This study investigated and analysed survival, growth and macro- and microscopic damage during the development of zebrafish embryos up to the adult stage after undergoing cooling. The embryos at 50% epiboly stage were selected, submerged in cryoprotectant solution of methanol and sucrose, cooled gradually to 0 ± 2°C temperature, and divided into two groups with different storage times (6 and 18 h). Subsequently, the embryos were reheated, rehydrated and incubated normally. The experiment lasted 5 months and, from hatching onward, the larvae were examined, collected and processed at pre-established time intervals. The hatching rate was significantly higher for the larvae stored for 18 h compared with the 6-h group. However, embryos from this group gave rise to a larger number of malformations, and these were much more severe compared with those in the 6 h group, which led to a higher mortality in the long term. Regarding larval length, the animals of the 6 h group had higher mean total length compared with the 18 h group, but both treatments were inferior to the control. Numerous macro- and microscopic malformations were observed and, in both treatments, only the morphologically normal individuals were able to develop to the adult stage, with organ development similar to the control, except for the gonads that were still undifferentiated in treated animals.

A dramatic increase in twin pregnancies has been observed in the past few decades, primarily related to assisted reproductive techniques (ART) and increased average maternal age during pregnancy. Multiple pregnancies, compared to singleton pregnancies, are associated with greater perinatal morbidity and mortality. The present study evaluated the perinatal outcomes of pregnancies with discordant anomalous twins in a tertiary maternity ward in a developing country. Data were retrospectively collected from the Instituto Fernandes Figueira/FIOCRUZ, Brazil between January 2002 and December 2014. We identified 74 twin pregnancies with discordant anomalous twins. Final data analysis was based on 40 pregnancies. Congenital defects were classified according to the International Classification of Diseases: ICD-10: the digestive system was responsible in 27 (34%) cases; the central nervous system was responsible in 18 (22%) cases; the urinary tract was responsible in 14 (17%) cases; and the circulatory system was responsible in 14 (17%) cases. A total of 19 deaths occurred during the study period, and delivery before 30.4 weeks was a significant prediction of fetal death (p = .01). The presence of hydrops in the affected fetus was related to a higher number of deaths in healthy fetuses and contributed to a worse prognosis. The presence of this condition was the cause of 12 (55.6%) deaths in healthy fetuses. A 10 times higher risk of death of a normal co-twin was observed in cases of death of the anomalous twin (p = .002, OR 10.55, 95% CI: 1.9–58.52).

Nielsen RE. Treatment of psychosis during pregnancy – a case report and a mini-review.

Objective: Describe clinical problems in treating a patient with psychotic symptoms during pregnancy by presenting a case report, and review the current evidence on antipsychotic drugs during pregnancy.

Methods: The review consists of a non-systematic clinical review of current data on treatment with antipsychotics during pregnancy. The case, a 27 year old female initially diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a rape and emotionally unstable personality disorder, illustrates some of the common challenges a clinician meets. The patient initially discontinues all treatment as she is unsure if the drugs could have a teratogenic effect and is changed to a treatment that is regarded as safe during pregnancy.

Results: The current data supports treatment with chlorpromazine although there is a risk of side effects, e.g. extrapyramidal symptoms and hypotension, but also treatment with olanzapine and risperidone. If the patient is currently treated with clozapine, this treatment should be continued, due to clozapines unique efficacy profile. Blood monitoring for six months after birth is recommended when the newborn has been exposed to clozapine treatment.

Conclusion: Current evidence on treatment with antipsychotics during pregnancy is sparse, but not treating is associated with increased risks compared to treatment.

The first case of abnormal cephalic horns in the California bat ray, Myliobatis californica was found in one male juvenile specimen caught in a gillnet by artisanal elasmobranch fishermen on the west coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico. The specimen had three cephalic horns, two in the cephalic lobes zone and one in the rostral middle zone which could be indicative of a morphogenetic plasticity in these taxa that may have facilitated the evolution of rhinopterid and mobulid species from a common myliobatid ancestor with a similar role of feeding in Mobulidae and Rhinopteridae subfamilies.

Occurrence of abnormal rays reported in Indian waters was stumbled upon in the late 19th Century, but it was revised in the early 20th Century and in the past two decades. Reported morphological abnormalities for elasmobranchs in the Indian waters are restricted to pectorals that fail to unite with the sides of the head and fins that developed thick muscular segments. The occurrence of the malformed or adapted specimen Gymnura poecilura suggested reasons for adaptations or malformations.

Case reports of thoracopagus/xiphopagus conjoined twins by Godofredus Christell (1751) and Francesco Luigi Fanzago (1803) have been recovered and can be added to the history of conjoined twins.

Objectives: Previously in Finland, each municipality selected which methods to use in screening for fetal abnormalities. This resulted in practice variation and inequity. The national health technology assessment (HTA) office Finohta compared the methods and time frames available when screening for chromosomal and structural abnormalities. The assessment identified a need to discuss several value-laden questions before policy decisions could be taken.

Methods: The National Screening Committee (NSC) at the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (MOH) formulated a statement based on the HTA report to inform policy makers. This article describes the steps in the policy process.

Results: The national screening committee organized an open forum to discuss the ethically relevant aspects of fetal screening, and a lengthy public discussion highlighted the viewpoints of various stakeholders. Based on the assessment, public discussion, and several committee meetings that heard further experts, the NSC formulated a conclusion based on equity of access. This also offered options for families unwilling to terminate a pregnancy due to fetal abnormality. The MOH sent the conclusion to a comment round, and the proposal was accepted with minor adjustments. The Ministry decided to unify the regulation of all public screening programs by one statute. The policy process lasted three years, and the methods to screen for fetal abnormalities will be unified after a further 3 years.

Conclusions: The assessment of screening programs for fetal abnormalities reached beyond its original mandate. The process of examining values behind screening resulted in a program that respects the differing objectives and ethical values of pregnant families, and to national legislation on screening programs.

Seasonal population fluctuation of the coffee leafminer, Leucoptera coffeella (Guérin-Méneville & Perrottet) (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae), led to an investigation of its natural mortality factors during the rainy season when the population level is low and during the dry season when population peaks occur. Life-table data were colleted from insecticide-free plots within a 3 ha coffee plantation on the upper, medium and lower canopy. Leafminer mortality was similar among the canopy parts but varied in the two seasons studied. During the rainy season, the generational mortality averaged 94.3%, with 50.2, 33.7 and 10.4% occurring during egg, larval and pupal stages, respectively. During the dry season, total mortality was 89%, with 13.2, 61.0 and 14.8% occurring during egg, larval and pupal stages, respectively. Marginal mortality rates during the rainy season were highest for physiological disturbances, rainfall and egg inviability; but, in the dry season, they were highest for predaceous wasps, physiological disturbances and parasitoids. Egg and larval stages accounted for most of the mortality variation in the rainy season, while the combination of larval and pupal mortality better described the generational mortality in the dry season. Variation in mortality during the rainy season was primarily associated with egg inviability, rainfall and parasitoids. In contrast, predatory wasps and physiological disturbances were the main factors associated with mortality variation during the dry season. These results suggest that weather conditions, natural enemies and plant quality attributes are the main determinants of the population dynamics of L. coffeella.

Introduction. Biennial bearing and malformation are the two present problems of mango which are threatening the very existence of a global mango industry in India. Many factors are closely associated with these problems but, presently, those really responsible are not known exactly. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) plays vital roles in higher plants and, hence, its activity was measured in swollen buds at panicle initiation in regular and biennial bearing mango cultivars to establish a relation between the PPO activity and the flowering behaviour or the malformation incidence. Materials and methods. Six regular (Sensation, Eldon, Tommy Atkins, Amrapali, Neelum and Bangalora) and six biennial bearing cultivars (Langra, Chausa, Edward, St. Alexandrina, Extrema and Bombay Green) were studied. PPO activity was measured in fully swollen buds by preparing a crude enzyme extract at 4 °C. Catecholase activity was measured by using 4-methyl catechol (4-MC) as the substrate, while 4-methyl phenol (p-cresol) was used for cresolase. Results and discussion. Both catecholase and cresolase activities were higher in the swollen buds in the year 2000 than in 1999. Regular bearers exhibited low PPO activity and showed the higher incidence of malformation as compared to the biennial bearing cultivars.Whatever their type of production, cultivars exhibited significant variations in PPO activities and malformation incidence. Conclusion. A strong negative correlation between PPO activity and number of panicles, and PPO activity and malformation incidence, suggests that the PPO activity is inversely related to both flowering and malformation incidence in mango.

Gas-liquid chromatography was used to analyse the saponifiable and unsaponifiable fractions of petroleum ether (PE) extracts of neem fruits and leaves. Both fractions, as well as a crude PE extract, were assayed for biological activity against third instar cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis.

In neem fruits, eighty-eight percent (88%) of the saponifiable matter consisted of saturated fatty acids, while 12% was composed of unsaturated fatty acids. In the neem leaves, the corresponding proportions were 62 and 38%, respectively. Unsaponifiable matter of both fruits and leaves contained varying amounts of hydrocarbons and sterols. All the tested extracts demonstrated significant larvicidal effects against leafworm larvae. They also prolonged larval duration, caused malformations of the resulting pupae and significant adverse effects on the fecundity of resulting adults.

Bioassays against the fourth instar larvae of mosquito, Culex pipiens pipiens showed that the non polar part of the duck weed, Lemna minor extracts has a high insecticidal action. On the other hand, these extracts contained synomones of the duck weed which repelled the ovipositing females. By using concentrations equivalent to LC25, the survival resulting by the n. hexane was the least. The tolerance for the sublethal doses was associated with malformations in all stages. First instar larvae and recent pupae were more susceptible to the duck weed synomones than the other larval instars. The duck weed synomones repelled the ovipositing females of Piophila casei and have had an insecticidal effect on larvae and reduced resulting adults. When larvae of Spodoptera littoralis were subjected to sublethal doses of duck weed extract, malformations in the subsequent stages were found.