Chemokines are chemotactic cytokines that have the ability to attract leukocytes and guide them via a concentration gradient to sites of injury/infection. These small, basic proteins are secreted when induced and act on their target cells through G-protein coupled receptors. The downstream effects of this family of immune molecules are vast and have not fully been characterized. These versatile molecules seem to be able to serve as a link between the innate and adaptive immune systems as they are capable of inducing the inflammatory response of the innate immune system as well as triggering the initiation of the adaptive immune system. There are currently 46 known chemokines in humans. Chemokines have also been isolated from mouse, chicken, frog and fish. The rainbow trout chemokine CK-2 is the only known functional CC chemokine in possession of a mucin stalk. A previous study in this lab showed that stimulation by PHA causes a decrease in CK-2 transcript levels in rainbow trout head kidney and peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) as well as in the rainbow trout macrophage-like cell line RTS-11. CK-2 protein was found expressed in RTS-11 but not in the spleen tissues of stimulated fish. A chemotaxis assay was performed to determine the activity of recombinant CK-2. It was observed that recombinant CK-2 induces the migration of rainbow trout PBLs as well as RTS-11 cells at an optimal concentration of 100ng/mL when purified under native conditions. The migration of cells treated with pertussis toxin is significantly reduced, indicating that it relies on G-protein coupled receptors. Treatment of RTS-11 cells with recombinant CK-2 results in changes in the expression profiles of various immune response genes including those that are involved in the inflammatory response and the responses against both intracellular and extracellular pathogens. Interestingly, rCK-2 induced an upregulation in the expression of the surface molecule CD4 at the level of transcription. The increase in CD4 may suggest a possible role for CD4 in the regulation of the cell’s response to chemokines, indicating a potential function for the molecule in macrophages which has yet to be determined. This study shows that CK-2 is a functional chemokine that has a role in the rainbow trout immune response involving, but not limited to, macrophages.

Lymphoma is a group of malignant tumour diseases developing in the secondary lymphatic system. These diseases can develop in all organs as lymphocytes are ubiquitously in the body. In connection to mucus membranes we find mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, MALT, in which lymphoma can spontaneously but slowly develop, mostly at chronic inflammation or at autoimmune diseases. Today these diseases are incureable with the exception of some cases caused by Helicobacter pylori-infection. Antibiotic treatment of these cases can induce remissions.MALT-lymphomas have characteristic histological and molecular properties. One of these properties is the translocation t(11; 18)(q21; q21) API2-MALT1 (apoptosis inhibitor 2 – MALT-lymphoma associated translocation 1) . This means that the API2 gene in chromosome 11 and the MALT1 gene in chromosome 18 have been broken and the formed chromosome fragments changed places, which results in formation of new fusion genes. The fusion genes API2-MALT1 encodes a protein, which results in increased inhibition of apoptosis and increased nuclear factor (NF)-κB activation, which results in uncontrolled cell proliferation and tumour cells will be formed.The aim of this work was to detect and analyse the MALT1-gene in tumour cells from cases with the diagnosis MALT-lymphoma in order to study the outcome of translocations. This was carried out with FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) -technique. Fluorochrome-labelled probes hybridize to each side of the breakpoint of the MALT1-gene and the result is studied in a fluorescence microscope.The translocation t(11;18)(q21;q21) was found in 22% of the diagnosed MALT-lymphoma patients, which is in accordance to similar studies. 2008:BL7 / Lymfom är en grupp maligna tumörsjukdomar som utvecklas i det sekundära lymfatiska systemet. Samtliga organ kan drabbas av sjukdomen eftersom lymfocyter finns i hela kroppen. I anslutning till slemhinnorna i kroppen finns mukosa-associerad lymfoid vävnad, MALT, som kan utveckla lymfom spontant, vid kronisk inflammation eller vid autoimmuna sjukdomar. MALT-lymfom utvecklas långsamt. Sjukdomen går idag inte att bota med undantag av en del fall som utlösts av en infektion med Helicobacter pylori. Antibiotikabehandling kan i dessa fall inducera remissioner.MALT-lymfom har karaktäristiska histologiska och molekylära egenskaper. En av dessa egenskaper är reciproka translokationer. Den mest förekommande translokationen vid MALT-lymfom är t(11;18)(q21;q21) API2-MALT1 (apoptosis inhibitor 2 — MALT-lymphoma associated translocation 1). Denna innebär att kromosom 11 i API2-genen liksom kromosom 18 i MALT1-genen har brustit av och att kromosomfragmenten bytt plats så att nya fusionsgener bildats. Den fusionsgen, som bildas i kromosom 11, kodar för proteinet API2-MALT1, vilket medför att apoptosen hämmas onormalt mycket samtidigt som nuclear factor (NF)-κB starkt aktiveras. Detta leder till okontrollerad cellproliferation, varigenom tumörceller bildas.Syftet med föreliggande studie var att studera utfallet av translokationer genom att påvisa MALT1-genen i tumörceller från fall som fått diagnosen MALT-lymfom. Detta utfördes med FISH(flourescense in situ hybridisation)-teknik. Flourokrommärkta prober binder då till var sida om brytpunkten på MALT1-genen och resultatet syns som färgade punkter då det studeras i flurescensmikroskop.Utfallet av translokationen t(11;18)(q21;q21) blev 22%, vilket stämmer överens med resultat från liknande studier.

Abstract: There were 75 families, 119 genera and 182 species of ichthyoplankton found in the adjacent areas of Kaohsiung and Liuchiu Yu Island. Fifty families, 82 genera and 111 species were collected in the surface waters, and 37 families, 54 genera and 68 species were collected in oblique tows to 100m with an open 1 m net, while 41 families, 48 genera and 73 species were collected by a multiple opening-closing net. Engraulis japonicus was the most dominant species, and was found all year round; other dominant species included coastal fish species (Apogonidae and Pomacentridae), anadromous species (Scombridae), oceanic species (Engraulidae and Myctophidae), and demersal species (Gobiidae). There were only 3 species of ichthyoplankton belonging to 3 genera and 2 families found in the Tapong Bay, all these species are benthic species. The coastal waters of Kaohsiung and Liuchiu Yu Island might be influenced both by the river and the topography of Kaping Trench, and thus the hydrological conditions of this area were more complex, and the ichthyoplankton was more diverse. On the other hand, the hydrological conditions of the semi-closed Tapong Bay changed less than that of the estuary of Kaoping river, thus the species composition of larval fish was simple and less diverse. Overall, the highest abundance of the ichthyoplankton in the adjacent areas of Kaohsiung and Liuchiu Yu Island was found in the wet season(June), with an average of 108¡Ó 116 ind./100 m3. E. japonicus was the most abundant in February, revealed that might be the breeding season of this species. Other dominant species (eg. Bregmaceros japonica and Tridentiger sp.) also showed significant seasonal variation. Higher abundance of ichthyoplankton was usually found in the entrance of Kaohsiung first harbor(St.1) and the estuary of Kaoping river(ie. St.4~6). No significant diel vertical migration of the ichthyoplankton was observed in this study. Most ichthyoplankton were found in the water column above 100 m during both day and night.

This research determined the influence of dietary vitamin E levels on the growth, body composition and various health indices of juvenile Epinephelus malabaricus. Five experimental diets were formulated by adding all-rac-a-tocopherol in 0, 200, 400, 1000 and 3000mg/kg feed to the basal feed that used casein as the sole protein source. The juveniles, having an average weight of 30g, were cultivated in an indoor closed recirculation system, with 6 fishes in each tank, and 3 tanks for each experimental feed. After the 17-week feeding trial, weight gain of the fish (170-250%) was not significantly affected by the vitamin E treatments. The supplemental level of vitamin E was positively related to the lipid levels in liver, but was negatively related to the protein levels in liver. Total w-3 HUFA of polar lipids in body muscle were decreased with the increasing supply of vitamin E. It was observed on the 11th week and beyond that the fish fed with the vitamin-free diet were prone to fail in taking in feed particles although their responses to feeding were of no difference to the supplemental groups. But once the supplemental levels of vitamin E were higher than 400mg/kg no difference in feeding failure was detected, indicating deficiency of vitamin E detrimentally affected fish feeding. Plasma AST activities in the 0 and 3000mg/kg groups were significantly higher than those of the other groups. Histological sections of fish liver indicated that liver cells in low vitamin E groups showed signs of vacuolization. TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) decreased with the increasing vitamin E levels in the feed. Vitamin E showed limited enhancement on the immune parameters studied. Except that agglutination titter was significantly higher in fish fed the high vitamin E diet (3000mg/kg) and serum lysozyme and erythrocyte SOD showed highest activity in 200 and 400mg/kg groups, intracellular super oxide anion of macrophages and serum alternative complement pathway activities were not significantly affected by vitamin E supplementation.

A simple design of automatic counting system for fish larvae Chien-hua Huang Advisor: Dr. Sun-chio Fong Institute of Marine Biology, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 804,Taiwan, R.O.C. The purpose of this study is to develop a portable-computer system for automatic counting of fish larvae. It was intended as an economical, fast and accurate tool for the general fish farmers. The basic principle of the system is to use gray level value of the three prime colors (red, green and blue) as an indicator to separate and estimate fish larvae within the CCTV image. The hardware part includes a CCTV camera which hooks up to an IBM compatible laptop computer. Images of fish in a tank were captured and stored for future counting process. Program was written in True Basic language for taking the average number of pixel for individual fish, and system optimization for estimating the total number of fishes within tank. Regression analytical methods were also employed for estimating and correction of bias and errors. In an experiment using the present system to estimate known numbers (100, 300, 500, 700 and 900) of larval Paracheirodon innesi in a 60-liter tank as the testing material, the estimated fish numbers were 132, 259, 495, 799 and 1054 respectively. The group of 500 fishes (standard deviation equals to 88) gave the best result. The total percentage of error ranged between 0.9% and 32%. Application of this system on other species of fishes is yet to be tested. It was safe to suggest that the current version of the system works only onto the same species of fishes under similar conditions (less than 1000 fishes of similar sizes, water depth of 25 cm etc.). For different target fishes under different type of container, a new set of error-correcting formula would be needed. However, the present results when compared with published reports of other system, are no less accurate. This system however is more economical and works more conveniently than do most others.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 94 p. : ill. (some col.), map. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stevens Point, 2009. / Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree Master of Science in Natural Resources (Fisheries), College of Natural Resources.) Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-63).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Trent University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 146-149).

Walleye fry stocking is common practice but success is rarely monitored. Use of oxytetracycline (OTC) can be used as a marking tool to identify stocked fish from naturally produced fish and determine stocking success. Through a series of experiments, parameters in the marking methodology were assessed for their effect on mark quality and retention of the mark over time. Mark quality was improved by marking fry at three days post hatch. Water source also significantly affected OTC mark quality. The use of powdered OTC produced higher quality marks than the use of liquid OTC. Retention of OTC marks was related to the quality of the OTC mark. Electrofishing surveys conducted on five lakes found high recruitment (>80%) among stocked walleye on two lakes, with more 40% recruitment on a third lake. This study found that stocked walleye fry were successfully recruited into the age 0+ year class. / October 2015