Identification, distribution and prevalence of ecto-parasites associated with cultured fish in Ogun State, Nigeria

Public health issues can he considered as those of direct importance to both producers and consumers of fish and include broader issues of food production, processing and delivery systems. As aquaculture assumes an expanding role in meeting consumer demands for fish and fishery products, it is natural that they meet safety and quality standards. Aquaculture is a growing industry in Nigeria and it has assumed commercial importance activity. This study was part of the project on epizootiological survey of pathogenic diseases of cultured fish species and is aimed at identifying ecto-parasite associated with cultured fish in Ogun State, Nigeria. The study which was carried out in 2012 covered fifty fish farm, spread across the three senatorial zones. Five pieces of fish were randomly picked from each farm surveyed. Participants observation and structured questionnaires were administered to fish farmers in order to gather information on source of fries, fish feeding and feed type, use of manure and its type, pond type, stocking density, pond hygiene, water source, frequency of changing water and history of diseases and mortalities of fish. Before the fish samples were collected, pond size and physicochemical water quality were assessed. Water test kits were used to measure parameters like iron, nitrate, alkalinity and ammonia. All the procedures for physicochemical water quality parameter analysis was done according to the manufacturer's instructions. Water pH was measured using a probe while dissolved oxygen and both water as well as air temperature were measured by using Hanna kit. All types of farms are included in the survey such as hatcheries, brood stock farms as well as grow out farms. The study revealed the spread of parasites across the senatorial zones. The most common encountered parasites were Trichodina sp, Gyrodactylus sp, Dactylogyrus sp and trematodes. The intensity of the parasites differed markedly

Correction to: Rapid turnover of life-cycle-related genes in the brown algae.

Following publication of the original article [1], it was noticed that the author names were published with initials instead of full names. The article [1] has been updated

Rapid turnover of life-cycle-related genes in the brown algae.

Sexual life cycles in eukaryotes involve a cyclic alternation between haploid and diploid phases. While most animals possess a diploid life cycle, many plants and algae alternate between multicellular haploid (gametophyte) and diploid (sporophyte) generations. In many algae, gametophytes and sporophytes are independent and free-living and may present dramatic phenotypic differences. The same shared genome can therefore be subject to different, even conflicting, selection pressures during each of the life cycle generations. Here, we analyze the nature and extent of genome-wide, generation-biased gene expression in four species of brown algae with contrasting levels of dimorphism between life cycle generations. We show that the proportion of the transcriptome that is generation-specific is broadly associated with the level of phenotypic dimorphism between the life cycle stages. Importantly, our data reveals a remarkably high turnover rate for life-cycle-related gene sets across the brown algae and highlights the importance not only of co-option of regulatory programs from one generation to the other but also of a role for newly emerged, lineage-specific gene expression patterns in the evolution of the gametophyte and sporophyte developmental programs in this major eukaryotic group. Moreover, we show that generation-biased genes display distinct evolutionary modes, with gametophyte-biased genes evolving rapidly at the coding sequence level whereas sporophyte-biased genes tend to exhibit changes in their patterns of expression. Our analysis uncovers the characteristics, expression patterns, and evolution of generation-biased genes and underlines the selective forces that shape this previously underappreciated source of phenotypic diversity

The energy spectrum of all-particle cosmic rays around the knee region observed with the Tibet-III air-shower array

We have already reported the first result on the all-particle spectrum around the knee region based on data from 2000 November to 2001 October observed by the Tibet-III air-shower array. In this paper, we present an updated result using data set collected in the period from 2000 November through 2004 October in a wide range over 3 decades between $10^{14}$ eV and $10^{17}$ eV, in which the position of the knee is clearly seen at around 4 PeV. The spectral index is -2.68 $\pm$ 0.02(stat.) below 1PeV, while it is -3.12 $\pm$ 0.01(stat.) above 4 PeV in the case of QGSJET+HD model, and various systematic errors are under study now.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Advances in space researc

Moon Shadow by Cosmic Rays under the Influence of Geomagnetic Field and Search for Antiprotons at Multi-TeV Energies

We have observed the shadowing of galactic cosmic ray flux in the direction of the moon, the so-called moon shadow, using the Tibet-III air shower array operating at Yangbajing (4300 m a.s.l.) in Tibet since 1999. Almost all cosmic rays are positively charged; for that reason, they are bent by the geomagnetic field, thereby shifting the moon shadow westward. The cosmic rays will also produce an additional shadow in the eastward direction of the moon if cosmic rays contain negatively charged particles, such as antiprotons, with some fraction. We selected 1.5 x10^{10} air shower events with energy beyond about 3 TeV from the dataset observed by the Tibet-III air shower array and detected the moon shadow at $\sim 40 \sigma$ level. The center of the moon was detected in the direction away from the apparent center of the moon by 0.23$^\circ$ to the west. Based on these data and a full Monte Carlo simulation, we searched for the existence of the shadow produced by antiprotons at the multi-TeV energy region. No evidence of the existence of antiprotons was found in this energy region. We obtained the 90% confidence level upper limit of the flux ratio of antiprotons to protons as 7% at multi-TeV energies.Comment: 13pages,4figures; Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic

Recurrence and survival after laparoscopy versus laparotomy without lymphadenectomy in early-stage endometrial cancer:Long-term outcomes of a randomised trial

Background: Laparoscopic hysterectomy is accepted worldwide as the standard treatment option for early-stage endometrial cancer. However, there are limited data on long-term survival, particularly when no lymphadenectomy is performed. We compared the survival outcomes of total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) and total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH), both without lymphadenectomy, for early-stage endometrial cancer up to 5 years postoperatively. Methods: Follow-up of a multi-centre, randomised controlled trial comparing TLH and TAH, without routine lymphadenectomy, for women with stage I endometrial cancer. Enrolment was between 2007 and 2009 by 2:1 randomisation to TLH or TAH. Outcomes were disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and primary site of recurrence. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were adjusted for age, stage, grade, and radiotherapy with adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) reported. To test for significance, non-inferiority margins were defined. Results: In total, 279 women underwent a surgical procedure, of whom 263 (94%) had follow-up data. For the TLH (n = 175) and TAH (n = 88) groups, DFS (90.3% vs 84.1%; aHR[recurrence], 0.69; 95%CI, 0.31–1.52), OS (89.2% vs 82.8%; aHR[death], 0.60; 95%CI, 0.30–1.19), and DSS (95.0% vs 89.8%; aHR[death], 0.62; 95%CI, 0.23–1.70) were reported at 5 years. At a 10% significance level, and with a non-inferiority margin of 0.20, the null hypothesis of inferiority was rejected for all three outcomes. There were no port-site or wound metastases, and local recurrence rates were comparable. Conclusion: Disease recurrence and 5-year survival rates were comparable between the TLH and TAH groups and comparable to studies with lymphadenectomy, supporting the widespread use of TLH without lymphadenectomy as the primary treatment for early-stage, low-grade endometrial cancer

The value of tumor-stroma ratio as predictor of pathologic response after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in esophageal cancer

Biological, physical and clinical aspects of cancer treatment with ionising radiatio

An assessment of the potential for atmospheric emission verification in The Netherlands

Doel van dit project was het ontwikkelen van een systeem voor het kwantificeren van het broeikasgasbudget op landelijke en regionale schaal. Het ME2 consortium heeft een ‘protocol’ ontwikkeld om een referentieschatting te maken ten behoeve van de verificatie van nationale emissies. Daarmee is het op termijn mogelijk de nauwkeurigheid en geloofwaardigheid van aan UNFCCC en Kyoto gerapporteerde emissies, en reducties daarvan, te verifiëren. Met verschillende inversie methoden, van data tot model gedreven, zijn emissieschattingen gemaakt. De data gedreven methoden kunnen schattingen maken voor alle drie de broeikasgassen voor NL als geheel en zijn representatief voor meerdere jaren. Met de meer model gedreven inversies zijn meer ruimtelijk en temporeel gedistribueerde schattingen te maken

A Model for the Development of the Rhizobial and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbioses in Legumes and Its Use to Understand the Roles of Ethylene in the Establishment of these two Symbioses

We propose a model depicting the development of nodulation and arbuscular mycorrhizae. Both processes are dissected into many steps, using Pisum sativum L. nodulation mutants as a guideline. For nodulation, we distinguish two main developmental programs, one epidermal and one cortical. Whereas Nod factors alone affect the cortical program, bacteria are required to trigger the epidermal events. We propose that the two programs of the rhizobial symbiosis evolved separately and that, over time, they came to function together. The distinction between these two programs does not exist for arbuscular mycorrhizae development despite events occurring in both root tissues. Mutations that affect both symbioses are restricted to the epidermal program. We propose here sites of action and potential roles for ethylene during the formation of the two symbioses with a specific hypothesis for nodule organogenesis. Assuming the epidermis does not make ethylene, the microsymbionts probably first encounter a regulatory level of ethylene at the epidermis–outermost cortical cell layer interface. Depending on the hormone concentrations there, infection will either progress or be blocked. In the former case, ethylene affects the cortex cytoskeleton, allowing reorganization that facilitates infection; in the latter case, ethylene acts on several enzymes that interfere with infection thread growth, causing it to abort. Throughout this review, the difficulty of generalizing the roles of ethylene is emphasized and numerous examples are given to demonstrate the diversity that exists in plants