Determination of the best stocking density for rearing Huso huso

Effects of stocking density on growth, food conversion ratio, specific growth rate, percentage of body weight increase in Huso huso were studied in two phases. Juveniles below one year old with an average weight of 92.09±1.72 grams and stocking densities of 1.6, 2.8 and 4 kg/m^2 in 3 replicates for 100 days were reared as the phase one group. One year old Huso huso with an average weight of 918.13±21.87 grams and stocking densities of 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 kg/m^2 reared for 120 days in 2000 liter fiberglass tanks were the second phase. Results revealed negative impact of density on growth, percentage of body weight, and specific growth rate and food conversion ratio in both phases. In the first phase, lower stocking density (1.6 kg/m^2) showed significant increase in growth rate (P<0.05) as compared to 2.8 and 4 kg/m^2 stocking densities resulting in 42.3% and 61 % growth rate respectively. Fish kept at 4 kg/m2 density showed malformed caudal fins and injured body due to higher tensions and contacts. In the second phase, the growth rate of fish decreased with increase in stocking density where fish with lower density (1.5 kg/m^2) showed 7.2%, 15.6%, and 19.8% higher weight gain as compared to fish reared at 2.5, 3.5 and 4 kg/m^2 stocking density. Analyses showed that with increase in stocking density, feeding area per fish decreases and tension between fish increases that leads to lower feeding efficiency. Based on the results, the recommended optimum stocking density for Huso huso individuals up to 90 grams is 1.5-2 kg/m^2 and for fish individuals over 900 grams each the density should be kept at 2.5-3 kg/m^2

Effect of different dietary protein to energy ratios (P/E) on growth performance and body composition of farmed Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus)

To improve Persian sturgeon nutrition and determine its nutritional requirements, a growth trial was conducted to measure optimum dietary protein to energy ratio in Persian sturgeon sub-yearlings. Four diets: H (P/E=21.33mg/kJ), N (P/E=20.24mg/kJ), L (P/E=19.22 mg/kJ) and M (P/E=18.26mg/kJ) were used in the experiment. Triplicate groups of fish were kept in 500L fiberglass tanks under homogenous culture conditions (dissolved oxygen, light and water flow rate) and fed with the experimental diets. Fish were fed to satiation four times per day during 130 one fourth ¬ days of experiment when the average water temperature and dissolved oxygen were 12.82 plus or minus 1.48 degree C and 9.55 plus or minus 0.18 mg/l respectively. Fish in all treatments grew fast and efficiently utilized the diets. Growth rate, FE, GR, SGR and PER increased with decreasing dietary protein to energy ratios. A higher growth was observed in the fishes fed with lower P/E ratios. Food intake and fatness coefficient increased with increasing dietary energy and decreasing P/E ratios. There were no significant differences in feeding efficiency (FE) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) in fish fed with diet N (high carbohydrate and low lipid content) and diet L (low carbohydrate and high lipid content). We conclude that the Persian sturgeon is able to use lipids and carbohydrates as non-protein sources of energy. The results of the present study demonstrated that the protein content and P/E ratio for optimum growth and efficient protein utilization in Persian sturgeon is 40% and 18.3-19.2 mg protein/kJ energy, respectively

Effect of replacing fish meal with canola meal on growth performance, survival and body composition of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii Brandt)

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of replacing dietary fish rations with canola rations on the growth rate, survival rate and body composition of the Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii Brandt). Five isonitrogenous (45% crude protein) and isocaloric (18.53 MJg^-1) diets were formulated by replacing 0 (control), 10 (C_10), 20 (C_20), 30 (C_30) and 40% (C_40) of fish rations with canola rations. Juvenile fish with an initial weight of 22.80 ± 0.34 g (mean ± SD) with five treatments and three replications were fed for 10 weeks. At the end of the experiment, the growth rate, survival rate and body composition of the fish were measured. The results of this study showed that there was significant differences in the growth indices and body composition of the fish that were fed the different diets (P0.05). The survival rate was 100% in all treatments. There were no significant differences in body protein, lipid and ash contents in the different treatments (P>0.05), but significant differences were observed in the moisture content of the body of the fish that were fed different diets (P<0.05). The results of the present study suggest that 30% of fish rations can be replaced by canola rations without any negative effects on the growth rate, survival rate and body composition of the Siberian sturgeon

Surgical treatment of chronic patellar tendon rupture: A case series study

Background: Early detection and treatment of extensor mechanism rupture are essential for a long-term functional knee joint. In chronic cases, quadriceps muscle retraction and contracture make surgery di cult and results are less predictable. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate outcomes in the cases of late repaired patellar tendon rupture. Methods: This study included patients with chronic patellar tendon rupture who were operated at Shafa orthopedic hospital from 2006 to 2013. Results: A total of ten patients were evaluated, wirh 12 cases of chronic patellar tendon rupture. Patients had a mean age of 34.4 years (range 18 - 58). Seven cases were caused by a traffic accident and three by a fall. The mean length of time from injury to surgery was 23 months (range 3 - 132). The mean time of follow-up was 6.2 years (range 3 - 9). Cerclage wire reinforcements were applied in nine of the knees and three knees had fiber wire reinforcement. Tendon graft augmentation was applied in ten of the knees; six with semitendinosus and gracilis autograft, two with semitendinosus autograft, one with an Achilles tendon allograft, and one with a tibialis anterior allograft. Means for preoperative/postoperative active knee range of motion, extension lag, subjective international knee documentation committee score, and modified Cincinnati scores were 81/117, 32/2, 22.7/84.5 and 24/87, respectively. Wire breakage was seen on all nine knees but wires were removed in only two symptomatic cases. Conclusions: Good to excellent results were obtained in terms of functioning with operative treatment of chronic patellar tendon rupture. Direct repair with autogenous or allogenic graft augmentation and cerclage wire reinforcement and postoperative cast immobilization are recommended. Copyright © 2018, Trauma Monthly

The impact of third party reproduction on family and kinship

The development of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the UK, in 1978, proved a major breakthrough in the process of human reproduction, which had remained constant in human history. The impact of IVF and the ensuing assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) has not been limited in revolutionizing the "natural" practice of biological reproduction, but has reached out to and affected almost every institution in society. Family and kinship, as the social expression of reproduction and the institutions which are the most transparently structured realm of human life are those most profoundly affected by ARTs. Although literature on the implications of ARTs is in general abundant, this article presents new insights on their impact on family and kinship in Iran, which remains a unique case in the Muslim world. It explores the particular way ARTs, especially third-party donation, have been endorsed and practiced in Iran, and their consequences for the family, the infertile individuals, and their position vis-à -vis their kin and social group. The conclusion points to the lack of clarity concerning the initial rulings by the Islamic jurists, who allowed the practice of ARTs, and which has led to a number of unintended consequences regarding the legal, religious, cultural, and ethical issues, affecting the family, its structure and the relationship between the kin group. These consequences range, inter alia, from the question of the anonymity of third-party donor, to the permissibility of gamete donation between blood relatives, and to the absence of enforceable legislation. © 2021 Avicenna Research Institute. All rights reserved

Performance, kinetic, and biodegradation pathway evaluation of anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor in removing phthalic acid esters from wastewater

Emerging and hazardous environmental pollutants like phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are one of the recent concerns worldwide. PAEs are considered to have diverse endocrine disrupting effects on human health. Industrial wastewater has been reported as an important environment with high concentrations of PAEs. In the present study, four short-chain PAEs including diallyl phthalate (DAP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), and phthalic acid (PA) were selected as a substrate for anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor (AnFFFBR). The process performances of AnFFFBR, and also its kinetic behavior, were evaluated to find the best eco-friendly phthalate from the biodegradability point of view. According to the results and kinetic coefficients, removing and mineralizing of DMP occurred at a higher rate than other phthalates. In optimum conditions 92.5, 84.41, and 80.39% of DMP, COD, and TOC were removed. DAP was found as the most bio-refractory phthalate. The second-order (Grau) model was selected as the best model for describing phthalates removal

Thermal compensation of ultrasonic transmit and receive data for steel welded plates at the point of manufacture

On modern manufacturing production lines, Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) is frequently a bottleneck which could greatly be alleviated by integrating the inspection of components as they are manufactured. By moving inspection to the point of manufacture, greater economic and productivity benefits are realised in terms of reduced rework and schedule slippage, however, new technical challenges emerge. For welded components, high temperatures and the resulting thermal gradients, present challenges when performing ultrasonic inspection at the point of manufacture. The thermal gradients introduce positional misalignment due to “beam bending” effects arising from refraction as the material properties change with temperature. This paper presents for the first time, through simulation and practical experiments, a novel thermal compensation strategy to mitigate for thermal effects when performing ultrasonic inspection of welded components at the point of manufacture. To understand the thermal gradients experienced during standard Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding, 3-dimensional thermal simulations were developed and experimentally-validated with an average error of 1.80%. The output from the thermal simulations in combination with material properties that vary over temperature, allowed for generalised time of flight maps to be created via the Multi-Stencils Fast Marching Method (MSFMM) and the ultrasonic data to be imaged by the Total Focusing Method (TFM). The thermal compensation strategy was initially proved on synthetically generated finite element Full Matrix Capture (FMC) datasets, and it was shown that reflector positional accuracy could be increased by ∼ 3 mm. Experimental results also showed marked improvements with reflector positional accuracy also being increased by ∼3 mm. Over both simulated and experimental datasets, the SNR was shown to be negligibly altered between uncompensated and compensated images. The results show how high-quality ultrasonic images can be generated in-process and help bring inspection closer to the point of manufacture

Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2018

Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate results to policy-relevant administrative and national levels. Additionally, we provide subnational disparity analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of anemia prevalence inequalities within these countries and predict progress toward the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) to reduce anemia by half by 2030. Our results demonstrate widespread moderate improvements in overall anemia prevalence but identify only three LMICs with a high probability of achieving the WHO GNT by 2030 at a national scale, and no LMIC is expected to achieve the target in all their subnational administrative units. Our maps show where large within-country disparities occur, as well as areas likely to fall short of the WHO GNT, offering precision public health tools so that adequate resource allocation and subsequent interventions can be targeted to the most vulnerable populations.Peer reviewe

Analytical solutions for wall slip effects on magnetohydrodynamic oscillatory rotating plate and channel flows in porous media using a fractional burgers viscoelastic model

A theoretical analysis of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) incompressible flows of Burger's fluid through a porous medium in a rotating frame of reference is presented. The constitutive model of a Burger's fluid is used based on a fractional calculus formulation. Hydrodynamic slip at the wall (plate) is incorporated and a fractional generalized Darcy model deployed to simulate porous medium drag force effects. Three different cases are considered- namely, flow induced by a general periodic oscillation at a rigid plate, periodic flow in a parallel plate channel and finally Poiseuille flow. In all cases the plate (s) boundary (ies) are electrically-non-conducting and small magnetic Reynolds is assumed, negating magnetic induction effects. The well-posed boundary value problems associated with each case are solved via Fourier transforms. Comparisons are made between the results derived with and without slip conditions. 4 special cases are retrieved from the general fractional Burgers model, viz Newtonian fluid, general Maxwell viscoelastic fluid, generalized Oldroyd-B fluid and the conventional Burger’s viscoelastic model. Extensive interpretation of graphical plots is included. We study explicitly the influence on wall slip on primary and secondary velocity evolution. The model is relevant to MHD rotating energy generators employing rheological working fluids