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

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

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

Scientific advisory on water quality management for traditional fish farms

Female whale shark, Rhincodon typus measuring 475 cm in length and approximately 800 kg in weight was stranded near Ayikkara Fisheries Harbour in Kannur District on 25th November 2011. Whale shark is locally called as “pullisravu” and the stranding of this species is not common in shallow waters along the Malabar region. Whale shark is listed as an endangered species as per the IUCN Red List

Rapid assessment of the fish trade, arrivals and price realization in Kerala

Fisheries contribute to around 3 % of the economy of Kerala and provides employment to about 2.14 lakh people including its secondary and tertiary sectors such as marketing and processing. The marine fish landings in Kerala (2015) was 4.82 lakh tonnes forming 73.36 % of the total fish production in the state. A considerable 30% reduction in the marine fish landings during 2015 compared to the average (2010-14) landings of 6.82 lakh tonnes was noticed

Impulse effect of demonetisation on the fishing operations, trade and fish consumption in Ernakulam, Kerala

A rapid survey was conducted during 24-26 November 2016 in order to assess the effect of demonetisation of the ` 1000 and ` 500 currency bills on the marine fishing operations, trade and fish consumption in Ernakulam district, Kerala across different landing centres and markets. A structured schedule eliciting information on the details related to the total number of fishing operations, crew size, landings, price realised, etc. was used (Annexure 1). The traders (exporters, wholesalers and retailers) were queried on the changes in the quantum of transaction and prices (paid and demonstration realised) during the pre and past periods. The study analysed the extent of different fishing operations by mechanised, motorised and non-mechanised sector in the landing centres / harbours of Munambam, Chellanam, Fort Cochin, Cochin Fisheries harbour and Kalamukku during the pre-demonetised (prior to 8th November) and post demonetised (9-23 November 2016) period covering a fortnight The fishing operations include the number of trips, days of fishing, depth of fishing, crew size, crew share, operating cost etc. The traders from the Broadway, Thevara, Thoppumpady, Chambakkara and Kaloor fish markets were interviewed for assessing the status of the business during these days. In addition, consumers were interviewed on their pattern of fish consumption during the period

Course Manual on Marine Fisheries & Mariculture Prepared for the Training programme for B.F.Sc students of Central Agricultural University (CAU), Tripura

The undergraduate Fisheries Science students are required to know about the inland and marine fisheries. The students from landlocked area are getting rare opportunity to understand the marine fisheries and mariculture activities. Hence, based on the request of the Central Agricultural University (CAU), Tripura as a part of their academic activities, the Director, ICAR-CMFRI, has kindly approved a 10 days in-plant training for B.F.Sc. final year students at the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Mandapam Regional Centre. The training was organized in collaboration with Agricultural Technology Information Centre (ATIC), ICAR-CMFRI, Kochi. A total of 27 B.F.Sc students and a faculty of Central Agricultural University (CAU), Tripura participated in the training programme during 17th to 26th January, 2020. The training emphasized on the skill development of students through hands on training on mariculture activities and field visits to fish landing centres. A course manual was prepared covering the major topics on marine capture fisheries and mariculture. I congratulate all those who have put in their sincere efforts to bring out this manual

Influence of climate and non-climatic attributes on declining glacier mass budget and surging in Alaknanda Basin and its surroundings

Globally glaciers are rapidly shrinking, endangering the sustainability of melt water and altering the regional hydrology. Understanding long-term glacier response to climate change and the influence of non-climatic attributes like morpho-topographic factors on ice loss is of high relevance. Here we estimate the multi-temporal mass balance of 445 glaciers in the upper Alaknanda basin and neighboring transboundary glaciers using optical stereo imageries from 1973 to 2021. Our measurements indicate a mean annual area change rate of −1.14 ± 0.07 km2 a−1 and a geodetic glacier mass balance of −0.34 ± 0.08 m w.e. a−1 from 1973 to 2020, leading to an overall mass loss of 12.9 ± 1.7 Gt, that accounts for up to 0.036 ± 0.006 mm of sea level rise. Before 2000 (1973–2000), the mean regional glacier mass loss rate was −0.30 ± 0.07 m w.e. a−1, which increased to −0.43 ± 0.06 m w.e. a−1 during 2000–2020. ERA5 Land reanalysis data showed a summer and annual temperature rise of ∼0.6 °C and ∼ 0.5 °C respectively in recent time period (2015–2020) and consequent strong mass loss (−0.68 ± 0.09 m w.e. a−1). In addition to climatic influence, glacier morphometry, topographic features and uneven debris cover distribution further impacted the regional and glacier specific mass balance. Our multi-temporal observation from space also emphasized that though the glaciers in this region experienced an increasing mass loss but a strong heterogeneous glacier specific response, like surging and dynamic separation of glacier, are also evident that was not captured by the available long-term global elevation change grids. Among all the climatic and non-climatic attributes, we identified summer temperature having most significant influence over glacier mass budget in this region, with a mass balance sensitivity of −0.6 m w. e. a−1 °C−1. Hence, knowing the mean summer temperature will help to predict the mass balance for any intermediate year for this region. If such climatic trend continues, smaller glaciers are likely to disapear in coming decades. Similar studies in other parts of the world and on specific glaciers can reveal links with climate factors, reconstruct mass balance, and enhance comprehension of glacier response to climate change. Our geodetic mass balance estimates will improve the estimation of meltwater run-off component of the hydrological cycle in this part of the Himalaya, which could be used to calibrate/validate glacier mass balance models