The effects of dietary supplementation of astaxanthin and Β-carotene on the reproductive performance and egg quality of female goldfish (Carassius auratus)

The present research was aimed to study the effects of different sources of carotenoids and their varying concentrations on the reproductive functions of goldfish. The study was carried out in seven treatments with three replicates at the Bony Fish Hatchery Complex (Rasht, Iran) from December 2011 to May 2012.Experimental diets containing 50, 100, and 150 mg kg-1 astaxanthin and 50, 100, and 150 mg kg-1 β-carotene along with a carotenoid free basic carp feed as control were utilized. The goldfish broodstock were fed with the formulated diets for a period of four months. In May, eggs obtained from the female goldfish were fertilized with the semen of identical male goldfish fed with control diet and the absolute, working and relative fecundities and egg fertilization along with egg survival rate were estimated for different treatments during incubation period. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the fecundity rates among different diet treatments. Nevertheless, the diameter and the number of egg per gram of the fertilized eggs in fish in the A150 (astaxanthin 150 mg kg-1) treatment were greater than those in the other treatments (P ≤ 0.05) and this treatment showed higher egg survival rates in the incubation period (P ≤ 0.05). Correlation of egg astaxanthin with fertilization rate and survival rate was significant. Moreover, there was significant correlation between β-carotene and survival rate (P ≤ 0.05)

Quantifying anhedonia-like symptoms in marmosets using appetitive Pavlovian conditioning.

Blunted reward responsivity is associated with anhedonia in humans and is a core feature of depression. This protocol describes how to train the common marmoset, Callithrix jacchus, on an appetitive Pavlovian conditioning paradigm to measure behavioral and cardiovascular correlates of anticipatory and consummatory phases of reward processing. We describe how to use intracerebral infusions to manipulate brain regions whose activity is relevant to impaired reward processing in depression and how the paradigm can be used to test antidepressant efficacy. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Alexander et al. (2019)

Effects of different protein levels on growth indices of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) fingerling in the intensive culture system

The present study examined the effects of different protein concentrations  on growth of juvenile common carp kept in 15 fiberglass ponds (0.5 × 2 × 2 m) under intensive culture system involving 5 treatments and 3 replications, based on the following raw protein contents  (24.22, 26.15, 28.32, 30.31, 33.29%) included in the fish diet for a period of 60 days and with a water temperature ranging 22-31oC, and dissolve oxygen level of 5.1-7.3 mg/L to determine diet formulation ensuring an optimum growth performance. Each rearing pond was introduced with 250 pieces of juvenile fish (4 ± 0.66 g) amounting to an average of 1 kg fish biomass. The results indicated that juveniles receiving protein levels of 28.32% and 26.15% had the highest body weight, specific growth rate, weight gain percentage and protein yields (p≤0.05). In addition, the feed conversion ratio related to these two diets showed significant decline (p≤0.05). The condition factor and survival rate remained the same across all treatments (p≥0.05). The study revealed that the protein increment ratio of up to 28.15% in the diet contributed to the increased growth indices among juvenile common carp and concentrations beyond that did not lead to any effective increase in fish growth

Effects of Spirulina microalgae (Spirulina sp.) and acidifier citric acid on the hematological and immune indices in common carp fry, Cyprinus carpio

The study was designed to evaluate the effects of spirulina algae and the acidifying impacts of citric acid on the variation of hematological and immune indices in common carp, Cyprinus carpio. The study was completely random in design with nine treatments, 3 replicates and the control, which included using basic diet without any additives. The treatments included T1: basic diet supplemented with 0.5% citric acid; T2: basic diet supplemented with 0.1% citric acid; T3: basic diet supplemented with 0.2% spirulina extract; T4: basic diet supplemented with 0.3% spirulina extract; T5: basic diet supplemented with 0.2% spirulina extract and 0.05% citric acid; T6: basic diet supplemented with 0.3% spirulina extract and 0.01% citric acid; T7: basic diet supplemented with 0.2% spirulina extract and 0.01% citric acid; and T8: basic diet supplemented with 0.3% spirulina extract and 0.05% citric acid. For this purpose, 270 juvenile carp fish (mean weight: 11.35 ± 1.21 g) were fed with the experimental diets for 8 weeks. At the end of the trials, the number of white blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells (RBCs), Hb, HCT, differential white cells (lymphocyte, eosinophil, neutrophil and monocytes) were measured. The mean volume of red blood cells (MHC), mean concentration of cellular hemoglobin (MEHC) and immune indices of fish blood including Lysozyme, GM, and immunoglobulin were also measured. The results indicated significant differences in certain blood factors (i.e., HCT, neutrophil and lymphocyte) between experimental diet groups and the control (p < 0.05). In addition, certain immune indices in the experimental groups were at healthier levels than those in the control (p < 0.05). Finally, the study showed that spirulina algae combined with citric acid acidifier could enhance the body immune system of juvenile carp fish

Interaction of light and diets containing carotenoids on growth rate and coloration of green swordtail, Xiphophorus helleri Heckel 1848

This study was performed to investigate the interaction effects of astaxanthin and beta-carotene pigments in white and red lights on growth performance and coloration of swordtail, Xiphophorus helleri. A total of 180 swordtail with an average weight of 1.4 ± 0.1 g with three diets containing 150 mg/kg astaxanthin, 150 mg/kg beta-carotene and a diet without additive pigment and treatments in contrast to white and red lights with light intensity of 1200 lux was fed in 6 treatments and 3 replications for 8 weeks. Finally, growth indices including body weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio and survival rate were determined. In order to determine the number of changes in color intensity and sharpness, Hue and Chroma coefficients were determined after shooting and analyzing the obtained colors using coefficients a and b with Photoshop software in the fourth and eighth weeks. The results revealed that there was no interaction between diets and ambient light, but fish raised in white light were superior in terms of all growth and survival indices (p<0.05). These results also exhibited that the effects of color sharpness (Hue) and red color index (Chroma) were greater in diets containing pigments exposed to white light

Effects of dietary specific probiotics on some growth and immunity indices, hepatic enzymes and intestinal bacterial flora of reared Persian sturgeon Acipenser persicus fingerlings

This study was carried out to increase production efficiency of Persian sturgeon Acipenser persicus fingerlings. In this experiment, 600 pieces of Persian sturgeonfingerlings (10.76 ± 0.74 g in weight and 14.49 ± 0.7 cm in total length) in four treatments were introduced into twelve fiberglass tanks with 300-L water capacity for 60 days. The treatments were fed with diets containing 0, 150, 300 and 450 mg of four bacterial strains including  Lactococcus lactis, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Weissella cibaria and Enterococcus faecalis powder per kg pelleted diets to make certain concentrations including 0 (T1),  1.5 × 109 (T2), 3 × 109 (T3) and 4.5 × 109 CFU/g (T4). The results showed that there was no significant difference in growth indices in different treatments (p>0.05). However, the maximum and minimum mean final weights were observed in T2 and T1, respectively. The  minimum and maximum values of liver enzymatic indices, LDH, IgM, lysozyme activity and the number of colonial intestine bacterial flora were observed in T2 and T1, respectively, significantly different from the other treatments (p<0.05). The maximum and minimum number of intestinal lactic acid (probiotic) bacteria were also found in T2 and T4, respectively, significantly different from the others (p<0.05). In spite of the fact that a probiotic-supplemented diet could not exhibit a significant effect on growth indices of the Persian sturgeon fingerlings at the weight range of 10-60 g, however, those containing 1.5 × 109 CFU/g (T2), significantly enhanced the immunity, enzymatic and bacterial flora of the intestine

Fish sperm motility assessment as a tool for aquaculture research, a historical approach

[EN] Fish sperm motility is nowadays considered the best biomarker for the quality of fish spermatozoa, and sperm motion parameters from more than 300 fish species have been reported in more than 1500 scientific articles covering a wide range of topics, from molecular biology to ecology. The most studied topics have been (i) the sperm storage (involving both the use of chilled¿storage protocols for short¿term periods and sperm cryopreservation techniques for long¿term storage), (ii) the sperm physiology (fathom in the spermatozoa activation process and the whole propulsion machinery of the sperm cells) and (iii) the broodstock management (covering aspects such as rearing conditions, dietary requirements or hormonal induction treatments). In addition, other aquaculture and ecological topics, such as (iv) the knowledge of the breeding cycle of the species, (v) the phenomenon of the sperm competition and (vi) ecotoxicological studies for the evaluation of aquatic environments, have also been approached from the evaluation of sperm motion performance. Therefore, fish sperm motility assessment can serve as a potential tool for aquaculture and ecological purposes, covering key topics of fundamental and applied research. This review gives an overview of the major research areas in which fish sperm motility has been applied successfully.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 642893 (IMPRESS). VG has a postdoc grant from the UPV (PAID-10-16).Gallego Albiach, V.; Asturiano Nemesio, JF. (2018). Fish sperm motility assessment as a tool for aquaculture research, a historical approach. Reviews in Aquaculture (Online). 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/raq.12253S12

The role of ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in physiological and behavioural dysfunction in non-human primates, of relevance to mood and anxiety disorders

The research presented in this thesis investigates the causal role of area 25 of the subcallosal anterior cingulate cortex and area 46 of the dorsolateral prefrontal (dlPFC) cortex in depression- and anxiety-like behaviour in a non-human primate, the common marmoset. Depressed patients show hyperactivity in area 25, and hyperactivity and hypoactivity of area 46 in the right and left hemispheres respectively. Moreover, these two seemingly unrelated regions, one involved in emotion and visceral activities (area 25) and the other involved in cognition (area 46), have sparse direct anatomical connections yet their negative coupling is observed in the state of disease and after successful treatment. Furthermore, levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which is elevated in depression and anxiety, are positively correlated with activity within area 25. However, the causal role of cortisol in the activity of this region is unknown although it has been shown that area 25 expresses both mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors, which suggests elevated cortisol can directly modulate activity in this region. Three subsections investigating the above, form three chapters of this thesis. Chapter three focuses on the effect of overactivation and inactivation of area 25 in two behavioural tests assessing motivational and consummatory behaviour of relevance to the symptom of anhedonia, the loss of pleasure. In chapter four the effect of the local increase of cortisol in area 25 in three domains of motivational, anticipatory, and anxiety-like behaviour is assessed. In chapter five the effect of overactivation and inactivation of area 46 within dlPFC on anxiety-like behaviour and basal cardiovascular activity is investigated under four conditions of vehicle control, left hemisphere, right hemisphere, and bilateral manipulations, in order to assess reports of asymmetry in dlPFC function. Taken together, the findings provide evidence for bidirectional effects of area 25 manipulation on motivation, and consumption, albeit with a more complex relationship with reward value for the latter. Moreover, cortisol is shown to have a causal impact on area 25 function as manifested in anxiety-like behaviour and anticipatory anhedonia. Since the effects were observed only with a very short pre-treatment time, it implicates those cellular mechanisms known to underlie the rapid effects of cortisol. These effects were observed despite the low number of subjects (n = 4), however, whether the lack of effect on cardiovascular response is due to the low power could be investigated with more subjects. Finally, the results revealed that bilateral and left hemisphere inactivation of area 46 increased anxiety-like behaviour. However, to establish the role of area 46 in the central autonomic network, further investigation is required since ANOVA showed no effect of manipulation despite the significant effect observed with the Linear Mixed Effect Model. The current interpretation of the observed results is that the effect size is small and there are high individual differences, both of which can only be addressed with an increased number of subjects. In contrast, overactivity of the right hemisphere did not increase anxiety as implicated in the depression and anxiety literature. The evidence overall points to functional asymmetry within area 46. The opposing effects of area 25 and area 46 manipulations on anxiety-like behaviour reported here support the correlatory findings in humans for the negative relationship between subcallosal and dlPFC activity in human mood and anxiety disorders. When translating these preclinical findings to the clinical domain it should be noted that the reward used here, similar to many preclinical models, is a primary reward, which has an innate value essential for homeostasis. The neural circuit underlying primary and secondary rewards may vary and requires further investigation. Hence, these findings are only applicable with regard to primary rewards when translating to human studies