Apps can help bridge restoration science and restoration practice

Scientists need to find innovative ways to communicate their findings with restoration practitioners in an era of global change. Apps are a promising bridge between restoration science and practice because they apply broad scientific concepts to specific situations. For example, habitat connectivity promotes ecological function, but practitioners lack ways to incorporate connectivity into decision‐making. We created an app where users calculate how habitat restoration or loss affects connectivity. By providing our app as an example and discussing the benefits and challenges in creating apps for practitioners, we encourage other restoration ecologists to similarly create apps that bridge science with practice.     

The what and where of primate field research may be failing primate conservation

With approximately 30% of nonhuman primate species listed as critically endangered, the window of opportunity to conserve primates is closing fast. In this article, we focus on the degree to which publications in field primatology are biased in favor of particular taxa and field sites. We examined more than 29,000 peer‐reviewed articles and identified 876 field visits to 349 field sites. We found a highly clumped distribution by site and species. We also examined publication ethical statements and the extent to which they acknowledged local human communities (<5%). Due to a lack of consistency across publications, we provide recommendations for improving ethical statements and for evaluating research impact. Given the plight of primate biodiversity, these results suggest broader coverage of primate species and geographies, as well as more attention to the local human communities whose support is necessary if the intent is to have primate species in the wild in the 22nd century.     

Current perspectives on biosimilars

In this work, an overview of the biosimilars market, pipeline and industry targets is discussed. Biosimilars typically have a shorter timeline for approval (8 years) compared to 12 years for innovator drugs and the development cost can be 10–20% of the innovator drug. The biosimilar pipeline is reviewed as well as the quality management system (QMS) that is needed to generate traceable, trackable data sets. One difference between developing a biosimilar compared to an originator is that a broader analytical foundation is required for biosimilars and advances made in developing analytical similarity to characterize these products are discussed. An example is presented on the decisions and considerations explored in the development of a biosimilar and includes identification of the best process parameters and methods based on cost, time, and titer. Finally factors to consider in the manufacture of a biosimilar and approaches used to achieve the target-directed development of a biosimilar are discussed.

     

From canopy to seed: Loss of snow drives directional changes in forest composition

Climate change is altering the conditions for tree recruitment, growth, and survival, and impacting forest community composition. Across southeast Alaska, USA, and British Columbia, Canada, Callitropsis nootkatensis (Alaska yellow‐cedar) is experiencing extensive climate change‐induced canopy mortality due to fine‐root death during soil freezing events following warmer winters and the loss of insulating snowpack. Here, we examine the effects of ongoing, climate‐driven canopy mortality on forest community composition and identify potential shifts in stand trajectories due to the loss of a single canopy species. We sampled canopy and regenerating forest communities across the extent of C. nootkatensis decline in southeast Alaska to quantify the effects of climate, community, and stand‐level drivers on C. nootkatensis canopy mortality and regeneration as well as postdecline regenerating community composition. Across the plot network, C. nootkatensis exhibited significantly higher mortality than co‐occurring conifers across all size classes and locations. Regenerating community composition was highly variable but closely related to the severity of C. nootkatensis mortality. Callitropsis nootkatensis canopy mortality was correlated with winter temperatures and precipitation as well as local soil drainage, with regenerating community composition and C. nootkatensis regeneration abundances best explained by available seed source. In areas of high C. nootkatensis mortality, C. nootkatensis regeneration was low and replaced by Tsuga. Our study suggests that climate‐induced forest mortality is driving alternate successional pathways in forests where C. nootkatensis was once a major component. These pathways are likely to lead to long‐term shifts in forest community composition and stand dynamics. Our analysis fills a critical knowledge gap on forest ecosystem response and rearrangement following the climate‐driven decline of a single species, providing new insight into stand dynamics in a changing climate. As tree species across the globe are increasingly stressed by climate change‐induced alteration of suitable habitat, identifying the autecological factors contributing to successful regeneration, or lack thereof, will provide key insight into forest resilience and persistence on the landscape.     

Binding of FANCI-FANCD2 Complex to RNA and R-Loops Stimulates Robust FANCD2 Monoubiquitination

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Vaccinia virus infection induces dendritic cell maturation but inhibits antigen presentation by MHC class II

Vaccinia virus (VV) infection is known to inhibit dendritic cells (DC) functions in vitro. Paradoxically, VV is also highly immunogenic and thus has been used as a vaccine. In the present study, we investigated the effects of an in vivo VV infection on DC function by focusing on early innate immunity. Our data indicated that DC are activated upon in vivo VV infection of mice. Splenic DC from VV-infected mice expressed elevated levels of MHC class I and co-stimulatory molecules on their cell surface and exhibited the enhanced potential to produce cytokines upon LPS stimulation. DC from VV-infected mice also expressed a high level of interferon-beta. However, a VV infection resulted in the down-regulation of MHC class II expression and the impairment of antigen presentation to CD4 T cells by DC. Thus, during the early stage of a VV infection, although DC are impaired in some of the critical antigen presentation functions, they can promote innate immune defenses against viral infection.     

SYP-3 restricts synaptonemal complex assembly to bridge paired chromosome axes during meiosis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Synaptonemal complex (SC) formation must be regulated to occur only between aligned pairs of homologous chromosomes, ultimately ensuring proper chromosome segregation in meiosis. Here we identify SYP-3, a coiled-coil protein that is required for assembly of the central region of the SC and for restricting its loading to occur only in an appropriate context, forming structures that bridge the axes of paired meiotic chromosomes in Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that inappropriate loading of central region proteins interferes with homolog pairing, likely by triggering a premature change in chromosome configuration during early prophase that terminates the search for homologs. As a result, syp-3 mutants lack chiasmata and exhibit increased chromosome mis-segregation. Altogether, our studies lead us to propose that SYP-3 regulates synapsis along chromosomes, contributing to meiotic progression in early prophase.     

Relationship of visceral adiposity to cardiovascular disease risk factors in black and white teens

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that visceral adiposity, compared with general adiposity, would explain more of the variance in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Research Method and Procedures: Subjects were 464 adolescents (238 black and 205 girls). Adiposity measures included visceral adipose tissue (VAT; magnetic resonance imaging), percent body fat (%BF; DXA), BMI, and waist girth (anthropometry). CVD risk factors were fasting insulin, fibrinogen, total to high‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol ratio, triglycerides (TGs), systolic blood pressure, and left ventricular mass indexed to height^2.7. Results: After adjustment for age, race, and sex, all adiposity indices explained significant proportions of the variance in all of the CVD risk factors; %BF tended to explain more variance than VAT. Regression models that included both %BF and VAT found that both indices explained independent proportions of the variance only for total to high‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol ratio. For TGs, the model that included both %BF and VAT found that only VAT was significant. For systolic blood pressure and left ventricular mass indexed to height^2.7, anthropometric measures explained more of the variance than VAT and %BF. Discussion: The hypothesis that visceral adiposity would explain more variance in CVD risk than general adiposity was not supported in this relatively large sample of black and white adolescents. Only for TGs did it seem that VAT was more influential than %BF. Perhaps the deleterious effect of visceral adiposity becomes greater later in life as it increases in proportion to general adiposity.     

Effects of a reimbursement incentive on enrollment in a weight control program

Objective: The objective was to examine the effect of offering a reimbursement incentive on the percentage of inquirers who enrolled in a weight control program and on weight loss and program attendance among enrollees. Research Methods and Procedures: We used a sequential control‐intervention design to observe how inquirers of the University of Alabama at Birmingham EatRight Lifestyle Program responded to an enrollment incentive for potential 50% ($150) reimbursement of the total program fee if they attended 10 of 12 classes and lost at least 6% of their current body weight. Inquirers had to be adults with a BMI ≥30 kg/m², seeking information about a weight control program, and informed of the program cost. Outcomes included proportion of inquirers enrolled, overall number of classes attended, and weight loss. Results: Of the 401 people who inquired during the study periods, 24.5% and 25.0% enrolled in the intervention and control periods, respectively. There was a trend toward higher attendance in the intervention group, compared with the control group; there were no differences in percentage of weight loss. The odds of attending ≥10 classes were 2.4 times as high, and both losing >6% body weight and attending ≥10 classes were three times as high in the intervention subjects compared with controls, although non‐significant. Discussion: The potential of earning a performance‐based reimbursement incentive did not affect enrollment in the EatRight Lifestyle Program. Performance‐based incentives may be an ideal mechanism for extending coverage of weight‐loss interventions by insurers because of limited financial risk and improved adherence.