Seaweeds: an opportunity for wealth and sustainable livelihood for coastal communities

The European, Canadian, and Latin American seaweed industries rely on the sustainable harvesting of natural resources. As several countries wish to increase their activity, the harvest should be managed according to integrated and participatory governance regimes to ensure production within a long-term perspective. Development of regulations and directives enabling the sustainable exploitation of natural resources must therefore be brought to the national and international political agenda in order to ensure environmental, social, and economic values in the coastal areas around the world. In Europe, Portugal requires an appraisal of seaweed management plans while Norway and Canada have developed and implemented coastal management plans including well-established and sustainable exploitation of their natural seaweed resources. Whereas, in Latin America, different scenarios of seaweed exploitation can be observed; each country is however in need of long-term and ecosystem-based management plans to ensure that exploitation is sustainable. These plans are required particularly in Peru and Brazil, while Chile has succeeded in establishing a sustainable seaweed-harvesting plan for most of the economically important seaweeds. Furthermore, in both Europe and Latin America, seaweed aquaculture is at its infancy and development will have to overcome numerous challenges at different levels (i.e., technology, biology, policy). Thus, there is a need for regulations and establishment of “best practices” for seaweed harvesting, management, and cultivation. Trained human resources will also be required to provide information and education to the communities involved, to enable seaweed utilization to become a profitable business and provide better income opportunities to coastal communities.     

Different altered pattern expression of genes related to apoptosis in isolated methylmalonic aciduria cblB type and combined with homocystinuria cblC type

An increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and apoptosis rate have been associated with several disorders involved in cobalamin metabolism, including isolated methylmalonic aciduria (MMA) cblB type and MMA combined with homocystinuria (MMAHC) cblC type. Given the relevance of p38 and JNK kinases in stress-response, their activation in fibroblasts from a spectrum of patients (mut, cblA, cblB, cblC and cblE) was analyzed revealing an increased expression of the phosphorylated-forms, specially in cblB and cblC cell lines that presented the highest ROS and apoptosis levels. To gain further insight into the molecular mechanisms responsible for the enhanced apoptotic process observed in cblB and cblC fibroblasts, we evaluated the expression pattern of 84 apoptosis-related genes by quantitative real-time PCR. An elevated number of pro-apoptotic genes were overexpressed in cblC cells showing a higher rate of apoptosis compared to cblB and control samples. Additionally, apoptosis appears to be mainly triggered through the extrinsic pathway in cblC, while the intrinsic pathway was primarily activated in cblB cells. The differences observed regarding the apoptosis rate and preferred pathway between cblB and cblC patients, who both built up methylmalonic acid, might be explained by the accumulated homocysteine in the cblC group. The loss of MMACHC function in cblC patients might be partially responsible for the oxidative stress and apoptosis processes observed in these cell lines. Our results suggest that ROS production may represent a genetic modifier of the phenotype and support the potential of using antioxidants as a novel therapeutic strategy to improve the severe neurological outcome of these rare diseases.     

Testing for Poisson Zero Inflation in Disease Mapping

When analyzing mortality data due to rare diseases in small areas, it is common to find several health zones with no mortality cases. In these circumstances, the classical homogeneous model based on the Poisson distribution used to estimate the relative risks within each area may encounter lack of fit due to a disproportionately large frequency of zeros. To cope with these zeros, the zero inflated Poisson model can be used. In this paper, we propose a test for detecting zero inflation in the context of disease mapping which is based on bootstrap techniques. The test is illustrated using male mortality data due to brain cancer in Navarra, Spain. In addition, comparisons with other tests for Poisson zero inflation such as the score test and the likelihood ratio test are carried out in terms of empirical power and size using the brain cancer scenario. The proposed bootstrap test has good power and size and works well when detecting the excess of zeros in small area data sets. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Biomass and height of Ascophyllum nodosum after two decades of continuous commercial harvesting in eastern Canada

With the increasing demand for seaweed resources worldwide, management must ensure that the harvest of wild seaweed stocks is sustainable. We evaluate the impact of over 25 years of commercial harvesting of Ascophyllum nodosum in eastern Canada by comparing the biomass and height of the seaweed in the late 1990s to the late 2010s over a broad spatial scale spanning the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. There has been no significant decrease in the biomass of A. nodosum in either province, and biomass has increased in some regions of New Brunswick during that period. The average height of A. nodosum has decreased by 7.8 cm in Nova Scotia while it increased by 13.8 cm in New Brunswick. Biomass of A. nodosum in unharvested sectors was 7% higher than that in harvested sectors while height of A. nodosum in unharvested sectors in New Brunswick is similar to the values observed in harvested sectors. Over the same period, water temperature has increased in both provinces and, in recent years, has at times exceeded the optimal growing temperature for A. nodosum within bays in Nova Scotia. We conclude that the current management and harvest of A. nodosum in eastern Canada are sustainable and maintain the biomass and height of A. nodosum beds but that control sites are necessary to offer adequate comparisons as environmental conditions are changing.

     

Network balance via CRY signalling controls the Arabidopsis circadian clock over ambient temperatures

Circadian clocks exhibit ‘temperature compensation’, meaning that they show only small changes in period over a broad temperature range. Several clock genes have been implicated in the temperature‐dependent control of period in Arabidopsis. We show that blue light is essential for this, suggesting that the effects of light and temperature interact or converge upon common targets in the circadian clock. Our data demonstrate that two cryptochrome photoreceptors differentially control circadian period and sustain rhythmicity across the physiological temperature range. In order to test the hypothesis that the targets of light regulation are sufficient to mediate temperature compensation, we constructed a temperature‐compensated clock model by adding passive temperature effects into only the light‐sensitive processes in the model. Remarkably, this model was not only capable of full temperature compensation and consistent with mRNA profiles across a temperature range, but also predicted the temperature‐dependent change in the level of LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL, a key clock protein. Our analysis provides a systems‐level understanding of period control in the plant circadian oscillator.     

What do we know about the yeast strains from the Brazilian fuel ethanol industry?

The production of fuel ethanol from sugarcane-based raw materials in Brazil is a successful example of a large-scale bioprocess that delivers an advanced biofuel at competitive prices and low environmental impact. Two to three fed-batch fermentations per day, with acid treatment of the yeast cream between consecutive cycles, during 6–8 months of uninterrupted production in a nonaseptic environment are some of the features that make the Brazilian process quite peculiar. Along the past decades, some wild Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains were isolated, identified, characterized, and eventually, reintroduced into the process, enabling us to build up knowledge on these organisms. This information, combined with physiological studies in the laboratory and, more recently, genome sequencing data, has allowed us to start clarifying why and how these strains behave differently from the better known laboratory, wine, beer, and baker's strains. All these issues are covered in this minireview, which also presents a brief discussion on future directions in the field and on the perspectives of introducing genetically modified strains in this industrial process.     

Oxidative stress and apoptosis in homocystinuria patients with genetic remethylation defects

Oxidative stress has been described as a putative disease mechanism in pathologies associated with an elevation of homocysteine. An increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and apoptosis rate have been associated with several disorders of cobalamin metabolism, particularly with methylmalonic aciduria (MMA) combined with homocystinuria cblC type. In this work, we have evaluated several parameters related to oxidative stress and apoptosis in fibroblasts from patients with homocystinuria due to defects in the MTR, MTRR, and MTHFR genes involved in the remethylation pathway of homocysteine. We have also evaluated these processes by knocking down the MTRR gene in cellular models, and complementation by transducing the wild‐type gene in cblE mutant fibroblasts. All cell lines showed a significant increase in ROS content and in MnSOD expression level, and also a higher rate of apoptosis with similar levels to the ones in cblC fibroblasts. The amount of the active phosphorylated forms of p38 and JNK stress‐kinases was also increased. ROS content and apoptosis rate increased in control fibroblasts and in a glioblastoma cell line by shRNA‐mediated silencing of MTRR gene expression. In contrast, wild‐type MTRR gene corrected mutant cell lines showed a decrease in ROS and apoptosis levels. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence that an impaired remethylation capacity due to low MTRR and MTR activity might be partially responsible for stress response. J. Cell. Biochem. 114: 183–191, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Dynamic Approximate Entropy Electroanatomic Maps Detect Rotors in a Simulated Atrial Fibrillation Model

There is evidence that rotors could be drivers that maintain atrial fibrillation. Complex fractionated atrial electrograms have been located in rotor tip areas. However, the concept of electrogram fractionation, defined using time intervals, is still controversial as a tool for locating target sites for ablation. We hypothesize that the fractionation phenomenon is better described using non-linear dynamic measures, such as approximate entropy, and that this tool could be used for locating the rotor tip. The aim of this work has been to determine the relationship between approximate entropy and fractionated electrograms, and to develop a new tool for rotor mapping based on fractionation levels. Two episodes of chronic atrial fibrillation were simulated in a 3D human atrial model, in which rotors were observed. Dynamic approximate entropy maps were calculated using unipolar electrogram signals generated over the whole surface of the 3D atrial model. In addition, we optimized the approximate entropy calculation using two real multi-center databases of fractionated electrogram signals, labeled in 4 levels of fractionation. We found that the values of approximate entropy and the levels of fractionation are positively correlated. This allows the dynamic approximate entropy maps to localize the tips from stable and meandering rotors. Furthermore, we assessed the optimized approximate entropy using bipolar electrograms generated over a vicinity enclosing a rotor, achieving rotor detection. Our results suggest that high approximate entropy values are able to detect a high level of fractionation and to locate rotor tips in simulated atrial fibrillation episodes. We suggest that dynamic approximate entropy maps could become a tool for atrial fibrillation rotor mapping.     

Management and production of the brown algae Ascophyllum nodosum in the Canadian maritimes

Commercial exploitation of Ascophyllum nodosum (rockweed) along the coast of Nova Scotia began in the late 1950s when it was used as a raw material for manufacturing alginate and “kelp” meal. Today, this resource is used as a biostimulant extract for crops and animal feed supplements and is the main economic resource of the seaweed industry in the Maritime Provinces and Canada. The management of rockweed, by dividing the resource into many sectors, permitted the assessment of yield per unit area of bed. In Nova Scotia, mechanical harvesting of A. nodosum operated on a pulse of 2- to 3-year schedule providing yields of 21.9 to 47.7?wet?t ha^?1 averaging 35.3?±?7.6?wet?t ha^?1. Acadian Seaplants Limited (ASL) has become the dominant player in the region since 1995 with more than 75% of the total biomass under its leases and more than 90% of the total landing of rockweed in the last 13?years. Sustained harvests at ASL leases and under an annual harvest schedule using hand cutting methods have averaged 17.4?±?2.6?t ha^?1. Exploitation rates above 35% of the harvestable crop lead to a pulse harvest strategy and the need to move infrastructure year after year. In New Brunswick, a new approach to management began in 1995 with a regulated 17% exploitation rate. Thus, the yield in that province is 14.3?wet?t ha^?1. The current summer standing crop for this region has been calculated at 352,723?wet?t, covering an area of 4,960?ha, with an average biomass of 71.3?t ha^?1. The harvest in the region reached peak landings in 2010 with just over 40,100?t. The consistent yield per hectare of A. nodosum beds is proof of good management practices and an ecologically sustainable harvest in the Canadian Maritimes.