In a large scale screen for genetic defects in zebrafish embryogenesis we identified mutations affecting several aspects of ear development, including: specification of the otic placode, growth of the otic vesicle (otocyst), otolith formation, morphogenesis of the semicircular canals and differentiation of the otic capsule. Here we report initial phenotypic and genetic characterization of 20 of...

We present a robust method for time-frequency model estimation. It involves a robust Leclerc’s estimator to ensure robustness w.r.t. noise and interferences present in timefrequency representations. This scheme is applied to fish age and growth analysis from otolith images. This application involves the estimation of the parameters of a priori fish growth models using this robust time-frequency...

It is generally accepted that the formation of otolith microstructures (L- and D-zones) and in particular the organic and mineral fractions vary on a daily basis. Raman microspectrometry provides a nondestructive technique that can be used to provide structural information on organic and mineral compounds. We applied it to thin otolith sections of hake in order to address the following issues: ...

Acknowledgments: Authors thank Tom Bennett and Valerie Stallings for their technical contributions, Margaret Marsden and Patty Cunningham for their administrative assistance, and Drs. Lionel Zupan and Rick Lewis for commenting on early versions of the manuscript. Experiments were performed at the Legacy Neurotology Research Laboratory. ABSTRACT To investigate the neural mechanisms that humans u...

Correlations among several measures of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and fitness-related variables were assessed in two populations of the European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus with fast growth (Aegean Sea) and slow growth (Ionian Sea), respectively. FA levels were borderline significantly higher in the Ionian than in the Aegean for some variables. Variation in otolith shape (deviation from popu...

We explored the functional role of individual otoconia within the otolith system of mammalians responsible for the detection of linear accelerations and head tilts in relation to the gravity vector. Details of the inner structure and the shape of intact human and artificial otoconia were studied using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), including decalcification by ethylenediamin...

Using two line–strength indices, H+K(CaII) and ∆4000, sensible to the age of the stellar population, we analyze the correlations between the shape and the ‘galaxy age’ suggested by de Jong & Davies (1997) on the basis that discy galaxies have higher Hβ indices. By enlarging their sample with the present one, we find that the significance of the correlation a4/a vs. line– strength indices disapp...

in this paper age determination and morphological characteristics of blacktip catfish, plicofollis dussumieri, from oman sea were evaluated. a total of 132 fish specimens were collected from fishing trawlers or landings from march 2011 to july 2012, with minimum and maximum of 245 mm, 195 g; and 767 mm, 5801 g, respectively. maximum life span was 12 years for the length range of 245 – 767 mm fl...