Molecular and Embryologic Analyses of the ER stress Regulator CHOP/GADD153 and its Response to Glucose Levels in Zebrafish Embryos

Type 1 and Type 2 diabetic patients experience prolonged hyperglycemia punctuated by short episodes of hypoglycemia. These patients develop diabetic complications, which involves loss of normal tissue function. Cell death via the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathway in response to nutrient availability is a potential mechanism underlying these complications. To understand glucose\u27s role in ER stress in vivo, we induced hypo- and hyper-glycemia in zebrafish embryos, and analyzed normal development and CHOP/GADD153 expression, a major component of ER stress signaling

Pool Safety and Technology

Much has been much done to prevent unintentional drownings in swimming pools, especially for children. However it still remains a significant problem today. Working in coordination with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), we researched aspects of the problem, focusing primarily on the contribution of technology and then developed concepts to help alleviate the problem. We made recommendations to the CPSC on how to further develop the Submersion Prevention Effectiveness Rating system and the Submersion Prevention System concepts we created

Humpback whale abundance in the North Pacific estimated by photographic capture-recapture with bias correction from simulation studies

We estimated the abundance of humpback whales in the North Pacific by capture recapture methods using over 18,000 fluke identification photographs collected in 2004–2006. Our best estimate of abundance was 21,808 (CV=0.04). We estimated the biases in this value using a simulation model. Births and deaths, which violate the assumption of a closed population, resulted in a bias of +5.2%, exclusion of calves in samples resulted in a bias of−10.5%, failure to achieve random geographic sampling resulted in a bias of −0.4%, and missed matches resulted in a bias of +9.3%. Known sex-biased sampling favoring males in breeding areas did not add significant bias if both sexes are proportionately sampled in the feeding areas. Our best estimate of abundance was 21,063 after accounting for a net bias of +3.5%. This estimate is likely to be lower than the true abundance due to two additional sources of bias: individual heterogeneity in the probability of being sampled (unquantified) and the likely existence of an unknown and unsampled breeding area (−8.7%). Results confirm that the overall humpback whale population in the North Pacific has continued to increase and is now greater than some prior estimates of prewhaling abundance

BakerCScottFisheriesWildlifeStrongMaternalFidelitySupplementaryMaterial.pdf

We quantified the relative influence of maternal fidelity to feeding grounds and natal fidelity to breeding grounds on the population structure of humpback whales Megaptera novae-angliae based on an ocean-wide survey of mitochondrial (mt) DNA diversity in the North Pacific. For 2193 biopsy samples collected from whales in 10 feeding regions and 8 breeding regions during the winter and summer of 2004 to 2006, we first used microsatellite genotyping (average, 9.5 loci) to identify replicate samples. From sequences of the mtDNA control region (500 bp) we identified 28 unique haplotypes from 30 variable sites. Haplotype frequencies differed markedly among feeding regions (overall F[subscript ST] = 0.121, Φ[subscript ST] = 0.178, p < 0.0001), supporting previous evidence of strong maternal fidelity. Haplotype frequencies also differed markedly among breeding regions (overall F[subscript ST] = 0.093, Φ[subscript ST] = 0.106, p < 0.0001), providing evidence of strong natal fidelity. Although sex-biased dispersal was not evident, differentiation of microsatellite allele frequencies was weak compared to differentiation of mtDNA haplotypes, suggesting male-biased gene flow. Feeding and breeding regions showed significant differences in haplotype frequencies, even for regions known to be strongly connected by patterns of individual migration. Thus, the influence of migratory fidelity seems to operate somewhat independently on feeding and breeding grounds over an evolutionary time scale. This results in a complex population structure and the potential to define multiple units to conserve in either seasonal habitat.Keywords: Migration, Genetic management units, Microsatellite genotypes, mtDN