Global congruence of carbon storage and biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems

Deforestation is a main driver of climate change and biodiversity loss. An incentive mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) is being negotiated under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Here we use the best available global data sets on terrestrial biodiversity and carbon storage to map and investigate potential synergies between carbon and biodiversity-oriented conservation. A strong association (rS= 0.82) between carbon stocks and species richness suggests that such synergies would be high, but unevenly distributed. Many areas of high value for biodiversity could be protected by carbon-based conservation, while others could benefit from complementary funding arising from their carbon content. Some high-biodiversity regions, however, would not benefit from carbon-focused conservation, and could become under increased pressure if REDD is implemented. Our results suggest that additional gains for biodiversity conservation are possible, without compromising the effectiveness for climate change mitigation, if REDD takes biodiversity distribution into account

Between tide and wave marks: a unifying model of physical zonation on littoral shores

The effects of tides on littoral marine habitats are so ubiquitous that shorelines are commonly described as ‘intertidal’, whereas waves are considered a secondary factor that simply modifies the intertidal habitat. However mean significant wave height exceeds tidal range at many locations worldwide. Here we construct a simple sinusoidal model of coastal water level based on both tidal range and wave height. From the patterns of emergence and submergence predicted by the model, we derive four vertical shoreline benchmarks which bracket up to three novel, spatially distinct, and physically defined zones. The (1) emergent tidal zone is characterized by tidally driven emergence in air; the (2) wave zone is characterized by constant (not periodic) wave wash; and the (3) submergent tidal zone is characterized by tidally driven submergence. The decoupling of tidally driven emergence and submergence made possible by wave action is a critical prediction of the model. On wave-dominated shores (wave height ≫ tidal range), all three zones are predicted to exist separately, but on tide-dominated shores (tidal range ≫ wave height) the wave zone is absent and the emergent and submergent tidal zones overlap substantially, forming the traditional “intertidal zone”. We conclude by incorporating time and space in the model to illustrate variability in the physical conditions and zonation on littoral shores. The wave:tide physical zonation model is a unifying framework that can facilitate our understanding of physical conditions on littoral shores whether tropical or temperate, marine or lentic

Co-ordinated Airborne Studies in the Tropics (CAST)

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Meteorological Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00290.1The Co-ordinated Airborne Studies in the Tropics (CAST) project is studying the chemical composition of the atmosphere in the Tropical Warm Pool region to improve understanding of trace gas transport in convection. The main field activities of the CAST (Co-ordinated Airborne Studies in the Tropics) campaign took place in the West Pacific in January/February 2014. The field campaign was based in Guam (13.5°N, 144.8°E) using the UK FAAM BAe-146 atmospheric research aircraft and was coordinated with the ATTREX project with the unmanned Global Hawk and the CONTRAST campaign with the Gulfstream V aircraft. Together, the three aircraft were able to make detailed measurements of atmospheric structure and composition from the ocean surface to 20 km. These measurements are providing new information about the processes influencing halogen and ozone levels in the tropical West Pacific as well as the importance of trace gas transport in convection for the upper troposphere and stratosphere. The FAAM aircraft made a total of 25 flights between 1°S-14°N and 130°-155°E. It was used to sample at altitudes below 8 km with much of the time spent in the marine boundary layer. It measured a range of chemical species, and sampled extensively within the region of main inflow into the strong West Pacific convection. The CAST team also made ground-based measurements of a number of species (including daily ozonesondes) at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program site on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea (2.1°S, 147.4°E). This article presents an overview of the CAST project focussing on the design and operation of the West Pacific experiment. It additionally discusses some new developments in CAST, including flights of new instruments on the Global Hawk in February/March 2015.CAST is funded by NERC and STFC, with grant NE/ I030054/1 (lead award), NE/J006262/1, NE/J006238/1, NE/J006181/1, NE/J006211/1, NE/J006061/1, NE/J006157/1, NE/J006203/1, NE/J00619X/1, and NE/J006173/1. N. R. P. Harris was supported by a NERC Advanced Research Fellowship (NE/G014655/1). P. I. Palmer acknowledges his Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. The BAe-146-301 Atmospheric Research Aircraft is flown by Directflight Ltd and managed by the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements, which is a joint entity of the Natural Environment Research Council and the Met Office. The authors thank the staff at FAAM, Directflight and Avalon Aero who worked so hard toward the success of the aircraft deployment in Guam, especially for their untiring efforts when spending an unforeseen 9 days in Chuuk. We thank the local staff at Chuuk and Palau, as well as the authorities in the Federated States of Micronesia for their help in facilitating our research flights. Special thanks go to the personnel associated with the ARM facility at Manus, Papua New Guinea without whose help the ground-based measurements would not have been possible. Thanks to the British Atmospheric Data Centre (BADC) for hosting our data and the NCAS Atmospheric Measurement Facility for providing the radiosonde and ground-based ozone equipment. Chlorophyll-a data used in Figure 1 were extracted using the Giovanni online data system, maintained by the NASA GES DISC. We also acknowledge the MODIS mission scientists and associated NASA personnel for the production of this data set. Finally we thank many individual associated with the ATTREX and CONTRAST campaigns for their help in the logistical planning, and we would like to single out Jim Bresch for his excellent and freely provided meteorological advice

Coordinated airborne studies in the tropics (CAST)

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the American Meteorological Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00290.1Abstract The main field activities of the Coordinated Airborne Studies in the Tropics (CAST) campaign took place in the west Pacific during January–February 2014. The field campaign was based in Guam (13.5°N, 144.8°E), using the U.K. Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) BAe-146 atmospheric research aircraft, and was coordinated with the Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment (ATTREX) project with an unmanned Global Hawk and the Convective Transport of Active Species in the Tropics (CONTRAST) campaign with a Gulfstream V aircraft. Together, the three aircraft were able to make detailed measurements of atmospheric structure and composition from the ocean surface to 20 km. These measurements are providing new information about the processes influencing halogen and ozone levels in the tropical west Pacific, as well as the importance of trace-gas transport in convection for the upper troposphere and stratosphere. The FAAM aircraft made a total of 25 flights in the region between 1°S and 14°N and 130° and 155°E. It was used to sample at altitudes below 8 km, with much of the time spent in the marine boundary layer. It measured a range of chemical species and sampled extensively within the region of main inflow into the strong west Pacific convection. The CAST team also made ground-based measurements of a number of species (including daily ozonesondes) at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program site on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea (2.1°S, 147.4°E). This article presents an overview of the CAST project, focusing on the design and operation of the west Pacific experiment. It additionally discusses some new developments in CAST, including flights of new instruments on board the Global Hawk in February–March 2015.CAST is funded by NERC and STFC, with grant NE/ I030054/1 (lead award), NE/J006262/1, NE/J006238/1, NE/J006181/1, NE/J006211/1, NE/J006061/1, NE/J006157/1, NE/J006203/1, NE/J00619X/1, and NE/J006173/1. N. R. P. Harris was supported by a NERC Advanced Research Fellowship (NE/G014655/1). P. I. Palmer acknowledges his Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. The BAe-146-301 Atmospheric Research Aircraft is flown by Directflight Ltd and managed by the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements, which is a joint entity of the Natural Environment Research Council and the Met Office. The authors thank the staff at FAAM, Directflight and Avalon Aero who worked so hard toward the success of the aircraft deployment in Guam, especially for their untiring efforts when spending an unforeseen 9 days in Chuuk. We thank the local staff at Chuuk and Palau, as well as the authorities in the Federated States of Micronesia for their help in facilitating our research flights. Special thanks go to the personnel associated with the ARM facility at Manus, Papua New Guinea without whose help the ground-based measurements would not have been possible. Thanks to the British Atmospheric Data Centre (BADC) for hosting our data and the NCAS Atmospheric Measurement Facility for providing the radiosonde and ground-based ozone equipment. Chlorophyll-a data used in Figure 1 were extracted using the Giovanni online data system, maintained by the NASA GES DISC. We acknowledge the MODIS mission scientists and associated NASA personnel for the production of this data set. Finally we thank many individuals associated with the ATTREX and CONTRAST campaigns for their help in the logistical planning, and we would like to single out Jim Bresch for his excellent and freely provided meteorological advice

The self-management of longer-term depression: learning from the patient, a qualitative study

Background Depression is a common mental health condition now viewed as chronic or long-term. More than 50 % of people will have at least one further episode of depression after their first, and therefore it requires long-term management. However, little is known about the effectiveness of self-management in depression, in particular from the patients’ perspective. This study aimed to understand how people with longer-term depression manage the condition, how services can best support self-management and whether the principles and concepts of the recovery approach would be advantageous. Methods Semi-structured in depth interviews were carried out with 21 participants, recruited from a range of sources using maximum variation sampling. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used by a diverse team comprised of service users, practitioners and academics. Results Four super-ordinate themes were found: experience of depression, the self, the wider environment, self-management strategies. Within these, several prominent sub-themes emerged of importance to the participants. These included how aspects of themselves such as hope, confidence and motivation could be powerful agents; and how engaging in a wide range of chosen activities could contribute to their emotional, mental, physical, social, spiritual and creative wellbeing. Conclusions Services in general were not perceived to be useful in specifically facilitating self-management. Increased choice and control were needed and a greater emphasis on an individualised holistic model. Improved information was needed about how to develop strategies and locate resources, especially during the first episode of depression. These concepts echoed those of the recovery approach, which could therefore be seen as valuable in aiding the self-management of depression. Keywords: Depression; Patients’ perspective; Qualitative research; Recovery; Self-help; Self-managemen

Community assessment to advance computational prediction of cancer drug combinations in a pharmacogenomic screen

The effectiveness of most cancer targeted therapies is short-lived. Tumors often develop resistance that might be overcome with drug combinations. However, the number of possible combinations is vast, necessitating data-driven approaches to find optimal patient-specific treatments. Here we report AstraZeneca's large drug combination dataset, consisting of 11,576 experiments from 910 combinations across 85 molecularly characterized cancer cell lines, and results of a DREAM Challenge to evaluate computational strategies for predicting synergistic drug pairs and biomarkers. 160 teams participated to provide a comprehensive methodological development and benchmarking. Winning methods incorporate prior knowledge of drug-target interactions. Synergy is predicted with an accuracy matching biological replicates for >60% of combinations. However, 20% of drug combinations are poorly predicted by all methods. Genomic rationale for synergy predictions are identified, including ADAM17 inhibitor antagonism when combined with PIK3CB/D inhibition contrasting to synergy when combined with other PI3K-pathway inhibitors in PIK3CA mutant cells

Mapping Philanthropic Foundations’ Characteristics: towards an international integrative framework of foundation types

As philanthropic foundations take on increasingly prominent sociopolitical roles, the need for stronger conceptualizations of foundations as an organizational form is articulated widely across academic, policy, and practice contexts. Building on institutional research’s tradition of categorizing, classifying and typologizing organizational forms, our article critically explores the different ways in which foundations have been cast and differentiated in international academic and practice literatures. Examining and integrating these, we propose an integrative framework of foundation types. Incorporating 13 categories—three contextual, five organizational, and five strategic ones—the framework allows for clarifying distinctions and identifying commonalities between different foundation forms, offering a basis for developing more reflective and differentiated research and practice knowledge

T1 mapping in cardiac MRI

Quantitative myocardial and blood T1 have recently achieved clinical utility in numerous pathologies, as they provide non-invasive tissue characterization with the potential to replace invasive biopsy. Native T1 time (no contrast agent), changes with myocardial extracellular water (edema, focal or diffuse fibrosis), fat, iron, and amyloid protein content. After contrast, the extracellular volume fraction (ECV) estimates the size of the extracellular space and identifies interstitial disease. Spatially resolved quantification of these biomarkers (so-called T1 mapping and ECV mapping) are steadily becoming diagnostic and prognostically useful tests for several heart muscle diseases, influencing clinical decision-making with a pending second consensus statement due mid-2017. This review outlines the physics involved in estimating T1 times and summarizes the disease-specific clinical and research impacts of T1 and ECV to date. We conclude by highlighting some of the remaining challenges such as their community-wide delivery, quality control, and standardization for clinical practice

Inequitable Gains and Losses from Conservation in a Global Biodiversity Hotspot

A billion rural people live near tropical forests. Urban populations need them for water, energy and timber. Global society benefits from climate regulation and knowledge embodied in tropical biodiversity. Ecosystem service valuations can incentivise conservation, but determining costs and benefits across multiple stakeholders and interacting services is complex and rarely attempted. We report on a 10-year study, unprecedented in detail and scope, to determine the monetary value implications of conserving forests and woodlands in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains. Across plausible ranges of carbon price, agricultural yield and discount rate, conservation delivers net global benefits (+US$8.2B present value, 20-year central estimate). Crucially, however, net outcomes diverge widely across stakeholder groups. International stakeholders gain most from conservation (+US$10.1B), while local-rural communities bear substantial net costs (-US$1.9B), with greater inequities for more biologically important forests. Other Tanzanian stakeholders experience conflicting incentives: tourism, drinking water and climate regulation encourage conservation (+US$72M); logging, fuelwood and management costs encourage depletion (-US$148M). Substantial global investment in disaggregating and mitigating local costs (e.g., through boosting smallholder yields) is essential to equitably balance conservation and development objectives

A LINE-1 insertion situated in the promoter of IMPG2 is associated with autosomal recessive progressive retinal atrophy in Lhasa Apso dogs

Funder: Lhasa Apso Breed CouncilFunder: Kennel Club Charitable Trust UKAbstract: Background: Canine progressive retinal atrophies are a group of hereditary retinal degenerations in dogs characterised by depletion of photoreceptor cells in the retina, which ultimately leads to blindness. PRA in the Lhasa Apso (LA) dog has not previously been clinically characterised or described in the literature, but owners in the UK are advised to have their dog examined through the British Veterinary Association/ Kennel Club/ International Sheep Dog Society (BVA/KC/ISDS) eye scheme annually, and similar schemes that are in operation in other countries. After the exclusion of 25 previously reported canine retinal mutations in LA PRA-affected dogs, we sought to identify the genetic cause of PRA in this breed. Results: Analysis of whole-exome sequencing data of three PRA-affected LA and three LA without signs of PRA did not identify any exonic or splice site variants, suggesting the causal variant was non-exonic. We subsequently undertook a genome-wide association study (GWAS), which identified a 1.3 Mb disease-associated region on canine chromosome 33, followed by whole-genome sequencing analysis that revealed a long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1) insertion upstream of the IMPG2 gene. IMPG2 has previously been implicated in human retinal disease; however, until now no canine PRAs have been associated with this gene. The identification of this PRA-associated variant has enabled the development of a DNA test for this form of PRA in the breed, here termed PRA4 to distinguish it from other forms of PRA described in other breeds. This test has been used to determine the genotypes of over 900 LA dogs. A large cohort of genotyped dogs was used to estimate the allele frequency as between 0.07–0.1 in the UK LA population. Conclusions: Through the use of GWAS and subsequent sequencing of a PRA case, we have identified a LINE-1 insertion in the retinal candidate gene IMPG2 that is associated with a form of PRA in the LA dog. Validation of this variant in 447 dogs of 123 breeds determined it was private to LA dogs. We envisage that, over time, the developed DNA test will offer breeders the opportunity to avoid producing dogs affected with this form of PRA