Envisioning the future of aquatic animal tracking: Technology, science, and application

Electronic tags are significantly improving our understanding of aquatic animal behavior and are emerging as key sources of information for conservation and management practices. Future aquatic integrative biology and ecology studies will increasingly rely on data from electronic tagging. Continued advances in tracking hardware and software are needed to provide the knowledge required by managers and policymakers to address the challenges posed by the world's changing aquatic ecosystems. We foresee multiplatform tracking systems for simultaneously monitoring the position, activity, and physiology of animals and the environment through which they are moving. Improved data collection will be accompanied by greater data accessibility and analytical tools for processing data, enabled by new infrastructure and cyberinfrastructure. To operationalize advances and facilitate integration into policy, there must be parallel developments in the accessibility of education and training, as well as solutions to key governance and legal issues

Pre-M Phase-promoting Factor Associates with Annulate Lamellae in Xenopus Oocytes and Egg Extracts

We have used complementary biochemical and in vivo approaches to study the compartmentalization of M phase-promoting factor (MPF) in prophase Xenopus eggs and oocytes. We first examined the distribution of MPF (Cdc2/CyclinB2) and membranous organelles in high-speed extracts of Xenopus eggs made during mitotic prophase. These extracts were found to lack mitochondria, Golgi membranes, and most endoplasmic reticulum (ER) but to contain the bulk of the pre-MPF pool. This pre-MPF could be pelleted by further centrifugation along with components necessary to activate it. On activation, Cdc2/CyclinB2 moved into the soluble fraction. Electron microscopy and Western blot analysis showed that the pre-MPF pellet contained a specific ER subdomain comprising "annulate lamellae" (AL): stacked ER membranes highly enriched in nuclear pores. Colocalization of pre-MPF with AL was demonstrated by anti-CyclinB2 immunofluorescence in prophase oocytes, in which AL are positioned close to the vegetal surface. Green fluorescent protein-CyclinB2 expressed in oocytes also localized at AL. These data suggest that inactive MPF associates with nuclear envelope components just before activation. This association may explain why nuclei and centrosomes stimulate MPF activation and provide a mechanism for targeting of MPF to some of its key substrates

The Scientific Foundations of Forecasting Magnetospheric Space Weather

The magnetosphere is the lens through which solar space weather phenomena are focused and directed towards the Earth. In particular, the non-linear interaction of the solar wind with the Earth's magnetic field leads to the formation of highly inhomogenous electrical currents in the ionosphere which can ultimately result in damage to and problems with the operation of power distribution networks. Since electric power is the fundamental cornerstone of modern life, the interruption of power is the primary pathway by which space weather has impact on human activity and technology. Consequently, in the context of space weather, it is the ability to predict geomagnetic activity that is of key importance. This is usually stated in terms of geomagnetic storms, but we argue that in fact it is the substorm phenomenon which contains the crucial physics, and therefore prediction of substorm occurrence, severity and duration, either within the context of a longer-lasting geomagnetic storm, but potentially also as an isolated event, is of critical importance. Here we review the physics of the magnetosphere in the frame of space weather forecasting, focusing on recent results, current understanding, and an assessment of probable future developments.Peer reviewe

Driver Fusions and Their Implications in the Development and Treatment of Human Cancers.

Gene fusions represent an important class of somatic alterations in cancer. We systematically investigated fusions in 9,624 tumors across 33 cancer types using multiple fusion calling tools. We identified a total of 25,664 fusions, with a 63% validation rate. Integration of gene expression, copy number, and fusion annotation data revealed that fusions involving oncogenes tend to exhibit increased expression, whereas fusions involving tumor suppressors have the opposite effect. For fusions involving kinases, we found 1,275 with an intact kinase domain, the proportion of which varied significantly across cancer types. Our study suggests that fusions drive the development of 16.5% of cancer cases and function as the sole driver in more than 1% of them. Finally, we identified druggable fusions involving genes such as TMPRSS2, RET, FGFR3, ALK, and ESR1 in 6.0% of cases, and we predicted immunogenic peptides, suggesting that fusions may provide leads for targeted drug and immune therapy

R.G. Kessel - Istologia generale e dei sistemi - Zanichelli, Bologna 2000, pp.624, 585 ill., 64 tavole Edizione italiana di R.G. Kessel - Basic Medical Histology: The Biology of Cells, Tissues and Organs - Oxford University Press, 1998

Manuale di istologia di base, corredato da dettagliate descrizioni di tessuti, organi e sistemi, ed arricchito da disegni, modelli ed ampia iconografia fotografica (ottico, SEM e TEM

Vulvitis plasmacellularis circumscripta in pre-existing lichen sclerosus: treatment with imiquimod 5% cream.

Contains fulltext : 87461.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)1 juli 201

Sources of error in intra-arterial pressure measurements across a stenosis

Objective:To investigate potential errors associated with different techniques of intra-arterial pressure measurement at angiography.Materials and methods:An experimental model of an arterial stenosis was developed. Experiments were performed to assess the relevance of catheter position, catheter direction and catheter type on the recorded intraluminal pressure. Trans-stenotic pressure gradients were recorded with and without angiographic catheters crossing the stenosis.Results:At physiological flow rates angiographic catheter type does not influence the recorded pressure. At high flow rates through tight stenoses there is a significant catheter-related difference in recorded pressure adjacent to a stenosis. Downstream pressures may be altered by up to 85 mmHg when standard angiographic catheters are placed across a stenosis.Conclusion:The different techniques employed to measure pressure differences across a model stenosis may introduce significant errors up to 85 mmHg. Care must be taken when pressure measurements alone are used to interpret the clinical significance of a stenosis. In low flow conditions there may not be a detectable pressure gradient across a 95% stenosis

Diffusion of cesium in sodium borosilicate glasses for nuclear waste immobilisation, studied by low-energy ion scattering

Low-energy ion scattering (LEIS) is shown to be a convenient technique for measuring the diffusion coefficient of cesium in sodium borosilicate glass. A 3 keV 4He+ ion beam is first used to create an alkali depletion layer in the outermost 60 nm of the glass. After annealing, to remove the vacancies from the glass matrix, the return of cesium to the surface is monitored. Diffusion coefficients at 815 and 842 K are determined. Both are found to agree, within experimental error, with the values from the concentration couple method. The latter analyzes the cesium profiles by SEM/EDS. The present technique, however, can be applied at lower temperatures, where the concentration couple method would require too long measuring times. This gives the possibility to predict the diffusion coefficient of cesium at actual temperatures in nuclear waste glass cylinders.</p