Early Spring Feeding Habits of Bearded Seals (Erignathus Barbatus) in the Central Bering Sea, 1981

The diet of bearded seals, Erignathus barbatus, near St. Matthew Island, Bering Sea, was studied during the early spring of 1981. Eighty-six percent of the 78 seals' stomachs examined contained fish. Other prey taxon groups, in decreasing order of their percentages of occurrence, were crabs (73%), clams (55%), snails (47%), amphipods (32%), shrimp (18%), mysids (13%), marine worms (13%) and cephalopods (4%). The most frequently occurring prey species were capelin, Mallotus villosus, (82%); codfishes, Gadidae (64%); narrow snow crab, Chionoecetes opilio (63%); eelpouts, Lycodes spp. (56%); longsnout prickleback, Lumpenella longirostris (49%); nutshell clams, Nuculana sp. (42%); and moon snails, Polinices sp. (27%). Seventy-seven percent of the seals examined had consumed prey from three or more different taxon groups. We identified seven food items not previously reported as prey of the bearded seal in the Bering Sea. No differences were detected between the diets of males and females and between adults and juveniles, indicating no apparent segregation of foraging by sex or age. Bearded seals in the St. Matthew Island region of the Bering Sea forage in a manner similar to their conspecifics in other areas where fish constitute a major portion of their diet. Prey selection is probably dependent on availability, and diet may be highly diversified even within a relatively small area during a short period of time. Variety in prey consumption exemplified the ability of the bearded seal to forage in the seasonally changing habitat associated with the advance and retreat of the ice front.Key words: bearded seal, Erignathus barbatus, diet, demersal and pelagic fish, benthic invertebrates, prey species diversity On a étudié le régime alimentaire du phoque barbu, Erignathus barbatus, près de l'île Saint Matthew dans la mer de Béring, tôt au printemps de 1981. Quatre-vingt six p. cent des 78 estomacs de phoques examinés contenaient du poisson. Parmi les autres groupes de taxons servant de proies, on retrouvait, par pourcentages décroissants, les crabes (73 p. cent), les myes (55 p. cent), les gastéropodes (47 p. cent), les amphipodes (32 p. cent), les crevettes (18 p. cent), les mysis (13 p. cent), les vers marins (13 p. cent) et les céphalopodes (4 p. cent). Les espèces de proies les plus courantes étaient le capelan, Mallotus villosus (82 p. cent); la morue, Gadidae (64 p. cent); le crabe des neiges, Chionoecetes opilio (63 p. cent); la lotte, sp. Lycodes (56 p. cent); Lumpenella longirostris (49 p. cent); sp. Nuculana (42 p. cent); et la natice, sp. Polinices (27 p. cent). Soixante-dix-sept p. cent des phoques étudiés avaient ingéré des proies venant d'au moins trois différents groupes de taxons. On a identifié sept produits alimentaires qui n'avaient pas encore été reportés comme constituant une proie pour le phoque barbu dans la mer de Béring. On n'a détecté aucune différence entre les régimes alimentaires des mâles et ceux des femelles, ni entre ceux des adultes et ceux des petits, ce qui indique qu'il n'existe apparemment pas de ségrégation quant au sexe ou à l'âge lors du comportement visant la quête de nourriture. Les phoques barbus de la région de l'île Saint Matthew dans la mer de Béring recherchent leur nourriture comme leurs congénères dans d'autres régions où le poisson constitue une grande partie de leur régime. La sélection des proies dépend probablement de leur disponibilité et le régime peut être hautement diversifié, même dans une zone relativement petite et durant une courte période. La variété qui se manifeste dans la consommation des proies montre bien la capacité du phoque barbu à rechercher sa nourriture dans un habitat qui varie selon les saisons et est associé à l'avancée et au retrait du front glaciaire.Mots clés: phoque barbu, Erignathus barbatus, régime alimentaire, poissons démersaux et pélagiques, invertébres benthiques, variété des espèces servant de proi

Wnt5a induces ROR1 to recruit cortactin to promote breast-cancer migration and metastasis.

ROR1 is a conserved oncoembryonic surface protein expressed in breast cancer. Here we report that ROR1 associates with cortactin in primary breast-cancer cells or in MCF7 transfected to express ROR1. Wnt5a also induced ROR1-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of cortactin (Y421), which recruited ARHGEF1 to activate RhoA and promote breast-cancer-cell migration; such effects could be inhibited by cirmtuzumab, a humanized mAb specific for ROR1. Furthermore, treatment of mice bearing breast-cancer xenograft with cirmtuzumab inhibited cortactin phosphorylation in vivo and impaired metastatic development. We established that the proline at 841 of ROR1 was required for it to recruit cortactin and ARHGEF1, activate RhoA, and enhance breast-cancer-cell migration in vitro or development of metastases in vivo. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that the interaction of ROR1 with cortactin plays an important role in breast-cancer-cell migration and metastasis

Vesuvianite From Pajsberg, Sweden, and the Role of Be In the Vesuvianite Structure

Vesuvianite from Pajsberg, Sweden contains about one atom of Mn, based on 50 cations per formula unit, and small amounts of Be, B, and As. Optical absorption analysis suggests that the Mn is predominantly or entirely trivalent. Crystal-structure analysis indicates that Mn is housed at the general octahedral site Y3, which exhibits only minor distortion from ideal octahedral symmetry. Arsenic is housed at Y2 and Z2, and the formula derived from electron microprobe and LA-ICP-MS analyses suggests minor substitution of Al for Si, also at Z2. Beryllium and B are at T1, between the edge-sharing trimers Y3Y2Y3, as is the case for B in the boron-dominant vesuvianite species wiluite. The total content at T1 is interpreted as 0.82Be, 0.34B, and 0.037Fe^(3+)

Differences in Cortisol Response to Trauma Activation in Individuals with and without Comorbid PTSD and Depression

Background: Although depression symptoms are often experienced by individuals who develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma exposure, little is know about the biological correlates associated with PTSD and depression co-morbidity vs. those associated with PTSD symptoms alone. Methods: Here we examined salivary cortisol responses to trauma activation in a sample of 60 survivors of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001. Participants recalled the escape from the attacks 7 months post 9/11. Salivary cortisol levels were measured before and after their recollection of the trauma. PTSD, depression, and somatic symptoms were also assessed. From the behavioral assessment scales, the participants were grouped into three conditions: those with comorbid PTSD and depressive symptoms, PTSD alone symptoms, or no-pathology. Results: Baseline and cortisol response levels differed between the comorbid, PTSD alone, and no-pathology groups. Individuals endorsing co-morbid symptoms had higher PTSD and somatic symptom severity and their cortisol response decreased following their trauma reminder while a trend of an elevated response to the trauma was found in the PTSD alone group. Our findings show distinct psychological and biological correlates related to the endorsement of PTSD with and without depression comorbidity. Conclusions: The findings suggest that comorbidity symptoms manifestation entails a separate trauma induced condition from PTSD. Future research on biological correlates of comorbid PTSD and depression is warranted

Causal inference in multi-cohort studies using the target trial approach

Longitudinal cohort studies provide the opportunity to examine causal effects of complex exposures on long-term health outcomes. Utilizing data from multiple cohorts has the potential to add further benefit by improving precision of estimates through data pooling and allowing examination of effect heterogeneity across contexts. However, the interpretation of findings can be complicated by biases that may be compounded when pooling data or may contribute to discrepant findings when analyses are replicated across cohorts. Here we extend the target trial framework, already well established as a powerful tool for causal inference in single-cohort studies, to address the specific challenges that can arise in the multi-cohort setting. The approach considers the target trial as a central point of reference, as opposed to comparing one study to another. This enables clear definition of the target estimand and systematic consideration of sources of bias within each cohort and additional sources of bias arising from data pooling. Consequently, analyses can be designed to reduce these biases and the resulting findings appropriately interpreted. We use a case study to demonstrate the approach and its potential to strengthen causal inference in multi-cohort studies through improved analysis design and clarity in the interpretation of findings.Comment: 34 pages, 3 figure

Mathews County Dune Inventory

Mathews County, Virginia is located along the western shore of Chesapeake Bay and is at the eastern end of Virginia’s Middle Peninsula (Figure 1). Eighteen dune sites were identified along the Mathews County shoreline by site visits performed in 1999 and 2000. Of those 18 sites, 13 are located on Chesapeake Bay (Figure 2). It is the intent of this publication to provide the user with information on the status of dunes in Mathews County. This information comes from research performed in 1999 and 2000 which was presented in a report entitled “Chesapeake Bay Dune Systems: Evolution and Status (Hardaway et al., 2001). Since much of the data was collected several years ago and the beach and dune systems may have changed, this report is intended only as a resource for coastal zone managers and homeowners; it is not intended for use in determining legal jurisdictional limits

Inhibition of chemotherapy resistant breast cancer stem cells by a ROR1 specific antibody.

Breast cancers enduring treatment with chemotherapy may be enriched for cancer stem cells or tumor-initiating cells, which have an enhanced capacity for self-renewal, tumor initiation, and/or metastasis. Breast cancer cells that express the type I tyrosine kinaselike orphan receptor ROR1 also may have such features. Here we find that the expression of ROR1 increased in breast cancer cells following treatment with chemotherapy, which also enhanced expression of genes induced by the activation of Rho-GTPases, Hippo-YAP/TAZ, or B lymphoma Mo-MLV insertion region 1 homolog (BMI1). Expression of ROR1 also enhanced the capacity of breast cancer cells to invade Matrigel, form spheroids, engraft in Rag2-/-[Formula: see text] mice, or survive treatment with paclitaxel. Treatment of mice bearing breast cancer patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) with the humanized anti-ROR1 monoclonal antibody cirmtuzumab repressed expression of genes associated with breast cancer stemness, reduced activation of Rho-GTPases, Hippo-YAP/TAZ, or BMI1, and impaired the capacity of breast cancer PDXs to metastasize or reengraft Rag2-/-[Formula: see text] mice. Finally, treatment of PDX-bearing mice with cirmtuzumab and paclitaxel was more effective than treatment with either alone in eradicating breast cancer PDXs. These results indicate that targeting ROR1 may improve the response to chemotherapy of patients with breast cancer