Boosting Blue Growth in a Mild Sea: Analysis of the Synergies Produced by a Multi-Purpose Offshore Installation in the Northern Adriatic, Italy

In the near future, the oceans will be subjected to a massive development of marine infrastructures, including offshore wind, tidal and wave energy farms and constructions for marine aquaculture. The development of these facilities will unavoidably exert environmental pressures on marine ecosystems. It is therefore crucial that the economic costs, the use of marine space and the environmental impacts of these activities remain within acceptable limits. Moreover, the installation of arrays of wave energy devices is still far from being economically feasible due to many combined aspects, such as immature technologies for energy conversion, local energy storage and moorings. Therefore, multi-purpose solutions combining renewable energy from the sea (wind, wave, tide), aquaculture and transportation facilities can be considered as a challenging, yet advantageous, way to boost blue growth. This would be due to the sharing of the costs of installation and using the produced energy locally to feed the different functionalities and optimizing marine spatial planning. This paper focuses on the synergies that may be produced by a multi-purpose offshore installation in a relatively calm sea, i.e., the Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy, and specifically offshore Venice. It analyzes the combination of aquaculture, energy production from wind and waves, and energy storage or transfer. Alternative solutions are evaluated based on specific criteria, including the maturity of the technology, the environmental impact, the induced risks and the costs. Based on expert judgment, the alternatives are ranked and a preliminary layout of the selected multi-purpose installation for the case study is proposed, to further allow the exploitation of the synergies among different functionalities

Methodology for integrated socio-economic assessment of offshore platforms : towards facilitation of the implementation of the marine strategy framework directive

In this paper a Methodology for Integrated Socio-Economic Assessment (MISEA) of the viability and sustainability of different designs of Multi-Use Offshore Platforms (MUOPs) is presented. MUOPs are designed for multi-use of ocean space for energy extraction (wind power production and wave energy), aquaculture and transport maritime services. The developed methodology allows identification, valuation and assessment of: the potential range of impacts of a number of feasible designs of MUOP investments, and the likely responses of those impacted by the investment project. This methodology provides decision-makers with a valuable decision tool to assess whether a MUOP project increases the overall social welfare and hence should be undertaken, under alternative specifications regarding its design, the discount rate and the stream of net benefits, if a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is to be followed or sensitivity analysis of selected criteria in a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework. Such a methodology is also crucial for facilitating of the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD adopted in June 2008) that aims to achieve good environmental status of the EU's marine waters by 2020 and to protect the resource base upon which marine-related economic and social activities depend. According to the MSFD each member state must draw up a program of cost-effective measures, while prior to any new measure an impact assessment which contains a detailed cost-benefit analysis of the proposed measures is required

Mixis in rotifers of the lineage 'Nevada', belonging to the Brachionus plicatilis species complex, under different feeding regimes

A strain of Brachionus 'Nevada', which belongs to the Brachionus plicatilis species complex, and is commonly found in European hatcheries, was investigated in terms of its mixis potential. Two feeding regimes used for mass culturing were employed. Rotifer populations were fed on phytoplankton (Tetraselmis suecica) and either baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (treatments A) or Culture Selco® (treatments B). In order to promote mixis, the salinity of the culture medium was reduced from 40 to 20 g L-1. Indeed, the rotifer populations of lower salinity (A 20, B 20) showed a twofold increase in mixis rates compared with those of higher salinity (A 40, B 40). In addition, treatment A 20 showed significantly higher levels of mixis (22.59±2.07%) compared with B 20 (16.56±1.46%). The opposite trend was observed for the parthenogenetic growth rates (A 20: 0.46±0.01; B 20: 0.62±0.01). It is thus concluded that Culture Selco leads to a higher abundance of amictic ovigerous females, whereas yeast supports a higher abundance of males and mictic females carrying resting eggs. The two types of feeding regimes can be used for different purposes in a hatchery. © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Myeloid-derived interleukin-1β drives oncogenic KRAS-NF-κΒ addiction in malignant pleural effusion

Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is a frequent metastatic manifestation of human cancers. While we previously identified KRAS mutations as molecular culprits of MPE formation, the underlying mechanism remained unknown. Here, we determine that non-canonical IKKα-RelB pathway activation of KRAS-mutant tumor cells mediates MPE development and this is fueled by host-provided interleukin IL-1β. Indeed, IKKα is required for the MPE-competence of KRAS-mutant tumor cells by activating non-canonical NF-κB signaling. IL-1β fuels addiction of mutant KRAS to IKKα resulting in increased CXCL1 secretion that fosters MPE-associated inflammation. Importantly, IL-1β-mediated NF-κB induction in KRAS-mutant tumor cells, as well as their resulting MPE-competence, can only be blocked by co-inhibition of both KRAS and IKKα, a strategy that overcomes drug resistance to individual treatments. Hence we show that mutant KRAS facilitates IKKα-mediated responsiveness of tumor cells to host IL-1β, thereby establishing a host-to-tumor signaling circuit that culminates in inflammatory MPE development and drug resistance

Methodology for Integrated Socio-economic Assessment of Multi-use Offshore Platforms.

This chapter presents the methodology employed for the Integrated Socio-Economic Assessment (MISEA) of different designs of Multi-Use Offshore Platforms (MUOPs). The methodology allows for the identification, the valuationand the assessment of the potential impacts and their magnitude. The analysis considers a number of feasible designs of MUOP investments, and the likely responsesof those impacted by the investment project. The approach provides decision-makers with a valuable tool to assess whether a MUOP project increases the overall social welfare and hence should be undertaken. This is performed under alternative specifications regarding platform design, the discount rate and the stream of net benefits, if a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is to be followed or a sensitivity analysis of selected criteria in a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework. Themethodology can support the implementation of policies aiming at achieving a goodenvironmental status of the EU’s marine waters and the protection of the resource base upon which marine-related economic and social activities depend