Histology is the microscopic inspection of plant or animal tissue. It is a critical component in diagnostic medicine and a tool for studying the pathogenesis and biology of processes such as cancer and embryogenesis. Tissue processing for histology has become increasingly automated, drastically increasing the speed at which histology labs can produce tissue slides for viewing. Another trend is the digitization of these slides, allowing them to be viewed on a computer rather than through a microscope. Despite these changes, much of the routine analysis of tissue sections remains a painstaking, manual task that can only be completed by highly trained pathologists at a high cost per hour. There is, therefore, a niche for image analysis methods that can automate some aspects of this analysis. These methods could also automate tasks that are prohibitively time-consuming for humans, e.g., discovering new disease markers from hundreds of whole-slide images (WSIs) or precisely quantifying tissues within a tumor.

/pdf/automated-histology-analysis-opportunities-for-signal-w2mndtplno.pdf

Automated Histology Analysis: Opportunities for signal processing

Viral nervous necrosis (VNN) certainly represents the biggest challenge for the sustainability and the development of aquaculture. A large number of economically relevant fish species have proven to be susceptible to the disease. Conversely, gilthead sea bream has generally been considered resistant to VNN, although it has been possible to isolate the virus from apparently healthy sea bream and sporadically from affected larvae and postlarvae. Unexpectedly, in 2014-2016 an increasing number of hatcheries in Europe have experienced mass mortalities in sea bream larvae. Two clinical outbreaks were monitored over this time span and findings are reported in this paper. Despite showing no specific clinical signs, the affected fish displayed high mortality and histological lesions typical of VNN. Fish tested positive for betanodavirus by different laboratory techniques. The isolates were all genetically characterized as being reassortant strains RGNNV/SJNNV. A genetic characterization of all sea bream betanodaviruses which had been isolated in the past had revealed that the majority of the strains infecting sea bream are actually RGNNV/SJNNV. Taken together, this information strongly suggests that RGNNV/SJNNV betanodavirus possesses a particular tropism to sea bream, which can pose a new and unexpected threat to the Mediterranean aquaculture.

/pdf/viral-nervous-necrosis-in-gilthead-sea-bream-sparus-aurata-25ulszh6bw.pdf

Viral nervous necrosis in gilthead sea bream ( Sparus aurata ) caused by reassortant betanodavirus RGNNV/SJNNV: an emerging threat for Mediterranean aquaculture

Design, synthesis, molecular modeling, in vivo studies and anticancer evaluation of quinazolin-4(3H)-one derivatives as potential VEGFR-2 inhibitors and apoptosis inducers.

Probiotic, prebiotic, and synbiotic application have got considerable attention in aquaculture as a functional feed additive. This trial was considered to assess the synbiotic potential of Aspergillus oryzae (ASP) and β-glucan (BG) on growth, antioxidant status, and immunomodulation of Nile tilapia. For 60 days fish fed the control, or three diets incorporated with 1 ASP, 1 BG, or 0.5 ASP + 0.5 BG g kg−1 (control, ASP, BG, and ASP/BG diets). After final sampling, fish fed ASP, BG, or ASP/BG diets exhibited significant (P < 0.05) increase in the growth and feed efficiency (FBW, WG, SGR, FER, and PER). Modulation of blood hematocrit, hemoglobin, RBC, WBC, total protein, and digestive enzymes was also recorded in the ASP, BG, or ASP/BG diets with the peak presence in the synbiotic group. However, decreased blood triglyceride was reported in fish fed ASP or ASP/BG diets. A significant (P < 0.05) elevation in villi length was observed by dietary supplementation of synbiotic over the other regimes. Further, ASP or synbiotic additives effectively elevated the activity of antioxidative enzymes (SOD and CAT), while GPX enhanced in ASP, BG, or ASP/BG groups. But, the oxidative enzyme (MDA) decreased in ASP or ASP/BG groups compared to the other groups. ASP or ASP/BG supplementation enhanced NBT, IgM, lysozyme, bactericidal, and phagocytosis which indicated improved immunity of tilapia by synbiotic additives. Accordingly, the use of synbiotic is an efficient approach to reach economically feasible and sustainable tilapia production.

Synbiotic Effects of Aspergillus oryzae and β-Glucan on Growth and Oxidative and Immune Responses of Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

The aquatic environment and the associated fish assemblages are being exposed to an increasing amount of microplastics. Despite the high number of publications on the presence of microplastics in fish, little is known about their uptake, translocation and accumulation within fish organs. Experimental studies on the detection and effects of pristine microplastics in fish have shown controversial and ambiguous results, respectively. Here, we conducted two experiments to detect and assess the impacts of dietary exposure of Danio rerio to different types of pristine microplastics. Our results show that D. rerio recognizes plastic particles as inedible materials but ingests them when mixed with food or fish oil. Accidental ingestion occurs in fish exposed to relatively small (1–5 µm) microplastic particles without associated food or fish oil. Additionally, D. rerio effectively eliminated pristine microplastics 24 h after ingestion; however, retention time was associated with increasing particle size and the intake of additional meals. Clinical signs, such as anorexia and lethargy, are present in fish fed relatively large microplastics (120–220 µm). The ingestion of microplastics does not induce any histopathological changes. To the best of our knowledge, we are able, for the first time, to fully demonstrate the uptake and translocation of plastic microbeads using confocal microscopy. Our results question the findings of previous studies on the detection and effects of pristine microplastics in fish and state that inaccurate interpretations of the histological findings regarding microplastics in fish organs is a prevalent flaw in the current scientific literature.

/pdf/an-end-to-the-controversy-over-the-microscopic-detection-and-1ixkr39mwz.pdf

JA Gilbertson

Papers

Bancroft's Theory and Practice of Histological Techniques