Ritesh Ranjan

Alteration in haematological and biochemical parameters of Catla catla exposed to sub-lethal concentration of cypermethrin

A 60-day experiment was carried out to study the effect of sub-lethal concentration of cypermethrin (1/10th of LC50) exposure on haematological and biochemical parameters of the Indian major carp, Catla catla fingerlings. Under exposure, the total erythrocyte count, total leucocyte count, haemoglobin content and haematocrit were decreased. All the studied serum parameters viz. total serum protein, albumin, globulin contents and albumin–globulin ratio were significantly decreased in cypermethrin-exposed fishes. A marked increase was recorded in alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities in liver, whereas lactate dehydrogenase activity of muscle and acetylcholine esterase activity in brain were inhibited in cypermethrin-exposed fish. The membrane transport enzymes (total adenosine triphosphatase, sodium–potassium adenosine triphosphatase and magnesium adenosine triphosphatase) activities were decreased significantly in the gills of C. catla exposed to sub-lethal concentration of cypermethrin. The present study indicates that sub-lethal exposure of C. catla fingerlings to cypermethrin alters the haematological and biochemical parameters.

Sphingomonas paucimobilis septicemia in a neonate: A rare case report

Sphingomonas paucimobilis , a yellow-pigmented, aerobic, glucose nonfermenting, Gram-negative bacilli is a rare cause of human infection. It was first discovered as an infective agent in humans in 1977 and named Pseudomonas paucimobilis. It was renamed as S. paucimobilis in 1990 in accordance with phylogenetic data. S. paucimobilis is an aerobic bacterium found in soil and water; it is a rare cause of healthcare associated infections. S. paucimobilis can cause infections in healthy as well as immunocompromised individuals. At first, its colony looks like Gram-positive bacilli colony, so by mistake it is discarded as contaminants. S. paucimobilis is an emerging pathogen and it should not be discarded as contaminants. Here, we report a case of S. paucimobilis bacteremia in a neonate who presented with respiratory distress.

A rare case of Shewanella putrefaciens bacteremia in a patient of road traffic accident

Shewanella putrefaciens rarely causes human infection. These are mostly found in environment and food stuffs. Shewanella are often found in mixed culture. It has been implicated in cellulitis, otitis media, and septicemia. It may be found in respiratory tract, urine, feces, and pleural fluid. There is no definite guideline for therapeutic option. In general, these are susceptible to various antimicrobial agents but are often resistant to penicillin and cephalothin. We report a rare case of bacteremia by S. putrefaciens in a patient of head injury with polytrauma after a road traffic accident.

Mixed culture of Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931) and flathead grey mullet Mugil cephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) in floating cages

The study explored the possibility of integrating the grey mullet Mugil cephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) along with Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931) in floating cage culture in Godavary Estuary, India. Post-larvae (PL 12) of L. vannamei (3 lakhs nos.), were acclimatised and nursed in five hapas for 28 days at a density of 3333 nos. m-2, with survival of 60%. L. vannamei juveniles having mean weight of 0.86 g, stocked at a density of 1060 nos. m-2, were cultured along with and without pre-stocked M. cephalus, in three floating cages each. Six thousand fry of M. cephalus (mean length 4.17 cm; mean weight 1.22 g) were stocked in three cages at uniform density of 23.5 nos. m-3, three months prior to stocking of L. vannamei. Shrimps were fed commercial pellets @ 3-8% of body weight, four times daily and harvested after 68 days. Fishes were fed with pelleted feed and after five months attained mean length of 23.7 cm and mean weight of 274.1 g. Survival was 46.4% and the average production obtained was 250.2 kg. At harvest, L. vannamei in monoculture system attained mean weight of 13.3 g and in the mixed culture system, average weight obtained for the shrimps was 13.5 g. Survival, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and production of L. vannamei from monoculture were 64.7%, 2.0 and 258.9 kg and from mixed culture 76.8%, 1.6 and 311.5 kg respectively. Daily weight increment and specific growth rate (SGR) of L. vannamei was 0.18 g and 4.06 for monoculture and 0.19 g and 4.01 for mixed culture, resepectively. Feed conversion, survival and production of L. vannamei were significantly (p<0.05) better in mixed culture, confirming technical superiority of mixed culture over monoculture.