Using a Modified Purse Seine to Collect and Monitor Estuarine Fishes

We developed a modified purse seine to sample shallow water estuarine habitats and evaluated the efficacy of using this gear as a tool for monitoring estuarine fish populations in Tampa Bay, Florida. The purse seine (183-m long, 5.2 m deep and 50-mm stretch mesh nylon throughout) was easily deployed and retrieved by a 7 m flat-bottomed, bow-driven boat with a hydraulic wench and aluminum pursing davit. Retention rates of pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) marked and released into 35 net sets averaged 49% (range 9-100%). Retention rates were not significantly influenced by sets over vegetated and unvegetated bottom types, various water depths from 1-3.3m and sets with and without bycatch. We then used the modified purse seine to sample fishes at 550 randomly selected sites in Tampa Bay from January 1997 to December 1998. Sampled habitats ranged from 1.0 to 3.3 m deep and included seagrass beds and non-vegetated sand or mud bottoms. Benthic, demersal, and pelagic fishes were captured, indicating the purse seine effectively sampled the entire water column. A wide size range of fishes was collected including pre-recruitment sizes of several economically important species. The ability of purse seines to fish independent of adjacent shorelines allowed us to sample nearshore waters that included large expanses of sea grass meadow

Evidence Report: Risk of Decompression Sickness (DCS)

The Risk of Decompression Sickness (DCS) is identified by the NASA Human Research Program (HRP) as a recognized risk to human health and performance in space, as defined in the HRP Program Requirements Document (PRD). This Evidence Report provides a summary of the evidence that has been used to identify and characterize this risk. Given that tissue inert gas partial pressure is often greater than ambient pressure during phases of a mission, primarily during extravehicular activity (EVA), there is a possibility that decompression sickness may occur

Probabilistic Assessment of Hypobaric Decompression Sickness Treatment Success

The Hypobaric Decompression Sickness (DCS) Treatment Model links a decrease in computed bubble volume from increased pressure (DeltaP), increased oxygen (O2) partial pressure, and passage of time during treatment to the probability of symptom resolution [P(symptom resolution)]. The decrease in offending volume is realized in 2 stages: a) during compression via Boyle's Law and b) during subsequent dissolution of the gas phase via the O2 window. We established an empirical model for the P(symptom resolution) while accounting for multiple symptoms within subjects. The data consisted of 154 cases of hypobaric DCS symptoms along with ancillary information from tests on 56 men and 18 women. Our best estimated model is P(symptom resolution) = 1 / (1+exp(-(ln(Delta P) - 1.510 + 0.795AMB - 0.00308Ts) / 0.478)), where (DeltaP) is pressure difference (psid), AMB = 1 if ambulation took place during part of the altitude exposure, otherwise AMB = 0; and where Ts is the elapsed time in mins from start of the altitude exposure to recognition of a DCS symptom. To apply this model in future scenarios, values of DeltaP as inputs to the model would be calculated from the Tissue Bubble Dynamics Model based on the effective treatment pressure: (DeltaP) = P2 - P1 | = P1V1/V2 - P1, where V1 is the computed volume of a spherical bubble in a unit volume of tissue at low pressure P1 and V2 is computed volume after a change to a higher pressure P2. If 100% ground level O2 (GLO) was breathed in place of air, then V2 continues to decrease through time at P2 at a faster rate. This calculated value of (DeltaP then represents the effective treatment pressure at any point in time. Simulation of a "pain-only" symptom at 203 min into an ambulatory extravehicular activity (EVA) at 4.3 psia on Mars resulted in a P(symptom resolution) of 0.49 (0.36 to 0.62 95% confidence intervals) on immediate return to 8.2 psia in the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle. The P(symptom resolution) increased to near certainty (0.99) after 2 hrs of GLO at 8.2 psia or with less certainty on immediate pressurization to 14.7 psia [0.90 (0.83 - 0.95)]. Given the low probability of DCS during EVA and the prompt treatment of a symptom with guidance from the model, it is likely that the symptom and gas phase will resolve with minimum resources and minimal impact on astronaut health, safety, and productivity

Antibodies targeting epitopes on the cell-surface form of NS1 protect against Zika virus infection during pregnancy

Zika virus is an arthropod-transmitted flavivirus that can cause microcephaly and other fetal abnormalities during pregnancy. Here Wessel et al. develop antibodies against the Zika virus nonstructural protein 1 that protect non-pregnant and pregnant mice against infection, and define particular antibody epitopes and mechanisms underlying this protection

A functional genomic and proteomic perspective of sea urchin calcium signaling and egg activation

AbstractThe sea urchin egg has a rich history of contributions to our understanding of fundamental questions of egg activation at fertilization. Within seconds of sperm–egg interaction, calcium is released from the egg endoplasmic reticulum, launching the zygote into the mitotic cell cycle and the developmental program. The sequence of the Strongylocentrotus purpuratus genome offers unique opportunities to apply functional genomic and proteomic approaches to investigate the repertoire and regulation of Ca2+ signaling and homeostasis modules present in the egg and zygote. The sea urchin “calcium toolkit” as predicted by the genome is described. Emphasis is on the Ca2+ signaling modules operating during egg activation, but the Ca2+ signaling repertoire has ramifications for later developmental events and adult physiology as well. Presented here are the mechanisms that control the initial release of Ca2+ at fertilization and additional signaling components predicted by the genome and found to be expressed and operating in eggs at fertilization. The initial release of Ca2+ serves to coordinate egg activation, which is largely a phenomenon of post-translational modifications, especially dynamic protein phosphorylation. Functional proteomics can now be used to identify the phosphoproteome in general and specific kinase targets in particular. This approach is described along with findings to date. Key outstanding questions regarding the activation of the developmental program are framed in the context of what has been learned from the genome and how this knowledge can be applied to functional studies

Refining the accuracy of validated target identification through coding variant fine-mapping in type 2 diabetes.

We aggregated coding variant data for 81,412 type 2 diabetes cases and 370,832 controls of diverse ancestry, identifying 40 coding variant association signals (P < 2.2 × 10-7); of these, 16 map outside known risk-associated loci. We make two important observations. First, only five of these signals are driven by low-frequency variants: even for these, effect sizes are modest (odds ratio ≤1.29). Second, when we used large-scale genome-wide association data to fine-map the associated variants in their regional context, accounting for the global enrichment of complex trait associations in coding sequence, compelling evidence for coding variant causality was obtained for only 16 signals. At 13 others, the associated coding variants clearly represent 'false leads' with potential to generate erroneous mechanistic inference. Coding variant associations offer a direct route to biological insight for complex diseases and identification of validated therapeutic targets; however, appropriate mechanistic inference requires careful specification of their causal contribution to disease predisposition