Diverse values of nature for sustainability.

Twenty-five years since foundational publications on valuing ecosystem services for human well-being1,2, addressing the global biodiversity crisis3 still implies confronting barriers to incorporating nature's diverse values into decision-making. These barriers include powerful interests supported by current norms and legal rules such as property rights, which determine whose values and which values of nature are acted on. A better understanding of how and why nature is (under)valued is more urgent than ever4. Notwithstanding agreements to incorporate nature's values into actions, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)5 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals6, predominant environmental and development policies still prioritize a subset of values, particularly those linked to markets, and ignore other ways people relate to and benefit from nature7. Arguably, a 'values crisis' underpins the intertwined crises of biodiversity loss and climate change8, pandemic emergence9 and socio-environmental injustices10. On the basis of more than 50,000 scientific publications, policy documents and Indigenous and local knowledge sources, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) assessed knowledge on nature's diverse values and valuation methods to gain insights into their role in policymaking and fuller integration into decisions7,11. Applying this evidence, combinations of values-centred approaches are proposed to improve valuation and address barriers to uptake, ultimately leveraging transformative changes towards more just (that is, fair treatment of people and nature, including inter- and intragenerational equity) and sustainable futures.

Why nature matters: A systematic review of intrinsic, instrumental, and relational values.

In this article, we present results from a literature review of intrinsic, instrumental, and relational values of nature conducted for the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, as part of the Methodological Assessment of the Diverse Values and Valuations of Nature. We identify the most frequently recurring meanings in the heterogeneous use of different value types and their association with worldviews and other key concepts. From frequent uses, we determine a core meaning for each value type, which is sufficiently inclusive to serve as an umbrella over different understandings in the literature and specific enough to help highlight its difference from the other types of values. Finally, we discuss convergences, overlapping areas, and fuzzy boundaries between different value types to facilitate dialogue, reduce misunderstandings, and improve the methods for valuation of nature's contributions to people, including ecosystem services, to inform policy and direct future research.

Dependence of Interfacial Adhesion between Substances on Their Electron Work Functions.

In this article, we demonstrate the dependence of the adhesive force (FAd) between two different substances on their electron work functions (EWF or φ) without atomic diffusion involved. The adhesive forces between Si3N4 and a number of metals were measured using an atomic force microscope. It is shown that the larger the difference in φ between the two substances in contact, the larger the FAd. FAd is also influenced by the electron freedom and density (related to the charge availability). An analytical model is proposed to elucidate the underlying mechanism and quantify the adhesive interaction.

Tuning the Conductivity and Electron Work Function of a Spin-Coated PEDOT:PSS/PEO Nanofilm for Enhanced Interfacial Adhesion.

We report a novel phenomenon of increasing the adherence of a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS/PEO) nanofilm for Si3N4 through cosolvent treatment by DMSO. By varying the w/w% ratio of DMSO, nanofilms with different conductivities were produced. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis showed that the adhesive force between the AFM's Si3N4 probe and the nanofilm increased by 35.8% as the conductivity of the nanofilm increased. The conductivity became saturated after the PEDOT:PSS-to-DMSO ratio reached a certain level. This study demonstrates that the variations in the adhesive force are determined by two factors: (1) the difference in EWF between the nanofilm and the counter-body Si3N4 and (2) the electrical conductivity of the materials involved. The former is used for establishing a dipole layer at the interface, while the latter determines the degree of ease to achieve the dipole layer. This study demonstrates an approach to tailor interfacial bonding for different types of materials without atomic diffusion, which is promising for applications in various fields such as control of biomedical films on implants and functional films for electronic devices.

A framework for catalysing the rapid scaling of urban biodiversity stewardship programs.

Despite growing interest in promoting urban biodiversity conservation, there are few concrete examples of how nature stewardship initiatives can be rapidly scaled, in number and across landscapes. This paper explores the factors that promote or inhibit the proliferation and impact of collaborations between citizens and their local governments that involve residents in municipal biodiversity conservation efforts in their gardens (wildlife gardening). We studied the Gardens for Wildlife Victoria network in Australia, which supports citizen-agency co-development of municipal wildlife gardening programs. In three years the network has expanded from one program to 39 initiatives in various developmental stages in 49% of the local government areas in the state of Victoria. Data are drawn from 21 semi-structured interviews of network participants running or developing programs in 12 municipalities, complemented by a survey of 33 network participants, and participants' evaluation of network workshops. We find that scaling occurs in four different domains of policy, values, locales and participants. Scaling is influenced by six interlinked factors: empowerment of actors; a civil-agency co-design and delivery model; conservation framing; links to and between landscapes and communities; resources - particularly time; and the network's role in promoting innovation and shared learning. Key barriers include short-term, top-down, and monetary agency foci; conservation framed as the principal domain of specialists and professionals; and prioritisation of listed species rather than local species more broadly. We present a framework for considering scaling of biodiversity stewardship and related factors.

Mathematical models for the effect of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor on visual acuity.

The standard of care treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration, delivered as ocular injection, is based on anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF). The course of treatment may need to be modified quickly for certain patients based on their response. Models that track both the concentration and the response to an anti-VEGF treatment are presented. The specific focus is to assess the existence of analytical solutions for the different types of models. Both an ODE-based model and a map-based model illustrate the dependence of the solution on various biological parameters and allow the measurement of patient-specific parameters from experimental data. A PDE-based model incorporates diffusive effects. The results are consistent with observed values, and could provide a framework for practitioners to understand the effect of the therapy on the progression of the disease in both responsive and non-responsive patients.

A typology of barriers and enablers of scientific evidence use in conservation practice.

Over the last decade, there has been an increased focus (and pressure) in conservation practice globally towards evidence-based or evidence-informed decision making. Despite calls for increased use of scientific evidence, it often remains aspirational for many conservation organizations. Contributing to this is the lack of guidance on how to identify and classify the array of complex reasons limiting research use. In this study, we collated a comprehensive inventory of 230 factors that facilitate or limit the use of scientific evidence in conservation management decisions, through interviews with conservation practitioners in South Africa and UK and a review of the healthcare literature. We used the inventory, combined with concepts from knowledge exchange and research use theories, to construct a taxonomy that categorizes the barriers and enablers. We compared the similarities and differences between the taxonomies from the conservation and the healthcare fields, and highlighted the common barriers and enablers found within conservation organizations in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The most commonly mentioned barriers limiting the use of scientific evidence in our case studies were associated with the day-to-day decision-making processes of practitioners, and the organizational structures, management processes and resource constraints of conservation organizations. The key characteristics that facilitated the use of science in conservation decisions were associated with an organization's structure, decision-making processes and culture, along with practitioners' attitudes and the relationships between scientists and practitioners. This taxonomy and inventory of barriers and enablers can help researchers, practitioners and other conservation actors to identify aspects within their organizations and cross-institutional networks that limit research use - acting as a guide on how to strengthen the science-practice interface.

PDGF signaling specificity is mediated through multiple immediate early genes.

Growth factor signaling leads to the induction or repression of immediate early genes, but how these genes act collectively as effectors of downstream processes remains unresolved. We have used gene trap-coupled microarray analysis to identify and mutate multiple platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) intermediate early genes in mice. Mutations in these genes lead to a high frequency of phenotypes that affect the same cell types and processes as those controlled by the PDGF pathway. We conclude that these genes form a network that controls specific processes downstream of PDGF signaling.

Over-expression of DMRT1 induces the male pathway in embryonic chicken gonads.

DMRT1 encodes a conserved transcription factor with an essential role in gonadal function. In the chicken, DMRT1 in located on the Z sex chromosome and is currently the best candidate master regulator of avian gonadal sex differentiation. We previously showed that knockdown of DMRT1 expression during the period of sexual differentiation induces feminisation of male embryonic chicken gonads. This gene is therefore necessary for proper testis development in the chicken. However, whether it is sufficient to induce testicular differentiation has remained unresolved. We show here that over-expression of DMRT1 induces male pathway genes and antagonises the female pathway in embryonic chicken gonads. Ectopic DMRT1 expression in female gonads induces localised SOX9 and AMH expression. It also induces expression of the recently identified Z-linked male factor, Hemogen (HEMGN). Masculinised gonads show evidence of cord-like structures and retarded female-type cortical development. Furthermore, expression of the critical feminising enzyme, aromatase, is reduced in the presence of over-expressed DMRT1. These data indicate that DMRT1 is an essential sex-linked regulator of gonadal differentiation in avians, and that it likely acts via a dosage mechanism established through the lack of global Z dosage compensation in birds.

A multidisciplinary conceptualization of conservation opportunity.

An opportunity represents an advantageous combination of circumstances that allows goals to be achieved. We reviewed the nature of opportunity and how it manifests in different subsystems (e.g., biophysical, social, political, economic) as conceptualized in other bodies of literature, including behavior, adoption, entrepreneur, public policy, and resilience literature. We then developed a multidisciplinary conceptualization of conservation opportunity. We identified 3 types of conservation opportunity: potential, actors remove barriers to problem solving by identifying the capabilities within the system that can be manipulated to create support for conservation action; traction, actors identify windows of opportunity that arise from exogenous shocks, events, or changes that remove barriers to solving problems; and existing, everything is in place for conservation action (i.e., no barriers exist) and an actor takes advantage of the existing circumstances to solve problems. Different leverage points characterize each type of opportunity. Thus, unique stages of opportunity identification or creation and exploitation exist: characterizing the system and defining problems; identifying potential solutions; assessing the feasibility of solutions; identifying or creating opportunities; and taking advantage of opportunities. These stages can be undertaken independently or as part of a situational analysis and typically comprise the first stage, but they can also be conducted iteratively throughout a conservation planning process. Four types of entrepreneur can be identified (business, policy, social, and conservation), each possessing attributes that enable them to identify or create opportunities and take advantage of them. We examined how different types of conservation opportunity manifest in a social-ecological system (the Great Barrier Reef) and how they can be taken advantage of. Our multidisciplinary conceptualization of conservation opportunity strengthens and legitimizes the concept.

Integrating biological and social values when prioritizing places for biodiversity conservation.

The consideration of information on social values in conjunction with biological data is critical for achieving both socially acceptable and scientifically defensible conservation planning outcomes. However, the influence of social values on spatial conservation priorities has received limited attention and is poorly understood. We present an approach that incorporates quantitative data on social values for conservation and social preferences for development into spatial conservation planning. We undertook a public participation GIS survey to spatially represent social values and development preferences and used species distribution models for 7 threatened fauna species to represent biological values. These spatially explicit data were simultaneously included in the conservation planning software Zonation to examine how conservation priorities changed with the inclusion of social data. Integrating spatially explicit information about social values and development preferences with biological data produced prioritizations that differed spatially from the solution based on only biological data. However, the integrated solutions protected a similar proportion of the species' distributions, indicating that Zonation effectively combined the biological and social data to produce socially feasible conservation solutions of approximately equivalent biological value. We were able to identify areas of the landscape where synergies and conflicts between different value sets are likely to occur. Identification of these synergies and conflicts will allow decision makers to target communication strategies to specific areas and ensure effective community engagement and positive conservation outcomes.

The acceptability of climate change in agricultural communities: comparing responses across variability and change.

This study examined how the terms used to describe climate change influence landholder acceptability judgements and attitudes toward climate change at the local scale. Telephone surveys were conducted with landholders from viticultural (n = 97) or cereal growing (n = 195) backgrounds in rural South Australia. A variety of descriptive and inferential statistics were used to examine the influence of human-induced climate change and winter/spring drying trend terms on adaptation responses and uncertainties surrounding climate change science. We found that the terms used to describe climate change leads to significant differences in adaptation response and levels of scepticism surrounding climate change in rural populations. For example, those respondents who accepted human induced climate change as a reality were significantly more likely to invest in technologies to sow crops earlier or increase the amount of water stored or harvested on their properties than respondents who accepted the winter/spring drying trend as a reality. The results have implications for the targeting of climate change science messages to both rural landholders and communities of practice involved in climate change adaptation planning and implementation.

The quality of antimalarial medicines in western Cambodia: a case study along the Thai-Cambodian border.

The prevalence, availability, and use of antimalarial medicines (AMLs) were studied in six Cambodian provinces along the Thai-Cambodian border. The study was divided into two parts: the first looked at the quality of AMLs available in Pursat, Pailin, Battambang, Bantey Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, and Preah Vihear and the second obtained information about the availability and use of AMLs. A randomized sampling methodology was used to select locations and collect samples, which were screened using Global Pharma Health Fund (GPHF) Minilabs. A subset of samples was sent to quality control laboratories for confirmatory testing. For the second part of the study, face-to-face interviews were conducted using standardized surveys with members of randomly selected households and staff of health facilities in the villages with highest malaria incidence to find out where they acquired their AMLs and which were most frequently used. The results showed an overall failure rate of 12.3% (n = 46 of 374 total AML samples). The causes of medication sample failure were low active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) content, failed dissolution properties, and unacceptably high levels of impurities. A total of 86.2% of survey respondents (n = 1,648 of 1,912) reported a member of their household having malaria in the previous year. The most commonly used medicines were paracetamol (67.1% of respondents), Malarine (A+M co-blistered, 28.6%), artesunate + mefloquine co-blistered (public sector product, 17.3%), quinine (16.7%), and artesunate monotherapy (11.9%). Health staff typically prescribed co-blistered artesunate plus mefloquine in the public sector (67.8%), the artesunate plus mefloquine "social marketing" product from Population Services International (PSI), Malarine (50.3%) in the private sector, artemether (49.7%), chloroquine (39%) and paracetamol (72.9%) to reduce fever.

The quality of antimalarial medicines in eastern Thailand: a case study along the Thai-Cambodian border.

This study examined the prevalence, availability, and use of antimalarial medicines (AMLs) along the Thai-Cambodian border. The study was divided into two parts: the first looked at the quality of AMLs available in six Thai provinces and the second obtained information about the availability and use of AMLs. A randomized sampling methodology was used to select locations and collect samples, which were screened using Global Pharma Health Fund (GPHF) Minilabs. A subset of samples was sent to quality control laboratories for verification testing. For the second part of the study, face-to-face interviews were conducted with members of randomly selected households and the staff of health facilities in villages with the highest malaria incidence to find out where they acquired their AMLs and which were used most frequently. The results of quality testing showed an overall failure rate of 1% (7 of 709 samples) for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API); however, the API failure rate varied from 0.0% to 2.2% by location and the overall failure rates of samples by province varied from 0.0% to 3.4%. A total of 97.9% (n = 272) of respondents had taken AMLS. The most commonly used medicines were primaquine (30% of respondents), chloroquine (15.8%), artesunate+mefloquine (12%), and quinine (10%). Most respondents (97.9%) had received medications from public hospitals or malaria clinics.

Beyond the Genetic Code: A Tissue Code?

The genetic code determines how the precise amino acid sequence of proteins is specified by genomic information in cells. But what specifies the precise histologic organization of cells in plant and animal tissues is unclear. We now hypothesize that another code, the tissue code , exists at an even higher level of complexity which determines how tissue organization is dynamically maintained. Accordingly, we modeled spatial and temporal asymmetries of cell division and established that five simple mathematical laws ("the tissue code") convey a set of biological rules that maintain the specific organization and continuous self-renewal dynamics of cells in tissues. These laws might even help us understand wound healing, and how tissue disorganization leads to birth defects and tissue pathology like cancer.

Digital transcriptome profiling using selective hexamer priming for cDNA synthesis.

We developed a procedure for the preparation of whole transcriptome cDNA libraries depleted of ribosomal RNA from only 1 microg of total RNA. The method relies on a collection of short, computationally selected oligonucleotides, called 'not-so-random' (NSR) primers, to obtain full-length, strand-specific representation of nonribosomal RNA transcripts. In this study we validated the technique by profiling human whole brain and universal human reference RNA using ultra-high-throughput sequencing.

Barriers to Accessing HIV Care Services in Host Low and Middle Income Countries: Views and Experiences of Indonesian Male Ex-Migrant Workers Living with HIV.

Migrant populations are one of the vulnerable groups to HIV transmission and its consequences. They are also reported to experience delayed entry or linkage into HIV services and have poorer HIV-related health outcomes. This study aimed to understand barriers to accessing HIV care services in host countries among Indonesian, male, former (returned) migrant workers living with HIV. The study was carried out from December 2020 to February 2021. It utilised a qualitative design employing in-depth interviews to collect data from twenty-two returned migrant workers from Eastern Indonesia, recruited using the snowball sampling technique. A qualitative data analysis framework was used to guide a step-by-step analysis of the findings. Findings demonstrated that limited host-country language proficiency, lack of knowledge regarding healthcare systems in host countries and having 'undocumented' worker status were barriers to accessing HIV care services. Data also revealed the unavailability of HIV care services nearby migrants' work locations, long-distance travel to healthcare facilities, and challenges in accessing public transportation as barriers that impeded their access to the services. Other factors limiting the participants' access to HIV services were identified as the transient and mobile nature of migrant work requiring frequent relocation and disrupting work-life stability. Additionally, in lieu of formal HIV services, many participants self-medicated by using over-the-counter herbal or 'traditional' medicines, often because of peer or social group influence regarding the selection of informal treatment options. Recommendations arising from this study demonstrate the need to improve pre-departure information for migrant workers regarding the healthcare system and access procedures in potential host countries. Data from this study also indicate that social services should be available to assist potential migrants to access legal channels for migrant work overseas, to ensure that Indonesian migrants can safely access healthcare services in the countries for which they are providing migrant labour. Future studies to understand barriers to accessing HIV care services among various migrant groups living with HIV are warranted to build evidence for potential social policy change.

Why Do We Not Follow Lifesaving Rules? Factors Affecting Nonadherence to COVID-19 Prevention Guidelines in Indonesia: Healthcare Professionals' Perspectives.

This study aimed to understand Indonesian healthcare professionals' (HCPs) perceptions and experiences regarding barriers to both HCP and community adherence to COVID-19 prevention guidelines in their social life. This methodologically qualitative study employed in-depth interviewing as its method for primary data collection. Twenty-three HCP participants were recruited using the snowball sampling technique. Data analysis was guided by the Five Steps of Qualitative Data Analysis introduced through Ritchie and Spencer's Framework Analysis. The Theory of Planned Behaviour was used to guide study conceptualisation, data analysis and discussions of the findings. Results demonstrated that HCP adherence to COVID-19 prevention guidelines was influenced by subjective norms, such as social influence and disapproval towards preventive behaviours, and perceived behavioural control or external factors. Findings also demonstrated that HCPs perceived that community nonadherence to preventive guidelines was influenced by their behavioural intentions and attitudes, such as disbelief in COVID-19-related information provided by the government, distrust in HCPs, and belief in traditional ritual practices to ward off misfortune. Subjective norms, including negative social pressure and concerns of social rejection, and perceived behavioural control reflected in lack of personal protective equipment and poverty, were also barriers to community adherence. The findings indicate that policymakers in remote, multicultural locales in Indonesia such as East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur or NTT) must take into consideration that familial and traditional (social) ties and bonds override individual agency where personal action is strongly guided by long-held social norms. Thus, while agency-focused preventive policies which encourage individual actions (hand washing, mask wearing) are essential, in NTT they must be augmented by social change, advocating with trusted traditional (adat) and religious leaders to revise norms in the context of a highly transmissible pandemic virus. Future large-scale studies are recommended to explore the influence of socio-cultural barriers to HCP and community adherence to preventive guidelines, which can better inform health policy and practice.

Analysis of pandemic outdoor recreation and green infrastructure in Nordic cities to enhance urban resilience.

Recent empirical research has confirmed the importance of green infrastructure and outdoor recreation to urban people's well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, only a few studies provide cross-city analyses. We analyse outdoor recreation behaviour across four Nordic cities ranging from metropolitan areas to a middle-sized city. We collected map-based survey data from residents (n = 469-4992) in spring 2020 and spatially analyse green infrastructure near mapped outdoor recreation sites and respondents' places of residence. Our statistical examination reveals how the interplay among access to green infrastructure across cities and at respondents' residential location, together with respondents' socio-demographic profiles and lockdown policies or pandemic restrictions, affects outdoor recreation behaviour. The results highlight that for pandemic resilience, the history of Nordic spatial planning is important. To support well-being in exceptional situations as well as in the long term, green infrastructure planning should prioritise nature wedges in and close to cities and support small-scale green infrastructure.

Activity of the Rhodopseudomonas palustris p-coumaroyl-homoserine lactone-responsive transcription factor RpaR.

The Rhodopseudomonas palustris transcriptional regulator RpaR responds to the RpaI-synthesized quorum-sensing signal p-coumaroyl-homoserine lactone (pC-HSL). Other characterized RpaR homologs respond to fatty acyl-HSLs. We show here that RpaR functions as a transcriptional activator, which binds directly to the rpaI promoter. We developed an RNAseq method that does not require a ribosome depletion step to define a set of transcripts regulated by pC-HSL and RpaR. The transcripts include several noncoding RNAs. A footprint analysis showed that purified His-tagged RpaR (His(6)-RpaR) binds to an inverted repeat element centered 48.5 bp upstream of the rpaI transcript start site, which we mapped by S1 nuclease protection and primer extension analyses. Although pC-HSL-RpaR bound to rpaI promoter DNA, it did not bind to the promoter regions of a number of RpaR-regulated genes not in the rpaI operon. This indicates that RpaR control of these other genes is indirect. Because the RNAseq analysis allowed us to track transcript strand specificity, we discovered that there is pC-HSL-RpaR-activated antisense transcription of rpaR. These data raise the possibility that this antisense RNA or other RpaR-activated noncoding RNAs mediate the indirect activation of genes in the RpaR-controlled regulon.