Comparitive assessment of the vulnerability and resilience of 10 deltas, synthesis report

The proposed framework for delta assessment and especially the scorecards are intended to enhance awareness raising, discussion and prioritization on most relevant delta issues, in each delta but also in comparison with other deltas. This should lead to more efficient and effective (multi-sectoral) policy formulation, management design and implementation, in concrete Delta plans, pilot-projects and (research) programmes. The target groups are all stakeholders who are involved in delta management at different levels and with different interests (government, private companies, NGOs, public), and who wish to contribute to the resilience of their own delta and other deltas worldwide

Comparative assessment of the vulnerability and resilience of 10 deltas : work document

Background information about: Nile delta (Egypt), Incomati delta (Mozambique), Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (Bangladesh), Yangtze (China), Ciliwung (Indonesia), Mekong (Vietnam), Rhine-Meuse (The Netherlands), Danube (Romania), California Bay-Delta, Mississippi River Delta (USA

Launching the Delta Alliance: business development report phase 3

Delta Alliance is an international knowledge-driven network organisation. Its mission is to improve the resilience of deltas through more integrated and effective efforts, building on scientific research and knowledge exchange. It aims at disclosure of knowledge for application by a wide audience of end-users from the knowledge institutions, public partners and private sector, as well as to identification of upcoming research agenda

Inventarisatie en evaluatie dioxinen in het Nederlandse aquatische milieu: status 2005

This report describes an inventory of the present day’s situation of actions and effects of actions on the emission of dioxin, furan and dioxin-like PCBs to the Dutch aquatic environment. The standards for dioxins, furans and dioxin-like PCBs in food and the environment, and a risk evaluation for local areas in the Netherlands in relation to the function of the water are discussed

Enabling Delta Life - What makes managing land and water in deltas different?

This discussion paper describes an integrated framework for delta assessment, the need for specific strategies for deltas, especially as it relates to integrated water resources management, and taking into account the increasing interest for the institutional, socio-economic, financial and awareness-raising aspects

Launching the Delta Alliance: Content report phase 3

Delta Alliance is an international knowledge-driven network organisation. Its mission is to improve the resilience of deltas through more integrated and effective efforts, building on scientific research and knowledge exchange. It aims at disclosure of knowledge for application by a wide audience of end-users from the knowledge institutions, public partners and private sector, as well as to identification of upcoming research agenda

Comparative assessment of the vulnerability and resilience of deltas, extended version with 14 deltas : work document

Worldwide, deltas host dense populations and are important centres of agricultural and industrial production, and economic activity. Many deltas are areas of great ecological importance as well, featuring wetlands of high and unique biodiversity. Deltas are vulnerable to changes by natural forces and human activities. Major drivers of change are population growth, economic development, climate change and subsidence

Short- and Long-Term Biomarkers for Bacterial Robustness: A Framework for Quantifying Correlations between Cellular Indicators and Adaptive Behavior

The ability of microorganisms to adapt to changing environments challenges the prediction of their history-dependent behavior. Cellular biomarkers that are quantitatively correlated to stress adaptive behavior will facilitate our ability to predict the impact of these adaptive traits. Here, we present a framework for identifying cellular biomarkers for mild stress induced enhanced microbial robustness towards lethal stresses. Several candidate-biomarkers were selected by comparing the genome-wide transcriptome profiles of our model-organism Bacillus cereus upon exposure to four mild stress conditions (mild heat, acid, salt and oxidative stress). These candidate-biomarkers—a transcriptional regulator (activating general stress responses), enzymes (removing reactive oxygen species), and chaperones and proteases (maintaining protein quality)—were quantitatively determined at transcript, protein and/or activity level upon exposure to mild heat, acid, salt and oxidative stress for various time intervals. Both unstressed and mild stress treated cells were also exposed to lethal stress conditions (severe heat, acid and oxidative stress) to quantify the robustness advantage provided by mild stress pretreatment. To evaluate whether the candidate-biomarkers could predict the robustness enhancement towards lethal stress elicited by mild stress pretreatment, the biomarker responses upon mild stress treatment were correlated to mild stress induced robustness towards lethal stress. Both short- and long-term biomarkers could be identified of which their induction levels were correlated to mild stress induced enhanced robustness towards lethal heat, acid and/or oxidative stress, respectively, and are therefore predictive cellular indicators for mild stress induced enhanced robustness. The identified biomarkers are among the most consistently induced cellular components in stress responses and ubiquitous in biology, supporting extrapolation to other microorganisms than B. cereus. Our quantitative, systematic approach provides a framework to search for these biomarkers and to evaluate their predictive quality in order to select promising biomarkers that can serve to early detect and predict adaptive traits

Adaptative Potential of the Lactococcus Lactis IL594 Strain Encoded in Its 7 Plasmids

The extrachromosomal gene pool plays a significant role both in evolution and in the environmental adaptation of bacteria. The L. lactis subsp. lactis IL594 strain contains seven plasmids, named pIL1 to pIL7, and is the parental strain of the plasmid-free L. lactis IL1403, which is one of the best characterized lactococcal strains of LAB. Complete nucleotide sequences of pIL1 (6,382 bp), pIL2 (8,277 bp), pIL3 (19,244 bp), pIL4 (48,979), pIL5 (23,395), pIL6 (28,435 bp) and pIL7 (28,546) were established and deposited in the generally accessible database (GeneBank). Nine highly homologous repB-containing replicons, belonging to the lactococcal theta-type replicons, have been identified on the seven plasmids. Moreover, a putative region involved in conjugative plasmid mobilization was found on four plasmids, through identification of the presence of mob genes and/or oriT sequences. Detailed bioinformatic analysis of the plasmid nucleotide sequences provided new insight into the repertoire of plasmid-encoded functions in L. lactis, and indicated that plasmid genes from IL594 strain can be important for L. lactis adaptation to specific environmental conditions (e.g. genes coding for proteins involved in DNA repair or cold shock response) as well as for technological processes (e.g. genes encoding citrate and lactose utilization, oligopeptide transport, restriction-modification system). Moreover, global gene analysis indicated cooperation between plasmid- and chromosome-encoded metabolic pathways