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"Michael J. Miller"
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Star destroyers : big ships blowing things up
\"In space, size matters. Boomers. Ships of the Line. Star Destroyers. The bigger the ship, the better the bang. From the dawn of history onward, commanding the most powerful ship around has been a dream of admirals, sultans, emperors, kings, generalissimos, and sea captains everywhere. For what the intimidation factor alone doesn't achieve, a massive barrage from super-weapons probably will. Thus it was, and ever shall be, even into the distant future. From the oceans of Earth, to beneath the ice of Europa, to the distant reaches of galactic empires, it is the great warships and their crews that sometimes keep civilization safe for the rest of us -- but sometimes become an extinction-level event in and of themselves\"--Back cover.
Book
The mysterious feeding ecology of leptocephali: a unique strategy of consuming marine snow materials
Leptocephalus larvae have transparent bodies with tubular intestines that usually lack identifiable food items when they are collected, so mystery has surrounded efforts to determine what they feed on. Artificially spawned and reared first-feeding larvae were found to be highly selective in what they would eat, but they would consume rotifers and eventually ate specially formulated diets that contained shark egg yolk. Gut content studies on wild-caught leptocephali in the Atlantic and Pacific observed marine snow-associated materials such as discarded appendicularian houses, zooplankton fecal pellets, protists, and amorphous materials, and DNA sequencing indicated that the gut contents contain materials originating from a wide range of microorganisms and food web zooplankton species that were likely consumed in marine snow. Isotopic studies found a low trophic position of leptocephali and inter-taxa and geographic signature differences. Behavioral studies with leptocephali and the characteristics and size-scaling of the teeth are also consistent with feeding on marine snow-related particles. The feeding strategy of leptocephali appears to be based on consuming types of marine snow that contain nutritious and easily assimilated carbohydrates, fatty acids, and other materials that facilitate rapid conversion to glycosaminoglycans and tissues for energy storage and growth.
Journal Article
Spawning Sites of the Japanese Eel in Relation to Oceanographic Structure and the West Mariana Ridge
The Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica, spawns within the North Equatorial Current that bifurcates into both northward and southward flows in its westward region, so its spawning location and larval transport dynamics seem important for understanding fluctuations in its recruitment to East Asia. Intensive research efforts determined that Japanese eels spawn along the western side of the West Mariana Ridge during new moon periods, where all oceanic life history stages have been collected, including eggs and spawning adults. However, how the eels decide where to form spawning aggregations is unknown because spawning appears to have occurred at various latitudes. A salinity front formed from tropical rainfall was hypothesized to determine the latitude of its spawning locations, but an exact spawning site was only found once by collecting eggs in May 2009. This study reports on the collections of Japanese eel eggs and preleptocephali during three new moon periods in June 2011 and May and June 2012 at locations indicating that the distribution of lower salinity surface water or salinity fronts influence the latitude of spawning sites along the ridge. A distinct salinity front may concentrate spawning south of the front on the western side of the seamount ridge. It was also suggested that eels may spawn at various latitudes within low-salinity water when the salinity fronts appeared unclear. Eel eggs were distributed within the 150-180 m layer near the top of the thermocline, indicating shallow spawning depths. Using these landmarks for latitude (salinity front), longitude (seamount ridge), and depth (top of the thermocline) to guide the formation of spawning aggregations could facilitate finding mates and help synchronize their spawning.
Journal Article
A Guide to Utilization of the Microbiology Laboratory for Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases: 2013 Recommendations by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM)a
The critical role of the microbiology laboratory in infectious disease diagnosis calls for a close, positive working relationship between the physician and the microbiologists who provide enormous value to the health care team. This document, developed by both laboratory and clinical experts, provides information on which tests are valuable and in which contexts, and on tests that add little or no value for diagnostic decisions. Sections are divided into anatomic systems, including Bloodstream Infections and Infections of the Cardiovascular System, Central Nervous System Infections, Ocular Infections, Soft Tissue Infections of the Head and Neck, Upper Respiratory Infections, Lower Respiratory Tract infections, Infections of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Intraabdominal Infections, Bone and Joint Infections, Urinary Tract Infections, Genital Infections, and Skin and Soft Tissue Infections; or into etiologic agent groups, including Tickborne Infections, Viral Syndromes, and Blood and Tissue Parasite Infections. Each section contains introductory concepts, a summary of key points, and detailed tables that list suspected agents; the most reliable tests to order; the samples (and volumes) to collect in order of preference; specimen transport devices, procedures, times, and temperatures; and detailed notes on specific issues regarding the test methods, such as when tests are likely to require a specialized laboratory or have prolonged turnaround times. There is redundancy among the tables and sections, as many agents and assay choices overlap. The document is intended to serve as a reference to guide physicians in choosing tests that will aid them to diagnose infectious diseases in their patients.
Journal Article
43 Years after H.G. Moser’s Seminal “Morphological and Functional Aspects of Marine Fish Larvae”: The Commonalities of Leptocephali and Larvae of Other Marine Teleosts
H.G. Moser was not particularly well known regarding the Elopomorpha, but he began his seminal 1981 fish larvae morphology review by describing the mysteries of European eels and their leptocephali, and he eventually described some California Current leptocephali. Descriptions of all types of leptocephali and then microscope photographs have revealed complex pigmentation patterns and diverse body shapes that parallel the features of the other teleost fish larvae that his review showed so clearly, some of which appear to mimic gelatinous zooplankton (GZ). Most recently, underwater photographs and video of leptocephali indicate that predator avoidance through transparency, shape-change-mediated mimicry, or morphological features have evolved in response to natural selection from predation in ways generally similar to other fish larvae. Several families of leptocephali perform remarkable curling into round or flattened shapes or use expandable chromatophores when threatened, which appears to mimic GZ for predation reduction. Like a number of other teleost fish larvae, some leptocephali have body extensions or telescopic eyes, and at least one has a long caudal filament with pigmented swellings that is similar to the remarkable GZ mimicry appendages of some fish larvae. The morphology and use of mimicry of leptocephali in comparison to other fish larvae is reviewed as a tribute to H.G. Moser’s remarkable career.
Journal Article
Release of eDNA by different life history stages and during spawning activities of laboratory-reared Japanese eels for interpretation of oceanic survey data
To assist in detection of offshore spawning activities of the Japanese eel
Anguilla japonica
and facilitate interpretation of results of environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis in their spawning area, we examined the eDNA concentration released by each life history stage of artificially reared Japanese eels in the laboratory using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). We also compared eDNA concentrations between before and after artificially induced spawning activities. eDNA was not detected from three 30 L seawater tanks containing each single fertilized egg, but eDNA was found from other tanks each containing single individuals of larval stages (preleptocephalus and leptocephalus), juvenile stages (glass eel, elver and yellow eel) or adult stage (silver eel). The eDNA concentrations increased in the life history stages, showed a significant difference among all stages, and were positively correlated with the total length and wet weight. Moreover, the eDNA concentration after spawning was 10–200 times higher than that before spawning, which indicated that the spawning events in the ocean would produce relatively high eDNA concentration. These results in the laboratory suggested that eDNA analysis appears to be an effective method for assisting oceanic surveys to estimate the presence and spawning events of the Japanese eel in the spawning area.
Journal Article
Effects of Anesthesia on BOLD Signal and Neuronal Activity in the Somatosensory Cortex
Most functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) animal studies rely on anesthesia, which can induce a variety of drug-dependent physiological changes, including depression of neuronal activity and cerebral metabolism as well as direct effects on the vasculature. The goal of this study was to characterize the effects of anesthesia on the BOLD signal and neuronal activity. Simultaneous fMRI and electrophysiology were used to measure changes in single units (SU), multi-unit activity (MUA), local field potentials (LFP), and the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) response in the somatosensory cortex during whisker stimulation of rabbits before, during and after anesthesia with fentanyl or isoflurane. Our results indicate that anesthesia modulates the BOLD signal as well as both baseline and stimulus-evoked neuronal activity, and, most significantly, that the relationship between the BOLD and electrophysiological signals depends on the type of anesthetic. Specifically, the behavior of LFP observed under isoflurane did not parallel the behavior of BOLD, SU, or MUA. These findings suggest that the relationship between these signals may not be straightforward. BOLD may scale more closely with the best measure of the excitatory subcomponents of the underlying neuronal activity, which may vary according to experimental conditions that alter the excitatory/inhibitory balance in the cortex.
Journal Article
Influence of ocean circulation and the Kuroshio large meander on the 2018 Japanese eel recruitment season
Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) recruitment to Japan was very low during the early 2017-2018 recruitment season when most glass eels are usually caught, but catches increased in the late recruitment season when recruitment usually decreases. Concurrently, the Kuroshio meander south of Japan had formed again after the previous event ended in 2005. The role of the large meander and ocean circulation features such as the North Equatorial Current (NEC) in the unusual 2017-2018 Japanese eel recruitment timing-pattern was investigated using a three-dimensional particle tracking model that simulated swimming behaviors of virtual larvae (v-larvae) in addition to their drift in ocean currents. Four recruitment seasons were selected for when the Kuroshio large meander was present (2004-2005, 2017-2018) or absent (2009-2010, 2015-2016), and when NEC was shifted north (2004-2005, 2015-2016) or south (2009-2010, 2017-2018). The simulated recruitment timing-patterns were similar to the actual recent-year recruitment, with no early recruitment period v-larvae arrival to southern Japan and increased late period recruitment occurring. Rather than being related to the presence of the Kuroshio large meander, the late arrival appeared to be caused by a southward shifted, weak North Equatorial Current near the spawning area, a longer Subtropical Countercurrent eddy region retention time, and a weak Kuroshio during the early migration and recruitment period of those years. In the late recruitment period, the Kuroshio was stronger than other selected years near the East China Sea and south of Japan and v-larvae were transported more rapidly. The Kuroshio large meander may influence local eel recruitment in Japan, and the recirculation formed by the large meander could potentially enhance recruitment to the Tokai region. Oriented (northwestward) swimming v-larvae were less affected by the large meander, and showed higher recruitment success than those using along-current swimming. Although the Kuroshio large meander did not seem to be responsible for the unusual recruitment pattern in 2018, how Japanese eel larvae and glass eels actually cross out of the Kuroshio and reach coastal waters in Japan remains to be explored.
Journal Article
Effect of larval swimming in the western North Pacific subtropical gyre on the recruitment success of the Japanese eel
The possible effect of directional larval swimming on the recruitment success of the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica, was examined with a three-dimensional particle-tracking ocean circulation model using horizontal northwestward swimming and diel vertical migration (DVM). Four separate experiments included virtual larvae (v-larvae) movement from the spawning area over 290 days (total migration) and 160 days (stage A), from the STCC eddy region in 70 days (stage B), and from the origin of the Kuroshio in 60 days (stage C) to evaluate the effect of directional swimming and DVM compared to simple drifting. Passive or random swimming were not the most effective strategies for larvae dispersing from the spawning area because most v-larvae remained south of 20°N without entering the Kuroshio. Northwestward swimming resulted in wider dispersion and a better chance of successful recruitment, with v-larvae becoming widely distributed in the STCC eddy zone, arriving at the east coast of the Philippines (stage A), escaping the STCC eddy area and reaching the Kuroshio (stage B), and crossing the Kuroshio into the East China Sea shelf (stage C). DVM slightly shortened the migration period due to faster shallow layer ocean currents during nighttime. The NEC transported non-swimming v-larvae westward to the Kuroshio and occasionally northward into the Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC) area where eddies transported v-larvae westward into the Kuroshio, but less than with swimming. Directional swimming increased recruitment success, northwestward swimming was more effective than other directions, and a slower swimming speed was still better than no/random swimming in sensitivity tests. The present study demonstrated a first view of the possibility that Japanese eel larvae might be able to use a strategy of single-direction swimming to increase arrival at their recruitment areas.
Journal Article
Maternal fucosyltransferase 2 status affects the gut bifidobacterial communities of breastfed infants
Background
Individuals with inactive alleles of the fucosyltransferase 2 gene (FUT2; termed the ‘secretor’ gene) are common in many populations. Some members of the genus
Bifidobacterium
, common infant gut commensals, are known to consume 2′-fucosylated glycans found in the breast milk of secretor mothers. We investigated the effects of maternal secretor status on the developing infant microbiota with a special emphasis on bifidobacterial species abundance.
Results
On average, bifidobacteria were established earlier and more often in infants fed by secretor mothers than in infants fed by non-secretor mothers. In secretor-fed infants, the relative abundance of the
Bifidobacterium longum
group was most strongly correlated with high percentages of the order
Bifidobacteriale
s. Conversely, in non-secretor-fed infants,
Bifidobacterium breve
was positively correlated with
Bifidobacteriale
s, while the
B. longum
group was negatively correlated. A higher percentage of bifidobacteria isolated from secretor-fed infants consumed 2′-fucosyllactose. Infant feces with high levels of bifidobacteria had lower milk oligosaccharide levels in the feces and higher amounts of lactate. Furthermore, feces containing different bifidobacterial species possessed differing amounts of oligosaccharides, suggesting differential consumption
in situ
.
Conclusions
Infants fed by non-secretor mothers are delayed in the establishment of a bifidobacteria-laden microbiota. This delay may be due to difficulties in the infant acquiring a species of bifidobacteria able to consume the specific milk oligosaccharides delivered by the mother. This work provides mechanistic insight into how milk glycans enrich specific beneficial bacterial populations in infants and reveals clues for enhancing enrichment of bifidobacterial populations in at risk populations - such as premature infants.
Journal Article