitoes. As various arboviruses continue to be significant public health threats, biological control strategies have evolved to be more diverse and become critical tools to reduce the disease burden of arboviruses.

Illuminating Cell Biology

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

NASA's Ames Research Center awarded Ciencia, Inc., a Small Business Innovation Research contract to develop the Cell Fluorescence Analysis System (CFAS) to address the size, mass, and power constraints of using fluorescence spectroscopy in the International Space Station's Life Science Research Facility. The system will play an important role in studying biological specimen's long-term adaptation to microgravity. Commercial applications for the technology include diverse markets such as food safety, in situ environmental monitoring, online process analysis, genomics and DNA chips, and non-invasive diagnostics. Ciencia has already sold the system to the private sector for biosensor applications.

Isolation of a significant fraction of non-phototroph diversity from a desert Biological Soil Crust

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ulisses eNunes da Rocha

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Biological Soil Crusts (BSCs are organosedimentary assemblages comprised of microbes and minerals in topsoil of terrestrial environments. BSCs strongly impact soil quality in dryland ecosystems (e.g., soil structure and nutrient yields due to pioneer species such as Microcoleus vaginatus; phototrophs that produce filaments that bind the soil together, and support an array of heterotrophic microorganisms. These microorganisms in turn contribute to soil stability and biogeochemistry of BSCs. Non-cyanobacterial populations of BSCs are less well known than cyanobacterial populations. Therefore, we attempted to isolate a broad range of numerically significant and phylogenetically representative BSC aerobic heterotrophs. Combining simple pre-treatments (hydration of BSCs under dark and light and isolation strategies (media with varying nutrient availability and protection from oxidative stress we recovered 402 bacterial and one fungal isolate in axenic culture, which comprised 116 phylotypes (at 97% 16S rRNA gene sequence homology, 115 bacterial and one fungal. Each medium enriched a mostly distinct subset of phylotypes, and cultivated phylotypes varied due to the BSC pre-treatment. The fraction of the total phylotype diversity isolated, weighted by relative abundance in the community, was determined by the overlap between isolate sequences and OTUs reconstructed from metagenome or metatranscriptome reads. Together, more than 8% of relative abundance of OTUs in the metagenome was represented by our isolates, a cultivation efficiency much larger than typically expected from most soils. We conclude that simple cultivation procedures combined with specific pre-treatment of samples afford a significant reduction in the culturability gap, enabling physiological and metabolic assays that rely on ecologically relevant axenic cultures.

French invasive Asian tiger mosquito populations harbor reduced bacterial microbiota and genetic diversity compared to Vietnamese autochthonous relatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guillaume eMinard

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is one of the most significant pathogen vectors of the 21st century. Originating from Asia, it has invaded a wide range of eco-climatic regions worldwide. The insect-associated microbiota is now recognized to play a significant role in host biology. While genetic diversity bottlenecks are known to result from biological invasions, the resulting shifts in host-associated microbiota diversity has not been thoroughly investigated. To address this subject, we compared four autochthonous Ae. albopictus populations in Vietnam, the native area of Ae. albopictus, and three populations recently introduced to Metropolitan France, with the aim of documenting whether these populations display differences in host genotype and bacterial microbiota. Population-level genetic diversity (microsatellite markers and COI haplotype and bacterial diversity (16S rDNA metabarcoding were compared between field-caught mosquitoes. Bacterial microbiota from the whole insect bodies were largely dominated by Wolbachia pipientis. Targeted analysis of the gut microbiota revealed a greater bacterial diversity in which a fraction was common between French and Vietnamese populations. The genus Dysgonomonas was the most prevalent and abundant across all studied populations. Overall genetic diversities of both hosts and bacterial microbiota were significantly reduced in recently established populations of France compared to the autochthonous populations of Vietnam. These results open up many important avenues of investigation in order to link the process of geographical invasion to shifts in commensal and symbiotic microbiome communities, as such shifts may have dramatic impacts on the biology and/or vector competence of invading hematophagous insects.

Monitoring of airborne biological particles in outdoor atmosphere. Part 2: Metagenomics applied to urban environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Núñez, Andrés; Amo de Paz, Guillermo; Rastrojo, Alberto; García, Ana M; Alcamí, Antonio; Gutiérrez-Bustillo, A Montserrat; Moreno, Diego A

2016-06-01

The air we breathe contains microscopic biological particles such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and pollen, some of them with relevant clinic importance. These organisms and/or their propagules have been traditionally studied by different disciplines and diverse methodologies like culture and microscopy. These techniques require time, expertise and also have some important biases. As a consequence, our knowledge on the total diversity and the relationships between the different biological entities present in the air is far from being complete. Currently, metagenomics and next-generation sequencing (NGS) may resolve this shortage of information and have been recently applied to metropolitan areas. Although the procedures and methods are not totally standardized yet, the first studies from urban air samples confirm the previous results obtained by culture and microscopy regarding abundance and variation of these biological particles. However, DNA-sequence analyses call into question some preceding ideas and also provide new interesting insights into diversity and their spatial distribution inside the cities. Here, we review the procedures, results and perspectives of the recent works that apply NGS to study the main biological particles present in the air of urban environments. [Int Microbiol 19(2):69-80(2016)]. Copyright© by the Spanish Society for Microbiology and Institute for Catalan Studies.

A standard-enabled workflow for synthetic biology

KAUST Repository

Myers, Chris J.

2017-06-15

A synthetic biology workflow is composed of data repositories that provide information about genetic parts, sequence-level design tools to compose these parts into circuits, visualization tools to depict these designs, genetic design tools to select parts to create systems, and modeling and simulation tools to evaluate alternative design choices. Data standards enable the ready exchange of information within such a workflow, allowing repositories and tools to be connected from a diversity of sources. The present paper describes one such workflow that utilizes, among others, the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL) to describe genetic designs, the Systems Biology Markup Language to model these designs, and SBOL Visual to visualize these designs. We describe how a standard-enabled workflow can be used to produce types of design information, including multiple repositories and software tools exchanging information using a variety of data standards. Recently, the ACS Synthetic Biology journal has recommended the use of SBOL in their publications.

The Biological Diversity and Production of Volatile Organic Compounds by Stem-Inhabiting Endophytic Fungi of Ecuador

OpenAIRE

Rundell, Susan; Spakowicz, Daniel; Narváez-Trujillo, Alexandra; Strobel, Scott

2015-01-01

Fungal endophytes colonize every major lineage of land plants without causing apparent harm to their hosts. Despite their production of interesting and potentially novel compounds, endophytes—particularly those inhabiting stem tissues—are still a vastly underexplored component of microbial diversity. In this study, we explored the diversity of over 1500 fungal endophyte isolates collected from three Ecuadorian ecosystems: lowland tropical forest, cloud forest, and coastal dry forest. We sough...

Brazilian Microbiome Project: revealing the unexplored microbial diversity--challenges and prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Pylro, Victor Satler; Roesch, Luiz Fernando Wurdig; Ortega, José Miguel; do Amaral, Alexandre Morais; Tótola, Marcos Rogério; Hirsch, Penny Ruth; Rosado, Alexandre Soares; Góes-Neto, Aristóteles; da Costa da Silva, Artur Luiz; Rosa, Carlos Augusto; Morais, Daniel Kumazawa; Andreote, Fernando Dini; Duarte, Gabriela Frois; de Melo, Itamar Soares; Seldin, Lucy; Lambais, Márcio Rodrigues; Hungria, Mariangela; Peixoto, Raquel Silva; Kruger, Ricardo Henrique; Tsai, Siu Mui; Azevedo, Vasco

2014-02-01

The Brazilian Microbiome Project (BMP) aims to assemble a Brazilian Metagenomic Consortium/Database. At present, many metagenomic projects underway in Brazil are widely known. Our goal in this initiative is to co-ordinate and standardize these together with new projects to come. It is estimated that Brazil hosts approximately 20 % of the entire world's macroorganism biological diversity. It is 1 of the 17 countries that share nearly 70 % of the world's catalogued animal and plant species, and is recognized as one of the most megadiverse countries. At the end of 2012, Brazil has joined GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility), as associated member, to improve the access to the Brazilian biodiversity data in a free and open way. This was an important step toward increasing international collaboration and clearly shows the commitment of the Brazilian government in directing national policies toward sustainable development. Despite its importance, the Brazilian microbial diversity is still considered to be largely unknown, and it is clear that to maintain ecosystem dynamics and to sustainably manage land use, it is crucial to understand the biological and functional diversity of the system. This is the first attempt to collect and collate information about Brazilian microbial genetic and functional diversity in a systematic and holistic manner. The success of the BMP depends on a massive collaborative effort of both the Brazilian and international scientific communities, and therefore, we invite all colleagues to participate in this project.

Evaluation of essential oil composition and DNA diversity of mint ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

use

2011-11-23

Nov 23, 2011 ... Full Length Research Paper. Evaluation of essential oil composition and DNA diversity of mint resources from China. Chen Xiao Hua, G. R. Wang and Yao Lei*. Aromatic Plant R&D Centre, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240, China. Accepted 19 September ...

Where Synthetic Biology Meets ET

Science.gov (United States)

Rothschild, Lynn J.

2016-01-01

Synthetic biology - the design and construction of new biological parts and systems and the redesign of existing ones for useful purposes - has the potential to transform fields from pharmaceuticals to fuels. Our lab has focused on the potential of synthetic biology to revolutionize all three major parts of astrobiology: Where do we come from? Where are we going? and Are we alone? For the first and third, synthetic biology is allowing us to answer whether the evolutionary narrative that has played out on planet earth is likely to have been unique or universal. For example, in our lab we are re-evolving the biosynthetic pathways of amino acids in order to understand potential capabilities of an early organism with a limited repertoire of amino acids and developing techniques for the recovery of metals from spent electronics on other planetary bodies. And what about the limits for life? Can we create organisms that expand the envelope for life? In the future synthetic biology will play an increasing role in human activities both on earth, in fields as diverse as human health and the industrial production of novel bio-composites. Beyond earth, we will rely increasingly on biologically-provided life support, as we have throughout our evolutionary history. In order to do this, the field will build on two of the great contributions of astrobiology: studies of the origin of life and life in extreme environments.

Preservation of Fertility Potential for Gender and Sex Diverse Individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Emilie K; Finlayson, Courtney

2016-01-01

Gender and sex diverse individuals-transgender individuals and those with disorders of sex development (DSD)-both face medical treatments that may impair biological fertility potential. Young DSD patients also often have abnormal gonadal development. Fertility preservation for these populations has historically been poorly understood and rarely addressed. Future fertility should be discussed with gender and sex diverse individuals, particularly given recent advances in fertility preservation technologies and evolving views of fertility potential. Key ethical issues include parental proxy decision-making and uncertainty regarding prepubertal fertility preservation technologies. Many opportunities exist for advancing fertility-related care and research for transgender and DSD patients.

Symbiotic Dinoflagellate Functional Diversity Mediates Coral Survival under Ecological Crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Suggett, David J; Warner, Mark E; Leggat, William

2017-10-01

Coral reefs have entered an era of 'ecological crisis' as climate change drives catastrophic reef loss worldwide. Coral growth and stress susceptibility are regulated by their endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (genus Symbiodinium). The phylogenetic diversity of Symbiodinium frequently corresponds to patterns of coral health and survival, but knowledge of functional diversity is ultimately necessary to reconcile broader ecological success over space and time. We explore here functional traits underpinning the complex biology of Symbiodinium that spans free-living algae to coral endosymbionts. In doing so we propose a mechanistic framework integrating the primary traits of resource acquisition and utilisation as a means to explain Symbiodinium functional diversity and to resolve the role of Symbiodinium in driving the stability of coral reefs under an uncertain future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genetics, Genomics and Evolution of Ergot Alkaloid Diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolyn A. Young

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The ergot alkaloid biosynthesis system has become an excellent model to study evolutionary diversification of specialized (secondary metabolites. This is a very diverse class of alkaloids with various neurotropic activities, produced by fungi in several orders of the phylum Ascomycota, including plant pathogens and protective plant symbionts in the family Clavicipitaceae. Results of comparative genomics and phylogenomic analyses reveal multiple examples of three evolutionary processes that have generated ergot-alkaloid diversity: gene gains, gene losses, and gene sequence changes that have led to altered substrates or product specificities of the enzymes that they encode (neofunctionalization. The chromosome ends appear to be particularly effective engines for gene gains, losses and rearrangements, but not necessarily for neofunctionalization. Changes in gene expression could lead to accumulation of various pathway intermediates and affect levels of different ergot alkaloids. Genetic alterations associated with interspecific hybrids of Epichloë species suggest that such variation is also selectively favored. The huge structural diversity of ergot alkaloids probably represents adaptations to a wide variety of ecological situations by affecting the biological spectra and mechanisms of defense against herbivores, as evidenced by the diverse pharmacological effects of ergot alkaloids used in medicine.

Getting the measure of things: the physical biology of stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowell, Sally

2013-10-01

In July 2013, the diverse fields of biology, physics and mathematics converged to discuss 'The Physical Biology of Stem Cells', the subject of the third annual symposium of the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, UK. Two clear themes resonated throughout the meeting: the new insights gained from advances in the acquisition and interpretation of quantitative data; and the importance of 'thinking outside the nucleus' to consider physical influences on cell fate.

Analyses of the microbial diversity across the human microbiome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelvin Li

Full Text Available Analysis of human body microbial diversity is fundamental to understanding community structure, biology and ecology. The National Institutes of Health Human Microbiome Project (HMP has provided an unprecedented opportunity to examine microbial diversity within and across body habitats and individuals through pyrosequencing-based profiling of 16 S rRNA gene sequences (16 S from habits of the oral, skin, distal gut, and vaginal body regions from over 200 healthy individuals enabling the application of statistical techniques. In this study, two approaches were applied to elucidate the nature and extent of human microbiome diversity. First, bootstrap and parametric curve fitting techniques were evaluated to estimate the maximum number of unique taxa, S(max, and taxa discovery rate for habitats across individuals. Next, our results demonstrated that the variation of diversity within low abundant taxa across habitats and individuals was not sufficiently quantified with standard ecological diversity indices. This impact from low abundant taxa motivated us to introduce a novel rank-based diversity measure, the Tail statistic, ("τ", based on the standard deviation of the rank abundance curve if made symmetric by reflection around the most abundant taxon. Due to τ's greater sensitivity to low abundant taxa, its application to diversity estimation of taxonomic units using taxonomic dependent and independent methods revealed a greater range of values recovered between individuals versus body habitats, and different patterns of diversity within habitats. The greatest range of τ values within and across individuals was found in stool, which also exhibited the most undiscovered taxa. Oral and skin habitats revealed variable diversity patterns, while vaginal habitats were consistently the least diverse. Collectively, these results demonstrate the importance, and motivate the introduction, of several visualization and analysis methods tuned specifically for

Biopiracy after the Nagoya Protocol: Problem Structure, Regime Design and Implementation Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florian Rabitz

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This article assesses the effectiveness of the 2010 Nagoya Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD for addressing "biopiracy" of genetic resources; that is, their biotechnological utilization in violation of either the provider country legislation or mutually agreed contractual obligations. Biopiracy is defined as a problem resulting from a distributive conflict between provider and user countries, the practical difficulties of monitoring the utilization of genetic resources in a transnational context, and the pervasive scientific uncertainty about the nature and extent of the problem. The Nagoya Protocol predominantly focuses on compliance management while lacking the necessary enforcement provisions for deterring non-compliance through effective monitoring and sanctions. Using the example of recent European Union implementing legislation, this article underscores how parties may use the Protocol's legal ambiguities to soften its regulatory impact on domestic industry. As a result, in light of both problem structure and regime design, the Protocol only offers modest improvements over the status quo ante.

Dietary antioxidant synergy in chemical and biological systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Sunan; Zhu, Fan

2017-07-24

Antioxidant (AOX) synergies have been much reported in chemical ("test-tube" based assays focusing on pure chemicals), biological (tissue culture, animal and clinical models), and food systems during the past decade. Tentative synergies differ from each other due to the composition of AOX and the quantification methods. Regeneration mechanism responsible for synergy in chemical systems has been discussed. Solvent effects could contribute to the artifacts of synergy observed in the chemical models. Synergy in chemical models may hardly be relevant to biological systems that have been much less studied. Apparent discrepancies exist in understanding the molecular mechanisms in both chemical and biological systems. This review discusses diverse variables associated with AOX synergy and molecular scenarios for explanation. Future research to better utilize the synergy is suggested.

The biology and chemistry of the zoanthamine alkaloids.

Science.gov (United States)

Behenna, Douglas C; Stockdill, Jennifer L; Stoltz, Brian M

2008-01-01

Marine natural products have long played an important role in natural products chemistry and drug discovery. Mirroring the rich variety and complicated interactions of the marine environment, the substances isolated from sea creatures tend to be incredibly diverse in both molecular structure and biological activity. The natural products isolated from the polyps of marine zoanthids are no exception. The zoanthamine alkaloids, the first of which were isolated over 20 years ago, are of particular interest to the synthetic community because they feature a novel structural framework and exhibit a broad range of biological activities. In this Review, we summarize the major contributions to understanding the zoanthamine natural products with regard to their isolation and structure determination, as well as studies on their biological activity and total synthesis.

Perceptions on the use of bottled water in restaurants in Harare's Central Business District (CBD)

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Juba, Olivia Sakhile; Tanyanyiwa, Vincent Itai

2018-06-01

Bottled water use continues to expand worldwide and in the last two decades, a significant number of consumers have shifted from tap water to bottled water due to Cryptosporidium outbreaks. Bottled water consumption has increased in Harare due to erratic tap water supplies. Since 2011, forty bottled water brands have been banned because of failure to meet safety and quality standards due to contamination, unsuitable packaging, and wrong labelling. Nevertheless, the bottled water industry continues to thrive as local authorities fail to adequately purify municipal water. The study assessed the perceptions on drinking bottled water in restaurants within Harare's CBD. Demographic and social factors associated with bottled water users were established and the role and influence of stakeholders in bottling and distribution of water documented. A field survey through the administration of questionnaires to fifty restaurant users was carried out to assess the perceptions of people on the use of bottled water in terms of its safety and potential health benefits. Key informant interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview with ten local water bottling companies as well as representatives from the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis. Standard descriptive statistics were generated, with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Consumers used bottled water as their primary drinking water source when they perceived that tap water was not safe. Perceptions of purity of water, bottled water convenience, and tap water unavailability seemed to determine consumption patterns among users. Females in the 18-48 age groups were more likely to think that bottled water was cleaner, safer, tasted better and was more convenient than tap water. Consumers regularly purchased bottled water for drinking and used bottled water as their primary drinking water

Extraordinary Genetic Diversity in a Wood Decay Mushroom.

Science.gov (United States)

Baranova, Maria A; Logacheva, Maria D; Penin, Aleksey A; Seplyarskiy, Vladimir B; Safonova, Yana Y; Naumenko, Sergey A; Klepikova, Anna V; Gerasimov, Evgeny S; Bazykin, Georgii A; James, Timothy Y; Kondrashov, Alexey S

2015-10-01

Populations of different species vary in the amounts of genetic diversity they possess. Nucleotide diversity π, the fraction of nucleotides that are different between two randomly chosen genotypes, has been known to range in eukaryotes between 0.0001 in Lynx lynx and 0.16 in Caenorhabditis brenneri. Here, we report the results of a comparative analysis of 24 haploid genotypes (12 from the United States and 12 from European Russia) of a split-gill fungus Schizophyllum commune. The diversity at synonymous sites is 0.20 in the American population of S. commune and 0.13 in the Russian population. This exceptionally high level of nucleotide diversity also leads to extreme amino acid diversity of protein-coding genes. Using whole-genome resequencing of 2 parental and 17 offspring haploid genotypes, we estimate that the mutation rate in S. commune is high, at 2.0 × 10(-8) (95% CI: 1.1 × 10(-8) to 4.1 × 10(-8)) per nucleotide per generation. Therefore, the high diversity of S. commune is primarily determined by its elevated mutation rate, although high effective population size likely also plays a role. Small genome size, ease of cultivation and completion of the life cycle in the laboratory, free-living haploid life stages and exceptionally high variability of S. commune make it a promising model organism for population, quantitative, and evolutionary genetics. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Quinones from plants of northeastern Brazil: structural diversity, chemical transformations, NMR data and biological activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemos, Telma L G; Monte, Francisco J Q; Santos, Allana Kellen L; Fonseca, Aluisio M; Santos, Hélcio S; Oliveira, Mailcar F; Costa, Sonia M O; Pessoa, Otilia D L; Braz-Filho, Raimundo

2007-05-20

The present review focus in quinones found in species of Brazilian northeastern Capraria biflora, Lippia sidoides, Lippia microphylla and Tabebuia serratifolia. The review cover ethnopharmacological aspects including photography of species, chemical structure feature, NMR datea and biological properties. Chemical transformations of lapachol to form enamine derivatives and biological activities are discussed.

Microfossils' diversity from the Proterozoic Taoudeni Basin, Mauritania

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Beghin, Jérémie; Houzay, Jean-Pierre; Blanpied, Christian; Javaux, Emmanuelle

2014-05-01

Prokaryotes and microscopic eukaryotes are known to have appeared well before the Cambrian's adaptative radiation which flourished perceptibly as a generalized macroscopic world. What do we know about the trigger events which stimulated eukaryotic diversification during the Proterozoic? Biological innovations or environmental changes, and indeed probably both (Knoll et al., 2006), played a fundamental role controlling this important step of life's evolution on Earth. Javaux (2011), proposed a diversification pattern of early eukaryotes divided into three steps and focusing on different taxonomic levels, from stem group to within crown group, of the domain Eukarya. Here, we present a new, exquisitely preserved and morphologically diverse assemblage of organic-walled microfossils from the 1.1 Ga El Mreiti Group of the Taoudeni Basin (Mauritania). The assemblage includes beautifully preserved microbial mats comprising pyritized filaments, prokaryotic filamentous sheaths and filaments, microfossils of uncertain biological affinity including smooth isolated and colonial sphaeromorphs (eukaryotes and/or prokaryotes), diverse protists (ornamented and process-bearing acritarchs), as well multicellular microfossils interpreted in the literature as possible xanthophyte algae. Several taxa are reported for the first time in Africa, but are known worldwide. This study improves microfossil diversity previously reported by Amard (1986) and shows purported xanthophyte algae contrary to a previous biomarker study suggesting the absence of eukaryotic algae, other than acritarchs, in the basin (Blumenberg et al., 2012). This new microfossil assemblage and others provide, all together, evidences of early and worldwide diversification of eukaryotes. Thereby, those first qualitative results also provide a basis for further and larger quantitative studies on the Taoudeni Basin. To better understand the palaeobiology (stem or crown group, aerobic or anaerobic metabolism) and

Is there a positive relationship between naturalness and genetic diversity in forest tree communities?

OpenAIRE

Wehenkel, C.; Corral-Rivas, J. J.; Castellanos-Bocaz, H. A.; Pinedo-Alvarez, A.

2009-01-01

The concepts of genetic diversity and naturalness are well known as measures of conservation values and as descriptors of state or condition. A lack of research evaluating the relationship between genetic diversity and naturalness in biological communities, along with the possible implications in terms of evolutionary aspects and conservation management, make this subject particularly important as regards forest tree communities.We therefore examined the following hypothesis: the genetic dive...

Endophytic actinobacteria: Diversity, secondary metabolism and mechanisms to unsilence biosynthetic gene clusters.

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Dinesh, Raghavan; Srinivasan, Veeraraghavan; T E, Sheeja; Anandaraj, Muthuswamy; Srambikkal, Hamza

2017-09-01

Endophytic actinobacteria, which reside in the inner tissues of host plants, are gaining serious attention due to their capacity to produce a plethora of secondary metabolites (e.g. antibiotics) possessing a wide variety of biological activity with diverse functions. This review encompasses the recent reports on endophytic actinobacterial species diversity, in planta habitats and mechanisms underlying their mode of entry into plants. Besides, their metabolic potential, novel bioactive compounds they produce and mechanisms to unravel their hidden metabolic repertoire by activation of cryptic or silent biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) for eliciting novel secondary metabolite production are discussed. The study also reviews the classical conservative techniques (chemical/biological/physical elicitation, co-culturing) as well as modern microbiology tools (e.g. next generation sequencing) that are being gainfully employed to uncover the vast hidden scaffolds for novel secondary metabolites produced by these endophytes, which would subsequently herald a revolution in drug engineering. The potential role of these endophytes in the agro-environment as promising biological candidates for inhibition of phytopathogens and the way forward to thoroughly exploit this unique microbial community by inducing expression of cryptic BGCs for encoding unseen products with novel therapeutic properties are also discussed.

Mathematical manipulative models: in defense of "beanbag biology".

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Jungck, John R; Gaff, Holly; Weisstein, Anton E

2010-01-01

Mathematical manipulative models have had a long history of influence in biological research and in secondary school education, but they are frequently neglected in undergraduate biology education. By linking mathematical manipulative models in a four-step process-1) use of physical manipulatives, 2) interactive exploration of computer simulations, 3) derivation of mathematical relationships from core principles, and 4) analysis of real data sets-we demonstrate a process that we have shared in biological faculty development workshops led by staff from the BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium over the past 24 yr. We built this approach based upon a broad survey of literature in mathematical educational research that has convincingly demonstrated the utility of multiple models that involve physical, kinesthetic learning to actual data and interactive simulations. Two projects that use this approach are introduced: The Biological Excel Simulations and Tools in Exploratory, Experiential Mathematics (ESTEEM) Project (http://bioquest.org/esteem) and Numerical Undergraduate Mathematical Biology Education (NUMB3R5 COUNT; http://bioquest.org/numberscount). Examples here emphasize genetics, ecology, population biology, photosynthesis, cancer, and epidemiology. Mathematical manipulative models help learners break through prior fears to develop an appreciation for how mathematical reasoning informs problem solving, inference, and precise communication in biology and enhance the diversity of quantitative biology education.

Considering the ways biocultural diversity helps enforce the urban green infrastructure in times of urban transformation : System dynamics and sustainability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vierikko, Kati; Elands, Birgit; Niemelä, Jari; Andersson, Erik; Buijs, Arjen; Fischer, Leonie Katharina; Haase, Dagmar; Kabisch, Nadja; Kowarik, Ingo; Luz, Ana Catarina; Olafsson Stahl, Anton; Száraz, Luca; van der Jagt, Sander; Konijnendijk van den Bosch, Cecil

2016-01-01

Traditionally, biocultural diversity (BCD) has been researched in non-western and indigenous societies. Recently, it has also been applied in urbanized and industrialized societies, in particular for the planning and management of urban green infrastructure (UGI). Diversity in human and biological

[Responses of functional diversity of aquatic insect community to land use change in middle reach of Qiantang River, East China].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Lian-Bo; Liu, Dong-Xiao; Liu, Shuo-Ru; Zhang, Yong; Tong, Xiao-Li; Wang, Bei-Xin

2013-10-01

Based on the biological traits such as life history, resistance ability against environmental disturbance, and physiological characteristics of aquatic insects, and by using the fourth-corner statistical method, this paper studied the responses of the functional diversity of aquatic insect community to land use change in the middle reach of Qiantang River, Zhejiang Province of East China. For the test aquatic insect community, some of its biological traits were sensitive to land use change, and altered along human disturbance gradients as expected. With the increasing intensity of human disturbance, the maximal insect body length decreased gradually, the dominant respiration pattern evolved from gill respiration to tegument respiration, and the abundance of burrowers increased significantly. At the same time, the functional diversity measured as Rao's quadratic entropy was significantly higher in reference sites than in disturbed sites (P aquatic community were mainly induced by the land use change caused by human activities, which resulted in the decline of stream water quality and habitat quality and the variations of aquatic insect community composition and biological traits. The aquatic insect biological traits and functional diversity could be the potentially effective indicators in the stream health assessment in the future.

DNA barcode reference library for Iberian butterflies enables a continental-scale preview of potential cryptic diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Dincă, Vlad; Montagud, Sergio; Talavera, Gerard; Hernández-Roldán, Juan; Munguira, Miguel L.; García-Barros, Enrique; Hebert, Paul D. N.; Vila, Roger

2015-01-01

How common are cryptic species - those overlooked because of their morphological similarity? Despite its wide-ranging implications for biology and conservation, the answer remains open to debate. Butterflies constitute the best-studied invertebrates, playing a similar role as birds do in providing models for vertebrate biology. An accurate assessment of cryptic diversity in this emblematic group requires meticulous case-by-case assessments, but a preview to highlight cases of particular interest will help to direct future studies. We present a survey of mitochondrial genetic diversity for the butterfly fauna of the Iberian Peninsula with unprecedented resolution (3502 DNA barcodes for all 228 species), creating a reliable system for DNA-based identification and for the detection of overlooked diversity. After compiling available data for European butterflies (5782 sequences, 299 species), we applied the Generalized Mixed Yule-Coalescent model to explore potential cryptic diversity at a continental scale. The results indicate that 27.7% of these species include from two to four evolutionary significant units (ESUs), suggesting that cryptic biodiversity may be higher than expected for one of the best-studied invertebrate groups and regions. The ESUs represent important units for conservation, models for studies of evolutionary and speciation processes, and sentinels for future research to unveil hidden diversity. PMID:26205828

The reproductive biology of an open-water spawning Lake Malawi ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The reproductive biology of an open-water spawning Lake Malawi cichlid, Copadichromis chrysonotus. Lance W. Smith. Abstract. Copadichromis chrysonotus is a zooplanktivorous cichlid member of the diverse fish community inhabiting Lake Malawi's rocky, littoral habitat. Like most Lake Malawi cichlids, this species' ...

On the origin of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) genetic diversity in New Guinea, a secondary centre of diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Roullier, C; Kambouo, R; Paofa, J; McKey, D; Lebot, V

2013-06-01

New Guinea is considered the most important secondary centre of diversity for sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas). We analysed nuclear and chloroplast genetic diversity of 417 New Guinea sweet potato landraces, representing agro-morphological diversity collected throughout the island, and compared this diversity with that in tropical America. The molecular data reveal moderate diversity across all accessions analysed, lower than that found in tropical America. Nuclear data confirm previous results, suggesting that New Guinea landraces are principally derived from the Northern neotropical genepool (Camote and Batata lines, from the Caribbean and Central America). However, chloroplast data suggest that South American clones (early Kumara line clones or, more probably, later reintroductions) were also introduced into New Guinea and then recombined with existing genotypes. The frequency distribution of pairwise distances between New Guinea landraces suggests that sexual reproduction, rather than somaclonal variation, has played a predominant role in the diversification of sweet potato. The frequent incorporation of plants issued from true seed by farmers, and the geographical and cultural barriers constraining crop diffusion in this topographically and linguistically heterogeneous island, has led to the accumulation of an impressive number of variants. As the diversification of sweet potato in New Guinea is primarily the result of farmers' management of the reproductive biology of their crop, we argue that on-farm conservation programmes that implement distribution of core samples (clones representing the useful diversity of the species) and promote on-farm selection of locally adapted variants may allow local communities to fashion relatively autonomous strategies for coping with ongoing global change.

Nonlinear Oscillations in Biology and Chemistry

CERN Document Server

1986-01-01

This volume contains the proceedings of a meeting entitled 'Nonlinear Oscillations in Biology and Chemistry', which was held at the University of Utah May 9-11,1985. The papers fall into four major categories: (i) those that deal with biological problems, particularly problems arising in cell biology, (ii) those that deal with chemical systems, (iii) those that treat problems which arise in neurophysiology, and (iv), those whose primary emphasis is on more general models and the mathematical techniques involved in their analysis. Except for the paper by Auchmuty, all are based on talks given at the meeting. The diversity of papers gives some indication of the scope of the meeting, but the printed word conveys neither the degree of interaction between the participants nor the intellectual sparks generated by that interaction. The meeting was made possible by the financial support of the Department of Mathe­ matics of the University of Utah. I am indebted to Ms. Toni Bunker of the Department of Mathematics for...

The role of mechanics in biological and bio-inspired systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Egan, Paul; Sinko, Robert; LeDuc, Philip R; Keten, Sinan

2015-07-06

Natural systems frequently exploit intricate multiscale and multiphasic structures to achieve functionalities beyond those of man-made systems. Although understanding the chemical make-up of these systems is essential, the passive and active mechanics within biological systems are crucial when considering the many natural systems that achieve advanced properties, such as high strength-to-weight ratios and stimuli-responsive adaptability. Discovering how and why biological systems attain these desirable mechanical functionalities often reveals principles that inform new synthetic designs based on biological systems. Such approaches have traditionally found success in medical applications, and are now informing breakthroughs in diverse frontiers of science and engineering.

Synthetic definition of biological significance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buffington, J.D.

1975-01-01

The central theme of the workshop is recounted and the views of the authors are summarized. Areas of broad agreement or disagreement, unifying principles, and research needs are identified. Authors' views are consolidated into concepts that have practical utility for the scientist making impact assessments. The need for decision-makers and managers to be cognizant of the recommendations made herein is discussed. Finally, bringing together the diverse views of the workshop participants, a conceptual definition of biological significance is synthesized

Combinatorial Synthesis of Structurally Diverse Triazole-Bridged Flavonoid Dimers and Trimers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tze Han Sum

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Flavonoids are a large family of compounds associated with a broad range of biologically useful properties. In recent years, synthetic compounds that contain two flavonoid units linked together have attracted attention in drug discovery and development projects. Numerous flavonoid dimer systems, incorporating a range of monomers attached via different linkers, have been reported to exhibit interesting bioactivities. From a medicinal chemistry perspective, the 1,2,3-triazole ring system has been identified as a particularly attractive linker moiety in dimeric derivatives (owing to several favourable attributes including proven biological relevance and metabolic stability and triazole-bridged flavonoid dimers possessing anticancer and antimalarial activities have recently been reported. However, there are relatively few examples of libraries of triazole-bridged flavonoid dimers and the diversity of flavonoid subunits present within these is typically limited. Thus, this compound type arguably remains underexplored within drug discovery. Herein, we report a modular strategy for the synthesis of novel and biologically interesting triazole-bridged flavonoid heterodimers and also very rare heterotrimers from readily available starting materials. Application of this strategy has enabled step-efficient and systematic access to a library of structurally diverse compounds of this sort, with a variety of monomer units belonging to six different structural subclasses of flavonoid successfully incorporated.

The interplay of diversity training and diversity beliefs on team creativity in nationality diverse teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Homan, Astrid C; Buengeler, Claudia; Eckhoff, Robert A; van Ginkel, Wendy P; Voelpel, Sven C

2015-09-01

Attaining value from nationality diversity requires active diversity management, which organizations often employ in the form of diversity training programs. Interestingly, however, the previously reported effects of diversity training are often weak and, sometimes, even negative. This situation calls for research on the conditions under which diversity training helps or harms teams. We propose that diversity training can increase team creativity, but only for teams with less positive pretraining diversity beliefs (i.e., teams with a greater need for such training) and that are sufficiently diverse in nationality. Comparing the creativity of teams that attended nationality diversity training versus control training, we found that for teams with less positive diversity beliefs, diversity training increased creative performance when the team's nationality diversity was high, but undermined creativity when the team's nationality diversity was low. Diversity training had less impact on teams with more positive diversity beliefs, and training effects were not contingent upon these teams' diversity. Speaking to the underlying process, we showed that these interactive effects were driven by the experienced team efficacy of the team members. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for nationality diversity management. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Risk Factors for Recurrence of Symptomatic Common Bile Duct Stones after Cholecystectomy

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Ju Hyun Oak

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The recurrence of CBD stone is still observed in a considerable number of patients. The study was to evaluate the risk factors for recurrence of symptomatic CBD stone in patients who underwent cholecystectomy after the removal of CBD stone. Methods. The medical records of patients who underwent removal of CBD stone with subsequent cholecystectomy were reviewed. The risk factors for the recurrence of symptomatic CBD stone were compared between the recurrence and the nonrecurrence group. Results. The mean follow-up period was 40.6 months. The recurrence of symptomatic CBD stones was defined as the detection of bile duct stones no sooner than 6 months after complete clearance of CBD stones, based on symptoms or signs of biliary complication. 144 patients (68 males, 47.2% were finally enrolled and their mean age was 59.8 (range: 26~86 years. The recurrence of CBD stone occurred in 15 patients (10.4%. The mean period until first recurrence was 25.9 months. The presence of type 1 or 2 periampullary diverticulum and multiple CBD stones were the independent risk factors. Conclusion. For the patients with type 1 or 2 periampullary diverticulum or multiple CBD stones, careful followup is needed for the risk in recurrence of symptomatic CBD stone.

The use of endoscopic ultrasonography in the diagnosis of the causes of common bile duct dilation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sajewicz, Z.; Wozniak-Stolarska, B.; Salomon, A.; Poniewierka, E.; Kempinski, R.

2006-01-01

Background. Ultrasonography (US) does not come up to the expectations in the diagnosis of the causes of common bile duct (CBD) dilation. Objectives. An assessment of the usefulness of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) in the diagnosis of the causes of CBD dilation. Material and Methods. The authors examined 30 persons (16 females and 14 males) with CBD dilated > 7 mm in US. In these patients the authors performed EUS with the usage of Pentax FG-38UX echoendoscope of 5-10 MHz frequency connected with EUB 6000 Hitachi ultrasonograph looking for the cause of CBD dilation. Findings gathered were verified with the usage of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) or magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). Results. In 16 patients the authors found stones in CBD. In ERCP or MRCP the frequency of CBD stones was a bit higher. In these examinations CBD stones were found in 18 patients. The authors found out that pancreatic head carcinoma was the cause of CBD dilation in 8 patients; in 2 patients the authors diagnosed ampullary carcinoma and in 1 patient - carcinoma of distal part of CBD. In 1 patient the authors pointed out a benign stricture of CBD with dilation above the stricture. Conclusions. EUS is a useful diagnosing method of the causes of CBD dilation. (authors)

The Chado Natural Diversity module: a new generic database schema for large-scale phenotyping and genotyping data.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Sook; Menda, Naama; Redmond, Seth; Buels, Robert M; Friesen, Maren; Bendana, Yuri; Sanderson, Lacey-Anne; Lapp, Hilmar; Lee, Taein; MacCallum, Bob; Bett, Kirstin E; Cain, Scott; Clements, Dave; Mueller, Lukas A; Main, Dorrie

2011-01-01

Linking phenotypic with genotypic diversity has become a major requirement for basic and applied genome-centric biological research. To meet this need, a comprehensive database backend for efficiently storing, querying and analyzing large experimental data sets is necessary. Chado, a generic, modular, community-based database schema is widely used in the biological community to store information associated with genome sequence data. To meet the need to also accommodate large-scale phenotyping and genotyping projects, a new Chado module called Natural Diversity has been developed. The module strictly adheres to the Chado remit of being generic and ontology driven. The flexibility of the new module is demonstrated in its capacity to store any type of experiment that either uses or generates specimens or stock organisms. Experiments may be grouped or structured hierarchically, whereas any kind of biological entity can be stored as the observed unit, from a specimen to be used in genotyping or phenotyping experiments, to a group of species collected in the field that will undergo further lab analysis. We describe details of the Natural Diversity module, including the design approach, the relational schema and use cases implemented in several databases.

Cholecystectomy for Prevention of Recurrence after Endoscopic Clearance of Bile Duct Stones in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Myung Eun; Chung, Moon Jae; Lee, Dong Jun; Oh, Tak Geun; Park, Jeong Youp; Bang, Seungmin; Park, Seung Woo; Song, Si Young; Chung, Jae Bock

2016-01-01

Cholecystectomy in patients with an intact gallbladder after endoscopic removal of stones from the common bile duct (CBD) remains controversial. We conducted a case-control study to determine the risk of recurrent CBD stones and the benefit of cholecystectomy for prevention of recurrence after endoscopic removal of stones from the CBD in Korean patients. A total of 317 patients who underwent endoscopic CBD stone extraction between 2006 and 2012 were included. Possible risk factors for the recurrence of CBD stones including previous cholecystectomy history, bile duct diameter, stone size, number of stones, stone composition, and the presence of a periampullary diverticulum were analyzed. The mean duration of follow-up after CBD stone extraction was 25.4±22.0 months. A CBD diameter of 15 mm or larger [odds ratio (OR), 1.930; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.098 to 3.391; p=0.022] and the presence of a periampullary diverticulum (OR, 1.859; 95% CI, 1.014 to 3.408; p=0.045) were independent predictive factors for CBD stone recurrence. Seventeen patients (26.6%) in the recurrence group underwent elective cholecystectomy soon after endoscopic extraction of CBD stones, compared to 88 (34.8%) in the non-recurrence group; the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.212). A CBD diameter of 15 mm or larger and the presence of a periampullary diverticulum were found to be potential predictive factors for recurrence after endoscopic extraction of CBD stones. Elective cholecystectomy after clearance of CBD stones did not reduce the incidence of recurrent CBD stones in Korean patients.

Classifying Life, Reconstructing History and Teaching Diversity: Philosophical Issues in the Teaching of Biological Systematics and Biodiversity

Science.gov (United States)

Reydon, Thomas A. C.

2013-01-01

Classification is a central endeavor in every scientific field of work. Classification in biology, however, is distinct from classification in other fields of science in a number of ways. Thus, understanding how biological classification works is an important element in understanding the nature of biological science. In the present paper, I…

Molecular and biological diversity of HIV-1 in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Carlos Couto-Fernandez

1992-06-01

Full Text Available To determine the genomic polymorphism and biological properties present in HIV-1 Brazilian isolates, were analyzed five viral isolates obtained from patients residing in Rio de Janeiro (P1 and P5, São Paulo (P3 and Bahia (P2 and P4 states. For each viral isolate in vitro characteristics such as replication rate, syncytium-inducing capacity and cell death were observed in lymphoblastoid (H9, CEM and peripheral blood mononuclear cells as well as monocytoid (U937 cells. In addition, the evaluation of the restriction fragment lenght polymorphism of these isolates was also performed using a panel of endonucleases such as Hind III, Bgl II, Sac I, Pst I, Kpn I and Eco RI. One of the isolates (P1, showed the highest phenotypic and genotypic divergence, when compared to others. The results found suggest a HIV heterogeneity in Brazil similar to that already described in other regions of the world.

Moessbauer spectroscopic studies of magnetically ordered biological materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickson, D.P.E.

1987-01-01

This paper discusses recent work showing the application of Moessbauer spectroscopy to the study of the properties of the magnetically ordered materials which occur in a variety of biological systems. These materials display a diversity of behaviour which provides good examples of the various possibilities which can arise with iron-containing particles of different compositions and sizes. (orig.)

Does staff diversity imply openness to diversity?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauring, Jakob; Selmer, Jan

2013-01-01

Purpose – Post-secondary educational organizations are currently some of the most diverse settings to be found. However, few educational studies have dealt with staff diversity and hardly any has looked outside the USA. The purpose of this paper is to present a study of members of international...... university departments in Denmark. The authors set out to investigate the relationship between different types of staff diversity and openness to diversity in terms of linguistic, visible, value, and informational heterogeneity. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses responses from 489 staff members......, was unrelated or negatively associated with positive diversity attitudes. Originality/value – Few studies deal with the role of staff diversity and no prior studies the authors know of have examined the link between diversity types and openness to diversity....

SNPversity: a web-based tool for visualizing diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Schott, David A; Vinnakota, Abhinav G; Portwood, John L; Andorf, Carson M

2018-01-01

Abstract Many stand-alone desktop software suites exist to visualize single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) diversity, but web-based software that can be easily implemented and used for biological databases is absent. SNPversity was created to answer this need by building an open-source visualization tool that can be implemented on a Unix-like machine and served through a web browser that can be accessible worldwide. SNPversity consists of a HDF5 database back-end for SNPs, a data exchange layer powered by TASSEL libraries that represent data in JSON format, and an interface layer using PHP to visualize SNP information. SNPversity displays data in real-time through a web browser in grids that are color-coded according to a given SNP’s allelic status and mutational state. SNPversity is currently available at MaizeGDB, the maize community’s database, and will be soon available at GrainGenes, the clade-oriented database for Triticeae and Avena species, including wheat, barley, rye, and oat. The code and documentation are uploaded onto github, and they are freely available to the public. We expect that the tool will be highly useful for other biological databases with a similar need to display SNP diversity through their web interfaces. Database URL: https://www.maizegdb.org/snpversity PMID:29688387

Inhibition of colon carcinogenesis by a standardized Cannabis sativa extract with high content of cannabidiol.

Science.gov (United States)

Romano, Barbara; Borrelli, Francesca; Pagano, Ester; Cascio, Maria Grazia; Pertwee, Roger G; Izzo, Angelo A

2014-04-15

Colon cancer is a major public health problem. Cannabis-based medicines are useful adjunctive treatments in cancer patients. Here, we have investigated the effect of a standardized Cannabis sativa extract with high content of cannabidiol (CBD), here named CBD BDS, i.e. CBD botanical drug substance, on colorectal cancer cell proliferation and in experimental models of colon cancer in vivo. Proliferation was evaluated in colorectal carcinoma (DLD-1 and HCT116) as well as in healthy colonic cells using the MTT assay. CBD BDS binding was evaluated by its ability to displace [(3)H]CP55940 from human cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors. In vivo, the effect of CBD BDS was examined on the preneoplastic lesions (aberrant crypt foci), polyps and tumours induced by the carcinogenic agent azoxymethane (AOM) as well as in a xenograft model of colon cancer in mice. CBD BDS and CBD reduced cell proliferation in tumoral, but not in healthy, cells. The effect of CBD BDS was counteracted by selective CB1 and CB2 receptor antagonists. Pure CBD reduced cell proliferation in a CB1-sensitive antagonist manner only. In binding assays, CBD BDS showed greater affinity than pure CBD for both CB1 and CB2 receptors, with pure CBD having very little affinity. In vivo, CBD BDS reduced AOM-induced preneoplastic lesions and polyps as well as tumour growth in the xenograft model of colon cancer. CBD BDS attenuates colon carcinogenesis and inhibits colorectal cancer cell proliferation via CB1 and CB2 receptor activation. The results may have some clinical relevance for the use of Cannabis-based medicines in cancer patients. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Distinct neurobehavioural effects of cannabidiol in transmembrane domain neuregulin 1 mutant mice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonora E Long

Full Text Available The cannabis constituent cannabidiol (CBD possesses anxiolytic and antipsychotic properties. We have previously shown that transmembrane domain neuregulin 1 mutant (Nrg1 TM HET mice display altered neurobehavioural responses to the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, Δ(9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Here we investigated whether Nrg1 TM HET mice respond differently to CBD and whether CBD reverses schizophrenia-related phenotypes expressed by these mice. Adult male Nrg1 TM HET and wild type-like littermates (WT received vehicle or CBD (1, 50 or 100 mg/kg i.p. for 21 days. During treatment and 48 h after withdrawal we measured behaviour, whole blood CBD concentrations and autoradiographic receptor binding. Nrg1 HET mice displayed locomotor hyperactivity, PPI deficits and reduced 5-HT(2A receptor binding density in the substantia nigra, but these phenotypes were not reversed by CBD. However, long-term CBD (50 and 100 mg/kg selectively enhanced social interaction in Nrg1 TM HET mice. Furthermore, acute CBD (100 mg/kg selectively increased PPI in Nrg1 TM HET mice, although tolerance to this effect was manifest upon repeated CBD administration. Long-term CBD (50 mg/kg also selectively increased GABA(A receptor binding in the granular retrosplenial cortex in Nrg1 TM HET mice and reduced 5-HT(2A binding in the substantia nigra in WT mice. Nrg1 appears necessary for CBD-induced anxiolysis since only WT mice developed decreased anxiety-related behaviour with repeated CBD treatment. Altered pharmacokinetics in mutant mice could not explain our findings since no genotype differences existed in CBD blood concentrations. Here we demonstrate that Nrg1 modulates acute and long-term neurobehavioural effects of CBD, which does not reverse the schizophrenia-relevant phenotypes.

Simulating Phase Variation: A Practical Approach to Teaching Mutation and Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Wanford, Joe; Aidley, Jack; Bayliss, Chris; Ketley, Julian; Goodwin, Mark

2018-01-01

Mutation, diversity, natural selection and the biology of human pathogens (including antibiotic resistance) are key features of the biosciences curriculum at A Level and undergraduate study. Few resources exist to allow students to engage with these topics in an interactive manner. This paper describes an interactive, online simulation of mutation…

Morphological and functional diversity of primary producers group in savannas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Medina, E.

1996-01-01

The meaning of biological diversity for the operation and stability of natural ecosystems is matter of great theoretical and practical interest. The appearance and permanency of species in a given atmosphere indicates its capacity to compete with other species with similar habit and requirements, and to accumulate the resources that allow its reproduction. On the other hand, the coexistence of similar species in the same ecosystem allows to wonder if ever biological redundancy exists, that is to say, if several species coexist with the same function inside the ecosystem, so that the disappearance of one of them would not have biological significant consequences. A strategy to simplify the analysis of relationships between biodiversity and ecosystems operation is by grouping species with similar function, called functional groups. In this work the the primary producers functional group is analyzed, essentially superiors plants, in a savannas ecosystems. The analysis establishes that the gives the primary producers group is heterogeneous and complex, so much morphological as functionally: 1) the structural complexity and diversity forms of life in an savannas ecosystem are associated with the stratified exploitation of resources over (light) and under the floor (nourishment and water). Changes in diversity that affect the system structure will probably also affect its operations. 2 )Very similar morphological species can differ physiologically up to constitute production units with contrasting nutritional requirements. The echo-physiologic analysis of this differentiation can explain the habitat preferences that are naturally observed. 3) The long-time permanency of rare species, of low frequency, show the inability of dominant species to capture all the available resources. 4) The primary producers and the floor microorganisms have strong interactions. Changes in the community composition can generate significant changes in other community. These biotic interactions

Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Portraits In Courage Vol. VIII Portraits In Courage Vol. IX Portraits In Courage Vol. X AF Sites Social -Wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce Executive Order 13548 : Virtual Diversity Conference Air Force Diversity & Inclusion Air Force Diversity Graphic There is no

Biological control in agro-systems by means of the handling of entomophagous insects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nicholls, Clara Ines; Altieri, Miguel A

1998-01-01

From several decades ago the importance of natural enemies of the noxious organisms has been recognized. Unfortunately the introduction of the biological control has not had the desired dimension. The indiscriminate use of biocides products has altered the biodiversity of the agro-ecosystem. The parasitoids and predators have suffered the noxious effects of the plaguicides. These natural enemies of the plagues play a momentous paper in the regulation of noxious insects population. The predators of the insecta class register in diverse orders and the abundance of species is impressive. But the knowledge of their importance is only partial. In many countries the kindness of these organisms has not been specified and does not protect them. In the case of parasitoids something similar occurs. It is say that their biotic diversity is incalculable but very few species are exploited. In these two groups rest the classic biological control projects. The successes in projects of biological control are recognized and they are enlarging in several countries but more impulse is required. Due to demands of a sustainable agricultural production it should support the biological control of plagues. In this document general looks on the topic are expounded

A standard-enabled workflow for synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Chris J; Beal, Jacob; Gorochowski, Thomas E; Kuwahara, Hiroyuki; Madsen, Curtis; McLaughlin, James Alastair; Mısırlı, Göksel; Nguyen, Tramy; Oberortner, Ernst; Samineni, Meher; Wipat, Anil; Zhang, Michael; Zundel, Zach

2017-06-15

A synthetic biology workflow is composed of data repositories that provide information about genetic parts, sequence-level design tools to compose these parts into circuits, visualization tools to depict these designs, genetic design tools to select parts to create systems, and modeling and simulation tools to evaluate alternative design choices. Data standards enable the ready exchange of information within such a workflow, allowing repositories and tools to be connected from a diversity of sources. The present paper describes one such workflow that utilizes, among others, the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL) to describe genetic designs, the Systems Biology Markup Language to model these designs, and SBOL Visual to visualize these designs. We describe how a standard-enabled workflow can be used to produce types of design information, including multiple repositories and software tools exchanging information using a variety of data standards. Recently, the ACS Synthetic Biology journal has recommended the use of SBOL in their publications. © 2017 The Author(s); published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Integrative systems and synthetic biology of cell-matrix adhesion sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Zamir, Eli

2016-09-02

The complexity of cell-matrix adhesion convolves its roles in the development and functioning of multicellular organisms and their evolutionary tinkering. Cell-matrix adhesion is mediated by sites along the plasma membrane that anchor the actin cytoskeleton to the matrix via a large number of proteins, collectively called the integrin adhesome. Fundamental challenges for understanding how cell-matrix adhesion sites assemble and function arise from their multi-functionality, rapid dynamics, large number of components and molecular diversity. Systems biology faces these challenges in its strive to understand how the integrin adhesome gives rise to functional adhesion sites. Synthetic biology enables engineering intracellular modules and circuits with properties of interest. In this review I discuss some of the fundamental questions in systems biology of cell-matrix adhesion and how synthetic biology can help addressing them.

Interactions between cannabidiol and Δ9-THC following acute and repeated dosing: Rebound hyperactivity, sensorimotor gating and epigenetic and neuroadaptive changes in the mesolimbic pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Todd, Stephanie M; Zhou, Cilla; Clarke, David J; Chohan, Tariq W; Bahceci, Dilara; Arnold, Jonathon C

2017-02-01

The evidence base for the use of medical cannabis preparations containing specific ratios of cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is limited. While there is abundant data on acute interactions between CBD and THC, few studies have assessed the impact of their repeated co-administration. We previously reported that CBD inhibited or potentiated the acute effects of THC dependent on the measure being examined at a 1:1 CBD:THC dose ratio. Further, CBD decreased THC effects on brain regions involved in memory, anxiety and body temperature regulation. Here we extend on these finding by examining over 15 days of treatment whether CBD modulated the repeated effects of THC on behaviour and neuroadaption markers in the mesolimbic dopamine pathway. After acute locomotor suppression, repeated THC caused rebound locomotor hyperactivity that was modestly inhibited by CBD. CBD also slightly reduced the acute effects of THC on sensorimotor gating. These subtle effects were found at a 1:1 CBD:THC dose ratio but were not accentuated by a 5:1 dose ratio. CBD did not alter the trajectory of enduring THC-induced anxiety nor tolerance to the pharmacological effects of THC. There was no evidence of CBD potentiating the behavioural effects of THC. However we demonstrated for the first time that repeated co-administration of CBD and THC increased histone 3 acetylation (H3K9/14ac) in the VTA and ΔFosB expression in the nucleus accumbens. These changes suggest that while CBD may have protective effects acutely, its long-term molecular actions on the brain are more complex and may be supradditive. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

Reprint of "Caffeine protects against memory loss induced by high and non-anxiolytic dose of cannabidiol in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio)".

Science.gov (United States)

Nazario, Luiza Reali; Antonioli, Régis Junior; Capiotti, Katiucia Marques; Hallak, Jaime Eduardo Cecílio; Zuardi, Antonio Waldo; Crippa, José Alexandre S; Bonan, Carla Denise; da Silva, Rosane Souza

2015-12-01

Cannabidiol (CBD) has been investigated in a wide spectrum of clinical approaches due to its psychopharmacological properties. CBD has low affinity for cannabinoid neuroreceptors and agonistic properties to 5-HT receptors. An interaction between cannabinoid and purinergic receptor systems has been proposed. The purpose of this study is to evaluate CBD properties on memory behavioral and locomotor parameters and the effects of pre-treatment of adenosine receptor blockers on CBD impacts on memory using adult zebrafish. CBD (0.1, 0.5, 5, and 10mg/kg) was tested in the avoidance inhibitory paradigm and anxiety task. We analyzed the effect of a long-term caffeine pre-treatment (~20mg/L - four months). Also, acute block of adenosine receptors was performed in co-administration with CBD exposure in the memory assessment. CBD promoted an inverted U-shaped dose-response curve in the anxiety task; in the memory assessment, CBD in the dose of 5mg/Kg promoted the strongest effects without interfering with social and aggressive behavior. Caffeine treatment was able to prevent CBD (5mg/kg) effects on memory when CBD was given after the training session. CBD effects on memory were partially prevented by co-treatment with a specific A2A adenosine receptor antagonist when given prior to or after the training session, while CBD effects after the training session were fully prevented by adenosine A1 receptor antagonist. These results indicated that zebrafish have responses to CBD anxiolytic properties that are comparable to other animal models, and high doses changed memory retention in a way dependent on adenosine. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Caffeine protects against memory loss induced by high and non-anxiolytic dose of cannabidiol in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Science.gov (United States)

Nazario, Luiza Reali; Antonioli, Régis; Capiotti, Katiucia Marques; Hallak, Jaime Eduardo Cecílio; Zuardi, Antonio Waldo; Crippa, José Alexandre S; Bonan, Carla Denise; da Silva, Rosane Souza

2015-08-01

Cannabidiol (CBD) has been investigated in a wide spectrum of clinical approaches due to its psychopharmacological properties. CBD has low affinity for cannabinoid neuroreceptors and agonistic properties to 5-HT receptors. An interaction between cannabinoid and purinergic receptor systems has been proposed. The purpose of this study is to evaluate CBD properties on memory behavioral and locomotor parameters and the effects of pre-treatment of adenosine receptor blockers on CBD impacts on memory using adult zebrafish. CBD (0.1, 0.5, 5, and 10mg/kg) was tested in the avoidance inhibitory paradigm and anxiety task. We analyzed the effect of a long-term caffeine pre-treatment (~20mg/L - four months). Also, acute block of adenosine receptors was performed in co-administration with CBD exposure in the memory assessment. CBD promoted an inverted U-shaped dose-response curve in the anxiety task; in the memory assessment, CBD in the dose of 5mg/Kg promoted the strongest effects without interfering with social and aggressive behavior. Caffeine treatment was able to prevent CBD (5mg/kg) effects on memory when CBD was given after the training session. CBD effects on memory were partially prevented by co-treatment with a specific A2A adenosine receptor antagonist when given prior to or after the training session, while CBD effects after the training session were fully prevented by adenosine A1 receptor antagonist. These results indicated that zebrafish have responses to CBD anxiolytic properties that are comparable to other animal models, and high doses changed memory retention in a way dependent on adenosine. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Emergence of communities and diversity in social networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Xiao; Cao, Shinan; Shen, Zhesi; Zhang, Boyu; Wang, Wen-Xu; Cressman, Ross; Stanley, H Eugene

2017-03-14

Communities are common in complex networks and play a significant role in the functioning of social, biological, economic, and technological systems. Despite widespread interest in detecting community structures in complex networks and exploring the effect of communities on collective dynamics, a deep understanding of the emergence and prevalence of communities in social networks is still lacking. Addressing this fundamental problem is of paramount importance in understanding, predicting, and controlling a variety of collective behaviors in society. An elusive question is how communities with common internal properties arise in social networks with great individual diversity. Here, we answer this question using the ultimatum game, which has been a paradigm for characterizing altruism and fairness. We experimentally show that stable local communities with different internal agreements emerge spontaneously and induce social diversity into networks, which is in sharp contrast to populations with random interactions. Diverse communities and social norms come from the interaction between responders with inherent heterogeneous demands and rational proposers via local connections, where the former eventually become the community leaders. This result indicates that networks are significant in the emergence and stabilization of communities and social diversity. Our experimental results also provide valuable information about strategies for developing network models and theories of evolutionary games and social dynamics.

Exoskeletons and economics: indoor arthropod diversity increases in affluent neighbourhoods.

Science.gov (United States)

Leong, Misha; Bertone, Matthew A; Bayless, Keith M; Dunn, Robert R; Trautwein, Michelle D

2016-08-01

In urban ecosystems, socioeconomics contribute to patterns of biodiversity. The 'luxury effect', in which wealthier neighbourhoods are more biologically diverse, has been observed for plants, birds, bats and lizards. Here, we used data from a survey of indoor arthropod diversity (defined throughout as family-level richness) from 50 urban houses and found that house size, surrounding vegetation, as well as mean neighbourhood income best predict the number of kinds of arthropods found indoors. Our finding, that homes in wealthier neighbourhoods host higher indoor arthropod diversity (consisting of primarily non-pest species), shows that the luxury effect can extend to the indoor environment. The effect of mean neighbourhood income on indoor arthropod diversity was particularly strong for individual houses that lacked high surrounding vegetation ground cover, suggesting that neighbourhood dynamics can compensate for local choices of homeowners. Our work suggests that the management of neighbourhoods and cities can have effects on biodiversity that can extend from trees and birds all the way to the arthropod life in bedrooms and basements. © 2016 The Authors.

Epidemiology and Molecular Biology of Head and Neck Cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Jou, Adriana; Hess, Jochen

2017-01-01

Head and neck cancer is a common and aggressive malignancy with a high morbidity and mortality profile. Although the large majority of cases resemble head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), the current classification based on anatomic site and tumor stage fails to capture the high level of biologic heterogeneity, and appropriate clinical management remains a major challenge. Hence, a better understanding of the molecular biology of HNSCC is urgently needed to support biomarker development and personalized care for patients. This review focuses on recent findings based on integrative genomics analysis and multi-scale modeling approaches and how they are beginning to provide more sophisticated clues as to the biological and clinical diversity of HNSCC. © 2017 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.

Imaging of common bile duct by linear endoscopic ultrasound

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Malay; Sharma; Amit; Pathak; Abid; Shoukat; Chittapuram; Srinivasan; Rameshbabu; Akash; Ajmera; Zeeshn; Ahamad; Wani; Praveer; Rai

2015-01-01

Imaging of common bile duct(CBD) can be done by many techniques. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography is considered the gold standard for imaging of CBD. A standard technique of imaging of CBD by endoscopic ultrasound(EUS) has not been specifically described. The available descriptions mention different stations of imaging from the stomach and duodenum. The CBD lies closest to duodenum and choice of imaging may be restricted to duodenum for many operators. Generally most operators prefer multi station imaging during EUS and the choice of selecting the initial station varies from operator to operator. Detailed evaluation of CBD is frequently the main focus of imaging during EUS and in such situations multi station imaging with a high-resolution ultrasound scanner may provide useful information. Examination of the CBD is one of the primary indications for doing an EUS and it can be done from five stations:(1) the fundus of stomach;(2) body of stomach;(3) duodenal bulb;(4) descending duodenum; and(5) antrum. Following down the upper 1/3rd of CBD can do imaging of entire CBD from the liver window and following up the lower 1/3rd of CBD can do imaging of entire CBD from the pancreatic window. This article aims at simplifying the techniques of imaging of CBD by linear EUS.

Exploring Synthetic and Systems Biology at the University of Edinburgh.

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Liz; Rosser, Susan; Elfick, Alistair

2016-06-15

The Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology ('SynthSys') was originally established in 2007 as the Centre for Integrative Systems Biology, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Today, SynthSys embraces an extensive multidisciplinary community of more than 200 researchers from across the University with a common interest in synthetic and systems biology. Our research is broad and deep, addressing a diversity of scientific questions, with wide ranging impact. We bring together the power of synthetic biology and systems approaches to focus on three core thematic areas: industrial biotechnology, agriculture and the environment, and medicine and healthcare. In October 2015, we opened a newly refurbished building as a physical hub for our new U.K. Centre for Mammalian Synthetic Biology funded by the BBSRC/EPSRC/MRC as part of the U.K. Research Councils' Synthetic Biology for Growth programme. © 2016 The Author(s). published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis conributes to biology and drug discovery

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Okada, Yukinori; Wu, Di; Trynka, Gosia; Raj, Towfique; Terao, Chikashi; Ikari, Katsunori; Kochi, Yuta; Ohmura, Koichiro; Suzuki, A.; Yoshida, S.; Graham, R.R.; Manoharan, A.; Ortmann, W.; Bhangale, T.; Denny, J.C.; Carroll, R.J.; Eyler, A.E.; Greenberg, J.D.; Kremer, J.M.; Pappas, D.A.; Jiang, L.; Yin, L.; Ye, L.; Su, D.F.; Yang, J.; Xie, G.; Keystone, E.; Westra, H.J.; Esko, T.; Metspalu, A.; Zhou, X.; Gupta, N.; Mirel, D.; Stahl, Eli A.; Diogo, D.; Cui, J.; Liao, K.; Guo, M.H.; Myouzen, K.; Kawaguchi, T.; Coenen, M.J.; van Riel, P.L.; van de Laar, Mart A.F.J.; Guchelaar, H.J.; Huizinga, T.W.; Dieudé, P.; Mariette, X.; Louis Bridges Jr, S.; Zhernakova, A.; Toes, R.E.; Tak, P.P.; Miceli-Richard, C.; Bang, S.Y.; Lee, H.S.; Martin, J.; Gonzales-Gay, M.A.; Rodriguez-Rodriguez, L.; Rantapää-Dhlqvist, S.; Arlestig, L.; Choi, H.K.; Kamatani, Y.; Galan, P.; Lathrop, M.; Eyre, S.; Bowes, J.; Barton, A.; de Vries, N.; Moreland, L.W.; Criswell, L.A.; Karlson, E.W.; Taniguchi, A.; Yamada, R; Kubo, M.; Bae, S.C.; Worthington, J.; Padyukov, L.; Klareskog, L.; Gregersen, Peter K.; Raychaudhuri, S.; Stranger, B.E.; de Jager, P.L.; Franke, L.; Visscher, P.M.; Brown, M.A.; Yamanaka, H.; Mimori, T.; Takahashi, A.; Xu, H.; Behrens, T.W.; Siminovitch, K.A.; Momohara, S.; Matsuda, F.; Yamamoto, K.; Plenge, Robert M.

2013-01-01

A major challenge in human genetics is to devise a systematic strategy to integrate disease-associated variants with diverse genomic and biological data sets to provide insight into disease pathogenesis and guide drug discovery for complex traits such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA)1. Here we performed

Diverse coral communities in naturally acidified waters of a Western Pacific reef

Science.gov (United States)

Shamberger, Kathryn E. F.; Cohen, Anne L.; Golbuu, Yimnang; McCorkle, Daniel C.; Lentz, Steven J.; Barkley, Hannah C.

2014-01-01

Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions are acidifying the oceans, reducing the concentration of carbonate ions ([CO32-]) that calcifying organisms need to build and cement coral reefs. To date, studies of a handful of naturally acidified reef systems reveal depauperate communities, sometimes with reduced coral cover and calcification rates, consistent with results of laboratory-based studies. Here we report the existence of highly diverse, coral-dominated reef communities under chronically low pH and aragonite saturation state (Ωar). Biological and hydrographic processes change the chemistry of the seawater moving across the barrier reefs and into Palau's Rock Island bays, where levels of acidification approach those projected for the western tropical Pacific open ocean by 2100. Nevertheless, coral diversity, cover, and calcification rates are maintained across this natural acidification gradient. Identifying the combination of biological and environmental factors that enable these communities to persist could provide important insights into the future of coral reefs under anthropogenic acidification.

Thermal Characteristics and Bacterial Diversity of Forest Soil in the Haean Basin of Korea

OpenAIRE

Kim, Heejung; Lee, Jin-Yong; Lee, Kang-Kun

2014-01-01

To predict biotic responses to disturbances in forest environments, it is important to examine both the thermophysical properties of forest soils and the diversity of microorganisms that these soils contain. To predict the effects of climate change on forests, in particular, it is essential to understand the interactions between the soil surface, the air, and the biological diversity in the soil. In this study, the temperature and thermal properties of forest soil at three depths at a site in...

Effects of large herbivores on grassland arthropod diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

van Klink, R; van der Plas, F; van Noordwijk, C G E Toos; WallisDeVries, M F; Olff, H

2015-05-01

specific requirements of arthropods when applying grazing management and to include arthropods in monitoring schemes. Conservation strategies aiming at maximizing heterogeneity, including regulation of herbivore densities (through human interventions or top-down control), maintenance of different types of management in close proximity and rotational grazing regimes, are the most promising options to conserve arthropod diversity. © 2014 The Authors. Biological Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Soil Diversity as Affected by Land Use in China: Consequences for Soil Protection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Shangguan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Rapid land-use change in recent decades in China and its impact on terrestrial biodiversity have been widely studied, particularly at local and regional scales. However, the effect of land-use change on the diversity of soils that support the terrestrial biological system has rarely been studied. Here, we report the first effort to assess the impact of land-use change on soil diversity for the entire nation of China. Soil diversity and land-use effects were analyzed spatially in grids and provinces. The land-use effects on different soils were uneven. Anthropogenic soils occupied approximately 12% of the total soil area, which had already replaced the original natural soils. About 7.5% of the natural soil classes in China were in danger of substantial loss, due to the disturbance of agriculture and construction. More than 80% of the endangered soils were unprotected due to the overlook of soil diversity. The protection of soil diversity should be integrated into future conservation activities.

Soil Diversity as Affected by Land Use in China: Consequences for Soil Protection

Science.gov (United States)

Shangguan, Wei; Gong, Peng; Liang, Lu; Dai, YongJiu; Zhang, Keli

2014-01-01

Rapid land-use change in recent decades in China and its impact on terrestrial biodiversity have been widely studied, particularly at local and regional scales. However, the effect of land-use change on the diversity of soils that support the terrestrial biological system has rarely been studied. Here, we report the first effort to assess the impact of land-use change on soil diversity for the entire nation of China. Soil diversity and land-use effects were analyzed spatially in grids and provinces. The land-use effects on different soils were uneven. Anthropogenic soils occupied approximately 12% of the total soil area, which had already replaced the original natural soils. About 7.5% of the natural soil classes in China were in danger of substantial loss, due to the disturbance of agriculture and construction. More than 80% of the endangered soils were unprotected due to the overlook of soil diversity. The protection of soil diversity should be integrated into future conservation activities. PMID:25250394

Diversity and distribution of oligochaetes in tropical forested streams, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciana Falci Theza Rodrigues

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The distribution and beta diversity of oligochaete assemblages were investigated in different spatial scales to verify the influence of environmental factors and geographic distance on their structure. Two types of mesohabitats (riffles and pools were sampled in eight first-order streams located in four preservation areas (Poço D’Anta Municipal Biological Reserve, Santa Cândida Municipal Biological Reserve, Ibitipoca State Park and a private farm called Fazenda Floresta and two Atlantic Forest phytophysiognomies (Seasonal Semideciduous Forest and Rocky Field. Variations in the taxon richness, abundance and composition of the oligochaete assemblages occurred between streams and phytophysiognomies, but not between riffles and pools in the same stream. Low beta diversity values were found and both turnover and nestedness contributed similarly in the environments studied, which could have occurred because of the high capability of oligochaetes to adapt to different environmental conditions. Although the canonical correspondence analysis explained 85.5% of the data (first three axes, the partial Mantel test showed greater influence of geographic distance on the faunal composition than the environmental variables measured. Simple linear regression confirmed this result and showed that the decay of similarity increased with distance between streams. The information from this study sheds light on how environmental and spatial factors determine the variation in the distribution and diversity of oligochaetes in forested low-order streams.

Microsatellite variability in the entomopathogenic fungus Paeciolomyces fumosoroseus: genetic diversity and population structure

Science.gov (United States)

The hyphomycete Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (Pfr) is a geographically widespread fungus capable of infecting various insect hosts. The fungus has been used for the biological control of several important insect pests of agriculture. However knowledge of the fungus’ genetic diversity and population str...

Spatial pattern of tree diversity and evenness across forest types in Majella National Park, Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Redowan

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Background Estimation of tree diversity at broader scale is important for conservation planning. Tree diversity should be measured and understood in terms of diversity and evenness, two integral components to describe the structure of a biological community. Variation of the tree diversity and evenness with elevation, topographic relief, aspect, terrain shape, slope, soil nutrient, solar radiation etc. are well documented. Methods Present study explores the variation of tree diversity (measured as Shannon diversity and evenness indices of Majella National Park, Italy with five available forest types namely evergreen oak woods, deciduous oak woods, black/aleppo pine stands, hop-hornbeam forest and beech forest, using satellite, environmental and field data. Results Hop-hornbeam forest was found to be most diverse and even while evergreen Oak woods was the lowest diverse and even. Diversity and evenness of forest types were concurrent to each other i.e. forest type which was more diverse was also more even. As a broad pattern, majority portion of the study area belonged to medium diversity and high evenness class. Conclusions Satellite images and other GIS data proved useful tools in monitoring variation of tree diversity and evenness across various forest types. Present study findings may have implications in prioritizing conservation zones of high tree diversity at Majella.

Thermal and biological gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Overend, R.P.; Rivard, C.J. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

1993-12-31

Gasification is being developed to enable a diverse range of biomass resources to meet modern secondary energy uses, especially in the electrical utility sector. Biological or anaerobic gasification in US landfills has resulted in the installation of almost 500 MW(e) of capacity and represents the largest scale application of gasification technology today. The development of integrated gasification combined cycle generation for coal technologies is being paralleled by bagasse and wood thermal gasification systems in Hawaii and Scandinavia, and will lead to significant deployment in the next decade as the current scale-up activities are commercialized. The advantages of highly reactive biomass over coal in the design of process units are being realized as new thermal gasifiers are being scaled up to produce medium-energy-content gas for conversion to synthetic natural gas and transportation fuels and to hydrogen for use in fuel cells. The advent of high solids anaerobic digestion reactors is leading to commercialization of controlled municipal solid waste biological gasification rather than landfill application. In both thermal and biological gasification, high rate process reactors are a necessary development for economic applications that address waste and residue management and the production and use of new crops for energy. The environmental contribution of biomass in reducing greenhouse gas emission will also be improved.

Variation in skin biology to climate in Shanghai, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiaoping; Gao, Yanrui; Zhang, Yiyi; Wang, Xuemin

2017-09-01

To explore the relationship between climate and skin condition, and to investigate the variation of skin biology to climatic change. In total, 2005 healthy Chinese volunteers living in Shanghai (aged 13-69 years) were recruited. Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and SCH were tested on six sites (forehead, cheek, nasolabial, inner forearm, dorsal hand, and palm) by noninvasive devices between January 2005 and December 2012. The corresponding climate data were recorded by local Weather Bureau. TEWL was increased with atmospheric pressure and decreased with temperature, steam pressure, and relative humidity (p climate parameters together, we introduced these correlated factors into the multivariate linear regression model which demonstrated that temperature and steam pressure were main factors related to skin biological parameters. At different sites, the effect of climatic factors on skin biology was diverse. Skin biological parameters are associated with climatic factors. Different sites have different sensitivity to climate factors.

Biological and microbiological attributes in Oxisol managed with cover crops

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Ferreira da Silva

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The inclusion of winter cover crops and fertilization with nitrogen to the soil can have an effect on their biological and microbiological attributes. The aim of this study was to evaluate biological and microbiological attributes in soil under different winter cover crops and nitrogen doses. The experiment was conducted at the Frederico Westphalen-RS campus of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM in a Rhodic Hapludox soil. The experimental design was a randomized block in factorial arrangement (2 x 10: 10 winter cover crops systems (Fallow [control], black oats, white oats, ryegrass, forage turnip, vetch, white lupine; black oat + forage turnip; black oat + vetch and black oat + vetch + fodder turnip, and two nitrogen rates in the form of urea applied in successive crops of beans common and maize, with four replications. We assessed the biological attributes (Margalef’s richness, Simpson’s dominance, Shannon’s diversity and abundance of organisms and microbiological (carbon and nitrogen microbial biomass, basal respiration, metabolic quotient and microbial quotient of the soil. The fallow with wild species and white lupine showed greater Simpson’s dominance and abundance of organisms due to the increase in the number of individuals of the order Collembola. Vetch improved the biological attributes of the soil with increase in Collembola abundance and diversity of organisms of soil fauna. The application of nitrogen favored the microbial biomass carbon and reduced the metabolic quotient.

Astrobiology and Microbial Diversity Websites at MBL

Science.gov (United States)

Bahr, M.; Bordenstein, S. R.

2006-12-01

The NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) mission is to study the origin, evolution and future of life in the Universe. The MBL Astrobiology team explores the evolution and interaction of genomes of diverse organisms that play significant roles in environmental biology over evolutionary time scales. Communication about our research includes the personal contact of teacher workshops, and the development of web-based resources. Microbial Life Educational Resources (MLER) provides an expanding internet resource about the ecology, diversity and evolution for students, K-12 teachers, university faculty, and the general public. MLER includes websites, PowerPoint presentations, teaching activities, data sets, and other useful materials for creating or enhancing courses related to astrobiology. Our second site, micro*scope (http://microscope.mbl.edu), has images of microbes, classification schemes, descriptions of organisms, talks and other educational resources to improve awareness of the biodiversity of our microbial partners.

An Integrated Biological Control System At Hanford

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, A.R.; Caudill, J.G.; Giddings, R.F.; Rodriguez, J.M.; Roos, R.C.; Wilde, J.W.

2010-01-01

In 1999 an integrated biological control system was instituted at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site. Successes and changes to the program needed to be communicated to a large and diverse mix of organizations and individuals. Efforts at communication are directed toward the following: Hanford Contractors (Liquid or Tank Waste, Solid Waste, Environmental Restoration, Science and Technology, Site Infrastructure), General Hanford Employees, and Hanford Advisory Board (Native American Tribes, Environmental Groups, Local Citizens, Washington State and Oregon State regulatory agencies). Communication was done through direct interface meetings, individual communication, where appropriate, and broadly sharing program reports. The objectives of the communication efforts was to have the program well coordinated with Hanford contractors, and to have the program understood well enough that all stakeholders would have confidence in the work performed by the program to reduce or elimate spread of radioactive contamination by biotic vectors. Communication of successes and changes to an integrated biological control system instituted in 1999 at the Department of Energy's Hanford Site have required regular interfaces with not only a diverse group of Hanford contractors (i.e., those responsible for liquid or tank waste, solid wastes, environmental restoration, science and technology, and site infrastructure), and general Hanford employees, but also with a consortium of designated stake holders organized as the Hanford Advisory Board (i.e., Native American tribes, various environmental groups, local citizens, Washington state and Oregon regulatory agencies, etc.). Direct interface meetings, individual communication where appropriate, and transparency of the biological control program were the methods and outcome of this effort.

AN INTEGRATED BIOLOGICAL CONTROL SYSTEM AT HANFORD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

JOHNSON AR; CAUDILL JG; GIDDINGS RF; RODRIGUEZ JM; ROOS RC; WILDE JW

2010-02-11

In 1999 an integrated biological control system was instituted at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site. Successes and changes to the program needed to be communicated to a large and diverse mix of organizations and individuals. Efforts at communication are directed toward the following: Hanford Contractors (Liquid or Tank Waste, Solid Waste, Environmental Restoration, Science and Technology, Site Infrastructure), General Hanford Employees, and Hanford Advisory Board (Native American Tribes, Environmental Groups, Local Citizens, Washington State and Oregon State regulatory agencies). Communication was done through direct interface meetings, individual communication, where appropriate, and broadly sharing program reports. The objectives of the communication efforts was to have the program well coordinated with Hanford contractors, and to have the program understood well enough that all stakeholders would have confidence in the work performed by the program to reduce or elimated spread of radioactive contamination by biotic vectors. Communication of successes and changes to an integrated biological control system instituted in 1999 at the Department of Energy's Hanford Site have required regular interfaces with not only a diverse group of Hanford contractors (i.e., those responsible for liquid or tank waste, solid wastes, environmental restoration, science and technology, and site infrastructure), and general Hanford employees, but also with a consortium of designated stake holders organized as the Hanford Advisory Board (i.e., Native American tribes, various environmental groups, local citizens, Washington state and Oregon regulatory agencies, etc.). Direct interface meetings, individual communication where appropriate, and transparency of the biological control program were the methods and outcome of this effort.

Broadening Participation in the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilga, Cheryl A D; Nishiguchi, Michele; Tsukimura, Brian

2017-07-01

The goal of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology's Broadening Participation Committee (SICB BPC) is to increase the number of underrepresented group (URG) members within the society and to expand their capabilities as future researchers and leaders within SICB. Our short-term 10-year goal was to increase the recruitment and retention of URG members in the society by 10%. Our long-term 25-year goal is to increase the membership of URG in the society through recruitment and retention until the membership demographic mirrors that of the US Census. Our plans to accomplish this included establishment of a formal standing committee, establishment of a moderate budget to support BPC activities, hosting professional development workshops, hosting diversity and mentor socials, and obtaining grant funds to supplement our budget. This paper documents broadening participation activities in the society, discusses the effectiveness of these activities, and evaluates BPC goals after 5 years of targeted funded activities. Over the past 5 years, the number of URG members rose by 5.2% to a total of 16.2%, members who report ethnicity and gender increased by 25.2% and 18%, respectively, and the number of members attending BPC activities has increased to 33% by 2016. SICB has made significant advances in broadening participation, not only through increased expenditures, but also with a commitment by its members and leadership to increase diversity. Most members realize that increasing diversity will both improve the Society's ability to develop different approaches to tackling problems within integrative biology, and help solve larger global issues that are evident throughout science and technology fields. In addition, having URG members as part of the executive committee would provide other URG members role models within the society, as well as have a voice in the leadership that represents diversity and inclusion for all scientists. © The Author 2017. Published by

Nation-Based Occurrence and Endogenous Biological Reduction of Mycotoxins in Medicinal Herbs and Spices.

Science.gov (United States)

Do, Kee Hun; An, Tae Jin; Oh, Sang-Keun; Moon, Yuseok

2015-10-14

Medicinal herbs have been increasingly used for therapeutic purposes against a diverse range of human diseases worldwide. Moreover, the health benefits of spices have been extensively recognized in recent studies. However, inevitable contaminants, including mycotoxins, in medicinal herbs and spices can cause serious problems for humans in spite of their health benefits. Along with the different nation-based occurrences of mycotoxins, the ultimate exposure and toxicities can be diversely influenced by the endogenous food components in different commodities of the medicinal herbs and spices. The phytochemicals in these food stuffs can influence mold growth, mycotoxin production and biological action of the mycotoxins in exposed crops, as well as in animal and human bodies. The present review focuses on the occurrence of mycotoxins in medicinal herbs and spices and the biological interaction between mold, mycotoxin and herbal components. These networks will provide insights into the methods of mycotoxin reduction and toxicological risk assessment of mycotoxin-contaminated medicinal food components in the environment and biological organisms.

Sequence diversity and evolution of antimicrobial peptides in invertebrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Tassanakajon, Anchalee; Somboonwiwat, Kunlaya; Amparyup, Piti

2015-02-01

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are evolutionarily ancient molecules that act as the key components in the invertebrate innate immunity against invading pathogens. Several AMPs have been identified and characterized in invertebrates, and found to display considerable diversity in their amino acid sequence, structure and biological activity. AMP genes appear to have rapidly evolved, which might have arisen from the co-evolutionary arms race between host and pathogens, and enabled organisms to survive in different microbial environments. Here, the sequence diversity of invertebrate AMPs (defensins, cecropins, crustins and anti-lipopolysaccharide factors) are presented to provide a better understanding of the evolution pattern of these peptides that play a major role in host defense mechanisms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Open-Ended Investigative Microbial Ecology Laboratory for Introductory Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Jones-Held, Susan; Paoletti, Robert; Glick, David; Held, Michael E.

2010-01-01

In this article we describe a multi-week investigative laboratory in microbial ecology/diversity and nitrogen cycling that we have used in our introductory biology course. This module encourages active student involvement in experimental design, using the scientific literature and quantitative analysis of large data sets. Students analyze soil…

The biology of Phytophthora infestans at its center of origin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grünwald, N.J.; Flier, W.G.

2005-01-01

The central highlands of Mexico are considered to be a center of genetic diversity for both the potato late blight pathogen and for tuber-bearing Solanum spp. Recent work conducted in Mexico and South America sheds new light on the biology and evolution of Phytophthora infestans and other related

Vegetation improvement and soil biological quality in the Sahel of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The method of Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF) was used to assess macro-fauna abundance and diversity in different land use types (cropland, shallow land, degraded land and forest). Four sites were selected, in the Sahelian zone of Burkina Faso, with contrasted Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI).

2007 Microbial Population Biology (July 22-26, 2007)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anthony M. Dean

2008-04-01

Microbial Population Biology covers a diverse range of cutting edge issues in the microbial sciences and beyond. Firmly founded in evolutionary biology and with a strongly integrative approach, past meetings have covered topics ranging from the dynamics and genetics of adaptation to the evolution of mutation rate, community ecology, evolutionary genomics, altruism, and epidemiology. This meeting is never dull: some of the most significant and contentious issues in biology have been thrashed out here. We anticipate the 2007 meeting being no exception. The final form of the 2007 meeting is yet to be decided, but the following topics are likely to be included: evolutionary emergence of infectious disease and antibiotic resistance, genetic architecture and implications for the evolution of microbial populations, ageing in bacteria, biogeography, evolution of symbioses, the role of microbes in ecosystem function, and ecological genomics.

Phylogenetics and genetic diversity of the Cotesia flavipes complex of parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), biological control agents of lepidopteran stemborers.

Science.gov (United States)

Muirhead, Kate A; Murphy, Nicholas P; Sallam, Nader; Donnellan, Stephen C; Austin, Andrew D

2012-06-01

The Cotesia flavipes complex of parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) are economically important for the biological control of lepidopteran stemboring pests associated with gramineous crops. Some members of the complex successfully parasitize numerous stemborer pest species, however certain geographic populations have demonstrated variation in the range of hosts that they parasitize. In addition, the morphology of the complex is highly conserved and considerable confusion surrounds the identity of species and host-associated biotypes. We generated nucleotide sequence data for two mtDNA genes (COI, 16S) and three anonymous nuclear loci (CfBN, CfCN, CfEN) for the C. flavipes complex. To analyze genetic variation and relationships among populations we used (1) concatenated mtDNA and nDNA data, (2) a nDNA multilocus network approach, and (3) two species tree inference methods, i.e. Bayesian estimation of species trees (BEST) and Bayesian inference of species trees from multilocus data with (*)BEAST. All phylogenetic analyses provide strong support for monophyly of the complex and the presence of at least four species, C. chilonis (from China and Japan), C. sesamiae (from Africa), C. flavipes (originating from the Indo-Asia region but introduced into Africa and the New World), and C. nonagriae (from Australia and Papua New Guinea). Haplotype diversity of geographic populations relates to historical biogeographic barriers and biological control introductions, and reflects previous reports of ecological variation in these species. Strong discordance was found between the mitochondrial and nuclear markers in the Papua New Guinea haplotypes, which may be an outcome of hybridization and introgression of C. flavipes and C. nonagriae. The position of Cotesia flavipes from Japan was not well supported in any analysis and was the sister taxon to C. nonagriae (mtDNA, (*)BEAST), C. flavipes (nDNA) or C. flavipes+C. nonagriae (BEST) and, may represent a cryptic species. The

Species richness, but not phylogenetic diversity, influences community biomass production and temporal stability in a re-examination of 16 grassland biodiversity studies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Venail, P.; Gross, K.; Oakley, T.H.; Narwani, A.; Allan, E.; Flombaum, P.; Isbell, F.; Joshi, J.; Reich, P.B.; Tilman, D.; Ruijven, van J.; Cardinale, B.J.

2015-01-01

1.Hundreds of experiments have now manipulated species richness of various groups of organisms and examined how this aspect of biological diversity influences ecosystem functioning. Ecologists have recently expanded this field to look at whether phylogenetic diversity among species, often quantified

Extinction phenomena: A biologic perspective on how and why psychoanalysis works

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linda A.W. Brakel

2011-09-01

Full Text Available This article presents the view that much of the success of classical psychoanalysis is centrally predicated on its biological potency; focusing not on neuropsychology, but on the biology of conditioning. The argument suggests that features of classic psychoanalytic technique--the couch, meetings several times per week with both parties present, and free association--uniquely facilitate intense transferences of various sorts, and that these in turn constitute the multiple and diverse extinction trials necessary to best approximate extinction.

Best practices for the use and exchange of invertebrate biological control genetic resources relevant for food and agriculture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mason, P.G.; Cock, M.J.W.; Barratt, B.I.P.; Klapwijk, J.N.; Lenteren, van J.C.; Brodeur, J.; Hoelmer, K.A.; Heimpel, G.E.

2018-01-01

The Nagoya Protocol is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity that provides a framework for the effective implementation of the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, including invertebrate biological control agents.

Functional-diversity indices can be driven by methodological choices and species richness.

Science.gov (United States)

Poos, Mark S; Walker, Steven C; Jackson, Donald A

2009-02-01

Functional diversity is an important concept in community ecology because it captures information on functional traits absent in measures of species diversity. One popular method of measuring functional diversity is the dendrogram-based method, FD. To calculate FD, a variety of methodological choices are required, and it has been debated about whether biological conclusions are sensitive to such choices. We studied the probability that conclusions regarding FD were sensitive, and that patterns in sensitivity were related to alpha and beta components of species richness. We developed a randomization procedure that iteratively calculated FD by assigning species into two assemblages and calculating the probability that the community with higher FD varied across methods. We found evidence of sensitivity in all five communities we examined, ranging from a probability of sensitivity of 0 (no sensitivity) to 0.976 (almost completely sensitive). Variations in these probabilities were driven by differences in alpha diversity between assemblages and not by beta diversity. Importantly, FD was most sensitive when it was most useful (i.e., when differences in alpha diversity were low). We demonstrate that trends in functional-diversity analyses can be largely driven by methodological choices or species richness, rather than functional trait information alone.

Cell biology, biophysics, and mechanobiology: From the basics to Clinics.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Y

2017-04-29

Cell biology, biomechanics and biophysics are the key subjects that guide our understanding in diverse areas of tissue growth, development, remodeling and homeostasis. Novel discoveries such as molecular mechanism, and mechanobiological mechanism in cell biology, biomechanics and biophysics play essential roles in our understanding of the pathogenesis of various human diseases, as well as in designing the treatment of these diseases. In addition, studies in these areas will also facilitate early diagnostics of human diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In this special issue, we collected 10 original research articles and 1 review...

[Vectors of malaria: biology, diversity, prevention, and individual protection].

Science.gov (United States)

Pages, F; Orlandi-Pradines, E; Corbel, V

2007-03-01

Only the Anopheles mosquitoes are implicated in the transmission of malaria. Among the numerous species of anopheles, around fifty are currently involved in the transmission. 20 are responsible for most of the transmission in the world. The diversity of behavior between species and in a single species of anopheles as well as climatic and geographical conditions along with the action of man on the environment condition the man vector contact level and the various epidemiological aspects of malaria. The anopheles are primarily rural mosquitoes and are less likely to be found in city surroundings in theory. But actually, the adaptation of some species to urban surroundings and the common habit of market gardening in big cities or in the suburbs is responsible for the de persistence of Anopheles populations in town. Except for South-East Asia, urban malaria has become a reality. The transmission risk of malaria is heterogeneous and varies with time. There is a great variation of risk within a same country, a same zone, and even within a few kilometers. The transmission varies in time according to seasons but also according to years and to the level of climatic events. For the traveler, prevention at any time relies on the strict application of individual protection, as well in rural than in urban surroundings.

Biology and pathogenesis of Acanthamoeba

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siddiqui Ruqaiyyah

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Acanthamoeba is a free-living protist pathogen, capable of causing a blinding keratitis and fatal granulomatous encephalitis. The factors that contribute to Acanthamoeba infections include parasite biology, genetic diversity, environmental spread and host susceptibility, and are highlighted together with potential therapeutic and preventative measures. The use of Acanthamoeba in the study of cellular differentiation mechanisms, motility and phagocytosis, bacterial pathogenesis and evolutionary processes makes it an attractive model organism. There is a significant emphasis on Acanthamoeba as a Trojan horse of other microbes including viral, bacterial, protists and yeast pathogens.

Nonlinear dynamics in biological systems

CERN Document Server

Carballido-Landeira, Jorge

2016-01-01

This book presents recent research results relating to applications of nonlinear dynamics, focusing specifically on four topics of wide interest: heart dynamics, DNA/RNA, cell mobility, and proteins. The book derives from the First BCAM Workshop on Nonlinear Dynamics in Biological Systems, held in June 2014 at the Basque Center of Applied Mathematics (BCAM). At this international meeting, researchers from different but complementary backgrounds, including molecular dynamics, physical chemistry, bio-informatics and biophysics, presented their most recent results and discussed the future direction of their studies using theoretical, mathematical modeling and experimental approaches. Such was the level of interest stimulated that the decision was taken to produce this publication, with the organizers of the event acting as editors. All of the contributing authors are researchers working on diverse biological problems that can be approached using nonlinear dynamics. The book will appeal especially to applied math...

Beyond Sexual Orientation: Integrating Gender/Sex and Diverse Sexualities via Sexual Configurations Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

van Anders, Sari M

2015-07-01

Sexual orientation typically describes people's sexual attractions or desires based on their sex relative to that of a target. Despite its utility, it has been critiqued in part because it fails to account for non-biological gender-related factors, partnered sexualities unrelated to gender or sex, or potential divergences between love and lust. In this article, I propose Sexual Configurations Theory (SCT) as a testable, empirically grounded framework for understanding diverse partnered sexualities, separate from solitary sexualities. I focus on and provide models of two parameters of partnered sexuality--gender/sex and partner number. SCT also delineates individual gender/sex. I discuss a sexual diversity lens as a way to study the particularities and generalities of diverse sexualities without privileging either. I also discuss how sexual identities, orientations, and statuses that are typically seen as misaligned or aligned are more meaningfully conceptualized as branched or co-incident. I map out some existing identities using SCT and detail its applied implications for health and counseling work. I highlight its importance for sexuality in terms of measurement and social neuroendocrinology, and the ways it may be useful for self-knowledge and feminist and queer empowerment and alliance building. I also make a case that SCT changes existing understandings and conceptualizations of sexuality in constructive and generative ways informed by both biology and culture, and that it is a potential starting point for sexual diversity studies and research.

A "Scientific Diversity" Intervention to Reduce Gender Bias in a Sample of Life Scientists.

Science.gov (United States)

Moss-Racusin, Corinne A; van der Toorn, Jojanneke; Dovidio, John F; Brescoll, Victoria L; Graham, Mark J; Handelsman, Jo

2016-01-01

Mounting experimental evidence suggests that subtle gender biases favoring men contribute to the underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), including many subfields of the life sciences. However, there are relatively few evaluations of diversity interventions designed to reduce gender biases within the STEM community. Because gender biases distort the meritocratic evaluation and advancement of students, interventions targeting instructors' biases are particularly needed. We evaluated one such intervention, a workshop called "Scientific Diversity" that was consistent with an established framework guiding the development of diversity interventions designed to reduce biases and was administered to a sample of life science instructors (N = 126) at several sessions of the National Academies Summer Institute for Undergraduate Education held nationwide. Evidence emerged indicating the efficacy of the "Scientific Diversity" workshop, such that participants were more aware of gender bias, expressed less gender bias, and were more willing to engage in actions to reduce gender bias 2 weeks after participating in the intervention compared with 2 weeks before the intervention. Implications for diversity interventions aimed at reducing gender bias and broadening the participation of women in the life sciences are discussed. © 2016 C. A. Moss-Racusin et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

iBiology: communicating the process of science.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodwin, Sarah S

2014-08-01

The Internet hosts an abundance of science video resources aimed at communicating scientific knowledge, including webinars, massive open online courses, and TED talks. Although these videos are efficient at disseminating information for diverse types of users, they often do not demonstrate the process of doing science, the excitement of scientific discovery, or how new scientific knowledge is developed. iBiology (www.ibiology.org), a project that creates open-access science videos about biology research and science-related topics, seeks to fill this need by producing videos by science leaders that make their ideas, stories, and experiences available to anyone with an Internet connection. © 2014 Goodwin. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). Two months after publication it is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Targeting climate diversity in conservation planning to build resilience to climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Heller, Nicole E.; Kreitler, Jason R.; Ackerly, David; Weiss, Stuart; Recinos, Amanda; Branciforte, Ryan; Flint, Lorraine E.; Flint, Alan L.; Micheli, Elisabeth

2015-01-01

Climate change is raising challenging concerns for systematic conservation planning. Are methods based on the current spatial patterns of biodiversity effective given long-term climate change? Some conservation scientists argue that planning should focus on protecting the abiotic diversity in the landscape, which drives patterns of biological diversity, rather than focusing on the distribution of focal species, which shift in response to climate change. Climate is one important abiotic driver of biodiversity patterns, as different climates host different biological communities and genetic pools. We propose conservation networks that capture the full range of climatic diversity in a region will improve the resilience of biotic communities to climate change compared to networks that do not. In this study we used historical and future hydro-climate projections from the high resolution Basin Characterization Model to explore the utility of directly targeting climatic diversity in planning. Using the spatial planning tool, Marxan, we designed conservation networks to capture the diversity of climate types, at the regional and sub-regional scale, and compared them to networks we designed to capture the diversity of vegetation types. By focusing on the Conservation Lands Network (CLN) of the San Francisco Bay Area as a real-world case study, we compared the potential resilience of networks by examining two factors: the range of climate space captured, and climatic stability to 18 future climates, reflecting different emission scenarios and global climate models. We found that the climate-based network planned at the sub-regional scale captured a greater range of climate space and showed higher climatic stability than the vegetation and regional based-networks. At the same time, differences among network scenarios are small relative to the variance in climate stability across global climate models. Across different projected futures, topographically heterogeneous areas

Reproductive Biology of Varronia curassavica Jacq. (Boraginaceae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARCIA P. HOELTGEBAUM

2018-02-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Varronia curassavica, a subshrubby medicinal species associated with restinga in the Atlantic Forest, has been exploited by local people and the pharmaceutical industry. Indeed, restingas have experienced a continuous process of degradation, and thus, with species and ecosystem both at risk, efforts to support conservation actions are required. The present study aimed to evaluate aspects of V. curassavica reproductive biology. To accomplish this, morphological characterization was performed by monitoring flowering events. The availability of nectar and pollen, as well as the frequency and behavior of floral visitors and dispersers, was also evaluated. This species exhibits both heterostyly and protogyny. Anthesis is diurnal, and flowers last less than a day. The high number of flower and fruit abortions suggests that mechanisms, such as self-incompatibility intra-morphs and easily detached flowers, contribute to reduced fruit production. The high diversity of floral visitors indicate a generalist pollination syndrome. Diptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera were the main pollinators, and nectar was the main resource sought by these insects. Fruits were dispersed by birds and ants. It can be concluded that the interaction of V. curassavica with several species is a key factor in its own survival and for maintaining the biological diversity of restinga.

Reproductive Biology of Varronia curassavica Jacq. (Boraginaceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Hoeltgebaum, Marcia P; Montagna, Tiago; Lando, Ana Paula; Puttkammer, Catarina; Orth, Afonso Inácio; Guerra, Miguel P; Reis, Maurício S Dos

2018-01-01

Varronia curassavica, a subshrubby medicinal species associated with restinga in the Atlantic Forest, has been exploited by local people and the pharmaceutical industry. Indeed, restingas have experienced a continuous process of degradation, and thus, with species and ecosystem both at risk, efforts to support conservation actions are required. The present study aimed to evaluate aspects of V. curassavica reproductive biology. To accomplish this, morphological characterization was performed by monitoring flowering events. The availability of nectar and pollen, as well as the frequency and behavior of floral visitors and dispersers, was also evaluated. This species exhibits both heterostyly and protogyny. Anthesis is diurnal, and flowers last less than a day. The high number of flower and fruit abortions suggests that mechanisms, such as self-incompatibility intra-morphs and easily detached flowers, contribute to reduced fruit production. The high diversity of floral visitors indicate a generalist pollination syndrome. Diptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera were the main pollinators, and nectar was the main resource sought by these insects. Fruits were dispersed by birds and ants. It can be concluded that the interaction of V. curassavica with several species is a key factor in its own survival and for maintaining the biological diversity of restinga.

[New materia medica project: synthetic biology based bioactive metabolites research in medicinal plant].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yong

2017-03-25

In the last decade, synthetic biology research has been gradually transited from monocellular parts or devices toward more complex multicellular systems. The emerging plant synthetic biology is regarded as the "next chapter" of synthetic biology. The complex and diverse plant metabolism as the entry point, plant synthetic biology research not only helps us understand how real life is working, but also facilitates us to learn how to design and construct more complex artificial life. Bioactive compounds innovation and large-scale production are expected to be breakthrough with the redesigned plant metabolism as well. In this review, we discuss the research progress in plant synthetic biology and propose the new materia medica project to lift the level of traditional Chinese herbal medicine research.

Chlorella vulgaris: A Multifunctional Dietary Supplement with Diverse Medicinal Properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Panahi, Yunes; Darvishi, Behrad; Jowzi, Narges; Beiraghdar, Fatemeh; Sahebkar, Amirhossein

2016-01-01

Chlorella vulgaris is a green unicellular microalgae with biological and pharmacological properties important for human health. C. vulgaris has a long history of use as a food source and contains a unique and diverse composition of functional macro- and micro-nutrients including proteinsChlorella vulgaris is a green unicellular microalgae with biological and pharmacological properties important for human health. C. vulgaris has a long history of use as a food source and contains a unique and diverse composition of functional macro- and micro-nutrients including proteins, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, polysaccharides, vitamins and minerals. Clinical trials have suggested that supplementation with C. vulgaris can ameliorate amelioration hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia, and protect against oxidative stress, cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In this review, we summarize the findings on the health benefits of Chlorella supplementation and the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects., omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, polysaccharides, vitamins and minerals. Clinical trials have suggested that supplementation with C. vulgaris can ameliorate amelioration hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia, and protect against oxidative stress, cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In this review, we summarize the findings on the health benefits of Chlorella supplementation and the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects.

Land-cover change and avian diversity in the conterminous United States

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Chadwick D. Rittenhouse; Anna M. Pidgeon; Thomas P. Albright; Patrick D. Culbert; Murray K. Clayton; Curtis H. Flather; Jeffrey G. Masek; Volker C. Radeloff

2012-01-01

Changes in land use and land cover have affected and will continue to affect biological diversity worldwide. Yet, understanding the spatially extensive effects of land-cover change has been challenging because data that are consistent over space and time are lacking. We used the U.S. National Land Cover Dataset Land Cover Change Retrofit Product and North American...

Cannabidiol inhibits paclitaxel-induced neuropathic pain through 5-HT(1A) receptors without diminishing nervous system function or chemotherapy efficacy.

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Ward, Sara Jane; McAllister, Sean D; Kawamura, Rumi; Murase, Ryuchi; Neelakantan, Harshini; Walker, Ellen A

2014-02-01

Paclitaxel (PAC) is associated with chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain (CIPN) that can lead to the cessation of treatment in cancer patients even in the absence of alternate therapies. We previously reported that chronic administration of the non-psychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) prevents PAC-induced mechanical and thermal sensitivity in mice. Hence, we sought to determine receptor mechanisms by which CBD inhibits CIPN and whether CBD negatively effects nervous system function or chemotherapy efficacy. The ability of acute CBD pretreatment to prevent PAC-induced mechanical sensitivity was assessed, as was the effect of CBD on place conditioning and on an operant-conditioned learning and memory task. The potential interaction of CBD and PAC on breast cancer cell viability was determined using the MTT assay. PAC-induced mechanical sensitivity was prevented by administration of CBD (2.5 - 10 mg·kg⁻¹) in female C57Bl/6 mice. This effect was reversed by co-administration of the 5-HT(1A) antagonist WAY 100635, but not the CB₁ antagonist SR141716 or the CB₂ antagonist SR144528. CBD produced no conditioned rewarding effects and did not affect conditioned learning and memory. Also, CBD + PAC combinations produce additive to synergistic inhibition of breast cancer cell viability. Our data suggest that CBD is protective against PAC-induced neurotoxicity mediated in part by the 5-HT(1A) receptor system. Furthermore, CBD treatment was devoid of conditioned rewarding effects or cognitive impairment and did not attenuate PAC-induced inhibition of breast cancer cell viability. Hence, adjunct treatment with CBD during PAC chemotherapy may be safe and effective in the prevention or attenuation of CIPN. © 2013 The British Pharmacological Society.

Improving Diversity, Inclusion, and Representation in Radiology and Radiation Oncology Part 1: Why These Matter

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Lightfoote, Johnson B.; Fielding, Julia R.; Deville, Curtiland; Gunderman, Richard B.; Morgan, Gail N.; Pandharipande, Pari V.; Duerinckx, Andre J.; Wynn, Raymond B.; Macura, Katarzyna J.

2015-01-01

The ACR Commission for Women and General Diversity is committed to identifying barriers to a diverse physician workforce in radiology and radiation oncology (RRO), and to offering policy recommendations to overcome these barriers. In Part 1 of a 2-part position article from the commission, diversity as a concept and its dimensions of personality, character, ethnicity, biology, biography, and organization are introduced. Terms commonly used to describe diverse individuals and groups are reviewed. The history of diversity and inclusion in US society and health care are addressed. The post–Civil Rights Era evolution of diversity in medicine is delineated: Diversity 1.0, with basic awareness, nondiscrimination, and recruitment; Diversity 2.0, with appreciation of the value of diversity but inclusion as peripheral or in opposition to other goals; and Diversity 3.0, which integrates diversity and inclusion into core missions of organizations and their leadership, and leverages its potential for innovation and contribution. The current states of diversity and inclusion in RRO are reviewed in regard to gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The lack of representation and unchanged demographics in these fields relative to other medical specialties are explored. The business case for diversity is discussed, with examples of successful models and potential application to the health care industry in general and to RRO. The moral, ethical, and public health imperative for diversity is also highlighted. PMID:24993534

Unified Deep Learning Architecture for Modeling Biology Sequence.

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Wu, Hongjie; Cao, Chengyuan; Xia, Xiaoyan; Lu, Qiang

2017-10-09

Prediction of the spatial structure or function of biological macromolecules based on their sequence remains an important challenge in bioinformatics. When modeling biological sequences using traditional sequencing models, characteristics, such as long-range interactions between basic units, the complicated and variable output of labeled structures, and the variable length of biological sequences, usually lead to different solutions on a case-by-case basis. This study proposed the use of bidirectional recurrent neural networks based on long short-term memory or a gated recurrent unit to capture long-range interactions by designing the optional reshape operator to adapt to the diversity of the output labels and implementing a training algorithm to support the training of sequence models capable of processing variable-length sequences. Additionally, the merge and pooling operators enhanced the ability to capture short-range interactions between basic units of biological sequences. The proposed deep-learning model and its training algorithm might be capable of solving currently known biological sequence-modeling problems through the use of a unified framework. We validated our model on one of the most difficult biological sequence-modeling problems currently known, with our results indicating the ability of the model to obtain predictions of protein residue interactions that exceeded the accuracy of current popular approaches by 10% based on multiple benchmarks.

Genome Size Diversity and Its Impact on the Evolution of Land Plants

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Jaume Pellicer

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Genome size is a biodiversity trait that shows staggering diversity across eukaryotes, varying over 64,000-fold. Of all major taxonomic groups, land plants stand out due to their staggering genome size diversity, ranging ca. 2400-fold. As our understanding of the implications and significance of this remarkable genome size diversity in land plants grows, it is becoming increasingly evident that this trait plays not only an important role in shaping the evolution of plant genomes, but also in influencing plant community assemblages at the ecosystem level. Recent advances and improvements in novel sequencing technologies, as well as analytical tools, make it possible to gain critical insights into the genomic and epigenetic mechanisms underpinning genome size changes. In this review we provide an overview of our current understanding of genome size diversity across the different land plant groups, its implications on the biology of the genome and what future directions need to be addressed to fill key knowledge gaps.

A comparative study of thermal annealing effects under various atmospheres on nano-structured CdS thin films prepared by CBD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kong, Lingjun; Li, Jianmin; Chen, Guilin; Zhu, Changfei, E-mail: cfzhu@ustc.edu.cn; Liu, Weifeng, E-mail: liuwf@ustc.edu.cn

2013-10-05

Highlights: •Smooth and uniform CdS thin films were deposited successfully by CBD method. •The influence of CdCl{sub 2}-assisted annealing under various atmospheres of CdS films has been investigated. •We gave a more detailed research on annealing temperature after identified the most optimal annealing method. •High quality CdS films were obtained with air–CdCl{sub 2}-assisted treatments at 400 °C for 0.5 h. •GIXRD was used as a new analysis method of CdS in this paper. -- Abstract: Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanofilms have been deposited on the glass substrate using the chemical bath technique. The effects of CdCl{sub 2}-assisted annealing under different atmosphere (vacuum, Ar and air) on the structural, morphological and optical properties of CdS nanofilms have been studied. After identifying the optimal annealing atmosphere, we also investigated the CdS thin film annealed at different annealing temperature (300, 400 and 500 °C). Films have been characterized by GI-XRD analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometer. The as-deposited CdS films have been found to be nanocrystalline in nature with a mixture of two crystallographic phases: a hexagonal phase and a cubic phase. After annealed in air with a CdCl{sub 2} coating layer at 400 °C, the films showed pure hexagonal phase, indicating the phase transition of CdS. It was found that the treatment in air with a CdCl{sub 2} coating layer increased the crystallinity and the mean grain size of CdS film, which are advantageous to the application in solar cells as a window layer material.

Advantages and Pitfalls of Mass Spectrometry Based Metabolome Profiling in Systems Biology

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Ina Aretz

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Mass spectrometry-based metabolome profiling became the method of choice in systems biology approaches and aims to enhance biological understanding of complex biological systems. Genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics are well established technologies and are commonly used by many scientists. In comparison, metabolomics is an emerging field and has not reached such high-throughput, routine and coverage than other omics technologies. Nevertheless, substantial improvements were achieved during the last years. Integrated data derived from multi-omics approaches will provide a deeper understanding of entire biological systems. Metabolome profiling is mainly hampered by its diversity, variation of metabolite concentration by several orders of magnitude and biological data interpretation. Thus, multiple approaches are required to cover most of the metabolites. No software tool is capable of comprehensively translating all the data into a biologically meaningful context yet. In this review, we discuss the advantages of metabolome profiling and main obstacles limiting progress in systems biology.

Advantages and Pitfalls of Mass Spectrometry Based Metabolome Profiling in Systems Biology.

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Aretz, Ina; Meierhofer, David

2016-04-27

Mass spectrometry-based metabolome profiling became the method of choice in systems biology approaches and aims to enhance biological understanding of complex biological systems. Genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics are well established technologies and are commonly used by many scientists. In comparison, metabolomics is an emerging field and has not reached such high-throughput, routine and coverage than other omics technologies. Nevertheless, substantial improvements were achieved during the last years. Integrated data derived from multi-omics approaches will provide a deeper understanding of entire biological systems. Metabolome profiling is mainly hampered by its diversity, variation of metabolite concentration by several orders of magnitude and biological data interpretation. Thus, multiple approaches are required to cover most of the metabolites. No software tool is capable of comprehensively translating all the data into a biologically meaningful context yet. In this review, we discuss the advantages of metabolome profiling and main obstacles limiting progress in systems biology.

PEMANFAATAN MEDIA DALAM PEMBELAJARAN BIOLOGI DI SEKOLAH

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Amna Emda

2011-08-01

Full Text Available In teaching learning process, teachers have to use some media of instruction. They have to be able to select appropriate media with the concept that they want to teach. In biology, especially the concept of biodiversity, the teacher should explain and introduce the students to various plants available around them including herb plants. It will be one of solution for a teacher to achieve an optimum goal if they can use the diverse plant around them. The successful of learning especially in the field of biology can be seen from cognitive, effective and psychomotoric aspects which is hoped to be achieved if the teachers as educators can guide their students to know about the plants in the field.

Exploiting genotypic diversity of 2,4-Diacetylphloroglucinol-producing Pseudomonas spp.: characterization of superior root-colonizing P. fluorescens strain Q8r1-96

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Raaijmakers, J.M.; Weller, D.M.

2001-01-01

The genotypic diversity that occurs in natural populations of antagonistic microorganisms provides an enormous resource for improving biological control of plant diseases. In this study, we determined the diversity of indigenous 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG)-producing Pseudomonas spp. occurring