Plant Growth Regulators in Mulberry

Plant growth regulators are organic compounds synthesized in specified plant parts in small quantity and are transported to the place of requirement leading to a change in physiological responses. Plant growth regulators can be classified into growth promoters and growth retardants. Plant growth regulators are auxins, gibberellin, cytokinin and growth retardants are Abscisic acid and ethylene. The latest one added to the growth promoter is Brassinosteroid, used to translocate the nitrogen and phosphorus. Triacontanol is one of the commercial formulations and used to increase the moisture and protein content of leaves, which ultimately built the disease resistance in silkworm. Plant growth promoting Rhizobacteria stimulates the plant growth regulators like auxins, gibberellins etc., and help in better nutrient uptake and increase tolerance. Vermicompost also contains some plant growth regulators. The combined effect of different plant growth regulators will give positive result in mulberry growth

Zooplankton abundance in the continental shelf waters of the northeast coast of India

Higher concentrations of zooplankton standing stock and population occurred in the region off Chilka lake and Paradip (19° 10'N-19° 55'N and 85°09'E-86° 50'E) during January and off Visakhapatnam (17°30'N- 18°28'N and 83°14'E- 84°29*E) during November and April. The most productive period along the northwestern part of the Bay of Bengal was the northeast monsoon season (October-January) followed by the premonsoon season (February-May). High abundance of copepods, chaetognaths, siphonophores, cladocerans, fish larvae, planktonic molluscs, amphipods, foraminifers and larval polychaetes constituted the northeast monsoon maximum. Very low biomass values were recorded during the southwest monsoon season (June-September). The neretic zone up to 50 m depth was rich in zooplankton population during northeast monsoon and further to a lesser extent up to 100 m during the premonsoon season. However, a steady decline was evident with increasing depth zones. The less saline northern part exhibited remarkable differences in the abundance of the population and standing stock in such a way that 63% of the total was confined to the northern region. Fish eggs were predominant during February-May and larvae in July and January-February. The peak period of the zooplankton population coincided with the maximum landings of the pelagic and demersal fishery resources of the northwestern coast of the Bay of Bengal

Insect antifeedant and growth-regulating activities of salannin and other c-seco limonoids from neem oil in relation to azadirachtin

The antifeedant and insect growth-regulating activities of salannin, nimbin, and 6-deacetylnimbin, in comparison with azadirachtin-A, have been studied against Spodoptera litura, Pericallia ricini, and Oxya fuscovittata. Salannin deterred feeding, delayed molt by increasing larval duration, caused larval and pupal mortalities, and decreased pupal weights in the two lepidopterans. Salannin also caused molt delays and nymphal mortalities in Oxya fuscovittata. The role of salannin and other compounds in conferring bioactivity, along with azadirachtin-A, to neem oil/neem seed extracts is emphasized

Marine fisheries resources: exploitation, management and regulations in India

The peninsular India extending between latitudes 80 4' and 370 6' north and longitudes 680 7' and 97025' East has a coastline of about 8,219 km.The Indian Ocean covering the area between 30 and 1500 and from the Main land mass in the north to 500 south has a total area of 51 million sq km. After the declaration of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in 1977, the area available to India is 2.02 million sq. km. comprising 0.86 million sq. km. on the East coast, 0.56 million sq. km. on the West coast and 0.60 million sq. km. around the Andaman and Nicobar islands. With the absolute right on the EEZ, India has also acquired the responsibility to conserve, protect, develop and optimally exploit the marine living resources up to 200 nautical miles of the coastline

Effect of Fe Doping on Photocatalytic Dye-Degradation and Antibacterial Activity of SnO2 Nanoparticles

A simple hydrothermal method is utilized to synthesize iron-doped tin oxide nanoparticles (Fe-SnO2 NPs) at various doping concentrations. The structural characterization using XRD, Raman, and FTIR measurements confirmed the incorporation of Fe ions into the SnO2 lattice without any deviation in the tetragonal crystal system of SnO2 nanoparticles. SEM and HRTEM images show the spherical-shaped nanoparticles with agglomeration. The values of interplanar spacing ( d -value) calculated from the HRTEM lattice are consistent with the XRD results. Further, optical analysis revealed a red shift in the optical absorption band and a decrease in the band gap energy with an increase in Fe-dopant concentration. The decrease of PL emission peak intensity with Fe doping revealed the generation of singly charged oxygen vacancies. The H2O2-assisted photocatalytic degradation efficiency of Fe-SnO2 NPs investigated against crystal violet dye indicated an efficiency of 98% for 0.05 M Fe-SnO2 NPs within 30 minutes under visible light illumination. In addition, the effects of pH, scavengers, and reusability of the catalyst are tested. The antibacterial behavior of Fe-SnO2 NPs against Escherichia coli is examined by using the colony count method, and the inhibition rate was found to be 49, 65, 70, and 78% for pure, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05 M Fe-SnO2 NPs, respectively

Premature Centromere Division and Spontaneous Abortion

Premature Centromere Division (PCD) was observed in the chromosomes of metaphase spreads in a patient with the history of recurrent abortions. Short term leukocyte cultures were set up with blood sample from the woman with a history of recurrent abortions for the past four consequent years. 25 % of the metaphase spreads screened displayed premature centromere division of the chromosomes in each of the cells. This abnormal behavior of the centromeres may predispose the individual to cell division errors due to chromosome instability and the consequences of which may be a spontaneous abortion

New distributional record of the insular shelf beauty Symphysanodon typus Bleeker, 1878 (Family: Symphysanodontidae) from Indian waters

The family Symphysanodontidae comprises of small to medium sized bony fishes commonly known as banquelovelies, slopefishes and insular shelf beauties. They are caught in trawls operating in depths from 50 to 500 m, mainly on the continental shelf and slopes

Adsorption of chromium from aqueous solution using Chitosan-g-Graphene /Hydroxyapatite composite

The preparation and characterisation of a polymeric composite incorporating graphene, hydroxyapatite, and chitosan as an adsorbent to remove chromium (VI) from wastewater. The FTIR and XRD studies supported the composite's production. Analysis of surface morphology and heat stability involved TGA and SEM studies. A batch adsorption was run to determine the efficacy of the adsorbent by varying contact time, adsorbent dose, and pH. The kinetics of the adsorption process were examined using pseudo-first and second order kinetic models after the equilibrium data had been fitted with the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The findings showed that pseudo second order kinetics was utilised for the adsorption of Cr(VI) onto chitosan-grafted graphene/hydroxyapatite (CS-g-Gr/HA) composite

Finfish diversity in the trawl fisheries of southern Kerala

Among the maritime states of India, Kerala with a coastline of 590 km and 39,139 sq km of continental shelf area enjoys the distinction of being the foremost marine producer and exporter. The potential yield of the area up to 200 m depth has been estimated to be about 8 lakh tonnes

Size and weight relationships of the purpleback flying squid, Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae), from Arabian Sea

The size and weight relationships and morphometrics of 390 individuals of the purpleback flying squid, Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis, collected from the tropical Arabian Sea were studied. The lengthweight relationship was W = 0. 0320 DML3.0972 for females, W = 0.0318 DML3.1288 for males, and W = 0.0382 DML3.0395 when sexes were combined indicating an isometric growth pattern. Most of the morphometric characters showed a high degree of correlation among the compared characters. The relationships between ten morphometric characters against the dorsal mantle length of both the sexes were analysed and it indicated a very high degree of correlation in females compared to males. Females in the samples were twice the size of males, indicating sexual dimorphism in body siz