The Time-to-Build Tradition in Business Cycle Modelling

An important frontier of business cycle theorising is the 'time-to-build' tradition that lies at the heart of Real Business Cycle theory. Kydland and Prescott (1982) did not acknowledge the rich tradition of 'time-to-build' business cycle theorising - except in a passing, non-scholarly, non-specific, reference to Böhm-Bawerk's classic on Capital Theory (Böhm-Bawerk [1899]), which did not, in any case, address cycle theoretic issues. The notion of ‘time-to-build’ is intrinsic to any process oriented production theory which is incorporated in a macrodynamic model. We provide an overview of this tradition, focusing on some of the central business cycle classics, and suggest that the Neo-Austrian revival should be placed in this class of dynamic macroeconomics, albeit ‘traverse dynamics’ is itself to be considered as a fluctuating path from one equilibrium to another.

Biology of fouling in Neendakara port, a tropical estuary in the south west coast of India

Species composition and some aspects of the biology of the fouling community in Neendakara port (southwest coast of India) has been examined for a period of one year. Fouling organisms were collected with a system of glass panels exposed for varying durations and during different months in the port. One species of sponge, nine species of coelenterates, thirteen species of polyzoans, four species of mud-tube dwelling polychaetes, four species of serpulids, one species each of mud-tube forming amphipod and tanaid, two species of oysters, six species of mussels and not less than eight species of tunicates were the macro fouler which settled over the panels. Monthly and seasonal settlement of the different species has been recorded. Fouling has been a continuous process occurring throughout the year in Neendakara port with slightly fluctuating biomass and considerably varying species composition. Alternate species dominance of marine and brackish water forms has been an important feature of fouling in the area. Number of species of the sedentary fouling animals represented on test panels has been high during the highly saline pre-monsoon period and low during the monsoon period

IN VITRO EVALUATION OF ANTHELMINTIC ACTIVITY OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF ARDISIA COLORATA ROXB. LEAVES IN ADULT EARTHWORMS

Objective: The study aims to evaluate the anthelmintic activity of aqueous extract of Ardisia colorata Roxb. leaves (AQEAC) using adult earthworms (Pheretima posthuman). Methods: The total of 24 adult earthworms were divided into four groups, with six worms in each group (n=6). The anthelmintic activity of AQEAC at two different doses (25 mg/ml and 50 mg/ml) was evaluated by assessing the time of paralysis (min) and time of death (min) of the earthworms. Albendazole (25 mg/ml) was used as standard and 2% gum acacia as control. Results: The result showed that AQEAChad significant anthelmintic activity (p<0.001) in a dose-dependent manner but was less potent than the standard drug albendazole. Conclusion: AQEAC demonstrated significant anthelmintic activity but was less potent than the standard drug albendazole. However, further studies with higher doses are required to evaluate the dose-dependent activity and to evaluate the exact mechanism responsible for anthelmintic activity

Role and acceptability of traditional birth attendants (DAIs) in a rural community in South India

Dais are the traditional birth attendants, conducting deliveries at home in the majority of villages in India. A study was planned to find out the feasibility of utilising the services of the dais in case-finding in Tuberculosis (TB) and for drug delivery to diagnosed patients. As a preliminary step, a survey was done with a view to find out the role and acceptability of the dais by the community in 5% of households in randomly selected 24 of the 48 villages in Sriperumbudur taluk in Tamil Nadu, where a voluntary organisation. "PREPARE" was delivering primary health care through dais. A total of 466 individuals, either the head of the household or any other responsible person available, were interviewed to find out the role and acceptability of the dais by the community. The salient findings of this study are that 83% mentioned that the dais reside in their respective villages. hence the services of the dais were available at ail times and 82 % had stated that the services were useful to them. This background information is essential for health planners so that this task force could be effectively utilised in health programmmes, in the rural areas in India

Ecology of biofouling on Crassostrea madrasensis (Preston) (Mollusca:Bivalvia) in a tropical backwater

Ecology of biofouling on the edible estuarine oyster Crassostrea madrasensis (Preston) has been investigated in the Ashtamudi Backwater of the southwest coast of India. Fouling was highly conspicuous throughout the year and dominant groups included barnacles, serpulids, bryozoans and modiolids. Intensity of fouling varied from 73 to 179 % on living oyster valves and 65 to 172 % on dead valves with respective annual averages of 118 and 127%. Substrate selection and settlement of the different groups were mostly opportunistic. Barnacles were the most dominant, living and dead ones collectively contributing to about 26 % of fouling on living valves and 32 % on dead valves. Serpulid fouling was 22 % both on living and dead oyster valves, bryozoans 15 and 12%, modiolids 11 and 12% and the miscellaneous groups formed 27 and 20 % respectively. Availability of free settling space and fouling in relation to substrate size were also investigated. Total fouling was very intense on oysters of 25-35 cm2 size group. Impact of biofouling on oysters and certain earlier studies on the topic are discussed

Effect of depuration of animals and use of antimicrobial agents on proliferation of cells and microbial contamination in in-vitro mantle explant culture of the abalone Haliotis varia Linnaeus

The role played by depuration of test animals and surface sterilisation of tissues has been greatly felt in tissue cultures of molluscs so as to control contamination and to ensure viable cultures. The effect of depuration and the optimum dose of antimicrobial agents for sterilisation of mantle tissue in abalone mantle tissue culture and their effects in cell yield have not been reported with reference to cell proliferation and its survival. Abalone cell culture is being given importance in order to develop a technology for in-vitro pearl production, as the cultured pearls are highly valuable in terms of high quality. Separate studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of depuration and to standardise the optimum dose of antimicrobial agents. Mantle tissue from depurated and non-depurated abalones (Haliotis varia) was used simultaneously to study the effect of depuration in cell yield. During the study, contamination was found to be more in depurated tissues than in non-depurated ones. Role of antibiotics such as streptomycin and penicillin on cell proliferation and contamination was studied by washing tissues using solutions containing three different doses of antibiotics, prior to initiation of culture. In the first experiment, washing of tissue in seawater containing 1000 μg ml-1 of streptomycin and 2000 IU ml-1 of penicillin yielded more cell proliferation with less contamination. Fungizone was incorporated along with streptomycin and penicillin to minimise the fungal contamination in the second experiment. The dosage of 200 μg ml-1 of fungizone with above said antibiotic dosage yielded better cell proliferation and less contamination than other doses

Sea ranching of pearl oyster

Sea ranching of pearl oyste