Showing papers by "University of Stirling published in 1988"

Bacterial Fish Pathogens: Disease of Farmed and Wild Fish

Abstract: The structure of fish the meaning of disease in relation to fish anaerobic pathogens gram-positive bacteria - the ...lactic acid bacteria... aerobic gram-positive rods and cocci excluding the lactobacilli aeromonadaceae representatives ...aeromonas salmonicida... aeromonadaceae representatives excluding ...aeromonas salmonicida... enterobacteriaceae representatives cytophagaceae representatives including related gram-negative yellow/orange pigmented rods pseudomonadaceae representatives vibrionaceae representatives moraxellaceae representatives small, morphologically simple bacteria miscellaneous pathogens diagnosis of bacterial fish pathogens control of bacterial fish diseases outlook.

Fatty acid compositions of the major phosphoglycerides from fish neural tissues; (n−3) and (n−6) polyunsaturated fatty acids in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) and cod (Gadus morhua) brains and retinas

Abstract: The fatty acid compositions of brain phosphoglycerides from a freshwater fish, the rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri), and a marine fish, the cod (Gadus morhua), were determined and compared with those from a terrestrial mammal, the rat. Fish brain lipids were characterized by a higher degree of unsaturation encompassing increased percentages of (n-3)PUFA (22∶6 and 20∶5) and lower percentages of (n-6)PUFA (20∶4 and 22∶4). However the distribution of fatty acids and specific PUFA between different phosphoglycerides was essentially similar in rat and fish brain tissue. PE and PS contained the highest percentages of 22∶6(n-3), PI was characterized by higher 18∶0 and 20∶4(n-6)/20∶5(n-3), and PC had higher 16∶0 and the lowest percentage of PUFA in all species. A generally similar pattern was found in the fish retinal phosphoglycerides except that PC was also rich in 22∶6(n-3). Overall trout brain phosphoglycerides were slightly more unsaturated than the cod lipids but with lower (n-3)/(n-6) ratios whereas cod retinal lipids were more unsaturated than the trout retinal lipids.

The lipid biochemistry of calanoid copepods

Abstract: Calanus species, particularly those in high latitudes, can accumulate large oil reserves consisting predominantly of wax esters. These wax esters consist predominantly of 16:0, 20:1 (n−9) and 22:1 (n−11) fatty alcohols, mainly formed de novo by the animals from non-lipid dietary precursors, esterified with various fatty acids that are often polyunsaturated fatty acids and largely of dietary, phytoplanktonic origin. Wax ester formation is maximal in copepodite stages IV and V. The lipids are elaborated not primarily for buoyancy regulation but as a source of metabolic energy during overwintering, particularly for reproduction. Large quantities of wax esters are utilised for gonadal development when stage V copepodites mature to females. Development of stage V copepodites to males is not accompanied by wax ester utilisation but males consume large amounts of these lipids in physical activity during reproduction. The role of wax esters in the life history of calanoids is illustrated with particular reference to a comparison of Calanus finmarchicus and Metridia longa in Balsfjord, northern Norway.

Visitors excite primates in zoos

Abstract: Fifteen species of primate were observed to assess the effects of zoo visitors on their social behavior. When visitors were present primates were less affiliative, more active, but more aggressive. These changes were particularly marked in arboreal monkeys, especially in smaller species, and were reduced by 50% by lowering the height of spectators. Detailed observations of a group of mandrills indicated that with increasing numbers of visitors the monkeys showed a linear increase in attention to visitors, in activity, and in stereotyped behavior. All of these effects are consistent with an interpretation that visitors are a source of stressful excitement rather than of enrichment.

Effectiveness of geriatric rehabilitative care after fractures of the proximal femur in elderly women: a randomised clinical trial.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE--To compare postoperative collaborative care between orthopaedic surgeons and physicians in geriatric medicine with routine orthopaedic care in elderly women with proximal femoral fracture. DESIGN--Exclusion of patients dying before fit enough to enter trial, those with pathological fractures, those likely to be discharged within seven days of entering the trial, and those remaining unfit for transfer to a peripheral hospital. Remainder allocated to two groups: treatment group and control group. SETTING--District hospital acute admission ward and rehabilitation ward. PATIENTS--144 sequentially admitted elderly women with proximal fracture of the femur; 36 excluded on above criteria and remainder entered into trial. INTERVENTION--Both treatment and control groups (n = 54 in each) received physiotherapy and other services. The treatment group also received thrice weekly supervision by a geriatrician. END POINTS--Physical independence, residence after discharge, and length of hospital stay. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS--At discharge significantly more patients in treatment group were independent in terms of activities of daily living than controls (41 v 25) and their median stay was 24 days (range 8-197) compared with 41 (9-365) (95% confidence intervals for difference 2 to 25). Significantly fewer treatment patients were discharged to institutional care (10% v 32%; 95% confidence interval for difference 6% to 37%) and more to their own homes (63% v 38%; 95% confidence interval for difference 6% to 44%). These beneficial effects were consistent across a range of ages and mental state. CONCLUSIONS--Both hospital and patient benefited when postoperative rehabilitation was provided in a setting specialising in such care for elderly patients with trauma.

Hand-mouth coordination in the new-born baby

Abstract: The spontaneous motor activity of 15 new-born babies was filmed and their arm and hand movements analysed in slow motion to yield detailed measurements of the interrelation between hand, head and mouth postures. These analyses revealed that new-borns can move the hand to the mouth either directly or indirectly via the perioral region of the face. The mouth is open in ‘anticipation’ of arrival of the hand and the movement does not require visual guidance. This little-known coordination may have important implications for theories of intersensorimotor relations and for the origins of intentionality.

Diet of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Mt. Assirik, Senegal: I. Composition.

Abstract: The composition of the diet of a savanna-living population of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Mt. Assirik in Senegal is presented. The study site had a prolonged dry season, high temperatures, and vegetation dominated by grasses. Data came from direct observation, fecal specimens, and feeding traces; thus, strict criteria for acceptance of the indirect data were specified. Composition of diet was given in terms of species and family of prey, parts eaten, life-form, type of habitat, and criteria for inclusion. Forty-three species of plants with 60 parts were eaten; mostly fruits, from trees, in woodland. Nine species of animal prey were eaten, mostly social insects. An additional 41 species of plants with 53 parts were classed as likely to be eaten by chimpanzees, mostly on the grounds of their being eaten by sympatric anthropoids. Overall, the diet of the apes at Mt. Assirik resembles that of this species elsewhere in Africa, but the size of the dietary repertoire seems small and the proportion of low-quality foodstuffs high. The latter are mostly time-consuming to collect or tedious to obtain or process, and include underground storage organs.

The consequences of brood size for breeding blue tits. iii. measuring the cost of reproduction: survival, future fecundity, and differential dispersal.

Abstract: To determine how the cost of reproduction varies with brood size, a population of blue tits (Parus caeruleus) breeding in Wytham Wood, England, was manipulated over a three year period. Two hundred sixteen pairs were randomly assigned 3, 6, 9, 12, or 15 nestlings; nestlings were exchanged soon after hatching. Survival of adult females (as measured by the proportion recaptured in the following winter and/or spring) declined significantly with increasing brood size in two out of three years; there was significant year-to-year variation in the relationship of recapture rate to brood size. Mean female recapture rates (averaged over the three years) declined in a linear fashion (P < 0.01). There was no significant linear or curvilinear relationship between male-recapture rate and brood size in any of the three years nor was there a significant linear or curvilinear relationship for the data averaged over the three years. Nevertheless, recapture proportions for males differed significantly with respect to brood size (χ2 test, P < 0.05). The possibility that experimental brood size influences subsequent dispersal (and therefore biases measures of survival based on recapture rates to differing degrees) was examined by comparing distances moved by breeding adults from one year to the next. There was no relationship between brood size and dispersal distance within the study area for either sex, except that females given broods of three were significantly more likely to move more than 300 m than were those given broods of 6-15 young. Both males and females showed evidence of a cost with respect to future fecundity: as brood size increased, the number of surviving offspring produced in the following year decreased from 1.5-1.6 (for adults that had reared 3-6 young) to 0.4 (for those that had reared 15 young). The relationship of future reproductive success to experimental brood size did not differ among years or between the sexes. The number of eggs laid and number of young hatched in year n + 1 did not differ significantly with respect to brood size in year n; rather, differences in future fecundity reflected differences in the survival prospects of young reared in year n + 1.

Ectomycorrhizal rain-forest legumes and soil phosphorus in Korup National Park, Cameroon

Abstract: SUMMARY The mycorrhizal status of a group of caesalpinioid legumes in lowland rain-forest in Korup National Park, SW Cameroon, was examined. Species in ten genera, Anthonotha, Aphanocalyx, Berlinia, Didelotia, Gilbertiodendron, Julbernardia, Microberlinia, Monopetalanthus, Tetraberlinia(tribe Amherstieae) and Afzelia(tribe Detarieae) were ectomycorrhizal. These species were not uniformly distributed in the forest, and three large emergent species Microberlinia bisulcata A. Chev., Tetraberlinia bifoliolata(Harms) Hauman, and T. moreliana Aubr. in particular appear to form groves c. 600 m across. This type of distribution may be related to the ectomycorrhizal habit. A previous large scale enumeration and soil survey on four 5 km transects of plots in the forest, carried out during the wet season, had revealed an association between these ectomycorrhizal legumes and low concentrations ( 5 μg g-1) of extractable phosphorus in the mineral soil. In the current study part of one of the original transects in a low phosphorus area of the forest, where ectomycorrhizal trees comprise 29 % of the basal area, was resampled at the subplot level during the dry season. Whereas in the wet season soil phosphorus had been lower (2·8 μg g-1) within the ectomycorrhizal groves than without (3·8 μg g-1), in the dry season the situation was reversed and the overall concentrations were higher (12·3 and 7·9 μg g-1 respectively). Ordination analysis re-affirmed the association of the three Microberlina/Tetraberlinia species with relatively low concentrations of extractable phosphorus in the wet season but relatively high ones in the dry season. The groves are characterized by high inputs of leaf litter in the dry season, extensive colonization of surface organic matter by ectomycorrhizas and hyphal strands, and high carbon: extractable inorganic phosphorus ratios in the mineral soil in the wet season. These features are discussed in relation to the presumed ability of ectomycorrhizas to utilize organic phosphorus.

The entrainment and gating of the endogenous circannual rhythm of reproduction in the female rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)

Abstract: The endogenous circannual rhythm of maturation in the female rainbow trout and associated changes in serum oestradiol-17β and vitellogenin (as calcium) can be entrained by abrupt changes in the photoperiod. Groups of virgin fish (which naturally spawn in December) maintained under LD 18∶6 from mid-January (Year 1), and then subjected to a reduction to LD 6∶18 either on 1st March (Group A), 1st April (Group B), 1st May (Group C) or 1st June (Group D), commenced spawning on 31st July, 13th and 30th August, and the 16th September, respectively. Fish maintained on LD 18∶6 throughout the experiment (Group E) commenced spawning on 10th October. These advances in the timing of spawning can be described in the form of a phase-response curve analogous to the entrainment behaviour of circadian oscillators. It is concluded that under natural conditions the annual change in photoperiod serves to continuously entrain the circannual clock thus ensuring that maturation and spawning occur at the optimal season for the survival of the species.

Research in Public Sector Accounting: An Appraisal

Abstract: An overview of recent research in finance, financial accounting and accountability, internal accounting and management information systems and audit in the public sector. To date, most such research activity has focused on financial accounting and accountability. Nevertheless, there are still unresolved issues in this area. This article also highlights distinctive aspects of other areas of public sector accounting, including current developments and areas of neglect. One notable development is the application of current research methodologies in management accounting to the internal accounting of public sector institutions. A major area of neglect by public sector accounting researchers is that of the financing of public sector institutions.

The fatty acid compositions of established fish cell lines after long-term culture in mammalian sera.

Abstract: The effect of long-term culture of fish cells in mammalian serum on the phospholipid fatty acid composition was investigated. All the cell lines studied had much lower levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) than those found in intact fish tissues. In particular (n-3) PUFA were considerably depleted in the cultured cell lines, leading to very low (n-3)/(n-6) ratios in all the phospholipid classes. In general the cells were rich in 18:1, 16:0, 18:0 and 16:1 with 20:4(n-6) and 22:6(n-3) as the major PUFA. The fatty acid composition reflected the composition of the fetal calf serum added to the media rather than their fish tissue origins. The results were discussed in relation to the roles of PUFA in general cell metabolism and more specifically the role of (n-3) PUFA in fish cells.

Property returns and inflation

Abstract: Summary This study investigates the hedging characteristics of property investments. We follow the methodology established in the finance literature by distinguishing between expected and unexpected inflation. The results provide support for the view that property provides a partial hedge against inflation.

A comparison of sources of nursing stress and job satisfaction among mental handicap and hospice nursing staff

Abstract: This study compares sources of nursing stress and job satisfaction among 181 mental handicap and 24 hospice nurses. It was hypothesized that nursing stress varies as a consequence of nursing specialty. Analysis of variance revealed differing features of nursing stress between the two specialties. Hospice nurses reported stress as primarily associated with death and dying and inadequate preparation to meet the emotional needs of patients and their families, while mental handicap nurses reported stress related to workload, conflict with other nurses and nursing environment. The results suggest that two additional factors that did not differ between specialties require further examination, namely patient behaviour and purposelessness of nursing care. Job satisfaction also differed between specialties with hospice nurses reporting higher satisfaction with supervision, co-workers, and pay, and lower satisfaction with promotion in comparison to mental handicap nurses. Within the mental handicap groups nursing stress correlated with job satisfaction, state-trait anxiety and non-psychotic psychiatric disturbance in predicted directions. Analysis of the above variables with respect to mental handicap nursing grade was also undertaken. Overall results indicate the importance of nursing specialty as a major factor influencing nursing stress.

The genetics and histology of red, blond and associated colour variants in Oreochromis niloticus

Abstract: A single red mutant was observed in a pure strain of O. niloticus (Egyptian). This was crossed to 6 normal coloured females and the progeny were used to study the genetics and histology of this commercially important trait. Other potentially important colour variants were also studied. These included blond, blotch, syrup and red melanophore. Histology showed that melanophore development rather than a biochemical pathway mutation was responsible for the colour in red fish. Histology of red tilapia showed almost a complete absence of melanin granules in the skin, blotched individuals showed areas characteristic of red and normal skin. The histology of the skin of blond fish showed the incomplete development of melanophores and melanocytes. Genetic analysis of the red trait shows that red is an autosomal dominant, and confirms that blond is autosomal recessive as is syrup. The analysis of blotch and red melanophore is not complete but suggests that both are epistatic to red. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the improvement of existing red strains and the importance of these colour traits for the development of new colour variants in tilapia.

Selectivity of protein sequestration by vitellogenic oocytes of the rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri

Abstract: The selectivity of protein sequestration by vitellogenic oocytes of the rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri, was investigated by comparing the rates of uptake of radiolabelled vitellogenin (VTG) and bovine serum albumin (BSA). Fish were injected simultaneously with equal amounts of both 3H-VTG and 14C-BSA and sampled subsequently at varying time invervals to assess the rates of uptake of these proteins into the developing oocytes. Both labelled proteins were taken up rapidly into the blood after their injection into the peritoneal cavity. Once in the blood, they became available for sequestration by the vitellogenic oocytes. There was both rapid and selective uptake of 3H-VTG; within 72 hours half of the 3H-VTG injected was present within the ovary, whereas only 2.5% of the 14C-BSA was similarly located. Once within the oocyte, 3H-VTG was specifically and rapidly processed to yield its constituent yolk proteins, which included 3H-lipovitellin. In contrast, after 72 hours 14C-BSA was present in the oocyte as the native, intact protein. However, after 13 days, whereas the yolk proteins had undergone no further processing, remaining stable within the oocyte, much of the BSA within the ovary had been degraded to an array of smaller peptides. Furthermore, after 26 days, whereas all of the 3H-VTG endocytosed remained within the oocytes as yolk protein, at least half of the BSA taken up initially had been exocytosed. Calculation suggested that 3H-VTG was sequestered about 60 times more rapidly than 14C-BSA. Other tissue did not incorporate 3H-VTG to any significant degree. These results suggest that VTG was sequestered into vitellogenic oocytes by receptor-mediated endocytosis, whereas BSA, along with other extraneous proteins, was taken up adventitiously.

Lipid composition of copepodite stages and adult females of Calanus glacialis in Arctic waters of the Barents Sea

Abstract: The composition of lipid classes and their component fatty acid are described for copepodite stages III, IV, V, and adult females of Calanus glacialis sampled from Arctic waters of the Barents Sea during summer. Was esters were the principal component of the lipid in all copepodite stages examined, averaging 73% over all the stages. The proportion of triacylglycerols varied from 1.5% to 10.5% of total lipid among copepodite stages. The lipids of adult females contained lower levels of wax esters and higher levels of triacylglycerols than copepodite stages III, IV and V. Fatty alcohols of wax esters from copepods sampled in June and July were dominated by 20:1 (n-9) and 22:1 (n-11) alcohols with the proportion of 20:1 (n-9) increasing from stages III to adult female. 14:0 and 16:0 alcohols were the principal fatty alcohols of wax esters of a sample comprising mainly of copepodites stage III taken in August. 16:1 (n-7), 20:1 (n-9) and 20:5 (n-3) were the major fatty acids in the was esters of animals captured in June and July whereas 18:1 (n-9) predominated in the August sample. The polar lipids of the copepodite stage III from August also contained lower levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids than from all stages of copepods from June and July. The data are discussed in relation to life cycle strategies and trophic aspects of Calanus glacialis in the Arctic pelagic community of the Barents Sea.

Comparative Programming Languages

Abstract: From the Publisher: This book identifies and explains the essential concepts underlying the design and use of programming languages and provides a good balance of theory and practice. The author compares how the major languages handle issues such as declarations, types, data abstraction, information hiding, modularity, and the support given to the development of reliable software systems. The emphasis is on the similarities, rather than the differences, between languages, and primarily covers modern, widely used objectoriented and procedural languages such as Java, C++, C, Pascal (including its implementation in Delphi), Ada 95, and Perl, with special chapters being devoted to functional and logic languages. The new edition has been brought fully up to date with new developments in the field: the increase in the use of OO languages as a programmer's first language; the growth in importance of graphical user interfaces (GUIs); and the widespread use of the Internet. This book is suitable for readers with a Java or procedurallanguage background who want to get into the theory of programminglanguage development and utilization. /*@ISBN = 0201710129 @MAINCAT = Programming Languages @DATALINE1 = 2001, 384 pages, 7 1/4 x 9 1/8 @DATALINE2 = Paper, $50.00k*/