Ovarian maturation and haemolymphatic vitellogenin concentration of Pacific white shrimp <i>Litopenaeus vannamei</i> (Boone) fed increasing levels of total dietary lipids and HUFA

Two experiments were carried out to determine the quantitative lipid requirements for ovarian maturation of Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone) broodstock. The first experiment tested the effect of total dietary lipid (TDL) levels of 8.1%, 8.8%, 9.8% and 11.2% on the gonadosomatic index (GSI), hepatosomatic index (HSI), survival and body weight. The second experiment tested the effect of total dietary levels of highly unsaturated fatty acids (TDH) 0.6%, 1.3%, 2.0% and 2.7% on the same parameters mentioned above and on the haemolymphatic vitellogenin (vg) concentration. The GSI was higher in females fed 8.1% TDL as compared with those fed 8.8% TDL (P=0.05), and higher in females fed 8.1% and 8.8% TDL than in those fed 9.8% and 11.2% TDL. lncreasing TDH levels led to increasing levels of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) in the ovaries (r² = 0.999). However, the GSI was not affected by dietary treatments (P > 0.05). The vg concentration was higher in animals receiving 2.0% TDH as compared with those receiving 2.7% TDH. In conclusion, high TDL levels affected ovarian maturation in a negative way, why TDH levels had no pronounced effect on ovarian maturation within the range tested in this study

Water, Food, and Irrigation

Irrigated agriculture plays a central role in global food production as it provides resilience to rainfall variability, increased productivity and production security. However, it has also gone hand in hand with serious socio-environmental challenges. Large-scale irrigated agricultural production, which depends on both surface and groundwater resources, has encountered several technical and managerial challenges. It has led to widespread environmental deterioration through drying and polluting rivers, lakes, wetlands, and aquifers. At the same time, irrigated agricultural production has been increasingly commodified, specialized and globalized through large commercial farming enterprises, contract farming and international agro-export chains. This has led to widespread processes of land and water accumulation and related socio-environmental inequities in many regions of the world. In contraposition to this tendency peasant irrigated production plays a key role in producing for local and regional fresh food markets. In this context, we explore a few innovative and promising grassroots initiatives that spring from peasant agriculture. These are agro-ecology, farmer-led irrigation development and peri-urban agriculture, all initiatives that rest on the creation of local food production and marketing networks. Finally, this book chapter closes by setting out critical questions about policies and the political implications of food consumption patterns

Reproductive Development and Function of Brahman Bulls Fed Diets Containing Gossypol

Last updated: 6/9/200

Spectral signatures of many-body localization with interacting photons

Statistical mechanics is founded on the assumption that a system can reach thermal equilibrium, regardless of the starting state. Interactions between particles facilitate thermalization, but, can interacting systems always equilibrate regardless of parameter values\,? The energy spectrum of a system can answer this question and reveal the nature of the underlying phases. However, most experimental techniques only indirectly probe the many-body energy spectrum. Using a chain of nine superconducting qubits, we implement a novel technique for directly resolving the energy levels of interacting photons. We benchmark this method by capturing the intricate energy spectrum predicted for 2D electrons in a magnetic field, the Hofstadter butterfly. By increasing disorder, the spatial extent of energy eigenstates at the edge of the energy band shrink, suggesting the formation of a mobility edge. At strong disorder, the energy levels cease to repel one another and their statistics approaches a Poisson distribution - the hallmark of transition from the thermalized to the many-body localized phase. Our work introduces a new many-body spectroscopy technique to study quantum phases of matter

Whole-genome analysis uncovers recurrent IKZF1 inactivation and aberrant cell adhesion in blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare and highly aggressive hematological malignancy with a poorly understood pathobiology and no effective therapeutic options. Despite a few recurrent genetic defects (eg, single nucleotide changes, indels, large chromosomal aberrations) have been identified in BPDCN, none are disease-specific, and more importantly, none explain its genesis or clinical behavior. In this study, we performed the first high resolution whole-genome analysis of BPDCN with a special focus on structural genomic alterations by using whole-genome sequencing and RNA sequencing. Our study, the first to characterize the landscape of genomic rearrangements and copy number alterations of BPDCN at nucleotide-level resolution, revealed that IKZF1, a gene encoding a transcription factor required for the differentiation of plasmacytoid dendritic cell precursors, is focally inactivated through recurrent structural alterations in this neoplasm. In concordance with the genomic data, transcriptome analysis revealed that conserved IKZF1 target genes display a loss-of-IKZF1 expression pattern. Furthermore, up-regulation of cellular processes responsible for cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions, which is a hallmark of IKZF1 deficiency, was prominent in BPDCN. Our findings suggest that IKZF1 inactivation plays a central role in the pathobiology of the disease, and consequently, therapeutic approaches directed at reestablishing the function of this gene might be beneficial for patients

Understanding Dwarf Galaxies in order to Understand Dark Matter

Much progress has been made in recent years by the galaxy simulation community in making realistic galaxies, mostly by more accurately capturing the effects of baryons on the structural evolution of dark matter halos at high resolutions. This progress has altered theoretical expectations for galaxy evolution within a Cold Dark Matter (CDM) model, reconciling many earlier discrepancies between theory and observations. Despite this reconciliation, CDM may not be an accurate model for our Universe. Much more work must be done to understand the predictions for galaxy formation within alternative dark matter models.Comment: Refereed contribution to the Proceedings of the Simons Symposium on Illuminating Dark Matter, to be published by Springe

NIVEL DE CONOCIMIENTOS DEL DIABÉTICO SOBRE SU AUTO CUIDADO

INTRODUCTION The diabetes treatment is complex. Its results depend, to a great extent, on the level of comprehension, skill and motivation that the user face up to the therapeutic requirements. OBJETIVE To identify the knowledge level that the diabetic user has about his/her autocare. MATERIAL AND METHODS A descriptive survey was carried out in 94 diabetic inpatients in the services of Internal Medicine and Surgery of the General Regional Hospital No. 1 of Culiacán, Sinaloa. Diabetics of 20 years old and older with more of 72 hours of hospitalization in internal medicine and surgery were included in the survey. A questionnaire providing socio-demographic aspects such as age, gender, education, knowledge level of the diabetic user about his/her autocare dealing aspects like exercise, diet, feet care and pharmacological treatment was used. RESULTS More than half (56%) of the studied population is men, with an average age of 60 years old with a standard deviation of +- 12.36. The knowledge level about his/her autocare was insufficient in 79%. CONCLUSIONS The diabetic users have insufficient knowledge about their autocare. The aspects they know more about are the exercise and the diet, while they know little about the feet care and pharmacological treatment.INTRODUCCIÓN El tratamiento de la diabetes es complejo y sus resultados dependen, en gran medida del nivel de comprensión, destreza y motivación con que el usuario afronta las exigencias terapéuticas. OBJETIVO Identificar el nivel de conocimiento que el usuario diabético tiene sobre su autocuidado. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS Se realizó una encuesta descriptiva a 94 diabéticos hospitalizados en los servicios de medicina interna y cirugía del Hospital General Regional No. 1 de Culiacán Sinaloa. Se incluyeron diabéticos de 20 y más años de edad, con más de 72 horas de hospitalización en el servicio. Se utilizó un cuestionario que contempló aspectos sociodemográficos como son edad, sexo, escolaridad, nivel de conocimiento del usuario diabético sobre su autocuidado, contemplando aspectos como ejercicio, alimentación, cuidado de los pies y tratamiento farmacológico. RESULTADO De la población estudiada se encontró que el 56% son del sexo masculino, con un promedio de 60 años de edad con una desviación estándar de + - 12.36. Nivel de conocimiento del diabético sobre su auto cuidado fue insuficiente en un 79 %. CONCLUSIONES Los usuarios diabéticos tienen conocimientos insuficientes sobre su autocuidado. Los aspectos sobre los que más conoce son el ejercicio y la alimentación, no así el cuidado de sus pies y lo relacionado al tratamiento farmacológico

Caribbean Corals in Crisis: Record Thermal Stress, Bleaching, and Mortality in 2005

BACKGROUND The rising temperature of the world's oceans has become a major threat to coral reefs globally as the severity and frequency of mass coral bleaching and mortality events increase. In 2005, high ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean resulted in the most severe bleaching event ever recorded in the basin. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Satellite-based tools provided warnings for coral reef managers and scientists, guiding both the timing and location of researchers' field observations as anomalously warm conditions developed and spread across the greater Caribbean region from June to October 2005. Field surveys of bleaching and mortality exceeded prior efforts in detail and extent, and provided a new standard for documenting the effects of bleaching and for testing nowcast and forecast products. Collaborators from 22 countries undertook the most comprehensive documentation of basin-scale bleaching to date and found that over 80% of corals bleached and over 40% died at many sites. The most severe bleaching coincided with waters nearest a western Atlantic warm pool that was centered off the northern end of the Lesser Antilles. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Thermal stress during the 2005 event exceeded any observed from the Caribbean in the prior 20 years, and regionally-averaged temperatures were the warmest in over 150 years. Comparison of satellite data against field surveys demonstrated a significant predictive relationship between accumulated heat stress (measured using NOAA Coral Reef Watch's Degree Heating Weeks) and bleaching intensity. This severe, widespread bleaching and mortality will undoubtedly have long-term consequences for reef ecosystems and suggests a troubled future for tropical marine ecosystems under a warming climate.This work was partially supported by salaries from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program to the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program authors. NOAA provided funding to Caribbean ReefCheck investigators to undertake surveys of bleaching and mortality. Otherwise, no funding from outside authors' institutions was necessary for the undertaking of this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript