Impact of artificial reefs on sediment bacterial structure and function in Bohai Bay

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Wang ◽  
Jinsheng Sun ◽  
Enjun Fang ◽  
Biao Guo ◽  
Yuanyuan Dai ◽  
...  

Artificial reefs have significantly altered ecological and environmental conditions compared with natural reefs, but how these changes affect sediment bacteria structure and function is unknown. Here, we compared the structure and function of the sediment bacterial community in the artificial reef area, the future artificial reef area, and the control area in Bohai Bay by 16S rRNA genes sequencing. Our results indicated that bacteria communities in the sediment were both taxonomically and functionally different between the reef area and control area. In the artificial reef area, the α-diversity was significantly lower, whereas the β-diversity was significantly higher. Functional genes related to chemo-heterotrophy, nitrate reduction, hydrocarbon degradation, and the human pathogens and human gut were more abundant, whereas genes related to the metabolism of sulfur compounds were less abundant in the artificial reef than in the control area. The differences in bacterial communities were primarily determined by depth in the artificial reef area, and by total organic carbon in the future reef area and control area. This study provides the first overview of molecular ecology to assess the impacts of artificial reefs on the bacteria community.

<i>Abstract</i> .—Here we summarize presentations given at the theme session “Structure and Function of the Gulf of Maine System” of the 2009 Gulf of Maine Symposium— Advancing Ecosystem Research for the Future of the Gulf, covering a broad spectrum of multidisciplinary research underway in one of the world’s most intensively studied marine systems. Our objective was to attempt a synthesis of the current ecological and oceanographic understanding of the Gulf of Maine and, in particular, to document progress in these areas since the 1996 Gulf of Maine Ecosystem Dynamics Symposium more than a decade earlier. Presentations at the session covered issues ranging from habitat structure and function, biodiversity, population structure, trophic ecology, the intersection of the biological, chemical and physical oceanography of the region, and the dynamics of economically important species. Important strides in characterizing the broader dimensions of biodiversity in the region, the establishment of new sampling programs and the availability of new sensor arrays, and the renewed emphasis synthesis and integration to meet the emerging needs for ecosystem-based management in the gulf have all contributed to a deepened appreciation of its dynamical structure. The critical importance of the ecosystem goods and services provided by the gulf, and the factors affecting the sustainable delivery of these services, was clearly demonstrated in the course of the session. The papers presented at the session made it clear how far we have come and how far we need to go to ensure the sustainable delivery of these services into the future.


Author(s):  
Hugh Devlin ◽  
Rebecca Craven

Oral mucosa, saliva, and speech in relation to dentistry are the topics in this chapter. The chapter starts with the normal structure and function of oral mucosa, leading on to a discussion of problems in normal physiology leading to ulceration and to oral precancer and carcinoma. This is followed by a consideration of saliva, its production and properties, and important issues arising from lack of saliva. Swallowing, its phases and control and dental relevance, are next discussed. The concluding section deals with speech, vocalization, phonation, and articulation together with problems of dental relevance, that may arise.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 3365-3371
Author(s):  
Yaxin Xue ◽  
Anders Lanzén ◽  
Inge Jonassen

Abstract Motivation Technological advances in meta-transcriptomics have enabled a deeper understanding of the structure and function of microbial communities. ‘Total RNA’ meta-transcriptomics, sequencing of total reverse transcribed RNA, provides a unique opportunity to investigate both the structure and function of active microbial communities from all three domains of life simultaneously. A major step of this approach is the reconstruction of full-length taxonomic marker genes such as the small subunit ribosomal RNA. However, current tools for this purpose are mainly targeted towards analysis of amplicon and metagenomic data and thus lack the ability to handle the massive and complex datasets typically resulting from total RNA experiments. Results In this work, we introduce MetaRib, a new tool for reconstructing ribosomal gene sequences from total RNA meta-transcriptomic data. MetaRib is based on the popular rRNA assembly program EMIRGE, together with several improvements. We address the challenge posed by large complex datasets by integrating sub-assembly, dereplication and mapping in an iterative approach, with additional post-processing steps. We applied the method to both simulated and real-world datasets. Our results show that MetaRib can deal with larger datasets and recover more rRNA genes, which achieve around 60 times speedup and higher F1 score compared to EMIRGE in simulated datasets. In the real-world dataset, it shows similar trends but recovers more contigs compared with a previous analysis based on random sub-sampling, while enabling the comparison of individual contig abundances across samples for the first time. Availability and implementation The source code of MetaRib is freely available at https://github.com/yxxue/MetaRib. Contact [email protected] or [email protected] Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


Author(s):  
Guy M. Goodwin ◽  
Michael Browning

Neuroimaging techniques have been used extensively to compare brain structure and function between patients with, or at risk of, depression and control subjects. The goal of this work has largely been to identify pathophysiological processes in depression. However, progress in this field has been limited by the heterogeneity of patient populations, the use of small sample sizes, and an overreliance on case-control studies. These limitations have increasingly been acknowledged with recent work collecting much larger samples and employing a variety of study designs, including those able to stratify patient populations. This chapter reviews imaging studies in depression, highlighting both outstanding questions and promising recent findings.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guijie Liu ◽  
Anyi Wang ◽  
Xinbao Wang ◽  
Peng Liu

Lateral line is a system of sense organs that can aid fishes to maneuver in a dark environment. Artificial lateral line (ALL) imitates the structure of lateral line in fishes and provides invaluable means for underwater-sensing technology and robot fish control. This paper reviews ALL, including sensor fabrication and applications to robot fish. The biophysics of lateral line are first introduced to enhance the understanding of lateral line structure and function. The design and fabrication of an ALL sensor on the basis of various sensing principles are then presented. ALL systems are collections of sensors that include carrier and control circuit. Their structure and hydrodynamic detection are reviewed. Finally, further research trends and existing problems of ALL are discussed.


Author(s):  
Xinming Gu ◽  
Xiaolin Sun ◽  
Yue Sun ◽  
Jia Wang ◽  
Yiping Liu ◽  
...  

In recent years, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) has been increasingly employed as an implant material in clinical applications. Although PEEK is biocompatible, chemically stable, and radiolucent and has an elastic modulus similar to that of natural bone, it suffers from poor integration with surrounding bone tissue after implantation. To improve the bioactivity of PEEK, numerous strategies for functionalizing the PEEK surface and changing the PEEK structure have been proposed. Inspired by the components, structure, and function of bone tissue, this review discusses strategies to enhance the biocompatibility of PEEK implants and provides direction for fabricating multifunctional implants in the future.


Author(s):  
Derek Burton ◽  
Margaret Burton

The complexity of fish behaviour and information processing indicates high levels of neural, anatomical and functional organization. Neural cells are conducting neurons and neuroglia with putative support and physiological roles. Neuronal conduction, synaptic transmission, reflexes and neuropils are factors in integrative activity and information processing. Fish nervous systems are organized into central (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral (including autonomic) components. Interestingly the structure and function of the fish optic tectum have been considered comparable to those of the tetrapod cerebral cortex. Also of interest are the bilaterally paired large Mauthner fibres in the teleost central nervous system, which mediate startle responses. The autonomic nervous system in fish occupies a pivotal position amongst vertebrates, including uncertainty about the existence of a posterior parasympathetic component. The trend is to regard it in terms of spinal autonomic (sympathetic) cranial autonomic (parasympathetic) and enteric systems. Accounts of the autonomic control of individual effector systems are included.


<em>Abstract</em> .—From 1984 to 1989, artificial reefs were constructed at two locations in central Lake Erie by Ohio State University’s Sea Grant College Program. The goals of the construction projects were to improve sportfishing opportunity in nearshore waters, evaluate the effectiveness of reefs as fish-concentration devices, and eventually assist other coastal communities in developing artificial reef programs. From 1992 to 1995, we conducted evaluations to assess the effectiveness of these artificial reefs as sport fish attractors and to establish their value in sport fishery enhancement projects. Underwater VHS video was used by scuba divers to identify and enumerate fish at both artificial reef sites and at adjacent nonreef control sites. Observation dives were done monthly, weather permitting, from May through October each year. <EM>T</EM> -tests were used to determine seasonal differences in fish abundance between the reef and control sites. At both sites, total seasonal numbers of fish were significantly higher (20–50 times more) at the reef site than the control site (p = 0.05). Smallmouth bass <em>Micropterus dolomieu </em> were the dominant species at both reef sites, comprising over 80% of the observations during most months. Total seasonal numbers of smallmouth bass were also higher during spring and fall than in midsummer, suggesting seasonal patterns and preferences for artificial structure. We conclude that, when properly planned and located, artificial reefs would provide beneficial fish habitat along most of Lake Erie’s nearshore zone and may have application Great Lakes-wide.


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