Novel Use of an Internal Distractor for Metacarpal Lengthening

Background In patients who have had proximal digit amputation, metacarpal distraction osteogenesis is an option to improve digital length and function. One drawback is that traditional external distraction devices are large and cumbersome; the option of a low-profile internal device is therefore appealing. Internal distractors are commonly used in craniofacial reconstruction, but use in the hand has not been reported. We describe a case series of the novel use of an internal distractor in metacarpal lengthening. Methods In this single-center case series, patients who underwent metacarpal distraction by the senior author using a uniplanar internal distractor were reviewed, and indications, outcomes, and complications were analyzed. Results There were 5 cases in 4 patients (age range: 7-33 years). Indications were traumatic amputation in 4 cases and congenital hypoplasia in 1. All were successfully distracted, with a mean final length gain of 1.3 cm (range: 1.0-1.7 mm). Mean time from device placement to consolidation was 3.5 months. Complications included activation arm site infection in 2 cases, both occurring after the distraction period, necessitating device removal before full consolidation. In these cases, the device was removed after the distraction period and replaced with a Kirschner wire for stabilization through the consolidation period. Conclusions Metacarpal distraction was successfully achieved with an internal distraction device. Although infection was common, it occurred after the distraction period and did not preclude length gain. We feel that this low-profile device offers advantages over cumbersome external devices typically used for metacarpal lengthening.

Supplementation of Gamal leaves flour (Gliricidia sepium) in commercial feed on the growth of Nirwana tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings

This study aimed to examine the effect of Gamal leaves flour supplementation in commercial feed on the growth of Nirwana tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings. The experimental design used was a non-factorial completely randomized design consisting of four treatments and four replications. The treatments studied included commercial feed without supplementation of Gamal leaves flour as a control (P0), commercial feed with supplementation of Gamal leaves flour 10% kg−1 feed (P1), commercial feed with supplementation of Gamal leaves flour 15% kg−1 feed (P2), and commercial feed with supplementation of Gamal leaves flour 20% kg−1 feed (P3). Nirwana tilapia fingerlings were stocked at a density of 1 fish L−1. Nirwana tilapia fingerlings size ranges from 2-3 cm. Nirwana tilapia fingerlings maintenance period lasts for 40 days. The Annova test showed that the treatment gave a significant effect on the weight gain, length gain, daily growth rate, and feed conversion ratio (P < 0,05), but did not give a significant effect on the survival rate of Nirwana tilapia fingerlings (P > 0,05). The best dose to increase the growth of Nirwana tilapia fingerlings was commercial feed with supplementation of Gamal leaves flour 10% kg−1 feed.

Effect of Supplementing Fish Diet with Grasshopper Meal On Growth Parameters of African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus)

Background: The major problem facing fish feed manufacturers and fish nutrition is the increasing competition for the same feeding stuff between man and the fish feed industry due to their conventional status. This has brought about the high price and scarcity of such feedstuffs. This research is aimed at evaluating the potentials of using graded levels of grasshopper as protein sources in the diet of African catfish. Methods: Four feeding trial were set up with percentage inclusions of the grasshopper meal of 0% [diet] 1, 5% [Diet II], 10% [Diet III] and 15% [Diet IV]. The feed was given to the fish for 8 weeks. Fish survival rates, weekly weight gain, and length gain were recorded. Results: The results revealed that the. The survival rate of fish was over 90% for all experimental diets and it was significantly improved in the fish fed on 10% & 5% of grasshoppers (95.97% & 97.5%, respectively) when compared with the control group (91.04%). Percentage weight gain of the control group was significantly lower (803.00 %) compared to fish fed on 5% of grasshoppers (1092.00%). The highest fish length gain was also recorded fish fed on 5% of grasshopper (8.65 cm) while the least length gains (5.43 cm) was recorded for the control group in relation to all other fish groups which have received grasshopper at all inclusion levels. Conclusion: It is concluded that grasshopper inclusion in diet has the potential to enhance the survival rate and modulate growth parameters in Clarias gariepinus. Therefore, Grasshopper can be used as a feed additive in aquaculture to improve fish growth and production.

EFFECT OF STOCKING DENSITY ON THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF RED TILAPIA IN ZEOLITE SUPPLEMENTED CLOSED SYSTEM

Food demand is expected to surge due to the increase of world population. Malaysia is one of the top fish consumption countries in Asia, but the reduction of capture fishery has led to the increase for aquaculture for tilapia to overcome the demand. Thus, the objective of this study was to compare the growth performance of red tilapia at different stocking densities of zeolite supplemented closed system. Red tilapia fry was stocked into aquarium. Five treatments (containing zeolite and without zeolite) with two replicates were used. Food was given twice a day with 2% of total biomass of the fish. Weight and length of red tilapia were measured every two weeks. The zeolite treatments which recorded the highest final mean weight was T1 with the lowest stocking density (5 fish) while in T5 (highest stocking density), lowest mean weight was recorded. Specific growth rate and length gain in T1 was significantly higher than other treatments. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in growth parameters between the treatments with and without zeolite. The results revealed that red tilapia stocked in the T1 of the lowest stocking density (5 fish) had the highest growth performance than the fish in other treatments. Compared to other treatments, T1 recorded the highest final length and weight, weight and length gain, Specific Growth Rate % (SGR) among the treatments. The findings will be useful for the practitioners to understand the best practice for stocking density in zeolite supplemented closed system.

P–768 Childhood growth of singletons conceived following in vitro fertilization (IVF) - does gonadotropin-stimulation matter?

Study question Is there a difference in growth or weight gain of children conceived after IVF with or without gonadotropin-stimulation compared to standard growth references? Summary answer: We observed no difference in growth between children conceived after IVF with or without gonadotropin-stimulation and spontaneously conceived children. What is known already In recent studies, singletons conceived after IVF cycles had lower birth weight than spontaneously conceived singletons. The etiology of the impaired intrauterine growth is unclear, but insufficiency of placental function or possible epigenetic effects is discussed. Data regarding normalization or continuation of reduced birth weight are controversial. The growth of children born after unstimulated natural cycle IVF (NC-IVF) has never been studied. Study design, size, duration Single-center, university based cohort study. 139 singletons born after NC- IVF and children born after conventional gonadotropin stimulated IVF (cIVF) in 2010 –2017 were studied. Stimulation dosage in cIVF was ≥150 IU/d human gonadotropin. Participants/materials, setting, methods We collected weight, length and head circumference at birth and at one, two, four, six, 12, 18 and 24 months. We calculated standard deviation scores based on national growth references. Growth parameters (weight, length and head circumference) were compared between NC-IVF and cIVF singletons (stimulated with ≥150 IU/d human gonadotropin) using Mann-Whitney U tests. Main results and the role of chance In general, growth of children conceived after IVF did not differ from national references. Of the 139 singletons conceived, 98 singletons were conceived after NC-IVF and 41 after cIVF. The parents did not differ in ethnicity, age, BMI or health status between groups, and there was no significant difference in gestational age, pregnancy complications and smoking or breastfeeding habits either. The median birth weight in NC-IVF children was 3.4kg (0.1 standard deviation score, SDS) and in cIVF 3.3kg (–0.3 SDS) (p = 0.53). Median length at birth in NC-IVF was 50cm (–0.5 SDS) and did not differ from cIVF children 50cm (–0.8 SDS) (p = 0.52). At age 12 months, the median weight was 9.3kg (0.0 SDS) for NC-IVF children compared to 9.0kg (–1.7 SDS) for cIVF children (p = 0.44). Median lengths was 75cm (0.1 SDS) in NC-IVF versus 71cm (–1.6 SDS) in cIVF children (p = 0.89). At age 24 months, median weight in NC-IVF children was 12.3 kg (0.3 SDS) versus 10.5 kg (–1.2 SDS) in cIVF (p = 0.72) and median lengths 87.5cm (0.1 SDS) in NC-IVF versus 87.6 cm (0.1 SDS) in cIVF children. These discrete non-significant differences in weight and length gain compared to standardized growth curves and between the two groups are reassuring. Limitations, reasons for caution Willingness to participate is prone to selection bias. Further studies with larger samples are needed to confirm these findings. Wider implications of the findings: This is the first study investigating weight and length gain in children after unstimulated IVF. Growth is an important proxy for the health of children. These reassuring results are of imminent importance for the children born after IVF and their parents. Trial registration number BASEC (ID 2015–00235)

INTEGRASI BUDIDAYA IKAN PATIN (Pangasius hypophthalmus) DAN TANAMAN AIR PADA PEMELIHARAAN SISTEM AKUAPONIK

The purpose of this study is to find out whether the integration of catfish cultivation (P. hypophthalmus) and aquatic plants in the maintenance of aquaponic systems in order to produce high fish survival. The research was conducted using a Complete RandomIzed Design (RAL) environmental design with 4 (four) treatments and 3 (three) replays, each of these treatments is :P A behavior: 10 plant stems / holes and 2 fish / liter, Treatment B : 10 plant stems / holes and 3 fish / liters, Treatment C : 10 plant stems / holes and 4 fish / liter, Treatment D : 10 plant stems / holes and 5 fish / liter. The observed parameters are survival, growth and measurement of water quality. The results showed that the survival rate of catfish was 85.18%, 2.38 cm for length gain and weight gain of 2.80 g

Does commercial probiotics improve the growth performance and hematological parameters of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus?

Oreochromis niloticus be-coming a promising aqua-culture species globally, but recent disease outbreaks and poor growth with commer-cial feed making it chal-lenging. A 60 days long aquarium trial and series of laboratory assays have been conducted to assess the growth performance of O. niloticus fed with a locally available commercial pro-biotic. O. niloticus fry’s were fed with a mixture of basal diet and probiotics supplementation at a level of 0% (control), 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.8%. After the trial phase weight gain, length gain, specific growth rate (SGR), percentage of weight gain (PWG), percentage of length gain (PLG) were not-ed. Among all, highest val-ues of above parameters were observed at T1 (0.2%) treatment group. Weight gain, length gain, PLG and PWG were significantly im-proved in T1 treatment group (p<0.05). Additional-ly, hematological parame-ters including hemoglobin (Hb), white blood cell (WBC) and red blood cell (RBC) were also observed for all groups and T1 was found to have highest values for all these parameters, alt-hough there were no statis-tically significant differ-ences between the values of T1 and T2. The results of this study showed that 0.2% dietary probiotics supple-ments in basal diet would optimize the growth per-formance and hematological parameters of aquarium reared O. niloticus.

Determining the Dose of Dietary Probiotic (Bacillus licheniformis) for the Nursing of Blue Swimming Crablets (Portunus pelagicus, L., 1758)

Various efforts have been made to use probiotics instead of antibiotics in aquaculture to solve the problem of low survival and slow growth of hatchlings. Selection of probiotics strain and their right dose have been the major challenges. Limited research has been done in blue swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus L., 1758). Therefore, present study was carried out to determine the effects of varying doses of probiotic Bacillus licheniformis 107 colony forming unit (CFU)/mL i.e. 0.0, 1.5, 3.0, and 6.0 mL/kg on the survival, growth and moulting of blue swimming crablets nursed for 45 days and determine the right dose. The four treatments were replicated thrice in 500 L plastic tanks. Regression analysis revealed that the probiotic dose had significant (P<0.05) positive relationships with carapace length gain, weight gain, and moulting percentage; but negative relationship with food conversion ratio. Vibrio colony growth was significantly (P<0.05) inhibited at the dose of 3.3 mL/kg feed or higher. Results showed that increased doses of Bacillus licheniformis enhanced the growth and moulting of blue swimming crablets. The highest moulting percentage of 89 % was found at an extrapolated dose of 6.9 mL/kg feed.