ACTH4 -10, Substance P, and Dizolcipine (Mk-801) Accelerate Functional Recovery After Hemilabyrinthectomy in Goldfish

In this study, we evaluated the goldfish model of hemilabyrinthectomy for investigating potential recovery-promoting drugs. In this lesion model, the unilateral removal of the labyrinth induces a postural imbalance in response to light (Dorsal Light Reflex), from which the animals can recover over time. The behavioral effects of two neuropeptides were tested–namely, of substance P and ACTH4-10, both of which are known to promote functional recovery in several other lesion models. Furthermore, the effect of MK- 801, an antagonist of the glutamatergic NMDAreceptor subtype, was tested because this substance has also been shown to exert a neuroprotective effect. After lesion of the right labyrinth, the animals (n=12) were treated intraperitoneally daily either with vehicle (n=12), substance P (n=11) , ACTH4-10 (n=12) , or MK- 801 (n=12) . Another group(n=11) , which served as a non-lesion control, did not receive hemilabyrinthectomy or systemic injections. The lesion group, treated post-operatively with vehicle, did not recover from the postural deviation over the 24-d testing period. In contrast, all three test substances accelerated the functional recovery after unilateral labyrinthectomy. The decrease of the dorsal light reflex persisted even after cessation of drug treatment after 20d. The results indicate that using the dorsal light reflex in the model of hemilabyrinthectomy in goldfish provides a useful approach to studying the ability of potential new neurotrophic or neuroprotective drugs to promote functional recovery

Microscale Modeling of Magnetoactive Composites Undergoing Large Deformations

This paper is concerned with the development of a material model for the constituents of a magnetoactive composite. Special attention is paid to magnetorheological elastomers which are synthesized from a soft polymeric matrix material with embedded magnetizable particles. Because the particles interact under an applied magnetic load, a coupled magneto-mechanical field problem has to be solved. The mechanical properties of the polymer matrix motivate the consideration of large deformations. We present the balance equations with boundary conditions and an appropriate material model. The corresponding boundary value problems are solved by the Finite-Element-Method. A weak numerical coupling scheme enables the staggered solution of two subproblems, the stationary magnetic and mechanical one. The coupling between both is realized by a surrounding iterative loop

Circadian Variation of Brain Histamine in Goldfish

Teleosts may make an excellent model to study brain histamine function. Fishes are phylogenetically closer to the basic vertebrate blueprint than higher vertebrates. They appear to have a simpler histaminergic system in terms of central nervous system distribution and, contrary to higher vertebrates, brain histamine appears to be strictly neuronal. In this preliminary study, we examined circadian variation of brain histamine in goldfish, Carassius auratus, as this neurotransmitter correlates with circadian behavior of some mammals. Two groups of juvenile goldfish were held in 24 60L aquaria, six fish per aquarium, on reversed photoperiods; L:D 12:12 with light onset either at 0700 or 1900 h. Fish were sampled every 4 h. At a sampling time, all the fish in a tank were taken; each sampling, for both groups, was done in replicate. Brain histamine was determined by immunoassay. There was a significant circadian variation in histamine on both photoperiod regimes with the highest levels during the photophase. These results support the hypothesis of an early phylogenic role for histamine in vertebrate circadian physiology

Southeast Florida Coral Reef Fishery-Independent Baseline Assessment

Reef fishes are important biologic, ecologic, and economic resources of the marine ecosystem which must be managed for sustainability. Until recently, there was no long-term monitoring program in place to assess the condition of reef fish resources of the northern Florida Reef Tract (FRT) (northern Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin counties). An assessment/monitoring plan for the northern portion of the Florida reef tract was designed through a joint cooperative effort by scientists at the University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) and Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center (NSUOC). This report is a synoptic compilation of a three-year data collection from all partner agencies, and includes data from the 232, 324, and 308 sites or Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) sampled in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively. The majority of the field work was accomplished through funding provided to NSUOC by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), with supplementary funding provided by FDEP-CRCP. Significant amounts of data were also collected by multiple Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI) partner agencies that were able to dedicate their time and resources to the project. Field sampling for each year began in May and ran through October. During the three-year study period, \u3e560,000 individual fish of 289 species were recorded. Total mean density for all sites and strata combined for all three years was 170 fishes/SSU (Second-Stage Sample Unit = SSU or site, 177 m2). For 2012, mean density was 151 fishes/SSU; in 2013 it was 168 fishes/SSU; and in 2014 it was 186 fishes/SSU. When low vs. high slope strata were compared, the high slope strata showed higher fish density. Multivariate analyses showed patterns in the reef fish communities associated with benthic habitats. Water depth was a primary determinant of fish distribution with differences in assemblages between shallow and deep sites. Also most of the surveys in the southern regions (Broward-Miami, Deerfield, and South Palm Beach) clustered tightly together indicating high similarity between communities in the deep habitats within these regions. Conversely, fish communities in North Palm Beach and Martin were much more variable and mostly separated in disparate areas of the plot. This suggests that the Martin and North Palm Beach fish communities are distinctly different from the southern regions. The dataset, in its entirety, provides the opportunity for further mining to examine individual species and reef fish assemblage correlations with a host of abiotic and biotic variables. Thus, from both management and ecological-sciences perspectives, these data are a valuable resource. It is already clear there are significant differences in the geographic distribution of reef fishes at local and regional scales. There are interacting strata and latitudinal differences in total reef fish abundance, species distribution, sizes, and assemblage structure. The combination of data from all three years provides a complete regional baseline fishery-independent assessment

The Yellow Stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis (Chondrichthyes Urotrygonidae): A Synoptic Review

The yellow stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis (Cuvier) has been the subject of a multitude of diverse studies on its natural history, morphology, and physiology. We have attempted here to briefly review all the studies on U. jamaicensis both published and unpublished with the goal of providing comparative information for researchers working on related species as well as to highlight areas of research requiring further investigation in this one

The EBEX Experiment

EBEX is a balloon-borne polarimeter designed to measure the intensity and polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation. The measurements would probe the inflationary epoch that took place shortly after the big bang and would significantly improve constraints on the values of several cosmological parameters. EBEX is unique in its broad frequency coverage and in its ability to provide critical information about the level of polarized Galactic foregrounds which will be necessary for all future CMB polarization experiments. EBEX consists of a 1.5 m Dragone-type telescope that provides a resolution of less than 8 arcminutes over four focal planes each of 4 degree diffraction limited field of view at frequencies up to 450 GHz. The experiment is designed to accommodate 330 transition edge bolometric detectors per focal plane, for a total of up to 1320 detectors. EBEX will operate with frequency bands centered at 150, 250, 350, and 450 GHz. Polarimetry is achieved with a rotating achromatic half-wave plate. EBEX is currently in the design and construction phase, and first light is scheduled for 2008.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures. Figure 1 is changed from the one which appeared in the Proceedings of the SPI

Growth and Survivorship of Scleractinian Coral Transplants and the Effectiveness of Plugging Core Holes in Transplant Donor Colonies

Replicate scleractinian coral transplants were obtained from the species Meandrina meandrites and Montastrea cavernosa on a natural reef, off Dania Beach, Florida, using a hydraulic drill fitted with a 4 in. (~10 cm) core barrel. The transplants were fixed to Reef Ball™ substrates using an adhesive marine epoxy. Drill holes in the donor corals (core holes) were filled with concrete plugs. Control corals, of comparable size to both donor colonies and transplant corals, were monitored for comparison. Transplant corals, donor corals, and controls on the natural reef were monitored for growth and survivorship. Core holes were monitored for tissue regrowth over the surface of concrete plugs. Growth during the transplantation project was defined as an increase in surface area of tissue and skeleton. Growth was monitored on a quarterly basis using photographic techniques. Meandrina meandrites transplants experienced greater mortality and significantly less growth than M. cavernosa transplants. No significant difference in the change in percent tissue coverage between both species of donor corals or between their respective controls was determined. The process of filling core holes in donor colonies with concrete plugs was effective, however, tissue did not completely regenerate over the surface of plugs in either species over the relatively short 15-month observation period. Results of this study indicate that species selection is an important factor in the success of coral transplantation

Growth and Survivorship of Stony Coral Meandrina meandrites and Montastrea cavernosa Transplants to an Artificial Reef Environment: A Work in Progress

Reef Ball Deployment: In November of 2000, 160 concrete Reef BallTM modules (1.22m wide x 0.9m high) were deployed, at a depth of approximately 15 meters, between the Second and Third Reef tracts off Dania Beach, FL (Figures 1 and 2). The Reef Balls were grouped into 40 quads, with each quad containing four individual Reef Balls. One modified Reef Ball from each quad was designated as the ‘transplant’ ball, and was used as the receptacle for the coral transplants. The other three balls in each quad are part of a more comprehensive study. This multifactorial study is examining the effects of reef structure on fish assemblages, the effects of coral larval attractants on coral recruitment, and the interaction between fish assemblages and coral recruitment. The coral transplants are one such ‘coral larval attractant’ being examined. Coral transplants, and the donor colonies from which they were obtained, are being monitored for growth and survivorshi

Spatial Resolution of Double-Sided Silicon Microstrip Detectors for the PAMELA Apparatus

The PAMELA apparatus has been assembled and it is ready to be launched in a satellite mission to study mainly the antiparticle component of cosmic rays. In this paper the performances obtained for the silicon microstrip detectors used in the magnetic spectrometer are presented. This subdetector reconstructs the curvature of a charged particle in the magnetic field produced by a permanent magnet and consequently determines momentum and charge sign, thanks to a very good accuracy in the position measurements (better than 3 um in the bending coordinate). A complete simulation of the silicon microstrip detectors has been developed in order to investigate in great detail the sensor's characteristics. Simulated events have been then compared with data gathered from minimum ionizing particle (MIP) beams during the last years in order to tune free parameters of the simulation. Finally some either widely used or original position finding algorithms, designed for such kind of detectors, have been applied to events with different incidence angles. As a result of the analysis, a method of impact point reconstruction can be chosen, depending on both the particle's incidence angle and the cluster multiplicity, so as to maximize the capability of the spectrometer in antiparticle tagging.Comment: 28 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research

Changes in Motoric, Exploratory, and Emotional Behaviours and Neuronal Acetylcholine Content and 5-HT Turnover in Histidine Decarboxylase-KO Mice

Histamine has been implicated, inter alia, in mechanisms underlying arousal, exploratory behaviour and emotionality. Here, we investigated behavioural and neurochemical parameters related to these concepts, including open-field activity, rotarod performance and anxiety, as well as brain acetylcholine and 5-HT concentrations of mice deficient for the histidine decarboxylase (HDC) gene. These mice are unable to synthesize histamine from its precursor histidine. The HDC-knockout mice showed reduced exploratory activity in an open-field, but normal habituation to a novel environment. They behaved more anxious than the controls, as assessed by the height–fear task and the graded anxiety test, a modified elevated plus-maze. Furthermore, motor coordination on the rotarod was superior to controls. Biochemical assessments revealed that the HDC-knockout mice had higher acetylcholine concentrations and a significantly higher 5-HT turnover in the frontal cortex, but reduced acetylcholine levels in the neostriatum. These results are suggestive of important interactions between neuronal histamine and these site-specific neurotransmitters, which may be related to the behavioural changes found in the HDC-deficient animals