Length - weight relationship of a mesopelagic shrimp, Oplophorus typus from the west coast of India

The length weight relationship of Oplophorus typus (Oplophoridae) was studied from samples by Isaac Kid - Mid water Trawl (IKMT)operated onboard FORV Sagar Sampada off west coast of india during October 1998 to May 2001. The relationship between total length and total weight and other dimentional relationship were also worked out. The relationships are not significantly different between male and female

Critical Evaluation of Appendicitis in Paediatric Age Group.

INTRODUCTION : Acute Appendicitis remains the most common indication for emergency abdominal Surgery. The life time risk is 9% for men and 7% for women. Considerable morbidity continues to be associated with appendicitis despite what is currently considered to be appropriate antibiotic and surgical care. Although the overall mortality rate is less than 1 % in many series, the mortality associated with appendicitis in elderly and infants ranges between 5 % and 15 %. The incidence of perforation commonly ranges from 17 % to 40% and is increased at both spectrums of age and is well known to be associated with significant morbidity. In the early eighties in our department the incidence of appendicitis was so low, that a clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis was not the first choice when a child presented with vomiting, pain, toxemia and acute abdomen. Surgical doctrine suggests that a percentage of negative laparotomies are necessary and acceptable to limit the rate of perforation as the diagnosis of acute appendicitis is essentially clinical. Current studies demonstrate the negative Laparotomy rate to range from 15% to 30% and to be associated with significant morbidity. With the available gamut of investigations this can be lowered. The purpose of this study is to know the accuracy of clinical diagnosis in appendicitis by correlating histopathological examination report of removed appendix specimen against clinical diagnosis in Madurai Medical College Hospital over a period of two years between August 2005 to June 2007 and discuss it in the light of available literature. AIM : The objectives of this clinical study are : 1. To know the accuracy of clinical diagnosis in appendicitis by comparing with histopathological examination report of removed appendix specimen. 2. To find out the cause or causes for the increased incidence. MATERIALS AND METHODS : Materials - This work includes the study of 202 patients with clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis admitted in Madurai Medical College Hospital between Aug.2005 to June 2007. All of them were admitted as emergency. Methods - This includes detailed history from the patients, clinical examination, blood studies (total count, differential count), plain X- ray abdomen and urine examination. All the information were entered in the proforma specially designed for this study. CONCLUSION : Appendicitis is common in 5 - 13 years of age. In 202 surgically treated patients diagnostic accuracy was nearing cent percent. The incidence of Appendicitis is significantly higher in males (67%) as compared to females (33%). We found that the proportion of children with complicated disease did not change during the 10-year period. Young children had the lowest incidence of acute appendicitis, but they had a 5-fold greater risk of complicated disease than older children. The annual crude incidence of acute appendicitis was 89 % in the surgeries performed in our Department. The overall perforation rate was 15%. Perforation rates and complication rates were higher in smaller children. There were no differences between genders. Acute appendicitis is essentially clinical diagnosis, but is aided by the present gamut of investigations. Detailed clinical history and examination can reduce the removal of normal appendix. Logistic regression analysis showed that a history of nausea or vomiting and pain migration to the right iliac fossa independently predicted a correct diagnosis of acute appendicitis. The clinical diagnostic accuracy is better in male sex than in female. Commonly used inflammation markers (CRP, WCC, fraction of neutrophil granulocytes and rectal body temperature) are useful in predicting active disease. By appropriate use of Ultrasound and CT Abdomen removal of normal appendix in equivocal cases can be reduced further. In fact if laparoscopy is included as a diagnostic tool the incidence of negative Appendicectomy would be 0 %. Total white blood cell count may be normal in acute appendicitis. Acute appendicitis was histologically proven in all the cases. Increased usage of ultrasound may be the reason for early reference. “Natives live on a diet abundant in cellulose and fibres are immune from this disease. When they adopt the diet of civilization they loose that immunity.” - William Boyd. The incidence of appendicitis is higher in more affluent societies that have a prevalence of low-fiber diets. Low-fiber diets change the bacterial flora, increasing stool viscosity, bowel transit time, and intra luminal pressure, which encourage the formation of faecoliths. These diets contribute to lowresidue stool, which can become impacted within the appendiceal lumen. We believe that the changes we see in the economic status, life style and food habits of people who live in rural and semi urban areas may be the causes for this increased incidence, as evinced by Bush’s recent statements that there is a demand for increased amount of posh food stuffs in the third world countries

Metal based pharmacologically active agents: Synthesis, structural elucidation, DNA interaction, in vitro antimicrobial and in vitro cytotoxic screening of copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes derived from amino acid based pyrazolone derivatives

AbstractThe paper presents the synthesis of complex combinations of Cu(II) and Zn(II) with Schiff base obtained by the condensation reaction of 4-aminoantipyrine with benzaldehyde and 2-amino-3-methyl-butanoicacid. Structural features of synthesized compounds were determined by analytical and spectral techniques. Binding of synthesized complexes with calf thymus DNA (CT DNA) was studied by spectroscopic methods and viscosity measurements. Experimental results indicated the ability of the complexes to form adducts with DNA and to distort the double helix by changing the base stacking. Oxidative DNA cleavage activities of the complexes were studied with supercoiled (SC) pUC19 DNA using gel electrophoresis. The in vitro antimicrobial screening effects of the investigated compounds were monitored by the disk diffusion method. The synthesized Schiff base complexes exhibited higher antimicrobial activity than the respective free Schiff base. The in vitro cytotoxicity of synthesized complexes against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) tumor model was investigated using trypan blue dye exclusion assay. The complexes possessed significant cytotoxic activity

Penaeoid and Sergestoid shrimps from the deep scattering layer (DSL) in the Arabian Sea

Results of a preliminary study on the occurrence and distribution of seventeen species of Penaeoid and Sergestoid shrimps from the deep scattering layer'(DSL) of the Indian EEZ of Arabian Sea are presented here based on the IKMT samples collected during FORV Sagar Sampada cruises from May 1998 to December 2002

Food and feeding habits of the pelagic shrimp, Oplophorus typus from the deep scattering layer along the west coast of India

The food and feeding habits of the pelagic shrimp, Oplophorus typus, an inhabitant of deep scattering layer from the west coast of India were studied during the period, October 1998-May 2001. Difference in food preference had been noticed between seasons and at different bathymetric realms. O.typus preferred food items such as detritus, chaetognaths, crustacean remains, fish remains, shrimp remains, euphausiids, diatoms, copepods and foraminifera. Diurnal variations in the feeding intensity as well as preference of food items were noticed

Length–weight relationship of Benthosema pterotum (myctophid) in the deep scattering layer (DSL) of the eastern Arabian Sea

The samples were collected by using Isaac Kid-Midwater Trawl (IKMT) onboard FORV Sagar Sampada during the deep scattering layer (DSL) survey from 1998-2000 of the eastern Arabian Sea (AS). Length-weight (LW) relationships have been carried out for the most commonly occurring myctophid species Benthosema pterotum of the DSL. The LW relationship was W = 0.00000753 L 3.13145 (r= 0.973708) for males and W = 0.000007379 L 3.13529 (r = 0.974880) for females. From the studies it has been noticed that growth in relation to length and weight deviate appreciably from the cube law. It is also found that there are no significant differences between males and females of the species

A remote sensing approach to monitor potential fishing zone associated with sea surface temperature and chlorophyll concentration

1025-1030India is the biggest seafood producing country in the world, and its economy relies, to a large extent, on fish production. Recent technologies in the remote sensing field enabled the gathering of information about the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Chlorophyll Concentration (CC) are used for analyzing the Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ). We used Landsat 8 images to create the base map of the Thoothukudi coastline. MODIS-AQUA satellite data were used to derive the SST and Chlorophyll-a for the Thoothukudi coast (Bay of Bengal) for the years 2013 to 2017, for the month of June. PFZ was classified into three classes: High PFZ, Medium PFZ, and Low PFZ. Results shows 2015 has highest PFZ found in the region of Sippikulam and Vembar. During 2016, PFZ identified at Kayalpattinam, Tiruchendur, and Manapad regions. The PFZ level was low during 2017 compared to the previous years. The PFZ has increased in the international maritime boundary line, which forced the fishermen to cross the territorial boundary. This study provides valuable information about fish catching areas to the fishermen and local populations, by reducing fish search time by 30 to 70 %, and consequently the fuel cost and human efforts. Additionally, also reduces the need of crossing the international maritime boundary line

An Atlas of the Speed of Copy Number Changes in Animal Gene Families and Its Implications

The notion that gene duplications generating new genes and functions is commonly accepted in evolutionary biology. However, this assumption is more speculative from theory rather than well proven in genome-wide studies. Here, we generated an atlas of the rate of copy number changes (CNCs) in all the gene families of ten animal genomes. We grouped the gene families with similar CNC dynamics into rate pattern groups (RPGs) and annotated their function using a novel bottom-up approach. By comparing CNC rate patterns, we showed that most of the species-specific CNC rates groups are formed by gene duplication rather than gene loss, and most of the changes in rates of CNCs may be the result of adaptive evolution. We also found that the functions of many RPGs match their biological significance well. Our work confirmed the role of gene duplication in generating novel phenotypes, and the results can serve as a guide for researchers to connect the phenotypic features to certain gene duplications

Structural basis of signal sequence surveillance and selection by the SRP–FtsY complex

Signal-recognition particle (SRP)-dependent targeting of translating ribosomes to membranes is a multistep quality-control process. Ribosomes that are translating weakly hydrophobic signal sequences can be rejected from the targeting reaction even after they are bound to the SRP. Here we show that the early complex, formed by Escherichia coli SRP and its receptor FtsY with ribosomes translating the incorrect cargo EspP, is unstable and rearranges inefficiently into subsequent conformational states, such that FtsY dissociation is favored over successful targeting. The N-terminal extension of EspP is responsible for these defects in the early targeting complex. The cryo-electron microscopy structure of this 'false' early complex with EspP revealed an ordered M domain of SRP protein Ffh making two ribosomal contacts, and the NG domains of Ffh and FtsY forming a distorted, flexible heterodimer. Our results provide a structural basis for SRP-mediated signal-sequence selection during recruitment of the SRP receptor

Remote ischemic conditioning: from experimental observation to clinical application: report from the 8th Biennial Hatter Cardiovascular Institute Workshop

In 1993, Przyklenk and colleagues made the intriguing experimental observation that 'brief ischemia in one vascular bed also protects remote, virgin myocardium from subsequent sustained coronary artery occlusion' and that this effect '.... may be mediated by factor(s) activated, produced, or transported throughout the heart during brief ischemia/reperfusion'. This seminal study laid the foundation for the discovery of 'remote ischemic conditioning' (RIC), a phenomenon in which the heart is protected from the detrimental effects of acute ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI), by applying cycles of brief ischemia and reperfusion to an organ or tissue remote from the heart. The concept of RIC quickly evolved to extend beyond the heart, encompassing inter-organ protection against acute IRI. The crucial discovery that the protective RIC stimulus could be applied non-invasively, by simply inflating and deflating a blood pressure cuff placed on the upper arm to induce cycles of brief ischemia and reperfusion, has facilitated the translation of RIC into the clinical setting. Despite intensive investigation over the last 20 years, the underlying mechanisms continue to elude researchers. In the 8th Biennial Hatter Cardiovascular Institute Workshop, recent developments in the field of RIC were discussed with a focus on new insights into the underlying mechanisms, the diversity of non-cardiac protection, new clinical applications, and large outcome studies. The scientific advances made in this field of research highlight the journey that RIC has made from being an intriguing experimental observation to a clinical application with patient benefit