Abundance and Sizes of Bay Scallops in Heterogeneous Habitats Along the Gulf Coast of Florida

Southern bay scallops (Argopecten irradians concentricus) form the basis of a recreational fishery along Florida\u27s Gulf Coast. Recent declines in scallop abundances have led to significant harvest restrictions. As a way to gain insight into influences on scallop abundances and size, surveys of bay scallops and coastal habitats were conducted in two relatively undisturbed, shallow estuaries along the north-central Gulf Coast of Florida. Scallop abundances did not vary significantly between years or between locations kilometers apart. Shell heights did vary significantly between years at locations kilometers apart; however, these differences were not consistently related to differences in chlorophyll concentrations in the water column or distributions of benthic habitat classes. At the 100-m scale within locations, scallops were not proportionally distributed across the major habitat classes (i.e., Syringodium filiforme, Thalassia testudinum, mixed seagrass assemblage, other seagrasses, and areas of no/low seagrass cover). In general, proportionately more scallops were observed in association with S. filiforme, T. testudinum, and mixed seagrass habitats. Bay scallops collected from S. filiforme and areas of no/low grass cover were consistently 1-3 mm larger than those collected from T. testudinum and mixed seagrass assemblages. These results suggest the importance of S. filiforme and T. testudinum as habitats for bay scallops. The results also point to the need for further investigation into possible functional differences among seagrass species that may influence the ecology of bay scallops at a small spatial scale and the need for closer examination of scallop movement that may allow for active habitat selection. The work presented here, plus further efforts to elucidate the drivers of small-scale differences in scallop abundances and sizes, will benefit managers who seek to enhance scallop fisheries or protect and restore coastal habitats

Radiostereometric Evaluation of Tendon Elongation After Distal Biceps Repair.

BACKGROUND: Operative repair of distal biceps tendon ruptures has shown successful outcomes. However, little is known about the amount of tendon or repair site lengthening after repair. PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of this study was to evaluate distal biceps tendon repair via intratendinous radiostereometric analysis to analyze tendon lengthening at different time intervals of healing. The hypothesis was that there is significant lengthening after repair. STUDY DESIGN: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: Eleven patients with distal biceps ruptures requiring operative repair were recruited. During repair, two 2-mm tantalum beads with laser-etched holes were sutured to the distal biceps tendon. Beads were evaluated via computed tomography scans immediately postoperatively and at 16 weeks. Radiographs were obtained at time 0 and then at 4, 8, and 16 weeks postoperatively. Measurements were made using the button-to-bead and bead-to-bead distances to assess repair site elongation as well as tendon elongation over time. After final follow-up, patients filled out the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire and underwent ultrasound to confirm the integrity of the tendon. RESULTS: Ten patients had complete ruptures, with 1 having a partial rupture that underwent completion of the tear and subsequent repair. All patients showed statistically significant lengthening after surgery. The mean amount of tendon lengthening after surgery was 22.8 mm (range, 11.2-30.9 mm; P \u3c .05), and the repair site lengthened a mean 17.0 mm (range, 9.6-30.6 mm; P \u3c .05) from surgery to final follow-up. The greatest change in lengthening was noted between time 0 and week 4 (mean, 11.3 mm; P \u3c .05), with the least amount of lengthening between weeks 8 and 16 (mean, 2.6 mm; P \u3c .05). The mean DASH score was 11.2. Final ultrasound evaluations found all tendons to be in continuity. CONCLUSION: All patients undergoing distal biceps tendon repair have significant elongation after surgery, with the greatest amount of lengthening seen in the early postoperative period

Distinct Roles of MicroRNA-1 and -499 in Ventricular Specification and Functional Maturation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRs) negatively regulate transcription and are important determinants of normal heart development and heart failure pathogenesis. Despite the significant knowledge gained in mouse studies, their functional roles in human (h) heart remain elusive. METHODS AND RESULTS: We hypothesized that miRs that figure prominently in cardiac differentiation are differentially expressed in differentiating, developing, and terminally mature human cardiomyocytes (CMs). As a first step, we mapped the miR profiles of human (h) embryonic stem cells (ESCs), hESC-derived (hE), fetal (hF) and adult (hA) ventricular (V) CMs. 63 miRs were differentially expressed between hESCs and hE-VCMs. Of these, 29, including the miR-302 and -371/372/373 clusters, were associated with pluripotency and uniquely expressed in hESCs. Of the remaining miRs differentially expressed in hE-VCMs, 23 continued to express highly in hF- and hA-VCMs, with miR-1, -133, and -499 displaying the largest fold differences; others such as miR-let-7a, -let-7b, -26b, -125a and -143 were non-cardiac specific. Functionally, LV-miR-499 transduction of hESC-derived cardiovascular progenitors significantly increased the yield of hE-VCMs (to 72% from 48% of control; p0.05). By contrast, LV-miR-1 transduction did not bias the yield (p>0.05) but decreased APD and hyperpolarized RMP/MDP in hE-VCMs due to increased I(to), I(Ks) and I(Kr), and decreased I(f) (p<0.05) as signs of functional maturation. Also, LV-miR-1 but not -499 augmented the immature Ca(2+) transient amplitude and kinetics. Molecular pathway analyses were performed for further insights. CONCLUSION: We conclude that miR-1 and -499 play differential roles in cardiac differentiation of hESCs in a context-dependent fashion. While miR-499 promotes ventricular specification of hESCs, miR-1 serves to facilitate electrophysiological maturation.published_or_final_versio

Chronic depression: development and evaluation of the luebeck questionnaire for recording preoperational thinking (LQPT)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A standardized instrument for recording the specific cognitive psychopathology of chronically depressed patients has not yet been developed. Up until now, preoperational thinking of chronically depressed patients has only been described in case studies, or through the external observations of therapists. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a standardized self-assessment instrument for measuring preoperational thinking that sufficiently conforms to the quality criteria for test theory.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The "Luebeck Questionnaire for Recording Preoperational Thinking (LQPT)" was developed and evaluated using a german sample consisting of 30 episodically depressed, 30 chronically depressed and 30 healthy volunteers. As an initial step the questionnaire was subjected to an item analysis and a final test form was compiled. In a second step, reliability and validity tests were performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, the results of this study showed that the LQPT is a useful, reliable and valid instrument. The reliability (split-half reliability 0.885; internal consistency 0.901) and the correlations with other instruments for measuring related constructs (control beliefs, interpersonal problems, stress management) proved to be satisfactory. Chronically depressed patients, episodically depressed patients and healthy volunteers could be distinguished from one another in a statistically significant manner (p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The questionnaire fulfilled the classical test quality criteria. With the LQPT there is an opportunity to test the theory underlying the CBASP model.</p

Differential cardiovascular regulatory activities of the alpha1B- and alpha1D-adrenoceptor

ABSTRACT The regulation of cardiac and vascular function by th

Cks1 Is Required for Tumor Cell Proliferation but Not Sufficient to Induce Hematopoietic Malignancies

The Cks1 component of the SCFSkp2 complex is necessary for p27Kip1 ubiquitylation and degradation. Cks1 expression is elevated in various B cell malignancies including Burkitt lymphoma and multiple myeloma. We have previously shown that loss of Cks1 results in elevated p27Kip1 levels and delayed tumor development in a mouse model of Myc-induced B cell lymphoma. Surprisingly, loss of Skp2 in the same mouse model also resulted in elevated p27Kip1 levels but exhibited no impact on tumor onset. This raises the possibility that Cks1 could have other oncogenic activities than suppressing p27Kip1. To challenge this notion we have targeted overexpression of Cks1 to B cells using a conditional retroviral bone marrow transduction-transplantation system. Despite potent ectopic overexpression, Cks1 was unable to promote B cell hyperproliferation or B cell malignancies, indicating that Cks1 is not oncogenic when overexpressed in B cells. Since Skp2 overexpression can drive T-cell tumorigenesis or other cancers we also widened the quest for oncogenic activity of Cks1 by ubiquitously expressing Cks1 in hematopoetic progenitors. At variance with c-Myc overexpression, which caused acute myeloid leukemia, Cks1 overexpression did not induce myeloproliferation or leukemia. Therefore, despite being associated with a poor prognosis in various malignancies, sole Cks1 expression is insufficient to induce lymphoma or a myeloproliferative disease in vivo

There is more than one way to turn a spherical cellular monolayer inside out: type B embryo inversion in Volvox globator

Höhn S, Hallmann A. There is more than one way to turn a spherical cellular monolayer inside out: type B embryo inversion in Volvox globator. BMC Biology. 2011;9(1): 89.Background: Epithelial folding is a common morphogenetic process during the development of multicellular organisms. In metazoans, the biological and biomechanical processes that underlie such three-dimensional (3D) developmental events are usually complex and difficult to investigate. Spheroidal green algae of the genus Volvox are uniquely suited as model systems for studying the basic principles of epithelial folding. Volvox embryos begin life inside out and then must turn their spherical cell monolayer outside in to achieve their adult configuration; this process is called 'inversion.' There are two fundamentally different sequences of inversion processes in Volvocaceae: type A and type B. Type A inversion is well studied, but not much is known about type B inversion. How does the embryo of a typical type B inverter, V. globator, turn itself inside out? Results: In this study, we investigated the type B inversion of V. globator embryos and focused on the major movement patterns of the cellular monolayer, cell shape changes and changes in the localization of cytoplasmic bridges (CBs) connecting the cells. Isolated intact, sectioned and fragmented embryos were analyzed throughout the inversion process using light microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy techniques. We generated 3D models of the identified cell shapes, including the localizations of CBs. We show how concerted cell-shape changes and concerted changes in the position of cells relative to the CB system cause cell layer movements and turn the spherical cell monolayer inside out. The type B inversion of V. globator is compared to the type A inversion in V. carteri. Conclusions: Concerted, spatially and temporally coordinated changes in cellular shapes in conjunction with concerted migration of cells relative to the CB system are the causes of type B inversion in V. globator. Despite significant similarities between type A and type B inverters, differences exist in almost all details of the inversion process, suggesting analogous inversion processes that arose through parallel evolution. Based on our results and due to the cellular biomechanical implications of the involved tensile and compressive forces, we developed a global mechanistic scenario that predicts epithelial folding during embryonic inversion in V. globator

Identifying nootropic drug targets via large-scale cognitive GWAS and transcriptomics

Broad-based cognitive deficits are an enduring and disabling symptom for many patients with severe mental illness, and these impairments are inadequately addressed by current medications. While novel drug targets for schizophrenia and depression have emerged from recent large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of these psychiatric disorders, GWAS of general cognitive ability can suggest potential targets for nootropic drug repurposing. Here, we (1) meta-analyze results from two recent cognitive GWAS to further enhance power for locus discovery; (2) employ several complementary transcriptomic methods to identify genes in these loci that are credibly associated with cognition; and (3) further annotate the resulting genes using multiple chemoinformatic databases to identify "druggable" targets. Using our meta-analytic data set (N = 373,617), we identified 241 independent cognition-associated loci (29 novel), and 76 genes were identified by 2 or more methods of gene identification. Actin and chromatin binding gene sets were identified as novel pathways that could be targeted via drug repurposing. Leveraging our transcriptomic and chemoinformatic databases, we identified 16 putative genes targeted by existing drugs potentially available for cognitive repurposing.Peer reviewe

Full-Length L1CAM and Not Its Δ2Δ27 Splice Variant Promotes Metastasis through Induction of Gelatinase Expression

Tumour-specific splicing is known to contribute to cancer progression. In the case of the L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM), which is expressed in many human tumours and often linked to bad prognosis, alternative splicing results in a full-length form (FL-L1CAM) and a splice variant lacking exons 2 and 27 (SV-L1CAM). It has not been elucidated so far whether SV-L1CAM, classically considered as tumour-associated, or whether FL-L1CAM is the metastasis-promoting isoform. Here, we show that both variants were expressed in human ovarian carcinoma and that exposure of tumour cells to pro-metastatic factors led to an exclusive increase of FL-L1CAM expression. Selective overexpression of one isoform in different tumour cells revealed that only FL-L1CAM promoted experimental lung and/or liver metastasis in mice. In addition, metastasis formation upon up-regulation of FL-L1CAM correlated with increased invasive potential and elevated Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9 expression and activity in vitro as well as enhanced gelatinolytic activity in vivo. In conclusion, we identified FL-L1CAM as the metastasis-promoting isoform, thereby exemplifying that high expression of a so-called tumour-associated variant, here SV-L1CAM, is not per se equivalent to a decisive role of this isoform in tumour progression