Stock structure analysis of Nemipterus bipunctatus (Valenciennes, 1830) from three locations along the Indian coast

1888-1895Present study was done to identify the occurrence of various stocks of Nemipterus bipunctatus along the Indian coast, based on their body and skull shape morphometrics. Fish samples were collected from three locations along the Indian coast viz. Chennai along the East coast and Mumbai and Veraval on the West coast. Twenty truss distances from nine-point truss network of body and twenty-one truss distances from eleven-point truss network of the skull were measured from each fish sample. The canonical discriminant analysis showed that the truss distances belong to the anterior region and caudal peduncle of body and olfactory region of skull were significant in separating the fish stocks. The artificial neural network analysis revealed 91.4 % and 86.14 % well classification of the specimen, based on the truss distances of body and skull respectively. The results from the study indicated that there is a significant difference among the stocks of N. bipunctatus

Fish models in experimental pharmacology: on the mark or off the mark

Fish has emerged as an alternative model organism in biomedical research for conducting experimental pharmacological and toxicological studies. As a vertebrate, it shares many conserved physiological and molecular features with humans making it a valuable model for diagnosing, investigating disease states and testing drugs to check toxicity and therapeutic activity against the target. Zebrafish and medaka are mainstream models that are widely employed in pharmaceutical research. This study aims to highlight the probability and potential of fish as an alternative model organism in biomedical research, drug discovery and development. Further, it discusses the limitations of fish models in experimental pharmacological and toxicological studies considering the changes in the residing environment, physiology, metabolism, unpredictable inter-individual variability due to diseases, variable conditioning, and interspecific and intraspecific variability

(3S,4R)-4-(4-Fluoro­phen­yl)-3-(hydroxy­meth­yl)piperidinium chloride1

The title compound, C12H17FNO+·Cl−, is a degradation impurity of paroxetine hydro­chloride hemihydrate (PAXIL), an anti­depressant belonging to the group of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Similar to the paroxetine hydro­chloride salt with protonation having taken place on the basic piperidine ring, the degradation impurity also exists as the hydro­chloride salt. The cyclic six-membered piperidinium ring adopts a chair conformation with the hydroxy­methyl and 4-fluoro­phenyl groups in the equatorial positions. The ions form a tape along the b axis through charge-assisted N+—H⋯Cl− hydrogen bonds; these tapes are connected by O—H⋯Cl− hydrogen bonds along the a axis

Bronchial & Alveolar Lipidomic Profile as a Marker of the Immunological and Functional Status of the Lung Allograft.

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Effect of environmental variables on the growth of Asian green mussel Perna viridis (Linnaeus, 1758), in two different aquaculture systems in Goa, west coast of India

Asian Green mussel, Perna viridis (Linnaeus, 1758), is a bivalve mollusc with high market demand along India’s western coast, specifically in Goa. An experiment was conducted to compare the environmental variables, specific growth rate (SGR) and length-weight progression of the species raised in two different coastal aquaculture systems; a semi-enclosed water body (SEW) and an open-water system (OWS). The variables chlorophyll-a and plankton density were high in SEW and these variables were positively correlated with the growth rate of the species. The ‘b’ value of the length-weight relationship and SGR were found high and allometric in nature in SEW. The prediction of SGR using the generalised linear model has indicated that plankton density and nitrate are the variables that influence the growth of P. viridis. Thus, being a predominant filter-feeder on plankton, the high plankton density channeled through the rich nutrients and chlorophyll content might have triggered the growth of mussels in SEW. India is blessed with many semi-enclosed coastal water bodies lying unutilised, and the results indicate that there is scope for mussel culture in these systems, which will provide a source of secondary livelihood for the coastal fishers

PBEF1/NAmPRTase/Visfatin: a potential malignant astrocytoma/glioblastoma serum marker with prognostic value

Malignant astrocytomas comprise anaplastic astrocytoma (AA; grade III) and Glioblastoma (GBM; grade IV). GBM is the most malignant with a median survival of 10-12 months in patients. Using cDNA microarray based expression profiling of different grades of astrocytomas, we identified several fold increased levels of PBEF1 transcripts in GBM samples. Pre-B-cell colony enhancing factor 1 gene (PBEF1) encodes Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAmPRTase), which catalyses the rate limiting step in the salvage pathway of NAD metabolism in mammalian cells. Further validation using real time RT-qPCR on an independent set of tumor samples (n=91) and normal brain samples (n=9), GBM specific higher expression of PBEF1 was confirmed. Immunohistochemical staining for PBEF1 on a subset of the above samples largely reinforced our finding. We carried out ELISA analysis on serum samples of astrocytoma patients to determine whether this protein levels would correlate with the presence of tumor and tumor grade. PBEF1 serum levels were substantially elevated in many of the AA and GBM patients. Statistical analysis of these data indicates that in patients with astrocytoma, serum PBEF1 levels correlate with tumor grade and is highest in GBM. Immunohistochemical analysis of an independent set of 51 retrospective GBM cases with known survival data revealed that PBEF1 expression in the tumor tissue along with its co-expression with p53 was associated with poor survival. Thus, we have identified PBEF1 as a potential malignant astrocytoma serum marker and prognostic indicator among GBMs

Ecopath modelling approach for the impact assessment of a small-scale coastal aquaculture system in Goa, India

In this study, the ecological impacts of introduction of cage aquaculture employing small cages integrating shellfish and finfish in coastal water bodies of Goa, situated in the west coast of India were analysed using Ecopath with Ecosim model. A multispecies cage aquaculture system incorporating Lutjanus argentimaculatus, Etroplus suratensis and Perna viridis was established in an estuarine ecosyste

Stock structure analysis of oil sardine Sardinella longiceps (Valenciennes, 1847) from southeast and southwest coasts of India

A total of 200 specimens of oil sardine Sardinella longiceps collected from Kochi in the southwest coast and Chennai in the southeast coast were subjected to truss analysis. A truss network was constructed by interconnecting 10 landmarks to form a total of 21 truss distance variables extracted from the landmarks. The transformed truss measurements were subjected to factor analysis which revealed that there is no separation of the stocks along southeast and southwest coasts. The marginal differences in shape and form are attributed to the ecological differences in the habitats which is evident from differences in length weight relationships and feeding intensity of the population along these two coasts

Stock structure analysis of Indian mackerel Rastrelliger kanagurta (Cuvier, 1817) from south-east and south-west coasts of India using truss network system

A total of 200 specimens of Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta) were collected from Kochi in the south-west coast and Chennai in the south-east coast and they were subjected to truss analysis. A truss network was constructed by interconnecting 10 landmarks to form a total of 21 truss distance variables extracted from the landmarks. The transformed truss measurements were subjected to factor analysis which revealed that there is no separation of the stocks along south-east and south-west coasts. Thus the present study has indicated that the population of Indian mackerel from south-east and south-west coasts remains the same