Early onset of embryonic mortality in sub-fertile families of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Survival during early embryonic development is highly variable in oviparous fishes and appears to be related to events associated with the female at the time of ovulation and spawning. The goal of this study was to identify critical periods of mortality associated with early embryonic development in egg batches from female rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) that were checked for ovulation every 5-7 days. The experiment was designed to specifically remove post-ovulatory ageing and reduce paternal variability. Embryo viability in 269 single-pair-mated families was systematically tracked at the following five stages: second cleavage (0.5 days post fertilisation (dpf)), elevated blastula (2.5 dpf), embryonic shield (6 dpf), embryonic keel (9 dpf), and retinal pigmentation (19 dpf). At each of the five stages families with embryo viability assessments of <80% were classed as sub-fertile, whereas those with >80% embryo viability were classed as fertile. Embryo viability in sub-fertile families was distinctly reduced at 0.5 dpf, in contrast to fertile families, but remained constant from that point through to 19 dpf. These results suggest that the critical period of early embryonic mortality in sub-fertile families of rainbow trout parallels events that occur at or shortly after fertilisation and is independent of post-ovulatory aging.

An evaluation of polishing agents for composite resins.

After the gross reduction and fine finishing of a composite resin restoration, selecting a system to create the smoothest polish is difficult because high magnification is necessary to compare the surface roughness. The surfaces of four anterior and posterior composite resins were compared using a Mylar strip, an unfilled resin as a glaze, polishing with three rubber polishers, and three different manufacturers' series of disks. This study suggested that pairing a specific composite resin with a matching polishing system produced the smoothest surface. Because of the differences in the size, shape, number of filler particles, and the type of resin, one system was incapable of creating the smoothest surface for all composite resins.