Domestication of an endangered fish species Nandus nandus (Ham.). Pt. 1. Laboratory rearing of young fish up to sexual maturity

An experiment was conducted for rearing of Meni, Nandus nandus in laboratory condition for seven months with the objective to select appropriate feed for the species and to develop a rearing technique of the species up to the stage of sexual maturation. Different trials were conducted using artificial feed (35.5% protein), dead fresh kachki (Carica soborna), dead fresh prawn (Macrobrachium lamarrei) and live prawn (Macrobrachium lamarrei). The provision of bottom sediment did not significantly influence the growth of fish. Between dead fresh kachki and dead fresh prawn, the fish preferred dead fresh prawn. The fish was found to be reluctant to take dead fresh kachki and prawn as food unless they became very hungry. The fish was found actively feeding on live prawn. The FCR of the prawn as food for N. nandus was found to be 2.5. From the study, it was observed that in laboratory rearing N. nandus preferred live prawn as food than artificial feed, dead fresh kachki and dead fresh prawn. The fish fed on live prawn became sexually matured (eggs or white milt extruded by gentle pressure on the abdomen of the fish) in the laboratory at the end of the experiment.

SU8 bio-chemical sensor microarrays

Microfabricated cantilevers have recently attracted considerable attention as novel label-free chemical and biological biosensors which translate surface reactions into nanomechanical bending motion. However these studies have primarily focused on commercially available silicon cantilevers and relatively little work has been performed on cantilevers fabricated from other materials. Polymeric materials, offer significant advantages over silicon by virtue of the low Young's modulus, ease of microfabrication and reduced cost. In this paper, we report a non-vacuum fabrication process to produce arrays of SU8 cantilevers and demonstrate their application as chemical sensors using in situ reference cantilevers. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The origin of new genes: Glimpses from the young and old

Genome data have revealed great variation in the numbers of genes in different organisms, which indicates that there is a fundamental process of genome evolution: the origin of new genes. However, there has been little opportunity to explore how genes with new functions originate and evolve. The study of ancient genes has highlighted the antiquity and general importance of some mechanisms of gene origination, and recent observations of young genes at early stages in their evolution have unveiled unexpected molecular and evolutionary processes.

Effects of temperature on behavior, growth, development and survival of young milkfish, Chanos chanos Forsskal

The effects of 3 temperature treatments on activity, feeding, growth, development and survival of young milkfish (Chanos chanos) were investigated under laboratory conditions. It is believed that the results may be applied to develop a land-based mass production technology in rearing milkfish fry to fingerlings.

Lead exposure through gestation-only caused long-term learning/memory deficits in young adult offspring

Numerous observations in clinical and preclinical studies indicate that the developing brain is particular sensitive to lead (Pb)'s pernicious effects. However, the effect of gestation-only Pb exposure on cognitive functions at maturation has not been studied. We investigated the potential effects of three levels of Pb exposure (low, middle, and high Pb: 0.03%, 0.09%, and 0.27% of lead acetate-containing diets) at the gestational period on the spatial memory of young adult offspring by Morris water maze spatial learning and fixed location/visible platform tasks. Our results revealed that three levels of Pb exposure significantly impaired memory retrieval in male offspring, but only female offspring at low levels of Pb exposure showed impairment of memory retrieval. These impairments were not due to the gross disturbances in motor performance and in vision because these animals performed the fixed location/visible platform task as well as controls, indicating that the specific aspects of spatial learning/memory were impaired. These results suggest that exposure to Pb during the gestational period is sufficient to cause long-term learning/memory deficits in young adult offspring. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prenatal stress modifies hippocampal synaptic plasticity and spatial learning in young rat offspring

Clinical studies demonstrate that prenatal stress causes cognitive deficits and increases vulnerability to affective disorders in children and adolescents. The underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Here, we reported that prenatal stress (10