Proximate composition and mineral profile of eight different unstudied date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) varieties from Pakistan

With the aim of extending the knowledge on chemical composition of dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.), eight different sun dried date varieties; (1) Daki, (2) Aseel, (3) Coconut, (4) Khuzravi, (5) Halavi, (6) Zahidi, (7) Deglet Noor and (8) Barkavi were examined to determine their proximate composition and mineral profile. All the date varieties were found to be rich in proteins, fiber, carbohydrates and net gross energy (352.329 Kcal/100 g in Aseel to 425.147 Kcal/100 g in Khuzravi) having suitable levels of lipids and low values of ash, moisture and oxalates. Na, K and Li were found as macrominerals whereas Cr, Cu, Ca, Mg, Ni, Zn and Mn were found as microminerals. The results suggest that all the studied dates serve as good source of vital nutrients and can be considered as premium quality having significantly higher energy values than the earlier reported values for dates

Corn stover-enhanced cellulase production by Aspergillus niger NRRL 567

The production of extracellular cellulases by Aspergilus niger NRRL 567 on corn stover was studied in liquid state fermentation. In this study, three cellulases, exoglucanase (EXG), endoglucanase (EG) and β-glucosidase (BGL) were produced by A. niger NRRL 567. The optimal pH, temperature and incubation time for cellulases production was found to be 3.5, 30°C and 96 h, respectively. Maximal cellulases activities were achieved with 4% corn stover, 0.1% molasses and 1% yeast sludge. To our knowledge, this is the first report on production of cellulases by using corn stover as a substrate from A. niger NRRL 567.Key words: Corn stover, yeast sludge, cellulases, Aspergi l lus niger

Kinetics of exoglucanase and endoglucanase produced by Aspergillus niger NRRL 567

In this study we reported for the first time kinetics of exoglucanase (EXG) and endoglucanase (EG) from Aspergillus niger NRRL 567. The optimum pH and temperature for crude EXG and EG was found to be 3.5 and 30°C respectively. Zn2+, Ca2+, Mn2+ and Co2+ enhanced the crude activity of EXG and EG whereas Mg2+, Fe2+ and Hg2+ showed various degree of inhibitory effects. Cu2+ enhanced crude EXG activity and inhibited crude EG activity. The energy of activation (Ea) for the EXG and EG were 21.20 and 22.52 kJ mol-1, respectively. The Q10 values obtained for the EXG and EG were 1.38 and 1.4, respectively. These enzymes had lower Km value that shows their high affinity for the substrates. Overall, the studies demonstrate that these enzymes may be suitable for industrial use.Key words: Exoglucanase, endoglucanase, kinetics, characterization, Aspergillus niger NRRL 567

Entanglement in holographic dark energy models

We study a process of equilibration of holographic dark energy (HDE) with the cosmic horizon around the dark-energy dominated epoch. This process is characterized by a huge amount of information conveyed across the horizon, filling thereby a large gap in entropy between the system on the brink of experiencing a sudden collapse to a black hole and the black hole itself. At the same time, even in the absence of interaction between dark matter and dark energy, such a process marks a strong jump in the entanglement entropy, measuring the quantum-mechanical correlations between the horizon and its interior. Although the effective quantum field theory (QFT) with a peculiar relationship between the UV and IR cutoffs, a framework underlying all HDE models, may formally account for such a huge shift in the number of distinct quantum states, we show that the scope of such a framework becomes tremendously restricted, devoiding it virtually any application in other cosmological epochs or particle-physics phenomena. The problem of negative entropies for the non-phantom stuff is also discussed.Comment: 10 pages, version to appear in PL

Health Information and Cancer Screening Differences for Asian Americans

This study examined differences between Asian and non-Asian Americans in sources of health information and cancer screening. A nationally representative sample of 6,722 adults in the US, including those who speak, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean was selected. Questionnaire items included demographic variables, health status, cancer screening, health care experiences, health information sources, and use of an interpreter in the patient-provider interaction. Asians used the internet more for health information, preferred a physician from their own race, had friends or relatives and staff persons serve as interpreters, and less likely to call a health care provider and pharmacist, to need an interpreter, have had a complete physical exam, pap test, mammogram, and colorectal exam, within the last two years, than non-Asian Americans. Difficulty speaking with a physician led to 2.2 times greater risk of never getting a physical exam and 4.3 times greater risk of never getting a prostate exam. Development of sources of health information relevant to Asian Americans may enhance their decision making prior to and in conjunction with receiving medical care services

Asian American Subgroup Differences in Sources of Health Information and Predictors of Screening Behavior

This study examined Asian subgroup differences in sources of health information and cancer screening, comparison of Asians and Whites in screening, and the association between health information and screening behavior. A nationally representative sample of 6,722 adults in the US, including those who speak, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean was selected. Questionnaire items developed by the Commonwealth Fund included demographic variables, health status, cancer screening, health care experiences, health information sources, and use of an interpreter in the patient-provider interaction. There were differences between subgroups in source of health information. Indians from India were more likely to use the World Wide Web than Chinese, Koreans, and Filipinos. There were differences in ease of reading or understanding instructions on the prescription bottle, information booklets provided by physicians, and in difficulty speaking with a physician. There were differences in getting a general physical and a pap test between Asian ethnic subgroups and between Asians and Whites. Certain sources of health information were positively correlated with specific screening tests. Development of particular sources of health information relevant to specific Asian subgroups and for specific screening tests may enhance their decision making prior to and in conjunction with receiving medical care services

Role of lepton flavor violating (LFV) muon decay in Seesaw model and LSND

The aim of the work is to study LFV in a newly proposed Seesaw model of neutrino mass and to see whether it could explain LSND excess. The motivation of this Seesaw model was that there was no new physics beyond the TeV scale. By studying \mu \to 3e in this model, it is shown that the upper bound on the branching ratio requires Higgs mass m_{h} of a new scalar doublet with lepton number L=-1 needed in the model has to be about 9 TeV. The predicted branching ratio for \mu \to e\nu_{l}\bar{\nu}_{l} is too small to explain the LSND. PACS: 11.30.Hv, 14.60.PqComment: 05 pages, three figures, the version to appear in PR

Racial Differences in Preventive and Complementary Health Behaviors and Attitudes

Screening tests have been developed for many diseases—the presence of cancer, especially—but are differentially utilized among racial/ethnic groups. In addition to standard medical screening techniques, some patients opt to use Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for prevention and treatment. The purpose of the current study is to examine racial/ethnic disparities in primary and secondary preventive health behaviors, determine differences in use of complementary and alternative health regimens, and determine which health attitudes and health self-management factors are associated with use of complementary alternative medicine. If differences among ethnic/racial groups in perceived health status, preventive health care behaviors, and use of CAM can be more fully understood, then health professionals will be able to better tailor health promotion interventions and integrate these factors

Development of a user-adaptable human fall detection based on fall risk levels using depth sensor

Unintentional falls are a major public health concern for many communities, especially with aging populations. There are various approaches used to classify human activities for fall detection. Related studies have employed wearable, non-invasive sensors, video cameras and depth sensor-based approaches to develop such monitoring systems. The proposed approach in this study uses a depth sensor and employs a unique procedure which identifies the fall risk levels to adapt the algorithm for different people with their physical strength to withstand falls. The inclusion of the fall risk level identification, further enhanced and improved the accuracy of the fall detection. The experimental results showed promising performance in adapting the algorithm for people with different fall risk levels for fall detection