451 research outputs found
Management of broodstock and quality control of fish seed in Hungary
Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) breeding has a long tradition in Hungary. However, recent economic changes in Eastern Europe and new developments in aquaculture necessitated the need for ensuring quality of the brood stock used in hatcheries and the legal and institutional frameworks needed to implement the program. In addition to good research and development programs and gene banking, it became essential to establish an appropriate legal framework, organize, coordinate and control breeding activities, and provide financial support. It was a major breakthrough for carp breeding when C.carpio was recognized as one of the cultivated animals in the Animal Breeding Act in 1993. The Carp Breeding Section of the Hungarian Fish Producers Association plays an important role in carp breeding programs. Thirteen breeding farms of the Carp Breeding Section have 24 certified C.carpio varieties. In Hungary, about 80 % of the seed used as stocking for commercial production are from high quality certified breeders
Lessons from the breeding program on common carp in Hungary
Common carp is one of the most important cultured freshwater fish species in the world. Its production in freshwater areas is the second largest in Europe after rainbow trout. Common carp production in Europe was 146,845 t in 2004 (FAO Fishstat Plus 2006). Common carp production is concentrated mainly in Central and Eastern Europe. In Hungary, common carp has been traditionally cultured in earthen ponds since the late 19th century, following the sharp drop in catches from natural waters, due to the regulation of main river systems. Different production technologies and unintentional selection methods resulted in a wide variety of this species. Just before the intensification of rearing technology and the exchange of stocking materials among fish farms (early sixties), Îlandracesö of carp were collected from practically all Hungarian fish farms into a live gene bank at the Research Institute for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Irrigation (HAKI) at Szarvas (Bakos and Gorda 1995; Bakos and Gorda 2001). In order to provide highly productive hybrids for production purposes starting from 1964, different strains and crosses between Hungarian landraces were created and tested. During the last 40 years, approximately 150 two-, three-, and four-line hybrids were produced. While developing parental lines, methods of individual selection, inbreeding, backcrossing of lines, gynogenesis and sex reversal were used. This breeding program resulted in three outstanding hybrids: ÎSzarvas 215 mirrorö and ÎSzarvas P31 scalyö for pond production, and ÎSzarvas P34 scalyö for angling waters. Besides satisfying the needs of industry, the live gene bank helped to conserve the biological diversity of Hungarian carp landraces. Fifteen Hungarian carp landraces are still maintained today in the gene bank. Through exchange programs fifteen foreign carp strains were added to the collection from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Southeast Asia (Bakos and Gorda 2001). Besides developing the methodology to maintain live specimens in the gene bank, the National Carp Breeding Program has been initiated in cooperation with all the key stakeholders in Hungary, namely the National Association of Fish Producers (HOSZ), the National Institute for Agricultural Quality Control (OMMI), and the Research Institute for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Irrigation (HAKI). In addition, methodologies or technologies for broodstock management and carp performance testing have been developed. This National Carp Breeding Program is being implemented successfully since the mid-1990s.Biotechnology, Genetics, Food fish, Genetic drift, Genetic diversity, Aquatic animals, DNA, Selective breeding, Breeding success, Research programmes Cyprinus carpio
A latent green fluorescent styrylcoumarin probe for the selective growth and detection of Gram negative bacteria
A novel, green fluorescent ÎČ-alanylstyrylcoumarin derivative was synthesized and evaluated for its performance as a fluorogenic enzyme substrate on a range of clinically relevant microorganisms. The substrate was selectively hydrolysed by ÎČ-alanyl aminopeptidase producing P. aeruginosa resulting in an on-to-off fluorescent signal. Growth inhibitory effect of the substrate was observed on Gram positive bacteria and yeasts. Meanwhile, Gram negative species, despite their extremely protective cell envelope, showed ready uptake and accumulation of the substrate within their healthy growing colonies displaying intense green fluorescence.NHMR
Snapin mediates insulin secretory granule docking, but not trans-SNARE complex formation
Secretory granule exocytosis is a tightly regulated process requiring granule targeting, tethering, priming, and membrane fusion. At the heart of this process is the SNARE complex, which drives fusion through a coiled-coil zippering effect mediated by the granule v-SNARE protein, VAMP2, and the plasma membrane t-SNAREs, SNAP-25 and syntaxin-1A. Here we demonstrate that in pancreatic ÎČ-cells the SNAP-25 accessory protein, snapin, C-terminal H2 domain binds SNAP-25 through its Nterminal Sn-1 domain. Interestingly whilst snapin binds SNAP-25, there is only modest binding of this complex with syntaxin-1A under resting conditions. Instead synataxin-1A appears to be recruited in response to secretory stimulation. These results indicate that snapin plays a role in tethering insulin granules to the plasma membrane through coiled coil interaction of snapin with SNAP-25, with full granule fusion competency only resulting after subsequent syntaxin-1A recruitment triggered by secretory stimulation
An Exactly Conservative Integrator for the n-Body Problem
The two-dimensional n-body problem of classical mechanics is a non-integrable
Hamiltonian system for n > 2. Traditional numerical integration algorithms,
which are polynomials in the time step, typically lead to systematic drifts in
the computed value of the total energy and angular momentum. Even symplectic
integration schemes exactly conserve only an approximate Hamiltonian. We
present an algorithm that conserves the true Hamiltonian and the total angular
momentum to machine precision. It is derived by applying conventional
discretizations in a new space obtained by transformation of the dependent
variables. We develop the method first for the restricted circular three-body
problem, then for the general two-dimensional three-body problem, and finally
for the planar n-body problem. Jacobi coordinates are used to reduce the
two-dimensional n-body problem to an (n-1)-body problem that incorporates the
constant linear momentum and center of mass constraints. For a four-body
choreography, we find that a larger time step can be used with our conservative
algorithm than with symplectic and conventional integrators.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures; to appear in J. Phys. A.: Math. Ge
An Overview of the 13:8 Mean Motion Resonance between Venus and Earth
It is known since the seminal study of Laskar (1989) that the inner planetary
system is chaotic with respect to its orbits and even escapes are not
impossible, although in time scales of billions of years. The aim of this
investigation is to locate the orbits of Venus and Earth in phase space,
respectively to see how close their orbits are to chaotic motion which would
lead to unstable orbits for the inner planets on much shorter time scales.
Therefore we did numerical experiments in different dynamical models with
different initial conditions -- on one hand the couple Venus-Earth was set
close to different mean motion resonances (MMR), and on the other hand Venus'
orbital eccentricity (or inclination) was set to values as large as e = 0.36 (i
= 40deg). The couple Venus-Earth is almost exactly in the 13:8 mean motion
resonance. The stronger acting 8:5 MMR inside, and the 5:3 MMR outside the 13:8
resonance are within a small shift in the Earth's semimajor axis (only 1.5
percent). Especially Mercury is strongly affected by relatively small changes
in eccentricity and/or inclination of Venus in these resonances. Even escapes
for the innermost planet are possible which may happen quite rapidly.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, submitted to CMD
Dense core secretory vesicles revealed as a dynamic Ca2+ store in neuroendocrine cells with a vesicle-associated membrane protein aequorin chimaera
The role of dense core secretory vesicles in the control of cytosolic-free Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]c) in neuronal and neuroendocrine cells is enigmatic. By constructing a vesicle-associated membrane protein 2âsynaptobrevin.aequorin chimera, we show that in clonal pancreatic islet ÎČ-cells: (a) increases in [Ca2+]c cause a prompt increase in intravesicular-free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]SV), which is mediated by a P-type Ca2+-ATPase distinct from the sarco(endo) plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase, but which may be related to the PMR1/ATP2C1 family of Ca2+ pumps; (b) steady state Ca2+ concentrations are 3â5-fold lower in secretory vesicles than in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) or Golgi apparatus, suggesting the existence of tightly bound and more rapidly exchanging pools of Ca2+; (c) inositol (1,4,5) trisphosphate has no impact on [Ca2+]SV in intact or permeabilized cells; and (d) ryanodine receptor (RyR) activation with caffeine or 4-chloro-3-ethylphenol in intact cells, or cyclic ADPribose in permeabilized cells, causes a dramatic fall in [Ca2+]SV. Thus, secretory vesicles represent a dynamic Ca2+ store in neuroendocrine cells, whose characteristics are in part distinct from the ER/Golgi apparatus. The presence of RyRs on secretory vesicles suggests that local Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release from vesicles docked at the plasma membrane could participate in triggering exocytosis
La2010: A new orbital solution for the long term motion of the Earth
We present here a new solution for the astronomical computation of the
orbital motion of the Earth spanning from 0 to -250 Myr. The main improvement
with respect to the previous numerical solution La2004 (Laskar et al. 2004) is
an improved adjustment of the parameters and initial conditions through a fit
over 1 Myr to a special version of the high accurate numerical ephemeris
INPOP08 (Fienga et al. 2009). The precession equations have also been entirely
revised and are no longer averaged over the orbital motion of the Earth and
Moon. This new orbital solution is now valid over more than 50 Myr in the past
or in the future with proper phases of the eccentricity variations. Due to
chaotic behavior, the precision of the solution decreases rapidly beyond this
time span, and we discuss the behavior of various solutions beyond 50 Myr. For
paleoclimate calibrations, we provide several different solutions that are all
compatible with the most precise planetary ephemeris. We have thus reached the
time where geological data are now required to discriminate among planetary
orbital solutions beyond 50 Myr.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figure
Tissue transglutaminase (TG2) protects cardiomyocytes against ischemia/reperfusion injury by regulating ATP synthesis
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