Isolation and culture in artificial media of Lagenidium from Penaeus monodon larvae

Fungal infection of P. monodon larvae is a problem in hatchery operations. The fungus, which attacks the nauplius to postlarval stages and causes up to 100% mortality, has been tentatively identified as belonging to the genus Lagenidium . This pathogenic organism has recently been isolated and cultured. A description is given of the fungus, and features of its biology and pathology are discussed

Elachistocleis haroi Pereyra, Akmentins, Laufer & Vaira, 2013 (Anura: Microhylidae) en Paraguay

Elachistocleis haroi (Anura: Microhylidae) fue descrita de las Provincias de Jujuy, Salta y Formosa en Argentina y el departamento Tarija en Bolivia. Sobre la base de ejemplares albergados en el Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Paraguay y Colección Zoológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, extendemos la distribución conocida de la especie a los departamentos de Alto Paraguay, Boquerón y Presidente Hayes, en la Región Occidental de Paraguay.Elachistocleis haroi (Anura: Microhylidae) was described from the provinces of Jujuy, Salta and Formosa in Argentina and the Tarija department in Bolivia. Based on specimens housed in the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Paraguay and Colección Zoológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, we extend the range of the species to the departments of Alto Paraguay, Boquerón and Presidente Hayes, in western Paraguay.Fil: Caballero Gini, Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Asuncion; ParaguayFil: Bueno Villafañe, Diego. Universidad Nacional de Asuncion; Paraguay. Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Paraguay; ParaguayFil: Romero Nardelli, L.. Universidad Nacional de Asuncion; ParaguayFil: Lavilla, Esteban Orlando. Fundación Miguel Lillo. Dirección de Zoología. Instituto de Herpetología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán; Argentin

Evaluation of the Ex-PRESS® P-50 implant under scleral flap in combined cataract and glaucoma surgery

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of glaucoma drainage device Ex-PRESS® P-50 for combined cataract surgery and glaucoma. Methods: Patients having cataract and open angle glaucoma or patients with open advanced glaucoma which needed two or more antiglaucoma medications were included. Combined cataract surgery and glaucoma with Ex-PRESS® P-50 model placed under scleral flap was performed. Results: Out of 40 eyes of 40 patients (55% male and 45% female) completed the study during one-year follow-up. The mean of age was 76.6±11.02y. The intraocular pressure (IOP) decreased significantly during the 12-month follow-up from 23.5 mm Hg to 16.8 mm Hg (Wilcoxon signed ranks test, P<0.001). A 59.5% of patients did not need any topical treatment, 10.8% of them needed one active principle, 27% needed two active principles, and 2.7% of them needed three active principles for successful IOP control (<21 mm Hg). Conclusion: Combined surgery of phacoemulsification with ExPRESS® P-50 lowers IOP from the preoperative baseline and reduces significantly the number of antiglaucoma active principles for IOP control after the operation

Assessment of corneal biomechanical properties and intraocular pressure in myopic Spanish healthy population

Purpose. To examine biomechanical parameters of the cornea in myopic eyes and their relationship with the degree of myopia in a western healthy population. Methods. Corneal hysteresis (CH), corneal resistance factor (CRF), Goldmann correlated intraocular pressure (IOP), and corneal compensated IOP (IOPcc) were measured using the ocular response analyzer (ORA) in 312 eyes of 177 Spanish subjects aged between 20 and 56 years. Refraction was expressed as spherical equivalent (SE), which ranged from 0 to -16.50 diopters (D) (mean: -3.88 ± 2.90 D). Subjects were divided into four groups according to their refractive status: group 1 or control group: emmetropia (-0.50 = SE 0.05); nevertheless, IOPcc was significantly higher in the moderatelymyopic (15.47±2.47mmHg) and highlymyopic (16.14± 2.59mmHg) groups than in the emmetropia (15.15 ± 2.06mmHg) and low myopia groups (14.53 ± 2.37mmHg). No correlation between age and the measured parameters was found. CH and IOPcc were weakly but significantly correlated with SE (¿ = 0.171, ¿ = 0.002 and ¿ = -0.131, ¿ = 0.021, resp.). Conclusions. Present study showed only a very weak, but significant, correlation between CHand refractive error, with CH being lower in both moderately and highlymyopic eyes than that in the emmetropic and low myopic eyes.These changes in biomechanical properties of the cornea may have an impact on IOP measurement, increasing the risk of glaucom

In vitro effects of fungicides on the fungus Haliphthoros philippinensis

Pure cultures of Haliphthoros philippinensis, isolated from infected Penaeus monodon larvae, were exposed for 24 hours to varying concentrations of antifungal agents. The efficiency of each agent to inhibit sporulation and mycelial growth was measured. Effects on P. monodon eggs and larvae were also investigated. It is concluded that preliminary bioassay of larval tolerance to the suggested effective doses should always be made prior to prophylaxix or therapeutic applications

In-vitro effect of fungicides on hyphal growth and sporogenesis of Lagenidium sp. isolated from Penaeus monodon larvae and Scylla serrata eggs

The sensitivity of Lagenidium, isolated from Penaeus monodon, Scylla serrata , to 34 antimycotics was determined. Effects on the development of vesicles, zoospores and mycelial growth were evaluated. Although mycoidal levels of the chemicals tested will be ideal for lethal treatment on control of the fungus, the high dose required may be lethal to the host, thus the use of mycostatic concentrations is more practical. Treatments of rearing water containing larvae, adult shrimps or crabs should be done only after preliminary tolerance experiments using at least the mycostatic dose prove to be safe for the hosts. Mycocidal doses can be used for determining disinfection doses of equipment and facilities used in rearing procedures as well as for destroying batches of infected larvae

Lipid and protein changes related to quality loss in frozen sardine (Sardina pilchardus) previously processed under high-pressure conditions

This research focuses on biochemical changes related to quality loss in frozen (−18 °C for 9 months) sardine (Sardina pilchardus) previously subjected to high-pressure (HP) processing (125–200 MPa). The inhibition (p < 0.05) of lipid hydrolysis development (lower free fatty acid formation and lipase activity), observed in frozen sardine as a result of the previous HP treatment, increased with the pressure level applied. Several parameters including peroxide value, thiobarbituric acid index, fluorescent compounds, and polyenes showed that the applied HP conditions prior to sardine freezing did not increase lipid oxidation. Also, HP did not induce a substantial modification of acid phosphatase and cathepsins B and D activities, and the electrophoretic patterns of sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar protein fractions did not change. However, HP processing led to a decrease in myofibrillar protein content in frozen pressure-treated fish, an effect that was higher in 175- and 200-MPa treated samples. In conclusion, this research showed that pressure treatments in the 125–200- MPa range with holding time of 0 min cause only minor modifications in biochemical indicators of deterioration throughout the subsequent frozen storage of samples for up to 9 months. This study shows the need to optimize HP conditions, particularly in the case of applications combining HP treatments, frozen storage, and thawing to obtain products with high quality and commercial viability

Molecular-orbital Studies Via Satellite-free X-ray Fluorescence: Cl-K Absorption and K–Valence-level Emission Spectra of Chlorofluoromethanes

X-ray absorption and emission measurements in the vicinity of the chlorine K edge of the three chlorofluoromethanes have been made using monochromatic synchrotron radiation as the source of excitation. By selectively tuning the incident radiation to just above the Cl 1s single-electron ionization threshold for each molecule, less complex x-ray-emission spectra are obtained. This reduction in complexity is attributed to the elimination of multielectron transitions in the Cl K shell, which commonly produce satellite features in x-ray emission. The resulting satellite-free x-ray-emission spectra exhibit peaks due only to electrons in valence molecular orbitals filling a single Cl 1s vacancy. These simplified emission spectra and the associated x-ray absorption spectra are modeled using straightforward procedures and compared with semiempirical ground-state molecular-orbital calculations. Good agreement is observed between the present experimental and theoretical results for valence-orbital energies and those obtained from ultraviolet photoemission, and between relative radiative yields determined both experimentally and theoretically in this work

Polarized X-ray-emission Studies of Methyl Chloride and the Chlorofluoromethanes

A new technique sensitive to molecular orientation and geometry, and based on measuring the polarization of x-ray emission, has been applied to the Cl-containing molecules methyl chloride (CH3Cl) and the chlorofluoromethanes (CF3Cl, CF2Cl2, and CFCl3) in the gas phase. Upon selective excitation using monochromatic synchrotron radiation in the Cl K-edge (Cl 1s) near-threshold region, polarization-selective x-ray emission studies reveal highly polarized molecular valence x-ray fluorescence for all four molecules. The degree and the orientation of the polarized emission are observed to be sensitive to the incident excitation energy near the Cl Kedge. In some cases, the polarization direction for x-ray emission reverses for small changes in incident excitation energy (a few eV). It is shown that the polarized x-ray emission technique can be used to infer, directly from experiment, symmetries of occupied and unoccupied valence molecular orbitals, an- isotropies in absorption and emission, and orientational and geometrical information. It is suggested that the x-ray polarized-fluorescence phenomenon, reported here for simple molecules, can be used as a new approach to study more complicated systems in a variety of environments

Ensuring the quality of 3D printed medicines: Integrating a balance into a pharmaceutical printer for in-line uniformity of mass testing

Semi-solid extrusion (SSE) 3D printing has great potential to be integrated in a clinical setting, with the use of pre-filled and disposable pharma-ink syringes meeting regulatory good manufacturing practice (GMP) requirements. Uniformity of mass testing is a critical quality attribute and is carried out by weighing a specific amount of dosage units in a single batch and finding the average mass to evaluate any deviations. However, this test for small batches of 3D printed medicines may require weighing the entire manufactured batch. To overcome this limitation, an in-line analytical balance was implemented inside a GMP pharmaceutical 3D printer, with a specialised software-controlled weighing system for the automated mass uniformity testing of the entire printed batch. Three different dose batches (n = 28) of hydrocortisone pharma-ink were 3D printed and subjected to in-line mass uniformity testing. The developed software was capable of registering the weights of all individual printlets and accurately detecting any deviations within the accepted limits. Only one printlet was outside the accepted weight range, a result of the first print often being imperfect due to the semi-solid nature of the pharma-ink. The weight results were compared against an external analytical balance, and no significant differences were found. This study is the first to integrate an analytical balance inside a pharmaceutical printer, automating the dosage form mass uniformity testing which can save time, labour, and resources, whilst improving the quality control testing of 3D printed pharmaceuticals