Breeding plan for silver barb (Puntius gonionotus) in Vietnam: individual (mass) selection to improve growth rate

Selective breeding, Fish culture, Growth, Aquaculture techniques, Genetics, Viet Nam, Puntius gonionotus

Integrable and Chaotic Dynamics of Spins Coupled to an Optical Cavity

We show that a class of random all-to-all spin models, realizable in systems of atoms coupled to an optical cavity, gives rise to a rich dynamical phase diagram due to the pairwise separable nature of the couplings. By controlling the experimental parameters, one can tune between integrable and chaotic dynamics on the one hand and between classical and quantum regimes on the other hand. For two special values of a spin-anisotropy parameter, the model exhibits rational Gaudin-type integrability, and it is characterized by an extensive set of spin-bilinear integrals of motion, independent of the spin size. More generically, we find a novel integrable structure with conserved charges that are not purely bilinear. Instead, they develop "dressing tails" of higher-body terms, reminiscent of the dressed local integrals of motion found in many-body localized phases. Surprisingly, this new type of integrable dynamics found in finite-size spin-1/2 systems disappears in the large-S limit, giving way to classical chaos. We identify parameter regimes for characterizing these different dynamical behaviors in realistic experiments, in view of the limitations set by cavity dissipation

Description and evaluation of NorESM1-F: a fast version of the Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM)

A new computationally efficient version of the Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM) is presented. This new version (here termed NorESM1-F) runs about 2.5 times faster (e.g., 90 model years per day on current hardware) than the version that contributed to the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison project (CMIP5), i.e., NorESM1-M, and is therefore particularly suitable for multimillennial paleoclimate and carbon cycle simulations or large ensemble simulations. The speed-up is primarily a result of using a prescribed atmosphere aerosol chemistry and a tripolar ocean–sea ice horizontal grid configuration that allows an increase of the ocean–sea ice component time steps. Ocean biogeochemistry can be activated for fully coupled and semi-coupled carbon cycle applications. This paper describes the model and evaluates its performance using observations and NorESM1-M as benchmarks. The evaluation emphasizes model stability, important large-scale features in the ocean and sea ice components, internal variability in the coupled system, and climate sensitivity. Simulation results from NorESM1-F in general agree well with observational estimates and show evident improvements over NorESM1-M, for example, in the strength of the meridional overturning circulation and sea ice simulation, both important metrics in simulating past and future climates. Whereas NorESM1-M showed a slight global cool bias in the upper oceans, NorESM1-F exhibits a global warm bias. In general, however, NorESM1-F has more similarities than dissimilarities compared to NorESM1-M, and some biases and deficiencies known in NorESM1-M remain.</p

Nutritional regulation of oligodendrocyte differentiation regulates perineuronal net remodeling in the median eminence

The mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH; arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus [ARH] and median eminence [ME]) is a key nutrient sensing site for the production of the complex homeostatic feedback responses required for the maintenance of energy balance. Here, we show that refeeding after an overnight fast rapidly triggers proliferation and differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitors, leading to the production of new oligodendrocytes in the ME specifically. During this nutritional paradigm, ME perineuronal nets (PNNs), emerging regulators of ARH metabolic functions, are rapidly remodeled, and this process requires myelin regulatory factor (Myrf) in oligodendrocyte progenitors. In genetically obese ob/ob mice, nutritional regulations of ME oligodendrocyte differentiation and PNN remodeling are blunted, and enzymatic digestion of local PNN increases food intake and weight gain. We conclude that MBH PNNs are required for the maintenance of energy balance in lean mice and are remodeled in the adult ME by the nutritional control of oligodendrocyte differentiation

Randomised clinical trial: individualised vs. weight-based dosing of azathioprine in Crohn's disease

Azathioprine (AZA), a pro-drug metabolized to the active metabolites 6-thioguanine nucleotides (6TGN), is a steroid-sparing therapy for Crohn’s disease (CD). This trial investigated whether AZA therapy is optimized by individualized dosing based on thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) activity and 6TGN concentrations

The Norwegian Earth System Model, NorESM1-M – Part 1: Description and basic evaluation of the physical climate

The core version of the Norwegian Climate Center's Earth System Model, named NorESM1-M, is presented. The NorESM family of models are based on the Community Climate System Model version 4 (CCSM4) of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, but differs from the latter by, in particular, an isopycnic coordinate ocean model and advanced chemistry–aerosol–cloud–radiation interaction schemes. NorESM1-M has a horizontal resolution of approximately 2° for the atmosphere and land components and 1° for the ocean and ice components. NorESM is also available in a lower resolution version (NorESM1-L) and a version that includes prognostic biogeochemical cycling (NorESM1-ME). The latter two model configurations are not part of this paper. Here, a first-order assessment of the model stability, the mean model state and the internal variability based on the model experiments made available to CMIP5 are presented. Further analysis of the model performance is provided in an accompanying paper (Iversen et al., 2013), presenting the corresponding climate response and scenario projections made with NorESM1-M

Prediction of function in daily life following multidisciplinary rehabilitation for individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain; a prospective study

Background: The prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain is high, with widespread negative economic, psychological, and social consequences for the individual. It is therefore important to find ways to predict the outcome of rehabilitation programmes in terms of function in daily life. The aims of this study were to investigate the improvements over time from multidisciplinary rehabilitation in terms of pain and function, and analyse the relative impact of individual and psychosocial factors as predictors of function in daily life in individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Methods: A prospective study was conducted among one hundred and forty three (N = 143) musculoskeletal pain patients. Measures of pain, function, and functional health status were obtained at baseline, after 5 weeks of intensive training, at the end of the 57-week rehabilitation programme, and at a 1 year follow-up, using validated self-administrated measures. Linear regression analysis was applied to investigate the relative impact of musculoskeletal pain, individual- , and psychosocial factors in function. Results: The participants studied showed a significant increase in function during the 57 weeks rehabilitation period. There was also a significant increase in function from the end of the rehabilitation period (57th week) to the one year follow-up measures. Pain intensity associated significantly with pain experience over all measurement periods. High levels of pain intensity (β = .42**) and pain experience (β = .37*), and poor psychological capacity (β = -.68*) at baseline, as well as poor physiological capacity (β = -.44**) and high levels of anxiety (β = .48**) and depression (β = .58***) at the end of the rehabilitation program were the most important prognostic factors of variance in functioning over the 4 measurement periods. Conclusion: The data suggest that physical capacity, emotional distress and coping skills should be priority areas in rehabilitation programmes to improve functioning in daily life

Unmet needs of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): A qualitative study on patients and doctors

Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a chronic disease with repeated exacerbations resulting in gradual debilitation. The quality of life has been shown to be poor in patients with COPD despite efforts to improve self-management. However, the evidence on the benefit of self-management in COPD is conflicting. Whether this could be due to other unmet needs of patients have not been investigated. Therefore, we aimed to explore unmet needs of patients from both patients and doctors managing COPD. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study with doctors and patients in Malaysia. We used convenience sampling to recruit patients until data saturation. Eighteen patients and eighteen doctors consented and were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and checked by the interviewers. Data were analysed using a thematic approach. Results: The themes were similar for both the patients and doctors. Three main themes emerged: knowledge and awareness of COPD, psychosocial and physical impact of COPD and the utility of self-management. Knowledge about COPD was generally poor. Patients were not familiar with the term chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD. The word ‘asthma’ was used synonymously with COPD by both patients and doctors. Most patients experienced difficulties in their psychosocial and physical functions such as breathlessness, fear and helplessness. Most patients were not confident in self-managing their illness and prefer a more passive role with doctors directing their care. Conclusions: In conclusion, our study showed that knowledge of COPD is generally poor. There was mislabelling of COPD as asthma by both patients and physicians. This could have resulted in the lack of understanding of treatment options, outcomes, and prognosis of COPD. The misconception that cough due to COPD was contagious, and breathlessness that resulted from COPD, had important physical and psychosocial impact, and could lead to social isolation. Most patients and physicians did not favour self-management approaches, suggesting innovations based on self-management may be of limited benefit