The Effects of Two Rearing Salinities on Survival and Stress of Winter Flounder Broodstock.

The goal of this study was to determine rearing conditions that would improve the survival of broodstock of winter flounder Pleuronectes americanus. We hypothesized that keeping wild winter flounder in iso-osmotic water would reduce the energy costs related to osmoregulation; the resulting energy gain could then be used for growth or immune responses. Eighty fish were randomly separated into four tanks, two containing seawater (SW; 28.

Evoked potential components unique to non-REM sleep: relationship to evoked K-complexes and vertex sharp waves.

Following the loss of wakeful consciousness, the averaging of responses to stimuli produce evoked potential waveforms with prominent components either unique to or greatly enhanced by non-REM sleep. In the sleep onset periods (stage 1) these are the P2 and N350. Following the establishment of stable sleep (stage 2 and SWS), the N550 and P900 are also prominent.

[The prevalence of communication problems in neglected children under three years of age].

Objective: Estimate the prevalence of communication problems in children under three taken into care by Youth Centres in Quebec for negligence. Prevalence is calculated for the pragmatic aspect, receptive and expressive language, according to age and sex.

Method: This is a cross-sectional study.

A dynamic two-dimensional system for measuring volatile organic compound volatilization and movement in soils.

There is an important need to develop instrumentation that allows better understanding of atmospheric emission of toxic volatile compounds associated with soil management. For this purpose, chemical movement and distribution in the soil profile should be simultaneously monitored with its volatilization. A two-dimensional rectangular soil column was constructed and a dynamic sequential volatilization flux chamber was attached to the top of the column.

History of family dysfunction and perpetration of dating violence by adolescent boys: a longitudinal study.

Purpose: To examine whether there is a direct or a mediated association between dysfunctional parental behavior in later childhood and involvement in dating violence in a sample of low socioeconomic-status boys during mid-adolescence.

Methods: Subjects were 717 boys who participated in a longitudinal study. Data collected at six time periods, beginning at age 10 years and covering a span of 8 years, were analyzed.

Targeting unknown and unstable periodic orbits.

We present a method to target and subsequently control (if necessary) orbits of specified period but otherwise unknown stability and position. For complex systems where the dynamics is often mixed [e.g.

Differential patterns of spatial divergence in microsatellite and allozyme alleles: further evidence for locus-specific selection in the acorn barnacle, Semibalanus balanoides?

We compared patterns of genetic structure at potentially selected (two allozyme loci) and neutral molecular markers (six microsatellite loci) in the acorn barnacle, Semibalanus balanoides from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Our results confirmed the presence of a geographical shift in alleles MPI and GPI near the Miramichi River.

[The parental practice of psychological violence: a threat to mental health].

This literature review documents the risk associated with psychologically violent parental practices for the well-being and future mental health of youth, with regard to 3 aspects: the prevalence of parental practices of this kind, their etiological specificities in spite of their co-occurrence with other forms of maltreatment, and their potential detrimental impact on young victims. Summing up current knowledge about psychological violence, this analysis points out possible means of intervention in terms of prevention, screening, and support. However, it also calls for caution regarding the use of more intrusive modes of intervention, such as child protection.

[Female victimization in the context of dating violence in adolescence: development of an instrument (VIFFA)].

The aim is to report on the development and preliminary validation of an instrument, VIFFA (Violence faite aux Filles dans les Fréquentations à l'Adolescence), on female victimization in the context of dating violence in adolescence. Objectives are twofold: to document the psychometric qualities of this self-report and to propose an instrument adapted to the context of young teens. The instrument refers to concepts of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.

Comparison of the activity spectra against pathogens of bacterial strains producing a mutacin or a lantibiotic.

The increase of drug resistance among bacterial pathogens is currently a major threat in hospital settings. New and more efficient antibiotic compounds have to be developed to fight infectious diseases. In the present work, a deferred antagonism test was used to determine the activity of different bacterial strains producing either a mutacin or a lantibiotic against bacterial pathogens.

Crystal structure of the ligand-binding domain of the ultraspiracle protein USP, the ortholog of retinoid X receptors in insects.

The major postembryonic developmental events happening in insect life, including molting and metamorphosis, are regulated and coordinated temporally by pulses of ecdysone. The biological activity of this steroid hormone is mediated by two nuclear receptors: the ecdysone receptor (EcR) and the Ultraspiracle protein (USP). The crystal structure of the ligand-binding domain from the lepidopteran Heliothis virescens USP reported here shows that the loop connecting helices H1 and H3 precludes the canonical agonist conformation.

The oral cavity as a reservoir of bacterial pathogens for focal infections.

Dental procedures, but more importantly, oral infections and poor oral health can provoke the introduction of oral microorganisms into the bloodstream or the lymphatic system. The subsequent attachment and multiplication of these bacteria on tissues or organs can lead to focal oral infections. Pathogenic agents may also remain at their primary oral site but the toxins liberated can reach an organ or tissue via the bloodstream and cause metastatic injury.

Effect of reproduction on escape responses and muscle metabolic capacities in the scallop Chlamys islandica Müller 1776.

In scallops, gametogenesis leads to mobilization of glycogen and proteins from the adductor muscle towards the gonad. This mobilization is likely to diminish the metabolic capacities of the adductor muscle and thereby the scallops' escape response. We examined the escape response in terms of number of valve claps until exhaustion, rate of clapping and the recovery during and after valve closure in adult scallops, Chlamys islandica, sampled at different stages in the reproductive cycle (immature, mature, before and after spawning).

Effects of the Booroola Fec gene on ovarian follicular populations in superovulated Romanov ewes pretreated with a GnRH antagonist.

Endocrine control of follicular growth was studied in mature Romanov ewes carrying (RF+) or not carrying (R+2) the Booroola Fec gene during an oestrous cycle after gonadotrophin-dependent follicles were suppressed by treatment with an antagonist of GnRH (Antarelix, 0.5 mg per day) and superovulatory treatment was administered. The left ovary was removed after 10 days of treatment (saline or Antarelix) and the right ovary was removed at the end of the superovulatory treatment.

MICs of mutacin B-Ny266, nisin A, vancomycin, and oxacillin against bacterial pathogens.

Peptide antibiotics, particularly lantibiotics, are good candidates for replacing antibiotics to which bacteria have become resistant. In order to compare two such lantibiotics with two antibiotics, the MICs of nisin A, mutacin B-Ny266, vancomycin, and oxacillin against various bacterial pathogens were determined. The results indicate that nisin A and mutacin B-Ny266 are as active as vancomycin and oxacillin against most of the strains tested.

Choice of initial antihypertensive medication and continuation of use.

Three recent studies that have focused on the discontinuation of initial antihypertensive medications are reviewed. The studies reviewed indicate that newly prescribed antihypertensive medications are associated with high levels of discontinuation in the months following the initiation of treatment. After six months, less than 50% of patients are on initial treatment regardless of which of the following classes of medication has been prescribed: diuretics, beta-blockers, calcium antagonists or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.

Acquisition of plasmin activity by Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. nucleatum and potential contribution to tissue destruction during periodontitis.

Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. nucleatum has been associated with a variety of oral and nonoral infections such as periodontitis, pericarditis, bone infections, and brain abscesses. Several studies have shown the role of plasmin, a plasma serine protease, in increasing the invasive capacity of microorganisms.

Phenotypic consequences resulting from a methionine-to-valine substitution at position 48 in the HPr protein of Streptococcus salivarius.

In gram-positive bacteria, the HPr protein of the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS) can be phosphorylated on a histidine residue at position 15 (His(15)) by enzyme I (EI) of the PTS and on a serine residue at position 46 (Ser(46)) by an ATP-dependent protein kinase (His approximately P and Ser-P, respectively). We have isolated from Streptococcus salivarius ATCC 25975, by independent selection from separate cultures, two spontaneous mutants (Ga3.78 and Ga3.

[Palliative care, a medical discipline dealing with the end of life].

Insofar as they take into account, not only the physical needs of the dying, but also their psycho-affective ones, Palliative Care are, with time, becoming a full-fledged area of medical specialization, the one which deals with the last phase of life. In order to be really efficient, that medical activity requires to resort to numerous skills: those of doctors, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists..

Cardiac adaptation to ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Acute myocardial ischemia initiates a cascade of cellular events that lead to irreversible injury. We previously described the transient nature of heat-shock induced cardioprotection; treatment with a catalase inhibitor abolished the cytoprotective actions without affecting expression levels of HSP71. Repeated, transient ischemic episodes augment the ischemic tolerance of affected myocardium but the fundamental cytoprotective mechanism(s) for both "early" and "delayed" preconditioning remains unclear.

Dietary patterns of adults in Québec and their nutritional adequacy.

The purpose of this study was to identify dietary patterns among adults in Québec and to determine their relationship to nutritional adequacy of the diet. We used 24-hour food recall data on 2,104 adults from the Québec nutrition survey (1990). Nutritional adequacy was assessed based on the 1990 Nutrition Recommendations for Canadians; dietary patterns were assessed via a factor analysis of the 30 food groups consumed.

Subcellular localization and cytotoxic activity of the GroEL-like protein isolated from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

The subcellular locations, ultrastructure, and cytotoxic activity of the GroEL-like protein from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans were investigated. Two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) clearly indicated that synthesis of the GroEL-like protein is substantially increased after a thermal shock. Analysis of the purified native GroEL-like protein by transmission electron microscopy revealed the typical 14-mer cylindrical molecule, which had a diameter of about 12 nm.

Determination of the secondary structure and conformation of puroindolines by infrared and Raman spectroscopy.

The conformation of puroindoline-a and -b, two basic lipid-binding proteins isolated from wheat seedlings, has been studied for the first time by infrared and Raman spectroscopy. The infrared results show that puroindoline-a and -b have similar secondary structure composed of approximately 30% alpha-helices, 30% beta-sheets, and 40% unordered structure at pH 7. The conformation of both puroindolines is significantly pH-dependent.