Using ecosystem health and welfare assessments to determine impacts of wild collection for public aquariums.

Aquatic ecosystems are currently facing a multitude of stressors from anthropogenic impacts, including climate change, pollution, and overfishing. Public aquariums positively contribute to ecosystems through conservation, education, and scientific advancement; but may also negatively detract from these systems through collection of animals from the wild and sourcing from commercial suppliers. Changes within the industry have occurred, although evidence-based assessments of 1) how aquariums collect and maintain their populations to determine sustainability of the environment they have harvested; and 2) the welfare of these harvested animals once within the aquariums are still needed. The objectives of this study were to assess the ecosystem health of locations aquariums frequently visit to collect fish from the wild, and then evaluate the wellbeing of fishes at aquariums after extended periods in captivity. Assessments included use of chemical, physical, and biological indicators at field sites, and use of a quantitative welfare assessment at aquariums for comparison to species reared through aquaculture. Anthropogenic pressures at field sites were observed, but no evidence of high degradation or compromised health of animals were found. Welfare assessments of aquarium exhibit tanks produced high-positive scores overall (> 70/84), demonstrating that both wild collected (avg. score 78.8) and aquaculture fishes (avg. score 74.5) were coping appropriately within their environments. Although findings indicated that fish can be taken from the wild at low-moderate rates without any deleterious impact on the environment and cope equally well in aquarium settings, alternatives such as aquaculture should be considered as a strategy to reduce pressure on known stressed aquatic environments or where significant numbers of fishes are being taken.

Optimization of an Antibody Microarray Printing Process Using a Designed Experiment.

Antibody microarrays have proven useful in immunoassay-based point-of-care diagnostics for infectious diseases. Noncontact piezoelectric inkjet printing has advantages to print antibody microarrays on nitrocellulose substrates for this application due to its compatibility with sensitive solutions and substrates, simple droplet control, and potential for high-capacity printing. However, there remain real-world challenges in printing such microarrays, which motivated this study. The effects of three concentrations of capture antibody (cAb) reagents and nozzle hydrostatic pressures were chosen to investigate three responses: the number of printed membrane disks, dispensing performance, and microarray quality. Printing conditions were found to be most ideal with 5 mg/mL cAb and a nozzle hydrostatic pressure near zero, which produced 130 membrane disks in a single print versus the 10 membrane disks per print before optimization. These results serve to inform efficient printing of antibody microarrays on nitrocellulose membranes for rapid immunoassay-based detection of infectious diseases and beyond.

Three-dimensional evaluation of the maxillary effects of two orthopaedic protocols for the treatment of Class III malocclusion: A prospective study.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the three-dimensional maxillary dentoskeletal effects of a modified alternate rapid maxillary expansion and constriction facemask protocol (Alt-RAMEC/FM) with the traditional rapid maxillary expansion facemask protocol (RME/FM) performed in deciduous or early mixed dentition Class III patients. SETTING AND SAMPLE POPULATION: Orthodontic Clinic of the Section of Dentistry of the Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine of the University of Florence. Thirty-four Class III patients were enrolled and allocated by alternating assignment to either Alt-RAMEC/FM or RME/FM therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prior to treatment, all patients were evaluated, and a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan was acquired. After completion of the orthopaedic therapy (average interval 1.2 years), a follow-up CBCT scan was obtained. Anatomic landmark identification on the CBCTs and subsequent quantification of the changes were performed. The primary outcome variable was the anteroposterior displacement of the anterior nasal spine (ANS AP). The treatment groups were compared with independent samples t tests. RESULTS: The patients in the two treatment groups showed a similar degree of compliance. No statistically significant differences were recorded for any variable when comparing the Alt-RAMEC/FM and RME/FM groups. In particular, the between-group difference for ANS AP was 0.0 mm (95%CI: -0.6;0.7, P = 0.933). CONCLUSIONS: Both Alt-RAMEC/FM and RME/FM produced favourable orthopaedic changes in Class III growing patients. Neither protocol was superior to the other in terms of maxillary protraction effectiveness.