Case study: Treatment of oral and locomotory stereotypic behaviors in a mature sow

A 32-month-old female 225-kg nonpregnant cross-bred Newsham sow presented a 6-week history of stereotypic behaviors when housed in a laboratory research facility. A behavioral examination over 12 daylight hours revealed 3 main stereotypic motor patterns, namely (1) oral-nasal gate manipulation defined as placement of the snout between the bars of the pen gate with repetitive, forceful up and down movement; (2) head weaving defined as repetitive lateral head and snout movement toward the pen gates while rocking back and forth on her forequarters with hooves remaining on ground at all times; and (3) body weaving defined as repetitive shifting of body weight from one side to the other with front hooves lifting alternately off the ground. The sow performed the oral-nasal gate manipulation and head and body weaving 4.0%, 12.4%, and 6.8% of her total baseline time budget, respectively. The presumptive diagnosis was oral-nasal and locomotory stereotypies. Three treatments were used to mitigate the duration and frequency of these stereotypic behaviors. Treatment 1—Social treatment (change social stimuli by providing visual and nose-to-nose contact with different neighboring sows); Treatment 2—Forage treatment (change foraging substrates by providing peat moss as a rooting substrate); and Treatment 3—Space treatment (change pen configuration by increasing space). The sow performed the oral-nasal gate manipulation and head and body weaving 0%, 0.4%, and 0.1% of her total time budget, respectively; social treatment: the sow performed the oral-nasal gate manipulation and head and body weaving 0.9%, 15.3%, and 11.3% of her total time budget, respectively; and forage treatment: the sow performed the oral-nasal gate manipulation and head and body weaving 0.5%, 28.0%, and 15.5% of her total time budget, respectively. This study is one of the first reports to evaluate the treatment of established stereotypies in a mature sow. Results suggest the promise of environmental enrichment as an effective treatment strategy. Further research is needed to evaluate the persistence of these behavioral changes and relative importance of different environmental manipulations provided.     

Smad泛素化调节因子2siRNA的筛选及转染原代肾小管上皮细胞条件的优化简

试验旨在优化Smad泛素化调节因子2（Smurf2） siRNA最佳转染条件,筛选最佳siRNA干扰片段,进而实现对Smurf2基因的瞬时沉默,为研究Smurf2基因在马兜铃酸肾病（aristolochic acid nephrohathy,AAN）中的作用奠定基础。本研究通过培养小鼠原代肾小管上皮细胞（renal tubular epithelial cells,RTECs）,并以脂质体Lipofectamine^TM 2000为转染介质,将Smurf2 siRNA转染入RTECs;通过观察绿色荧光的表达量及Real-time PCR反应优化转染条件,转染后Real-time PCR检测mRNA表达抑制率。CCK-8法检测Smurf2 siRNA复合物对RTECs活性的影响;同时,用Real-time PCR和Western blotting检测不同位点Smurf2 siRNA对Smurf2 表达的影响。结果显示,当Lipofectamine ^TM 2000与siRNA比例为1.5 μL∶30 pmol时,转染效率最高,为70%～80%;Smurf2-619 siRNA干扰效果最明显;与正常组相比,转染siRNA组的Smurf2蛋白表达水平显著下降（P<0.05）。最终确定了Smurf2 siRNA最佳转染条件,其中Smurf2-619 siRNA对Smurf2 表达的抑制率最高。     

Involvement of steroid hormones in the preovulatory gonadotropin surge in female goldfish

Goldfish,Carassius auratus, spawn several times within a spawning season. A gonadotropin (GtH) surge occurs at the time of ovulation in this cyprinid species. This ovulatory GtH surge mediates the processes of final oocyte maturation and ovulation, and occurs at the end of each spawning cycle. Within a cycle, there is a shift in the predominant plasma steroid from estradiol to testosterone, and finally 17α, 20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one at the time of the ovulatory GtH surge. High levels of testosterone were always observed before ovulation. When ovariectomized or sexually regressed female goldfish were implanted with testosterone, they exhibited a GtH surge which was similar to those normally observed at ovulation. These results strongly suggest that elevated plasma testosterone is an important physiological requirement for the occurrence of the GtH surge.     

The slow rise of technology: Computer vision techniques in fish population connectivity

1. Technological advancements in data collection and analysis are producing a new generation of ecological data. Among these, computer vision (CV) has received increased attention for its robust capabilities for rapidly processing large volumes of digital imagery.
2. In marine ecosystems, the study of fish connectivity provides fundamental information for assessing fisheries stocks, designing and implementing protected areas and understanding the impact of habitat loss. While the field of fish connectivity has benefited from technological advancements, the extent to which novel techniques, such as CV, have been utilized has not been assessed. To inform future directions and developments, this study reviewed the current use of CV in fish connectivity research, quantified how the implementation of such technology in fish connectivity research compared with other areas of marine research and described how this field could benefit from CV.
3. The review found that the use of remote camera systems in fish connectivity research is increasing, but the implementation of automated analysis of digital imagery has been slow. Successful implementation and expansion of CV frameworks in aquaculture and coral reef ecology suggest that CV techniques could greatly benefit fish connectivity research.
4. A case study of potential use of CV in fish connectivity research, scaling up optimal foraging models to predict marine population connectivity, highlights how beneficial it could be.
5. The capacity for CV techniques to be adopted alongside traditional approaches, the unparalleled speed, accuracy and reliability of these approaches and the benefits of being able to study ecosystems along multiple spatial–temporal scales, all make CV a valuable tool for assessing connectivity. Ultimately, these technologies can assist data-driven decisions that directly influence the health and productivity of marine ecosystems.

     

Quantitative genetic parameter estimates for size and growth rate traits in Pacific white shrimp, Penaeus vannamei (Boone 1931) when reared indoors

Heritabilities of size traits and growth rate traits, as well as genetic, phenotypic and environmental correlations were estimated at three ages for a captive population of Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) grown indoors. A covariate, mean size or mean growth rate during early growth in individual tanks before tagging and mixing, was introduced in the analyses to reduce the error caused by unique previous growth conditions on variance components. Heritabilities of size traits increased with age, with the h² for TL, AL, TWt and Wi1AS being 0.15, 0.20, 0.20 and 0.22, respectively, at 17 weeks, increasing to 0.28, 0.33, 0.34 and 0.35 at 29 weeks of age. Heritabilities of growth rate traits estimated between consecutive growth periods decreased from the first (h² for ΔTL 0.65, ΔAL 0.71, ΔTWt 0.63 and ΔWi1AS 0.84) to the second period (h² for ΔTL 0.34, ΔAL 0.50, ΔTWt 0.54 and ΔWi1AS 0.52). Phenotypic correlations were always larger than genetic correlations for both, size and growth rate traits. Genetic correlations between size traits within age were high (r_G >0.95), but those between the same size trait at different ages decreased as the age difference increased in spite of a consistently high environmental correlation (r_E 0.80–0.85) between the same trait at different ages. Phenotypic and genetic correlation's between the same growth rate trait at the two different growth periods evaluated were negative or zero (r_G TL –0.26, AL –0.24, Wi1AS 0.00) with the exception of total weight (r_G TW 0.35) and the environmental correlations between growth periods were also low (r_E 0.13–0.32).     

Comparison of environmental conditions in two representative oyster farming areas: Hiroshima Bay,western Japan and Oginoham a Bay (a branch of Ishinomaki Bay), northern Japan

ABSTRACT:   Sea water environmental conditions over annual cycles were investigated and compared between two oyster farming areas, western Hiroshima Bay and Oginohama Bay (a branch of Ishinomaki Bay) in Miyagi Prefecture, to appropriately manage oyster culture or more efficiently utilize farming areas. The environmental parameters of temperature, salinity, nutrient concentrations (NO₂–N, NO₃–N, NH₄–N, PO₄–P, and SiO₂–Si) and size-fractionated chlorophyll- a (<0.2, 2–20, >20µm), and abundances of microzooplankton were measured in each bay at the surface, and 2 and 5 m depth layers. Differences in the annual mean values and results with monthly paired Student's t -tests showed that salinity was lower, and temperature, nutrient (especially PO₄–P) and chlorophyll- a concentrations, and abundance of microzooplankton, were higher in Hiroshima Bay than in Oginohama Bay. Differences in environmental conditions between inshore and offshore areas of each bay suggest that inflows of river water in western Hiroshima Bay and sea water from offshore had the most significant effects on the environmental conditions. It is concluded that such oceanographic and biological differences strongly affect the oyster farming system, especially regarding the optimum usage of offshore areas in Summer under clean, cold and stable seawater conditions, rather than food quantity in Hiroshima Bay, and under more abundant food conditions in Oginohama Bay.     

感染白斑综合病毒（WSSV）对虾相关免疫因子的研究

129尾中国对虾（Penaeus chinensis)分别捕自未暴发白斑综合症（WSSV病毒所致）虾池、WSSV暴发虾池以及曾暴发WSSV虾池。用斑点杂交和组织病理学方法确定各尾对虾的染毒（WSSV）程度。用96孔酶标板法测量相应个体血淋巴上清液的抗菌活力（Ua)、溶菌活力（UL）、酚氧化酶（PO）活性以及过氧化酶（POD）相对活性；用硝酸纤维膜斑点法测定其碱性磷酸酶（ALP）相对活性；用血凝法测定其凝集效价（HAT）。通过对以上免疫指标进行统计分析，结果表明，WSSV感染与对血淋巴PO活性以及ALP相对活性变化有紧密联系；不同虾池各免疫因子差异显著，发病虾池虾样各免疫指标平均值均低于其他虾池；曾发病虾池的虾样PO活性较强；WSSV与HPV感染无统计学意义上的相关性；未发病虾池与曾发病虾池实验对虾的Ua与UL相关性极显著，发病虾池实验对虾Ua与UL呈负相关；发病虾池对虾PO与ALP活性相关性显著。不同性别中国对虾血淋巴上清液的免疫因子活性没有显著差异。     

A structured approach to using biological and environmental parameters to forecast anchovy recruitment

Simulation studies have indicated that a valuable increase in mean annual yield could be achieved in the South African anchovy, Engraulis capensis , fishery if below-average recruitment could be forecast at the start of the fishing season, 6 months before recruitment can he reliably measured. This paper reports on initial investigations into biological and environmental indicator- which could be used to make such forecasts. Valid estimates of recruitment strength in the species are available from 1985 to 1992 and the environmental and biological indicators of interest have been monitored for periods starting from between 1984 and 1988, to the present. Most of the data were obtained from monitoring on anchovy spawner biomass surveys which have been undertaken each November since 1984.
A conceptual model of the factors influencing the recruitment process was constructed and the available data were examined for empirical evidence of the importance of each event included in the model. Fluctuations in copepod biomass and production on the spawning grounds, the incidence of oocyte atresia in adult females, the incidence of southerly winds at Cape Point and the distance offshore of the 16°C isotherm at Cape Columbine were associated with fluctuations in anchovy recruitment. It is suggested that particular attention should be paid to monitoring of these variables to investigate further these associations. If persistent relationships are found, it may be possible to construct an expert system to forecast recruitment from observed values of these variables at the start of a fishing season. A preliminary set of three decision rules is presented.