Observations on the offshore prawn fishery of Cochin

Although several accounts on the results of exploratory power fishing in the Indian coastal waters have been published (Hornell 1916, Sunder Raj 1931, Chidambaram 1953, Gopinath 1954, Jayaraman et al. 1959) no detailed account of the biological aspects of th species of prawns contributing to the fishery is available. Srivatsa (1953) has given a list of Crustaceans caught by the Japanese trawlers in Saurashtra waters. Per Sandven (1959) remarks "there is reason to believe that in the Arabian Sea outside the Malabar coast are found some of the richest prawn grounds in the world." John and Kurian (1959) observed concentrations of the penaeid prawn Penaeopsis philippii in deeper waters (100 to 150 fathoms) off the coast of Kerala. Menon (1955 & 1957), Panikkar & Menon (1955), George (1959 & 1961) and Menon & Raman (1961) studied the bionomics of certain species of prawns of the backwater and inshore fishery which is supported by the same species contributing [O the off shore fishery of the area. Miyamoto et al. (1962) and Satyanarayana et al. (1962) reported on the development of trawling for shrimps on the West coast of India along with the influence of various types of trawls, boats and engines of different h. p. on the catches, and the prawn trawling gear of Cochin respectively. Apart from these and the reports of the Indo-Norwegian Project on their fishing results published from time to time there has not been any account of the off-shore prawn fishery of this coast

Not Available

Not AvailableAlthough several accounts on the results of exploratory power fishing in the Indian coastal waters have been published (Hornell 1916, Sunder Raj 1931, Chidambaram 1953, Gopinath 1954, Jayaraman et al. 1959) no detailed account of the biological aspects of th species of prawns contributing to the fishery is available. Srivatsa (1953) has given a list of Crustaceans caught by the Japanese trawlers in Saurashtra waters. Per Sandven (1959) remarks "there is reason to believe that in the Arabian Sea outside the Malabar coast are found some of the richest prawn grounds in the world." John and Kurian (1959) observed concentrations of the penaeid prawn Penaeopsis philippii in deeper waters (100 to 150 fathoms) off the coast of Kerala. Menon (1955 & 1957), Panikkar & Menon (1955), George (1959 & 1961) and Menon & Raman (1961) studied the bionomics of certain species of prawns of the backwater and inshore fishery which is supported by the same species contributing O the off shore fishery of the area. Miyamoto et al. (1962) and Satyanarayana et al. (1962) reported on the development of trawling for shrimps on the West coast of India along with the influence of various types of trawls, boats and engines of different h. p. on the catches, and the prawn trawling gear of Cochin respectively. Apart from these and the reports of the Indo-Norwegian Project on their fishing results published from time to time there has not been any account of the off-shore prawn fishery of this coast.Not Availabl

Ketamine has no effect on oxygenation indices following elective coronary artery bypass grafting under cardiopulmonary bypass

Cardiopulmonary bypass is known to elicit systemic inflammatory response syndrome and organ dysfunction. This can result in pulmonary dysfunction and deterioration of oxygenation after cardiac surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass. Previous studies have reported varying results on anti-inflammatory strategies and oxygenation after cardiopulmonary bypass. Ketamine administered as a single dose at induction has been shown to reduce the pro-inflammatory serum markers in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass. Therefore we investigated if ketamine can result in better oxygenation in these patients. This was a prospective randomized blinded study. Eighty consecutive adult patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting under cardiopulmonary bypass were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups. Patients in ketamine group received 1mg/kg of ketamine intravenously at induction of anesthesia. Control group patients received an equal volume of saline. All patients received standard anesthesia, operative and postoperative care.Paired t test and independent sample t test were used to compare the inter-group and between group oxygenation indices respectively. Oxygenation index and duration of ventilation were analyzed. Deterioration of oxygenation index was noted in both the groups after cardiopulmonary bypass. However, there was no significant difference in the oxygenation index at various time points after cardiopulmonary bypass or the duration of ventilation between the two groups. This study shows that the administered as a single dose at induction does not result in better oxygenation after cardiopulmonary bypass

Prevalence and magnitude of acidosis sequelae to rice-based feeding regimen followed in Tamil Nadu, India

Background and Aim: In Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India, rice is readily available at a low cost, hence, is cooked (cooking akin to human consumption) and fed irrationally to cross-bred dairy cattle with poor productivity. Hence, a study was carried out with the objective to examine the prevalence of acidosis sequelae to rice-based feeding regimen and assess its magnitude. Materials and Methods: A survey was conducted in all the 32 districts of Tamil Nadu, by randomly selecting two blocks per districts and from each block five villages were randomly selected. From each of the selected village, 10 dairy farmers belonging to the unorganized sector, owning one or two cross-bred dairy cows in early and mid-lactation were randomly selected so that a sample size of 100 farmers per district was maintained. The feeding regimen, milk yield was recorded, and occurrence of acidosis and incidence of laminitis were ascertained by the veterinarian with the confirmative test to determine the impact of feeding cooked rice to cows. Results: It is observed that 71.5% of farmers in unorganized sector feed cooked rice to their cattle. The incidence of acidosis progressively increased significantly (p<0.05) from 29.00% in cows fed with 0.5 kg of cooked rice to 69.23% in cows fed with more than 2.5 kg of cooked rice. However, the incidence of acidosis remained significantly (p<0.05) as low as 9.9% in cows fed feeding regimen without cooked rice which is suggestive of a correlation between excessive feeding cooked rice and onset of acidosis. Further, the noticeable difference in the incidence of acidosis observed between feeding cooked rice and those fed without rice and limited intake of oil cake indicates that there is a mismatch between energy and protein supply to these cattle. Among cooked rice-based diet, the incidence of laminitis increased progressively (p<0.05) from 9.2% to 37.9% with the increase in the quantum of cooked rice in the diet. Conclusion: The study points out the importance of protein supplementation in rice-based feeding regimen to set right the mismatched supply between nitrogen and fermentable organic matter in the rumen. This research has practical implications for animal health, welfare, nutrition, and management

Homocysteine & its metabolite homocysteine-thiolactone & deficiency of copper in patients with age related macular degeneration - A pilot study

Background & objectives: Age related macular degeneration (ARMD) is a leading cause of blindness, particularly in persons above 60 yr of age. Homocysteine is implicated in many ocular diseases including ARMD. This study was undertaken to assess the status and relationship between plasma homocysteine, homocysteine - thiolactone, homocysteinylated protein and copper levels in patients with ARMD. Methods: A total of 16 patients with ARMD and 16 age-matched controls were recruited for the study. Plasma glutathione, homocysteine, homocysteine - thiolactone and extent of homocysteine conjugation with proteins, copper and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances were measured. Results: Homocysteine levels were elevated with increase in homocysteine-thiolactone, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and a decrease of glutathione. The levels of homocysteinylated protein were elevated in ARMD. The elevated homocysteine, homocysteine-thiolactone correlated with the decrease in copper level. Interpretation & conclusions: Elevated homocysteine and its metabolite homocysteine-thiolactone and decreased levels of copper may play an important role in the pathogenesis of ARMD

Surface dose measurements and comparison of unflattened and flattened photon beams

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the central axis dose in the build-up region and the surface dose of a 6 MV and 10 MV flattened photon beam (FB) and flattening filter free (FFF) therapeutic photon beam for different square field sizes (FSs) for a Varian Truebeam linear accelerator using parallel-plate ionization chamber and Gafchromic film. Knowledge of dosimetric characteristics in the build-up region and surface dose of the FFF is essential for clinical care. The dose measurements were also obtained empirically using two different commonly used dosimeters: a p-type photon semiconductor dosimeter and a cylindrical ionization chamber. Surface dose increased linearly with FS for both FB and FFF photon beams. The surface dose values of FFF were higher than the FB FSs. The measured surface dose clearly increases with increasing FS. The FFF beams have a modestly higher surface dose in the build-up region than the FB. The dependence of source to skin distance (SSD) is less significant in FFF beams when compared to the flattened beams at extended SSDs