Application of remote sensing techniques for locating pelagic fish concentrations along the Kerala coast (SW coast of India) - work done and future prospects

Intensive validation programme on Potential Fishing Zone forecasts carried out by the MARSIS, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin, at 17 selectedjish landing centres along the Kerala coast between November 1995 and May 1996 revealed a positive relationship betwen PFZ and occurence/abundance of commercially important pelagic fishes. An attempt is made to identify possible reasons for the above, based on results of oceanographic itivestigations undertaken in the area and also taking into consideration fish behaviour in relation to environn-ieni based on past data. Future plans for evolving a suitable prediction system for commercially important pelagic fishes in the coastal waters of the mainland and skipjack fishery in the Lakshadweep islands based on PFZ forecasts are also discussed in view of its importance to the artisanal and small mechanised sector fishermen for reducing the searching time and thereby effecting an overall reduction in the cost of fishing

Oral Drug Delivery Systems Comprising Altered Geometric Configurations for Controlled Drug Delivery

Recent pharmaceutical research has focused on controlled drug delivery having an advantage over conventional methods. Adequate controlled plasma drug levels, reduced side effects as well as improved patient compliance are some of the benefits that these systems may offer. Controlled delivery systems that can provide zero-order drug delivery have the potential for maximizing efficacy while minimizing dose frequency and toxicity. Thus, zero-order drug release is ideal in a large area of drug delivery which has therefore led to the development of various technologies with such drug release patterns. Systems such as multilayered tablets and other geometrically altered devices have been created to perform this function. One of the principles of multilayered tablets involves creating a constant surface area for release. Polymeric materials play an important role in the functioning of these systems. Technologies developed to date include among others: Geomatrix® multilayered tablets, which utilizes specific polymers that may act as barriers to control drug release; Procise®, which has a core with an aperture that can be modified to achieve various types of drug release; core-in-cup tablets, where the core matrix is coated on one surface while the circumference forms a cup around it; donut-shaped devices, which possess a centrally-placed aperture hole and Dome Matrix® as well as “release modules assemblage”, which can offer alternating drug release patterns. This review discusses the novel altered geometric system technologies that have been developed to provide controlled drug release, also focusing on polymers that have been employed in such developments

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M>70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0<e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM

Synthesis, anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, DNA interactions, ADMET, molecular docking, and antioxidant evaluation of novel Schiff base and their Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes

Here, three bivalent transition metal complexes of [ML2] kind (where M = Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II); HL = 2-(E)-(5-cyclohexyl-2-methoxyphenylimino)methyl)-5-methylphenol), and various analytical techniques such as elemental analysis, mass, IR, NMR, UV–visible, TGA, magnetic moments, and ESR were employed for characterization. From the analytical data it is found that the Ni (II) and Cu (II) complexes adopted a square planar geometry, while the Co (II) complex adopted an octahedral geometry. Molecular docking investigations were carried out of Schiff base ligand (HL), the results illustrated that the ligand exhibited significant affinities for a few proteins. Monometallic metal compounds interaction with CT-DNA was studied by fluorescence measurements, viscosity and UV–Vis investigations, which is illustrated that all the three metal compounds strongly intercalated to CT-DNA. The synthesized metal compounds (1a-1c) with supercoiled pBR322 DNA was used in cleavage experiments. Based on findings, DNA cleavage by the Cu(II) complexes was more effective than that of the Co(II) and Ni(II) compounds. All synthesised compounds toxic effects on cancer cell lines A-549 and MCF-7 were evaluated by MTT assay. The obtained results indicated that Cu(II) complex is more effective towards tumour cells than other complexes. In addition to the evaluation of all synthesised complexes for antimicrobial properties, it was observed that all of the metal complexes showed higher efficacy against microorganisms compared to the free ligand. Finally, drug likeness and ADMET studies was performed on Schiff base ligand (HL). These studies indicated that the ligand possessed high potency and showed potential as a drug agent for pathogens causing deformities

Estimation and correlation of salivary thiocyanate levels in healthy and different forms of tobacco users having chronic periodontitis: A cross-sectional biochemical study

Background: Periodontitis is a common inflammatory disease with complex and multi-factorial origin. Tobacco usage has shown its adverse effect on periodontal health. Various components within saliva not only protect the integrity of oral tissues, but also provide clues to local and systemic diseases and conditions. Salivary thiocyanate (SCN) has been shown to be a chemical indicator in smokers and smokeless tobacco users. Noninvasive nature of salivary testing has made it an attractive and effective alternative to blood and urine testing. Limited studies are there comparing and correlating the salivary SCN levels in smokers with chronic periodontitis (CP). However, no studies show correlation of salivary SCN among gutka chewers with CP. Aims and Objectives: The objective of the following study is to estimate, compare, and correlate the SCN levels in periodontally healthy, CP, smokers with CP and gutka chewers with CP subjects. Materials and Methods: Study includes 120 subjects with age 18-55 years, categorized as periodonally healthy (n = 30), CP (n = 30), smokers (n = 30), and gutka chewers (n = 30) with CP. Required clinical parameters such as gingival index, probing depth and clinical attachment loss were recorded and salivary SCN levels were estimated through ultraviolet-spectrophotometer. Results: Mean salivary SCN level were shown to be higher among smokers and gutka chewers with CP as compared to healthy and CP alone. Conclusion: The present study exhibited the significant increase in salivary SCN levels among smokers and gutka chewers when compared to others, concluding that the analysis of salivary SCN levels could be used as an adjunctive means of diagnosis