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Lack of reforestation after timber harvesting or natural disturbances leads to forest loss and degradation in many parts of the world. In this paper, I illustrate that, as the extensive margins of reforestation and timber harvesting differ, some non-reforestation may be justified financially and economically even in places where market and institutional arrangements encourage reforestation. Nonetheless, considering the environmental benefits of reforestation would reduce the potential area of non-reforestation or the gap between the two margins. I further demonstrate with an example the substantial financial costs of delayed reforestation in the U.S. South and explain why reforestation is not taken on some private and public lands. I conclude with comments on reforestation from public policy and ethical perspectives.

Background Retinal ischemia/reperfusion (RIR) is implicated in various forms of optic neuropathies, yet effective treatments are lacking. RIR leads to the death of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and subsequent vision loss, posing detrimental effects on both physical and mental health. Apigenin (API), derived from a wide range of sources, has been reported to exert protective effects against ischemia/reperfusion injuries in various organs, such as the brain, kidney, myocardium, and liver. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of API and its underlying mechanisms on RGC degeneration induced by retinal ischemia/reperfusion (RIR). Methods An in vivo model was induced by anterior chamber perfusion following intravitreal injection of API one day prior to the procedure. Meanwhile, an in vitro model was established through 1% oxygen and glucose deprivation. The neuroprotective effects of API were evaluated using H&E staining, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), Fluoro-Gold retrograde labeling, and Photopic negative response (PhNR). Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to observe mitochondrial crista morphology and integrity. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms of API, the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay, flow cytometry assay, western blot, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay, JC-1 kit assay, dichlorofluorescein-diacetate (DCFH-DA) assay, as well as TMRE and Mito-tracker staining were conducted. Results API treatment protected retinal inner plexiform layer (IPL) and ganglion cell complex (GCC), and improved the function of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Additionally, API reduced RGC apoptosis and decreased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release by upregulating Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL expression, while downregulating Bax and cleaved caspase-3 expression. Furthermore, API increased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and decreased extracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. These effects were achieved by enhancing mitochondrial function, restoring mitochondrial cristae morphology and integrity, and regulating the expression of OPA1, MFN2, and DRP1, thereby regulating mitochondrial dynamics involving fusion and fission. Conclusion API protects RGCs against RIR injury by modulating mitochondrial dynamics, promoting mitochondrial fusion and fission.

Habitat conservation banking is often identified as a policy instrument for conserving endangered species on private lands in the United States. In this paper, we analyze the trends and the characteristics of habitat conservation bank credit supply and demand. We find 137 conservation banks conserving some 153,000 acres of land. About 66% of conservation credits were sold by private companies and credit price ranges between $1505 and $205,055 per credit in constant 2015 dollars. We observe that large urban areas have relatively high demand for conservation credits and that habitat conservation banking has become a business.

Harmonia axyridis is a major bio-control agent of pests in agriculture and forest ecosystems. It is also a globally important invasive insect species. To test whether dark elytra colour is associated with greater cold hardiness, we compared the survival rate of prolonged cold exposure in both yellow and black colour morphs of female and male H. axyridis. We determined the trehalose and glycogen content, trehalase activity, and the dynamics of genes associated with the trehalose metabolic pathway. Yellow forms predominated before winter began, however black forms increased from 11.15 to 30.46% after overwintering. There was no significant difference in trehalose content between the females and males during overwintering. Glycogen content in over-wintering yellow females and black males increased significantly, while it decreased in black females. Soluble trehalase activity increased significantly in all the insects except black females. Membrane-bound trehalase activity increased in black males, and decreased in black females. Trehalose and glycogen content and trehalase activity were regulated by differential expression of TRE and TPS genes. Female beetles weighed more than males and survived in low temperatures for longer periods of time, regardless of elytra colour, suggesting that mass is a stronger predictor of overwintering survival rather than colour morph. Our results provide a guide for comparing cold resistance in insects and a theoretical basis for cold storage of H. axyridis for use as natural enemies of pests in biological control programs.

Background: Trehalase, an enzyme that hydrolyzes trehalose to yield two glucose molecules, plays a pivotal role in various physiological processes. In recent years, trehalase proteins have been purified from several insect species and are divided into soluble (Tre-1) and membrane-bound (Tre-2) trehalases. However, no functions of the two trehalases in chitin biosynthesis in insects have yet been reported. Principal Findings: The membrane-bound trehalase of Spodoptera exigua (SeTre-2) was characterized in our laboratory previously. In this study, we cloned the soluble trehalase gene (SeTre-1) and investigated the tissue distribution and developmental expression pattern of the two trehalase genes. SeTre-1 was expressed highly in cuticle and Malpighian tubules, while SeTre-2 was expressed in tracheae and fat body. In the midgut, the two trehalase genes were expressed in different locations. Additionally, the expression profiles of both trehalase mRNAs and their enzyme activities suggest that they may play different roles in chitin biosynthesis. The RNA interference (RNAi) of either SeTre-1 or SeTre-2 was gene-specific and effective, with efficiency rates up to 83% at 72 h post injection. After RNAi of SeTre-1 and SeTre-2, significant higher mortality rates were observed during the larva-pupa stage and pupa-adult stage, and the lethal phenotypes were classified and analyzed. Additionally, the change trends of concentration of trehalose and glucose appeared reciprocally in RNAi-mutants. Moreover, knockdown of SeTre-1 gene largely inhibited the expression of chitin synthase gene A (CHSA) and reduced the chitin content in the cuticle to two-thirds relative to the control insects. The chitin synthase gene B (CHSB) expression, however, was inhibited more by the injection of dsRNA for SeTre-2, and the chitin content in the midgut decreased by about 25%. Conclusions: SeTre-1 plays a major role in CHSA expression and chitin synthesis in the cuticle, and SeTre-2 has an important role in CHSB expression and chitin synthesis in the midgut.

Background: Retinal photoreceptor (RP) cells are widely involved in retina-related diseases, and oxidative stress plays a critical role in retinal secondary damage. Herein, we investigated the effectiveness and potential mechanisms of autophagy of paeonol (Pae) in terms of oxidation resistance. Methods: The animal model was induced by light damage (LD) in vivo , whereas the in vitro model was established by H 2 O 2 stimulation. The effectiveness of Pae was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay, immunofluorescence, transmission electron microscopy, electroretinogram, and Western blot analysis in vivo , and the underlying mechanisms of Pae were assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay, and Western blot analysis in 661W cells. We mainly evaluated the effects of Pae on apoptosis and autophagy. Results: Increased apoptosis of the LD-induced and decreased autophagy of RPs were mitigated by Pae treatment. Pea, which increased the expression of mitochondrial functional protein cytochrome c, reversed the decreased cell viability and autophagy induced by oxidative stress in 661W cells. Experiments showed that autophagy was downregulated in PINK1/Parkin dependent and the BNIP3L/Nix dependent pathways under H 2 O 2 stimulation and was upregulated by Pae treatment. Pae increased the cell viability and reduced ROS levels through autophagy. Conclusion: Pretreatment with Pae preserved RP cells by enhancing autophagy, which protected retinal function.

The white-backed planthopper Sogatella furcifera is an economically important rice pest distributed throughout Asia. It damages rice crops by sucking phloem sap, resulting in stunted growth and plant virus transmission. We aimed to obtain the full-length transcriptome data of S. furcifera using PacBio single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing. Total RNA extracted from S. furcifera at various developmental stages (egg, larval, and adult stages) was mixed and used to generate a full-length transcriptome for SMRT sequencing. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) identification, full-length coding sequence prediction, full-length non-chimeric (FLNC) read detection, simple sequence repeat (SSR) analysis, transcription factor detection, and transcript functional annotation were performed. A total of 12,514,449 subreads (15.64 Gbp, clean reads) were generated, including 630,447 circular consensus sequences and 388,348 FLNC reads. Transcript cluster analysis of the FLNC reads revealed 251,109 consensus reads including 29,700 high-quality reads. Additionally, 100,360 SSRs and 121,395 coding sequences were identified using SSR analysis and ANGEL software, respectively. Furthermore, 44,324 lncRNAs were annotated using four tools and 1,288 transcription factors were identified. In total, 95,495 transcripts were functionally annotated based on searches of seven different databases. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of the full-length transcriptome of the white-backed planthopper obtained using SMRT sequencing. The acquired transcriptome data can facilitate further studies on the ecological and viral-host interactions of this agricultural pest.

As an active microwave remote sensing imaging sensor, Synthetic Aperture Radar（SAR） plays an important role in earth observation. Here we establish a SAR system based on the platform of the moon. This will aid large-scale, constant, and long-term dynamic Earth observations to better meet the needs of global change research and to complement the space borne and airborne earth observations. Lunar-based SAR systems have the characteristics of high resolution and wide swath width. The swath width could be thousands of kilometers in the stripe mode and it could cover 40% of earth＇s surface with 10 meters or even higher spatial resolution in the scanning mode. Using the simplified observation model, here we quantitatively analyze the spatial resolution and coverage area of lunar-based SAR and simulate the observation on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and the Amazon plain. The results show that this system could provide near 100% daily coverage of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, whereas 40% to 70% daily coverage of the Amazon plain. Lunar-based SAR could provide large-scale, long-term and stable time series data in order to support future research of global change.

20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) and its receptor complex ecdysone receptor (EcR) and ultraspiracle (USP) play a crucial role in controlling development, metamorphosis, reproduction and diapause. The ligand-receptor complex 20E-EcR/USP directly activates a small set of early-response genes and a much larger set of late-response genes. However, ecdysone-responsive genes have not been previously characterized in the context of insect chitin biosynthesis. Here, we show that injection-based RNA interference (RNAi) directed towards a common region of the two isoforms of SeEcR in a lepidopteron insect Spodoptera exigua was effective, with phenotypes including a high mortality prior to pupation and developmental defects. After gene specific RNAi, chitin contents in the cuticle of an abnormal larva significantly decreased. The expression levels of five genes in the chitin biosynthesis pathway, SeTre-1, SeG6PI, SeUAP, SeCHSA and SeCHSB, were significantly reduced, while there was no difference in the expression of SeTre-2 prior to 72 hr after injection of EcR dsRNA. Meanwhile, injection of 20E in vivo induced the expression of the five genes mentioned above. Moreover, the SeTre-1, SeG6PI, SeUAP and SeCHSB genes showed late responses to the hormone and the induction of SeTre-1, SeG6PI, SeUAP and SeCHSB genes by 20E were able to be inhibited by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide in vitro indicating these genes are 20E late-response genes. We conclude that SeTre-1, SeG6PI, SeUAP and SeCHSB in the chitin biosynthesis pathway are 20E late-response genes and 20E and its specific receptors plays a key role in the regulation of chitin biosynthesis via inducing their expression.

IbMYB1 was one of the major anthocyanin biosynthesis regulatory genes that has been identified and utilized in purple-fleshed sweet potato breeding. At least three members of this gene, namely, IbMYB1-1 , -2a , and -2b , have been reported. We found that IbMYB1-2a and -2b are not necessary for anthocyanin accumulation in a variety of cultivated species (hexaploid) with purple shoots or purplish rings/spots of flesh. Transcriptomic and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) analyses revealed that persistent and vigorous expression of IbMYB1 is essential to maintain the purple color of leaves and storage roots in this type of cultivated species, which did not contain IbMYB1-2 gene members. Compared with IbbHLH2 , IbMYB1 is an early response gene of anthocyanin biosynthesis in sweet potato. It cannot exclude the possibility that other MYBs participate in this gene regulation networks. Twenty-two MYB-like genes were identified from 156 MYBs to be highly positively or negatively correlated with the anthocyanin content in leaves or flesh. Even so, the IbMYB1 was most coordinately expressed with anthocyanin biosynthesis genes. Differences in flanking and coding sequences confirm that IbMYB2s , the highest similarity genes of IbMYB1 , are not the members of IbMYB1 . This phenomenon indicates that there may be more members of IbMYB1 in sweet potato, and the genetic complementation of these members is involved in the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis. The 3′ flanking sequence of IbMYB1-1 is homologous to the retrotransposon sequence of TNT1-94 . Transposon movement is involved in the formation of multiple members of IbMYB1 . This study provides critical insights into the expression patterns of IbMYB1 , which are involved in the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in the leaf and storage root. Notably, our study also emphasized the presence of a multiple member of IbMYB1 for genetic improvement.