Polysaccharides

Polysaccharides in crustacean tissues occur both in free state as well as bound to proteins. The free polyasccharides are invariably glycogen.. The protein bound sugars may be determined after precipitating the protein (Saravanan, 1979)

Total free sugars, reducing sugars and glucose

Carbohydrates in the tissues of crustaceans exist as free sugars and as bound with proteins (Saravanan, 1979). The free sugars in haemolymph consist of mono, di and oligosaccharides. All monosaccharides, maltose and its oligosaccharides constitute the total reducing sugars. Trehalose constitutes the non-reducing sugar fraction of the total free sugars. The total free sugars are estimated by Anthrone method and reducing sugar by Nelson-Somogyi method. The difference in the values obtained by these two methods indicates total non-reducing sugar value which is primarily trehalose in crustacean blood. The glucose can be determined by Glucose-oxidase method. The difference between values of glucose and reducing sugars would indicate the concentration of non-glucose reducing sugars

Conservation of a fragmented population of blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra)

The Vallanadu Blackbuck Sanctuary (VBS), Tamil Nadu, India is a small protected area (PA) designated to conserve blackbuck. We did a study on habitat use and suitability in the PA that has come under various management interventions. The occupancy of blackbuck was positively correlated with areas lying within the PA, but the encounter rate of blackbuck was significantly higher in areas outside the PA. Being small in size, VBS may not hold a large population of blackbucks, but may help in saving the species which once widely occurred in the southernmost parts of India

Influence of Sea Surface Temperature on the Gonadal development of Sea urchin Temnopleurus toreumaticus from the Gulf of Mannar, South East Coast of India

This study was conducted for a 20 months period from October 2013 to May 2015 in Gulf of Mannar, south east coast of India. During the investigation the abiotic factors viz., Sea surface temperature (SST), Daylight photoperiod and atmospheric temperature data were collected from International comprehensive Ocean Atmospheric Database (ICOADS) and the reproductive cycle of the sea urchin was studied from the monthly sampling of sea urchin collected from Vedalai landing centre in Gulf of Mannar. The gonads were studied to calculate Gonad index as well histological to categories them into four different stages of the development and this data was compared with abiotic factors to study the influence of it on the reproductive behaviour of sea urchin. The data were analyzed statistically through Pearson correlation and it was found negative between mean monthly gonad index and day length photoperiod, as well as with SST. This clearly indicates that the gonadal development in sea urchin is very much influenced by these two abiotic factors; however other nutritional factors might play greater role in the development gonad

Magnetic and Low Temperature Conductivity Studies in Oxidized Nano Ni Films

A set of single layered nanostructured Ni films of thickness, t = 25 nm, 50 nm, 75 nm and 100 nm have been deposited using electron beam gun evaporation technique at 473 K under high vacuum condition. From the grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) studies, NiO phase formation has been noted. Grain sizes of the films were determined. The microstructure was examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies. Average surface roughness was determined by atomic force microscope (AFM). The room temperature magnetization has been measured using the vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The coercive field was observed to be increasing with increasing t and became maximum for t = 75 nm and decreases for further increase in t. The behavior of coercive field with t indicated softness of the films. Low temperature electrical conductivity in the range from 5 K to 300 K has been measured. Temperature dependence of electrical conductivity showed semiconducting behavior. At temperatures above θD/2 (θD is the Debye temperature), the conductivity behavior has been understood in the light of Mott’s small polaron hopping model and activation energies were determined. An attempt has been made to understand conductivity variation below θD/2 using variable range hopping models due to Mott and Greaves. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/2371

A New Analysis Method for Simulations Using Node Categorizations

Most research concerning the influence of network structure on phenomena taking place on the network focus on relationships between global statistics of the network structure and characteristic properties of those phenomena, even though local structure has a significant effect on the dynamics of some phenomena. In the present paper, we propose a new analysis method for phenomena on networks based on a categorization of nodes. First, local statistics such as the average path length and the clustering coefficient for a node are calculated and assigned to the respective node. Then, the nodes are categorized using the self-organizing map (SOM) algorithm. Characteristic properties of the phenomena of interest are visualized for each category of nodes. The validity of our method is demonstrated using the results of two simulation models. The proposed method is useful as a research tool to understand the behavior of networks, in particular, for the large-scale networks that existing visualization techniques cannot work well.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures. This paper will be published in Social Network Analysis and Mining(www.springerlink.com

Low vitamin B12 in pregnancy is associated with adipose-derived circulating miRs targeting PPARγ and insulin resistance

Objective We hypothesize that B12 plays a role in epigenetic regulation by altering circulating microRNAs (miRs) during adipocyte differentiation and results in an adverse metabolic phenotype. Design, Settings, and Main Outcome Measure Human preadipocyte cell line (Chub-S7) was differentiated in various B12 concentrations: control (500 nM), low B12 (0.15 nM), and no B12 (0 nM). Maternal blood samples (n = 91) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) (n = 42) were collected at delivery. Serum B12, folate, lipids, plasma one-carbon metabolites, miR profiling, miR expression, and gene expression were measured. Results Our in vitro model demonstrated that adipocytes in B12-deficient conditions accumulated more lipids, had higher triglyceride levels, and increased gene expression of adipogenesis and lipogenesis. MiR array screening revealed differential expression of 133 miRs involving several metabolic pathways (adjusted P < 0.05). Altered miR expressions were observed in 12 miRs related to adipocyte differentiation and function in adipocytes. Validation of these data in pregnant women with low B12 confirmed increased expression of adipogenic and lipogenic genes and altered miRs in SAT and altered levels of 11 of the 12 miRs in circulation. After adjustment for other possible confounders, multiple regression analysis revealed an independent association of B12 with body mass index (β: −0.264; 95% confidence interval, −0.469 to −0.058; P = 0.013) and was mediated by four circulating miRs targeting peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ and IR. Conclusions: Low B12 levels in pregnancy alter adipose-derived circulating miRs, which may mediate an adipogenic and IR phenotype, leading to obesity