Sterol production and phytosterol bioconversion in two species of heterotrophic protists, Oxyrrhis marina and Gyrodinium dominans

The kinetics and efficiency of sterol production and bioconversion of phytosterols in two heterotrophic protists Oxyrrhis marina and Gyrodinium dominans were examined by feeding them two different algal species (Rhodomonas salina and Dunaliella tertiolecta) differing in sterol profiles. R. salina contains predominantly brassicasterol (≅99%) and <2% cholesterol. The major sterols in D. tertiolecta are ergosterol (45–49%), 7-dehydroporiferasterol (29–31%) and fungisterol (21–26%). O. marina fed R. salina metabolized dietary brassicasterol to produce 22-dehydrocholesterol and cholesterol. O. marina fed D. tertiolecta metabolized dietary sterols to produce cholesterol, 22-dehydrocholesterol, brassicasterol and stigmasterol. G. dominans fed either R. salina or D. tertiolecta metabolized dietary sterols to make cholesterol, brassicasterol and a series of unknown sterols. When protists were fed R. salina, which contains cholesterol, the levels of cholesterol were increased to a magnitude of nearly 5- to 30-fold at the phytoplankton-heterotrophic protist interface, equivalent to a production of 172.5 ± 16.2 and 987.7 ± 377.7 ng cholesterol per mg R. salina carbon consumed by O. marina and G. dominans, respectively. When protists were fed D. tertiolecta, which contains no cholesterol, a net production of cholesterol by the protists ranged from 123.2 ± 30.6 to 871.8 ± 130.8 ng per mg algal C consumed. Cholesterol is not only the dominant sterol, but a critical precursor for many physiologically functional biochemicals in higher animal. As intermediates, these heterotrophic protists increase the amount of cholesterol at the phytoplankton–zooplankton interface available to higher trophic levels relative to zooplankton feeding on algae directly.     

Use Impairments and Ecosystem Impacts of the New York Bight

The New York Bight is perhaps one of the most used and abused coastal areas in the world as a consequence of urbanization and the disposal of the waste of some 20 million people who reside by its shores and surrounding bays and estuaries. A variety of sources, including those associated with sewage wastes, industrial wastes, contaminated dredged material, urban runoff, and atmospheric fallout contaminate these coastal waters. Many of the stresses of excess population and industrialization as measured by pollutant loadings and ecosystem impacts can be crudely quantified in terms of use impairments-use impairments that have measurable social and economic relevance. Five broad categories of impairment attributed to pollution in the Bight that are causing significant losses of ecological, economic, or social values are: beach closures, unsafe seafoods, hazards to commercial and recreational navigation, loss of commercial and recreational fisheries, and declines in birds, mammals and turtles. These impairments are generally caused by floatable wastes, nutrients, toxicants, pathogens and habitat loss. Measures of such impairments are not standard, nor in many cases totally quantifiable. We have examined specific subsets of these impairments in terms of their spatial and temporal changes and as a first approximation determined the economic and social significance of these changes. the cost of these impaired uses of the Bight are measured in terms of billions of dollars annually for New York and New Jersey.     

Diversity and adaptation of shelters in transitional settlements for IDPs in Afghanistan

The diversity of shelters used in transitional settlements for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Herat, Afghanistan is described. The information is based on a field survey undertaken in March 2002 and highlights the adaptation techniques, which IDPs undertake to improve any provided shelter. Potential areas for improvement are indicated; for example, the possibility for using insulated, demountable liners to prevent cold-related deaths without sacrificing shelter flexibility along with the likely need for better agency coordination of the shelter responses they provide. The wider context in which the technical recommendations would be implemented must also be considered. Such issues include agency resources, political impediments to providing the desired option, and the preference of many IDPs that the best shelter would be their home.     

Use Impairments and Ecosystem Impacts of the New York Bight

The New York Bight is perhaps one of the most used and abused coastal areas in the world as a consequence of urbanization and the disposal of the waste of some 20 million people who reside by its shores and surrounding bays and estuaries. A variety of sources, including those associated with sewage wastes, industrial wastes, contaminated dredged material, urban runoff, and atmospheric fallout contaminate these coastal waters. Many of the stresses of excess population and industrialization as measured by pollutant loadings and ecosystem impacts can be crudely quantified in terms of use impairments-use impairments that have measurable social and economic relevance. Five broad categories of impairment attributed to pollution in the Bight that are causing significant losses of ecological, economic, or social values are: beach closures, unsafe seafoods, hazards to commercial and recreational navigation, loss of commercial and recreational fisheries, and declines in birds, mammals and turtles. These impairments are generally caused by floatable wastes, nutrients, toxicants, pathogens and habitat loss. Measures of such impairments are not standard, nor in many cases totally quantifiable. We have examined specific subsets of these impairments in terms of their spatial and temporal changes and as a first approximation determined the economic and social significance of these changes. the cost of these impaired uses of the Bight are measured in terms of billions of dollars annually for New York and New Jersey.     

Developing the Ethical Delphi

A number of EU institutions and government committees across Europe have expressed interest in developing methods and decision-support tools to facilitate consideration of the ethical dimensions of biotechnology assessment. As part of the work conducted in the EC supported project on ethical tools (Ethical Bio-TA Tools), a number of ethical frameworks with the potential to support the work of public policy decision-makers has been characterized and evaluated. One of these potential tools is the Delphi method. The Delphi method was originally developed to assess variables that are intangible and/or shrouded in uncertainty by drawing on the knowledge and abilities of a diverse group of experts through a form of anonymous and iterative consultation. The method has hitherto been used by a diversity of practitioners to explore issues such as technology assessment, environmental planning, and public health measures. From the original (classical) Delphi, a family of Delphi-related processes has emerged. As a result of the evaluation of the various Delphi processes, it is proposed that the classical method can be further developed and applied as a form of ethical framework to assist policy-makers. Through a series of exercises and trials, an Ethical Delphi has been developed as a potential approach for characterizing ethical issues raised by the use of novel biotechnologies. Advantages and disadvantages of the method are discussed. Further work is needed to develop the procedural aspects of the Ethical Delphi method and to test its use in different cultural contexts. However, utilizing an ethical framework of this type combines the advantages of a methodical approach to capture ethical aspects with the democratic virtues of transparency and openness to criticism. Ethical frameworks such as the Ethical Delphi should contribute to better understanding of and decision-making on issues that involve decisive ethical dimensions.     

The species awareness index as a conservation culturomics metric for public biodiversity awareness

Although threats to global biodiversity are well known, slowing current rates of biodiversity loss remains a challenge. The Aichi targets set out 20 goals on which the international community should act to alleviate biodiversity decline, 1 of which (Target 1) aims to raise public awareness of the importance of biodiversity. Although conventional indicators for Target 1 are of low spatial and temporal coverage, conservation culturomics metrics show how biodiversity awareness can be quantified at the global scale. Following methods used for the Living Planet Index, we devised a species awareness index (SAI) to measure change in species awareness based on Wikipedia views. We calculated this index at the page level for 41,197 species listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) across 10 Wikipedia languages and >2 billion views from 1 July 2015 to 30 March 2020. Bootstrapped indices for the page-level SAI showed that overall awareness of biodiversity increased marginally over time, although there were differences among taxonomic classes and languages. Among taxonomic classes, overall awareness increased fastest for reptiles and slowest for amphibians. Among languages, overall species awareness increased fastest for Japanese and slowest for Chinese and German users. Although awareness of species as a whole increased and was significantly higher for traded species, from January 2016 through January 2020, change in awareness appeared not to be strongly related to whether the species is traded or is a pollinator. As a data source for public biodiversity awareness, the SAI could be integrated into the Conservation International Biodiversity Engagement Indicator.