Variation in Environmental Parameters in Research and Aquaculture: Effects on Behaviour, Physiology and Cell Biology of Teleost Fish

Over the last few years the increasing use of fish as animal models in scientific research and the increased fish breeding for human consumption have stressed the need for more knowledge on the effect of variations in environmental parameters on fish biology and on the welfare of specimens used both in research and aquaculture contexts. Experimental evidence shows that environmental variations can affect fish biology at various levels, from the molecular to that of the population, sometimes in a different way depending on the species considered. In order to achieve reproducible results in experiments involving fish it is necessary to set and maintain all environmental parameters constant at the optimal value to guarantee the wellness of the animal. The effects of the variation in environmental parameters on the behaviour, physiology and cell biology of teleosts are here discussed in order to provide useful information for research based on fish models

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 21

This is the twenty-first issue of NASA's USSR Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 37 papers published in Russian language periodicals or books or presented at conferences and of a Soviet monograph on animal ontogeny in weightlessness. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. A book review of a work on adaptation to stress is also included. The abstracts in this issue have been identified as relevant to 25 areas of space biology and medicine. These areas are: adaptation, biological rhythms, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, cytology, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, equipment and instrumentation, exobiology, gravitational biology, habitability and environmental effects, hematology, human performance, life support systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, operational medicine, perception, psychology, and reproductive system

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College of Engineering, March 28, 2014

This request is to discontinue the Interdepartmental Program inToxicology, which offers MS and PhD degrees from the Departments of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences (ADVS); Plants, Soils, and Climate (PSC); Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE); Biology (BIOL); and Chemistry & Biochemistry (CHEM)

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, March 28, 2014 - Discontinuation of the Interdepartmental Program in Toxicology MS & PhD Degrees

This request is to discontinue the Interdepartmental Program in Toxicology, which offers MS and PhD degrees from the Departments of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences (ADVS); Plants, Soils, and Climate (PSC); Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE); Biology (BIOL); and Chemistry & Biochemistry (CHEM)

Quantitatively Measuring In situ Flows using a Self-Contained Underwater Velocimetry Apparatus (SCUVA)

The ability to directly measure velocity fields in a fluid environment is necessary to provide empirical data for studies in fields as diverse as oceanography, ecology, biology, and fluid mechanics. Field measurements introduce practical challenges such as environmental conditions, animal availability, and the need for field-compatible measurement techniques. To avoid these challenges, scientists typically use controlled laboratory environments to study animal-fluid interactions. However, it is reasonable to question whether one can extrapolate natural behavior (i.e., that which occurs in the field) from laboratory measurements. Therefore, in situ quantitative flow measurements are needed to accurately describe animal swimming in their natural environment

Biological research of Grabia River - fifty years of activity

Grabia, a small still close to natural conditions lowland river, has been an object of special interest for Łódź hydrobiologists for more than 50 years. Over 100 scientific papers and over 100 master theses were produced in the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection University of Łódź. The initiator was Prof.L.K. Pawłowski who spent many years conducting research into the river. The ground and the first research objective was to recognize the fauna diversity. The checklist encompass almost 1000 invertebrate and 24 fish species. Taxonomy, biology and ecology of various taxa have made for many decades an essential trend of scientific activity. Special attention was dedicated to rotifers, leeches, branchiobdellids, snails and bivalves, gammarids and copepods as well as aquatic insects, fish and also diatoms. Some aspects of zoobenthos and Zooplankton communities ecology was the subject of 13 Ph.D.theses. The river with its rich animal and plant communities was also the subject of dynamics of river ecosystem research. The study on the structure of invertebrate assemblages on the background of habitat diversity has been recently conducted. The model may be treealed as a reference to the restoration of Europaean rivers and their valleys.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 dofinansowane zostało ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę

Preparation of Biological Samples for Transmission X-Ray Microanalysis: A Review of Alternative Procedures to the Use of Sectioned Material

Although transmission X-ray microanalysis of biological material has traditionally been carried out mainly on sectioned preparations, a number of alternative procedures exist. These are considered under three major headings - whole cell preparations, analysis of cell homogenates and biological fluids, and applications of the technique to microsamples of purified biochemicals. These three aspects provide a continuous range of investigative level - from the cellular to the molecular. The use of X-ray microanalysis with whole cell preparations is considered in reference to eukaryote (animal) cells and prokaryotes - where it has particular potential in environmental studies on bacteria. In the case of cell homogenates and biological fluids, the technique has been used mainly with microdroplets of animal material. The use of X-ray microanalysis with purified biochemicals is considered in relation to both particulate and non-particulate samples. In the latter category, the application of this technique for analysis of thin films of metalloprotein is particularly emphasised. It is concluded that wider use could be made of the range of preparative techniques available - both within a particular investigation, and in diverse fields of study. Transmission X-ray microanalysis has implications for environmental, physiological and molecular biology as well as cell biology

Accessing Information on Montana’s Animals, Plants and Biological Communities Through the Montana Natural Heritage Program’s Web Applications: Recent Updates (Poster)

The Montana Natural Heritage Program (MTNHP) was established by the Montana State Legislature in 1983 and charged with statutory responsibility for acquisition, storage and retrieval of information documenting Montana’s flora, fauna and biological communities (Montana Code Annotated 90-15).  Information managed by MTNHP includes taxonomy, biology, ecology and conservation status information for nearly 8,000 plant and animal species and nearly 150 terrestrial and aquatic communities, nearly 1.7 million animal observation records, over 182,000 locations where a formal structured animal survey protocol has been followed, predictive distribution models for animal and plant species, species occurrence and wetland and riparian mapping polygons that are used in environmental reviews, land cover mapping and land management information.  We deliver this information via staff facilitated requests and web applications that include the Montana Animal and Plant Species of Concern reports, the Montana Field Guide, the Natural Heritage MapViewer and the Species Snapshot.  In this presentation we will provide a brief overview of how biologists and natural resource managers can access information via our websites.  We will focus on recent updates to our Species Snapshot and Montana Field Guide applications that allow users to create custom species summaries and field guides using spatial, taxonomy and conservation status filters and our vision for the development of an environmental review tool that can be used by agency resource managers, planners and consultants to speed environmental reviews

Comte's Lamarckian Heritage

Comte praised Lamarck highly as a biologist and attributed to him two main contributions: his seminal contribution to environmental theory and the way he conceived animal hierarchy. Given that the first point is now well documented, we are only dealing with the second one, which is less favorable to Comte, as biologists disagree today with Lamarck on this subject. We explain first how Comte uses biology in his sociology: the Lamarckian animal series is the first scientific example of progress and social progress is only an extension of it. We then present the Lamarck-Cuvier controversy about classification and show how Lamarck's insistence on the role of external circumstances was a way out of the difficulties he encountered in the construction of the animal series

Sociocultural context for sex differences in addiction

In this review, we discuss the importance of investigating both sex and gender differences in addiction and relapse in studies of humans and in animal models. Addiction is both a cultural and biological phenomenon. Sex and gender differences are not solely determined by our biology, nor are they entirely cultural; they are interactions between biology and the environment that are continuously played out throughout development. Lessons from the historical record illustrate how context and attitudes affect the way that substance use in men and women is regarded. Finally, cultural and environmental influences may differentially affect men and women, and affect how they respond to drugs of abuse and to treatment protocols. We recommend that both animal models and clinical research need to be developed to consider how contextual and social factors may influence the biological processes of addiction and relapse differentially in men and women.Addiction is both a cultural and biological phenomenon and interactions between biology and the environment are continuously played out throughout development. Lessons from the historical record illustrate how context and attitudes affect the way that substance abuse and treatment can differentially affect men and women. Animal models and clinical research need to consider how contextual and social factors may influence the biological processes of addiction and relapse differentially in males and females.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133600/1/adb12383.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133600/2/adb12383_am.pd