Indices and fecundity of a threatened freshwater catfish Mystus montanus

Fecundity of threatened catfish Mystus montanus was estimated from a collection of gravid females, which ranged from 290 to 27,972 according to body length and weight. The relationship between fecundity and BL, BW, GL and GW was analyzed by linear regression, which showed both positive and negative correlation. Gonado-somatic index (GSI), hepato-somatic index (HSI) and spleen-somatic index (SSI) ranged from 0.135 to 21.28, 0.358 to 21.33 and 0.126 to 1.08 in females and the corresponding values for males were 0.17 to 10.68, 0.619 to 3.25 and 1.25 to 2.33 respectively

Study on the growth and survival of Channa striatus (Bloch) postlarvae using live feed

Feeding experiments were conducted on the postlarvae of Channa striatus with two different live feeds - a copepod (Thermocyclops decipiens) and cladocerans (Moina micrura and Ceriodaphnia comuta) individually and in mixture. Food was provided at the rate of (500±50 Ind/L) and the experiments were carried out in 100 litre capacity tanks for 30 days. Results indicated better weight gain (951.85±28.77%) and survival (92.00<%) of postlarvae fed with mixed live food than individual live feed organisms

Protein profiling for phylogenetic relationship in snakehead species

Protein banding pattern of eight snakeheads – Channa species viz., Channa striatus, Channa marulius, Channa punctatus, Channa diplogramme, Channa bleheri, Channa gachua, Channa stewartii and Channa aurantimaculata collected from different regions of India were used to study the phylogenetic relationship among them. The banding pattern from muscle protein indicated a unique profile for each species and the electrophoregrams showed similarities among the species studied. In the SDS-PAGE, a maximum of 12 protein bands were obtained for C. gachua followed by 11 for C. diplogramme and 10 for C. marulius whereas less number of bands were recorded for the remaining species. Molecular weight of the protein bands varied from 16 kDa - 232 kDa. UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean) dendrogram revealed that the phylogenetic relationship was very close among C. aurantimaculata and C. bleheri and also between C. gachua and C. stewarti

Low cost breeding and hatching techniques for the catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis) for small-scale farmers

The high demand for the stinging catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis) and declining wild stocks led the Centre for Aquaculture Research and Extension of India to look for methods for the culture of the species. This paper presents a low-cost, simple breeding technique developed and tested by the Centre that can be easily adopted by rural farmers

Interleukin-6 Receptor Antagonists in Critically Ill Patients with Covid-19.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of interleukin-6 receptor antagonists in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is unclear. METHODS: We evaluated tocilizumab and sarilumab in an ongoing international, multifactorial, adaptive platform trial. Adult patients with Covid-19, within 24 hours after starting organ support in the intensive care unit (ICU), were randomly assigned to receive tocilizumab (8 mg per kilogram of body weight), sarilumab (400 mg), or standard care (control). The primary outcome was respiratory and cardiovascular organ support-free days, on an ordinal scale combining in-hospital death (assigned a value of -1) and days free of organ support to day 21. The trial uses a Bayesian statistical model with predefined criteria for superiority, efficacy, equivalence, or futility. An odds ratio greater than 1 represented improved survival, more organ support-free days, or both. RESULTS: Both tocilizumab and sarilumab met the predefined criteria for efficacy. At that time, 353 patients had been assigned to tocilizumab, 48 to sarilumab, and 402 to control. The median number of organ support-free days was 10 (interquartile range, -1 to 16) in the tocilizumab group, 11 (interquartile range, 0 to 16) in the sarilumab group, and 0 (interquartile range, -1 to 15) in the control group. The median adjusted cumulative odds ratios were 1.64 (95% credible interval, 1.25 to 2.14) for tocilizumab and 1.76 (95% credible interval, 1.17 to 2.91) for sarilumab as compared with control, yielding posterior probabilities of superiority to control of more than 99.9% and of 99.5%, respectively. An analysis of 90-day survival showed improved survival in the pooled interleukin-6 receptor antagonist groups, yielding a hazard ratio for the comparison with the control group of 1.61 (95% credible interval, 1.25 to 2.08) and a posterior probability of superiority of more than 99.9%. All secondary analyses supported efficacy of these interleukin-6 receptor antagonists. CONCLUSIONS: In critically ill patients with Covid-19 receiving organ support in ICUs, treatment with the interleukin-6 receptor antagonists tocilizumab and sarilumab improved outcomes, including survival. (REMAP-CAP ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02735707.)

HAEMATOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL EFFECTS OF TEXTILE-MILL EFFLUENT ON THE FRESHWATER FISH OREOCHROMIS MOSSAMBICUS (TREWAVES)

O. mossambicus were exposed to sublethal concentrations (0.52%, 0.74%, 1.3% and 2.6%) of mixed textile-mill effluent to study the haematological and biochemical changes as a function of effluent concentration anಣ್ಣಿ exposure duration Incrಳ್ವSe in concentration, prodyced a dose ಹೆಣ್ಣpenಿಜ್ಡmt elevation in RBCs (2.26 X 10/mm to 387 X 10/mm), WBCs (1.13 X 10/mm to 1.19 X 10/mm), haemoglobin (8.70 g% to 1240 g%) and a decrease in mean corpuscular haemoglobin (37.9 to 32.0 pg). Irrespective of the exposure duration, increase in concentration caused decrement in carbohydrate (2.32 to 1.24%), protein (63.8 to 59.6%), fat (8.7 to 7.6%) and ash (23.3 to 21.1%) contents. Statistical analysis confirmed that both effluent concentration and exposure duration exerted a significant influence on haematological and biochemical parameters

Oocyte growth in freshwater catfish Mystus montanus (Jerdon, 1849) (Siluriformes: Bagridae) maturing in different salinities

Profiles of oocyte growth were obtained from female freshwater catfish Mystus montanus held in salinity ranging from freshwater (0 ‰ salinity) to sea water (35 ‰ salinity) during two consecutive spawning seasons (1999) of south-west monsoon (June-August) and north-east monsoon (October-December). Females underwent vitellogenesis at all salinities 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35‰) tested. Females maturing in 0 ‰ (freshwater salinity content) and 15‰ (brackish water salinity content) exhibited a slower rate of oocyte growth and a significantly lower incidence of completed vitellogenesis. The test individuals died in the salinity values of 20, 25, 30, and 35‰. The other test individuals were induced to spawn at different salinities (0-15‰). The number of fertilized eggs per spawning was the highest from females maturing in 5‰ and followed by 10‰. More females were able to spawn twice (two monsoon periods) in 5 and 10‰ salinities than 0 and 15‰ salinities. The present results suggest that increasing the salinity values from 0 to 10‰ in freshwater are adequate for ovarian maturation in freshwater catfish Mystus montanus females

Induced spawning of the striped murrel Channa striatus using pituitary extracts, human chorionic gonadotropin, luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogue, and ovaprim(r)

Striated murrel Channa striatus were injected with natural hormones (pituitary extract and human chorionic gonadotropin) and synthetic hormones (luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogue and ovaprim). When compared to the LHRHap and ovaprim, the latency period was long in pituitary- (24 h) and HCG-injected (26 h) fish. In the pituitary-injected C. striatus the percentage of fertilisation was the lowest (60-68%) but the duration of hatching was longest (39-43 h) followed by HCG- (36-38 h), LHRHap- (34-36 h) and ovaprim-injected (21-23 h) individuals. In terms of fertilisation (95-98%) and hatching, ovaprim yielded better results. Ova reached the highest diameter (1.34-1.45 mm) in C. striatus injected with ovaprim, followed by HCG (1.22-1.30 mm) and pituitary (1.21-1.27 mm). The lowest ova diameter (1.07-1.09 mm) was observed in C. striatus injected with LHRHap

Spawning performance of native threatened spotted snakehead fish, Channa punctatus (Actinopterygii: Channidae: Perciformes), induced with Ovatide

Background. The spotted snakehead, Channa punctatus is a highly priced freshwater food fish species in India. The culture of snakeheads is still not common due to the scarcity of quality seed supply and lack of knowledge on their feeding and breeding techniques. Therefore an experiment was conducted to test the efficacy of a new spawning agent, Ovatide in stimulating ovulation of snakehead fish under a controlled captive condition. Materials and methods. In total, 12 matured females and 24 male fish weighing 50–90 g were randomly selected for three hormonal treatment groups and one control group. Both male and female fish in each treatment group were administered with either saline (0.9% NaCl, control group), or 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 mL of Ovatide per kg of body weight (BW), respectively. Each breeding set consisted of two males and one female. The hormone-treated fish were then held in concrete tanks for spawning. The breeding performance was evaluated based on spawning fecundity, spawning response, percentage fertilization, and percentage hatching. Results. No spawning behaviour or performance was observed in control group. Partial spawning was observed with the Ovatide dose of 0.2 mL · kg-1 BW, and complete spawning was noticed in the medium Ovatide dose (0.4 mL · kg-1 BW), and the higher dose (0.6 mL · kg-1 BW) administered fish. The highest total spawning fecundity (P < 0.05) was recorded when the females were injected with 0.4 mL of Ovatide · kg-1 BW than those injected with other doses. The latency period and the number of spawned eggs were ranged from 25 to 31 h and from 1080 to 5814, respectively. The highest fertilization- (90.6%) and hatching (91.33%) rates were also observed at the medium dose (P < 0.05). With regard to hatching rates, no significant difference was noticed between the medium- and higher doses of Ovatide-treated groups. Conclusion. The synthetic gonadotropin-releasing hormone with a dopamine antagonist at the dose of 0.4 mL · kg-1 BW could be used as an appropriate stimulating agent for successful spawning and induced breeding of C. punctatus under captive conditions

Effects of Probiotics and Spirulina on Survival and Growth of Juvenile Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

A 45-day feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of probiotics and spirulina on sur- vival, growth, feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), and total heterotroph- ic microbial count in common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Two probiotic organisms (the bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and a single cell protein (Spirulina maximus) were incorporated into diets at concentrations of 1%, 2%, or 3%. The con- trol diet contained no supplement. Spirulina maximus at 3% produced the best and statistically significant (p<0.05) survival, growth (3.69±0.10 g), specific growth rate (1.27±0.02%/d), FCR (0.71±0.08), and PER (1.96±0.03). In general, L. acidophilus produced better growth than S. cerevisiae. The highest FCR (1.93±0.05) was obtained in the control. The total heterotrophic microbial count was highest in S. cerevisiae treatments, followed by L. acidophilus and S. max- imus. The present investigation shows that incorporation of a probiotic or spirulina in diets for common carp results in increased growth rate