Determining the Metabolic Footprints of Hydrocarbon Degradation Using Multivariate Analysis

The functional dynamics of microbial communities are largely responsible for the clean-up of hydrocarbons in the environment. However, knowledge of the distinguishing functional genes, known as the metabolic footprint, present in hydrocarbon-impacted si

An updated assessment of the Agulhas sole resource, Austroglossus pectoralis

This analysis updates that of Butterworth and Glazer (2014), which considered two hypotheses of decreasing catchability and of decreasing productivity to account for a recent large drop in CPUE. Two further years of data reflect some increase in CPUE. For the most pessimistic scenario (a decrease in productivity, which remains at its current reduced level into the future), projections are somewhat more positive than previously, with recent biomasses estimated higher and projected to decrease more slowly if the 2013 effort level is maintained

Spatial description of hake-directed fishing activity off the west coast of South Africa

Historically, the two species of Cape hakes Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus off South Africa were commercially exploited exclusively by demersal trawling. In 1994, hake-directed demersal longline was introduced on an experimental basis, and in 1998 was initiated as a commercial fishing sector. The effect of a combined fleet composed of both trawlers and longliners on the Cape hake resource is not fully understood. Analysis of fishing intensity and catch-rate data revealed that the highest catch rates were found around the 400m and 500m isobaths for the trawl and longline fisheries respectively. Catch rates from both fishing sectors were also noted to be higher over sediments with a sand component. Differences between areas of the highest fishing intensity and highest catch rates were noted. In addition to other factors, it is suggested that a ‘friction of distance’ effect applies — vessels will trade-off higher catch rates with the increased costs associated with fishing in deeper waters

Two Regional Mental Health Treatment Facilities

One of the major social programs of the 1960s was the development of community mental health centers. As with most early attempts at evaluation, the results were pessimistic. This article reanalyzes one of the earliest, and best-known, evaluations of a community-based treatment facility. Following the conceptual framework of Campbell and his associates, it was found that the various threats to the validity of the findings indicate a consistent and systematic bias against detecting a positive effect for the new mental health center. In light of recent federal legislation mandating formal evaluations, appropriate procedures are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68090/2/10.1177_0193841X7900300403.pd

Iron bioavailability in two commercial cultivars of wheat: a comparison between wholegrain and white flour and the effects of nicotianamine and 2'-deoxymugineic acid on iron uptake into Caco-2 cells

Iron bioavailability in unleavened white and wholegrain bread made from two commercial wheat varieties was assessed by measuring ferritin production in Caco-2 cells. The breads were subjected to simulated gastrointestinal digestion and the digests applied to the Caco-2 cells. Although Riband grain contained a lower iron concentration than Rialto, iron bioavailability was higher. No iron was taken up by the cells from white bread made from Rialto flour or from wholegrain bread from either variety, but Riband white bread produced a small ferritin response. The results probably relate to differences in phytate content of the breads, although iron in soluble monoferric phytate was demonstrated to be bioavailable in the cell model. Nicotianamine, an iron chelator in plants involved in iron transport, was a more potent enhancer of iron uptake into Caco-2 cells than ascorbic acid or 2'-deoxymugineic acid, another metal chelator present in plants

Indicators of sustainable fishing for South African sardine Sardinops sagax and anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus

Six indicators were investigated for South African sardine Sardinops sagax and anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus: mean length of catch, length-at-50% maturity, total mortality, exploitation rate, ratio of bycatch, and centre of gravity of commercial catches. Sardine length-at-50% maturity is the most promising as a descriptive indicator because it is positively correlated with population size for an extensive time period (1953–2005). The remaining indicators were limited by shorter data-series (1984–2005). However, mean length of catch, ratio of bycatch and exploitation rate were found to be useful when considered in conjunction with other indicators. The centre of gravity of commercial sardine catches has shown a significant eastward shift from the West Coast, whereas that of anchovy has remained off that coast. Ratio of bycatch indicates that school composition is a reliable descriptive indicator of relative abundance in the two species. Fewer indicators for anchovy were useful, which is attributed to this species’ flexible life-history pattern

Team Research at the Biology–Mathematics Interface: Project Management Perspectives

The success of interdisciplinary research teams depends largely upon skills related to team performance. We evaluated student and team performance for undergraduate biology and mathematics students who participated in summer research projects conducted in off-campus laboratories. The student teams were composed of a student with a mathematics background and an experimentally oriented biology student. The team mentors typically ranked the students' performance very good to excellent over a range of attributes that included creativity and ability to conduct independent research. However, the research teams experienced problems meeting prespecified deadlines due to poor time and project management skills. Because time and project management skills can be readily taught and moreover typically reflect good research practices, simple modifications should be made to undergraduate curricula so that the promise of initiatives, such as MATH-BIO 2010, can be implemented

The Proper Motion of the Globular Cluster NGC 6553 and of Bulge Stars with HST

WFPC2 images obtained with the Hubble Space telescope 4.16 years apart have allowed us to measure the proper motion of the metal rich globular cluster NGC 6553 with respect to the background bulge stars. With a space velocity of (${\Pi}, {\Theta}, W$) = (-3.5, 230, -3) km s$^{-1}$, NGC 6553 follows the mean rotation of both disk and bulge stars at a Galactocentric distance of 2.7 kpc. While the kinematics of the cluster is consistent with either a bulge or a disk membership, the virtual identity of its stellar population with that of the bulge cluster NGC6528 makes its bulge membership more likely. The astrometric accuracy is high enough for providing a measure of the bulge proper motion dispersion and confirming its rotation. A selection of stars based on the proper motions produced an extremely well defined cluster color-magnitude diagram (CMD), essencially free of bulge stars. The improved turnoff definition in the decontaminated CMD confirms an old age for the cluster (~13 Gyr) indicating that the bulge underwent a rapid chemical enrichment while being built up at in the early Universe. An additional interesting feature of the cluster color-magnitude diagram is a significant number of blue stragglers stars, whose membership in the cluster is firmly established from their proper motions.Comment: version with full-page figure

Discovery of Sexual Dimorphisms in Metabolic and Genetic Biomarkers

Metabolomic profiling and the integration of whole-genome genetic association data has proven to be a powerful tool to comprehensively explore gene regulatory networks and to investigate the effects of genetic variation at the molecular level. Serum metabolite concentrations allow a direct readout of biological processes, and association of specific metabolomic signatures with complex diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular and metabolic disorders has been shown. There are well-known correlations between sex and the incidence, prevalence, age of onset, symptoms, and severity of a disease, as well as the reaction to drugs. However, most of the studies published so far did not consider the role of sexual dimorphism and did not analyse their data stratified by gender. This study investigated sex-specific differences of serum metabolite concentrations and their underlying genetic determination. For discovery and replication we used more than 3,300 independent individuals from KORA F3 and F4 with metabolite measurements of 131 metabolites, including amino acids, phosphatidylcholines, sphingomyelins, acylcarnitines, and C6-sugars. A linear regression approach revealed significant concentration differences between males and females for 102 out of 131 metabolites (p-values<3.8 x 10(-4); Bonferroni-corrected threshold). Sex-specific genome-wide association studies (GWAS) showed genome-wide significant differences in beta-estimates for SNPs in the CPS1 locus (carbamoyl-phosphate synthase 1, significance level: p<3.8 x 10(-10); Bonferroni-corrected threshold) for glycine. We showed that the metabolite profiles of males and females are significantly different and, furthermore, that specific genetic variants in metabolism-related genes depict sexual dimorphism. Our study provides new important insights into sex-specific differences of cell regulatory processes and underscores that studies should consider sex-specific effects in design and interpretation