The present study describes the ovarian development stages of the mud crab, Scylla paramamosain from Pak Phanang mangrove swamps, Thailand. Samples were taken from local fishermen between June 2006 and December 2007. Ovarian development was determined based on both morphological appearance and histological observation. Ovarian development was classified into five stages: proliferation (stage I), previtellogenesis (II), primary vitellogenesis (III), secondary vitellogenesis (IV) and tertiary vitellogenesis (V). The formation of vacuolated globules is the initiation of primary vitellogenesis and primary growth. The follicle cells were found around the periphery of the lobes, among the groups of oogonia and oocytes. The follicle cells were hardly visible at the secondary and tertiary vitellogenesis stages. Yolk granules occurred in the primary vitellogenesis stage and are first initiated in the inner part of the oocytes, then gradually concentrated to the periphery of the cytoplasm. The study revealed that the initiation of vitellogenesis could be identified by external observation of the ovary but could not indicate precisely.

Fresh water is rapidly being exhausted due to natural and anthropogenic activities. The more and more interest is being paid to desalination of seawater and brackish water in order to provide fresh water. The suitability of these desalination technologies is based on several criteria including the level of feed water quality, source of energy, removal efficiency, energy requirement etc. In this paper, we presented a review of different desalination methods, a comparative study between different desalination methods, with emphasis on technologies and economics. The real problem in these technologies is the optimum economic design and evaluation of the combined plants in order to be economically viable for the developing countries. Distillation plants normally have higher energy requirements and unit capital cost than membrane plants and produces huge waste heat. Corrosion, scaling and fouling problems are more serious in thermal processes compare to the membrane processes. On the other hand, membrane processes required pretreatment of the feed water in order to remove particulates so that the membranes last longer. With the continuing advancement to reduce the total energy consumption and lower the cost of water production, membrane processes are becoming the technology of choice for desalination in developing countries.

The pKa of famotidine was determined at 23 +/- 0.2 degrees C to be 6.76, 6.98 and 6.89 by a spectrophotometric, solubility, and partitioning method, respectively. The pH-solubility profile of famotidine indicated an intrinsic solubility of 2.7 mM at 23 degrees C. Degradation of famotidine followed pseudo-first-order kinetics over a pH range of 1-11 at 37 +/- 0.2 degrees C and at an ionic strength (mu) of 0.5. The pH-rate profile was accounted for by the specific acid and base catalysed reactions as well as water-catalysed decomposition of both protonated and free famotidine. A pKa of 6.60, determined by potentiometry at 37 +/- 0.5 degrees C (mu = 0.5), was used in the kinetic calculations. Maximum stability occurred at pH 6.3. Undissociated acetic acid, dihydrogen phosphate ion and glycine anion were found to contribute to the general acid and base catalyses. pH-dependency of the apparent octanol-water partition coefficient of famotidine indicated a partition coefficient of 0.23 for free famotidine at 23 +/- 0.2 degrees C.

The biochemical composition (proteins, lipid, ash and moisture) of different parts of the body (gill, meat, egg) of fattened and natural mud crab Scylla serrata was determined. Twenty four samples of S. serrata (12 from wild & 12 from fattening farm) of different sizes and sexes (half of the sample is male) were used in this study. The mean protein and lipid contents are significantly (p<0.05) higher in fattened crabs than natural in natural crabs regardless of size and sexes. Moisture and ash were higher in natural crab than in fattened ones. The highest and lowest moisture content was noticed in gills and eggs in both natural and fattened crabs. Protein and lipid contents were comparatively higher in eggs than in other body parts. Female crabs contained high protein and lipid than males in both natural and fattened crabs. From the results of this study it may considered that fattened crab might be comparatively superior to natural crabs as they appear to provide higher levels of protein and fat for human nutrition.

We introduced flocculant-disinfectant water treatment for 12 weeks in 103 households in Bangladesh to assess if drinking water would be chemically and microbiologically improved and the body burden of arsenic reduced. The median concentration of arsenic in tubewell water decreased by 88% after introduction of the flocculant-disinfectant from 136 microg/l at baseline to 16 (p < 0.001). The median concentration of total urinary arsenic decreased 42% from 385 microg/g creatinine at baseline to 225 microg/g creatinine after intervention (p < 0.001). Among 206 post-intervention drinking water samples that were reportedly treated on the date the sample was collected, 99 (48%) lacked residual free chlorine and 100 (49%) were contaminated with thermotolerant coliforms. The flocculant-disinfectant markedly reduced arsenic in drinking water, but treated drinking water was frequently contaminated with fecal organisms. The lesser reduction in urinary arsenic compared to water arsenic and the health consequences of this reduction require further research.