Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revolutionized the field of cancer genetics, but the causal links between increased genetic risk and onset/progression of disease processes remain to be ...identified. Here we report the first step in such an endeavor for prostate cancer. We provide a comprehensive annotation of the 77 known risk loci, based upon highly correlated variants in biologically relevant chromatin annotations--we identified 727 such potentially functional SNPs. We also provide a detailed account of possible protein disruption, microRNA target sequence disruption and regulatory response element disruption of all correlated SNPs at r(2) ≥ 0.88%. 88% of the 727 SNPs fall within putative enhancers, and many alter critical residues in the response elements of transcription factors known to be involved in prostate biology. We define as risk enhancers those regions with enhancer chromatin biofeatures in prostate-derived cell lines with prostate-cancer correlated SNPs. To aid the identification of these enhancers, we performed genomewide ChIP-seq for H3K27-acetylation, a mark of actively engaged enhancers, as well as the transcription factor TCF7L2. We analyzed in depth three variants in risk enhancers, two of which show significantly altered androgen sensitivity in LNCaP cells. This includes rs4907792, that is in linkage disequilibrium (r(2) = 0.91) with an eQTL for NUDT11 (on the X chromosome) in prostate tissue, and rs10486567, the index SNP in intron 3 of the JAZF1 gene on chromosome 7. Rs4907792 is within a critical residue of a strong consensus androgen response element that is interrupted in the protective allele, resulting in a 56% decrease in its androgen sensitivity, whereas rs10486567 affects both NKX3-1 and FOXA-AR motifs where the risk allele results in a 39% increase in basal activity and a 28% fold-increase in androgen stimulated enhancer activity. Identification of such enhancer variants and their potential target genes represents a preliminary step in connecting risk to disease process.
Terrestrial protected areas (PAs) are cornerstones of global biodiversity conservation. Their efficacy in terms of maintaining biodiversity is, however, much debated. Studies to date have been unable ...to provide a general answer as to PA conservation efficacy because of their typically restricted geographic and/or taxonomic focus, or qualitative approaches focusing on proxies for biodiversity, such as deforestation. Given the rarity of historical data to enable comparisons of biodiversity before/after PA establishment, many smaller scale studies over the past 30 years have directly compared biodiversity inside PAs to that of surrounding areas, which provides one measure of PA ecological performance. Here we use a meta-analysis of such studies (N = 86) to test if PAs contain higher biodiversity values than surrounding areas, and so assess their contribution to determining PA efficacy. We find that PAs generally have higher abundances of individual species, higher assemblage abundances, and higher species richness values compared with alternative land uses. Local scale studies in combination thus show that PAs retain more biodiversity than alternative land use areas. Nonetheless, much variation is present in the effect sizes, which underscores the context-specificity of PA efficacy.
Several lines of geological and geochemical evidence indicate that the level of atmospheric oxygen was extremely low before 2.45 billion years (Gyr) ago, and that it had reached considerable levels ...by 2.22 Gyr ago. Here we present evidence that the rise of atmospheric oxygen had occurred by 2.32 Gyr ago. We found that syngenetic pyrite is present in organic-rich shales of the 2.32-Gyr-old Rooihoogte and Timeball Hill formations, South Africa. The range of the isotopic composition of sulphur in this pyrite is large and shows no evidence of mass-independent fractionation, indicating that atmospheric oxygen was present at significant levels (that is, greater than 10(-5) times that of the present atmospheric level) during the deposition of these units. The presence of rounded pebbles of sideritic iron formation at the base of the Rooihoogte Formation and an extensive and thick ironstone layer consisting of haematitic pisolites and oölites in the upper Timeball Hill Formation indicate that atmospheric oxygen rose significantly, perhaps for the first time, during the deposition of the Rooihoogte and Timeball Hill formations. These units were deposited between what are probably the second and third of the three Palaeoproterozoic glacial events.
Purpose
Despite its volume, the academic research on the impact of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on tourism and hospitality consumer behaviour is fragmented and largely limited to investigating a ...small scope of its impact. The purpose of this paper is to bridge this gap by synthesising the existing literature, providing a conceptual framework for the various dimensions of this impact.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on the meta-synthesis and a critical conceptual analysis of relevant academic literature identified using a keyword search of papers via the Web of Science and Scopus databases, followed by a snowballing process comprising tracking the citations to the resources referred to in the identified papers.
Findings
This conceptual analysis illustrates how the full spectrum of the impact of eWOM on tourist behaviour spans well beyond the limited scope traditionally focussed on by tourism and hospitality researchers. This scope, encompassing multiple cognitive, normative and affective dimensions, is illustrated in an evidence-based conceptual framework proposed in this paper, providing a systematic tool to identify the less-studied aspects of this important phenomenon.
Originality/value
This paper synthesises the large and fragmented body of literature on eWOM and proposes a novel conceptual framework, illustrating the vast scope of the various cognitive, affective and normative mechanisms through which eWOM affects consumers’ choice of tourism and hospitality products. Furthermore, this paper provides a synthesis of the state-of-the-art of research in this field, highlights the existing gaps and provides researchers with a systematic tool to identify pathways towards breaking the status-quo in progressing beyond the current boundaries of academic research in this field.
游客感知对清真旅游目的地的影响：结构模型分析
目的
尽管有大量研究, 但有关网络口碑eWOM对旅游业和酒店业消费者行为的影响的学术研究仍是零散的, 并且在很大程度上只限于调查其影响的一小部分。本文的目的是通过综合现有文献来弥合这种差距, 为这种影响的各个方面提供概念框架。
设计/方法/方法
本文基于元合成法和对相关学术文献的关键性, 概念性分析。这些文献是通过Web of Science和Scopus数据库对文章进行关键字搜索而确定的。随后是滚雪球式搜索过程, 该过程包括跟踪对已识别文章中引用的资源的引用。
结果
这项概念分析阐述了eWOM对游客行为的影响范围如何远远超出了旅游和酒店业研究人员传统上关注的有限范围。这一范围是基于有理论依据的的概念框架提出的, 并涵盖多个认知, 规范和情感的维度。此范围为识别这一重要且缺乏研究的现象提供了系统的工具。
创意/价值
本文综合了有关eWOM的大量零散文献, 并提出了一个新颖的概念框架, 阐明了eWOM影响消费者选择旅游和酒店产品的各种认知, 情感和规范机制的范围。此外, 本文提供了该领域最新的研究综述, 突出了现有的差距, 并为研究人员提供了系统的识别打破现状的途径, 以超越当前学术界在这个领域的研究局限。
关键词
关键字 电子口碑, eWOM, WOM, 酒店, 旅游, 口碑
文章类型
研究论文
El Boca a Boca Electrónico en el Comportamiento del Consumidor Turístico y Hotelero: Estado del Arte
Objetivo
A pesar del gran volumen de investigación académica sobre el impacto de eWOM en el comportamiento del consumidor turístico y hotelero, esta se encuentra fragmentada y en gran medida se limita a investigar un pequeño alcance de su impacto. El propósito de este artículo, es cerrar esta brecha sintetizando la literatura existente y proporcionando un marco conceptual para las diversas dimensiones de este impacto.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
Este documento se basa en un análisis metasíntesis crítico y conceptual de la literatura relevante académica identificada, mediante una búsqueda de artículos por palabras claves a través de las bases de datos de Web of Science y Scopus, seguido de un proceso de “bola de nieve” que comprende el seguimiento de las citas de los recursos mencionados en los artículos identificados.
Resultados
Este análisis conceptual, ilustra cómo el espectro total del impacto de eWOM en el comportamiento turístico se extiende mucho más allá del limitado alcance que tradicionalmente han realizado investigadores del turismo y hoteles. Este nuevo alcance, que abarca múltiples dimensiones cognitivas, normativas y afectivas, se ilustra en un marco conceptual basado en la evidencia propuesta en este documento, que proporciona una herramienta sistemática para identificar los aspectos menos estudiados de este importante fenómeno.
Originalidad/valor
Este documento sintetiza la gran cantidad de literatura fragmentada sobre eWOM y propone un marco conceptual novedoso, que ilustra el amplio alcance de los diversos mecanismos cognitivos, afectivos y normativos a través de los cuales eWOM afecta la elección de los consumidores de productos turísticos y hoteleros. Además, este documento proporciona una síntesis del estado de la investigación en este campo, destaca las brechas existentes y brinda a los investigadores una herramienta sistemática para identificar vías para romper el statu quo en el progreso más allá de los límites académicos actuales en este campo.
Palabras clave
Boca a boca electrónica, eWOM, WOM, Industria hoteleram, Turismo, Boca a boca
Tipo de papel
– Trabajo de investigación
South Africa is in a critical power situation and is in dire need of additional generation capacity. Thus, renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydropower should be evaluated to identify ...highpotential and cost-effective sites. Rivers in South Africa, as a water-scarce country, are already heavily impounded, meaning that there are limited sites available for conventional hydropower generation. Instead, novel solutions such as retrofitting hydropower installations to existing infrastructure, like existing dams, are required. To estimate the retrofit hydropower potential at dams, a set of five tools was developed using Python 3, known as the University of Pretoria Retrofit Hydropower Evaluation Software (UP-RHES). The UP-RHES screens potential sites where historic flow records are available, then downloads the required flow records from the national database and performs a first-order hydraulic assessment of the site, as well as a first-order life cycle cost analysis. By applying the UP-RHES to 118 dams operated by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), it was found that a total estimated hydropower potential of 128 MW with an annual energy output of between 385 and 469 GWh exists at South African dams. The Vaal, Pongolapoort, Goedertrouw and Blyderivierpoort Dams were found to be feasible sites with a combined capacity of 77 GWh/annum.
Recent assessments of Earth's dwindling wilderness have emphasized that Antarctica is a crucial wilderness in need of protection
. Yet human impacts on the continent are widespread
, the extent of ...its wilderness unquantified
and the importance thereof for biodiversity conservation unknown. Here we assemble a comprehensive record of human activity (approximately 2.7 million records, spanning 200 years) and use it to quantify the extent of Antarctica's wilderness and its representation of biodiversity. We show that 99.6% of the continent's area can still be considered wilderness, but this area captures few biodiversity features. Pristine areas, free from human interference, cover a much smaller area (less than 32% of Antarctica) and are declining as human activity escalates
. Urgent expansion of Antarctica's network of specially protected areas
can both reverse this trend and secure the continent's biodiversity
.
ABSTRACT
Evidence‐based assessments are increasingly recognized as the best‐practice approach to determine appropriate conservation interventions, but such assessments of the impact of human ...disturbance on wildlife are rare. Human disturbance comprises anthropogenic activities that are typically non‐lethal, but may cause short‐ and/or longer‐term stress and fitness responses in wildlife. Expanding human activity in the Antarctic region is of particular concern because it increases the scope and potential for increased human disturbance to wildlife in a region that is often thought of as relatively untouched by anthropogenic influences. Here, we use a meta‐analytical approach to synthesise research on human disturbance to wildlife over the last three decades in the Antarctic and sub‐Antarctic region. We combine data from 62 studies across 21 species on the behavioural, physiological and population responses of wildlife to pedestrian, vehicle and research disturbances. The overall effect size indicated a small, albeit statistically significant negative effect of disturbance (−0.39; 95% CI: −0.60 to −0.18). Negative effects were found for both physiological and population responses, but no evidence was found for a significant impact on wildlife behavioural responses. Negative effects were found across pedestrian, vehicle and research disturbances. Significant and high among‐study heterogeneity was found in both disturbance and response sub‐groups. Among species, it remains unclear to what extent different forms of disturbance translate into negative population responses. Most current guidelines to limit wildlife disturbance impacts in Antarctica recommend that approaches be tailored to animal behavioural cues, but our work demonstrates that behavioural changes do not necessarily reflect more cryptic, and more deleterious impacts, such as changes in physiology. In consequence, we recommend that pedestrian approach guidelines in the Antarctic region be revisited. Due to the high heterogeneity in effects, management guidelines for different sites and species will need to be developed on a case‐by‐case basis, ideally in conjunction with carefully designed experiments. Guidelines to reduce the impact of research activities per se require development to reduce the potential impacts of conducting research. We identify research questions that, if answered, will further improve the evidence base for guidelines to manage human disturbance in Antarctica.
The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, adopted under the auspices of the Convention on Biological Diversity, provides the basis for taking effective action to curb biodiversity loss across the planet ...by 2020-an urgent imperative. Yet, Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, which encompass 10% of the planet's surface, are excluded from assessments of progress against the Strategic Plan. The situation is a lost opportunity for biodiversity conservation globally. We provide such an assessment. Our evidence suggests, surprisingly, that for a region so remote and apparently pristine as the Antarctic, the biodiversity outlook is similar to that for the rest of the planet. Promisingly, however, much scope for remedial action exists.
The 8q24 gene desert contains risk loci for multiple epithelial cancers, including colon, breast, and prostate. Recent evidence suggests these risk loci contain enhancers. In this study, data are ...presented showing that each risk locus bears epigenetic marks consistent with enhancer elements and forms a long-range chromatin loop with the MYC proto-oncogene located several hundred kilobases telomeric and that these interactions are tissue-specific. We therefore propose that the 8q24 risk loci operate through a common mechanism--as tissue-specific enhancers of MYC.
The fact that geospatial data is a vital international and national resource is gaining increased acceptance worldwide. However, proper management of fundamental geospatial datasets, like land use, ...determines how well this resource can serve the goals of sustainable development, e.g. achieving inclusive and sustainable urbanization through informed decisions based on up-to-date land use data. Land use data describes the rights to utilize land in accordance with the legal zoning thereof. Allocation of land use rights must align with and give effect to national, provincial and local spatial plans, which means multiple stakeholders are involved in land use regulation. The purpose of this study was to identify and classify the network of stakeholders involved in the land use application process, which results in allocated land use rights. This was done by analysing the South African legal framework for spatial planning and land use management, and to evaluate their a priori influence on this process and on land use data. The results of the stakeholder network analysis can guide the identification of (a) suitable custodian(s) for this fundamental geospatial dataset in the context of the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure (SASDI). Within the SASDI, custodianship is used to ensure availability of good quality geospatial data to empower governments in their planning and decision-making. The average influence of each stakeholder, and as a result their impact on the land use data, was determined based on a classification of roles and responsibilities in the land use application process. The average influence was computed for each sphere of government. The provincial sphere had the highest influence, even though the local sphere has the mandate to allocate land use rights. The national sphere is mainly responsible for strategic direction and implementation support and thus had a significantly lower influence. Based on the results, shared custodianship of land use data in South Africa is recommended among a legislative custodian, coordinating custodians and data custodians. Further research will involve stakeholder representatives to verify the results and to establish multi-stakeholder custodianship roles and responsibilities.
•Multiple stakeholders influence land use rights data requiring shared custodianship.•Specific custodianship roles are recommended for the land use application process.•Improved bottom-up mechanisms are required for municipal land use management.•SASDI requires a multi-stakeholder framework to effectively govern fundamental data.•Stakeholders analysis is useful for informing an SDI governance framework.
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