Multispectral images of natural scenes were collected from both forests and coral reefs. We varied the wavelength position of receptors in hypothetical dichromatic visual systems and, for each receptor pair estimated the percentage of discriminable points in natural scenes. The optimal spectral tuning predicted by this model results in photoreceptor pairs very like those of forest dwelling, dic...

Coral diseases are a leading factor contributing to the global decline of coral reefs, and yet mechanisms of disease transmission remain poorly understood. This study tested whether zooplankton can act as a vector for white band disease (WBD) in Acropora cervicornis. Natural zooplankton communities were collected from a coral reef in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Half of the zooplankton were treated ...

Cells in their native microenvironment interact with three-dimensional (3D) nanofeatures. Despite many reports on the effects of substrate nanotopography on cells, the independent effect of 3D parameters has not been investigated. Recent advances in nanofabrication for precise control of nanostructure pattern, periodicity, shape, and height enabled this systematic study of cell interactions wit...

This study investigates the effects of nanostructure size and surface area on the rheological properties of un-cross-linked poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF) nanocomposites and the mechanical properties of cross-linked nanocomposites as a function of the nanostructure loading. Three model carbon nanostructures were examined, C(60) fullerenes, ultra-short single-walled carbon nanotubes (US-tubes) a...

In situ amplitude modulated-atomic force microscopy (AM-AFM) has been used to probe the nanostructure of mixtures of propylammonium nitrate (PAN) with n-alkanols near a mica surface. PAN is a protic ionic liquid (IL) which has a bicontinuous sponge-like nanostructure of polar and apolar domains in the bulk, which becomes flatter near a solid surface. Mixtures of PAN with 1-butanol, 1-octanol, a...

conclusions calcined coral/sodium nitrate as a new, efficient, and natural heterogeneous catalyst used in aldol condensation reaction of ketones and aldehydes led to β-hydroxyketones in good to high yields in appropriate condition. materials and methods marine coral (acropora sp.) was washed several times using methanol-ethyl acetate and deionized water and then dried in an oven at 80°c for 48 ...

Stony corals (Scleractinia) are marine invertebrates that form the foundation and framework upon which tropical reefs are built. The coral animal associates with a diverse microbiome comprised of dinoflagellate algae and other protists, bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses. Using a metagenomics approach, we analysed the DNA and RNA viral assemblages of seven coral species from the central Great...