Transport and accumulation of organochlorines in the ovaries of Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus)

The role of vitellogenin in the transport of organochlorines was investigated in Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) by exposing them through the diet to o,p′-DDT at a concentration of 10.8 μg/100 g fish/day for 14 days or Aroclor 1254 (PCB) at a concentration of 0.5 mg/100 g fish/day for 30 days during gonadal recrudescence. Tissue samples were taken from the fish at various times after initial exposure, and o,p′-DDT and PCBs were extracted in acetonitrile and analyzed by gas chromatography. Analysis of the ovarian tissue collected 2 and 3 weeks from the start of exposure revealed that the o,p′-DDT concentration increases as the gonadosomatic index (GSI) increases (r² = 0.63), with accumulation ranging from less than 1% to as much as 8% of the total dosage. Interestingly, o,p′-DDT did not accumulate in the testes during the same exposure period. Accumulation of PCBs was found to be 40 times higher in the ovaries than in the testes. Gel filtration of plasma from exposed females showed that o,p′-DDT elutes in the low density lipoprotein and vitellogenin fractions. Control plasma incubated with o,p′-DDT at 4 °C for 16 h followed by chromatography on Sepharose 6B gave similar results with an o,p′-DDT concentration of 0.6μg/mg protein in the vitellogenin fraction. Furthermore, both o,p′-DDT and PCBs were found to bind to purified croaker vitellogenin. These results suggest that lipoproteins, including vitellogenin, are involved in the transport and accumulation of organochlorines in the ovaries of exposed fish.     

Source regions for recruitment of Calanus finmarchicus to Georges Bank: evidence from molecular population genetic analysis of mtDNA

Molecular population genetic analysis has provided evidence that the copepod, Calanus finmarchicus, of the Labrador Current, Gulf of St Lawrence, Scotian Shelf, Gulf of Maine, and Georges Bank constitute a single, interbreeding population. The DNA sequence of a 350 base pair portion of the mitochondrial large subunit (16S) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene was determined for a total of 72 individuals collected in 1992, and 110 individuals collected in 1993 from these regions. There was significant heterogeneity in haplotype frequencies among the samples collected in 1992, but this heterogeneity did not resolve into regional patterns. The only regional differences seen were between pooled samples of the western N. Atlantic and those of the Norwegian Sea. There were no significant differences in haplotype frequencies among the samples collected in 1993, and fewer haplotypes were observed in these samples. Intraspecific molecular variation was typical of other marine species: there were 29 haplotypes among the 182 individuals sequenced. The frequency distribution of the haplotypes was highly skewed: 128 individuals shared one haplotype and 19 individuals were unique. There were 24 variable sites among the 350 bases sequenced; estimated nucleotide diversity was 0.0042. The genetic character of C. finmarchicus populations in the western N. Atlantic was stable over time in that three of the haplotypes (including the most abundant) occurred in both 1992 and 1993. However, haplotype frequencies differed significantly between the two years. The lack of regional structure in the 1992 samples and the genetic homogeneity of samples collected in 1993 across the domain from the Labrador Current to the Gulf of St Lawrence to Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine indicated that there is significant gene flow across this region. The persistent genetic pattern suggests that the Gulf of St Lawrence may be an important source region for recruitment of C. finmarchicus to Georges Bank. Determination of zooplankton dispersal patterns within high gene flow species will provide information that may not be determined by conventional oceanographic analyses.     

Reproductive life history stages sensitive to oil and naphthalene in Atlantic croaker

The reproductive effects of chronic exposure to water-soluble fractions (WSF) of diesel fuel oil and naphthalene in female Atlantic croaker during critical periods of their reproductive life history were investigated. Fish were repeatedly exposed to WSF of oil (2.5 or 5%) or naphthalene (0.5 or 1.0 ppm) for 5 or 8 weeks. Both pollutants blocked sexual maturation in some fish and impaired ovarian recrudescence in others. The majority of the oocytes in exposed fish were undeveloped and widespread oocyte atresia was evident at higher concentrations of these polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The disruption of ovarian growth and oocyte development in croaker after PAH exposure was associated with alterations in reproductive endocrine function at multiple sites on the hypothalamus-pituitarygonadal axis. A third period of increased sensitivity to xenobiotics was observed during final oocyte maturation.     

Incorporation of argon, krypton and xenon into clathrates on Mars

Calculations of the trapping of heavy noble gases within multiple guest clathrates under Mars-like conditions show that a substantial fraction of the martian Xe, perhaps even the vast majority, could be in clathrates. In addition, the Xe/Kr ratio in the clathrates would probably be much higher than in the atmosphere, so the formation or dissociation of a relatively small amount of clathrate could measurably change the atmospheric ratio. Relatively crude (factor of 2) measurements of the seasonal variability in that ratio by in situ spacecraft would be sensitive to ∼10% of the seasonal atmospheric CO₂ variability being a result of clathrates, rather than pure CO₂ frost. In addition, sequestration of Xe in clathrates remains a viable mechanism for explaining the variable Xe/Kr ratios seen in different suites of martian meteorites.     

The rotation of Janus and Epimetheus

Epimetheus, a small moon of Saturn, has a rotational libration (an oscillation about synchronous rotation) of 5.9°±1.2°, placing Epimetheus in the company of Earth’s Moon and Mars’ Phobos as the only natural satellites for which forced rotational libration has been detected. The forced libration is caused by the satellite’s slightly eccentric orbit and non-spherical shape.Detection of a moon’s forced libration allows us to probe its interior by comparing the measured amplitude to that predicted by a shape model assuming constant density. A discrepancy between the two would indicate internal density asymmetries. For Epimetheus, the uncertainties in the shape model are large enough to account for the measured libration amplitude. For Janus, on the other hand, although we cannot rule out synchronous rotation, a permanent offset of several degrees between Janus’ minimum moment of inertia (long axis) and the equilibrium sub-Saturn point may indicate that Janus does have modest internal density asymmetries.The rotation states of Janus and Epimetheus experience a perturbation every 4 years, as the two moons “swap” orbits. The sudden change in the orbital periods produces a free libration about synchronous rotation that is subsequently damped by internal friction. We calculate that this free libration is small in amplitude (<0.1°) and decays quickly (a few weeks, at most), and is thus below the current limits for detection using Cassini images.     

Spectral properties and composition of potentially hazardous Asteroid (99942) Apophis

The known close approach of Asteroid (99942) Apophis in April 2029 provides the opportunity for the case study of a potentially hazardous asteroid in advance of its encounter. The visible to near-infrared (0.55 to 2.45 μm) reflectance spectrum of Apophis is compared and modeled with respect to the spectral and mineralogical characteristics of likely meteorite analogs. Apophis is found to be an Sq-class asteroid that most closely resembles LL ordinary chondrite meteorites in terms of spectral characteristics and interpreted olivine and pyroxene abundances, although we cannot rule out some degree of partial melting. A meteorite analog allows some estimates and conjectures of Apophis' possible range of physical properties such as the grain density and micro-porosity of its constituent material. Composition and size similarities of Apophis with (25143) Itokawa suggest a total porosity of 40% as a “current best guess” for Apophis. Applying these parameters to Apophis yields a mass estimate of 2×¹⁰¹⁰ kg with a corresponding energy estimate of 375 Mt for its potential hazard. Substantial unknowns, most notably the total porosity, allow uncertainties in these mass and energy estimates to be as large as factors of two or three.     

TNOs are Cool: A Survey of the Transneptunian Region

Over one thousand objects have so far been discovered orbiting beyond Neptune. These trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) represent the primitive remnants of the planetesimal disk from which the planets formed and are perhaps analogous to the unseen dust parent-bodies in debris disks observed around other main-sequence stars. The dynamical and physical properties of these bodies provide unique and important constraints on formation and evolution models of the Solar System. While the dynamical architecture in this region (also known as the Kuiper Belt) is becoming relatively clear, the physical properties of the objects are still largely unexplored. In particular, fundamental parameters such as size, albedo, density and thermal properties are difficult to measure. Measurements of thermal emission, which peaks at far-IR wavelengths, offer the best means available to determine the physical properties. While Spitzer has provided some results, notably revealing a large albedo diversity in this population, the increased sensitivity of Herschel and its superior wavelength coverage should permit profound advances in the field. Within our accepted project we propose to perform radiometric measurements of 139 objects, including 25 known multiple systems. When combined with measurements of the dust population beyond Neptune (e.g. from the New Horizons mission to Pluto), our results will provide a benchmark for understanding the Solar debris disk, and extra-solar ones as well.     

Object classification at the Nearby Supernova Factory

We present the results of applying new object classification techniques to the supernova search of the Nearby Supernova Factory. In comparison to simple threshold cuts, more sophisticated methods such as boosted decision trees, random forests, and support vector machines provide dramatically better object discrimination: we reduced the number of nonsupernova candidates by a factor of 10 while increasing our supernova identification efficiency. Methods such as these will be crucial for maintaining a reasonable false positive rate in the automated transient alert pipelines of upcoming large optical surveys. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Radio observations of NGC 2808 and other globular clusters: constraints on intermediate-mass black holes

We present the results of a deep radio observation of the globular cluster NGC 2808. We show that there are no sources detected within the core of the cluster, placing constraints on both the pulsar population of the cluster and the mass of a possible intermediate-mass black hole in NGC 2808. We compare the results for this cluster with other constraints on intermediate-mass black holes derived from accretion measures. With the exception of G1 in M 31 which has previously shown radio emission, even with considerably more conservative assumptions, only the clusters with the poorest of observational constraints are consistent with falling on the   M _BH–σ  relation. This result is interpreted in terms of the fundamental differences between galaxies and globular clusters.