Effects of survey scale and water depth on the assessment of spatial distribution patterns of selected fish in the northern North Sea showing different levels of aggregation

Geostatistics was employed to investigate spatial structuring of herring, cod, dab, haddock and whiting at different spatial scales in the northern North Sea. Additionally, a structural analysis of the maximum water depth was carried out to assess habitat associations of fish. Linear, spherical, exponential and Gaussian models were fitted to the semivariograms, showing clear spatial autocorrelations. At the smaller scale, spatial structuring was weak for haddock, herring and dab, increasing at the greater spatial scale, with the exception of whiting. Mean catch rates, estimated classically and geostatistically, were in good agreement. Corresponding variances were clearly reduced at both spatial scales, when accounting for spatial distribution of the fish. At the greater survey scale a high level of habitat association was detected for haddock and whiting, while a poor habitat association was found for cod, dab and herring. The smaller scale seems to be the threshold at which spatial structuring of “cpue” could have marked influence on estimation error. Thus, survey scale is important when analysing spatial patterns and estimating mean biomass indices, and a sound analysis of relations in spatial structuring of fish and habitat conditions is essential to derive more precise estimates.     

Simulation of stent deployment in a realistic human coronary artery

Background  

The process of restenosis after a stenting procedure is related to local biomechanical environment. Arterial wall stresses caused by the interaction of the stent with the vascular wall and possibly stress induced stent strut fracture are two important parameters. The knowledge of these parameters after stent deployment in a patient derived 3D reconstruction of a diseased coronary artery might give insights in the understanding of the process of restenosis.     

Distribution of SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells in the cell cycle following exposure to organophosphorus compounds

The current study investigated the relationship of the cell cycle phase (as G(0)/G(1), S, and G(2)/M) and cytotoxicity (as sub-G(1) DNA) to determine whether alterations in cell replication were associated with organophosphate (OP) compound induced cytotoxicity. Results demonstrated that, overall, OP compound--induced cell cycle changes were variable and depended on the OP compound, exposure concentration, and temporal relationship to cytotoxicity. Noncytotoxic OP compound treatments substantially decreased the percentage of cells in S phase of the cell cycle when compared to controls. A corresponding increase was seen in the percent of cells in G(0)/G(1) phase of the cell cycle. In the precytotoxic interval of exposure, most cytotoxic OP compound treatments substantially decreased the percentage of cells in G(2)/M phase of the cell cycle. Corresponding increases were seen primarily in G(0)/G(1) phase cells. Effects on cells in S stage of the cell cycle varied with the OP compound. In the during cytotoxic interval of exposure, most cytotoxic OP compound treatments substantially increased the percentage of cells in S phase of the cell cycle. A corresponding decrease in the percent of cells in G(0)/G(1) stage of the cell cycle was observed. Furthermore, treatments either increased or decreased the percentage of cells in G(2)/M phase of the cell cycle when compared to controls, with decreases more likely with the most cytotoxic OP compound exposures. Overall, the in vitro data suggest that exposure to OP compounds can alter the cell cycle status of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells depending on compound, concentration, and interval from initial exposure. Changes in cell cycle, however, did not differentiate between OP compounds that are known for their ability to acutely inhibit acetylcholinesterase versus those inducing type I and type II delayed neurotoxicity.     

Energy coupling in Mn2+ oxidation by a marine bacterium

ATP synthesis couple to Mn²⁺ oxidation was demonstrated with partially or wholly everted membrane vesicles from marine bacterial strain SSW₂₂. The extent of ATP synthesis in these experiments was greater in earlier experiments. Chemiosmosis is the most probable mechanism for energy coupling because 2,4-dinitrophenol at appropriate concentrations stimulated Mn²⁺ oxidation by intact cells, membrane vesicles or extracts of strains SSW₂₂, S₁₃, and marine pseudomonad 16B. Externally added ADP stimulated Mn²⁺ oxidation by everted membrane vesicles of strain SSW₂₂. This stimulation was oxygen-dependent. It is explained on the basis of a chemiosmotic model for energy coupling in Mn²⁺ oxidation.     

Trehalose Increases Freeze-Thaw Damage in Liposomes Containing Chloroplast Glycolipids

Chloroplast thylakoids contain three classes of glycolipids, monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG), and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG). We have investigated the stability of large unilamellar vesicles made from egg phosphatidylcholine (EPC) and different chloroplast glycolipids during freezing to -18 degreesC, as a function of the presence of three sugars: glucose, sucrose, or trehalose. Contrary to the situation in thylakoids, where cryoprotection increases from glucose < sucrose < trehalose, liposomes containing 50% DGDG showed the opposite behavior. In fact, carboxyfluorescein leakage increased over the control values (freezing in the absence of sugar) in the presence of trehalose. This effect was not seen in vesicles made from pure EPC, or a mixture of EPC and MGDG, or EPC and SQDG. Liposomes made from mixtures of all three glycolipids, however, showed even more leakage in the presence of trehalose than liposomes containing only DGDG and EPC. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.     

Multiplexed discovery of sequence polymorphisms using base-specific cleavage and MALDI-TOF MS

The completion of the Human Genome Project provides researchers with a reference sequence that covers about 99% of the gene-containing regions and is more than 99.9% accurate. Sequence drafts and completed sequences for several other species are also available to researchers worldwide. The ongoing effort to provide more and more genomic reference information now enables the detection of deviations from this ‘genetic blueprint’. Comparative sequencing projects will play a major role in elucidating the meaning of the genetic code and in establishing a correlation between genotype and phenotype. As part of this effort, a number of projects will focus on distinct functional aspects, like resequencing of exons or HLA determining regions. Typically these target regions are short in length and their analysis does not require long read length. To find an efficient solution for these applications, we developed a novel method that allows simultaneous analysis of multiple independent target regions (Multiplexed Comparative Sequence Analysis) by employing base-specific cleavage biochemistry and MALDI TOF-MS analysis.     

Lack of geographic variation in anonymous nuclear polymorphisms in the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica

Comparing geographic variation of noncoding nuclear DNA polymorphisms, which presumably are neutral to natural selection, with geographic variation of allozymes is potentially a good way to detect the effects of selection on allozyme polymorphisms. A previous study of four anonymous nuclear markers in the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica, found dramatic differences in allele frequency between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. In contrast, 14 allozyme polymorphisms were fairly uniform in frequency between the two areas. This led to the conclusion that all of the allozyme polymorphisms were kept uniform in frequency by balancing selection. To test the robustness of this pattern, six additional anonymous nuclear DNA polymorphisms were surveyed in oysters from Panacea, Fla, and Charleston, S.C. on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, respectively. Unlike the previously studied DNA markers, the six DNA polymorphisms examined here show geographic variation that is not significantly greater than that of allozymes. The reason for the discrepancy between the two sets of DNA polymorphisms is unclear.