Local Knowledge and Conservation of Seagrasses in the Tamil Nadu State of India

Local knowledge systems are not considered in the conservation of fragile seagrass marine ecosystems. In fact, little is known about the utility of seagrasses in local coastal communities. This is intriguing given that some local communities rely on seagrasses to sustain their livelihoods and have relocated their villages to areas with a rich diversity and abundance of seagrasses. The purpose of this study is to assist in conservation efforts regarding seagrasses through identifying Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) from local knowledge systems of seagrasses from 40 coastal communities along the eastern coast of India. We explore the assemblage of scientific and local traditional knowledge concerning the 1. classification of seagrasses (comparing scientific and traditional classification systems), 2. utility of seagrasses, 3. Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of seagrasses, and 4. current conservation efforts for seagrass ecosystems. Our results indicate that local knowledge systems consist of a complex classification of seagrass diversity that considers the role of seagrasses in the marine ecosystem. This fine-scaled ethno-classification gives rise to five times the number of taxa (10 species = 50 local ethnotaxa), each with a unique role in the ecosystem and utility within coastal communities, including the use of seagrasses for medicine (e.g., treatment of heart conditions, seasickness, etc.), food (nutritious seeds), fertilizer (nutrient rich biomass) and livestock feed (goats and sheep). Local communities are concerned about the loss of seagrass diversity and have considerable local knowledge that is valuable for conservation and restoration plans. This study serves as a case study example of the depth and breadth of local knowledge systems for a particular ecosystem that is in peril.     

Psychophysiology of sports addiction (exercises addiction)

Addiction is a prevalent and growing concern in all aspects of our modern society. There are considerable concerns for the growing frequency of addictions to drugs, alcohol, gambling, eating, and even sex. Though exercise is generally accepted as a positive behaviour that has many benefits associated with enhanced physical and psychological wellbeing, there is an increasing awareness that exercise addiction is becoming a common phenomenon. Theories regarding how exercise can become addictive, and studies of withdrawal from exercise are reviewed. Several physiological mechanisms, including endogenous opioids, catecholamines, functional asymmetry of brain activity and thermoregulation have been implicated in exercise dependence.     

The Adaptive Potential of Adolescents in the North and Its Relation to Interhemispheric Functional Asymmetry

Sensorimotor asymmetry, physical development, annual increments in the body size, functional state and adaptive potential as expressed by circulatory indices, life index, and functional test results were evaluated in 142 healthy Nenets adolescents from a boarding school and 60 healthy Russian pupils. Dextral and sinistral phenotypes were represented unequally in the children of both groups; the former was more common among the Russians. The subjects' adaptive capacities depended on their sex and the predominance of particular signs of interhemispheric functional asymmetry.     

GO Explorer: A gene-ontology tool to aid in the interpretation of shotgun proteomics data

Background  

Spectral counting is a shotgun proteomics approach comprising the identification and relative quantitation of thousands of proteins in complex mixtures. However, this strategy generates bewildering amounts of data whose biological interpretation is a challenge.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas aeruginosa</Emphasis> Cystic Fibrosis isolates of similar RAPD genotype exhibit diversity in biofilm forming ability <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

Background  

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is considered to grow in a biofilm in cystic fibrosis (CF) chronic lung infections. Bacterial cell motility is one of the main factors that have been connected with P. aeruginosa adherence to both biotic and abiotic surfaces. In this investigation, we employed molecular and microscopic methods to determine the presence or absence of motility in P. aeruginosa CF isolates, and statistically correlated this with their biofilm forming ability in vitro.     

Culturable Bacterial Flora Associated with the Dinoflagellate Green Noctiluca miliaris During Active and Declining Bloom Phases in the Northern Arabian Sea

A massive algal bloom of the dinoflagellate Noctiluca miliaris (green) was located in the Northern Arabian Sea by IRS-P4-2 (OCM-II) for microbiological studies, during two consecutive cruises of February-March 2009. Culturable bacterial load during bloom were ～2–3-fold higher in comparison to non-bloom waters and ranged from 3.20?×?10⁵ to 6.84?×?10⁵?cfu?ml^?1. An analysis of the dominant heterotrophs associated with Noctiluca bloom resulted in phylogenetic and a detailed metabolic characterization of 70 bacterial isolates from an overlapping active and declining bloom phase location near north-central Arabian Sea. The active phase flora was dominated by Gram-positive forms (70.59 %), a majority of which belonged to Bacillus (35.29 %) of Firmicutes. As the bloom declined, Gram-negative forms (61.11 %) emerged dominant, and these belonged to a diverse γ-proteobacterial population consisting of Shewanella (16.67 %) and equal fractions of a Cobetia–Pseudomonas-Psychrobacter–Halomonas population (36.11 %). A Unifrac-based principal coordinate analysis of partial 16S rDNA sequences showed significant differences among the active and declining phase flora and also with reported endocytic flora of Noctiluca (red). A nonparametric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) of antibiogram helped differentiation among closely related strains. The organic matter synthesized by N. miliaris appears to be quickly utilized and remineralized as seen from the high efficiency of isolates to metabolize various complex and simple C/N substrates such as carbohydrates, proteins/amino acids, lipids, sulfide production from organic matter, and solubilize phosphates. The ability of a large fraction of these strains (50–41.67 %) to further aerobically denitrify indicates their potential for nitrogen removal from these high-organic microniches of the Noctiluca bloom in the Arabian Sea, also known for high denitrification activity. The results indicate that culturable euphotic bacterial associates of Noctiluca are likely to play a critical role in the biogeochemical ramifications of these unique seasonally emerging tropical open-water blooms of the Northern Arabian Sea.     

A simple and rapid microwave-assisted hematoxylin and eosin staining method using 1,1,1 trichloroethane as a dewaxing and a clearing agent

The use and practicability of microwave-assisted staining procedures in routine histopathology has been well established for more than 17 years. In the study reported here, we aimed to examine an alternative approach that would shorten the duration of dewaxing and clearing steps of hematoxylin and eosin (H & E) staining of paraffin sections by using a microwave oven. Although xylene is one of the most popular dewaxing and clearing agents, its flammability restricts its use in a microwave oven; thus we preferred 1,1,1 trichloroethane, which is not flammable, as the dewaxing and clearing agent in the present study. In Group I and Group II (control groups), intestine was processed with xylene and 1,1,1 trichloroethane, respectively. The sections were then stained with H & E according to the conventional staining protocol at room temperature and subdivided into two groups according to the duration of dewaxing and clearing in xylene. In Groups III and IV (experimental groups) similar tissues were processed with xylene and 1,1,1 trichloroethane, respectively; however, sections from these groups were divided into four subgroups to study the period required for dewaxing and clearing in 1,1,1 trichloroethane, then stained with H & E in the microwave oven at 360 W for 30 sec. Our conventional H & E staining procedure, which includes dewaxing, staining and clearing of sections, requires approximately 90 min, while our method using 1,1,1 trichloroethane and microwave heating required only 2 min. Our alternative method for H & E staining not only reduced the procedure time significantly, but also yielded staining quality equal or superior to those stained the conventional way. Our results suggest that 1,1,1 trichloroethane can be used effectively and safely as a dewaxing and clearing agent for H & E staining in a microwave oven.     

Effect of Short-Term Intermittent Normobaric Hypoxia on the Regulation of External Respiration in Humans

Baseline external respiration and gas exchange values, as well as ventilatory thresholds and sensitivity to the O₂ and CO₂ stimuli in hypoxic and hypercapnic tests, were measured 1 h before and after a session of intermittent normobaric hypoxia (INH) (six repetitions with a 5-min inhalation of a gas mixture (10% O₂) alternating with a 3-min inhalation of atmospheric air). After an INH session, the background CO₂ level in the lungs increased by 10%. In the hypercapnic test, the actuation threshold of the ventilatory response did not change, whereas ventilatory sensitivity increased. The maximal pulmonary ventilation and the corresponding critical CO₂ level in the lungs also increased at the end of the test. In the hypoxic test, the ventilatory response occurred at a decreased level of blood oxygenation after an INH session, the pulmonary ventilation level being decreased and the CO₂ content in the lungs being increased at the end of the test. The data obtained evidence the maintenance of changed gas homeostasis for 1 h after an INH session. In this process, control of respiration was effected, with the hypoxic drive being weakened and the peripheral chemoreceptor sensitivity being decreased. The hypercapnic drive also increased, which may be determined by readjustment in the central mechanisms of respiratory regulation.