Conservation Index Research Articles

Interconnections between oceanic–atmospheric indices and variability in the U.S. streamflow

Summary This study evaluates the relationship between two indicators of climate variability – sea surface temperatures (SST) and 500-mbar geopotential height (Z500) – and seasonal streamflows i.e., spring–summer (March to August), spring (March to May), and summer (June to August) of the continental United States. 240 unimpaired streamflow stations in the continental United States, categorized by hydrologic regions, are analyzed for a 60 year period from 1950 to 2010. Statistical approach comprising of singular value decomposition is used to evaluate the spatio-temporal association between fall (September to November from 1950 to 2009) and winter (December to February from 1950 to 2009) SST and Z500, and the continental U.S. seasonal streamflow. Influences of the interdecadal-warm and cold phases of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) were also evaluated. Regions of highly correlated SST and Z500 were identified that did not have the bias of conservative index regions. Better seasonal variability in streamflow was represented by Z500, compared to SST. Pacific SST had strong correlations with the Midwest, southern South-Atlantic-Gulf, and Pacific Northwest regions, whereas the Atlantic SST had strong correlations with New England, South-Atlantic-Gulf, and Upper and Lower Colorado regions. Stronger correlation of the Pacific and Atlantic Z500 were noticed with the Midwest, New England, Souris-Red-Rainy, Arkansas-White-Red, and Texas-Gulf regions. Interdecadal-temporal evaluation of the phases of the PDO and AMO showed variations in SST regions influencing streamflows and weakening of teleconnections. There were strong correlations of PDO warm phases with most of California, Upper and Lower Colorado, and South-Atlantic-Gulf regions; the PDO cold phases had correlations with Pacific Northwest, eastern Ohio, and South-Atlantic-Gulf regions. The warm phase of AMO showed correlations with Midwest, Souris-Red-Rainy, Upper Mississippi, Arkansas-White-Red, and Texas-Gulf region; the AMO cold phase showed correlations with Upper and Lower Colorado, Midwest, eastern U.S., and South-Atlantic-Gulf. The El Nino Southern Oscillation region 3.4, 3 as well as regions in the central and north tropical Pacific Ocean had strong associations with U.S. streamflow. The hydroclimatic associations identified through the current study may be used to improve streamflow predictability and enhance management of streamflow volumes, several months in advance.

The mitochondrial tRNAGln T4353C mutation may not be associated with essential hypertension in Han Chinese population

We reported here the possible role of a mitochondrial tRNA mutation: T4353C in clinical expression of essential hypertension in Chinese population. The human mammalian mitochondrial tRNA database was used to analyze the conservation index of this mutation between different species. Moreover, phylogenetic analysis showed that the T4353C mutation belonged to human mitochondrial haplogroup HV, a West Eurasian haplogroup found throughout Western Asia and Eastern European but was infrequent in China. In addition, structural prediction of the T4353C mutation indicated that this transition did not alter the secondary structure of tRNAGln. Together, our data indicated that the T4353C mutation occurred infrequent and may not be associated with essential hypertension in Han Chinese population.

La privatización de la conservación en Chile: repensando la gobernanza ambiental

Universidad de La Frontera, Nucleo Cientifico Tecnologico en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Francisco Salazar 01145, Casilla 54-D, Temuco, Chile, arturo.vallejos@ufrontera.clSUMMARYIn the last decade, more than 1,500,000 ha have been declared as projects of environmental conservation in Chile, one tenth of the surface that the State has accumulated in protected territories for conservation in almost one century. The novelty is that these are private initiatives by environmental philanthropists and NGOs that have bought vast extensions of land in the Chilean south austral macroregion. This phenomenon opens a series of questions for environmental studies, because it tensions the state institutions dedicated to conservation and reconfigures environmental governance. The article examines three private conservation projects in the south of Chile and analyzes the implications that these have provoked on the traditional forms of governance in which the State has had an exclusive role. The results of the research show the emergency of new environmental governance in which new actors intervene in different scales. In this new scenario, the Non-Governmental Organizations play a decisive role. The work is an exploratory study from social sciences that attempts to contribute to environmental governance studies by examining the role of non-State actors in the definition of sectorial policies and indices of conservation.

원문만 패류양식어장에 서식하는 대형저서동물의 춘계와 하계의 군집구조 및 건강도 평가

This study investigated the community structure and health assessment of macrobenthic assemblages in Wonmun Bay, in the southern coast of Korea. The total number of species and mean density were 170 species and <TEX>$1,269\;indivuduals/m^2$</TEX>, respectively. The major dominant species were the bivalve Theora fragilis (<TEX>$230{\pm}446\;indivuduals/m^2$</TEX>) and the polychaetes Lumbrineris longifolia (<TEX>$180{\pm}339\;indivuduals/m^2$</TEX>), Sigambra tentaculata (<TEX>$124{\pm}153\;indivuduals/m^2$</TEX>), Paraprionospio patiens (<TEX>$104{\pm}293\;indivuduals/m^2$</TEX>) and Capitella capitata (<TEX>$82{\pm}223\;indivuduals/m^2$</TEX>). Community statistics [cluster analysis and nonmetric multidimentional scaling (NMDS) ordination] revealed that the macrobenthic community structure in the study area was classified into three station groups for both seasons. Several biotic indices based on macrobenthic communities have been developed to assess the ecological quality of coastal ecosystems. In this study, the ecological status was assessed by four biotic indices Shannon's H', the AZTI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI), multivariate-AMBI (M-AMBI) and the Ecological Conservation Index (ECI). The ecological statuses of the macrobenthic communities in Wonmun Bay were poorer in the summer than in the spring. The results of the present study indicate that three biotic indices ( i.e.; Shannon's H', M-AMBI and ECI ) were better correlated with bottom dissolved oxygen than the AMBI in Wonmun Bay.

Conservation planning in the Nepal Himalayas: Effectively (re)designing reserves for heterogeneous landscapes

Landscapes consisting of heterogeneous environmental conditions (e.g. elevational gradients) are richer in species diversity than more homogeneous landscapes. Furthermore, the importance of heterogeneous landscapes has been widely acknowledged in biodiversity conservation due to expected elevational shifts in ranges as a result of climate change. This is especially important in mountainous landscapes. There is as yet no protocol that conservation planners can use to integrate landscape heterogeneity in the design of protected area (PAs) systems. In this study, we tested whether Nepal, as a whole, consists of highly heterogeneous landscapes in term of elevation, and whether heterogeneity of PAs is correlated with their size and species diversity. We developed a conservation index of elevational zones within Nepal to evaluate their representativeness in the protected area system. The results showed that, in Nepal's PAs, indices of elevational heterogeneity were strongly associated with species richness. However, heterogeneity indices were not strongly associated with sizes of PAs despite the fact that Nepal is a highly heterogeneous country. The same is true for national parks and conservation areas based on IUCN-The World Conservation Union's categories of PAs. The conservation index of elevation zones suggested a bias in reserve selection towards higher elevations. There is an urgent need to rectify past biases in reserve design so as to ensure protection of elevational heterogeneity during conservation planning, especially in these times of human-induced climate change.

ICMS ecológico: conceito e repercussões na conservação ambiental do município de Uberlândia, Minas Gerais

A legislação ambiental brasileira define os instrumentos de intervenção do Estado no planejamento e na gestão ambiental. Um desses instrumentos é o Imposto sobre Circulação de Mercadorias e Prestação de Serviços Ecológico (ICMS Ecológico). Por meio da arrecadação do ICMS (Imposto sobre Circulação de Mercadorias e Prestação de Serviços), os estados podem disponibilizar uma parcela do seu montante aos municípios, com a utilização de diversos critérios, dentre eles o ambiental. Este artigo apresenta o sistema de redistribuição desse imposto, segundo os critérios ambientais, executado no estado de Minas Gerais, e analisa suas implicações na conservação ambiental do município de Uberlândia, oeste de Minas Gerais. Por meio de revisão bibliográfica, pesquisa documental e trabalhos de campo, constata-se a potencialidade desse instrumento e a falta de seu alcance no que tange ao índice de conservação ambiental. Por fim, propõe-se algumas mudanças na normatização estadual, a fim de se atingir o seu objetivo: a melhoria da qualidade ambiental.&#x0D; &#x0D; Abstract &#x0D; &#x0D; ECOLOGICAL GOODS AND SERVICES TAX: CONCEPT AND REPERCUSSIONS IN THE UBERLÂNDIA MUNICIPALITY ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, MINAS GERAIS&#x0D; &#x0D; The Brazilian environmental legislation sets the intervention instruments of the states on environmental management and planning. One of such instruments is the Ecological Goods and Services Tax. Through this tax fundraising, the states can share part of the total with the cities, by the usage of many criteria, among 76. GeoTextos, vol. 10, n. 2, dez. 2014. G. Rodrigues 75-97 them the environmental criteria. This article shows this tax redistribution system, according to the environmental criteria, executed in Minas Gerais state, and analyses its implications on the environmental conservation of Uberlândia, western Minas Gerais. Through bibliographic revision, documental research and fieldwork, it is noted the potential of such instrument and the lack of its reach regarding the Environmental Conservation Index. Therefore, some changes on the state laws are proposed, so its goal to be reached: environmental quality improvement.

Function study of non-syndromic deafness associated mitochondrial 12S rRNA A839G mutation

To investigate the correlation between nonsyndromic deafness and mitochondrial 12s rRNA A839G mutation. According to the clinical manifestations of mitochondrial DNA sequencing and analysis to find and determine family containing mitochondrial 12s rRNA A839G mutation. Harvested its family members blood and transferred their lymphocytes into lymphoblastoid cell lines, followed by cells cultured, cell doubling experiment, susceptibility testing, cellular oxygen consumption rate experiment, ROS and mitochondrial membrane potential experimental tests were progressed to explore the correlation between the A839G mutation and nonsyndromic deafness. The mitochondrial 12s rRNA A839G mutation pedigrees were determined through the full sequence detections of the Mitochondrial DNA, further phylogenetic analysis showed that 839 point conservative index (CI) up to 78.6%; in RPMI-galactose medium containing A839G gene mutant cell line, the doubling time was significantly longer than the control group, and the difference was significant (P = 0.033). The effect to cell lines containing the A839G mutation of aminoglycoside drugs was not obvious. When compared with the control group, cell lines containing the A839G mutation significantly reduced cellular oxygen consumption rate(P = 0.033); compared with the control group, the ROS levels of cell lines containing the A839G mutation appeared more substantial elevated with significan difference (P < 0.01). The mitochondrial membrane potential of cells of experimental group was significantly reduced than the control group. The present study proved that the mitochondria 12s rRNA A839G mutations affect the function of the mitochondrial respiratory chain at the cell level, which might reduce the growth rate of the mutant cell lines, result in hearing.

Who's afraid of relativism?: community, contingency, and creaturehood

Contents 1. It Depends: Creation, Contingency, and the Specter of Relativism 2. Community as Context: Wittgenstein on Meaning as Use 3. Who's Afraid of Contingency? Owning Up to Our Creaturehood with Rorty 4. Reasons to Believe: Making Faith Explicit after Brandom 5. The (Inferential) Nature of Doctrine: Postliberalism as Christian Pragmatism Epilogue: How to be a Conservative Relativist Index

Leber hereditary optic neuropathy and a new MT‐ND1 pathologic mutation

AbstractPurpose Over 90% of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is caused by one of three mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations (m.11778A&gt;G, m.3460G&gt;A, m.14484T&gt;C) in genes for respiratory complex I (CI) subunits. These mutations are homoplasmic and characterized by incomplete penetrance, and a large percentage of patients harboring these mutations have no family history of disease. However, the pathogenicity of these mutations has not been confirmed. We report a patient who exhibited typical clinical features of LHON and presented a new mutation in the MT‐ND1 gene and lacked all three of the most common mtDNA mutations.Methods The diagnosis of LHON in our patient was based on clinical studies. The mtDNA was completely sequenced and the candidate mutation was analyzed in more than 18,000 individuals around the world, its conservation index was estimated in more than 3,100 species from protists to mammals, its position was modeled in the crystal structure of a bacteria ortholog subunit and its functional consequences were studied in a cybrid model.Results Genetic analysis revealed an m.3472T&gt;C transition in the MT‐ND1 gene that changes a phenylalanine to leucine at position 56. Bioinformatics, molecular‐genetic analysis and functional studies suggest that this transition is the etiologic factor for the disorder.Conclusion The evidence presented strongly suggest that this new mutation expands the spectrum of deleterious changes in mtDNA‐encoded complex I polypeptides associated with this pathology and highlights the difficulties in assigning pathogenicity to new homoplasmic mutations that show incomplete penetrance in sporadic LHON patients.

Parenting Stress as a Correlate of Cognitive Behavior Therapy Responsiveness in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders and Anxiety

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often show high rates of anxiety, and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is recognized as an emerging evidence-based practice. Eighteen children (8–12 years of age, M = 9.5, SD = 1.34; male: n = 15) with ASD and significant anxiety problems participated in a 12-session group “Coping Cat” intervention together with their parents. Statistically significant reductions were noted across measures of parent-reported child anxiety, with 50% of children demonstrating clinically meaningful improvements using the conservative Reliable Change Index. Significant correlations were found between change in parenting stress and change in child anxiety from pre- to post-treatment. These results are applicable to the community service sector, where the Coping Cat program is commonly utilized. Due to the high prevalence of anxiety disorders in children with ASD, further research is needed to advance capacity building to help meet the significant needs of youth with ASD and anxiety.

Geographic coincidence of richness, mass, conservation value, and response to climate of U.S. land birds.

Distributional patterns across the United States of five avian community breeding-season characteristics--community biomass, richness, constituent species' vulnerability to extirpation, percentage of constituent species' global abundance present in the community (conservation index, CI), and the community's position along the ecological gradient underlying species composition (principal curve ordination score, PC--were described, their covariation was analyzed, and projected effects of climate change on the characteristics and their covariation were modeled. Higher values of biomass, richness, and CI were generally preferred from a conservation perspective. However, higher values of these characteristics often did not coincide geographically; thus regions of the United States would differ in their value for conservation depending on which characteristic was chosen for setting conservation priorities. For instance, correlation patterns between characteristics differed among Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. Among the five characteristics, community richness and the ecological gradient underlying community composition (PC) had the highest correlations with longitude, with richness declining from east to west across the contiguous United States. The ecological gradient underlying composition exhibited a demarcation near the 100th meridian, separating the contiguous United States grossly into two similar-sized avian ecological provinces. The combined score (CS), a measure of species' threat of decline or extirpation, exhibited the strongest latitudinal pattern, declining from south to north. Over -75% of the lower United States, projected changes in June temperature and precipitation to year 2080 were associated with decreased averaged values of richness, biomass, and CI, implying decreased conservation value for birds. The two ecological provinces demarcated near the 100th meridian diverged from each other, with projected changes in June temperatures and precipitation from the year 2000 to 2080 suggesting increased ecological dissimilarity between the eastern and western halves of the lower United States with changing climate. Anticipated climate-related changes in the five characteristics by 2080 were more weakly correlated with latitude or longitude then the responses themselves, indicating less distinct geographic patterns of characteristic change than in the characteristics themselves. Climate changes projected for 2080 included geographic shifts in avian biomass, CS, and PC values, a moderate overall decline in CI, and general decline in species richness per site.

Construction of Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Evaluation Index System in Coal-Fired Power Plants and its Application

According to the analysis of coal-fired power plants, the article built the evaluation index system of coal-fired power plants energy conservation and emission reduction. Based on analytic hierarchy process (AHP), we determined the weight of each evaluation index. By using the calculation of rating scores in cleaner production, we set up a model of energy conservation and emission reduction for coal-fired power plants. On the basis of the results, the level of coal-fired power plants energy conservation and emission reduction was divided into five levels: excellent, good, medium, pass and fail. Taking a coal-power plant in Heilongjiang Province as an example, we drew a conclusion that the score of energy conservation and emission reduction in the coal-power plant was 89.52 which represents the good level. According to the evaluation result, we proposed corresponding suggestions. The results provide decision-makers with ideas and methods for energy conservation and emission reduction evaluation in the coal-fired power plant.

Variations in mitochondrial tRNAThr gene may not be associated with coronary heart disease

Mutations in mitochondrial tRNAThr gene were recently reported to be associated with coronary heart disease. These mutations, such as T15889C, G15927A, G15930A and A15951G, were claimed to be pathogenic. To examine whether these mutations contributed to the genetic susceptibility to coronary heart disease, we analyzed the conservation index of these mutations between different species. In particular, reports concerning the role of the G15927A mutation was the most controversial. Therefore, based on the previous and this study, we conducted that mutations in mitochondrial tRNAThr gene may not be associated with coronary heart disease.

Population structure and genealogical analysis of the Brazilian Crioula Horse

A genealogical analysis of Crioula horses registered by the Brazilian Association of Crioula Horse Breeders was performed. The state of Rio Grande do Sul is the largest producer of animals with 89.85 percent of registered animals, of which 45.29 percent were males and 54.71 percent females. The inbreeding coefficient was calculated at 0.88 percent and the average relatedness was 0.65 percent in the total population (animals born in Brazil and imported). Inbreeding increased over the generations. An increase was seen in the average genetic conservation index in animals born after the year 1927 (0) until 2010 (8.67 percent). The average generation interval was 10.3 years and the average age of parents when offspring born were 10.5 years, falling in recent years. The effective population size of founders was 95.19 animals, the number of ancestors contributing to this population was 5086 where 56 ancestors explained 50 percent of the genetic diversity of the breed. Inbreeding is under control in the Crioula horse. The increase in registrations reflects the increased interest from farmers in this breed.

충주댐 유역 홍수추적을 위한 소백산 레이더 강우자료의 적용성 검토

본 연구는 충주댐 유역(<TEX>$6,625.8km^2$</TEX>)을 대상으로 지점강우와 소백산 이중편파 레이더강우자료를 격자기반 분포형 강우-유출 모형인 KIMSTORM(KIneMatic wave STOrm Runoff Model)에 적용하여 홍수추적을 수행하여 레이더의 적용성을 검토하였다. 2012년 4개의 강우 이벤트(집중호우, 카눈, 볼라벤, 산바)에 대하여 한강홍수통제소로부터 보정된 소백산 레이더 강우자료를 제공받아 사용하였다. 레이더 강우와 지점 강우를 비교분석한 결과, 41개 지점의 지상강우보다 레이더의 면적평균강우량을 비교한 결과, 강우의 시공간적 패턴은 상당히 일치하였고 지상강우에 대한 레이더 강우의 비율은 0.97로 분석되었다. 이후 분포형 홍수추적을 위해 KIMSTORM을 이용하였으며, 격자크기 <TEX>$500{\times}500m$</TEX> 해상도의 198행<TEX>${\times}$</TEX>231열의 총 45,738개의 셀로 모형을 구축하였다. KIMSTORM 모형의 보정 결과, 평균 <TEX>$R^2$</TEX>(coefficient of determination), ME(model efficiency), VCI(volume conservation index)는 지상강우의 경우, 각각 0.83, 0.68, 1.10로 분석되었고, 레이더강우의 경우는 각각 0.80, 0.62, 1.08의 결과를 보였다. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the availability of dual-polarization radar rain for flood routing in Chungju Dam watershed(<TEX>$6,625.8km^2$</TEX>) using KIMSTORM (Grid-based KIneMatic wave STOrm Runoff Model). The Sobaek dual-polarization radar data for 1 heavy rain and 3 typhoon(Khanun, Bolaven, and Sanba) events in 2012 were obtained from Han River Flood Control Office. The spatio-temporal patterns between the two data were similar showing the ratio of radar rain to ground rain with 0.97. The KIMSTORM was set to <TEX>$500{\times}500m$</TEX> resolution and a total of 45,738 cells(198 rows<TEX>${\times}$</TEX>231 columns) for the watershed. For radar rain and 41 ground rains, the model was independently calibrated using discharge data at 3 streamflow gauging stations(YW1, YC, and CJD) with coefficient of determination(<TEX>$R^2$</TEX>), Nash and Sutcliffe Model Efficiency(ME), and Volume Conservation Index(VCI). The <TEX>$R^2$</TEX>, ME, and VCI 0.80, 0.62 and 1.08 for radar rain and 0.83, 0.68 and 1.10 for ground rain respectively.

Practical aspects of genetic management of small populations – The Olkuska sheep example

The study aimed to identify important factors threatening genetic diversity within small sheep populations, and to propose sustainable management strategies. Demographic evolution, genetic diversity and current genetic management practices were analyzed in a population of Polish Olkuska sheep. Unbalanced contributions of individual rams to the next generation were observed due to differences in the period of their utilization, the number of progeny and the number of daughters used in reproduction. Matings between closely related animals were common. Pedigree completeness was satisfactory and inbreeding coefficient was high, 11.71% for lambs born in 2012. Relatively high values of potential and realized coancestries within flocks showed the importance of keeping more than one ram. The genetic conservation index and average relatedness coefficient, and their comparison between regions was helpful in considering management options. The information on genetic relationships and genetic conservation parameters of rams should be provided to breeders with simple interpretations.

Genes with a large intronic burden show greater evolutionary conservation on the protein level

BackgroundThe existence of introns in eukaryotic genes is believed to provide an evolutionary advantage by increasing protein diversity through exon shuffling and alternative splicing. However, this eukaryotic feature is associated with the necessity of exclusion of intronic sequences, which requires considerable energy expenditure and can lead to splicing errors. The relationship between intronic burden and evolution is poorly understood. The goal of this study was to analyze the relationship between the intronic burden and the level of evolutionary conservation of the gene.ResultsWe found a positive correlation between the level of evolutionary conservation of a gene and its intronic burden. The level of evolutionary conservation was estimated using the conservation index (CI). The CI value was determined on the basis of the most distant ortholog of the human protein sequence and ranged from 0 (the gene was unique to the human genome) to 9 (an ortholog of the human gene was detected in plants). In multivariable model, both the number of introns and total intron size remained significant predictors of CI. We also found that the number of alternative splice variants was positively correlated with CI.The expression level of a gene was negatively correlated with the number of introns and total size of intronic region. Genes with a greater intronic burden had lower density of missense and nonsense mutations in the coding regions of the gene, which suggests that they are under a stronger pressure from purifying selection.ConclusionsWe identified a positive association between intronic burden and CI. One of the possible explanations of this is the idea of a cost-benefits balance. Evolutionarily conserved (functionally important) genes can “afford” the negative consequences of maintaining multiple introns because these consequences are outweighed by the benefit of maintaining the gene. Evolutionarily conserved and functionally important genes may use introns to create novel splice variants to tune the gene function to developmental stage and tissue type.

The novel mitochondrial 16S rRNA 2336T>C mutation is associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

BackgroundHypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a primary disorder characterised by asymmetric thickening of septum and left ventricular wall, with a prevalence of 0.2% in the general population.ObjectiveTo describe a novel mitochondrial...

Matching of Soulmates: Coevolution of snoRNAs and Their Targets

Ribosomal and small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) comprise numerous modified nucleotides. The modification patterns are retained during evolution, making it even possible to project them from yeast onto human. The stringent conservation of modification sites and the slow evolution of rRNAs and snRNAs contradicts the rapid evolution of small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) sequences. To explain this discrepancy, we investigated the coevolution of snoRNAs and their targeted sites throughout vertebrates. To measure and evaluate the conservation of RNA-RNA interactions, we defined the interaction conservation index (ICI). It combines the quality of individual interaction with the scope of its conservation in a set of species and serves as an efficient measure to evaluate the conservation of the interaction of snoRNA and target. We show that functions of homologous snoRNAs are evolutionarily stable, thus, members of the same snoRNA family guide equivalent modifications. The conservation of snoRNA sequences is high at target binding regions while the remaining sequence varies significantly. In addition to elucidating principles of correlated evolution, we were able, with the help of the ICI measure, to assign functions to previously orphan snoRNAs and to associate snoRNAs as partners to known chemical modifications unassigned to a given snoRNA. Furthermore, we used predictions of snoRNA functions in conjunction with sequence conservation to identify distant homologies. Because of the high overall entropy of snoRNA sequences, such relationships are hard to detect by means of sequence homology search methods alone.

The role of the mitochondrial ribosome in human disease: searching for mutations in 12S mitochondrial rRNA with high disruptive potential

Mutations of mitochondrial DNA are linked to many human diseases. Despite the identification of a large number of variants in the mitochondrially encoded rRNA (mt-rRNA) genes, the evidence supporting their pathogenicity is, at best, circumstantial. Establishing the pathogenicity of these variations is of major diagnostic importance. Here, we aim to estimate the disruptive effect of mt-rRNA variations on the function of the mitochondrial ribosome. In the absence of direct biochemical methods to study the effect of mt-rRNA variations, we relied on the universal conservation of the rRNA fold to infer their disruptive potential. Our method, named heterologous inferential analysis or HIA, combines conservational information with functional and structural data obtained from heterologous ribosomal sources. Thus, HIA's predictive power is superior to the traditional reliance on simple conservation indexes. By using HIA, we have been able to evaluate the disruptive potential for a subset of uncharacterized 12S mt-rRNA variations. Our analysis revealed the existence of variations in the rRNA component of the human mitoribosome with different degrees of disruptive power. In cases where sufficient information regarding the genetic and pathological manifestation of the mitochondrial phenotype is available, HIA data can be used to predict the pathogenicity of mt-rRNA mutations. In other cases, HIA analysis will allow the prioritization of variants for additional investigation. Eventually, HIA-inspired analysis of potentially pathogenic mt-rRNA variations, in the context of a scoring system specifically designed for these variants, could lead to a powerful diagnostic tool.