Influence of dietary prebiotic mixture (α-mune) on growth performance, haematology and innate immunity of Beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) juvenile

The present study investigated the effects of prebiotic (α-mune), a mixture of mannan oligosaccharide, β-1,3 and β-1,6 glucan, on the growth performance, haematology and innate immunity of beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) juvenile. Fish (46±3 g) were allocated into 12 tanks (15 fish per tank) and triplicate groups were fed a control diet or diets containing 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 g kg-1 prebiotic for 46 days. Fish fed 1.5 g kg-1 prebiotic displayed significantly higher final weight, specific growth rate and feed conversion ratio. WBC, RBC, MCV, MCH, haemoglobin, haematocrit and lymphocyte levels were also significantly higher in the fish fed 1.5 g kg-1 prebiotic. Furthermore, the highest haematocrit content and lymphocyte level were found in the fish fed a diet containing 1.5 g kg-1 prebiotic. Alternative complement activity (ACH50), lysozyme activity and Ig concentration were significantly higher in the fed 1.5 g kg-1 prebiotic. These results indicate that α-mune can be considered as a beneficial dietary supplement for improving the growth performance, haematological and immunological parameters of beluga sturgeon juvenile

Numerical investigation of groundwater balance and artificial recharge in the Kerman-Baghin Aquifer

In the present paper, the behavior of Kerman-Baghin aquifer has been investigated using the MODFLOW program and GMS 10.3 software. The piezometer data during October 2011 are applied for steady state condition of groundwater modeling. Then, the model is calibrated for 66 months for unsteady condition using observational information, and it is validated for 24 months. Finally, the results are compared with the available observed data and show acceptable accuracy in calibration and validation steps. After validating the model, the status of the aquifer is estimated for a period of 5 years. Management scenarios including 10, 20 and 30 percent reduction in groundwater abstraction as well as artificial recharge at eight selected aquifer sites have been investigated. The location of artificial recharge sites is selected based on seven parameters of land slope, distance from waterways, distance from faults, electrical conductivity, hydraulic conductivity, geology of the area and groundwater depth (thickness of unsaturated area). These parameters are combined with the index overlay method by Arc GIS 10.3 software. The results show that by continuing the current situation, the Kerman-Baghin aquifer could face an average annual deficit of more than 52 million cubic meters. It may cause various problems in the near future including abstraction water from groundwater sources and reducing water quality. The results of implementing different scenarios show that, the best scenario can be obtained by 10% reducing water withdrawal with artificial recharge in four zones 1, 2, 10 and 12

Numerical investigation of simultaneous effect of end sills and roughness on flow characteristics in V-shaped stepped spillways

The special configuration of V- shape stepped spillways increases energy dissipation and aeration compared to the smooth spillways due to the creation of many vortices near the steps. In this research, the energy dissipation in different types of stepped spillways with various horizontal face angles has been investigated using numerical modeling. The FLUENT, was used to model the flow over V-shape stepped spillway. The k-ɛ realizable turbulence model was selected to model the turbulent flow. The numerical results were compared with the available experimental data. The results showed a reasonable agreement between two sets of data. Then the effects of horizontal face angle, roughness and the efficiency of the end sill were investigated by numerical modeling. According to the model results, as the horizontal face angle increased, the energy dissipation also increased. Furthermore, the efficiency of end sill on the stepped spillways increased the rate of energy dissipation about 2.8 to 3.99 percent because the end sill acted like a stilling basin. Moreover, the energy dissipation increased slightly about 0.9 to 1.94 percent by increasing the roughness. Also, areas of steps under the negative pressure that could create cavitation were determined to define the minimum negative pressure and its location in all of models. Finally, the simultaneous effect of several parameters was considered to increase the energy dissipation and the minimum negative pressure

Numerical investigation of bed-load changes on sediment flushing cavity

The tanks' useful life will be reduced if their sediments are not discharged with a suitable method. Various hydraulic and mechanical methods can be used in many countries to discharge sediments from reservoirs. Pressure hydraulic sediment flushing is a method of sediment flushing without lowering the water level. In the present study, using the CFD based Flow-3D software, a model has been applied to investigate the pressure hydraulic sediment flushing, and evaluate the effect of blockage phenomenon on sediment flushing efficiency. Results were compared with the available laboratory model. The dimensions of the simulated tank were 2.5 x 1.3 x 1.5 m in length, width and height, respectively, the height of the bed load was 0.4 m, and the diameter of the sediment particles was 0.3 mm according to the laboratory conditions. The average relative error for the sediment flushing cone depth was about 3%. In addition, to investigate the blocking phenomenon, the height of the bed load was considered to be 0.41, 0.45 and 0.5 meters for each simulation. The simulation results showed that when the height of the bed load increases, there is the highest sediment flushing efficiency and more sediment can be removed from the bottom outlet

Possible crosstalk between leptin and insulin resistance in sedentary obese boys at different stages of puberty

Puberty with interactive growth in tissues is a sensitive period in life that can be more affected by obesity. Also the increase of leptin and insulin resistant independent of obesity have been seen in puberty. The aim of our study was to investigate the role of puberty on changes in leptin, testosterone, and insulin resistance in sedentary obese boy with considering possible crosstalk between leptin and insulin resistance. 58 sedentary obese boys (14.10 + 1.37 years) participated in this study. Tanner stage scales were used to measure puberty by self-reporting. Initially anthropometric characteristics and then, fasting serum’s glucose, insulin, leptin and testosterone, were measured. With increasing mature from TS2 to TS5, the increasing of testosterone, body mass and lean body mass and the reduction of body fat percentage were significantly (p≤0.05). but the changes in leptin and HOMA-IR were not significant. However, the decreased leptin after adjusting for BMI between TS3 and TS4 were significant (p≤0.05). During puberty, rapid growth in muscle tissue were associated with decreased body fat percent, serum leptin and insulin resistance. Among the possible reasons is a 15-fold increase in serum testosterone from TS2 to TS5. These changes reflect the cross talk between muscle and adipose tissue by hormonal mediators

Determining the range of aerobic exercise on a treadmill for male Wistar rats at different ages: A pilot study

The purpose of this study was to determining the range of aerobic exercise on a treadmill for male Wistar rats at different ages. Twelve male Wistar rats were divide in three groups of immature, adults, and old (n= 4 in each). At first session, the rats began to run at a rate of 2 m/min to perform the fatigue test, and the treadmill speed was increased by 2 m/min every 2 minutes. This process of acceleration continued until the rats were no longer able to continue moving on the treadmill and became exhausted. Then, blood lactate of each subject measured immediately and their maximum speed was recorded. After 48 hours of recovery, animal performed maximum recorded speed on a treadmill in three 10-minute steps of 25%, 50% and 75%, respectively. Immediately after each percent blood lactate were measured and recorded. Immature rats at an average speed of 18 m/min were reached to their maximum speed with an average lactate concentration of 8±1.8 mmol/l. Adults rats at an average speed of 36 m/min were reached to their maximum speed with an average lactate concentration of 6.8±0.4 mmol/l. The old rats reached their maximum velocity with an average of 30 m/min with an average lactate concentration of 6.95±0.9 mmol/l. Therefore, it recommended that aerobic exercise in untrained rats start at a light speed, i.e. 25% of their maximum speed, which is lower than the lactate threshold, and gradually continue up to 50% of their maximum speed

The survey statistical and biological of sturgeon in the southern Caspian Sea (Mazandaran waters)

This study have been conducted entitle biological and statistical sturgeon in the southern Caspian Sea (Mazandaran waters)” from 2009 to 2013. Sampling was manthly. Overal, 1859 specimens of different species of sturgeon was caught including Acipenserpersicus (69%), A. stellatus (19%), Husohuso (6%), A. nudiventris (4%) and A. guldenstaedtii (2%). Totally, the meat and caviar of five species were found 53263.6 kg and 5633 kg respectively and caviar to meat ratio was 10.6%. The results show that ration of meat and caviar whole species reduced from 2009 to 2012 in which the meat and caviar of A. persicus was declined from 12146 to 4465 kg in meat and caviar from 1358 to 487 kg were extremely reduced respectively. The CPUE (catch per unit effort) of sturgeon has fluctuated from 2009 to 2012. Totally, the CPUE of A. persicus was decreased from 0.150 (2009) to 0.130 (2012) kg boat per day, A. stellatue from 0.009 (2009) to 0.021 (2012) kg boat/day, A. guldenstaedtii from 0.002 (2009) to 0.003 (2012) kg boat/day, A. nudiventris from 0.027 (2009) to 0.001 (2012) kg boat/day and H. huso from 0.123 (2009) to 0.018 (2012) kg boat /day. 1061 specimens of fish has been caviar including A. persicus with 69%, A. stellatus (18.1%), H. huso (5.5%), A. guldenstaedtii (2.7%). The frequency of caviar categorize was included 1 , 2, 3 and massive with 49.6%, 38%), 10.6% and 1.9% , respectively. The highest of meat and caviar belong to A. persicus with 31414 kg and 3515.7 kg, respectively were found and the lowest was 841kg and 105.9 kg pertain to A. guldenstaedtii. The results show that 65.9% of sturgeon was caught by legal catch (landing) and 34.1% by beach seine remained. 391 individuals was age determined that the minimum and maximum age was 9 and 41 year comprised to H.huso and A. stellatus, respectively. A. persicus and A. stellatus were majority caught compare to other species. A. persicus has the highest frequency in 14-15 year age groups with 50% and 57% in 2009 and 2011, respectively and 15-16 year age group with 41% and 56% in 2010 and 2012, respectively. The results show that mean of fork length, body weight, caviar weight of A. persicus was declined because the FL and weight average (±SD) obtained from 152.4±16.7cm and 25.8±9.2 kg in 2009 to 146.5± 18.7cm and 22.1±9.2kg in 2012, respectively. In contrast, the average (±SD) FL and weight of H. huso was increased from 218.8±41.1cm and 137.3±96.6kg in 2009 to 231.3±45.2cm in FL and 146.2±78.5kg body weight in 2012, respectively. Consequently, the results show that stocks of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea has a trend declined because of some species in IUCN categorize list was Endangered in 2006 but at this moment lie in Critically Endangered list of IUCN categorize were down which could be a serious alarm for the valuable sturgeon fish in the Caspian Sea. Therefore, recommendation that trade catch of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea must be forbidden and continue legal catch for spawner fish that needede to artificial propagation only

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed