Feminist Women in Canadian Politics: A Group Ideologically Divided?

The purpose of this paper is to explore the ideological diversity among feminist women in electoral politics in Canada. It shows that feminist political women form a diversified group: some are liberal but others are conservative. Certain feminists even support positions against what are known as traditional demands of the second-wave feminism.Cet article se propose d'explorer la diversite ideologique parmi les femmes feministes elues en politique au Canada. Il montre que les femmes politiques feministes constituent ungroupe diversifie : certaines sont liberates alors que d'autres sont conservatrices. Quelquesunes soutiennent meme des positions contraires aux revendications traditionnellement associees a la deuxieme vague du feminisme

Lipid allocation in late-stage barnacle larvae from subtropical and temperate waters

The transition of planktonic late-stage barnacle larvae to a benthic life requires enough energy to power settlement and metamorphosis, and may be compromised by food limitation during early ontogeny. We carried out a comparative study to better understand the larval physiology of space-monopolizing barnacles exposed to contrasting regimes of primary productivity: Chthamalus bisinuatus under a meso-oligotrophic regime on the southeastern coast of Brazil, and C. montagui under a highly productive regime on the southwestern coast of the British Isles. We used an index based on lipid composition—the triacylglycerol (TAG) to phospholipid (PL) ratio—to characterize lipid allocation (energy/structure) in the tissues of cyprid larvae and anticipated depleted TAG reserves in cyprids from less productive waters. Despite the considerably different levels of primary productivity between subtropical (1.31 ± 0.4 mg chl a m-3) and temperate waters (3.09 ± 1.2 mg chl a m-3), TAG/PL ratio and settlement success were comparable for C. bisinuatus and C. montagui. Lipid allocation of daily cohorts was also comparable for both chthamalids, with cyprids equally storing TAG reserves (≥50% of total lipid content). This points to an energetic threshold below which nauplii cannot develop to a cyprid and/or selection for lipid accumulation under poor trophic conditions. We highlight the challenges of directly relating estimates of primary productivity with food supply and larval physiological status, as lower chl a concentrations do not necessarily indicate food limitation for barnacle nauplii. We propose a conceptual model to clarify the process of lipid allocation (energetic to structural lipids) in the tissues of cyprid larvae

Distinct Tryptophan Catabolism and Th17/Treg Balance in HIV Progressors and Elite Controllers

Tryptophan (Trp) catabolism into immunosuppressive kynurenine (Kyn) by indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) was previously linked to Th17/Treg differentiation and immune activation. Here we examined Trp catabolism and its impact on Th17/Treg balance in uninfected healthy subjects (HS) and a large cohort of HIV-infected patients with different clinical outcomes: ART-naïve, Successfully Treated (ST), and elite controllers (EC). In ART-naïve patients, increased IDO activity/expression, together with elevated levels of TNF-α and sCD40L, were associated with Treg expansion and an altered Th17/Treg balance. These alterations were normalized under ART. In contrast, Trp 2,3-dioxegenase (TDO) expression was dramatically lower in EC when compared to all other groups. Interestingly, EC displayed a distinctive Trp metabolism characterized by low Trp plasma levels similar to ART-naïve patients without accumulating immunosuppressive Kyn levels which was accompanied by a preserved Th17/Treg balance. These results suggest a distinctive Trp catabolism and Th17/Treg balance in HIV progressors and EC. Thus, IDO-induced immune-metabolism may be considered as a new inflammation-related marker for HIV-1 disease progression

Temperature effect on survival, growth, and triacylglycerol content during the early ontogeny of Mytilus edulis and M. trossulus

Temperature is a major factor contributing to the biogeography of intertidal poikilotherms. The population dynamics of intertidal invertebrates like mussels are strongly dependent on larval supply and larval mortality. Unlike adults, which are resistant to fluctuating environmental conditions, larvae are highly sensitive to the physicochemical conditions of the pelagic zone. The effects of rearing temperature on larval and post-larval performance of 2 coexisting mussels species, Mytilus edulis and M. trossulus, were examined in this study. In the first experiment, larvae of both species were reared separately at constant temperatures of 10, 17, and 24 degrees C from D-larvae to the dissoconch stage. In the second experiment, pediveligers were reared under the same experimental conditions as the larvae for 2 wk. Survival, growth, and lipid composition (triacylglycerol [TAG] and sterol [ST] contents) were used to compare the performance of both species. The first experiment showed a species-specific thermal tolerance range, reflecting the biogeography of the species. M. trossulus larvae showed a preference for water at 10 and 17 degrees C, corresponding to the more northerly distribution of this species, whereas M. edulis preferred temperatures of 17 and 24 degrees C. Moreover, the TAG content in larvae of both species varied with temperature, supporting the hypothesis of a positive correlation between energy reserve content and the survival of mussel larvae. In contrast, the species-specific characteristics of thermal tolerance were not observed during post-larval development, suggesting that the selective effect of temperature on mussel species occurs during early ontogeny

Identification of Mytilus edulis genetic regulators during early development

International audienceUnderstanding the mechanisms that enable growth and survival of an organism while driving it to the full range of its adaptation is fundamental to the issues of biodiversity and evolution, particularly regarding global climatic changes. Here we report the Illumina RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and de nova assembly of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis transcriptome during early development. This study is based on high-throughput data, which associates genome-wide differentially expressed transcript (DET) patterns with early activation of developmental processes. Approximately 50,383 high-quality contigs were assembled. Over 8000 transcripts were associated with functional proteins from public databases. Coding and non-coding genes served to design customized microarrays targeting every developmental stage, which encompass major transitions in tissue organization. Consequently, multi-processing pattern exploration protocols applied to 3633 DETs helped discover 12 unique coordinated eigengenes supposedly implicated in various physiological and morphological changes that larvae undergo during early development. Moreover, dynamic Bayesian networks (DBNs) provided key insights to understand stage-specific molecular mechanisms activated throughout ontogeny. In addition, delayed and contemporaneous interactions between DETs were coerced with 16 relevant regulators that interrelated in non-random genetic regulatory networks (GRNs). Genes associated with mechanisms of neural and muscular development have been characterized and further included in dynamic networks necessary in growth and functional morphology. This is the first large-scale study being dedicated to M. edulis throughout early ontogeny. Integration between RNA-seq and microarray data enabled a high-throughput exploration of hidden processes essential in growth and survival of microscopic mussel larvae. Our integrative approach will support a holistic understanding of systems biology and will help establish new links between environmental assessment and functional development of marine bivalve

Predicting growth and mortality of bivalve larvae using gene expression and supervised machine learning

International audienceIt is commonly known that the nature of the diet has diverse consequences on larval performance and longevity, however it is still unclear which genes have critical impacts on bivalve development and which pathways are of particular importance in their vulnerability or resistance. First we show that a diet deficient in essential fatty acid (EFA) produces higher larval mortality rates, a reduced shell growth, and lower postlarval performance, all of which are positively correlated with a decline in arachidonic and eicosapentaenoic acids levels, two EFAs known as eicosanoid precursors. Eicosanoids affect the cell inflammatory reactions and are synthesized from long-chain EFAs. Second, we show for the first time that a deficiency in eicosanoid precursors is associated with a network of 29 genes. Their differential regulation can lead to slower growth and higher mortality of Mytilus edulis larvae. Some of these genes are specific to bivalves and others are implicated at the same time in lipid metabolism and defense. Several genes are expressed only during pre-metamorphosis where they are essential for muscle or neurone development and biomineralization, but only in stress-induced larvae. Finally, we discuss how our networks of differentially expressed genes might dynamically alter the development of marine bivalves, especially under dietary influence. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Ontogeny of bivalve immunity: assessing the potential of next-generation sequencing techniques

WOS:000362185000005Living organisms are constantly evolving to secure their survival via adaptations at the molecular and cellular level. Most marine bivalves have microscopic planktonic larval stages until settlement to the benthic environment. These pelagic stages are generally more sensitive than their adult counterparts to environmental and pathogen threats. Adaptive capacities could improve survival of these early stages. Recent advancements in data mining and pipeline analysis should shed light on the currently unknown processes that occur during these first stages. Existing data on early stages are fragmented compared with the abundance of information available for adult. Exploring diversity through aquaculture and lessening the impact of common issues, for example, massive mortalities of larvae, especially within the current conditions of a changing climate, ultimately rests on our knowledge of the molecular processes responsible for phenotypic plasticity. Although it is somewhat difficult to assess immune mechanisms by tracking circulating immunocytes in larvae, studies on the development of immune processes are now feasible at the transcript level. Next-generation techniques offer outstanding solutions for wide-range transcriptome analysis. We present a short review of the early ontogeny of the immune system in marine bivalves, with particular focus on next-generation sequencing applications. Like all reviews of this nature, there is a trade-off between the depth of the coverage and the number of subjects discussed. We will thus restrict the scope to bivalve immunity and focus on the central concepts across a wide range of topics, that is, the ontogeny of immunity and advancements in molecular studies

Improving scallop (Pecten maximus and Placopecten magellanicus) spat production by initial larvae size and hydrodynamic cues used in nursery system

There are several factors affecting scallops during the metamorphosis process that could explain the relatively low post-larvae yield observed in hatcheries. Competent bivalve larvae respond to different settlement cues to undergo metamorphosis and without adequate cues, larvae delay their metamorphosis. The objective of this study is to improve the settlement ratio of the two scallop species, Placopecten magellanicus and Pecten maximus by physical cues associated with hydrodynamic conditions, stocking density in settlement units and larval size at time of transfer to settling units. For each treatment, physiological condition was determined by fatty acid analysis to determine the energetic reserves and structural lipids. We observed similar results for the two important commercial pectinid species and validate the hypothesis on the positive effect of increased flow rate and larval size after transfer to settlement systems on settlement success. Increasing flow rate also affects positively the physiological condition of settled post-larvae by a higher accumulation of total fatty acids in neutral lipid fractions. Furthermore, no effect of larval stocking density until 90 larvae cm−2 in the downwelling sieves was observed. To our knowledge this study is the first to characterize the effect of seawater flow rate on settlement success of different pectinid species cultured under similar conditions. The experiments were performed in a close to commercial scale and thus are relevant to industry situations

Whole cell solid-state NMR study of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii microalgae

International audienc