9,176 research outputs found
Reproduction, early development, and larval rearing strategies for two sponge-dwelling neon gobies, Elacatinus lori and E.colini
A major goal of the aquaculture industry is to reduce collection pressure on wild populations by developing captive breeding techniques for marine ornamental species, particularly coral reef fishes. The objective of this study was to develop a rearing protocol for two recently described species of neon gobies that are endemic to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef: 1) Elacatinus lori; and 2) Elacatinus colini. First, the current study describes the reproductive behavior and larval development of both species. Second, it evaluates the effects of different rotifer and Artemia densities on the survival and growth of E. lori and E. colini larvae. Third, it compares the survival and growth of E. colini larvae fed wild plankton to those fed a combination of rotifers and Artemia. Once acclimated, pairs of E. lori began spawning in 53.2 ± 12.4 d (mean ± sd), while pairs of E. colini took only 12.2 ± 10.3 d. E. lori produced more embryos per clutch (1009 ± 477) than E. colini (168 ± 83). E. lori larvae hatched 8.18 ± 0.4 days after initial observation with a notochord length of 3.67 ± 0.2 mm. In comparison, E. colini larvae hatched 6.8 ± 0.4 days after initial observation with a notochord length of 3.51 ± 2.3 mm. Both species settled as early as 28 days post hatch at 9–9.5 mm standard length, following the fusion of the pelvic fins to form a pelvic disc. During rotifer density trials, from 0 to 6 days post hatch, there was no significant difference in survival or standard length between treatments fed 10, 15 or 20 rotifers ml^− 1 for either species. During Artemia density trials, from 6 to 14 days post hatch, control treatments fed solely on 15 rotifers ml^− 1 had significantly higher survival than treatments that were fed rotifers in combination with 3, 6 or 9 Artemia ml^− 1. Finally, E. colini larvae that were fed wild plankton had significantly higher survival and growth than those fed with a combination of 15 rotifers ml^− 1 and 3 Artemia ml^− 1. The results of this study suggest that Artemia nauplii are not a suitable prey for E. lori or E. colini larvae. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of rearing E. lori and E. colini to settlement, and suggest that 10–20 rotifers ml^− 1 and wild plankton provide a viable starting point for optimizing the survival and growth of Elacatinus spp. larvae.We would like to thank the Belizean government and Fisheries Department for permission to conduct this research. Thank you to the staff at the International Zoological Expeditions for their support in the field. Special thanks to Katrina Catalano, Kevin David, Robin Francis, Jeremiah Seymour, James Ferrito, Derek Scolaro and Alex Ascher for their assistance in the lab and rearing larvae. Dr. John Crawford, Dr. Karen Warkentin and Dr. Jacqueline Webb provided helpful comments on this manuscript. This research comprises a portion of JEM's doctoral thesis requirements (Boston University). Funding was provided by a start-up award to PMB from the Trustees of Boston University, the IDC account of JA and a Warren McLeod Summer Research Scholarship awarded by the Boston University Marine Department to JEM. Additional funding was provided by two NSF grants (OCE-1260424 and OCE-1459546), and an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (IOS-1501651). The authors would also like to thank the Marine Aquarium Societies of North America's Dr. Junda Lin Memorial Fund for Publishing Open Access Marine Aquarium Research for offsetting the open access publishing costs of this article. More info at tiny.cc/MASNAPubFund. All work was approved by the Belize Fisheries Department and the Boston University IACUC (protocol # 10-036). (Trustees of Boston University; Warren McLeod Summer Research Scholarship - Boston University Marine Department; OCE-1260424 - NSF; OCE-1459546 - NSF; IOS-1501651 - NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant; IDC account; Marine Aquarium Societies of North America's Dr. Junda Lin Memorial Fund for Publishing Open Access Marine Aquarium Research)Published versio
Trust in the US-EU fruit and vegetable chain: Do US exporters understand EU importers?
Research on organizational and inter organizational trust has become an important field in management and marketing literature, as it is perceived as a pivotal aspect of business transactions. However, clarifications are still needed on the issue of whom we trust; is the person whom we are trading with trusted, or the organization, or just the product‐quality? Not only has this question not been answered within this field of research, neither have cultural differences have been described to any great extent. Additionally, if the perceived factors important to establish trusting relationships may or may not be the same on the buyers and the sellers side in international business transaction in food chains. The primary objective of this research study therefore is to identify how well US exporters understand the elements of trust that establish strong relationships with EU importers. The Analytical Hierarchy Process was used to evaluate the importance of different trust elements in interviews conducted with US exporters and EU importers of fruits and vegetables. Results are compared, providing both a picture of the important facets of trust, as well as whether the partners understand the perspectives of the other partner
Universal crossovers and critical dynamics of quantum phase transitions: A renormalization group study of the pseudogap Kondo problem
The pseudogap Kondo problem, describing a magnetic impurity embedded in an
electronic environment with a power-law density of states, displays continuous
quantum phase transitions between free and screened moment phases. In this
paper we employ renormalization group techniques to analytically calculate
universal crossover functions, associated to these transitions, for various
observables. Quantitative agreement with the results of Numerical
Renormalization Group (NRG) simulations is obtained for temperature-dependent
static and zero-temperature dynamic quantities, at and away from criticality.
In the notoriously difficult realm of finite-temperature low-frequency
dynamics, usually inaccessible to both NRG and perturbative methods, we show
that progress can be made by a suitable renormalization procedure in the
framework of the Callan-Symanzik equations. Our general strategy can be
extended to other zero-temperature phase transitions, both in quantum impurity
models and bulk systems.Comment: 19 pages, 18 figures; (v3) version as publishe
Obscuration in extremely luminous quasars
The spectral energy distributions and infrared (IR) spectra of a sample of
obscured AGNs selected in the mid-IR are modeled with recent clumpy torus
models to investigate the nature of the sources, the properties of the
obscuring matter, and dependencies on luminosity. The sample contains 21
obscured AGNs at z=1.3-3 discovered in the largest Spitzer surveys (SWIRE,
NDWFS, & FLS) by means of their extremely red IR to optical colors. All sources
show the 9.7micron silicate feature in absorption and have extreme mid-IR
luminosities (L(6micron)~10^46 erg/s). The IR SEDs and spectra of 12 sources
are well reproduced with a simple torus model, while the remaining 9 sources
require foreground extinction from a cold dust component to reproduce both the
depth of the silicate feature and the near-IR emission from hot dust. The
best-fit torus models show a broad range of inclinations, with no preference
for the edge-on torus expected in obscured AGNs. Based on the unobscured QSO
mid-IR luminosity function, and on a color-selected sample of obscured and
unobscured IR sources, we estimate the surface densities of obscured and
unobscured QSOs at L(6micron)>10^12 Lsun, and z=1.3-3.0 to be about 17-22
deg^-2, and 11.7 deg^-2, respectively. Overall we find that ~35-41% of luminous
QSOs are unobscured, 37-40% are obscured by the torus, and 23-25% are obscured
by a cold absorber detached from the torus. These fractions constrain the torus
half opening angle to be ~67 deg. This value is significantly larger than found
for FIR selected samples of AGN at lower luminosity (~46 deg), supporting the
receding torus scenario. A far-IR component is observed in 8 objects. The
estimated far-IR luminosities associated with this component all exceed
3.3x10^12 Lsun, implying SFRs of 600-3000 Msun/yr. (Abridged)Comment: ApJ accepte
The effects of a plant proteinase inhibitor from Enterolobium contortisiliquum on human tumor cell lines
Supplementary to the efficient inhibition of trypsin, chymotrypsin, plasma kallikrein, and plasmin already described by the EcTI inhibitor from Enterolobium contortisiliquum, it also blocks human neutrophil elastase (K(iapp)=4.3 nM) and prevents phorbol ester (PMA)-stimulated activation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 probably via interference with membrane-type 1 (MT1)-MMP. Moreover, plasminogen-induced activation of proMMP-9 and processing of active MMP-2 was also inhibited. Furthermore, the effect of EcTI on the human cancer cell lines HCT116 and HT29 (colorectal), SkBr-3 and MCF-7 (breast), K562 and THP-1 (leukemia), as well as on human primary fibroblasts and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) was studied. EcTI inhibited in a concentration range of 1.0-2.5 mu M rather specifically tumor cell viability without targeting primary fibroblasts and hMSCs. Taken together, our data indicate that the polyspecific proteinase inhibitor EcTI prevents proMMP activation and is cytotoxic against tumor cells without affecting normal tissue remodeling fibroblasts or regenerative hMSCs being an important tool in the studies of tumor cell development and dissemination
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