Identification of Abiotic and Biotic Factors Causing Deterioration During Storage and Development of Storage Techniques for Mahua (Madhuca indica Syn. Bassia latifolia) flowers

Mahua (Madhuca indica syn. Bassia latifolia) flowers, occupy an important position in the life of the tribal in many parts of India. Particularly, the flowers of the plant are sugar rich and in certain cases it is the only source of livelihood for those people. However, its nutrient quality deteriorates during the postharvest storage and thus, poses a serious problem of adequate storage. In order to determine the cause of spoilage and to develop the measures to check it, collected flowers were stored using two methods in this investigation; first, under normally practiced conditions (NPS), i.e., the practice adopted by the flower’s collectors, and second, oven dried, powdered with liquid nitrogen, and stored at 00C (±10C) in different small airtight sterilized vials labelled as laboratory processed samples (LPS). Both LPS and NPS were stored for a year i.e. from one harvesting season to the next. Experiments were carried out, at every month interval, to identify the factors responsible for spoilage of flowers during storage. LPS did not exhibit deterioration in the nutrient value throughout the year of storage, but NPS showed spoilage due to various biotic and abiotic factors comprised of moisture, temperature and microorganisms. To check postharvest spoilage various innovative storage techniques like physical and chemical treatments were experimented. Results revealed that storage at low temperature by liquid nitrogen treatment and chemical conversion to oxalic acid were the most effective techniques for a long-term storage

Growth trends and forecasting of fish production in Assam, India using ARIMA model

Fish is an essential component of the diet of the most populace in Assam and fish farming has been one of the sources of livelihood in rural areas. Assam ranks first in fish production among North-eastern states of India. However, fish production is not sufficient to meet the demand despite having vast aquatic resources in the state. The present study was undertaken to determine the decadal growth of fish production in the state using the compound growth rate. The study also attempted modeling and forecasting of fish production in Assam using Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) methodology. For the present study, time-series data on fish production in Assam from 1980-81 to 2018-19 was obtained from the Directorate of Fisheries, Government of Assam. Data for the period 1980-81 to 2014-15 was utilized to build an ARIMA model and validated through the remaining data from 2015-16 to 2018-19. The best suitable model for the state’s fish production was ARIMA (1,1,0) based on the values of the model selection criterion. The actual fish production and forecast values using a fitted model were in close agreement. The out-of-sample forecast values of fish production in the state for the subsequent years 2019-20 to 2022-23 showed an increasing trend from 336.97 to 358.21 thousand metric tonnes. Considering the vast aquatic resources in the state, the study calls for serious attention by policymakers, researchers, and developmental agencies for harnessing the potential of fisheries resources for making the North-east region self-sufficient in fish production as a whole and Assam in particular.

EVALUATION OF ANTIBACTERIAL AND HAEMOLYTIC ACTIVITY OF PHYTOCHEMICALS FROM FRESHWATER MICROALGA, EUGLENA VIRIDIS (EHREN)

Objective: The main aim of this research work was to evaluate the antibacterial and haemolytic activities of different extracts of Euglena viridis (E. viridis), a freshwater microalga.Methods: The solvent extraction has been followed by a preliminary screening of phytochemicals. The ethanolic extract, Eu(EtOH) was chromatographed on a silica gel column. The column was eluted with hexane and then with ethyl acetate/hexane mixtures of increasing polarity, 16 fractions (Ef1-Ef16) were collected and grouped according to their TLC (Thin layer chromatography). Antibacterial activities of different fractions of E. viridis against Pseudomonas putida (P. putida) ATCC49828, P. aeruginosa MTCC 35672, Aeromonas hydrophila (A. hydrophila) MTCC 646, ATCC 49140, eleven strains of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and thirteen strains of Flavobacterium columnare (F. columnare) was done using disc diffusion methods. Haemolytic activity was carried out by using blood agar plate method. The MIC (Minimum inhibitory concentration) values of active fractions were determined by the broth dilution method.Results: The results showed that the Eu(EtOH) poses significantly (p≤0.5) higher zone of inhibition (14.0±0.28, 13.5±0.28 mm) against FLV8 and FLV9 respectively. Three strains of Flavobacterium (FLV5, FLV6 and FLV10) were highly sensitive (zone size, 17 mm, 17.5 mm) towards 30% EA: Hex chromatographic eluents (Ef11) with lowest MIC values, e. i 60 µg and 30 µg respectively. Two chromatographic fractions, Ef11 and Ef13 were highly effective (zone size, 14.5 mm and 13.5 mm) against S. aureus (SA5) with lowest MIC value (60µg). Haemolytic activities of all the algal extracts were noticed that both Eu(EtOH) and methanolic extract, Eu(MeOH) of Euglena gives negative results.Conclusion: These findings suggest that the extract obtained from E. viridis have active substances contributing to the increasing antibacterial potential

The neutron production rate measurement of an indigenously developed compact D-D neutron generator

One electrostatic accelerator based compact neutron generator was developed. The deuterium ions generated by the ion source were accelerated by one accelerating gap after the extraction from the ion source and bombarded to a target. Two different types of targets, the drive - in titanium target and the deuteriated titanium target were used. The neutron generator was operated at the ion source discharge potential at +Ve 1 kV that generates the deuterium ion current of 200 mA at the target while accelerated through a negative potential of 80 kV in the vacuum at 1.3×10-2 Pa filled with deuterium gas. A comparative study for the neutron yield with both the targets was carried out. The neutron flux measurement was done by the bubble detectors purchased from Bubble Technology Industries. The number of bubbles formed in the detector is the direct measurement of the total energy deposited in the detector. By counting the number of bubbles the total dose was estimated. With the help of the ICRP-74 neutron flux to dose equivalent rate conversion factors and the solid angle covered by the detector, the total neutron flux was calculated. In this presentation the operation of the generator, neutron detection by bubble detector and estimation of neutron flux has been discussed

Modern & Smart Library in the Information Age

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De novo whole transcriptome analysis of Aeromonas hydrophila isolated from the gut of an infected Labeo rohita

Aeromonas hydrophila is a major generalist bacterial pathogen causing severe infections and mortalities in aquatic animals. Its genome, which was the first to be sequenced from the Aeromonas genus, may serve as a model for studying pathogenic mechanisms. To explore the pathogen-host fitness mechanism of bacterium, a comprehensive comparative transcriptome ecotype analysis of A. hydrophila isolated from the gut of Labeo rohita during infection was performed. Special characteristics in gene expression, gene ontology terms and expression of pathogenesis-associated genes, including genes encoding secreted proteins, candidate effectors, hydrolases, and proteins involved in secondary metabolite production were revealed. Among the database, 6,533 were gene ontology (GO) annotated, while 1,480 were not allocated in any GO terms. Investigation on GO illustrated that the articulated genes were improved with molecular function, cellular components, and biological processes. Further bioinformatics analysis identified the outer membrane protein genes (ompA, ompts, ompw, omp38, and omp48), cytotoxin, amylase, and lipase genes. Overall, this work allowed to designate, for the first time, a global view on the pathogenicity of Aeromonas hydrophila during infection. Furthermore, the study provides information on the fitness of A. hydrophila, a severe pathogen with a wide host range

Planktonic Scenario of the River Ganga & Yamuna at Prayagraj in COVID-19 Lockdown: A Case Study

Ganga is the most prestigious river of India. The COVID-19 lockdown may have forced us to stay indoors, but it has been boon for pollution-ridden Ganga and Yamuna. Plankton is tiny organisms drifting with water current, influenced by river physical and chemical factors. During lockdown anthropogenic factors were reduced which affected water and plankton quality. Plankton samples were collected from the upstream of the river Ganga (Shankerghat, latitude 25030’28” N and longitude, 81052’10”E) and Yamuna (near boat club, latitude 25024’29”N and longitude 81054’50”E) at Prayagraj, during national lockdown. In the before lockdown period (2019), total 28 planktonic taxa were recorded from the river Ganga, among them 10 taxa from Bacillariophyceae, 15 from Chlorophyceae and 3 from Myxophyceae. While during LD period total 54 genera with 86 species was recorded (Bacillariophyceae 10 taxa, Chlorophyceae 23 taxa, Myxophyceae 9 taxa, Euglenophyceae 2 taxa, Dianophyceae, 1, Rotiferea 7 taxa, Protozoa 2 taxa). Various species of green algae were observed in this small period of lockdown, some species were not observed since a long, like Pediastrum tetras, Scenedesmus abundans, Ankistrodesmus fusiformis, and Brachionus angularis. Various species of phytoplankton and zooplankton were in reproductive phase because river was flowing silently, without any internal and external disturbance. Ganga was more affected by anthropogenic activity and factory discharge than Yamuna So lack of chemicals in the water and minimum human interference favoured auto rejuvenation of Ganga in terms of plankton quality, diversity and reproduction behaviour. Such type of environmental changes may stimulate for origin of new species and disappear or reappear of various aquatic species

Histopatološko istraživanje šarana (Labeo rohita) izloženog heksaklorcikloheksanu.

Indian major carp (Labeo rohita) were exposed to 1/10 and 1/5 sub -lethal doses of hexachlorocyclohexane during a 45-day trial period. Fish were sacrificed at the end of the trial period to study light microscopic changes associated with toxicity. Organ tissues, viz., liver, kidney, gill, skin, muscle, heart and brain were examined for histopathological study. Swelling of the hepatocytes with diffuse necrosis and marked swelling of blood vessels were observed in the liver tissue. Tubules of the kidney were distended, with tubular cells of posterior kidney exhibiting marked necrotic changes. Gill tissue showed fusion of primary lamellae, congestion of blood vessels and hyperplasia of branchial plates. Pericardial sac was moderately thickened and extensively infiltrated with leucocytes. Marked neuronal cell degeneration with loss of Nissl substances and microgial nodules could be observed at the cerebrum.Indijski šarani (Labeo rohita) su bili izloženi 1/10 i 1/5 sub-letalnih doza heksaklorcikloheksana tijekom 45 dana pokusa. Na kraju pokusa ribe su bile žrtvovane da se pod svjetlosnim mikroskopom promatraju promjene zbog toksičnosti. Histopatološki su istraženi: jetra, bubreg, škrge, koža, mišić, srce i mozak. U jetri su uočeni nabreknuti hepatociti s difuznom nekrozom i nabreknuće krvnih žila. Lumeni bubrežnih kanalića su bili prošireni s izraženim nekrotičnim. U škrgama je nađeno spajanje primarnih lamela, punokrvnost krvnih žila, i hiperplazija škržnih ploča. Osrčje je bilo umjereno zadebljano i obilno infiltrirano leukocitima. U mozgu je nađena degeneracija neurona s gubitkom Nisslove tvari, te su nađeni mikroglijalni čvorići