Studies on the diversity and impact of macro biofouling organisms in brackish water finfish cage

Biofouling refers to accumulation of organisms on submerged surfaces. In case of open water cage culture, fouling organisms attached to cage nets block water flow and reduces waste removal resulting in increased stress levels on stocked fishes and reduces the rate of intake of feed and growth. It also increases weight of the nets leading to its damage. The quantity and diversity of biofouling organisms and their effects on the growth and survival of stocked fishes were studied

Effect of Feeding Frequencies on Growth and Profit of Asian Seabass (Lates calcarifer) in Cage Culture Systems

Cage culture is one of the most advanced aquaculture production systems where fishes are held in floating enclosures like net cages, moored in the open water systems, and allow free water flow. The open water cages developed by Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) during the last decade are becoming very popular in coastal waters. One of the major problems faced by farmers at all stages of culture is fish feed and feeding. A suitable feeding strategy is important to improve fish growth and reduce feed costs and environmental pollution. The study was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding frequency from sea bass cultured in cages on water quality, growth parameters, survival rate, economic return and bottom characters in Moothakunnam (N10011.478’ E076011.901’+ 4m) in Ernakulam district. Water and sediment samples and growth parameters were collected and analyzed monthly from inside and outside of the cages for a period of one year. Significant differences were found in growth parameters like weight gain (1.04±0.03-1.78±0.008), Specific growth rate (1.2±0.03-1.48±0.005), Survival rate (40%-61.53%) and FCR (4.3-4.56). The water quality parameters DO, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia and Orthophosphate in the cage and reference sites did not show many significant variations indicating a healthy growth condition in the cages. Therefore it could be concluded that the growth performance of sea bass is increasing by feeding frequency, but the economic analysis indicated that net profit is negatively related to feeding frequency

Providing perioperative care for patients with hip fractures

Providing perioperative care for patients with hip fractures can present major challenges for the anaesthesiologist. These patients often have multiple comorbidities, the deterioration of any one of which may have precipitated the fall. A careful balance has to be achieved between minimising the time before operation and spending time to optimise their medical status. This review will present insights into preoperative patient assessment and optimization in this group of patients from the anaesthesiologists’ perspective. In particular, it will highlight important medical issues of concern that may alter anaesthetic risks and management. With a greater understanding of what these issues are, potentially a more prompt and integrated approach to managing these patients may be made. Hopefully, this would result in minimising last minute cancellations due to medical reasons for these patients