Naveen Sathyan; Dr. Rosamma Philip(Cochin University of Science and Technology, May 5, 2015)
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Abstract:
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are gene encoded, small sized, generally cationic, amphiphathic peptides characterized by antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, viruses and other pathogens. They are a major component of the innate immune defense system of almost all living organisms, ranging from bacteria to humans and represent the first line of defense against the invading microbial pathogens (Boman, 1995; Zasloff, 2002). Antimicrobial peptides represent a heterogeneous group displaying multiple modes of action that are determined by the sequence and concentration of peptides. Their remarkable specificity for prokaryotes with low toxicity for eukaryotic cells has favored their investigation and exploitation as new antibiotics
Sreelakshmi, B; Dr.Bright Singh,I S(Cochin University Of Science And Technology, November , 2011)
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Abstract:
The present study focuses on vibrios especially Vibrio harveyi
isolated from shrimp (P. monodon) larval production systems from both east
and west coasts during times of mortality. A comprehensive approach has
been made to work out their systematics through numerical taxonomy and
group them based on RAPD profiling and to segregate the virulent from
non- virulent isolates based on the presence of virulent genes as well as their
phenotypic expression. The information gathered has helped to develop a
simple scheme of identification based on phenotypic characters and
segregate the virulent from non virulent strains of V. harveyi.
Description:
National Centre for Aquatic Animal Health
Cochin University of Science and
Technology
Toms C, Joseph; Dr.Surendran, P K; Dr. Nirmala, Thampuran(Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, January , 2010)
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Abstract:
This thesis covers various aspects of viral diseases affecting shrimp aquaculture. The
research component of this thesis can be divided into four areas. The areas covered are: I) A
study to determine the prevalence of WSSV among the crustaceans in the Vembanad estuary, the
shrimp aquaculture farms surrounding the estuary, and the sea off Cochin coast, India using two
, sets of nested PCR primers. 2) An investigation to compare the sequence of six major structural
proteins of WSSV; vp28, vp26, vp 19, vp68, vp281, vp466 from different geographical locations
with that of an isolate from India. 3) Simultaneous occurrence of HPV, IHHNV, MBV and
WSSV in postlarvae of P. monodon from hatcheries in India was monitored by Polymerase
Chain Reaction. 4) A real time PCR procedure was developed for the quantitative analysis of
WSSV infection. The viral load of postlarvae from hatcheries in Kerala meant for aquaculture
was also determined using the quantitative PCR.
Thomas, K T; Dr.Mathew, N M(Cochin University of Science and Technology, April 22, 1997)
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Abstract:
The forms of natural rubber studied were sheet [RSS 4 and RSS 5], ISNR 20 and EBC. In the case of the latter two forms samples from estate and nonestate sectors were included. The samples were collected from different locations at specified intervals, for a particular period. The effect of the extent of mastication on raw rubber properties as well as the properties of the compounds and vulcanizates also studied. The consistency in raw rubber properties and breakdown behavior of skim rubber were studied by collecting samples periodically from selected processing units. The effect of incorporation of skim with
ISNR 20 has also been investigated
Description:
Rubber Research Institute of India
Rubber Board, Kottayam
Swapna, Antony P; Dr.Rosamma,Philip(Cochin University of Science and Technology, March , 2011)
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Abstract:
The constitutive production of AMPs in shrimps ensures that animals
are able to protect themselves from low-level assaults by pathogens present
in the environment. As these molecules play important roles in the shrimp
immune defense system, the expression level of these AMPs are possible
indicators of the immune state of shrimps. The present study also indicates
the antiviral property of AMPs, especially ALF, stressing the importance of
their up-regulation through the application of immunostimulants/probiotics
as a prophylactic strategy in aquaculture. The present study shows that
shrimp defense system is equipped enough to evade WSSV infection to a
certain extent, when the animals were maintained on marine yeast and
probiotic diet, whereas the control diet fed group succumbed to WSSV
infection. This study reveals that marine yeast and probiotic supplemented
diet can delay the process of WSSV infection and confer greater protection to
the animals. Particularly, the protection conferred by marine yeast, C.
haemulonii S27 and Bacillus MCCB101 were highly promising imparting
greater hope to the aquaculture community to overcome the prevailing
disease problems in aquaculture. It may be inferred from the present study
that up-regulation of AMP genes could be effected by the application of
immunostimulants and probiotics. Also, AMP expression profile could be
used as an effective tool for screening immunostimulants and probiotics for application in shrimp culture. Ultimately, it is likely that no single
compound or strategy will provide a solution to the problem of disease
within aquaculture and that, in reality, a suite of techniques will be required
including the manipulation of the rearing environment, addition of
probionts as a matter of routine during culture, and the use of
immunostimulants and other supplements during vulnerable growth phases.
Finally, the development of good management practices, the control of
environmental variables, genetic improvement in the penaeid species,
understanding of host-virus interaction, modulation of the shrimp immune
system, supported by functional genomics and proteomics of this crustacean,
as a whole suggests that the control of WSSV is not far.
Description:
Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry,
School of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology
Divya, P S; Mohamed Hatha, A A(Cochin University Of Science And Technology, August , 2014)
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Abstract:
In the present study diversity of E. coli in the water samples of Cochin
estuary were studied for a period of 3 years ranging from January 2010-
December 2012. The stations were selected based on the closeness to satellite
townships and waste input. Two of the stations (Chitoor and Thevara) were
fixed upstream, two in the central part of the estuary namely Bolgatty and Off
Marine Science Jetty, and one at the Barmouth. Diversity was assessed in
terms of serotypes, phylogenetic groups and genotypes. Two groups of
seafood samples such as fish and shellfish collected from the Cochin estuary
were used for isolation of E. coli. One hundred clinical E. coli isolates were
collected from one public health centre, one hospital and five medical labs in
and around Cochin City, Kerala. From our results it was clear that pathogen cycling is occurring through
food, water and clinical sources. Pathogen cycling through food is very
common and fish and shellfish that harbour these strains might pose potential
health risk to consumer. Estuarine environment is a melting pot for various
kinds of wastes, both organic and inorganic. Mixing up of waste water from
various sources such as domestic, industries, hospitals and sewage released
into these water bodies resulting in the co-existence of E. coli from various
sources thus offering a conducive environment for horizontal gene transfer. Opportunistic pathogens might acquire genes for drug resistance and virulence
turning them to potential pathogens. Prevalence of ExPEC in the Cochin
estuary, pose threat to people who use this water for fishing and recreation.
Food chain also plays an important role in the transit of virulence genes from
the environments to the human. Antibiotic resistant E. coli are widespread in
estuarine water, seafood and clinical samples, for reasons well known such as
indiscriminate use of antibiotics in animal production systems, aquaculture
and human medicine. Since the waste water from these sources entering the
estuary provides selection pressure to drug resistant mutants in the
environment. It is high time that the authorities concerned should put systems
in place for monitoring and enforcement to curb such activities. Microbial
contamination can limit people’s enjoyment of coastal waters for contact
recreation or shellfish-gathering. E. coli can make people sick if they are
present in high levels in water used for contact recreation or shellfish gathering.
When feeding, shellfish can filter large volumes of seawater, so
any microorganisms present in the water become accumulated and
concentrated in the shellfish flesh. If E. coli contaminated shellfish are
consumed the impact to human health includes gastroenteritis, urinary tract
infections (UTIs), and bacteraemia. In conclusion, the high prevalence of various pathogenic serotypes and
phylogenetic groups, multidrug-resistance, and virulence factor genes detected
among E. coli isolates from stations close to Cochin city is a matter of
concern, since there is a large reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes and
virulence traits within the community, and that the resistance genes and
plasmid-encoded genes for virulence were easily transferable to other strains.
Given the severity of the clinical manifestations of the disease in humans and the inability and/or the potential risks of antibiotic administration for
treatment, it appears that the most direct and effective measure towards
prevention of STEC and ExPEC infections in humans and ensuring public
health may be considered as a priority.
Musammilu, K K; Dr.Gopalakrishnan, A(National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources Cochin Unit, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, April , 2008)
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Abstract:
The family Cyprinidae is the largest of freshwater fishes and, with the possible
exception of Gobiidae, the largest family of vertebrates.Various members of this family are important as food
fish, as aquarium fish, and in biological research. In this study, a fish species from this family exclusively found in the west flowing rivers originating from the Western Ghat region — Gonoproktopterus curmuca — was
taken for population genetic analysis.There was an urgent need for restoration ecology by the development of apt management strategies to exploit resources judiciously. One
of the strategies thus developed for the scientific management of these resources was to identify the natural units of the fishery resources under exploitation
(Altukov, 1981). These natural units of a species can otherwise be called as stocks. A stock can be defined as a panmictic population of related individuals within a single species that is genetically distinct
from other such populations.It is believed that a
species may undergo micro evolutionary process and differentiate into
genetically distinct sub-populations or stocks in course of time, if reproductively
and geographically isolated.In recent times, there has been a wide spread degradation of natural aquatic environment due to anthropogenic activities and
this has resulted in the decline and even extinction of some fish species. In such situations, evaluation of the genetic diversity of fish resources assumes important to
conservation.The species selected for the study, was short-listed as one of the candidates for stock-specific, propagation assisted rehabilitation and
management programme in rivers where it is naturally distributed. In connection
with this, captive breeding and milt cryopreservation techniques of the species have been developed by the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow. However, for a scientific stock-specific rehabilitation
programme, information on the stock structure and basic genetic profile of the
species are essential and that is not available in case of G. curmuca. So the present work was taken up to identify molecular genetic markers like allozymes, microsatellites and RAPDs and, to use these markers to discriminate the distinct populations of
the species, if any, in areas of its natural distribution. The genetic markers were found to be powerful tools to analyze the population genetic
structure of the red-tailed barb and demonstrated clear cut genetic differentiation between pairs of populations examined. Geographic isolation by land distance is likely to be the factor that contributed to the restricted gene flow between the river systems. So the present study emphasizes the need for stock-wise, propagation
assisted-rehabilitation of the natural populations of red-tailed barb,
Gonoprokfopterus curmuca.
Abdul Muneer, P M; Gopalakrishnan, A(National bureau of fish genetic resources cochin unit, 2005)
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Abstract:
The present study Molecular genetic characterization of endemic yellow catfish ,generated an important information on the genetic variation and stock structure of the endangered yellow catfish(Horabagrus brachysoma) endemic to the western Ghats. Three genetically discrete stocks of the species have been identified for the first time using allozymes, RAPD(Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) and microsatelite markers and it is a significant step towards realizing the goal of management of fishery and conservation of the yellow catfish populations in the rivers of the Western Ghats region. In conclusion genetic markers were found to be powerful tools to analyze the population genetic structure of the yellow catfish. Geographic isolation by land distance,inbreading as a result of over-exploitation etc are some reasons for the genetic differenciation between the pairs and deficiency of hetrozygosity revealed by the two co dominant markers, allozyme, and microsatelites.the study emphasizes the need for stock-wise, propagation assisted-rehabilitation of the natural populations yellow catfish
Anju Antony, Moonjely; Thomas, P C(Cochin University of Science and Technology, August 25, 2014)
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Abstract:
There are a number of genes involved in the regulation of functional process in marine bivalves. In the case of pearl oyster, some of these genes have major role
in the immune/defence function and biomineralization process involved in the pearl formation in them. As secondary filter feeders, pearl oysters are exposed to various kinds of stressors like bacteria, viruses, pesticides, industrial wastes, toxic metals and petroleum derivatives, making susceptible to diseases. Environmental changes and ambient stress also affect non-specific immunity, making the organisms vulnerable to infections. These stressors can trigger various cellular responses in the animals in their efforts to counteract the ill effects of the stress on them. These include the expression of defence related genes which encode factors such as antioxidant genes, pattern recognition receptor proteins etc. One of the strategies to combat these problems is to get insight into the disease resistance genes, and use them for disease control and health management. Similarly, although it is known that formation of pearl in molluscs is mediated by specialized proteins which are in turn regulated by specific genes encoding them, there is a paucity of sufficient information on these genes.In view of the above facts, studies on the defence related and pearl forming genes of the pearl oyster assumes importance from the point of view of both sustainable fishery management and aquaculture. At present, there is total lack of sufficient knowledge on the functional genes and their expressions in the Indian pearl oyster Pinctada fucata. Hence this work was taken up to identify and characterize the defence related and pearl forming genes, and study their expression through molecular means, in the Indian pearl oyster Pinctada fucata which are economically important for aquaculture at the southeast coast of India. The present study has successfully carried out the molecular identification, characterization and expression analysis of defence related antioxidant enzyme genes and pattern recognition proteins genes which play vital role in the defence against biotic and abiotic stressors. Antioxidant enzyme genes viz., Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD), glutathione peroxidise (GPX) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were studied. Concerted approaches using the various molecular tools like polymerase chain reaction (PCR), random amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), molecular cloning and sequencing have resulted in the identification and characterization of full length sequences (924 bp) of the Cu/Zn SOD, most important antioxidant enzyme gene. BLAST search in NCBI confirmed the identity of the gene as Cu/Zn SOD. The presence of the characteristic amino acid sequences such as copper/zinc binding residues, family signature sequences and signal peptides were found out. Multiple sequence alignment comparison and phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences using bioinformatics tools like BioEdit,MEGA etc revealed that the sequences were found to contain regions of diversity as well as homogeneity. Close evolutionary relationship between P. fucata and other aquatic invertebrates was revealed from the phylogenetic tree constructed using SOD
amino acid sequence of P. fucata and other invertebrates as well as vertebrates
Seena, E B; Dr.Prathapachandra Kurup,M R(Cochin University of Science and Technology, August 16, 2006)
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Abstract:
The work embodied in the thesis is divided into eight chapters. Chapter I gives a
brief introduction about metal complexes of thiosemicarbazones, including their
structural and bonding properties. Chapter 2 deals with the synthesis and single crystal
X-ray diffraction studies of various thiosemicarbazones used up for the present
investigations and various characterization techniques. Chapter 3 deals with synthesis,
spectral and structural studies of Cu(U) complexes with ONS donor thiosemicarbazones.
Chapter 4 deals with synthesis and spectral studies of Ni(II) complexes \vith
2-hydroxyacetophenone N(4)-cyclohexyl thiosemicarbazone as the ligand. Chapter 5
includes synthesis and spectral studies of Mn(II) complexes. Chapter 6 deals with
synthesis, spectral and structural studies of Zn(II) complexes. Chapter 7 includes
synthesis and spectral studies of oxovanadium(IV) complexes. Chapter 8 deals with
synthesis, spectral and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies of dioxomolybdenum(VI)
complexes.
Description:
Department of Applied Chemistry, Cochin University of Science and
Technology
Silpa., B.L; Dr. Reji Srinivas(Cochin University of Science and Technology, September 11, 2015)
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Abstract:
Earth’s coastline defines the interface between land and water.
Although the area they cover is insignificant, their linear extent is
enormous and the variety of landforms they evolve over earth’s surface
is remarkable. Over one third of the world’s population lives either at the
coasts or in adjacent coastal low land areas. The coast is a zone of
intense energy input. This energy transported by waves, arrives at the
coast and is available for work. The result is that the processes of
sediment transport are set in motion – processes that cause
morphological change. Thus the coasts are the most rapidly changing
places on earth's surface and they play an important role in global
transportation of sediments and hence studies on the coastal zone
where air, land and water interact is a focus of particular interest among
the scientific community. The coastal areas across the world are also of
extreme economic importance as they contain abundant natural
resources and favorite tourist destinations because of their highly scenic
landscape
Sree Remya, T. S.; Dr. Swapankumar Ghosh(Cochin University of Science and Technology, February 12, 2015)
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Abstract:
The prospective impact of nanomaterials in science and technology has followed an
increasing trend due to their unique chemical and physical properties compared to bulk.
Significant advances in current technologies in areas such as clean energy production,
electronics, medicine, and environment have fuelled major research and development
efforts in nanotechnology around the world. This leads to the opportunity to use such
nanostructured materials in novel applications and devices. Ceria, zirconia, alumina and
titania are some of the major oxides which find vast applications as a nanomaterial on a
wider side.
Gopinath, Prem; Dr.Bright Singh, I S(Cochin University of Science & Technology, March , 2014)
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Abstract:
The present study was initiated when several massive outbreaks of Chikungunya, Dengue and Japanese Encephalitis were frequently reported across the State of Kerala. Multiple symptoms persisted among the affected individuals and the public health officials were in search of aetiological agents responsible for the out breaks and, other than clinical samples no resources were available. In this context, a study was undertaken to focus on mosquito larvae to investigate the viruses borne by them which remain silently prevalent in the environment. The study was not a group specific investigation limited to either arbovirus or enterovirus, but had a broad spectrum approach. The study encompassed the viral pathogens that could be isolated, their impact when passaged through cell lines, growth kinetics, titer of the working stocks in specific cell line, the structure by means of transmission electron microscopy(TEM), the one step growth and molecular characterization using molecular tools.