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Conventional aquaculture feed materials available in Australia are expensive, which has prompted the search for alternatives that would be cost-effective and locally available. The present study was undertaken in order to maximize the use of a tuna hydrolysate (TH), which was produced locally from the tuna-processing discards. The growth performance, biochemical status, antioxidant capacity and liver health of juvenile barramundi ( Lates calcarifer ) were assessed. Two series of isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets labelled as TH 50 , TH 75 (non-fermented tuna hydrolysate) and FTH 50, FTH 75 (fermented tuna hydrolysate) were formulated to replace FM at 50% and 75%, respectively. A basal diet without the TH supplementation was used as a control. The experimental diets were fed to the triplicate groups of fish three times a day for 56 days. The results of the experiment revealed that fish fed on both fermented and non-fermented TH-containing diets significantly reduced ( p  < 0.05) the final body weight, weight gain and specific growth rate compared to the control. The highest apparent digestibility coefficients for dry matter, protein and lipid were obtained in the control group, and decreased with the increasing level of TH in the diets. However, the whole-body proximate compositions and the blood biochemical indices of fish were not affected by the TH inclusion in the diets. The fish fed on TH diets of TH 50 , FTH 50 and TH 75 exhibited reduced ( p  < 0.05) glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity compared to the control; whereas the FTH 75 exhibited no difference with the control. The excessive inclusion of TH in the diets of TH 75 and FTH 75 resulted in cytoplasmic vacuolization, with an increased amount of lipid accumulation, and necrosis in the liver tissue. These results indicated that the replacement of the FM protein with TH at 50% and 75% inclusion levels negatively affected the growth performance, feed utilization, and digestibility in juvenile barramundi; and it also increased the potential risk of hepatic failure in the fish. Further investigation is, therefore, required in order to optimize the TH levels in the fish diets which would be suitable for the growth of fish, as well as for maintaining the enhanced biochemical response in juvenile barramundi., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests.

In the current study, baseline sensitivity of Valsa mali to propamidine was determined using 80 strains collected from apple orchards in Shaanxi Province, China. The median effective concentration (EC 50 ) values for propamidine inhibiting mycelial growth ranged from 0.086 to 0.852 μg/mL, with a mean of 0.405 ± 0.137 μg/mL. After treated with propamidine, mycelia were contorted with an increased number of branches, loss of fruiting body production, and decreased cell membrane permeability. Moreover, the enzyme activities of the complexes I, II, IV and ATPase in the mitochondrial respiratory chain were increased significantly, while the enzyme activities of complexes III decreased. Importantly, both on detached leaves and branches of apple trees, propamidine applied at 100 μg/mL exhibited over 75% protective and curative efficacies, which were even better than the efficacies obtained by carbendazim at the same concentration. These results indicated that propamidine could be used as an alternative compound in controlling Valsa canker and mitochondrial respiratory chains might be correlated with the action mode of propamidine. This study encourages further investigation for the action mechanism of propamidine against plant pathogens and the information could be valuable for synthesis of new antifungal drugs with novel modes of action., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Increasing concern has been focused on the potential risks associated with the trophic transfer to aquatic organisms of ambient contaminants in the presence of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-TiO 2 ). This study investigated the influence of nano-TiO 2 on the trophic transfer of arsenic (As) from the microalgae Nannochloropsis maritima to the brine shrimp Artemia salina nauplii. We found that nano-TiO 2 could significantly facilitate As sorption on N. maritima within an exposure period of 24 h, and this sorption subsequently led to higher As trophic transfer from the algae to A. salina according to trophic transfer factors (TTF As +nano-TiO2  > TTF As ). However, after 48 h of depuration, the retention of As in A. salina fed As-nano-TiO 2 -contaminated algae was even lower than that in A. salina fed As-contaminated algae at the same exposure concentrations. This result indicates that the increased food chain transfer of As in the presence of nano-TiO 2 can be explained by adsorption of As onto nano-TiO 2 in contaminated food (algae), but the bioavailability of As in A. salina is reduced after the introduction of nanoparticles. Although the stress enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in A. salina at a lower As concentration treatment in the presence of nano-TiO 2 were not significantly changed, they increased with higher exposure concentrations of As with or without nano-TiO 2 . Our study highlighted the complex role of nanomaterials in the transfer of ambient contaminants via trophic chains and the potential of nano-TiO 2 to reduce the bioavailability of As via trophic transfer to saltwater zooplankton., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of a flavonoid-rich fresh fruit juice on cardiovascular, oxidative stress, and biochemical parameters during the yo-yo intermittent recovery test (YYIRT). Twenty-two healthy males subjects participated in this study divided into two groups: An experimental group (EG: n  = 11) who consumed the antioxidant supplement and a control group (CG: n  = 11). All participants performed two test sessions at 07:00 hr before and after 2 weeks of supplementation with Opuntia ficus-indica juice. Blood samples were taken before (P1) and immediately (P2) after the YYIRT. Our results showed that following the 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH ● ) test, the Opuntia ficus-indica juice has an antioxidant capacity for capturing free radicals ( p  < .05) and reducing oxidative stress related to exercise. Concerning biochemical and cardiovascular parameters, our results showed a significant increase on total cholesterol (TC) ( p  < .01), triglycerides (TG) ( p  < .05), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ( p  < .01), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) ( p  < .01), creatine kinase (CK) ( p  < .01), lactate deshydrogenase (LDH) ( p  < .01), glucose (GLC) ( p  < .01), systolic (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ( p  < .01) immediately after exercise. However, TC ( p  < .05), TG ( p  < .05) and LDL ( p  < .05), the maximal heart rate (HRmax), the CK ( p  < .05), and LDH ( p  < .01) as well as the malondialdehyde (MDA) ( p  < .01) demonstrated a significant decrease after supplementation of Opuntia ficus-indica juice before and immediately after YYIRT. However, no significant effect on HDL ( p  > .05), GLC ( p  > .05) levels nor the SBP and DBP ( p  > .05) was observed after supplementation with Opuntia ficus-indica juice. The supplementation leads to an improvement on YYIRT performance (The total distance covered during the YYIRT, V O 2max , VMA) and the rating of perceived exertion (RPE). Opuntia ficus-indica juice has a potent antioxidant activity that reduces total and LDL-cholesterol with only a moderate lowering of HDL-cholesterol and oxidative stress. Moreover, supplementation decreases muscle damage caused by the endurance exercise.

Background: To evaluate the efficacy of 11C-choline PET/CT (CHO-PET/CT) based helical tomotherapy (HTT) as a therapeutic approach for bone metastases in recurrent prostate cancer (PCa) patients., Methods: This retrospective study includes 20 PCa patients (median age: 67; range: 51-80 years) presenting biochemical relapse after primary treatment who underwent CHO-PET/CT based HTT on positive bone metastases from December 2007 to June 2014. The effectiveness of HTT has been assessed with biochemical response at 3/6/12 months, biochemical relapse free survival (bRFS) and overall survival (OS) at 2 years. Toxicity has also been considered and assessed according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE)., Results: All patients presented a relapse at the time of CHO-PET/CT at bone level. In addition 15/20 (75%) also at lymph nodes (LNs) level (total lesions= 54). All patients underwent HTT on bone metastases and 19/20 concomitantly on prostatic bed and LNs. The median follow-up from CHO-PET/CT was 2 years (range: 1-7 years). At 3 months after the beginning of HTT treatment complete or partial biochemical response occurred in 79% of patients, at 6 months in 82% and at 12 months in 63% of patients. bRFS and OS at 2 years were 50% and 55% of patients, respectively. Patients presented mostly grade 1 or 2 toxicity according to CTCAE. The only grade 3 late toxicity has been observed in one patient., Conclusion: CHO-PET/CT based HTT is a suitable therapeutic approach in patients with recurrent PCa presenting bone metastases with a medium-low toxicity., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of time-of-day on oxidative stress, cardiovascular parameters, muscle damage parameters, and hormonal responses following the level-1 Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test (YYIRT). A total of 11 healthy subjects performed an intermittent test (YYIRT) at two times-of-day (i.e., 07:00 h and 17:00 h), with a recovery period of ≥36 h in-between, in a randomized order. Blood samples were taken at the rest (baseline) and immediately (post-YYIRT) after the YYIRT for measuring oxidative stress, biochemical markers, and hormonal response. Data were statistically analyzed using one-way and two-way repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni test at p < 0.05. Observed power (α = 0.05) and partial eta-squared were used. Our results showed that oxygen uptake (VO 2max ), maximal aerobic speed, and the total distance covered tended to be higher in the evening (17:00 h). There was also a main effect of time-of-day for cortisol and testosterone concentration, which were higher after the YYIRT in the morning (p < 0.05). The heart rate peak and the rating of perceived exertion scales were lower in the morning (p < 0.05). However, the plasma glucose (p < 0.01), malondialdehyde, creatine kinase (p < 0.01), lactate dehydrogenase (p < 0.05), high-density lipoprotein (p < 0.01), total cholesterol (p < 0.01), and triglycerides (p < 0.05) were higher after the YYIRT in the evening. Low-density lipoprotein, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and lactate levels (p > 0.05) were similar for the morning and evening test. In conclusion, our findings suggest that aerobic performance presents diurnal variation with great result observed in the evening accompanied by an improvement of hormonal, metabolic, and oxidative responses. These data may help to guide athletes and coaches and contribute to public health recommendations on exercise and muscle damage particularly in the competitive periods.

Phytophthora blight of pepper caused by Phytophthora capsici Leonian is a destructive disease throughout the world. Cuminic acid, extracted from the seed of Cuminum cyminum L., belongs to the benzoic acid chemical class. In this study, the sensitivity and biochemical response of P. capsici to cuminic acid was determined. The mean EC50 (50% effective concentration) values for cuminic acid in inhibiting mycelial growth and zoospore germination of the 54 studied P. capsici isolates were 14.54 ± 5.23 μg/mL and 6.97 ± 2.82 μg/mL, respectively. After treatment with cuminic acid, mycelial morphology, sporangium formation and mycelial respiration were significantly influenced; cell membrane permeability and DNA content increased markedly, but pyruvic acid content, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content, and ATPase activity decreased compared with the untreated control. In pot experiments, cuminic acid exhibited both protective and curative activity. Importantly, POD and PAL activity of the pepper leaves increased after being treated with cuminic acid. These indicated that cuminic acid not only showed antifungal activity, but also could improve the defense capacity of the plants. All the results suggested that cuminic acid exhibits the potential to be developed as a new phytochemical fungicide, and this information increases our understanding of the mechanism of action of cuminic acid against Phytophthora capsici.

All patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and abnormal liver biochemistry should be considered for specific therapy. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is the only FDA-approved drug for treating PBC. Approximately 40% of patients with PBC respond incompletely to treatment with UDCA, thus having increased risk of death or need for liver transplantation. No second-line therapies for patients with inadequate response to UDCA therapy have been approved. This review provides a current perspective on potential new approaches to treatment in PBC, and highlights some of the challenges we face in evaluating and effectively implementing those treatments., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We investigated the accumulation and adverse effects of toxic and non-toxic Microcystis in the edible clam Corbicula leana . Treated clams were exposed to toxic Microcystis at 100 μg of MC (microcystin)-LR eq  L -1 for 10 days. The experimental organism was then placed in toxin-free water and fed on non-toxic Microcystis for the following 10 days for depuration. Filtering rates (FRs) by C. leana of toxic and non-toxic Microcystis and of the green alga Chlorella vulgaris as a control were estimated. Adverse effects were evaluated though the activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione S-transferase (GST). Clam accumulated MCs (up to 12.7 ± 2.5 μg g -1 dry weight (DW) of free MC and 4.2 ± 0.6 μg g -1 DW of covalently bound MC). Our results suggest that although both toxic and non-toxic cyanobacteria caused adverse effects by inducing the detoxification and antioxidant defense system, the clam was quite resistant to cyanotoxins. The estimated MC concentration in C. leana was far beyond the World Health Organization's (WHO) provisional tolerable daily intake (0.04 μg kg -1  day -1 ), suggesting that consuming clams harvested during cyanobacterial blooms carries a high health risk.

The PAHs concentrations in seawater and tissues from the scallop Chlamys farreri were detected in three sites in Qingdao, China in 2011. The PAHs concentrations in seawater ranged from 25.32 ng/L to 314.62 ng/L. There were significant differences (p<0.05) between the residual levels among scallop tissues. The highest concentrations of PAHs in seawater and tissues were found in S2. The ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity of the digestive gland and the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents of the digestive gland and gill were sensitive to PAHs (p<0.05). This study integrated the PAHs concentrations in seawater, residual levels, the variation of biochemical response and the correlation coefficient analysis, and concluded that Qingdao is a medium PAH-contaminated area on a global scale. The highest PAHs were accumulated in the digestive gland followed by the gill, soft tissue and adductor muscle. The EROD activity of the digestive gland and the MDA contents of the digestive gland and gill could be applied to assess the PAHs pollution status in Qingdao, China., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Triplicate groups of fed and starved olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus (body weight: 119.8±17.46 g), were examined over 42 days for physiological changes using hematological, biochemical, and non-specific immune parameters. No significant differences in concentrations of blood hemoglobin and hematocrit and plasma levels of total cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, glucose, and cortisol were detected between fed and starved groups at any sampling time throughout the experiment. In contrast, plasma total protein concentrations were significantly lower in starved fish than in fed fish from day 7 onwards. Moreover, plasma lysozyme concentrations were significantly higher in starved flounder from day 21 onwards. This result confirms that the response of olive flounder to short-term (less than about 1.5 months) starvation consists of a readjustment of metabolism rather than the activation of an alarm-stress response. The present results indicate that starvation does not significantly compromise the health status of fish despite food limitation.

Biochemical responses on the bases of activities of antioxidant enzymes; peroxidase, catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase as well as estimations of total protein, lipid peroxidation and thiols in the form of protein, non-protein, glutathione and phytochelatin measured in growing seedlings of barley, Hordeum vulgare L., from Day 2 through 8 were compared following treatment of seeds for 2 h with oxidative agents, paraquat 5 x 10-5, 10-4,10-3, M, H2O2 10-3, 5 x 10-3, 10-2 M and a metal salt, CdSO410-5, 10-4, 10-3 M. A significant induction of all antioxidant enzymes along with an increase in the levels of protein, lipid peroxidation and glutathione was noted in response to oxidative stress, CdSO4 induced significant peroxidase and catalase activities but not superoxide dismutase. In a markedcontrast from oxidative stress, CdSO4 decreased glutathione reductase activity as well as glutathione levels but increased phytochelatin level. The differential biochemical responses thus underlined the crucial involvement of glutathione and phytochelatin in the oxidative and metal-induced adaptive responses, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To observe the efficacy of peg-interferon in the treatment of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) and to identify the factors that would be predictive of the sustained viral response (SVR)., Methods: This prospective study was conducted in Medical Unit IV of the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Hospital Jamshoro from June 2008 to September 2011. This study cohort included all patients of either sex who presented during this time with hepatitis B surface antigen positivity, hepatitis B virus DNA > 20,000 IU/mL, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) > 2(upper limit of normal), HDV-RNA positivity with fibrosis stage ≥ 2. Informed consent was obtained from each of these individuals. Patients were diagnosed with hepatitis D on the basis of detectable viral antibodies and the presence of HDV-RNA in their serum. A liver biopsy was performed in all cases and fibrosis staging was performed in accordance with the METAVIR scoring system. All eligible patients were administered peg-interferon at a weekly dosage of 1.5 μg/kg body weight for 48 wk. HDV-RNA was assayed at the end of this treatment period and again at 24 wk later. A biochemical response was determined by a normalization of SGPT at the end of the treatment or during follow up. The end of treatment response was defined by a HDV-RNA negative status. A sustained virological response was defined by undetectable serum HDV-RNA at six months after the end of treatment., Results: Among the 277 patients enrolled in our present study, 238 completed a course of peg-interferon therapy of which 180 (75.6%) were male and 58 (24.4%) female. Biochemical responses were achieved in 122/238 (51.3%) patients. End of treatment responses were achieved in 71/238 (29.8%) cases. A SVR was achieved in 70 of these patients (29.4%). A strong association was found between the SVR and the end of treatment responses (P = 0.001), biochemical responses (P = 0.001) and the degree of fibrosis (P = 0.002)., Conclusion: Peg-interferon therapy can induce remission in nearly one third of patients harboring HDV.

Background/aims: The authors examined whether the response to interferon (IFN) therapy can affect the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients., Methods: Out of 353 biopsy-proven CHB patients, 229 (65%) were treated with IFN-alpha for 6 to 12 months. They were followed for a median period of 75 months (range, 6-120). In patients treated with IFN, biochemical and virologic responses were evaluated at the end of treatment (EOT). The cumulative incidence rates of HCC were calculated and analyzed in relation to baseline characteristics as well as biochemical and virologic responses to IFN therapy., Results: The overall cumulative incidence of HCC was 0%, 0.8%, 3.7% and 5.5% at 3, 5, 7 and 8 years, respectively. Age, serum AFP levels and the stage of fibrosis were significantly associated with the occurrence of HCC. As a whole, IFN therapy did not affect the occurrence of HCC. Among the patients treated with IFN, biochemical responders had low HCC incidence rates compared with non-responders (p=0.018). However, the HCC incidence rates of virologic responders were not different from non-responders (p=0.203)., Conclusions: Biochemical rather than virologic response to IFN therapy may be more closely associated with decrease of HCC incidence in CHB patients.