Mobility control as state-making in civil war: Forcing exit, selective return and strategic laissez-faire

This paper addresses the question of how different actors attempt to control mobility during civil war, and how mobility control and processes of state-making interact in such settings. Mobility in civil wars is often considered a political act by the various actors involved: Leaving the country can be perceived as an act of opposition, as can moving between territories which are controlled by different, opposing factions. Drawing on literature on strategic displacement and migration politics and combining this with empirical insights from the ongoing wars in Libya and Syria, the paper identifies three mechanisms of mobility control in civil war settings: forcing exit, selective return as a form of expulsion, and strategic laissez-faire as the intentional absence of regulation regarding displacement and return. The analysis reveals that all three mechanisms are employed by state actor(s), rebels, and militias, and can be understood as elements of a new (post)war order that includes some citizens while excluding others depending on perceptions of political threats. We interpret the three mechanisms as ways in which actors in civil war settings attempt to manipulate a country’s demography in their own favour in a process of state-making. The paper is based on fieldwork conducted between 2018 and 2021 in Syria, Lebanon, Libya, and Tunisia

Perceiving Migration Crises: A View from the European Neighbourhood

For a long time now, "crisis" has been the dominant trope in European discourses on migration. This perception is extremely Eurocentric, as migration to the European Union is minimal compared to other world regions. How do non-EU states such as Tunisia and Turkey, which are bound to the EU through neighbourhood policies and agreements, view not only migration movements perceived as "critical" within the EU but also the ensuing migration agreements? Tunisian media discourses on the EU migration deal of June 2018 show that Tunisian political analysts are aware that the "migration crisis" is actively constructed by political actors in the EU for the latter's own political gain. In Tunisia itself, no such "crisis" was diagnosed - at least in media discourse -despite the high and rising number of forced migrants entering the country. Instead, political reporting focused on local domestic crises and on Tunisia's mediating role within the neighbouring conflict in Libya. Similarly, the reporting in Turkey on the negotiations leading up to the joint EU-Turkey statement of March 2016 shows an acute awareness of European constructions of a "migration crisis." Despite Turkey's rapid development from a migrant-sending state to one of the most important host states for forced migrants in the world, Turkish media reporting focused on local issues and conflicts and on Turkey's strategic interests in the Syrian conflict. EU perceptions of migration as a crisis and discrepancies between a rhetorical commitment to humanitarian values and real-life actions are carefully received and critically evaluated in neigbouring states, highlighting the need to better understand perceptions of the EU, as this can be expected to impact future cooperation. The EU should build knowledge on local and national discourses on migration in (potential) partner states; reflect upon who gains from the narrative of forced migration as a "crisis" both within and outside of the EU; and address severe protection gaps for refugees and migrants in partner states when negotiating cooperative migration governance

Protease gene families in Populus and Arabidopsis

BACKGROUND: Proteases play key roles in plants, maintaining strict protein quality control and degrading specific sets of proteins in response to diverse environmental and developmental stimuli. Similarities and differences between the proteases expressed in different species may give valuable insights into their physiological roles and evolution. RESULTS: We have performed a comparative analysis of protease genes in the two sequenced dicot genomes, Arabidopsis thaliana and Populus trichocarpa by using genes coding for proteases in the MEROPS database [1] for Arabidopsis to identify homologous sequences in Populus. A multigene-based phylogenetic analysis was performed. Most protease families were found to be larger in Populus than in Arabidopsis, reflecting recent genome duplication. Detailed studies on e.g. the DegP, Clp, FtsH, Lon, rhomboid and papain-Like protease families showed the pattern of gene family expansion and gene loss was complex. We finally show that different Populus tissues express unique suites of protease genes and that the mRNA levels of different classes of proteases change along a developmental gradient. CONCLUSION: Recent gene family expansion and contractions have made the Arabidopsis and Populus complements of proteases different and this, together with expression patterns, gives indications about the roles of the individual gene products or groups of proteases

The Role of Microalgae in the Biogeochemical Cycling of Methylmercury (MeHg) in Aquatic Environments

Methylmercury (MeHg) is the most important and the most abundant organic Hg pollutant in the aquatic ecosystem that can affect human health through biomagnification. It is the most toxic organic Hg form, which occurs naturally and by human-induced contamination in water and is further biomagnified in the aquatic food web. MeHg is the only Hg form that accumulates in living organisms and is able to cross the blood–brain barrier, presenting an enormous health risk. Anthropogenic activity increases eutrophication of coastal waters worldwide, which promotes algae blooms. Microalgae, as primary producers, are especially sensitive to MeHg exposure in water and are an important entrance point for MeHg into the aquatic food web. MeHg assimilated by microalgae is further transferred to fish, wildlife and, eventually, humans as final consumers. MeHg biomagnifies and bioaccumulates in living organisms and has serious negative health effects on humans, especially newborns and children. Knowledge of the microalgae–MeHg interaction at the bottom of the food web provides key insights into the control and prevention of MeHg exposure in humans and wildlife. This review aims to summarize recent findings in the literature on the microalgae–MeHg interaction, which can be used to predict MeHg transfer and toxicity in the aquatic food webThis research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities; by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) within the framework of the FEDER program of Andalusia (Spain) 2014–2020, grant number UHU–202065; and by Grant P20-00930 from the Andalusian Plan for Research, Development and Innovation, within the frame of the operational program “FEDER Andalucía 2014–2020” The authors wish to thank Erik Björn from Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, Sweden, for his constructive comments on the paper’s content. We wish to thank personnel from LICAH (Laboratorio de Investigación y Control Agroalimentario), University of Huelva, for their collaboration and cooperation under FEDER 2014–2020 UHU–202065 project. We also want to thank colleagues from BITAL (Algae Biotechnology Group), University of Huelva, for their kind assistance in the lab and for creating a productive working environmen

Loss of Arabidopsis matrix metalloproteinase-5 affects root development and root bacterial communities during drought stress

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc-dependent endo-peptidases that in mammals are known to be involved in remodeling the extracellular matrix (ECM) in developmental and pathological processes. In this study, we report At5-MMP of Arabidopsis thaliana to be important for root development and root bacterial communities. At5-MMP is mainly localized in the root vasculature and lateral root, an At5-MMP T-DNA insertion mutant (mmp5 KO) showed reduced root growth and a lower number of root apexes, causing reduced water uptake from the soil. Subsequently, mmp5 KO is sensitive to drought stress. Inhibited auxin transport was accompanied with resistance to indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D), and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). The content of endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) was lower in roots of mmp5 KO than in wild type. Genes responsive to ABA as well as genes encoding enzymes of the proline biosynthesis were expressed to a lower extent in mmp5 KO than in wild type. Moreover, drought stress modulated root-associated bacterial communities of mmp5 KO: the number of Actinobacteria increased. Therefore, At5-MMP modulates auxin/ABA signaling rendering the plant sensitive to drought stress and recruiting differential root bacterial communities

The stress-induced SCP/HLIP family of small light-harvesting-like proteins (ScpABCDE) protects Photosystem II from photoinhibitory damages in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

Small CAB-like proteins (SCPs) are single-helix light-harvesting-like proteins found in all organisms performing oxygenic photosynthesis. We investigated the effect of growth in moderate salt stress on these stress-induced proteins in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 depleted of Photosystem I (PSI), which expresses SCPs constitutively, and compared these cells with a PSI-less/ScpABCDE- mutant. SCPs, by stabilizing chlorophyll-binding proteins and Photosystem II (PSII) assembly, protect PSII from photoinhibitory damages, and in their absence electrons accumulate and will lead to ROS formation. The presence of 0.2 M NaCl in the growth medium increased the respiratory activity and other PSII electron sinks in the PSI-less/ScpABCDE- strain. We postulate that this salt-induced effect consumes the excess of PSII-generated electrons, reduces the pressure of the electron transport chain, and thereby prevents 1O2 production

NordAqua, a Nordic Center of Excellence to develop an algae-based photosynthetic production platform

NordAqua is a multidisciplinary Nordic Center of Excellence funded by NordForsk Bioeconomy program (2017-2022). The research center promotes Blue Bioeconomy and endeavours to reform the use of natural resources in a environmentally sustainable way. In this short communication, we summarize particular outcomes of the consortium. The key research progress of NordAqua includes (1) improving of photosynthetisis, (2) developing novel photosynthetic cell factories that function in a "solar-driven direct CO2 capture to target bioproducts" mode, (3) promoting the diversity of Nordic cyanobacteria and algae as an abundant and resilient alternative for less sustainable forest biomass and for innovative production of biochemicals, and (4) improving the bio-based wastewater purification and nutrient recycling technologies to provide new tools for integrative circular economy platforms.Peer reviewe

Wastewater treatment by microalgae

The growth of the world's population increases the demand for fresh water, food, energy, and technology, which in turn leads to increasing amount of wastewater, produced both by domestic and industrial sources. These different wastewaters contain a wide variety of organic and inorganic compounds which can cause tremendous environmental problems if released untreated. Traditional treatment systems are usually expensive, energy demanding and are often still incapable of solving all challenges presented by the produced wastewaters. Microalgae are promising candidates for wastewater reclamation as they are capable of reducing the amount of nitrogen and phosphate as well as other toxic compounds including heavy metals or pharmaceuticals. Compared to the traditional systems, photosynthetic microalgae require less energy input since they use sunlight as their energy source, and at the same time lower the carbon footprint of the overall reclamation process. This mini-review focuses on recent advances in wastewater reclamation using microalgae. The most common microalgal strains used for this purpose are described as well as the challenges of using wastewater from different origins. We also describe the impact of climate with a particular focus on a Nordic climate

NordAqua, a Nordic Center of Excellence to develop an algae-based photosynthetic production platform

NordAqua is a multidisciplinary Nordic Center of Excellence funded by NordForsk Bioeconomy program (2017-2022). The research center promotes Blue Bioeconomy and endeavours to reform the use of natural resources in a environmentally sustainable way. In this short communication, we summarize particular outcomes of the consortium. The key research progress of NordAqua includes (1) improving of photosynthetisis, (2) developing novel photosynthetic cell factories that function in a "solar-driven direct CO2 capture to target bioproducts" mode, (3) promoting the diversity of Nordic cyanobacteria and algae as an abundant and resilient alternative for less sustainable forest biomass and for innovative production of biochemicals, and (4) improving the bio-based wastewater purification and nutrient recycling technologies to provide new tools for integrative circular economy platforms.</p

Recombinant Deg/HtrA proteases from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 differ in substrate specificity, biochemical characteristics and mechanism

Cyanobacteria require efficient protein-quality-control mechanisms to survive under dynamic, often stressful, environmental conditions. It was reported that three serine proteases, HtrA (high temperature requirement A), HhoA (HtrA homologue A) and HhoB (HtrA homologue B), are important for survival of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 under high light and temperature stresses and might have redundant physiological functions. In the present paper, we show that all three proteases can degrade unfolded model substrates, but differ with respect to cleavage sites, temperature and pH optima. For recombinant HhoA, and to a lesser extent for HtrA, we observed an interesting shift in the pH optimum from slightly acidic to alkaline in the presence of Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions. All three proteases formed different homo-oligomeric complexes with and without substrate, implying mechanistic differences in comparison with each other and with the well-studied Escherichia coli orthologues DegP (degradation of periplasmic proteins P) and DegS. Deletion of the PDZ domain decreased, but did not abolish, the proteolytic activity of all three proteases, and prevented substrate-induced formation of complexes higher than trimers by HtrA and HhoA. In summary, biochemical characterization of HtrA, HhoA and HhoB lays the foundation for a better understanding of their overlapping, but not completely redundant, stress-resistance functions in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803