Assessment of the geographical potential for co-use of marine space, based on operational boundaries for Blue Growth sectors

The worlds’ oceans and seas have tremendous potential to contribute to the provision of food, feed, energy and natural resources. The emerging concepts of “Blue Growth” and “Blue Economy” have put the development of new marine industries on the political agenda. As marine industries expand, spatial interconnections and industry boundaries are being drawn and the potential for the combined use of marine space is being explored. The aim of this paper is to provide a single source document that summarizes the probable boundaries of marine growth industries, namely aquaculture; offshore wind energy with fixed foundations; floating offshore wind energy; tidal and wave energy; marine biotechnology, seabed mining; and tourism and recreation, based on depth and distance from the shore. This is an important first step in developing a single source document for marine industry boundaries that will help marine spatial planners and researchers develop innovative industry combinations to foster growth in the marine sector. This paper explores marine industry overlaps in four basins: European Atlantic, Baltic/North Sea, Mediterranean/Black Sea and the Caribbean/ Gulf of Mexico. By describing the geographical characteristics of different sea basins, this paper helps to focus marine governance strategies for stimulating combinations of marine industries towards the most promising areas. The methodology developed in this paper was also used to generate 72 country-specific maps and corresponding tables to support marine spatial planning processes at a national level.</p

Spatial datasets to define operational boundaries within four marine basins delineated by distance from shore, depth, EEZ and protected status, accompanied by maps and statistical summary tables

This data article provides several datasets delineating, illustrating and summarizing marine regions within exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of 69 coastal states within the Atlantic, Baltic/North Sea, Mediterranean and Caribbean marine basins. Datasets include two GIS feature classes stored in a Version 10.0 file geodatabase: (1) A polygon feature class delineating operational boundaries within EEZs based on sovereign authority, distance bands from shore, depth ranges, and whether the region lies within a recognized protected area, and (2) A polyline feature class of shorelines for each coastal state. Both feature classes are fully described in the metadata. Datasets also include Excel files summarizing each marine basin and coastal state, summarized by area and proportion of all combinations of distance, depth and protected status. Datasets also include maps illustrating and describing all combinations of distance, depth and protection status, plus shoreline length, for each coastal state and for each marine basin. Datasets also include Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code files used to generate all datasets, summary tables and maps. These datasets support analysis described in “Assessment of the geographical potential for co-use of marine space, based on operational boundaries for Blue Growth sectors” (van den Burg et al., 2018), and allow readers to extend the regional assessments described in that article down to individual country-level assessments.</p

GeneWeld: a method for efficient targeted integration directed by short homology

Choices for genome engineering and integration involve high efficiency with little or no target specificity or high specificity with low activity. Here, we describe a targeted integration strategy, called GeneWeld, and a vector series for gene tagging, pGTag (plasmids for Gene Tagging), which promote highly efficient and precise targeted integration in zebrafish embryos, pig fibroblasts, and human cells utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Our work demonstrates that in vivo targeting of a genomic locus of interest with CRISPR/Cas9 and a donor vector containing as little as 24 to 48 base pairs of homology directs precise and efficient knock-in when the homology arms are exposed with a double strand break in vivo. Given our results targeting multiple loci in different species, we expect the accompanying protocols, vectors, and web interface for homology arm design to help streamline gene targeting and applications in CRISPR compatible systems

Future of Kenyan electricity generation : an analysis of physical and economical potential and least cost sources

Kenya has always had a renewable energy mix, with over 80 percent of electricity generated from renewable sources. As the country continues to develop, and in order to meet the growing demand for electricity, Kenya is considering using non-­‐renewable sources. There are many studies on energy in Africa, and some on the potential for renewable energy in Kenya. However, there are currently no comprehensive studies on the physical potential and costs of electricity generation in Kenya. This paper seeks to fill this gap. This paper calculates the physical and economic potential for three electricity sources, solar, wind and biomass for Kenya. Then the Levelized Cost of Electricity is calculated for eight energy sources: solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, diesel, nuclear, coal and gas. In order to ensure robust results, this paper conducts two sensitivity analyses, one using a high and low discount and escalation rate, and one using high, medium and low carbon tax rates. Based on the results of these analyses, the most abundant and economical energy sources identified in this paper are wind, nuclear, biomass and solar. The paper then discusses the benefits and challenges of each of these sources. The benefits of the sources range from modularity to base-­‐load capacity, and the challenges from intermittency to location dependency. Creating a mix of the four identified sources effectively mitigates most of the challenges of these sources. However, to mitigate some issues, such as the political nature of nuclear power, vigorous government and safety programs must be in place. The final issue the paper discusses is the issue of coal in Kenya’s electricity future. Since the discovery of economic reserves in 2010, Kenya has been debating the role coal will play in its future. The discussion debates the future of coal in Kenya from both a developmental and environmental perspective

Efficient targeted integration directed by short homology in zebrafish and mammalian cells

Efficient precision genome engineering requires high frequency and specificity of integration at the genomic target site. Here, we describe a set of resources to streamline reporter gene knock-ins in zebrafish and demonstrate the broader utility of the method in mammalian cells. Our approach uses short homology of 24–48 bp to drive targeted integration of DNA reporter cassettes by homology-mediated end joining (HMEJ) at high frequency at a double strand break in the targeted gene. Our vector series, pGTag (plasmids for Gene Tagging), contains reporters flanked by a universal CRISPR sgRNA sequence which enables in vivo liberation of the homology arms. We observed high rates of germline transmission (22–100%) for targeted knock-ins at eight zebrafish loci and efficient integration at safe harbor loci in porcine and human cells. Our system provides a straightforward and cost-effective approach for high efficiency gene targeting applications in CRISPR and TALEN compatible systems.This article is published as Wierson, Wesley A., Jordan M. Welker, Maira P. Almeida, Carla M. Mann, Dennis A. Webster, Melanie E. Torrie, Trevor J. Weiss et al. "Efficient targeted integration directed by short homology in zebrafish and mammalian cells." Elife 9 (2020): e53968. doi: 10.7554/eLife.53968.</p

GeneWeld: a method for efficient targeted integration directed by short homology

Choices for genome engineering and integration involve high efficiency with little or no target specificity or high specificity with low activity. Here, we describe a targeted integration strategy, called GeneWeld, and a vector series for gene tagging, pGTag (plasmids for Gene Tagging), which promote highly efficient and precise targeted integration in zebrafish embryos, pig fibroblasts, and human cells utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Our work demonstrates that in vivo targeting of a genomic locus of interest with CRISPR/Cas9 and a donor vector containing as little as 24 to 48 base pairs of homology directs precise and efficient knock-in when the homology arms are exposed with a double strand break in vivo. Given our results targeting multiple loci in different species, we expect the accompanying protocols, vectors, and web interface for homology arm design to help streamline gene targeting and applications in CRISPR compatible systems.This is a pre-print made available through bioRxiv, doi: 10.1101/431627.</p

Efficient targeted integration directed by short homology in zebrafish and mammalian cells

Efficient precision genome engineering requires high frequency and specificity of integration at the genomic target site. Here, we describe a set of resources to streamline reporter gene knock-ins in zebrafish and demonstrate the broader utility of the method in mammalian cells. Our approach uses short homology of 24–48 bp to drive targeted integration of DNA reporter cassettes by homology-mediated end joining (HMEJ) at high frequency at a double strand break in the targeted gene. Our vector series, pGTag (plasmids for Gene Tagging), contains reporters flanked by a universal CRISPR sgRNA sequence which enables in vivo liberation of the homology arms. We observed high rates of germline transmission (22–100%) for targeted knock-ins at eight zebrafish loci and efficient integration at safe harbor loci in porcine and human cells. Our system provides a straightforward and cost-effective approach for high efficiency gene targeting applications in CRISPR and TALEN compatible systems