Effects of storage duration and storage temperature on viability of stored ova of kutum (Rutilus frisii kutum) in ovarian fluid

Effects of post-stripping oocyte ageing and temperature on egg viability rates were studied in kutum (Rutilus frisii kutum). Eggs were retained outside the ovarian cavity (in vitro storage) with ovarian fluid at various temperatures of 4, 10, 12 and 26°C. Stored ova of six female kutum were fertilized separately after 0 (control eggs fertilized prior to storage), 2, 4, 6, and 8 h post-stripping (HPS) using fresh and pooled sperm obtained from five males. Eyeing, hatching and eyed egg mortality rates were recorded as an index of egg viability. The results indicated that the maximum eyeing (87%) and hatching (75%) rates of eggs took place at 0 HPS followed by 8 HPS (> 80 and > 70%, respectively) at 4°C. As storage temperature increased, egg viability decreased to 80, 70 and 50% viable at 8 HPS at 4, 10 and 12°C, respectively. The eggs stored at 26°C lost their viability almost completely after 4 HPS. Eyed-egg mortality increased from 13% at 0 HPS to 48.2% and at 4 HPS, at 26°C. This study demonstrated that the in vitro storage method is an applicable effective fertilization technique that can be used for restocking programs of kutum within 8 h at temperatures ranging from 4 to 12°C.Key words: Rutilus frisii kutum, egg storage, temperature, ovarian fluid

Effect of Listeria monocytogenes inoculation, sodium acetate and nisin on microbiological and chemical quality of grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella during refrigeration storage

In this study, the microbiological quality and lipid oxidation of the grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) fillets treated by dipping in sodium acetate (0, 1 and 3%), nisin (0, 0.1 and 0.2%) or their combination were evaluated during 16 days of refrigeration storage. Antilisterial effect of nisin was enhanced with the increased concentration of sodium acetate. With increasing the concentrations of sodium acetate, mesophilic counts were lower but regarding nisin, better results were obtained by applying 0.1% nisin. Greater inhibition of mesophile bacteria was observed when combination treatment was used. The number of lactobacillus was lower when higher concentrations of sodium acetate and nisin were used. Peroxide, TBA and total viable base nitrogen (TVB-N) values were lower in the samples treated with both nisin and sodium acetate and higher results were obtained in the combination treatments.Key words: Listeria monocytogenes, nisin, sodium acetate, microbial quality, chemical quality, grass carp

Experimental Models of Thrombocytopenia in Laboratory Animals and their Application in Identifying the Complications of Chemotherapy Drugs

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Thrombocytopenia is one of the complications of chemotherapy drugs that may cause death. Different animal models of thrombocytopenia are used for clinical research and identification of its causes, each with advantages and disadvantages. The aim of this review article is to investigate the methods of thrombocytopenia induction in laboratory animals and their advantages and disadvantages. METHODS: This systematic review was conducted using the keywords “thrombocytopenia platelet”, “chemotherapy”, “animal model”, in PubMed, Science Direct and Scopus databases from 1990 until October 2017. The title and abstract of several articles were reviewed, and after excluding the unrelated items, final articles were selected and reviewed. FINDINGS: Animal models of thrombocytopenia are of two types of immune and non-immune. Non-immune models reduce platelet production through bone marrow suppression. Antiplatelet antibodies are used in immune models. The immune and non-immune thrombocytopenic models have some advantages and limitations and are selected according to the current therapeutic goals. Mice and rats are commonly used as laboratory animals, and cyclophosphamide and carboplatin are the most commonly used drugs. CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, due to the limitations of human subject research in diseases that lead to thrombocytopenia, there is a need to develop appropriate animal models for studying and identifying the factors affecting thrombocytopenia

Various levels of Simulation for Slybird MAV using Model Based Design

Autonomous and remotely controlled Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) have gained a high level of popularity during the last decade both in civilian and military applications. National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) has been carrying out research and development activities on various supporting technologies crucial for the development of MAVs thereby enhancing the performance of the vehicle to accomplish various missions. NAL Slybird is a mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by NAL. Its primary users will be police and the military services. Design & implementation of an autopilot in such systems assumes the next priority in achieving an autonomously flying MAV. An essential requirement to achieve the above goal is through a suitable modeling & simulation platform. Thus, this presentation takes the audience through the strategies developed for performing various levels of MAV simulation. The following levels of simulation are performed for Slybird MAV using MATLAB/Simulink: • Open Loop Simulation (OLS) • Model In the Loop Simulation (MILS) • Software In the Loop Simulation (SILS) • Processor In the Loop Simulation (PILS) • Hardware In the Loop Simulation (HILS) The OLS responses are validated with actual flight data and results will be shown. The MILS and SILS include various subsystems such as estimator, path planning and control algorithms all developed in SIMULINK. Demonstration of PILS for Slybird MAV using open source mission planner software and ARDU autopilot (APM 2.6) will also be performed. The HILS architecture discussed in this presentation is a demonstration of rapid prototyping technique using RTWT and XPC Target

Geostatistical modeling and spatial distribution analysis of porosity and permeability in the Shurijeh-B reservoir of Khangiran gas field in Iran

The main objectives of this study are analysis of spatial behavior of the porosity and permeability, presenting direction of anisotropy for each variable and describing variation of these parameters in Shurijeh B gas reservoir in Khangiran gas field. Porosity well log data of 32 wells are available for performing this geostatistical analysis. A univariate statistical analysis is done on both porosity and permeability to provide a framework for geostatistical analysis and modeling. For spatial analysis of these parameters, the experimental semivariogram of each variable in different direction as well as their variogram map plotted to find out the direction of anisotropy and their geostatistical parameters such as range, sill, and nugget effect for later geostatistical work and finally for geostatistical modeling, two approaches kriging and Sequential Gaussian Simulation are used to get porosity and permeability maps through the entire reservoir. All of statistical and geostatistical analysis has been done using GSLIB and PETREL software. Maximum and minimum direction of continuity are found to be N75W and N15E, respectively. Geostatistical parameters of calculated semivariogram in this direction like range of 7000 m and nugget of 0.2 are used for modeling. Both kriging and SGS method used for modeling but kriging tends to smooth out estimates but on the other hand SGS method tends to show up details. Cross-validation also used to validate the generated modeling

Are attitudes towards medication adherence associated with medication adherence behaviours among patients with psychosis? A systematic review and meta analysis

Background Studies have shown patient attitudes to be an important predictor for health related behaviours including medication adherence. It is less clear whether patient attitudes are also associated with medication adherence among patients with psychoses. Method We conducted a systematic review and meta analysis of the data of studies that tested the association of attitude measures with medication adherence among patients with psychoses. 14 studies conducted between 1980 and 2010 were included. Results Results show a small to moderate mean weighted effect size (r + = 0.25 and 0.26 for Pearson and Spearman correlations, respectively). Conclusions Theory based interventions that target potentially modifiable attitude components are needed to assess the relationship between positive patient attitudes and adherence behaviours among patients with psychoses

Removal of Hepatitis B virus surface HBsAg and core HBcAg antigens using microbial fuel cells producing electricity from human urine

© 2019, The Author(s). Microbial electrochemical technology is emerging as an alternative way of treating waste and converting this directly to electricity. Intensive research on these systems is ongoing but it currently lacks the evaluation of possible environmental transmission of enteric viruses originating from the waste stream. In this study, for the first time we investigated this aspect by assessing the removal efficiency of hepatitis B core and surface antigens in cascades of continuous flow microbial fuel cells. The log-reduction (LR) of surface antigen (HBsAg) reached a maximum value of 1.86 ± 0.20 (98.6% reduction), which was similar to the open circuit control and degraded regardless of the recorded current. Core antigen (HBcAg) was much more resistant to treatment and the maximal LR was equal to 0.229 ± 0.028 (41.0% reduction). The highest LR rate observed for HBsAg was 4.66 ± 0.19 h−1 and for HBcAg 0.10 ± 0.01 h−1. Regression analysis revealed correlation between hydraulic retention time, power and redox potential on inactivation efficiency, also indicating electroactive behaviour of biofilm in open circuit control through the snorkel-effect. The results indicate that microbial electrochemical technologies may be successfully applied to reduce the risk of environmental transmission of hepatitis B virus but also open up the possibility of testing other viruses for wider implementation

Bilateral effects of unilateral cerebellar lesions as detected by voxel based morphometry and diffusion imaging

Over the last decades, the importance of cerebellar processing for cortical functions has been acknowledged and consensus was reached on the strict functional and structural cortico-cerebellar interrelations. From an anatomical point of view strictly contralateral interconnections link the cerebellum to the cerebral cortex mainly through the middle and superior cerebellar peduncle. Diffusion MRI (dMRI) based tractography has already been applied to address cortico-cerebellar-cortical loops in healthy subjects and to detect diffusivity alteration patterns in patients with neurodegenerative pathologies of the cerebellum. In the present study we used dMRI-based tractography to determine the degree and pattern of pathological changes of cerebellar white matter microstructure in patients with focal cerebellar lesions. Diffusion imaging and high-resolution volumes were obtained in patients with left cerebellar lesions and in normal controls. Middle cerebellar peduncles and superior cerebellar peduncles were reconstructed by multi fiber diffusion tractography. From each tract, measures of microscopic damage were assessed, and despite the presence of unilateral lesions, bilateral diffusivity differences in white matter tracts were found comparing patients with normal controls. Consistently, bilateral alterations were also evidenced in specific brain regions linked to the cerebellum and involved in higher-level functions. This could be in line with the evidence that in the presence of unilateral cerebellar lesions, different cognitive functions can be affected and they are not strictly linked to the side of the cerebellar lesion

HIV Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors among Individuals Aged 13-34 Years in Rural Western Kenya

OBJECTIVES: To estimate HIV prevalence and characterize risk factors among young adults in Asembo, rural western Kenya. DESIGN: Community-based cross-sectional survey. METHODS: From a demographic surveillance system, we selected a random sample of residents aged 13-34 years, who were contacted at home and invited to a nearby mobile study site. Consent procedures for non-emancipated minors required assent and parental consent. From October 2003 - April 2004, consenting participants were interviewed on risk behavior and tested for HIV and HSV-2. HIV voluntary counseling and testing was offered. RESULTS: Of 2606 eligible residents, 1822 (70%) enrolled. Primary reasons for refusal included not wanting blood taken, not wanting to learn HIV status, and partner/parental objection. Females comprised 53% of 1762 participants providing blood. Adjusted HIV prevalence was 15.4% overall: 20.5% among females and 10.2% among males. HIV prevalence was highest in women aged 25-29 years (36.5%) and men aged 30-34 years (41.1%). HSV-2 prevalence was 40.0% overall: 53% among females, 25.8% among males. In multivariate models stratified by gender and marital status, HIV infection was strongly associated with age, higher number of sex partners, widowhood, and HSV-2 seropositivity. CONCLUSIONS: Asembo has extremely high HIV and HSV-2 prevalence, and probable high incidence, among young adults. Further research on circumstances around HIV acquisition in young women and novel prevention strategies (vaccines, microbicides, pre-exposure prophylaxis, HSV-2 prevention, etc.) are urgently needed

Partner notification for sexually transmitted infections in developing countries: a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The feasibility and acceptability of partner notification (PN) for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in developing countries was assessed through a comprehensive literature review, to help identify future intervention needs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The Medline, Embase, and Google Scholar databases were searched to identify studies published between January 1995 and December 2007 on STI PN in developing countries. A systematic review of the research extracted information on: (1) willingness of index patients to notify partners; (2) the proportion of partners notified or referred; (3) client-reported barriers in notifying partners; (4) infrastructure barriers in notifying partners; and (5) PN approaches that were evaluated in developing countries.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of 609 screened articles, 39 met our criteria. PN outcome varied widely and was implemented more often for spousal partners than for casual or commercial partners. Reported barriers included sociocultural factors such as stigma, fear of abuse for having an STI, and infrastructural factors related to the limited number of STD clinics, and trained providers and reliable diagnostic methods. Client-oriented counselling was found to be effective in improving partner referral outcomes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>STD clinics can improve PN with client-oriented counselling, which should help clients to overcome perceived barriers. The authors speculate that well-designed PN interventions to evaluate the impact on STI prevalence and incidence along with cost-effectiveness components will motivate policy makers in developing countries to allocate more resources towards STI management.</p