389 research outputs found
Achieving open access to conservation science
Get PDFConservation science is a crisis discipline in which the results of scientific enquiry must be made available quickly to those implementing management. We assessed the extent to which scientific research published since the year 2000 in 20 conservation science journals is publicly available. Of the 19,207 papers published, 1,667 (8.68%) are freely downloadable from an official repository. Moreover, only 938 papers (4.88%) meet the standard definition of open access in which material can be freely reused providing attribution to the authors is given. This compares poorly with a comparable set of 20 evolutionary biology journals, where 31.93% of papers are freely downloadable and 7.49% are open access. Seventeen of the 20 conservation journals offer an open access option, but fewer than 5% of the papers are available through open access. The cost of accessing the full body of conservation science runs into tens of thousands of dollars per year for institutional subscribers, and many conservation practitioners cannot access pay-per-view science through their workplace. However, important initiatives such as Research4Life are making science available to organizations in developing countries. We urge authors of conservation science to pay for open access on a per-article basis or to choose publication in open access journals, taking care to ensure the license allows reuse for any purpose providing attribution is given. Currently, it would cost $51 million to make all conservation science published since 2000 freely available by paying the open access fees currently levied to authors. Publishers of conservation journals might consider more cost effective models for open access and conservation-oriented organizations running journals could consider a broader range of options for open access to nonmembers such as sponsorship of open access via membership fees
Threat management priorities for conserving Antarctic biodiversity
Full text linkArtículo escrito por un elevado número de autores, solo se referencian el que aparece en primer lugar, el nombre del grupo de colaboración, si le hubiere, y los autores pertenecientes a la UAMAntarctic terrestrial biodiversity faces multiple threats, from invasive species to climate change. Yet no large-scale assessments of threat management strategies exist. Applying a structured participatory approach, we demonstrate that existing conservation efforts are insufficient in a changing world, estimating that 65% (at best 37%, at worst 97%) of native terrestrial taxa and land-associated seabirds are likely to decline by 2100 under current trajectories. Emperor penguins are identified as the most vulnerable taxon, followed by other seabirds and dry soil nematodes. We find that implementing 10 key threat management strategies in parallel, at an estimated present-day equivalent annual cost of US$23 million, could benefit up to 84% of Antarctic taxa. Climate change is identified as the most pervasive threat to Antarctic biodiversity and influencing global policy to effectively limit climate change is the most beneficial conservation strategy. However, minimising impacts of human activities and improved planning and management of new infrastructure projects are cost-effective and will help to minimise regional threats. Simultaneous global and regional efforts are critical to secure Antarctic biodiversity for future generationsThis project was supported by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), who provided support for the meeting, and by the Australian Antarctic Science Program (projects 4296, 4297 and Integrated Digital East Antarctica - IDEA). J.L. was supported by the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment – Equity Trustees Charitable Foundation, an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship, and a Research Fellowship from The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851. P.C., K.H. and E.B. are supported by NERC core funding to the British Antarctic Survey ‘Biodiversity, Evolution and Adaptation’ Team (P.C., E.B.) and Environment Office (K.H.). E.B. was also supported by a NERC-CONICYT grant NE/P003079/1 and Carlsberg Foundation grant CF18-0267. A.W. is a Senior Research Associate of the FRS-FNRS and supported by the CDR J.0152.18 and BelSPO project BR/165/A1/MICROBIAN. S.J. was supported by NSF OPP 1840058 and 1744794. A. Q. was funded by Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Ministry of Science and Innovation) through the grant CTM2016-79741-R. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscrip
Symmetrical Drug-Related Intertriginous and Flexural Exanthema Induced by Cellulitis Prophylaxis
Get PDFPenicillin VK and hydroxyzine are typically well-tolerated antipruritic agents that are indicated in the prophylaxis of cellulitis. We herein report a case of a unique rash occurring during penicillin VK and hydroxyzine treatment in combination with the ingestion of cashews.
A 77-year-old male presented with new onset rash. Eleven days after the administration of penicillin VK and hydroxyzine for cellulitis prophylaxis, he developed a symmetric, erythematous, scaling rash on his buttocks and perineal region with associated pruritus and bleeding without fevers, chills, adenopathy, night sweats, or any other symptoms. He was diagnosed with symmetrical drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema (SDRIFE) secondary to systemic treatment, an adverse drug reaction that presents as an erythematous rash involving the skin folds. The condition is also known as “baboon syndrome,” as it predominately affects the buttocks. A good outcome was achieved due to a thorough history and physical, timely diagnosis, and cessation of the offending agents
Status assessment of non-native terrestrial species in Antarctica
Get PDFAntarctica has been subject to direct human activity for a little over 200 years. In recent decades, the combination of sharp increases in human activity and regional climate change, particularly around the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Arc, have placed the terrestrial and freshwater environment under increased threat of non-native species introduction and establishment. Policymakers, including those on the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting’s Committee for Environmental Protection, need accurate and up-to-date information on the presence and status of non-native species within Antarctica upon which to base their decision-making. Here we collate available information to consider the status of known non-native species in the terrestrial Antarctic, and how this has changed in the past decade. Of known establishments, we found 46% to have been deliberately introduced during historical transplant experiments and subsequently removed, 36% were non-experimental introductions, and 18% only survive(d) synanthropically (i.e., associated with Antarctic facilities). All non-native species currently established in the natural Antarctic environment are located in either the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands or South Orkney Islands (i.e., the maritime Antarctic region, with none in the continental Antarctic), with invertebrate species dominating. Most of the currently established non-native species have now been present for more than a decade, though the more recent appearance of non-native flies in station sewage treatment plants and their expansion into the Antarctic environment is a major cause for concern. While there has been some success in eradicating introduced plants, management of introduced invertebrates in the natural environment has largely not been attempted. Considerable scope exists for the Antarctic Treaty Parties to better coordinate non-native species management across the invasion continuum
X-ray magnetic circular dichroïsm provides strong evidence for tetrahedral iron in ferrihydrite
Get PDFInternational audience[1] Ferrihydrite is an important iron oxyhydroxide for earth and environmental sciences, biology, and technology. Nevertheless, its mineral structure remains a matter of debate. The stumbling block is whether a significant amount of tetrahedrally coordinated iron is present. Here we present the first X-ray magnetic circular dichroïsm (XMCD) measurements performed on a well characterized synthetic sample of 6-line fer-rihydrite, at both K and L 2,3 energy edges of iron. XMCD results demonstrate unambiguously the presence of tetrahedrally coordinated Fe(III) in the mineral structure, in quantities compatible with the latest extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analyses suggesting a concentration of 20–30%. Moreover , we find an antiferromagnetic coupling between tetrahedral and octahedral sublattices, with the octa-hedral sublattice parallel to the external magnetic field. Components: 5100 words, 3 figures
Communicating the best available science to inform Antarctic policy and management: a practical introduction for researchers
Get PDFCommunication at the science-policy interface can be bewildering not only for early-career researchers, but also for many within the research community. In the context of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, decision-makers operating within the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) aspire to use the best available science as a basis for their decision-making. Therefore, to maximize the impact of Antarctic Treaty Parties' substantial investment in southern polar research, researchers wishing to contribute to policy and management must understand 1) how their work relates to and can potentially inform Antarctic and/or global policy and 2) the available mechanisms by which their research can be communicated to decision-makers. Recognizing these needs, we describe the main legal instruments relevant to Antarctic governance (primarily the ATS) and the associated meetings and stakeholders that contribute to policy development for the region. We highlight effective mechanisms by which Antarctic researchers may communicate their science into the policy realm, including through National Delegations or the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), and we detail the key contemporary topics of interest to decision-makers, including those issues where further research is needed. Finally, we describe challenges at the Antarctic science-policy interface that may potentially slow or halt policy development
Recommended from our members
Lyotropic Liquid Crystal Mediated Assembly of Donor Polymers Enhances Efficiency and Stability of Blade‐Coated Organic Solar Cells
Get PDFConjugated polymers can undergo complex, concentration-dependent self-assembly during solution processing, yet little is known about its impact on film morphology and device performance of organic solar cells. Herein, lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) mediated assembly across multiple conjugated polymers is reported, which generally gives rise to improved device performance of blade-coated non-fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells. Using D18 as a model system, the formation mechanism of LLC is unveiled employing solution X-ray scattering and microscopic imaging tools: D18 first aggregates into semicrystalline nanofibers, then assemble into achiral nematic LLC which goes through symmetry breaking to yield a chiral twist-bent LLC. The assembly pathway is driven by increasing solution concentration - a common driving force during evaporative assembly relevant to scalable manufacturing. This assembly pathway can be largely modulated by coating regimes to give 1) lyotropic liquid crystalline assembly in the evaporation regime and 2) random fiber aggregation pathway in the Landau-Levich regime. The chiral liquid crystalline assembly pathway resulted in films with crystallinity 2.63 times that of films from the random fiber aggregation pathway, significantly enhancing the T80 lifetime by 50-fold. The generality of LLC-mediated assembly and enhanced device performance is further validated using polythiophene and quinoxaline-based donor polymers
Development and Evaluation of a Training Curriculum to Engage Researchers on Accessing and Analyzing the All of Us Data
Get PDFOBJECTIVE: The All of Us Evenings with Genetics (EwG) Research Program at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), funded to engage research scholars to work with the All of Us data, developed a training curriculum for the Researcher Workbench, the platform to access and analyze All of Us data. All of Us EwG developed the curriculum so that it could teach scholars regardless of their skills and background in programming languages and cloud computing. All of Us EwG delivered this curriculum at the first annual All of Us EwG Faculty Summit in May 2022. The curriculum was evaluated both during and after the Faculty Summit so that it could be improved for future training.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Surveys were administered to assess scholars\u27 familiarity with the programming languages and computational tools required to use the Researcher Workbench. The curriculum was developed using backward design and was informed by the survey results, a review of available resources for training users on the Researcher Workbench, and All of Us EwG members\u27 collective experience training students. The curriculum was evaluated using feedback surveys during the Faculty Summit as well as virtual meetings and emails following the Faculty Summit.
RESULTS: The evaluation results demonstrated the success of the curriculum and identified areas for improvement.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The curriculum has been adapted and improved in response to evaluations and in response to changes to the All of Us data and infrastructure to train more researchers through this program and other scholarly programs
Effective connectivity measured using optogenetically evoked hemodynamic signals exhibits topography distinct from resting state functional connectivity in the mouse
Get PDFBrain connectomics has expanded from histological assessment of axonal projection connectivity (APC) to encompass resting state functional connectivity (RS-FC). RS-FC analyses are efficient for whole-brain mapping, but attempts to explain aspects of RS-FC (e.g., interhemispheric RS-FC) based on APC have been only partially successful. Neuroimaging with hemoglobin alone lacks specificity for determining how activity in a population of cells contributes to RS-FC. Wide-field mapping of optogenetically defined connectivity could provide insights into the brain\u27s structure-function relationship. We combined optogenetics with optical intrinsic signal imaging to create an efficient, optogenetic effective connectivity (Opto-EC) mapping assay. We examined EC patterns of excitatory neurons in awake, Thy1-ChR2 transgenic mice. These Thy1-based EC (Thy1-EC) patterns were evaluated against RS-FC over the cortex. Compared to RS-FC, Thy1-EC exhibited increased spatial specificity, reduced interhemispheric connectivity in regions with strong RS-FC, and appreciable connection strength asymmetry. Comparing the topography of Thy1-EC and RS-FC patterns to maps of APC revealed that Thy1-EC more closely resembled APC than did RS-FC. The more general method of Opto-EC mapping with hemoglobin can be determined for 100 sites in single animals in under an hour, and is amenable to other neuroimaging modalities. Opto-EC mapping represents a powerful strategy for examining evolving connectivity-related circuit plasticity
- …
