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Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone which is an endocrine signaling molecule in all vertebrates and acts through intracellular glucocorticoid receptors (GRs). Cortisol affects many biological functions including immunity, stress, growth, and reproduction. The objective of this study was to investigate the ontogeny of the cortisol and GR stress response in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) at several early life stages. To accomplish this, resting and stress-induced levels of tissue cortisol and the two catfish GRs (GR-1 and GR-2) expression were measured. Resting cortisol levels in newly fertilized eggs averaged 2.4 ± 0.2 ng/egg and decreased to 0.4 ± 0.01 ng/egg by day 5. Cortisol levels in newly fertilized eggs subjected to an acute stress (lowered dissolved oxygen from 6.5 mg/L to 1.8 mg/L) averaged 2.3 ± 0.1 ng/egg and decreased to 0.3 ± 0.03 ng/egg by day 5. At hatching, resting cortisol levels were 24 ± 1.0 ng/0.1 g tissue while levels increased to 83 ± 2.0 ng/0.1 g tissue in fry subjected to an acute stress (P < .05). Four days post-hatch, resting cortisol levels were 83 ± 1.0 ng/0.1 g tissue while levels increased to 149 ± 4.0 ng/0.1 g tissue in fry subjected to an acute stress (P < .01). There was no significant difference between GR-1 and GR-2 mRNA in stressed and unstressed newly hatched fry. Four days post-hatch, GR-1 mRNA increased 3-fold while GR-2 mRNA increased 2-fold in fry that were subjected to low dissolved oxygen conditions (P < .05). These results indicate that cortisol biosynthesis, integration and maturation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis can be observed in channel catfish at hatching. The upregulation of GR-1 and -2 mRNA in stressed fry supports roles for both transcripts in integrating the channel catfish stress response.

The present study was conducted to determine the minimum effective dose of salmon gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (sGnRHa) to stimulate ovulation in Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus. Four doses of sGnRHa—0, 10, 15, and 25 µg/kg body weight (BW)—were compared with the commonly used dose of 100 µg/kg BW of mammalian luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analog (mLHRHa) to induce spawning in Channel Catfish. Hormone-induced catfish yielded significantly higher levels of plasma estradiol and ovulation success than saline-injected control fish. Ovulation ratio, relative fecundity, and number of fry per kilogram with 10 µg sGnRHa/kg were lower than those treated with 15 and 25 µg. To further refine the sGnRHa dose, spawning trials with 3- and 4-year-old Channel Catfish were compared using doses of either 10, 15, or 20 µg sGnRHa/kg BW. The relative fecundity (8,322 eggs/kg BW) and fry production (2,533 fry/kg BW) were higher in fish from the 15-µg sGnRHa/kg BW treatment. Hence, the results of th...

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is one of the foremost causes for the presence of blindness in the recent times. Ophthalmologists usually diagnose the presence and severity of DR through visual assessment of the retinal fundus images by manual examination. This process of manual diagnosis of DR is a very laborious and time consuming task. With the increasing rate of diabetic retinopathy patients in the world, the number of color fundus images generated has increased exponentially. Due to this large number, there is a huge delay in recognizing the early symptoms of DR and providing timely treatment. Hence, to address this unmet and increasing need, there is a need for developing an automated framework of Diabetic Retinopathy diagnosis. Hence, in this study, we have proposed a Deep Learning framework for DR diagnosis. The study uses a modified version of one of the standard Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for solving DR fundus image classification problems. The proposed framework efficiently and quickly report whether the person has DR or not and if present, reports the severity of the disease. The framework implemented helps in giving timely treatment to the patients irrespective of geographical and economic constraints.

The efficacy of florfenicol for control of mortality associated with Edwardsiella icatluri was studied in fingerlings of Channel Catfish Ictalurus puntatus (Delta strain), Blue Catfish I. furcatus (DB strain), and a hybrid catfish (Delta strain Channel Catfish × DB strain Blue Catfish). On day 0, fish were immersion challenged in 65-L aquaria. For each of the three species of catfish, 10 aquaria were randomly assigned to two treatment groups, either treated with florfenicol at 0 mg/kg of body weight (unmedicated feed) or at 10 mg/kg (medicated feed). Fish were treated for 10 consecutive days, monitored for mortality during this treatment period, and observed for 14 d afterwards. Post observation, all survivors were humanely euthanized in tricaine methanesulfonate, cultured for E. ictaluri, and examined for gross pathology. The mean cumulative percent mortality from enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC) challenge among the three genotypes of catfish did not differ between Blue Catfish, hybrid, and Channel Catfish in treated or control groups. However, the florfenicol-treated fish had a significantly lower mean cumulative mortality (6%) than the controls (78%). All genotypes of catfish tested were responsive to treatment with florfenicol-medicated feed for control of mortality associated with ESC. There were no significant differences in mortality associated with hybrid catfish, blue catfish, and Channel Catfish (Delta strain).

The effectiveness of three different analogs of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) to induce spawning in female Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus were evaluated concurrently in a blind study. Two of those analogs are currently used under Investigative New Animal Drug by the catfish industry, mGnRH Ia (D-Ala6, Pro9-NHet) and sGnRH IIIa (D-Arg6, Trp7, Leu8, Pro9-NHet). A third analog, cGnRH IIa (D-Arg6, Pro9-NHet) derived from a different type of GnRH (i.e., type II), previously thought to have only secondary roles in reproduction compared to type I and III, was also evaluated. The study was divided into four independent, weekly trials over the course of the spawning season, and 78 females were tested for each of the three hormone treatments. Each female received one type of hormone (type I, II, or III) in two doses, one for priming and one for induction: mGnRH Ia or cGnRH IIa at 20 μg/kg of body weight (priming) and 80 μg/kg (induction) or sGnRH IIIa at 2 μg/kg and 8 μg/kg. Treatment had a sig...

This study monitors the progression of oocyte size and plasma hormone profiles of female channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, at monthly intervals to stage expectant ovulating, females for strip spawning. The “critical minimum” diameter of an oocyte to reach threshold maturity for channel catfish was 2.5 ± 0.21 mm. Monthly increases of oocyte diameters and plasma vitellogenin concentrations were linear until spawning. The reproductive performance of cannulated and noncannulated catfish did not differ, negating adverse effects of routine cannulation. This study suggests oocyte diameter in channel catfish can be used as a predictive factor to determine and stage potential broodfish suitable for hormone-induced spawning.

Adoption of the hybrid catfish (channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus , female × blue catfish I. furcatus , male) is increasing in the catfish industry. The most effective way to produce fry is hormone induced spawning of females coupled with hand stripping and in vitro fertilization. The success of common carp pituitary extract (CPE), luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analog (LHRHa) injections and LHRHa implants for producing hybrid catfish fry was investigated over the past 15 years. Data from 65 studies, 25, 20 and 20 for CPE, LHRHa injections, and LHRHa implants, respectively, were evaluated. Mean fry/kg female body weight (all females) produced was 948, 2483 and 2765 for CPE, LHRHa injections, and LHRHa implants, respectively. LHRHa administered as an injection or implant produced more (P

This study addresses rapid methods to identify mature channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, females for induced spawning with luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analog (LHRHa) and common carp pituitary extract (CPE) and the effects of stage of maturity, hormone dose, season, and cannulation before hormone injection. Hormonal intervention is the most effective method for inducing maturation and spawning in channel catfish × blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus, hybrids. A total of 80 mature channel catfish were staged for maturity based on secondary sexual characteristics and 20–30 oocytes cannulated to ascertain their maturation stage based on the position of gonadal vesicle. Twenty females were randomly assigned to one of the four hormone regimes (priming + resolving dose): CPE 2 + 8 mg/kg (CPEC); LHRHa 20 + 40 µg/kg (LHRHaL); LHRHa 20 + 60 µg/kg (LHRHaM); and LHRHa 20 + 80 µg/kg (LHRHaH) and a fifth treatment consisted of 20 females selected based on apparent maturity as evidenced by external appearance were injected with CPE, 2 + 8 mg/kg without cannulation (CPEO). Two trials were conducted in early part of the spawning season and two trials in peak season. External methods to identify maturity correlated (r = 0.63) with that of “germinal vesicle position” method to identify the stage of maturity in females. Mean percent of females that ovulated, hatched, and fry produced per kg body weight did not differ (P > 0.05) among the five hormone treatments. The mean percent females that ovulated was higher (P 0.05) with that of non-cannulated catfish. The mean egg quality of hormone-induced females and percent of females ovulated in response to hormone treatment established a weak but significant linear relationship (Y = 3.85 + 0.008 × ovulation, r2 = 0.39, P < 0.05).

A prediction equation for sperm production in blue catfish was developed by a forward step-wise regression analyses based on five independent factors: body weight, total length, stage of maturation, gonadosomatic index and condition factor of individual mature blue catfish raised in earthen ponds. The stage of gonad maturity and plasma testosterone contributed significantly (P

Mature channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus were exposed to water containing three different concentrations (20, 40, and 60 mg/L) of AQUI-S (50% isoeugenol) during routine handling procedures at a commercial catfish facility. Anesthetic efficacy, recovery time, and the effects of AQUI-S on routine measures of stress were compared with similar measures in a group of fish sampled prior to anesthesia (preanesthesia [PA] group) and a group anesthetized with 100 mg tricaine methanesulfonate (TMS)/L. On average, all the fish lost equilibrium at 8.0, 3.9, and 3.7 min when anesthetized in 20, 40, and 60 mg AQUI-S/L, respectively. Fish anesthetized with TMS lost equilibrium at 4.5 min. Recovery time in freshwater was 2.1, 2.8, and 5.3 min for fish anesthetized in 20, 40, and 60 mg/L AQUI-S, respectively. Recovery time after TMS anesthesia was 1.7 min. Short-term (24-h) survival was 100% for all treatments, and long-term (21-d) survival ranged from 87.5% for TMS-anesthetized fish to 98.8% for fish anestheti...

We have investigated the role of the p53, bak and β-catenin genes in cervical carcinoma and assessed their predictive potential in patients treated with definitive radiotherapy. We examined 46 locally advanced cervical carcinoma (33 stage II cases and 13 stage III cases) punch biopsies taken prior to the initiation of radiotherapy, using a PCR-based assay followed by SSCP and direct sequencing. The p53 gene was mutated in 19% (9/46) of the cases, bak mutations were found in 12% (5/42) of the cases, whereas β-catenin was altered in 17% (8/46) of the cases. There was a significant difference in stages II and III between the wild type and mutant p53 patients (p

DNA strandbreaks / Thymine glycol / Radiation protection / Tocopherol Monoglucoside Alpha-tocopherol monoglucoside (TMG), a water-soluble derivative of α -tocopherol, has been examined for its ability to protect DNA against radiation-induced strand breaks. Gamma radiation, up to a dose of 6 Gy (dose rate, 0.7 Gy/ minute), induced a dose-dependent increase in single strand breaks (SSBs) in plasmid pBR322 DNA. TMG inhibited the formation of γ radiation induced DNA single strand breaks (SSBs) in a concentration-dependent manner; 500 µ M of TMG protected the single strand breaks completely. It also protected thymine glycol formation induced by γ -radiation in a dose-dependent manner, based on an estimation of thymine glycol by HPLC.

Summary Background Data on patients with COVID-19 who have cancer are lacking. Here we characterise the outcomes of a cohort of patients with cancer and COVID-19 and identify potential prognostic factors for mortality and severe illness. Methods In this cohort study, we collected de-identified data on patients with active or previous malignancy, aged 18 years and older, with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection from the USA, Canada, and Spain from the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) database for whom baseline data were added between March 17 and April 16, 2020. We collected data on baseline clinical conditions, medications, cancer diagnosis and treatment, and COVID-19 disease course. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality within 30 days of diagnosis of COVID-19. We assessed the association between the outcome and potential prognostic variables using logistic regression analyses, partially adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, and obesity. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04354701, and is ongoing. Findings Of 1035 records entered into the CCC19 database during the study period, 928 patients met inclusion criteria for our analysis. Median age was 66 years (IQR 57–76), 279 (30%) were aged 75 years or older, and 468 (50%) patients were male. The most prevalent malignancies were breast (191 [21%]) and prostate (152 [16%]). 366 (39%) patients were on active anticancer treatment, and 396 (43%) had active (measurable) cancer. At analysis (May 7, 2020), 121 (13%) patients had died. In logistic regression analysis, independent factors associated with increased 30-day mortality, after partial adjustment, were: increased age (per 10 years; partially adjusted odds ratio 1·84, 95% CI 1·53–2·21), male sex (1·63, 1·07–2·48), smoking status (former smoker vs never smoked: 1·60, 1·03–2·47), number of comorbidities (two vs none: 4·50, 1·33–15·28), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 2 or higher (status of 2 vs 0 or 1: 3·89, 2·11–7·18), active cancer (progressing vs remission: 5·20, 2·77–9·77), and receipt of azithromycin plus hydroxychloroquine (vs treatment with neither: 2·93, 1·79–4·79; confounding by indication cannot be excluded). Compared with residence in the US-Northeast, residence in Canada (0·24, 0·07–0·84) or the US-Midwest (0·50, 0·28–0·90) were associated with decreased 30-day all-cause mortality. Race and ethnicity, obesity status, cancer type, type of anticancer therapy, and recent surgery were not associated with mortality. Interpretation Among patients with cancer and COVID-19, 30-day all-cause mortality was high and associated with general risk factors and risk factors unique to patients with cancer. Longer follow-up is needed to better understand the effect of COVID-19 on outcomes in patients with cancer, including the ability to continue specific cancer treatments. Funding American Cancer Society, National Institutes of Health, and Hope Foundation for Cancer Research.