Behavioral ontogeny in larvae and early juveniles of the giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis) (Pisces: Carangidae)

Behavior of young (8−18 mm SL) giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis), a large coral-reef−associated predator, was observed in the laboratory and the ocean. Size was a better predictor of swimming speed and endurance than was age. Critical speed increased with size from 12 to 40 cm/s at 2.7 cm/s for each mm increase in size. Mean scaled critical speed was 19 body lengths/s and was not size related. Swimming speed in the ocean was 4 to 20 cm/s (about half of critical speed) and varied among areas, but within each area, it increased at 2 cm/s for each mm increase in size. Swimming endurance in the laboratory increased from 5 to 40 km at 5 km for each mm increase in size. Vertical distribution changed ontogenetically: larvae swam shallower, but more variably, and then deeper with growth. Two-thirds of individuals swam directionally with no ontogenetic increase in orientation precision. Larvae swam offshore off open coasts, but not in a bay. In situ observations of C. ignobilis feeding, interacting with pelagic animals, and reacting to reefs are reported. Manus

Generation and detection of spin-orbit coupled neutron beams

Spin-orbit coupling of light has come to the fore in nano-optics and plasmonics, and is a key ingredient of topological photonics and chiral quantum optics. We demonstrate a basic tool for incorporating analogous effects into neutron optics: the generation and detection of neutron beams with coupled spin and orbital angular momentum. $^3$He neutron spin-filters are used in conjunction with specifically oriented triangular coils to prepare neutron beams with lattices of spin-orbit correlations, as demonstrated by their spin-dependant intensity profiles. These correlations can be tailored to particular applications, such as neutron studies of topological materials

Different types of screen-based sedentary time and anxiety in adolescents:Video games may be more important

AIM: Evidence demonstrates the negative impact of excessive screen-based sedentary time (screen-based sedentary behavior; SSB) on mental health in adolescents. However, little is known regarding the associations between different types of SSBs and anxiety symptoms in adolescents. Thus, this study sought to explore the associations between different types of SSBs and anxiety symptoms in a sample of Chinese adolescents. METHODS: A web-based questionnaire survey was used to collect data. In total, 1,998 study participants conveniently recruited in Guangdong Province completed the questionnaire. Of them, 1,331 study participants provided valid data for variables of interest. SSB was categorized into television/movie time, video game time, and internet-surfing time. Anxiety symptoms were assessed using Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, a validated assessment in Chinese youth populations. Generalized linear models were used to explore the associations between different types of SSBs and anxiety symptoms. RESULTS: In adolescents, video game time of 6 or more h was positively and significantly associated with anxiety symptoms (odds ratio = 5.25, 95% CI: 1.86–14.84, p < 0.01). This association was also observed specifically in boys (odds ratio = 5.12, 95% CI: 1.56–17.44, p < 0.05); however, in girls, there were no associations between different types of SSBs and anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSION: Interventions aiming at reducing video games in adolescents, especially in boys, should be designed to prevent anxiety symptoms. This kind of intervention should also take sex differences into consideration. Future studies are encouraged to confirm the veracity of the findings in this study

Diversity within Streptomyces ipomoeae based on inhibitory interactions, rep-PCR, and plasmid profiles

Streptomyces soil rot is a destructive disease of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) that causes yield loss resulting from decay of the feeder root system and reduced quality due to the presence of necrotic lesions on the storage roots. It is managed by the use of resistant cultivars, but variability of the pathogen has not been previously assessed. This study compared 36 strains of the pathogen Streptomyces ipomoeae from different locations in the United States and Japan. The strains could be separated into three groups on the basis of their ability to inhibit the growth of one another in in vitro assays. Although some strains contained plasmids of approximately 18, 42, or 270 kb in size, plasmid profiles did not correspond to inhibition grouping. Fingerprinting by repetitive element-based polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) using outwardly facing primers for the BOX, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC), and repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP) sequences indicated relatively high genomic homogeneity within S. ipomoeae. However, cluster analysis of similarity coefficients among strains using rep-PCR data revealed clusters that correlated with the inhibition grouping. The neotype strain of S. ipomoeae had lower similarity values by rep-PCR than any of the other strains and could not be grouped by inhibitory interactions

Nilotinib, an approved leukemia drug, inhibits smoothened signaling in Hedgehog-dependent medulloblastoma.

Dysregulation of the seven-transmembrane (7TM) receptor Smoothened (SMO) and other components of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway contributes to the development of cancers including basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and medulloblastoma (MB). However, SMO-specific antagonists produced mixed results in clinical trials, marked by limited efficacy and high rate of acquired resistance in tumors. Here we discovered that Nilotinib, an approved inhibitor of several kinases, possesses an anti-Hh activity, at clinically achievable concentrations, due to direct binding to SMO and inhibition of SMO signaling. Nilotinib was more efficacious than the SMO-specific antagonist Vismodegib in inhibiting growth of two Hh-dependent MB cell lines. It also reduced tumor growth in subcutaneous MB mouse xenograft model. These results indicate that in addition to its known activity against several tyrosine-kinase-mediated proliferative pathways, Nilotinib is a direct inhibitor of the Hh pathway. The newly discovered extension of Nilotinib's target profile holds promise for the treatment of Hh-dependent cancers

On the Clark-alpha model of turbulence: global regularity and long--time dynamics

In this paper we study a well-known three--dimensional turbulence model, the filtered Clark model, or Clark-alpha model. This is Large Eddy Simulation (LES) tensor-diffusivity model of turbulent flows with an additional spatial filter of width alpha ($\alpha$). We show the global well-posedness of this model with constant Navier-Stokes (eddy) viscosity. Moreover, we establish the existence of a finite dimensional global attractor for this dissipative evolution system, and we provide an anaytical estimate for its fractal and Hausdorff dimensions. Our estimate is proportional to $(L/l_d)^3$, where $L$ is the integral spatial scale and $l_d$ is the viscous dissipation length scale. This explicit bound is consistent with the physical estimate for the number of degrees of freedom based on heuristic arguments. Using semi-rigorous physical arguments we show that the inertial range of the energy spectrum for the Clark-$\aa$ model has the usual $k^{-5/3}$ Kolmogorov power law for wave numbers $k\aa \ll 1$ and $k^{-3}$ decay power law for $k\aa \gg 1.$ This is evidence that the Clark$-\alpha$ model parameterizes efficiently the large wave numbers within the inertial range, $k\aa \gg 1$, so that they contain much less translational kinetic energy than their counterparts in the Navier-Stokes equations.Comment: 11 pages, no figures, submitted to J of Turbulenc

Hardware and software status of QCDOC

QCDOC is a massively parallel supercomputer whose processing nodes are based on an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). This ASIC was custom-designed so that crucial lattice QCD kernels achieve an overall sustained performance of 50% on machines with several 10,000 nodes. This strong scalability, together with low power consumption and a price/performance ratio of $1 per sustained MFlops, enable QCDOC to attack the most demanding lattice QCD problems. The first ASICs became available in June of 2003, and the testing performed so far has shown all systems functioning according to specification. We review the hardware and software status of QCDOC and present performance figures obtained in real hardware as well as in simulation.Comment: Lattice2003(machine), 6 pages, 5 figure

Strategic toolkits: seniority, usage and performance in the German SME machinery and equipment sector

This paper examines the strategic tool kit, from a human resource management (HRM) perspective, in terms of usage and impact. Research to date has tended to consider usage, assuming to a certain extent that knowledge and understanding of particular tools suggest that practitioners value them. The research on which this paper is based builds upon the idea that usage indicates satisfaction, but develops the usage theme to investigate which decision-makers are actually engaged in both tool appliance and the strategic process. Of particular interest to the researchers are the educational background, age and seniority of the decision-makers. In addition, potential links with HRM and organizational performance are also explored. The context of the research, the German machinery and equipment sector, provides an insight into the industry's ability to sustain growth in face of increasing international competition. The paper calls for a greater awareness, from a human resource perspective, and utilization of strategic management practice and associated decision-making aids