Genetic engineering of \u3cem\u3eDunaliella:\u3c/em\u3e Potential for improved biofuel production

Biodiesel produced from algal lipids is a promising source of renewable energy. Reasons for using algae, as opposed to vascular plants, are numerous. Oleaginous algae do not require fertile land or fresh water to grow, and therefore do not compete with food crop resources. Algae have short generation times and higher growth rates than larger vascular plants allowing for synthesis and accumulation of large quantities of neutral lipids, about 20-50% of the dry cell weight, in a short period of time. The efficiency of biodiesel production from oleaginous algae could be improved by using transgenic (genetically engineered) algae. The goal of this research is to develop techniques for transforming algae species from the genus Dunaliella to increase its carbon sequestration capability and lipid biosynthesis. It has been learned in our lab that increased biosynthesis of polyamines can positively influence carbon sequestration; other labs have shown that enzymes involved in triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis can enhance lipid production. To genetically engineer Dunaliella, in addition to genes, promoters are also needed to regulate the expression of these genes. Currently we are working on cloning the promoters for highly expressed genes, i.e. actin, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (RuBisCO), and light-harvesting complex II apoprotein (cab4). These promoters will be recombined with the polyamine biosynthetic genes already cloned and introduced into the algal cell for a high degree of expression

The Genus Cerion (Gastropoda: Cerionidae) in the Florida Keys.

The systematic relationships and phylogeography of Cerion incanum, the only species of Cerion native to the Florida Keys, are reviewed based on partial sequences of the mitochondrial COI and 16S genes derived from 18 populations spanning the range of this species and including the type localities of all four described subspecies. Our samples included specimens of Cerion casablancae, a species introduced to Indian Key in 1912, and a population of C. incanum x C. casablancae hybrids descended from a population of C. casablancae introduced onto Bahia Honda Key in the same year. Molecular data did not support the partition of C. incanum into subspecies, nor could populations be apportioned reliably into subspecies based on morphological features used to define the subspecies. Phylogenetic analyses affirmed the derived relationship of C. incanum relative to other cerionids, and indicated a Bahamian origin for the Cerion fauna of southern Florida. Relationships among the populations throughout the Keys indicate that the northernmost populations, closest to the Tomeu paleoislands that had been inhabited by Cerion petuchi during the Calabrian Pleistocene, are the oldest. The range of Cerion incanum expanded as the archipelago that is the Florida Keys was formed since the lower Tarantian Pleistocene by extension from the northeast to the southwest, with new islands populated as they were formed. The faunas of the High Coral Keys in the northeast and the Oölite Keys in the southwest, both with large islands that host multiple discontinuous populations of Cerion, are each composed of well supported clades that are characterized by distinctive haplotypes. In contrast, the fauna of the intervening Low Coral Keys consist of a heterogeneous series of populations, some with haplotypes derived from the High Coral Keys, others from the Oölite Keys. Individuals from the C. incanum x C. casablancae hybrid population inhabiting the southeastern coast of Bahia Honda Key were readily segregated based on their mitogenome lineage, grouping either with C. incanum or with C. casablancae from Indian Key. Hybrids with C. casablancae mitogenomes had haplotypes that were more divergent from their parent mitogenome than were hybrids with C. incanum mitogenomes

Gentrification in (re)construction: Talca's neighbourhoods post 2010 earthquake

PURPOSE: This paper aims to explore the complex relationship between post-earthquake reconstruction processes and gentrification in neighborhoods of intermediate cities, calling on the critical role of recovery strategies in altering neighborhoods physical and social urban structure identities. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The paper uses a case study; the reconstruction process of the neighborhoods post 2010 earthquake in Talca, Chile and analyses in a six year timeline its socio-spatial changes. The latter based on mixed methods; primary data from strategic interviews with key stakeholders, cadasters of land value and real estate housing projects and neighborhood polls, and secondary data from official documents such as plans and policies. FINDINGS: Findings suggest patterns of incipient gentrification are an outcome of the reconstruction strategies. Acknowledging the intricate interplay among urban neoliberal conditions, historical heritage and identities, and post disaster recovery, inadequate housing subsidies and normative plans are causing the displacement of hundreds of historical residents and resistance, arrival of newcomers with higher debt capacity in new housing typologies, and increasing land value. Process related to neoliberal politics of state led new-build gentrification. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Gentrification and reconstruction are both processes that modify urban structures, society and perceptions, and yet their socio spatial effects have never been studied in a cumulative and integrated manner, even more, in intermediate cities. The value is to rethink the critical role of recovery strategies in halting and containing gentrification in fast transforming secondary cities

Molecular Evidence for Multiple Lineages in the Gorgonian Family Plexauridae (Anthozoa: Octocorallia)

Octocorals are diverse and abundant on many marine hard substrates, and, within this group, members of the family Plexauridae are an important component of tropical reef assemblages, especially in the Caribbean. To understand historical relationships within this large and diverse assemblage, and to test the monophyly of the family and some of its genera, DNA sequences of two mitochondrial loci (msh1 and ND2, ~1,185 bp) were analyzed from 46 species in 21 genera from deep and shallow waters in the tropical western Atlantic and in the tropical western and eastern Pacific (plus 9 taxa in the closely related Gorgoniidae and 1 species of the more distantly related Alcyoniidae). Five strongly supported clades were recovered. Three large clades correspond roughly to the Plexauridae, Paramuriceidae, and Gorgoniidae, and two smaller clades were comprised of taxa previously assigned to several families. Astrogorgia sp. did not group with any of the clades. The mutual relationships among the five clades remain unclear. Several genera previously regarded as unrelated appear to be grouped among the three “families”; e.g. Hypnogorgia sp. (Paramuriceidae) falls within a clade consisting of both Pacific and Atlantic Muricea spp. (Plexauridae), while Swiftia sp., Scleracis sp., and an Atlantic Thesea sp. (all Paramuriceidae) group with the gorgoniids. In several instances, genera containing Atlantic and Pacific species were recovered as monophyletic (Muricea spp., Bebryce spp.). However, in at least three cases (Echinomuricea spp., Thesea spp.,Villogorgia spp.), placement of Atlantic and Pacific species in the same genus may reflect convergence of sclerite morphology. The results indicate a strong need for reexamination of octocoral taxonomy using a combination of molecular, morphological, and chemical evidence

Corals Pocillopora eydouxi and Porites lobata (Anthozoa: Scleractinia).

v. ill. 23 cm.QuarterlyReciprocal transplant experiments of the corals Pocillopora eydouxi Milne Edwards & Haime and Porites lobata Dana were carried out for an 18- month period from September 2004 to March 2006 between two back reef pools on Ofu Island, American Samoa, to test environmental versus genetic effects on skeletal growth rates. Skeletal growth of P. eydouxi showed environmental but not genetic effects, resulting in doubling of growth in Pool 300 compared with Pool 400. There were no environmental or genetic effects on skeletal growth of P. lobata. Pool 300 had more frequent and longer durations of elevated seawater temperatures than Pool 400, characteristics likely to decrease rather than increase skeletal growth. Pool 300 also had higher nutrient levels and flow velocities than Pool 400, characteristics that may increase skeletal growth. However, higher nutrient levels would be expected to increase skeletal growth in both species, but there was no difference between the pools in P. lobata growth. P. eydouxi is much more common in high-energy environments than P. lobata; thus the higher flow velocities in Pool 300 than in Pool 400 may have positively affected skeletal growth of P. eydouxi while not having a detectable effect on P. lobata. The greater skeletal growth of P. eydouxi in Pool 300 occurred despite the presence of clade D zooxanthellae in several source colonies in Pool 300, a genotype known to result in greater heat resistance but slower skeletal growth. Increased skeletal growth rates in higher water motion may provide P. eydouxi a competitive advantage in shallow, high-energy environments where competition for space is intense

Time course of improvement with antipsychotic medication in treatment-resistant schizophrenia

Background Improvements are greatest in the earlier weeks of antipsychotic treatment of patients with non-resistant schizophrenia. Aims To address the early time-line for improvement with antipsychotics in treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Method Randomised double-blind trials of antipsychotic medication in adult patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia were investigated (last search June 2010). A series of meta-regression analyses were carried out to examine the effect of time on the average item scores in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) or Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) at three or more distinct time points within the first 6 weeks of treatment. Results Study duration varied from 4 weeks to 1 year and the definitions of treatment resistance as well as of treatment response were not necessarily consistent across 19 identified studies, resulting in highly variable rates of response (0–76%). The mean standardised baseline item score in the PANSS or BPRS was 3.4 (s.e. = 0.06) in the five studies included in the meta-regression analysis, with the average baseline Clinical Global Impression – Severity score being 5.2 (marked illness). For the pooled population treated with a range of antipsychotics (n = 1019), significant reductions in the mean item scores occurred during the first 4 weeks; improvements observed in later weeks were smaller and non-significant. In contrast, weekly improvement with clozapine was significant throughout (n = 356). Conclusions Our findings provide preliminary evidence that the majority of improvement with antipsychotics may occur relatively early. More consistent improvements with clozapine may be associated with a gradual titration. To further elucidate response patterns, future studies are needed to provide data over regular intervals during earlier stages of treatment.peer-reviewe

A Parkinson’s Disease Measurement System Using Laser Lines and a CMOS Image Sensor

This paper presents a non-invasive, non-contact system for the measurement of the arterial dorsum manus vibration waveforms of Parkinson disease patients. The laser line method is applied to detect the dorsum manus vibration in rest and postural situations. The proposed measurement system mainly consists of a laser diode and a low cost complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. Laser line and centroid methods are combined with the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) in this study. The shape and frequency and relative frequency of the dorsum manus vibration waveforms can be detected rapidly using our Parkinson’s disease measurement system. A laser line near the wrist joint is used as the testing line. The experimental results show an obvious increase in the amplitude and frequency of dorsum manus variation in the measured region in patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease, indicating the obvious effects of the disease. Both in postural and rest state measurements, as the patient disease age increases the vibration frequency increases. The measurement system is well suited for evaluating and pre-diagnosing early stage Parkinson’s disease

Fuzzy species limits in Mediterranean gorgonians (Cnidaria, Octocorallia): inferences on speciation processes

The study of the interplay between speciation and hybridization is of primary importance in evolutionary biology. Octocorals are ecologically important species whose shallow phylogenetic relationships often remain to be studied. In the Mediterranean Sea, three congeneric octocorals can be observed in sympatry: Eunicella verrucosa, Eunicella cavolini and Eunicella singularis. They display morphological differences and E.singularis hosts photosynthetic Symbiodinium, contrary to the two other species. Two nuclear sequence markers were used to study speciation and gene flow between these species, through network analysis and Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC). Shared sequences indicated the possibility of hybridization or incomplete lineage sorting. According to ABC, a scenario of gene flow through secondary contact was the best model to explain these results. At the intraspecific level, neither geographical nor ecological isolation corresponded to distinct genetic lineages in E.cavolini. These results are discussed in the light of the potential role of ecology and genetic incompatibilities in the persistence of species limits.French National Research Agency (ANR) program Adacni (ANR) [ANR-12-ADAP-0016]CNRSHubert Curien 'Tassili' program [12MDU853]CCMAR Strategic Plan from Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia-FCT [PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2011,FEDERinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Improving Informed Consent: The Medium Is Not the Message

An important type of research on informed consent involves empirically testing interventions designed to improve the consent process. Here we report on the experience of eight teams that conducted research involving interventions designed primarily to impact one of three categories: decision-making, knowledge, and the therapeutic misconception

An intervention study to prevent relapse in patients with schizophrenia

Purpose: To determine whether the use of relapse prevention plans (RPPs) in nursing practice is an effective intervention in reducing relapse rates among patients with schizophrenia. Design and Methods: Experimental design. Patients with schizophrenia (or a related psychotic disorder) and nurses from three mental health organizations were randomly assigned to either an experimental (RPP) or control condition (care as usual). The primary outcome measure was the psychotic relapses in the research groups. Results: The relapse rates in the experimental and control groups after 1-year follow-up were 12.5% and 26.2%, respectively (p=.12, ns). The relative risk of a relapse in the experimental versus the control group was 0.48(ns). Conclusions: In this study no statistically significant effects of the intervention were found. Effectiveness research in this area should be continued with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods