Copper, zinc, iron and manganese in sediments and in the rock oyster Saccostrea cucullata in Mumbai coast

Sediment and oyster (Saccostrea cucullata) samples were collected at Dhanda, a fishing village in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The samples were analysed for copper, zinc, iron and manganese contents. Metal concentrations in the sediments and bioaccumulated levels in oysters were correlated. There is no positive correlation between the total sedimentary levels of metals analysed and the bioaccumulated levels of respective metals in oyster. A positive correlation between the bioavailable fractions of zinc, iron and manganese, and the bioaccumulated levels exists. Copper, however, shows a negative correlation with respect to the bioaccumulated levels

E-Recruiting : Anforderungen und Präferenzen von HR-Professionals

Karnal bunt disease in wheat is caused by hemibiotrophic fungus, Tilletia indica that has been placed as quarantine pest in more than 70 countries. Despite its economic importance, little knowledge about the molecular components of fungal pathogenesis is known. In this study, first time the genome sequence of T. indica has been deciphered for unraveling the effectors' functions of molecular pathogenesis of Karnal bunt disease. The T. indica genome was sequenced employing hybrid approach of PacBio Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT) and Illumina HiSEQ 2000 sequencing platforms. The genome was assembled into 10,957 contigs (N50 contig length 3 kb) with total size of 26.7 Mb and GC content of 53.99%. The number of predicted putative genes were 11,535, which were annotated with Gene Ontology databases. Functional annotation of Karnal bunt pathogen genome and classification of identified effectors into protein families revealed interesting functions related to pathogenesis. Search for effectors' genes using pathogen host interaction database identified 135 genes. The T. indica genome sequence and putative genes involved in molecular pathogenesis would further help in devising novel and effective disease management strategies including development of resistant wheat genotypes, novel biomarkers for pathogen detection and new targets for fungicide development

Achieving Circularity is a Distant Dream: Entrepreneurial Barriers to Circular Business Models in SMEs of Emerging Economies

Purpose: Circularity has acted as an essential phenomenon for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies, pressuring entrepreneurs to its adoption in their businesses. During the adoption and implementation of circularity, entrepreneurs or circular entrepreneurs (to be precise) are facing various challenges to its effective functioning. However, the scholarly literature has offered limited research into this phenomenon. Thus, the purpose of this research is to identify the various barriers and sub-barriers for circular entrepreneurs to adopt circularity in SMEs of emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach: A combined qualitative and quantitative approach was employed to achieve the objectives of the study. In the first stage, through an extensive literature review, a list of barriers was identified and in the second stage, a deductive approach was employed to finalize the barriers. Finally, Best-Worst Method (BWM), a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method, was used to analyze the significant importance of the barriers. Findings: The findings of the study suggested the ‘financial barrier’ as the first-ranked barrier in the adoption of Circular Business Models (CBMs), followed by the ‘regulatory and operational barriers’ as the top second and third barriers. In terms of sub-barriers, ‘lack of access to funding and capital’ has been identified as the top sub-barrier in the adoption of CBM, followed by ‘excessive regulations and red tape’ and ‘challenges due to ambiguity of the concept’. Practical implications: To transition from a circular to a linear business approach considerably quicker and smoother, entrepreneurs may utilize the findings of this study as a blueprint for the steps to overcome the barriers in a linear to a circular transition. Originality: This research differentiates from other studies due it solicited input directly from the people who are most familiar with the challenges of making the transition from linear to CBM, i.e. the entrepreneurs themselves

Clustering for binary data sets by using genetic algorithm-incremental K-means

This research was initially driven by the lack of clustering algorithms that specifically focus in binary data. To overcome this gap in knowledge, a promising technique for analysing this type of data became the main subject in this research, namely Genetic Algorithms (GA). For the purpose of this research, GA was combined with the Incremental Kmeans (IKM) algorithm to cluster the binary data streams. In GAIKM, the objective function was based on a few sufficient statistics that may be easily and quickly calculated on binary numbers. The implementation of IKM will give an advantage in terms of fast convergence. The results show that GAIKM is an efficient and effective new clustering algorithm compared to the clustering algorithms and to the IKM itself. In conclusion, the GAIKM outperformed other clustering algorithms such as GCUK, IKM, Scalable K-means (SKM) and K-means clustering and paves the way for future research involving missing data and outliers

Povećanje oslobađanja gliklazida iz smjesa dobivenih geometrijskim miješanjem

The poorly water soluble antidiabetic drug gliclazide was selected to study the effect of excipients on dissolution rate enhancement. Ordered mixtures of micronized gliclazide with lactose, mannitol, sorbitol, maltitol and sodium chloride were prepared by manual shaking of glass vials containing the drug and excipient(s). Different water soluble excipients, addition of surfactant and superdisintegrant, drug concentration and carrier particle size influenced the dissolution rate of the drug. Dissolution rate studies of the prepared ordered mixtures revealed an increase in drug dissolution with all water soluble excipients. The order of dissolution rate improvement for gliclazide was mannitol > lactose > maltitol > sorbitol > sodium chloride. Composite granules of the particle size range 355-710 µm were superior in increasing the drug dissolution rate from ordered mixtures. Reducing the carrier particle size decreased the dissolution rate of the drug, as well as the increase in drug concentration. Kinetic modeling of drug release data fitted best the Hixson-Crowell model, which indicates that all the ordered mixture formulations followed the cube root law fairly well.Teško topljivi antidijabetik gliklazid izabran je za proučavanje utjecaja pomoćnih tvari na povećanje oslobađanja. Homogene smjese mikroniziranog gliklazida s laktozom, manitolom, sorbitolom, maltitolom i natrijevim kloridom pripravljene su ručnim tresenjem staklenih bočica s lijekom i pomoćnom tvari/tvarima. Na oslobađanje lijeka utjecali su vrsta vodotopljivog ekscipijensa, dodatak surfaktanta i superdezintegratora, udio lijeka i veličina čestica punila. Sve vodotopljive pomoćne tvari povećavale su oslobađanje ljekovite tvari i to sljedećim redom: manitol > laktoza > maltitol > sorbitol > natrijev klorid. Najbolje oslobađanje lijeka bilo je iz kompozitnih granula veličine 355 do 710 µm. Iz smjesa s manjom veličinom čestica punila i većim udjelom lijeka oslobađanje lijeka bilo je manje. Kinetičko modeliranje oslobađanja najbolje je odgovaralo Hixson-Crowellovom modelu, što ukazuje na to da sve formulacije prilično dobro slijede zakon trećeg korijena

Deltamethrin induced alterations of hematological and biochemical parameters in fingerlings of Catla catla (Ham.) and their amelioration by dietary supplement of vitamin C

The present study was carried out to investigate the sub-lethal toxicity of technical grade deltamethrin (a synthetic pyrethroid) of concentration 1.61 μg/L (1/3rd of 96 h LC50) on hematological and biochemical parameters of catla (Catla catla) fingerlings and its amelioration through dietary vitamin C. The deltamethrin exposed fishes were fed with different levels of supplemented vitamin C such as 50, 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg diet to see its ameliorating effect by assaying hematological parameters viz. total erythrocyte count (TEC), total leukocyte count (TLC), hemoglobin content (Hb), total serum protein, albumin, globulin, albumin–globulin ratio and biochemical parameters such as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), acetylcholine esterase (AChE), alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST), total adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), magnesium adenosine triphosphatase (Mg2+-ATPase) and sodium potassium adenosine triphosphatase (Na+, K+-ATPase) activities. The finding of this study showed that deltamethrin had negative effect on the hematological and biochemical parameters of Catla catla. The experimental group, which was exposed to deltamethrin and fed with normal diet showed significantly lower values (P ⩽ 0.05) of all parameters studied except ALT activity. This might be due to possible disruption of hematopoiesis and proteosynthesis. However, the fish fed with varied concentration of vitamin C in diets neutralized the toxic effect of deltamethrin, as evidenced by significantly lowered hematological and biochemical response. Vitamin C @ 1000 mg/kg diet was the most effective in amelioration of harmful effect of deltamethrin on hematological and biochemical parameters of catla fingerlings. The result suggests that vitamin C can be effectively used to neutralize the toxic effect of deltamethrin on catla

Alteration in haematological and biochemical parameters of Catla catla exposed to sub-lethal concentration of cypermethrin

A 60-day experiment was carried out to study the effect of sub-lethal concentration of cypermethrin (1/10th of LC50) exposure on haematological and biochemical parameters of the Indian major carp, Catla catla fingerlings. Under exposure, the total erythrocyte count, total leucocyte count, haemoglobin content and haematocrit were decreased. All the studied serum parameters viz. total serum protein, albumin, globulin contents and albumin–globulin ratio were significantly decreased in cypermethrin-exposed fishes. A marked increase was recorded in alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities in liver, whereas lactate dehydrogenase activity of muscle and acetylcholine esterase activity in brain were inhibited in cypermethrin-exposed fish. The membrane transport enzymes (total adenosine triphosphatase, sodium–potassium adenosine triphosphatase and magnesium adenosine triphosphatase) activities were decreased significantly in the gills of C. catla exposed to sub-lethal concentration of cypermethrin. The present study indicates that sub-lethal exposure of C. catla fingerlings to cypermethrin alters the haematological and biochemical parameters

Molecular characterization of induced mutagenesis through gamma radiation using RAPD markers in Jatropha curcas L.

Genetic variability in Jatropha curcas was induced by different doses (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 kR) of gamma-rays. Gamma radiation induced earliness in flowering and the plants set flowers earlier than that of control, which took longer duration of 327 days for flowering. The improved reproductive and yield parameters such as days taken to first flowering, flowering population, male to female ratio and seed yield per plant were recorded in 25 kR dose and seed germination in 5 and 10 kR treated seeds. Molecular characterization of induced mutants (M1 generation) with 47 Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers showed 65.27% polymorphism. The variability created by gamma rays ranged from 9 to 28%. The 50 kR mutant was found to be the most diverse from control followed by 25 kR mutant. Thus, this integrated approach can be used for carrying out the mutation-assisted breeding and subsequent selection of desired mutants using molecular markers in J. curcas.Keywords: Jatropha curcas, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), gamma-rays, induced mutagenesis

CLASSIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF THE LAND USE – LAND COVER CHANGES IN JODHPUR CITY USING REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES

Land Use – Land Cover (LULC) classification mapping is an important tool for management of natural resources of an area. The remote sensing technology in recent times has been used in monitoring the changing patterns of land use-land cover. The aim of the study is to monitor the LULC changes in Jodhpur city over the period 1990–2018. Satellite imagery of Landsat 8 OLI (June, 2018) & Landsat TM (Oct, 1990) were used for classification analysis. Supervised classification-maximum likelihood algorithm is used in ENVI software to detect land use land cover changes. Five LULC categories were used, namely- urban area, mining area, vegetation, water bodies and other area (Rock outcrops and barren land). The LULC classified maps of two different periods i.e. 2018 and 1990 were generated on 1 : 50,000 scale. The accuracy assessment method was used to measure the accuracy of classified maps. This study shall be of good assistance to the town planners of Jodhpur city for the purpose of the sustainable development as per the master plan 2031

Isolation, identification and antibiotic susceptibility profiling of antimicrobial resistant Listeria monocytogenes from dairy milk

Abstract The objective of the present study wa