Dietary potassium diformate (Formi) supplementation on juvenile white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) diets for growth and survival support

Objective: This feeding trial was designed to assess the effects of formi (Dietary potassium diformate) supplementation in shrimp diet on growth and survival of  white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei.Methodology and results: Seven isonitrogenous diets were formulated with graded formi levels of 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 14 and 20 mg kg-1 of dry diet, respectively. Shrimps were randomly allocated to twenty four (24) 50 l aquariums (10 shrimps of 0.82 ± 0.08 g per aquarium, eight treatments and three replicates). Water salinity was set at 17 g L-1 and the flow rate of each aquarium maintained at 2 L min-1 and decreased to 1 L min-1 at day 41th. Shrimps were exposed to 18:6 hours light/dark photoperiod. The results showed that water quality parameters did not vary significantly with the dietary supplementation and was optimal for growth and survival of L. vannamei. The maximum weight gain and survival occurred at 14 mg kg-1 formi diet. However, no significant differences were observed in percent weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR) between diets with different levels of formi supplementations. The survival rate data varied between 73.33 % and 100 %. Survival rate revealed that the commercial diet had the lowest survival. At the end of the study no significant effects on the growth, survival, feed efficiency and water quality of white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei was found.Keywords: Litopenaeus vannamei, Potassium diformate, growth performance, surviva

Prevention of cisplatin-induced hearing loss in children: Informing the design of future clinical trials.

Cisplatin is an essential chemotherapeutic agent in the treatment of many pediatric cancers. Unfortunately, cisplatin-induced hearing loss (CIHL) is a common, clinically significant side effect with life-long ramifications, particularly for young children. ACCL05C1 and ACCL0431 are two recently completed Childrens Oncology Group studies focused on the measurement and prevention of CIHL. The purpose of this paper was to gain insights from ACCL05C1 and ACCL0431, the first published cooperative group studies dedicated solely to CIHL, to inform the design of future pediatric otoprotection trials. Use of otoprotective agents is an attractive strategy for preventing CIHL, but their successful development must overcome a unique constellation of methodological challenges related to translating preclinical research into clinical trials that are feasible, evaluate practical interventions, and limit risk. Issues particularly important for children include use of appropriate methods for hearing assessment and CIHL severity grading, and use of trial designs that are well-informed by preclinical models and suitable for relatively small sample sizes. Increasing interest has made available new funding opportunities for expanding this urgently needed research

Cyclooxygenase 2 promotes cell survival by stimulation of dynein light chain expression and inhibition of neuronal nitric oxide synthase activity

Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibits nerve growth factor (NGF) withdrawal apoptosis in differentiated PC12 cells. The inhibition of apoptosis by COX-2 was concomitant with prevention of caspase 3 activation. To understand how COX-2 prevents apoptosis, we used cDNA expression arrays to determine whether COX-2 regulates differential expression of apoptosis-related genes. The expression of dynein light chain (DLC) (also known as protein inhibitor of neuronal nitric oxide synthase [PIN]) was significantly stimulated in PC12 cells overexpressing COX-2. The COX-2-dependent stimulation of DLC expression was, at least in part, mediated by prostaglandin E(2). Overexpression of DLC also inhibited NGF withdrawal apoptosis in differentiated PC12 cells. Stimulation of DLC expression resulted in an increased association of DLC/PIN with neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), thereby reducing nNOS activity. Furthermore, nNOS expression and activity were significantly increased in differentiated PC12 cells after NGF withdrawal. This increased nNOS activity as well as increased nNOS dimer after NGF withdrawal were inhibited by COX-2 or DLC/PIN overexpression. An nNOS inhibitor or a membrane-permeable superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic protected differentiated PC12 cells from NGF withdrawal apoptosis. In contrast, NO donors induced apoptosis in differentiated PC12 cells and potentiated apoptosis induced by NGF withdrawal. The protective effects of COX-2 on apoptosis induced by NGF withdrawal were also overcome by NO donors. These findings suggest that COX-2 promotes cell survival by a mechanism linking increased expression of prosurvival genes coupled to inhibition of NO- and superoxide-mediated apoptosis

Modelling Volatility Spillovers for Bio-ethanol, Sugarcane and Corn Spot and Futures Prices

The recent and rapidly growing interest in biofuel as a green energy source has raised concerns about its impact on the prices, returns and volatility of related agricultural commodities. Analyzing the spillover effects on agricultural commodities and biofuel helps commodity suppliers hedge their portfolios, and manage the risk and co-risk of their biofuel and agricultural commodities. There have been many papers concerned with analyzing crude oil and agricultural commodities separately. The purpose of this paper is to examine the volatility spillovers for spot and futures returns on bio-ethanol and related agricultural commodities, specifically corn and sugarcane. The diagonal BEKK model is used as it is the only multivariate conditional volatility model with well-established regularity conditions and known asymptotic properties. The daily data used are from 31 October 2005 to 14 January 2015. The empirical results show that, in 2 of 6 cases for the spot market, there were significant negative co-volatility spillover effects: specifically, corn on subsequent sugarcane co-volatility with corn, and sugarcane on subsequent corn co-volatility with sugarcane. In the other 4 cases, there are no significant co-volatility spillover effects. There are significant positive co-volatility spillover effects in all 6 cases, namely between corn and sugarcane, corn and ethanol, and sugarcane and ethanol, and vice-versa, for each of the three pairs of commodities. It is clear that the futures prices of bio-ethanol and the two agricultural commodities, corn and sugarcane, have stronger co-volatility spillovers than their spot price counterparts. These empirical results suggest that the bio-ethanol and agricultural commodities should be considered as viable futures products in financial portfolios for risk managemen

FRAP, FLIM, and FRET: Detection and analysis of cellular dynamics on a molecular scale using fluorescence microscopy

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112297/1/mrd22501.pd

Cervical auscultation in the diagnosis of oropharyngeal aspiration in children: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BackgroundOropharyngeal aspiration (OPA) can lead to recurrent respiratory illnesses and chronic lung disease in children. Current clinical feeding evaluations performed by speech pathologists have poor reliability in detecting OPA when compared to radiological procedures such as the modified barium swallow (MBS). Improved ability to diagnose OPA accurately via clinical evaluation potentially reduces reliance on expensive, less readily available radiological procedures. Our study investigates the utility of adding cervical auscultation (CA), a technique of listening to swallowing sounds, in improving the diagnostic accuracy of a clinical evaluation for the detection of OPA. MethodsWe plan an open, unblinded, randomised controlled trial at a paediatric tertiary teaching hospital. Two hundred and sixteen children fulfilling the inclusion criteria will be randomised to one of the two clinical assessment techniques for the clinical detection of OPA: (1) clinical feeding evaluation only (CFE) group or (2) clinical feeding evaluation with cervical auscultation (CFE + CA) group. All children will then undergo an MBS to determine radiologically assessed OPA. The primary outcome is the presence or absence of OPA, as determined on MBS using the Penetration-Aspiration Scale. Our main objective is to determine the sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values of ‘CFE + CA’ versus ‘CFE’ only compared to MBS-identified OPA. DiscussionEarly detection and appropriate management of OPA is important to prevent chronic pulmonary disease and poor growth in children. As the reliability of CFE to detect OPA is low, a technique that can improve the diagnostic accuracy of the CFE will help minimise consequences to the paediatric respiratory system. Cervical auscultation is a technique that has previously been documented as a clinical adjunct to the CFE; however, no published RCTs addressing the reliability of this technique in children exist. Our study will be the first to establish the utility of CA in assessing and diagnosing OPA risk in young children

A Specific Role for Ca\u3csup\u3e2+\u3c/sup\u3e-Dependent Adenylyl Cyclases in Recovery from Adaptive Presynaptic Silencing

Glutamate generates fast postsynaptic depolarization throughout the CNS. The positive-feedback nature of glutamate signaling likely necessitates flexible adaptive mechanisms that help prevent runaway excitation. We have previously explored presynaptic adaptive silencing, a form of synaptic plasticity produced by ongoing neuronal activity and by strong depolarization. Unsilencing mechanisms that maintain active synapses and restore normal function after adaptation are also important, but mechanisms underlying such presynaptic reactivation remain unexplored. Here we investigate the involvement of the cAMP pathway in the basal balance between silenced and active synapses, as well as the recovery of baseline function after depolarization-induced presynaptic silencing. Activation of the cAMP pathway activates synapses that are silent at rest, and pharmacological inhibition of cAMP signaling silences basally active synapses. Adenylyl cyclase (AC) 1 and AC8, the major Ca2+-sensitive AC isoforms, are not crucial for the baseline balance between silent and active synapses. In cells from mice doubly deficient in AC1 and AC8, the baseline percentage of active synapses was only modestly reduced compared with wild-type synapses, and forskolin unsilencing was similar in the two genotypes. Nevertheless, after strong presynaptic silencing, recovery of normal function was strongly inhibited in AC1/AC8-deficient synapses. The entire recovery phenotype of the double null was reproduced in AC8-deficient but not AC1-deficient cells.Weconclude that, under normal conditions, redundant cyclase activity maintains the balance between presynaptically silent and active synapses, but AC8 plays a particularly important role in rapidly resetting the balance of active to silent synapses after adaptation to strong activity

Sensory Measurements: Coordination and Standardization

Do sensory measurements deserve the label of “measurement”? We argue that they do. They fit with an epistemological view of measurement held in current philosophy of science, and they face the same kinds of epistemological challenges as physical measurements do: the problem of coordination and the problem of standardization. These problems are addressed through the process of “epistemic iteration,” for all measurements. We also argue for distinguishing the problem of standardization from the problem of coordination. To exemplify our claims, we draw on olfactory performance tests, especially studies linking olfactory decline to neurodegenerative disorders