Domestication of Thunnus thynnus – DOTT

The inception of the idea to domesticate the BFT as a European drive occurred while on a short sabbatical in Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Marine Policy Center in 1996. I was looking for a species or a group of species that will help close the developing gap between demand and supply of fish in the future, fish species that will serve, in times to come, as the “beef cattle” of the sea. I was looking for a species that has a fast growth rate, good ratio of edible meat to body weight (70%) and a wide temperature range. After screening many species, I have come to considering the Blue Fin Tuna (BFT) as a candidate Species for Future Mariculture. Controlling the life cycle of the BFT will also help maintaining and enhancing its wild population in the future by developing a re-stocking program. I aired the idea with a few colleagues (who became friends over the years) and received encouraging reactions (first stations; CIHEAM meeting in Tanger, Morocco, and then at the Univ. of Cadiz, Spain). It turned out that my idea was not an original one - a few countries had already launched national BFT domestication programs. The initiative came on fertile soil: 55 participants, 25 different R&D institutions and industry around the Med., including Non EU members (Malta, Cyprus, Tunisia, Morocco, Croatia and Israel). We decided to apply for a Concerted Action Program in the Fifth Framework Programme under the “Quality of life and management of living resources” key action of the European Commission – Parallel to the national initiatives in Europe, which were taken place in Spain, Italy and France. The objectives of the Concerted Action program were to prepare the RTD campaign, including priorities, interdisciplinary methodology, rational interactions amongst the different scientific disciplines and the cascade of steps for implementation. Emphasis was on Integration of Fishing Industry, the BFT Farming Industry, governments and the RTD Program. We tried to draw inferences from lessons learned in other countries such as the USA, Australia, and Japan and design our program accordingly. We put together a good proposal. However, the proposal was rejected based on it being too ambitious and too weak on the socio-economics aspects. Well, it was a set back and a disappointment. However, we did not give up. We, resorted to the EU Accompanying Measure Program, wrote another proposal to fund a meeting in which the State of Art regarding the BFT different aspects will be told, experience of BFT farming around the world will be discussed and foundations for RTD proposals will be initiated. The proposal was accepted. We have formed a Steering Committee, which met 3 times (first to prepare the proposal, second to prepare the meeting and third, 3 weeks ago, to finalize the program of the Conference, and solve all the small problems that always crop up in the preparation of meetings like this one). We also spent many hours on the email exchanging ideas, written parts of the proposal and the conference to follow. The first Conference on the Domestication of the Blue Fin Tuna (DOTT) which was held in Cartagena, Spain, and which this volume is presenting most of the presentations offered during the 5 days meeting, should be considered as a successful event. I, for one, am very happy with the conference itself and the outcome. We have been informed on most BFT activities around the world; state of the wild populations, BFT fisheries and landings, BFT fattening operations in different parts of the world such as Japan, Australia, Mexico, Malta, Croatia and Spain. There were very enlighten session on many of the BFT biological traits such as reproduction, larval rearing, nutrition, as well as behavioral and straddling aspects of this species. Most of the reports where given by people who have had direct experience in dealing with the BFT, however, many presentations had theoretical components in them. Following the plenary sessions, which lasted two and a half days, the participants were divided into workshops, which dealt with a few major disciplines concerning the domestication of the BFT. Most of the workshops lasted for two sessions of a few hours each. The ultimate goal of the workshop was to come up with a program and a skeleton for a research proposal to be submitted to the EU RTD Commission in Brussels. The first workshop was held still in the plenary forum and was devoted to the reproduction of the BFT. It was done as a demonstration and guideline to the other workshops, since a proposal in this field was submitted and approved by Brussels at the time. We had four workshops on the following subjects: 1. Socio-economics and environmental aspects of farming the BFT. 2. Larval and juvenile production of the BFT 3. Husbandry and nutrition of BFT farming 4. Engineering aspects of BFT farming. Short summaries of the above workshops can be found in the proceedings. The closing session of the conference was devoted to drawing a set of resolutions and adopting them by the plenary forum. These resolutions are aimed at increasing the awareness of the public, the different governments and the EU Community and its administration prospects of domestication the BFT and what it involves. The amended resolutions are attached to this chapter of the proceedings. We hope that the DOTT Conference has initiated a campaign, which will, eventually bring about the farming and restocking of the Bluefin Tuna. A worthwhile campaign, which will come to fruition in the next decade or two. On Behalf of the Steering Committee I want to thank a couple of funding institutions and a few key people that without their efforts and hard work this event would have stayed as an unrealised dream: The EU Commission for funding the DOTT conference, The Marine Policy Centre of Woods Hole Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole, Mass., USA My colleagues, who became friends, on the Steering Committee: Antonio Garcia and, the Spanish National Coordinator and Fernando de la Gandara both from IEO, Mazarron, without whom this meeting could not have happened. Prof. Christopher Bridges from the Univ. of Düsseldorf, who tirelessly was my anchor to sanity all along the last two and a half years. Prof. Gregorio DeMetrio from the Univ. of Bari who hosted the first meeting of the, would be, Steering Committee in 1999. Prof. Joaquin Roca, from the hosting Polytechnic Univ. of Cartagena who put a lot of effort into realizing the meeting. Drs. Antonio Medina and Gabriel Mourente from the Univ. of Cadiz who were the first recruits to the DOTT crusade ever since 1998. Gines Mendez, Atunes de Mazarron, the President of ASETUN, who hosted us and encouraged our activities all along. François Rene and Christian Fauvel from IFREMER, Palavas, France, who tirelessly helped in ideas, lobbying and organization on the French side of the border. Zarko Peric from Malta who came late to the Steering committee but contributed a lot to our rational. Dr. Constantinos Mylonas from IMBC, Crete, Greece who came on board strong and creative and last but not least, David De Monbrison from CEASM, Paris, France, who all along pointed out the political, social, economics and environmental issues involved it the DOTT. Our host, the Polytechnic Univ. of Cartagena and its president Prof. Juan Ramón Medina Precioso, and the vice President Prof. Antonio Garcia Sánchez. Antonio Belmonte who arranged all details of the visits to the farms and packing plants And to Isabel Belizon from ESLABON who helped organized the Meeting Many other people who lent a supportive hand during the long period of preparation for the meeting, which the space is too small to mention them all. Hillel Gordin DOTT Coordinator May 2002European Union – FP5 Quality of Life Program, Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Universidad Politecnica Cartagena, Institut Français de Recherche pour l ´Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Asociación de Empresarios de Túnidos de la Región de Murcia (ASETUN), Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM) Asamblea Regional de Murcia, Excmo. Ayuntamiento de Cartagena, Concejalia de la Mujer

Ocean acidification promotes otolith growth and calcite deposition in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) larvae

This work received funding from the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) Small Grant initiative (SG330 and SG407). MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions. PBW would like to thank the Royal Society for the award of an Industry Fellowship. Financial support to CRB and JG were through the BIOACID (Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification; Phase II) research programme.The effects of ocean acidification on otolith crystallization and growth rates were investigated in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) larvae. Larvae were exposed to three different pH levels: pH8.2, pH7.7 and pH7.3 for a period of 18 days post-fertilization. For the first time, we demonstrate that pH has a significant impact on the carbonate polymorph composition, showing calcite in a significant percentage of individuals at low pH. Around 21% of the larvae exposed to pH7.3 showed irregular calcitic otoliths rather than commonly found round aragonitic otoliths. Calcitic otoliths showed a moderate level of heritability suggesting an important role of genetic factors. We also observed significantly larger otoliths in larvae reared at pH7.7 and pH7.3 compared to pH8.2 in both sagittae and lapilli. Our results demonstrate that otolith growth rates in gilthead sea bream larvae increase at low pH while a significant proportion of larvae are prone to the formation of calcitic otoliths at pH7.3.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Metabolic crosstalk: molecular links between glycogen and lipid metabolism in obesity.

Glycogen and lipids are major storage forms of energy that are tightly regulated by hormones and metabolic signals. We demonstrate that feeding mice a high-fat diet (HFD) increases hepatic glycogen due to increased expression of the glycogenic scaffolding protein PTG/R5. PTG promoter activity was increased and glycogen levels were augmented in mice and cells after activation of the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and its downstream target SREBP1. Deletion of the PTG gene in mice prevented HFD-induced hepatic glycogen accumulation. Of note, PTG deletion also blocked hepatic steatosis in HFD-fed mice and reduced the expression of numerous lipogenic genes. Additionally, PTG deletion reduced fasting glucose and insulin levels in obese mice while improving insulin sensitivity, a result of reduced hepatic glucose output. This metabolic crosstalk was due to decreased mTORC1 and SREBP activity in PTG knockout mice or knockdown cells, suggesting a positive feedback loop in which once accumulated, glycogen stimulates the mTORC1/SREBP1 pathway to shift energy storage to lipogenesis. Together, these data reveal a previously unappreciated broad role for glycogen in the control of energy homeostasis

Bacteria in Construction Site Sediment Basins

2010 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur

On the Nature of the NGC 1275 System

Sub-arcsecond images, taken in B, R, and H-Alpha filters, and area spectroscopy obtained with the WIYN 3.5-m telescope provide the basis for an investigation of the unusual structures in the stellar body and ionized gas in and around the Perseus cluster central galaxy, NGC 1275. Our H-Alpha filter is tuned to gas at the velocity of NGC 1275, revealing complex, probably unresolved, small-scale features in the extended ionized gas, located up to 50/h kpc from NGC 1275. The mean H-Alpha surface brightness varies little along the outer filaments; this, together with the complex excitation state demonstrated by spectra, imply that the filaments are likely to be tubes, or ribbons, of gas. The morphology, location and inferred physical parameters of the gas in the filaments are consistent with a model whereby the filaments form through compression of the intracluster gas by relativistic plasma emitted from the active nucleus of NGC 1275. Imaging spectroscopy with the Densepak fiber array on WIYN suggests partial rotational support of the inner component of low velocity ionized gas. We confirm and extend evidence for features in the stellar body of NGC 1275, and identify outer stellar regions containing very blue, probably very young, star clusters. We interpret these as evidence for recent accretion of a gas-rich system, with subsequent star formation. We suggest that two main processes, which may be causally connected, are responsible for the rich phenomenology of the NGC 1275 system -- NGC 1275 experienced a recent merger/interaction with a group of gas-rich galaxies, and recent outflows from its AGN have compressed the intracluster gas, and perhaps the gas in the infalling galaxies, to produce a complex web of filaments. (Abridged)Comment: AJ, accepted; a recommended full resolution version is available at http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~chris/pera.p

Histological and immunohistochemical investigation on ovarian development and plasma estradiol levels in the swordfish (<i>Xiphias gladius</i> L.)

The paper reports a histological and immunohistochemical description of oocyte growth and ultrastructural aspects of zona radiata (ZR) formation as well as the relationship between plasma estradiol-17&#x03B2;, (E2 ) levels and ovarian development in swordfish (Xiphias gladius L.) from the Mediterranean Sea. Ovaries were inactive during March to mid April; maturation occurred during late April to June and spawning in June and July. Zona radiata formation starts, as Pas positive material, in oocytes at the lipid stage. In this stage a deposit of electrondense material between oolemma and follicular cells appears. In the cortical alveoli stage and through the early vitellogenic stage, the deposition of a moderately electrondense material occurred on the inner side of the ZR. Finally, in late vitellogenic oocytes a third layer, made of microfibrillar material, appeared. The immunohistochemical analyses revealed that the initial internalisation of hepatic zona radiata proteins (Zrp) in the swordfish oocyte starts before the uptake of vitellogenin (Vtg) and that it is associated with the low previtellogenic E2 plasma levels, while a significant E2 increase in plasma is associated with the beginning of Vtg uptake. This would appear to confirm the hypothesis that the differential and sequential induction of zonagenesis and vitellogenesis may reflect a general feature of teleost oogenesi

Statistical coverage for supersymmetric parameter estimation: a case study with direct detection of dark matter

Models of weak-scale supersymmetry offer viable dark matter (DM) candidates. Their parameter spaces are however rather large and complex, such that pinning down the actual parameter values from experimental data can depend strongly on the employed statistical framework and scanning algorithm. In frequentist parameter estimation, a central requirement for properly constructed confidence intervals is that they cover true parameter values, preferably at exactly the stated confidence level when experiments are repeated infinitely many times. Since most widely-used scanning techniques are optimised for Bayesian statistics, one needs to assess their abilities in providing correct confidence intervals in terms of the statistical coverage. Here we investigate this for the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (CMSSM) when only constrained by data from direct searches for dark matter. We construct confidence intervals from one-dimensional profile likelihoods and study the coverage by generating several pseudo-experiments for a few benchmark sets of pseudo-true parameters. We use nested sampling to scan the parameter space and evaluate the coverage for the benchmarks when either flat or logarithmic priors are imposed on gaugino and scalar mass parameters. The sampling algorithm has been used in the configuration usually adopted for exploration of the Bayesian posterior. We observe both under- and over-coverage, which in some cases vary quite dramatically when benchmarks or priors are modified. We show how most of the variation can be explained as the impact of explicit priors as well as sampling effects, where the latter are indirectly imposed by physicality conditions. For comparison, we also evaluate the coverage for Bayesian credible intervals, and observe significant under-coverage in those cases.Comment: 30 pages, 5 figures; v2 includes major updates in response to referee's comments; extra scans and tables added, discussion expanded, typos corrected; matches published versio

Antiviral resistance during pandemic influenza: implications for stockpiling and drug use

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The anticipated extent of antiviral use during an influenza pandemic can have adverse consequences for the development of drug resistance and rationing of limited stockpiles. The strategic use of drugs is therefore a major public health concern in planning for effective pandemic responses.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We employed a mathematical model that includes both sensitive and resistant strains of a virus with pandemic potential, and applies antiviral drugs for treatment of clinical infections. Using estimated parameters in the published literature, the model was simulated for various sizes of stockpiles to evaluate the outcome of different antiviral strategies.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We demonstrated that the emergence of highly transmissible resistant strains has no significant impact on the use of available stockpiles if treatment is maintained at low levels or the reproduction number of the sensitive strain is sufficiently high. However, moderate to high treatment levels can result in a more rapid depletion of stockpiles, leading to run-out, by promoting wide-spread drug resistance. We applied an antiviral strategy that delays the onset of aggressive treatment for a certain amount of time after the onset of the outbreak. Our results show that if high treatment levels are enforced too early during the outbreak, a second wave of infections can potentially occur with a substantially larger magnitude. However, a timely implementation of wide-scale treatment can prevent resistance spread in the population, and minimize the final size of the pandemic.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results reveal that conservative treatment levels during the early stages of the outbreak, followed by a timely increase in the scale of drug-use, will offer an effective strategy to manage drug resistance in the population and avoid run-out. For a 1918-like strain, the findings suggest that pandemic plans should consider stockpiling antiviral drugs to cover at least 20% of the population.</p

The transition experience of rural older persons with advanced cancer and their families: a grounded theory study

BACKGROUND: Transitions often occur suddenly and can be traumatic to both patients with advanced disease and their families. The purpose of this study was to explore the transition experience of older rural persons with advanced cancer and their families from the perspective of palliative home care patients, bereaved family caregivers, and health care professionals. The specific aims were to: (1) describe the experience of significant transitions experienced by older rural persons who were receiving palliative home care and their families and (2) develop a substantive theory of transitions in this population. METHODS: Using a grounded theory approach, 27 open-ended individual audio-taped interviews were conducted with six older rural persons with advanced cancer and 10 bereaved family caregivers. Four focus group interviews were conducted with 12 palliative care health care professionals. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed using Charmaz\u27s constructivist grounded theory approach. RESULTS: Within a rural context of isolation, lack of information and limited accessibility to services, and values of individuality and community connectedness, older rural palliative patients and their families experienced multiple complex transitions in environment, roles/relationships, activities of daily living, and physical and mental health. Transitions disrupted the lives of palliative patients and their caregivers, resulting in distress and uncertainty. Rural palliative patients and their families adapted to transitions through the processes of Navigating Unknown Waters . This tentative theory includes processes of coming to terms with their situation, connecting, and redefining normal. Timely communication, provision of information and support networks facilitated the processes. CONCLUSION: The emerging theory provides a foundation for future research. Significant transitions identified in this study may serve as a focus for improving delivery of palliative and end of life care in rural areas. Improved understanding of the transitions experienced by advanced cancer palliative care patients and their families, as well as the psychological processes involved in adapting to the transitions, will help health care providers address the unique needs of this vulnerable population