Sperm motility in fish: technical applications and perspectives through CASA systems

[EN] Although a relatively high number of sperm quality biomarkers have been reported over the years in several fish species, sperm motility is nowadays considered the best biomarker for fish spermatozoa. The first scientific reports focusing on fish sperm motility date from a century ago, but the objective assessment allowed by computer-aided sperm analysis (CASA-Mot) systems was not applied to fish species until the mid-1980s. Since then, a high number of sperm kinetic parameters from more than 170 fish species have been reported in more than 700 scientific articles, covering a wide range of topics, such as sperm physiology, sperm storage, broodstock management, the phenomenon of sperm competition, ecotoxicology and understanding the life cycle of the species. The sperm kinetic parameters provided by CASA-Mot systems can serve as powerful and useful tools for aquaculture and ecological purposes, and this review provides an overview of the major research areas in which fish sperm motility assessment by a CASA-Mot system has been used successfully.This writing of this manuscript as received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 642893 (ETN IMPRESS). V. Gallego has a postdoctoral grant from the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (PAID-10-16).Gallego Albiach, V.; Asturiano Nemesio, JF. (2018). Sperm motility in fish: technical applications and perspectives through CASA systems. Reproduction Fertility and Development. 30(6):820-832. https://doi.org/10.1071/RD17460S82083230

Slaughter weight rather than sex affects carcass cuts and tissue composition of Bisaro pigs

Carcass cuts and tissue composition were assessed in Bisaro pigs (n=64) from two sexes (31 gilts and 33 entire males) reared until three target slaughter body-weights (BW) means: 17 kg, 32 kg, and 79 kg. Dressing percentage and backfat thickness increased whereas carcass shrinkage decreased with increasing BW. Slaughter weight affected most of the carcass cut proportions, except shoulder and thoracic regions. Bone proportion decreased linearly with increasing slaughter BW, while intermuscular and subcutaneous adipose tissue depots increased concomitantly. Slaughter weight increased the subcutaneous adipose tissue proportion but this impaired intramuscular and intermuscular adipose tissues in the loin primal. The sex of the pigs minimally affected the carcass composition, as only the belly weight and the subcutaneous adipose tissue proportions were greater in gilts than in entire males. Light pigs regardless of sex are recommended to balance the trade-offs between carcass cuts and their non-edible compositional outcomes.Work included in the Portuguese PRODER research Project BISOPORC – Pork extensive production of Bísara breed, in two alternative systems: fattening on concentrate vs chesnut, Project PRODER SI I&DT Medida 4.1 “Cooperação para a Inovação”. The authors are grateful to Laboratory of Carcass and Meat Quality of Agriculture School of Polytechnic Institute of Bragança ‘Cantinho do Alfredo’. The authors are members of the MARCARNE network, funded by CYTED (ref. 116RT0503).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fish sperm motility assessment as a tool for aquaculture research, a historical approach

[EN] Fish sperm motility is nowadays considered the best biomarker for the quality of fish spermatozoa, and sperm motion parameters from more than 300 fish species have been reported in more than 1500 scientific articles covering a wide range of topics, from molecular biology to ecology. The most studied topics have been (i) the sperm storage (involving both the use of chilled¿storage protocols for short¿term periods and sperm cryopreservation techniques for long¿term storage), (ii) the sperm physiology (fathom in the spermatozoa activation process and the whole propulsion machinery of the sperm cells) and (iii) the broodstock management (covering aspects such as rearing conditions, dietary requirements or hormonal induction treatments). In addition, other aquaculture and ecological topics, such as (iv) the knowledge of the breeding cycle of the species, (v) the phenomenon of the sperm competition and (vi) ecotoxicological studies for the evaluation of aquatic environments, have also been approached from the evaluation of sperm motion performance. Therefore, fish sperm motility assessment can serve as a potential tool for aquaculture and ecological purposes, covering key topics of fundamental and applied research. This review gives an overview of the major research areas in which fish sperm motility has been applied successfully.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 642893 (IMPRESS). VG has a postdoc grant from the UPV (PAID-10-16).Gallego Albiach, V.; Asturiano Nemesio, JF. (2018). Fish sperm motility assessment as a tool for aquaculture research, a historical approach. Reviews in Aquaculture (Online). 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/raq.12253S12

Plutarch z Cheronei – koncepcja zasad

W artykule podjęto próbę rekonstrukcji koncepcji zasad Plutarcha z Cheronei. W tym celu przeanalizowano cztery jego dzieła: O E delfickim, O Izydzie i Ozyrysie, O zamilknięciu wyroczni i O powstaniu duszy w Timajosie. Starano się wskazać, że trudno jest znaleźć spójność w teologiczno-kosmologicznych poglądach medioplatonika. Raz za Platonem pisze on bowiem o jedynej, najwyższej przyczynie świata – transcendentnym Bogu, którego nazywa dobrym, ojcem i twórcą całokształtu rzeczywistości. Innym razem natomiast odwołuje się do poglądów Starej Akademii, tzn. nauki o Jedni (Hen) i nieokreślonej Diadzie (aoristos Dyas) jako najwyższych zasadach. Ponadto, powołując się na Platona, Plutarch wzmiankuje o przyczynie odpowiadającej za zło w utworzonym świecie. Jednakże cechą charakterystyczną dla myśli Plutarcha jest nauka o transcendentnej przyczynie całokształtu rzeczywistości. Pogląd ten oraz koncepcja o immanentnym w świecie rozumie – Logosie wpłyną nie tylko na późniejszych platoników, ale zainspirują również pierwszych przedstawicieli filozofii chrześcijańskiej

Medioplatonic Cosmology in the Writings of Tatians the Syrian and Athenagoras of Athens

The article presents the influence of Greek philosophy on early Christian thought. This was done on the example of the influence of Middle Platonism on the views of Tatian Syrian and Athenagoras of Athens. I focus on their understanding of cosmological issues related to questions about the cause, nature and purpose of the world. Firstly, I reconstructed the cosmological thought of Tatian and Athenagoras because their preserved writings do not directly address these issues; next, Icompared previous findings with the cosmological views of the 2nd century Platonists (Alcinous, Plutarch, Apuleius) to observe similarities and differences. Their different understanding of God’s goodness determined their understanding of causes, nature and the purpose of the cosmos. Other cosmological conclusions seem to emerge from this, which highlights the specificity of Christian and Platonic thought of the 2nd century. In addition, in the writings of the Greek Apologists we can find a new approach to matter which is not viewed as the second, eternal cause of the world.W artykule ukazano oddziaływanie greckiej filozofii na myśl wczesnochrześcijańską. Dokonano tego na przykładzie wpływu nauki medioplatońskiej na poglądy Tacjana Syryjczyka i Atenagorasa z Aten. Skoncentrowano się na pojmowaniu przez nich zagadnień kosmologicznych związanych z pytaniami o przyczynę, naturę i cel świata. Na początku zrekonstruowano myśl kosmologiczną Tacjana i Atenagorasa, gdyż ich zachowane pisma nie dotyczą bezpośrednio tych zagadnień, a następnie porównano je z poglądami platoników II wieku (Alkinous, Plutarch, Apulejusz), co pozwoliło zaobserwować podobieństwa, a także występujące różnice. Decydującą rolę w pojmowaniu przyczyn, natury i celu kosmosu odgrywa odmienne rozumienie przez nich dobroci Boga. To z tego, jak się zdaje, wynikają odmienne wnioski kosmologiczne, które uwypuklają specyfikę myśli chrześcijańskiej i platońskiej II wieku. Ponadto w pismach omawianych apologetów greckich zauważalne jest nowe spojrzenie na kwestię materii, która nie jawi się jako druga – wieczna przyczyna świata

Justyn Męczennik – koncepcja przyczyn świata i jej medioplatońskie wątki

W artykule podjęto próbę wskazania wpływu myśli medioplatońskiej na kosmologiczne poglądy Justyna Męczennika. Dlatego dokonano rekonstrukcji koncepcji pierwszych przyczyn świata u tego Apologety i skonfrontowano je z nauką medioplatoników. Pozwoliło to pokazać, które poglądy Justyn podzielał ze współczesnymi mu platonikami oraz co oryginalnego do nich dodał, tworząc jedną z pierwszych kosmologii chrześcijańskich. Justyn jak medioplatonicy wskazuje na transcendencję, przyczynowość i dobroć Boga. Rozwija także koncepcję Logosu, która w pewnych punktach pokrywa się z poglądami medioplatoników. Na podstawie fragmentów zawartych w Apologiach można przypuszczać, iż chrześcijański myśliciel, za medioplatonikami, pojmuje materię jako drugą, niestworzoną przyczynę świata. Natomiast w Dialogu z Żydem Tryfonem zaznacza, że jedynie Bóg jest niepowstałą przyczyną wszystkiego. Dlatego w artykule pojawia się hipoteza o pewnej ewolucji w myśli Justyna. Główną różnicą pomiędzy koncepcją Justyna a myślą medioplatoników jest odmienne rozumienie dobroci Boga. Z tej różnicy wynikają odmienne wnioski co do przyczyn świata

THE INFLUENCE OF THE CONTENT OF ALUMINIUM ON THE BIOCENOSIS OF THE WATERS OF LAKES WITH POORLY URBANIZED RECEPTION BASINS

The article presents the research results of the content of aluminium in the waters of the largest lakes situated in the reception basin of the Tywa river. The general content of aluminium and its form: dissolved and non-dissolved was examined. The general content of aluminium in those waters varied from 5.3 to 98.9 μg/l, while the content of dissolved aluminium varied from 3.0 to 57.0 and its non-dissolved form from 1.0 to 54.0 μg/l. The average concentration of the content of aluminium in the waters of examined lakes was similar; Dłużec lake – 42.9, Strzeszowskie lake – 39.2, Dołgie lake 45.7, Swobnickie lake 41.4 μg/l. The prevailing form of aluminium in the examined bodies of water was the dissolved form. The greatest amounts of that metal in waters of the examined lakes were present in autumn and spring, and the smallest amounts in summer and winter, the tendency concerned the entire content of aluminium and its non-dissolved form. The dissolved form of aluminium in the waters of examined lakes was present in the largest amounts in winter (on average – 17.4 μg/l), in the smallest amounts in spring (14.0 μg/l), this seasonal diversity – was weakly marked. The existing concentration of aluminium is typical of non-polluted surface waters, and with the stated reaction and the content of sulfurs, carbonates and chlorides in the examined waters, they were not toxic to the biocenosis

THE INFLUENCE OF THE CONTENT OF ALUMINIUM ON THE BIOCENOSIS OF THE WATERS OF LAKES WITH POORLY URBANIZED RECEPTION BASINS

The article presents the research results of the content of aluminium in the waters of the largest lakes situated in the reception basin of the Tywa river. The general content of aluminium and its form: dissolved and non-dissolved was examined. The general content of aluminium in those waters varied from 5.3 to 98.9 μg/l, while the content of dissolved aluminium varied from 3.0 to 57.0 and its non-dissolved form from 1.0 to 54.0 μg/l. The average concentration of the content of aluminium in the waters of examined lakes was similar; Dłużec lake – 42.9, Strzeszowskie lake – 39.2, Dołgie lake 45.7, Swobnickie lake 41.4 μg/l. The prevailing form of aluminium in the examined bodies of water was the dissolved form. The greatest amounts of that metal in waters of the examined lakes were present in autumn and spring, and the smallest amounts in summer and winter, the tendency concerned the entire content of aluminium and its non-dissolved form. The dissolved form of aluminium in the waters of examined lakes was present in the largest amounts in winter (on average – 17.4 μg/l), in the smallest amounts in spring (14.0 μg/l), this seasonal diversity – was weakly marked. The existing concentration of aluminium is typical of non-polluted surface waters, and with the stated reaction and the content of sulfurs, carbonates and chlorides in the examined waters, they were not toxic to the biocenosis

INVASION OF ROUND GOBY NEOGOBIUS MELANOSTOMUS (PALLAS, 1814) – ECO-THREAT OR ENVIROMENTAL ENRICHMENT?

Round goby Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814) is a fish species of Ponto-Caspian basin origin. However, since the second part of the 80’s of the last century has observed spreading of this species in European waters, including in Polish waters. In the last two decades, from 1990 when it was first caught of round goby near the fishing port in Hel, takes a massive and rapid spread of this fish throughout the Gulf of Gdańsk, Vistula Lagoon, along the southern Baltic coastal zone and the Pomeranian Bay and also the River Odra estuary. In 2009, first round goby in commercial catches conducted in Lake Dąbie was recorded. In this situation the question is that invasion can be a eco-threat or even enrichment of the environment to the human being