Economic Importance of Mangroves, Afforestation and Reclamation

Reclamation/restoration of degraded mangroves by participatory afforestation will give life to an unique environment and form a part of national wealth. Afforestation with a single species of plant suitable for the location is the beginning. Later, mangrove associates and other bio-invasive plants will proliferate and ultimately culminate with the existence of a true mangrove eco-system provided human interventions are restricted. A positive aspect in the cost-benefit analysis of mangrove afforestation programmes is that it does not require any additional cost once the seedlings are properly planted as nature will take care of its further growth. Systematic plantation of mangroves in an area of one hectare costs about Rs.1.08 lakh with the break even cost of Rs.28.85 per tree (Table 1) generating multiple direct and indirect benefits

A single institution experience of combined modality management of extra skeletal Ewings sarcoma

BACKGROUND: Extraskeletal Ewings sarcoma are rare tumors for which there is no consensus on optimal management. METHODS: A retrospective review of the clinical features, treatment and outcome of patients with extraskeletal Ewings sarcoma who reported to a single institution between January 1992 – December 2003 is reported. RESULTS: A total of 19 patients with extraskeletal Ewings sarcoma were identified. Of these, 4 patients had metastatic disease at presentation and 15 patients with non-metastatic disease received combined modality treatment with primary combination chemotherapy followed by local treatment with radiotherapy or surgery. Disease free survival and overall survival for patients with non metastatic disease after combined modality treatment were 60% and 30% respectively. The significant predictors for prolonged disease free survival and overall survival were high haemoglobin(p = 0.002), low lactate dehydrogenase (p = 0.028), chemotherapy with Vincristine, Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide, Ifosfamide and Etoposide regime (p = 0.008) and complete response to chemotherapy (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Aggressive combination chemotherapy followed by complete surgery or radiotherapy to a dose of more than 50 Gy is essential to confer optimal outcome for patients with extraskeletal ewings sarcoma

Ariopsis peltata var. brevifolia (Araceae) from Achankovil Shear Zone region of Southern Western Ghats, India

In the bycatch of a scientific expedition in the Achankovil Shear Zone part of Southern Western Ghats, a variant of Ariopsis peltata was collected. It differs from the typical species mainly by the miniature leaf size, dome shaped male zone and by two rings of punctured cavities in synandria. This specimen is described and illustrated here as Ariopsis peltata var. brevifolia

Role of gametes and asexual products of algae in the food chain of aquatic medium

Experiments conducted by keeping mussel larvae in filtered sea water along with fragments of Viva sp., Chaetomorpha sp. and Cladophora sp. capable of readily releasing gametes in the medium showed that the larvae could metamorphose to settling stage with in 15 to 18 days by actively feeding on the gametes released by these algae. It is also noticed that the breeding cycle of the above algae along with the other algae in the locality coincides with the peak breeding period of mussel in Vizhinjam and in other mussel bed areas. The asexual reproductive products of these algae have also been observed to play in similar role as diet of the larvae and adult mussels. The study shows that gametes and other reprouuctive cells released by algae form a microleval food chain in the aquatic medium enriching the ecosystem. The paper emphasises a new line of investigation to find out the impact of this micro level food chain to improve the fish and shellfish production in coastal brackish water and fresh water ecosystems by comparing the role of other algal groups on a global basis. Eventhough considerahle work has be~n done on a global on the reproduction and propagation of algae, the biologists throughout the world have been concentrating mostly on the biology of reproduction in these groups. However. the role of the gametes and other asexually released products in the aquatic medium other than their natural proc~s of propagation has not been studied. Among a few important works on algae the reviews on the reproduction of algae made by Bold and Wynne(1978) Fritsch (1977) and Bhatia (1975) are worth mentioning and they give a broad picture on the alternation of generations and the reproductive behaviour of the marine