Relation between the level of self-mutilation and theconcentration of fecal metabolites of glucocorticoids incaptive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

The influence of stress in an environment, according with the behavioral and endocrine variables of primates, are increasingly being studied by a diversity of authors, and have shown that abnormal behaviors associated with increased glucocorticoids may be directly related with the impairment of their well-being. In this work were used 22 adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), 11 males and 11 females, kept in captivity in three different institutions. All animals had their behavior registered by focal session using a 30 seconds sample interval, during six months, totaling 4,800 registries per each animal. During this period, fecal samples were collected 3 times a week for the extraction and measurement of the concentration of fecal metabolites of glucocorticoid by radioimmunoassay. Of the total observed, stereotypical behaviors represented 13,45±2.76%, and among them, self-mutilation represented 38.28±3.98 %. The animals were classified into three different scores, according with the percentage of body surface with alopecia due to self-mutilation. It was found a positive correlation of high intensity between the scores of alopecia due to the observed mutilation and the average concentrations of fecal metabolites of glucocorticoids. This result strongly suggests that this measurement of self-mutilation in a chimpanzee can be used as an important auxiliary tool to evaluate de conditions of adaptation of an animal in captivity, functioning as a direct indicator of the presence of chronic stress.

Fecal cortisol metabolites as indicators of stress in crab-eating-fox (Cerdocyoun thous) in captivity

Abstract: Blood samples collection is a common method in biological research using domestic animals. However, most blood sampling techniques are complicated and highly invasive and may therefore not be appropriate for wildlife animals in research concerning stress. Thus, a non-invasive method to measure steroid hormones is critically needed. The first goal of this study was to determine how glucocorticoids concentrations are impacted by translocation and reproductive activity in crab-eating-fox (Cerdocyoun thous) in captivity. The physiological relevance of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites was further validated by demonstrating: (1) The translocation of a male to a females enclosure resulted in a 3.5-fold increase compared to baseline concentrations, (2) changes in adrenocortical activity, as reflected in concentrations of fecal cortisol metabolites during reproduction, gestation and lactation in females foxes, indicating that social interactions resulted in large increases of fecal glucocorticoids metabolites during the reproductive season. From these findings we conclude that fecal samples can be used for the non-invasive assessment of adrenocortical status in crab-eating-fox.

Indoor Localization Solutions for a Marine Industry Augmented Reality Tool

In this report are described means for indoor localization in special, challenging circum-stances in marine industry. The work has been carried out in MARIN project, where a tool based on mobile augmented reality technologies for marine industry is developed. The tool can be used for various inspection and documentation tasks and it is aimed for improving the efficiency in design and construction work by offering the possibility to visualize the newest 3D-CAD model in real environment. Indoor localization is needed to support the system in initialization of the accurate camera pose calculation and auto-matically finding the right location in the 3D-CAD model. The suitability of each indoor localization method to the specific environment and circumstances is evaluated.

Interpreting marine benthic ecosystem functioning in coastal waters: validating the biological trait concept

Coastal areas harbour high biodiversity, but are simultaneously affected by rapid degradations of species and habitats due to human interactions. Such alterations also affect the functioning of the ecosystem, which is primarily governed by the characteristics or traits expressed by the organisms present. Marine benthic fauna is nvolved in numerous functions such as organic matter transformation and transport, secondary production, oxygen transport as well as nutrient cycling. Approaches utilising the variety of faunal traits to assess benthic community functioning have rapidly increased and shown the need for further development of the concept. In this thesis, I applied biological trait analysis that allows for assessments of a multitude of categorical traits and thus evaluation of multiple functional aspects simultaneously. I determined the functional trait structure, diversity and variability of coastal zoobenthic communities in the Baltic Sea. The measures were related to recruitment processes, habitat heterogeneity, large-scale environmental and taxonomic gradients as well as anthropogenic impacts. The studies comprised spatial scales from metres to thousands of kilometres, and temporal scales spanning one season as well as a decade. The benthic functional structure was found to vary within and between seagrass landscape microhabitats and four different habitats within a coastal bay, in papers I and II respectively. Expressions of trait categories varied within habitats, while the density of individuals was found to drive the functional differences between habitats. The findings in paper III unveiled high trait richness of Finnish coastal benthos (25 traits and 102 cateogries) although this differed between areas high and low in salinity and human pressure. In paper IV, the natural reduction in taxonomic richness across the Baltic Sea led to an overall reduction in function. However, functional richness in terms of number of trait categories remained comparatively high at low taxon richness. Changes in number of taxa within trait categories were also subtle and some individual categories were maintained or even increased. The temporal analysis in papers I and III highlighted generalities in trait expressions and dominant trait categories in a seagrass landscape as well as a “type organism” for the northern Baltic Sea. Some initial findings were made in all four papers on the role of common and rare species and traits for benthic community functioning. The findings show that common and rare species may not always express the same trait categories in relation to each other. Rare species in general did not express unique functional properties. In order to advance the understanding of the approach, I also assessed some issues concerning the limitations of the concept. This was conducted by evaluating the link between trait category and taxonomic richness using especially univariate measures. My results also show the need to collaborate nationally and internationally on safeguarding the utility of taxonomic and trait data. The findings also highlight the importance of including functional trait information into current efforts in marine spatial planning and biomonitoring.

Comparative allelopathic potential of metabolites of two Alternanthera species against germination and seedling growth of rice

A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the allelopathic effect of aqueous extracts of plant parts of Alternanthera philoxeroides and A. sessilis and soil incorporated residues on germination and seedling growth of rice (Oryza sativa). Aqueous extracts prepared from different plant parts of Alternanthera species delayed rice germination. Alternanthera philoxeroides and A. sessilis inhibited rice germination by 9-100% and 4-49%, respectively. Germination of rice seeds was reduced with increasing concentration of aqueous leaf extracts of both weed species. Early seedling growth (root and shoot lengths) and seedling vigor index were significantly reduced by 5% aqueous leaf extract compared with distilled water treated control. Germination, root and shoot lengths, root and shoot dry weights and seedling vigor index of rice were drastically reduced by 3 and 4% in residue infested soil compared with residue free soil. The inhibitory effect of A. philoxeroides in terms of germination and seedling growth of rice was greater than that of A. sessilis. Five percent aqueous leaf extract and 4% residue infested soil of A. philoxeroides caused complete failure of rice seed germination. Alternanthera philoxeroides contained water soluble phenolics, namely 4 hydroxy-3-methoxy benzoic acid (16.19 mg L-1) and m-coumaric acid (1.48 mg L-1), whereas Alternanthera sessilis was rich in chlorogenic acid (17.85 mg L-1), gallic acid (11.03 mg L-1) and vanillic acid (9.88 mg L-1). The study indicates that the allelopathic potential of Alternanthera species may play an important role in enhancing the invasiveness of these species and may suppress rice plants in the vicinity.

Purification and characterisation of a lectin from the red marine alga Pterocladiella capillacea (S.G. Gmel.) Santel. & Hommers.

A lectin present in the marine red alga Pterocladiella capillacea was purified and characterised by extraction of soluble proteins (crude extract) in 20 mM Tris-HCl buffer, pH 7.5. Among the analysed erythrocytes (human blood group A, B and O and the animals ox, goat, chicken and rabbit) the lectin agglutinated specifically rabbit erythrocytes. The hemagglutinating activity assay showed that the lectin was not dependent on divalent cations and was shown to be inhibited by the glycoproteins avidin and mucin. The purification procedure was conduced by precipitation of the crude extract with 80% saturation ammonium sulfate (F0/80) followed by affinity chromatography on guar-gum column. The lectin of P. capillacea was purified 14.5 fold and had a recovery of 27.4% of the original total specific activity present in the crude extract. The absence of carbohydrate suggested that the lectin is not a glycoprotein. The molecular mass of P. capillacea lectin, determined by gel filtration, was 5.8 kDa. SDS-PAGE in the presence of ß-mercaptoethanol gave one band, indicating that the native lectin is a monomeric protein. The activation energy of denaturation process (D G') was calculated to be 106.87 kJ . mol-1 at 70 ºC.

Characterization of nitrate reductase activity in vitro in Gracilaria caudata J. Agardh (Rhodophyta, Gracilariales)

The marine red alga Gracilaria caudata J. Agardh has been used in Brazil for agar extraction, mainly in the northeast region of the country. Nitrogen availability is the most important abiotic factor in seawater that limits the growth of seaweeds. The enzyme nitrate reductase (NR) is the key regulatory point in the nitrogen assimilation in photosynthetic organisms. This study describes an in vitro assay, characterizing the enzymatic activity of NR in terms of kinetic constants and stability, its oscillation during the day and glucose effect on NR modulation. Maximal peaks of NR activity were recorded at 20 ºC and pH 8.0. The enzymatic stability in crude extracts stored at 3 ± 1 ºC decreased significantly after 48 hours. Apparent Michaelis-Menten constants (K M) for NADH and nitrate were 22 µM and 3.95 mM, respectively. Gracilaria caudata NR activity showed an oscillation under light:dark photoperiod (14:10 hours LD) with 3-fold higher activity during the light phase, peaking after 10 hours of light. Under optimal assay conditions, the maximal activity was 92.9 10-3 U g-1. The addition of glucose induced the enzymatic activity during the light and dark phase, evidencing a possible modulation of this enzyme by the photosynthesis. This relationship can be explained by the need of carbon skeletons, produced by the photosynthetic process, to incorporate the intermediary metabolites of nitrate assimilatory pathway, avoiding the toxic intracellular accumulation of nitrite and ammonium. The optimization of enzymatic assay protocols for NR is essential to establish appropriate conditions to study nutritional behaviour, compare different taxonomic groups and to understand its regulatory mechanism.

Carte marine de la Mer Glaciale et la Sibérie septentrional

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan

[Carte marine depuis le Cap de Bonne-Espérance jusqu'à Java]

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan

Glutamine and glutamate as vital metabolites

Glucose is widely accepted as the primary nutrient for the maintenance and promotion of cell function. This metabolite leads to production of ATP, NADPH and precursors for the synthesis of macromolecules such as nucleic acids and phospholipids. We propose that, in addition to glucose, the 5-carbon amino acids glutamine and glutamate should be considered to be equally important for maintenance and promotion of cell function. The functions of glutamine/glutamate are many, i.e., they are substrates for protein synthesis, anabolic precursors for muscle growth, they regulate acid-base balance in the kidney, they are substrates for ureagenesis in the liver and for hepatic and renal gluconeogenesis, they act as an oxidative fuel for the intestine and cells of the immune system, provide inter-organ nitrogen transport, and act as precursors of neurotransmitter synthesis, of nucleotide and nucleic acid synthesis and of glutathione production. Many of these functions are interrelated with glucose metabolism. The specialized aspects of glutamine/glutamate metabolism of different glutamine-utilizing cells are discussed in the context of glucose requirements and cell function.

Map illustrating the site of the harbours for the proposed Obi-railway : the soundings are all calculated in feet and are based upon the data of the Russian Marine Ministry : the underlined figures are soundings taken by the scooner Bakan, 1887

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan

Plan du mouillage d'Onondar-Fiord (Islande) : dépôt général de la Marine

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan

Value based pricing and marketing of marine engines

Objective of the thesis is to create a value based pricing model for marine engines and study the feasibility of implementing such model in the sales organization of a specific segment in the case company’s marine division. Different pricing strategies, concept of “value”, and how perceptions of value can be influenced through value based marketing are presented as theoretical background for the value based pricing model. Forbis and Mehta’s Economic Value to Customer (EVC) was selected as framework to create the value based pricing model for marine engines. The EVC model is based on calculating and comparing life-cycle costs of the reference product and competing products, thus showing the quantifiable value of the company’s own product compared to competition. In the applied part of the thesis, the components of the EVC model are identified for a marine diesel engine, the components are explained, and an example calculation created in Excel is presented. When examining the possibilities to implement in practice a value based pricing strategy based on the EVC model, it was found that the lack of precise information on competing products is the single biggest obstacle to use EVC exactly as presented in the literature. It was also found that sometimes necessary communication channels are missing and that there is simply a lack of interest from some clients and product end-users part to spend time on studying the life-cycle costs of the product. Information on the company’s own products is however sufficient and the sales force is capable to communicate to sufficiently high executive levels in the client organizations. Therefore it is suggested to focus on quantifying and communicating the company’s own value proposition. The dynamic nature of the business environment (variance in applications in which engines are installed, different clients, competition, end-clients etc.) means also that each project should be created its own EVC calculation. This is demanding in terms of resources needed, thus it is suggested to concentrate on selected projects and buyers, and to clients where the necessary communication channels to right levels in the customer organization are available. Finally, it should be highlighted that as literature suggests, implementing a value based pricing strategy is not possible unless the whole business approach is value based.

The secondary alcohol and aglycone metabolites of doxorubicin alter metabolism of human erythrocytes

Anthracyclines, a class of antitumor drugs widely used for the treatment of solid and hematological malignancies, cause a cumulative dose-dependent cardiac toxicity whose biochemical basis is unclear. Recent studies of the role of the metabolites of anthracyclines, i.e., the alcohol metabolite doxorubicinol and aglycone metabolites, have suggested new hypotheses about the mechanisms of anthracycline cardiotoxicity. In the present study, human red blood cells were used as a cell model. Exposure (1 h at 37ºC) of intact human red blood cells to doxorubicinol (40 µM) and to aglycone derivatives of doxorubicin (40 µM) induced, compared with untreated red cells: i) a ~2-fold stimulation of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and ii) a marked inhibition of the red cell antioxidant enzymes, glutathione peroxidase (~20%) and superoxide dismutase (~60%). In contrast to doxorubicin-derived metabolites, doxorubicin itself induced a slighter PPP stimulation (~35%) and this metabolic event was not associated with any alteration in glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase or superoxide dismutase activity. Furthermore, the interaction of hemoglobin with doxorubicin and its metabolites induced a significant increase (~22%) in oxygen affinity compared with hemoglobin incubated without drugs. On the basis of the results obtained in the present study, a new hypothesis, involving doxorubicinol and aglycone metabolites, has been proposed to clarify the mechanisms responsible for the doxorubicin-induced red blood cell toxicity.

An improved HPLC method for the quantitation of 6-mercaptopurine and its metabolites in red blood cells

A procedure is described for the rapid determination of the intra-erythrocyte concentration of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and its metabolites, 6-thioguanine nucleotides (6-TGN) and 6-methylmercaptopurine (6-MMP). Erythrocytes (8 x 10(8) cells) in 350 µl Hanks solution containing 7.5 mg dithiothreitol were treated with 50 µl 70% perchloric acid. The precipitate was removed by centrifugation (13,000 g) and the supernatant hydrolyzed at 100°C for 45 min. After cooling, 100 µl was analyzed directly by HPLC using a Radialpack Resolve C18 column eluted with methanol-water (7.5:92.5, v/v) containing 100 mM triethylamine. 6-TG, 6-MP and the hydrolysis product of 6-MMP, 4-amino-5-(methylthio)carbonyl imidazole, were monitored at 342, 322 and 303 nm using a Shimadzu SPD-M10A diode array UV detector. The analytes eluted at 5.3, 6.0 and 10.2 min, respectively. The calibration curves were linear (r² > 0.998), and the analytical recoveries were 73.2% for 6-TG, 119.1% for 6-MP and 97.4% for 6-MMP. The intra- and inter-assay variations were highest for 6-MP (9.6 and 14.3%, respectively). The lowest detectable concentrations were 3, 3 and 25 pmol/8 x 10(8) erythrocytes for 6-TG, 6-MP and 6-MMP, respectively. The quantification limits (coefficients of variation <15%) were 8, 10 and 70 pmol/8 x 10(8) erythrocytes for 6-TG, 6-MP and 6-MMP, respectively. The method was applied to the analysis of 183 samples from 36 children under chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The concentrations of the metabolites in the red cells of the patients ranged from 0 to 1934 pmol/8 x 10(8) erythrocytes for 6-TGN, and from 0 to 105.8 and 0 to 45.9 nmol/8 x 10(8) erythrocytes for 6-MP and 6-MMP, respectively. The procedure gave results that were in agreement with those obtained with other methods designed to detect cases of non-compliance with treatment, including patient interviews and medical evaluation, among others, demonstrating its applicability to monitoring the treatment of leukemic children.