Determining target species for assessment in multispecies and multigear fisheries: insights from an expanded CMFRI-NMFDC database

This paper highlights the richness of information available in an expanded ICAR-CMFRI-NMFDC fish catch and effort database for the state of Kerala. Strengthening of the database by digitizing data in the old paper data sheets was done under a multi-national project, ICAR-CMFRI-CSIRO-LENFEST Ocean Programme. The high diversity of fished taxa was classified according to the periodicity of its occurrence over this long period. Guidelines for determining the number of species for which stock assessment is to be carried out in the context of a multigear and multispecies fisheries sector were derived. This national-level database will be of immense use to researchers and policy makers for preparing fisheries management plans for the sustainable harvest of marine fishery resources

Status of Indian marine fish stocks: modelling stock biomass dynamics in multigear fisheries

A biomass dynamics modelling study to derive biological reference points and management requirements of 223 commercially important fish stocks in different maritime states of India was conducted. Two decades (1997–2016) of fishery-related data on the harvest of resources by different types of fishing fleets formed the input. The multigear nature of the fishery situation was solved by introducing a gear standardization parameter into the biomass dynamics model. The relative positions of the fish stocks were depicted through Kobe plots generated for the ten maritime states/union territory, and the fish stocks were categorized, based on the status, into sustainable, overfished, recovering, and overfishing. The results indicate that 34.1% of the assessed fish stocks in the country are sustainable, 36.3% are overfished, 26.5% are recovering, and 3.1% are in the overfishing status. Regionally, the percentage of sustainable fish stocks were high along the southwest coast (51.6%), overfished stocks were high along the northwest coast (54.2%), and recovering fish stocks were high along the northeast coast (47.8%). The national mean B/BMSY was estimated as 0.86, which is a strong reason for strengthening fisheries management. Fishing fleets harvesting overfished stocks were examined for each maritime state, and recommendations regarding reduction in annual fishing hours are made

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

SupportingInformation.zip

To accompany manuscript: "Computational pharmacogenetics of P-glycoprotein mediated antiepileptic drug resistance." Includes:<br>1. alignment with conservation scores<br>2. modelled structures of wildtype and mutant human PGP<br>3. Complex structures of docked receptor-drug<br>4. Best pose analysis<br>5. Clustering of docked conformations<br><br

Size selective assembly of colloidal particles on a template by directed self-assembly technique

10.1021/la060732qLangmuir22198248-8252LANG

Evaluation of polymeric adsorbent resins for efficient detoxification of liquor generated during acid pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass

1012-1017Production of fuel ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass conventionally includes biomass pretreatment, hydrolysis, and fermentation. The liquor generated during dilute acid pretreatment of biomass contains considerable quantities of pentose sugars as well as various degradation products of sugars and lignin, like furfural, hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF), organic acids, aldehydes and others, which are known to be inhibitory for microbial growth. This pentose rich liquor is a potent resource which can be used to produce alcohol or other value added metabolites by microbial fermentation. However, the presence of these inhibitory compounds is a major hindrance and their removal is essential for efficient utilization of this byproduct stream. In the present work, the polymeric adsorbent resins, XAD-4, XAD-7 and XAD-16 were evaluated for their ability to adsorb fermentation inhibitors like furfural and HMF from the acid pretreated liquor. These resins could remove 55-75% of furfural and 100% of HMF and more than 90% sugar remained un-adsorbed in the pretreated liquor. Desorption of furfural from stationary phase was evaluated by using ethanol and hot water. The results suggest that these polymeric resins may be used for detoxification of acid pretreatment liquor with selective removal of sugar degradation products without affecting the sugar content in the solution

Fish Catch Survey and Analysis – An online application for deriving measures and indicators for fish stock assessment

As fish are a natural resource, it is important to balance their use and protection. To comprehend the status of fisheries and to keep sustainable harvest levels to prevent the fish population from declining over time, reliable data on both recent and historical catches are crucial. The monitoring and assessment of marine fishery resources have been the primary mandate of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR-CMFRI) since its inception in 1947. Accurate and consistent knowledge about how a fishery is doing, as well as what species and how many are being captured and where they are captured, requires precise data collection, fast and advanced reporting, processing and analysis, and efficient mechanisms to disseminate the results to enable near real-time assessment. Stratified multistage random sampling design (SMRSD), a unique and robust system developed by the institute for the estimation of fish catch and effort over a long period used multiple computer programs built in-house for processing data. The area covering the 1269 fish landing centres along the 6,068-km coastline of India is spatially stratified, with each maritime state divided into suitable nonoverlapping zones based on fishing intensity and geographical considerations. In order to collect data on a real-time basis from the fish landing centres using electronic devices and process it, ICAR-CMFRI developed a web based application software called Fish Catch Survey and Analysis. It is a user-friendly interface with a variety of data entry options, and a suite of analysis tools. It includes species-wise, gear-wise and catch-per-unit-effort analysis also. Researchers and decision-makers can develop appropriate measures and indicators for fish stock assessment using FCSA

Direct removal of SU-8 using focused laser writing

10.1007/s00339-006-3846-zApplied Physics A: Materials Science and Processing87171-76APAM