Variability in supply and cross-shelf transport of pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum) postlarvae into western Florida Bay

The variability in the supply of pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum) postlarvae and the transport mechanisms of planktonic stages were investigated with field data and simulations of transport. Postlarvae entering the nursery grounds of Florida Bay were collected for three consecutive years at channels that connect the Bay with the Gulf of Mexico, and in channels of the Middle Florida Keys that connect the southeastern margin of the Bay with the Atlantic Ocean. The influx of postlarvae in the Middle Florida Keys was low in magnitude and varied seasonally and among years. In contrast, the greater postlarval influx occurred at the northwestern border of the Bay, where there was a strong seasonal pattern with peaks in influx from July through September each year. Planktonic stages need to travel up to 150 km eastward between spawning grounds (northeast of Dry Tortugas) and nursery grounds (western Florida Bay) in about 30 days, the estimated time of planktonic development for this species. A Lagrangian trajectory model was developed to estimate the drift of planktonic stages across the SW Florida shelf. The model simulated the maximal distance traveled by planktonic stages under various assumptions of behavior. Simulation results indicated that larvae traveling with the instantaneous current and exhibiting a diel behavior travel up to 65 km and 75% of the larvae travel only 30 km. However, the eastward distance traveled increased substantially when a larval response to tides was added to the behavioral variable (distance increased to 200 km and 85% of larvae traveled 150 km). The question is, when during larval development, and where on the shallow SW Florida shelf, does the tidal response become incorporated into the behavior of pink shrimp

Social Emotional Learning in a Guatemalan Preschool Sample: Does Socioeconomic Status Moderate the Effects of a School-Based Prevention Program?

Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of a universal social skills program and compared social emotional knowledge on individual skills interviews with 100 Guatemalan preschool children from resource rich (N = 47) and resource poor (N = 53) backgrounds. Participant ages ranged from 3- to 6-years-old. SEL was evaluated prior and subsequent to receiving a school-based social emotional educational program. Results were analysed in terms of effectiveness of SEL by error type. Data show that preschool children from both poor and wealthy families made significant gains in social-emotional knowledge as a result of SEL instruction. In order to better understand where SEL might be improved, analyses of incorrect responses provided by children from each SES group were analysed. Findings demonstrated no significant differences between the two groups in terms of incorrect or socially unacceptable responses although, overall, the groups differed in depth of social emotional knowledge. Implications for ‘closing the gap’ between children’s social emotional development in high and low SES groups are discussed

Profiling Indiana\u27s 4-H Horse and Pony Leaders

This article profiles Indiana\u27s nearly 600 4-H horse and pony leaders, describes their motives for becoming a leader, and documents the understanding these leaders have of running a 4-H club, teaching various aspects of the horse and pony project, and training hippology, horse bowl, and horse judging teams. The majority (\u3e70%) of Indiana\u27s 4-H horse and pony leaders are white, married women between the ages of 31 and 50. Eighty-eight percent volunteer as leaders because they enjoy working with youth. Over half (54%) of the leaders would like to receive additional training on how to conduct showmanship and horsemanship clinics

Attributes of Indiana\u27s 4-H Livestock Judging Program

This article describes the degree of influence Indiana\u27s 4-H livestock judging program had on developing 10 life skills associated with workforce preparedness, profiles 185 alumni of the 4-H judging program, and documents the beneficial attributes of the judging program by listing qualitative responses from former 4-H livestock judges. The majority (\u3e80%) of the respondents were college-educated men between the ages of 21 and 50. According to the alumni, Indiana\u27s 4-H livestock judging program was highly influential in the development of the following skills: the ability to verbally defend a decision, livestock industry knowledge, oral communication, and decision making

Uncertainty and the Entanglement of Habitat Loss and Fragmentation Effects in the Management of Northern Bobwhite

There is a need to understand the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and other grassland bird species and relate this to conservation action and delivery, especially in areas of intensive anthropogenic development. Through our research, we investigated the factors contributing to habitat loss and fragmentation in order to prioritize management within the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCP LCC) region of Texas, USA. For this geographic region, we completed these objectives: analyzed grassland bird habitat loss and fragmentation resulting from oil and gas development, which has become especially rapid in this region beginning in 2008, projected future habitat loss under possible future economic scenarios, modeled the outcomes of potential management alternatives, and identified drivers of habitat loss and fragmentation to direct management action toward minimizing threats to high-risk habitats. Using a modeling approach, we identified suitable bobwhite habitat and prioritized high-risk areas, particularly focusing on the best candidate areas for successful restoration. Briefly, point count data were related to patch- and landscape-level habitat characteristics using a modeling technique that formally estimated the scale of the landscape effect on bobwhite abundance. Thereafter, we identified possible management alternatives with the guidance of the GCP LCC and other stakeholders and modeled the consequences of these alternatives. Using results from this modeling, we produced an extinction risk map for northern bobwhite in this region. Our research adds to the understanding of the relationship between northern bobwhite populations and the expansion of energy extraction and also uses modeling informed by data to support a decision-making framework that incorporates uncertainty about this system to prioritize the conservation of high-risk and high-value areas of bobwhite habitat

Effects of a selectively bred novelty-seeking phenotype on the motivation to take cocaine in male and female rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gender and enhanced novelty reactivity can predispose certain individuals to drug abuse. Previous research in male and female rats selectively bred for high or low locomotor reactivity to novelty found that bred High Responders (bHRs) acquire cocaine self-administration more rapidly than bred Low Responders (bLRs) and that bHR females in particular self-administered more cocaine than the other groups. The experiments presented here aimed to determine whether an individual's sex and behavioral phenotype interact to affect motivation to take cocaine.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined motivation for taking cocaine in two experiments using a range of doses on a progressive ratio (PR) schedule of responding in bHR or bLR males and females. Additionally, we included a measure of continuing to respond in the absence of reinforcement, a feature of addiction that has been recently incorporated into tests of animal models on the basis of the criteria for substance use disorder in the <it>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition</it>. Statistical analyses were performed using PASW Statistics 18.0 software. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance followed by a Bonferroni correction <it>post hoc </it>test when applicable.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found sex differences as well as effects of novelty reactivity on the motivation to self-administer cocaine. Specifically, females demonstrated higher breaking points on the PR schedule compared with males, regardless of phenotype, and bHR males and females exhibited higher motivation than bLR animals at a number of the doses studied.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>An individual's sex continues to be a predisposing factor with respect to drug abuse liability and can be compounded by additional individual differences such as reactivity to novelty.</p

The Gene That Encodes the Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Latency-Associated Transcript Influences the Accumulation of Transcripts (Bcl-x\u3csub\u3eL\u3c/sub\u3e and Bcl-x\u3csub\u3es\u3c/sub\u3e) That Encode Apoptotic Regulatory Proteins

The herpes simplex virus type 1 latency-associated transcript (LAT) inhibits apoptosis. We demonstrate here that LAT influences the accumulation of the Bcl-xL transcript versus the Bcl-xS transcript in Neuro-2A cells. Bcl-xL encodes an antiapoptotic protein, whereas Bcl-xS encodes a proapoptotic protein. Promoting the accumulation of Bcl-xL in neurons may inhibit apoptosis, thus enhancing the latency-reactivation cycle

The Gene That Encodes the Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Latency-Associated Transcript Influences the Accumulation of Transcripts (Bcl-x\u3csub\u3eL\u3c/sub\u3e and Bcl-x\u3csub\u3es\u3c/sub\u3e) That Encode Apoptotic Regulatory Proteins

The herpes simplex virus type 1 latency-associated transcript (LAT) inhibits apoptosis. We demonstrate here that LAT influences the accumulation of the Bcl-xL transcript versus the Bcl-xS transcript in Neuro-2A cells. Bcl-xL encodes an antiapoptotic protein, whereas Bcl-xS encodes a proapoptotic protein. Promoting the accumulation of Bcl-xL in neurons may inhibit apoptosis, thus enhancing the latency-reactivation cycle

Effect of inhaled tacrolimus on ischemia reperfusion injury in rat lung transplant model

ObjectiveSystemic tacrolimus therapy has been shown to protect against lung ischemia-reperfusion injury in animal models. We sought to investigate on a functional and cellular level if inhaled nanoparticle tacrolimus administered to the donor lung before procurement could similarly attenuate ischemia-reperfusion injury after lung transplant.MethodsAn isogenic orthotopic rat model of single left lung transplant was used. Donor animals were pretreated with inhaled tacrolimus (treatment group) or inhaled lactose (controls) before lung procurement. Lung grafts were subjected to 3 hours of cold ischemia followed by 4 hours of reperfusion after graft implantation. Recipient animal arterial blood gas measurement and isograft wet to dry weight ratios were obtained. Macrophage, neutrophil, and T-cell accumulation and activation in lung isografts, including γδ T-cell, T-helper, and cytotoxic T-cell subtypes were analyzed by flow cytometry. Tacrolimus levels were measured in the lung isograft using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Isograft cytokine levels were measured with commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and microbead array kits.ResultsOxygenation in treatment group animals was significantly higher than in controls. The presence of macrophages, neutrophils, and all T-cell subtypes in the isografts as well as isograft levels of inflammatory cytokines were all less in the treatment group versus controls, although no single variable achieved statistical significance.ConclusionsInhaled nanoparticle tacrolimus treatment of lung donors is associated with an attenuation of ischemia-reperfusion injury on a functional and cellular level in lung transplant