Optimal stocking density for beluga,Huso huso,and ship sturgeon,Acipenser nudiventris during the grow‐out phase

The influence of three different initial stocking densities (SD) in flowthrough systems was evaluated on growth performance and feed utilizaition in beluga, Huso huso, and ship sturgeon, Acipenser nudiventris, juveniles in three different grow‐out phases for 228 days. In each grow‐out phase, fish were randomly distributed in 18 concrete square tanks (2.0 × 1.0 × 1.2 m³; 2 m³ of volume) according to the experimental SD. At the first phase, both fish species were subjected to three SD including 1.5, 3 and 6 kg/m² for 60 days. In the second phase, fish were submitted to three SD including 3, 6 and 9 kg/m², whereas in the third phase, beluga were stocked at 6, 9 and 12 kg/m² and ship sturgeon were stocked at 6, 8 and 10 kg/m² and each phase lasted for 12 weeks. In both species, the growth performance and feed intake (FI) significantly decreased with increasing SD at the end of the first phase (p < 0.05). In the second phase, growth performance and FI in beluga decreased with increasing SD, whereas in ship sturgeon neither growth nor FI were affected by SD. Interestingly, the growth performance and feed utilization in both species were not decreased with increasing SD in the third phase indicating adaptability of these species to high stocking density during grow‐out period. According to the result of this study, the appropriate initial SD for beluga within the range of 100–500, 500–2,000 and 1,500–3,000 g were at 1.5, 6 and 12 kg/m², respectively in an open flow‐throw system. Regarding to ship sturgeon, initial SD at 1.5 and 10 kg/m²recommended for fish within the range of 100–300 and 300–1,200 g, respectively in an open flow‐throw system.     

Use of 17α-methyltestosterone to sex inverse gynogenic female rainbow trout

Oral administration of 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) was used in two experiments to sex inverse gynogenic rainbow trout. In both experiments MT was mixed into the feed in dosages of .5 mg, 1 mg, and 3 mg/kg. In Experiment 1 the treatment lasted for 300° days, 450° days, and 700° days, and in Experiment 2 for 600° days, 750° days and 938° days. Significant Chi-Square tests (P < 0.01, P < 0.001) regarding the number of phenotypic males in both experiments showed that MT dosage and treatment duration did not act independently. At about 1 year of age the highest numbers of phenotypic males were achieved when a lower dosage (.5 mg or 1 mg) was fed for a longer duration (750° days, 938° days); 100% males were found in the 1 mg-750° d and the .5 mg-938° d treatments. In the 1-year-old phenotypic males in Experiment 2, body weight and gonad weight were correlated with r = 0.60 (P < 0.001). The analyses of variance showed that body weight was affected by gonad weight group and MT dosage, while gonad weight was not affected by MT dosage or treatment duration. Data on sex distribution at maturity are available for Experiment 1. Here, too, the lower dosages of .5 mg and 1 mg/kg applied for the longer 700° day duration, as well as the 1 mg-450° day treatment, and achieved the best results of 60% phenotypic males.     

First maturity and spawning periodicity of hatchery‐origin pallid sturgeon in the upper Missouri River above Fort Peck Reservoir,Montana

The pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus conservation propagation program has augmented declining wild populations since the 1990s and the older age classes of hatchery‐origin fish are beginning to reach sexual maturity in the wild. Currently, the majority of the information available on the age and size at first maturity and spawning periodicity for pallid sturgeon in the upper basin is from captive hatchery‐origin pallid sturgeon (i.e. age and size at first maturity and spawning periodicity) or from wild pallid sturgeon artificially spawned in the propagation program (i.e. spawning periodicity). The purpose of this study was to document age and size at first maturity and spawning periodicity of known age hatchery‐origin pallid sturgeon that have reached maturity in the wild. Radio‐tagged pallid sturgeon in the upper Missouri River upstream of Fort Peck Reservoir were serially sampled in the early‐spring over multiple years and assigned to reproductive classifications each year based on sex‐steroid concentrations. The youngest reproductively‐active male hatchery‐origin pallid sturgeon sampled was 14.5 years old and the youngest female was 18. Hatchery‐origin males were observed having annual (N = 3) and biennial (N = 2) reproductive cycles. The observed spawning periodicity was similar to what has been reported elsewhere for the species. The youngest mature fish in this study are older and larger than what has been reported for those retained in captivity, indicating that body size alone is not a reliable predictor of maturity for pallid sturgeon.     

Cistanches alleviates sevoflurane‐induced cognitive dysfunction by regulating PPAR‐γ‐dependent antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory in rats

This study aimed to investigate the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of cistanche on sevoflurane‐induced aged cognitive dysfunction rat model. Aged (24 months) male SD rats were randomly assigned to four groups: control group, sevoflurane group, control + cistanche and sevoflurane + cistanche group. Subsequently, inflammatory cytokine levels were measured by ELISA, and the cognitive dysfunction of rats was evaluated by water maze test, open‐field test and the fear conditioning test. Three days following anaesthesia, the rats were killed and hippocampus was harvested for the analysis of relative biomolecules. The oxidative stress level was indicated as nitrite and MDA concentration, along with the SOD and CAT activity. Finally, PPAR‐γ antagonist was used to explore the mechanism of cistanche in vivo. The results showed that after inhaling the sevoflurane, 24‐ but not 3‐month‐old male SD rats developed obvious cognitive impairments in the behaviour test 3 days after anaesthesia. Intraperitoneal injection of cistanche at the dose of 50 mg/kg for 3 consecutive days before anaesthesia alleviated the sevoflurane‐induced elevation of neuroinflammation levels and significantly attenuated the hippocampus‐dependent memory impairments in 24‐month‐old rats. Cistanche also reduced the oxidative stress by decreasing nitrite and MDA while increasing the SOD and CAT activity. Moreover, such treatment also inhibited the activation of microglia. In addition, we demonstrated that PPAR‐γ inhibition conversely alleviated cistanche‐induced protective effect. Taken together, we demonstrated that cistanche can exert antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, anti‐apoptosis and anti‐activation of microglia effects on the development of sevoflurane‐induced cognitive dysfunction by activating PPAR‐γ signalling.     

Identification of key nutrients for gonadal development by comparative analysis of proximate composition and fatty/amino acid profile in tissues and eggs of Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis Gray, 1835)

The present study was conducted to characterize the proximate composition and fatty/amino acid profile in muscle, liver and gonads obtained from farmed male and female Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) with gonad development at stage II, and to discern the key nutrients for gonads by comparing the nutrients between tissues and between fish at different gonad stages. Chinese sturgeon were reared in an outdoor circular cement pool at temperatures ranging from 8°C to 26°C, and fed with 70% artificial diets and 30% frozen forage fish at a feeding rate of 0.2%–1.5% body weight according to the water temperature. Three male and three female A. sinensis were sampled for analyses. Results showed that the lipid content in gonads was significantly higher than in other tissues in both males and females (p < .05). The protein content in male and female gonads was significantly lower than that in the muscle (p < .05). Total content of mono‐unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) in females was significantly higher than in males (p < .05), while the total content of n‐6 PUFA in females was significantly lower than in males (p < .05). Palmitic acid (C16:0) and oleic acid (C18:1n9) were the major saturated fatty acid (SFA) and MUFA, respectively, in both females and males. The contents of C18:2n6, C20:4n6 (ARA), C18:3n3 and C22:6n3 (DHA) in male gonads were significantly higher than in females (p < .05). The contents of ARA, EPA and DHA in gonads were lower, possibly playing a pivotal role in gonad development. Comparing the nutrients of ovaries in broodstocks at stages III and IV and the eggs at stage IV, the present study suggests that the lipid and fatty acid profile in fish is vital to the gonad development and that proper improvement of lipid nutrition in the broodstock diet to provide sufficient energy and essential fatty acids would be beneficial for the gonad development of Acipenser sinensis.     

Early sex identification of 18‐month cultured beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) using ultrasonography,small surgery and plasma steroid hormones

Since sturgeons do not show clear sexual dimorphism particularly when are small in size, attempts were made to determine the best methods to identify early sex in farmed beluga sturgeon (Huso huso). The present study describes the ultrasonography, small surgery and plasma steroid hormone methods to determine gender at 18‐month fish, which no research has been conducted yet into the fish at such small ages. Twenty one cultured beluga sturgeon's gonad were imaged using an ultrasonograph unit with a 9–13 MHz linear transducer. Overall accuracy of sex determination using ultrasonography was 80.95%. Plasma testosterone (T) levels were significantly higher in males than in females whereas 17α,20βOH‐P levels were significantly higher in females than in males. Testosterone (T) and 17α,20βOH‐P were not correlated with morphometric parameters (TL, SL, W, CF) in 18‐month beluga sturgeon. Results of this study indicated that sex could be identified by each of ultrasonography, small surgery and analysis of blood plasma in such a small size (18‐month). Although direct observation was more efficient than the other methods, ultrasonography was the simplest and cost‐effective tool in sturgeon's sex determination compared to other methods, and the least invasive.     

Climate change,sex reversal and lability of sex‐determining systems

Sex reversal at high temperatures during embryonic development (e.g., ZZ females) provides the opportunity for new genotypic crosses (e.g., ZZ male × ZZ female). This raises the alarming possibility that climatic warming could lead to the loss of an entire chromosome—one member of the sex chromosome pair (the Y or W)—and the transition of populations to environmental sex determination (ESD). Here we examine the evolutionary dynamics of sex‐determining systems exposed to climatic warming using theoretical models. We found that the loss of sex chromosomes is not an inevitable consequence of sex reversal. A large frequency of ZZ sex reversal (50% reversal from male to female) typically divides the outcome between loss of the ZW genotype and the stable persistence of ZZ males, ZW females and ZZ females. The amount of warming associated with sex chromosome loss depended on several features of wild populations—environmental fluctuation, immigration, heritable variation in temperature sensitivity and differential fecundity of sex‐reversed individuals. Chromosome loss was partially or completely buffered when sex‐reversed individuals suffered a reproductive fitness cost, when immigration occurred or when heritable variation for temperature sensitivity existed. Thus, under certain circumstances, sex chromosomes may persist cryptically in systems where the environment is the predominant influence on sex.     

Reproductive ecology and movement of pallid sturgeon in the upper Missouri River,Montana

Successful recruitment of endangered pallid sturgeon has not been documented in the upper Missouri River basin for decades, and research on the reproductive ecology of pallid sturgeon has been hindered by low sample size. A conservation propagation program was initiated in the 1990s, and the oldest age class of hatchery‐origin pallid sturgeon are becoming sexually mature increasing the number of reproductively‐active fish in the system. However, it is currently unknown how the reproductive ecology of hatchery‐origin pallid sturgeon relates to the few remaining wild fish. Following spring reproductive assessments, weekly relocations were recorded for each individual from late‐May to mid‐July to facilitate comparisons of spawning season movements among reproductive classifications and between spring hydrographs (2015 and 2016) for male pallid sturgeon. Mean total movement distances (±SE) were 104.5 km (18.9) for reproductively‐active wild males, 116.0 km (18.1) for reproductively‐active 1997‐year class males, and 20.6 km (3.0) for non‐reproductively‐active fish of unconfirmed sex. Movement characteristics of reproductively‐active males did not differ between 2015 and 2016 despite a difference of eight days in the timing of peak discharge and a difference of 79 m³/s (16.7%) in magnitude. Male aggregations were observed on the descending limb of the hydrograph in 2016 during temperatures suitable for spawning, but female pallid sturgeon underwent follicular atresia, similar to the other years of the study. Hatchery‐origin pallid sturgeon from the conservation propagation program appear to have retained reproductive characteristics from the wild broodstock, a key finding for a population where local extirpation of the wild stock is imminent.     

Development of 2‐phenylethanol plus acetic acid lures to monitor obliquebanded leafroller (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) under mating disruption

We evaluated the effectiveness of 2‐phenylethanol (PET) in combination with acetic acid (AA) as a binary lure for monitoring male and female obliquebanded leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris). Studies were conducted in apple, Malus domestica Borkhausen, orchards treated with or without sex pheromone dispensers for mating disruption (MD). Open polypropylene vials, closed membrane cups, and rubber septa loaded with AA and/or PET in varying amounts were first evaluated in a series of trapping experiments. Membrane cups loaded with 800 mg of PET were as effective as 10‐mg septa, but longer lasting, and were comparable to the open vials. A membrane cup AA lure was effective in tests, but further work is needed to increase its release rate and extend its activity. Catches of codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), and C. rosaceana were unaffected by combining PET with (E,E)‐8,10‐dodecadien‐1‐ol, the sex pheromone of codling moth, pear ester, (E,Z)‐2,4‐ethyl‐decadienoate and AA lures. Adding (E)‐4,8‐dimethyl‐1,3,7‐nonatriene to this blend to enhance codling moth catch significantly reduced catches of C. rosaceana. PET + AA was a more attractive binary lure than AA plus phenylacetonitrile (PAN) for C. rosaceana. The addition of PET or PAN to traps already baited with the sex pheromone of C. rosaceana significantly reduced male catches. Traps baited with PET + AA placed in blocks not treated with MD caught significantly fewer C. rosaceana than traps baited with sex pheromone. In comparison, sex pheromone‐baited traps in MD blocks caught ≤1 male moth per season which was significantly lower than total moth (>10) or female moth (≥3) catch in these blocks with PET + AA. A high proportion (>70%) of trapped females were mated in both untreated and MD‐treated orchards. Further refinement of this binary, bisexual lure using membrane cup technology may allow the establishment of action thresholds and improve management timings for C. rosaceana.     

甲基睾丸酮对大瓶螺雄性化的影响

本文报道了用含甲基睾丸酮（MT）30和60μg/g剂量的载药饵粒饲喂6日龄大瓶螺（Ampu.llaria gigas Spix）6天,雄螺百分比分别为46.2%和56.3%。统计学检验显示对照组与30μg/g剂量组间无显著性差异,与60μg/g剂量组间有显著性差异。说明MT对6日龄大瓶螺有一定的雄性化作用。因为,用性激素使性别功能改变的条件是处理期必须开始于性别分化完成以前,故推断大瓶螺性别分化完成可能不会早于孵化出的第6天。     

Temporal and regional progression of Alzheimer’s disease‐like pathology in 3xTg‐AD mice

Accumulation of amyloid‐β (Aβ) and fibrillary tangles, as well as neuroinflammation and memory loss, are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). After almost 15 years from their generation, 3xTg‐AD mice are still one of the most used transgenic models of AD. Converging evidence indicates that the phenotype of 3xTg‐AD mice has shifted over the years and contradicting reports about onset of pathology or cognitive deficits are apparent in the literature. Here, we assessed Aβ and tau load, neuroinflammation, and cognitive changes in 2‐, 6‐, 12‐, and 20‐month‐old female 3xTg‐AD and nontransgenic (NonTg) mice. We found that ~80% of the mice analyzed had Aβ plaques in the caudal hippocampus at 6 months of age, while 100% of them had Aβ plaques in the hippocampus at 12 months of age. Cortical Aβ plaques were first detected at 12 months of age, including in the entorhinal cortex. Phosphorylated Tau at Ser202/Thr205 and Ser422 was apparent in the hippocampus of 100% of 6‐month‐old mice, while only 50% of mice showed tau phosphorylation at Thr212/Ser214 at this age. Neuroinflammation was first evident in 6‐month‐old mice and increased as a function of age. These neuropathological changes were clearly associated with progressive cognitive decline, which was first apparent at 6 months of age and became significantly worse as the mice aged. These data indicate a consistent and predictable progression of the AD‐like pathology in female 3xTg‐AD mice, and will facilitate the design of future studies using these mice.     

Effects of 17α‐methyltestosterone on the growth performance,development, and reproduction of gynogenetic topmouth culter (Culter alburnus Basilewsky)

This study investigated the effects of 17α‐methyltestosterone (17α‐MT) on the physiological properties of gynogenetic topmouth culter (Culter alburnus). Five 17α‐MT concentration (0, 10, 25, 40, and 60 μg/g) groups were set up in Experiment 1, and three treatment and recovery methods of the above five concentrations were studied in Experiment 2. In Experiment 3, fish were fed with increasing concentrations of 17α‐MT (from 40 μg/g to 140 μg/g) in an outdoor pond. In Experiment 1, growth was promoted during the initial 60 days in the 10 μg/g group, whereas inhibition was first observed at 20 days after treatment in the 60 μg/g group. Increased concentration (40–60 μg/g) of 17α‐MT significantly inhibited the expression of FOXL2 and CYP19a gene but significantly activated the expression of AMH and DMRT1 gene. The levels of superoxide dismutase, estradiol, testosterone, growth hormone, and tetraiodothyronine in the 40 and 60 μg/g groups were significantly higher than those in the other concentration groups at 40 days after treatment. In Experiment 2, almost all indexes detected besides the expression of reproduction‐related genes in the 17α‐MT treatment groups were recovered to those in the control groups. All gonads observed in Experiments 1 and 2 remained in a primordial state after treatment with different concentrations of 17α‐MT. In Experiment 3, 100% of the detected gonads developed into testes at 126 and 460 days post‐fertilization after three‐month outdoor 17α‐MT induction. These results suggest that 17α‐MT affects the physiological processes related to sexual differentiation in topmouth culter and that feeding 17α‐MT with increasing dose in an outdoor pond provides an effective protocol for producing neo‐male topmouth culter.     

Yield improvement through female homosexual hybrids and sex genetics of sweet gourd (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Momordica cochinchinensis</Emphasis> Spreng.)

The present research aimed to evaluate the effect of silver nitrate (AgNO₃) on sex modification in sweet gourd (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng.), and to explore the possibility of sexual crossing between two genetically female plants. Spray applications of AgNO₃ on 30 days’ old female plants induced hermaphrodite flowers. Male plants were insensitive to the AgNO₃ sprays. Application of 500 mg/l AgNO₃ on female plants produced the maximum proportion of induced hermaphrodite flowers. Hermaphrodite flowers appeared 17–21 days after AgNO₃ spray and continued up to 8–17 days, depending upon the concentration of AgNO₃. Pollen grain viability of induced hermaphrodite flowers (93.5%) was similar to pollen grain viability of normal male (95.0%) flowers. Because of higher fruit weight, progenies from female homosexual cross recorded higher yield. The hybrids from such crosses produced only female plants while the hybrids between female and normal male segregated into male and female in an equal proportion, indicating that sex in sweet gourd is controlled by a single factor, male being heterozygous and female being homozygous recessive. Through this technique, elite characters of female genotypes could be combined into a single plant.     

甲基睾丸酮在罗非鱼苗种体内的消解规律

研究了养殖场在大规模养殖下,甲基睾丸酮用于尼罗罗非鱼苗雄性化后在苗种体内的消解规律。采用含200mg/kg甲基睾丸酮的饲料持续喂养尼罗罗非鱼苗30d来进行雄性化,随后鱼苗放入池塘来进行甲基睾丸酮的消解实验,应用高效液相色谱法检测不同时间鱼苗体内甲基睾丸酮的残留量,并用SPSS Statistics 17.0统计软件结合EXCEL 2003进行数据处理和分析,来研究甲基睾丸酮的消解规律。结果表明,两次投喂间甲基睾丸酮在罗非鱼体内是缓慢减少的,但是在罗非鱼雄性化期间甲基睾丸酮在罗非鱼体内具有一致性。此外,停药后甲基睾丸酮消解比较缓慢,在停药约115d,鱼苗体重为(14.12±2.12)g时甲基睾丸酮才基本无检出,拟合回归得到指数方程y=1779.6e-0.0369x,R2=0.9332。这说明甲基睾丸酮的消解符合指数递减,后期消解缓慢,建议在养殖过程中不宜使用甲基睾丸酮。     

性逆转石斑鱼性腺差异表达基因的克隆和筛选

以 17α 甲基睾丸酮 (17α MT)饲喂 2～ 4龄赤点石斑鱼 (Epinephelusakaara) ,成功地促使其性转变为具有生殖功能的雄鱼 .应用抑制性差减杂交 (SSH)技术构建了石斑鱼性反转前后性腺组织的SMARTcDNA文库及其cDNA差减文库 ,从中随机挑取 12 0 0个克隆进行了PCR和斑点杂交筛选 ,得到 12 0个差异表达cDNA片段 .挑选 71个cDNA克隆测序 ,将所测序列经GenBank检索和生物信息学比较 ,发现有 5 1个cDNA片段序列无明显的同源性 ,2 0个片段与报道的基因有较高同源性 .在这 2 0个具同源性的片段中有 3个片段可能是与性别分化密切相关的重要功能基因 ,它们是钙调蛋白基因、活性蛋白激酶C受体基因和一氧化氮合酶蛋白抑制剂基因 .这 3个基因被分别命名为鱼钙调蛋白基因 (GenBankaccession :AY2 8136 3)、鱼活性蛋白激酶C受体基因 (GenBankaccession :AY2 8136 4)和鱼一氧化氮合酶蛋白抑制剂基因 (GenBankaccession :AY2 8136 5 ) .     

Dietary niacin requirement of fingerling Channa punctatus (Bloch)

A 16‐week experiment was accomplished to determine the dietary niacin requirement of fingerling Channa punctatus (6.8 ± 0.92 cm; 4.65 ± 0.46 g) by feeding seven casein‐gelatin based isonitrogenous (450 g/kg CP) and isoenergetic (18.39 kJ/g GE) diets with graded levels of niacin (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 mg/kg diet) twice a day to apparent satiation to triplicate groups of fish. Significantly best absolute weight gain (AWG; 38.19 g/fish), feed conversion ratio (FCR; 1.42) and protein retention efficiency (PRE; 26.47%) were registered in fish fed 40 mg niacin/kg diet. Also, fish fed above diet exhibited maximum carcass protein. Hemoglobin (Hb), RBCs counts and hematocrit (Hct) were improved with the incremental levels of dietary niacin up to 40 mg/kg. However, liver niacin content showed the positive correlation up to 50 mg/kg niacin and then leveled off. Fingerling C. punctatus fed niacin‐free diet showed retarded growth, poor feed utilization, high mortality, difficult motion and skin haemorrhage. Broken‐line regression analysis of AWG, FCR and PRE indicated that fingerling C. punctatus require niacin in the range of 37.1–42.1, whereas that of liver niacin concentration indicated the niacin requirement at 52.3 mg/kg dry diet.     

Determination of sex and maturity stage of great sturgeon (Huso huso) using steroid sex hormones profiles,histology and laparoscopic images of gonads

We studied sex and maturity stage of great sturgeon with different reproductive stages using sex steroid hormones concentrations in blood plasma, gonad histology and laparoscopic technique. One hundred sixty farmed great sturgeons at ages between 1 and +12 years and weight ranged from 0.45 to 49.65 kg (80 males and 80 females, 20 fish of each maturity stage) were selected. Mean sex steroid levels showed that testosterone (T) and 11ketotestosterone (11KT) in plasma varied significantly by sex and maturity stage. But the mean concentrations of 17B‐estradiol (E2) varied significantly only between the maturity stages I and III. All fish were sex determined by laparoscopy and histology examinations confirmed it. Our results showed, however laparoscopy was effective method for sex determination at four maturity stages, but young fish at maturity stage I required gonadal histology examinations to confirm sex. The present study results showed that some steroid sex hormones (T and 11KT) can be used to determine sex and reproductive stage in great sturgeon, especially in later maturity stages. Although the laparoscopy may be stressful and cause small scars on the body of the fish, but it is a fast, effective, and cheap method for sex and maturity stage assessment (30 to 40 s for each fish), especially at later maturity stages. Histology of gonads is a very accurate, but it is an invasive method and not a suitable technique for commercial purposes. Histology is more suited for scientific studies than commercial application. The ability to use minimally invasive methods for sex determination will assist broodstock management and conservation in sturgeons.     

Reproductive demographics,intersex, and altered hormone levels in shortnose sturgeon,Acipenser brevirostrum,from Delaware River,USA

Non‐lethal sampling techniques were used to document the reproductive structure of the shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) population at a fish aggregation site (near Bordentown, New Jersey) in the Delaware River. A total of 68 fish were captured using gill nets (100 × 1.8 m, 12.7 or 15.2 cm mesh) and examined laparoscopically in May–June, and 61 additional fish captured and examined in November during 2006–2011. Six stages of reproductive development were identified in females and five stages were identified in males, encompassing differentiation through maturity in both sexes. Fish captured in the spring were predominantly immature with a higher proportion of females (1 : 1.2 M : F sex ratio), while mature males predominated in the autumn (5.7 : 1 M : F), indicating that the Bordentown area serves as an overwintering/pre‐spawn aggregation site. Three distinct forms of intersex were noted in gonads of 11.6% of fish examined: ovo‐testis, consisting of scattered spermatic cysts in predominantly immature ovary (3.9%); testis‐ova, consisting of ovarian lamellae projecting from a predominantly immature testes (4.7%); and zonal distribution, consisting of multiple, nearly‐homogenous pockets of either testicular or ovarian tissues along the gonad (3%). The hormone profile in fish with ovo‐testis was similar to that of immature males, while the hormone profile in fish with testis‐ova was similar to that of immature females. The relatively high prevalence of intersex raises concerns regarding potential reproductive effects and long‐term impacts on shortnose sturgeon in the Delaware River.     

Malformations of the Great Vessels in the Neonatal Rat Induced by N‐(2‐Aminoethyl)ethanolamine

The reproductive and developmental toxicity of aminoethylethanolamine was evaluated in a standard screening study (OECD, 1995: Organisation for economic co‐operation and development. Paris, France), in which groups of Wistar rats (10/sex/group) were administered the test substance by gavage at dosage levels of 50, 250, or 1000 mg/kg/day (groups 2–4, respectively). A control group received the vehicle, doubly distilled water. No live pups were delivered in group 4, and there was a higher incidence of stillborn offspring and reduced postnatal survival in group 3. Macroscopic changes in groups 2 and 3 were primarily related to the great vessels and characterized by dilations, aneurysms, and altered course of the aorta, pulmonary trunk, carotids, and the ductus arteriosus. A follow‐up study was conducted to characterize the low dose‐response, using dosage levels of 0, 0.2, 1, 5, or 50 mg/kg/day (groups 1–5, respectively). Given the expected scarcity of the lesions in control offspring, each group consisted of 25 animals of each sex. Macroscopic examination revealed a high incidence (18.5%) of aneurysm‐bearing offspring in group 5 litters, and single offspring (0.3–0.4%) with aneurysms in groups 3 and 4. Microscopic examination revealed dissecting aneurysms in offspring from all aminoethylethanolamine treatment groups, without a clear dose‐response between groups 2 and 4 (0.6%, 1.2%, and 0.3%, respectively), and focal hemorrhages in all groups including the control. In comparison, the background incidence of aneurysms in untreated 4‐day old offspring was 0.2% (Treumann et al., 2011: Toxicol Pathol 39:969–974). Consequently, the findings in groups 2–4 cannot be conclusively attributed to treatment.