Short communication: Effects of garlic (Allium sativum L) extract on growth, feed utilization and carcass composition in Mugil cephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) larvae

Various extracts from herbs and spices are reported to improve animal performance by stimulating action on gut secretions or by having a direct bactericidal effect on gut micro flora. Furthermore the active principles of the herb in the diets induce the secretion of the digestive enzymes and the growth promoter in herbs induces high protein synthesis. Garlic is an important medicinal herb extensively cultivated in many countries and has played an important dietary function as well as medicinal role for centuries. Several studies have demonstrated the positive effect of garlic inclusion in fish feed on the growth performance of various species. ... Until now, no trial has been conducted to study the effects of dietary garlic extract on growth of grey mullet (M. cephalus) This study was therefore designed to investigate the effects of garlic on growth, feed utilization and carcass composition of M. cephalus larvae with the aim of ascertaining the importance and level of garlic supplementation in fish feeds especially in M. cephalus

Effects of letrozole, non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor, on serum sex steroid levels, oocyte diameter and gonadosomatic index (GSI) in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

The objective of this study was to contribute to investigate the efficacy of letrozole, a potent non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor, on serum sex steroid levels and oocyte growth in rainbow trout females. Serum steroid levels were measured using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) before and 22 days after an initial injection with 1, 2.5 mg kg^-1 and subsequent weekly injection with 2.5 mg kg^-1 letrozole. After the last blood collection, gonad tissues were removed and oocyte diameter and GSI were determined. In all groups treated with letrozole, serum 17β-esteradiol levels (E2) decreased significantly and inversely serum 17α-20ß dihydroxy-4 pregnen-3-one (17α-20ß-P), testosterone (T) levels increased significantly from 6 to 96 h after injection (p<0.05). The lowest E2 levels, oocyte diameter and GSI were measured in the group treated weekly with 2.5 mg kg^-1 letrozole (p<0.05). This study demonstrates that letrozole has the potential to interfere in the synthesis of endogenous estrogens from androgens and delay gonadal development

A survey of patient safety culture: A tool for improving patient safety in healthcare providers service organizations

Background and aims: Patient safety is one of the main factors in quality of services provided by a health system. Patient safety culture plays a key role in improvement of patient safety, reduction of medical errors, and prevention of adverse events in health care organizations. Thereby, the present study is aimed to survey patient safety culture in hospitals of Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This research was a cross sectional study that conducted on all qualified staff of hospitals affiliated with Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences in 2013. Hospital Survey of Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) questionnaire was used to assess patient safety culture. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS (16), using Chi-Square test and logistic regression model. Results: Total score average of patient safety culture was 25.50±9.52. The results showed that among the twelve dimensions the highest and lowest scores were obtained by the supervisor/ manager expectations & actions promoting patient safety (score rate 45) and the reporting frequency of adverse events (score rate 15) respectively According to logistic regression model there was also significant relationship between the patient safety culture and direct contact with the patient, employment duration in hospital, and current unit (p<0.05). Conclusion: Total average of patient safety culture and scores of all twelve dimensions were lower than the acceptable criteria. Patient safety culture in the studied hospitals urgently needs enhancement and improvement. So, creating policies to institutionalize and enhance patient safety culture among the staffs are recommended

Effect of galacto oligosaccharide prebiotic on growth performance, survival and several of innate immunity parameters of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) larvae

Prebiotics are non-digestive food ingredients which beneficially affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth and activity of health-promoting bacteria in the intestinal tract. This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of galactooilgosaccharide on the growth performances, survival and several of innate immunity parameters of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) larvae for 60 days. In this experiment, 360 of larvae (with average weight of 0.13±0.01g) in 4 treatments and 3 replicates (n=30 in each replicate) in a completely randomized design was divided and fed with diets containing 0, 1, 2 and 3 percent galactooligosaccharide respectively. The present results showed that highest WG, SGR and PER were observed in the diet containing 2 and 3 percent of dietary galactoologosaccharide which had a significant difference compared with other treatments (p<0.05). The highest, survival, total protein, albumin and globulin levels were observed in treatments containing 2 percent of dietary galactooligosaccharide which showed a significant difference compared with other treatments (p<0.05). Finally, the present results suggest that diets containing 2 percent of dietary galactooligosaccharide could improve growth, survival and innate immunity responses of rainbow trout

Assessment of outer hair cell function and blood antioxidant status of rabbits exposed to noise and metal welding fumes

Objectives: To investigate the interaction between welding fumes and noise in causation of hearing impairment. Methods: Groups of rabbits (n = 6) were exposed to noise, welding fumes or combination of both prior to Distortion Product Otoacoustic-Emissions (DPOAEs) analysis. The function of outer hair cells (OHCs) was examined by DPOAE assessment over a broad range of frequencies. Variations in DPOAE amplitude were compared between control (n = 6) and exposed (n = 18) groups. Results: The DPOAEs levels measured at different frequencies (1379-6299 Hz) were found to decrease significantly (P &lt; 0.05) in rabbits exposed to 110 dB sound pressure level (SPL) broadband noise (8 h/day, 12 days). In rabbits, exposed to carbon-steel welding fumes alone (157 mg/m3), the threshold shift was limited to the high frequencies (2759-6299 Hz), whereas, mixed exposure to noise and fumes resulted in reduction of DPOAEs at all the frequencies. Changes in DPOAEs were associated with increased susceptibility of erythrocytes to oxidation (P &lt; 0.05). Exposure to noise or fumes alone or simultaneously, suppressed total antioxidant ability of plasma as measured by ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP). Noise alone or in combination with fumes resulted in depletion of blood glutathione (GSH). Despite suppression of FRAP in the exposed groups, GSH was found to remain unchanged due to welding fumes suggesting that antioxidants other than GSH are affected by toxicants present in metal welding fumes. Conclusion: Exposure to very high levels of welding fumes can increase noise-related effects on OHC function by extending hearing threshold shift to wide band frequencies. © 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

A 30-Year Worldwide Research Productivity of Scientific Publication in Full-Endoscopic Decompression Spine Surgery: Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

Objective The ever-growing number of articles related to full-endoscopic spine surgery published in the last few decades presents a challenge which is perplexing and time-consuming in identifying the current research status. The study aims to identify and analyze the most cited works related to full-endoscopic decompression spine surgery, compare the articles published by different publishers and area, and show the current publication status of full-endoscopic research. Methods Using Bibliometrix, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer, we analyzed the bibliometric data selected from the Web of Science database between 1992 and 2022. Spine has the highest H-index with the most-cited journal in the field of full-endoscopic decompression spine surgery. China ranked as the most productive country, whereas the most cited with high H-index papers came from South Korea. For the author analysis, Yeung AT, Ruetten S, Hoogland T, Ahn Y, Choi G, and Mayer HM were the most impactful authors in the global and local citations. The most productive organization is Wooridul Spine Hospital. Conclusion The bibliometric study showed a growing trend of research on full-endoscopic decompression spine surgery over the past 30 years. It has demonstrated that there is a significant increase in the number of authors, institutions, and internationally collaborated countries. However, the quality of studies is still low, and the lack of high-quality clinical evidence and the trend of general journal submissions has somewhat affected the quality of endoscopy journals in recent years

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

A generalized Lucas sequence and permutation binomials

Abstract. Let p be an odd prime and q = pm. Let l be an odd positive integer. Let p ≡ −1 (mod l) or p ≡ 1 (mod l) and l | m. By employing l−