Benfotiamine in high carbohydrate diet enhances growth and reproductive performance of the Asian native catfish Clarias macrocephalus subadults

Clarias macrocephalus has been extirpated in most regions in the Philippines and as a preliminary study towards its reintroduction, we aimed at enhancing the growth and reproductive performance of the broodstock. Several studies have identified thiamine deficiency as a factor in the extirpation of some important fish species in the wild. The present study aimed to determine the effects of elevated dietary carbohydrates and benfotiamine, a more bioavailable analog of thiamine (vitamin B1). Three diets were used, namely, a commercial diet specific for catfish was used as the control diet (Com), a high carbohydrate (HC) diet, and a benfotiamine-supplemented HC diet (HCB). Results show that survival of the subadult catfish in captivity for 10 weeks was remarkably high, exhibiting an average of 99% for all three treatments (P>0.05). HCB diet resulted in significantly higher final average body weight (FABW), weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), and significantly best food conversion ratio (FCR) (P0.05). For the reproductive performance, female Asian catfish fed the HCB diet exhibited significantly heavier ovary and liver (P0.05). GSI of the female catfish and fecundity were significantly higher in the HCB group (P0.05). In the male catfish, testes were significantly heavier in the HCB group (P0.05). HSI, male LW, and LL were significantly higher in the HC and HCB groups (P>0.05) than in the Com group (P0.05). In conclusion, elevating dietary carbohydrates in the diet from 7.70% to 22.73% (i.e., Com to HC diet, respectively) did not negatively affect the growth and reproductive performance of the Asian catfish. Further supplementation of benfotiamine at 0.02% to the HC diet enhanced significantly both the growth and reproductive performance of the Asian catfish

Growth of the Eucalyptus urograndis, Schizolobium parahyba var. amazonicum, Tectona grandis and Ochroma pyramidale on integration crop-livestock-forest systems in the Amazon Biome.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth in diameter and height eucalyptus (hybrid Eucalyptus urograndis), paricá (Schizolobium parahyba var. amazonicum), teak (Tectona grandis) and balsa tree (Ochroma pyramidale), seeking to supply information about the use of these species in crop-livestock-forest integration (ICLF) systems

Μελέτη επί της τρισδιάστατης απεικόνισης και αυτόματης ανακατασκευής τρισδιάστατων προϊστορικών αγγείων

88 σ.Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία γίνεται, αρχικά, μία αναφορά σε αρχές της θεωρίας των καμπυλών και επιφανειών της διαφορικής γεωμετρίας οι οποίες αποτελούν ένα απαραίτητο μαθηματικό υπόβαθρό της σχετικής προσέγγισης. Δίνεται έμφαση σε βασικές έννοιες, όπως της καμπύλης, της επιφάνειας αλλά και άλλων μεγεθών-εργαλείων που τις συνοδεύουν, ούτως ώστε να γίνει εφικτή η προσέγγιση στο θέμα της αυτόματης ανασυγκρότησης θραυσμάτων. Στην συνέχεια, ακολουθεί περιγραφή της επεξεργασίας, την οποία υπέστησαν τρισδιάστατες απεικονίσεις θραυσμάτων αγγείων, οι οποίες προέρχονται από την τρισδιάστατη σάρωση των πραγματικών θραυσμάτων με τρισδιάστατο σαρωτή. Η παραπάνω επεξεργασία αποτελεί προκαταρκτικό στάδιο για την εφαρμογή μίας νέας μεθόδου η οποία προσφέρει αποτελεσματική λύση στο πρόβλημα της αυτόματης εικονικής ανασυγκρότησης των θραυσμένων αγγείων για την οποία γίνεται αναφορά στη συνέχεια.In this thesis, initially, a report on principles of the theory of curves and surfaces, in differential geometry, takes place. These principles are the mathematical background of this thesis. The understanding of basic concepts such as curve , surface and other sizes–tools which surround them, is emphasized thanks to which the approach to automatic reconstruction of fragments is feasible. Then, follows a description of the processing that was applied in three-dimensional representations of broken vessels. These represantations derived from the three-dimensional scan of the real fragments with three-dimensional scanner. The above process is a preliminary step for the implementation of a new method which is an effective solution to the problem of automatic virtual reconstruction of broken vessels to which reference is made below.Ιωάννης Γ. Κοτζά

Short-Term Starvation of Immune Deficient Drosophila Improves Survival to Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections

Background: Primary immunodeficiencies are inborn errors of immunity that lead to life threatening conditions. These predispositions describe human immunity in natura and highlight the important function of components of the Toll-IL-1receptor-nuclear factor kappa B (TIR-NF-kB) pathway. Since the TIR-NF-kB circuit is a conserved component of the host defence in higher animals, genetically tractable models may contribute ideas for clinical interventions. Methodology/Principal Findings: We used immunodeficient fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) to address questions pertaining to survival following bacterial infection. We describe here that flies lacking the NF-kB protein Relish, indispensable for countering Gram-negative bacteria, had a greatly improved survival to such infections when subject to dietary short-term starvation (STS) prior to immune challenge. STS induced the release of Nitric Oxide (NO), a potent molecule against pathogens in flies, mice and humans. Administering the NO Synthase-inhibitory arginine analog N-Nitro-L-Arginine-Methyl-Ester (L-NAME) but not its inactive enantiomer D-NAME increased once again sensitivity to infection to levels expected for relish mutants. Surprisingly, NO signalling required the NF-kB protein Dif, usually needed for responses against Gram-positive bacteria. Conclusions/Significance: Our results show that NO release through STS may reflect an evolutionary conserved process. Moreover, STS could be explored to address immune phenotypes related to infection and may offer ways to boost natura