Andrian Krisna Noli, Wihadmadyatami Hevi, Wijayanti Nastiti
et al.
Koi fish (Cyprinus carpio var. koi) is a highly valued ornamental species, renowned for its diverse coloration and distinctive body patterns. Although koi aquaculture in Indonesia continues to expand, scientific studies on their morphological characteristics remain limited, considering their economic and aesthetic importance. Body weight is a critical parameter for evaluating growth performance and production value. However, there is no quick or non-destructive method to measure it accurately. Breeders traditionally rely on body length as the primary indicator of growth, yet the ability to estimate body weight from length would provide a practical alternative. This study aimed to develop a predictive model of body weight based on body length in koi cultivated in Indonesia. A total of 112 koi individuals aged 4–10 months, representing six varieties (Kohaku, Showa, Sanke, Shiro, Platinum, and Matsuba), were measured. Body length ranged from 11.27 to 20.12 cm, corresponding to the typical size of koi commonly found in the market for early selection. Length was measured using a caliper from the head to the caudal peduncle, while body weight was determined with a digital scale. Linear regression analysis revealed a strong, significant relationship between body length and body weight, with a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.880 and a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.774, indicating that 77.4% of the variation in body weight is explained by body length. The regression equation obtained was Y = -142.663 + 13.874 × Length, with a standard error of 17.090. This model is reliable for koi with body lengths of 11.27–20.12 cm, demonstrating that body length is a practical and accurate predictor of body weight. These findings provide a valuable tool for selection, feeding management, and growth evaluation in koi aquaculture.
The importance of nanocomposites constantly attains attention because of their unique properties all across the fields especially in medical perspectives. The study of green-synthesized nanocomposites has grown to be extremely fascinating in the field of research. Nanocomposites are more promising than mono-metallic nanoparticles because they exhibit synergistic effects. This review encapsulates the current development in the formulation of plant-mediated nanocomposites by using several plant species and the impact of secondary metabolites on their biocompatible functioning. Phyto-synthesis produces diverse nanomaterials with biocompatibility, environment-friendliness, and in vivo actions, characterized by varying sizes, shapes, and biochemical nature. This process is advantageous to conventional physical and chemical procedures. New studies have been conducted to determine the biomedical efficacy of nanocomposites against various diseases. Unfortunately, there has been inadequate investigation into green-assisted nanocomposites. Incorporating phytosynthesized nanocomposites in therapeutic interventions not only enhances healing processes but also augments the host's immune defenses against infections. This review highlights the phytosynthesis of nanocomposites and their various biomedical applications, including antibacterial, antidiabetic, antiviral, antioxidant, antifungal, anti-cancer, and other applications, as well as their toxicity. This review also explores the mechanistic action of nanocomposites to achieve their designated tasks. Biogenic nanocomposites for multimodal imaging have the potential to exchange the conventional methods and materials in biomedical research. Well-designed nanocomposites have the potential to be utilized in various biomedical fields as innovative theranostic agents with the subsequent objective of efficiently diagnosing and treating a variety of human disorders.
Andrés Paredes-Moya, Ivette Larrea, Andrea Maliza
et al.
This study evaluated the effect of diets based on alfalfa (Medicago sativa), chilca (Baccharis latifolia), and dill (Anethum graveolens) on carcass yield, physicochemical characteristics, fatty acid profile, and sensory acceptance of meat from female native guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus). A total of 72 animals were distributed into three treatments (n = 24 each) over a 90-day period, corresponding to diets based on alfalfa (control), chilca, and dill. Live weight, hot and cold carcass weight, proximate composition, pH, color, water-holding capacity, cooking losses, and lipid profile (by GC-FID) were evaluated. A semi-trained panel (n = 30) assessed sensory attributes of meat (flavor, juiciness, tenderness, and overall acceptability). Data were analyzed using ANOVA, non- parametric tests, and equivalence testing (TOST; equivalence margin ±0.5 points). Results showed that carcass yield and proximate composition remained within commercial ranges across all diets. Dill significantly increased the proportion of PUFA and n-3 fatty acids, improved water-holding capacity, and enhanced some sensory attributes, while chilca maintained performance comparable to alfalfa. Equivalence tests confirmed that chilca was sensorially equivalent to alfalfa, and dill was equivalent in most attributes except flavor. These findings demonstrate that both chilca and dill are viable and nutritionally balanced alternatives to alfalfa, supporting sustainable guinea pig production. Moreover, the use of chilca and dill could contribute to improving food self- sufficiency at different times of the year when alfalfa is scarce, reducing production costs and strengthening the sustainability of livestock systems of small producers.
Lawrence Olusegun Ajala, Nwogo Ajuka Obasi, Temitope Omolayo Fasuan
et al.
Given increasing concerns about the environmental impact of heavy metal pollution, assessing the level of contamination in floodplain suspended sediments is an important task. Effective environmental management and the preservation of an ecosystem depend on understanding existing pollution levels and potential concerns in the future. For this reason, floodplain-suspended sediments from major industrialized cities in Southeast Nigeria were sampled and analyzed for heavy metal contents. The investigation was conducted to evaluate the immediate and long-term bioavailability and pollution status of heavy metals in receptor organisms. A five-step sequential extraction procedure was adopted to fractionate iron, manganese, copper, zinc, nickel, lead, cadmium, and chromium to determine the geochemical phases in which they were distributed. Generally, the heavy metals were partitioned in the following order: residual >> oxidizable > carbonate > reducible > exchangeable. This indicates that a significant portion of the metals were tightly bound to the soil matrix, rendering them not readily bioavailable to the biota, except over an extended period. The levels of heavy metals, except for lead and cadmium in specific areas, were below the saturation point in terms of their bioavailability. Furthermore, the pollution assessment indices, such as the geo-accumulation index, reflected high levels of cadmium, copper, and lead contamination. This suggests a potential ecotoxicological risk to organisms near the sampling sites. The sites were classified as moderate and high risk in terms of immediate and future risk assessment, respectively. This research has established connections between current conditions and future threats and contributed valuable insights for understanding and mitigating potential environmental hazards. Proper cleaning methods and potential site reclamation are imperative to minimize or contain these heavy metals in stable forms within urban areas to prevent bioaccumulation.
Sewgil Saaduldeen Anwer, Ayad Kareem Ali, Nur Bozbeyoglu Kart
et al.
This in vivo study is aimed to assess the antibiofilm and cytotoxic potential of selected microalgae isolates. Different concentration of microalgal isolates used for each of antibiofilm and cytotoxic studies. A total extract of 10 μL MTT was added to each well with LB broth, plates were read using microtiter plate spectrophotometer at 490 nm and 630 nm, respectively. The cell viability was determined in CCD-18℃ cells (3x103 cells/well) by MTT assay at 590 nm. The microalgae isolates showed antibiofilm affect after 48 hrs on Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01 and this effect was observed to be higher than those of S. aureus. Chlorella sp. which showed the maximum antibiofilm activity while Arthrospira platensis had no biofilm inhibition activity. Chlorella sp. inhibited about 82.67% of the biofilm at 5 mg/mL concentration. Moreover, the antibiofilm effects of Chara sp. and Spyrogyra sp.1 reached 79.01% and 76.31% at 1 mg/mL, respectively. Among all microalgal isolates, a moderate inhibitory effect was observed on Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm with Chlorella sorokiniana. Cell viability was not changed significantly at higher doses extracts. More than 73% of the cells were viable in all concentration of the algae extracts. All of the microalgal samples were found to have biofilm inhibition activity. The findings suggested that future development of microalgal samples as a means of inhibiting Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms is possible. Colonic epithelial cells may become cytotoxic in response to algae extracts. Further research is necessary to verify that extracts are safe for human consumption, which may have been hypothesized.
Marbofloxacin (MBX) is a 3rd generation fluoroquinolone specifically developed for animal health and is an approved antimicrobial agent for the cure of mastitis and respiratory diseases in cattle and swine. Ketoprofen (KTP) is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) belonging to the aryl propionic acid group and is used in musculoskeletal inflammation and pain, abdominal pain and other inflammatory circumstances. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of simultaneous administration of MBX and KTP on the coagulation and biochemical parameters in calves. In the study, 18 clinically healthy calves were randomly separated into 3 groups of six animals each. The first group of calves received a single dose of MBX at 8 mg/kg, the second group received MBX at 8 mg/kg along with concurrent KTP at 3 mg/kg and the third group received only KTP at 3 mg/kg dose. The drugs were administered via intramuscular (IM) injection in the neck region. Biochemical and coagulation parameters were evaluated using an automated analyzer and coagulation analyzer, respectively. The IM injection of MBX into calves significantly increased creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) values, which may be related to muscle damage. This may limit the administration via IM route of MBX to calves. KTP increased the prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) values but decreased the fibrinogen value. It can be stated that in alone MBX, and KTP administration and their combination, further investigations are required to determine the safety of drugs after repeated administrations and other administration routes in calves.
By definition, a vitamin is a substance that must be obtained regularly from the diet. Vitamin A must be acquired from the diet, but unlike most vitamins, it can also be stored within the body in relatively high levels. For humans living in developed nations or animals living in present-day vivariums, stored vitamin A concentrations can become relatively high, reaching levels that can protect against the adverse effects of insufficient vitamin A dietary intake for six months, or even much longer. The ability to accumulate vitamin A stores lessens the need for routinely consuming vitamin A in the diet, and this provides a selective advantage to the organism. The molecular processes that underlie this selective advantage include efficient mechanisms to acquire vitamin A from the diet, efficient and overlapping mechanisms for the transport of vitamin A in the circulation, a specific mechanism allowing for vitamin A storage, and a mechanism for mobilizing vitamin A from these stores in response to tissue needs. These processes are considered in this review.
The pathogenic variant of the <i>TAZ</i> gene is directly associated with Barth syndrome. Because tafazzin in the mitochondria is responsible for cardiolipin (CL) remodeling, all molecules related to the metabolism of CL can affect or be affected by <i>TAZ</i> mutation. In this study, we intend to recover the distortion of the mitochondrial lipid composition, especially CL, for Barth syndrome treatment. The genetically edited <i>TAZ</i> knockout HAP1 cells were demonstrated to be a suitable cellular model, where CL desaturation occurred and monolyso-CL (MLCL) was accumulated. From the species analysis by mass spectrometry, phosphatidylethanolamine showed changed species content after <i>TAZ</i> knockout. <i>TAZ</i> knockout also caused genetic down-regulation of <i>PGS</i> gene and up-regulation of <i>PNPLA8</i> gene, which may decrease the biosynthesis of CLs and increase the hydrolysis product MLCL. Supplemented phosphatidylglycerol(18:1)<sub>2</sub> (PG(18:1)<sub>2</sub>) was successfully biosynthesized to mature symmetrical CL and drastically decrease the concentration of MLCL to recover the morphology of mitochondria and the cristae shape of inner mitochondria. Newly synthesized mature CL may induce the down-regulation of <i>PLA2G6</i> and <i>PNPLA8</i> genes to potentially decrease MLCL production. The excess supplemented PG was further metabolized into phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine.
Iga Piasecka, Agata Górska, Stanisław Kalisz
et al.
Constantly growing amounts of food waste act as an encouragement to find new solutions to recover valuable components. Fruit industry by-products, such as pomaces obtained after juice pressing, are a source of bioactive compounds, e.g., polyphenols, which are known as anti- oxidative molecules. The process of bioactive compound extraction may be, however, harmful to the environment and energy-consuming. In the following study, sonication was used to improve extraction efficiency and decrease energy and organic solvent consumption. Black currant and chokeberry pomaces obtained as by-products of juice pressing were dried. Bioactive extracts were collected in ultrasound-assisted processes, which were conducted using an ultrasonic homogenizer, applying different parameters of ultrasound amplitudes (30%, 55%, and 80%) and times of sonication (2 min, 6 min, and 10 min) and using water as an extractant. The total polyphenol content of the extracts was determined in a Folin–Ciocalteu assay and their antioxidant capacity of them was determined in an ABTS study. The values of the total polyphenol content were significantly higher when sonication was applied, reaching an over 1.7-fold higher value of polyphenol content in the chokeberry extract when an 80% amplitude and 10 min time of the ultrasound treatment was implemented, compared to the control (maceration with water). According to the literature, the main groups of polyphenols found in chokeberry pomace are anthocyanins, followed by phenolic acids and flavonols, and black currant pomace consists mainly of anthocyanins. Differences in antioxidant capacity values were also significant, reaching a maximum level of 13.7 μmol Trolox equivalent/ml of chokeberry extract and 20.5 μmol Trolox equivalent/ml of black currant extract. Both of the highest results were noted when an 80% amplitude and 10 min time of ultrasound treatment were applied. Alternative extraction methods accelerate the extraction process and allow bioactive compound-rich extracts to be obtained from the berry fruit by-products.
Siddharth Vishwakarma, Chandrakant Genu Dalbhagat, Hari Niwas Mishra
Food-to-food fortification (FtFF) is an emerging technique used to enrich nutrient-deficient foods by adding foods with relatively high amounts of one or more than one type of micro- and macronutrients. The dried leaves of herbs such as basil, marjoram, and spearmint have excellent nutritional properties. These can fortify staple raw materials such as rice flour (RF) to produce gluten-free fortified products. Thus, in this study, an attempt was made to find the effect of these dried herbs on the physicochemical and nutritional properties of RF with skim milk powder (SMP) (3% <i>w/w</i>) already added at different fortification levels (FLs) (1–4% <i>w/w</i>). The physicochemical and nutritional properties viz., water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI), oil absorption capacity (OAC), water absorption capacity (WAC), solubility (SL), iron (Fe), and proximate analysis were calculated. Results showed insignificant (<i>p</i> > 0.05) changes in all physicochemical properties at 1% addition of marjoram, spearmint, and basil as compared to the control. Further, an insignificant (<i>p</i> > 0.05) increase in WAI was noticed at 2% addition of marjoram, spearmint, and basil. Similar, no significant (<i>p</i> > 0.05) change in WAI was noticed up to the highest FL in all fortificants. An opposite behavior was observed with the WSI for marjoram; however, no significant (<i>p</i> > 0.05) change was observed with spearmint among all FLs. In addition, basil at 4% fortification caused a significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) increase in WSI as compared to control. For WAC, neither marjoram nor spearmint resulted in any significant (<i>p</i> > 0.05) change among all FLs but basil at 4% showed a significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) change. A similar result was noticed for SL. Nevertheless, a significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) color change was observed at all FLs. The iron, protein, and crude fiber levels were significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and they all improved at 4% fortification. A similar result was noticed for carbohydrate, energy, and crude fat levels with a higher FL. This study will help food processors to formulate fortified foods using dried herbs.
Based on the allodiploid lineage (WR, 2n = 100, F1–F5) of white crucian carp (Carassius cuvieri, WCC, 2n = 100) (♀) × red crucian carp (Carassius auratus red var., RCC, 2n = 100) (♂) and the diploid hybrid fish (WR-II, 2n = 100) derived from WR-F1 (♀) × WCC (♂), in this research, we obtain a new type of triploid fish (WR-III) by the distant hybridization of WR-II (♀) and autotetraploid fish (4nAU, 4n = 200) (♂). We investigate the morphological traits, chromosomal numbers, DNA content, growth rates and 5S rDNA in the WR-III. The results show that the WR-III is triploid fish with 150 chromosomes and they have no barbel and have a gray body color. All the measurable traits of WR-III show hybrid characteristics; and there is a significant difference in the body length/body height between WR-III and 4nAU, which indicating that WR-III has a smaller head and higher body compared with 4nAU; furthermore, the WR-III has a fast growth rate, the average body weights of eight months old WR-III is 487g. The 5s rDNA of the WR-III inherits the 5s rDNA of its parents and has some mutant bases or chimeric sequences, which revealed heredity, variability and heterozygosity in WR-III. The successful production of this triploid fish is of great significance in fish genetic breeding.