Study on the induced maturation of the Indian pearl oyster Pinctada fucata (Gould) at Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, India

In the induced maturation experiments of the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata (Gould), 7.5 ± 3.54%, 6.67% and 15 ± 7.07% fully mature pearl oysters were obtained on day 43, 42 and 36 in oysters fed with mixed algae (T-1), mixed algae and raw corn flour (T-2), mixed algae and raw rice flour (T-3), respectively under laboratory conditions. Among the treatments, it was observed that the (T-3) mixed algae with raw rice flour gave the best results with pearl oysters maturing 62.5 ± 7.08% under laboratory conditions on day 29 itself. Whereas, 35 % ± 7.07 % of fully mature pearl oysters were obtained on the 15th day and 36th day from the farm and laboratory, respectively and none in the non fed. Of the matured animals, 43.33% of stage III animals fed on mixed algae changed to stage IV within 19 days, while gonad of 40 ± 14.14% of pearl oysters without feeding changed to stage IV within 26 days under laboratory conditions. Maturity of 53.12 ± 11.97% pearl oysters did not change when maintained in the farm conditions within 24 days

Marine Fish Calendar 9. Vizhinjam

Vizhinjam, an important fish landing centre in the fishery zone extending from Kollangode in the south to Valiaveli in the north spreading over a distance of 50 km on the southwest coast of India. Data collected over a period of five years, from 1981 to 1985, from the landing centre at Vizhinjam have been analysed to draw up a general fishery calendar suitable for this centre elucidating the cyclic changes in the abundance and dominance of the commercially important species/ groups of fish within a year. The data show that the annual marine fish landings (fin fish alone) at Vizhinjam ranged from 5,207.01 t in 1981 to 9,726.2 t in 1985 with the annual average landings at 6,374.41 t

On the occurrence of Dealfish Trachipterus nigrifrons Smith (Trachipterdroae : Pisces) off Vizhinjam

The dealflsh Trachipterus nigrifrons Smith is reported for the first time from the Indian Coast. The morphological characters of the present specimen caught along with Trichiurus leptitrus in boat seine off Vizhinjam near Trivandrum are given together with brief remarks on the distinguishing features of the species and the distribution of the dealhshes in general

Sea ranching of pearl oyster

Sea ranching of pearl oyste

IoT-enabled water distribution systems - a comparative technological review

Water distribution systems are one of the critical infrastructures and major assets of the water utility in a nation. The infrastructure of the distribution systems consists of resources, treatment plants, reservoirs, distribution lines, and consumers. A sustainable water distribution network management has to take care of accessibility, quality, quantity, and reliability of water. As water is becoming a depleting resource for the coming decades, the regulation and accounting of the water in terms of the above four parameters is a critical task. There have been many efforts towards the establishment of a monitoring and controlling framework, capable of automating various stages of the water distribution processes. The current trending technologies such as Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have the potential to track this spatially varying network to collect, process, and analyze the water distribution network attributes and events. In this work, we investigate the role and scope of the IoT technologies in different stages of the water distribution systems. Our survey covers the state-of-the-art monitoring and control systems for the water distribution networks, and the status of IoT architectures for water distribution networks. We explore the existing water distribution systems, providing the necessary background information on the current status. This work also presents an IoT Architecture for Intelligent Water Networks - IoTA4IWNet, for real-time monitoring and control of water distribution networks. We believe that to build a robust water distribution network, these components need to be designed and implemented effectively

Oyster depuration display unit for high-end restaurants

Considerable interest has been generated recently on consumption of live oysters in high-end restaurants in cities such as Kochi. A major lacuna in this lucrative and emerging enterprise is the lack of consumer confidence on quality of live oysters, particularly purity of oysters with respect to microorganisms. In a meeting with a large number of chefs of star hotels in Kochi at David Hall on 9th June 2010 organized by the CGH Earth group, scientists of CMFRI gave an exposition on farming of oysters and methods of its purification. A consensus that emerged during the meeting was that oyster purification should be done in a manner which is visible to the restaurant clients. Accordingly the CMFRI is proposing a model ULTRA-PURE DEPURATION DIPLAY UNIT (DDU) the details of which are presented in this manual

Mariculture of mussels in India

Worldwide, bivalves are recognised as a source of inexpensive protein of high nutritional value. In India bivalve resources are still exploited at a subsis tence level. The growth performance, natural abundance, adaptability to new environment, simple and inexpensive culture techniques have made mussel a candidate species for culture operations. The bivalve mussels of the genus Perna are ex tensively cultured in Thailand, Philippines and New Zealand

A survey of the state-of-the-art techniques for cognitive impairment detection in the elderly

With a growing number of elderly people in the UK, more and more of them suffer from various kinds of cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment can be divided into different stages such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and severe cognitive impairment like dementia. Its early detection can be of great importance. However, it is challenging to detect cognitive impairment in the early stage with high accuracy and low cost, when most of the symptoms may not be fully expressed. This survey paper mainly reviews the state of the art techniques for the early detection of cognitive impairment and compares their advantages and weaknesses. In order to build an effective and low-cost automatic system for detecting and monitoring the cognitive impairment for a wide range of elderly people, the applications of computer vision techniques for the early detection of cognitive impairment by monitoring facial expressions, body movements and eye movements are highlighted in this paper. In additional to technique review, the main research challenges for the early detection of cognitive impairment with high accuracy and low cost are analysed in depth. Through carefully comparing and contrasting the currently popular techniques for their advantages and weaknesses, some important research directions are particularly pointed out and highlighted from the viewpoints of the authors alone

Appraisal of Marine Fisheries of Kerala

Kerala ranks first in marine fish production of India forming nearly 25% (avg. 5.75 lakh tonnes) of the total annual production. The annual export of marine products from the state yields to the nation a foreign exchange of Rs. 1100 crores. There has been spectacular growth in the marine fisheries sector of the state due to fisheries friendly government policies, well developed harvest and post harvest infrastructure and increased demand for sea food both in the domestic and export markets. Kerala has been in the forefront in absorbing innovative and new technologies in fishing practices, which has led marine fisheries to take a complex structure

Glycoprotein gene truncation in avian metapneumovirus subtype C isolates from the United States

The length of the published glycoprotein (G) gene sequences of avian metapneumovirus subtype-C (aMPV-C) isolated from domestic turkeys and wild birds in the United States (1996–2003) remains controversial. To explore the G gene size variation in aMPV-C by the year of isolation and cell culture passage levels, we examined 21 turkey isolates of aMPV-C at different cell culture passages. The early domestic turkey isolates of aMPV-C (aMPV/CO/1996, aMPV/MN/1a-b, and 2a-b/97) had a G gene of 1,798 nucleotides (nt) that coded for a predicted protein of 585 amino acids (aa) and showed >97% nt similarity with that of aMPV-C isolated from Canada geese. This large G gene got truncated upon serial passages in Vero cell cultures by deletion of 1,015 nt near the end of the open reading frame. The recent domestic turkey isolates of aMPV-C lacked the large G gene but instead had a small G gene of 783 nt, irrespective of cell culture passage levels. In some cultures, both large and small genes were detected, indicating the existence of a mixed population of the virus. Apparently, serial passage of aMPV-C in cell cultures and natural passage in turkeys in the field led to truncation of the G gene, which may be a mechanism of virus evolution for survival in a new host or environment