PSP toxin levels and plankton community composition and abundance in size-fractionated vertical profiles during spring/summer blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank, 2007, 2008, and 2010: 1. Toxin levels.

As part of the NOAA ECOHAB funded Gulf of Maine Toxicity (GOMTOX) project, we determined abundance, paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxin composition, and concentration in quantitatively-sampled size-fractionated (20-64, 64-100, 100-200, 200-500, and > 500 μm) particulate water samples, and the community composition of potential grazers of in these size fractions, at multiple depths (typically 1, 10, 20 m, and near-bottom) during 10 large-scale sampling cruises during the bloom season (May-August) in the coastal Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank in 2007, 2008, and 2010. Our findings were as follows: (1) when all sampling stations and all depths were summed by year, the majority (94% ± 4%) of total PSP toxicity was contained in the 20-64 μm size fraction; (2) when further analyzed by depth, the 20-64 μm size fraction was the primary source of toxin for 97% of the stations and depths samples over three years; (3) overall PSP toxin profiles were fairly consistent during the three seasons of sampling with gonyautoxins (1, 2, 3, and 4) dominating (90.7% ± 5.

A novel method for classifying starch digestion by modelling the amylolysis of plant foods using first-order enzyme kinetic principles.

Studying starch amylolysis kinetics in vitro is valuable for predicting the postprandial glycaemic response to starch intake. Prediction of starch amylolysis behaviour is challenging however, because of the many physico-chemical factors which influence amylolysis. The Logarithm of Slope (LOS) method for analysis of digestibility curves using first-order enzyme kinetics can identify and quantify nutritionally important starch fractions.

PSP toxin levels and plankton community composition and abundance in size-fractionated vertical profiles during spring/summer blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank, 2007, 2008, and 2010: 2. Plankton community composition and abundance.

As part of the Gulf of Maine Toxicity (GOMTOX) project, we determined abundance, paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxin levels in various plankton size fractions, and the community composition of potential grazers of in plankton size fractions during blooms of this toxic dinoflagellate in the coastal Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank in spring and summer of 2007, 2008, and 2010. PSP toxins and cells were found throughout the sampled water column (down to 50 m) in the 20-64 μm size fractions. While PSP toxins were widespread throughout all size classes of the zooplankton grazing community, the majority of the toxin was measured in the 20-64 μm size fraction.

Photoadaptation during narrowband ultraviolet-B therapy is independent of skin type: a study of 352 patients.

Understanding how photoadaptation differs between individuals is important when considering susceptibility to the beneficial and harmful effects of sunlight exposure and when determining optimal phototherapy regimens. Most narrowband UVB (NB-UVB) regimens start with 70% of the minimal erythema dose (MED) with 20% increments at each treatment thereafter. We retrospectively studied 352 skin types I-IV psoriatic patients having twice weekly treatment with this regimen.