126 research outputs found

    Bio-Optical Measurements in Upwelling Ecosystems in Support of SIMBIOS

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    The upwelling region of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, which spans one quarter of the earth s circumference, strongly impacts global biogeochemistry. This upwelling system has significant implications for global CO2 fluxes (Tans et al., 1990; Takahashi et al., 1997; Feely et al., 1999), as well as primary and secondary production (Chavez and Barber, 1987; Chavez and Toggweiler, 1995; Chavez et al., 1996; Dugdale and Wilkerson, 1998; Chavez et al., 1999; Strutton and Chavez, 2000). In addition, the region represents a vast oceanic (case 1) region over which validation data for SeaWiFS are needed. This project consists of an optical mooring program and cruise-based measurements focused on measuring biological and chemical variability in the equatorial Pacific and obtaining validation data for SeaWiFS

    Skeletal P/Ca tracks upwelling in Gulf of Panama coral: Evidence for a new seawater phosphate proxy

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    The supply of limiting nutrients to the low latitude ocean is controlled by physical processes linked to climate variations, but methods for reconstructing past nutrient concentrations in the surface ocean are few and indirect. Here, we present laser ablation mass spectrometry results that reveal annual cycles of P/Ca in a 4-year record from the scleractinian coral Pavona gigantea (mean P/Ca = 118 mmol mol?1). The P/Ca cycles track variations in past seawater phosphate concentration synchronously with skeletal Sr/Ca-derived temperature variations associated with seasonal upwelling in the Gulf of Panama´. Skeletal P/Ca varies seasonally by 2–3 fold, reflecting the timing and magnitude of dissolved phosphate variations. Solution cleaning experiments on drilled coral powders show that over 60% of skeletal P occurs in intracrystalline organic phases. Coral skeleton P/Ca holds promise as a proxy record of nutrient availability on time scales of decades to millennia

    Sea ice meltwater and Circumpolar Deep Water drive contrasting productivity in three Antarctic polynyas

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    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2019. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans 124(5), (2019): 2943-2968, doi:10.1029/2019JC015071.In the Southern Ocean, polynyas exhibit enhanced rates of primary productivity and represent large seasonal sinks for atmospheric CO2. Three contrasting east Antarctic polynyas were visited in late December to early January 2017: the Dalton, Mertz, and Ninnis polynyas. In the Mertz and Ninnis polynyas, phytoplankton biomass (average of 322 and 354 mg chlorophyll a (Chl a)/m2, respectively) and net community production (5.3 and 4.6 mol C/m2, respectively) were approximately 3 times those measured in the Dalton polynya (average of 122 mg Chl a/m2 and 1.8 mol C/m2). Phytoplankton communities also differed between the polynyas. Diatoms were thriving in the Mertz and Ninnis polynyas but not in the Dalton polynya, where Phaeocystis antarctica dominated. These strong regional differences were explored using physiological, biological, and physical parameters. The most likely drivers of the observed higher productivity in the Mertz and Ninnis were the relatively shallow inflow of iron‐rich modified Circumpolar Deep Water onto the shelf as well as a very large sea ice meltwater contribution. The productivity contrast between the three polynyas could not be explained by (1) the input of glacial meltwater, (2) the presence of Ice Shelf Water, or (3) stratification of the mixed layer. Our results show that physical drivers regulate the productivity of polynyas, suggesting that the response of biological productivity and carbon export to future change will vary among polynyas.This work was cofunded by the Australian Antarctic Division research projects AAS 4131 and 4291. This project was also supported by the Australian Government Cooperative Research Centres Programme through the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems (ACE CRC). S. Moreau and C. Genovese were supported by the Australian Research Council's Special Research Initiative for Antarctic Gateway Partnership (project ID SR140300001). V. Puigcorbé and M. Roca‐Martí are grateful for the support from Pere Masque and Edith Cowan University. M.C. Arroyo was supported by the Dickhut Fellowship, administered by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The authors would like to thank the officers and crew of the R/V Aurora Australis for their logistic support, the CSIRO hydrochemists for their analyses of nutrient concentrations, and E. J. Yang for her microscope analysis of phytoplankton species. We also want to thank two anonymous reviewers for their very good comments on this study. The data presented in this paper are available on the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) Data Centre at https://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/metadata_by_parameter.cfm.2019-09-2

    Sounds of fishes in a Posidonia seagrass meadow (Ustica Island, 1999)

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    <p>These fish sound recordings are issued from the original acoustic dataset of USTICA 99 experiment described in:</p> <p>Chapter 5. Acoustic Remote Sensing of Photosynthetic Activity in Seagrass Beds</p> <p>Jean-Pierre Hermand</p> <p>Handbook of Scaling Methods in Aquatic Ecology<br> Measurement, Analysis, Simulation<br> Edited by Peter G. Strutton and Laurent Seuront<br> CRC Press 2003<br> Pages 65–96<br> Print ISBN: 978-0-8493-1344-8<br> eBook ISBN: 978-0-203-48955-0<br> DOI: 10.1201/9780203489550.ch5</p> <p> </p&gt

    Loss of osteoclasts contributes to development of osteosarcoma pulmonary metastases

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    We conducted a transcriptomic screen of osteosarcoma (OS) biopsies and found that expression of osteoclast-specific tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5 (ACP5/TRAP) is significantly downregulated in OS compared with nonmalignant bone (P < 0.0001). Moreover, lesions from OS patients with pulmonary metastases had 2-fold less ACP5/TRAP expression (P < 0.018) than lesions from patients without metastases. In addition, we found a direct correlation (P = 0.0166) between ACP5/TRAP expression and time to metastasis. Therefore, we examined whether metastasis-competent (MC) OS cells could induce loss of ACP5(+) osteoclasts and contribute to metastasis. We found that MC OS cell lines can inhibit osteoclastogenesis in vitro and in vivo. In addition, osteoclasts can inhibit the migration of MC OS cells in vitro. Finally, ablation of osteoclasts with zoledronic acid increases the number of metastatic lung lesions in an orthotopic OS model, whereas fulvestrant treatment increases osteoclast numbers and reduces metastatic lesions. These data indicate that the metastatic potential of OS is determined early in tumor development and that loss of osteoclasts in the primary lesion enhances OS metastasis.Liliana Endo-Munoz, Andrew Cumming, Danny Rickwood, Danielle Wilson, Claudia Cueva, Charlotte Ng, Geoffrey Strutton, A. Ian Cassady, Andreas Evdokiou, Scott Sommerville, Ian Dickinson, Alexander Guminski, and Nicholas A. Saunder

    Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the primary motor cortex attenuates capsaicin-induced dynamic mechanical allodynia and mechanical pain sensitivity in humans.

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    BACKGROUND: Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the primary cortex has been shown to activate regions of the brain involved in the descending modulation of pain sensitivity. However, more research is required in order to dissect the spinal cord analgesic mechanisms associated with the development of central sensitisation. METHODS: In this randomised, double blind, cross over study 12 healthy participants had baseline mechanical stimulus response (S/R) functions measured before and after the development of capsaicin-induced ongoing pain sensitivity. The effects of 20 min of either real or sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS, 2 mA) over the primary motor cortex on dynamic mechanical allodynia (DMA) and mechanical pain sensitivity (MPS) was then investigated. RESULTS: Topical application of capsaicin resulted in an increase in area under the pain ratings curve for both DMA (p < .01) and MPS (p < .01). The effects of tDCS on the area under the curve ratio (i.e. post/pre-treatment) revealed significant analgesic effects over DMA (p < .05) and MPS (p < .05) when compared to sham. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that anodal tDCS over the primary motor cortex can reduce both dynamic and static forms of mechanical pain sensitivity associated with the development of DMA and MPS, respectively. The use of tDCS may provide a novel mechanism-driven therapy in chronic pain patients with altered mechanical S/R functions
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