Keine überdurchschnittlichen Nachwuchsjahrgänge bei den Nutzfischen der Nordsee

In January/February 2001, Germany participated with “Walther Herwig III” in the International Bottom Trawl Survey (IBTS) of ICES by contributing 70 half hour tows with the Grande Ouverture Verticale Bottom Trawl (GOV), 78 hydrographic stations, and 88 catches with the Method-Isaac-Kidd net (MIK), mostly in the central and northern North Sea. In total, 368 fishing stations by means of the GOV were covered by the international fleet. Preliminary results indicate that only indices for herring, whiting, and – to some degree – haddock are in the long-term mean. In contrast, the index for cod gives reason to serious concern. In addition, indices for both mackerel and Norway pout do not show any signs for an increasing strength of these stocks. Oceanographic data show that in comparison with the data from 1995 onwards actual temperatures and salinities are in the normal range. However, mean water temperatures of this short period are about more than a half degree above the long-term means of the period 1961 to 1990.

Die Lage der Fischbestände in Nordostatlantik, Nord- und Ostsee. Einschätzungen des Internationalen Rates für Meeresforschung im Frühjahr 2001

The spring session of ACFM gave advice for a number of stocks in the North Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic. The present assessment of the situation is given here for stocks of importance for the German fishery. These are: Blue Whiting: the stock size is rapidly decreasing due to high catches; ICES recommends a closure of the fishery. Herring (Atlanto-Scandian, Norwegian spring spawner): Stock is within save biological limits, weak recruitment of the recent years will lead to a further reduction of biomass. Herring (North Sea): revision of the assessment led to a different perception of the stock: SSB was in 2000 below Blim. Excellent recruitment will lead to an increase of SSB over Blim within this year, but ICES recommends to reduce fishing mortality on adults significantly. Herring (Baltic spring spawner in 22–24, IIIa): Still no increasing tendency is detectable. Herring (VIaNorth): stable. Redfish: generally further decreasing tendency observed, a reduction of the fishery is recommended. Signs of recovery visible only for two units. Greenland Halibut: State of the stock not quite clear, but slightly positive tendencies. The present fishing intensity should be reduced. Cod (Kattegat): Weak recruitment, outside safe biological limits. ICES recommends a closure of the fishery. Cod (22–24, Western Baltic): Stock situation unclear due to extensive migrations. F should be reduced by at least 10%.

A novel form of human disease with a protease-sensitive prion protein and heterozygosity methionine/valine at codon 129: Case report

Background: Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder in humans included in the group of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies or prion diseases. The vast majority of sCJD cases are molecularly classified according to the abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) conformations along with polymorphism of codon 129 of the PRNP gene. Recently, a novel human disease, termed "protease-sensitive prionopathy", has been described. This disease shows a distinct clinical and neuropathological phenotype and it is associated to an abnormal prion protein more sensitive to protease digestion. Case presentation: We report the case of a 75-year-old-man who developed a clinical course and presented pathologic lesions compatible with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and biochemical findings reminiscent of "protease-sensitive prionopathy". Neuropathological examinations revealed spongiform change mainly affecting the cerebral cortex, putamen/globus pallidus and thalamus, accompanied by mild astrocytosis and microgliosis, with slight involvement of the cerebellum. Confluent vacuoles were absent. Diffuse synaptic PrP deposits in these regions were largely removed following proteinase treatment. PrP deposition, as revealed with 3F4 and 1E4 antibodies, was markedly sensitive to pre-treatment with proteinase K. Molecular analysis of PrPSc showed an abnormal prion protein more sensitive to proteinase K digestion, with a five-band pattern of 28, 24, 21, 19, and 16 kDa, and three aglycosylated isoforms of 19, 16 and 6 kDa. This PrPSc was estimated to be 80% susceptible to digestion while the pathogenic prion protein associated with classical forms of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease were only 2% (type VV2) and 23% (type MM1) susceptible. No mutations in the PRNP gene were found and genotype for codon 129 was heterozygous methionine/valine. Conclusions: A novel form of human disease with abnormal prion protein sensitive to protease and MV at codon 129 was described. Although clinical signs were compatible with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the molecular subtype with the abnormal prion protein isoforms showing enhanced protease sensitivity was reminiscent of the "protease-sensitive prionopathy". It remains to be established whether the differences found between the latter and this case are due to the polymorphism at codon 129. Different degrees of proteinase K susceptibility were easily determined with the chemical polymer detection system which could help to detect proteinase-susceptible pathologic prion protein in diseases other than the classical ones.

Die lage der Fischbestände in Nordostatlantik, Nord- und Ostsee. Einschätzungen des Internationalen Rates für Meeresforschung im Frühjahr 2000

The spring session of ACFM gave advice for a number of stocks in the North Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic. The present assessment of the situation is given here for stocks of higher importance for the German fishery. These are: Blue Whiting: the stock is still relatively high, this, however, will not last very long, due to too intense fishing. Cod in Kattegat: stock is outside safe biological limits. No immediate recovery in sight. Cod in 22–24 (Baltic): stock is inside save biological limits. F, however, is above the recommendation of the IBSFC. Greenland Halibut: state of the stock not quite clear. The present fishing intensity seems to be sustainable. Herring (Atlanto- scandian, Norwegian spring spawner): stock is within safe biological limits, weak recruitment of the recent years will lead to a reduction of biomass. Herring: for Baltic spring spawner in 22–24 and IIIa still no increasing tendency detectable. North Sea Herring: further increasing tendency, with 900 000 t over B lim, good recruitment. Herring in VIa: stable. Redfish: generally decreasing tendency observed, a reduction of the fishery is recommended. Signs of recovery, however, visible for some units

Ichthyoplanktonaufnahmen als Beitrag zu Biodiversitätsuntersuchungen in der westlichen Ostsee

Ichthyoplankton material provides information on the species composition in an area of investigation and leads to a better understanding of the entire fish community. Since 1993 every year in May and/or June an ichthyoplankton survey in ICES-Subdivision 22 and 24 has been performed to sample the plankton community of fishery resources in the western Baltic Sea. One objective was to get signs of possible changes in the natural structures of this fish community. The time series derived from the Bongo-Net samples does not show a clear trend in larval densities. Values varied, but up to now samplings in the western Baltic Sea yielded only low mean densities. According to the kind of reproductive biology the fish species were divided in three major groups: • Fish species with a long developmental phase in the plankton community • Small short living species with benthic eggs and a reduced plankton phase • Guests without local spawning populations. Species could be identified, which were absent in the fish larvae catches of the western Baltic Sea in the 60s and 70s.

Indication of pollution in a teaching and research farm reservoir

The production and productivity of a water body is largely dependent on its quality. One major source of water pollution is from the agrochemicals from nearby farmlands. The quality of water in the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching and Research Farm Reservoir (Ile-Ife, Nigeria) was monitored between October, 1993 and March, 1994. Structured questionnaires were administered to obtain information on the types of agrochemicals in use on the farm. Water samples were collected fortnightly for analyses of the physico-chemical parameters and ionic content of the water. Investigation revealed that 21 agrochemicals had been in use on the farm. The physico-chemical parameters of the water showed that the water was very poor in nutrient. The high concentration of ammonium ion contents of the water shows an indication that the residues of certain agrochemicals got into the water to pollute it. Agrochemicals should be used with great caution on farmlands especially in areas close to water bodies from which man obtains fish and other proteinous foods. This paper also suggests a regular monitoring of water quality of reservoirs in order to pick the earliest signs of pollution

The cast net fishery, Kainji Lake, Nigeria 1970-1997

This study was carried out to establish trends in the cast net fishery of Kainji Lake, Nigeria. The cast net fishery was second in importance to the gillnet fishery in the early years after impoundment of the lake and still continues to be an important component of the fishery. Some of the economically important species such as Citharinus spp, Tilapia spp, Labeo spp, Alestes spp and Synodontis spp are exploited by cast nets. The study has not revealed any drastic perturbation in the species diversity, catch composition, and any real ecosystem overfishing. On the other hand, both the catfish, Auchenoglanis spp and the predator Hydrocynus spp appear to have increased in the catch in recent years. Never-the-less there is a decline in the mean weight of the major exploited fish species due to the capture of under sized fishes without allowing them to grow to 'legally' marketable sizes. The use of small meshed cast net and also fishing in the shallow waters of the lake can give rise to this situation. Thus, there are signs of growth overfishing in the fish stocks. It must also be acknowledged that the situation is complicated by the fact that in a multi-gear fishery as on Kainji Lake, the cast net fishery could not be managed in isolation without due regard to the other competing gears. The catch per unit of effort (CPUE) has declined in the cast net fishery possibly due to the increase in effort by the major fishing gears over the years. The ongoing extension campaigns by the KLFPP appears to be having the desired effect, as there was reduction in the number of the major fishing gears on the Lake in 1997. It can be anticipated that if this trend continues, the CPUE will recover in the long run. Yields observed from the mesh selectivity study revealed that for major species in the cast net fishery, both by number and weight, were maximal at 2.5 inch mesh, which contrasts with the fact that current minimum allowable mesh in the Fisheries Edict for the Lake is 2.0 inch. The adoption of 2.5 inch as the minimum allowable mesh in the cast net fishery is recommended to be included in future revision of existing regulations. It is also recommended that for this control to have a desired effect, the casting of the net from the shore should be prohibited so as to reduce the incidence of juvenile mortality in the nursery areas. (PDF contains 28 pages)

Seismic reflection experiments imaging the physical nature of crustal structures in southern California

Seismic reflection methods have been extensively used to probe the Earth's crust and suggest the nature of its formative processes. The analysis of multi-offset seismic reflection data extends the technique from a reconnaissance method to a powerful scientific tool that can be applied to test specific hypotheses. The treatment of reflections at multiple offsets becomes tractable if the assumptions of high-frequency rays are valid for the problem being considered. Their validity can be tested by applying the methods of analysis to full wave synthetics.

Three studies illustrate the application of these principles to investigations of the nature of the crust in southern California. A survey shot by the COCORP consortium in 1977 across the San Andreas fault near Parkfield revealed events in the record sections whose arrival time decreased with offset. The reflectors generating these events are imaged using a multi-offset three-dimensional Kirchhoff migration. Migrations of full wave acoustic synthetics having the same limitations in geometric coverage as the field survey demonstrate the utility of this back projection process for imaging. The migrated depth sections show the locations of the major physical boundaries of the San Andreas fault zone. The zone is bounded on the southwest by a near-vertical fault juxtaposing a Tertiary sedimentary section against uplifted crystalline rocks of the fault zone block. On the northeast, the fault zone is bounded by a fault dipping into the San Andreas, which includes slices of serpentinized ultramafics, intersecting it at 3 km depth. These interpretations can be made despite complications introduced by lateral heterogeneities.

In 1985 the Calcrust consortium designed a survey in the eastern Mojave desert to image structures in both the shallow and the deep crust. Preliminary field experiments showed that the major geophysical acquisition problem to be solved was the poor penetration of seismic energy through a low-velocity surface layer. Its effects could be mitigated through special acquisition and processing techniques. Data obtained from industry showed that quality data could be obtained from areas having a deeper, older sedimentary cover, causing a re-definition of the geologic objectives. Long offset stationary arrays were designed to provide reversed, wider angle coverage of the deep crust over parts of the survey. The preliminary field tests and constant monitoring of data quality and parameter adjustment allowed 108 km of excellent crustal data to be obtained.

This dataset, along with two others from the central and western Mojave, was used to constrain rock properties and the physical condition of the crust. The multi-offset analysis proceeded in two steps. First, an increase in reflection peak frequency with offset is indicative of a thinly layered reflector. The thickness and velocity contrast of the layering can be calculated from the spectral dispersion, to discriminate between structures resulting from broad scale or local effects. Second, the amplitude effects at different offsets of P-P scattering from weak elastic heterogeneities indicate whether the signs of the changes in density, rigidity, and Lame's parameter at the reflector agree or are opposed. The effects of reflection generation and propagation in a heterogeneous, anisotropic crust were contained by the design of the experiment and the simplicity of the observed amplitude and frequency trends. Multi-offset spectra and amplitude trend stacks of the three Mojave Desert datasets suggest that the most reflective structures in the middle crust are strong Poisson's ratio (σ) contrasts. Porous zones or the juxtaposition of units of mutually distant origin are indicated. Heterogeneities in σ increase towards the top of a basal crustal zone at ~22 km depth. The transition to the basal zone and to the mantle include increases in σ. The Moho itself includes ~400 m layering having a velocity higher than that of the uppermost mantle. The Moho maintains the same configuration across the Mojave despite 5 km of crustal thinning near the Colorado River. This indicates that Miocene extension there either thinned just the basal zone, or that the basal zone developed regionally after the extensional event.

Optimistische Prognosen nur für den Schellfisch-, Wittling- und Sprottnachwuchs in der Nordsee

From January 22 to February 12, 1993, "Walther Herwig" participated in the ICES coordinated International Bottom Trawl Survey (IBTS, formerly International Young Fish Survey (IYFS)) in the North Sea. In total all participating nations covered 369 fishing stations, 65 of which were investigated by "Walther Herwig". Preliminary results show that the youngest yearclasses of haddock, whiting, sprat and Norway pout are well above average whereas herring in his second year of life is only average. No signs of a recovery of the North Sea mackerel stock could be detected. The measured temperature data show a more or less mean situation during the period under review.

Computational modeling and psychophysics in low- and mid-level vision

This thesis addresses a series of topics related to the question of how people find the foreground objects from complex scenes. With both computer vision modeling, as well as psychophysical analyses, we explore the computational principles for low- and mid-level vision.

We first explore the computational methods of generating saliency maps from images and image sequences. We propose an extremely fast algorithm called Image Signature that detects the locations in the image that attract human eye gazes. With a series of experimental validations based on human behavioral data collected from various psychophysical experiments, we conclude that the Image Signature and its spatial-temporal extension, the Phase Discrepancy, are among the most accurate algorithms for saliency detection under various conditions.

In the second part, we bridge the gap between fixation prediction and salient object segmentation with two efforts. First, we propose a new dataset that contains both fixation and object segmentation information. By simultaneously presenting the two types of human data in the same dataset, we are able to analyze their intrinsic connection, as well as understanding the drawbacks of today’s “standard” but inappropriately labeled salient object segmentation dataset. Second, we also propose an algorithm of salient object segmentation. Based on our novel discoveries on the connections of fixation data and salient object segmentation data, our model significantly outperforms all existing models on all 3 datasets with large margins.

In the third part of the thesis, we discuss topics around the human factors of boundary analysis. Closely related to salient object segmentation, boundary analysis focuses on delimiting the local contours of an object. We identify the potential pitfalls of algorithm evaluation for the problem of boundary detection. Our analysis indicates that today’s popular boundary detection datasets contain significant level of noise, which may severely influence the benchmarking results. To give further insights on the labeling process, we propose a model to characterize the principles of the human factors during the labeling process.

The analyses reported in this thesis offer new perspectives to a series of interrelating issues in low- and mid-level vision. It gives warning signs to some of today’s “standard” procedures, while proposing new directions to encourage future research.

Avaliação da qualidade da assistência perinatal : um exercício

A relação da qualidade da prática médica assistencial com os indicadores de saúde tem sido objeto de controvérsia. A possibilidade de avaliar o estado de saúde do recém-nascido em função do cuidado recebido, facilita o estudo desta relação, principalmente na área perinatal onde a expectativa é o nascimento de um bebê saudável ao final de uma gestação sem fatores de riscos acompanhados segundo as normas obstétricas vigentes. Neste estudo, examina-se a adequação do acompanhamento do trabalho de parto em uma maternidade pública do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, sob a ótica de avaliação de qualidade pela abordagem de processos e resultados através de critérios explícitos supondo que os fatores selecionados como componentes do processo de assistência ao trabalho de parto determinariam o resultado. Observa-se tais relações através da metodologia epidemiológica optando por um estudo caso-referente ou um estudo caso-controle, com definição primária da base. Selecionou-se como determinantes da qualidade da prática obstétrica intraparto a duração do trabalho de parto, percepção de alterações durante o trabalho de parto, prontidão para intervenção, número de exames realizados e intervalo entre o último exame e hora do parto. O resultado neonatal adverso caracterizou-se por óbito intra-útero, óbito neonatal e presença de um conjunto de sinais clínicos anormais no período neonatal imediato, com alto valor preditivo para o futuro dano neurológico. O risco de um resultado adverso foi estimado pela razão dos produtos cruzados aodds ratio (OR) numa população de 34 casos e 124 controles. A duração do trabalho de parto maior que doze horas esteve associada a um OR igual a 3,48 (1,28-9,43), idade da gestante, dilatação cervical do colo uterino à admissão e peso ao nascer modificaram o efeito desta associação, que também foi confundida pela paridade e pelo uso da ocitocina contrariando hipótese inicial. A percepção de alterações resultou num OR= 14,73 (4.24-54,27) e, à medida que o tempo de intervenção se prolongava os riscos aumentavam obedecendo a uma tendência linear. Discutem-se as dificuldades de aplicação metodologia epidemiológica ao campo da avaliação da qualidade, essencialmente no que se refere as exigências quantitativas, para garantir precisão e confiabilidade. A observação da interação e o controle do confundimento apontam o cuidado necessário nos trabalhos desta natureza para alcançar consistência e validade.

Spinoza e a comunicação da filosofia: a natureza da linguagem na ethica

Em sua teoria do conhecimento, cuja formulação definitiva se encontra na segunda parte da Ethica, Spinoza afirma que o conhecimento que se dá por meio de signos pertence à Imaginação, isto é, ao primeiro gênero de conhecimento, o qual é essencialmente inadequado uma vez que não consegue compreender a natureza das coisas, mas simplesmente as conhece de forma mutilada e confusa. Contudo, atribuir o conhecimento ex signis ao âmbito imaginativo não pode implicar a recusa, por parte de Spinoza, de toda e qualquer utilização de signos a fim de comunicar o conhecimento verdadeiro, sob pena de o próprio texto da Ethica deslegitimar suas pretensões de verdade já no momento mesmo em que se anuncia. Partindo do princípio de que deve haver certo modo de utilização de signos que consiga contornar, em alguma medida, sua constituição essencialmente inadequada a fim de comunicar idéias adequadas, a presente investigação reconstrói uma teoria da linguagem subjacente à doutrina da Ethica na tentativa de estabelecer por que meios se pode efetuar uma utilização filosófica dos signos.

Fibromialgia e dor: um estudo de caso sobre mal-estar no trabalho e adoecimento

A fibromialgia é uma síndrome reumática que atinge cerca de 2% da população brasileira, sendo 90% dos pacientes do gênero feminino. Os principais sintomas são dor crônica generalizada, depressão, desânimo e fadiga acentuada, provocando dificuldades sociais e afetivas cotidianas. Objetivo: O objetivo principal deste estudo foi apreender e interpretar sentidos e significados que mulheres com fibromialgia atribuem às práticas terapêuticas corporais realizadas no Projeto de Extensão: Tratamento Multidisciplinar para Pacientes Portadores de Fibromialgia realizado na Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). Todas as mulheres foram diagnosticadas em ambulatórios públicos e privados e depois se inscreveram voluntariamente no tratamento gratuito disponibilizado. Nossa principal hipótese de estudo procura relacionar o adoecimento dessas mulheres com o regime social de trabalho, que aumenta o sofrimento e, por conseguinte, provoca somatização do mal-estar gerado. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo socioantropológico com campo etnográfico, no qual foram observadas as práticas corporais semanais nos anos 2009-2010. Também foram realizadas fotografias e entrevistas em profundidade com todas as mulheres que participavam regularmente das práticas corporais. De igual modo, realizamos entrevistas por computador e por telefone com mulheres diagnosticadas por fibromialgia em diversas cidades brasileiras. Resultados: Foi possível compreender que estar em um local onde podem se relacionar com outras pessoas com os mesmos sinais e sintomas e que compartilhar situações de sofrimento semelhantes contribui para construção de uma identidade de grupo baseada no cuidado e no acolhimento. Assim, elas constroem coletivamente valores de cuidado com o corpo e com a saúde. Conclusões: A participação assídua no tratamento oferecido aumenta a qualidade de vida e a vitalidade de mulheres com fibromialgia, contribuindo para a promoção da saúde não apenas na sua dimensão físico-orgânica, mas em sua totalidade sócio-afetiva.

Los fenómenos de marea roja y toxicidad de moluscos bivalvos en el Mar Argentino

Two unusual blooms of dinoflagellates appeared in the Argentine Continental Shelf in spring/summer period of 1980 and 1981, but these differed, one from the other. The first was an intense red-tide with which were associated no signs of toxicity, whereas the second, although; not showing special coloration, was associated with (and doubtless the cause of) intense toxicity in bivalves of the Gulfs of San Matías and San José and of the shelf waters off Península Valdés; the death of two fishermen was atributed to the latter. The first bloom developed as an unusual surface concentration of the predatory dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans. It was supposed that this concentration was produced by a particular combination of processes of circulation of water masses. The second bloom was characterizaed by high concentrations of Gonyalax excavata. Investigations at the time determined that toxins in molluscs of the area correasponded to what is called "paralytic shellfish poison". The bloom of G. excavata was associated with a front between well mixed and well stratified water masses. The maximum toxicity centre occured in the mussel bank "Constanza" (42°23'27"S and 62°45'66"W) which coincides with the front referred to above. (PDF contains 93 pages)

Some constructions, related to noncommutative tori; Fredholm modules and the Beilinson-Bloch regulator

A noncommutative 2-torus is one of the main toy models of noncommutative geometry, and a noncommutative n-torus is a straightforward generalization of it. In 1980, Pimsner and Voiculescu in [17] described a 6-term exact sequence, which allows for the computation of the K-theory of noncommutative tori. It follows that both even and odd K-groups of n-dimensional noncommutative tori are free abelian groups on 2^n-1 generators. In 1981, the Powers-Rieffel projector was described [19], which, together with the class of identity, generates the even K-theory of noncommutative 2-tori. In 1984, Elliott [10] computed trace and Chern character on these K-groups. According to Rieffel [20], the odd K-theory of a noncommutative n-torus coincides with the group of connected components of the elements of the algebra. In particular, generators of K-theory can be chosen to be invertible elements of the algebra. In Chapter 1, we derive an explicit formula for the First nontrivial generator of the odd K-theory of noncommutative tori. This gives the full set of generators for the odd K-theory of noncommutative 3-tori and 4-tori.

In Chapter 2, we apply the graded-commutative framework of differential geometry to the polynomial subalgebra of the noncommutative torus algebra. We use the framework of differential geometry described in [27], [14], [25], [26]. In order to apply this framework to noncommutative torus, the notion of the graded-commutative algebra has to be generalized: the "signs" should be allowed to take values in U(1), rather than just {-1,1}. Such generalization is well-known (see, e.g., [8] in the context of linear algebra). We reformulate relevant results of [27], [14], [25], [26] using this extended notion of sign. We show how this framework can be used to construct differential operators, differential forms, and jet spaces on noncommutative tori. Then, we compare the constructed differential forms to the ones, obtained from the spectral triple of the noncommutative torus. Sections 2.1-2.3 recall the basic notions from [27], [14], [25], [26], with the required change of the notion of "sign". In Section 2.4, we apply these notions to the polynomial subalgebra of the noncommutative torus algebra. This polynomial subalgebra is similar to a free graded-commutative algebra. We show that, when restricted to the polynomial subalgebra, Connes construction of differential forms gives the same answer as the one obtained from the graded-commutative differential geometry. One may try to extend these notions to the smooth noncommutative torus algebra, but this was not done in this work.

A reconstruction of the Beilinson-Bloch regulator (for curves) via Fredholm modules was given by Eugene Ha in [12]. However, the proof in [12] contains a critical gap; in Chapter 3, we close this gap. More specifically, we do this by obtaining some technical results, and by proving Property 4 of Section 3.7 (see Theorem 3.9.4), which implies that such reformulation is, indeed, possible. The main motivation for this reformulation is the longer-term goal of finding possible analogs of the second K-group (in the context of algebraic geometry and K-theory of rings) and of the regulators for noncommutative spaces. This work should be seen as a necessary preliminary step for that purpose.

For the convenience of the reader, we also give a short description of the results from [12], as well as some background material on central extensions and Connes-Karoubi character.