Inhibiting the urokinase‐type plasminogen activator receptor system recovers STZ‐induced diabetic nephropathy

The urokinase‐type plasminogen activator (uPA) receptor (uPAR) participates to the mechanisms causing renal damage in response to hyperglycaemia. The main function of uPAR in podocytes (as well as soluble uPAR ‐(s)uPAR‐ from circulation) is to regulate podocyte function through αvβ3 integrin/Rac‐1. We addressed the question of whether blocking the uPAR pathway with the small peptide UPARANT, which inhibits uPAR binding to the formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) can improve kidney lesions in a rat model of streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetes. The concentration of systemically administered UPARANT was measured in the plasma, in kidney and liver extracts and UPARANT effects on dysregulated uPAR pathway, αvβ3 integrin/Rac‐1 activity, renal fibrosis and kidney morphology were determined. UPARANT was found to revert STZ‐induced up‐regulation of uPA levels and activity, while uPAR on podocytes and (s)uPAR were unaffected. In glomeruli, UPARANT inhibited FPR2 expression suggesting that the drug may act downstream uPAR, and recovered the increased activity of the αvβ3 integrin/Rac‐1 pathway indicating a major role of uPAR in regulating podocyte function. At the functional level, UPARANT was shown to ameliorate: (a) the standard renal parameters, (b) the vascular permeability, (c) the renal inflammation, (d) the renal fibrosis including dysregulated plasminogen‐plasmin system, extracellular matrix accumulation and glomerular fibrotic areas and (e) morphological alterations of the glomerulus including diseased filtration barrier. These results provide the first demonstration that blocking the uPAR pathway can improve diabetic kidney lesion in the STZ model, thus suggesting the uPA/uPAR system as a promising target for the development of novel uPAR‐targeting approaches.     

Polyploidy does not control all: Lineage‐specific average chromosome length constrains genome size evolution in ferns

Recent studies investigating the evolution of genome size diversity in ferns have shown that they have a distinctive genome profile compared with other land plants. Ferns are typically characterized by possessing medium‐sized genomes, although a few lineages have evolved very large genomes. Ferns are different from other vascular plant lineages as they are the only group to show evidence for a correlation between genome size and chromosome number. In this study, we aim to explore whether the evolution of fern genome sizes is not only shaped by chromosome number changes arising from polyploidy but also by constraints on the average amount of DNA per chromosome. We selected the genus Asplenium L. as a model genus to study the question because of the unique combination of a highly conserved base chromosome number and a high frequency of polyploidy. New genome size data for Asplenium taxa were combined with existing data and analyzed within a phylogenetic framework. Genome size varied substantially between diploid species, resulting in overlapping genome sizes among diploid and tetraploid spleenworts. The observed additive pattern indicates the absence of genome downsizing following polyploidy. The genome size of diploids varied non‐randomly and we found evidence for clade‐specific trends towards larger or smaller genomes. The 578‐fold range of fern genome sizes have arisen not only from repeated cycles of polyploidy but also through clade‐specific constraints governing accumulation and/or elimination of DNA.     

Survival and life table parameters of soybean pod borer Maruca vitrata (Geyer) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) on leguminous crop cultivars

The soybean pod borer, Maruca vitrata is one of the key insect pests of tropical legumes. It damages tender leaf axils, flower buds, flowers and pods by webbing and boring clusters of flowers and pods. In this study, we investigated the survival and life table parameters of M. vitrata on several leguminous crops; soybean (cvs. Daewon, Poongsannamool and Socheongja), azuki bean (cv. Hongeon), mung bean (cv. Sanpo), and cowpea (cv. Jangchae), compared to artificial diet to assess the antibiosis resistance to M. vitrata. The life‐variables of M. vitrata were significantly affected by the tested legume cultivars. None of the larvae fed cowpea cultivar Jangchae survived. The azuki bean cultivar Hongeon and mung bean cultivar Sanpo were found susceptible to M. vitrata, whereas cowpea cultivar Jangchae and soybean cultivar Daewon showed antibiosis resistance to M. vitrata. Further studies should examine the chemicals associated with leguminous crop cultivars and its mechanism to develop a control method against M. vitrata.     

Review: Associations among goods,impacts and ecosystem services provided by livestock farming

Livestock is a major driver in most rural landscapes and economics, but it also polarises debate over its environmental impacts, animal welfare and human health. Conversely, the various services that livestock farming systems provide to society are often overlooked and have rarely been quantified. The aim of analysing bundles of services is to chart the coexistence and interactions between the various services and impacts provided by livestock farming, and to identify sets of ecosystem services (ES) that appear together repeatedly across sites and through time. We review three types of approaches that analyse associations among impacts and services from local to global scales: (i) detecting ES associations at system or landscape scale, (ii) identifying and mapping bundles of ES and impacts and (iii) exploring potential drivers using prospective scenarios. At a local scale, farming practices interact with landscape heterogeneity in a multi-scale process to shape grassland biodiversity and ES. Production and various ES provided by grasslands to farmers, such as soil fertility, biological regulations and erosion control, benefit to some extent from the functional diversity of grassland species, and length of pasture phase in the crop rotation. Mapping ES from the landscape up to the EU-wide scale reveals a frequent trade-off between livestock production on one side and regulating and cultural services on the other. Maps allow the identification of target areas with higher ecological value or greater sensitivity to risks. Using two key factors (livestock density and the proportion of permanent grassland within utilised agricultural area), we identified six types of European livestock production areas characterised by contrasted bundles of services and impacts. Livestock management also appeared to be a key driver of bundles of services in prospective scenarios. These scenarios simulate a breakaway from current production, legislation (e.g. the use of food waste to fatten pigs) and consumption trends (e.g. halving animal protein consumption across Europe). Overall, strategies that combine a reduction of inputs, of the use of crops from arable land to feed livestock, of food waste and of meat consumption deliver a more sustainable food future. Livestock as part of this sustainable future requires further enhancement, quantification and communication of the services provided by livestock farming to society, which calls for the following: (i) a better targeting of public support, (ii) more precise quantification of bundles of services and (iii) better information to consumers and assessment of their willingness to pay for these services.     

Natural climate solutions versus bioenergy: Can carbon benefits of natural succession compete with bioenergy from short rotation coppice?

Short rotation plantations are often considered as holding vast potentials for future global bioenergy supply. In contrast to raising biomass harvests in forests, purpose‐grown biomass does not interfere with forest carbon (C) stocks. Provided that agricultural land can be diverted from food and feed production without impairing food security, energy plantations on current agricultural land appear as a beneficial option in terms of renewable, climate‐friendly energy supply. However, instead of supporting energy plantations, land could also be devoted to natural succession. It then acts as a long‐term C sink which also results in C benefits. We here compare the sink strength of natural succession on arable land with the C saving effects of bioenergy from plantations. Using geographically explicit data on global cropland distribution among climate and ecological zones, regionally specific C accumulation rates are calculated with IPCC default methods and values. C savings from bioenergy are given for a range of displacement factors (DFs), acknowledging the varying efficiency of bioenergy routes and technologies in fossil fuel displacement. A uniform spatial pattern is assumed for succession and bioenergy plantations, and the considered timeframes range from 20 to 100 years. For many parameter settings—in particular, longer timeframes and high DFs—bioenergy yields higher cumulative C savings than natural succession. Still, if woody biomass displaces liquid transport fuels or natural gas‐based electricity generation, natural succession is competitive or even superior for timeframes of 20–50 years. This finding has strong implications with climate and environmental policies: Freeing land for natural succession is a worthwhile low‐cost natural climate solution that has many co‐benefits for biodiversity and other ecosystem services. A considerable risk, however, is C stock losses (i.e., emissions) due to disturbances or land conversion at a later time.     

Assessing the effect of sound file compression and background noise on measures of acoustic signal structure

The study of animal acoustic signals is a central tool for many fields in ecology and evolution, but the diversity of analytical methods and sources of animal sound recordings poses important challenges for carrying out robust acoustic analyses. Sound file compression and background noise may both affect acoustic analysis, although little attention has been paid to their respective effects. We evaluated the effect of these factors by assessing the systematic deviation (i.e. bias) and measurement error (i.e. precision) that they generate on spectrographic parameters and two (dis)similarity methods (dynamic time warping on frequency contours and cross-correlation), which represent the most common methods currently used for quantitative characterization of acoustic signals. Measurements were taken across a wide range of signals from a diverse group of bird species, and compared between uncompressed files and decompressed files obtained from mp3-encoded files generated using the two most common mp3 encoders (Fraunhofer and LAME). Measurements were also compared across a range of synthetically-generated background noise levels. Compression did not significantly bias any of the acoustic or similarity measurements. However, the precision of acoustic parameters representing single extreme values (e.g. peak frequency) as well as dynamic time warping distances, was strongly affected by compression. High background noise biased most energy distribution-related parameters (e.g. spectral entropy) and affected the precision of most acoustic parameters and dynamic time warping. Overall, compression and background noise did have considerable effects on acoustic analyses. We provide recommendations to avoid potential pitfalls and maximize the information that can be reliably obtained.     

全域旅游发展背景下旅游用地概念及分类——社会生态系统视角

随着全域旅游的实施,旅游用地的内涵和外延在不断拓展,旅游用地的综合性、复合性、多效益性以及空间分布的叠加性日益增强。传统的旅游用地概念内涵不清,分类支离破碎,过分强调功能,缺乏系统时空结构的阐述,导致旅游用地规划难以与其他规划相协调,资源可持续利用和区域整合发展受阻,旅游用地概念和分类面临严峻挑战。在分析旅游用地概念及分类现状,探讨存在的弊端和问题的基础上,基于旅游用地社会生态系统时空结构分析对全域旅游背景下旅游用地进行了概念界定和分类。设旅游用地为一级类,下设资源系统用地、用户系统用地、基底系统用地、相互联系用地4个二级类,资源管理用地等20个三级类用地和地文景观用地等53个四级类。并对全域旅游背景下旅游用地的概念及分类进行了讨论,认为:社会生态系统理念涵盖了全域旅游的全部内涵,重视系统的层级、结构、功能、演进和相互联系,利于构建不同时空阶段的旅游用地类型的用地结构标准,促进旅游用地的规范化、分类化管理,旅游用地的时序化和动态化预测和引导;重视生态功能和社会效益,有利于旅游用地生态环境质量和综合效益的提升;涵盖核心景区及外围要素,有利于解决景区与社区的矛盾,促进全域旅游的开展和区域可持续发展;强调旅游用地的复合性、综合性,有利于旅游规划与其他规划的融合。     

近20年疏勒河流域生态承载力和生态需水研究

水资源是一切生物赖以生存和不可替代的基本自然资源,生态需水在维持流域生态系统平衡和生态承载力可持续性方面扮演着极其重要的角色,干旱区内陆河流域尤为突出。以疏勒河流域和其所辖县区为不同尺度区域,利用LandsatTM/ETM+/OLI遥感数据(30 m分辨率),解译该流域近20年5期土地利用数据,同时在收集和整理流域多年水文水资源基础数据的基础上,以流域生态需水为研究主线,运用多学科方法和原理,结合遥感技术、GIS技术,通过现场调查和观测,计算了流域及其所辖县区近20年生态承载力和天然植被生态需水量。结果表明:近20年来,伴随流域生态承载力的增加,生态需水量也呈增加趋势,两者呈非常明显的正相关关系,相关系数达0.6076;县域尺度上,生态需水与生态承载力正相关关系也较高,其中林、草地的生态需水与生态承载力拟合优度R~2分别达0.8519、0.7235,说明林、草地生态承载力的变化对生态需水变化的解释能力更强,二者之间的关系更为紧密;基于空间热点分析,该流域生态承载力和生态需水的热点和冷点区域均呈现相似的空间格局,说明二者之间在空间尺度上也呈正相关关系。研究结论可为疏勒河流域生态水资源量的科学配置和调控提供重要的决策依据。     

基于光纤测温技术的城市地表温度精细化分析

城市景观空间构型与热岛效应关联性较强,研究高时空分辨率的城市不同下垫面地表温度变化,可以更加精细地掌握城市热环境的时空特征。光纤温度传感系统具有实时在线、测温精度高和不受电磁干扰等优点,具备实时、在线、连续开展城市地表温度在线监测的能力。在北京市通州某园区内,选择有太阳辐射的4个时段,对多种类型下垫面的地表温度进行了时间间隔为1 min、空间间隔为1 m的连续4 h、总长度为100 m的实时在线监测。通过对监测时间段内不同类型下垫面地表温度的变化分析,发现这种分布式光纤测温系统能够有效辨识小尺度下地表温度的时间变化性和空间变化性,能有效区分透水和不透水地面,并监测和评估沥青马路地表温度的升温速率以及遮荫效果对地表温度的降温作用。同时,这种监测模式获取的数据能够对地表温度空间序列开展自相关分析,进一步验证了地表温度空间序列在较小尺度上仍然具有自相关性,且距离越近,相关性越大。研究同时表明,光纤测温技术能直接地获取城市热环境的现场真实数据,可以有效应用于小尺度城市热环境的观测与研究。