Cyanobacteria blooms cannot be controlled by effective microorganisms (EM) from mud- or Bokashi-balls

In controlled experiments, the ability of ‘‘Effective Microorganisms (EM, in the form of mudballs or Bokashi-balls)’’ was tested for clearing waters from cyanobacteria. We found suspensions of EM-mudballs up to 1 g l-1 to be ineffective in reducing cyanobacterial growth. In all controls and EM-mudball treatments up to 1 g l-1 the cyanobacterial chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations increased within 4 weeks from&120 to 325–435 lg l-1. When pieces of EM-mudballs (42.5 g) were added to 25-l lake water with cyanobacteria, no decrease of cyanobacteria as compared to untreated controls was observed. In contrast, after 4 weeks cyanobacterial Chl-a concentrations were significantly higher in EM-mudball treatments (52 lg l-1) than in controls (20 lg l-1). Only when suspensions with extremely high EM-mudball concentrations were applied (i.e., 5 and 10 g l-1), exceeding the recommended concentrations by orders of magnitude, cyanobacterial growth was inhibited and a bloom forming concentration was reduced strongly. In these high dosing treatments, the oxygen concentration dropped initially to very low levels of 1.8 g l-1. This was most probably through forcing strong light limitation on the cyanobacteria caused by the high amount of clay and subsequent high turbidity of the water. Hence, this study yields no support for the hypothesis that EM is effective in preventing cyanobacterial proliferation or in terminating blooms. We consider EM products to be ineffective because they neither permanently bind nor remove phosphorus from eutroficated systems, they have no inhibiting effect on cyanobacteria, and they could even be an extra source of nutrients

Minat Berwirausaha Ditinjau dari Kepribadian dan Lingkungan Keluarga pada Mahasiswa Pendidikan Akuntansi FKIP UMS angkatan 2015

The purpose of this study is to determine: (1) the influence of personality to entrepreneurship entrepreneur interest. (2) the influence of family environment on student entrepreneur interest. (3) the influence of personality and family environment on student entrepreneur interest. This research includes the type of associative quantitative research with data in the form of numbers that aims to describe the object of research at the present time based on existing facts. The population in this study is all students of Accounting Education Studies Program FKIP UMS force 2015 which amounted to 224 students. Samples were taken as many as 135 students with proportional random sampling technique. Data collection techniques used questionnaires and documentation. The analysis technique used is multiple linear regression analysis. The result of multiple linear regression analysis obtained by regression equation: Y = 8,249 + 0,456X1 + 0,604X2. The equation shows that the personality and family environment affects entrepreneur interest. Based on the analysis and discussion can be concluded that: 1) personality positive effect on entrepreneurship interest student of Accounting Education FKIP UMS force 2015. Based on t test obtained tcount> ttable 4,483 > 1,978 and probability value ttabel 6,170 > 1,978 and probability value Ftable is 302,201 > 3,065 and significance value <0,05, that is 0,000. 4) Effective contribution of personality variable 34,2% and family environment variable 47,9%. So the total effective contribution of both variables is 82.1%, while the remaining 17.9% is influenced by other variable that is not researched by the researcher. Keywords: personality, family environment, entrepreneurship interest

Treating cancer cachexia to treat cancer

Skeletal muscle wasting is a major component of cachectic states found in a variety of disease settings, including cancer. As increasing caloric intake often provides little benefit in combating muscle loss in cachectic patients, a major research focus has been to develop strategies stimulating muscle anabolic pathways - in an attempt to fight the catabolic pathways induced during cachexia. Two recent papers have reported the beneficial effects of blocking the myostatin/activin signalling pathway in mouse models of cancer cachexia. We discuss the implications of their findings both with respect to the role that this signalling pathway may play in the aetiology of cachexia and with respect to the prospects for targeting this pathway as a therapeutic strategy in patients with cachexia

Age and gender-related fat mass index and fat- free mass index patterns among adolescents in Surulere LGA, Lagos

Background: Percent body fat, fat mass and fat mass index are measures of body fat while fat free mass and fat free mass index measure lean mass. These measures of body composition vary with age and sex.Aim: To show the age-related patterns of measures of fat and lean mass in adolescent Nigerians in Lagos.Methods: Percent body fat was measured in school pupils aged 10years to 18years (377 boys and 376 girls) using Tanita ® body fat monitor (BF 666). Fat mass (FM) was derived from percentage body fat and body mass and fat free mass (FFM) was obtained by subtracting fat mass from body mass. Fat mass index (FMI) and fat free mass index (FFMI) were derived by dividing FM and FFM, respectively by the square of the height.Results: Overall percent body fat and FM were significantly higher in girls (18.9±7.5% Vs 9.5±4.5%: p &lt; 0.001 and 9.7±6.1kg Vs 4.5±3.2kg: p &lt; 0.001 respectively). FMI for girls ranged from 3.2 to 4.5kg/m² peaking at 16 years. At all ages, girls had higher mean FMI than boys. The mean FMI for males fell from 2.6 kg/m² at 10 years to a trough of 1.5 kg/m² at 16 years before a slight rise to 1.9 kg/ m² at 18 years. FFM in boys increased consistently with age, overtaking that of girls at 12 years with the gap widening up to 18 years. Measures of body fat were much lower in study subjects than reported from western countries even where lean mass was comparable.Conclusion: Adolescent females have higher body fat indices while males have higher lean mass indices. Indices of body fat in the current study are much lower than reported for western counterparts.Keywords: Adolescents, Fat mass, Fat mass index, Fat free mass and Fat free mass inde

Demographic assessment of the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) in Chesapeake Bay using extractable lipofuscins as age markers

The blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) plays an important economic and ecological role in estuaries and coastal habitats from the Gulf of Mexico to the east coast of North America, but demographic assessments are limited by length-based methods. We applied an alternative aging method using biochemical measures of metabolic byproducts (lipofuscins) sequestered in the neural tissue of eyestalks to examine population age structure. From Chesapeake Bay, subsamples of animals collected from the 1998–99 (n=769) and 1999–2000 (n=367) winter dredge surveys were collected and lipofuscin was measured. Modal analysis of the lipofuscin index provided separation into three modes, whereas carapace-width data collected among the same individuals showed two broad modes. Lipofuscin modal analysis indicated that most adults (carapace width >120 mm) were <2 years old. The results indicate that use of extractable lipofuscin can provide a more accurate and better resolved estimation of demographic structure of blue crab populations in the field than size alone

Use of Extractable Lipofuscin for Age Determination of Blue Crab Callinectes Sapidus

The blue crab Callinectes sapidus is an economically and ecologically important species in many temperate estuaries, yet stock assessments have been limited to length-based methods for demographic analyses. We evaluated the potential of age pigments (lipofuscins) sequestered in neural tissue of eye-stalks and brains to estimate the age of blue crabs collected from Chesapeake Bay and Chincoteague Bay. The rate of lipofuscin accumulation was determined using crabs of known age reared in the laboratory. Age pigments were extracted from neural tissues (eye-stalk or brain), quantified, and normalized to protein content to allow comparisons across tissue types and crab sizes. Field-collected blue crabs (35 to 185 mm carapace width) contained highly variable levels of age pigments (coefficient of variation = 58 %). Lipofuscin level was significantly related to carapace width, but not significantly different between gender or sampling location. In juveniles (40 to 70 mm carapace width) reared for 6 mo, the age pigments showed no significant change during the rapid summer growth period, but significantly increased during fall (after 3 mo). Lipofuscin contents in known-age reared crabs were positively related to chronological age. Modal analysis of lipofuscin for field-collected adult males provided separation of multiple modes, whereas carapace width showed only a single broad mode. These results confirm the potential use of lipofuscin for age estimation of blue crabs

The Use of Extractable Lipofuscin for Age Determination of Crustaceans: Reply to Sheehy (2008)

The heterogeneous mixture of metabolic by-products termed lipofuscin (LF) or age pigments has long been known to accumulate in post mitotic cells with increasing age. In crustaceans several approaches have been developed over the years to track LF accumulation and provide a proxy for chronological age. Histological approaches have been traditionally used for LF determination of crustaceans (e.g. Sheehy et al. 1994, Mar Biol 121:237-245), but over the last decade extraction approaches for neural tissues have been introduced (Ju et al. 1999, Mar Ecol Prog Ser 185:171-179) and tested (Ju et al. 2001, Mar Ecol Prog Ser 224:197-205; 2003, Fish Bull 101:312-320) for the crab Callinectes sapidis. In developing the extraction approach we have followed the most rigorous age validation steps available to us and carefully reported accuracy, precision, and bias estimates. In the present paper, we welcome the opportunity to respond to the individual concerns of Sheehy (2008, Mar Ecol Prog Ser 353:303-306) that (1) extractable LF remains unidentified, (2) extracted LF is not correlated with in situ LF, and (3) protein normalization does not produce a reliable assay. We argue that the fundamental issue of an incomplete characterization of LF as an ageing structure pervades most, if not all invertebrate fishery applications. We show positive correlation between the 2 methods, despite the lack of each to fully characterize the structurally complex products generated and sequestered in neural tissues. New information is presented on the ability of extractable LF to follow age in small macrozooplankton, suggesting the broad applicability of the extraction aging approach to small crustaceans. Dependent upon species and availability of known age animals for calibration, both histological and extraction approaches can be an effective method for age determination in crustaceans if they meet the requirements of validation, precision and bias estimations that typify rigorous age determinations in fisheries science

Growth Rate Variability and Lipofuscin Accumulation Rates in the Blue Crab Callinectes Sapidus

To better understand growth and age-pigment (lipofuscin) accumulation rates of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus under natural conditions, juveniles (33 to 94 mm carapace width) were reared in outdoor ponds for over 1 yr. Growth rates, measured by carapace width, during summer and fall exceeded all those reported in the literature; the initial carapace width of 59 ± 14 mm (mean ± SD) increased to 164 ± 15 mm within a 3 mo period. No growth occurred during winter months (November to April) at low water temperatures. Growth rates of crabs in ponds were substantially higher (von Bertalanffy growth parameter K = 1.09) than those of crabs held in laboratory environments, and than rate estimates for natural populations of mid-Atlantic blue crabs. Model comparisons indicated that seasonalized von Bertalanffy growth models (r2 \u3e 0.9) provide a better fit than the non-seasonalized model (r2= 0.74) for pond-reared crabs and, by implication, are more appropriate for field populations. Despite growth rates that varied strongly with season, lipofuscin (normalized to protein concentration) accumulation rate was nearly constant throughout the year. Although the lipofuscin level in pond-reared crabs was significantly correlated with size (carapace width), it was more closely correlated with chronological age. Lipofuscin accumulation rates were also similar to those observed for laboratory-reared crabs, despite very large differences in growth rates and temperature regimes. The constancy of normalized-lipofuscin accumulation rates of blue crabs across seasons and environmental conditions suggests that lipofuscin concentration can be a more robust indicator of age than carapace width alone