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“Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes and fatty acids (FAs) revealed primary producer organic carbon sources that fuel a coral reef food web with river influence. A stable isotope mixing model was used to assess the relative contribution of six different primary producers to nine of the most ubiquitous invertebrate and fish consumer’s bulk carbon. Mangrove and phytoplankton were difficult to differentiate
in some consumers; likely solutions involved one or the other but not both at the same time. FA concentration in upper trophic levels was corrected for the primary producer’s Lonafarnib price relative contribution according to the mixing model, and FA retention was evaluated using a calculated trophic retention factor (TRF). The C-18 FAs, 18:2 find more omega 6 and 18:3 omega 3, were plentiful in mangrove, sea grass, and green algae, but decreased across trophic levels with a TRF <= 1, probably due to decomposition of drifting leaves and then consumer metabolism. In contrast, macroalgae and phytoplankton FAs, 24:1 omega 9, and highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs), arachidonic acid (ARA) 20:4 omega 6, docosapentanoic acid
(DPA) 22:5 omega 3, and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) 22:6 omega 3, showed trophic accumulation (TRF > 1), while eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) 20:5 omega 3 had similar concentrations across trophic levels (TRF = 1), suggesting the following degrees of HUFA retention: DHA > ARA > EPA. This study indicates that phytoplankton are the major source of essential dietary nutrients for all fish, and that dietary energy from mangroves is
transferred to juvenile fish Caranx hippos, while sea grass nonessential FAs are transferred to the entire food web. Moreover, among the species studied, the sea urchin Echinometra lucunter is the major consumer of brown and green algae, while red algae were also consumed by the surgeon Selleckchem 4SC-202 fish Acanthurus chirurgus.”
“A 19-year-old castrated male Arab/Quarter horse presented with an extensive history of cutaneous metastatic melanoma. Over a period of 8 months, a total of 8 doses of plasmid DNA vaccine expressing the Streptococcus pyogenes emm55 gene (pAc/emm55) were administered intratumorally at 300 mu g/dose via a needless injector. Upon completion of the vaccination protocol, the size of the injected lesions, on average, were reduced by 40.3% from the initial size measurements. Lesions that were not injected were reduced by 47.6%. The overall reduction in total tumor burden was 42.3%. Tumor regression was also associated with the augmentation of antimelanoma IgG antibody response, thus implying that an induction of an effective antimelanoma response would be of great advantage in the management of equine melanoma. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.