Trends in marine fish production in Tamil Nadu using regression and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model

Tamil Nadu is situated in the south eastern coast of the Indian peninsula with a coastal line of 1076 km (13% of the country’s coast line), 0.19 million sq.km of EEZ (9.4 % of total national EEZ) and a continental shelf of about 41,412 sq. km. This is one of the country’s leading state in marine fish production and ranks third in marine fish production. In Tamil Nadu, Ramanathapuram district is a leading maritime district followed by Nagapattinam and Thoothukudi. The objective of this study was to investigate the trends in marine fish production in Tamil Nadu. Yearly fish production data for the period of 1988-1989 to 2012-2013 were analyzed using time-series method called Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model and Regression analysis (curve estimation). In our study, the developed best ARIMA model for Tamil Nadu marine fish production was found to be ARIMA (1, 1, 1) which have the minimum BIC (Bayesian Information Criterion). ARIMA model had got a slightly higher forecasting accuracy rate for forecasting marine fish production of Tamil Nadu than Regression trend analysis. The independent sample test showed there was no significant difference between the two models. The limitations of ARIMA model include its requirement of a long time series data for better forecast. It is basically linear model assuming that data are stationary and have a limited ability to capture non-stationarities and nonlinearities in series data. Both the models indicated that Tamil Nadu marine fish production has plateaued and fishermen should be encouraged to adopt sustainable fishing practices

CLOZAPINE INDUCED PARALYTIC ILEUS

Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic drug used for the treatment of schizophrenia in patient not responding to other antipsychotics. Dry mouth, constipation, loss of accommodation and urinary retention are the common side effects encountered with this drug. Here we are reporting a case of paralytic ileus secondary to clozapin

Rhodovulum aestuarii sp. nov., isolated from a brackish water body

A yellowish brown, phototrophic, purple non-sulfur bacterium, strain JA924r, was isolated in pure culture from a brackish water sample collected from an estuary. Single cells were oval to rod-shaped, non-motile and Gram-stain-negative and had a vesicu!ar architecture of intracellular photosynthetic membranes. Bacteriochlorophyll-a and carotenoids of the spheroidene series were present as photosynthetic pigments. Photolithoautotrophy, chemo-organoheterotrophy and photo-organoheterotrophy were the growth modes observed. Strain JA924T had complex growth requ1rements. Strain JA924 T was mesophilic and moderate!y halophilic. The DNA G -t- C content was 64 mal% (HPLC). The major cellular fatty acids were C18 1f·)7c/C 18 : 11·)6c, Ct 6 0 and C 18 . 0 . The major quinone was ubiquinone-1 0 (0-1 0). Phosphatidylg!ycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, sulfolipid and an aminolipid were the main polar Iipids of strain JA924r. EzTaxon-e BLAST searches based on the 168 rRNA gene sequence of JA924T revealed highest similarity with Rhodovulum mangrovi AK41 T (98.19 %) and other members of the genus Rhodovulum (5 oc). Phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and molecular differences indicate that strain JA924 T represents a novel species of the genus Rhodovulum, for which the name Rhodovulum aestuarii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JA924 T ( = LMG 29031 T = KCTC 15485 T)

Comparison of conventional and sustained-release formulation of metformin in type 2 diabetics

Background: To investigate the effects of metformin sustained-release (MSR) compared with metformin immediate-release (MIR) on glycaemic control, blood pressure, lipid profile and metabolic parameters like weight, waist circumference in type 2 diabetes.Methods: A prospective, randomized, double blind study was conducted at tertiary healthcare and teaching hospital at Pune, Maharashtra. After obtaining institutional ethical committee approval and written informed consent, 40 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patient were randomly assigned to receive metformin immediate release formulation (MIR) 500 mg once 1 week and then twice daily and metformin sustained release formulation (MSR) 500 mg once 1 week and  then 1000mg once daily for 18 weeks. Fasting and post prandial blood glucose level (BGL), HbA1c, blood pressure, lipid profile, weight and waist circumference, were recorded at the start and end of study.Results: Both MIR and MSR significantly decreased fasting; post prandial BGL and HbA1c at 18 weeks. But no significant difference was seen between two groups. Study did not show any effect on blood pressure and on lipid profile. Both formulations decreased obesity as evident by significant reduction in weight and waist circumference. All patients tolerated both formulations of metformin. Though overall incidences of adverse effects are less with sustained release formulation, difference was not significant between two groups.Conclusions: To conclude, both metformin immediate release and sustained release formulations achieved comparable glycaemic control and sustained release formulation would be as effective as immediate release formulation with advantage of being reduce daily intake of tablets

Spatial variability in sea surface temperature and wind-driven coastal upwelling along the southwest coast of India

The coastal environment along the southwest coast of India is influenced by seasonal wind-driven coastal upwelling. The trend of upwelling index (UI) and sea surface temperature (SST) along the southwest coast of India during 1988-2015 were analysed in this study. In order to understand the spatial variation in SST and UI, the entire southwest coast of India was divided into three strata viz. stratum_1 (ST_1, southern part), stratum_2 (ST_2, middle part) and stratum_3 (ST_3, northern part). Temporal analyses of these parameters were carried out for three seasons such as monsoon (June-September), post-monsoon (OctoberJanuary) and pre-monsoon (February-May). In addition to seasonal changes in upwelling, large-scale latitudinal differences in upwelling were observed during this study, which is associated with spatial differences in coastal topography. The upwelling index along stratum_3 has increased after 1995 compared to previous period. Both SST and UI exhibited spatial variation along southwest coast of India. Eventhough, UI is higher during the summer monsoon compared to other seasons, a declining trend in UI during the summer monsoon was found from 1988 to 2015

Study on Sea Surface Temperature and Chlorophyll-a concentration along the south-west coast of India

Global climate change affects the oceanographic features and distribution of marine fishes as they are poikilothermic animals. Study of oceanographic variables in a localized region is more relevant in the context of ecological responses rather than global or continental variations. In this study, time series analysis of chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) in sea water and sea surface temperature (SST) was performed separately for southern, middle and northern stratum along south-west coast of India using various statistical tools. The SST showed an increasing trend along the entire south-west coast of India after the year 1995. The northern and southern stratum of south-west coast were highly influenced by rising SST, whereas middle stratum in present scenario showed stable conditions in terms of Chl-a concentration. The study provides a baseline information about changing patterns of oceanographic features along the south-west coast of India giving a better understanding of changing global climatic conditions in coastal ecosystems

Assessment of heavy metals distribution in a coastal environment of Versova coast, Mumbai, India

1058-1065The existence of heavy metals namely, copper, chromium, and cadmium was studied in coastal waters off Versova, Mumbai. Monthly sampling was carried out from October 2012 to March 2013 across 36 stations. Concentrations of Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd) and Chromium (Cr) were measured using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The concentration of dissolved elements in surface water varied from 0.01 to 0.03 mg/l. Concentrations of dissolved elements in sub-surface waters were as follows: Cu (0.01 to 0.02 mg/l), Cd (0.02 to 0.03 mg/l) and Cr (0.02 to 0.03 mg/l). The concentrations of Cu, Cd and Cr in suspended solids of the surface water were 0.82 – 1.68, 5.22 – 10.24 and 3.26 – 16.03 mg/kg, respectively, while their concentrations in suspended solid obtained from the sub-surface water were 2.77 – 4.29, 3.24 – 10.10 and 1.91 – 5.67 mg/kg, respectively. The concentrations of Cu, Cd, and Cr in sediments were 74.52 – 112.81, 3.02 – 22.88 and 65.05 – 107.74 mg/kg, respectively. The physico-chemical parameters of water and sediment were analyzed to understand the temporal distribution of heavy metals

Effect of Presuperovulatory Treatment of Buserelin on Superovulatory Response and Embryo Recovery in Cattle under Subtropical Conditions of Meghalaya

ABSTRACT An experiment was conducted with 24 healthy cyclic cows between 2 nd to 5 th lactation by under intensive system of rearing. The animals were randomly divided into Control (C) and Experiment (E) groups with 12 animals in each The control and experiment groups were again further subdivided in groups C 1 and C 2 & E 1 and E 2 comprising six in each. Onset of oestrus was considered as day 0 for superovulatory treatment. The animals of groups C 1 and C 2 & E 1 and E 2 were injected with 5 ml NSS (i/ml) & 21μg GnRH (i/m) (Buserelin acetate) on day 8 of the oestrous cycle, respectively. Each of the experimental animals of groups C 1 and E 1 was superovulated with 400 mg FSH (i/m) in divided and equal doses at 12 h intervals for four days on day 10 to 13 of the oestrous cycle and consequently, each of the experimental animals of groups C 2 and E 2 was also superovulated with 2000 I.U.PMSG injection (i/m) as single dose on day 10 of the oestrous cycle. PGF 2 α 2ml was injected (i/m) at morning time on day 12 of oestrous cycle. At the superovulatory oestrus, all the animals were bred three times at 12 h intervals using frozen semen. The animals were examined per rectally on day 6 of the induced oestrus after first insemination to detect the superovulatory response. Flushing was performed on day 7 of induced oestrus to retrieve embryos from the superovulated cows. In the present experiment, superovulatory response in GnRH treated groups of cows (groups E 1 and E 2 ) were found to be better as compared to that of the animals of control groups but the duration of induced oestrus (h) recorded in groups C 2 (49.02 ± 0.07 h) and E 2 (50.40 ± 0.27 h) were found to be significantly higher (P<0.05) than the value recorded in groups C 1 and E 1

Assessment of heavy metals distribution in a coastal environment of Versova coast, Mumbai, India

The existence of heavy metals namely, copper, chromium, and cadmium was studied in coastal waters off Versova, Mumbai. Monthly sampling was carried out from October 2012 to March 2013 across 36 stations. Concentrations of Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd) and Chromium (Cr) were measured using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The concentration of dissolved elements in surface water varied from 0.01 to 0.03 mg/l. Concentrations of dissolved elements in sub-surface waters were as follows: Cu (0.01 to 0.02 mg/l), Cd (0.02 to 0.03 mg/l) and Cr (0.02 to 0.03 mg/l). The concentrations of Cu, Cd and Cr in suspended solids of the surface water were 0.82 – 1.68, 5.22 – 10.24 and 3.26 – 16.03 mg/kg, respectively, while their concentrations in suspended solid obtained from the sub-surface water were 2.77 – 4.29, 3.24 – 10.10 and 1.91 – 5.67 mg/kg, respectively. The concentrations of Cu, Cd, and Cr in sediments were 74.52 – 112.81, 3.02 – 22.88 and 65.05 – 107.74 mg/kg, respectively. The physico-chemical parameters of water and sediment were analyzed to understand the temporal distribution of heavy metals

Probing the Role of Magnetic-Field Variations in NOAA AR 8038 in Producing Solar Flare and CME on 12 May 1997

We carried out a multi-wavelength study of a CME and a medium-size 1B/C1.3 flare occurring on 12 May 1997. We present the investigation of magnetic-field variations in the NOAA Active Region 8038 which was observed on the Sun during 7--16 May 1997. Analyses of H{\alpha} filtergrams and MDI/SOHO magnetograms revealed continual but discrete surge activity, and emergence and cancellation of flux in this active region. The movie of these magnetograms revealed two important results that the major opposite polarities of pre-existing region as well as in the emerging flux region (EFR) were approaching towards each other and moving magnetic features (MMF) were ejecting out from the major north polarity at a quasi-periodicity of about ten hrs during 10--13 May 1997. These activities were probably caused by the magnetic reconnection in the lower atmosphere driven by photospheric convergence motions, which were evident in magnetograms. The magnetic field variations such as flux, gradient, and sunspot rotation revealed that free energy was slowly being stored in the corona. The slow low-layer magnetic reconnection may be responsible for this storage and the formation of a sigmoidal core field or a flux rope leading to the eventual eruption. The occurrence of EUV brightenings in the sigmoidal core field prior to the rise of a flux rope suggests that the eruption was triggered by the inner tether-cutting reconnection, but not the external breakout reconnection. An impulsive acceleration revealed from fast separation of the H{\alpha} ribbons of the first 150 seconds suggests the CME accelerated in the inner corona, which is consistent with the temporal profile of the reconnection electric field. In conclusion, we propose a qualitative model in view of framework of a solar eruption involving, mass ejections, filament eruption, CME, and subsequent flare.Comment: 8 figures, accepted for publication in Solar Physic