Eight of the existing 9.1 m (30 ft) diameter circular culture tanks at the White River National Fish Hatchery in Bethel, Vermont, were retrofitted and plumbed into two 8000 L/min partial water reuse systems to help meet the region's need for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolt production. The partial reuse systems were designed to increase fish production on a limited but biosecure water resource, maintain excellent water quality, and provide more optimum swimming speeds for salmonids than those provided in traditional single-pass or serial-reuse raceways. The two systems were stocked with a total of 147,840 Atlantic salmon parr in May of 2005 (mean size 89 mm and 8.5 g/fish) and operated with 87–89% water reuse on a flow basis. By the time that the smolt were removed from the systems between March 28 to April 12, 2006, the salmon smolt had reached a mean size of 24 cm and 137 g and hatchery staff considered the quality of the salmon to be exceptional. Overall feed conversion was <1:1. The Cornell-type dual-drain circular culture tanks were found to be self-cleaning and provided mean water rotational velocities that ranged from a low of 0.034 m/s (0.2 body length per second) near the center of the tank to a high of 39 cm/s (2.2 body length per second) near the perimeter of the tank. The fish swam at approximately the same speed as the water rotated. System water quality data were collected in mid-September when the systems were operated at near full loading, i.e., 24 kg/m3 maximum density and 52.1 and 44.1 kg/day of feed in system A and system B, respectively. During this evaluation, afternoon water temperatures, as well as dissolved oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), and total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations that exited the culture tank's sidewall drains averaged 14.8 and 15.9 °C, of 7.9 and 8.2 mg/L (O2), 4.0 and 3.2 mg/L (CO2), 0.72 and 0.67 mg/L (TAN), and 0.52 and 0.13 mg/L (TSS), respectively, in system A and system B. Dissolved O2 was fairly uniform across each culture tank. In addition, water temperature varied diurnally and seasonally in a distinct pattern that corresponded to water temperature fluctuations in the nearby river water, as planned. This work demonstrates that partial reuse systems are an effective alternative to traditional single-pass systems and serial-reuse raceway systems for culture of fish intended for endangered species restoration programs and supplementation programs such as salmon smolt.

Ginkgo biloba is reported to improve learning and memory in animals. However, many studies do not directly test the effects of Ginkgo on memory because the drug is administered during the learning phase of the experiments. In this study, we examined the effect of 10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg, or 40 mg/kg G. biloba extract on spatial memory by administering the drug in the interval between training and testing. Rats were tested for long-term reference memory retention in the radial arm maze and in the Morris water maze during daily probe trials in which the hidden platform was removed. G. biloba had no effect on reference memory in either the water maze or radial arm maze. To test short-term working spatial memory using the radial arm maze, animals were removed after receiving the reward from 4 of the 8 arms and were returned to complete the maze 2 h later. While Ginkgo had no effect on working memory, over time animals exposed to Ginkgo learned task better than control animals. Thus, Ginkgo appears to enhance neither short-term working memory nor long-term reference memory, but it may promote learning of spatial information.

Expression of the 37 kDa laminin receptor precursor protein (37LRP) correlates directly with increased invasiveness and the metastatic potential of tumors. The 37LRP matures to a 67 kDa protein which facilitates the binding of cancer cells to basement membranes. The palindrome peptide sequence LMWWML, corresponding to the 173-178-residue stretch of the human 37LRP sequence, has been identified as the laminin-1-binding site. Peptides from 37LRP of species that contain this palindrome-bind laminin-1 with high affinity. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) conformational studies have been undertaken on a synthetic 15-residue peptide (KGAHSVGLMWWMLAR) containing the palindrome to establish the structural basis of this activity. To further correlate the structural data with laminin-1-binding function, analogous structural studies were conducted for a similar peptide (RGKHSIGLIWYLLAR) lacking the palindrome, originating from 37LRP sequence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and exhibiting low laminin-1-binding affinity. Finally, in vitro cell invasion assays were performed to investigate the possibility that the laminin-1-binding affinity of the peptides influences their inhibitory activity.

The carotenoid lycopene, found in tomatoes, has been associated with decreasing prostate cancer risk. Potential mechanisms for this risk reduction include lycopene's status as a potent antioxidant, its inhibitory effect on cell proliferation, and its ability to increase intercellular gap junctional communication. Presently, in the United States, almost 200,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and approximately 30,000 succumb to its metastatic effects. Therefore, novel treatment strategies are needed for patients who currently have the disease, especially those in advanced, i.e., metastatic status. In this study, we sought to determine if lycopene's inhibitory properties on premalignancy could be extended to advanced prostate cancer by assessing effects on a cell line derived through metastatic passage, the PC-3MM2. We report that in this cell line, lycopene has a potentially unwanted effect of upregulating expression of the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor and facilitating invasion while falling to significantly inhibit proliferation or to induce detectable levels of the gap junctional protein connexin 43 expression. Our results indicate that some caution should be taken with regard to use of lycopene to treat potentially advanced and metastatic prostate cancers.