Vertical distribution of zooplankton in the frontal zone of the Gulf Stream and Labrador Current

Zooplankton data collected during September 1995 in the NorthWest Atlantic at 4139'N, 4958'W (the location of the siteof the ‘Titanic’ wreck) were analysed. The regioninvestigated was characterized by a very sharp frontal zonebetween the Gulf Stream and the main stream of the LabradorCurrent. The total plankton biomass in the water column wasvery high. The macroplankton biomass values below the 600 mlayer were significantly higher as compared with the similarvalues measured before in other productive boreal regions ofthe Atlantic and Pacific oceans. A lot of dead mesoplanktonanimals occurred in the deep layers. The reason was that thecold-water mesoplankton advected by the Labrador Current diedoff intensively within the deep layers of the frontal zone andwere used as a food resource by the macroplankton carnivoresand scavengers that were very abundant there.     

A finite element based method to determine the properties of planar soft tissue.

A finite element based method to determine the incremental elastic material properties of planar membranes was developed and evaluated. The method is applicable to tissues that exhibit inhomogeneity, geometric and material nonlinearity, and anisotropy. Markers are placed on the tissue to form a four-node quadrilateral element. The specimen is loaded to an initial reference state, then three incremental loading sets are applied and the nodal displacements recorded. One of these loadings must include shear. These data are used to solve an over-determined system of equations for the tangent stiffness matrix. The method was first verified using analytical data. Next, data obtained from a latex rubber sheet were used to evaluate experimental procedures. Finally, experiments conducted on preconditioned rat skin revealed nonlinear orthotropic behavior. The vector norm comparing the applied and calculated nodal force vectors was used to evaluate the accuracy of the solutions.     

Vascularized full-thickness parietal bone grafts in maxillofacial reconstruction: the role of the galea and superficial temporal vessels

Reconstruction of bony structures of the face is always a problem as big as the defect and the function that must be replaced. Everything from simple grafts to sophisticated distant bone flaps has been used. Based on the studies of Cutting et al., Psillakis et al., and Casanova et al., we have developed the full-thickness galeoparietal bone flap, initially for mandibular reconstruction, but of great use for all maxillofacial reconstructions. From July of 1987 to December of 1988, 14 patients have been operated on. The experience with this flap is shown in four patients as follows: primary reconstruction of a mandible as a result of ameloblastoma, secondary reconstruction of a mandible with associated old fractures and malalignment of segments, bilateral malar reconstruction in a patient with Treacher Collins syndrome, and severe sequelae of an already treated Romberg case. Small variations could be made to best accommodate the technique used to the defect we were treating. Some technical details, the experience, the results, and possible sequelae or complications are also discussed.     

Sequence analysis of a 101-kilobase plasmid required for agar degradation by a Microscilla isolate.

An agar-degrading marine bacterium identified as a Microscilla species was isolated from coastal California marine sediment. This organism harbored a single 101-kb circular DNA plasmid designated pSD15. The complete nucleotide sequence of pSD15 was obtained, and sequence analysis indicated a number of genes putatively encoding a variety of enzymes involved in polysaccharide utilization. The most striking feature was the occurrence of five putative agarase genes. Loss of the plasmid, which occurred at a surprisingly high frequency, was associated with loss of agarase activity, supporting the sequence analysis results.