Immune response of greenback flounder Rhombosolea tapirina after exposure to contaminated marine sediment and diet.

Non-specific immune response of greenback flounder, Rhombosolea tapirina, exposed to contaminated marine sediments was examined. Reference sediments from Port Sorell and contaminated sediments from Deceitful Cove, Tasmania, Australia were investigated. Hatchery-reared flounder were exposed to reference sediment, contaminated sediment or contaminated sediment and diet for 6 weeks. Phagocytic capacity and lysozyme response in flounder were examined on cessation of exposure trial. Significant differences were found in phagocytic capacity and lysozyme response between treatments. Exposure to contaminated sediment, irrespective of diet or benthic disturbance elicited inhibition of phagocytic efficiency in flounder. Disturbance of contaminated sediment stimulated lysozyme activity. The immune response in flounder indicates potential immunotoxicity of sediment from Deceitful Cove.     

Increased potential for NAD(P)H-dependent reactive oxygen species production of hepatic subcellular fractions of fish species with in vivo exposure to contaminants.

The present study investigated the proposed involvement of contaminant-stimulated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in disease processes in fish. NAD(P)H-dependent ROS production of subcellular fractions was determined by the iron/EDTA-mediated oxidation of 2-keto-4-methiolbutyric acid. Hepatic cytosolic NADPH-dependent and microsomal NAD(P)H-dependent ROS production were increased 51-160% (P < 0.05) in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) 15 weeks after a single i.p. injection of polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) (100 mg Clophen A50 kg-1 wet wt.). Hepatic microsomal NADH-dependent ROS production was 114% higher in perch (Perca fluviatilis) from PCB-contaminated Lake J?rnsj?n compared to clean Lake V?nern, Sweden. Hepatic mitochondrial NADH-dependent, cytosolic NADH-dependent and microsomal NADPH-dependent ROS production were variously elevated up to 160% in flounder (Platichthys flesus) at various sites along two pollution transects near to the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Overall the data indicate increased potential for ROS production in liver of fish exposed to field pollution, and support the hypothesis of oxidative stress as a mechanism of contaminant-mediated disease in fish.     

A wavelet for predicting the time-domain response of vertically tethered systems

The response wavelets for tether tension and the displacement of a package on the end of a tether are derived from a linear, frequency-domain model of vertically tethered systems using inverse fourier transform techniques. These wavelets are convolved with a record of ship displacement to predict the instantaneous tension and displacement to an accuracy of better than 20% for a typical system. Although snap loads are non-linear and the response cannot be calculated while the tether is slack, the onset of zero tension — a precursor to snap loads — is predicted by the wavelet. Thus, extreme and potentially hazardous conditions are foreseeable with the wavelet and this information can be used in real-time to guide operations at sea.     

Video cathodoluminescence microscopy of diagenetic cements and its applications

Diagenetic studies of sedimentary rocks using cold cathodoluminescence (CL) microscopy have been severely limited because of the very low intensity of visible luminescent emissions, which required long photographic exposure times, and because of the difficulty in obtaining quantitative data from CL observations. The solution to this problem is to fit the microscope with a high-sensitivity digital colour video camera linked to a computer with image enhancement and image analysis software. The new technique described in this paper:

• produces digital CL images of consistent high quality, both quickly and cheaply;

• controls the capture and editing of CL images, to reveal detailed textural information even from minerals exhibiting low level luminescence such as quartz;

• acquires quantitative information on pore systems and the abundance of cement zones from CL images.

Examples are presented to demonstrate the high quality of images produced in this way and the range of uses to which the new technique can be applied. The ability to image exactly the same field of view in both plane polarised light and CL is a particular advantage. Image analysis techniques have been developed to give a statistical characterisation of both pore systems and cement phases that infill them. The abundance of contrasting cement zones seen in CL can be measured and the abundance of cement phases can be mapped across a reservoir. The history of porosity occlusion can be reconstructed quantitatively and integrated with burial history and hydrocarbon migration. Porosity can be measured accurately and, since the technique obtains data on pore geometry as well as abundance, the pore system can be characterised by pore size distributions and pseudo-capillary pressure curves. This also opens the possibility of estimating permeability from thin sections.     

Phytoplankton, nutrients and hydrography in the frontal zone between the Southwest Indian Subtropical gyre and the Southern Ocean

A survey was made of the Southwest Indian Ocean frontal region between 30 and 50°E containing the Agulhas Return, Subtropical and Subantarctic Fronts. From CTD, SeaSoar and extracted samples the distribution of nitrate, silicate and chlorophyll a is shown to be strongly linked to the front and water mass structure, varying zonally and meridionally. Surface chlorophyll a concentrations were low to the north and south leaving a band of elevated chlorophyll between the Subtropical and Subantarctic Fronts. The low concentration of chlorophyll a to the north, in Subtropical Water, was clearly due to nitrate limitation. Between the Subtropical and Subantarctic Fronts, where the chlorophyll a concentrations were highest, the surface layer showed silicate depletion limiting diatom growth. South of the Subantarctic Front there were deep extending, low concentrations of chlorophyll a, but despite plentiful supplies of macro-nutrients and a well-stratified surface layer, high concentrations of chlorophyll a were absent. Changes from west to east were associated with the meandering of the Southern Ocean Fronts, especially the Subtropical Front, and their strength and proximity to each other. Concentrations of chlorophyll a peaked where the Agulhas Return, Subtropical and Subantarctic Fronts were in close proximity. Combined frontal structures appear to have particularly pronounced vertical stability and are associated with enhanced upwelling of nutrients and leakage of nutrients across the front. Light levels are high within the shallow stable layer. Such conditions are clearly favourable for biological growth and support the development of larger-celled phytoplankton communities.     

An inventory of factors that affect polysaccharide production by Phaeocystis globosa

Phaeocystis material contains polysaccharides that are built from at least eight different monosaccharides. Differences have been reported between the carbohydrate composition of different Phaeocystis species, and also between samples taken from Phaeocystis globosa blooms in different areas. In order to elucidate factors that could play a role in determining variation in carbohydrate composition and production, a number of Phaeocystis globosa strains were studied under laboratory conditions. Although there was a clear distinction of a northern and a southern cluster in the Phaeocystis globosa strains based on RAPD analysis, the differences in the composition of the mucopolysaccharides were relatively small. The contribution of glucose, however, ranged from 7–85% of total sugars. A strain that was cultured in seawaters of diverse origin produced polysaccharides of a different composition, suggesting the effect of environmental factors. The presence of bacteria affected neither the amount, nor the composition of the carbohydrates that were produced by Phaeocystis globosa. Glucose is part of both the intracellular polysaccharide pool and of the mucopolysaccharides in the colony matrix. Using specific digestion of the intracellular chrysolaminaran by laminarinase, the distribution of polysaccharides over different pools could be assessed. During growth of an axenic, mucus-producing strain, the portion of glucose present as chrysolaminaran appeared to increase. The polyglucose that was not digested by laminarinase remains unidentified. This study shows that environmental factors rather than strain differences determine differences in the sugar composition of Phaeocystis globosa, especially with respect to the glucose content of the material. A difference in the contribution of glucose could be correlated to the portion of cells in the culture that are not in the colonies. Our study emphasises that for studying polysaccharide dynamics in Phaeocystis globosa it is important to be able to discriminate between the different polysaccharide pools. Preliminary results of an enzymatic approach were promising     

Description of possible causes of the formation of anomalies of the cloud field over the Atlantic-European sector in the spring of 1996

We describe one of possible mechanisms of the formation of anomalies of the cloud field over the North Atlantic and Europe by using, as an example, the processes developed in the Atlantic-European sector during the natural synoptic season in the spring of 1996. It is shown that the anomalies of the cloud field can be classified with the use of the index of the North Atlantic oscillation and the latitude of the center of the Azorean maximum. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev