Osmoregulatory ability of Penaeus indicus H Milne Edwards in relation to varying salinities

Juvenile Penaeus indicus osmoregulated well between 3-26r .. S for 24 and 48 h duration with isosmotic points ~S 18r. . and ~S 14r. . respectively. Adults also showed good osmoregulatory capability between 5-30%0 S with isosmotic points ~S 2W .. and ~S 17%0 for 24 and 48 h duration respectively. A duration of 48 h is essential for prawns to adjust to the new medium. Influence of various neuroendocrine centres on the osmolal concentration of haemolymph was studied. In eyestalk ablated prawns osmolal concentration decreased with time and reached a lowest after 48 h. Eyestalk ablated prawns injected with extracts of eyestalk, brain and thoracic ganglia did not show any decrease in the values with time but remained on par with the values of normal ones

Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine as a potential antidiabetic drug

Background: India is the world’s diabetic capital. Oral antidiabetic therapy is still incomplete. Prior studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a commonly used antimalarial, anti-rheumatic drug reduces the risk of developing diabetes mellitus. It probably acts by decreasing insulin metabolism- a novel mechanism of action.Methods: A systematic search was done in MEDLINE database with key words ‘Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus’, ‘Hydroxychloroquine’. Articles assessing the antidiabetic efficacy of hydroxychloroquine were reviewed and their results summarized.Results: With extensive literature search, we found out three RCTs and four Cohort studies assessing the efficacy of HCQ on glycaemic markers in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Two randomized controlled trials done by Gerstein H C et al, Pareek A et al, comparing hydroxychloroquine with established antidiabetic drugs showed that there is significant reduction in glycaemic parameters with comparable similarity in both the groups (HbA1c: -0.91%±0.4%). Solomon et al in their study on patients with RA concluded that HCQ improved insulin sensitivity. Two cohort studies by Chen Y M et al and Wasko MCM et al respectively showed reduced incidence of diabetes mellitus in Systemic lupus erythematosus (Hazard ratio=0.26) and rheumatologic disease (relative risk=0.23) patients who received hydroxychloroquine. In a cohort study by Rekedal LR et al, HCQ reduced HbA1c by 0.66% compared to baseline in patients with RA. These studies also showed that hydroxychloroquine has favourable effect on lipid profile and good tolerabilityConclusions: Hydroxychloroquine has a potential to enter antidiabetic armamentarium due to its efficacy and low toxicity profile. More studies are required to confirm this

Efficacy of zincoderm G cream against wound infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Sprague-Dawley rats

Background: Zincoderm G cream is a fixed dose combination of clobetasol, gentamicin and zinc. Studies have been carried out for efficacy of each component such as clobetasol and gentamicin in bacterial infections, but as fixed dose combination including zinc has not been reported yet. Hence, a study was planned to assess the efficacy of Zincoderm G cream in experimental wound infection by Pseudomonas aerugionosa.Methods: In the experiment a total of 18 Sprague-Dawley rats (male, pathogen free, 6-8 weeks old) were used. The rats were divided into three groups of six rats each. 25-30 mg of test drugs (Zincoderm G cream with or without zinc) was applied on Pseudomonas aeruginosa infected burn wound affected area of back of rats for 2 weeks. Bacterial infection was assessed by quantification of bacteria.Results: There was 80% mortality observed in P. aeruginosa infected toxic control (cream base) group. Whereas, only 40% mortality was seen in both Zincoderm G cream with/without zinc groups, which were inoculated with P. aeruginosa. Bacterial concentration (Number of colony forming unit/ml wound fluid) was significantly decreased (p<0.001) in P. aeruginosa infected rats treated with Zincoderm G cream with zinc when compared with P. aeruginosa infected control (untreated) rats.Conclusions: We found that Zincoderm G cream with zinc exhibited distinct killing profiles against P. aeruginosa

Institution village linkage programme Coastal Agro Ecosystem & Interventions

Agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries provide maximum employment in the primary sector and form the major source of income and livelihood security of about 70 percent of the population in India. After the introduction of the liberalisation policy and giving thrust for the adoption of improved technologies, there has been a spectacular increase in production in all these segments and the country has witnessed a rapid structural change. Massive adoption of scientific inventions and technological interventions witnessed revolutionary changes in all sectors of development and quality of life of people. Achieving self-sufficiency on food front has been one of the finest Indian successes of the post independence era. The food grain production increased four times (from 50.8 million tonnes during 1950-51 to 198.7 million tonnes during 2000-01) since independence as compared to the three-fold increase in population. Further significant advances have also been made in the production of milk, fish, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables. In fisheries, the country has ushered in the blue revolution with gross production reaching 5.6 million metric tonnes offish and edible invertebrates during 2000- 2001. India is the second largest Asian country in terms of culture fisheries and the third largest in terms of capture fisheries (NAAS, 2001). Due to concerted efforts on strategic research and production technology in oilseeds sector, the country witnessed yellow revolution with the production reaching 25 million tonnes per annum. This was possible as a result of strong agricultural research support provided by the National Agricultural Research System (NARS)

Nanoindentation strain rate jump test-based prediction of fracture and the brittle to ductile transition in tungsten

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Influence of salinity on the growth and body composition of juvenile Tiger Shrimp, Penaeus monodon

Giant tiger prawn dominated the global shrimp aquaculture industry before giving way to Pacific white shrimp in the early 21st century. This study evaluated the influence of salinity on the survival, growth and body composition of early juveniles. They were exposed to salinities ranging from freshwater (0‰) to marine (35‰) under ambient rearing conditions. Response parameters like survival, growth and body compositions were tested over the salinity range of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 35 ‰. The survival obtained was above 95% except in freshwater, wherein total mortality was observed by the third week of rearing. Growth was found to vary with salinity significantly and was found to be higher at 20‰ with an SGR of 7.31. Apart from its role in survival and growth, salinity was found to influence body composition. It was observed that body protein and carbohydrate content showed significant variations with the salinity. The body protein content was high at 20 ‰ with 14.45 mg/100mg wet weight, and carbohydrate of 1.01mg/ 100mg at 30 ‰. However, variations in lipid, ash, and moisture content did not have any significant difference. Though found insignificant, the lipid content was higher (2.15 mg/100mg) at lower salinity of10‰. The present study provides insights into the possible impact of rearing environment on the physiological and biochemical changes in this species

Reaching the unreached: Highlights of Institution Village Linkage Programme of CMFRI

Reaching the unreached: Highlights of Institution Village Linkage Programme of CMFR

Osmoregulatory ability of Penaeus monodon (fabricius) In relation to varying salinities

Adult Penaeus rnonodon osmoregulated well between salinities 3 and 45%0 for 24 and 48 hour duration with isosmotic points around = S18.5% and =S 23.520 respectively. A duration of 48 hr is essential for prawns to adjust to the new medium. Influence of eyestalk removal on osmolal concentration of haemo- lymph was studied. There was a significant decline in osmolal concentration in destalked prawns from 4 to 18hr after eyestalk surgery performance, but later recouping effect was seen. In destalked prawns when eyestalk extract was administered, the level of osmolal concentration did not decrease but always remained high throughout the experimental period. Probable reasons for such changes are discussed

Observations on selected characteristics of water and sediment at the open sea cage culture site of Asian seabass Lates calcarifer (Bloch) off Cochin, south-west coast of India

Study was undertaken to assess the impact of open sea cage culture of Asian seabass Lates calcarifer on selected parameters of water as well as sediment at Munambam off Cochin, Kerala coast from November 2008 to March 2009. Periodic observations were made on temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, nutrients (NO3, PO4, SiO3), nitrite, ammonia, BOD, total suspended solids, chlorophyll a, gross and net primary productivity as well as bacterial load of the surface and near bottom water from the cage site (N 10º 08' 162''; E 76º 08' 901'') and also from a reference site (N 10º 07' 189''; E 76º 09' 210'') during pre- as well as post-stocking periods. Sediment samples were collected simultaneously from both the sites and analysed for texture, pH, organic carbon and bacterial load. A significant reduction (p<0.05) in silicate and chlorophyll a was perceived in surface water at the cage site, during the culture period as compared to pre-stocking period. No significant variations were noticed in any of the other parameters studied. The sand, silt, clay and organic carbon content in sediment at cage site differed significantly (p<0.05) from that of the reference site. There was no significant difference in the mean values of total heterotrophic bacterial count as well as presumptive Vibrio count of the water and sediment, either between the cage site and reference site or between the pre- and post-stocking samplings. No adverse effect as influenced by cage culture of fish was observed on any of the environmental parameters studied during the period of investigation