IUE observations of blue halo high luminosity stars

Two high luminosity population II blue stars of high galactic latitude, BD+33 deg 2642 and HD 137569 were observed at high resolution. The stellar spectra show the effect of mass loss in BD+33 deg 2642 and abnormally weak metallic lines in HD 137569. The interstellar lines in the direction of BD+33 deg 2642, which lies at a height z greater than or equal to 6.2 kpc from the galactic plane, are split into two components. No high ionization stages are found at the low velocity component; nor can they be detected in the higher velocity clouds because of mixing with the corresponding stellar/circumstellar lines

The Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF1) System as a Potential Biomarker for Nutritional Status and Growth Rate in Pacific Rockfish (SEBASTES SPP.)

Growth performance in vertebrates is regulated by environmental factors including the quality and quantity of food, which influences growth via endocrine pathways such as the growth hormone (GH) / insulin-like growth factor somatotropic axis. In several teleost fishes, circulating concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-1 (Igf1) correlate positively with growth rate, and it has been proposed that plasma Igf1 levels may serve as an indicator of growth variation for fisheries and aquaculture applications. Here, I tested whether plasma Igf1 concentrations might serve as an indicator of somatic growth in olive rockfish (Sebastes serranoides), one species among dozens of rockfishes important to commercial and recreational fisheries in the Northern Pacific Ocean. I reared juvenile olive rockfish under food ration treatments of 1% or 4% wet mass per d for 98 d to experimentally generate variation in growth. Juvenile rockfish in the 4% ration grew 60% more quickly in mass and 22% faster in length than fish in 1% ration. Plasma Igf1 levels were elevated in rockfish under the 4% ration, and individual Igf1 levels correlated positively with growth rate, as well as with individual variation in hepatic igf1 mRNA levels. These data in olive rockfish support the possible use of plasma Igf1 as a positive indicator of growth rate variation in rockfishes. Using my findings from this experiment, I further investigated the use of this biomarker in wild rockfish by examining patterns of Igf1 variation in blue rockfish (Sebastes mystinus) caught within and outside of two Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along California’s coast: Piedras Blancas MPA and Point Buchon MPA. Individual Igf1 levels correlated positively with increasing size as seen in laboratory reared fish. After correcting plasma Igf1 values for body size, circulating Igf1 was observed to be higher in blue rockfish within the boundaries of the Piedras Blancas MPA compared to fish from an adjacent site with no fishing restrictions. Igf1 levels in blue rockfish caught within the Point Buchon MPA, however, were similar to those outside of that MPA. These results suggest that blue rockfish within the Piedras Blancas MPA may experience enhanced growth relative to conspecifics outside of that MPA’s boundaries, and that such growth increases may be specific to MPA locations. My findings support previous studies that Igf1 is a positive indicator for growth in teleost fish and can be used as a tractable biomarker in wild rockfish which could enhance management efforts of fish stocks within marine protected areas

No one is safe! But who’s more susceptible? Locus of control moderates pandemic perceptions’ effects on job insecurity and psychosocial factors amongst MENA hospitality frontliners: a PLS-SEM approach

Background The research aimed to formulate and test a model concerning COVID-19 perceptions effects on job insecurity and a set of psychosocial factors comprising anxiety, depression, job burnout and job alienation in the Middle East and North African (hereafter, MENA) regional context. Also, the study attempted to examine whether locus of control can moderate these hypothesised linkages amongst customer service employees working in MENA hospitality organisations. Methods The study is based on a sample of 885 responses to an online survey and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Results The main findings show the existence of a significant correlation between COVID perceptions and job insecurity and all psychosocial factors, i.e., more intense COVID-19 perceptions accompany higher levels of job insecurity, anxiety, depression, job burnout and job alienation. Furthermore, our results revealed that, in pandemic time, hospitality customer service employees with external locus of control are more likely to suffer higher alienation, anxiety and depression than those with internal locus of control. Conclusions The research originality centres on the establishment that COVID-19 has a severe negative impact within the hospitality customer service labour force (in the MENA region). These effects were more profound for participants who claimed external locus of control than those with internal locus of control

Highly variable Vitis microsatellite loci for the identification of Pinot Noir clones

Nineteen new microsatellite loci of Vitis were elaborated by following the procedure of tagging an SSRenriched library. Primers for these VRG markers were used for genotyping grapevines. Only the markers VRG 1, VRG 2, VRG 4, VRG 7, VRG 9, VRG 10, VRG 15 and VRG 16 show heterozygous alleles and Mendelian segregation. Other VRG loci such as VRG 5, VRG 6, VRG 11, VRG 12 VRG 13 and VRG 17 produce a multiallelic profile and some of them show distorted segregation. Variability of the VRG loci is rather high as compared to other grapevine SSR markers. Stable VRG markers such as VRG 16 can be useful for the identification of cultivars. Highly variable VRG microsatellites could be successfully applied to trace polymorphism within the variety Pinot Noir. Clones of Pinot Noir could be differentiated using these markers. By applying the PhyQuest program, a dendrogramm showing the genetic divergence within Pinot Noir clones was constructed.

Locus of control as a moderator of the effects of COVID-19 perceptions on job insecurity, psychosocial, organisational and job outcomes for MENA region hospitality employees

We develop and test an integrated model to understand how individual differences based on internal or external locus of control influence the effects of COVID-19 perceptions on job insecurity, anxiety, alienation, job satisfaction, customer orientation, organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), and turnover intention among customer service employees within hospitality organisations in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. The investigation utilises variance-based structural equation modelling to evaluate a sample of 847 subject responses. We found that externally controlled employees are more likely to develop negative emotions resulting from pandemic-triggered job insecurity as well as poorer customer orientation and engagement in OCB due to worsened job satisfaction than those internally controlled. Wholistically, COVID-19 perceptions tend to indirectly hit externally controlled employees’ anxiety, customer orientation, and OCB more intensely than those with internal locus of control

Time walkers and spatial dynamics of ageing information

The distribution of information is essential for living system's ability to coordinate and adapt. Random walkers are often used to model this distribution process and, in doing so, one effectively assumes that information maintains its relevance over time. But the value of information in social and biological systems often decay and must continuously be updated. To capture the spatial dynamics of ageing information, we introduce time walkers. A time walker moves like a random walker, but interacts with traces left by other walkers, some representing older information, some newer. The traces forms a navigable information landscape. We quantify the dynamical properties of time walkers moving on a two-dimensional lattice and the quality of the information landscape generated by their movements. We visualise the self-similar landscape as a river network, and show that searching in this landscape is superior to random searching and scales as the length of loop-erased random walks