Design and technical characteristics of shark gillnet operating in Mumbai coast

This paper deals with design and general features of shark gillnets operated along Mumbai coast. A PA monofilament of 0.60 to 1.0 mm diameter and selvedge meshes of PE of 1 to 2 mm diameter were used for shark set gillnets along Mumbai coast. Mesh size of the main webbing ranged from 120 to 200 mm with average of 144.4 ± 10.83 mm and rigged with a hanging coefficient of 0.41 to 0.51 with average of 0.42 were commonly used. A hung length ranging from 40 to 105 m with mean of 59 ± 10.37 with total hung depth varying from 6.42 to 10.58 m with average of 8.15 ± 0.49 m. Shark gillnet had a total length of 260 to 456 m with mean of 350.71 ± 28.53 m. The nets were operated mostly at a depth up to 18 m very near to the shore and were of set type of gillnet. Polyamide (PA) monofilament netting of 0.16 to 0.32 mm diameter and of mesh size 26-200 mm were generally used for construction of gillnets throughout the Mumbai coast. Polyamide (PA) monofilament has completely replaced PA multifilament in all the nets except those targeted i.e. white sardine and seerfish

Comparison in Various Bioactive Compounds of Leaves and Seeds of Foeniculum Vulgare Mill.

Medicinal plants a gift of nature are being used against various infections and diseases in the subcontinent since past history. Herbs were use as food ( vegetables ) and flavors for hundred of years in many parts of world. Whereas number of herbs have also been traditionally regarded as natural remedies for common ailments of human population. Furthermore some herbal plants are considered as house of medicines and played an important role in nearly every culture on earth, including Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. A study was conducted to analyze the Leaves and seeds of Foeniculum vulgare for different bioactive compounds those includes saponins , total proteins, amino acids, fat and flavonoids with one and two dimensional thin layer and column chromatography followed by spectrophotometric analysis. Results indicates that leaves contained higher concentration of flavonoids and fat. Where as level of Saponins, proteins, amino acids, total minerals and other organic compounds was high in seeds. The analysis of leave and seeds of Foeniculum vulgare for these valuable organic compounds will provide important raw materials that can be used for preparation of medicines in Pharmaceuticals companies. Furthermore interest of people in plant made medicines are increasing due to their concern about the side effects of powerful synthetic drugs and high prices of these medicines. It is expected that raw material obtained from plants will not only reduce the prices of medicines in the pharmaceutical market but also provide rapid and reliable system of treatment of various infection and disease of human populatio

Salt stress induces genotype-specific DNA hypomethylation in ZmEXPB2 and ZmXET1 genes in maize

Maize, a moderately salt sensitive crop, first experiences osmotic stress that cause reduction in plant growth under salt stress. Fluctuation in cell wall elongation is one of the reasons of this reduction. Along with others, two important proteins expansins and xyloglucan endotransglucosylase are involved in regulation of cell wall elasticity, but the role of epigenetic mechanisms in regulating the cell wall related genes is still elusive. The present study was conducted with the aim of understanding the role of DNA methylation in regulating ZmEXPB2 and ZmXET1 genes. One salt sensitive and one salt tolerant maize cultivar was grown under hydroponic conditions at different levels of salt stress: T1 = 1 mM (control), T2 = 100 mM and T3 = 200 mM in three replicates. DNA and RNA were extracted from roots. After bisulfite treatment, Methyl Sensitive PCR was used for the DNA methylation analysis. It was revealed that fragment in promoter of ZmEXPB2 gene showed high level of DNA methylation under T1 in both varieties. Comparison of different stress treatments revealed decrease in DNA methylation with the increase in salt stress, significantly lower methylation appearing in T3. Similarly, the fragment in promoter of ZmXET1 gene also showed high levels of DNA methylation in T1. When different treatments were analysed, this gene significantly hypomethylated at T2 which continued to decrease in T3 in sensitive variety but remain stable in tolerant variety. Although, further in-depth analysis is required, our results demonstrate region-specific and genotype-specific methylation shift in the promoter of the ZmEXPB2 and ZmXET1 genes when subjected to the salt stress confirming the epigenetic regulation of these genes under stress conditions

Genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance for various quantitative and qualitative traits in Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)

Genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance for different quantitative and qualitative characters were studied in 64 genotypes of chilli. The study indicated the existence of considerable amount of genetic variability for all the traits under study. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among genotypes for almost all the traits studied. The maximum range was recorded for fruit yield per plant (150-900 g) followed by vitamin-C content at red ripe stage (35.50 -207.17 mg/100g), vitamin-C content at green stage (24.93-195.83 mg/100g), capsanthin content (39.58-180.35ASTA units, number of fruits per plant (21.32-100.27) and plant height (50.20-105.00cm). The highest phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variability were observed for average fruit weight followed by seed yield per plant, average seed weight per fruit, number of fruits per plant, fruit yield per plant and fruit diameter. In general the phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV) were slight higher than genotypic coefficients of variation GCV), which indicates the minor role of environment in the expression of traits under observation. The estimates of heritability in broad sense was high for all the characters. The present investigation indicates a great scope of in the improvement of these traits as these characters in general possessed high estimates of heritability coupled with high genetic advancement except for days to first fruit set, days to first green fruit harvest, days to first ripe fruit harvest and dry matter content (high heritability but moderate genetic gain) indicating the preponderance of additive gene action for control of these traits

Economic loss assessment on juvenile fish catch due to forced non-selectivity in a selective fishing gear, gillnet along Mumbai coast, India

A study on quantity and value of juvenile fish landings was carried out in the gillnet fishery of three selected landing centers along Mumbai coast viz., Versova, Cuff Parade and Mahim in India using Out board motors (OBM), Inboard motors (IBM) and non-motorised gillnetters respectively. The data on the quantity and value of landed juveniles were collected and analysed to reach a consensus on the gross economic loss on account of juvenile fishing. A bio-economic model was used to estimate economic loss due to juvenile fishing of 18 commercially important species of finfish and shellfish. A huge economic loss was recorded due to fishing of juveniles of 18 species by three different gillnet sectors. The analysis indicated that IBM gillnetters at Cuff Parade incurred maximum loss of Rs. 62.26 crores with major contribution from juveniles of seerfish followed by non-motorised gillnetter (Rs.29.98 crores) at Mahim and 25.33 crores in OBM gillnetters at Versova

Quantification and Reduction of the Residual Chemical Reactivity of Passivated Biodegradable Porous Silicon for Drug Delivery Applications

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A call to action: Temporal trends of COVID-19 deaths in the South African Muslim community

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Divergence Measure in Information Theory and Reliability Analysis

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Marker Assisted Selection in Rice

A rising global population requires increased crop production and some research suggests that the rate of increase in crop yields is currently declining and traits related to yield, stability and sustainability should be a major focus of plant breeding efforts. These traits include durable disease resistance, abiotic stress tolerance and nutrient and water use efficiency. The use of DNA markers in plant breeding is called marker assisted selection (MAS). So far, about 40 major blast genes have been identified, about 30 genes have been mapped on different rice chromosomes, and tightly linked DNA markers have been developed. Eight blast resistance genes have been cloned and the genes have been used for their selective introgression into susceptible rice cultivars.  Recently Genetic and physical mapping of blast resistance gene Pi-42(t) located on the short arm of rice chromosome 12 in a resistant genotype ‘DHR9’ has been achieved. The PCR-based allele specific and in Del marker sets are available for nine blast resistance genes and they provide an efficient marker system for MAS for blast resistance breeding. Recently a novel resistance gene Pi40 derived from wild Oryza species (O. australiensis), have been located on chromosomes 6 and it shows promise for broad spectrum resistance. Tetep, the likely donor of Pi5(t) confers broad-spectrum resistance to Magnaporthe grisea. Additionally, several blast resistance genes could be combined using MAS in a single genetic background to develop rice cultivars with broad-spectrum durable resistance to blast. In future combination of conventional and marker assisted selection approach will provide opportunities for breeders to develop high yielding, stress tolerant and better quality rice cultivars. No doubt the cost of using DNA markers is expensive but it is worth the investment.Key words: Rice, Molecular markers, Polymorphism, Foreground and background selection Sabina Akhtar et al. Marker Assisted Selection in Rice. J Phytol 2/10 (2010) 66-8