Fish in the city

Aquaculture is the most recent addition to animal husbandry and it is the fastest growing food production industry. Its contribution to world food security in the 21st century is already significant and it is bound to continue to grow because demand for fish for human consumption is rapidly increasing whereas fish supplies from ocean fisheries are likely to decline. The rapid evolution of aquaculture involved a host of innovations of which many were based on R&D activities by public and private research organizations. Applied R&D tends to be the more effective the better focused it is on specific research problems or opportunities. Among the many possible aquaculture production systems on which aquaculture R&D might focus are recirculation aquaculture systems and in this paper we explore crucial aspects of the potential of urban recirculation aquaculture. Our exploration begins with a vision of recirculation aquaculture production plants located at the fringes of cities of converging economies. Such production systems are distinctly different from conventional urban aquaculture systems based on urban sewage. We scrutinize our vision from four perspectives: (i) the expected demand for aquaculture fish from urban consumers; (ii) cost competitiveness of fish produced at the fringes of cities as compared to fish produced in the rural hinterland; (iii) the potential for integration of urban recirculation aquaculture production into the modern food supply chains that are now emerging in converging economies, and (iv) the ecological footprint of aquaculture production compared to that of chicken production. Based on trends in the growth of urban populations world-wide and trends in demand for fish for food we estimate a total urban demand for aquaculture finfish between 11 and 51 million tons in 2025. We use von Thünen's location theory to provide support for the vision to locate recirculation aquaculture plants not within cities and not in their rural hinterland but on the fringes of cities. Moreover, we argue that tightly controlled recirculation aquaculture production would seem to be particularly well suited for being integrated into modern food supply chains. Finally, we compare the ecological footprint of recirculation aquaculture fish with that of industrially produced chicken and we find that the ecological balance depends on the source of energy used. We conclude our exploratory study with some thoughts on the implication for aquaculture R&D of the potential for recirculation aquaculture located on the fringes of cities in emerging economy countries. --

Fish in the city

Aquaculture is the most recent addition to animal husbandry and it is the fastest growing food production industry. Its contribution to world food security in the 21st century is already significant and it is bound to continue to grow because demand for fish for human consumption is rapidly increasing whereas fish supplies from ocean fisheries are likely to decline. The rapid evolution of aquaculture involved a host of innovations of which many were based on R&D activities by public and private research organizations. Applied R&D tends to be the more effective the better focused it is on specific research problems or opportunities. Among the many possible aquaculture production systems on which aquaculture R&D might focus are recirculation aquaculture systems and in this paper we explore crucial aspects of the potential of urban recirculation aquaculture. Our exploration begins with a vision of recirculation aquaculture production plants located at the fringes of cities of converging economies. Such production systems are distinctly different from conventional urban aquaculture systems based on urban sewage. We scrutinize our vision from four perspectives: (i) the expected demand for aquaculture fish from urban consumers; (ii) cost competitiveness of fish produced at the fringes of cities as compared to fish produced in the rural hinterland; (iii) the potential for integration of urban recirculation aquaculture production into the modern food supply chains that are now emerging in converging economies, and (iv) the ecological footprint of aquaculture production compared to that of chicken production. Based on trends in the growth of urban populations world-wide and trends in demand for fish for food we estimate a total urban demand for aquaculture finfish between 11 and 51 million tons in 2025. We use von Thünen's location theory to provide support for the vision to locate recirculation aquaculture plants not within cities and not in their rural hinterland but on the fringes of cities. Moreover, we argue that tightly controlled recirculation aquaculture production would seem to be particularly well suited for being integrated into modern food supply chains. Finally, we compare the ecological footprint of recirculation aquaculture fish with that of industrially produced chicken and we find that the ecological balance depends on the source of energy used. We conclude our exploratory study with some thoughts on the implication for aquaculture R&D of the potential for recirculation aquaculture located on the fringes of cities in emerging economy countries

Fish in the City

Aquaculture is the most recent addition to animal husbandry and it is the fastest growing food production industry. Its contribution to world food security in the 21st century is already significant and it is bound to continue to grow because demand for fish for human consumption is rapidly increasing whereas fish supplies from ocean fisheries are likely to decline. The rapid evolution of aquaculture involved a host of innovations of which many were based on R&D activities by public and private research organizations. Applied R&D tends to be the more effective the better focused it is on specific research problems or opportunities. Among the many possible aquaculture production systems on which aquaculture R&D might focus are recirculation aquaculture systems and in this paper we explore crucial aspects of the potential of urban recirculation aquaculture. Our exploration begins with a vision of recirculation aquaculture production plants located at the fringes of cities of converging economies. Such production systems are distinctly different from conventional urban aquaculture systems based on urban sewage. We scrutinize our vision from four perspectives: (i) the expected demand for aquaculture fish from urban consumers; (ii) cost competitiveness of fish produced at the fringes of cities as compared to fish produced in the rural hinterland; (iii) the potential for integration of urban recirculation aquaculture production into the modern food supply chains that are now emerging in converging economies, and (iv) the ecological footprint of aquaculture production compared to that of chicken production. Based on trends in the growth of urban populations world-wide and trends in demand for fish for food we estimate a total urban demand for aquaculture finfish between 11 and 51 million tons in 2025. We use von Thünen's location theory to provide support for the vision to locate recirculation aquaculture plants not within cities and not in their rural hinterland but on the fringes of cities. Moreover, we argue that tightly controlled recirculation aquaculture production would seem to be particularly well suited for being integrated into modern food supply chains. Finally, we compare the ecological footprint of recirculation aquaculture fish with that of industrially produced chicken and we find that the ecological balance depends on the source of energy used. We conclude our exploratory study with some thoughts on the implication for aquaculture R&D of the potential for recirculation aquaculture located on the fringes of cities in emerging economy countries

Effect of roflumilast on inflammatory cells in the lungs of cigarette smoke-exposed mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We reported that roflumilast, a phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor, given orally at 5 mg/kg to mice prevented the development of emphysema in a chronic model of cigarette smoke exposure, while at 1 mg/kg was ineffective. Here we investigated the effects of roflumilast on the volume density (V_V) of the inflammatory cells present in the lungs after chronic cigarette smoke exposure.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Slides were obtained from blocks of the previous study and V_Vwas assessed immunohistochemically and by point counting using a grid with 48 points, a 20× objective and a computer screen for a final magnification of 580×. Neutrophils were marked with myeloperoxidase antibody, macrophages with Mac-3, dendritic cells with fascin, B-lymphocytes with B220, CD4+ T-cells with CD4+ antibody, and CD8+T-cells with CD8-α. The significance of the differences was calculated using one-way analysis of variance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Chronic smoke exposure increased neutrophil V_Vby 97%, macrophage by 107%, dendritic cell by 217%, B-lymphocyte by 436%, CD4+ by 524%, and CD8+ by 417%. The higher dose of roflumilast prevented the increase in neutrophil V_Vby 78%, macrophage by 82%, dendritic cell by 48%, B-lymphocyte by 100%, CD4+ by 98% and CD8+ V_Vby 88%. The lower dose of roflumilast did not prevent the increase in neutrophil, macrophage and B-cell V_Vbut prevented dendritic cells by 42%, CD4+ by 55%, and CD8+ by 91%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results indicate (<it>i</it>) chronic exposure to cigarette smoke in mice results in a significant recruitment into the lung of inflammatory cells of both the innate and adaptive immune system; (<it>ii</it>) roflumilast at the higher dose exerts a protective effect against the recruitment of all these cells and at the lower dose against the recruitment of dendritic cells and T-lymphocytes; (<it>iii</it>) these findings underline the role of innate immunity in the development of pulmonary emphysema and (<it>iiii</it>) support previous results indicating that the inflammatory cells of the adaptive immune system do not play a central role in the development of cigarette smoke induced emphysema in mice.</p

Ribosome-Targeting Antibiotics Impair T Cell Effector Function and Ameliorate Autoimmunity by Blocking Mitochondrial Protein Synthesis

While antibiotics are intended to specifically target bacteria, most are known to affect host cell physiology. In addition, some antibiotic classes are reported as immunosuppressive for reasons that remain unclear. Here, we show that Linezolid, a ribosomal-targeting antibiotic (RAbo), effectively blocked the course of a T cell mediated autoimmune disease. Linezolid and other RAbos were strong inhibitors of T helper-17 cell effector function in vitro, showing that this effect was independent of their antibiotic activity. Perturbing mitochondria! translation in differentiating T cells, either with RAbos or through the inhibition of mitochondria! elongation factor G1 (mEF-G1) progressively compromised the integrity of the electron transport chain. Ultimately, this led to deficient oxidative phosphorylation, diminishing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide concentrations and impairing cytokine production in differentiating T cells. In accordance, mice lacking mEF-G1 in T cells were protected from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, demonstrating that this pathway is crucial in maintaining T cell function and pathogenicity

The P2X1 receptor and platelet function

Extracellular nucleotides are ubiquitous signalling molecules, acting via the P2 class of surface receptors. Platelets express three P2 receptor subtypes, ADP-dependent P2Y1 and P2Y12 G-protein-coupled receptors and the ATP-gated P2X1 non-selective cation channel. Platelet P2X1 receptors can generate significant increases in intracellular Ca2+, leading to shape change, movement of secretory granules and low levels of αIIbβ3 integrin activation. P2X1 can also synergise with several other receptors to amplify signalling and functional events in the platelet. In particular, activation of P2X1 receptors by ATP released from dense granules amplifies the aggregation responses to low levels of the major agonists, collagen and thrombin. In vivo studies using transgenic murine models show that P2X1 receptors amplify localised thrombosis following damage of small arteries and arterioles and also contribute to thromboembolism induced by intravenous co-injection of collagen and adrenaline. In vitro, under flow conditions, P2X1 receptors contribute more to aggregate formation on collagen-coated surfaces as the shear rate is increased, which may explain their greater contribution to localised thrombosis in arterioles compared to venules within in vivo models. Since shear increases substantially near sites of stenosis, anti-P2X1 therapy represents a potential means of reducing thrombotic events at atherosclerotic plaques

LFB-Labs-digital: Schülerlabore als Ort der Lehrkräftefortbildung in der digitalen Welt: Ein Bericht zur Konzeption eines Verbundprojektes

Schülerlabore haben unter anderem zum Ziel, die Motivation, insbesondere das Interesse – i.S. einer gegenstandsbezogenen Motivation – von Schüler*innen an MINT-Themen und -Arbeitsweisen zu fördern. Darüber hinaus konnten sie sich schneller und produktiver als die formalen Bildungsorte den Herausforderungen der digitalen Transformation stellen. Das Potenzial, Schülerlabore auch als innovative Orte der Lehrkräftefortbildung (LFB) zu nutzen und digitalisierungsbezogene Kompetenzen bei Lehrkräften aufzubauen, wurde bisher nicht ausgeschöpft. Im Verbundprojekt mit insgesamt acht Standorten werden Schülerlabore zu LFB-Labs-digital ausgebaut und die Frage nach Implementierungsvoraussetzungen gelingender Fortbildungen in der digitalen Welt im MINT-Bereich bearbeitet. In diesem Artikel werden die theoretische Fundierung, Ziele und anvisierten Forschungsarbeiten des Verbunds LFB-Labs-digital dargelegt. Zur Unterstützung der mit der forschungsbasierten Qualitätsentwicklung der MINT-bezogenen Aus-, Fort- und Weiterbildung von Lehrkräften betrauten Einrichtungen in den Ländern sollen in Kooperation mit dem Kompetenzzentrum MINT des Bundes die Lernorte „Schülerlabore“ für die digitale LFB erschlossen werden, um vermittelt hierüber die Motivation von Schüler*innen für die MINT-Fächer zu fördern. Die in den Schülerlaboren evaluierten und vom fächerübergreifenden adaptiven Qualitätsmanagement für die LFB wissenschaftlich begleiteten Good-Practice-Beispiele werden zur Grundlage für den „Referenzrahmen LFB-Labs-digital“. Dieser wird – vor dem Hintergrund einer Ergebnistriangulation aus der Begleitforschung sowie den damit parallelisierten Studien zur Evidenzbasierung der Lehrkräftequalifizierung in der digitalen Welt und dem Musterqualitätshandbuch LFB – entwickelt und von einem Implementierungsbeirat mit ausgewiesenen Expert*innen in diesem Bereich auf Transferoptionen hin geprüft. Die digitale Infrastruktur für die LFB-Labs-digital-Veranstaltungsformate wird hierzu prozessbegleitend ausgebaut

Environmental Innovation, War of Attrition and Investment Grants

The paper analyses the timing of spontaneous environmental innovation when second-mover advantages, arising from the expectation of declining investment costs, increase the option value of waiting created by investment irreversibility and uncertainty about private payoffs. We then focus on the design of public subsidies aimed at bridging the gap between the spontaneous time of technological change and the socially desirable one. Under network externalities and incomplete information about firms switching costs, auctioning investment grants appears to be a cost-effective way of accelerating pollution abatement, in that it allows targeting grants instead of subsidizing the entire industry indiscriminately