A nursery site of the Alaska skate (Bathyraja parmifera) in the eastern Bering Sea

A nursery site for the Alaska skate (Bathyraja parmifera) was sampled seasonally from June 2004 to July 2005. At the small nursery site (~2 km2), located in a highly productive area near the shelf-slope interface at the head of Bering Canyon in the eastern Bering Sea, reproductive males and females dominated the catch and neonate and juvenile skates were rare. Seasonal samples showed summertime (June and July) as the peak reproductive time in the nursery although some reproduction occurred throughout the year. Timeseries analysis of embryo length frequencies revealed that three cohorts were developing simultaneously and the period of embryonic development was estimated at 3.5 years and average embryo growth rate at 0.2 mm/day. Estimated egg case deposition occurred mainly during summertime and hatching occurred during winter months. Protracted hatching times may be common for oviparous elasmobranch species and may be directly correlated with ambient temperatures as evident from a meta-data analysis. Evidence indicates that the Alaska skate uses the eastern Bering Sea outer continental shelf region for reproduction and the middle and inner shelf regions as habitat for immature and subadults. Skate nurseries may be vulnerable to disturbances because they are located in highly productive areas and because embryos develop slowly.

Emerging patterns of species richness, diversity, population density, and distribution in the skates (Rajidae) of Alaska

Six years of bottom-trawl survey data, including over 6000 trawls covering over 200 km2 of bottom area throughout Alaska’s subarctic marine waters, were analyzed for patterns in species richness, diversity, density, and distribution of skates. The Bering Sea continental shelf and slope, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska regions were stratified by geographic subregion and depth. Species richness and relative density of skates increased with depth to the shelf break in all regions. The Bering Sea shelf was dominated by the Alaska skate (Bathyraja parmifera), but species richness and diversity were low. On the Bering Sea slope, richness and diversity were higher in the shallow stratum, and relative density appeared higher in subregions dominated by canyons. In the Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska, species richness and relative density were generally highest in the deepest depth strata. The data and distribution maps presented here are based on species-level data collected throughout the marine waters of Alaska, and this article represents the most comprehensive summary of the skate fauna of the region published to date.

Biodiversity as an index of regime shift in the eastern Bering Sea

Data collected from an annual groundf ish survey of the eastern Bering Sea shelf from 1975 to 2002 were used to estimate biomass and biodiversity indexes for two fish guilds: f latfish and roundfish. Biomass estimates indicated that several species of f latfish (particularly rock sole, arrowtooth flounder, and f lathead sole), several large sculpins (Myoxocephalus spp.), bigmouth (Hemitripterus bolini), and skates (Bathyraja spp.) had increased. Declining species included several f latfish species and many smaller roundfish species of sculpins, eelpouts (Lycodes spp.), and sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria). Biodiversity indexes were calculated by using biomass estimates for both guilds from 1975 through 2002 within three physical domains on the eastern Bering Sea shelf. Biodiversity trends were found to be generally declining within the roundfish guild and generally increasing within the f latfish guild and varied between inner, middle, and outer shelf domains. The trends in biodiversity indexes from this study correlated strongly with the regime shift reported for the late 1970s and 1980s.

Bathyraja panthera, a new species of skate (Rajidae: Arhynchobatinae) from the western Aleutian Islands, and resurrection of the subgenus Arctoraja Ishiyama

We provide morphological and molecular evidence to recognize a new species of skate from the North Pacific, Bathyraja panthera. We also resurrect the skate subgenus Arctoraja Ishiyama, confirming its monophyly and the validity of the subgenus. Arctoraja was previously recognized as a distinct subgenus of Breviraja and later synonymized with Bathyraja (family Rajidae). Although the nominal species of Arctoraja have all been considered synonyms of Bathyraja parmifera by various authors, on the basis of morphometric, meristic, chondrological, and molecular data we recognize four species, including the new species. Species of Arctoraja are distributed across the North Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas from southern Japan to British Columbia. Bathyraja parmifera is abundant in the eastern Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and northern Gulf of Alaska; B. smirnovi is a western Pacific species found in the Sea of Okhotsk and Sea of Japan; B. simoterus is restricted to waters around the northern and eastern coasts of Hokkaido, Japan; and the new species B. panthera is restricted to the western Aleutian Islands. Bathyraja panthera is diagnosed by its color pattern of light yellow blotches with black spotting on a greenish brown background, high thorn and vertebral counts, chondrological characters of the neurocranium and clasper, and a unique nucleotide sequence within the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase gene. Furthermore, the species presently recognized as Bathyraja parmifera exhibits two haplotypes among specimens from Alaska, suggesting the possibility of a second, cryptic species.

Field applications of the second-generation Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) for remote detection of harmful algae: 2006-2007

We assess the application of the second-generation Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) for the detection of harmful algal bloom (HAB) species in field and laboratory settings using two molecular probe techniques: a sandwich hybridization assay (SHA) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). During spring 2006, the first time this new instrument was deployed, the ESP successfully automated application of DNA probe arrays for various HAB species and other planktonic taxa, but non-specific background binding on the SHA probe array support made results interpretation problematic. Following 2006, the DNA array support membrane that we were using was replaced with a different membrane, and the SHA chemistry was adjusted. The sensitivity and dynamic range of these modifications were assessed using 96-well plate and ESP array SHA formats for several HAB species found commonly in Monterey Bay over a range of concentrations; responses were significantly correlated (p < 0.01). Modified arrays were deployed in 2007. Compared to 2006, probe arrays showed improved signal:noise, and remote detection of various HAB species was demonstrated. We confirmed that the ESP and affiliated assays can detect HAB populations at levels below those posing human health concerns, and results can be related to prevailing environmental conditions in near real-time.

黄土高原水蚀风蚀交错带不同土地利用类型土壤呼吸季节变化及其环境驱动

water wind erosion crisscross region; soil respiration rate; seasonal changes; land use pattern; soil temperature; soil moisture; 【摘要】 以黄土高原水蚀风蚀交错区神木县六道沟小流域为研究区,采用动态密闭气室法对植物生长季节(2007年5～10月)5种土地利用方式的土壤呼吸速率进行了测定,并结合水热因子,对不同土地利用方式间土壤呼吸速率的差异性以及其和温度、含水量之间的关系进行了分析。结果表明:5种土地利用类型土壤呼吸速率季节性变化均呈现单峰型曲线,与气温变化趋势一致,其7、8月份土壤呼吸速率均显著高于其它月份(P<0.05);生长季节土壤CO2平均释放速率顺序为:长芒草地>苜蓿地>柠条地>农地>沙柳地,草地在生长前期和旺盛期土壤呼吸强度均显著高于农地和灌木林地;除沙柳地和苜蓿地以外,在土壤呼吸与所有温度指标的关系中,与10cm深度的土壤温度相关性最好,且除沙柳地外,其它4种土地利用类型均与之达到显著相关;农地土壤呼吸对温度的响应最敏感(Q10值为2.20),除沙柳地(Q10值为1.48)外,其它4种土地利用类型Q10值均在2.0左右,接近于全球Q10的平均水平;通过Van’t Hoff模型估算,2007年植物整个生长季节(5～10月份),5种土地利用类型土壤呼吸量从高到低依次为:苜蓿地259gC·m-2,长芒草地236gC·m-2,柠条地226...

高压差热分析方法（HP-DTA）研究钙蒙脱石-氯化钙-水体系中的脱水作用

在开放（P_水Hoff线方程：0%: 1np= 15.008 - 7.237 * (1000/T) (0.5M) 0.9%: 1np=14.634-6.781* (1000/T) (1M) 1.8%: 1np = 15.347-7.130 * (1000/T) (2.82M) 5%: 1np = 14.717 - 6.381 * (1000/T) (5.63M) 10%: 1np = 14.270-5.806 * (1000/T) (11.26M) 20%: 1np = 14.580 - 5.831 * (1000/T) (16.9M) 30%: 1np = 14.412 - 5.519 * (1000/T)根据这些等式求出了在不同压力、温度下各种浓度的CaCl_2-H_2O流体的水逸度系数（￡）。由于至目前为止在文献中还没有这方面的实验研究报道，因而无法评价这一新方法所获得的数据的准确性。利用求得的￡值，在本篇论文中建立起了不同浓度的CaCl_2-H_2O流体影响钙蒙脱石脱水温度的热力学模式：TD' = [T_1*T_D*(ΔH_(tw) + ΔH_(sv)~盐）/[T_1*(ΔG + ΔH_(dn)~水）-T_D~* (ΔH_(av)~水-ΔH_(sv)~盐）在0-1M浓度范围内，可以认为ΔH_(dh)~水≈H_(dh)~盐，等式变为：TD' = (TD*ΔH_(dh))/(ΔG + ΔH_(dh)）根据这个模式，能推导出在实验浓度范围内，钙蒙脱石在盐水体系中的脱水温度。通过本次论文的实验研究知道在一般沉积盆地的埋芷条件下，钙蒙脱石矿物不会发生简单的脱水作用。在缺乏K~+和低盐度的环境中，含水相蒙脱石可稳定地存在在一定深度的地壳中因而不可忽略蒙脱石在海洋化学和俯冲带水来源中的作用。在选择处理簇射性废料的回填料（backfill）时，如其它条件相同，则应优先选择钙蒙脱石，而不是蛭石。在石油采矿和勘探工程中，因压力释放所造成的蒙脱石的脱水作用可能是使钻井变大和塌方的可能性原因之一。

Chiral separation of enantiomers of amino acid derivatives by high-performance liquid chromatography on a norvancomycin-bonded chiral stationary phase

A novel norvancomycin-bonded chiral stationary phase (NVC-CSP) was synthesized by using the chiral selector of norvancomycin. The chiral separation of enantiomers of several dansyl-amino acids by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the reversed-phase mode is described. The effects of some parameters, such as organic modifier concentration, column temperature, pH and flow rate of the mobile phase, on the retention and enantioselectivity were investigated. The study showed that ionic, as well as hydrophobic interactions were engaged between the analyte and macrocycle in this chromatographic system. Increasing pH of buffers usually improved the chiral resolution for dansyl-alpha-amino-n-butyric acid (Dns-But), dansyl-methionine (Dns-Met) and dansyl-threonine (Dns-Thr), but not for dansyl-glutamic acid (Dns-Glu) which contains two carboxylic groups in its molecular structure. The natural logarithms of selectivity factors (In alpha) of all the investigated compounds depended linearly on the reciprocal of temperature (1/T), most processes of enantioseparation were controlled enthalpically. Interestingly, the process of enantioseparation for dansyl-threonine was enthalpy-controlled at pH of 3.5, while at pH of 7.0, it was entropy-controlled according to thermodynamic parameters Delta(R,S)DeltaHdegrees and Delta(R,S)DeltaSdegrees afforded by Van't Hoff plots. In order to get baseline separation for all the solutes researched, norvancomycin was also used as a chiral mobile phase additive. In combination with the NVC-CSP remarkable increases in enanselectivity were observed for all the compounds, as the result of a "synergistic" effect. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Monte Belo: características da identidade regional para uma indicação geográfica de vinhos.

2008

Computer technology in detection and staging of prostate carcinoma: a review

Y. Zhu, S. Williams and R. Zwiggelaar, 'Computer technology in detection and staging of prostate carcinoma: a review', Medical Image Analysis 10 (2), 178-199 (2006)

Differential scanning calorimetry in life science: thermodynamics, stability, molecular recognition and application in drug design

All biological phenomena depend on molecular recognition, which is either intermolecular like in ligand binding to a macromolecule or intramolecular like in protein folding. As a result, understanding the relationship between the structure of proteins and the energetics of their stability and binding with others (bio)molecules is a very interesting point in biochemistry and biotechnology. It is essential to the engineering of stable proteins and to the structure-based design of pharmaceutical ligands. The parameter generally used to characterize the stability of a system (the folded and unfolded state of the protein for example) is the equilibrium constant (K) or the free energy (deltaG(o)), which is the sum of enthalpic (deltaH(o)) and entropic (deltaS(o)) terms. These parameters are temperature dependent through the heat capacity change (deltaCp). The thermodynamic parameters deltaH(o) and deltaCp can be derived from spectroscopic experiments, using the van't Hoff method, or measured directly using calorimetry. Along with isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is a powerful method, less described than ITC, for measuring directly the thermodynamic parameters which characterize biomolecules. In this article, we summarize the principal thermodynamics parameters, describe the DSC approach and review some systems to which it has been applied. DSC is much used for the study of the stability and the folding of biomolecules, but it can also be applied in order to understand biomolecular interactions and can thus be an interesting technique in the process of drug design.

Exile or emigrant? Female ex-prisoners who left Ireland 1850-1921

In the popular mind, the concept of 'emigration' usually refers to people voluntarily leaving one country to go to another in search of a new and better life. It presupposes some degree of choice, although it is accepted that for many emigrants, such as those who left Ireland during the nineteenth century, there were few incentives to stay at home. Current scholarship on voluntary and forced movements of people demonstrates that the distinction between the categories of 'voluntary emigrant' and 'forced exile' is often blurred. Orm Overland's study of refugee communities in the United States highlights the fact that, although the differences between the 'emigrant' and the 'exile' may be clear in extreme cases, this is not always true, as there may be 'pressing political or economic reasons behind a decision to emigrate'. Migration scholars Jan Lucassen and Leo Lucassen also question the adequacy of conceptual models of migration based on what Lindsay Proudfoot and Dianne Hall refer to as the 'straightforward binarism between free and unfree emigration'. The questions raised by these scholars are very relevant to the study of Irish people who left their country during the second half of the nineteenth century immediately after they had been discharged from prison or from Dundrum. Their stories are discussed here against a background of substantial scholarship on emigration from Ireland and on the criminal justice system within Ireland. According to David Fitzpatrick, at least eight million men, women and children emigrated from Ireland between 1801 and 1921. This large-scale movement of people was generally characterised by the voluntary emigration of individuals who funded their own passages. However, it also included schemes of assisted emigration, funded variously by governments, landlords, the poor law authorities, earlier emigrants, and philanthropists. In addition, it included people who were transported from Ireland by means of the criminal justice system a practice that had originated in the seventeenth century. What is less well known is that after the end of transportation from Ireland to eastern Australia in 1853, to Bermuda in 1863 and to Western Australia in 1868, Irish convicts continued to be channelled towards emigration by being offered early release if they agreed to leave Ireland. These people, and especially the women among them, are the subject of this article.