A case study of stakeholder perspective and experience with wild American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) conservation efforts in Pennsylvania, U.S.A.: limitations to a CITES driven, top-down regulatory approach

Following its inclusion in Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the harvest, sale and trade of wild ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) for international commerce has been restricted by law in Pennsylvania since the late 1980s. Since then, exports from the state have declined driving the need to better understand the impact of CITES listing and related state and federal laws. Between 2004 and 2010, we conducted a mixed-methods study in Pennsylvania of stakeholder perspectives on state and federal government conservation efforts and experiences relating to enforcement of harvest and trade restrictions. Results from a survey, key informant interviews, and facilitated group discussions indicate widespread support for ginseng conservation efforts but, not with the CITES driven, top-down regulatory approach. It was widely asserted that ginseng stewardship has been, and will continue to be, governed by personal experience, family teachings, and industry norms and not CITES driven restrictions per se. Moreover, study participants were unable to cite instances where prosecution for ginseng-related “crimes” had occurred within their networks and most believed laws are an ineffective deterrent to “bad behavior.” This emic is externally validated by the fact that agency enforcement is constrained by limited personnel and jurisdictional boundaries, not least of which is an inability to enforce on private lands in the state. These findings suggest that a CITES driven regulatory approach has limitations in actually conserving wild ginseng in Pennsylvania, and suggests that this approach should be complemented by stakeholder supported “bottom-up” partnerships involving greater stakeholder participation, such as government-sponsored or supported ginseng planting programs to counter over-exploitation by collectors and/or extirpation resulting from habitat loss.     

Properties of the nuclear P1 protein, a mammalian homologue of the yeast Mcm3 replication protein.

Polyclonal antibodies were raised against a multiprotein 'holoenzyme' form of calf thymus DNA polymerase alpha-primase and used to probe a human cDNA-protein expression library constructed in the lambda gt11 vector. The probe identified a series of cDNA clones derived from a 3.2 kb mRNA which encodes a novel 105 kDa polypeptide, the P1 protein. In intact cells, the P1 protein was specifically associated with the nucleus, and in cell extracts, it was associated with complex forms of DNA polymerase alpha-primase. The synthesis of human P1-specific mRNA was stimulated upon addition of fresh serum to growth-arrested cells, and RNA blot analyses with the human P1-cDNA probe indicated that P1 is encoded by a strictly conserved mammalian gene. The amino acid sequence deduced from a 240-codon open reading frame resident in the largest human P1-cDNA (0.84 kb) displayed greater than 96% identity with that deduced from the equivalent segment of a 795-codon open reading frame of a larger mouse P1-cDNA (2.8 kb). Throughout its length, the primary structure of mammalian P1 displayed strong homology with that of Mcm3, a 125 kDa yeast protein thought to be involved in the initiation of DNA replication (Gibson et al. 1990. Mol. Cell. Biol. 10: 5707-5720). The P1-Mcm3 homology, the strong conservation of P1 among mammals, its nuclear localization, and its association with the replication-specific DNA polymerase alpha strongly suggest an important role of the P1 protein in the replication of mammalian DNA.     

Linking microarray reporters with protein functions

Background  

The analysis of microarray experiments requires accurate and up-to-date functional annotation of the microarray reporters to optimize the interpretation of the biological processes involved. Pathway visualization tools are used to connect gene expression data with existing biological pathways by using specific database identifiers that link reporters with elements in the pathways.     

Supramolecular structures of peptide assemblies in membranes by neutron off-plane scattering: method of analysis

In a previous paper (Yang et al., Biophys. J. 75:641-645, 1998), we showed a simple, efficient method of recording the diffraction patterns of supramolecular peptide assemblies in membranes where the samples were prepared in the form of oriented multilayers. Here we develop a method of analysis based on the diffraction theory of two-dimensional liquids. Gramicidin was used as a prototype model because its pore structure in membrane in known. At full hydration, the diffraction patterns of alamethicin and magainin are similar to gramicidin except in the scale of q (the momentum transfer of scattering), clearly indicating that both alamethicin and magainin form pores in membranes but of different sizes. When the hydration of the multilayer samples was decreased while the bilayers were still fluid, the in-plane positions of the membrane pores became correlated from one bilayer to the next. We believe that this is a new manifestation of the hydration force. The effect is most prominent in magainin patterns, which are used to demonstrate the method of analysis. When magainin samples were further dehydrated or cooled, the liquid-like diffraction turned into crystal-like patterns. This discovery points to the possibility of investigating the supramolecular structures with high-order diffraction.     

Modelling Inter- and Intra-specific Competition in Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda L.) Plantations on Cutover, Site-prepared Lands

The presence of volunteer hardwood species in loblolly pineplantations demands studies on both intra- and inter-specificcompetition in order to build growth and yield models and toguide vegetation management for these stands. This paper, basedon analyses of data collected from a thinning study, reportsan investigation of responses of loblolly pine and hardwoodspecies towards intra- and inter-specific competition. Underhigh levels of overall competition, hardwood species were morecompetitive, both intra- and inter-specifically. Intra-specificcompetition was more effective in reducing hardwood basal areagrowth than inter-specific competition under high levels ofoverall competition. However, under low levels of overall competition,intra- and inter-specific competition were quantitatively similartoward loblolly pine basal area growth. The basal area growthof hardwoods was significantly related to levels of inter-specificcompetition, but not with intra-specific effects under low levelsof overall competition. More than half of the variability inloblolly pine basal area growth under unthinned control andlight thin treatments could be accounted for by competitioneffects. However, only one third of the variability could beexplained for loblolly pine under heavy thin treatment. Forhardwood species, the percentage of growth variation accountedfor by competition was about 45%, and did not change among thethinning treatments. Different resource demands between thetwo categories of tree species and a certain amount of thinningshock were suggested by the modelling results.Copyright 1994,1999 Academic Press Neighbourhood approach, competition index, hardwood, no-interaction model, basal area, reciprocal yield law     

NALL-1, an acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line with peroxidase activity

All cells examined from the non-B, non-T acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line, NALL-1, stained positive both for terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase and for common ALL antigen. In addition, peroxidase activity was detected by light microscopy in 55 to 75% of cells and peroxidase-positive granules were detected ultrastructurally in greater than 80% of cells. Peroxidase activity in NALL-1 may result from derepression of peroxidase genes or clonal proliferation of a biphenotypic precursor cell.     

Quantification of load-dependent changes in the collagen fiber architecture for the strut chordae tendineae-leaflet insertion of porcine atrioventricular heart valves

Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology - Atrioventricular heart valves (AHVs) regulate the unidirectional flow of blood through the heart by opening and closing of the leaflets, which are...     

拟南芥高亲和性K~+转运蛋白AtHAK5功能位点的鉴定

AtHAK5是拟南芥高亲和性钾转运体,其基因表达受低钾条件强烈诱导,编码蛋白在低钾条件下可以整合到质膜.生物信息学分析发现其氨基酸序列含有多处潜在的磷酸化位点.本研究假设这些位点对于AtHAK5的功能至关重要,为探讨AtHAK5的功能位点,分别将AtHAK5 cDNA和带有13种不同点突变位点的AtHAK5转化到athak5突变体中,获得14种稳定表达的转基因植株.利用athak5突变体根对Cs敏感的表型,最终确定T549A和T666A为非核心磷酸化位点.如下11个位点为AtHAK5功能必需位点:F85L,T86A,T311A,T359A,P551S,D552N,S603A,S604A,K668E,S698A和V713L.     

Specific sequence elements are required for the expression of functional tumor necrosis factor-alpha-converting enzyme (TACE).

The tumor necrosis factor-alpha-converting enzyme (TACE) is a membrane-anchored zinc metalloprotease involved in precursor tumor necrosis factor-alpha secretion. We designed a series of constructs containing full-length human TACE and several truncate forms for overexpression in insect cells. Here, we demonstrate that full-length TACE is expressed in insect cells inefficiently: only minor amounts of this enzyme are converted from an inactive precursor to the mature, functional form. Removal of the cytoplasmic and transmembrane domains resulted in the efficient secretion of mature, active TACE. Further removal of the cysteine-rich domain located between the catalytic and transmembrane domains resulted in the secretion of mature catalytic domain in association with the precursor (pro) domain. This complex was inactive and function was only restored after dissociation of the complex by dilution or treatment with 4-aminophenylmercuric acetate. Therefore, the pro domain of TACE is an inhibitor of the catalytic domain, and the cysteine-rich domain appears to play a role in the release of the pro domain. Insect cells failed to secrete a deletion mutant encoding the catalytic domain but lacking the inhibitory pro domain. This truncate was inactive and extensively degraded intracellularly, suggesting that the pro domain is required for the secretion of functional TACE.