IN VITRO ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF METHANOL EXTRACT OF ERANTHEMUM CAPENSE

Objective: The present study was aimed to rationalize the scientific basis in traditional use of Eranthemum capense as an antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory agent. Methods: Agar well diffusion method is widely used to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the E. capense aerial part of methanolic and ethyl acetate plant extracts. The same amount (15–20 mL) of Mueller-Hinton agar was poured on glass Petri plates of same size and allowed to solidify. E. capense aerial part of methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts was evaluated in vitro for their anti-inflammatory activities using the bovine serum albumin protein denaturation assay. Results: The result of the study shows that methanolic exract (T3) of the plant, E. capense shows 16 mm zone of inhibition against Pseudomonas fluorescens, while the ethyl acetate extract of the same plant shows 14 mm zone of inhibition against P. fluorescens and E. coli. Hence the methanolic extract of T3 sample shows the antibacterial activity against gram negative bacteria, where as the ethyl acetate extract of T3 shows antibacterial activity against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria. The experimental report revealed that, the methanolic and ethyl acetate extract of the same plant produces zero percentage zone of inhibition against Aspergillus niger and Mucor, hence it does not show any antifungal activity. Conclusion: It is observed that the EA and methanolic extract of E. capense can be used in the treatment of inflammation due to the significant percentage of inhibition of protein denaturation as well as its prove the good antimicrobial agent

Rare occurrence of Japanese bigeye Pristigenys niphonia (Cuvier 1829), off Malabar Coast

The family Priacanthidae commonly inhabit rocky areas and reefs, although a few are known to inhabit open waters. Priacanthas are typically colored bright red, but some have patterns in silver, dusky brown, or black. They have unusually large eyes, suited to their habitat in deeper waters. Pristigenys is one of the genera of Priacanthidae and comprises of 3 species

Design and Fabrication of Self-Charging Bi-Cycle with Power Saving Application using Solar Panel

With the increase in fuel prices, pollution content in atmosphere and due to gradual end of the nonrenewable sources of energy we have to alter the source of our energy in our vehicles. Now a day’s Bicycles are more commonly used by the youngsters and school students.  At the same time demand of electricity is vital problem in these days and that of the humans becoming tired when pedalling the bicycles to reduce all these problems. We are implementing a self-charging bicycle. The model converts mechanical energy into electrical energy without pollution.

Food and feeding habits of Nemipterus japonicus (Bloch) from Malabar coast, Kerala

Food and feeding habits of Nemipterus japonicus from the Malabar region was studied by analysing 12164 specimens. The study showed that it is a demersal carnivore and the diet consisted of fishes, crustaceans, molluscs, polychaetes and miscellaneous food items. The trophic spectrum of N. japonicus is composed of 34 food items. All size groups preferred crustaceans. Penaeid shrimps, Acetes spp. and deep sea shrimps were the dominant crustacean components observed in the diet. Anchovies, scads, lizard fishes and Lactarius lactarius were the major teleost fishes that formed the diet of N. japonicus. The species showed preference for teleost fishes as they grew. The species initially feeds on a great variety of organisms, but as it grows slowly becomes more active predator, feeding mainly on large crustaceans and fishes. Crabs and squilla were seen mostly in juveniles and pre-adult fishes. Fishes dominated the stomach during January-March and crustaceans during all other months. Feeding intensity was poor during most of the months, variations were however observed in relation to different stages of maturity

Landing of a sicklefin chimaera, Neoharriotta pinnata (Schnakenbeck, 1931), at Beypore

A single specimen of chimaera belonging to the genus Neoharriotta was caught by a trawler operating at a depth of 100 m off Ponnani. The specimen was landed at Beypore on 26.9.13. The specimen measured 96 cm and weighed 6.5 kg

Stock assessment of seerfishes in the Indian seas

The annual average catch of seerfishes from the Indian seas was 45,0601 during 1995-'99, which constituted 1.8% of the total marine fish catch in India. State-wise Gujarat (28.5%) was the major producer followed by Tamilnadu (15.8%), Maharashtra (15.4%), Andhra Pradesh (11.4%) and Kerala (10.5%). Gill net is the dominant gear in exploiting seerfish followed by trawl, hooks & line, boat seines, shore seines and purse seines. Among the five species, the kingseer Scomberomorus commerson (59.0%) and the spotted seer S. guttatus (35.1%) sustained the fishery, while the streaked seer S.lineolatus and the wahoo Acanthocybium solandri formed only a negligible portion of the fisher

A Grid-Connected Optimal Hybrid PV-BES System Sizing for Malaysian Commercial Buildings

In this article, the optimal sizing of hybrid solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage systems is evaluated with respect to rooftop space and feed-in tariff rates. The battery scheduling is performed using a proposed rule-based energy management strategy. The rules are formulated based on the demand limit, PV export power limit, and state of charge of the battery. Furthermore, optimization modeling with initial choices of parameters and constraints in terms of solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage capabilities is developed to minimize the total net present cost. The hourly values of solar irradiance, air temperature, electrical loads, and electricity rates are considered the inputs of the optimization process. The optimization results are achieved using particle swarm optimization and validated through an uncertainty analysis. It is observed that an optimal photovoltaic and battery energy storage system can reduce the cost of electricity by 12.33%,including the sale of 5944.029 kWh of electricity to the grid. Furthermore, energy consumption, peak demand, and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by 13.71%, 5.85%, and 62.59%, respectively. A comprehensive analysis between the variable and fixed data for the load, energy from PV, batteries, and the grid, and costs demonstrates that the optimal sizing of photovoltaic and battery energy storage systems with the best mix of energy from PV, batteries, and the grid provides the optimal solution for the proposed configuration

Status of exploitation of seerfishes in the Indian seas

Seerfish production from the Indian seas during the past five decades from 1950s to 1990s, showed an increasing trend. The annual catch increased from 4,505 t in 1953 to 54,8761 in 1998. The average annual catch during the five decadal periods k-aried from 7,278 t in 1950-'59 to 41,575 t in 1990-'99 contributing 1.5% and 1.75% respectively to the total marine fish catch of India. However, the rate of increase through the successive decades decreased indicating the attainment of op- ;imum level of production currently. During 1950-'59, the east coast contributed more (60%) than the west coast (40%), which changed to 36:64 during 1990-'99. iVmong the maritime states of India, Gujarat (25.88%), Maharashtra (16.09%), familnadu (13.59%), Kerala (13.07%) and Andhra Pradesh (12.68%) were the prime seerfish producers during 1990-'99. Gill net (64.8%) was the dominant gear, folowed by trawl (17.4%) and hooks and line (4%) with an average catch rate of 8.1 <g/unit, 0.24 kg/hr and 3.7 kg/unit respectively during 1995-'99. Among the five species, the fishery was sustained only by two species viz., the king seer Scomberomorus commerson and the spotted seer S.guttatus

Minimum Legal Size proposed for commercially exploited marine finfish and shellfish resources of Tamil Nadu

Marine fisheries in Tamil Nadu have undergone tremendous change in terms of fishing pattern, fishing method, extension of fishing grounds, composition of fish catch and consequent increase in the total fish catch in recent years. The recent demand from industries involved in fish meal and fish oil encourages targeted fishing for by-catch resulting in heavy landing of low value by-catch in certain places along Tamil Nadu coast. These by-catch are often dominated by juveniles of many commercially important marine finfishes and shell fishes. So it warrants some caution and intervention. One of the methods to discourage the indiscriminate exploitation of juveniles is to impose a Minimum Legal Size (MLS) which is the size at which a particular species can be legally retained if caught. The advantage of a MLS is that it aids in the control of two major problems in the fisheries management, growth overfishing and recruitment overfishing either by increasing the minimum size of harvest or by increasing or maintaining the size of the spawning stock. The most common method of increasing the reproductive output through the use of size limits is to set the minimum size at which the females become sexually mature. As the individuals of a species do not attain sexual maturity at the same size, it can be a size at which higher proportions are mature