Adam Fenech

The aim of this research was to determine the impact of heat stress on cell differentiation in an equine mesenchymal stem cell model (EMSC) through the application of heat stress to primary EMSCs as they progressed through the cell specialization process. A proteomic analysis was performed using mass spectrometry to compare relative protein abundances among the proteomes of three cell types: progenitor EMSCs and differentiated osteoblasts and adipocytes, maintained at 37 °C and 42 °C during the process of cell differentiation. A cell-type and temperature-specific response to heat stress was observed, and many of the specific differentially expressed proteins were involved in cell-signaling pathways such as Notch and Wnt signaling, which are known to regulate cellular development. Furthermore, cytoskeletal proteins profilin, DSTN, SPECC1, and DAAM2 showed increased protein levels in osteoblasts differentiated at 42 °C as compared with 37 °C, and these cells, while they appeared to accumulate calcium, did not organize into a whorl agglomerate as is typically seen at physiological temperatures. This altered proteome composition observed suggests that heat stress could have long-term impacts on cellular development. We propose that this in vitro stem cell culture model of cell differentiation is useful for investigating molecular mechanisms that impact cell development in response to stressors.

Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada has been experiencing the consequences of a rising sea level and intense storms on its coasts in recent years. The most recent severe event, Post Tropical Storm Dorian (Dorian), began impacting Prince Edward Island on 7 September 2019 and lasted for over 20 h until the morning of 8 September 2019. The measurement of highwater marks (HWM) from the storm was conducted between 25 September and 25 October 2019 using a high precision, survey grade methodology. The HWM measured included vegetation lines, wrack lines, beach, cliff, and dune morphological features, and tide gauge data at 53 locations in the Province along coastal areas that are exposed to high tides, storm surge, high winds, and wave runup. Photos were taken to provide evidence on the nature of the HWM data locations. The data reveal that Dorian caused extensive coastal floods in many areas along the North and South Coast of Prince, Queens and Western Kings Counties of Prince Edward Island. The floods reached elevations in excess of 3.4 m at some locations, posing threats to local infrastructure and causing damage to natural features such as sand dunes in these areas. The HWM data can provide useful information for community and emergency response organizations as plans are developed to cope with the rising sea level and increased frequency of highwater events as predicted by researchers. As Dorian has caused significant damage in several coastal areas in PEI, better planning using an enhanced storm forecasting and coastal flood warning system, in conjunction with flood stage values, could possibly have reduced the impacts of the storm in the impacted areas. This could help enhance public understanding of the potential impacts in local areas and how they can prepare and adapt for these events in the future.

The leading authority on climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and will continue for centuries. The regions in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) have experienced numerous extreme climate events over the past few years including the 2009 flooding in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the 2005 dust storm in Al Asad, Iraq; water scarcity throughout the Arab MENA; and the rising sea levels on the Nile Delta coast, Egypt. A climate baseline can be developed for regions in the MENA by locating climate stations in the study area using observations made in the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). For projections of future climate, global climate models (GCMs), mathematical equations that describe the physics, fluid motion and chemistry of the atmosphere, are the most advanced science available. The Climate Research Lab at the University of Prince Edward Island has a dataset available to researchers, called the Climate, Ocean and Atmosphere Data Exchange (COADE), that provides easy access to the output from forty global climate models used in the deliberations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) including monthly global climate model projections of future climate change for a number of climate parameters including temperature and precipitation. Over the past 50 years, climate changes in the MENA Region have led to increases in annual mean temperatures and decreases in annual total precipitation. Applying all four greenhouse gas emission futures on a base climate normal of 1981-2010 to an ensemble of forty global climate models used in the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5) results in future temperature increases for the MENA Region ranging from 1.6 to 2.3 degrees Celsius, and in a range of future precipitation changes from reductions of 11 percent to increases of 36 percent by the 2050s (2041-2070). These preliminary results should assist the MENA Region in planning its energy needs and its needs for renewable energy through increasing the understanding of how climate has impacted the region in the past, and how climate will impact in the future.