The ecology of the calanoid copepod Eurytemora affinis in salt marsh tide pools

We describe selected aspects of the ecology of the copepod Eurytemora affinis in tide pools of an inland salt marsh near L'Isle-Verte, Québec along the southern shore of the St. Lawrence estuary. E. affinis performed daily horizontal migrations moving from the centers of pools to the banks and into dense algae. Male E. affinis were mainly found in the center of the pools during twilight (21 : 00 hrs) and in dense algae in daylight (12: 00 hrs) whereas most females and copepodites were found near the banks at all three sampling periods. Although these daily movements among sites may have minimized predation by diurnally foraging sticklebacks (Pisces: Gasterosteidae), other explanations for the movements can not be excluded. We also quantified the effects of fish predation upon the population structure of E. affinis. Densities of all stages (nauplius, copepodite, adult) were significantly lower in pools with fish than in pools without fish. Female E. affinis were significantly smaller (mean length) in pools with fish than in pools without fish, indicating that the sticklebacks selectively ate larger females. Male-biased sex ratios were found in both types of pools, which excluded the possibility that biased ratios in this species are caused by selective predation upon the females.     

Larval adhesive organs and metamorphosis in ascidians

Summary The cup-shaped adhesive papillae of Distaplia occidentalis evert at the onset of metamorphosis and each transforms into a hyperboloidal configuration. The rate of transformation is a function of temperature. At 14° C complete eversion takes about 30 seconds. Myoepithelial cells that extend from the rim to the base on the cup contract. Simultaneously the central part of the papilla advances 60–70 m. During the last phases of eversion, collocytes (cells that secrete adhesives) on the inner wall of the cup and on the sides of the axial protrusion flow outward and form a collar-like structure.The myoepithelial cells contain arrays of thick and thin filaments. These become compacted during contraction. The surfaces of these cells become extensively folded as they shorten to about 1/3 of rest length. According to the proposed model the myoepithelial cells are the driving force in papillary eversion.Immediately after eversion is completed the papillae begin to retract. Eversion of the papillae is not inhibited by cytochalasin B, but the process of retraction is reversibly inhibited.Some histological characteristics of five types of everting papillae in four families of ascidians are compared.     

Abnormal dorsal light response in teleost fish after intraocular injection of 6-hydroxydopamine

Following unilateral intraocular injection with 6-hydroxydopamine to the right eye, Midas cichlids displayed an acute abnormal dorsal light response, in favour of the right eye. This condition was reversed immediately by dopamine or dopamine receptor agonists delivered by intraocular injection but this recovery was not sustained, Retinal dopamine production reappeared gradually from day 30 post-6-hydroxydopamine treatment, and coincided with the fish beginning to adopt a normal dorsal light reaction. Dopamine production recovered completely at day 45 post-6-hydroxydopamine injection and coincided with complete recovery of the normal dorsal light reaction. These observations suggest a role for intraocular dopamine in maintenance of the visual part of the normal dorsal light reaction.     

The functions of foliar nyctinasty: a review and hypothesis

Foliar nyctinasty is a plant behaviour characterised by a pronounced daily oscillation in leaf orientation. During the day, the blades of nyctinastic plant leaves (or leaflets) assume a more or less horizontal position that optimises their ability to capture sunlight for photosynthesis. At night, the positions that the leaf blades assume, regardless of whether they arise by rising, falling or twisting, are essentially vertical. Among the ideas put forth to explain the raison d'être of foliar nyctinasty are that it: (i) improves the temperature relations of plants; (ii) helps remove surface water from foliage; (iii) prevents the disruption of photoperiodism by moonlight; and (iv) directly discourages insect herbivory. After discussing these previous hypotheses, a novel tritrophic hypothesis is introduced that proposes that foliar nyctinasty constitutes an indirect plant defence against nocturnal herbivores. It is suggested that the reduction in physical clutter that follows from nocturnal leaf closure may increase the foraging success of many types of animals that prey upon or parasitise herbivores. Predators and parasitoids generally use some combination of visual, auditory or olfactory cues to detect prey. In terrestrial environments, it is hypothesised that the vertical orientation of the blades of nyctinastic plants at night would be especially beneficial to flying nocturnal predators (e.g. bats and owls) and parasitoids whose modus operandi is death from above. The movements of prey beneath a plant with vertically oriented foliage would be visually more obvious to gleaning or swooping predators under nocturnal or crepuscular conditions. Such predators could also detect sounds made by prey better without baffling layers of foliage overhead to damp and disperse the signal. Moreover, any volatiles released by the prey would diffuse more directly to the awaiting olfactory apparatus of the predators or parasitoids. In addition to facilitating the demise of herbivores by carnivores and parasitoids, foliar nyctinasty, much like the enhanced illumination of the full moon, may mitigate feeding by nocturnal herbivores by altering their foraging behaviour. Foliar nyctinasty could also provide a competitive advantage by encouraging herbivores, seeking more cover, to forage on or around non‐nyctinastic species. As an added advantage, foliar nyctinasty, by decreasing the temperature between plants through its effects on re‐radiation, may slow certain types of ectothermic herbivores making them more vulnerable to predation. Foliar nyctinasty also may not solely be a behavioural adaptation against folivores; by discouraging foraging by granivores, the inclusive fitness of nyctinastic plants may be increased.     

开窗减压术与传统刮治术治疗颌骨囊肿的手术效果、生活质量和预后的对比研究

目的:对比颌骨囊肿经传统刮治术与开窗减压术治疗后的手术效果、生活质量和预后。方法:回顾性选取2016年1月～2018年7月期间我院收治的90例颌骨囊肿患者的临床资料,上述患者根据手术方式的不同分为A组(n=45,传统刮治术)和B组(n=45,开窗减压术),比较两组患者疗效、临床指标、生活质量和预后。结果:B组患者临床总有效率为97.78%(44/45),高于A组的84.44%(38/45)(P0.05)。B组患者伤口愈合时间、手术时间、均短于A组,术中出血量少于A组(P0.05)。两组患者末次随访时情绪、外貌、味觉、疼痛、唾液、咀嚼等项目评分均升高,且B组高于A组(P0.05)。B组并发症发生率、复发率均低于A组(P0.05)。结论:与传统刮治术治疗相比,开窗减压术治疗颌骨囊肿,在手术效果、生活质量和预后方面效果显著,具有较高的临床应用价值。     

A Wearable System for In-Home and Long-Term Assessment of Fetal Movement

Objectives: This paper presents a novel wearable system for in-home and long-term fetal movement monitoring on a reliable and easily accessible basis.Material and methods: The system mainly consists of four accelerometers for fetal movement signal acquisition, a microcontroller for signal processing and an Android-based device interacting with the microcontroller via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), providing the mother with information related to the fetal movement in an intelligible way.Results: The proposed system can deliver reliable results with a specificity of 0.99 and a sensitivity of 0.77 for fetal movement time series signal classification.Conclusion: The proposed wearable system will provide a good alternative to optimize the use of medical professionals and hospital resources, and has potential applications in the field of e-Health home care. Besides, the fetal movement acceleration signals acquired with volunteers (pregnant women) help establish an initial database for future medical analysis of sensor-recorded fetal behaviors.     

Predictable shorebird departure patterns from a staging site can inform collision risks and mitigation of wind energy developments

High-quality staging sites are critical for long-distance migratory shorebirds to rest and refuel but are under threat from human development, including expansion of wind energy projects. However, predicting migration timing and movements in relation to weather conditions at staging sites can increase our understanding and mitigate effects of wind turbine collisions. Here we assessed northward migration timing and orientation in relation to environmental conditions at an inland staging area in Saskatchewan, Canada, with active and proposed wind energy developments. The area is known to host ~25% of North America's Sanderling Calidris alba population and 16 other Arctic-breeding migrant shorebird species. We quantified arrival and departure time of day in relation to weather using data from 140 of 237 Sanderlings radiotagged locally and at a southern staging site in the Gulf of Mexico with the Motus Wildlife Tracking System (April–June, 2015–2017). Although Sanderling arrival times were not related to time of day or weather, departures were more likely at sunset in winds blowing towards the northwest at intermediate speeds (<22 km/h). Departure flights were also primarily oriented north-northwest in the direction of a proposed wind energy development site at a mean ground speed of 21.4 m/s. Based on published climb rates and flight speed data, we estimated that shorebirds needed between 2 and 14 km setback distance to clear maximum turbine heights of 165 m. Given that departure events were predictable in time and space, adaptive mitigation may be useful for planning wind energy developments while reducing risk for staging Arctic-breeding shorebirds.     

De-indigenized but not defeated: race and resistance in Colombia's Peace Community and Campesino University

Despite the institution of multicultural policies and pluriethnic governments across Latin America, racist violence against Indigenous and Afro-descendant groups persists. Yet the racial facets of violence against non-ethnic campesinos remain unexplored. Integrating scholarship on race as a global structure and Latin American racial formations, I offer an account of racialization in Colombia. This article analyzes the racial dynamics of resistance to extractivism in Colombia's Campesino University, uniting Indigenous and campesino groups like the San José de Apartadó Peace Community. While the dominant race lexicon separates “campesinos” like San José's peasants from “Indigenous” and “Black” groups, I argue that the identifier campesino mestizo hides how San José's farmers were “de-indigenized” yet remain racialized as the less-than-human “Indigenous savage”. If racialization works to dominate but also divide the subaltern, then Campesino University participants’ cross-ethnic solidarity network against what they affirm is a shared experience of racist violence both unveils and counters racism.     

Sub-state nationalism in Spain: primers and triggers of identity politics in Catalonia and the Basque Country

This article builds on recent attempts to explain divergent uses of sub-state nationalism to push for policies of assimilation or multiculturalism and drive popular support for independence. It analyses the dynamics of discourses and policies in Spain before, during and after peak times of identity politics to provide a more nuanced understanding of the conditions leading to the activation of identity-driven policies. Substantive ethnographic evidence is presented to explain recent alterations to national discourses of identity, surprising reversals of immigration policies, and the modulation of Catalan and Basque independence movements. The main finding is that both identity discourses and resulting policies depend on the affinity for identity politics at the sub-state level, and this affinity is in large part primed by the popular perception of how secure sub-state national identity is against the ‘official’ state narrative.     

Slow food and the politics of pork fat: Italian food and European identity

This paper explores the emergence of the Slow Food Movement, an international consumer movement dedicated to the protection of ‘endangered foods.’ The history of one of these ‘endangered foods’, lardo di Colonnata, provides the ethnographic window through which I examine Slow Food's cultural politics. The paper seeks to understand the politics of ‘slowness’ within current debates over European identity, critiques of neo-liberal models of rationality, and the significant ideological shift towards market-driven politics in advanced capitalist societies.