Sustainable Conflict Resolution: Modelling, Analysis, and Strategic Insights

New methodological contributions for modelling and analyzing conflicts evolving over time are developed to provide strategic insights into the sustainability of equilibria. More specifically, key characteristics of evolving conflicts are identified in order to recognize a long-term conflict. A unique procedure for assessing robustness of equilibria is introduced to measure the possibility of deviation from these potential resolutions. By considering partial achievement of an option or course of action, attempts for a decision maker to improve an equilibrium situation can be formally taken into account. As a consequence of these advancements, certain challenges found in an ongoing Canadian energy conflict can be formally investigated, better understood, and eventually resolved. There have been many successes in the modelling and analysis of strategic conflicts using the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution. But, as illustrated by the re-occuring Great Canadian Hydroelectric Power conflict, many important obstacles remain. This conflict, between the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) and the province of Quebec (QC), continued for over half a century, passing through several distinct stages and raising questions that are difficult to answer using the standard graph model approach. These questions are addressed in this thesis, and the new models and techniques developed are then demonstrated using the NL-QC conflict. A framework for conflict characterization is suggested to help analysts understand the different stages of a conflict that evolves over time. Particularly problematic are instances when a conflict reaches an equilibrium, maintains it for some time, and then re-starts and shifts to another equilibrium. Traditional conflict resolution models, which analyze only a single round of a conflict during a specific period of time, cannot explain such observations. The conflict characterization is specifically designed to provide input parameters for models of conflicts that evolve over time. A new representation, the enhanced preference graph model, includes decision makers' preferences, allowing for an expeditious and intuitive interpretation of some stability questions. One major issue is the sustainability of equilibrium. In a conflict that continues for half a century, it is possible for an equilibrium to be reached, maintained for a few decades, but then to fall apart. Can the resolution of strategic conflicts be made sustainable? The concept of Level of Freedom is introduced to provide a measure of equilibrium robustness that facilitates the ranking of equilibria based on their relative robustness and offers insight into this form of long-term stability. In a graph model, a decision maker's strategy is a selection of his or her options. Hence, an option is either taken or not selected within a given state. To make a graph model easier to link to reality, a modelling structure is proposed that allows binary (two-level) options to be replaced by options with more than two levels. This new structure facilitates the representation of preference in the modelling stage and the understanding of conflict evolution within the analysis stage. Combined with concepts relating to the robustness of equilibria, the utilization of multi-level options makes a graph model more expressive of reality and easier to understand

A new age in AquaMedicine: unconventional approach in studying aquatic diseases

Background Marine and aquaculture industries are important sectors of the food production and global trade. Unfortunately, the fish food industry is challenged with a plethora of infectious pathogens. The freshwater and marine fish communities are rapidly incorporating novel and most up to date techniques for detection, characterization and treatment strategies. Rapid detection of infectious diseases is important in preventing large disease outbreaks. Main text One hundred forty-six articles including reviews papers were analyzed and their conclusions evaluated in the present paper. This allowed us to describe the most recent development research regarding the control of diseases in the aquatic environment as well as promising avenues that may result in beneficial developments. For the characterization of diseases, traditional sequencing and histological based methods have been augmented with transcriptional and proteomic studies. Recent studies have demonstrated that transcriptional based approaches using qPCR are often synergistic to expression based studies that rely on proteomic-based techniques to better understand pathogen-host interactions. Preventative therapies that rely on prophylactics such as vaccination with protein antigens or attenuated viruses are not always feasible and therefore, the development of therapies based on small nucleotide based medicine is on the horizon. Of those, RNAi or CRISPR/Cas- based therapies show great promise in combating various types of diseases caused by viral and parasitic agents that effect aquatic and fish medicine. Conclusions In our modern times, when the marine industry has become so vital for feed and economic stability, even the most extreme alternative treatment strategies such as the use of small molecules or even the use of disease to control invasive species populations should be considered

A Chitinase from Aeromonas veronii CD3 with the Potential to Control Myxozoan Disease

Background: The class Myxosporea encompasses about 2,400 species, most of which are parasites of fish and cause serious damage in aquaculture. Due to the concerns about food safety issues and limited knowledge of Myxozoa life cycle and fish immune system, no chemicals, antibiotics or immune modulators are available to control myxozoa infection. Therefore, little can be done once Myxozoa establishment has occurred. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this paper we isolated Aeromonas veronii CD3 with significant myxospore shell valvedegrading ability from pond sediment. A 3,057-bp full-length chitinase gene was consequently cloned, and the corresponding mature, recombinant chitinase (ChiCD3) produced by Escherichia coli had substantial chitinase activity. The deduced sequence of ChiCD3 contained one catalytic domain, two chitin-binding domains, and one putative signal peptide. ChiCD3 had an optimal activity at 50uC and pH 6.0, and retained more than 50 % of its optimal activity under warm water aquaculture conditions (,30uC and pH,7.0). After incubation with ChiCD3, 38.064.8 % of the myxospores had damaged shell valves, whereas myxospores incubated with commercially available chitinases remained intact. Conclusion/Significance: This study reveals a new strategy to control myxozoan disease. ChiCD3 that has capacity to damage the shell valve of myxospores can be supplemented into fish feed and used to control Myxozoa-induced disease

The impact of co-infections on fish: a review

International audienceAbstractCo-infections are very common in nature and occur when hosts are infected by two or more different pathogens either by simultaneous or secondary infections so that two or more infectious agents are active together in the same host. Co-infections have a fundamental effect and can alter the course and the severity of different fish diseases. However, co-infection effect has still received limited scrutiny in aquatic animals like fish and available data on this subject is still scarce. The susceptibility of fish to different pathogens could be changed during mixed infections causing the appearance of sudden fish outbreaks. In this review, we focus on the synergistic and antagonistic interactions occurring during co-infections by homologous or heterologous pathogens. We present a concise summary about the present knowledge regarding co-infections in fish. More research is needed to better understand the immune response of fish during mixed infections as these could have an important impact on the development of new strategies for disease control programs and vaccination in fish