Over-Hauling The Law Governing Lobster Fishing

Lobster fishing is one of Maine’s most famous and important industries. In order for the industry to thrive, it is necessary that the lobster stock continue to be bountiful. One way to achieve a bountiful stock of lobster is to place limits on the amount of lobster that can be fished in any given year. The legal world offers a number of ways to achieve this end. Some mechanisms that have been employed in various jurisdictions include minimum and maximum legal sizes, v-notching, and trap limits. Although these laws can be very effective in reducing the number of lobsters caught and therefore increasing the number of lobster in the ocean, they may paint with too broad a brush. More selective laws that are crafted based on lobster biology could lead to an increased lobster stock while also allowing for a large, profitable harvest from year to year. Through insights gained by a survey of selected laws governing lobster fishing from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Canada, and a review of the biology of the American lobster, this article suggests new laws and a new approach to drafting the law, both aimed at increasing the stock of Maine lobster and maintaining large harvests

Ablation of smooth muscle myosin heavy chain SM2 increases smooth muscle contractility and results in postnatal death in mice

The smooth muscle myosin heavy chains (SMHC) are motor proteins powering smooth muscle contraction. Alternate splicing of SHMC gene at the C-terminus produces SM1, and SM2 myosin isoforms; SM2 (200 kDa) contains a unique 9-amino-acid sequence at the carboxyl terminus, whereas SM1 (204 kDa) has a 43 amino acid non-helical tail region. To date the functional difference between C-terminal isoforms has not been established; therefore, we used an exon-specific gene targeting strategy and generated a mouse model specifically deficient in SM2. Deletion of exon-41 of the SMHC gene resulted in a complete loss of SM2 in homozygous (_SM2^-/-^_) mice, accompanied by a concomitant down-regulation of SM1 in bladders. While heterozygous (_SM2^+/-^_) mice appeared normal and fertile, _SM2^-/-^_ mice died within 30 days after birth. The peri-mortal _SM2^-/-^_ mice showed reduced body weight, distention of the bladder and alimentary tract, and end-stage hydronephrosis. Interestingly, strips from _SM2^-/-^_ bladders showed increased contraction to K^+^ depolarization or M3 receptor activation. These results suggest that SM2 myosin has a distinct functional role in smooth muscle, and the deficiency of SM2 increases smooth muscle contractility, and causes dysfunctions of smooth muscle organs, including the bladder that leads to the end-stage hydronephrosis and postnatal death

Bimodal brush-functionalized nanoparticles selective to receptor surface density.

Nanoparticles or drug carriers which can selectively bind to cells expressing receptors above a certain threshold surface density are very promising for targeting cells overexpressing specific receptors under pathological conditions. Simulations and theoretical studies have suggested that such selectivity can be enhanced by functionalizing nanoparticles with a bimodal polymer monolayer (BM) containing shorter ligated chains and longer inert protective chains. However, a systematic study of the effect of these parameters under tightly controlled conditions is still missing. Here, we develop well-defined and highly specific platforms mimicking particle-cell interface using surface chemistry to provide a experimental proof of such selectivity. Using surface plasmon resonance and atomic force microscopy, we report the selective adsorption of BM-functionalized nanoparticles, and especially, a significant enhanced selective behavior by using a BM with longer protective chains. Furthermore, a model is also developed to describe the repulsive contribution of the protective brush to nanoparticle adsorption. This model is combined with super-selectivity theory to support experimental findings and shows that the observed selectivity is due to the steric energy barrier which requires a high number of ligand-receptor bonds to allow nanoparticle adsorption. Finally, the results show how the relative length and molar ratio of two chains can be tuned to target a threshold surface density of receptors and thus lay the foundation for the rational design of BM-functionalized nanoparticles for selective targeting

Effects of Marsh Edge Erosion in Coupled Barrier Island-Marsh Systems and Geometric Constraints on Marsh Evolution

Sand washed across barrier islands during storms (called overwash) provides sediment for salt marshes behind those islands, and can allow a marsh which otherwise would drown to grow vertically fast enough to keep up with sea level. We use a barrier island-marsh evolution model (GEOMBEST+) to see what effect marsh edge erosion by waves has on overwash-supported marshes. Consistent with previous research, we find that wave erosion can make marshes more resilient by freeing sediment that can be used elsewhere on the marsh surface. We add that horizontal erosion of the marsh edge provides more sediment per volume eroded than vertical erosion of the marsh surface. This is because the bottom layers of the marsh contain more sediment (that can stay on marsh surfaces), while the surface layers include plant material (that drifts away or decomposes). We also find that when the marsh and bay are keeping up with sea level, expanding or eroding the marsh is the only way to change the volume of the bay, so how fast the marsh is expanding or eroding can be predicted using geometry, knowing only the size of the basin, sea-level-rise rate, and the net rate of sediment import or export

Protection against neonatal respiratory viral infection via maternal treatment during pregnancy with the benign immune training agent OM‐85

Objectives Incomplete maturation of immune regulatory functions at birth is antecedent to the heightened risk for severe respiratory infections during infancy. Our forerunner animal model studies demonstrated that maternal treatment with the microbial-derived immune training agent OM-85 during pregnancy promotes accelerated postnatal maturation of mechanisms that regulate inflammatory processes in the offspring airways. Here, we aimed to provide proof of concept for a novel solution to reduce the burden and potential long-term sequelae of severe early-life respiratory viral infection through maternal oral treatment during pregnancy with OM-85, already in widespread human clinical use. Methods In this study, we performed flow cytometry and targeted gene expression (RT-qPCR) analysis on lungs from neonatal offspring whose mothers received oral OM-85 treatment during pregnancy. We next determined whether neonatal offspring from OM-85 treated mothers demonstrate enhanced protection against lethal lower respiratory infection with mouse-adapted rhinovirus (vMC0), and associated lung immune changes. Results Offspring from mothers treated with OM-85 during pregnancy display accelerated postnatal seeding of lung myeloid populations demonstrating upregulation of function-associated markers. Offspring from OM-85 mothers additionally exhibit enhanced expression of TLR4/7 and the IL-1β/NLRP3 inflammasome complex within the lung. These treatment effects were associated with enhanced capacity to clear an otherwise lethal respiratory viral infection during the neonatal period, with concomitant regulation of viral-induced IFN response intensity. Conclusion These results demonstrate that maternal OM-85 treatment protects offspring against lethal neonatal respiratory viral infection by accelerating development of innate immune mechanisms crucial for maintenance of local immune homeostasis in the face of pathogen challenge

A Multi-Scale Approach to Airway Hyperresponsiveness: From Molecule to Organ

Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), a characteristic of asthma that involves an excessive reduction in airway caliber, is a complex mechanism reflecting multiple processes that manifest over a large range of length and time scales. At one extreme, molecular interactions determine the force generated by airway smooth muscle (ASM). At the other, the spatially distributed constriction of the branching airways leads to breathing difficulties. Similarly, asthma therapies act at the molecular scale while clinical outcomes are determined by lung function. These extremes are linked by events operating over intermediate scales of length and time. Thus, AHR is an emergent phenomenon that limits our understanding of asthma and confounds the interpretation of studies that address physiological mechanisms over a limited range of scales. A solution is a modular computational model that integrates experimental and mathematical data from multiple scales. This includes, at the molecular scale, kinetics, and force production of actin-myosin contractile proteins during cross-bridge and latch-state cycling; at the cellular scale, Ca2+ signaling mechanisms that regulate ASM force production; at the tissue scale, forces acting between contracting ASM and opposing viscoelastic tissue that determine airway narrowing; at the organ scale, the topographic distribution of ASM contraction dynamics that determine mechanical impedance of the lung. At each scale, models are constructed with iterations between theory and experimentation to identify the parameters that link adjacent scales. This modular model establishes algorithms for modeling over a wide range of scales and provides a framework for the inclusion of other responses such as inflammation or therapeutic regimes. The goal is to develop this lung model so that it can make predictions about bronchoconstriction and identify the pathophysiologic mechanisms having the greatest impact on AHR and its therapy

Wise practices: Indigenous-settler relations in Laurentian Great Lakes fishery governance and water protection

Ongoing tensions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities working in support of the protection and management of fish and water in North America have necessitated a shift from current structures towards relationships built upon and driven by respect, relevance, reciprocity, and responsibility. Similarly, the cumulative and evolving effects of climate change, industrialization, resource extraction, and displacement of Indigenous Peoples from their traditional and contemporary lands and waters requires purposeful application of decolonizing methods in aquatic systems management and protection, which in turn aids in the re-establishment of agency to Indigenous Peoples. This article endeavors to outline critical differences in ‘best practices’ and ‘wise practices’ in Laurentian Great Lakes fisheries management, water protection, and Indigenous-settler working relations through dialogue on experiences of Indigenous working relationships with colonial governmental bodies. We discuss critical misunderstandings, and the need for creating room for and profoundly respecting Indigenous ways of knowing and being. This work brings together lessons, stories, and knowledge from a panel of Indigenous and allied scholars and community members from the International Association for Great Lakes Research annual conference in May 2021, and subsequently uses a conversation-based methodology to preserve the voices and teachings of panelists. The lessons shared in this work are vital to the future of Laurentian Great Lakes fish and water health

Transplacental innate immune training via maternal microbial exposure: role of XBP1-ERN1 axis in dendritic cell precursor programming

We recently reported that offspring of mice treated during pregnancy with the microbial-derived immunomodulator OM-85 manifest striking resistance to allergic airways inflammation, and localized the potential treatment target to fetal conventional dendritic cell (cDC) progenitors. Here, we profile maternal OM-85 treatment-associated transcriptomic signatures in fetal bone marrow, and identify a series of immunometabolic pathways which provide essential metabolites for accelerated myelopoiesis. Additionally, the cDC progenitor compartment displayed treatment-associated activation of the XBP1-ERN1 signalling axis which has been shown to be crucial for tissue survival of cDC, particularly within the lungs. Our forerunner studies indicate uniquely rapid turnover of airway mucosal cDCs at baseline, with further large-scale upregulation of population dynamics during aeroallergen and/or pathogen challenge. We suggest that enhanced capacity for XBP1-ERN1-dependent cDC survival within the airway mucosal tissue microenvironment may be a crucial element of OM-85-mediated transplacental innate immune training which results in postnatal resistance to airway inflammatory disease

Complete Sequence, Analysis and Organization of the Orgyia leucostigma Nucleopolyhedrovirus Genome

The complete genome of the Orgyia leucostigma nucleopolyhedrovirus (OrleNPV) isolated from the whitemarked tussock moth (Orgyia leucostigma, Lymantridae: Lepidoptera) was sequenced, analyzed, and compared to other baculovirus genomes. The size of the OrleNPV genome was 156,179 base pairs (bp) and had a G+C content of 39%. The genome encoded 135 putative open reading frames (ORFs), which occupied 79% of the entire genome sequence. Three inhibitor of apoptosis (ORFs 16, 43 and 63), and five baculovirus repeated ORFs (bro-a through bro-e) were interspersed in the OrleNPV genome. In addition to six direct repeat (drs), a common feature shared among most baculoviruses, OrleNPV genome contained three homologous regions (hrs) that are located in the latter half of the genome. The presence of an F-protein homologue and the results from phylogenetic analyses placed OrleNPV in the genus Alphabaculovirus, group II. Overall, OrleNPV appears to be most closely related to group II alphabaculoviruses Ectropis obliqua (EcobNPV), Apocheima cinerarium (ApciNPV), Euproctis pseudoconspersa (EupsNPV), and Clanis bilineata (ClbiNPV)

Home and Work Physical Activity Environments: Associations with Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Physical Activity Level in French Women

The influence of the physical activity environment in the home and at work on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and objectively-measured physical activity has not been extensively studied. We recruited 147 women with a (mean ± SD) age of 54 ± 7 years and without evidence of chronic disease. The physical activity environment was assessed by self-report (Assessing Levels of PHysical Activity or ALPHA questionnaire), CRF using a submaximal step test, usual physical activity using combined heart rate and accelerometry, as well as by a validated questionnaire (Recent Physical Activity Questionnaire). Summary scores of the home environment and the work environment derived from the ALPHA questionnaire were positively correlated with CRF after adjustment for age ($r$ = 0.18, $p$ = 0.03 and $r$ = 0.28, $p$ < 0.01, respectively). Women owning a bicycle or having a garden (which may prompt physical activity) had higher CRF; those with a bicycle at home also had a higher physical activity energy expenditure. Similarly, women who had access to fitness equipment at work had higher CRF. In conclusion, these results provide new insights into potential environmental influences on physical capacity and physical activity that could inform the design of physical activity promotion strategies.European Union (Integrated Project LSHM-CT-2006-037197 in the Framework Programme 6 of the European Community), Medical Research Council (Grant ID: MC_UU_12015/3