Production and use of two marine zooplanktons, Tigriopus japonicus and Diaphanosoma celebensis, as live food for red sea bream Pagrus major larvae

We evaluated the effectiveness of two representative marine zooplankton, the harpacticoid copepod Tigriopus japonicus and the euryhaline cladoceran Diaphanosoma celebensis, as live food for red sea bream Pagrus major larvae. Chicken-dropping extract (CDE) was applied to both zooplankton cultures to improve population growth. Population growth of both zooplankton was significantly enhanced by CDE supplementation (at 1 or 2 ml/l). The highest amount of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and higher DHA/eicosapentaenoic acid ratio were detected in T. japonicus, whereas D. celebensis showed similar values to that of Artemia. Effectiveness of both animals as live food was tested by rearing red sea bream larvae on them for 28 days and comparing the results with those for Artemia. There were no significant differences in total length (8.6 ± 1.1?8.7 ± 0.7 mm) or wet weight (8.2 ± 0.3?9.4 ± 0.1 mg) among fish larvae feeding on the three different zooplankton. Survival rate was significantly higher with T. japonicus (39.4 ± 3.1 %) than with D. celebensis (20.8 ± 3.8 %) and Artemia (16.7 ± 9.8 %). Viability was significantly higher in fish fed with T. japonicus (60.0 ± 27.8 %) and D. celebensis (60.0 ± 32.2 %) than in those fed with Artemia (44.4 ± 12.3 %). Fish fed with T. japonicus contained higher n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids than those fed with D. celebensis and Artemia. It is concluded that T. japonicus and D. celebensis have high potential as live food in marine fish larviculture

Edoxaban versus warfarin for the treatment of symptomatic venous thromboembolism.

BACKGROUND: Whether the oral factor Xa inhibitor edoxaban can be an alternative to warfarin in patients with venous thromboembolism is unclear. METHODS: In a randomized, double-blind, noninferiority study, we randomly assigned patients with acute venous thromboembolism, who had initially received heparin, to receive edoxaban at a dose of 60 mg once daily, or 30 mg once daily (e.g., in the case of patients with creatinine clearance of 30 to 50 ml per minute or a body weight below 60 kg), or to receive warfarin. Patients received the study drug for 3 to 12 months. The primary efficacy outcome was recurrent symptomatic venous thromboembolism. The principal safety outcome was major or clinically relevant nonmajor bleeding. RESULTS: A total of 4921 patients presented with deep-vein thrombosis, and 3319 with a pulmonary embolism. Among patients receiving warfarin, the time in the therapeutic range was 63.5%. Edoxaban was noninferior to warfarin with respect to the primary efficacy outcome, which occurred in 130 patients in the edoxaban group (3.2%) and 146 patients in the warfarin group (3.5%) (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.70 to 1.13; P<0.001 for noninferiority). The safety outcome occurred in 349 patients (8.5%) in the edoxaban group and 423 patients (10.3%) in the warfarin group (hazard ratio, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.94; P=0.004 for superiority). The rates of other adverse events were similar in the two groups. A total of 938 patients with pulmonary embolism had right ventricular dysfunction, as assessed by measurement of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels; the rate of recurrent venous thromboembolism in this subgroup was 3.3% in the edoxaban group and 6.2% in the warfarin group (hazard ratio, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.28 to 0.98). CONCLUSIONS: Edoxaban administered once daily after initial treatment with heparin was noninferior to high-quality standard therapy and caused significantly less bleeding in a broad spectrum of patients with venous thromboembolism, including those with severe pulmonary embolism. (Funded by Daiichi-Sankyo; Hokusai-VTE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00986154.)