Reproduction, growth and migrations of sei whales Balaenoptera borealis off the west coast of South Africa

Results of the examination of 1 062 sei whales Balaenoptera borealis landed at the whaling station at Donkergat, Saldanha Bay, South Africa, in the 1962 and 1963 whaling seasons are presented. Sei whales were usually encountered off the edge of the continental shelf, with males being caught closer inshore than females and mature females furthest of all from the station. Females reached puberty at an average length of 46.1 ft (14.1 m) and an age of 8.2 (95% CI = 7.3, 9.0) years (assuming one growth layer group is formed in the ear plug per year). Males reached sexual maturity at an average length of 45.3 ft (13.8 m) and an age of 8.6 (95% CI = 7.8, 9.4) years. Mean lengths at which growth ceased were 52 ft (15.8 m) in females and 48.6 ft (14.8 m) in males. Most (~90%) conceptions occurred over a 70-day period with a peak in June, and primigravid females conceived six days later than multigravid females. Observed pregnancy rates were as high as 86.1%, but with ovulation rates averaging only 0.47 a year, the catch could not have been fully representative of the population. There was no significant decline in the observed pregnancy rate with age. During the northward migration (May–July), fewer whales were taken in water shallower than 2 000 m than in the southern migration, and the catch was largely composed of immatures. The few adult males taken at that time of year had significantly heavier testes than males of an equivalent size on the southern migration. The southward migration (August–October) was markedly structured, such that pregnant females and immatures of both sexes were in the vanguard, followed by mature males and lastly lactating females and calves. The availability of sei whales off Donkergat declined rapidly from 1965 to 1967, following an episode of massive catching by pelagic whalers in higher latitudes. Keywords: growth, migration, reproduction, sei whales, South AfricaAfrican Journal of Marine Science 2002, 24: 111–13

Measurement of 25Mg(p; gamma)26Al resonance strengths via gamma spectrometry

The COMPTEL instrument performed the first mapping of the 1.809 MeV photons in the Galaxy, triggering considerable interest in determing the sources of interstellar 26Al. The predicted 26Al is too low compared to the observation, for a better understanding more accurate rates for the 25Mg(p; gamma)26Al reaction are required. The 25Mg(p;gamma)26Al reaction has been investigated at the resonances at Er= 745; 418; 374; 304 keV at Ruhr-Universitat-Bochum using a Tandem accelerator and a 4piNaI detector. In addition the resonance at Er = 189 keV has been measured deep underground laboratory at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, exploiting the strong suppression of cosmic background. This low resonance has been studied with the 400 kV LUNA accelerator and a HPGe detector. The preliminary results of the resonance strengths will be reported.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Physics

CO(4-3) and dust emission in two powerful high-z radio galaxies, and CO lines at high redshifts

We report the detection of sub-mm emission from dust at 850 microns and of the 12CO J=4-3 line in the two distant powerful radio galaxies 4C 60.07 (z=3.79) and 6C 1909+722 (z=3.53). In the case of 4C 60.07 the dust emission is also detected at 1.25 mm. The estimated molecular gas masses are large, of the order of ~(0.5-1)x10^{11} Solar. The large FIR luminosities (L_fir ~ 10^{13} Solar) suggest that we are witnessing two major starburst phenomena, while the observed large velocity widths (FWHM > 500 km/sec) are characteristic of mergers. In the case of 4C 60.07 the CO emission extends over ~30 kpc and spans a velocity range of >1000 km/sec. It consists of two distinct features with FWHM of >= 550 km/sec and ~150 km/sec and line centers separated by >=700 km/sec The least massive of these components is probably very gas-rich with potentially >=60% of its dynamical mass in the form of molecular gas. The extraordinary morphology of the CO emission in this object suggests that it is not just a scaled-up version of a local Ultra Luminous Infrared Galaxy, and it may be a formative stage of the elliptical host of the residing radio-loud AGN. Finally we briefly explore the effects of the wide range of gas excitation conditions expected for starburst environments on the luminosity of high-J CO lines. We conclude that in unlensed objects, CO (J+1-->J), J+1>3 lines can be significantly weak with respect to CO J=1-0 and this can hinder their detection even in the presence of substantial molecular gas masses.Comment: 34 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

African-Caribbean cancer consortium for the study of viral, genetic and environmental cancer risk factors

This is a short summary of a meeting of the "African-Caribbean Cancer Consortium", jointly organized by the University of Pittsburgh, Department of Epidemiology and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, held in Montego Bay, Jamaica as a satellite meeting at the Caribbean Health Research Council, 52nd Annual Council and Scientific meeting on May 4, 2007

Effects of Curcuma longa (turmeric) on postprandial plasma glucose and insulin in healthy subjects

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous animal studies have shown that <it>Curcuma (C.) longa </it>lowers plasma glucose. <it>C. longa </it>may thus be a promising ingredient in functional foods aimed at preventing type 2 diabetes. The purpose of the study is to study the effect of <it>C. longa </it>on postprandial plasma glucose, insulin levels and glycemic index (GI) in healthy subjects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fourteen healthy subjects were assessed in a crossover trial. A standard 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was administered together with capsules containing a placebo or <it>C. longa</it>. Finger-prick capillary and venous blood samples were collected before, and 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min after the start of the OGTT to measure the glucose and insulin levels, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The ingestion of 6 g <it>C. longa </it>had no significant effect on the glucose response. The change in insulin was significantly higher 30 min (<it>P </it>= 0.03) and 60 min (<it>P </it>= 0.041) after the OGTT including <it>C. longa</it>. The insulin AUCs were also significantly higher after the ingestion of <it>C. longa</it>, 15 (<it>P </it>= 0.048), 30 (<it>P </it>= 0.035), 90 (<it>P </it>= 0.03), and 120 (<it>P </it>= 0.02) minutes after the OGTT.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The ingestion of 6 g <it>C. longa </it>increased postprandial serum insulin levels, but did not seem to affect plasma glucose levels or GI, in healthy subjects. The results indicate that <it>C. longa </it>may have an effect on insulin secretion.</p> <p>Trial registration number</p> <p>NCT01029327</p

Functional Redundancy of Two Pax-Like Proteins in Transcriptional Activation of Cyst Wall Protein Genes in Giardia lamblia

The protozoan Giardia lamblia differentiates from a pathogenic trophozoite into an infectious cyst to survive outside of the host. During encystation, genes encoding cyst wall proteins (CWPs) are coordinately induced. Pax family transcription factors are involved in a variety of developmental processes in animals. Nine Pax proteins have been found to play an important role in tissue and organ development in humans. To understand the progression from primitive to more complex eukaryotic cells, we tried to identify putative pax genes in the G. lamblia genome and found two genes, pax1 and pax2, with limited similarity. We found that Pax1 may transactivate the encystation-induced cwp genes and interact with AT-rich initiatior elements that are essential for promoter activity and transcription start site selection. In this study, we further characterized Pax2 and found that, like Pax1, Pax2 was present in Giardia nuclei and it may specifically bind to the AT-rich initiator elements of the encystation-induced cwp1-3 and myb2 genes. Interestingly, overexpression of Pax2 increased the cwp1-3 and myb2 gene expression and cyst formation. Deletion of the C-terminal paired domain or mutation of the basic amino acids of the paired domain resulted in a decrease of nuclear localization, DNA-binding activity, and transactivation activity of Pax2. These results are similar to those found in the previous Pax1 study. In addition, the profiles of gene expression in the Pax2 and Pax1 overexpressing cells significantly overlap in the same direction and ERK1 associated complexes may phosphorylate Pax2 and Pax1, suggesting that Pax2 and Pax1 may be downstream components of a MAPK/ERK1 signaling pathway. Our results reveal functional redundancy between Pax2 and Pax1 in up-regulation of the key encystation-induced genes. These results illustrate functional redundancy of a gene family can occur in order to increase maintenance of important gene function in the protozoan organism G. lamblia

The waters of São Tomé: a calving ground for West African humpback whales?

In the Southern Hemisphere, humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae feed in Antarctic waters during the austral summer and migrate to their breeding grounds in subtropical and tropical waters during the winter. Historical whaling records suggest that the Archipelago of Sao Tome and Principe, located in the Gulf of Guinea, serves as a possible breeding ground. In order to investigate the temporal occurrence and group composition of humpback whales around Sao Tome Island, annual surveys were conducted during the breeding season between 2002 and 2006. A total of 186 boat-based surveys took place during this period. Data collected during each sighting included geographical positions, group size, group composition and behavioural classifications. Of the 66 groups encountered, mother/calf pairs made up a large proportion (65.15%), followed by solitary individuals (15.15%). Mother/calf pairs were seen in the region into November and resightings of identified animals indicate periods of occupancy that extended over three weeks. Few behaviours typically associated with mating activity were observed. Given the high percentage of mother/calf pairs, sometimes with very young calves, and the low frequency of mating activity, the waters of Sao Tome may primarily serve as a calving and nursing or resting area for humpback whales.Projecto Delfim; Rolas Island Resort; ECOFAC (Conservation et utilisation rationnelle des Ecosystemes Forestiers en Afrique Centrale); Wildlife Conservation Society

A beer a minute in Texas football: Heavy drinking and the heroizing of the antihero in Friday Night Lights

This article applies a qualitative framing analysis to the first three seasons of the television series Friday Night Lights, focusing particularly on its incorporation of heavy drinking into narrative representations of the player whose character is most consistently central to the game of football as fictionally mediated in small-town Texas over the course of those three seasons. The analysis suggests that over the course of that period Friday Night Lights embeds nuanced social meanings in its framing of alcohol use by that player and other characters so as to associate it with multiple potential outcomes. Yet among those outcomes, the most dominant framing works to, in effect, reverse a progression through which media representations historically evolved from a heroic model toward an antihero model, with heavy drinking central to that narrative process of meaning-making in such messages.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

A Study of Time-Dependent CP-Violating Asymmetries and Flavor Oscillations in Neutral B Decays at the Upsilon(4S)

We present a measurement of time-dependent CP-violating asymmetries in neutral B meson decays collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B Factory at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The data sample consists of 29.7 ${\rm fb}^{-1}$ recorded at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance and 3.9 ${\rm fb}^{-1}$ off-resonance. One of the neutral B mesons, which are produced in pairs at the $\Upsilon(4S)$, is fully reconstructed in the CP decay modes $J/\psi K^0_S$, $\psi(2S) K^0_S$, $\chi_{c1} K^0_S$, $J/\psi K^{*0}$ ($K^{*0}\to K^0_S\pi^0$) and $J/\psi K^0_L$, or in flavor-eigenstate modes involving $D^{(*)}\pi/\rho/a_1$ and $J/\psi K^{*0}$ ($K^{*0}\to K^+\pi^-$). The flavor of the other neutral B meson is tagged at the time of its decay, mainly with the charge of identified leptons and kaons. The proper time elapsed between the decays is determined by measuring the distance between the decay vertices. A maximum-likelihood fit to this flavor eigenstate sample finds $\Delta m_d = 0.516\pm 0.016 {\rm (stat)} \pm 0.010 {\rm (syst)} {\rm ps}^{-1}$. The value of the asymmetry amplitude $\sin2\beta$ is determined from a simultaneous maximum-likelihood fit to the time-difference distribution of the flavor-eigenstate sample and about 642 tagged $B^0$ decays in the CP-eigenstate modes. We find $\sin2\beta=0.59\pm 0.14 {\rm (stat)} \pm 0.05 {\rm (syst)}$, demonstrating that CP violation exists in the neutral B meson system. (abridged)Comment: 58 pages, 35 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Measurement of the Branching Fraction for B- --> D0 K*-

We present a measurement of the branching fraction for the decay B- --> D0 K*- using a sample of approximately 86 million BBbar pairs collected by the BaBar detector from e+e- collisions near the Y(4S) resonance. The D0 is detected through its decays to K- pi+, K- pi+ pi0 and K- pi+ pi- pi+, and the K*- through its decay to K0S pi-. We measure the branching fraction to be B.F.(B- --> D0 K*-)= (6.3 +/- 0.7(stat.) +/- 0.5(syst.)) x 10^{-4}.Comment: 7 pages, 1 postscript figure, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid Communications