A red alga Portieria hornemannii (Lyngb.) P. C. Silva 1987 (Gigartinales, Rhizophyllidaceae): A source of fragrance ingredient for perfume industry

898-902The application of marine plants such as seagrasses, seaweeds and mangroves for the production of perfumes are relatively less familiar to perfume industry. In the present study, a red seaweed Portieria hornemannii showing strong fragrance, collected from coral reefs of Gulf of Mannar, southeast coast of Tamil Nadu, India is proposed as a potential source of fragrance for perfumes. This species has a distinctive essence of perfume like flowery scents and can give off pleasant fragrance immediately after rubbing or rupture. Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry analysis of methanol extracts of P. Hornemannii revealed the presence of chemical components N'-(3-Phenyl-2-Propenylidene)-2-(4-Chlorophenoxy) acethydrazide and 4, 5-Dichlorotricyclo [4.4.0.0(2,8)] dec-3-ene

Mass mortality of regular sea urchin Salmacis virgulata L. Agassiz and Desor, 1846 at Dhanushkodi, Southeast coast of Tamil Nadu, Gulf of Mannar, India

Mass mortality of sea urchin, Salmacis virgulata scattered over the periphery of Dhanushkodi beach, was observed on February 13, 2019. More than 100 numbers of recently dead and dying specimens were found within a 10 m2 area on the sandy beach. Beach profiles indicated several hundreds of exoskeletons of previously dead S. virgulata were washed ashore and buried in sand and withering seagrass. The causative agent responsible for mass mortality of S. virgulata is yet to be discovered. However, observations on wave approach toward shore indicated possible evidence that it could be due to a combination of strong nearshore waves and currents. This observation raises a critical research concern to investigate etiology of S. virgulata for species conservation

Occurrence of a Scyphozoan jellyfish, Pelagia noctiluca (Forskål, 1775) bloom in the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, Southern India

161-164A massive Scyphozoan jellyfish bloom has been encountered in branching coral, Acropora dominated reef area in the southern part of Hare Island of Gulf of Mannar region, Tamil Nadu. The live specimens were identified as Pelagia noctiluca (Forskål, 1775), adding a new occurrence record to the Gulf of Mannar biodiversity. A sudden outburst of P. noctiluca bloom represented thousands of live specimens (> 100/m2 approximately) in the south side of Hare Island

Crustose coralline algae (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) diversity in the Gulf of Mannar marine national park, Southern India

241-245Rhodoliths are the prominent global reef builders, providing a hard calcium carbonate substrate to develop coral polyps and several marine algae. Studies on rhodoliths in the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve are very scarce. The present study investigated the various forms of crustose coralline algae inhabiting coral reefs in three islands of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve. Eleven coralline algal genera with various morphological forms such as encrusting, fruticose, layered, lumpy, and warty were recorded. Further, the study infers that molecular assessment of the biodiversity of these rhodoliths is required to discriminate morphological similarities and confirm the species identity

Mass mortality of regular sea urchin Salmacis virgulata L. Agassiz and Desor, 1846 at Dhanushkodi, Southeast coast of Tamil Nadu, Gulf of Mannar, India

343-346Mass mortality of sea urchin, Salmacis virgulata scattered over the periphery of Dhanushkodi beach, was observed on February 13, 2019. More than 100 numbers of recently dead and dying specimens were found within a 10 m2 area on the sandy beach. Beach profiles indicated several hundreds of exoskeletons of previously dead S. virgulata were washed ashore and buried in sand and withering seagrass. The causative agent responsible for mass mortality of S. virgulata is yet to be discovered. However, observations on wave approach toward shore indicated possible evidence that it could be due to a combination of strong nearshore waves and currents. This observation raises a critical research concern to investigate etiology of S. virgulata for species conservation

Gravitational and electromagnetic fields of a charged tachyon

An axially symmetric exact solution of the Einstein-Maxwell equations is obtained and is interpreted to give the gravitational and electromagnetic fields of a charged tachyon. Switching off the charge parameter yields the solution for the uncharged tachyon which was earlier obtained by Vaidya. The null surfaces for the charged tachyon are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, LaTex, To appear in Pramana- J. Physic

IMB Detector‐The first 30 Days

A large water Chernekov detector, located 2000 feet below ground, has recently been turned on. The primary purpose of the device is to measure nucleon stability to limits 100 times better than previous measurements. The properties of the detector are described along with its operating characteristics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87428/2/138_1.pd

ORIGIN OF THE HIGH ENERGY EXTRAGALACTIC DIFFUSE GAMMA RAY BACKGROUND

We show that cosmic rays in external galaxies, groups and clusters rich in gas, with an average flux similar to that observed in the Milky Way, could have produced the observed extragalactic diffuse gamma radiation.Comment: 9 pages, latex, 1 faxable figure available upon request from [email protected]. Submitted to Phys Rev Lett

Measurement and analysis of nuclear γ-ray production cross sections in proton interactions with Mg, Si, and Fe nuclei abundant in astrophysical sites over the incident energy range E = 30–66 MeV

The modeling of nuclear γ -ray line emission induced by highly accelerated particles in astrophysical sites (e.g., solar flares, the gas and dust in the inner galaxy) and the comparison with observed emissions from these sites needs a comprehensive database of related production cross sections. The most important reactions of protons and α particles are those with abundant target elements like C, O, N, Ne, Mg, Si, and Fe at projectile energies extending from the reaction threshold to a few hundred MeV per nucleon. In this work, we have measured γ -ray production cross section excitation functions for 30, 42, 54, and 66 MeV proton beams accelerated onto nat C , C + O (Mylar), nat Mg , nat Si , and 56 Fe targets of astrophysical interest at the Separated Sector Cyclotron (SSC) of iThemba LABS (near Cape Town, South Africa). The AFRODITE array equipped with eight Compton suppressed high-purity (HPGe) clover detectors was used to record γ -ray line energy spectra. For known, intense lines previously reported experimental data measured up to E p ≃ 25 MeV at the Washington and Orsay tandem accelerators were thus extended to higher proton energies. Our experimental data for the last three targets are reported here and discussed with respect to previous data and to the Murphy et al. compilation [Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 183, 142 (2009)]

Characteristics of Different Systems for the Solar Drying of Crops

Solar dryers are used to enable the preservation of agricultural crops, food processing industries for dehydration of fruits and vegetables, fish and meat drying, dairy industries for production of milk powder, seasoning of wood and timber, textile industries for drying of textile materials. The fundamental concepts and contexts of their use to dry crops is discussed in the chapter. It is shown that solar drying is the outcome of complex interactions particular between the intensity and duration of solar energy, the prevailing ambient relative humidity and temperature, the characteristics of the particular crop and its pre-preparation and the design and operation of the solar dryer