Apparent Specific Dynamic Action In Mytilus-Edulis L

The results of experiments recorded by Bayne & Scullard (1977) confirmed earlier studies (Bayne, 1973) in describing a decline in the rate of oxygen uptake (Vo2) by Mytilus edulis during starvation, eventually reaching a steady-state value, called the standard rate of oxygen consumption. Earlier experiments had also shown that if such starved mussels were fed, oxygen uptake increased rapidly to a high level called the active rate of oxygen consumption (Thompson & Bayne, 1972; Bayne, Thompson & Widdows, 1973). Some of this increase in metabolic rate is undoubtedly due to an increased filtration rate that is stimulated by the presence of food (the ‘mechanical cost of feeding’ discussed by Bayne et al. 1976), and part is due to the ‘physiological costs of feeding’, which includes energy utilized in digestion and assimilation of the food, and energy that is lost during deamination and other catabolic processes that accompany digestion (Warren & Davis, 1967). Increases in metabolic rate associated with feeding have been called the specific dynamic action (SDA) of the ration (see Harper, 1971, for a discussion) or the apparent SDA (Beamish, 1974)5 and they have been related to aspects of protein metabolism (Krebs, 1964). This paper describes the results of some experiments designed to examine the relationships between SDA and ammonia excretion in Mytilus edulis L

Rates Of Nitrogen-Excretion By Species Of Mytilus (Bivalvia - Mollusca)

The results of experiments recorded by Bayne & Scullard (1977) confirmed earlier studies (Bayne, 1973) in describing a decline in the rate of oxygen uptake (Vo2) by Mytilus edulis during starvation, eventually reaching a steady-state value, called the standard rate of oxygen consumption. Earlier experiments had also shown that if such starved mussels were fed, oxygen uptake increased rapidly to a high level called the active rate of oxygen consumption (Thompson & Bayne, 1972; Bayne, Thompson & Widdows, 1973). Some of this increase in metabolic rate is undoubtedly due to an increased filtration rate that is stimulated by the presence of food (the ‘mechanical cost of feeding’ discussed by Bayne et al. 1976), and part is due to the ‘physiological costs of feeding’, which includes energy utilized in digestion and assimilation of the food, and energy that is lost during deamination and other catabolic processes that accompany digestion (Warren & Davis, 1967). Increases in metabolic rate associated with feeding have been called the specific dynamic action (SDA) of the ration (see Harper, 1971, for a discussion) or the apparent SDA (Beamish, 1974)5 and they have been related to aspects of protein metabolism (Krebs, 1964). This paper describes the results of some experiments designed to examine the relationships between SDA and ammonia excretion in Mytilus edulis L

Bounded Model Checking for Probabilistic Programs

In this paper we investigate the applicability of standard model checking approaches to verifying properties in probabilistic programming. As the operational model for a standard probabilistic program is a potentially infinite parametric Markov decision process, no direct adaption of existing techniques is possible. Therefore, we propose an on-the-fly approach where the operational model is successively created and verified via a step-wise execution of the program. This approach enables to take key features of many probabilistic programs into account: nondeterminism and conditioning. We discuss the restrictions and demonstrate the scalability on several benchmarks

Antihypertensive drug class and dyslipidemia: risk association among Chinese patients with uncomplicated hypertension

Factors associated with dyslipidemia in Chinese patients with uncomplicated hypertension were investigated in 1,139 patients newly prescribed a single antihypertensive drug in the public primary healthcare setting in Hong Kong, where their fasting lipid profiles were measured 4 to 16 weeks after the first prescription. Multivariate logistic regression showed that thiazide users were more likely (OR 3.67, 95% C.I. 1.13, 11.88, p=0.030) to have adverse (> 6.2mmol/l) total cholesterol (TC) compared with drugs acting on the renin angiotensin system (RAS), but the absolute difference in mean TC between thiazide users and all patients was small ( 0.14 mmol/l), while advanced age and male gender were also associated with some aspects of dyslipidemia. Clinicians should be aware of the increased risk of dyslipidemia in these groups, but the mild dyslipidemic profile associated with thiazides should not in itself deter its use as a possible first-line antihypertensive agent among Chinese patients

Pathway of phytate dephosphorylation by β-propeller phytases of different origins

Using a combination of high-performance ion chromatography analysis and kinetic studies, the pathway of myo-inositol hexakisphosphate dephosphorylation by the P-propeller phytase of Shewanella oneidensis was established, which was then compared with that of Bacillus subtilis 168, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ATCC 15841, and B. amyloliquefaciens 45 β-propeller phytases. The data demonstrate that all of these β-propeller phytases dephosphorylate myo-inositol hexakisphosphate in a stereospecific way by sequential removal of phosphate groups via D-Ins(1,2,4,5,6)P 5, Ins(2,4,5,6)P 4 to finally Ins(2,4,6)P 3. Thus, the β-propeller phytases prefer the hydrolysis of every second phosphate over that of adjacent ones. This finding does not support previous phytate degradation models proposed by J. Kerovuo, J. Rouvinen, and F. Hatzack (2000. Biochem. J. 352: 623-628) and R. Greiner, A. Farouk, M. Larsson Alminger, and N.G. Carlsson (2002. Can. J. Microbiol. 48: 986-994), but seems to fit with the structural model given by S. Shin, N.C. Ha, B.C. Oh, T.K. Oh, and B.H. Oh (2001. Structure, 9: 851-858). © 2007 NRC.published_or_final_versio

Hydrolysis of precipitated phytate by three distinct families of phytases

While genetically modified plants that secrete histidine acid phosphatases (HAPs), β-propeller phytases (BPPs) and purple acid phosphatases (PAPs) have been shown to assimilate soluble phytate, little is known about whether these plants have the ability to hydrolyze precipitated phytate. In this study, the ability of representative members of these three classes of phytases to hydrolyze metal-phytate salts and to hydrolyze phytate adsorbed to aluminum precipitates was compared. All three phytases were able to hydrolyze Ca 2+-, Mg 2+-, and Mn 2+-phytates, but were unable to hydrolyze Al 3+-, Fe 2+-, Fe 3+-, Cu 2+-, and Zn 2+-phytates. When these ions were present, the hydrolysis of Ca 2+-phytate was prevented. Citrate was more potent than malate and oxalate in solubilizing some of these phytate salts for enzyme hydrolysis. Phytate adsorbed to aluminum precipitates was resistant to all three enzymes, except when organic acids were added (citrate>oxalate>malate). While increasing concentrations of organic acids were inhibitory to enzyme activity (oxalate >citrate>malate), PAP was more resistant to citrate than HAP. As desorption of phytate from a solid surface by organic acids is essential for phytase activity, the genetic engineering of plants that enhances the secretion of both citrate and phytases from the root may be a feasible approach to improving soil phytate assimilation. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.postprin

De novo assembly and characterization of Camelina sativa transcriptome by paired-end sequencing

published_or_final_versio

The determination of the mass of a Magellanic Cloud planetary nebula by speckle interferometry

We have resolved a Magellanic Cloud planetary nebula by speckle interferometry for the first time. Our observations of SMC N2 show it to have a double-ring structure, the rings having angular radii of 0.22 and 0.38 arcsec, corresponding to absolute radii of 0.06 and 0.10 pc. Our speckle observations of the galactic planetary nebula Vy 2–2 show a ring of angular diameter 0.4 arcsec, in agreement with previous VLA radio data. The radial hydrogen density profile for SMC N2 is determined and masses of 0.09M⊙ and 0.27M⊙ for the inner and outer shells respectively are derived, so that the total mass of this optically thin nebula is 0.36M⊙⁠. The nebular expansion velocity of SMC N2 has been derived from a high-resolution spectrum of the [O III] 5007 Å line and expansion ages of between 5000 and 12 000 yr have been derived for the shells. A reanalysis of the available nebular data leads us to derive a central star effective temperature of 110 000 K and a luminosity of 4340L⊙⁠, corresponding to a stellar mass of 0.59M⊙⁠, from a comparison with published evolutionary tracks. The stellar evolutionary age since leaving the AGB is about 8000 yr, consistent with the nebublar expansion age

Successful tactile based visual sensory substitution use functions independently of visual pathway integrity

Purpose: Neuronal reorganization after blindness is of critical interest because it has implications for the rational prescription of artificial vision devices. The purpose of this study was to distinguish the microstructural differences between perinatally blind (PB), acquired blind (AB), and normally sighted controls (SCs) and relate these differences to performance on functional tasks using a sensory substitution device (BrainPort). Methods: We enrolled 52 subjects (PB n = 11; AB n = 35; SC n = 6). All subjects spent 15 h undergoing BrainPort device training. Outcomes of light perception, motion, direction, temporal resolution, grating, and acuity were tested at baseline and after training. Twenty-six of the subjects were scanned with a three Tesla MRI scanner for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and with a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner for mapping regional brain glucose consumption during sensory substitution function. Non-parametric models were used to analyze fractional anisotropy (FA; a DTI measure of microstructural integrity) of the brain via region-of-interest (ROI) analysis and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Results: At baseline, all subjects performed all tasks at chance level. After training, light perception, time resolution, location and grating acuity tasks improved significantly for all subject groups. ROI and TBSS analyses of FA maps show areas of statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.025) in the bilateral optic radiations and some visual association connections between all three groups. No relationship was found between FA and functional performance with the BrainPort. Discussion: All subjects showed performance improvements using the BrainPort irrespective of nature and duration of blindness. Definite brain areas with significant microstructural integrity changes exist among PB, AB, and NC, and these variations are most pronounced in the visual pathways. However, the use of sensory substitution devices is feasible irrespective of microstructural integrity of the primary visual pathways between the eye and the brain. Therefore, tongue based devices devices may be usable for a broad array of non-sighted patients. © 2014 Lee, Nau, Laymon, Chan, Rosario and Fisher

Approximation Algorithms for Generalized MST and TSP in Grid Clusters

We consider a special case of the generalized minimum spanning tree problem (GMST) and the generalized travelling salesman problem (GTSP) where we are given a set of points inside the integer grid (in Euclidean plane) where each grid cell is $1 \times 1$. In the MST version of the problem, the goal is to find a minimum tree that contains exactly one point from each non-empty grid cell (cluster). Similarly, in the TSP version of the problem, the goal is to find a minimum weight cycle containing one point from each non-empty grid cell. We give a $(1+4\sqrt{2}+\epsilon)$ and $(1.5+8\sqrt{2}+\epsilon)$-approximation algorithm for these two problems in the described setting, respectively. Our motivation is based on the problem posed in [7] for a constant approximation algorithm. The authors designed a PTAS for the more special case of the GMST where non-empty cells are connected end dense enough. However, their algorithm heavily relies on this connectivity restriction and is unpractical. Our results develop the topic further