Rethinking assessment of success of mitigation strategies for elephant-induced crop damage

Crop damage is the most common impact of negative interactions between people and elephants and poses a significant threat to rural livelihoods and conservation efforts. Numerous approaches to mitigate and prevent crop damage have been implemented throughout Africa and Asia. Despite the documented high efficacy of many approaches, losses remain common, and in many areas, damage is intensifying. We examined the literature on effectiveness of crop-damage-mitigation strategies and identified key gaps in evaluations. We determined there is a need to better understand existing solutions within affected communities and to extend evaluations of effectiveness beyond measurement of efficacy to include rates of and barriers to adoption. We devised a conceptual framework for evaluating effectiveness that incorporates the need for increased emphasis on adoption and can be used to inform the design of future crop-damage mitigation assessments for elephants and conflict species more widely. The ability to prevent crop loss in practice is affected by both the efficacy of a given approach and rates of uptake among target users. We identified the primary factors that influence uptake as local attitudes, sustainability, and scalability and examined each of these factors in detail. We argue that even moderately efficacious interventions may make significant progress in preventing damage if widely employed and recommend that wherever possible scientists and practitioners engage with communities to build on and strengthen existing solutions and expertise. When new approaches are required, they should align with local attitudes and fit within limitations on labor, financial requirements, and technical capacity.     

Mainstreaming human and large carnivore coexistence through institutional collaboration

Achieving coexistence between large carnivores and humans in human-dominated landscapes (HDLs) is a key challenge for societies globally. This challenge cannot be adequately met with the current sectoral approaches to HDL governance and an academic community largely dominated by disciplinary sectors. Academia (universities and other research institutions and organizations) should take a more active role in embracing societal challenges around conservation of large carnivores in HDLs by facilitating cross-sectoral cooperation to mainstream coexistence of humans and large carnivores. Drawing on lessons from populated regions of Europe, Asia, and South America with substantial densities of large carnivores, we suggest academia should better embrace the principles and methods of sustainability sciences and create institutional spaces for the implementation of transdisciplinary curricula and projects; reflect on research approaches (i.e., disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary) they apply and how their outcomes could aid leveraging institutional transformations for mainstreaming; and engage with various institutions and stakeholder groups to create novel institutional structures that can respond to multiple challenges of HDL management and human–large carnivore coexistence. Success in mainstreaming this coexistence in HDL will rest on the ability to think and act cooperatively. Such a conservation achievement, if realized, stands to have far-reaching benefits for people and biodiversity.     

Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of Toriello–Carey syndrome

Toriello–Carey syndrome is a rare malformative complex, described for the first time in 1988, characterized by agenesis of the corpus callosum, facial anomalies, cardiac defects and hypotonia. Relatively few neonatal cases have been reported. We describe here the first prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of the syndrome based on the detection of agenesis of the corpus callosum and spongious cardiomyopathy in a 22-week-old fetus of a couple with positive family history. The first sib of the couple was diagnosed with Toriello–Carey syndrome at 1 year of age, and had, in addition to the typical facial anomalies not detectable by ultrasound, agenesis of the corpus callosum and the same heart lesion (spongious cardiomyopathy). This report demonstrates that prenatal diagnosis of Toriello–Carey syndrome is feasible in the second trimester of pregnancy. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dandy – Walker syndrome and corpus callosum agenesis in 5p deletion

5p deletion syndrome commonly known as cri du chat is well described in affected neonates with catlike cry and hypotonia. Karyotyping will usually show a deletion of the short arm of one chromosome 5 with variable breakpoints. Only a few cases have been reported prenatally, and the fetal form of the syndrome has not been clearly individualised. We report a new case of 5p deletion syndrome diagnosed prenatally in association with Dandy–Walker syndrome and agenesis of the corpus callosum. Other brain anomalies have been reported previously, but this unusual association suggests the use of a specific probe in the investigation of these malformations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fetal phenotype of Prader–Willi syndrome due to maternal disomy for chromosome 15

Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) results from either paternal deletion of 15q11–q13, or maternal uniparental disomy (UPD) of chromosome 15 or imprinting center mutation. Prenatal diagnosis of PWS is currently indicated for chromosomal parental translocation involving chromosome 15 and for decreased fetal movements during the third trimester of gestation. Here we present the prenatal diagnosis of PWS during the first trimester of gestation and autopsy findings. Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) was performed for advanced maternal age at 13 weeks' gestation. CVS showed mosaicism including cells with a normal karyotype and cells with trisomy 15. Amniocentesis showed cells with a normal karyotype. Molecular analysis demonstrated that the fetus had a typical PWS abnormal methylation profile and maternal disomy for chromosome 15. Fetal ultrasound examination showed slightly enlarged lateral ventricles and hypoplasic male external genitalia without intra-uterine growth retardation. The autopsy showed a eutrophic male fetus with facial dysmorphy, hypoplasic genitalia, abnormal position of both feet and posterior hypoplasia of the corpus callosum. This report points out that in a karyotypically normal fetus with ambiguous male external genitalia and cerebral anomalies, extensive cytogenetic and molecular biology studies are strongly recommended because of risk of PWS. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prenatal diagnosis of Juberg–Hayward syndrome

Juberg–Hayward syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive syndrome characterised by the association of growth retardation, microcephaly, cleft lip and palate, and thumb and radial ray abnormalities. To date, no prenatal cases have been reported. Here, we report on the first prenatal case of Juberg–Hayward syndrome. The diagnosis was established following fetopathological study. Besides the cardinal features of the syndrome, this prenatal case was remarkable for the severity of the short arm malformation and by the finding of big toe agenesis and cerebral abnormalities including hydrocephalus, agenesis of corpus callosum, and cerebellar hypoplasia. We conclude that the diagnosis of Juberg–Hayward syndrome can be discussed prenatally following ultrasound diagnosis of the association of intrauterine growth restriction, microcephaly, thumb/radial anomalies, and cleft lip/palate. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

水稻秸秆生物炭中铜和镉的形态分布及释放特性

由于目前缺乏对生物质原料来源的管控办法,极有可能用产自受污染农田土壤的秸秆制备出具有高重金属含量的生物炭,因此,研究生物炭中重金属的形态分布及其释放特性对于防控生物炭应用产生的环境风险具有重要意义.基于此,分别采集江西省贵溪铜冶炼厂周边九牛岗污染区和中国科学院鹰潭红壤生态实验站清洁区种植的水稻秸秆制备生物炭（分别记为“九牛岗生物炭”和“红壤站生物炭”）,分析两种生物炭中Cu、Cd的含量及其化学形态分布,考察不同固液比及pH对生物炭中Cu、Cd浸出的影响.结果表明:九牛岗生物炭中Cu、Cd的总量（以w计）分别为119.99、3.83 mg/kg,显著高于红壤站生物炭（19.50、0.96 mg/kg）.尽管九牛岗生物炭中w（酸溶态Cu）、w（酸溶态Cd）显著高于红壤站生物炭,但在形态分布上,九牛岗生物炭中Cu、Cd主要为相对稳定态（可氧化态和残渣态）,二者占比分别为80.3%、76.7%,高于红壤站生物炭（二者占比分别为53.2%、48.0%）.高固液比和低pH可有效增加两种生物炭中Cu、Cd的浸出毒性,其中,九牛岗生物炭在固液比为1:20和1:60时,浸出液中ρ（Cu）、ρ（Cd）均超过GB/T 14848—2017《地下水质量标准》中Ⅱ类标准限值.动力学及累积释放试验表明,两种生物炭中的部分Cu、Cd可在短时间内迅速释放而后逐渐平稳并有上升趋势,且九牛岗生物炭中Cu、Cd释放量显著高于红壤站生物炭.研究显示,来自污染区水稻秸秆生物炭中的Cu、Cd活性显著高于清洁区生物炭,具有更高的环境风险.