Traditional processing associated changes in chemical parameters of wild Yam (Dioscorea) tubers from Koraput, Odisha, India

Wild yam tuber considered as famine food and played a prime role in the food habit of tribal people of Koraput district of Odisha, India. The tribal people employed a range of processing of these yams such as boiled, soaked and sun dried for detoxification of antinutrients in accordance with their needs. There is a scarcity of documented information on their nutrient composition/retention by traditional processing methods. The current study assessed the traditional processing (boiled, soaked and sun dried) associated changes in chemical composition and physico-functional characteristics of 6 wild and 1 cultivated Dioscorea tubers collected from Koraput, India. Different processing led to a significant reduction of proximate compositions and nutrient content compared to the raw tuber, whereas physico-functional parameters increased significantly (p<0.05). In addition, there was significant decrease in the antinutrients, minerals and vitamin content by different processing in studied yam species. Results suggested that wild Dioscorea tubers as safe food sources for mass consumption and should be used in boiling form, as it retains higher nutrients coupled with significant removal of antinutritional compositions

Traditional processing associated changes in chemical parameters of wild Yam (Dioscorea) tubers from Koraput, Odisha, India

268-276Wild yam tuber considered as famine food and played a prime role in the food habit of tribal people of Koraput district of Odisha, India. The tribal people employed a range of processing of these yams such as boiled, soaked and sun dried for detoxification of antinutrients in accordance with their needs. There is a scarcity of documented information on their nutrient composition/retention by traditional processing methods. The current study assessed the traditional processing (boiled, soaked and sun dried) associated changes in chemical composition and physico-functional characteristics of 6 wild and 1 cultivated Dioscorea tubers collected from Koraput, India. Different processing led to a significant reduction of proximate compositions and nutrient content compared to the raw tuber, whereas physico-functional parameters increased significantly (pDioscorea tubers as safe food sources for mass consumption and should be used in boiling form, as it retains higher nutrients coupled with significant removal of antinutritional compositions

A Study of Antepartum Cardiotocography in Mothers with Reduced Fetal Movement at Term and Its Correlation with Fetal Outcome

Maternal perception of fetal movement is one of the first signs of fetal life and is regarded as a manifestation of fetal wellbeing. Reduced or absent fetal movements may be a warning sign of impending fetal death. According to the various tracingsobtained on cardiotocography (CTG), categorization can be done into normal, suspicious or abnormal/pathological and therebyfetal jeopardy can be reliably predicted. This study was designed to evaluate the CTG findings in mothers with complaint ofreduced fetal movement and their fetal outcome at term. It was seen that abnormal and suspicious CTG were more commonlyassociated with meconium-stained liquor at delivery; also they were associated with a higher rate of cesarean section with fetaldistress being the most common indication among these two groups

The Role of Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Sustainable Production of Biofuels

With the ever-increasing population of the world (expected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050), and altered life style, comes an increased demand for food, fuel and fiber. However, scarcity of land, water and energy accompanied by climate change means that to produce enough to meet the demands is getting increasingly challenging. Today we must use every avenue from science and technology available to address these challenges. The natural process of symbiotic nitrogen fixation, whereby plants such as legumes fix atmospheric nitrogen gas to ammonia, usable by plants can have a substantial impact as it is found in nature, has low environmental and economic costs and is broadly established. Here we look at the importance of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in the production of biofuel feedstocks; how this process can address major challenges, how improving nitrogen fixation is essential, and what we can do about it

The role of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in sustainable production of biofuels

With the ever-increasing population of the world (expected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050), and altered life style, comes an increased demand for food, fuel and fiber. However, scarcity of land, water and energy accompanied by climate change means that to produce enough to meet the demands is getting increasingly challenging. Today we must use every avenue from science and technology available to address these challenges. The natural process of symbiotic nitrogen fixation, whereby plants such as legumes fix atmospheric nitrogen gas to ammonia, usable by plants can have a substantial impact as it is found in nature, has low environmental and economic costs and is broadly established. Here we look at the importance of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in the production of biofuel feedstocks; how this process can address major challenges, how improving nitrogen fixation is essential, and what we can do about it

Classical ethylene insensitive mutants of the Arabidopsis EIN2 orthologue lack the expected 'hypernodulation' response in Lotus japonicus

Three independent ethylene insensitive mutants were selected from an EMS- mutagenized population of Lotus japonicus MG-20 (Miyakojima). The mutants, called 'Enigma', were mutated in the LjEIN2a gene from Lotus chromosome 1, sharing significant homology with Arabidopsis EIN2 (ethylene-insensitive2). All three alleles showed classical ethylene insensitivity phenotypes (e.g., Triple Response), but lacked the increased nodulation phenotype commonly associated with ethylene insensitivity. Indeed, all showed a marginal reduction in nodule number per plant, a phenotype that is enigmatic to sickle, an ethylene-insensitive EIN2 mutant in Medicago truncatula. In contrast to wild type, but similar to an ETR1-1 ethylene ethylene-insensitive transgenic of L. japonicus, enigma mutants formed nodules in between the protoxylem poles, demonstrating the influence of ethylene on radial positioning. Suppression of nodule numbers by nitrate and colonisation by mycorrhizal fungi in the enigma-1 mutant were indistinguishable from the wild-type MG-20. However, reflecting endogenous ethylene feedback, the enigma-1 mutant released more than twice the wild-type amount of ethylene. enigma-1 had a moderate reduction in growth, greater root mass (and lateral root formation), delayed flowering and ripening, smaller pods and seeds. Expression analysis of ethylene-regulated genes, such as ETR1, NRL1 (neverripe-like 1), and EIL3 in shoots and roots of enigma-1 and MG-20 illustrated that the ethylene-insensitive mutation strongly affected transcriptional responses in the root. These mutants open the possibility that EIN2 in L. japonicus, a determinate nodulating legume, acts in a more complex fashion possibly through the presence of a duplicated copy of LjEIN2

Paraparesis Following Spinal Anesthesia in a Patient After Cesarean Section: A Rare Entity

Paraparesis, as a complication after spinal anesthesia, is very rare. It may occur due to presence of undiagnosed spinal tumor or spinal shock after lumbar puncture. We describe a 22-year-old mother who had cesarean section under spinal anesthesia and developed paraparesis in postoperative period. She had history of facial palsy and hearing impairment for last 9 years. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed spinal space-occupying lesion (extramedullary meningioma) at D-5/D-6 level. Careful observation and examination in postoperative period after regional anesthesia is necessary for early diagnosis and management

Tree legumes as feedstock for sustainable biofuel production: Opportunities and challenges

Concerns about future fossil fuel supplies and the environmental effects of their consumption have prompted the search for alternative sources of liquid fuels, specifically biofuels. However, it is important that the sources of such biofuel have minimal impact on global food supplies, land use, and commodity prices. Many legume trees can be grown on so-called marginal land with beneficial effects to the environment through their symbiotic interaction with "Rhizobia" and the associated process of root nodule development and biological nitrogen fixation. Once established legume trees can live for many years and some produce an annual yield of oil-rich seeds. For example, the tropical and sub-tropical legume tree Pongamia pinnata produces large seeds (~1.5-2 g) that contain about 40% oil, the quality and composition of which is regarded as highly desirable for sustainable biofuel production. Here we consider the benefits of legume trees as future energy crops, particularly in relation to their impact on nitrogen inputs and the net energy balance for biofuel production, and also ways in which these as yet fully domesticated species may be further improved for optimal use as biofuel feedstock

The Importance of The Community Skill Building Program (CSBP) Toward The Trend of Early Marriage of Adolescent Girls in Tasikmalaya City

Introduction: Early marriage occurs in many countries worldwide, especially in Indonesia, one of the ten countries with the highest number of child marriages under 18. Lack of knowledge about the impact of early marriage, poor socioeconomic level, culture, and family history of early marriage are influencing factors, so there is a need for an intensive program involving policymakers and empowering youth to reduce the incidence of early marriage. Therefore, the study aimed to determine the effect of the community skills building program (CSBP) on the tendency to early marriage in adolescent girls in Tasikmalaya.Methods: Research was quasi-experimental pre-post-test with a control group. The population is all adolescent girls in one of the public junior high schools in the city of Tasikmalaya, with a sample of 60 respondents who were selected using consecutive sampling. The inclusion criteria are adolescent girls aged 10-18 years, healthy and unmarried, for the exclusion criteria are adolescent girls who have moved domicile. Data retrieval using questionnaires on the tendency of early marriage contained 47 valid and reliable data. Data analysis used univariate and bivariate analysis with the Wilcoxon signed ranks test and Mann Whitney u test.Results: The results of data analysis showed that p-value 0.000 < p-value 0.05, which indicates a significant influence of the community skills building program (CSBP) on the tendency to early marriage in adolescent girls.Conclusions: It can be concluded that the application of the community skill-building program (CSBP) can reduce the tendency of early marriage in adolescent girls

Growth and physiological response of lemongrass (<i>Cymbopogon citratus</i> (D.C.) Stapf.) under different levels of fly ash-amended soil

<p>Revegetation with metal tolerant plants for management of fly ash deposits is an important environmental perspective nowadays. Growth performance, photosynthesis, and antioxidant defense of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus (D.C.) Stapf.) were evaluated under various combination of fly ash amended with garden soil in order to assess its fly ash tolerance potential. Under low level of fly ash (25%) amended soil, the plant growth parameters such as shoot, root, and total plant biomass as well as metal tolerance index were increased compared to the control plants grown on garden soil, followed by decline under higher concentration of fly ash (50%, 75% and 100%). In addition, leaf photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and photosystem (PS) II activity were not significantly changed under low level of fly ash (25%) amended soil compared to the garden soil but these parameters were significantly decreased further with increase of fly ash concentrations. Furthermore, increase of activities of some antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, and guaiacol peroxidase over control were noticed in lemongrass under all fly ash treatments. Taken together, the study suggests that lemongrass can be used for phytoremediation of fly ash at 25% amended soil.</p