New data on Gaidropsarus granti (Regan, 1903) (Gadiformes: Lotidae) from the Mediterranean Sea, with emphasis on its parasites

One adult male Azores rockling Gaidropsarus granti was captured by trammel nets at a depth of about 250 m near the coast of Arbatax (Sardinia, Italy) in early March 2007. This new report confirms a wide bathymetric range for this species. Macroscopic and microscopic analysis of the gonad showed a spent testis at a postspawning stage, with a weak residual spermatogenetic activity. Several body parts of Natantia (Crustacea: Decapoda) were detected in its stomach contents. Different developmental stages of 91 parasite specimens belonging to Arthropoda (Gnathiidae) and Nematoda (Anisakidae, Cystidicolidae and Philometridae) were found in its mouth and gills, and body cavity, respectively. Myxozoan spores were found in the gallbladder. Male and female nematodes of the genus Ichthyofilaria are reported for the first time from the Mediterranean Sea, and a very rare male of this genus is reported for the second time in the world. Parasitological results indicated that this Atlantic migrant probably entered the Mediterranean as an adult, suggesting for a non-indigenous species the possibilities of entering with natural parasites and/or acquiring native parasites in the introduced range

The Angular Interval between the Direction of Progression and Body Orientation in Normal, Alcohol- and Cocaine Treated Fruit Flies

In this study we characterize the coordination between the direction a fruit-fly walks and the direction it faces, as well as offer a methodology for isolating and validating key variables with which we phenotype fly locomotor behavior. Our fundamental finding is that the angular interval between the direction a fly walks and the direction it faces is actively managed in intact animals and modulated in a patterned way with drugs. This interval is small in intact flies, larger with alcohol and much larger with cocaine. The dynamics of this interval generates six coordinative modes that flow smoothly into each other. Under alcohol and much more so under cocaine, straight path modes dwindle and modes involving rotation proliferate. To obtain these results we perform high content analysis of video-tracked open field locomotor behavior. Presently there is a gap between the quality of descriptions of insect behaviors that unfold in circumscribed situations, and descriptions that unfold in extended time and space. While the first describe the coordination between low-level kinematic variables, the second quantify cumulative measures and subjectively defined behavior patterns. Here we reduce this gap by phenotyping extended locomotor behavior in terms of the coordination between low-level kinematic variables, which we quantify, combining into a single field two disparate fields, that of high content phenotyping and that of locomotor coordination. This will allow the study of the genes/brain/locomotor coordination interface in genetically engineered and pharmacologically manipulated animal models of human diseases. © 2013 Gakamsky et al

Knots: Attractive Places with High Path Tortuosity in Mouse Open Field Exploration

When introduced into a novel environment, mammals establish in it a preferred place marked by the highest number of visits and highest cumulative time spent in it. Examination of exploratory behavior in reference to this “home base” highlights important features of its organization. It might therefore be fruitful to search for other types of marked places in mouse exploratory behavior and examine their influence on overall behavior

Multimedia signal processing for behavioral quantification in neuroscience

While there have been great advances in quantification of the genotype of organisms, including full genomes for many species, the quantification of phenotype is at a comparatively primitive stage. Part of the reason is technical difficulty: the phenotype covers a wide range of characteristics, ranging from static morphological features, to dynamic behavior. The latter poses challenges that are in the area of multimedia signal processing. Automated analysis of video and audio recordings of animal and human behavior is a growing area of research, ranging from the behavioral phenotyping of genetically modified mice or drosophila to the study of song learning in birds and speech acquisition in human infants. This paper reviews recent advances and identifies key problems for a range of behavior experiments that use audio and video recording. This research area offers both research challenges and an application domain for advanced multimedia signal processing. There are a number of MMSP tools that now exist which are directly relevant for behavioral quantification, such as speech recognition, video analysis and more recently, wired and wireless sensor networks for surveillance. The research challenge is to adapt these tools and to develop new ones required for studying human and animal behavior in a high throughput manner while minimizing human intervention. In contrast with consumer applications, in the research arena there is less of a penalty for computational complexity, so that algorithmic quality can be maximized through the utilization of larger computational resources that are available to the biomedical researcher

Comparison of the Nasal Olfactory Organs of Various Species of Lizardfishes (Teleostei: Aulopiformes: Synodontidae) with Additional Remarks on the Brain

The olfactory organs of lizardfishes (Synodontidae) are situated in two capsules connected to the outside by incurrent and excurrent openings. The olfactory epithelium is in form of petal rosettes each composed of lamellae and a rephe, and bear olfactory receptor neurons, supporting cells and cells with kinocillia. The dimension of rosettes and lamellae, as well as the number of lamellae, increase with growth of the fish; until in adult fish these parameters remaine constant, species specific. In adult Synodus spp. and Trachinocephalus myops the rosettes are 3.5–4.0 mm long, with 5–8 lamellae, whereas in Saurida spp. they are 8.0 mm and possess up tp 22 lamellae. The number of ORN ranges from 2,600 on the smaller lamellae to 20,000 on the largest ones. The number of ORN/mm2 of olfactory is ca. 30,000 in Saurida spp. Thus the rosettes of S. macrolepis with 20 lamellae possess a total of ca. 170,000 ORN, whereas those of Sy. variegatus and T. myops with the average of six lamellae possess only ca. 50,000–65,000 ORN. The olfactory nerves lead from the rosettes to the olfactory balbs situated on the olfactory lobes. The differences among the species in olfactory organs are discussed in correlation with their distribution

Experimental characterization of nonlinear interference noise as a process of intersymbol interference

We demonstrate a method for experimentally characterizing the second order statistics of nonlinear interference noise (NLIN) as an intersymbol interference (ISI) process. The method enables measurement of the properties of high-order ISI coefficients, which have been largely overlooked in the past. The ability of measuring these statistics is imperative for designing effective NLIN mitigation schemes. The variance, temporal correlation times, and cross correlations of the various ISI coefficients are evaluated in several system implementations

Experimental characterization of the time correlation properties of nonlinear interference noise

We demonstrate a method for experimentally characterizing the time-evolution statistics of nonlinear interference noise (NLIN). Strong temporal correlations, beyond the phase-noise NLIN component, are measured experimentally, for the first time. The ability of measuring these correlation is imperative for designing effective NLIN mitigation schemes

Single dominant Ganoderma species is responsible for root rot of Acacia mangium and Eucalyptus in Sumatra

Ganoderma root rot is the most serious disease affecting commercially planted Acacia mangium in plantations in Indonesia. Numerous Ganoderma spp. have been recorded from diseased trees of this species and to a lesser extent Eucalyptus, causing confusion regarding the primary cause of the disease. In this study, a large collection of Ganoderma isolates were obtained from the roots of A. mangium showing early signs of root rot in disease centres in South Sumatra plantations. Isolates were also collected from Eucalyptus roots at Lake Toba in North Sumatra showing similar symptoms as well as from sporocarps connected to these samples. Phylogenetic analyses showed that a single Ganoderma sp., identified as G. philippii, is the major causal agent of Ganoderma root rot on A. mangium. Results from this study also showed that the isolates obtained for Eucalyptus trees in North Sumatra belong to G. philippii. Isolates from roots and connected fruiting bodies together with the morphology of the fruiting structures confirmed this identification. Symptoms associated with this pathogen are obvious and it should not be confused with other diseases. Other Ganoderma spp. found in disease centres are considered to be of minor importance and management strategies for root rot should be focused on G. philippii.The Tree Protection Cooperative Programme (TPCP), the National Research Foundation (NRF), the THRIP initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry, and the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB) South Africahttp://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsfs20nf201