Current and Future Patterns of Global Marine Mammal Biodiversity

Quantifying the spatial distribution of taxa is an important prerequisite for the preservation of biodiversity, and can provide a baseline against which to measure the impacts of climate change. Here we analyse patterns of marine mammal species richness based on predictions of global distributional ranges for 115 species, including all extant pinnipeds and cetaceans. We used an environmental suitability model specifically designed to address the paucity of distributional data for many marine mammal species. We generated richness patterns by overlaying predicted distributions for all species; these were then validated against sightings data from dedicated long-term surveys in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, the Northeast Atlantic and the Southern Ocean. Model outputs correlated well with empirically observed patterns of biodiversity in all three survey regions. Marine mammal richness was predicted to be highest in temperate waters of both hemispheres with distinct hotspots around New Zealand, Japan, Baja California, the Galapagos Islands, the Southeast Pacific, and the Southern Ocean. We then applied our model to explore potential changes in biodiversity under future perturbations of environmental conditions. Forward projections of biodiversity using an intermediate Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) temperature scenario predicted that projected ocean warming and changes in sea ice cover until 2050 may have moderate effects on the spatial patterns of marine mammal richness. Increases in cetacean richness were predicted above 40° latitude in both hemispheres, while decreases in both pinniped and cetacean richness were expected at lower latitudes. Our results show how species distribution models can be applied to explore broad patterns of marine biodiversity worldwide for taxa for which limited distributional data are available

Drosophila Ribosomal Protein Mutants Control Tissue Growth Non-Autonomously via Effects on the Prothoracic Gland and Ecdysone

The ribosome is critical for all aspects of cell growth due to its essential role in protein synthesis. Paradoxically, many Ribosomal proteins (Rps) act as tumour suppressors in Drosophila and vertebrates. To examine how reductions in Rps could lead to tissue overgrowth, we took advantage of the observation that an RpS6 mutant dominantly suppresses the small rough eye phenotype in a cyclin E hypomorphic mutant (cycEJP). We demonstrated that the suppression of cycEJP by the RpS6 mutant is not a consequence of restoring CycE protein levels or activity in the eye imaginal tissue. Rather, the use of UAS-RpS6 RNAi transgenics revealed that the suppression of cycEJP is exerted via a mechanism extrinsic to the eye, whereby reduced Rp levels in the prothoracic gland decreases the activity of ecdysone, the steroid hormone, delaying developmental timing and hence allowing time for tissue and organ overgrowth. These data provide for the first time a rationale to explain the counter-intuitive organ overgrowth phenotypes observed for certain members of the Minute class of Drosophila Rp mutants. They also demonstrate how Rp mutants can affect growth and development cell non-autonomously

Abnormal Growth of the Parasite Toxoplasma Gondii in Human Cells

Toxoplasma gondii is a microscopic parasite that infects all mammals, including humans. The parasite normally inhabits felines but can be transferred to humans from contact with cat feces and eating undercooked meat and unwashed vegetables. Current estimates indicate that 30% of the United States is infected with the parasite. First time infection of Toxoplasma in pregnant women is the leading cause of birth defects in the United States, and infection of people with weak immune systems, such as AIDS and transplant patients, often results in death. Toxoplasma is also related to the parasite that causes malaria, therefore knowing how the parasite grows may allow for the development of new drugs that can treat not only toxoplasmosis, but malaria as well. When the COPS7B gene activity, which is involved in controlling protein degradation, is increased in human cells infected with T. gondii, Toxoplasma grows much slower in host cells than it does in cells with normal COPS7B gene levels. We hypothesize that the parasite uses degraded components of host proteins to make its own proteins and when COPS7B levels are high, degradation is impeded. We hope to evaluate this hypothesis by precisely comparing the growth and invasion efficiency of parasites in modified and normal cells, as well as the corresponding protein degradation status

Practical guide to machine vision software: an introduction with LabVIEW

For both students and engineers in R&D, this book explains machine vision in a concise, hands-on way, using the Vision Development Module of the LabView software by National Instruments. Following a short introduction to the basics of machine vision and the technical procedures of image acquisition, the book goes on to guide readers in the use of the various software functions of LabView's machine vision module. It covers typical machine vision tasks, including particle analysis, edge detection, pattern and shape matching, dimension measurements as well as optical character recognition, enabl

Practical guide to machine vision software : an introduction with LabVIEW / Kye-Si Kwon, Steven Ready.

Includes index.computer bookfair2016xii, 278 pages