Nutritional composition and bioactive compounds of mini watermelon genotypes in Bangladesh

Given the present rising trends in changing lifestyle and consumption patterns, watermelon production has shifted from big to small-sized fruits having desirable quality attributes. Hence, analyses of fruit quality traits of mini watermelon are crucial to develop improved cultivars with enhanced nutritional compositions, consumer-preferred traits and extended storage life. In this context, fruit morphological and nutritional attributes of five mini watermelon genotypes namely BARI watermelon 1 (W1), BARI watermelon 2 (W2), L-32468 (W3), L-32236 (W4) and L-32394 (W5) were evaluated to appraise promising genotypes with better fruit quality. The evaluated genotypes expressed different levels of diversity for fruit physical qualitative traits including differences in shape, rind and flesh color and texture. The study also revealed significant variability among the genotypes regarding all observed fruit morphological and nutritional aspects as well as bioactive compounds. Among the studied genotypes, W1 stood out with the highest TSS as well as rind vitamin C and total phenolic content accompanied by higher fruit weight and thick rind. On the other hand, W3 genotype was featured with higher amount of \b{eta} carotene, total phenolic and flavonoid content in its flesh along with rind enriched with \b{eta} carotene and minerals. However, comparatively higher amount of sugar and total flavonoid content was recorded in the rind of W5 genotype. Therefore, W1 and W3 could be exploited for table purpose and using in breeding program to develop mini watermelon cultivars with more attractive fruits in terms of quality acceptance and nutritional value in Bangladesh. Furthermore, rind of BARI watermelon 1 and L-32394 could be considered as the potential cheap source of bioactive compounds to be used for dietary and industrial purpose which would decrease the solid waste in the environment.Comment: 22 pages, 6 tables, 3 figure

Genetic Diversity Analysis of South and East Asian Duck Populations Using Highly Polymorphic Microsatellite Markers

Native duck populations have lower productivity, and have not been developed as much as commercials duck breeds. However, native ducks have more importance in terms of genetic diversity and potentially valuable economic traits. For this reason, population discriminable genetic markers are needed for conservation and development of native ducks. In this study, 24 highly polymorphic microsatellite (MS) markers were investigated using commercial ducks and native East and South Asian ducks. The average polymorphic information content (PIC) value for all MS markers was 0.584, indicating high discrimination power. All populations were discriminated using 14 highly polymorphic MS markers by genetic distance and phylogenetic analysis. The results indicated that there were close genetic relationships among populations. In the structure analysis, East Asian ducks shared more haplotypes with commercial ducks than South Asian ducks, and they had more independent haplotypes than others did. These results will provide useful information for genetic diversity studies in ducks and for the development of duck traceability systems in the market

Initiation of Liver Transplantation in Bangladesh: Report on the First Two Successful Cases

Liver transplantation (LT) is the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD). Chronic liver disease due to many causes is prevalent in a significant percentage of the Bangladeshi population. Until recently, liver transplantation facilities were not available, and ESLD patients were dying without treatment. Liver transplantation is a complex procedure that requires integrated and organized approach by a multidisciplinary team. The initiation of liver transplantation in Bangladesh has faced many difficulties. These difficulties have been encountered and overcome in phases. We have successfully performed the first two living-donor liver transplantations (LDLTs) in Bangladesh. The recipient of the first LDLT was a 42-year man with cryptogenic cirrhosis, and the second one was a male of 35 years, suffering from HBV cirrhosis. Both the recipients and donors are doing well and relishing the prospect of a normal life. These two successful liver transplantations are milestones in the development of liver transplantation services in Bangladesh

Identification of polymorphisms in and genes and their associations with plumage colors in Asian duck breeds

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the melanogenesis associated transcription factor (MITF) and dopachrome tautomerase (DCT) genes on plumage coloration in Asian native duck breeds. MITF encodes a protein for microphthalmia-associated transcription factor, which regulates the development and function of melanocytes for pigmentation of skin, hair, and eyes. Among the tyrosinase-related family genes, DCT is a pigment cell-specific gene that plays important roles in the melanin synthesis pathway and the expression of skin, feather, and retina color. Methods Five Asian duck varieties (black Korean native, white Korean native, commercial Peking, Nageswari, and Bangladeshi Deshi white ducks) were investigated to examine the polymorphisms associated with plumage colors. Among previously identified SNPs, three synonymous SNPs and one indel of MITF and nine SNPs in exon regions of DCT were genotyped. The allele frequencies for SNPs of the black and white plumage color populations were estimated and Fisher’s exact test was conducted to assess the association between the allele frequencies of these two populations. Results Two synonymous SNPs (c.114T>G and c.147T>C) and a 14-bp indel (GCTGCAAAC AGATG) in intron 7 of MITF were significantly associated with the black- and white-colored breeds (pG (p.His313Arg)] in DCT, was highly significantly associated (pG) was significantly associated (p<0.05) with black and white color plumage in the studied duck populations. Conclusion The results of this study provide a basis for further investigations of the associations between polymorphisms and plumage color phenotypes in Asian duck breeds

Design and characterization of a binary CT complex of imidazole-oxyresveratrol: exploring its pharmacological and computational aspects

A new binary charge transfer (CT) complex between imidazole (IMZ) and oxyresveratrol (OXA) was synthesized and characterized experimentally and theoretically. The experimental work was carried out in solution and solid state in selected solvents such as chloroform (CHL), methanol (Me-OH), ethanol (Et-OH), and acetonitrile (AN). The newly synthesized CT complex (D1) has been characterized by various techniques such as UV-visible spectroscopy, FTIR, 1H-NMR, and powder-XRD. The 1:1 composition of D1 is confirmed by Jobs’ method of continuous variation and spectrophotometric (at λmax 554 nm) methods at 298 K. The infrared spectra of D1 confirmed the existence of proton transfer hydrogen bond beside charge transfer interaction. These findings indicate that the cation and anion are joined together by the weak hydrogen bonding as N+–H–O–. Reactivity parameters strongly recommended that IMZ behaves as a good electron donor and OXA an efficient electron acceptor. Density functional theory (DFT) computations with basis set B3LYP/6-31G (d,p) was applied to support the experimental results. TD-DFT calculations gives HOMO (−5.12 eV) → LUMO (−1.14 eV) electronic energy gap (ΔE) to be 3.80 eV. The bioorganic chemistry of D1 was well established after antioxidant, antimicrobial, and toxicity screening in Wistar rat. The type of interactions between HSA and D1 at the molecular level was studied through fluorescence spectroscopy. Binding constant along with the type of quenching mechanism, was investigated through the Stern-Volmer equation. Molecular docking demonstrated that D1 binds perfectly with human serum albumin and EGFR (1M17) and exposes free energy of binding (FEB) values of −295.2 and −283.3 kcal/mol, respectively. The D1 fits successfully into the minor groove of HAS and 1M17, the results of molecular docking show that the D1 binds perfectly with the HAS and 1M17, the higher value of binding energy shows stronger interaction between HAS and 1M17 with D1. Our synthesized complex shows good binding results with HAS compared to 1M17. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma</p

Identification of MC1R SNPs and their Association with Plumage Colors in Asian Duck

The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene is a candidate functional gene that controls the pigment production in melanocytes. The aim of this study was to identify polymorphisms and investigate the effect of the MC1R gene on plumage coloration in duck breeds, including Korean native ducks. Initially, 34 individuals from seven duck breeds were sequenced, obtaining 12 polymorphisms. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the coding region were non-synonymous, with mutations corresponding to amino acid changes. Among these, four SNPs were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method in 264 individuals from same seven duck breeds. Fisher’s exact test was conducted to identify possible relationships between the MC1R gene polymorphisms and plumage color variations. Four non-synonymous SNPs, c.52A&gt;G (p.Lys18Glu), and c.376 A&gt;G (p.Ile126Val), c.409G&gt;A (p.Ala137Thr) and c.649C&gt;T (p.Arg217Cys), were associated with the two deduced genotypes (i.e., E/E and e+/e+) based on plumage color phenotypes. In addition, we reconstructed MC1R gene haplotypes, where the haplotype AAGC showed its highest frequency in Nageswari duck breed, which presents an extended black phenotype. Our results indicate that the identified polymorphisms by this study can be used to explore associations with plumage color variations in Asian duck breeds