FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITY OF MARINE SPONGES COLLECTED FROM KOVALAM, CHENNAI

Objective: The main focus of this study is to screen the marine sponges for potent free radical scavenging activity. Methods: Various methods such as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay are employed to ascertain the antioxidant properties of marine sponges namely Dysidea herbacea and Sigmadocia pumila. Results: On analyzing, the result of ABTS assay D. herbacea and S. pumila exhibited almost equal antioxidant properties. While calculating the inhibitory concentration 50% value for DPPH assay, the Sample 1 and 2 has an IC of 655.49 and 826.739 μl, respectively, and in FRAP assay, the Sample 1 and 2 has an IC of 67.587 and 74.57 μg, respectively. Conclusion: Overall from this assay, D. herbacea revealed slightly better antioxidant activity when compared to S. pumila, also which in future may serve as a better source to fight against various disease

Parent Motivational Climate, Sport Enrollment Motives, and Young Athlete Commitment and Enjoyment in Year-Round Swimming

International Journal of Exercise Science 15(5): 358-372, 2022. Parents are known to influence the athlete sport experience through motivational climates. Athletes’ perception of motivational climates and their own motives for sport participation influence enjoyment and long-term sport commitment. It is unknown, however, the extent parent motives for initially enrolling their child in a year-round sports program associate with children’s sport participation enjoyment and commitment. The purposes of this study were to (a) determine parent motives for enrolling their child (5-8 years) in year-round swimming and (b) explore the relationships of parent motives and motivational climates with child enjoyment and commitment. Parents (n = 40) completed questionnaires on enrollment motives and motivational climate, while children (n = 40) answered questions on enjoyment and commitment. Of the seven motives measured, parents enrolled children in swimming primarily for fitness benefits (M = 4.5, SD = .45) followed by skill mastery (M = 4.31, SD = .48) and fun (M = 4.10, SD = .51) reasons. Findings revealed the fitness motive was moderately, negatively correlated with the success-without-effort facet of a performance climate (r = -.50, p \u3c .01). The fun motive was moderately, positively associated with commitment (r = .43, p \u3c .01). Parent motives for enrolling their child in sport may impact the young child sport experience and long-term sport continuation via motivational climates, enjoyment, and commitment

Exploited marine fishery resources off Tuticorin along the Gulf of Mannar coast

Tuticorin coast of Gulf of Mannar is endowed with rocky bottom, coral reefs and sea grass beds with characteristic flora and fauna. It also acts as home for several endangered marine mammals, sea cows and marine turtles. These resources were exploited by a variety of gears during 2000-2005

Utilization of High Volume Fraction of Binary Combinations of Supplementary Cementitious Materials in the Production of Reactive Powder Concrete

The reactive powder concrete (RPC) is one of the special concrete types that characteristics with high cement content which means high production cost and CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. Therefore, to enhance the environment as well as to develop green RPC, alternatives to cement, such as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) were used. Limited studies addressed the use of a high volume fraction of SCMs as a binary combination in the production of RPC. Thus, this study aims to replace a high percentage of cement (50%) with binary combinations of silica fume (SF), type F fly ash (FA) and metakaolin (MK). The experimental program included two phases. In phase one, two groups (SF+FA and MK+FA) were cast without steel fibers. Based on group performance in the first phase, one group was chosen to be used with steel fibers in the second phase. The flow rate, compressive and flexural strengths, density, ultrasonic pulse velocity and dynamic modulus of elasticity tests were conducted. The phase one results showed that SF+FA combination mixtures had better performance than MK+FA mixtures thus they were selected to be used in the second phase (with the addition of 1% volumetric fraction micro steel fibers). Results indicated that it is possible to produce sustainable RPC in which the cement can be replaced with 30% SF and 20% FA (the total replacement is 50%) in the presence of 1% steel fibers with a remarkable enhancement in compressive strength and flexural strength reached up to 44% and 10%, respectively

Review of COVID‑19 Vaccine

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) accounts for over 92 million confirmed cases worldwide, with over 2.06 million deaths. In the past year, more than 290 candidate vaccines have been tested; COVID‑19 vaccine  development was sped up, with shortened timeline, due to the urgent global need in the face of the pandemic. In addition, people with the highest risk of contracting the disease, such as health workers with a high risk of exposure, elderlies, and people with underlying comorbidities, were prioritized with vaccination rollout. The article narratively reviewed original and review articles available on PubMed and Google Scholar related to the theme to provide up‑to‑date information. The different templates developed and studied for COVID‑19 vaccines include the whole‑virus vaccine, viral vector vaccine, nucleic acid (deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid), and protein subunit vaccine. Myths impede vaccine uptake in this part of the globe. Adopting these myths leads to sharing and spreading, which negatively impacts the prevention of COVID‑19 and vaccine uptake. Adverse event following immunizations (AEFIs) is classified based on severity, from minor to severe. The minor ones are common events that pose no potential health risks to the receiver of the vaccine. The type determines the safety profile, severity, and frequency of AEFIs observed with the vaccine administration. Overall, this pandemichas heightened the global level of threat awareness; it has also provided motivation to prepare for future  pandemics by developing new vaccines

Technology and Energy Passivity of Fully Assembled Reinforced Concrete, Steel-Reinforced Concrete and Pipe-Concrete Elements of Construction Systems in the Conditions of Iraq

This article proposes a threaded connection of prefabricated reinforced concrete columns, which can be used to connect elements of prefabricated buildings and structures. The contact-screw connection of prefabricated reinforced concrete consists of an upper and a lower column, both have a steel external thread of a cylindrical shape in the end section are connected, while in the upper and lower parts it consists of 16 deformed steel rods with welding, in the upper part there are 8 rods, in the same amount at the bottom, corresponding at the same time to have a secure connection at the end of the installation. The strength of a helical column connection is determined to ensure the transmission of axial loads and moment in the connections, allowing for shear and shearing failure of the threads that can occur between the connected columns. The structural characteristics of the connected columns have been determined in accordance with coda standards. By means of the necessary calculations for the screw connection of precast concrete columns (steel-reinforced concrete, pipe concrete), the corresponding rigidity and strength were confirmed. The developed new connections will help in modular building construction and speed up the installation process. © 2022 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved

Carangids in the Seas around India-2

Carangids in the Seas around Indi

Carangids of Indian seas An Illustrated Pocket Guide for Field Identification

Carangids are highly diverse group of fishes characterised by varying body shape and size. From Indian waters, 60 species under 20 genera were reported. Members exhibit variation in morphologic & meristic characteristic and colour pattern and even sexual dimorphism,which often leads to mis-identification. This manual was prepared using striking macro-taxonomic characters for field identification of 20 genera and 57 species. Wherever applicable, morphometric and colour changes with growth and also sexual dimorphism are illustrated with pictures

Study of cosolvent-induced α-chymotrypsin fibrillogenesis: Does protein surface hydrophobicity trigger early stages of aggregation reaction?

The misfolding of specific proteins is often associated with their assembly into fibrillar aggregates, commonly termed amyloid fibrils. Despite the many efforts expended to characterize amyloid formation in vitro, there is no deep knowledge about the environment (in which aggregation occurs) as well as mechanism of this type of protein aggregation. Alpha-chymotrypsin was recently driven toward amyloid aggregation by the addition of intermediate concentrations of trifluoroethanol. In the present study, approaches such as turbidimetric, thermodynamic, intrinsic fluorescence and quenching studies as well as chemical modification have been successfully used to elucidate the underlying role of hydrophobic interactions (involved in early stages of amyloid formation) in α-chymotrypsin-based experimental system. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC