Potential Spawning Strategy and Fecundity of Alabama Shad (Alosa alabamae) from the Apalachicola River, Florida

Alabama shad (Alosa alabamae), classified as a Species of Concern by the National Marine Fisheries Service, are native to the northern Gulf of Mexico drainages. Our study estimated the fecundity of 39 female Alabama shad from the Apalachicola River, Florida. Individuals ranged in age from 2-4 years with an average weight of 729 g. Samples (1 g) were cut from the center of each ovary, and oocytes present were counted. Diameters of 50 randomly-sampled oocytes were measured per sample. Oocyte diameters ranged from 0.3-2.7 mm, with a mode of 1.5 mm. The unimodal oocyte diameter percent frequency distribution suggests that Alabama shad spawn multiple times in a spawning season. Total mean ovary weight was 67.88 ± 25.90 (s.d.) g/individual, with average annual fecundity estimated to be 79,420 ± 26,896 (s.d.) oocytes/individual. Our results were consistent with previous Alabama shad fecundity studies out of the Apalachicola River

A hybrid strain and thermal energy harvester based on an infra-red sensitive Er3+ modified poly(vinylidene fluoride) ferroelectret structure

In this paper, a novel infra-red (IR) sensitive Er3+ modified poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) (Er-PVDF) film is developed for converting both mechanical and thermal energies into useful electrical power. The addition of Er3+ to PVDF is shown to improve piezoelectric properties due to the formation of a self-polarized ferroelectric β-phase and the creation of an electret-like porous structure. In addition, we demonstrate that Er3+ acts to enhance heat transfer into the Er-PVDF film due to its excellent infrared absorbance, which, leads to rapid and large temperature fluctuations and improved pyroelectric energy transformation. We demonstrate the potential of this novel material for mechanical energy harvesting by creating a durable ferroelectret energy harvester/nanogenerator (FTNG). The high thermal stability of the β-phase enables the FTNG to harvest large temperature fluctuations (ΔT ~ 24 K). Moreover, the superior mechanosensitivity, SM ~ 3.4 VPa−1 of the FTNG enables the design of a wearable self-powered health-care monitoring system by human-machine integration. The combination of rare-earth ion, Er3+ with the ferroelectricity of PVDF provides a new and robust approach for delivering smart materials and structures for self-powered wireless technologies, sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) devices

Middle and Late Pleistocene environmental history of the Marsworth area, south-central England

To elucidate the Middle and Late Pleistocene environmental history of south-central England, we report the stratigraphy, sedimentology, palaeoecology and geochronology of some deposits near the foot of the Chiltern Hills scarp at Marsworth, Buckinghamshire. The Marsworth site is important because its sedimentary sequences contain a rich record of warm stages and cold stages, and it lies close to the Anglian glacial limit. Critical to its history are the origin and age of a brown pebbly silty clay (diamicton) previously interpreted as weathered till. The deposits described infill a river channel incised into chalk bedrock. They comprise clayey, silty and gravelly sediments, many containing locally derived chalk and some with molluscan, ostracod and vertebrate remains. Most of the deposits are readily attributed to periglacial and fluvial processes, and some are dated by optically stimulated luminescence to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6. Although our sedimentological data do not discriminate between a glacial or periglacial interpretation of the diamicton, amino-acid dating of three molluscan taxa from beneath it indicates that it is younger than MIS 9 and older than MIS 5e. This makes a glacial interpretation unlikely, and we interpret the diamicton as a periglacial slope deposit. The Pleistocene history reconstructed for Marsworth identifies four key elements: (1) Anglian glaciation during MIS 12 closely approached Marsworth, introducing far-travelled pebbles such as Rhaxella chert and possibly some fine sand minerals into the area. (2) Interglacial environments inferred from fluvial sediments during MIS 7 varied from fully interglacial conditions during sub-stages 7e and 7c, cool temperate conditions during sub-stage 7b or 7a, temperate conditions similar to those today in central England towards the end of the interglacial, and cool temperate conditions during sub-stage 7a. (3) Periglacial activity during MIS 6 involved thermal contraction cracking, permafrost development, fracturing of chalk bedrock, fluvial activity, slopewash, mass movement and deposition of loess and coversand. (4) Fully interglacial conditions during sub-stage 5e led to renewed fluvial activity, soil formation and acidic weathering

A Multilevel Analysis of Implicit and Explicit CSR in French and UK Professional Sport

Research question: This paper examines the ways in which French and UK professional sports clubs implement and communicate their CSR policies. In addition to identifying similarities and differences between CSR practices in the two countries, our analysis extends and adapts the implicit-explicit CSR framework to the field of sport. Research methods: We used a mixed methods approach to analyse qualitative and quantitative data on the CSR strategies of 66 professional rugby union (Top 14, Aviva Premiership Rugby) and football (Ligue 1, Premier League) clubs over the 2017-2018 season. Results and findings: We found major differences in CSR communication between France and the UK. Communication by French clubs tends to highlight sport’s values, involve few media channels, whereas communication by UK clubs explicitly vaunts their social responsibility and involves numerous channels. In the case of CSR implementation, there are similarities between French and UK clubs, especially in the fields their CSR initiatives cover (e.g., health, diversity), as well as differences. However, the scope of initiatives varies more between sports than between countries, with football demonstrating a more international outlook than rugby. Implications: This article expands Matten and Moon’s (2008) implicit-explicit CSR framework by identifying the influence of interactions between sectorial/field-level factors and national/macro-level factors on CSR practices, and by distinguishing between CSR communication and CSR implementation. Our results throw light on the shift from implicit to explicit CSR in French professional sport

Pathways between childhood victimization and psychosis-like symptoms in the ALSPAC Birth Cohort

Background: Several large population-based studies have demonstrated associations between adverse childhood experiences and later development of psychotic symptoms. However, little attention has been paid to the mechanisms involved in this pathway and the few existing studies have relied on cross-sectional assessments. Methods: Prospective data on 6692 children from the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were used to address this issue. Mothers reported on children’s exposure to harsh parenting and domestic violence in early childhood, and children self-reported on bullying victimization prior to 8.5 years. Presence of children’s anxiety at 10 years and their depressive symptoms at 9 and 11 years were ascertained from mothers, and children completed assessments of self-esteem and locus of control at 8.5 years. Children were interviewed regarding psychotic symptoms at a mean age of 12.9 years. Multiple mediation analysis was performed to examine direct and indirect effects of each childhood adversity on psychotic symptoms. Results: The association between harsh parenting and psychotic symptoms was fully mediated by anxiety, depressive symptoms, external locus of control, and low self-esteem. Bullying victimization and exposure to domestic violence had their associations with psychotic symptoms partially mediated by anxiety, depression, locus of control, and self-esteem. Similar results were obtained following adjustment for a range of confounders and when analyses were conducted for boys and girls separately. Conclusions: These findings tentatively suggest that specific cognitive and affective difficulties in childhood could be targeted to minimize the likelihood of adolescents exposed to early trauma from developing psychotic symptoms

Alligators as West Nile Virus Amplifiers

Recent evidence suggests that American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) may be capable of transmitting West Nile virus (WNV) to other alligators. We experimentally exposed 24 juvenile alligators to WNV parenterally or orally. All became infected, and all but three sustained viremia titers \u3e5.0 log10 PFU/mL (a threshold considered infectious for Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes) for 1 to 8 days. Noninoculated tankmates also became infected. The viremia profiles and multiple routes of infection suggest alligators may play an important role in WNV transmission in areas with high population densities of juvenile alligators

A structural and biochemical model of processive chitin synthesis

Chitin synthases (CHS) produce chitin, an essential component of the fungal cell wall. The molecular mechanism of processive chitin synthesis is not understood, limiting the discovery of new inhibitors of this enzyme class. We identified the bacterial glycosyltransferase NodC as an appropriate model system to study the general structure and reaction mechanism of CHS. A high throughput screening-compatible novel assay demonstrates that a known inhibitor of fungal CHS also inhibit NodC. A structural model of NodC, on the basis of the recently published BcsA cellulose synthase structure, enabled probing of the catalytic mechanism by mutagenesis, demonstrating the essential roles of the DD and QXXRW catalytic motifs. The NodC membrane topology was mapped, validating the structural model. Together, these approaches give insight into the CHS structure and mechanism and provide a platform for the discovery of inhibitors for this antifungal target

The effect of dietary calcium inclusion on broiler gastrointestinal pH: quantification and method optimization

There is little consensus as to the most appropriate methodology for the measurement of gastrointestinal pH in chickens. An experiment was conducted to establish the optimum sampling method for the determination of broiler digesta pH in birds fed differing levels of dietary calcium. Ross 308 broilers (n = 60) were fed one of two experimental diets, one containing 0.8% monocalcium phosphate and 2% limestone and one containing 0.4% monocalcium phosphate and 1% limestone. Four factors were investigated to determine the most appropriate method of measuring broiler gastrointestinal digesta pH: removal from the tract, prolonged air exposure, altering the temperature of the assay, and controlling the water content of the digesta. The conditions were assessed at bird ages from 7 to 42 d post hatch. Dietary Ca content had no significant effect on in situ pH, but it contributed towards variance in ex situ pH of both gizzard and duodenum digesta