Dietary influence on the egg production and larval viability in True Sebae Clownfish Amphiprion sebae Bleeker 1853

Broodstock nutrition is one of the most important research areas in aquaculture. In this study, sebae clownfish was used to find out the influence of diet on reproductive performance parameters like egg production, fertilization rate, hatchability, and larval quality. The feeds used were of marine origin such as squid, cuttlefish, deep sea prawn, immature and mature mussel. The diets were analyzed for their proximate composition, amino acids profile, fatty acids profile and astaxanthin. The sub-adult fishes were collected from wild and conditioned prior to experiment. Data were collected after initial three spawning to achieve stability in egg production and quality. The egg production was found to be significantly influenced by diet and those fed cuttlefish meat gave the highest number of eggs per clutch (1520±260 eggs). The fertilization rate and hatchability were found to be unaffected by the tested diets. The highest larval survival (62.3±7%) after 12 days post hatching was obtained for fish groups fed deep sea prawn. The dietary carotenoid content was also found to influence the egg and larval pigmentation. The result also indicates the importance of dispensable amino acids in egg production. The role of protein, lipids, and essential fatty acids in the broodstock diets for sebae clownfish are also discussed

Mental imagery of whole-body motion along the sagittal-anteroposterior axis

Whole-body motor imagery is conceptualised as a mental symbolisation directly and indirectly associated with neural oscillations similar to whole-body motor execution. Motor and somatosensory activity, including vestibular activity, is a typical corticocortical substrate of body motion. Yet, it is not clear how this neural substrate is organised when participants are instructed to imagine moving their body forward or backward along the sagittal-anteroposterior axis. It is the aim of the current study to identify the fingerprint of the neural substrate by recording the cortical activity of 39 participants via a 32 electroencephalography (EEG) device. The participants were instructed to imagine moving their body forward or backward from a first-person perspective. Principal Component Analysis (i.e. PCA) applied to the neural activity of whole-body motor imagery revealed neural interconnections mirroring between forward and backward conditions: beta pre-motor and motor oscillations in the left and right hemisphere overshadowed beta parietal oscillations in forward condition, and beta parietal oscillations in the left and right hemisphere overshadowed beta pre-motor and motor oscillations in backward condition. Although functional significance needs to be discerned, beta pre-motor, motor and somatosensory oscillations might represent specific settings within the corticocortical network and provide meaningful information regarding the neural dynamics of continuous whole-body motion. It was concluded that the evoked multimodal fronto-parietal neural activity would correspond to the neural activity that could be expected if the participants were physically enacting movement of the whole-body in sagittal-anteroposterior plane as they would in their everyday environment

Perspective of self-help groups, Panchayati Raj institution and adolescents on implementing COVID appropriate behavior in the community in rural settings

The vaccination drive in India brought cheers to the country's people, only to be eroded by the unpredictable twitch of the COVID-19 second wave. The best way to tackle the pandemic has been to adopt appropriate practices, thereby breaking the chain of transmission. The second wave in India has already created havoc both on the people and health system, questioning and challenging our capabilities to handle any heave of sudden cases, particularly in rural areas. Time has arrived to inflate our horizon by including groups of society close to the people, particularly in the rural community. Like the previous wave, COVID appropriate behavior was very much instrumental in slowing the pace. Adolescents’ self-help groups in coalition with Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRI) will be the main stand in the fight against the dreadful virus. Their main role is to translate the prevailing preventive measures into action among the very people they live around. Passing the right message through IEC/BCC to the right people will bring about dramatic changes in the attitude, belief, and exercise they do in their day-to-day life. PRIs members would utilize their powers to execute optimum administrative services. A decentralized approach involving these stakeholders will spearhead the fight against the pandemic. This trifold power shall bear the torchbearer in preventing the disastrous consequences of any upcoming wave, if any, in a holistic manner

Lung penetration, bronchopulmonary pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profile and safety of 3 g of ceftolozane/tazobactam administered to ventilated, critically ill patients with pneumonia

Objectives: Ceftolozane/tazobactam is approved for hospital-acquired/ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia at double the dose (i.e. 2 g/1 g) recommended for other indications. We evaluated the bronchopulmonary pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profile of this 3 g ceftolozane/tazobactam regimen in ventilated pneumonia patients. Methods: This was an open-label, multicentre, Phase 1 trial (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02387372). Mechanically ventilated patients with proven/suspected pneumonia received four to six doses of 3 g of ceftolozane/tazobactam (adjusted for renal function) q8h. Serial plasma samples were collected after the first and last doses. One bronchoalveolar lavage sample per patient was collected at 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8 h after the last dose and epithelial lining fluid (ELF) drug concentrations were determined. Pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated by noncompartmental analysis and pharmacodynamic analyses were conducted to graphically evaluate achievement of target exposures (plasma and ELF ceftolozane concentrations >4 mg/L and tazobactam concentrations >1 mg/L; target in plasma: similar to 30% and similar to 20% of the dosing interval, respectively). Results: Twenty-six patients received four to six doses of study drug; 22 were included in the ELF analyses. Ceftolozane and tazobactam T-max (6 and 2 h, respectively) were delayed in ELF compared with plasma (1h). Lung penetration, expressed as the ratio of mean drug exposure (AUC) in ELF to plasma, was 50% (ceftolozane) and 62% (tazobactam). Mean ceftolozane and tazobactam ELF concentrations remained >4 mg/L and >1mg/L, respectively, for 100% of the dosing interval. Therewere no deaths or adverse event-related study discontinuations. Conclusions: In ventilated pneumonia patients, 3 g of ceftolozane/tazobactam q8h yielded ELF exposures considered adequate to cover ceftolozane/tazobactam-susceptible respiratory pathogens

Diseño y evaluación in vitro de maleato de clorfeniramina a partir de diferentes parches de matriz a base de Eudragit: Efecto de plastificante y químicos potenciadores

The release and permeation studies were carried out for developing transdermal therapeutic systems with chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM). The patches were prepared with eudragit RS-100 and RL-100 with/without polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in different compositions. Thickness, tensile strength, drug content, moisture content and water absorption studies of the patches were measured. In vitro release/permeation of CPM was studied in modified Keshary-Chien diffusion cell. Chemical enhancers like l-menthol, oleic acid and phospholipon80 were added to compare the release pattern of the drug. The percent release of the drug from matrix patch increased with increase of PVP & DBP but the tensile strength decreased with the increase of DBP & PVP. Experimental release/permeation data of different formulations of the matrix systems are reported. Also the drug-polymer interaction was investigated by ATR-FTIR studies. The discussion was correlated the efficient matrix dispersion patch from suitable eudragit polymers for transdermal antihistamine applications in film device industry.Los estudios de liberación y permeación se llevaron a cabo para el desarrollo de sistemas terapéuticos transdérmicos con maleato de clorfeniramina (CPM). Los parches se prepararon con Eudragit RS-100 y RL-100 con / sin polivinilpirrolidona (PVP) y ftalato de dibutilo (DBP) en diferentes composiciones. Se midieron espesor, resistencia a la tracción, contenido de drogas, contenido de humedad y absorción de agua de los estudios de los parches. La liberación in vitro / penetración de CPM se estudió en la celda de difusión Keshary-Chien modificado. se añadieron potenciadores químicos como l-mentol, ácido oleico y phospholipon80 ​​para comparar el patrón de liberación del fármaco. El porcentaje de liberación del fármaco desde el parche matriz aumentó con el aumento de PVP y DBP pero la resistencia a la tracción disminuye con el aumento de DBP y PVP. se reportan datos de liberación / permeación experimentales de diferentes formulaciones de los sistemas de matriz. También la interacción fármaco-polímero fue investigado por los estudios ATR-FTIR. La discusión se correlacionó el parche matriz de dispersión eficiente a partir de polímeros Eudragit adecuados para aplicaciones en la industria de antihistamínico transdérmica dispositivo de película

Design and in vitro evaluation of chlorpheniramine maleate from different eudragit based matrix patches: Effect of platicizer and chemical enhancers.

The release and permeation studies were carried out for developing transdermal therapeutic systems with chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM). The patches were prepared with eudragit RS-100 and RL-100 with/without polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in different compositions. Thickness, tensile strength, drug content, moisture content and water absorption studies of the patches were measured. In vitro release/permeation of CPM was studied in modified Keshary-Chien diffusion cell. Chemical enhancers like l-menthol, oleic acid and phospholipon80 were added to compare the release pattern of the drug. The percent release of the drug from matrix patch increased with increase of PVP & DBP but the tensile strength decreased with the increase of DBP & PVP. Experimental release/permeation data of different formulations of the matrix systems are reported. Also the drug-polymer interaction was investigated by ATR-FTIR studies. The discussion was correlated the efficient matrix dispersion patch from suitable eudragit polymers for transdermal antihistamine applications in film device industry

Antibacterial and antifungal properties of southeast Indian coastal sponges

Seven species of sponges collected from southeast coast India were tested for antibacterial and antifungal properties. The alcoholic extracts were obtained individually and their sub-fractions were prepared by counter current solvent extraction of the alcoholic extracts to test their bioactivity. Semi- pure fractions were obtained by silica gel column chromatography. The non-polar and medium polar fractions of three sponges viz. Cervicornia sp., Callyspongia fibrosa and Acanthella elongata were found to be active against the tested fish pathogens, Vibrio alginolyticus, V. fischerii, Micrococcus sp. and a fungal strain, Rhizoctonia solani, showing the potential of Gulf of Mannar - Palk Bay sponges to have bioactive properties

Proximate composition and fatty acid profile of the myctophid Diaphus watasei Jordan & Starks, 1904 from the Arabian Sea

The edible portion of Diaphus watasei, a benthopelagic fish collected off Quilon, south-west coast of India was analysed for proximate composition and fatty acid profile. The fleshy part of the fish was found to contain 15.62% protein, 11.71% fat, 0.47% minerals, 0.28% soluble carbohydrate and 0.01% crude fibre. The dry matter in the fish was found to be about 28%. Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) were found to have the highest (36.7%) share among total fatty acids followed by saturated fatty acids (SFA) (33.3%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (25.5%). The abundant fatty acids were found to be oleic acid, palmitic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, stearic acid, myristic acid, linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and palmitoleic acid. The most predominant fatty acid was recorded as oleic acid which contributed 32% to the total fatty acids. Docosahexaenoic acid formed the single largest component of PUFA (9.33%) followed by γ linolenic acid (3.97%) and eicosapentaenoic acid (3.83%). The ω-3 PUFA contributed about 70% of the total PUFAs. The most important ω-3 PUFAs were EPA and DHA that contributed 73% to the total ù -3 polyunsaturated fatty acids

Development of live feed enrichment product for marine fish larviculture

Phytoplankton cultures of Nanochloropsis oculata, Isochrysis galbana, Pavlova viridis and Dicrateria inornata, were scaled up and analysed for fatty acids. I. galbana proved to be the richest source of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). P. viridis and D. inornata are rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). N. oculata is rich in EPA and arachidonic acid (ARA). When rotifers were enriched with I. galbana and analysed for fatty acids at specific time intervals, DHA content increased till 30 h with a maximum DHA level of 1.13% obtained in enriched rotifers. Subsequently, development of enriched emulsions using sardine oil (90%) and fish roe (10%) as the major ingredients yielded a DHA content of 39% and EPA content of 17% and was used to enrich rotifers. The resultant enrichment level was 8.76% DHA and 2.35% EPA at six hours after which, a decline in the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content was observed. The enrichment formulation holds promise as an import substitute

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Acoustical Resonance Technical Assessment Report

A request was submitted on September 2, 2004 concerning the uncertainties regarding the acoustic environment within the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) cavity, and the potential for structural damage from acoustical resonance or tones, especially if they occur at or near a structural mode. The requestor asked for an independent expert opinion on the approach taken by the SOFIA project to determine if the project's analysis, structural design and proposed approach to flight test were sound and conservative. The findings from this assessment are recorded in this document