Functional outcome of fenestration discectomy in discogenic lumbar canal stenosis

Background: Annual incidence of significant disc herniation causing sciatica ranges from 14% to 15%. Inspite of various treatment modalities available, fenestration discectomy still remain treatment of choice for discogenic lumbar canal stenosis. The objective of our study is to assess functional outcome and complications associated with fenestration discectomy in patients of discogenic lumbar canal stenosis.Methods: Thirty two patients who had unilateral radicular pain with clinicoradiologically confirmed posterolateral disc herniation and who failed to respond to conservative management were treated surgically by fenestration discectomy. Outcome was assessed using Oswestry disability index at 6 months follow up.Results: Patients with neurological deficits underwent fenestration discectomy with complete relief of radicular pain in 17 patients and mild reduction in 5 patients on follow up. 23 patients had recovery from motor symptoms and 25 patients had recovery from sensory symptoms whereas 9 patients still had motor weakness and 7 patients still had sensory deficit. Oswestry disability index (ODI) score used for functional outcome at 6 months postoperatively showed 63% of the patients were having 0 to 20 ODI score with minimal disability, 34% of the patients had score of 21 to 40% with moderate disability, and 3% were having 41 to 60% ODI score with severe disability. One patient had dural tear and two patients had post-operative discitis.Conclusions: Fenestration discectomy is an excellent surgical option for discogenic lumbar canal stenosis. Fenestration discectomy is an easy, economical and effective means of treating lumbar disc prolapse with minimal acceptable complications

Lobster breeding, Sea ranching and juvenile fattening

Lobsters are one of the highly esteemed seafood delicacies and cu r re n t ly fetch the highest unit value among commercially exploited marine resources. These are decapod crustaceans belonging to fo u r fami l ie s : Nephropidae {clawed / true lobsters), Palinuridae {Spiny/ rock lobsters), Scyllaridae (Sand /slipper lobsters) and Synaxidae (Coral lobsters). Representatives of the families Palinuridae and Scyllaridae constitute the lobster fisher000y of India

Ontogenetic changes in morphometry of the spiny lobster, Panulirus homarus homarus (Linnaeus, 1758) from southern Indian coast

The morphometric relationships, carapace length vs total length (CL vs TL), carapace length vs weight (CL vs W), total length vs weight (TL vs W), carapace length vs carapace width (CL vs CW), carapace length vs length of third walking leg (CL vs III WL) and carapace length vs width of second abdomen (CL vs II ASW) were estimated for the Scalloped spiny lobster Panulirus homarus homarus fished from east and west coast of Tamilnadu. A total of 462 males and 350 females were measured for the study. Carapace length of lobsters ranged from 20.4 mm to 101.0 mm CL. The power function y=axb was applied in all the relationships. The first derivative dY/dCL-abCLb-1 where Y is TL was used to study the growth tendency of TL in relation to CL. A negative allometry, b<1 was found for males which was also reflected in their decreasing growth rate of TL in relation to CL. The CL vs W relationship showed a general negative allometry, b<3 in both sexes. Size at the onset of sexual maturity in male was determined based on allometric growth of third pereopod. Slopes of regression of log transformed data showed positive allometric growth of third pereopod for males (b=1.17) compared to negative allometry in females (b=0.97). Females had (b=1.04) positive allometry in second abdomen width compared to negative allometry in males (b=0.934). However, their size at maturity could not be precisely predicted as the b value of the two regression lines of immature (1.09) and mature females (1.01) did not indicate any significant deviation from 1. The size at maturity of males (63.0 mm) was determined where the two regression lines of mature and immature specimens crossed. The results obtained in the present study support the predictions of resource allocation theory in crustaceans and demonstrate marked shifts in resource allocation through ontogeny in both sexes

Biology and exploitation of Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus from Visakhapatnam waters

Length-weight relationship, relative condition factor, growth, maturity, mortality, exploitation, fishery, food and feeding and sex ratio of Trichiurus lepturus from Visakhapatnam were studied. Length-weight relationship obtained for male and female was, male : W = 0.000273 L3245862 (r=0.9961) and female : W = 0.000223 L3298627 (r = 0.9950). Growth parameters estimated for von Bertalanffy's growth function were, LM = 106.8251 cm, K = 0.6117 per year and to = -0.1399 years. The fish attained maturity at 42.5 cm and has a longevity of 4.9 years. The total mortality and fishing mortality were estimated as 2.4170 and 1.5236 respectively. The exploitation ratio, E = 0.6304 and exploitation rate, U = 0.5741, indicated overexploited state of the stock. The seasonal abundance in major gears and the annual abundance in the small trawler landings during the decade 1982-'91 are also presented. Growth performance index, PHI1 (') for this species was calculated based on five sets of parameters given by different authors and a mean ' value was arrived at. The fish was found to be a voracious carnivore, often exhibiting cannibalism. Incidence of differential fishing noticed in this case is briefly discussed

Fishery resources of spiny lobsters in the Andaman Island, India

The Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Islands is the largest archipelago in the Bay of Bengal. In spite of availability of diverse lobster resources, there is no organised lobster fishing in the Islands. The main objective of the study was to collect baseline data on the lobster resources of the Andaman Island. Periodic field surveys were carried out at 33 landing centres in the Andaman and data were collected by direct observation and questionnaires. Mechanised and non-mechanised fishing crafts are engaged in lobster fishing in the Island. Lobsters are manually caught by spears, gillnet, shoreseine and handpicking. Six commercially important species of spiny lobsters, Panulirus penicillatus, P. versicolor, P. homarus, P. ornatus, P. polyphagus and P. longipes are present in the island. Among them, P. penicillatus dominated the landings throughout the study period (1999-2000), with maximum catch in January, followed by P. versicolor. The total lobster landings in Andaman during the study period were estimated as 3.16 tonnes with maximum landings in south Andaman (Port Blair)

Beach litter survey of selected beaches of Coromondel coast of Tamil Nadu, India

The beach litter survey of the selected beaches of Tamilnadu viz. Marina, (lat 13°055’N and long 80°28’E), Besant nagar (lat 12°99’N, long 80°27E) and Thiruvanmiyur (lat 12°97’N and long 80°26´E) were done in the year 2014. Beach litter survey was done mainly to quantify as well as to know the distribution pattern of different types of litter in all the selected beaches surveyed. The different types of litters surveyed in the year 2014 from Jan-Dec includes nylon/ HDP ropes/fishnet pieces (A), plastics covers, sachets, containers of creams, oil, ointments(B), chappals, foot wear (other than leather items)(C), glass bottles, electric bulbs, CFL bulbs (source of Hg) (D), waste (TV, Computer hard- wares, mobile phone handsets charges)(E) and Thermo col, PUF insulators of AC/Fridge, Styrofoam, etc. (F). Among the total litter distribution item C, chappals, footwear (other than leather items) is the highest (4000g/m2) followed by item B, plastics covers, sachets containers of creams, ointments, oil, (2525 g/m2), item F, thermocol, PUF insulators of AC/Fridge, stryrofoam, (1310g/m2), item D, glass bottles, electric bulbs, CFL bulbs (sources of Hg), (1125g/m2) and item A, nylon, HDP ropes and fishnet pieces, 1075 g/m2. In Marina Beach, in post monsoon season (Jan’14 to Mar’14) the item C is more than in A followed by B,D,F and E in summer season(Apr’14 to June’14) the litter distribution is more in C followed by F, B, D, A & E. In pre monsoon season (July’14 to Sep’14) the item B is more followed by C, F, A, D and E in monsoon season, (Oct’ 14 to Dec’14) the item B is followed by F,C, A, E and D. In Besant nagar beach in post monsoon season, (Jan’14 to Mar’14) the item C is more followed by D, A, B, F and E in summer season (April’ 14 to June’14) the item C is more followed by B,F,A,D and E in pre monsoon season, the item B is more followed by C,F,A,D and E in monsoon season, the item F is followed by B, A, C, D and E. In Thiruvanmiyur beach in post monsoon season(Jan’14 to Mar’14) the item C is more followed by B, A, F, D and E, in summer season, (Apr’14 to June’ 14) the item B is more followed by C,F,A,D and E in pre monsoon season, (July’14 to Sep’14) the item B is more followed by F,A,D,C and E in monsoon season, (Oct’14 to Dec’14) the item D is more followed by B,C,F, A and E. In marina beach, the PCA analysis of the beach litter for 12 consecutive months showed that the 2 components extracted had a variance of 49.02% with an eigen value of 2.45 and 25.63%, cumulative variance of 74.65% with an eigen value of 1.28. In Besant nagar beach, the PCA analysis showed that the 2 components extracted had a variance of 43.51% with an eigen value of 2.18 and 32.73% with an eigen value of 1.64 and the cumulative variance of 76.23%. In Thiruvanmiyur beach, the 2 PCA components extracted had a variance of 55.51% with an eigen value of 2.78 and 30.58% with an eigen value of 1.53 and the cumulative variance of 86.09%

An unusual congregation of organisms in the catches off Kovalam, Madras

The fishermen belonging to Kovalam had a hectic activity in harvesting huge quantities of fish from the Kovalam bay from 26-8-'87 to 4-9-'87. Fishermen employed all available gears for catching the fish and prawns. According to them, this was due to the appearance of 'Vandal thanneer' or turbid water close to the shore. The present account embodies the results of the observations made on this unusual phenomenon

CMFRI Marine Fisheries Policy Series No-4; Indian Marine Fisheries Code: Guidance on a Marine Fisheries Management Model for India

India’s marine fisheries are at a turning point; the rapid increase in yields witnessed during the first 60 years of independence has slowed down and the scope for increase in yields from new unexploited and underexploited fish stocks and grounds seems limited. The situation calls for urgent measures to sustain the production close to the target potential yield of 4.41 million tonnes. These measures would mean implementation of science based fisheries management and regulations. Although much has been accomplished by way of research and development in marine fisheries in India, the transformation and implementation of the outcome of these studies into effective management of marine fisheries resources of the country has been a shortcoming so far. The FAO brought out the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (FAO-CCRF) in 1995 to serve as a guidance for countries for a sound and effective management of fisheries resources. This FAO-CCRF has not been put into practice in India, althrough there are some compliances. Scientists of the CMFRI and CIFT, two of India’s major fisheries research institutes, have come together to develop a guidance on how the code can be put into practice in the country. Aptly named as Indian Marine Fisheries Code (IMFC), it is expected to give an impetus to bring about a sea change in the manner in which marine fisheries is managed in the country. The IMFC explains in detail each sub-article of the FAOCCRF and provides information on how the article can be implemented and by whom. The IMFC further proposes several new bodies which are necessary to place fisheries management in the country on an unassailable footing. It is expected that all fisheries management bodies in the country, both at central and state levels would find the IMFC as a useful guidance for the future