Impact of ocean acidification and warming on the larval development of the spider crab Hyas araneus from different latitudes (54° vs 79°N), 2010

The combined impacts of future scenarios of ocean acidification and global warming on the larvae of a cold-eurythermal spider crab, Hyas araneus L., were investigated in one of its southernmost populations (living around Helgoland, southern North Sea, 54°N) and one of the northernmost populations (Svalbard, North Atlantic, 79°N). Larvae were exposed at temperatures of 3, 9 and 15°C to present day normocapnia (380 ppm CO2) and to CO2 conditions expected for the near or medium-term future (710 ppm by 2100 and 3000 ppm CO2 by 2300 and beyond). Larval development time and biochemical composition were studied in the larval stages Zoea I, II, and Megalopa. Permanent differences in instar duration between both populations were detected in all stages, likely as a result of evolutionary temperature adaptation. With the exception of Zoea II at 3°C and under all CO2 conditions, development in all instars from Svalbard was delayed compared to those from Helgoland, under all conditions. Most prominently, development was much longer and fewer specimens morphosed to the first crab instar in the Megalopa from Svalbard than from Helgoland. Enhanced CO2 levels (710 and particularly 3000 ppm), caused extended duration of larval development and reduced larval growth (measured as dry mass) and fitness (decreasing C/N ratio, a proxy of the lipid content). Such effects were strongest in the zoeal stages in Svalbard larvae, and during the Megalopa instar in Helgoland larvae.

Seawater carbonate chemistry and biological processes during experiments with spider crab Hyas araneus, 2009

Future scenarios for the oceans project combined developments of CO2 accumulation and global warming and their impact on marine ecosystems. The synergistic impact of both factors was addressed by studying the effect of elevated CO2 concentrations on thermal tolerance of the cold-eurythermal spider crab Hyas araneus from the population around Helgoland. Here ambient temperatures characterize the southernmost distribution limit of this species. Animals were exposed to present day normocapnia (380 ppm CO2), CO2 levels expected towards 2100 (710 ppm) and beyond (3000 ppm). Heart rate and haemolymph PO2 (PeO2) were measured during progressive short term cooling from 10 to 0°C and during warming from 10 to 25°C. An increase of PeO2 occurred during cooling, the highest values being reached at 0°C under all three CO2 levels. Heart rate increased during warming until a critical temperature (Tc) was reached. The putative Tc under normocapnia was presumably >25°C, from where it fell to 23.5°C under 710 ppm and then 21.1°C under 3000 ppm. At the same time, thermal sensitivity, as seen in the Q10 values of heart rate, rose with increasing CO2concentration in the warmth. Our results suggest a narrowing of the thermal window of Hyas araneus under moderate increases in CO2 levels by exacerbation of the heat or cold induced oxygen and capacity limitation of thermal tolerance.

Erection induced by Tx2-6 toxin of Phoneutria nigriventer spider: expression profile of genes in the nitric oxide pathway of penile tissue of mice

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Artificial Skin - Culturing of Different Skin Cell Lines for Generating an Artificial Skin Substitute on Cross-Weaved Spider Silk Fibres

Background: In the field of Plastic Reconstructive Surgery the development of new innovative matrices for skin repair is in urgent need. The ideal biomaterial should promote attachment, proliferation and growth of cells. Additionally, it should degrade in an appropriate time period without releasing harmful substances, but not exert a pathological immune response. Spider dragline silk from Nephila spp meets these demands to a large extent. Methodology/Principal Findings: Native spider dragline silk, harvested directly out of Nephila spp spiders, was woven on steel frames. Constructs were sterilized and seeded with fibroblasts. After two weeks of cultivating single fibroblasts, keratinocytes were added to generate a bilayered skin model, consisting of dermis and epidermis equivalents. For the next three weeks, constructs in co-culture were lifted on an originally designed setup for air/liquid interface cultivation. After the culturing period, constructs were embedded in paraffin with an especially developed program for spidersilk to avoid supercontraction. Paraffin cross-sections were stained in Haematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) for microscopic analyses. Conclusion/Significance: Native spider dragline silk woven on steel frames provides a suitable matrix for 3 dimensional skin cell culturing. Both fibroblasts and keratinocytes cell lines adhere to the spider silk fibres and proliferate. Guided by the spider silk fibres, they sprout into the meshes and reach confluence in at most one week. A well-balanced, bilayered cocultivation in two continuously separated strata can be achieved by serum reduction, changing the medium conditions and the cultivation period at the air/liquid interphase. Therefore spider silk appears to be a promising biomaterial for the enhancement of skin regeneration.

Interactions between Spider Silk and Cells - NIH/3T3 Fibroblasts Seeded on Miniature Weaving Frames

Background: Several materials have been used for tissue engineering purposes, since the ideal matrix depends on the desired tissue. Silk biomaterials have come to focus due to their great mechanical properties. As untreated silkworm silk has been found to be quite immunogenic, an alternative could be spider silk. Not only does it own unique mechanical properties, its biocompatibility has been shown already in vivo. In our study, we used native spider dragline silk which is known as the strongest fibre in nature. Methodology/Principal Findings: Steel frames were originally designed and manufactured and woven with spider silk, harvesting dragline silk directly out of the animal. After sterilization, scaffolds were seeded with fibroblasts to analyse cell proliferation and adhesion. Analysis of cell morphology and actin filament alignment clearly revealed adherence. Proliferation was measured by cell count as well as determination of relative fluorescence each after 1, 2, 3, and 5 days. Cell counts for native spider silk were also compared with those for trypsin-digested spider silk. Spider silk specimens displayed less proliferation than collagen-and fibronectin-coated cover slips, enzymatic treatment reduced adhesion and proliferation rates tendentially though not significantly. Nevertheless, proliferation could be proven with high significance (p<0.01). Conclusion/Significance: Native spider silk does not require any modification to its application as a biomaterial that can rival any artificial material in terms of cell growth promoting properties. We could show adhesion mechanics on intracellular level. Additionally, proliferation kinetics were higher than in enzymatically digested controls, indicating that spider silk does not require modification. Recent findings concerning reduction of cell proliferation after exposure could not be met. As biotechnological production of the hierarchical composition of native spider silk fibres is still a challenge, our study has a pioneer role in researching cellular mechanics on native spider silk fibres.

Part of "Widows Mite" lying in the co. of Washington D.C. ; The above 2 plats represent two separate parts of that portion of a tract of land called Josephs Park, lying in Montg. Co. Md. /

Both tracts border on Rock Creek.

Infestation rates of the pedunculated barnacle Octolasmis lowei (Cirripedia: Poecilasmatidae) on the spider crab Libinia spinosa (Decapoda: Majoidea)

The prevalence and infestation intensities of Octolasmis lowei in the bronchial chambers of Libinia spinosa were evaluated according to the host's sex, size, and moult condition. Epibionts were classified as cyprid larvae, non-ovigerous or ovigerous according to their developmental stage. A median intensity of infestation of 21 epibionts/host was found (range = 1-644; Q(3) = 81). Epibiont prevalence values (88%) were higher on ovigerous female hosts than on males (55%) or on non-ovigerous females (31%). Intensity of infestation was positively correlated with host size in both sexes for non-ovigerous and ovigerous epibionts. No preference between host sex by cyprid larvae was observed, nor any correlation between cyprid abundance and host size. Cyprid larvae abundance was positively correlated with settled epibionts on both host sexes. The duration of the intermoult phase was the main factor linked to the establishment of sessile epibionts. These observations are important in relation to crabs that have a terminal moult, because these animals cannot eliminate their epibionts in future moults, thus increasing the importance of density-dependent mechanisms on epibiont establishment; in that way, prevalence of infestation alone can underestimate the real impact of infestation on the host's life cycle.

Amblyseius largoensis in controlling red palm mite under semi-field conditions.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of two Amblyseius largoensis (Acari:Phytoseiidae) populations in controlling Raoiella indica (Acari: Tenuipalpidae). The treatments were: release of A. largoensis from the island of La Réunion; release of A. largoensis from the state of Roraima, Brazil; and a control, without predator release. Initially, 20 predators were released per plant; three other releases were done at a rate of ten adults per plant, at 46, 135, and 156 days after the first release. The population densities were estimated every 20 days, during six months. Both A. largoensis populations evaluated are not sufficiently efficient to control the R. indica population.

Estimated crop loss due to coconut mite and financial analysis of controlling the pest using the acaricide abamectin.

Reducing the losses caused by Aceria guerreronis Keifer has been an arduous task for farmers. However, there are no detailed studies on losses that simultaneously analyse correlated parameters, and very few studies that address the economic viability of chemical control, the main strategy for managing this pest. In this study the objectives were (1) to estimate the crop loss due to coconut mite and (2) to perform a financial analysis of acaricide application to control the pest. For this, the following parameters were evaluated: number and weight of fruits, liquid albumen volume, and market destination of plants with and without monthly abamectin spraying (three harvests). The costs involved in the chemical control of A. guerreronis were also quantified. Higher A. guerreronis incidence on plants resulted in a 60 % decrease in the mean number of fruits harvested per bunch and a 28 % decrease in liquid albumen volume. Mean fruit weight remained unaffected. The market destination of the harvested fruit was also affected by higher A. guerreronis incidence. Untreated plants, with higher A. guerreronis infestation intensity, produced a lower proportion of fruit intended for fresh market and higher proportions of non-marketable fruit and fruit intended for industrial processing. Despite the costs involved in controlling A. guerreronis, the difference between the profit from the treated site and the untreated site was 18,123.50 Brazilian Real; this value represents 69.1 % higher profit at the treated site. Keywords

Review : "The Square" -- Nash Edgerton

Synopsis and review of the Australian crime film The Square (Nash Edgerton, 2009). Includes cast and credits. The Square is the feature film debut of director Nash Edgerton, well-known in Australian film circles not only for his award-winning music videos and short films Deadline (first prize winner at Tropfest in 1997) and Spider, but also for his work as an actor, editor, producer, writer and stuntman on countless Australian films and television programs. The film was co-written by Edgerton’s regular partner and brother Joel, who also plays the arsonist Billy. Joel is familiar to Australian and international audiences for his television work in The Secret Life of Us as well as numerous film roles...

Scrub typhus in mainland China, 2006–2012 : the need for targeted public health interventions

Scrub typhus is a vector-borne disease carried by the chigger mite. The aetiological agent is the rickettsia Orientia tsutsugamushi, which is endemic to several countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including China [1]. It is also a travel-associated disease [2] and of great importance among military personnel [3], [4]. During the Second World War, scrub typhus was associated with a higher case fatality ratio than any other infectious disease in the China-Burma-India theatre of operations 1,3. Clinical presentation in patients varies from asymptomatic to life-threatening disease [5], including acute hearing loss and multiple organ failure [6], [7]. To date, there is still no effective and reliable human vaccine against scrub typhus and no point-of-care diagnostics available [1].

Variation in the abundance of ectoparasitic mites of flat-headed bats

We investigated the ectoparasitic mite loads (Macronyssus: Macronyssidae: Acarina) on 2 species of flat-headed bats, Tylonycteris pachypus and T. robustula (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in 2 counties of Guangxi Province, southern China, from 2002 to 2005. In Longzhou County both species of bat occur sympatrically, but only T. pachypus occurs in Ningming County. Individuals of the smaller species (T. pachypus) harbored significantly more mites than did those of T. robustula. In both species males harbored more mites than nonreproductive females, pregnant females had more mites than lactating and nonreproductive females, and juveniles harbored more mites than adults. Mite load on both species of bats showed significant seasonal variation, declining from spring to winter. No correlation was found between mite load and size of the host colony. We discuss our findings in relation to the ecology and biology of both hosts and parasites.

Use of phage display technology to investigate allergen-antibody interactions

Phage display is an advanced technology that can be used to characterize the interactions of antibody with antigen at the molecular level. It provides valuable data when applied to the investigation of IgE interaction with allergens. The aim of this rostrum article is to provide an explanation of the potential of phage display for increasing the understanding of allergen- IgE interaction, the discovery of diagnostic reagents, and the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of allergic disease. The significance of initial studies that have applied phage display technology in allergy research will be highlighted. Phage display has been used to clone human IgE to timothy grass pollen allergen Phl p 5, to characterize the epitopes for murine and human antibodies to a birch pollen allergen Bet v 1, and to elucidate the epitopes of a murine mAb to the house dust mite allergen Der p 1. The technology has identified peptides that functionally mimic sites of human IgE constant domains and that were used to raise antiserum for blocking binding of IgE to the FcεRI on basophils and subsequent release of histamine. Phage display has also been used to characterize novel peanut and fungal allergens. The method has been used to increase our understanding of the molecular basis of allergen-IgE interactions and to develop clinically relevant reagents with the pharmacologic potential to block the effector phase of allergic reactions. Many advances from these early studies are likely as phage display technology evolves and allergists gain expertise in its research applications.