Xq27 FRAXA locus is a strong candidate for dyslexia: evidence from a genome-wide scan in French families.

Dyslexia is a frequent neurodevelopmental learning disorder. To date, nine susceptibility loci have been identified, one of them being DYX9, located in Xq27. We performed the first French SNP linkage study followed by candidate gene investigation in dyslexia by studying 12 multiplex families (58 subjects) with at least two children affected, according to categorical restrictive criteria for phenotype definition. Significant results emerged on Xq27.3 within DYX9. The maximum multipoint LOD score reached 3,884 between rs12558359 and rs454992. Within this region, seven candidate genes were investigated for mutations in exonic sequences (CXORF1, CXORF51, SLITRK2, FMR1, FMR2, ASFMR1, FMR1NB), all having a role during brain development. We further looked for 50 UTR trinucleotide repeats in FMR1 and FMR2 genes. No mutation or polymorphism co-segregating with dyslexia was found. This finding in French families with Dyslexia showed significant linkage on Xq27.3 enclosing FRAXA, and consequently confirmed the DYX9 region as a robust susceptibility locus. We reduced the previously described interval from 6.8 (DXS1227–DXS8091) to 4 Mb also disclosing a higher LOD score

Addressing marine and coastal governance conflicts at the interface of multiple sectors and jurisdictions

Marine and coastal activities are closely interrelated, and conflicts among different sectors can undermine management and conservation objectives. Governance systems for fisheries, power generation, irrigation, aquaculture, marine biodiversity conservation, and other coastal and maritime activities are typically organized to manage conflicts within sectors, rather than across them. Based on the discussions around eight case studies presented at a workshop held in Brest in June 2019, this paper explores institutional approaches to move beyond managing conflicts within a sector. We primarily focus on cases where the groups and sectors involved are heterogeneous in terms of: the jurisdiction they fall under; their objectives; and the way they value ecosystem services. The paper first presents a synthesis of frameworks for understanding and managing cross-sectoral governance conflicts, drawing from social and natural sciences. We highlight commonalities but also conceptual differences across disciplines to address these issues. We then propose a novel analytical framework which we used to evaluate the eight case studies. Based on the main lessons learned from case studies, we then discuss the feasibility and key determinants of stakeholder collaboration as well as compensation and incentive schemes. The discussion concludes with future research needs to support policy development and inform integrated institutional regimes that consider the diversity of stakeholder interests and the potential benefits of cross-sectoral coordination

Using Machine Learning to Uncover Latent Research Topics in Fishery Models

© 2018 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis © 2018, Shaheen Syed and Charlotte Teresa Weber. Modeling has become the most commonly used method in fisheries science, with numerous types of models and approaches available today. The large variety of models and the overwhelming amount of scientific literature published yearly can make it difficult to effectively access and use the output of fisheries modeling publications. In particular, the underlying topic of an article cannot always be detected using keyword searches. As a consequence, identifying the developments and trends within fisheries modeling research can be challenging and time-consuming. This paper utilizes a machine learning algorithm to uncover hidden topics and subtopics from peer-reviewed fisheries modeling publications and identifies temporal trends using 22,236 full-text articles extracted from 13 top-tier fisheries journals from 1990 to 2016. Two modeling topics were discovered: estimation models (a topic that contains the idea of catch, effort, and abundance estimation) and stock assessment models (a topic on the assessment of the current state of a fishery and future projections of fish stock responses and management effects). The underlying modeling subtopics show a change in the research focus of modeling publications over the last 26 years

Facultative Symbiont Infections Affect Aphid Reproduction

Some bacterial symbionts alter their hosts reproduction through various mechanisms that enhance their transmission in the host population. In addition to its obligatory symbiont Buchnera aphidicola, the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum harbors several facultative symbionts influencing several aspects of host ecology. Aphids reproduce by cyclical parthenogenesis whereby clonal and sexual reproduction alternate within the annual life cycle. Many species, including the pea aphid, also show variation in their reproductive mode at the population level, with some lineages reproducing by cyclical parthenogenesis and others by permanent parthenogenesis. While the role of facultative symbionts has been well studied during the parthenogenetic phase of their aphid hosts, very little is known on their possible influence during the sexual phase. Here we investigated whether facultative symbionts modulate the capacity to produce sexual forms in various genetic backgrounds of the pea aphid with controlled symbiont composition and also in different aphid genotypes from natural populations with previously characterized infection status and reproductive mode. We found that most facultative symbionts exhibited detrimental effects on their hosts fitness under sex-inducing conditions in comparison with the reference lines. We also showed that the loss of sexual phase in permanently parthenogenetic lineages of A. pisum was not explained by facultative symbionts. Finally, we demonstrated that Spiroplasma infection annihilated the production of males in the host progeny by inducing a male-killing phenotype, an unexpected result for organisms such as aphids that reproduce primarily through clonal reproduction

Survey of Activated FLT3 Signaling in Leukemia

Activating mutations of FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) are found in approximately 30% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). FLT3 is therefore an attractive drug target. However, the molecular mechanisms by which FLT3 mutations lead to cell transformation in AML remain unclear. To develop a better understanding of FLT3 signaling as well as its downstream effectors, we performed detailed phosphoproteomic analysis of FLT3 signaling in human leukemia cells. We identified over 1000 tyrosine phosphorylation sites from about 750 proteins in both AML (wild type and mutant FLT3) and B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (normal and amplification of FLT3) cell lines. Furthermore, using stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC), we were able to quantified over 400 phosphorylation sites (pTyr, pSer, and pThr) that were responsive to FLT3 inhibition in FLT3 driven human leukemia cell lines. We also extended this phosphoproteomic analysis on bone marrow from primary AML patient samples, and identify over 200 tyrosine and 800 serine/threonine phosphorylation sites in vivo. This study showed that oncogenic FLT3 regulates proteins involving diverse cellular processes and affects multiple signaling pathways in human leukemia that we previously appreciated, such as Fc epsilon RI-mediated signaling, BCR, and CD40 signaling pathways. It provides a valuable resource for investigation of oncogenic FLT3 signaling in human leukemia

Mobility, Expansion and Management of a Multi-Species Scuba Diving Fishery in East Africa

Background: Scuba diving fishing, predominantly targeting sea cucumbers, has been documented to occur in an uncontrolled manner in the Western Indian Ocean and in other tropical regions. Although this type of fishing generally indicates a destructive activity, little attention has been directed towards this category of fishery, a major knowledge gap and barrier to management. Methodology and Principal Findings: With the aim to capture geographic scales, fishing processes and social aspects the scuba diving fishery that operate out of Zanzibar was studied using interviews, discussions, participant observations and catch monitoring. The diving fishery was resilient to resource declines and had expanded to new species, new depths and new fishing grounds, sometimes operating approximately 250 km away from Zanzibar at depths down to 50 meters, as a result of depleted easy-access stock. The diving operations were embedded in a regional and global trade network, and its actors operated in a roving manner on multiple spatial levels, taking advantage of unfair patron-client relationships and of the insufficient management in Zanzibar. Conclusions and Significance: This study illustrates that roving dynamics in fisheries, which have been predominantly addressed on a global scale, also take place at a considerably smaller spatial scale. Importantly, while proposed management of the sea cucumber fishery is often generic to a simplified fishery situation, this study illustrates

Brexit and Seafood Trade: key lessons learned so far

The process leading to the Exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union has placed the seafood sector under the spotlight. Fishing has been one of the key elements of the debate prior to the referendum. It has also been at the heart of several parliamentary commissions in the UK parliament, in the EU parliament and elsewhere since the vote. Numerous publications, conferences and workshops have dug into the complexity of the UK seafood sector and the numerous interconnections it has with the rest of the European fishermen and markets. Despite the absence of information on the shape of the future relationship between the UK and the EU, the review of all the material produced over the last two years led the authors to some interesting findings: 1. The definition of a specific typology of seafood supply chains in the UK, which can help understanding where bottlenecks may appear once the Brexit is achieved; 2. An exploration of the different concepts behind “zonal attachment”, providing some insights on the potentiality for the UK to “take back control of UK waters”, a totemic claim for the UK fishing industry; 3. The identification of several non-tariff barriers that could hinder trade between the UK and the EU even in the case of a soft Brexit, echoing the issue of “frictionless trade” demands from the UK seafood sector

How research projects can contribute to the development of efficient community-led projects?

Trade of fish and fisheries products, including fish meal products, are influenced by both traditional trade policies, like tariffs, and non-tariff measures (NTMs). NTMs comprise several categories of measures such as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) , technical barriers to trade (TBT) as well as non-technical measures. UNCTAD (2013) provides an international classification of NTMs; see Table 1 below. NTMs are governmental measures that determine the conditions under which trade takes place. They have become increasingly important as governments reacted to consumers’ concerns about catching and production practises. Consumers are for example concerned about the application of feed and drugs that have been found as residues in fish and related products or the environmental effect of intensive aquaculture production or fishing (FAO, 2014). In some cases, NTMs have also been used as protectionist measures disguised by health, safety or other public purposes. The goal of our analysis is to identify which NTMs are used for which fishery products by trade partners. In this poster, we present first results from the EU perspective. Although not being presented for specific species, the results are interesting for those trading fish and fisheries products since they provide insights about how much markets are regulated by NTMs

Characterization of late response genes sequentially expressed during renewed growth of fibroblastic cells

Many proto-oncogenes are rapidly and transiently activated during the early stages of the cellular transition from a resting G0 state to the DNA synthesis (S) phase. To get better understanding of the gene complexity involved at later stages, we isolated, by cDNA cloning, and identified 17 genes that are activated sequentially during the period of time from proto-oncogene expression to the onset of DNA synthesis in the hamster CCL39 fibroblastic cell line. When protein synthesis is inhibited, induced expression of these genes is unaffected for 10 of them, enhanced for four, in a fashion similar to the immediate-early response genes, and inhibited for three, as observed for delayed early-response genes. In addition to rhoG, a new member of the ras homolog gene family (Vincent et al., 1992), cDNA sequencing indicated that six of them correspond to cytoskeletal proteins (alpha-tubulin, vascular alpha-actin and skeletal gamma-actin), extracellular matrix protein (thrombospondin), secreted protease (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1) and energy-linked transporter (mitochondrial proton/phosphate symporter). This overall survey shows that numerous differentially regulated gene activations are associated with the cell cycle progression, and suggests that proteins involved in cellular reshaping participate actively in the control of cellular growth