Selenium and vascular health

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Weapon Size Versus Body Size as a Predictor of Winning in Fights Between Shore Crabs, Carcinus maenas (L.)

Relative body size (carapace width) and weapon size (chela length) were used as indicators of resource holding potential (RHP) in the agonistic behaviour of male shore crabs, Carcinus maenas (L.). Weapon size was found to be a more reliable predictor of the outcome of pairwise fights than body size. Crabs with longer chelae than their opponents were more likely to win fights than crabs with relatively larger bodies. Body size had less influence on the outcome of fights. Relative body and weapon size did not influence initiation of contests but did affect the likelihood of winning; however, this was significant only for weapon size. Winning crabs had heavier claws with greater surface area than losing crabs. There was no relationship between relative size and fight duration. The frequency of cheliped display increased with chela length and winners performed significantly more displays than losers

Differences in expenditure and amounts of fresh foods, fruits & vegetables and fish purchased in urban and rural Scotland

Acknowledgements Financial support: This work was supported by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) Division. RESAS had no role in the design, analysis or writing of this article. Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. Kantar Worldpanel had no role in study design or data analysis. Authorship: All authors contributed to the coding of the database. B.d.R., F.B. and S.W. contributed to the analyses in SPSS and Excel. All authors contributed to the writing of the manuscript. Ethics of human subject participation: Not applicable.Peer reviewedPostprin

Regular crabmeat consumers do not show increased urinary cadmium or beta-2-microglobulin levels compared to non-crabmeat consumers

Acknowledgements We acknowledge help from staff at Stromness surgery and Balfour hospital, NHS Orkney who collected and processed samples from the Orkney volunteers. We also gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the all volunteers who participated in the study. Financial Support This study was funded by grants from Orkney Fisherman’s Society Ltd and MacDuff Shellfish Ltd who themselves were awarded a grant from the UK Sea Fish Industry Authority’s (Seafish) Strategic Investment Programme 2015-2018. Neither Seafish, Orkney Fisherman’s Society Ltd nor MacDuff Shellfish Ltd had a role in the design, analysis, or writing of this study. The research of A.A.S. and S.B. is supported by Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS).Peer reviewedPostprin

Agonistic Behaviour and Biogenic Amines in Shore Crabs Carcinus Maenas

To investigate the role of certain neurohormones in agonistic behaviour, fights were staged between pairs of size-matched male shore crabs Carcinus maenas, and blood samples were taken immediately after the contests had been resolved. Samples were also taken from these crabs at rest (before and after fighting) and after walking on a treadmill. A control group of crabs also had samples taken on each experimental day. Concentrations of tyramine, dopamine, octopamine, serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine were determined in each blood sample using a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) system. Norepinephrine was not detectable in any of the samples, but the standards were recovered. Tyramine values were not significantly different between the control group and the fought group, so tyramine does not appear to be important in agonistic behaviour. A comparison between the control and fought groups shows that fighting had an effect on the concentrations of octopamine, dopamine and 5-HT, but exercise only had an effect on octopamine levels, which showed a reduction from resting values in both winners and losers. Resting and post-fight concentrations of octopamine, dopamine and 5-HT were higher in winners than in losers. 5-HT concentration increased in the blood of fought crabs from resting values, whereas dopamine concentration decreased. In winners, octopamine concentrations decreased from resting values, but in losers octopamine levels increased from resting concentrations. The escalatory behaviour or intensity of fighting performed by winners and losers was related to dopamine levels but not to those of octopamine or 5-HT. Therefore, there appears to be a link between relative concentrations of these three amines (dopamine, octopamine and 5-HT) and fighting ability; the effects are not simply a result of activity. The better competitors have higher concentrations of these three amines at rest and after fighting

Anticancer effects of n-3 EPA and DHA and their endocannabinoid derivatives on breast cancer cell growth and invasion

Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge NHS Grampian Endowment funds and TENOVUS Scotland for funding. JL was funded by a scholarship from Fraserburgh Moonlight Prowl and AAS was funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS). We also thank Dr Raphael Mechoulam, University of Jerusalem, for the gift of the endocannabinoids.Peer reviewedPostprin

Thermal Rounding of the Charge Density Wave Depinning Transition

The rounding of the charge density wave depinning transition by thermal noise is examined. Hops by localized modes over small barriers trigger ``avalanches'', resulting in a creep velocity much larger than that expected from comparing thermal energies with typical barriers. For a field equal to the $T=0$ depinning field, the creep velocity is predicted to have a {\em power-law} dependence on the temperature $T$; numerical computations confirm this result. The predicted order of magnitude of the thermal rounding of the depinning transition is consistent with rounding seen in experiment.Comment: 12 pages + 3 Postscript figure

Phenotypic and genetic analysis of milk and serum element concentrations in dairy cows

This research, including the Langhill experiment at Crichton Dairy Research Centre and all authors, was funded by the Scottish Government Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment (RAFE) Strategic Research Portfolio 2016-2021. Samples collected pre-2016 were collected as part of a BBSRC project awarded to EW (grant no. BB/K002260/1) and TNM (BB/K002171/1). The authors gratefully acknowledge the high standard of work by all staff at Crichton farm (SRUC, Dumfries, Scotland) in the collection of samples and management of animals, and Ian Archibald (SRUC, Edinburgh, Scotland) for managing the Langhill database and assisting with data extraction.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Adolescent girls in aquaculture ecozones at risk of nutrient deficiency in Bangladesh development and validation of an integrated metric

Acknowledgements We wish to acknowledge funding from the Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA) to undertake this research. We acknowledge the Nutritional Analytical Service, University of Stirling, United Kingdom for laboratory analyses. The work of BdR and AAS is funded by the Scottish Government Rural & Environment Science & Analytical Services. Funding This work is funded through the Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA) programme. IMMANA Phase 1 is funded with UK Aid from the UK government, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Linking agroecosystems producing farmed seafood with food security and health status to better address the nutritional challenges in Bangladesh

Objective: Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing food production sectors in many low-income and food-deficit countries with aquatic ecozones. Yet its specific impact on nutrition and livelihood in local communities, where commercial and/or export-orientated aquaculture activities are developed, is largely unknown. Design: The present narrative and argumentative review aims to provide an overview of our current understanding of the connections between aquaculture agro-ecosystems, local and national fish production, fish consumption patterns and nutrition and health outcomes. Results: The agroecological dynamic in a coastal-estuarine zone, where the aquatic environment ranges from fully saline to freshwater, is complex, with seasonal and annual fluctuations in freshwater supply creating a variable salinity gradient which impacts on aquatic food production and on food production more generally. The local communities living in these dynamic aquatic ecozones are vulnerable to poverty , poor diet and health, while these ecosystems produce highly valuable and nutritious aquatic foods. Policies addressing the specific challenges of risk management of these communities are limited by the sectoral separation of aquatic food production-the fisheries and aquaculture sector, the broader food sector-and public health institutions. Conclusions: Here we provide an argument for the integration of these factors to improve aquaculture value chains to better address the nutritional challenges in Bangladesh