3,257 research outputs found

    Investigations on the liquid crystalline phases of cation-induced condensed DNA

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    Viral and nonviral condensing agents are used in gene therapy to compact oligonucleotides and plasmid DNA into nanostructures for their efficient transport through the cell membranes. Whereas viral vectors are best by the toxic effects on the immune system, most of the nonviral delivery vehicles are not effective for use in clinical system. Recent investigations indicate that the supramolecular organization of DNA in the condensed state is liquid crystalline. The present level of understanding of the liquid crystalline phase of DNA is inadequate and a thorough investigation is required to understand the nature, stability, texture and the influence of various environmental conditions on the structure of the phase. The present study is mainly concerned with the physicochemical investigations on the liquid crystalline transitions during compaction of DNA by cationic species such as polyamines and metallic cations. As a preliminary to the above investigation, studies were conducted on the evolution of mesophase transitions of DNA with various cationic counterion species using polarized light microscopy. These studies indicated significant variations in the phase behaviour of DNA in the presence of Li and other ions. Apart from the neutralization of the charges on the DNA molecule, these ions are found to influence selectively the hydration sphere of DNA that in turn influences the induction and stabilization of the LC phases. The higher stability observed with the liquid crystalline phases of Li-DNA system could be useful in the production of nanostructured DNA. In the case of the polyamine, a structural specificity effect depending on the nature, charge and structure of the polyamine used has been found to be favoured in the crystallization of DNA

    Generalized Mittag-Leffler Distributions and Processes for Applications in Astrophysics and Time Series Modeling

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    Geometric generalized Mittag-Leffler distributions having the Laplace transform 11+╬▓logтБб(1+t╬▒),00\frac{1}{1+\beta\log(1+t^\alpha)},00 is introduced and its properties are discussed. Autoregressive processes with Mittag-Leffler and geometric generalized Mittag-Leffler marginal distributions are developed. Haubold and Mathai (2000) derived a closed form representation of the fractional kinetic equation and thermonuclear function in terms of Mittag-Leffler function. Saxena et al (2002, 2004a,b) extended the result and derived the solutions of a number of fractional kinetic equations in terms of generalized Mittag-Leffler functions. These results are useful in explaining various fundamental laws of physics. Here we develop first-order autoregressive time series models and the properties are explored. The results have applications in various areas like astrophysics, space sciences, meteorology, financial modeling and reliability modeling.Comment: 12 pages, LaTe

    Packages of Practices for Sustainable, Ecofriendly Mariculture (Land-based Saline Aquaculture and Seafarming)

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    The problems of fast growing human population and protein deficit, particularly in the developing countries continue to exert pressure on the fisheries resources available for exploitation in the wild water bodies. The increasingly limited opportunities in the capture fisheries sector have generated considerable interest in aquaculture

    Exploited seerfish fisheries of india during 1998-02

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    Seerfishes are esteemed table fishes. In India, they are considered as one of the high value resources due to their superior quality meat, high economic return and export market. Seerfish fishery is important to artisanal fishermen who use driftnet/gillner/hooks and line employing country crafts with or without out-board engines and medium size boats with inboard engines, in the coastal waters of 25- 60 m depth. They are the target species for to 16.9% during 1998-02 indicating attainment of optimum production. The annual production during 1998-02 varied from 42,578 t in 2001 to 54,871 t in 1998 with an average of 48,847t forming 1.9% of the marine fish landing of the country. The east coast which ranked first in seerfish production during 1950s and 1960s with around 60% contribution had progressively been reduced to 40% in 1990s and during 1998-02

    Spiny Lobsters and Potential of Sea Cage Culture Spiny Lobster Resources in India

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    Fishery science and technology contributes a vital role in the augmentation of fish production globally.Among the seafood items, spiny lobsters have a prime position in terms of high unit value, demand, nutritional qualities with less perishable nature. Lobsters have great demand in international and domestic market, especially from tourism based beach resorts and restaurants as a luxury food. The annual lobster landings in India has been declining from a peak of 4,075 t in 1985 to the present annual average of 1,546 t. On an average, the fishery is contributed by Gujarat (43.7%), Maharashtra (25.4%), Tamil Nadu(14.6%) and Kerala (13%) (CMFRI Annual Report 2000-2015). Lobster fishing in India is mostly carried out by region specific traditional fishermen communities inhabiting along the coastal belts of different maritime states. Over the years the lobster fishery in India witnessed changes in fishing pattern, utility pattern with the introduction of live export market , sea cage culture and increased consumption and demand from tourism sector . Live Lobsters have a prominent place in the sea food export market both in terms of demand and price from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Europe and USA. India witnessed a sea change in foreign exchange earnings through marine products export worth 46,975 million rupees during 1997-98 and 55,111.12 million rupees during 2014-15, from an initial value of 25 million rupees in 1950-51 (Sakthivel, 1999). The marine products export accounted and contributed 3.5 % of the total exports in 1990s. Our marine product exports in the initial stages were in dried and canned form. It has gradually progressed into frozen h 340 million rupees in 1996-97 (Sakthivel, 1999). Spiny lobsters formed one of the items in the live fish export along with mud crabs and reef fishes. The annual average revenue earnings by India through the export of lobsters is amounted to Rs.74 crores

    Leadership in тАЬConfucian AsiaтАЭ: a three-country study of justice, trust, and transformational leadership

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    Increasing globalization and the economic uncertainty inherent in the recent financial crisis have strained the already tenuous commitment of many employees, making followersтАЩ perceptions of justice and trust more critical now than ever before in retaining a loyal workforce. A model of leadership, organizational justice, trust, and work outcomes such as commitment and satisfaction, similar to the one tested in the US, was extended to three countries in the so-called тАЬConfucian Asian ClusterтАЭ in the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) study. Data were collected from executives in: Mainland China (N┬╝131), Singapore (N┬╝246), and Taiwan (N┬╝99). Results indicate that transformational leaders in the Mainland build trust through procedural justice and distributive justice; trust in the leader is, in turn, related to job satisfaction and commitment. Transformational leaders in Singapore work indirectly through both distributive and procedural justice mechanisms to build trust and work outcomes, and also directly through trust to influence satisfaction and commitment. Finally, leaders in Taiwan use transformational leadership to influence procedural justice, trust, commitment, and satisfaction. Implications are discussed for leaders attempting to foster committed and satisfied workers in light of challenging economic circumstances

    Biotoxicity in Marine Organisms

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    The results from the screening of 118 marine organisms (corals, alcyoniarians, mollusks, echinoderms, flagellates) found in the coastal waters of India for their toxicity on fish and mice fingerlings as well as their hemolytic activities are presented
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