Tri-axial accelerometers tease apart discrete behaviours in the common cuttlefish Sepia officinalis

Acceleration data loggers can be used to construct time-energy budgets or identify specific behaviours in free living animals. Within a marine context such devices have been largely deployed on vertebrates with comparatively little attention paid to commercially important invertebrates such as cephalopod molluscs. Here we tested the utility of tri-axial accelerometers to tease apart six discrete behaviours in the common cuttlefish Sepia officinalis. By considering depth profiles in conjunction with body pitch and roll and overall dynamic body acceleration we were able to make distinctions between resting at the seabed, active swimming, mating, post-coital panting and active manoeuvring along the seabed. © 2012 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

A study of the relationship between process conditions and mechanical strength of mineralized red algae in the preparation of a marine-derived bone void filler

Bone void fillers that can enhance biological function to augment skeletal repair have significant therapeutic potential in bone replacement surgery. This work focuses on the development of a unique microporous (0.5-10 mu m) marine-derived calcium phosphate bioceramic granule. It was prepared fro Corallina officinalis, a mineralized red alga, using a novel manufacturing process. This involved thermal processing, followed by a low pressure-temperature chemical synthesis reaction. The study found that the ability to maintain the unique algal morphology was dependent on the thermal processing conditions. This study investigates the effect of thermal heat treatment on the physiochemical properties of the alga. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to monitor its thermal decomposition. The resultant thermograms indicated the presence of a residual organic phase at temperatures below 500 degrees C and an irreversible solid-state phase transition from mg-rich-calcite to calcium oxide at temperatures over 850 degrees C. Algae and synthetic calcite were evaluated following heat treatment in an air-circulating furance at temperatures ranging from 400 to 800 degrees C. The highest levels of mass loss occurred between 400-500 degrees C and 700-800 degrees C, which were attributed to the organic and carbonate decomposition respectively. The changes in mechanical strength were quantified using a simple mechanical test, which measured the bulk compressive strength of the algae. The mechanical test used may provide a useful evaluation of the compressive properties of similar bone void fillers that are in granular form. The study concluded that soak temperatures in the range of 600 to 700 degrees C provided the optimum physiochemical properties as a precursor to conversion to hydroxyapatite (HA). At these temperatures, a partial phase transition to calcium oxide occurred and the original skeletal morphology of the alga remained intact.

Benzylguanidines and Other Galegine Analogues Inducing Weight Loss in Mice

Dimethylallylguanidine, also known as galegine, isolated from Galega officinalis, has been shown to have weight reducing properties in vivo. Substitution of the guanidine group with an N-cyano group and replacement of guanidine with amidine, pyrimidine, pyridine, or the imidazole moieties removed the weight reducing properties when evaluated in BALB/c mice. However, retention of the guanidine and replacement of the dimethylallyl group by a series of functionalized benzyl substituents was shown to exhibit, and in some cases significantly improve, the weight reducing properties of these molecules in BALB/c, ob/ob, and diet induced obesity (DIO) mice models. The lead compound identified, across all models, was 1-(4-chlorobenzyl)guanidine hemisulfate, which gave an average daily weight difference (% from time-matched controls; +/- SEM) of -19.7 +/- 1.0, -11.0 +/- 0.7, and -7.3 +/- 0.8 in BALB/c, ob/ob, and DIO models, respectively.

Mechanisms underlying the metabolic actions of galegine that contribute to weight loss in mice

Background and purpose: Galegine and guanidine, originally isolated from Galega officinalis, led to the development of the biguanides. The weight-reducing effects of galegine have not previously been studied and the present investigation was undertaken to determine its mechanism(s) of action.

Experimental approach: Body weight and food intake were examined in mice. Glucose uptake and acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity were studied in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and L6 myotubes and AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity was examined in cell lines. The gene expression of some enzymes involved in fat metabolism was examined in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Key results: Galegine administered in the diet reduced body weight in mice. Pair-feeding indicated that at least part of this effect was independent of reduced food intake. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes and L6 myotubes, galegine (50 µm-3 mm) stimulated glucose uptake. Galegine (1–300 µm) also reduced isoprenaline-mediated lipolysis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and inhibited acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and L6 myotubes. Galegine (500 µm) down-regulated genes concerned with fatty acid synthesis, including fatty acid synthase and its upstream regulator SREBP. Galegine (10 µm and above) produced a concentration-dependent activation of AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK) in H4IIE rat hepatoma, HEK293 human kidney cells, 3T3-L1 adipocytes and L6 myotubes.

Conclusions and implications: Activation of AMPK can explain many of the effects of galegine, including enhanced glucose uptake and inhibition of acetyl-CoA carboxylase. Inhibition of acetyl-CoA carboxylase both inhibits fatty acid synthesis and stimulates fatty acid oxidation, and this may to contribute to the in vivo effect of galegine on body weight.

NMR analysis of Nile Blue (C I Basic Blue 12) and Thionine (C I 52000) in solution

The dyes Nile Blue (C I Basic Blue 12) and Thionine (C I 52000) were examined in both ionic and neutral forms in different solvents using NMR and UV-visible spectroscopy to firmly establish the structures of the molecules and to assess the nature and extent of their aggregation H-1 and C-13 NMR assignments and chemical shift data were used together with nuclear Overhauser effect information to propose a self-assembly structure These data were supplemented with variable temperature dilution and diffusion-based experimental results using H-1 NMR spectroscopy thereby enabling extended aggregate structures to be assessed in terms of the relative strength of self-association and the extent to which extended aggregates could form (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

Comparative growth rates and internal banding periodicity of maerl species (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) from northern Europe

Maerl is a type of rhodolith, found in ecologically important beds of high conservation value; a major conservation objective is to establish growth rates. Maerl shows internal banding of controversial periodicity that may contain a high-resolution record of palaeoceanographic-palaeoclimatic data. To investigate growth rates and banding periodicity, we used the vital stain Alizarin Red in combination with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Three maerl species, Phymatolithon calcareum, Lithothamnion corallioides and L. glaciale, were collected from maerl beds in Ireland. Following staining, maerl was grown in three controlled temperature treatments and at two depths in the field (P. calcareum only), with Corallina officinalis as a control for the stain. Alizarin Red was shown to be a suitable marker for growth in European maerl species and for C. officinalis. The average tip growth rate of P. calcareum from Northern Ireland at 10 m depth and under constant laboratory conditions was c. 0.9 mm yr(-1), double the rates observed at 5 m depth and in L. corallioides. Our measurements and re-examination of reported data allow us to conclude that the three most abundant maerl species in Europe grow about 1 (0.5-1.5) mm per tip per year under a wide range of field and artificial conditions. Internal banding in temperate European maerl revealed by SEM is a result of regular changes in wall thickness; the approximately monthly periodicity of bands in field-grown specimens is consistent with previous suggestions that they may be lunar. The potential for maerl banding to be a high-resolution record of palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental change could be realized with this vital stain in conjunction with isotopic or microgeochemical analyses.

Climate change response in Europe: What's the reality? Analysis of adaptation and mitigation plans from 200 urban areas in 11 countries

Urban areas are pivotal to global adaptation and mitigation efforts. But how do cities actually perform in terms of climate change response? This study sheds light on the state of urban climate change adaptation and mitigation planning across Europe. Europe is an excellent test case given its advanced environmental policies and high urbanization. We performed a detailed analysis of 200 large and medium-sized cities across 11 European countries and analysed the cities' climate change adaptation and mitigation plans. We investigate the regional distribution of plans, adaptation and mitigation foci and the extent to which planned greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions contribute to national and international climate objectives. To our knowledge, it is the first study of its kind as it does not rely on self-assessment (questionnaires or social surveys). Our results show that 35 % of European cities studied have no dedicated mitigation plan and 72 % have no adaptation plan. No city has an adaptation plan without a mitigation plan. One quarter of the cities have both an adaptation and a mitigation plan and set quantitative GHG reduction targets, but those vary extensively in scope and ambition. Furthermore, we show that if the planned actions within cities are nationally representative the 11 countries investigated would achieve a 37 % reduction in GHG emissions by 2050, translating into a 27 % reduction in GHG emissions for the EU as a whole. However, the actions would often be insufficient to reach national targets and fall short of the 80 % reduction in GHG emissions recommended to avoid global mean temperature rising by 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.