Subsidy by Ascophyllum nodosum increases growth rate and survivorship of Patella vulgata

Limpets, predominantly Patella vulgata, have been associated with damaged or receding canopies of Ascophyllum nodosum. Although damage results from limpet grazing, the benefits that limpets gain from this behaviour are unclear as A. nodosum is thought to be well defended from grazers by anti-herbivore compounds. In the present study, R vulgata individuals were enclosed at densities between 80 and 320 m(-2) at 2 sites within Strangford Lough, Northern Island. Limpet growth and limpet survival were compared between unsubsidised controls and treatments in which limpet diets were subsidised by fronds of A. nodosum. When subsidised, limpet residual growth rates were significantly higher and mortality was lower than in unsubsidised control treatments. Individual limpets consumed a similar amount of A. nodosum regardless of limpet density. Higher densities of limpets, therefore, consumed more A. nodosum per replicate. The effects of A. nodosum in maintaining limpet densities could resonate through sheltered rocky communities. The importance of a macroalgal subsidy in supporting limpet populations may have been underestimated or overlooked in earlier studies. Therefore, the extensive and productive macroalgal canopies that characterise many sheltered temperate rocky shores could be more sensitive to increased limpet abundances than previously thought.

Development and comparison of a Primer-Probe Energy Transfer based assay and a 5 ' conjugated Minor Groove Binder assay for sensitive real-time PCR detection of infectious laryngotracheitis virus

In this study the design and development of two real-time PCR assays for the rapid, sensitive and specific detection of infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) DNA is described. A Primer-Probe Energy Transfer (PriProET) assay and 5' conjugated Minor Groove Binder (MGB) method are compared and contrasted. Both have been designed to target the thymidine kinase gene of the ILTV genome. Both PriProET and MGB assays are capable of detecting 20 copies of a DNA standard per reaction and are linear from 2 x 10(8) to 2 x 10(2) copies/mu l. Neither PriProET, nor MGB reacted with heterologous herpesviruses, indicating a high specificity of the two methods as novel tools for virus detection and identification. This study demonstrates the suitability of PriProET and 5' conjugated MGB probes as real-time PCR chemistries for the diagnosis of respiratory diseases caused by ILTV. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pan-serotypic detection of foot-and-mouth disease virus using a minor groove binder probe reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay

A novel assay for the pan-serotypic detection of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) was designed using a 5' conjugated minor groove binder (MGB) probe real-time RT-PCR system. This assay targets the 3D region of the FMDV genome and is capable of detecting 20 copies of a transcribed RNA standard. The linear range of the test was eight logs from 2 x 10(1) to 2 x 10(8) copies and amplification time was approximately 2 h. Using a panel of 83 RNA samples from representative FMDV isolates, the diagnostic sensitivity of this test was shown to be equivalent to a TaqMan real-time RT-PCR that targets the 5' untranslated region of FMDV. Furthermore, the assay does not detect viruses causing similar clinical diseases in pigs such as swine vesicular disease virus and vesicular stomatitis virus, nor does it detect marine caliciviruses causing vesicular exanthema. The development of this assay provides a useful tool for the differential diagnosis of FMD, potentially for use in statutory or emergency testing programmes, or for detection of FMDV RNA in research applications. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of a minor groove binder assay for real-time one-step RT-PCR detection of swine vesicular disease virus

The design and development of a 5' conjugated minor groove binder (MGB) probe real-time RT-PCR assay are described for rapid, sensitive and specific detection of swine vesicular disease virus (SVDV) RNA. The assay is designed to target the 2C gene of the SVDV genome and is capable of detecting 2 x 10(2) copies of an RNA standard per reaction. It does not detect any of the other RNA viruses that cause vesicular disease in pigs, or the human enterovirus, Coxsackie B5 virus (CVB5) which is closely related antigenically to SVDV. The linear range of this test was from 2 x 10(2) to 2 x 10(8) copies/mu l. The assay is rapid and can detect SVDV RNA in just over 3.5 h including the time required for nucleic acid extraction. The development of this assay provides a useful tool for the differential diagnosis of SVD or for the detection of SVDV in research applications. This study demonstrates the suitability of MGB probes as a real-time PCR chemistry for the diagnosis of swine vesicular disease. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sensitive detection of African swine fever virus using real-time PCR with a 5 ' conjugated minor groove binder probe

The design of a 5' conjugated minor groove binder (MGB) probe real-time PCR assay is described for the rapid, sensitive and specific detection of African swine fever virus (ASFV) DNA. The assay is designed against the 9GL region and is capable of detecting 20 copies of a DNA standard. It does not detect any of the other common swine DNA viruses tested in this study. The assay can detect ASFV DNA in a range of clinical samples. Sensitivity was equivalent to the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) recommended TaqMan assay. In addition the assay was found to have a detection limit 10-fold more sensitive than the conventional PCR recommended by the OIE. Linear range was ten logs from 2 x 10(1) to 2 x 10(10). The assay is rapid with an amplification time just over 2 h. The development of this assay provides a useful tool for the specific diagnosis of ASF in statutory or emergency testing programs or for the detection of ASFV DNA in research applications. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Propagation Characteristics of Groove Gap Waveguide Below and Above Cutoff

Recently, gap waveguides have been shown as a potential alternative to conventional waveguides in the millimeterwave band. Until now, Groove Gap Waveguide (GGW) has been studied through direct correspondence with rectangular waveguide with the same physical dimensions. However there have been observed differences in the above cutoff propagation characteristics between these two waveguide types. Furthermore, the behavior of GGW below cutoff remains unknown. This work presents a discussion of both below and above cutoff propagation characteristics of GGW, and introduces a simple model that explains the observed GGW behavior and establishes well its propagation characteristics. Two TRL calibration kits have been manufactured, and the measurements have good agreement with the proposed analysis model results.

A Fast Analysis Method for the Groove Gap Waveguide Using Transmission Line Theory

The Groove Gap Waveguide (GGW) shows a behavior similar to the classical rectangular waveguide (RWG), but it is formed by two pieces which do not require metal contact. This feature suggests the GGW as a suitable alternative to the RGW for mm-wave frequencies, where ensuring the proper metal contact according to the wavelength size results challenging. Nevertheless, there is a lack of effective analysis tools for the complex GGW topology, and assuming a direct equivalence between the RGW and the GGW is too rough, so that dilatory full-wave simulations are required. This work presents a fast analysis method based on transmission line theory, which establishes the proper correspondence between the GGW and the RWG. In addition, below cutoff behavior of the GGW is studied for the first time. Several numerical tests and two manufactured prototypes validate the proposed method, which seems very adequate to optimize future GGW structures.

Limites de distribuição vertical da espécie Patella depressa: padrões e processos

Dissertação de Mestrado, Biologia Marinha, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2015

Desenvolvimento do método de Índice de Qualidade ("QIM-Quality Index Method") para as lapas (Patella candei e Patella aspera) e estudo das suas condições de transporte

Dissertação de Mestrado, Estudos Integrados dos Oceanos, 15 de Março de 2016, Universidade dos Açores.

Groove, Fanfare & Finale pour quintette de cuivres ; Voyage pour orchestre ; et Fantaisie pour piano et orchestre

La version intégrale de ce mémoire est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU).

A groove-ploughing theory for the production of mega-scale glacial lineations, and implications for ice-stream mechanics

Mega-scale glacial lineations (MSGLs) are longitudinally aligned corrugations (ridge-groove structures 6-100 km long) in sediment produced subglacially. They are indicators of fast flow and a common signature of ice-stream beds. We develop a qualitative theory that accounts for their formation, and use numerical modelling, and observations of ice-stream beds to provide supporting evidence. Ice in contact with a rough (scale of 10-10(3) m) bedrock surface will mimic the form of the bed. Because of flow acceleration and convergence in ice-stream onset zones, the ice-base roughness elements experience transverse strain, transforming them from irregular bumps into longitudinally aligned keels of ice protruding downwards. Where such keels slide across a soft sedimentary bed, they plough through the sediments, carving elongate grooves, and deforming material up into intervening ridges. This explains MSGLs and has important implications for ice-stream mechanics. Groove ploughing provides the means to acquire new lubricating sediment and to transport large volumes of it downstream. Keels may provide basal drag in the force budget of ice streams, thereby playing a role in flow regulation and stability We speculate that groove ploughing permits significant ice-stream widening, thus facilitating high-magnitude ice discharge.