This study characterizes the seasonal reproductive cycle of male round stingrays (Urobatis halleri) in Seal Beach, California. Mature round stingrays were collected monthly by beach seine near the San Gabriel River outfall from August 2004-September 2006, and rays were assessed for gametogenesis and steroid hormone levels. Male round stingrays exhibit a seasonal pattern of increased gonadosomat...

BACKGROUND Patient-reported outcome measures have become a well-recognised part of outcome assessment in orthopaedic surgery. These questionnaires claim to measure joint-specific dimensions like pain, function in activities of daily living, joint awareness or stiffness. Interference of the patient's psychological status with these orthopaedic questionnaires however may make accurate interpretat...

Triploid largemouth bass may have potential in sport fish management and in food fish production as a means to eliminate reproduction, which would, in turn, potentially increase somatic growth. To examine this potential, four cohorts of diploid and triploid largemouth bass were produced over a 10-yr period and tagged intramuscularly with coded wire tags. Bass were stocked into Lucchetti Reservo...

Fecundity and gonado-somatic index (GSI) of wild freshwater spiny eel Mastacembelus armatus were estimated from haor region of Kishoreganj district of Bangladesh. Estimated fecundity ranged from 2,235 to 19,493 for the fish measuring from 25 to 54 cm and weighing from 79 to 345 g. The minimum, median and maximum ova diameter was 0.20, 1.90 and 2.20 mm, respectively. The average numbers of ova p...

Axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) are aquatic salamanders that are widely used in research. Axolotls have been bred in laboratories for nearly 150 years, yet little is known about the basic biology of reproduction in these animals. We investigated the effects of changing day length, time of year, and food availability on levels of circulating estradiol and androgens in adult female and male axolot...

We have investigated the effect of melatonin (MLT) on specific growth rate (SGR% day(-1)), condition factor (k), gonado-somatic-index (GSI), histological structures of gonads, serum as well as gonadal protein and lipid in Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. MLT treatment in the dose of 25 μg/L for three weeks reduced SGR% day(-1) (0.9±0.04) as compared to control (1.23±0.026). The GSI value was...

The infection prevalence of Ligula colymbi plerocercoids in the spined loach Cobitis taenia inhabiting brackish waters of the Baltic Sea, and the effects of the parasite on the reproduction and growth of the host were studied. There was no significant trend in the infection rate among the different sampling dates in May–July. In total, 24.6% of females and 15.4% of males were infected. In most ...

In order to determine the reproductive characteristics of Liza parsia, a fish of commercial importance, the GSI, egg diameter, sex ratio and fecundity were examined in 331 specimens caught monthly for a period of ten months from September 2006 to June 2007. According to the GSI and egg diameter, the reproduction period of Liza parsia was determined to be in November to March with two peaks in t...

Formaldehyde (FA) is the leading cause of cellular injury and oxidative damage in testis that is one of the main infertility causes. There has been an increasing evidence of herbal remedies use in male infertility treatment. This assay examines the role of Ficus carica (Fc) leaf extracts in sperm parameters and testis of mice intoxicated with FA. Twenty-five adult male mice were randomly divide...

BACKGROUND Sulfur mustard (SM) has been used as a chemical warfare agent since the early twentieth century. Despite the large number of studies that have investigated SM induced ocular injuries, few of those studies have also focused on the psychological health status of victims. This study has evaluated the most prominent influences on the psychological health status of patients with severe SM...