Integrating social network development into marine protected area management capacity building and institutionalization in the Philippines and Indonesia

1. comprehensive needs assessment;
2. strong collaborative partnerships for programme delivery;
3. clear learning objectives and intended long‐term results; and
4. strong and sustained political will at the local, national, and regional scales.
5. Each MPA site, region, and capacity‐building programme is unique in structure and content, yet what all programmes have in common is that they build on the principles of trust and community building to create a locally relevant format and framework for the network to flourish.

     

Influence of thaxtomins in different combinations and concentrations on growth of micropropagated potato shoot cultures

Plant-pathogenic Streptomyces species produce a variety of different phytotoxic 4-nitroindol-3-yl-containing 2,5-dioxopiperazines (thaxtomins) that induce scab symptoms on potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum). The possible mutual synergistic or antagonistic effects of thaxtomins are unknown. Modified methodology using column chromatography allowed the purification of thaxtomin A in large quantities (27 mg, HPLC purity of 97%). Thaxtomin A ortho isomer, thaxtomin B, and C-14 deoxythaxtomin B (thaxtomin D) were also purified. All four compounds induced similar symptoms of reduced root and shoot growth, root swelling (10-200 ppb), or necrosis (200-1000 ppb) on micropropagated in vitro cultures of potato. The scab-resistant potato cvs. Sabina and Nicola were more tolerant to thaxtomins than was the scab-susceptible cv. Matilda. Thaxtomins applied in combinations showed additive effects but no synergism, whereas thaxtomins A and B displayed antagonism with thaxtomin A ortho isomer.     

Isolation and characterization of enzymes involved in lysine catabolism from sorghum seeds

Lysine is an essential amino acid synthesized in plants via the aspartic acid pathway. The catabolism of lysine is performed by the action of two consecutive enzymes, lysine 2-oxoglutarate reductase (LOR, EC 1.5.1.8) and saccharopine dehydrogenase (SDH, EC 1.5.1.9). The final soluble lysine concentration in cereal seeds is controlled by both synthesis and catabolism rates. The production and characterization of high-lysine plants species depends on knowledge of the regulatory aspects of lysine metabolism and manipulation of the key enzymes. We have for the first time isolated, partially purified, and characterized LOR and SDH from developing sorghum seeds, which exhibited low levels of activity. LOR and SDH were only located in the endosperm and were very unstable during the isolation and purification procedures. LOR and SDH exhibited some distinct properties when compared to the enzymes isolated from other plant species, including a low salt concentration required to elute the enzymes during anion-exchange chromatography and the presence of multimeric forms with distinct molecular masses.     

Ecological and climatological signals in tree-ring width and density chronologies along a latitudinal boreal transect

Shifts in the climate sensitivity of trees throughout the twentieth century might indicate climate change effects in the boreal forest ecosystem. We here evaluated such potential changes by analyzing six tree-ring width (TRW) and maximum latewood density (MXD) chronologies from northern, central and southern boreal forests in Finland (60°N–69°N). Besides latitudinal effects, differing micro-sites (lakeshore and inland) were considered to evaluate the influence of ground water access on twentieth-century tree-ring formation and climate sensitivity. Overall, the boreal MXD chronologies appeared less affected by micro-site conditions compared to the TRW chronologies. Along the boreal transect, mean growth rates decrease with increasing latitude, but the ratio of earlywood-to-latewood (～70%/～30%) remains stable. However, latewood is slightly denser at the dry inland micro-sites. The correlations with climate data showed that TRW and MXD at all sites are positively related with summer temperature. The MXD chronologies are also negatively correlated with precipitation, a feature that is largely missing in TRW. A recent trend toward wetter and cloudier conditions in the study region coincides with a shift of the MXD signal from a distinct temperature limitation toward an additional sensitivity to precipitation, which in turn stimulated the trees’ competition for sunlight.     

Antibacterial effects of commercial essential oils over locally prevalent pathogenic strains in Mexico

Locally prevalent pathogenic bacteria 189 Gram (-) and 135 Gram (+) strains, all isolated from pediatric patients severely infected, were tested in vitro against 11 essential oils from commercial origin. All the strains showed resistance to selected antibiotics. Cinnamomum verum, Origanum vulgare and Thymus vulgaris exhibited the highest and broadest antibacterial activity. Emphasis is made in the potential implications of these resources, uncommon at the clinical setting of the study, employed against non-commercial, locally pathogenic strains, being a step to submit in the ensuing period essential oils from plants used in Mexican traditional medicine.     

Identification of a propantheline analog in propantheline bromide tablets

A major impurity in a sample of propantheline bromide tablets has been identified as 9-hydroxypropantheline on the basis of the proton magnetic resonance (PMR) and mass spectra (MS). This identification was confirmed by methanolysis of the tablet extract, which yielded a mixture of methyl xanthanoate and methyl 9-hydroxyxanthanoate. A liquid chromatographic (LC) procedure is described which will permit quantitation of 9-hydroxypropantheline bromide in the presence of propantheline bromide, xanthone, and xanthanoic acid.     

Longitudinal- and transverse-scale environmental influences on riparian vegetation across multiple levels of ecological organization

Riparian vegetation is distinct from adjacent upland terrestrial vegetation and its distribution is affected by various environmental controls operating at the longitudinal scale (along the river) or transverse scale (perpendicular to the river). Although several studies have shown how the relative importance of transverse or longitudinal influences varies with the scale of observation, few have examined how the influences of the two scales vary with the level of ecological organization. We modeled vegetation-environment relationships at three hierarchically nested levels of ecological organization: species, plant community, and vegetation type. Our hierarchically structured analyses differentiated the spatial extent of riparian zones from adjacent upland vegetation, the distribution of plant community types within the riparian zone, and the distribution of plant species within community types. Longitudinal gradients associated with climate and elevation exerted stronger effects at the species level than at the community level. Transverse gradients related to lateral surface water flux and groundwater availability distinguished riparian and upland vegetation types, although longitudinal gradients of variation better predicted species composition within either riparian or upland communities. We concur with other studies of riparian landscape ecology that the relative predictive power of environmental controls for modeling patterns of biodiversity is confounded with the spatial extent of the study area and sampling scheme. A hierarchical approach to spatial modeling of vegetation-environment relationships will yield substantial insights on riparian landscape patterns.