Yield performances and nutritional contents of three oyster mushroom species cultivated on wheat stalk

This study was conducted to determine nutritive value and yield performance of the three types of oyster mushroom; Pleurotus eryngii (Dc. Ex Fr.) quel), Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.: Fr.) Kumm.) andPleurotus sajor-caju (Fr.) Singer, cultivated on wheat stalk. The total fresh mushroom yields obtained with 100 g material (70% misture) after the three harvests and the total harvest time were calculated. P.sajor-caju gave the highest yield as 20.2 g. The yield of P. ostreatus was 17.9 g and the lowest yield was P. eryngii, 4.5 g. Total harvest time of mushrooms were determined. As the P. sajor-caju was harvestedin 67.46 days, P. ostreatus was harvested in 82.64 days and P. eryngii was harvested in 85.27 days. For chemical composition analysis the fruiting bodies of mushrooms were collected after the first productive flow and dried in an oven at 60°C at a constant weight and kept under refrigeration at 4°C. Energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, dietary fibre, moisture, ash (g in 100 g dried matter) and amino acids(mg in 1 g dried matter) of mushrooms were analysed. In P. eryngii and P. sajor-caju the highest amount of amino acid was from aspartic acid and the lowest was from methionine. The highest and the lowestamino acid amount in P. ostreatus were from glutamic acid and methionine, respectively. The histidine amino acid was just detected in P. eryngii but hydroxy-L-proline was not detected in mushrooms. Theenergy (kcal/100 g dried matter), fat, protein, carbohydrate, dietary fibre, moisture and ash (g/100 g dried matter) values of P. eryngii were 276.33, 11.95, 7.50, 39.85, 28.45, 7.23 and 4.89, respevtively.These values for P. ostreatus were 243.66, 17.12, 2.60, 37.87, 30.25, 7.39 and 4.78, respectively. The values for P. sajor-caju were 229.22, 16.75, 1.15, 37.72, 30.67, 7.42 and 5.84, respectively

Effect of using different lignocellulosic wastes for cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.) P. Kumm. on mushroom yield, chemical composition and nutritional value

In this study, the mushroom yield, chemical composition and nutritional value of Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.) P. Kumm. cultivated in wheat stalk (WS), millet stalk (MS), soybean stalk (SS) and cotton stalk (CS) were determined. Fresh mushroom yield amounts (100 g of substrate, 70% moisture) obtained from WS, CS, MS and SS substrate media were 17.9, 14.3, 22.7 and 31.5 g, respectively. Samples of mushroom cultivated on different culture mediums were analysed for protein, energy, ash, fat, dietary fibre, carbohydrate, moisture, vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxin and niacin) and amino acid contents

A Mutation in Amino Acid Permease AAP6 Reduces the Amino Acid Content of the Arabidopsis Sieve Elements but Leaves Aphid Herbivores Unaffected.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the amino acid permease gene AAP6 in regulating phloem amino acid composition and then to determine the effects of this altered diet on aphid performance. A genotype of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) was produced in which the function of the amino acid permease gene AAP6 (At5g49630) was abolished. Plants homozygous for the insertionally inactivated AAP6 gene had a significantly larger mean rosette width than the wild type and a greater number of cauline leaves. Seeds from the aap6 mutant were also significantly larger than those from the wild-type plants. Sieve element (SE) sap was collected by aphid stylectomy and the amino acids derivatized, separated, and quantified using Capillary Electrophoresis with Laser Induced Fluorescence (CE-LIF). In spite of the large variation across samples, the total amino acid concentration of SE sap of the aap6 mutant plants was significantly lower than that of the wild-type plants. The concentrations of lysine, phenylalanine, leucine, and aspartic acid were all significantly lower in concentration in the aap6 mutant plants compared with wild-type plants. This is the first direct demonstration of a physiological role for an amino acid transporter in regulating SE composition in vivo. The amino acid availability in sieve element sap is thought to be the major limiting factor for aphid growth and reproduction. Despite the changes in their diet, the aphid Myzus persicae(Sulzer) displayed only small changes in feeding behaviour on mutant plants when measured using the Electronic Penetration Graph (EPG) technique. Salivation by the aphid into the SE (E1 phase) was increased on mutant plants but there was no significant effect on other feeding EPG behaviours, or in the rate of honeydew production. Consistent with the small effect on aphid feeding behaviour, there was only a small effect of reduced sieve element amino acid concentration on aphid reproduction. The data are discussed in relation to the regulation of phloem composition and the role of phloem amino acids in regulating aphid performance

Gold-on-glass microwave split-ring resonators with PDMS microchannels for differential measurement in microfluidic sensing

This paper describes a microwave resonator incorporating microfluidic lab-on-chip sensor system capable of performing simultaneous differential measurement based sensing of liquid samples. The resonators are split-ring resonator shapes made of gold on glass substrates. Directly bonded on glass substrates are polydimethylsiloxane microchannels. Sensor system design incorporates a pair of identical resonators, one of which performs reference reading from the background. Tracking the difference of the responses of both resonators simultaneously, rather than a single one, is used to obtain a more linear and noise-free reading. The sensor system was produced with conventional fabrication techniques. It is compatible with low-cost, simple, easy to handle sensing applications. Results indicate that reliable differential measurement was possible owing to a well-matched pair of sensors with a response error as low as 0.1%. It was also demonstrated that differential measurement capability enables sensing with improved linearity. Measurements were performed with glucose solutions in the range of 3.2–16.1 mM, achieving a sensitivity of 0.16 MHz/mM

Two rare PROX1 variants in patients with lymphedema

n/

Knowledge of risk factors, beliefs and practices of female healthcare professionals towards breast cancer in a tertiary institution in Lagos, Nigeria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Breast cancer is the leading female malignancy in Nigeria. Screening for early detection has led to reduction in mortality from the disease. It is known that attitudes of physicians and motivation by community nurses influence uptake of screening methods by women. This study aims to investigate knowledge of breast cancer risk factors, beliefs about treatment and practice of screening methods among a cohort of female healthcare professionals in Lagos, Nigeria.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire to assess the knowledge of breast cancer risk factors, beliefs about treatment and practice of screening methods among 207 female doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals working in a university teaching hospital in Lagos, Nigeria. Stratified random sampling method was employed. Chi square test, analysis of variance and Mantel-Haenszel test were performed in data analysis using SPSS v10.0 and Epi Info version 6 statistical packages.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Female doctors obtained a mean knowledge score of 74% and were the only professional group that had satisfactory knowledge of risk factors. Majority (86%) believed that early breast cancer is curable while half of participants believed that prayer can make breast cancer disappear from the affected breast. Eighty three percent practice breast self-examination (BSE) once a month and only 8% have ever had a mammogram. Age, knowledge of risk factors, profession and beliefs were not significantly associated with rate of BSE in this study.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Results from this study suggest the need for continuing medical education programmes aimed at improving knowledge of breast cancer among female healthcare providers other than doctors.</p

The association of self-esteem, depression and body satisfaction with obesity among Turkish adolescents

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity and to examine the effects of actual weight status, perceived weight status and body satisfaction on self-esteem and depression in a high school population in Turkey.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional survey of 2101 tenth-grade Turkish adolescents aged 15–18 was conducted. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated using weight and height measures. The overweight and obesity were based on the age- and gender-spesific BMI cut-off points of the International Obesity Task Force values. Self-esteem was measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and depression was measured using Children's Depression Inventory. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine relationships among the variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Based on BMI cut-off points, 9.0% of the students were overweight and 1.1% were obese. Logistic regression analysis indicated that (1) being male and being from a higher socio-economical level were important in the prediction of overweight based on BMI; (2) being female and being from a higher socio-economical level were important in the prediction of perceived overweight; (3) being female was important in the prediction of body dissatisfaction; (4) body dissatisfaction was related to low self-esteem and depression, perceived overweight was related only to low self-esteem but actual overweight was not related to low self-esteem and depression in adolescents.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of this study suggest that school-based adolescents in urban Turkey have a lower risk of overweight and obesity than adolescents in developed countries. The findings of this study suggest that psychological well-being of adolescents is more related to body satisfaction than actual and perceived weight status is.</p