Sorghum and Millet Economies in Asia – Facts, Trends and Outlook

Sorghum and millets are important cereals that play a significant role in the food and nutrition security of developing countries. Together, they account for 10% of Asia’s coarse grain production. India is the largest producer of sorghum and millets, accounting for over 80% of Asia’s production. However, the yield levels in India are relatively low despite the adoption of improved cultivars and hybrids

An alternatively spliced cytochrome P4501A1 in human brain fails to bioactivate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to DNA-reactive metabolites

CYP1A1, a cytochrome P450 enzyme, metabolizes polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to genotoxic metabolite(s) that bind to DNA and initiate carcinogenesis. RT-PCR amplification of the complete open reading frame of CYP1A1 generated an amplicon of 1593 bp having deletion of 87 bp of exon-6 that translated into functional P450 enzyme. Unlike wild type CYP1A1, exon 6 del CYP1A1 did not metabolize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as, benzo(a)pyrene to genotoxic, ultimate carcinogens that form DNA adducts. Exon 6 del CYP1A1 metabolized ethoxyresorufin (the classical substrate for CYP1A1) less efficiently compared with wild type CYP1A1 while pentoxy and benzyloxyresorufin (classical substrates for CYP2B) were dealkylated more efficiently. In silico docking showed alteration of the substrate access channel in exon 6 del CYP1A1 such that benzo(a)pyrene does not bind in any orientation that would permit the formation of carcinogenic metabolites. Genotyping revealed that the splice variant was not generated due to differences in genomic DNA sequence and the variant was present only in brain but not in liver, kidney, lung, or heart from the same individual. We provide evidence that unique P450 enzymes, generated by alternate splicing in a histiospecific manner can modify genotoxic potential of carcinogens such as benzo(a)pyrene by altering their biotransformation pathway

An analysis of availability and utilization of sorghum grain in India

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is one of the major cereal crops consumed in India after rice (Oryza sativa) and wheat (Triticum aestivum). The crop is primarily produced in Maharashtra and southern states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. These three states together account for close to 80% of the all-India production. Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan are the other states producing sorghum. India is the third largest producer of sorghum in the world with 7.15 million tons during 2007 and almost entire production of sorghum (95%) in the country comes from the above regions/states (GOI 2007)

Availability and utilization of pearl millet in India

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is the most widely grown type of millet. Because of its tolerance to difficult growing conditions such as drought, low soil fertility and high temperature, it can be grown in areas where other cereal crops, such as maize (Zea mays) or wheat (Triticum aestivum), would not survive. Pearl millet production is concentrated in the developing countries which account for over 95% of the production and acreage. India continues to be the single largest producer of pearl millet in the world, although the area has been declining in the traditional growing states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana. Pearl millet is usually grown as a dryland dualpurpose grain and fodder crop although it is sometimes irrigated in India, particularly the summer crop grown mainly as a forage crop

Global trends in production and trade of major grain legumes

Production trends in grain legumes — pulses, groundnuts and soybean — have followed an increasing trend with the global production doubling from 148 million tons in 1980-82 to 3 10 million tons in 2004-06. The increase was led by increases in soybean production which increased from 87 million tons to 214 million tons due to an increase in the demand for protein meals and oils from the EU and the US feed sectors and the appearance of new producers like India, China, Argentina and Brazil. Consequently, the share of developing countries in global grain legume production has increased from 55% in 1980-82 to 65% in 2004-06. Growth in the global production of pulses has been the slowest among the grain legumes, growing at 1.05% per annum between 980 to 2006. The emergence of countries such as Canada and Australia, the area expansion under pulses in Africa, and the export oriented production of the South East Asian countries have contributed to the increase in the global pulse production. The largest pulse producers are still the developing countries and their share of the global pulse production is largely unchanged at around 70%. However, yield levels and yield growth rates are considerably higher in the developed countries. Grain legumes are traded in different forms such as kernels/seeds, cakes and meals, and oils. Trade in seeds/kernels of grain legumes has increased with nearly 20% of production quantities being traded in 2000-05. However, this figure masks the contrary trends in the trade patterns of individual legumes and between regions. Among the legumes, exports in soybean have increased with 31% of soybean being traded, owing to increased demand from the feed sector, with Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay emerging as major exporters. In this paper, an analysis has been made on the global and regional production, yield trends, global trade and price trends of grain legume

Chickpea and Pigeonpea Economies in Asia: Facts, Trends and Outlook

This report provides a factual assessment of consumption, production and marketing of pulses in Asia, and explores future prospects for the pulses sector by focusing on chickpea and pigeonpea, the two most important pulse crops grown in the continent. Chickpea and pigeonpea are important grain legumes and play a significant role in the food and nutrition security of the poor in developing countries of Asia. Together, these crops account for 41% of Asia’s pulses production. Asia accounts for 88% of global chickpea production and 90% of global pigeonpea production. Within Asia, India is the largest producer of both crops, accounting for 75% of Asia’s chickpea as well as pigeonpea production

Dynamics of An Underdamped Josephson Junction Ladder

We show analytically that the dynamical equations for an underdamped ladder of coupled small Josephson junctions can be approximately reduced to the discrete sine-Gordon equation. As numerical confirmation, we solve the coupled Josephson equations for such a ladder in a magnetic field. We obtain discrete-sine-Gordon-like IV characteristics, including a flux flow and a ``whirling'' regime at low and high currents, and voltage steps which represent a lock-in between the vortex motion and linear ``phasons'', and which are quantitatively predicted by a simple formula. At sufficiently high anisotropy, the fluxons on the steps propagate ballistically.Comment: 11pages, latex, no figure

Non-equilibrium interface equations: An application to thermo-capillary motion in binary systems

Interface equations are derived for both binary diffusive and binary fluid systems subjected to non-equilibrium conditions, starting from the coarse-grained (mesoscopic) models. The equations are used to describe thermo-capillary motion of a droplet in both purely diffusive and fluid cases, and the results are compared with numerical simulations. A mesoscopic chemical potential shift, owing to the temperature gradient, and associated mesoscopic corrections involved in droplet motion are elucidated.Comment: 12 pages; Latex, revtex, ap

Non-Gaussian Distributions in Extended Dynamical Systems

We propose a novel mechanism for the origin of non-Gaussian tails in the probability distribution functions (PDFs) of local variables in nonlinear, diffusive, dynamical systems including passive scalars advected by chaotic velocity fields. Intermittent fluctuations on appropriate time scales in the amplitude of the (chaotic) noise can lead to exponential tails. We provide numerical evidence for such behavior in deterministic, discrete-time passive scalar models. Different possibilities for PDFs are also outlined.Comment: 12 pages and 6 figs obtainable from the authors, LaTex file, OSU-preprint-

Groundnut and Soybean Economies in Asia: Facts, Trends and Outlook

This report provides a factual assessment of demand, production and international trade in oilseeds and their products in Asia, and explores future prospects for the oilseed sector by focusing on groundnut and soybean, the two most important crops grown in the continent. Rising per capita incomes and increasing urbanization are fuelling rapid growth in demand for edible oils in most Asian countries, raising their consumption rates close to the global average. Further, demand for oilcake meals – as animal feed – too has been increasing fast due to rapid growth in the livestock sector