Haemolymph Components of Infected & None Infected Lymnaea snails with Xiphidiocercariae

Background: In this study the haemolymph components of infected and none infected Lymnaea gedrosiana with xiphidiocercaria larvae was compared.Methods: Five hundred Fifty Lymnaea snails were collected from Ilam and Mazandaran prov­inces, Iran, during 2008-2009. The snails were transported to the lab at Tehran University of Medi­cal Sciences and their cercarial sheddings were studied. Haemolmyphs of snails were ex­tracted and cells were counted using haemocytometer and cell-surface carbohydrate were recog­nized by conjugated lectin (Lentil). Haemolymph protein concentrations were measured by Brad­ford protein assay method and soluble protein compositions were determined on sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).Result: From the 550 examined Lymnaea snails for cercariae, 27 snails were infected with xiphidiocer­cariae. Mean of haemolymph cells (haemocyte) number were obtained 93480±2.43 (cells/ml) for none infected snails (25 snail) and 124560±2800 (cells/ml) for infected snails (25 snail). Mannose carbohydrate was recognized on haemocyte of none infected and infected snails. Mean of protein concentration of haemolymph plasma was obtained as 1354 ± 160 μg/ml (1.4 mg/ml) for none infected snails (25 snails) and 1802±138 μg/ml (1.8 mg/ml) for infected snail (25 snails). Comparing to none infected snails, the SDS-PAGE results of haemolymph plasma of infected snails, showed an extra protein band (70 kDa). The results showed a significant differ­ence between the amounts and the kinds of proteins in haemolymph of infected and none infected snails.Conclusion: This information might be useful to understand of parasite detection, adhesion, engulf­ment and antigen agglutination by snail

A comparative assessment of the effects of fresh and saltwater on soluble proteins and surimi made from Hypophthalmichthys molitrix

Due to the special taste of the Silver carp, the fish is not used for production of Surimi. Researchers have shown that water soluble proteins in water and brine have significant effects on the taste, flavor and odor of the Surimi produced from the fish. In this study, the effects of washing minced meat of Silver carp with fresh water and brine with 1.5 and 2.5 percent salt for 5, 10 and 15 minutes on the taste of Surimi and its shelf life cold stored for 120 days were investigated. We prepared three lots of minced meat from silver carp and each lot was washed with fresh water and brine with 1.5 and 2.5 percent salt, for 5, 10 and 15 minutes. The extracted water soluble proteins from fresh water washing were 1.3, 2.7, and 4.01 and for brine were 2, 4.2, 6.3 and 2.96 5.92 and 9 percent of the total protein of the fish for 1.5% and 2.5% salt respectively. A taste panel ranked the Surimi made from minced meat after washing with 1.5% brine for 10 minutes as the best in terms of taste, flavor and odor. We recorded a change in protein content of the Surimi made from minced meat washed with fresh water and be and stored for 120 days at -18°C, from 17.02 to 16.46, 14.73 to 13.5 and 12.03 to 11.5%, respectively. TVN for the same samples were increased from 9.76 to 13.2, 8.43 to 12.10 and 7.03 to 1 Img/100g. Changes in peroxide value were zero to 1.9, zero to 1, and zero to 0.8 Milli-equivalents/1000g. The total count of the bacteria for these Surimi samples were between 15 to zero colonies after 120 days storage at 48 C. Data from the different chemical, microbial, and sensory quality measurement were subjected to one way Anova and Ducan's multiple range test and the results showed a significant difference between the treatments at P<0.05. For production of Surimi from washing minced meat of silver carp is better to wash minced meat with 1.5% brine for 10 minutes. The Surimi's nutrition rate including: Protein 16.83%; fat 2.2%; moisture 82.65% and ash 1.5%

Population composition of calanoid copepods of the Chennai coast, Tamil Nadu

The study aims to determine the population composition of calanoid copepods from Ennore, Marina and Kovalam stations of the Chennai coast during the period of October 2018 to September 2019. Zooplankton samples were collected from 3 stations monthly. Temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and salinity of water samples were measured. In the present study, 24 calanoid copepod species were recorded from 3 stations. Index of dominance of calanoid copepod was high in the month of October 2018 at Ennore and Kovalam stations and in the month of November 2018 was high at Marina, however, index of diversity and evenness of calanoid copepod was high in the month of March 2019 at all the stations. Labidocera aestiva showed high average density (68.99±11.11 nos/m3), followed by Subeucalanus crassus (34.40±6.75 nos/m3). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of calanoid copepods between the species showed postive as well as negative correlations at the three sampling stations. The calanoid copepods were high (1253.80±11.66 nos/m3, 1221.20±13.49 nos/m3 and 938.90±9.45 nos/m3) in the month of March 2019 at Marina, Kovalam and Ennore stations, respectively. Calanoid copepods densities were statistically analyzed whereas, PCA highlighted about relationship among the species

Population composition of calanoid copepods of the Chennai coast, Tamil Nadu

693-700The study aims to determine the population composition of calanoid copepods from Ennore, Marina and Kovalam stations of the Chennai coast during the period of October 2018 to September 2019. Zooplankton samples were collected from 3 stations monthly. Temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and salinity of water samples were measured. In the present study, 24 calanoid copepod species were recorded from 3 stations. Index of dominance of calanoid copepod was high in the month of October 2018 at Ennore and Kovalam stations and in the month of November 2018 was high at Marina, however, index of diversity and evenness of calanoid copepod was high in the month of March 2019 at all the stations. Labidocera aestiva showed high average density (68.99±11.11 nos/m3), followed by Subeucalanus crassus (34.40±6.75 nos/m3). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of calanoid copepods between the species showed postive as well as negative correlations at the three sampling stations. The calanoid copepods were high (1253.80±11.66 nos/m3, 1221.20±13.49 nos/m3 and 938.90±9.45 nos/m3) in the month of March 2019 at Marina, Kovalam and Ennore stations, respectively. Calanoid copepods densities were statistically analyzed whereas, PCA highlighted about relationship among the species

On Research Challenges in Hybrid Medium Access Control Protocols for IEEE 802.15.6 WBANs

IEEE 802.15.6 is a Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) standard proposed to facilitate the exponentially growing interest in the field of health monitoring. This standard is flexible and outlines multiple basic Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols that are contention based and collision free to meet the WBAN Quality of Service (QoS) challenges. Typically, current research trends in WBAN MAC focus on designing a hybrid MAC that is a combination of basic MAC protocols. In this paper, we provide a first detailed survey of existing hybrid MAC protocols based on IEEE 802.15.6 which would be useful for the related research community. Firstly, the paper lists the design challenges of a WBAN MAC. Secondly, it highlights the significance of hybrid MAC protocols in meeting the design challenges while comparing them to standard MAC protocols. Thirdly, a critical and thorough comparison of existing hybrid MAC protocols is presented in terms of network QoS and WBAN specific parameters. Lastly, we identify key open research areas that are often neglected in hybrid MAC design and further propose some possible directions for future research

Improving pain assessment in mice and rats with advanced videography and computational approaches

Accurately measuring pain in humans and rodents is essential to unravel the neurobiology of pain and discover effective pain therapeutics. However, given its inherently subjective nature, pain is nearly impossible to objectively assess. In the clinic, patients can articulate their pain experience using questionnaires and pain scales but self-reporting can be unreliable due to various psychological and social influences or difficulties for some patients to verbalize their experience (eg, infants, toddlers, and those with neurodevelopmental disorders). At the bench, these challenges are even more daunting as researchers rely on the behaviors of rodents to measure pain or pain relief. Given this, there is a growing realization among pain researchers, clinicians, and funding entities that these traditional approaches of assessing pain in rodents may be flawed. Importantly, these flaws may have contributed to several failed drugs that initially showed promise as analgesics and point toward inconsistencies in our understanding of basic pain neurobiology

Floating PVs in Terms of Power Generation, Environmental Aspects, Market Potential, and Challenges

This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordLimited reserves of fossil fuels, rising environmental concerns, and a remarkable increase in electricity demand have led to the necessity of harnessing solar energy on a large scale. For this purpose, there has been a noticeable stimulation into photovoltaic power plants (PVPPs) over the last three decades, but the land requirement for PVPPs is still a handicap in many countries since valuable lands are considered for other purposes such as agriculture and livestock. For effective conservation of valuable lands and water resources, PVPPs are preferred to be installed on various water bodies such as oceans, seas, lagoons, lakes, rivers, dams, canals, wastewater treatment plants, irrigation ponds, fish farms, wineries, reservoirs, etc. PV systems on water bodies are called floating PVPPs, and they have outstanding advantages compared with land-based PVPPs including better energy generation owing to passive cooling effects, higher system efficiency and reliability, and lower dirt and dust accumulation on PV modules thus lower operating costs. There are also some significant environmental features provided by floating PVs. Shading effects due to PV coverage reduce water losses arising from evaporation. Moreover, algae growth is limited because of mitigated solar radiation, which yields better water quality. This review presents more insight on floating PVPPs in terms of several aspects such as electricity generation, system efficiency, reliability and sustainability, experimental applications and facilities in operation, water and carbon saving as well as challenges

What are the experiences and psychosocial needs of female survivors of domestic violence in Afghanistan? A qualitative interview study in three Afghan provinces.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to qualitatively explore (1) the experiences of female survivors of domestic abuse and mental health problems in Afghanistan; (2) how female survivors of violence and abuse, male members of the community and service providers perceive and respond to mental health and domestic violence in Afghanistan and (3) the provision of mental health services for female survivors of violence and abuse in Afghanistan, including the barriers and challenges faced around accessing mental health services. DESIGN: Qualitative interviews and framework thematic analysis. SETTING: Kabul, Bamyan and Nangarhar in Afghanistan. PARTICIPANTS: 60 female survivors of domestic abuse, 60 male community members and 30 service providers who work with female survivors of domestic abuse. RESULTS: Experiences of multiple and compounding traumatic experiences of violence, armed conflict, and complex and competing psychosocial concerns were common among the female survivor participants. All female survivor participants reported experiencing negative mental health outcomes in relation to their experiences of violence and abuse, which were further precipitated by widespread social stigma and gender norms. Support and service provision for female survivors was deemed by participants to be insufficient in comparison to the amount of people who need to access them. CONCLUSIONS: There are many risks and barriers women face to disclosing their experiences of violence and mental health problems which restrict women's access to psychological support. Culturally relevant services and trauma-informed interventions are necessary to respond to these issues. Service providers should be trained to effectively recognise and respond to survivors' mental health needs