Performances zootechniques des alevins de trois souches du tilapia du nil Oreochromis niloticus L., 1758 du paysage aquacole de la Cote d’Ivoire elevees en happa implante dans un etang

Cette étude effectuée du 03 mars au 15 avril, a été réalisée dans le but de comparer les performances de croissance des alevins de trois souches  (Bouaké, Hydrofish et Brésil) du tilapia du Nil Oreochromis niloticus utilisées dans le paysage aquacole ivoirien. Pour ce faire, les alevins de poids  moyens initiaux respectifs 0,012 ± 0,003 ; 0,010 ± 0,003 et 0,014 ± 0,007 g ont été élevés pendant 28 jours dans 09 happas de 1 m2 chacun, installés  dans un étang en terre à une densité de 1500 individus/m2. Les poissons ont été nourris cinq fois par jour (8 h, 10 h, 12 h, 14 h et 16 h) avec un  aliment commercial farineux titrant 48 % de protéines et de diamètre 0,3 à 0,5 mm à raison de 50 % de leur poids corporel. Cette ration a été  réajustée chaque semaine en fonction de la croissance des poissons. Après 28 jours d’élevage, les résultats montrent que le poids moyen final le  plus élevé (0,654 ± 0,076 g) et le plus faible (0,339 ± 0,035 g) sont respectivement enregistrés chez les alevins des souches Brésil et Hydrofish. La  valeur la plus interessante de l’indice de conversion alimentaire (0,83 ± 0,10) est obtenue chez la souche Brésil et la moins interessante (1,11 ± 0,12)  chez la souche Hydrofish. Toutefois, le taux de survie et le facteur de condition n’ont pas varié d’une souche à l’autre. Il ressort donc de cette étude  que la souche Brésil du tilapia du Nil O. niloticus présente les meilleures performances zootechniques comparée aux souches Bouaké et Hydrofish  en phase d’alevinage. English title: Zootechnical performance of three strains of Nile tilapia <i>oreochromis niloticus L.</i>, 1758 from the Ivory  Coast Aquaculture Landscape This study was conducted to compare the growth performance of three strains fries (Bouaké, Hydrofish and Brazil) of Nile tilapia Oreochromis  niloticus used in Ivorian aquaculture landscape. Fingerlings with respective initial mean weights of 0.012 ± 0.003, 0.010 ± 0.003 and 0.014 ± 0.007 g  were reared for 28 days in 09 happas of 1 m2 each installed in an earthen pond at a density of 1500 individuals/m2. Fish were fed five times daily  (8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m.) with a commercial mealy feed containing 48% of proteins and a diameter of 0.3 to 0.5  mm at 50% of their body weight. This ration was readjusted weekly according to the growth of the fish. After 28 days of rearing, the results show  that the highest (0.654 ± 0.076 g) and lowest (0.339 ± 0.035 g) average final weights were recorded in the Brazil and Hydrofish fries, respectively. The  most interesting value of feed conversion index (0.83 ± 0.10) is obtained in the Brazil strain and the least interesting (1.11 ± 0.12) in the  Hydrofish strain. However, the survival rate and condition factor did not vary between strains. Therefore, this study shows that the Brazil strain of  Nile tilapia O. niloticus has the best zootechnical performance compared to the Bouaké and Hydrofish strains in the nursery phase.&nbsp

Balance-of-plant options for the Heat-Pipe Power System

The Heat-Pipe Power System (HPS) is a near-term, low-cost space fission power system with the potential for utilizing various option for balance-of-plant options. The following options have been studied: a low-power thermoelectric design (14-kWe output), a small Brayton cycle system (60--75 kWe), and a large Brayton cycle system (250 kWe). These systems were analyzed on a preliminary basis, including mass, volume, and structure calculations. These analyses have shown that the HPS system can provide power outputs from 10--250 kWe with specific powers of {approximately} 14 W/kg for a 14-kWe model to {approximately} 100 W/kg for a 250-kWe model. The system designs considered in this study utilize a common component base to permit easy expansion and development

Quality of life assessment in elderly patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma treated with anthracycline-containing regimens. Report of a prospective study by the Intergruppo Italiano Linfomi

Background and Objectives. The aim of this study was to evaluate quality of life (QOL) in a group of elderly patients ( > 65 years) with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) treated with chemotherapy regimens containing anthracyclines. Design and Methods. QOL was evaluated in a population of elderly patients with aggressive NHL enrolled in a phase III clinical trial run by the Intergruppo Italiano Linfomi (11L) from 1996 to 1999 to compare two different anthracycline-containing regimens (mini-CEOP vs P-VEBEC). The EORTC-QLQ-C30 questionnaire, which has already been validated in oncology, was used. The questionnaire was administered at the time of diagnosis, half way through the chemotherapy and at the time of restaging. Results. Ninety-one patients completed pre-therapy and post-therapy questionnaires and they are the subject of this report. Baseline QOL assessment showed a strong correlation of poor values of QOL with anemia and high risk according to the International Prognostic Index (IPI). At the end of treatment no functional scales showed worse values. A significant improvement was observed for pain (p = 0.003), appetite (p = 0.006), sleep (p = 0.015) and global health (p = 0.027). Considering only the 50 patients who achieved a complete remission (CR), an improvement was also recorded for emotional state (p = 0.10), role (P = 0.05), constipation (p = 0.04) and global QOL (p = 0.05). Interpretation and Conclusions. The EORTC-QLQ-C30 is feasible even in a population of elderly patients, in whom it had never been tested before. The improvement of QOL at the end of the treatment demonstrated that the symptoms of the disease have a greater negative influence on the patient's life than do the side effects of the therapy

Efficient ultrafast all-optical modulation in a nonlinear crystalline gallium phosphide nanodisk at the anapole excitation

High–refractive index nanostructured dielectrics have the ability to locally enhance electromagnetic fields with low losses while presenting high third-order nonlinearities. In this work, we exploit these characteristics to achieve efficient ultrafast all-optical modulation in a crystalline gallium phosphide (GaP) nanoantenna through the optical Kerr effect (OKE) and two-photon absorption (TPA) in the visible/near-infrared range. We show that an individual GaP nanodisk can yield differential reflectivity modulations of up to ~40%, with characteristic modulation times between 14 and 66 fs, when probed at the anapole excitation (AE). Numerical simulations reveal that the AE represents a unique condition where both the OKE and TPA contribute with the same modulation sign, maximizing the response. These findings highly outperform previous reports on sub–100-fs all-optical switching from resonant nanoscale dielectrics, which have demonstrated modulation depths no larger than 0.5%, placing GaP nanoantennas as a promising choice for ultrafast all-optical modulation at the nanometer scale

Personalizing Cancer Pain Therapy: Insights from the Rational Use of Analgesics (RUA) Group

Introduction: A previous Delphi survey from the Rational Use of Analgesics (RUA) project involving Italian palliative care specialists revealed some discrepancies between current guidelines and clinical practice with a lack of consensus on items regarding the use of strong opioids in treating cancer pain. Those results represented the basis for a new Delphi study addressing a better approach to pain treatment in patients with cancer. Methods: The study consisted of a two-round multidisciplinary Delphi study. Specialists rated their agreement with a set of 17 statements using a 5-point Likert scale (0 = totally disagree and 4 = totally agree). Consensus on a statement was achieved if the median consensus score (MCS) (expressed as value at which at least 50% of participants agreed) was at least 4 and the interquartile range (IQR) was 3–4. Results: This survey included input from 186 palliative care specialists representing all Italian territory. Consensus was reached on seven statements. More than 70% of participants agreed with the use of low dose of strong opioids in moderate pain treatment and valued transdermal route as an effective option when the oral route is not available. There was strong consensus on the importance of knowing opioid pharmacokinetics for therapy personalization and on identifying immediate-release opioids as key for tailoring therapy to patients’ needs. Limited agreement was reached on items regarding breakthrough pain and the management of opioid-induced bowel dysfunction. Conclusion: These findings may assist clinicians in applying clinical evidence to routine care settings and call for a reappraisal of current pain treatment recommendations with the final aim of optimizing the clinical use of strong opioids in patients with cancer

Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC) Method Development to Investigate Natural Organic Matter (NOM) and Organic Contaminant Binding Interactions

Organic contaminants are known to partition onto natural organic matter (NOM), which can, in turn, affect their fate, transport, and behavior in the environment. Characterizing and obtaining reliable data on NOM-organic contaminants interactions can be challenging. One of the most commonly used methods to investigate binding interactions is equilibrium dialysis, which can be limited by low recovery, poor separation, or slow equilibration times. The objective of this research is to evaluate size exclusion chromatography (SEC) methods to quantify NOM-contaminant binding interactions, validate the SEC methods against conventional equilibrium dialysis methods, and develop strategies to achieve a high-throughput SEC analysis. In the first study, humic acids (HA) were extracted from soils collected on eleven properties in Texas, and their binding interactions with a pesticide, alachlor, were investigated. Samples were analyzed using the pre-equilibrium SEC (PE-SEC) method, and it was found that three out of eleven HA extracts analyzed showed complete binding to alachlor. However, a mechanistic interpretation of these results was challenging, as the occurrence of alachlor binding did not correlate strongly with any of the measured properties of the HA, including aromaticity and molecular weight, across the field samples. Therefore, to validate the method developed in the first study, a second study investigated the interactions of standard NOM and HA extracts from two different sources (Suwannee River and Elliott Soil) with a suite of organic contaminants with varied hydrophobicity and charge, including four uncharged contaminants (carbamazepine, atrazine, and N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), and alachlor) and two weak acids (sulfamethoxazole and mecoprop). Equilibrium dialysis showed binding of carbamazepine and atrazine to the Elliott Soil humic acid. When pre-equilibrating the NOM and contaminants followed by SEC separation (non-equilibrium conditions), no binding was observed, suggesting that rapid desorption occurs. Further SEC analyses following the Hummel Dreyer methodology to investigate equilibrium conditions were then performed and optimized to reduce sample analysis times. The resulting partitioning coefficients were comparable to those measured by equilibrium dialysis. Furthermore, the SEC method permitted evaluation of interactions with the lower molecular weight Suwannee River NOM, which was not feasible by equilibrium dialysis. Overall, the SEC method was successfully demonstrated as a reliable, high throughput method to investigate NOM-contaminant interactions