It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, December 04, 2020
RUDN University mathematician suggested new approach to cooperative game
IMAGE: A MATHEMATICIAN FROM RUDN UNIVERSITY DEVELOPED A MATRIX REPRESENTATION OF SET FUNCTIONS. THIS APPROACH IS VIVID AND EASY TO CHECK, AND IT MAKES THE CALCULATIONS EASIER. AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE... view more
CREDIT: RUDN UNIVERSITY
A mathematician from RUDN University developed a matrix representation of set functions. This approach is vivid and easy to check, and it makes the calculations easier. Among other things, the new development can be applied to cooperative game theory. The results of the work were published in the Information Sciences journal.
Specialists in cooperative game theory study methods of coplex decision-making in situations with multiple criteria. In such a situation, groups (or coalitions) of players have to come up with a decision that is the most profitable for all of them. Set functions are one of the tools used to work with cooperative game theory. In these functions, the input data are sets of elements that can have different values. Simple explicit questions are quite rare in real life; therefore, the data on different elements can support or neutralize each other. Combinations of elements called coalitions can assume their own values. To work with this apparatus, scientists require an intuitive mathematical language. A mathematician from RUDN University suggested his approach to it.
"Our contribution to the mathematical language of cooperative game theory is based on the familiar notions of matrices and vectors. We have developed a formal approach to manipulations with set functions based on linear algebra. Our results can be practically applied to multicriteria decision analysis, group decision-making, operations with dependent goals, economic theories based on cooperative games, and aggregate functions theory," said Prof. Gleb Beliakov, a Candidate of Physics and Mathematics from RUDN University.
Prof. Beliakov wanted to develop a universal approach that would make expressions equally understandable and convenient for mathematicians, engineers, economists, and specialists in computer science. The best option for it was linear algebra operations based on matrices. Operations with matrices are included in most software packages and are also useful for parallel computations.
The scientist obtained matrix expressions by transforming a derived set function expression. A derived function shows how a function transforms when its variables change. Having calculated a derived function, a specialist can give an accurate analysis of a certain situation. In linear algebra, treating an exponential set this way can simplify calculation methods and support effective implementation of many formulae in software. Prof. Beliakov also suggested new formulae for finding the Shapley vector--a version of 'fair distribution' in which the profit of each player is equal to their average contribution to respective coalitions. The new method makes it easier to obtain the Shapley vector in practical applications.
"Set functions are used in economics, decision-making, fuzzy logic, and operational research. An exponential set is a particularly effective tool to model input variables in corporate games. The new apparatus could simplify calculations and support software implementation of many formulae using existing linear algebra packages," added Prof. Gleb Beliakov from RUDN University.
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Environmental exposures affect therapeutic drugs
High-resolution mass spectrometry promotes new methods for analysis
According to scientific estimations, humans are exposed to at least 10,000 to 100,000 environmental and exogenous compounds in an individual lifetime, which are mainly absorbed through our dietary. "Our body can effectively detoxify most of these substances, but various molecules as well as co-exposures can impact drug efficacy," says Benedikt Warth, deputy head of the Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology at the Faculty of Chemistry and coordinator of the newly founded national exposome research infrastructure, EIRENE Austria.
Fragmented knowledge
Think of the well-known instruction not to drink alcohol in combination with antibiotics or pain relievers. "Ethanol is a well-studied toxin that can alter the effect of the active agent," says Warth. Bisphenol A (BPA) is another popular environmental toxin that practically everybody has accumulated in his or her body, although mostly in very low concentrations not considered to be critical for human health. BPA, a crucial component in the plastics production, has shown to interact with various anti-cancer therapeutics, which can result in drug resistance and reduced effectiveness.
Genistein, a phytoestrogen derived from soybeans and a prominent active agent in hormone drugs for menopausal symptoms, can also affect various drugs, in particular hormone-relevant chemotherapeutics against breast cancer, the researchers explain in their article. These interactions can have negative as well as positive effects.
"Among the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of molecules that humans are exposed to, countless could interact with therapeutics, especially under certain conditions or in critical phases of life such as pregnancy or adolescence", PhD student Manuel Pristner explains.
Exposome & health effects
"Today's high-resolution mass spectrometry enables us to measure a very large number of molecules in parallel. This way, we can systematically investigate the network of relationships between the so-called exposome, i.e. all measurable exposures, and certain active agents," says Warth. Furthermore, improved bio-informatic algorithms enable the researchers to analyse the generated big data sets.
To date, researchers have been specifically looking for the effect of a certain molecule on a specific receptor. "With the new technologies at hand, we can expand the approach and not only use a fishing rod, but a fishing net to implement a comprehensive screening strategy, which might lead to discoveries that we would not have been able to make based on rational hypothesis," say the chemists.
Personalised medicin
There are different reasons why certain active agents work well in one person and less or not at all in another, depending on an individual genome, the presence of certain receptors, the activity of enzymes or simply chemical reactivity.
An improved understanding of exposome-drug interactions could enable physicians to prescribe drugs and drug doses on an individual basis, increasing their effectiveness and minimising or even avoiding side effects. Individualised medication for a patient through a standardised pre-screening of his or her exposome "are still future dreams," according to Warth, "but the systematic approach could be ground-breaking and also benefit the early stages of drug development."
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Publication in "Trends in Pharmacological Sciences": Manuel Pristner, Benedikt Warth: Drug-Exposome Interactions: The Next Frontier in Precision Medicine, Volume 41, Issue 12, December 2020, Pages 994-1005. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2020.09.012
Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.
KU Leuven vaccine candidate protects against Covid-19 and yellow fever
IMAGE: LAB WORKERS WORK ON INFECTED TISSUE AT THE KU LEUVEN REGA INSTITUTE view more
CREDIT: LAYLA AERTS FOR KU LEUVEN
Virologists at the Rega Institute at KU Leuven (Belgium) have developed a vaccine candidate against Covid-19 based on the yellow fever vaccine, which as a result also works against yellow fever. Results published today in Nature show that the vaccine protects hamsters from infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus after a single dose. The vaccine is also effective in monkeys. The team is currently preparing for clinical trials.
To engineer their vaccine, tentatively named RegaVax, the team led by Professor Johan Neyts and Kai Dallmeier inserted the genetic code of the SARS-CoV-2 spikes into the genetic code of the yellow fever vaccine. The researchers tested the vaccine in healthy hamsters and monkeys. Another group of the animals received a placebo.
The researchers first vaccinated the hamsters and then dripped the virus into their noses. Ten days after a single vaccine dose, most of the hamsters were protected against the virus. Three weeks after vaccination, all hamsters were protected. "They also didn't develop any lung infections. The lungs of the hamsters in the control groups, by contrast, showed clear signs of infection and disease," Neyts explains.
The team also tested the vaccine in monkeys. "In some of the monkeys, we observed neutralising antibodies already seven days after vaccination. After fourteen days, high titers of neutralizing antibodies were measured in all animals. This is very fast. Moreover, in the vaccinated animals, the virus was completely or nearly completely gone from their throats."
CAPTION
A lab worker holds frozen virus samples at the KU Leuven Rega Institute
Long-lasting immunity
"Ours is the only vaccine currently in development against Covid-19 that also protects against yellow fever," explains professor Neyts. Previously, the Rega team used the yellow fever vaccine as the foundation for vaccine candidates against Zika, Ebola, and rabies. "The effectiveness and safety of the yellow fever vaccine, which has been in use for 80 years, is well-established. More than 500 million people have already received this vaccine. One dose offers fast protection against yellow fever that in nearly all cases lasts for life."
"A vaccine that works against Covid-19 and yellow fever could offer an important contribution to the WHO's campaign to eradicate yellow fever by 2026," Neyts continues. "Especially now that we know there are mosquito species present in Asia that can transmit the yellow fever virus."
RegaVax works after one dose, unlike many of the front-runners in the race today, which require a repeat vaccination after one month. "This has important logistical implications, in particular for countries with a less advanced medical system," explains professor Neyts. "Additionally, we expect that the vaccine will offer long-lasting immunity to Covid-19. It could therefore be an ideal candidate for repeat vaccinations when immunity decreases in people who have received one of the first-generation vaccines."
Finally, the vaccine can be stored at 2-8 °C, while some vaccines require a cold chain with temperatures down to -70 °C. That's already challenging in the Western world, but it may be nearly impossible to vaccinate large populations in remote tropical and subtropical regions," Neyts explains.
"An inexpensive, single-dose vaccine that rapidly protects against infection, that can be stored and transported at fridge temperature, and that may, like the yellow fever vaccine on which it is based, result in long-lasting immunity, provides an important and much-needed diversification of the Covid-19 vaccine landscape," Neyts concludes.
His team is now preparing for clinical trials next year and has joined forces with a specialised and accredited company that will produce the vaccine candidate for testing in humans.
CAPTION
Virologist at the KU Leuven Rega Institute in Belgium
New technique
RegaVax is a vector vaccine: it uses the genetic code of the yellow fever vaccine virus as a carrier (or vector) for the genetic code of the coronavirus spikes. "When working with a related virus, such as the Zika virus, pieces of the genetic code of the yellow fever vaccine virus are swapped with a similar piece of the code of the targeted virus. Using this strategy the team recently developed a Zika vaccine candidate. However, since SARS-CoV-2 is unrelated to yellow fever, a new technology had to be developed to insert an entirely unrelated genetic sequence in the yellow fever vaccine backbone. This concerns an important innovation in the vaccine field."
Virus inhibitors
"Mind you: vaccines are not a solution for people who are already ill. That is why we are also developing a cure to help Covid-19 patients," Neyts concludes. "We recently published on the protective activity of the Japanese flu drug favipiravir in hamsters. We have identified some other existing medicines or combinations thereof that inhibit the virus. We are now first exploring their effect in infected hamsters. At the same time, we aim to develop new and powerful virus inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2. For this purpose, we have already tested more than 1.6 million molecules in our fully automated high biosafety laboratory. We're looking for a needle in a haystack."
IMAGE: TEMPERATURES WERE MEASURED AT 35 GROUNDWATER STATIONS IN BAVARIA, GERMANY view more
CREDIT: APPLIED GEOLOGY / UNI HALLE
Groundwater reservoirs in Bavaria have warmed considerably over the past few decades. A new study by researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) compares temperatures at 35 measuring stations, taken at different depths, with data from the 1990s. Water found at a depth of 20 metres was almost one degree warmer on average than 30 years ago. The findings were published in the journal "Frontiers in Earth Science".
As the air warms, the ground also becomes warmer over time - ultimately resulting in warmer groundwater. Geologists call this thermal coupling. "Unlike the atmosphere, however, the earth's sub-surface is very sluggish," explains Professor Peter Bayer, a geoscientist at MLU and co-author of the study. Because the ground below the surface does not react to short-term temperature fluctuations and thus tends to reflect long-term trends, it is a good indicator of climate change.
"This ground warming effect has been known to scientists, however there is still little data on it," explains Bayer. For the new study, Bayer and his doctoral student Hannes Hemmerle repeated measurements that had been carried out in the 1990s at 35 measuring stations in groundwater reservoirs in Bavaria. The measuring points are distributed throughout the state, which provides a rare insight into the development of an entire region.
The geologists were able to show that almost all the groundwater reservoirs they investigated had warmed up in a similar way over the decades. "Climate change has a very clear effect at depths starting at around 15 metres; at that point short-term local or seasonal fluctuations can no longer be measured," explains Hemmerle. The groundwater at depths of 20 metres was, on average, nearly 0.9 degrees Celsius warmer than in the 1990s. At depths of 60 metres it was still nearly 0.3 degrees warmer. During the same period, the average air temperature rose by 1.05 degrees Celsius.
"It can be assumed that the groundwater will warm up even more as a delayed reaction to air temperatures and that it will continue to react to rising atmospheric temperatures in the future," says Hemmerle. The consequences of this warming are still difficult to gauge, says Bayer, who adds, higher water temperatures affect the growth of microbes and put pressure on underground ecosystems that are adapted to very constant temperatures.
In order to get a feel for the magnitude of the measurements, Bayer and Hemmerle also compared ground warming at a depth of 15 metres with Bavaria's annual heating requirements. Their findings: the increase in temperature correlates to about ten percent of demand. "At least a portion of the heat could possibly be reused as geothermal energy," says Bayer. However, the results cannot be directly transferred to the whole of Germany. "But it can be assumed that the trend is the same," says Hemmerle.
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The study was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation).
Hydrogen-powered heavy duty vehicles could contribute significantly to achieving climate goals
Analysis of the climate protection effect of green hydrogen on heavy duty vehicles
INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES E.V. (IASS)
A partial transition of German road transport to hydrogen energy is among the possibilities being discussed to help meet national climate targets. A team of researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) has examined the hypothetical transition to a hydrogen-powered transport sector through several scenarios. Their conclusion: A shift towards hydrogen-powered mobility could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and greatly improve air quality - in particular, heavy duty vehicles represent a low-hanging fruit for decarbonization of German road transport.
"Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles offer competitive advantages over battery electric vehicles regarding heavy loads, longer driving ranges and shorter fuelling times - making them particularly attractive to the heavy duty vehicle segment" explains lead author Lindsey Weger: "Moreover, transitioning heavy-duty vehicles to green hydrogen could already achieve a deep reduction in emissions - our results indicate a potential of -57 MtCO2eq annually, which translates to about a 7 percent drop in German greenhouse gas emissions for the current conditions".
Accordingly, heavy duty vehicles (which here include not only trucks but also commercial vehicles and buses) equipped with (green) hydrogen fuel cells are a possibility worth considering on the path to road transport decarbonization.
Road transport is a major source of emissions
Transport is one of the most emission-intensive sectors for both climate and air pollutants. In 2017, for example, Germany's transport sector accounted for 18.4 percent of CO2eq emissions; 96 percent of which derived from road traffic.
While Germany has successfully decreased its emissions considerably in most areas of the economy since 1990, little progress has been made in the transport sector, which is in large part responsible for Germany's failure to meet its target of a (lasting) 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 compared to 1990 levels.
The major reasons for this are:
- the increasing kilometres travelled;
- the continued dominance of fossil fuels in transport;
- and high average vehicular CO2 emissions.
Due to extraordinary circumstances, including the countermeasures adopted to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, Germany is now set to meet its original 2020 emissions reduction target. However, this reduction is not expected to be lasting, with emissions from the transport sector almost returning to their original levels in mid-June 2020.
Green hydrogen: a key to reducing emissions
The overall emissions impact depends on the method of hydrogen production: According to the analysis, emissions change between -179 and +95 MtCO2eq annually from a hypothetical full transition to hydrogen vehicular traffic, with the greatest emissions reduction afforded by green hydrogen production (i.e., zero-carbon hydrogen based on renewable-powered water electrolysis), while the greatest emissions increase results from electrolysis using the fossil fuel-intense current electricity mix. Hence green hydrogen in particular could contribute significantly towards achieving Germany's future greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
The green hydrogen scenario also promises to deliver the largest reduction in air pollutants - up to 42 percent for NMVOCs, NOx and CO - compared to emissions from the German energy sector for the current conditions. However, producing hydrogen with the current (fossil fuel-intense) electricity mix would result in an increase or minimal effect (i.e., no benefit) in emissions of some pollutants.
Transitioning only heavy duty vehicles to green hydrogen would already deliver a large reduction in emissions (-57 MtCO2eq). "According to our calculations, if only the HDV vehicle segment were to undergo this transition, then we would already get nearly a third of the total possible reduction, with only one third of total hydrogen demand that would be needed to fuel the entire vehicle fleet - a clear low-hanging fruit", says scientist Weger. In conclusion, the team of authors argue that commercial and large vehicles powered by hydrogen could make a rapid and substantial contribution to Germany's overall reduction in emissions.
Background information on hydrogen:
Hydrogen is a non-toxic, colourless, and odourless gas. It has been safely produced for decades and is used in industry and space research. Hydrogen has the highest energy density by mass among conventional fuels (although not by volume at standard atmospheric pressures) and, crucially, hydrogen refuelling infrastructure is comparable to that used for conventional road fuels.
In addition, hydrogen can be produced from a wide range of energy forms, including renewable electricity. It can be easily stored, compressed or liquefied either in pure form, mixed with natural gas, or bound with larger molecules. Hydrogen is easily transported by pipeline, truck, or ship. It can be safely used to fuel vehicles and is in many respects even safer than petrol and diesel.
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Cost of planting, protecting trees to fight climate change could jump
Planting trees and preventing deforestation are considered key climate change mitigation strategies, but a new analysis finds the cost of preserving and planting trees to hit certain global emissions reductions targets could accelerate quickly.
In the analysis, researchers from RTI International (RTI), North Carolina State University and Ohio State University report costs will rise steeply under more ambitious emissions reductions plans. By 2055, they project it would cost as much as $393 billion per year to pay landowners to plant and protect enough trees to achieve more than 10 percent of total emissions reductions that international policy experts say are needed to restrict climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The findings were published today in the journal Nature Communications.
"The global forestry sector can provide a really substantial chunk of the mitigation needed to hit global climate targets," said Justin Baker, co-author of the study and associate professor of forest resource economics at NC State. "The physical potential is there, but when we look at the economic costs, they are nonlinear. That means that the more we reduce emissions - the more carbon we're sequestering - we're paying higher and higher costs for it."
The researchers found that The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change expects forestry to play a critical role in reducing climate change. To analyze the cost of preserving forest, preventing harvest and deforestation, and planting trees, researchers used a price model called the Global Timber Model. That model estimates costs of preserving trees in private forests owned and managed by companies for harvesting for pulp and paper products, as well as on publicly owned land, such as U.S. national parks.
"Protecting, managing and restoring the world's forests will be necessary for avoiding dangerous impacts of climate change, and have important co-benefits such as biodiversity conservation, ecosystem service enhancement and protection of livelihoods," said Kemen Austin, lead author of the study and senior policy analyst at RTI. "Until now, there has been limited research investigating the costs of climate change mitigation from forests. Better understanding the costs of mitigation from global forests will help us to prioritize resources and inform the design of more efficient mitigation policies."
The researchers estimated it would cost $2 billion per year to prevent 0.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide from being released by 2055. Comparatively, $393 billion annually would sequester 6 gigatons, or the equivalent of emissions from nearly 1.3 billion passenger vehicles driven for one year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.
"It's not clear from these results that you'll have consistent low-cost mitigation from the global forest sector as other studies have indicated," Baker said.
The tropics are expected to play the biggest role in reducing emissions, with Brazil - the country that contains the largest share of the Amazon rainforest - the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Indonesia contributing the largest share. The tropics will contribute between 72 and 82 percent of total global mitigation from forestry in 2055.
The researchers also found that forest management in temperate regions, such as forestland in the southern United States, will play a significant role, especially under higher price scenarios. They expect that afforestation, which is introducing trees to areas that are not actively in forest, and managing existing forestland will be important strategies in the United States.
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The paper, "The economic costs of planting, preserving and managing the world's forests to mitigate climate change," was published in Nature Communications on Dec. 1. In addition to Austin and Baker, other authors included B.L. Sohngen, C.M. Wade, A. Daigneault, S.B. Ohrel, S. Ragnauth and A. Bean. The study was supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Note to editors: The abstract follows.
"The economic costs of planting, preserving and managing the world's forests to mitigate climate change"
Authors: K.G. Austin, J. Baker, B.L. Sohngen, C.M. Wade, A. Daigneault, S.B. Ohrel, S. Ragnauth, and A. Bean.
Published: online in Nature Communications on Dec. 1.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19578-z
Abstract: Forests are critical for stabilizing our climate, but costs of mitigation over space, time, and stakeholder group remain uncertain. Using the Global Timber Model, we project mitigation potential and costs for four abatement activities across sixteen regions for carbon price scenarios of $5 - $100/tCO2. We project 0.6 - 6.0 GtCO2yr-1 in global mitigation by 2055 at costs of 2 - 393 billion USD/yr, with avoided tropical deforestation comprising 30 - 54% of total mitigation. Higher prices incentivize larger mitigation proportions via rotation and forest management activities in temperate and boreal biomes. Forest area increases 415 - 875 Mha relative to the baseline by 2055 at prices $35 - $100/tCO2, with intensive plantations comprising <7% of this increase. Mitigation costs borne by private land managers comprise less than one-quarter of total costs. For forests to contribute ~10% of mitigation needed to limit global warming to 1.5?C, carbon prices will need to reach $281/tCO2 in 2055.
New research reveals 'megatrends' that will affect forests in the next decade
IMAGE: A GROUP OF EXPERTS FROM ACADEMIC, GOVERNMENTAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS HAVE IDENTIFIED FIVE LARGE-SCALE 'MEGATRENDS' AFFECTING FORESTS AND FOREST COMMUNITIES, PUBLISHED TODAY IN NATURE PLANTS. THESE ARE LIKELY TO HAVE... view more
CREDIT: THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
A group of experts from academic, governmental and international organisations have identified five large-scale 'megatrends' affecting forests and forest communities, published today in Nature Plants. These are likely to have major consequences - both positively and negatively - over the coming decade.
Around the world, 1.6 billion people live within 5km of a forest, and millions rely on them for their livelihoods, especially in poorer countries. They are also home to much of the world's biodiversity, and regulate key aspects of the carbon cycle. In short, forests are vital in global and national efforts to combat climate change and biodiversity loss, and eradicate hunger and poverty.
Despite their importance, research on forests and livelihoods to date has mainly focused on understanding local household and community-level dynamics - identifying the links between human and natural systems at the regional and global scales is critical for future policy and action.
The five trends revealed by the research are:
1. Forest megadisturbances
Droughts and excessive precipitation are increasing forests' susceptibility to diseases and human-induced wildfires and floods - this is leading to defoliation, tree mortality and declines in forest productivity at unprecedented scales, and there is increasing evidence that forest disturbance can result in the emergence of diseases with the ability to spread globally.
Policy responses to these disturbances will require balancing a range of mitigation and adaptation efforts - whilst opportunities and challenges are likely to arise from efforts to align forest conservation and restoration with other sustainability priorities, such as poverty alleviation.
2. Changing rural demographics
Increased migration to urban areas is causing an unprecedented exodus among forest-reliant communities. The effects of these demographic shifts, including forest resurgence on formerly agricultural lands and participation in decision-making, are not well understood.
Populations shifts could result in opportunities for effective forest conservation, whilst on the other hand could lead to deforestation as greater urban demand and large industrial projects are created.
3. The rise of the middle class
By 2030 the middle class in low and middle income countries will grow to almost 5 billion people - around 50% of the global population. The growth in demand that this creates will increase pressure on land and other resources.
Growing consumption and demand of commodities has already seen large scale corporate-led land acquisitions for industrial production of cattle, soy and palm oil in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia. Between 2001-2015, 27% of forest disturbance was attributed to commodity-driven deforestation. Further growth in demand and a continuing culture of consumerism will alter local and global consumption patterns, with potentially severe effects on deforestation rates, emissions, wildlife populations, ecosystem services and rural communities.
4. Use of digital technologies
Access to digital communication technology has grown exponentially in recent years, with a sevenfold increase in internet and mobile cellular use since 2000. The majority of this growth has come outside industrialised countries, and is likely to have a transformational impact on the forest sector. Technologies that collect and disseminate data are increasingly accurate and easy-to-use, including land mapping tools, real-time satellite data and crowd-sourced data.
Although they can be accessed by those involved in illicit activity such as logging and mining, these technologies also provide opportunities. Increasingly available data can benefit a wide range of forest sector stakeholders including policymakers, oversight bodies, non-governmental actors, managers and local communities. New technologies are already supporting the surveillance and certification of global production networks, which is aiding regulatory control of forest-based products and people threatening forests.
5. Infrastructure development
Large scale infrastructure projects such as China's Belt and Road initiative are likely to have transformational impacts on forests and rural communities. To accommodate demand for energy, natural resources and transport, many countries have planned ambitious infrastructure growth.
By 2050, there is expected to be at least 25 million km of new roads globally to help facilitate commodity flow between transport hubs; governments in the Amazon basin alone are developing 246 new hydroelectric dams; and illegal mining activities are expanding rapidly across the globe. These can lead to forest loss, displaces people, disrupts livelihoods and provokes social conflicts as communities lose access to land and resources.
These five megatrends are creating new agricultural and urban frontiers, changing landscapes, opening spaces for conservation and facilitating an unprecedented development of monitoring platforms that can be used by local communities, civil society organisations, governments and international donors. Understanding these larger-scale dynamics is key to support not only the critical role of forests in meeting livelihood aspirations locally, but also a range of other sustainability challenges globally.
"Our study allows us to take stock of key socioeconomic, political and environmental issues affecting forests and rural communities, and identify trends likely to have disproportionate impacts on forests and forest-livelihoods in the coming decade," says Johan Oldekop, an associate professor in the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester and a lead author of the report.
"The trends we identify are important, because they represent human and environmental processes that are exceptionally large in geographical extent and magnitude, and are difficult to reverse," Oldekop says. "Developing a new research agenda that is able to better understand these trends and identify levers of change will require novel ways of combining new and existing data sources, the strengthening of existing collaborations between researchers, local communities and policymakers, as well as the development of new types of partnerships with public and private stakeholders."
"The assembled expert panel is unique as it brings together a range of subject expertise, region-specific knowledge, as well as academic, governmental and non-governmental institutions, including international donor organizations," adds Laura Vang Rasmussen, an assistant professor in the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management at the University of Copenhagen, and one of the lead authors of the report.
IMAGE: THALE CRESS GROWN WITHOUT INHERITED MEMORIES (LEFT) AND GROWN WITH THE MEMORIES (RIGHT) view more
CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
Plants have the unique capability to sense and adapt to changes in their environment
This information is stored in the form of 'epigenetic memory' which can be passed on to the offspring, resulting in defects in growth and development.
Researchers have identified two proteins responsible for erasing plant memory to maximise chances of offspring survival.
Researchers at the University of Warwick have uncovered the mechanism that allows plants to pass on their 'memories' to offspring, which results in growth and developmental defects.
In order to survive and thrive, plants have the unique capability to sense and remember changes in their environment. This is linked to the chemical modification of DNA and histone proteins, which alters the way in which DNA is packaged within the cell's nucleus and genes are expressed - a process known as epigenetic regulation.
Usually, this epigenetic information is reset during sexual reproduction to erase any inappropriate 'memories' from being passed on to ensure the offspring grows normally. In the paper, 'A new role for histone demethylases in the maintenance of plant genome integrity' published in the journal elife, it was found that some plants were unable to forget this information and passed it on to their offspring, thereby affecting their chances of survival.
The researchers identified two proteins in Thale Cress (Arabidopsis), previously known only to control the initiation and timing of flowering, that are also responsible for controlling 'plant memory' through the chemical modification (demethylation) of histone proteins.
They showed that plants unable to reset these chemical marks during sexual reproduction, passed on this 'memory' to subsequent generations, resulting in defects in growth and development.
Some of these defects were linked to the activation of selfish DNA elements, also known as 'jumping genes' or transposons, thus indicating that the erasure of such 'memory' is also critical for maintaining the integrity of plant genomes by silencing transposons.
Prof. Jose Gutierrez-Marcos, a senior author on the paper from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick commented:
"Our study into the proteins that regulate plant memory has shown how important it is for chemical marks to be reset during sexual reproduction in order to avoid offspring inheriting inappropriate 'memories' that lead to growth and developmental defects associated with genome instability.
"The next step is to work out how to manipulate such 'memories' for plant breeding purposes, so that subsequent generations show greater adaptability to allow them to thrive in a changing environment."
Researchers at IST Austria gain deeper knowledge of plant growth by treating seedlings with painkillers like Aspirin and the like; new study published in Cell Reports
IMAGE: TO DEVELOP ALONG THE GRAVITATION FACTOR - LEAVES TOWARD THE SUN AND ROOTS TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE EARTH - THE PLANT HORMONE AUXIN HAS TO BE ASYMMETRICALLY DISTRIBUTED WITHIN... view more
When pathogens enter a plant, infected cells set off an alarm before they die. They discharge methylsalicylic acid, which is later transformed into salicylic acid, triggering an immune response. Hence, salicylic acid is a stress signal in plants, but it also participates in regulating plant growth and development. In humans, salicylic acid proofed to be useful in a different way: Already in prehistoric times people realized that when they were drinking willow bark tea or taking other willow bark preparations, fever dropped and pain disappeared. Centuries later, scientists developed salicylic acid derivatives such as Aspirin and Ibuprofen. These so called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) suppress the inflammatory response of mammalian cells, thereby making us feel better when we have a cold. But how do they affect plants?
Losing the sense of direction
"When I got the idea, I had a really serious toothache and I had some Ibuprofen at hands," explains Shutang Tan, who at that time was a postdoc at the Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Austria working in the group of Professor Ji?Ã Friml. "I simply used the tablets from the pharmacy and I took the same amount as in my previous experiments with salicylic acid. Then, I observed the effect of the Ibuprofen on Arabidopsis seedlings." The primary roots of the plant were significantly shorter and instead of growing downward, they were curling up, unable to respond to gravity. Furthermore, the plants developed fewer or no lateral roots at all.
Together with colleagues at the IST Austria and six other research institutions Shutang Tan looked at the effects of 20 different painkillers on Arabidopsis seedlings. "We found that all of the painkillers we tested, including Aspirin and Ibuprofen, were interfering with the auxin flow," explains Tan. The plant hormone auxin is essential for all developmental processes within a plant. It is especially responsible for a plants ability to stretch its leaves towards the sun and its roots towards the center of the earth. So called PIN proteins regulate the flow of auxin from one cell to the other, depending on which side of the cell they are sitting. If the PIN proteins are not at the right location within the cell, the flow of auxin is disturbed, leading to a faulty development of the plant. Hence, the painkillers seemed to interfere with the localization of the PIN proteins. But it didn't stop there.
Looking closely, the scientists discovered that the effect is not limited to PIN proteins, but that the drugs interfere with the whole endomembrane system, suppressing the movement and trafficking of substances within the cells. The painkillers impair the dynamics of the cytoskeleton of the cells, a network of interlinking proteins, which among many other things gives the cell its shape and is involved in the uptake of extracellular material. Together with Markus Geisler's group at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, the researchers at IST Austria uncovered that one group of painkillers, including the drugs Meclofenamic acid and Flufenamic acid, directly target an immunophilin-like protein, called TWISTED DWARF1, to realize these physiological and cellular activities.
Furthermore, the scientists were able to show, that NSAIDs have similar physiological and cell biological effects as auxin transport inhibitors - important chemical tools in cell biology, which interfere with the transport of auxin. "It would be very interesting to find out, if these auxin transport inhibitors can also be used as painkillers in animals. That is one big question we still need to answer" concludes Tan. Together with IST Professor Ji?Ã Friml, Shutang Tan, who is now establishing his own laboratory at the University of Science and Technology of China, wants to investigate
