A study on the lipid distribution pattern in muscles of two teleosts, Arius dussumieri and Ophiocephalus striatus

The muscles of the various regions and zones of the body of the two teleosts, A. dussumieri and O. striatus have been analyzed for lipid contents. There is a significant dorsum-ventral gradient in lipid concentration exhibited by both the fishes with higher lipid values in the ventral aspect of the body, especially the belly flaps. As regards the vertical series, both the fishes exhibit comparatively higher lipid contents at the dorsal aspects of the caudal region and at anterior portion of the dorsal fin area with lower lipid values at cephalic and middle portions of the body. The red muscle of Arius exhibits higher lipid content than the white muscle

Biochemical investigations on edible molluscs of Kerala 1. A study on the nutritional value of some bivalves

Data on the biochemical constituents and food values of five commercially important edible bivalves of Kerala, Lamellidens corrianus, Corbicuta striatella, Mytilus edulis, Vellorita cohinensis and Ostrea cucullata have been presented. Physiological significance of the variations has been discussed. Present study reveals the bivalves meat compares favourably with the common food fishes with regard to their caloric value and hence would be an excellent and economic source of nutrition for our people

Fractionation of the Lipoproteins of the Fat Globule Membrane from Cream

Summary The membrane material obtained by freezing washed cream has been fractionated from suspensions in 2% sodium desoxycholate into five sedimentable fractions representing 75% of the total material and one soluble fraction (25%). These fractions were clearly differentiated by their appearance and sedimentation behavior. Fractions A and D contained most of the xanthine oxidase activity and were about 32% lipid. Fraction B contained most of the alkaline phosphatase activity and was about 65% lipid. The other fractions were over 70% lipid. In Fractions A, B, and D, the lipid was 15% phospholipid; in Fractions C and E, it was 5–6% phospholipid; and in the supernatant, it was 50% phospholipid

To Eat or Not to Eat: Towards a Functional Definition of ‘Food Taboo’

Several studies have explored the close affinity between religion and food. It is evident from such studies that food plays a ritual role in most world religions. On the social level, food creates group identity and offers reasons for group interaction. Studies have also shown that food preferences are culture-specific. As a result, nearly all societies have rules on what may or may not be consumed. This selection and/or rejection of food substances have been described by many as ‘food taboo’. Nonetheless, the term in its strictest sense may present some conceptual challenges, and thus require some considerable review. This paper reviews the shades of meaning of the concept of ‘food taboo’ and the difficulty it poses in food discourse within the broad spectrum of religion. In the main, the paper provides a functional definition of ‘food taboo’ but proposes a shift in paradigm from merely considering the prohibitions associated with food to an exploration of the guiding principles underlying food conduct which may be termed ‘food ethics.

Biochemical investigations on the edible molluscs of Kerala 2. A study on the nutritional value of some gastropods and cephalopods

Data on the biochemical composition and food value of the edible portions of two gastropods, Pila virens and Achatina fulica and two cephalopods, Sepiella inermis and Loigo indica have been presented. These molluscs possess nutritive meat very rich in protein and minerals, which compare favourably with popular food fishes in caloric value. The significance of the variations met with in the biochemical constituents of the different species has been discussed

The religious market in Ghana today: Is there legal basis to tax the church?

This paper is a rehash of the existing debate on whether or not the church should be subject to tax. Unlike many others, the paper approaches the issue from a legal perspective and explores the relevant principles of taxation as established by statutes and case law in Ghana. In the main, this paper argues that given that majority of the churches in Ghana engage in transactions which may be properly classified as business, the Commissioner of Income Tax is empowered by law to demand tax from the church in respect of the income accruing therefrom. Thus, using the interpretive paradigm mainly through interviews, observation as well as reliance on statutes and case law, the paper concludes that transactions such as the taking of service fees, sale of anointing oil and other religious products constitute trade and the income arising thereto must be subject to tax

Quantum well and dot self-aligned stripe lasers utilizing an InGaP optoelectronic confinement layer

We demonstrate and study a novel process for fabrication of GaAs-based self-aligned lasers based upon a single over-growth. A lattice-matched n-doped InGaP layer is utilized for both electrical and optical confinements. Single-lateral-mode emission is demonstrated initially from an In0.17Ga0.83 As double quantum well laser emitting similar to 980 nm. We then apply the fabrication technique to a quantum dot laser emitting similar to 1300 nm. Furthermore, we analyze the breakdown mechanism in our devices and discuss the limitations of index guiding in our structures

Enhancing Performance of Parallel Self-Organizing Map on Large Dataset with Dynamic Parallel and Hyper-Q

Self-Organizing Map (SOM) is an unsupervised artificial neural network algorithm. Even though this algorithm is known to be an appealing clustering method,many efforts to improve its performance are still pursued in various research works. In order to gain faster computation time, for instance, running SOM in parallel had been focused in many previous research works. Utilization of the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) as a parallel calculation engine is also continuously improved. However, total computation time in parallel SOM is still not optimal on processing large dataset. In this research, we propose a combination of Dynamic Parallel and Hyper-Q to further improve the performance of parallel SOM in terms of faster computing time. Dynamic Parallel and Hyper-Q are utilized on the process of calculating distance and searching best-matching unit (BMU), while updating weight and its neighbors are performed using Hyper-Q only. Result of this study indicates an increase in SOM parallel performance up to two times faster compared to those without using Dynamic Parallel and Hyper-Q

Implementation of bowel ultrasound practice for the diagnosis and management of necrotising enterocolitis.

Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) is a serious inflammatory bowel disease of prematurity with potentially devastating complications and remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among premature infants. In recent years, there has been accumulating data regarding benefits of using bowel ultrasound (BUS) in the diagnosis and management of NEC. Despite this, adoption of robust BUS programmes into clinical practice has been slow. As BUS is a relatively new technique, many barriers to implementation exist, namely lack of education and training for sonographers and radiologists, low case volume and unfamiliarity by clinicians regarding how to use the information provided. The aim of this manuscript is to provide a framework and a roadmap for units to implement BUS in day-to-day practice for NEC diagnosis and management

Rat interleukin-2-activated natural killer (A-NK) cell-mediated lysis is determined by the presence of CD18 on A-NK cells and the absence of major histocompatibility complex class I on target cells

The precise mechanism by which target cells are recognized and subsequently lysed by interleukin-2-activated natural killer (A-NK) cells is poorly understood. In this study the role of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and adhesion molecules in the recognition and lysis of tumor cells was investigated in a syngeneic Wag rat model. Preincubation of tumor cells with F(ab′)2 fragments of anti-MHC class I monoclonal antibody (mAb) OX18 strongly enhanced the A-NK cell-mediated lysis. Also normal syngeneic cells such as T cells and A-NK cells became highly sensitive for lysis by A-NK cells after preincubation with mAb OX18. Two other mAb against MHC class I had no effect on lysis of target cells. These data indicate that masking of MHC class I on syngeneic tumor and normal cells by mAb OX18 is sufficient for A-NK cells to recognize target cells as non-self, resulting in lysis. In addition, we found that the presence of mAb against the β2 (CD18)-integrins blocked the lysis of all tumor cell lines by A-NK cells in 51Cr-release assays, also when target cells were preincubated with mAb OX18. Because of the absence of CD18 on most tumor cells we concluded that a CD18-associated integrin on A-NK cells is essential for lysis of target cells. These results show that in this syngeneic rat model CD18 on A-NK cells together with MHC class I on tumor cells determine A-NK cell-mediated lysis. Furthermore, we hypothesize that the anti-MHC class I OX18 recognizes an epitope on rat MHC class I which is, or is very close to, the restriction element determining A-NK cell-mediated lysis