We conducted a study to determine the effect of dietary protein and lipid levels on the growth and reproductive performance of a freshwater ornamental species, the swordtail (Xiphophorus helleri). Two protein levels (20% and 30%) with four lipid levels (8%, 12%, 16%, 20%) within each protein levels were tested through formulation of practical diets labelled as 20P8L, 20P12L, 20P16L, 20P20L, 30P8L, 30P12L, 30P16L and 30P20L respectively. Results showed that dietary protein level significantly influenced final weight, weight gain and specific growth rate, while dietary lipid did not influence any of these growth parameters. More specifically, increasing dietary lipid levels from 8% to 12–16% in both 20% and 30% protein levels significantly improved swordtail growth performance. Dietary protein levels positively influenced gonadosomatic and hepatosomatic indexes. Both dietary protein and lipid significantly influenced female muscle protein content. Significantly highest fry production was obtained from diets 30P12L and 30P16L, respectively, while diet 20P8L resulted in the lowest fry production. This present study indicates the dietary protein and lipid requirements for female swordtails for optimized growth and reproductive performances to be at 30% and 12% respectively.

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Aims:  Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) with enhanced physicochemical properties will be ideal for a wide range of practical applications. The incorporation of 3‐hydroxy‐4‐methylvalerate (3H4MV) into the polymer backbone is known to improve the overall properties of the resulting polymer. However, the most suitable micro‐organism and PHA synthase that can synthesize this monomer efficiently still remain unknown at present. Therefore, we evaluated the abilities of a locally isolated Chromobacterium sp. USM2 to produce PHA containing 3H4MV. Methods and Results:  The ability of Chromobacterium sp. USM2 to synthesize poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxy‐4‐methylvalerate) [P(3HB‐co‐3H4MV)] was evaluated under different culture conditions. It was found that Chromobacterium sp. USM2 can synthesize P(3HB‐co‐3H4MV) when glucose and isocaproic acid were fed as carbon source. However, the highest molar fraction of 3H4MV, 22 mol% was detected in Chromobacterium sp. USM2 when isocaproic acid was provided as the sole carbon source. In addition, aeration was identified as a crucial factor in initiating the accumulation of high 3H4MV molar fractions. Conclusions:  Chromobacterium sp. USM2 was able to synthesize broad comonomer compositional distribution of P(3HB‐co‐3H4MV). Significance and Impact of the Study:  Compared with Cupriavidus necator and Burkholderia sp., Chromobacterium sp. USM2 was found to have better ability to bioconvert isocaproic acid to form 3H4MV unit.

This article examines and contrasts the performance of small-cap growth and small-cap value funds in the United States. Between May 2016 and May 2022, a total of 139 small-cap growth funds and 97 small-cap value funds were collected via Yahoo Finance. The weekly data was then used to calculate the Treynor ratio, Sharpe ratio, and Jensen alpha. The finding shows that US small-cap value funds appear to be superior to small-cap growth funds. The Sharpe and Treynor ratios demonstrate the higher risk-adjusted performance of small-cap value funds relative to their benchmarks. whereas the Sharpe ratio is the only indicator of outperformance for small-cap growth funds. Regarding the Jensen alpha, value funds possessed positive alphas and outperformed the benchmark. Therefore, the results of this study could aid investors in picking a portfolio with superior risk-adjusted performance.