Stock assessment of the Indian oil-sardinella (Sardinella longiceps) off the West Coast of India

The Indian oil-sardinella (Sardinella longiceps Val .) has traditionally played a critical role in the marine fishery economics of India, and in particular in the State of Kerala. It's production on the west coast of India exhibits large fluctuations over the years, though it continues to be commercially the most important and abundant pelagic resource (Table 1). These fluctuations have attracted the attention of many research workers. As early as 1910 Hornell attributed them to changes in diatom production or food availability to the fry and the prevalence of favourable hydrological conditions. Kesteven (1967) was of the view that the fluctuations are related to shifts in the migratory path of the fish, causing variations in the accessibility of the stocks to fishing due to the limited range of the fishing operations

Case report on anti-tuberculosis drug-induced hepatitis and pancreatitis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a widespread infectious disease primarily impacting the lungs but with potential effects on various organs, such as bones, kidneys, and intestines. This case underscores a rare yet serious complication associated with anti-TB drug (ATD) treatment-the development of drug-induced acute pancreatitis. In this instance, a 65-year-old male undergoing ATD therapy exhibited symptoms including fever, vomiting, and fatigue. Despite receiving medical intervention, including intravenous antibiotics and hepatoprotective drugs, the patient's condition progressively worsened, ultimately resulting in a fatal outcome. This case emphasizes the crucial significance of early identification and effective management of such complications, highlighting the necessity for vigilant monitoring and regular assessment of liver function tests throughout ATD treatment

An Appraisal of the Marine Fisheries of Karnataka and Goa

Karnataka, on the West coast, plays an important role in the fisheries development of India and has a prominent place in the country's fisheries map, It has a shelf area of 25000 Sq. Km. and a coastline of 270 Km, about 1/22 of the country's coastline. The State's contribution to the total marine fish production in the country is of the order of ^.0%. The State has two coastal districts, namely Dakshin Kannada and Uttar Kannada. The lengths of coastline of both the districts are almost the same. Many rivers such as the Nethravathi, the Saravathi and the Kali flow into the Arabian sea and render the inshore area rich in nutrients

Integrating Association Mapping, Linkage Mapping, Fine Mapping with RNA Seq Conferring Seedling Vigor Improvement for Successful Crop Establishment in Deep Sown Direct-Seeded Rice

Background: Ongoing large-scale shift towards direct seeded rice (DSR) necessitates a convergence of breeding and genetic approaches for its sustenance and harnessing natural resources and environmental benefits. Improving seedling vigour remains key objective for breeders working with DSR. The present study aims to understand the genetic control of seedling vigour in deep sown DSR. Combined genome-wide association mapping, linkage mapping, fine mapping, RNA-sequencing to identify candidate genes and validation of putative candidate genes were performed in the present study. Results: Significant phenotypic variations were observed among genotypes in both F3:4:5 and BC2F2:3 populations. The mesocotyl length showed significant positive correlation with %germination, root and shoot length. The 881 kb region on chromosome 7 reported to be associated with mesocotyl elongation. RNA-seq data and RT-PCR results identified and validated seven potential candidate genes. The four promising introgression lines free from linkage drag and with longer mesocotyl length, longer root length, semi-dwarf plant height have been identified. Conclusion: The study will provide rice breeders (1) the pre breeding material in the form of anticipated DSR adapted introgression lines possessing useful traits and alleles improving germination under deep sown DSR field conditions (2) the base for the studies involving functional characterization of candidate genes. The development and utilization of improved introgression lines and molecular markers may play an important role in genomics-assisted breeding (GAB) during the pyramiding of valuable genes providing adaptation to rice under DSR. Our results offer a robust and reliable package that can contribute towards enhancing genetic gains in direct seeded rice breeding programs

Fish and fisheries of the mudbanks

The mudbanks attracted the attention of fishery scientists as they play a vital role in coastal fishing during the S. W. monsoon. Studies on the fishery associated with mudbanks were carried out from Quilon to Mangalore, particularly in the mudbanks of Purakkad and Nattika, where the fishery is more intense. The total catch and catch per unit effort for mudbank and non-mudbank areas were estimated and compared. Changing pattern of fishery, species composition and their relative abundance were studied. The present paper thus em bodies a detailed account on the much publicised 'mudbank fishery'—or Chakara fishery—and its magni tude and limitations. An attempt has also been made to project the socio-economics of the fishing com munity of these areas, along with the infra-structure and the impact of legislation in regard to mudbank fishery

Adalimumab for prevention of uveitic flare in patients with inactive non-infectious uveitis controlled by corticosteroids (VISUAL II):a multicentre, double-masked, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial

Background Non-infectious uveitis is a potentially sight-threatening ocular disorder caused by chronic inflammation and its complications. Therapeutic success is limited by systemic adverse effects associated with long-term corticosteroid and immunomodulator use if topical medication is not sufficient to control the inflammation. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of adalimumab in patients with inactive, non-infectious uveitis controlled by systemic corticosteroids. Methods We did this multicentre, double-masked, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial at 62 study sites in 21 countries in the USA, Canada, Europe, Israel, Australia, and Latin America. Patients (aged >= 18 years) with inactive, non-infectious intermediate, posterior, or panuveitic uveitis controlled by 10-35 mg/day of prednisone were randomly assigned (1: 1), via an interactive voice and web response system with a block size of four, to receive either subcutaneous adalimumab (loading dose 80 mg; biweekly dose 40 mg) or placebo, with a mandatory prednisone taper from week 2. Randomisation was stratified by baseline immunosuppressant treatment. Sponsor personnel with direct oversight of the conduct and management of the study, investigators, study site personnel, and patients were masked to treatment allocation. The primary efficacy endpoint was time to treatment failure, a multicomponent endpoint encompassing new active inflammatory chorioretinal or inflammatory retinal vascular lesions, anterior chamber cell grade, vitreous haze grade, and visual acuity. Analysis was done in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01124838. Findings Between Aug 10, 2010, and May 14, 2015, we randomly assigned 229 patients to receive placebo (n=114) or adalimumab (n=115); 226 patients comprised the intention-to-treat population. Median follow-up time was 155 days (IQR 77-357) in the placebo group and 245 days (119-564) in the adalimumab group. Treatment failure occurred in 61 (55%) of 111 patients in the placebo group compared with 45 (39%) of 115 patients in the adalimumab group. Time to treatment failure was significantly improved in the adalimumab group compared with the placebo group (median not estimated [>18 months] vs 8.3 months; hazard ratio 0.57, 95% CI 0.39-0.84; p=0.004). The 40th percentile for time to treatment failure was 4.8 months in the placebo group and 10.2 months in the adalimumab group. No patients in either group had opportunistic infections (excluding oral candidiasis and tuberculosis). No malignancies were reported in the placebo group whereas one (1%) patient in the adalimumab group reported non-serious squamous cell carcinoma. The most common adverse events were arthralgia (12 [11%] patients in the placebo group and 27 [23%] patients in the adalimumab group), nasopharyngitis (16 [17%] and eight [16%] patients, respectively), and headache (17 [15%] patients in each group). Interpretation Adalimumab significantly lowered the risk of uveitic flare or loss of visual acuity upon corticosteroid withdrawal in patients with inactive, non-infectious intermediate, posterior, or panuveitic uveitis controlled by systemic corticosteroids. No new safety signals were observed and the rate of adverse events was similar between groups. These findings suggest that adalimumab is well tolerated and could be an effective treatment option in this patient population. An open-label extension study (NCT01148225) is ongoing to provide long-term safety data for adalimumab in patients with non-infectious uveitis

High intensity neutrino oscillation facilities in Europe

The EUROnu project has studied three possible options for future, high intensity neutrino oscillation facilities in Europe. The first is a Super Beam, in which the neutrinos come from the decay of pions created by bombarding targets with a 4 MW proton beam from the CERN High Power Superconducting Proton Linac. The far detector for this facility is the 500 kt MEMPHYS water Cherenkov, located in the Fréjus tunnel. The second facility is the Neutrino Factory, in which the neutrinos come from the decay of μ+ and μ− beams in a storage ring. The far detector in this case is a 100 kt magnetized iron neutrino detector at a baseline of 2000 km. The third option is a Beta Beam, in which the neutrinos come from the decay of beta emitting isotopes, in particular He6 and Ne18, also stored in a ring. The far detector is also the MEMPHYS detector in the Fréjus tunnel. EUROnu has undertaken conceptual designs of these facilities and studied the performance of the detectors. Based on this, it has determined the physics reach of each facility, in particular for the measurement of CP violation in the lepton sector, and estimated the cost of construction. These have demonstrated that the best facility to build is the Neutrino Factory. However, if a powerful proton driver is constructed for another purpose or if the MEMPHYS detector is built for astroparticle physics, the Super Beam also becomes very attractive

Interim Design Report

The International Design Study for the Neutrino Factory (the IDS-NF) was established by the community at the ninth "International Workshop on Neutrino Factories, super-beams, and beta- beams" which was held in Okayama in August 2007. The IDS-NF mandate is to deliver the Reference Design Report (RDR) for the facility on the timescale of 2012/13. In addition, the mandate for the study [3] requires an Interim Design Report to be delivered midway through the project as a step on the way to the RDR. This document, the IDR, has two functions: it marks the point in the IDS-NF at which the emphasis turns to the engineering studies required to deliver the RDR and it documents baseline concepts for the accelerator complex, the neutrino detectors, and the instrumentation systems. The IDS-NF is, in essence, a site-independent study. Example sites, CERN, FNAL, and RAL, have been identified to allow site-specific issues to be addressed in the cost analysis that will be presented in the RDR. The choice of example sites should not be interpreted as implying a preferred choice of site for the facility

Association between footwear use and neglected tropical diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND The control of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) has primarily focused on preventive chemotherapy and case management. Less attention has been placed on the role of ensuring access to adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene and personal preventive measures in reducing exposure to infection. Our aim was to assess whether footwear use was associated with a lower risk of selected NTDs. METHODOLOGY We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between footwear use and infection or disease for those NTDs for which the route of transmission or occurrence may be through the feet. We included Buruli ulcer, cutaneous larva migrans (CLM), leptospirosis, mycetoma, myiasis, podoconiosis, snakebite, tungiasis, and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, particularly hookworm infection and strongyloidiasis. We searched Medline, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science, CINAHL Plus, and Popline databases, contacted experts, and hand-searched reference lists for eligible studies. The search was conducted in English without language, publication status, or date restrictions up to January 2014. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they reported a measure of the association between footwear use and the risk of each NTD. Publication bias was assessed using funnel plots. Descriptive study characteristics and methodological quality of the included studies were summarized. For each study outcome, both outcome and exposure data were abstracted and crude and adjusted effect estimates presented. Individual and summary odds ratio (OR) estimates and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated as a measure of intervention effect, using random effects meta-analyses. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Among the 427 studies screened, 53 met our inclusion criteria. Footwear use was significantly associated with a lower odds of infection of Buruli ulcer (OR=0.15; 95% CI: 0.08-0.29), CLM (OR=0.24; 95% CI: 0.06-0.96), tungiasis (OR=0.42; 95% CI: 0.26-0.70), hookworm infection (OR=0.48; 95% CI: 0.37-0.61), any STH infection (OR=0.57; 95% CI: 0.39-0.84), strongyloidiasis (OR=0.56; 95% CI: 0.38-0.83), and leptospirosis (OR=0.59; 95% CI: 0.37-0.94). No significant association between footwear use and podoconiosis (OR=0.63; 95% CI: 0.38-1.05) was found and no data were available for mycetoma, myiasis, and snakebite. The main limitations were evidence of heterogeneity and poor study quality inherent to the observational studies included. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Our results show that footwear use was associated with a lower odds of several different NTDs. Access to footwear should be prioritized alongside existing NTD interventions to ensure a lasting reduction of multiple NTDs and to accelerate their control and elimination. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews CRD42012003338