Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

University of Plymouth

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 5701 - 5730 of 6794

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Bunker Auscultation, Mh Emmett Nov 2011

Bunker Auscultation, Mh Emmett

School of Art, Design and Architecture

The investigation trials a cognitive mapping methodology designed to analyse theories of spatial behaviours and focuses on the nature of perception in the formation of subjective reality and interpersonal feedback mechanisms. A subterranean WWII bunker, hidden under the City of Plymouth, is used as a specific context for centering the investigation, inasmuch the enquiry considers the bunker as psychoactive in nature, that is, stimulating a range of psychological, emotional and behavioural responses in relationship to the percipients spatial register. The project focuses on the formalisation of a classification system, and examines space as a conveying medium. The project acts as …

Go to article

Identification And Expression Analysis Of Cbf/Dreb1 And Cor15 Genes In Mutants Of Brassica Oleracea Var. Botrytis With Enhanced Proline Production And Frost Resistance, F Hadi, M Gilpin, Mp Fuller Nov 2011

Identification And Expression Analysis Of Cbf/Dreb1 And Cor15 Genes In Mutants Of Brassica Oleracea Var. Botrytis With Enhanced Proline Production And Frost Resistance, F Hadi, M Gilpin, Mp Fuller

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Frost resistant mutants of Brassica oleracea var. botrytis were investigated for the presence of CBF/DREB1 and COR15a gene products and induced frost resistance. Total RNA of clones was isolated after 3 h, 6 h, 24 h and 14 d acclimation at 4 °C and proteins and free proline were isolated after 14 d acclimation. cDNA was produced using RT-PCR and the first CBF gene in B. oleracea detected and did quantify. Through SDS-PAGE and Western blotting, the COR15a protein was detected for the first time in B. oleracea. The results confirmed the first report of the presence of BoCBF/DREB1 in …

Go to article

Evaluation Of Prebiotic And Probiotic Effects On The Intestinal Gut Microbiota And Histology Of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar L.), Mads Kristiansen, Daniel L. Merrifield, Jose L.Gonzalez Vecino, Reidar Myklebust, Einar Ringø Oct 2011

Evaluation Of Prebiotic And Probiotic Effects On The Intestinal Gut Microbiota And Histology Of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar L.), Mads Kristiansen, Daniel L. Merrifield, Jose L.Gonzalez Vecino, Reidar Myklebust, Einar Ringø

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

In the present study the impact on gut microbiology and indigenous gut histology of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) was investigated following feeding of a control and a prebiotic (EWOS prebiosal®) diet and ex vivo exposure to saline or the probiotic bacterium Carnobacterium divergens. The results showed that ex vivo exposure of C. divergens at 108 CFU ml-1 did not cause cell damage to the intestine tract of Atlantic salmon. Furthermore, prior provision of dietary prebiotic elevated the ability of C. divergens to adhere to the epithelium or mucus layer in the proximal intestine, where culturable heterotrophic bacterial …

Go to article

Marine Bivalve Geochemistry And Shell Ultrastructure From Modern Low Ph Environments, S Hahn, R Rodolfo-Metalpa, E Griesshaber, Ww Schmahl, D Buhl, Jm Hall-Spencer, C Baggini, Kt Fehr, A Immenhauser Oct 2011

Marine Bivalve Geochemistry And Shell Ultrastructure From Modern Low Ph Environments, S Hahn, R Rodolfo-Metalpa, E Griesshaber, Ww Schmahl, D Buhl, Jm Hall-Spencer, C Baggini, Kt Fehr, A Immenhauser

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Bivalve shells can provide excellent archives of past environmental change but have not been used to interpret ocean acidification events. We investigated carbon, oxygen and trace element records from different shell layers in the mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis (from the Mediterranean) and M. edulis (from the Wadden Sea) combined with detailed investigations of the shell ultrastructure. Mussels from the harbour of Ischia (Mediterranean, Italy) were transplanted and grown in water with mean pHT 7.3 and mean pHT 8.1 near CO2 vents on the east coast of the island of Ischia. The shells of transplanted mussels were compared with M. edulis collected …

Go to article

Iucn Uk Commission Of Inquiry On Peatlands, Cg Bain, A Bonn, R Stoneman, S Chapman, A Coupar, M Evans, B Gearey, M Howat, H Joosten, C Keenleyside, J Labadz, R Lindsay, N Littlewood, Paul Lunt, Cj Miller, A Moxey, H Orr, M Reed, P Smith, V Swales, Dba Thompson, Ps Thompson, R Van De Noort, Jd Wilson, F Worrall Oct 2011

Iucn Uk Commission Of Inquiry On Peatlands, Cg Bain, A Bonn, R Stoneman, S Chapman, A Coupar, M Evans, B Gearey, M Howat, H Joosten, C Keenleyside, J Labadz, R Lindsay, N Littlewood, Paul Lunt, Cj Miller, A Moxey, H Orr, M Reed, P Smith, V Swales, Dba Thompson, Ps Thompson, R Van De Noort, Jd Wilson, F Worrall

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Peatlands are areas of land with a naturally accumulated layer ofpeat. These are formed under waterlogged conditions from carbonrich, dead and decaying plant material. In the UK mosses, mainlySphagnum species, are the main formers of peat.Peatlands are found in at least 175 countries – from the tropics to the poles– and cover around 4 million km2or 3% of the world’s land area. In Europe,peatlands extend to ca. 515,000 km2. The UK is amongst the top ten nationsof the world in terms of its total peatland area. The UK has between 9-15%of Europe’s peatland area (46,000-77,000 km2) and about 13% of …

Go to article

A Single-Rate Context-Dependent Learning Process Underlies Rapid Adaptation To Familiar Object Dynamics, James N. Ingram, Ian S. Howard, J. Randall Flanagan, Daniel M. Wolpert Sep 2011

A Single-Rate Context-Dependent Learning Process Underlies Rapid Adaptation To Familiar Object Dynamics, James N. Ingram, Ian S. Howard, J. Randall Flanagan, Daniel M. Wolpert

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Modeling The Connectome Of A Simple Spinal Cord., R Borisyuk, Ak Al Azad, D Conte, A Roberts, Sr Soffe Sep 2011

Modeling The Connectome Of A Simple Spinal Cord., R Borisyuk, Ak Al Azad, D Conte, A Roberts, Sr Soffe

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

In this paper we develop a computational model of the anatomy of a spinal cord. We address a long-standing ambition of neuroscience to understand the structure-function problem by modeling the complete spinal cord connectome map in the 2-day old hatchling Xenopus tadpole. Our approach to modeling neuronal connectivity is based on developmental processes of axon growth. A simple mathematical model of axon growth allows us to reconstruct a biologically realistic connectome of the tadpole spinal cord based on neurobiological data. In our model we distribute neuron cell bodies and dendrites on both sides of the body based on experimental measurements. …

Go to article

Seasonal And Inter-Annual Temperature Variability In The Bottom Waters Over The Western Black Sea Shelf, G. I. Shapiro, F. Wobus, D. L. Aleynik Sep 2011

Seasonal And Inter-Annual Temperature Variability In The Bottom Waters Over The Western Black Sea Shelf, G. I. Shapiro, F. Wobus, D. L. Aleynik

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Long-term changes in the state of the Bottom Shelf Water (BSW) on the Western shelf of the Black Sea are assessed using analysis of intra-seasonal and inter-annual temperature variations. For the purpose of this study the BSW is defined as such shelf water mass between the seabed and the upper mixed layer (bounded by the σθ = 14.2 isopycnal) which has limited ability to mix vertically with oxygen-rich surface waters during the warm season due to formation of a seasonal pycnocline. A long-term time series of temperature anomalies in the BSW is constructed from in-situ observations taken over the 2nd …

Go to article

2d Dige Analysis Of Maternal Plasma For Potential Biomarkers Of Down Syndrome., Wendy E. Heywood, Tracey E. Madgett, Darrell Wang, Amanda Wallington, Julie Hogg, Kevin Mills, Neil D. Avent Sep 2011

2d Dige Analysis Of Maternal Plasma For Potential Biomarkers Of Down Syndrome., Wendy E. Heywood, Tracey E. Madgett, Darrell Wang, Amanda Wallington, Julie Hogg, Kevin Mills, Neil D. Avent

School of Biomedical Sciences

BACKGROUND: Prenatal screening for Down Syndrome (DS) would benefit from an increased number of biomarkers to improve sensitivity and specificity. Improving sensitivity and specificity would decrease the need for potentially risky invasive diagnostic procedures. RESULTS: We have performed an in depth two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D DIGE) study to identify potential biomarkers. We have used maternal plasma samples obtained from first and second trimesters from mothers carrying DS affected fetuses compared with mothers carrying normal fetuses. Plasma samples were albumin/IgG depleted and expanded pH ranges of pH 4.5 - 5.5, pH 5.3 - 6.5 and pH 6 - 9 were …

Go to article

Effects Of Ocean Acidification On Marine Biodiversity And Ecosystem Function, Jp Barry, Jm Hall-Spencer, S Widdicombe Sep 2011

Effects Of Ocean Acidification On Marine Biodiversity And Ecosystem Function, Jp Barry, Jm Hall-Spencer, S Widdicombe

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Dll4-Notch Signaling Mediates Tumor Resistance To Anti-Vegf Therapy In Vivo, J-L Li, Rca Sainson, Ce Oon, H Turley, Et Al Sep 2011

Dll4-Notch Signaling Mediates Tumor Resistance To Anti-Vegf Therapy In Vivo, J-L Li, Rca Sainson, Ce Oon, H Turley, Et Al

School of Biomedical Sciences

Resistance to VEGF inhibitors is emerging as a major clinical problem. Notch signaling has been implicated in tumor angiogenesis. Therefore, to investigate mechanisms of resistance to angiogenesis inhibitors, we transduced human glioblastoma cells with retroviruses encoding Notch delta-like ligand 4 (DLL4), grew them as tumor xenografts and then treated the murine hosts with the VEGF-A inhibitor bevacizumab. We found that DLL4-mediated tumor resistance to bevacizumab in vivo. The large vessels induced by DLL4-Notch signaling increased tumor blood supply and were insensitive to bevacizumab. However, blockade of Notch signaling by dibenzazepine, a ?-secretase inhibitor, disrupted the large vessels and abolished the …

Go to article

The Use Of Phonetic Motor Invariants Can Improve Automatic Phoneme Discrimination, C Castellini, L Badino, G Metta, G Sandini, Et Al Sep 2011

The Use Of Phonetic Motor Invariants Can Improve Automatic Phoneme Discrimination, C Castellini, L Badino, G Metta, G Sandini, Et Al

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

We investigate the use of phonetic motor invariants (MIs), that is, recurring kinematic patterns of the human phonetic articulators, to improve automatic phoneme discrimination. Using a multi-subject database of synchronized speech and lips/tongue trajectories, we first identify MIs commonly associated with bilabial and dental consonants, and use them to simultaneously segment speech and motor signals. We then build a simple neural network-based regression schema (called Audio-Motor Map, AMM) mapping audio features of these segments to the corresponding MIs. Extensive experimental results show that (a) a small set of features extracted from the MIs, as originally gathered from articulatory sensors, are …

Go to article

Altered Toll-Like Receptor 2-Mediated Endotoxin Tolerance Is Related To Diminished Interferon Beta Production., Ss Zaric, Wa Coulter, Ce Shelburne, Cr Fulton, Ms Zaric, A Scott, Mj Lappin, Dc Fitzgerald, Cr Irwin, Cc Taggart Aug 2011

Altered Toll-Like Receptor 2-Mediated Endotoxin Tolerance Is Related To Diminished Interferon Beta Production., Ss Zaric, Wa Coulter, Ce Shelburne, Cr Fulton, Ms Zaric, A Scott, Mj Lappin, Dc Fitzgerald, Cr Irwin, Cc Taggart

Peninsula Dental School

Induction of endotoxin tolerance leads to a reduced inflammatory response after repeated challenge by LPS and is important for resolution of inflammation and prevention of tissue damage. Enterobacterial LPS is recognized by the TLR4 signaling complex, whereas LPS of some non-enterobacterial organisms is capable of signaling independently of TLR4 utilizing TLR2-mediated signal transduction instead. In this study we report that Porphyromonas gingivalis LPS, a TLR2 agonist, fails to induce a fully endotoxin tolerant state in a human monocytic cell line (THP-1) and mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages. In contrast to significantly decreased production of human IL-8 and TNF-α and, in mice, …

Go to article

Assessment Of Ph Variability At A Coastal Co2 Vent For Ocean Acidification Studies, Philip Kerrison, Jason M. Hall-Spencer, David J. Suggett, Leanne J. Hepburn, Michael Steinke Aug 2011

Assessment Of Ph Variability At A Coastal Co2 Vent For Ocean Acidification Studies, Philip Kerrison, Jason M. Hall-Spencer, David J. Suggett, Leanne J. Hepburn, Michael Steinke

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Marine environments with naturally high CO2 concentrations have become important research sites for studying the impacts of future ocean acidification on biological processes. We conducted high temporal resolution pH and temperature measurements in and around a shallow (2.5–3 m) CO2 vent site off Ischia, Italy in May and June 2008. Loggers were deployed at five stations to monitor water at both the surface and benthos. Our reference station, 500 m from the CO2 vent, had no noticeable vent influence. It had a naturally high and stable benthic pH (mean 8.16, inter-quartile range (IQ): 8.14–8.18) fluctuating with diel periodicity, presumably driven …

Go to article

Genetic Organisation, Mobility And Predicted Functions Of Genes On Integrated, Mobile Genetic Elements In Sequenced Strains Of Clostridium Difficile, Michael S.M. Brouwer, Philip J. Warburton, Adam P. Roberts, Peter Mullany, Elaine Allan Aug 2011

Genetic Organisation, Mobility And Predicted Functions Of Genes On Integrated, Mobile Genetic Elements In Sequenced Strains Of Clostridium Difficile, Michael S.M. Brouwer, Philip J. Warburton, Adam P. Roberts, Peter Mullany, Elaine Allan

School of Biomedical Sciences

No abstract provided.

Go to article

A Neurocomputational Model Of Stimulus-Specific Adaptation To Oddball And Markov Sequences., Robert Mill, Martin Coath, Thomas Wennekers, Susan L. Denham Aug 2011

A Neurocomputational Model Of Stimulus-Specific Adaptation To Oddball And Markov Sequences., Robert Mill, Martin Coath, Thomas Wennekers, Susan L. Denham

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Stimulus-specific adaptation (SSA) occurs when the spike rate of a neuron decreases with repetitions of the same stimulus, but recovers when a different stimulus is presented. It has been suggested that SSA in single auditory neurons may provide information to change detection mechanisms evident at other scales (e.g., mismatch negativity in the event related potential), and participate in the control of attention and the formation of auditory streams. This article presents a spiking-neuron model that accounts for SSA in terms of the convergence of depressing synapses that convey feature-specific inputs. The model is anatomically plausible, comprising just a few homogeneously …

Go to article

Genetic Risk And A Primary Role For Cell-Mediated Immune Mechanisms In Multiple Sclerosis, Stephen Sawcer, Garrett Hellenthal, Matti Pirinen, Chris C.A. Spencer, Nikolaos A. Patsopoulos, Loukas Moutsianas, Alexander Dilthey, Zhan Su, Colin Freeman, Sarah E. Hunt, Sarah Edkins, Emma Gray, David R. Booth, Simon C. Potter, An Goris, Gavin Band, Annette Bang Oturai, Amy Strange, Janna Saarela, Céline Bellenguez, Bertrand Fontaine, Matthew Gillman, Bernhard Hemmer, Rhian Gwilliam, Frauke Zipp, Alagurevathi Jayakumar, Roland Martin, Stephen Leslie, Stanley Hawkins, Stanley Hawkins Aug 2011

Genetic Risk And A Primary Role For Cell-Mediated Immune Mechanisms In Multiple Sclerosis, Stephen Sawcer, Garrett Hellenthal, Matti Pirinen, Chris C.A. Spencer, Nikolaos A. Patsopoulos, Loukas Moutsianas, Alexander Dilthey, Zhan Su, Colin Freeman, Sarah E. Hunt, Sarah Edkins, Emma Gray, David R. Booth, Simon C. Potter, An Goris, Gavin Band, Annette Bang Oturai, Amy Strange, Janna Saarela, Céline Bellenguez, Bertrand Fontaine, Matthew Gillman, Bernhard Hemmer, Rhian Gwilliam, Frauke Zipp, Alagurevathi Jayakumar, Roland Martin, Stephen Leslie, Stanley Hawkins, Stanley Hawkins

Peninsula Medical School

Multiple sclerosis is a common disease of the central nervous system in which the interplay between inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes typically results in intermittent neurological disturbance followed by progressive accumulation of disability. Epidemiological studies have shown that genetic factors are primarily responsible for the substantially increased frequency of the disease seen in the relatives of affected individuals, and systematic attempts to identify linkage in multiplex families have confirmed that variation within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) exerts the greatest individual effect on risk. Modestly powered genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have enabled more than 20 additional risk loci to be identified …

Go to article

Altered Toll-Like Receptor 2-Mediated Endotoxin Tolerance Is Related To Diminished Interferon Β Production, Ss Zaric, Wa Coulter, Ce Shelburne, Cr Fulton, Et Al Aug 2011

Altered Toll-Like Receptor 2-Mediated Endotoxin Tolerance Is Related To Diminished Interferon Β Production, Ss Zaric, Wa Coulter, Ce Shelburne, Cr Fulton, Et Al

Peninsula Dental School

Induction of endotoxin tolerance leads to a reduced inflammatory response after repeated challenge by LPS and is important for resolution of inflammation and prevention of tissue damage. Enterobacterial LPS is recognized by the TLR4 signaling complex, whereas LPS of some non-enterobacterial organisms is capable of signaling independently of TLR4 utilizing TLR2-mediated signal transduction instead. In this study we report that Porphyromonas gingivalis LPS, a TLR2 agonist, fails to induce a fully endotoxin tolerant state in a human monocytic cell line (THP-1) and mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages. In contrast to significantly decreased production of human IL-8 and TNF-α and, in mice, …

Go to article

Unconsidered Activity, Craft Expertise And Reflective Practice In Teaching, Peter Kelly Aug 2011

Unconsidered Activity, Craft Expertise And Reflective Practice In Teaching, Peter Kelly

Plymouth Institute of Education

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Musical Emotions: Predicting Second-By-Second Subjective Feelings Of Emotion From Low-Level Psychoacoustic Features And Physiological Measurements, E Coutinho, A Cangelosi Aug 2011

Musical Emotions: Predicting Second-By-Second Subjective Feelings Of Emotion From Low-Level Psychoacoustic Features And Physiological Measurements, E Coutinho, A Cangelosi

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

We sustain that the structure of affect elicited by music is largely dependent on dynamic temporal patterns in low-level music structural parameters. In support of this claim, we have previously provided evidence that spatiotemporal dynamics in psychoacoustic features resonate with two psychological dimensions of affect underlying judgments of subjective feelings: arousal and valence. In this article we extend our previous investigations in two aspects. First, we focus on the emotions experienced rather than perceived while listening to music. Second, we evaluate the extent to which peripheral feedback in music can account for the predicted emotional responses, that is, the role …

Go to article

In Situ Observations Of Fish Associated With Coral Reefs Off Ireland, M. Söffker, K. A. Sloman, J. M. Hall-Spencer Aug 2011

In Situ Observations Of Fish Associated With Coral Reefs Off Ireland, M. Söffker, K. A. Sloman, J. M. Hall-Spencer

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The abundance and behaviour of fish on and around coral reefs at Twin Mounds and Giant Mounds, carbonate mounds located on the continental shelf off Ireland (600-1100. m), were studied using two Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives. We recorded 30 fish taxa on the dives, together with three species of Scleractinia (Lophelia pertusa, Madrepora oculata and Desmophyllum cristagalli) and a diverse range of other corals (Antipatharia, Alcyonacea, and Stylasteridae). Stands of live coral provided the only habitat in which Guttigadus latifrons was observed whereas Neocyttus helgae was found predominantly on structural habitats provided by dead coral. Significantly more fish were …

Go to article

Aquaculture Of Octopus Species: Present Status, Problems And Perspectives, Elisabeth Berger Jul 2011

Aquaculture Of Octopus Species: Present Status, Problems And Perspectives, Elisabeth Berger

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The aquaculture of Octopus species is currently an active field of research around the world, but economic viability is not yet achieved. Here, the current state of knowledge with respect to Octopus water quality and nutritional requirements, reproduction, juvenile and adult stages in culture systems, which comes mainly from just one species, Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier, 1797), is reviewed. Some critical considerations are addressed and new research lines are proposed.

Go to article

The Physiological And Physical Response To Capture Stress In Sharks, Laila Hassan Hassanein Jul 2011

The Physiological And Physical Response To Capture Stress In Sharks, Laila Hassan Hassanein

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Exhaustive exercise leads to severe metabolic, acid-base, ionic and hematological changes in sharks. It has been shown that these changes are species-specific and are affected by the magnitude of the cumulative effects of physiological and physical trauma associated with capture. Blood lactate, glucose and pH levels are reliable indicators of the shark stress response and have been extensively studied. Several shark species have been reported to be able to survive physiological stress unless severe physical trauma occurs. As comprehensive information about post release mortality is missing, future investigations should focus on the relationship between physiological disruption and survival rates of …

Go to article

An Investigation Into The Bacterial Communities Present At Two Estuarine Beaches In The South Hams, Devon, Uk: The Effects Of Oil Pollution, Ian Lidbury Jul 2011

An Investigation Into The Bacterial Communities Present At Two Estuarine Beaches In The South Hams, Devon, Uk: The Effects Of Oil Pollution, Ian Lidbury

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Aims: To determine if there are any differences between oil-degrading:heterotroph ratios and bacterial communities from a polluted and non-polluted site. Methods and Results: Composite samples for both water and sediment were collected from Mothecombe (polluted) and Wembury (control). Cultural enumeration and molecular analysis was performed to determine any differences between bacterial communities. No differences were observed between the bacterial communities of the two sites. Sediment samples were an order of magnitude higher in abundance compared to water samples. Conclusion: Mothecombe appears to have recovered from oil pollution. Culture-independent studies are needed to clarify the validity of these findings. Significance and …

Go to article

What Do We Know About The Causes And Consequences Of Salmonid Social Hierarchies From Laboratory Experiments?, Lewis Eaton Jul 2011

What Do We Know About The Causes And Consequences Of Salmonid Social Hierarchies From Laboratory Experiments?, Lewis Eaton

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The main focus of this review will be to examine the current understanding of the causes and consequences of salmonid hierarchies as well as the implications to wild populations and aquaculture. Salmonid dominance hierarchies readily form under laboratory conditions, this has allowed extensive research into social structures. There is limited research into the causes of social status, however, the cause is likely to be a combination of standard metabolic rate, body size and prior competitive experience. A wide range of research outlines the consequences of social status from behavioural changes in aggression and submission to physiological changes in disease resistance, …

Go to article

Red And Green Carcinus: How Different?, Jennifer Lewis Jul 2011

Red And Green Carcinus: How Different?, Jennifer Lewis

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Carcinus maenas is, arguably, the most extensively studied intertidal crab in the world and can be found in a variety of habitats, from rocky intertidal, subtidal, in many areas of the world. Because of its range of habitats, it can tolerant a wide range of salinities and other environmental stressors like hypoxia and desiccation. Some individuals go into a prolonged state of intermoult when they reach a certain size, and turn red in colour. This means that C. maenas exhibits colour polymorphism, there being a green colour morph and a red colour morph due to different levels of expression in …

Go to article

The Effects Of Stocking Density On Fish Welfare, Louise Baldwin Jul 2011

The Effects Of Stocking Density On Fish Welfare, Louise Baldwin

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The welfare of intensively farmed fish is a subject of increasing interest and one of the principal areas of concern is stocking density. Several studies have examined the effects of density on the welfare of farmed fish, and have found it to be a source of chronic stress with commonly reported effects including reduced growth rates, alterations in the physical condition and health of fish, and the activation of stress responses. Such changes in the biological and physiological systems of fish are indicative of a reduced welfare status. However due to pronounced interspecies variations in behavioural and physiological requirements, the …

Go to article

Does The Evolution Of Increased Competitive Ability Hypothesis Explain Invasion? Comparing Native And Non-Native Populations Of Plantago Lanceolata, Izzadora Dean Jul 2011

Does The Evolution Of Increased Competitive Ability Hypothesis Explain Invasion? Comparing Native And Non-Native Populations Of Plantago Lanceolata, Izzadora Dean

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis proposes that release from enemy regulation in new ranges results in changes in selective pressure, producing poorly defended, rapidly growing phenotypes. Plantago lanceolata is not exposed to intense mollusc herbivory in its non-native North American range, therefore post-invasive evolutionary change may be observed in these populations. 2. Seeds from eight populations, four invasive and four native, were collected and grown in glasshouses. Seedling acceptability to the mollusc Helix aspersa was measured, along with recovery after artificial cotyledon removal, seed mass and seedling mass at 14d old. 3. No difference in acceptability was …

Go to article

Investigating The Nature Of Body Representations And Their Use In Pair Matching And Mental Rotation Tasks, Abigail Clifton Jul 2011

Investigating The Nature Of Body Representations And Their Use In Pair Matching And Mental Rotation Tasks, Abigail Clifton

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Two computer based stimulus-response experiments were conducted with the aim of finding whether Body Representations aid pair matching and mental rotations of 'same‘ or 'different‘ Bodies in comparison to Bicycles. Also to find whether 'disconnecting‘ Body Stimuli would disrupt the BSD and increase RTs. Sixteen different University of Plymouth students took part in each experiment, 32 overall. No significant effects were found for pair matching alone. Body Stimuli were rotated significantly more quickly than Bicycle Stimuli in Experiment 2. This effect was attributed to participants utilising their Body Representations to perform the rotations in a more holistic way. No effect …

Go to article

In Vitro Micropropagation Of Medicinal Plants By Tissue Culture, Yaadwinder Sidhu Jul 2011

In Vitro Micropropagation Of Medicinal Plants By Tissue Culture, Yaadwinder Sidhu

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Tissue culturing of medicinal plants is widely used to produce active compounds for herbal and pharmaceutical industries. Conservation of genetic material of many threatened medicinal plants also involves culturing techniques. This work reviews in vitro micropropagation techniques and gives examples of various commercially important medicinal plants. The effect of media formulations and culturing techniques on the growth and multiplication of medicinal plants; and on the production of secondary metabolites is also reviewed. Another method of obtaining secondary metabolites is biotransformation; some famous pharmaceuticals obtained by this method are discussed briefly.

Go to article

First Prev Next Last