Captive breeding, developmental biology and commercial production of Dravidia fasciata- An indigenous ornamental fish of the Western Ghats of India

Ornamental fishes of the Western Ghats of India have great demand in the export market. At present these fishes are collected from the wild and exported. Hence many times, the demand could not be met due to short supply. The only remedial measure for a sustainable supply is to produce the fish in captive conditions. Unfortunately, the breeding technology for the ornamental fishes of the Western Ghats of India has not been attempted seriously till date. The present paper is almost a pioneering attempt to develop captive breeding technology for 12 prioritized species of the indigenous ornamental fishes of the Western Ghats of India. Dravidia fasciata is one of them. It is popularly known as Melon barb. It is a beautiful barb, growing to a maximum size of 80 mm. In the present paper the methodology of captive breeding of this fish is provided with the economics of its production. Melon barbs were collected from the wild and brought to the hatchery of College of Fisheries in oxygen filled plastic bags and gradually acclimatized to the captive conditions. Its size at first maturity, sexual dimorphism, and developmental biology were studied and described with photographs. The total length (TL) at first maturity for males was 50 mm (50-55 mm) and 40 mm for females (40-45 mm). A sexually mature male developed beautiful pinkish red tinge all over the body. The black bands over the body also became deeper in colour during this time. The intensity of the colour reached its maximum during the courtship activities. Male also possessed nuptial tubercles on the operculum which could be identified only by keen observation. But a sexually mature female did not develop any colour change by the onset of sexual maturity. The results of the study clearly demonstrated that D. fasciata could be successfully produced in captivity through scientific management of brooders, eggs, larvae and hatchlings. The successful development of captive breeding technology is likely to pave way towards commercialization of the technology thus leading to the sustainable export of the species

Mitral Leaflet Separation Index in Assessing the Severity of Mitral Stenosis

Determining the severity of mitral stenosis (MS) is important for both prognostic and therapeutic reasons. The mitral valve area (MVA) can be measured by planimetry, pressure half-time, continuity equation, and proximal isovelocity surface area methods. In this study, we propose a novel yet simple, independent measure of MS severity–the mitral leaflet separation (MLS) index. This new index could be a useful surrogate measure of the MVA. This index would also help when there is a discrepancy between severities of MS estimated by existing methods, in the presence of atrial fibrillation and in the presence of mitral regurgitation

Occurrence of black pearl, Pinctada margaritifera population in Vizhinjam bay

Twelve specimens of Pinctada margaritifera were collected from a depth of 4 m near the wave energy project of the Vizhinjam Bay. They were found attached to the rocks. Morphometric measurements of the specimens are given in the table

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: Executive Summary of a Workshop

Comment in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: The Ongoing Search for One Definition to Rule Them All. [J Pediatr. 2018] Midlife crisis? In its 50th year, BPD redefines itself. [J Pediatr. 2018

भारतीय वन्य जीव(संरक्षण)अधिनियम के तहत संरक्षित उपास्थिमीन प्रजातियों का विवरण

कृपया पूरा लेखा पढ

Marine fishery at Vizhinjam - A decadal analysis

The average annual marine fish landing of Vizhinjam during 2004-2013 fluctuated from 13,119 to 23,798 t registering an average catch of 1,9462 t. Standard effort fluctuated over the years with minimum of 53,772 during 2011 and maximum of 1,21,524 during 2005 with an average of 91,491 units. Pelagic finfishes contributed 78.4% to the total catch, followed by demersal finfishes (10.5%), crustaceans (0.8%) and molluscs (10.5%). Boat seine contributed 39% to the total catch, followed by drift gillnet (31%) and mechanised hooks and line (20%). Landings of major pelagic resources registered marginal increase till 2009, after which the catch decreased drastically. Tunas contributed 33.8% of the total pelagic landings followed by clupeids which formed 27.5%. Mackerel landings showed a gradual increase from 465 t in 2004 to 2,869 t in 2008 and subsequently declined with fluctuations in between. Carangids, one of the major resources also showed fluctuations in their landings with maximum landings during 2009. Trichiurids showed wide fluctuation, with peak landings during the period 2004-2007. Among demersal finfishes, perches formed 26.6% followed by elasmobranchs (21%) and flatfishes (10.4%). Crustacean landings which is highly seasonal showed a declining trend over the years. Penaeid prawns on an average formed 59.56% of total crustacean landings, followed by Acetes which constituted 20.7% and the rest by crabs. Total cephalopod production increased from 836 t in 2004 to 2,891 t in 2012 and comprised mainly squids and cuttlefish. Disappearance of gears such as Kolachivala, Achil and reduction in the effort of non-motorised crafts which operate gears like Chalavala, Netholivala as well as hooks & line were noticed during the present study

Survey Among Medical Students During COVID-19 Lockdown: The Online Class Dilemma

Background: In view of COVID-19 lockdown in India, many colleges started online classes. This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes of, and the factors affecting, medical students attending online classes during lockdown. Methods: We designed an online questionnaire with open-ended, close-ended, and Likert scale questions. Links to the questionnaires were shared with the medical students who have attended at least one online class during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Respondents were 1061 participants from 30 medical colleges from the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India. Results: The majority of students – 94% (955/1016) – used smartphones to attend online classes. ZOOM/ Skype – by 57.1% (580/1016) – and Google platforms – by 54.4% (553/1016) – were commonly used. Learning at leisure – 44.5% (452/1016) – was the top reason why students liked online classes, whereas network problems – 85.8% (872/1016) – was the top reason why students disliked them. Lack of sufficient interaction – 61.1% (621/1016) was another reason why students disliked online learning. More than half the participants – 51.7% (526/1016) – did not want to continue online classes after COVID-19 lockdown. More students – 55% (558/1016) – favored regular classes than online classes. Conclusion: Students in our survey did not seem favorably disposed to online classes. Network problems experienced by students should be addressed. Furthermore, teachers should try to make the classes more interactive and educational institutions should address the problems pointed out by the students in order to make online classes more effective in the future

Neuroprotection in a Novel Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis

The authors acknowledge the support of the Barts and the London Charity, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, USA, notably the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research, and the Wellcome Trust (grant no. 092539 to ZA). The siRNA was provided by Quark Pharmaceuticals. The funders and Quark Pharmaceuticals had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Insertion of EGFP into the replicase gene of Semliki Forest virus results in a novel, genetically stable marker virus

Alphavirus-based vector and replicon systems have been extensively used experimentally and are likely to be used in human and animal medicine. Whilst marker genes can be inserted easily under the control of a duplicated subgenomic promoter, these constructs are often genetically unstable. Here, a novel alphavirus construct is described in which an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) marker gene is inserted into the virus replicase open reading frame between nsP3 and nsP4, flanked by nsP2 protease-recognition sites. This construct has correct processing of the replicase polyprotein, produces viable virus and expresses detectable EGFP fluorescence upon infection of cultured cells and cells of the mouse brain. In comparison to parental virus, the marker virus has an approximately 1 h delay in virus RNA and infectious virus production. Passage of the marker virus in vitro and in vivo demonstrates good genetic stability. Insertion of different markers into this novel construct has potential for various applications