Growth and maturity of Indian oil sardine Sardinella longiceps (Valenciennes, 1847) along southwest coast of India

Growth studies are important to determine the total recruitment of fish with respect to time while information on age and length at first maturity are essential to assess the spawning stock. The present communication deals with growth, maturity and mortality parameters of Indian oil sardine Sardinella longiceps from southwest coast of India. Length at first maturity of oil sardine was found to be 15.7 and 15.2 cm for male and female, respectively. Comparison of length at first maturity of oil sardine with earlier studies showed only minor variations. The growth parameters L∞, K, and age at zero length (t0) were calculated as 19.8 cm, 1.14 yr-1 and -0.0464 respectively. From the VBG equation, the length attained at the end of I, II and III year is estimated as 13.79, 17.87 and 18.9 cm respectively. Two peaks of recruitment to the fishery were observed. The values of total mortality (Z), natural mortality (M) and fishing mortality (F) estimated are 4.33, 2.7 and 1.6 respectively. The exploitation rate was found to be 0.37

A SECURED AUTHENTICATED WATERMARKING TECHNIQUE

Whenever media contents transmitted through the network, compressed and encrypted media data is used so it is important to give proper protection to the data items to avoid unauthorized access and for that we need to enhance media authentication and for that the compressed encrypted media data which is used to distribute through the network is watermarked for providing proof of ownership or distributorship. For doing compression JPEG 2000 compression and while doing compression the data is packed to  low  number of bits and to this data encryption is applied so  stream cipher technique is used for avoiding media quality degradation and also this technique allow to do watermarking in a predictable manner. And a robust watermarking algorithm is used for watermarking this compressed and encrypted media data

A study on malassezia micro flora in the skin of healthy individuals in North Kerala, India

Background: Malassezia spp are accounted for approximately 60-90% of the total cutaneous fungal micro biota. An enhanced understanding of the distribution of Malassezia spp in healthy individuals is necessary to gain insight to involvement of these species in human skin disorders particularly in pityriasis versicolor. The aim of this study was to assess the Malassezia micro flora of healthy individuals and to identify species variation with different body sites, gender and age groups.Methods: A total of 120 apparently healthy men and 120 women without any skin diseases or who were not treated for Malassezia associated skin diseases were selected for the study. The specimens consisted of scrapings collected from chest, back and neck from each control subject totaling 720 sites.Results: The recovery rate of Malassezia was positive in case of 452 (62.78%) of 720 sites sampled, while the remaining 268 (37.22%) were found to be negative. Recovery rate of Malassezia was highest in chest with 83.33% positive cases, followed by the back with 73.33% and the neck 31.67%. M. globosa was identified as the common species (46.46%) followed by M. furfur (25%) and M. restricta (22.56%). No significant difference was present (P > 0.05) in distribution of species with different body sites, gender and age groups.Conclusions: The overall colonization rate of Malassezia spp in normal healthy individuals found in this study was 62.78%. M. globosa was identified as the common species (46.46%)

Silver nanoparticles green synthesis: A mini review

Nanotechnology is a significant field of contemporary research dealing with design, synthesis, and manipulation of particle structures ranging from in the region of 1-100 nm. Nanoparticles (NPs) have broad choice of applications in areas such as fitness care, cosmetics, foodstuff and feed, environmental health, mechanics, optics, biomedical sciences, chemical industries, electronics, space industries, drug-gene delivery, energy science, optoelectronics, catalysis, single electron transistors, light emitters, nonlinear optical devices, and photo-electrochemical applications. Nano Biotechnology is a speedily mounting scientific field of producing and constructing devices, an important area of research in nano biotechnology is the synthesis of NPs with different chemical compositions, sizes and morphologies, and controlled dispersities. Silver nanoparticles (NPs) have been the subjects of researchers because of their unique properties (e.g., size and shape depending optical, antimicrobial, and electrical properties). A variety of preparation techniques have been reported for the synthesis of silver NPs; notable examples include, laser ablation, gamma irradiation, electron irradiation, chemical reduction, photochemical methods, microwave processing, and biological synthetic methods. This assessment presents a general idea of silver nanoparticle preparation. The aim of this analysis article is, therefore, to replicate on the existing state and potential prediction, especially the potentials and limitations of the above mentioned techniques for industries

Biotic activation of abiotic temperature stress tolerance in transgenic BT and wild type cotton

Activation of abiotic temperature stress tolerance in transgenic Bt and non-Bt cotton was studied using Pseudomonas fluorescens as biotic regulator. Seeds germinated at different temperatures after the bacterial treatment exhibited variation at the temperatures of 30°C and 37°C as measured in terms of percent seed germination in both Bt and non-Bt cotton. Pseudomonas treatment enhanced the seed germination in non-Bt cotton at 30°C. Enhancement of seed germination in Bt cotton was significant at 37°C after bacterial treatment. At elevated temperature of 45°C, neither Bt nor non-Bt seeds germinated, irrespective of Pseudomonas treatment. The temperature of 30°C supported better shoot and root growth of seedlings as compared to other temperatures tested. Pseudomonas treatment resulted in enhanced shoot and root length of Bt cotton seedlings at 30°C, whereas at 37° Chad negligible influence. Non-Bt cotton seeds treated with bacteria failed to show significant variation in root and shoot growth compared to untreated control. Activity gelelectrophoresis carried out to study the expression of superoxide dismutase revealed that the SOD activity in both Bt and non-Bt cotton was enhanced due to Pseudomonas seed treatment

Paralarva of the sharpear enope squid Ancistrocheirus lesueurii (Oegopsida: Ancistrocheiridae) in the southeastern Arabian Sea

First morphological description of an early stage paralarva of the sharpear enope squid Ancistrocheirus lesueurii from southeastern Arabian Sea is presented. The paralarva was collected at dusk by using surface tows of zooplankton nets in February 2012. The presence of paralarva A. lesueurii indicates that this species completes its life cycle in this sea. A comparison of the arm formula of paralarva and adult stages shows a major change in the formula during metamorphosis to adult

Prevalence of multidrug resistant uropathogens isolated from different age groups in South-India: a cross-sectional study

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) continue to be one of the most common infections encountered by clinicians. The purpose of this study is to identify relevant multidrug resistance (MDR) patterns in South India.Methods: 401 urine culture samples with significant bacteriuria were collected from labs in South India between January 2019 and December 2020. Routine biochemical tests were conducted for primary identification of uropathogens. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) 16 and Microsoft excel were used to analyse data and determine MDR patterns.Results: The results showed that 54% of cultures with significant bacteriuria exhibited an organism with multidrug resistance. Of these, extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) resistance was confirmed in 34.9%. Furthermore, over half (54%) of significant cultures were from outpatients. The incidence of UTIs was highest during the summer and at the lowest in the second phase of the monsoon season.Conclusions: Although the sample collection was limited to a few centres in South India, the results of our study justifies the rationale behind stringent regulation of antibiotic use and careful monitoring of antimicrobial resistance

Vertical root fractures: A review

Vertical root fractures are mostly caused following endodontic therapy, and the chances are increased many fold if the final restoration includes placement of a post. The condition is difficult to diagnose and equally difficult to treat. Earlier treatment options included extraction of single rooted teeth, but with the advent of adhesive dentistry. There is a paradigm shift towards preservation of these teeth. This review addresses the etiology, diagnosis and management of vertical root fractures

Influence of coastal upwelling on the fishery of small pelagics off Kerala, south-west coast of India

In order to evaluate the impact of the interannual changes of upwelling on the small pelagics, the average chlorophyll a concentrations were compared with the fishery. The catch of small pelagics, especially that of the oilsardine increased from 1, 554 t in 1994 to 2,50, 469 t in 2007 in the Malabar upwelling zone off Kerala, India. The coastal upwelling index (CUI) during south-west monsoon increased by nearly 50% during the period 1998 to 2007. This substantial increase in coastal upwelling index elevated chlorophyll a concentration during monsoon which resulted in an increase of over 200% in annual average chlorophyll a concentration. The increasing coastal upwelling index and chlorophyll a during monsoon sustained an increasing catch of oilsardine during postmonsoon season. The responses of lesser sardine and Indian mackerel, which are midlevel carnivores, were different. The population increases of the oilsardine appear to replace decreases in the lesser sardines and Indian mackerel during the postmonsoon season