The Use of Dietary Additives in Fish Stress Mitigation: Comparative Endocrine and Physiological Responses

In the last years, studies on stress attenuation in fish have progressively grown. This is mainly due to the interest of institutions, producers, aquarists and consumers in improving the welfare of farmed fish. In addition to the development of new technologies to improve environmental conditions of cultured fish, the inclusion of beneficial additives in the daily meal in order to mitigate the stress response to typical stressors (netting, overcrowding, handling, etc.) has been an important research topic. Fish are a highly diverse paraphyletic group (over 27,000 species) though teleost infraclass include around 96% of fish species. Since those species are distributed world-wide, a high number of different habitats and vital requirements exist, including a wide range of environmental conditions determining specifically the stress response. Although the generalized endocrine response to stress (based on the release of catecholamines and corticosteroids) is detectable and therefore provides essential information, a high diversity of physiological effects have been described depending on species. Moreover, recent omics techniques have provided a powerful tool for detecting specific differences regarding the stress response. For instance, for transcriptomic approaches, the gene expression of neuropeptides and other proteins acting as hormonal precursors during stress has been assessed in some fish species. The use of different additives in fish diets to mitigate stress responses has been deeply studied. Besides the species factor, the additive type also plays a pivotal role in the differentiation of the stress response. In the literature, several types of feed supplements in different species have been assayed, deriving in a series of physiological responses which have not focused exclusively on the stress system. Immunological, nutritional and metabolic changes have been reported in these experiments, always associated to endocrine processes. The biochemical nature and physiological functionality of those feed additives strongly affect the stress response and, in fact, these can act as neurotransmitters or hormone precursors, energy substrates, cofactors and other essential elements, implyingmulti-systematic and multi-organic responses. In this review, the different physiological responses among fish species fed stress-attenuating diets based on biomolecules and minerals have been assessed, focusing on the endocrine regulation and its physiological effects

Die normative Kraft des Faktischen: eine neo-institutionalistische Analyse zur Umsetzung von Strategien in der Polizei

Mit Blick auf Strategien innerhalb der Polizei stellt man fest, dass das Augenmerk auf die strategische Planung, d. h. auf die Integration von betriebswirtschaftlichen Managementinstrumenten in die formale Organisation, gelegt wird. Es finden sich vorwiegend ökonomische Überlegungen in der strategischen Planung, was sich durch die Orientierung auf Ressourcen und den Output äußert. Überlegungen über die Einbettung von Organisationen in die Gesellschaft finden kaum Niederschlag bei der Steuerung von Polizeibehörden. Dies soll nicht bedeuten, dass Autoren in der Forschungsliteratur nicht über gesellschaftliche Prozesse reflektieren. Auch wenn gesellschaftliche Probleme Auslöser von bestimmten Arbeiten sind, werden organisationsinterne Abläufe oder Probleme bei der Polizei selten mit Blick auf gesellschaftliche Prozesse untersucht. Was Umsetzungshemmnisse bzw. Gelingensbedingungen für Strategien in der Polizei sind bzw. welche Ursachen für das (Nicht-)Umsetzen von Strategien verantwortlich sein könnten, bleibt offen. Das Wissen über diese Aspekte und ein Verständnis dafür wären aber insbesondere für das Management einzelner Behörden von Interesse, damit eine Strategie, welche auf einer fundierten Analyse beruht, auch tatsächlich in der Praxis umgesetzt wird. Für die Umsetzung von Strategien ist es erforderlich, dass die Mitglieder einer Organisation das Bestreben zur Umsetzung haben. Dieses Bestreben könnte sich in Form von bewussten Wissensbeständen, aber auch in Form von kognitiven, d. h. nicht hinterfragten, Institutionen widerspiegeln. Im Rahmen dieser Studie (qualitative und quantitative Erhebung) soll der Frage nachgegangen werden, welche kognitiven Prozesse Institutionen ihren handlungsleitenden Charakter in der polizeilichen Praxis geben und welche Auswirkungen diese auf die in Vorschriften niedergelegte langfristige strategische Ausrichtung der Polizei haben

Situación legal de los procedimientos administrativos establecidos en el TUPA de la Municipalidad de Los Olivos en el marco e aplicación del principio de legalidad hacia los administrados

El presente trabajo de investigación comprende determinar la situación legal del Texto Único de Procedimientos Administrativos y sus implicancias jurídicas como resultado de los procedimientos administrativos de la Municipalidad Distrital de Los Olivos, analizando se estaría vulnerando el Principio de Legalidad hacia los administrados, asimismo como también en lo referido a los deberes y obligaciones funcionales por parte del titular de la entidad. El tipo de estudio es de enfoque cualitativo, con un diseño fenomenológico; asimismo se realizó un amplio trabajo de campo, utilizándose las técnicas de análisis documental, encuesta y entrevista, los instrumentos fueron estructurados con criterios teóricos y metodológicos recogiendo información de los funcionarios y de los administrados del municipio, obteniéndose diversos puntos de vista, confirmándose inicialmente el supuesto de investigación señalando que se encuentran en un estado de vulnerabilidad respecto al principio de legalidad, y en consecuencia el TUPA estaría trasgrediendo el Principio de Legalidad de los administrados. Se concluye que el TUPA no está debidamente ratificado dentro del plazo legal, generando implicancias jurídicas y a los funcionarios de la entidad municipal, además se ha probado un escaso conocimiento por parte de los administrados quienes desconocen la normatividad municipal vigente y su contenido; es por ello que se recomienda implementar el Desarrollo de un Programa Corporativo Municipal, también ampliar el plazo de vigencia a tres años del TUPA municipal e implementar capacitación para las autoridades y funcionarios municipales, para una mejor función de la administración pública en el distrito, en paralelo de un mejoramiento continuo

The Mont-Blanc prototype: an alternative approach for high-performance computing systems

High-performance computing (HPC) is recognized as one of the pillars for further advance of science, industry, medicine, and education. Current HPC systems are being developed to overcome emerging challenges in order to reach Exascale level of performance,which is expected by the year 2020. The much larger embedded and mobile market allows for rapid development of IP blocks, and provides more flexibility in designing an application-specific SoC, in turn giving possibility in balancing performance, energy-efficiency and cost. In the Mont-Blanc project, we advocate for HPC systems be built from such commodity IP blocks, currently used in embedded and mobile SoCs. As a first demonstrator of such approach, we present the Mont-Blanc prototype; the first HPC system built with commodity SoCs, memories, and NICs from the embedded and mobile domain, and off-the-shelf HPC networking, storage, cooling and integration solutions. We present the system’s architecture, and evaluation including both performance and energy efficiency. Further, we compare the system’s abilities against a production level supercomputer. At the end, we discuss parallel scalability, and estimate the maximum scalability point of this approach across a set of HPC applications.Postprint (published version

Challenges and Opportunities in Finfish Nutrition

Much of the criticism leveled at aquaculture (e.g., dependency on animal-derived feedstuffs, nutrient-laden effluent discharges, and increased organic contamination in edible products) can be traced to the feeds in use. Accordingly, finfish nutritionists are being challenged to formulate feeds that not only meet the nutritional requirements of livestock but also minimize production costs, limit environmental impacts, and enhance product quality. These challenges not only add considerable complexity to finfish nutrition but also afford opportunities to avoid some of the mistakes made by other industries in the past. From a review of the current status of finfish nutrition with respect to major nutrient classes, we comment on future opportunities and promising avenues of research. Alternative protein sources, specifically those derived from marine bycatch, plants, and microbes, are discussed, as well as methods to facilitate their implementation in finfish feeds. Dietary lipid, its role in fish bioenergetics and physiology, and quality of aquaculture products is reviewed with special emphasis on alternative lipid sources and finishing diets. Carbohydrates and fiber are discussed in terms of nutrient-sparing, least-cost diet formulation and digestive physiology. Micronutrients are reviewed in terms of current knowledge of requirements and, along with other dietary immunostimulants, are given further consideration in a review of nutriceuticals and application in finfish feeds. The status of nutritional research in new aquaculture species is also outlined. By integrating classical approaches with emerging technologies, dietary formulations, and species, finfish nutritionists may identify means to increase production efficiency and sustainability and provide for the continued success of aquaculture

The Mont-Blanc Project: First Phase Successfully Finished

Running from October 2011 to June 2015, the aim of the European project Mont-Blanc has been to develop an approach to Exascale computing based on embedded power-efficient technology. The main goals of the project were to i) build an HPC prototype using currently available energy-efficient embedded technology, ii) design a Next Generation system to overcome the limitations of the built prototype and iii) port a set of representative Exascale applications to the system. This article summarises the contributions from the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) and the Juelich Supercomputing Centre (JSC), Germany, to the Mont-Blanc project.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Crataegus Extract WS®1442 Stimulates Cardiomyogenesis and Angiogenesis From Stem Cells: A Possible New Pharmacology for Hawthorn?

Extracts from the leaves and flowers of Crataegus spp. (i.e., hawthorn species) have been traditionally used with documented preclinical and clinical activities in cardiovascular medicine. Based on reported positive effects on heart muscle after ischemic injury and the overall cardioprotective profile, the present study addressed potential contributions of Crataegus extracts to cardiopoietic differentiation from stem cells. The quantified Crataegus extract WS®1442 stimulated cardiomyogenesis from murine and human embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Mechanistically, this effect was found to be induced by promoting differentiation of cardiovascular progenitor cell populations but not by proliferation. Bioassay-guided fractionation, phytochemical and analytical profiling suggested high-molecular weight ingredients as the active principle with at least part of the activity due to oligomeric procyanidines (OPCs) with a degree of polymerization between 3 and 6 (DP3–6). Transcriptome profiling in mESCs suggested two main, plausible mechanisms: These were early, stress-associated cellular events along with the modulation of distinct developmental pathways, including the upregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and retinoic acid as well as the inhibition of transforming growth factor β/bone morphogenetic protein (TGFβ/BMP) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling. In addition, WS®1442 stimulated angiogenesis ex vivo in Sca-1+ progenitor cells from adult mice hearts. These in vitro data provide evidence for a differentiation promoting activity of WS®1442 on distinct cardiovascular stem/progenitor cells that could be valuable for therapeutic heart regeneration after myocardial infarction. However, the in vivo relevance of this new pharmacological activity of Crataegus spp. remains to be investigated and active ingredients from bioactive fractions will have to be further characterized

VOTCA: multiscale frameworks for quantum and classical simulations in soft matter

Many physical phenomena in liquids and soft matter are multiscale by nature and can involve processes with quantum and classical degrees of freedom occurring over a vast range of length and timescales. Examples range from structure formation processes of complex polymers or even polymer blends (Svaneborg & Everaers, 2023) on the classical side to charge and energy transport and conversion processes (Lee et al., 2019) involving explicit electronic and, therefore, quantum information.The Versatile Object-oriented Toolkit for Coarse-graining Applications (VOTCA) provides multiscale frameworks built on a comprehensive set of methods for the development ofclassical coarse-grained potentials (VOTCA-CSG) as well as state-of-the art excited state electronic structure methods based on density-functional and many-body Green’s function theories, coupled in mixed quantum-classical models and used in kinetic network models (VOTCA-XTP)

Towards Blood Flow in the Virtual Human: Efficient Self-Coupling of HemeLB

Many scientific and medical researchers are working towards the creation of a virtual human - a personalised digital copy of an individual - that will assist in a patient's diagnosis, treatment and recovery. The complex nature of living systems means that the development of this remains a major challenge. We describe progress in enabling the HemeLB lattice Boltzmann code to simulate 3D macroscopic blood flow on a full human scale. Significant developments in memory management and load balancing allow near linear scaling performance of the code on hundreds of thousands of computer cores. Integral to the construction of a virtual human, we also outline the implementation of a self-coupling strategy for HemeLB. This allows simultaneous simulation of arterial and venous vascular trees based on human-specific geometries.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures, To be published in Interface Focus (https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsfs