Biochemical constituents of Gracilaria edulis cultured from spores

Gracilaria edulis was cultivated in west coast of India off Narakkal by reproductive method using the carpospores. The culture period was from November to March with regular sampling of growing plants for the estimation of biochemical constituents, quantitative and qualitative estimation of agar. The biochemical constituents like protein and carbohydrate content increased corresponding to the age of the plant whereas the lipid content declined. Harvesting of the crop can be determined from the qualitative and the quantitative estimation of agar along with other biochemical constituents. It was found out that crop harvested after 121 days of culture period had better quality of agar and also high protein conten

Record size Psettodes erumei and Upeneus vittatus reported from Mandapam

Record sized Right-eyed Indian halibut Psettodes erumei (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) and Yellow-striped goatfish, Upeneus vittatus (Forsskal, 1775) were recorded in the fish landings at Mandapam. The Indian halibut measuring 60 cm in Total length (TL) and weighing 3.25 kg was found in the Pamban Therkuvadi Fish Landing Centre on 24th November 2017. A fish trawler operated at a distance of 18 km from the land at a depth of 23 m brought it along with other demersal finfishes

Vertical root fractures: A review

Vertical root fractures are mostly caused following endodontic therapy, and the chances are increased many fold if the final restoration includes placement of a post. The condition is difficult to diagnose and equally difficult to treat. Earlier treatment options included extraction of single rooted teeth, but with the advent of adhesive dentistry. There is a paradigm shift towards preservation of these teeth. This review addresses the etiology, diagnosis and management of vertical root fractures

Wave forecasting and monitoring during very severe cyclone Phailin in the Bay of Bengal

Wave fields, both measured and forecast during the very severe cyclone Phailin, are discussed in this communication. Waves having maximum height of 13.54 m were recorded at Gopalpur, the landfall point of the cyclone. The forecast and observed significant wave heights matched well at Gopalpur with correlation coefficient of 0.98, RMS error of 0.35 m and scatter index of 14%. Forecasts were also validated in the open ocean and found to be reliable (scatter index < 15%). The study also revealed the presence of Southern Ocean swells with a peak period of 20-22 sec hitting Gopalpur coast along with the cyclone-generated waves

sFDvent: A global trait database for deep‐sea hydrothermal‐vent fauna

Motivation: Traits are increasingly being used to quantify global biodiversity patterns, with trait databases growing in size and number, across diverse taxa. Despite grow‐ ing interest in a trait‐based approach to the biodiversity of the deep sea, where the impacts of human activities (including seabed mining) accelerate, there is no single re‐ pository for species traits for deep‐sea chemosynthesis‐based ecosystems, including hydrothermal vents. Using an international, collaborative approach, we have compiled the first global‐scale trait database for deep‐sea hydrothermal‐vent fauna – sFD‐ vent (sDiv‐funded trait database for the Functional Diversity of vents). We formed a funded working group to select traits appropriate to: (a) capture the performance of vent species and their influence on ecosystem processes, and (b) compare trait‐based diversity in different ecosystems. Forty contributors, representing expertise across most known hydrothermal‐vent systems and taxa, scored species traits using online collaborative tools and shared workspaces. Here, we characterise the sFDvent da‐ tabase, describe our approach, and evaluate its scope. Finally, we compare the sFD‐ vent database to similar databases from shallow‐marine and terrestrial ecosystems to highlight how the sFDvent database can inform cross‐ecosystem comparisons. We also make the sFDvent database publicly available online by assigning a persistent, unique DOI. Main types of variable contained: Six hundred and forty‐six vent species names, associated location information (33 regions), and scores for 13 traits (in categories: community structure, generalist/specialist, geographic distribution, habitat use, life history, mobility, species associations, symbiont, and trophic structure). Contributor IDs, certainty scores, and references are also provided. Spatial location and grain: Global coverage (grain size: ocean basin), spanning eight ocean basins, including vents on 12 mid‐ocean ridges and 6 back‐arc spreading centres. Time period and grain: sFDvent includes information on deep‐sea vent species, and associated taxonomic updates, since they were first discovered in 1977. Time is not recorded. The database will be updated every 5 years. Major taxa and level of measurement: Deep‐sea hydrothermal‐vent fauna with spe‐ cies‐level identification present or in progress. Software format: .csv and MS Excel (.xlsx).This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Binding of acarbose, an anti-diabetic drug to lysozyme: a combined structural and thermodynamic study

Binding of acarbose, an anti-diabetic drug to lysozyme: a combined structural and thermodynamic stud

Antimicrobial efficacy of a traditionally important medicinal plant - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Tiliacora acuminata</i> (Lam.) Hook. f.

358-362The present investigation was aimed to screen the antimicrobial potential of Tiliacora acuminata (Lam.) Hook. f. against various human bacterial and fungal pathogens. Antimicrobial efficacy was performed by disc diffusion method against the bacterial pathogens, viz. Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-SG" lang="EN-SG"> Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus incubated for 24 h at 37° C as well as the isolates of fungal pathogens, Fusarium oxysporum, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus, Rhizopus oxysporum and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> Candida albicans. All the extracts of the plant, viz. acetone, chloroform, petroleum ether and distilled water, studied in the present investigation exhibited varying degree of inhibitory effect against the selected human pathogens. Further it is revealed that the activity was significant in acetone and chloroform extracts. Proteus mirabilis (fungus) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Aspergillus terreus (bacterium) forms the most susceptible microbial strains. Hence, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">T. acuminata forms a potentially good source of antimicrobial agent and demonstrates the importance of such plant in medicinal systems for curing various ailments. </span

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