Use of different approach in finding catch effort relationship in hook and line fishery in Kombuthurai village of Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu

Kombuthurai has been described as a fishing village in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu which has gained immense importance by practicing sustainable fishing practices. In Kombuthurai village during 2009-2013, catch per unit effort (CPUE) has varied from 0.20 tonnes to the maximum of 0.25 tonnes during this period. It is interesting to know that despite the range of effort varying from 1598hrs to 1720hrs, the catch remained in the range of 347.4 tonnes to a maximum of 430.8tonnes. The influence of various variables (latitude, longitude, distance, depth, seasons, years and fishing gear type) on CPUE was studied by General Linear Model (GLM) and Generalized Linear Model (GLMs). Normal distribution with identity link function and a gamma distribution with log link function were used in GLMs. The variables that were found to be significant in both of the models and distributions are year and season. GLM model was good fit with R2 ranging from 67.60% to a high of 91.7%.The low and high abundance of CPUE were categorized taking the below and above average CPUE. A binary logistic regression model was used between the CPUE abundance and with above mentioned independent variables. The binary logistic regression model explained 75.4% (Nagelkerke R2) of the variance in high CPUE abundance and correctly classified 88% of cases. The independent variable such as latitude, longitude, depth, and distance added significantly to the model, but the year, season and hooks did not add significantly to the model

A comparison of different fuzzy inference systems for prediction of catch per unit effort (CPUE) of fish

60-69Present work was aimed to design Mamdani- Fuzzy Inference System (FIS), Sugeno -FIS and Sugeno-Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) model for the prediction of CPUE of fish. The system was implemented using MATLAB fuzzy toolbox. A prediction of CPUE was made using the models trained. The accuracy of fuzzy inference system models was compared using mean square error (MSE) and average error percentage. Comparative study of all the three systems provided that the results of Sugeno-ANFIS model (MSE =0.05 & Average error percentage=11.02%) are better than the two other Fuzzy Inference Systems. This ANFIS was tested with independent 28 dataset points. The results obtained were closer to training data (MSE=0.08 and Average error percentage=13.45%)

Validation of chlorophyll-a and sea surface temperature concentration and their relationship with the parameters—diffuse attenuation coefficient and photosynthetically active radiation using MODIS data: A case study of Gujarat coastal region

1370-1376In-situ data of chlorophyll-a concentrations (Chl-a) and sea surface temperature (SST) of the Gujarat region for the period, 2002-2009 were obtained from Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad. Out of nearly 100 sampling points, 22 and 67 points qualified for comparison with the satellite measurements of Chl-a and SST, respectively. Chl-a concentrations were estimated from the MODIS satellite data (4 km resolution) with the existing global ocean color algorithms, namely, OC2V4, OC4V4, and OC3M. The SST was calculated with the help of bands 31 and 32 using MODIS-Aqua sensor long wave SST algorithm and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) assimilation SST retrieval model (split window method). The satellite images were processed using global Sea WiFS Data Analysis System (SeaDAS) software v.7.3.1. Chl-a retrieved from OC3M algorithm had high coefficient of determination (R2=0.74) and less root mean square error (RMSE=1.24) as compared to OC2V4 and OC4V4 (R2=0.541 & 0.542 and RMSE=1.94 and 1.84, respectively) with in-situ data. The SST retrieved from MODIS-Aqua sensor long wave SST algorithm had a high coefficient of correlation as compared to ECMWF assimilation model (0.798 & 0.32 respectively) with in-situ data and RMSE were 0.80 and 2.65, respectively. SST and Chl-a showed an inverse correlation, with a coefficient of correlation (R) =0.530. Daily retrieval of Chl-a and SST value had very high degree of correlation with remote sensed eight days composite and monthly composite value (0.958 & 0.876, respectively). Retrieval of the value of diffuse attenuation coefficient at 490 nm wavelength (Kd or Kd_490), photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and vertical attenuation coefficient of PAR (Kd(PAR)) were done and found that Kd and Kd(PAR) had very high degree of positive correlation (R=0.994). In addition, it was found that PAR had a positive correlation with SST(R=0.512) and negative correlation with Chl-a (R=-0.446). The range of this parameter values supports the case-I water and fish assemblage area

Study of various reasons for interruption of anti-tubercular treatment in patients of tuberculosis reporting to tertiary care center of west Rajasthan

Background: Tuberculosis is a major cause of death in India. Premature cessation of treatment in tuberculosis patient is a leading cause for developing MDR (multidrug resistant tuberculosis) as well as a major threat to control programs. Despite the easy approach and free of cost, availability to antitubercular medicines the interruptions of the treatment are still on a high. So, we analyzed  such various reasons  leading to interrupt the antitubercular treatment.Methods: Total 150 patients who interrupted the antitubercular treatment, were interviewed with a predesigned questionnaire and the result was analyzed.Results: Out of total 150 patients 115 (76.7%)  male and 35 (23.3%)  female were interviewed, who were  having  history of antitubercular treatment interruption. Out of 150 patients, 79 (52.7%) patients stopped their treatment because of improvement. Total 25 (16.7%) patients had stopped their treatment because of high cost, 16 (10.7%) due to personal/family reason, 17 (11.4%) patients had stopped their treatment due to nausea/vomiting/anorexia, 5 (3.3%) due to alcoholism/drug or other addiction, 2 (1.3%) patients  had stopped their treatment because they were advised to stop it  by health personnel and long distance travelled to take drugs.Conclusions: Improvement of symptoms was  the most common reason  in patients who received DOTS treatment and high cost of treatment in patients who received non DOTS treatment. Poor education and socioeconomic status of society are the other reasons for possible treatment interruptions because as soon as the patient improves, they move out to earn their wages to run the family with the unavoidable default from the treatment

Effect of superphosphate, urea and bioinoculants on Zinnia elegans Jacq.

Current agricultural practices depend heavily on chemical inputs, and their overuse seriously contaminates the soil health. Microbial bioinoculants are emerging as an effective greener replacement for chemical fertilizers. These bioinoculants are beneficial for plant growth and also diminishes pathogenicity. Here, we explored three microbial inoculants along with commonly used fertilizers, i.e., Superphosphate (SP) and Urea (UR) for their effectiveness on Zinnia elegans Jacq., that has considerable demand in the floral market. The experiment was conducted in three parts with recommended doses of fertilizers, low (half) doses, and high (double) doses in combination with Glomus mosseae (GM), Acaulospora laevis (AL) and Pseudomonas fluorescens (PF), as microbial inoculants. The consortium of microbial inoculants (GM+AL+PF) fed with the low dose of SP and UR gave the best results for growth parameters (Shoot and Root Length, Shoot and Root Weight), Floral traits (floral head number and diameter), mycorrhization pattern and for other physiological attributes (shoot phosphorus content, root phosphorus content, acidic phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase). Overall, the study establishes that microbial bioinoculants is a potential fertilizer supplement at the recommended dose supports optimum Z. elegans growth

Linkage analysis for drought tolerance in kharif rice of Assam using microsatellite markers

371-375Drought stress in rainfed ecosystem significantly limits the production of Ranjit, the most predominant high yielding rice variety of Assam. A mapping population comprising 85 F4 individuals between Ranjit and a drought tolerant cultivar, ARC10372 was developed and genotyped with 80 microsatellite markers in order to understand the genetic basis of drought tolerance. The linkage map constructed based on a framework linkage map using these markers showed that the marker loci were distributed across 12 chromosomes spanning a distance of 273.4 cM with an average interval of 3.41 cM between marker loci. Most of the marker loci were found to be in good fit with the expected Mendelian segregation ratio; however, thirteen marker loci in total showed segregation distortion on six chromosomes. The linkage map generated in the study will facilitate mapping of quantitative trait loci imparting drought tolerance in rice of Assam and their map-based cloning

Genome-wide study predicts promoter-G4 DNA motifs regulate selective functions in bacteria: radioresistance of D. radiodurans involves G4 DNA-mediated regulation

A remarkable number of guanine-rich sequences with potential to adopt non-canonical secondary structures called G-quadruplexes (or G4 DNA) are found within gene promoters. Despite growing interest, regulatory role of quadruplex DNA motifs in intrinsic cellular function remains poorly understood. Herein, we asked whether occurrence of potential G4 (PG4) DNA in promoters is associated with specific function(s) in bacteria. Using a normalized promoter-PG4-content (PG4P) index we analysed >60 000 promoters in 19 well-annotated species for (a) function class(es) and (b) gene(s) with enriched PG4P. Unexpectedly, PG4-associated functional classes were organism specific, suggesting that PG4 motifs may impart specific function to organisms. As a case study, we analysed radioresistance. Interestingly, unsupervised clustering using PG4P of 21 genes, crucial for radioresistance, grouped three radioresistant microorganisms including Deinococcus radiodurans. Based on these predictions we tested and found that in presence of nanomolar amounts of the intracellular quadruplex-binding ligand N-methyl mesoporphyrin (NMM), radioresistance of D. radiodurans was attenuated by ∼60%. In addition, important components of the RecF recombinational repair pathway recA, recF, recO, recR and recQ genes were found to harbour promoter-PG4 motifs and were also down-regulated in presence of NMM. Together these results provide first evidence that radioresistance may involve G4 DNA-mediated regulation and support the rationale that promoter-PG4s influence selective functions

ANTI-DIABETIC ACTIVITY OF TRADITIONAL POLYHERBAL FORMULATION: DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION

Herbal therapy has emerged as a prominent therapeutic approach for a wide range of ailments. In tandem with a nutritious diet and lifestyle, these interventions aim to address certain health objectives by supplying each cell with the most suitable and advantageous nourishment. There exists a botanical alternative for each synthetic medicine now available. Material and Methods: The herbs utilized in the formulation were obtained from reputable vendors and subsequently verified by Department of Life Sciences, Garden City University, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. For the purpose of standardizing raw materials, shade-dried powdered plant parts from the plants Berberis aristata (dried stem), Terminalia chebula (pericarp of matured fruit), Emblica officinalis (pericarp of dried mature fruit), Terminalalia belerica (pericarp of dried ripe fruit), and Cyperus rotundus (dried rhizome) are used. Results: Blood glucose and lipid profiles were taken first thing in the morning. The formulation had a significant impact when compared to the typical range before diabetes was introduced. Total cholesterol, bad LDL cholesterol, and bad triglyceride levels were all reduced while HDL levels were increased. The phytochemical investigation backed up the claim that flavonoids were present. This may explain why it has such a dramatic impact on treating diabetes. It is recommended that future clinical trials be conducted in Human Volunteers, and that stability studies be conducted on the manufactured polyherbal capsules. Conclusion: The oldest type of therapy, herbal remedies are used to identify and treat illnesses. An animal model was used to assess the antidiabetic potency of five raw materials that were chosen for formulation into polyherbal capsules. The capsules significantly improved the lipid profile and fasting blood glucose indices, as well as their anti-diabetic efficacy. Future use is advised to pursue additional stability research and clinical trials

Short-Term Effect of Forage Grasses on Carbon Sustainability, Fodder Security, and Soil Properties in Poor Soils of Semi-Arid India

Grasses are essential sources of fodder for livestock and provide options for climate resilience due to their broad range of adoption. They are also valuable resources for soil quality enhancement. Therefore, a six-year field study using nine grasses (2013 to 2019) was initiated in a semi-arid region of central India. The study aimed to assess the short-term impact of these nine grasses on soil carbon stock, selected soil physiochemical and biological properties, and green fodder yield. Results (after six years) revealed that a greater carbon stock (7.0 and 7.2 Mg ha–1), carbon sustainability index (71.6 and 89.3), and sustainable yield index for green fodder (0.89 and 0.91), respectively, were observed in lampagrass [Heteropogon contortus (L.)] and guineagrass [Megathyrsus maximus(Jacq.)]. These improvements could be due to the greater root length (1700 and 2220 cm plant–1) and root weight density of grasses in the upper soil layer (0–10 cm, 70%), and the higher green biomass production (~44.1 t ha–1 year–1). These beneficial changes might have further led to the lower soil bulk density (~1.05 g cm–3), higher water-filled porosity (14.7 and 16.1%), and soil organic carbon content (~0.67%) over other grasses and barren soil. Consequently, the highest total bacterial count (21.9 and 44.5 × 107 CFU g–1), soil microbial biomass carbon and enzyme activities such as acid phosphatase (17.7 and 22.6 µg p-nitrophenyl g–1 h–1) and alkaline phosphatase (9.6 and 15.9 µg p-nitrophenyl g–1 h–1) were noticed in lampagrass and guineagrass rhizospheres. Therefore, cultivation of perennial grasses in the low fertile soils of semi-arid environments can be an eco-friendly approach to enhance soil fertility, green fodder supply, and soil carbon build-up