Cryopreservation of carp spermatozoa by different extenders

Production and storage of the best gametes are practices undertaken by fishery managers and researchers to improve fish reproduction technology and obtain the best spawners. The male spawners of carp (Cyprinus carpio) were chosen from two warm-water fish hatcheries near Rasht, Guilan Province. For the study, duration of motility of sperms, sperm density and fertilization rate were considered. The best samples were chosen for mropreservation with four different extenders and were checked by fertilization tests after seven days of preservation in liquid nitrogen. Results showed that by 1:1 dilution rate, the Alsever solution had the best results. The fertilization rate, production of eyed ego and larvae by this extender in a multistage cooling experiment were 45r, 47.81" and 22.63 respectively

Association between vitamin A and E and apolipoprotein A and B levels in type 2 diabetes

Objective. To determine the relationship between serum vitamin A and E and apolipoprotein levels in type 2 diabetic patients. Setting. Shariati Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Subjects and methods. One hundred and seventeen eligible type 2 diabetic patients who attended the Endocrine Research and Metabolism Center between 2002 and 2004 were enrolled in the study. Blood samples were collected after a 12 - 14-hour overnight fast for the measurement of serum levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), apolipoprotein (apo) A1 and apoB, and vitamins A and E. Anthropometric indices were determined by physical examination. Data were analysed statistically using Pearson's coefficient, multiple regression, and partial and bivariate correlations. Results. The mean body mass index (BMI) of the subjects was 27.4 ± 3.7 kg/m2. The mean (± standard deviation (SD)) serum levels of vitamins A and E were 0.5 ± 0.1 &#956;g/ml and 9.5 ± 2.6 &#956;g/ml, respectively. There were no significant differences in the plasma levels of vitamins A and E in males and females. Mean serum levels of vitamins A and E were within the normal range for both sexes. Serum lipid levels (total cholesterol, triglyceride and apoB) correlated with serum levels of vitamin E (p < 0.05). Serum levels of vitamins A and E were also correlated (p < 0.05). Standardised vitamin E levels showed significant negative correlation with most studied lipid profiles (p < 0.05). Conclusion. This study found that mean serum levels of the natural antioxidants vitamin E, and especially vitamin A, were close to the lower end of the normal range of these antioxidants in type 2 diabetics. Also, serum vitamin E and standardised vitamin E levels were important predictors of serum apoA1 levels in these patients. South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol. 19(1) 2006: 39-4

The innate immunity changes of the female anadromous hilsa shad, Tenualosa ilisha , during spawning and post spawning season

Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton) is a valuable migratory fish belonging to the family Clupeidae and it is distributed in a wide area from the Persian Gulf to coasts of Pakistan and China’s southern sea. The aim of the present study was to investigate the changes occurring in innate immunity parameters during upstream migration and comparing them to those during post spawning. Sixty mature female hilsa shad were obtained using gill net from Karoon River in Khorramshahr during the spawning period (July, August and September 2014) and Hendijan coasts along the Persian Gulf coasts during post spawning period (October, November and December 2014). Immediately, blood samples were collected from the peduncle vein and then parameters including WBC (White Blood Cell) count, Differential WBC Count, plasma lysozyme content and C3 and C4 complement activity were determined. Based on the results, the levels of WBC, lysozyme and C3 during the spawning period were lower than those recorded during post spawning period. However, C4 levels were higher during spawning (p<0.01). This fact revealed that some innate immunity parameters experience depression during upstream migration and spawning, while these parameters increase during the post spawning period, indicating the suppressive effects of spawning on fish immunity

Effects of amino acid supplementation of lysine and methionine on body biochemical composition and amino acid profile of Sobaity sea bream (Sparidentex hasta) juveniles

In this study that lasted to 8 weeks, was conducted to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of lysine and methionine on body biochemical composition and amino acid profile of Sobaity sea bream, Sparidentex hasta. Therefore, 180 juvenile fish with an initial weight of 31.38 ±1.4 g were distributed randomly among eighteen tanks. Fish were fed to satiation three time per day (08:00, 13:00 and 18:00 hours) with formulated diets containing six different levels of dietary methionine and lysine; Diet 1: a control diet without dietary amino acid supplementation; Diet 2: 100% methionine supplementation; Diet 3: 75% methionine and 25% lysine supplementation; Diet 4: 50% methionine and 50% lysine supplementation; Diet 5: 25% methionine and 75% lysine supplementation and Diet 6: 100% lysine supplementation.The results of this study showed Carcass protein content was significantly affected by the amino acid supplements and the highest level of carcass protein observed in fish were fed by diet 3(P 0.05). In addition, essential amino acids (ΣEAA) and non-essential amino acids (ΣNEAA) and ratio ΣEAA / ΣNEAA, were affected by lysine and methionine amino acid supplementation as ΣEAA and ratio (ΣEAA) / (ΣNEAA) significantly increased with increasing levels of amino acid supplementation and the highest amount of this parameters observed in groups were fed by diet with high levels of methionine.The results showed that adding 75% dietary methionine supplementation and 25% lysine supplemtation to the diet containg 45/95% protein, have positive effects on biochemical composition and amino acid profile in rearing of Sobaity seabream juveniles

Complete improvement in a patient with multiple irreversible defects of the left ventricle on 99m technetium-sestamibi SPECT after percutaneous coronary intervention.

99mTc-sestamibi has been investigated as a potential viability marker; initial studies have shown good concordance between 201Tl and 99mTc-sestamibi activities in both viable and nonviable myocardium. However, assessment of myocardial viability by 99mTc-sestamibi remains controversial for tissue recovery after revascularization. Here, we present a patient with several regions of severely diminished and irreversible (defect persisting in both early and delay images of each set scanning) defects on initial scan which were dissolved completely on the follow up scan after an intervention. In a 75 year-old Asian woman with acute myocardial infarction who received thrombolytic therapy and subjected to percutaneous coronary angiography (PCI) on day 28 after acute myocardial infarction(MI), resting 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT was applied on day 4 (initial scan) and 138 (follow up scan) after acute MI at 30 and 180 min after injection of tracer (740 MBq); Two-dimensional echocardiography was carried out at the same time. On the initial image set, there was irreversible defects in the apex, anteroapical, inferoapical, anteroseptal, septal and also anterior walls, while the follow up image was normal in all regions.The angiography intervention showed just significant stenosis on left anterior descending (LAD) vessel (95). This may highlight the failure of 99mTc-sestamibi as a marker of myocardial viability and also mandate further validating of the procedure with follow up scan or other modalities for myocardial viability investigation

In vitro effects of salinity and algae genera on the Rotifer (Brachionus plicatilis Muller 1786)

The marine rotifer Brachionus plicatilis is extensively used as a major live food in fish larvae culture all over the world. In the present study an attempt was made to find out the optimum salinity and feeding conditions for growth of the rotifer B. plicatilis. The rotifer was cultured using Batch culture method at four salinities ranges (20, 25, 30 and 35ppt) and was fed with 3 species of microalgae including, Nannochloropsis oculata, Isochrysis galbana and Chlorella sp. The difference between salinity was not significant (P>0.05) but there was a significant difference between the food types (P<0.05). In all of the experiments, the combined effect of salinity and algal type on rotifer growth were significant (P<0.05). The best result was observed in the experiment conducted at 35ppt salinity using N. oculata as the main food (378 ind/ml)

Effect of pot size, planting date and genotype on minituber production of Marfona potato cultivar

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of pot size, planting date and type of genotype on mini-tuber production of Marfona potato cultivar (Solanum tuberosum L.) in greenhouse conditions.Four genotypes (M-129, M-128P, M-127P and M-124P) originated from virus free sprouts and a genotype of the same cultivar (Marfona) originated from apical meristem, in 3 sizes of pot and 3 planting datewere investigated. The results showed that using larger pots of 3-liter has no advantage and pots smaller than 2-liter is not suitable for mini-tuber production. Also, time of Nov 18 was the best of datefor planting of potato in studied conditions and delay in date of planting reduced the mini-tuber production. The reduction in number of mini-tubers and growing period was greater for the genotype M-129 compared with the other potato genotypes. Furthermore, higher numbers of mini-tubers were produced by the M-127P and M-124P genotypes and M-127P had the highest total weight of mini-tubers.However the number of mini-tubers per plant was higher for genotypes originated from meristem culture than genotypes obtained from sprouts. It seems that genotypes originated from potato sprouts are not as efficient as the apical meristem ones. On the other hand, later genotype showed more homogenous in growth rate and phenotype

A Riemannian Approach to Reduced Plate, Shell, and Rod Theories

We derive a dimensionally-reduced limit theory for an $n$-dimensional nonlinear elastic body that is slender along $k$ dimensions. The starting point is to view an elastic body as an $n$-dimensional Riemannian manifold together with a not necessarily isometric $W^{1,2}$-immersion in $n$-dimensional Euclidean space. The equilibrium configuration is the immersion that minimizes the average discrepancy between the induced and intrinsic metrics. The dimensionally reduced limit theory views the elastic body as a $k$-dimensional Riemannian manifold along with an isometric $W^{2,2}$-immersion in $n$-dimensional Euclidean space and linear data in the normal directions. The equilibrium configuration minimizes a functional depending on the average covariant derivatives of the linear data. The dimensionally-reduced limit is obtained using a $\Gamma$-convergence approach. The limit includes as particular cases plate, shell, and rod theories. It applies equally to "standard" elasticity and to "incompatible" elasticity, thus including as particular cases so-called non-Euclidean plate, shell, and rod theories.Comment: 61 pages, added references, fixed typo

Nanostructure and properties of a Cu-Cr composite processed by severe plastic deformation

A Cu-Cr composite was processed by severe plastic deformation to investigate the role of interphase boundaries on the grain size reduction mechanisms. The as-deformed material exhibits a grain size of only 20nm. This gives rise to a dramatic increase of the hardness. Some deformation induced Cu super saturated solid solutions were clearly exhibited and it is shown that they decrease the hardness. The formation of such supersaturated solid solution and their influence on the mechanical properties are discussed