Agreements for conserving migratory shorebirds in the Asia-Pacific are better fit for addressing habitat loss than hunting.

A full-life cycle approach is a tenet of migratory species conservation, yet the degree to which this is achieved remains largely unassessed. This knowledge gap can be addressed using the concept of social-ecological fit, understood as the match between governance and ecological dimensions. Here, we assess the social-ecological fit for conserving migratory shorebirds in the Asia-Pacific, focusing on habitat loss and hunting. We identify the governance architectures for addressing these two threats and then assess the coordinating capacity of each architecture, measure institutional coverage for each species across their range, and determine the degree of institutional connectivity along their migratory network. We find that social-ecological fit is higher for the governance of habitat designation than for hunting management, with implications for governance practice. Analyses of social-ecological fit thus provide critical insights on the potential effectiveness of governance and therefore are a useful first step for migratory species conservation.

Research priorities for the sustainability of coral-rich western Pacific seascapes.

Nearly a billion people depend on tropical seascapes. The need to ensure sustainable use of these vital areas is recognised, as one of 17 policy commitments made by world leaders, in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 ('Life below Water') of the United Nations. SDG 14 seeks to secure marine sustainability by 2030. In a time of increasing social-ecological unpredictability and risk, scientists and policymakers working towards SDG 14 in the Asia-Pacific region need to know: (1) How are seascapes changing? (2) What can global society do about these changes? and (3) How can science and society together achieve sustainable seascape futures? Through a horizon scan, we identified nine emerging research priorities that clarify potential research contributions to marine sustainability in locations with high coral reef abundance. They include research on seascape geological and biological evolution and adaptation; elucidating drivers and mechanisms of change; understanding how seascape functions and services are produced, and how people depend on them; costs, benefits, and trade-offs to people in changing seascapes; improving seascape technologies and practices; learning to govern and manage seascapes for all; sustainable use, justice, and human well-being; bridging communities and epistemologies for innovative, equitable, and scale-crossing solutions; and informing resilient seascape futures through modelling and synthesis. Researchers can contribute to the sustainability of tropical seascapes by co-developing transdisciplinary understandings of people and ecosystems, emphasising the importance of equity and justice, and improving knowledge of key cross-scale and cross-level processes, feedbacks, and thresholds.

Global governance for pandemic prevention and the wildlife trade.

Although ideas about preventive actions for pandemics have been advanced during the COVID-19 crisis, there has been little consideration for how they can be operationalised through governance structures within the context of the wildlife trade for human consumption. To date, pandemic governance has mostly focused on outbreak surveillance, containment, and response rather than on avoiding zoonotic spillovers in the first place. However, given the acceleration of globalisation, a paradigm shift towards prevention of zoonotic spillovers is warranted as containment of outbreaks becomes unfeasible. Here, we consider the current institutional landscape for pandemic prevention in light of ongoing negotiations of a so-called pandemic treaty and how prevention of zoonotic spillovers from the wildlife trade for human consumption could be incorporated. We argue that such an institutional arrangement should be explicit about zoonotic spillover prevention and focus on improving coordination across four policy domains, namely public health, biodiversity conservation, food security, and trade. We posit that this pandemic treaty should include four interacting goals in relation to prevention of zoonotic spillovers from the wildlife trade for human consumption: risk understanding, risk assessment, risk reduction, and enabling funding. Despite the need to keep political attention on addressing the current pandemic, society cannot afford to miss the opportunity of the current crisis to encourage institution building for preventing future pandemics.

Beyond ecology: ecosystem restoration as a process for social-ecological transformation.

Ecosystem restoration conventionally focuses on ecological targets. However, while ecological targets are crucial to mobilizing political, social, and financial capital, they do not encapsulate the need to: integrate social, economic, and ecological dimensions and systems approaches; reconcile global targets and local objectives; and measure the rate of progress toward multiple and synergistic goals. Restoration is better conceived as an inclusive social-ecological process that integrates diverse values, practices, knowledge, and restoration objectives across temporal and spatial scales and stakeholder groups. Taking a more process-based approach will ultimately enable greater social-ecological transformation, greater restoration effectiveness, and more long-lasting benefits to people and nature across time and place.

Drivers of global mangrove loss and gain in social-ecological systems.

Mangrove forests store high amounts of carbon, protect communities from storms, and support fisheries. Mangroves exist in complex social-ecological systems, hence identifying socioeconomic conditions associated with decreasing losses and increasing gains remains challenging albeit important. The impact of national governance and conservation policies on mangrove conservation at the landscape-scale has not been assessed to date, nor have the interactions with local economic pressures and biophysical drivers. Here, we assess the relationship between socioeconomic and biophysical variables and mangrove change across coastal geomorphic units worldwide from 1996 to 2016. Globally, we find that drivers of loss can also be drivers of gain, and that drivers have changed over 20 years. The association with economic growth appears to have reversed, shifting from negatively impacting mangroves in the first decade to enabling mangrove expansion in the second decade. Importantly, we find that community forestry is promoting mangrove expansion, whereas conversion to agriculture and aquaculture, often occurring in protected areas, results in high loss. Sustainable development, community forestry, and co-management of protected areas are promising strategies to reverse mangrove losses, increasing the capacity of mangroves to support human-livelihoods and combat climate change.

Big events, little change: Extreme climatic events have no region-wide effect on Great Barrier Reef governance.

Extreme climatic events trigger changes in ecosystems with potential negative impacts for people. These events may provide an opportunity for environmental managers and decision-makers to improve the governance of social-ecological systems, however there is conflicting evidence regarding whether these actors are indeed able to change governance after extreme climatic events. In addition, the majority of research to date has focused on changes in specific policies or organizations after crises. A broader investigation of governance actors' activities is needed to more fully understand whether or not crises trigger change. Here we demonstrate the use of a social network analysis of management and decision-making forums (e.g. meetings, partnerships) to reveal the effects of an extreme climatic event on governance of the Great Barrier Reef over an eight-year period. To assess potential shifts in action, we examine the topics of forums and the relative participation and influence of diverse governance actors before, during, and after two back-to-back mass coral bleaching events in 2016 and 2017. Our analysis reveals that there is little change in the topics that receive attention, and in the relative participation and influence of different actor groups in the region. Our research demonstrates that network analysis of forums is useful for analyzing whether or not actors' activities and priorities evolve over time. Our results provide empirical evidence that governance actors struggle to leverage extreme climate events as windows of opportunity and further research is needed to identify alternative opportunities to improve governance.

Turning the tide of parachute science.

Parachute science is the practice whereby international scientists, typically from higher-income countries, conduct field studies in another country, typically of lower income, and then complete the research in their home country without any further effective communication and engagement with others from that nation. It creates dependency on external expertise, does not address local research needs, and hinders local research efforts. As global hotspots of marine biodiversity, lower-income nations in the tropics have for too long been the subject of inequitable and unfair research practices1. However, to date there has been little quantifiable evidence of this phenomenon in marine science. Here, we provide evidence through systematic literature searches and queries that parachute science practices are still widespread in marine research and make some recommendations to help change the current status quo. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

Crowdfunding biodiversity conservation.

Raising funds is critical for conserving biodiversity and hence so is scrutinizing emerging financial mechanisms that may help achieve this goal. Anecdotal evidence indicates crowdfunding is being used to support activities needed for biodiversity conservation, yet its magnitude and allocation remain largely unknown. To help address this knowledge gap, we conducted a global analysis based on conservation-focused projects extracted from crowdfunding platforms. For each project, we determined the funds raised, date, country of implementation, proponent characteristics, activity type, biodiversity realm, and target taxa. We identified 72 relevant platforms and 577 conservation-focused projects that raised $4,790,634 since 2009. Although proponents were based in 38 countries, projects were delivered across 80 countries, indicating a potential mechanism of resource mobilization. Proponents were affiliated with nongovernmental organizations (35%) or universities (30%) or were freelancers (26%). Most projects were for research (40%), persuasion (31%), and on-the-ground actions (21%). Projects were more focused on species (57.7%) and terrestrial ecosystems (20.3%), and less focused on marine (8.8%) and freshwater ecosystems (3.6%). Projects focused on 208 species, including a disproportionate number of threatened birds and mammals. Crowdfunding for biodiversity conservation is a global phenomenon and there is potential for expansion, despite possible pitfalls (e.g., uncertainty about effectiveness). Opportunities to advance conservation through crowdfunding arise from its capacity to mobilize funds spatially and increase steadily over time, inclusion of overlooked species, adoption by multiple actors, and funding of activities beyond research. Our findings pave the way for further research on key questions, such as campaign success rates, effectiveness of conservation actions, and drivers of crowdfunding adoption. Even though crowdfunding capital raised has been modest relative to other conservation-finance mechanisms, its contribution goes beyond funding research and providing capital. Embraced with due care, crowdfunding could become an important financial mechanism for biodiversity conservation.

Qualitative interviews to identify burden of illness, impacts and costs associated with surgical site infections.

AIM: To gather qualitative data from patients on the burden, impacts and costs of surgical site infections (SSI) requiring second surgeries. PATIENTS & METHODS: 15 adults with SSIs from spinal (n = 4), knee replacement (n = 3) or hip replacement (n = 8) surgery participated in a focus group or individual interview. Patients completed the PROMIS Physical Functioning (PF) Short Form 10A (PROMIS-PF). RESULTS: Patients reported impacts within four primary domains: PF/activity-related; social/emotional; financial/employment; and energy/sleep. The mean PROMIS-PF score was 39.3 (standard deviation = 12.1), over one standard deviation below 50, the US norm. CONCLUSION: SSIs impart a broad and significant impact on patients and their families. These burdens will be important to capture when selecting patient-reported outcome measures for this patient population.

Coral reefs in the Anthropocene.

Coral reefs support immense biodiversity and provide important ecosystem services to many millions of people. Yet reefs are degrading rapidly in response to numerous anthropogenic drivers. In the coming centuries, reefs will run the gauntlet of climate change, and rising temperatures will transform them into new configurations, unlike anything observed previously by humans. Returning reefs to past configurations is no longer an option. Instead, the global challenge is to steer reefs through the Anthropocene era in a way that maintains their biological functions. Successful navigation of this transition will require radical changes in the science, management and governance of coral reefs.

Evolving polycentric governance of the Great Barrier Reef.

A growing field of sustainability science examines how environments are transformed through polycentric governance. However, many studies are only snapshot analyses of the initial design or the emergent structure of polycentric regimes. There is less systematic analysis of the longitudinal robustness of polycentric regimes. The problem of robustness is approached by focusing not only on the structure of a regime but also on its context and effectiveness. These dimensions are examined through a longitudinal analysis of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) governance regime, drawing on in-depth interviews and demographic, economic, and employment data, as well as organizational records and participant observation. Between 1975 and 2011, the GBR regime evolved into a robust polycentric structure as evident in an established set of multiactor, multilevel arrangements addressing marine, terrestrial, and global threats. However, from 2005 onward, multiscale drivers precipitated at least 10 types of regime change, ranging from contextual change that encouraged regime drift to deliberate changes that threatened regime conversion. More recently, regime realignment also has occurred in response to steering by international organizations and shocks such as the 2016 mass coral-bleaching event. The results show that structural density and stability in a governance regime can coexist with major changes in that regime's context and effectiveness. Clear analysis of the vulnerability of polycentric governance to both diminishing effectiveness and the masking effects of increasing complexity provides sustainability science and governance actors with a stronger basis to understand and respond to regime change.

Single vs Repeat Surgical Skin Preparations for Reducing Surgical Site Infection After Total Joint Arthroplasty: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blinded Study.

BACKGROUND: Preventing surgical site infection (SSI) after total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is a high priority and is partly linked to the efficacy of surgical site preparation solutions (SPSs) in reducing the number of pathogens on the skin before incision. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of SRS reapplication after draping to reduce the incidence of SSI after TJA. METHODS: Six hundred patients undergoing primary TJA between 2010 and 2011 at a single institution were recruited and randomly assigned to one of 2 groups. The patients in the intervention group (n = 300) received SPS that included alcohol and povidone-iodine before draping and an additional SPS by iodine povacrylex and isopropyl alcohol before application of the final adhesive drape, whereas the patients in the control group (n = 300) received a single SPS with alcohol and povidone-iodine before draping. Randomization was performed by an opaque envelope, and the rates of SSI and blistering were compared between groups. RESULTS: Five seventy-seven patients completed the study and were included in the final analysis. There was a significant reduction in the incidence of superficial SSI for the intervention group (1.8%, 5 of 283) compared to the control group (6.5%, 19 of 294, P = .02). There were 2 (0.7%, 2 of 294) deep incisional SSIs in the control group, and 2 (0.7%, 2 of 283) organ-space SSIs in the intervention group (P = 1.00). In addition, skin blistering was lower in the intervention group (3.5%, 10 of 283) vs the control group (6.5%, 19 of 294), but this difference also did not reach statistical significance (P = .13). CONCLUSION: Reapplication of an SPS after draping and before the application of iodophor-impregnated incisive draping resulted in a significant reduction in the rate of SSI in patients undergoing elective TJA.

Molecular diagnostics.

Orthopaedic infections are complex conditions that require immediate diagnosis and accurate identification of the causative organisms to facilitate appropriate management. Conventional methodologies for diagnosis of these infections sometimes lack accuracy or sufficient rapidity. Molecular diagnostics is an emerging area of bench-to-bedside research in orthopaedic infections. Examples of promising molecular diagnostics include measurement of a specific biomarker in the synovial fluid, polymerase chain reaction-based detection of bacterial genes, and metabolomic determination of responses to orthopaedic infection.

Inhibition of ectopic bone formation by a selective retinoic acid receptor alpha-agonist: a new therapy for heterotopic ossification?

Heterotopic ossification (HO) consists of formation of ectopic cartilage followed by endochondral bone and is triggered by major surgeries, large wounds, and other conditions. Current therapies, including low-dose irradiation, are not always effective and do not target the skeletogenic process directly. Because chondrogenesis requires a decrease of nuclear retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARalpha) action, we reasoned that pharmacologic activation of this receptor pathway should inhibit HO. Thus, we selected the synthetic retinoid NRX195183, a potent and highly selective RARalpha-agonist, and found that it did inhibit chondrogenesis in mouse limb micromass cultures. We established a mouse HO model consisting of subcutaneous implantation of Matrigel mixed with rhBMP-2. Control mice receiving daily oral doses of vehicle (peanut oil) or retinol (a natural nonactive retinoid precursor) developed large HO-like masses by days 9-12 that displayed abundant cartilage, endochondral bone, vessels, and marrow. In contrast, formation of HO-like masses was markedly reduced in companion mice receiving daily oral doses of alpha-agonist. These ectopic masses contained sharply reduced amounts of cartilage and bone, blood vessels, and TRAP-positive osteoclasts, and expressed markedly lower levels of master chondrogenic genes including Sox9, cartilage genes such as collagen XI and X, and osteogenic genes including Runx2. The data provide proof-of-principle evidence that a pharmacological strategy involving a selective RARalpha-agonist can indeed counteract an ectopic skeletal-formation process effectively and efficiently, and could thus represent a novel preventive treatment for HO.