Global efforts to conserve biodiversity have the potential to deliver economic benefits to people (i.e., "ecosystem services"). However, regions for which conservation benefits both biodiversity and ...ecosystem services cannot be identified unless ecosystem services can be quantified and valued and their areas of production mapped. Here we review the theory, data, and analyses needed to produce such maps and find that data availability allows us to quantify imperfect global proxies for only four ecosystem services. Using this incomplete set as an illustration, we compare ecosystem service maps with the global distributions of conventional targets for biodiversity conservation. Our preliminary results show that regions selected to maximize biodiversity provide no more ecosystem services than regions chosen randomly. Furthermore, spatial concordance among different services, and between ecosystem services and established conservation priorities, varies widely. Despite this lack of general concordance, "win-win" areas--regions important for both ecosystem services and biodiversity--can be usefully identified, both among ecoregions and at finer scales within them. An ambitious interdisciplinary research effort is needed to move beyond these preliminary and illustrative analyses to fully assess synergies and trade-offs in conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Free-flowing rivers (FFRs) support diverse, complex and dynamic ecosystems globally, providing important societal and economic services. Infrastructure development threatens the ecosystem processes, ...biodiversity and services that these rivers support. Here we assess the connectivity status of 12 million kilometres of rivers globally and identify those that remain free-flowing in their entire length. Only 37 per cent of rivers longer than 1,000 kilometres remain free-flowing over their entire length and 23 per cent flow uninterrupted to the ocean. Very long FFRs are largely restricted to remote regions of the Arctic and of the Amazon and Congo basins. In densely populated areas only few very long rivers remain free-flowing, such as the Irrawaddy and Salween. Dams and reservoirs and their up- and downstream propagation of fragmentation and flow regulation are the leading contributors to the loss of river connectivity. By applying a new method to quantify riverine connectivity and map FFRs, we provide a foundation for concerted global and national strategies to maintain or restore them.
Giant cell tumors of bone (GCTB) are semi-malignant tumors associated with extensive osteolytic defects and massive bone destructions. They display a locally aggressive behavior and a very high ...recurrence rate. Recently, a single mutation has been identified in GCTB affecting the H3F3A gene coding for the histone variant H3.3 (H3.3-G34W). The aim of this study was to investigate whether H3.3-G34W is sufficient to drive tumorigenesis in GCTB. Initially, we confirmed the high frequency of this mutation in 94% of 84 analyzed tissue samples. Using a siRNA based approach we could selectively knockdown H3.3-G34W in primary neoplastic stromal cells isolated from tumor tissue (GCTSC). H3.3-G34W knockdown caused a significant inhibition of cell proliferation, migration and colony formation capacity in vitro. Xenotransplantation of GCTSCs onto the chorioallantoic membrane of fertilized chicken eggs further demonstrated a significant impact of H3.3-G34W knockdown on tumor engraftment and growth in vivo. Our data indicate that H3.3-G34W is sufficient to drive tumorigenesis in GCTB. Apart from the application of H3.3-G34W screening as diagnostic tool, our data suggest that H3.3-G4W represents a promising target for the development of new GCTB therapies.
•Oncohistone H3.3-G34W is present in ≥ 94% of GCTBs.•H3.3-G34W can selectively be knocked down by siRNA.•H3.3-G34W knockdown reduces proliferation, migration and colony formation in vitro.•H3.3-G34W knockdown inhibits tumor formation and growth in vivo.•H3.3-G34W drives tumorigenesis in GCTB.
•Climate change impacts deteriorate surface water quality by 2050 in the Altmühl.•Impacts were amplified when land use change scenarios were considered with CC.•TP and NO3−-N concentrations increase ...in the combined scenarios for each month.
Bavaria, Germany.
The Altmühl River is prone to nutrient inputs from agricultural activities. Quantifying nitrate nitrogen (NO3−-N) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations due to potential future changes in the watershed is necessary for managing water quality and adhering to water policy directives. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to provide stakeholders with support in determining the impacts of climate change (CC) in combination with crop land use change (LUC) scenarios on streamflow, NO3−-N and TP to the 2050 time horizon. The CC simulations stemmed from RCMs and the LUC scenarios were developed with stakeholders.
When CC was combined with LUC, mean annual NO3−-N loads increased 3-fold, and TP loads 8-fold, compared to the CC simulations alone. Nutrient loads were higher in several months due to the future increased annual precipitation plus the additional fertilizer input in the land use scenarios. The maize areas above the Altmühl Lake contributed greatly to TP loads, while winter wheat areas mainly contributed to NO3−-N loads. When CC was combined with LUC, the in-stream nutrient concentrations exceeded ministerial guidelines of 11mgTP/L and 0.05mgNO3−-N/L every month at the outlet. CC simulations combined with LUC scenarios demonstrated non-linear dynamics whereby the direction and the magnitude of impacts were not predictable from the individual changes alone.
Natural lakes and reservoirs are important yet not well‐constrained sources of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere. In particular for N2O emissions, a huge variability is observed in the few, ...observation‐driven flux estimates that have been published so far. Recently, a process‐based, spatially explicit model has been used to estimate global N2O emissions from more than 6,000 reservoirs based on nitrogen (N) and phosphorous inflows and water residence time. Here we extend the model to a data set of 1.4 million standing water bodies comprising natural lakes and reservoirs. For validation, we normalized the simulated N2O emissions by the surface area of each water body and compared them against regional averages of N2O emission rates taken from the literature or estimated based on observed N2O concentrations. We estimate that natural lakes and reservoirs together emit 4.5 ± 2.9 Gmol N2O‐N year−1 globally. Our global‐scale estimate falls in the far lower end of existing, observation‐driven estimates. Natural lakes contribute only about half of this flux, although they contribute 91% of the total surface area of standing water bodies. Hence, the mean N2O emission rates per surface area are substantially lower for natural lakes than for reservoirs with 0.8 ± 0.5 versus 9.6 ± 6.0 mmol N·m−2·year−1, respectively. This finding can be explained by on average lower external N inputs to natural lakes. We conclude that upscaling‐based estimates, which do not distinguish natural lakes from reservoirs, are prone to important biases.
Key Points
Global N2O emission from natural lakes and reservoirs estimated at 4.5 ± 2.9 Gmol N year‐1
Natural lakes emit less N2O than reservoirs
North America and Europe contribute nearly half of global N2O emission from natural lakes and reservoirs
The logistical supply of terrestrial materials to space is costly and puts limitations on exploration mission scenarios. In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) can alleviate logistical requirements and ...thus enables sustainable exploration of space. In this paper, a novel approach to ISRU, utilizing microorganisms to extract iron from Lunar or Martian regolith, is presented. Process yields, and kinetics are used to verify the theoretical feasibility of applying four different microorganisms. Based on yields alone, three of the four organisms were not investigated further for use in biological ISRU. For the remaining organism, Shewanella oneidensis, the survivability impact of Martian regolith simulant JSC-MARS1 and Mars-abundant magnesium perchlorate were studied and found to be minimal. The payback time of the infrastructure installation needed for the process with S. oneidensis on Mars was analyzed and the sensitivity to various parameters was investigated. Water recycling efficiency and initial regolith concentration were found to be key to process performance. With a water recycling efficiency of 99.99% and initial regolith concentration of 300 g/L, leading to an iron concentration of approximately 44.7 g/L, a payback time of 3.3 years was found.
•Shewanella oneidensis is suitable for iron extraction from Martian regolith.•Martian levels of magnesium perchlorate are not toxic for Shewanella oneidensis.•Process yields are essential to assess performance of microbial processes in space.•A payback time of 3.3 years can be achieved with 99.99% water recycling efficiency.
The standard of care treatment for soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities is a wide resection in combination with pre- or postoperative radiotherapy with high local control rates, sparing patients ...the necessity of amputation without compromising on overall survival rates. The currently preferred timing of radiotherapy is under debate. Albeit having higher rates of acute wound complications, late side effects like fibrosis, joint stiffness or edema are less frequent in preoperative compared to postoperative radiotherapy. This can be explained in smaller treatment volumes and a lower dose in the preoperative setting. Particles allow better sparing of surrounding tissues at risk, and carbon ions additionally offer biologic advantages and are preferred in less radiosensitive tumors. Hypofractionation allows for a significantly shorter treatment duration.
Extrem-ion is a prospective, randomized, monocentric phase II trial. Patients with resectable or marginally resectable, histologically confirmed soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities will be randomized between neoadjuvant proton or neoadjuvant carbon ion radiotherapy in active scanning beam application technique (39 Gy relative biological effectiveness, RBE in 13 fractions 5-6 fractions per week in each arm). The primary objective is the proportion of therapies without wound healing disorder the first 120 days after surgery or discontinuation of treatment for any reason related to the treatment. The secondary endpoints of the study consist of local control, local progression-free survival, disease-free survival, overall survival, and quality of life.
The aim of this study is to confirm that hypofractionated, preoperative radiotherapy is safe and feasible. The potential for reduced toxicity by the utilization of particle therapy is the rational of this trial. A subsequent randomized phase III trial will compare the hypofractionated proton and carbon ion irradiation in regards to local control.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04946357 ; Retrospectively registered June 30, 2021.
•Total P loads were impacted similarly by climate change and by land use changes.•Future climates caused up to 10 times higher NO3−-N loads than land use changes.•TP remained the primary nutrient ...problem in future scenarios, surpassing 0.02mg/L.•Management practices improved water quality to levels below the reference scenario.
The impacts of climate and land use changes that may affect the quality of surface water in the future were quantified to identify the relative importance of each change. Sustainable field management practices were examined for their effectiveness to improve water quality in the future under the combined changes, to integrate the strategies into water management plans. In this modelling study, scenarios of climate change and land use change were therefore applied alone, and in tandem, in the hydrological model SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) to simulate the impacts on streamflow, sediments, total phosphorus (TP) and nitrate-nitrogen (NO3−-N) for a 2050 time horizon in the 629km2 Pike River watershed located in southern Québec/northern Vermont. The combined climate and land use change scenarios simulated TP concentrations to be higher during January and February, but to be lower during April, compared to the reference simulation (1971–2000). Yet, the TP water quality criterion of 0.02mg/L was always surpassed. On the other hand, the NO3–N concentrations were lower than the reference simulation during 8 months out of the year, only rarely exceeding the water quality criterion of 10mg/L. When field management strategies were simulated to reduce the impacts, the mean annual sediments and TP loads were reduced particularly in winter. Despite the load reductions, the 0.02mg TP/L criterion remained exceeded in each month (similar to values in the reference simulation). The future NO3−-N concentrations remained below 10mg/L. This study demonstrates that both climate and land use change should be considered together to account for synergistic impacts to water quality, and that sustainable management strategies are effective adaptations to safeguard water quality from future changes that may occur in a watershed.
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