Harnessing ornamental fisheries resources for sustainable growth and development: A trade perspective from Kerala, India

Ornamental fish trade has gained paramount importance with more than 125 countries involved in the freshwater and marine fishes. The global trade is estimated to be around US $ 450 million registering a growth rate of ten percent since 2001. Asia caters up to 60 per cent of the global trade while India stands with a dismal 0.9 per cent with a portfolio of 30-35 fresh water species. The ornamental fish resources of Kerala has huge potential with untapped and unexploited resources. However the performance of the sector is not worthy and production is much below the demand. The SWOL analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Limitations analysis - is done to analyse the status of ornamental fish industry in Kerala. The results indicated that good export market, high demand, availability of under-utilized marine resources, potential for rural development, low cost effort, efficiency of ornamental fish marketers, institutional support for development and promotions were the major strengths. Dependence on wild caught species, inadequate data on resources, wastage of resources, unwillingness towards marine fishes, lack of trained/ skilled manpower and organized trade, lack of adept technologies, poor marketing facilities, backwardness in international market, weak market image and lack of fishing regulations were the major inherent weaknesses. The major opportunities were enhancement of species portfolio, increasing market value, less capital intensive, high popularity and demand, breeding and culture of indigenous fishes, faster market growth, entry to new market destinations, increased awareness of international buyers and support of government. Technological backwardness, technology transfer, insufficient awareness programmes, adverse government policies, competitions from neighboring countries, sustainability of resources and drastic drop in fish prices were the major limitations. The study suggests concerted efforts by the different stakeholders to enhance the production of the sector

Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of Tualang honey in alkali injury on the eyes of rabbits: Experimental animal study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Alkali injury is one of the most devastating injuries to the eye. It results in permanent unilateral or bilateral visual impairment. Chemical eye injury is accompanied by an increase in the oxidative stress. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents play a major role in the treatment of chemical eye injuries. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the anti-inflammatory (clinical and histopathological) and antioxidant effects of Tualang honey versus conventional treatment in alkali injury on the eyes of rabbits.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A preliminary study was carried out prior to the actual study to establish the alkali chemical injury on rabbit's cornea and we found that alkali chemical injury with 2 N NaOH showed severe clinical inflammatory features. In actual study, alkali injury with 2 N NaOH was induced in the right eye of 10 New Zealand White rabbits' cornea. The rabbits were divided into two groups, Group A was given conventional treatment and Group B was treated with both topical and oral Tualang honey. Clinical inflammatory features of the right eye were recorded at 12 hours, 24 hours, 72 hours, 5^thday and 7^thday post induction of alkali burn on the cornea. The histopathological inflammatory features of the right corneas of all rabbits were also evaluated on day-7. The level of total antioxidant status and lipid peroxidation products in the aqueous humour, vitreous humour and serum at day-7 were estimated biochemically. Fisher's Exact, Chi-Square and Mann-Whitney test were used to analyse the data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was no statistically significant difference in clinical inflammatory features (p > 0.05) between honey treated and the conventional treated group at different times of examination. Histopathological examination of the cornea showed the number of polymorphonuclear leucocytes was below 50 for both groups (mild grade). There was also no significant difference in the level of total antioxidant status as well as lipid peroxidation products in aqueous humour (p = 0.117, p = 0.382 respectively), vitreous humour (p = 0.917, p = 0.248 respectively) and serum (p = 0.917, p = 0.332 respectively) between honey treated and the conventional treated group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Tualang honey has almost the equal effects when compared with the conventional treatment in treating alkali injury on rabbit's eye. Future research with more number of rabbits and control group is warranted to explore the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of Tualang honey.</p

The effects of tualang honey on female reproductive organs, tibia bone and hormonal profile in ovariectomised rats - animal model for menopause

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Honey is a highly nutritional natural product that has been widely used in folk medicine for a number of therapeutic purposes. We evaluated whether Malaysian Tualang honey (AgroMas, Malaysia) was effective in reducing menopausal syndrome in ovariectomised female rats; an animal model for menopause.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The rats were divided into two control groups and three test groups. The control groups were sham-operated (SH) and ovariectomised (OVX) rats. The SH and OVX control rats were fed on 0.5 ml of distill water. The rats in the test groups were fed with low dose 0.2 g/kg (THL), medium dose, 1.0 g/kg (THM) and high dose 2.0 g/kg (THH) of Tualang honey in 0.5 ml of distill water. The administration was given by oral gavage once daily for 2 weeks. The reproductive organs (uterus and vagina), tibia bone and aorta were taken for histopathological examination while serum for hormonal assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Administration of Tualang honey for 2 weeks to ovariectomised rats significantly increased the weight of the uterus and the thickness of vaginal epithelium, restored the morphology of the tibia bones and reduced the body weight compared to rats in the ovariectomised group. The levels of estradiol and progesterone, in honey treated groups were markedly lower than that in the OVX group. At low doses (0.2 g/kg; THL group) of Tualang honey there was an increased in serum free testosterone levels compared to OVX group (P < 0.01). Progesterone concentrations was significantly decreased in the OVX group as compared to SHAM group (P < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Tualang honey was shown to have beneficial effects on menopausal (ovariectomised) rats by preventing uterine atrophy, increased bone density and suppression of increased body weight. Honey could be an alternative to HRT.</p

All those exanthematous fevers are not Covid-19

Fever with a rash is a common case scenario that clinicians encounter in their practice. The ubiquity of the presentation is proportional to the magnitude of the physician's dilemma due to its numerous causes. The diagnosis varies from infectious diseases to non-infectious, life threatening diseases including the current COVID-19 pandemic. Here we present a case of a 31-year-old male, who presented to the Emergency Department with fever and rash and was initially diagnosed and managed as a case of COVID-19 which on further evaluation proved to be brucellosis. This is a case of brucellosis with cutaneous manifestations which had been masquerading as COVID-19.qscienc