Abalone Research Articles

Obtaining a culture of somatic cells using tissue material from the ear of dead sheep/snow sheep hybrid

Production and cryopreservation of somatic cells (SCs) from valuable and endangered animals allows a preservation of genetic diversity and ensuring their future reproduction. The aim of present work was to isolate SCs from the ear of unique hybrid sheep (Ovis aries) and snow sheep (Ovis nivicola borealis) post-mortem. In this purpose, enzymatic and mechanical methods of tissue preparation were compared.Materials and Methods. Ears from deceased animal were brought to the laboratory 12 hours after the death in a pasture, and biological material was thoroughly washed under running water. The hairs were removed from the part of the ear shell by the blade. Skin fragments were treated with 70% ethyl alcohol, washed three times in a saline solution with antibiotics and ground up to small pieces. The ear pieces were washed several times in phosphate buffer saline and divided into two parts. One part of the explants started in vitro culture without enzymatic treatment (group 1), whereas another part was pre-treated with a 0.25% trypsin/EDTA solution. After trypsinization, either tissue fragments (group 2), or cell complexes separated from cell suspension fraction (group 3) were taken for in vitro culture for 9 days. Monitoring of cell colony formation and growth was carried out daily. Results. In the group 3, cell colonies were formed on the second day of in vitro culture. In groups 1 and 2, cell growth was observed from tissue fragments after five days regardless of the treatment. On the 9th day, all the groups produced the primary cultures, represented by two types of SCs. In general, single cell complexes from the group 3 formed cell growth zones more quickly than tissue explants from the groups 1 and 2, however, final cultures of SCs and their morphological aspects were no different between the groups. Conclusion. Methodological protocols were proposed and successfully used to obtain in vitro cultures of SCs from the ear of dead sheep/snow sheep hybrid animal, 12 hours post-mortem that may allow further storage of valuable genetic material.

Experimental model for assessing the readiness of the wound surface to accept skin grafts

The aim of the study, performed on 65 Wistar rats, was to develop a new model and, as an example, use it to identify the extent to which quercetin and the quercetin-2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin nanocomplex, applied to the wound, affect the engraftment of skin autografts. Grafts were obtained from the ear shells of animals, and graft’s survival rate was assessed by the degree of inhibition of wound contraction. It is shown that the latter depends on the area of grafts and the time after which they were located on the wound surface after its creation. It was shown that quercetin worsens, and quercetin-2- hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin does not impair the ability of the wound surface to accept the graft.

Retinal detachment during COVID-19 era: areview of challenges and solutions.

BackgroundSince the beginning of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there have been obstacles in the proper diagnosis and management of many diseases. We evaluated the changes in retinal detachment (RD) presentation and surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic and propose solutions to minimize the detrimental effects of lockdown on RD diagnosis.Materials and methodsPubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched for relevant articles with the keywords “Retinal detachment” AND “Coronavirus OR COVID-19 OR SARS OR MERS.”ResultsThe COVID-19 lockdown was associated a 53–66% reduction in RD presentation. The decrease in the rate of macula-on RD, the increase in the mean duration of symptoms, and the rise in the number of patients with proliferative vitreoretinopathy were all suggestive of a delayed presentation of RD. Moreover, a drop of 56–62% in RD repair surgeries was observed. However, the most frequently performed ophthalmic surgery changed from cataract surgery in April 2019 to RD repair in April 2020. Using phacovitrectomy instead of vitrectomy alone can reduce the number of operations in ophthalmology centers, decrease the use of personal protective equipment by 50%, and cut costs per patient by 17–20%. Also, developing a well-organized telemedicine system can decrease unnecessary visits and delayed presentations.ConclusionDelay in RD presentation and surgery is associated with a poorer prognosis. Optimizing the guidelines of RD management and developing a well-organized telemedicine system can minimize the impact of lockdown on RD management.

Ear-based biometric authentication through the detection of prominent contours

In this paper novel semi-automated and fully automated ear-based biometric authentication systems are proposed. The region of interest (ROI) is manually specified and automatically detected within the context of the semi-automated and fully automated systems, respectively. The automatic detection of the ROI is facilitated by a convolutional neural network (CNN) and morphological postprocessing. The CNN classifies sub-images of the ear in question as either foreground (part of the ear shell) or background (homogeneous skin, hair or jewellery). Prominent contours associated with the folds of the ear shell are detected within the ROI. The discrete Radon transform (DRT) is subsequently applied to the resulting binary contour image for the purpose of feature extraction. Feature matching is achieved by implementing an Euclidean distance measure. A ranking verifier is constructed for the purpose of authentication. In this study experiments are conducted on two independent ear databases, that is (1) the Mathematical Analysis of Images (AMI) ear database and (2) the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi ear database. The results are encouraging. Within the context of the proposed semi-automated system, accuracies of 99.20% and 96.06% are reported for the AMI and IIT Delhi ear databases respectively.

The effects of orally administered lactoferrin in the prevention and management of viral infections: A systematic review.

SummaryIt has been demonstrated that lactoferrin (LF) plays a role in host defence, but evidence on its potential antiviral property from clinical studies is fragmented. Our systematic review aimed at identifying the effects of orally administered LF against virus infections. The systematic search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, BioRxiv.org and ClinicalTrials.gov from database inception to 7th January 2021. Eligible articles investigated any virus family and provided data on the effects of orally administered LF of any origin in the prevention and/or management of confirmed viral infections in people of any age. A narrative synthesis of the results was performed. Quality was assessed with the Cochrane Risk‐Of‐Bias and ROBINS‐1 tools. A total of 27 records were included, nine of which were registered protocols. We found data on Flaviviridae (n = 10), Retroviridae (n = 3), Coronaviridae (n = 2), Reoviridae (n = 2) and Caliciviridae (n = 1). Most published trials were at high risk of bias. The findings were heterogeneous across and within viral families regarding virological, immunological and biological response, with no clear conclusion. Some weak but positive results were reported about decrease of symptom severity and duration, or reduction in viral loads. Despite high tolerability, the effects of LF as oral supplement are still inconsistent, both in preventing and managing viral infections. Small sample sizes, variety in recruitment and treatment protocols, and low study quality may have contributed to such heterogeneity. Better‐designed studies are needed to further investigate its potential benefits against viral infections, including SARS‐CoV‐2.

Tocilizumab: From Rheumatic Diseases to COVID-19.

Tocilizumab is a humanised interleukin-6 receptor-inhibiting monoclonal antibody that is currently approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other immune-related conditions. Recently, tocilizumab has been investigated as a possible treatment for severe coronavirus-induced disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite the lack of direct antiviral effects, tocilizumab could reduce the immune-induced organ damage caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) infection. Until recently, most reports on tocilizumab for COVID-19 included a limited number of patients, preventing an overall evaluation of its efficacy and safety for this specific condition. Therefore, we reviewed the literature regarding the physiopathological rationale of tocilizumab for COVID-19 and its outcomes. We searched the MEDLINE database with the string "(SARS-CoV-2 OR coronavirus OR COVID-19 OR MERS- cov OR SARS-cov) AND (IL-6 OR interleukin 6 OR tocilizumab)". While the scientific rationale supporting tocilizumab for COVID-19 is solid, the evidence regarding the outcomes remains controversial. Available data and results from ongoing trials will provide useful information in the event of new COVID-19 outbreaks or future pandemics from different coronaviruses.

Aesthetic Otoplasty, Reduction of Shell, Neo-antihelixplasty, Ear Shell Mastoid Reangulation Procedures

This study aims to demonstrate the technical approach for the correction of antihelix flattening (Kaye’s Method), for shell reduction by wedge resection and for skull reangulation.(Frank Welsh).

무의미시론에 나타난 허무와 자유의 정체 - ‘재현적 사유’의 전복과 정동의 구현

이 논문은 김춘수의 무의미시론 등장하는 ‘허무’라는 용어의 의미 탐색을 경유하여 무의미시의 궁극적인 지향을 밝히는 것이 목적이다. 무의미시에 관한 김춘수의 설명에 자주 등장하는‘허무’에는 두 가지 의미가 있다. 서구 철학의 재현적 사유가 가정하는 세계의 원인이자 본질(존재, 이데아)이 붕괴된 후 발생하는 절망이 허무의 첫 번째 의미라면, 이와 같은 재현적 사유를 빠져나가는 흐름, 우리의 존재 양태 그 자체인 생성, 감각, 즉, 정동이 그가 말하는 허무의 두 번째 의미이다. 서구철학의 재현적 사유는 ‘사유의 이미지’를 중심으로 실재의 모든 차이, 감각, 정동을 환원하고 이를 하나의 실체로 고착함으로써 공통세계와 공통감각, 그리고 소통의 가능성을 구축한다. 그렇기 때문에 이 가정이 붕괴되면 일차적으로는 절망에 빠지게 되지만, 같은 이유로 재현적 사유로는 포착할 수 없는 정동이 드러난다. 김춘수는 이미지를 “대상에 대한 통일된 전망”을 부여하는 재현적 사유의 기제로 보았기 때문에 이미지에서 관념과 대상을 제거하고 했으며, 이는 궁극적으로 재현적 사유가 놓친 정동, 차이, 감각을 포착하기 위한 것이다. 자유연상과 논리의 대결은 이를 구현하기 위한 방법으로서, 논리와 자유연상의 길항은 “대상에 대한 통일된 전망”, 즉 ‘사유의 이미지’을 분쇄하는 과정이며 ‘사유의 이미지’에 포박되어 있던 생성-정동을 해방시키는 일이 된다. 허무에 대한 김춘수의 설명에서 자주 사용되는 “소용돌이” 이미지는 바로 이러한 생성-정동에 대한 시각적인 표현이다. 그런 점에서 무의미시는 관념, 역사, 현실로부터의 도피나 미학적 순수로의 침잠이라기 보다는 재현적 사유에 사로잡힌 인간의 의식과 감각, 정동을 자유롭게 만들기 위한 보다 근원적인 도전이라고 할 수 있다.

Opportunistic Species and Seasonal Variation in Epiphytic Foraminiferal Assemblages in Abalone Farm Nets

ABSTRACT Choi, Y.H.; Jeong, D.U.; Lee, Y.G.; Choi, J.U.; Kim, S., and Lee, J.S., 2019. Opportunistic species and seasonal variation in epiphytic foraminiferal assemblages in abalone farm nets. Jour...

Are bioinsecticides able to effectively substitute chemicals in the control of insect pests of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) in Cote d'Ivoire?

Objective: Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus, Malavaceae) production faces pest and disease attacks that leads to use of chemical pesticides. This study was performed to compare effectiveness of the bioinsecticide Levo 2.4 SL (Oxymatrin 2% and Prosular 0.4%) to the chemical pesticides Abalone 18 EC (Abamectin 18g/l) and Viper 46 EC (Acetamiprid 16g/l and Indoxacarb 30g/l) against okra insect pests in Cote d'Ivoire. Methodology and Results: So a field experiment was carried out at Bonoua (05°16'17N; 03°35'40 W) in the South East of Cote d’Ivoire, in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications and four treatments; Levo 2.4 SL, Abalone 18 EC, Viper 46 EC and the Control. Insect communities, damages and yield profit rate were assessed and analyzed with Statistica 7.1 at 5%. The inventory of insect allowed the identification of 28 species distributed into 19 families and 10 orders. The main pest insects observed were Hemiptera; Aphis gossypii (41.59%), Bemisia tabaci (39.11%), Jacobiasca sp (1.26%) and Dysdercus wolkerii (1.44%), Coleoptera; Podagrica decolorata (9.03%) and caterpillars of Lepidoptera; Syllepte derogate (1.36%). Then control plots presented no healthy plants (0%), while the bioinsecticide (Levo 2.4 SL), and the chemical insecticides; Abalone 18 EC and Viper 46 EC presented respectively 60%, 77.5% and 90% of healthy plants (index 0). Overall, the effectiveness of the bioinsecticide to control insect pests appeared similar to those of the chemical pesticides. However, Levo 2.4 SL seems to be less effective against Aphis gossypii and Dysdercus wolkerii populations. Highest fruit yield of okra was recorded in treated plot with Viper 46 EC (12.55±0.98 t/ha), followed by Abalone 18 EC (12.2±0.8 t/ha) and Levo 2.4 SL (11.15±1.09 t/ha). Whereas, the lowest yield obtained from control plots was 6.84±0.15 t/ha. The yield profit rates were 62.82; 78.18 and 83.28% respectively for Levo 2.4 SL, Abalone 18 EC and Viper 46 EC when compared to the control. The control of insect pests by the bioinsecticide and the chemical insecticides increased significantly the okra yield. Conclusion and application of Results: Therefore, the bioinsecticide can be eco-friendly alternative to control insect pest of okra in Cote d’Ivoire. Then, the bioinsecticide Levo 2.4 SL can be proposed to limit damages caused by chemicals on the environment and human health.Keywords: Bioinsecticide, Levo 2.4 SL, Abelmoschus esculentus, insect pests, Cote d’Ivoire.

Construction of Abalone Sensory Texture Evaluation System Based on BP Neural Network

Construction of Abalone Sensory Texture Evaluation System Based on BP Neural Network

Cultured Abalone Pearls from Chile

Cultured Abalone Pearls from Chile

The Effect of Feeding Some Macro Algae (Ulva sp., Gracilaria sp., Halymenia sp.) On the Growth of Haliotis squamata Abalone

Teknologi produksi benih dan pakan abalon Haliotis squamata telah berhasil dikembangankan oleh Balai Besar Penelitian dan Pengembangan Budidaya Laut, Gondol, sedangkan pakan untuk pendederan juvenil abalon masih memerlukan pengembangan lebih lanjut untuk memperoleh bahan pakan yang optimum untuk pertumbuhan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh pemberian pakan beberapa jenis alga makro segar (Ulva sp., Gracilaria sp., Halymenia sp.) yang diberikan dalam komposisi tunggal ataupun kombinasi (7 komposisi) terhadap pertumbuhan juvenil abalon H. squamata. Rancangan penelitian yang digunakan yaitu menggunakan Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL) 3 kali ulangan. Percobaan dilakukan dalam keranjang plastik ukuran 287 x 140 x 52 mm dengan kepadatan 25 ekor (berat badan 1,75 ± 0,08 g, panjang cangkang 21,96 ± 0,34 mm, lebar cangkang 13,37 ± 0,24 mm). Pengukuran abalon dilakukan setiap 2 minggu sekali, dan pemeliharaan abalon dilakukan selama 87 hari dengan pemberian pakan setiap 2 hari sekali. Hasil penelitian ini diketahui bahwa perlakuan dengan pemberian pakan kombinasi Ulva sp., Gracilaria sp., dan Halymenia sp. memberikan pertumbuhan yang paling baik pada berat badan (BB), panjang cangkang (PC), serta lebar cangkang (LC), berturut-turut yaitu 4.70±0.20 g, 30.61±0.44 mm, serta 18.94±0.26 mm, sedangkan perlakuan pakan Halymenia sp. yang terendah. Nilai rasio konversi pakan (FCR) terendah yaitu pada perlakuan Ulva sp. dan Halymenia sp. 13,55±1,06, dan tertinggi yaitu pada perlakuan Gracilaria sp. 23,89±2,63.

Effects of Substituting Fish Meal and Macroalgae for Tuna Byproduct Meal and Rice Bran in Extruded Pellets Fed to Juvenile Abalone Haliotis discus (Reeve 1846)

Effects of Substituting Fish Meal and Macroalgae for Tuna Byproduct Meal and Rice Bran in Extruded Pellets Fed to Juvenile Abalone Haliotis discus (Reeve 1846)

The Literati’s Polyphonic Answers to Social Changes in Late Imperial China

The article aims to rethink the pluralistic intellectual currents and social changes of the last centuries in China: How literati reacted to the historical changes, the economic developments, the collapse of the hierarchical order, and the social mobility from the end of the Ming to the middle of the Qing dynasty. Urbanisation, the great silver inflow, the acceleration of trade, and social mobility raised new challenges to the orthodox view of the world and to Neo-Confucian norms. These new attitudes of the Chinese literati—which can be inferred both from literary and philosophical works—uncover new attitudes in the mental structure of the intellectual strata of the time. In the history of ideas we notice a progressive detachment from the orthodox view of the conflictual relationship between principle and desires, especially in the ambit of the Taizhou school. The elaboration of a new anthropological mindset aimed at the rehabilitation of passions and desires culminated with Li Zhi. This trend went on in the Qing period, from Wang Fuzhi to Dai Zhen. In literature, a similar trend, the so-called “cult of qing ,” can be found with the moral justification of emotion-desire (establishing emotion as a genuine and active source of virtue), and with the vitalistic identification of emotions as the source of life and reproduction. Another indication of change is the challenge of common and accepted truisms through the praise of “folly” in real life situations and literary works: To be “crazy” and “foolish” became a sign of distinction among certain intellectual circles, in contrast with the pedant orthodox scholars and officials and the vulgar nouveaux riches . The unconventional character of the anti-hero Baoyu is emblematic, with his aversion for any kind of official ceremony and convention, his abnormal sensibility and impractical and naive mentality, and his consciousness of being different from others. The crisis of the established ladder of values can be seen in the exaltation of “amoral” wisdom and in the presentation of various dimensions of love, from the idealistic sentiment of “the talented student and the beautiful girl” to the metaphysical passion that overcomes death, and to the minimalist concept of “love is like food” in a carpe diem perspective. And finally another challenge is exemplified by Yuan Mei’s reflections on the concept of Heavenly Mandate, retribution, human responsibility, and historical constructions by resorting to “abnormal” phenomena to uncover the absurdity of reality and unconscious imagery. His questions testify the polyphonic debates of the late imperial China, besides established conventions and Neo-Confucian orthodoxy.

Effect of the STereoLithography File Structure on the Ear Shell Production for Hearing Aids According to DICOM Images

Effect of the STereoLithography File Structure on the Ear Shell Production for Hearing Aids According to DICOM Images

Reproductive performance of one-year-old Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) and its crossbreeding effect on offspring growth and survival

The Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) is one of the most popular farming mollusks in China, where three- to four-year-old adults are used as broodstock for commercial seeding. However, no reports exist regarding the reproduction performance of one-year-old Pacific abalone and its potential use in commercial breeding. In this study, one line of one-year-old abalone (AO) and two lines of three-year-old abalone (BD and HD), which were selected for rapid growth for three or six generations, were adopted to establish three purebred groups (AO, BD and HD) and two crossbred groups (BDAO and HDAO). The performance of these five groups on embryonic development, growth and survival rate was evaluated. According to the results, the average yolk diameter of oocytes produced by one-year-old abalone was significantly smaller than that produced by three-year-old individuals. The fertilization rate of the AO group was significantly higher than those of the other four groups, while the metamorphosis rate was the opposite. During the first 40d, the average shell growth rate of the AO group was slower than those of the other four groups, while the average shell length of this group was greatest after 120d. The AO group also showed a significantly higher survival rate than those of other groups during the period from 38d to 160d post fertilization. No significant differences were found in the embryonic development parameters or shell growth rates between the purebred and crossbred groups that shared the same dam line. However, the survival rates of the crossbred groups were significantly higher than those of the purebred groups. These results suggest that one-year-old Pacific abalone could be used as broodstock for reproduction and that an accelerated breeding cycle may enhance commercial genetic improvement programs.

Effect of Dietary Microalgae, Diatom-Dominant, Oil Extracts on Growth, Body Composition and Shell Color of Juvenile Abalone Haliotis discus

Effect of Dietary Microalgae, Diatom-Dominant, Oil Extracts on Growth, Body Composition and Shell Color of Juvenile Abalone Haliotis discus

Inhibitory Effects and Molecular Mechanism of an Anti-inflammatory Peptide Isolated from Intestine of Abalone, Haliotis D iscus H annai on LPS-Induced Cytokine Production via the p-p38/p-JNK Pathways in RAW264.7 Macrophages

A marine mollusk, abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) is one of the important species in aquaculture industry, but nutraceutical and pharmaceutical benefits of H. discus hannai have been rarely identified and studied. To evaluate beneficial effects of H. discus hannai, an anti-inflammatory peptide (AAIP, abalone anti-inflammatory peptide) was purified from abalone intestines using consecutive HPLC purification system. In tandem MS analysis, the fragmentation results illustrate that the AAIP responsible for the nitric oxide (NO) inhibitory activity (IC50=55.8μM) has amino acid sequence as Pro-Phe-Asn-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Ala-Ser (1175.2 Da). To investigate anti-inflammatory effect of AAIP on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and elucidated the molecular mechanism. The results show that the AAIP peptide suppresses LPS-induced production of nitric oxide (NO) via inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in a dose-dependent manner. It also significantly reduced the gene transcription of proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Furthermore, AAIP significantly suppresses phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) such as p-p38 and p-JNK. These results indicated that AAIP inhibits LPS-induced inflammatory response via blocking of MAPK pathway in murine macrophages. Therefore, potent AAIP might suggest possibility for high valuable utilization and application as nutraceutical and therapeutic substances.

Identifying Specialized 19th Century Fishing Camps on California's Northern Channel Islands: Applying AMS Radiocarbon Dating to Historical Sites

California’s Northern Channel Islands have long been an epicenter of specialized fishing economies dating from 13,000 yr ago to the mid-19th century. With thousands of well-preserved shell middens, some dominated by single shellfish species and little to no material culture, it can be difficult to distinguish between specialized prehistoric and historical deposits at some site types. Beginning at least in the Early Holocene and continuing into the Historic period, California mussels, turban snails, and abalone were targeted for specialized collection and processing by Native Americans and later Chinese and Euro-American fishers. Here, we demonstrate how selective accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of specialized abalone processing camps can help distinguish between prehistoric and historical sites. While unconventional, our case study demonstrates the utility of 14 C dating at sites less than 300 yr old. DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18397