Hormonal sex reversal of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by ethynylestradiol-17α (EE2)

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) females grow larger and mature later than males, making all-female stocks economically advantageous. The objective of this research was to develop methods for the production of monosex populations of trout through the use of sex steroids. The synthetic estrogen ethynylestradiol-17α (EE2) was administered in single period-immersion treatment of 400 µg/l for 1, 2, 4 and 8 h to groups of newly-hatched sac fries of rainbow trout and in a 30 day dietary treatment of 5, 10, 15 and 20 mg/kgf of newly swum up fries. 73.4 And 94.5% females were obtained with 1 and 2-h single-immersion of EE2 respectively (38% female in control). However, higher doses progressively reduced the survival drastically. Sex ratios of dietary treatment of fry were 60, 57.4, 78 and 94% females respectively. Treatments also resulted in a slight increase of both weight and length. This increase was related to the method of hormonal exposure (dietary > immersion), but not dosage-dependent for utilized hormone. This demonstrates that the direct feminization of rainbow trout can be achieved and resulted in sex reversal ratio effectively but not decreased the growth, as observed in hormonal sex reversed females, and it would be a noticeable approach to the direct feminization of trout

1,4-Bis[2-(prop-1-en­yl)phen­oxy]butane

The mol­ecule of the title compound, C22H26O2, exhibits Ci mol­ecular symmetry with a crystallographic inversion centre at the mid-point of the central C—C bond. A kink in the mol­ecule is defined by the torsion angle of 66.7 (2)° about this central bond of the alkyl bridge

Production of monosex female population of rainbow trout by use of 17-B estradiol as direct method

In many species of finfish, females exhibit higher growth rates than males and achieve larger sizes. In addition, in some species, males mature before reaching marketable size. Therefore, there is great interest from the fish farmers to produce all-female stocks. In this project tried to reversing the sex of rainbow trout larvae by 17 estradiol and direct method, further more finding the optimum dose of this natural estrogen for endocrine sex reversion of Rainbow trout (O. mykiss). Four experimental treatments were designed with doses of 10, 20, 30 and 40 mg/kgf. Trout which treated with 40 mg/kgf yielded 96% female and greatest growth

The production of all-female in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) using indirect feminization

The sex reversal technique in fish is widespread in many countries. The development of these techniques is desirable because rainbow trout males reach their gonad maturity earlier compared to the females. Rainbow trout alevins were treated with 17α-methyltestosterone incorporated in the diet (0.5. 1.5, 3, 6 and 10 mg/kg) for 60 days from the beginning of first feeding. Sex was determined at 180 and 680 dpf by sampling fish (n = 20) from each group and examining gross gonadal morphology under a dissecting microscope. Also sex reversal ratio and growth performance were determined in hormone-treated groups. These sex reversed functional males were reared for brood stock until they attained sexual maturity. At the end of experiment, normal rainbow trout eggs were fertilized with the sperms taken from sex reversed males for producing all-female populations. Examination of the results showed that 17α- methyltestosterone was effective in all treatment. The highest sex reversal ratio with 100% was observed in group treated with 0.5, 1.5 and 3 mg/kg 17α- methyltestosterone. The highest live weight ratios were observed in groups fed with 6, 0.5 17α-methyltestosterone and control group. Female progeny produced from the sex reversed males were 100 % in all males that sired offspring. All female trout stocks produced by this method have advantage in rainbow trout culture since the fish is not meant for direct human consumption and is used to generate brood stock, therefore, difference of growth parameters do not influence the success

Manufacture Techniques of Chitosan-Based Microcapsules to Enhance Functional Properties of Textiles

In recent years, the textile industry has been moving to novel concepts of products, which could deliver to the user, improved performances. Such smart textiles have been proven to have the potential to integrate within a commodity garment advanced feature and functional properties of different kinds. Among those functionalities, considerable interest has been played in functionalizing commodity garments in order to make them positively interact with the human body and therefore being beneficial to the user health. This kind of functionalization generally exploits biopolymers, a class of materials that possess peculiar properties such as biocompatibility and biodegradability that make them suitable for bio-functional textile production. In the context of biopolymer chitosan has been proved to be an excellent potential candidate for this kind of application given its abundant availability and its chemical properties that it positively interacts with biological tissue. Notwithstanding the high potential of chitosan-based technologies in the textile sectors, several issues limit the large-scale production of such innovative garments. In facts the morphologies of chitosan structures should be optimized in order to make them better exploit the biological activity; moreover a suitable process for the application of chitosan structures to the textile must be designed. The application process should indeed not only allow an effective and durable fixation of chitosan to textile but also comply with environmental rules concerning pollution emission and utilization of harmful substances. This chapter reviews the use of microencapsulation technique as an approach to effectively apply chitosan to the textile material while overcoming the significant limitations of finishing processes. The assembly of chitosan macromolecules into microcapsules was proved to boost the biological properties of the polymer thanks to a considerable increase in the surface area available for interactions with the living tissues. Moreover, the incorporation of different active substances into chitosan shells allows the design of multifunctional materials that effectively combine core and shell properties. Based on the kind of substances to be incorporated, several encapsulation processes have been developed. The literature evidences how the proper choices concerning encapsulation technology, chemical formulations, and process parameter allow tuning the properties and the performances of the obtained microcapsules. Furthermore, the microcapsules based finishing process have been reviewed evidencing how the microcapsules morphology can positively interact with textile substrate allowing an improvement in the durability of the treatment. The application of the chitosan shelled microcapsules was proved to be capable of imparting different functionalities to textile substrates opening possibilities for a new generation of garments with improved performances and with the potential of protecting the user from multiple harms. Lastly, a continuous interest was observed in improving the process and formulation design in order to avoid the usage of toxic substances, therefore, complying with an environmentally friendly approach

Vibration analysis of viscoelastic single-walled carbon nanotubes resting on a viscoelastic foundation

Vibration responses were investigated for a viscoelastic Single-walled carbon nanotube (visco-SWCNT) resting on a viscoelastic foundation. Based on the nonlocal Euler-Bernoulli beam model, velocity-dependent external damping and Kelvin viscoelastic foundation model, the governing equations were derived. The Transfer function method (TFM) was then used to compute the natural frequencies for general boundary conditions and foundations. In particular, the exact analytical expressions of both complex natural frequencies and critical viscoelastic parameters were obtained for the Kelvin-Voigt visco-SWCNTs with full foundations and certain boundary conditions, and several physically intuitive special cases were discussed. Substantial nonlocal effects, the influence of geometric and physical parameters of the SWCNT and the viscoelastic foundation were observed for the natural frequencies of the supported SWCNTs. The study demonstrates the efficiency and robustness of the developed model for the vibration of the visco-SWCNT-viscoelastic foundation coupling system

PHASE II STUDY OF GEMCITABINE AND CISPLATIN IN ADVANCED NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER

Cisplatin-based chemotherapy is the standard treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Many novel drugs have been used in combination with cisplatin in this setting. Of these drugs, gemcitabine is reported to have a high response rate and acceptable toxicity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine and cisplatin combination. Twentythree patients with NSCLC were enrolled from January 2001 till September 2003. All of them were confirmed by histology and were in advanced stage, i.e. stage IIIB or stage IV. Cisplatin with the dose of 70 mg/m2 was given every 21 days, in combination with gemcitabine at a dose of 1250 mg/m2 administered on days 1, 8 of a 21-day cycle. Of the 23 patients, 1 showed complete remission, 5 achieved partial remission and 7 had stable disease and 2 patients showed progressive disease, 8 patients were not evaluable for response. The overall response in 15 evaluable patients was 40% (95% CI.), median survival was 13.5 months (95% CI, 3.5-27.4 months), and median progression free survival was 11 months (95% CI, 1.04-20.9 months). Hematological toxicity’s included anemia, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. Non-hematological toxicities included nausea/vomiting, peripheral neuropathy, skin rashes, mild renal impairment and one case of acute respiratory distress syndrome;another case developed transient acute psychosis. The regimen of combined gemcitabine with cisplatin is safe and effective and well tolerated in patients. In this combination, a lower dose of cisplatin seems to have an efficacy similar to that seen in previous reports

Techno-economic analysis and new design of a photovoltaic power plant by a direct radiation amplification system

Today, photovoltaic panels are used in various applications, and increasing their efficiency is of interest to many researchers. In this research, we try to increase the radiation density by increasing direct radiation to finally increase the energy production in photovoltaic power plants. The direct radiation amplification system is used to improve the photovoltaic efficiency. In this proposed system, energy and economics are analyzed by MATLAB software. Also, prototype testing and photovoltaic power plant testing are examined. The results show that by implementing this system in photovoltaic power plants, annual energy production can be increased. By adding this system to a photovoltaic power plant, the price of electricity produced in photovoltaic power plants will be increased from 13 ¢⁄kWℎ to 9 ¢⁄kWℎ, which shows a 31% reduction in the price of electricity per kilowatt-hour