Central University of Kerala

About: Central University of Kerala is a education organization based out in Kāsaragod, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 556 authors who have published 881 publications receiving 7474 citations.

Microbial Symbionts of Aquatic Plants

Abstract: Aquatic plants have been used over time in several ways which include use as food and feed supplement, for bioenergy production, for phytoremediation and wastewater treatment, to name a few. Like in the terrestrial ecosystem, interactions between microorganisms and plants are diverse in an aquatic ecosystem. In the present chapter, one of the positive interactions, symbiosis between the microorganisms and aquatic plants has been discussed focusing on how this interaction can prove to be beneficial to aquatic plants. Some of the features like biofiltration, nitrogen fixation, phytohormone production, and bioenergy production from aquatic plants and the role of microbial symbionts in these processes have been discussed. One of the re-emerging model plants, duckweeds have been considered as an example in order to describe the abovesaid. Lemnaceae (duckweeds) constituting the fastest-growing flowering plants have gained attention in terms of their practical applications because of their huge potential for biomass production. As a future prospect, sustainable ways of use of aquatic plants and their biomass production should be a prime focus in aquatic research.

Transformation Techniques and Molecular Analysis of Transgenic Rice

Abstract: The genetic modification of plants paved the way for new breeding strategies, including for recalcitrant crops. Rice is a staple food for more than 60% of the population worldwide. However, the accelerated growth rate of the world population calls for an enhancement in rice production and modified rice varieties that can produce improved yields and are resistant to environmental stresses. This can be achieved through production of transgenic rice that is attained by the introduction of a transgene into the plant cells using methods such as electroporation, polyethylene glycol-mediated transformation, biolistics, transformation via Agrobacterium and in planta floral-dip transformation. The presence of transgenes in the regenerated plants can be confirmed using several molecular tools. However, a real transgenic cannot be confirmed based on initial transformants under the confinements of a laboratory and a long term approach is necessary. Several factors affect the efficiency of transformation and regeneration of rice, including type of explant used, components of culture medium, gelling agents and type of Agrobacterium strains. Currently, transgenic rice production is hindered by drawbacks such as low transformation efficiency, tedious and lengthy protocols, genotype specificity, failure of transgenes to express the required protein due to silencing and generation of sterile plants. Thus, effective breeding of enhanced varieties of rice can be possible through development of improved protocols to ensure stable expression of transgenes and proper regulatory framework.

Fission fragment mass and angular distribution in 6,7Li+235,238U reactions

Abstract: Fission fragment (FF) angular distributions for 6,7 Li+235,238 U reactions and mass distributions for 6,7 Li+238 U reactions have been measured at energies near and above the Coulomb barrier. The angle integrated fission cross sections for 6 Li induced reactions at sub-barrier energies are found to be higher than 7 Li induced reactions possibly due to larger contribution of breakup induced fission in case of the former compared to the latter. The FF anisotropy for 6,7 Li+235 U was found to be smaller than 6,7 Li+238 U, manifesting the effect of target ground state spin. The statistical saddle point (SSP) model predictions were found to be consistent with the measured FF anisotropy for 6,7 Li+235 U, however they were under-estimated for 6,7 Li+238 U particularly at lower energies. Observation of larger FWHM of FF folding angle distribution and sharp increase in peak to valley ratio for FF mass distribution with the decrease in bombarding energy in 6,7 Li+238 U reactions confirms the presence of breakup induced fission.

On $$\alpha $$ α -Vertex Choosability of Graphs

Abstract: A connected, simple graph G with vertex set $$V(G)=\{1,2,\ldots ,n\}$$ is said to be vertex (n, k)-choosable, if there exists a collection of subsets $$\left\{ S_k(v)\subseteq V(G): v\in V\right\} $$ of cardinality k, such that $$S_k(u)\cap S_k(v)=\emptyset $$ for all $$uv\in E(G)$$ , where k is a positive integer less than n. The maximum value of such k is called the vertex choice number of G. In this paper, we introduce the notion of $$\alpha $$ - choosability of graphs in terms of their vertex (n, k)-choice number and initiate a study on the structural characteristics of $$\alpha $$ -choosable graphs.

Chemicals and Their Interaction in the Aquaculture System

Abstract: Aquaculture is well-acknowledged as one of the few options of food security and economic growth that contribute significantly at the global level. All commercial varieties of fishery products, including shrimp, prawn, lobster, crab, fish, and other aquatic animals and plants, have been cultured for quite a long time in India and worldwide. Disease vulnerabilities and substandard water are the crucial factors that affect the production rates in aquaculture. Therefore, disease control is an active field of research in aquaculture, and aquaculturists identified various control measures over the years. Consequently, drugs and chemicals are often applied to treat diseases of cultured aquatic animals and improve the water quality in culture facilities. Parallel to the intensification of aquaculture practices in recent years, the usage of chemicals has also increased, particularly in the culture systems of commercially important species such as shrimps. On the flip side, chemical use in aquaculture has specific adverse effects. Despite various statutory regulations set on the usage of chemicals, the public health hazards related to the chemical inter-mixture in freshwater, brackish water, and coastal saline waters of culture facilities are usually ignored. However, it is all-important that the aquaculturists, producers, and suppliers of chemicals, government agencies, and scientists should also be attentive to the chemical inter-mixture in the aquaculture systems. This chapter summarizes relevant information and highlights the chemistry of the commonly used chemicals in aquaculture systems.