Behavioural responses of krill and cod to artificial light in laboratory experiments.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Utne-Palm AC
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5784925 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:In the present study, our aim was to compare physiological and behavioural responses to different noxious stimuli to those of a standardized innocuous stimulus, to possibly identify aversive responses indicative of injury detection in a commercially important marine teleost fish, the Atlantic cod. Individual fish were administered with a noxious stimulus to the lip under short-term general anaesthesia (MS-222). The noxious treatments included injection of 0.1% or 2% acetic acid, 0.005% or 0.1% capsaicin, or piercing the lip with a commercial fishing hook. Counts of opercular beat rate (OBR) at 10, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min and observations of behaviour at 30 and 90 min post-treatment were compared with pre-treatment values and with control fish injected with physiological saline, an innocuous stimulus. Circulatory levels of physiological stress indicators were determined in all fish at 120 minutes post-treatment. All treatments evoked temporarily increased OBR that returned to pre-treatment levels at 60 minutes (saline, 0.005% capsaicin, hook), 90 minutes (0.1% acetic acid, 0.1% capsaicin), or 120 minutes (2% acetic acid), but with no significant differences from the control group at any time point. Fish treated with 0.1% and 2% acetic acid and 0.1% capsaicin displayed increased hovering close to the bottom of the aquaria and fish given 2% acetic acid and 0.1% capsaicin also displayed a reduced use of shelter. The only effect seen in hooked fish was brief episodes of lateral head shaking which were not seen pre-treatment or in the other groups, possibly reflecting a resiliency to tissue damage in the mouth area related to the tough nature of the Atlantic cod diet. There were no differences between groups in circulatory stress indicators two hours after treatment. This study provides novel data on behavioural indicators that could be used to assess potentially aversive events in Atlantic cod.
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Project description:BackgroundDue to the scarcity of exfoliated/extracted human primary teeth with complete roots, artificial teeth were developed as an alternative to be used for educational and laboratory research purposes. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of using artificial primary teeth for conducting laboratory research through an experiment related to canal length determination, comparing artificial teeth with natural teeth.MethodsThirty anterior and 21 posterior artificial teeth, and the same number of natural primary teeth were selected. After preparing the access cavity, the root canal length was determined by two examiners twice using three different methods: radiography and two electronic apex locators. Then, the actual root canal length was measured by inserting a K-file up to the apical foramen (reference standard). Accuracy was calculated using Bland-Altman analysis and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The inter- and intra-examiner reproducibility was also calculated using the ICC.ResultsThe methods using the electronic apex locators showed better accuracy in both artificial and natural teeth. Trends observed with artificial primary teeth were similar to those observed with natural teeth, except for the results in artificial anterior teeth.ConclusionsThe model of artificial teeth might be a good alternative for educational purposes; however, improvements are necessary to employ these teeth for research purposes when considering experiments for canal length determination.
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Project description:Animal positions within moving groups may reflect multiple motivations including saving energy and sensing neighbors. These motivations have been proposed for schools of Antarctic krill, but little is known about their three-dimensional structure. Stereophotogrammetric images of Antarctic krill schooling in the laboratory are used to determine statistical distributions of swimming speed, nearest neighbor distance, and three-dimensional nearest neighbor positions. The krill schools swim at speeds of two body lengths per second at nearest neighbor distances of one body length and reach similarly high levels of organization as fish schools. The nearest neighbor position distribution is highly anisotropic and shows that Antarctic krill prefer to swim in the propulsion jet of their anterior neighbor. This position promotes communication and coordination among schoolmates via hydrodynamic signals within the pulsed jet created by the metachronal stroking of the neighboring krill's pleopods. The hydrodynamic communication channel therefore plays a large role in structuring the school. Further, Antarctic krill avoid having a nearest neighbor directly overhead, possibly to avoid blockage of overhead light needed for orientation. Other factors, including the elongated body shape of Antarctic krill and potential energy savings, also may help determine the three dimensional spatial structure of tightly packed krill schools.
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Project description:Medical devices have transformed modern health care, and ongoing experimental medical technology trials (such as the artificial pancreas) have the potential to significantly improve the treatment of several chronic conditions, including diabetes mellitus. However, we suggest that, to date, the essential concept of cybersecurity has not been adequately addressed in this field. This article discusses several key issues of cybersecurity in medical devices and proposes some solutions. In addition, it outlines the current requirements and efforts of regulatory agencies to increase awareness of this topic and to improve cybersecurity.
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Project description:Understanding species-specific flight behaviours is essential in developing methods of guiding fish spatially, and requires knowledge on how groups of fish respond to aversive stimuli. By harnessing their natural behaviours, the use of physical manipulation or other potentially harmful procedures can be minimised. We examined the reactions of sea-caged groups of 50 salmon (1331 ± 364 g) to short-term exposure to visual or acoustic stimuli. In light experiments, fish were exposed to one of three intensities of blue LED light (high, medium and low) or no light (control). Sound experiments included exposure to infrasound (12 Hz), a surface disturbance event, the combination of infrasound and surface disturbance, or no stimuli. Groups that experienced light, infrasound, and the combination of infrasound and surface disturbance treatments, elicited a marked change in vertical distribution, where fish dived to the bottom of the sea-cage for the duration of the stimulus. Light treatments, but not sound, also reduced the total echo-signal strength (indicative of swim bladder volume) after exposure to light, compared to pre-stimulus levels. Groups in infrasound and combination treatments showed increased swimming activity during stimulus application, with swimming speeds tripled compared to that of controls. In all light and sound treatments, fish returned to their pre-stimulus swimming depths and speeds once exposure had ceased. This work establishes consistent, short-term avoidance responses to these stimuli, and provides a basis for methods to guide fish for aquaculture applications, or create avoidance barriers for conservation purposes. In doing so, we can achieve the manipulation of group position with minimal welfare impacts, to create more sustainable practices.
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Project description:Some studies have ascribed a protective effect against neurodegenerative diseases to the β-carbolines harman (H) and norharman (NH), which occur mostly in coffee and coffee substitutes. We determined the concentrations of β-carbolines and undesirable compounds (such as acrylamide) in roasted coffee substitute ingredients and found that chicory coffee was optimal. Two in vivo experiments were conducted with seventeen-month-old male Sprague Dawley rats fed a diet with the addition of pure carboline standards in the first stage, and chicory in the second. We observed an increase in the level of H and NH in blood plasma, as well as higher activity of animals in the battery behavioral test, particularly in the second stage. The results of in vitro studies-particularly the level of the expression in brain tissue of genes associated with aging processes and neurodegenerative diseases-clearly show the benefits of a diet rich in β-carbolines.
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Project description:Methods of artificial evolution such as SELEX and in vitro selection have made it possible to isolate RNA and DNA motifs with a wide range of functions from large random sequence libraries. Once the primary sequence of a functional motif is known, the sequence space around it can be comprehensively explored using a combination of random mutagenesis and selection. However, methods to explore the sequence space of a secondary structure are not as well characterized. Here we address this question by describing a method to construct libraries in a single synthesis which are enriched for sequences with the potential to form a specific secondary structure, such as that of an aptamer, ribozyme, or deoxyribozyme. Although interactions such as base pairs cannot be encoded in a library using conventional DNA synthesizers, it is possible to modulate the probability that two positions will have the potential to pair by biasing the nucleotide composition at these positions. Here we show how to maximize this probability for each of the possible ways to encode a pair (in this study defined as A-U or U-A or C-G or G-C or G.U or U.G). We then use these optimized coding schemes to calculate the number of different variants of model stems and secondary structures expected to occur in a library for a series of structures in which the number of pairs and the extent of conservation of unpaired positions is systematically varied. Our calculations reveal a tradeoff between maximizing the probability of forming a pair and maximizing the number of possible variants of a desired secondary structure that can occur in the library. They also indicate that the optimal coding strategy for a library depends on the complexity of the motif being characterized. Because this approach provides a simple way to generate libraries enriched for sequences with the potential to form a specific secondary structure, we anticipate that it should be useful for the optimization and structural characterization of functional nucleic acid motifs.
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