Utilization of indigenously isolated single strain starter cultures for the production of sourdough bread

Sourdoughs were prepared with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (T0) and indigenously isolated starter cultures i.e Lactobacillus brevis (T1), Lactobacillus fermentum (T2) and Lactobacillus plantarum (T3). Breads were prepared from all sourdoughs samples in triplicate and analyzed for pH, Total Titratable Acidity (TTA), loaf volume, microbial characteristics (total plate count and fungal count) and sensory profile (internal and external) in triplicate. The breads prepared from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (T0) exhibited the highest pH with the lowest TTA while T1 showed the lowest pH with the highest TTA. The T0 breads got the highest values for loaf volume followed by T1. The breads produced with the addition of hetero-fermentative starter cultures (T1 and T2) showed resistance against the growth of the contaminating microorganisms. In the sensory evaluation, the breads produced with T1 ranked the best for color (crust and crumb), taste, aroma, texture and overall acceptability by the panelists.Â

Response of Some Biochemical Components in Phosphine Susceptible and Resistant Populations of 4th Instar Larvae of Trogoderma Granarium (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)

Stored grain pests are controlled by a number different pesticides and fumigants. This study, investigated the effect of phosphine on khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium) which is a notorious pest in stored grain godowns in Pakistan and a significant trade pest around the world. For this purpose, the LC50 of phosphine against 4th instar larvae of two different strains of T. granarium (collected from different cities of Punjab, Khaniwal (Khw) and Chishtian (Chi) were determined. The LC50 values shown by these strains were 3.8 and 7.0 ppm respectively. On the basis of LC50 the Chishtian strain was considered as resistant to phosphine, whereas Khaniwal strain was regarded as a susceptible strain. The effect of sub lethal doses (LC10, LC20, and LC30) on the larval stages of two T. granarium strains were evaluated. The toxic effect of phosphine was observed on glucose, glycogen, total lipid, FAA, protein and trehalose of the strains after 24 hours of exposure. The treatment showed significant increase in glucose content in Khaniwal (susceptible) and decrease in resistant strains throughout the treatment. Lipid content showed a highly significant increase for all doses of phosphine in both strains. Glycogen, Trehalose, protein and FAA contents depicted highly significantly increases in the resistant strain at LC10, LC20, and LC30

Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Technique based Prevalence of Surra in Equines

This project was carried out to find the prevalence of trypanosomiasis in equine in District Gujranwala by using indirect fluorescent antibody technique and thin smear method. Blood samples were collected from a total of 200 horses and donkeys of different ages and either sex. Duplicate thin blood smears were prepared from each sample and remaining blood samples were centrifuged to separate the serum. Smears from each animal were processed for giemsa staining and indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). Giemsa stained smears revealed Trypanosome infection in 4/200 (2.0%) samples and IFAT in 12/200 (6.0%) animals

MODELLING OF OPTIMIZED STAND-ALONE PV SYSTEM FOR BASIC DOMESTIC ENERGY USE IN PAKISTAN

Energy is a basic and vital for sustainable economic development of any developing country including Pakistan. A renewable energy solution for the energy crisis in a densely populated city of Lahore, Pakistan is presented in this article. PVsyst software is used to design a stand-alone PV system to tailor the basic energy demand for household requirements. Geographical and climatic study exposes that Pakistan has enormous potential of solar energy with average value of 5-6 kWh/m2/day or 1800-2200 kWh/ m2/annum. Accordingly, present research proved that this technology is a viable clean energy source. The modelled system has met the maximum demand using nominal space on roof top along with battery storage, leaving sufficient space for further expansion of the system to meet increase energy demand. As a result, the system has shown a promising sign and proves its feasibility for the region with energy loss consideration.&nbsp

Comparative Evaluation of Parasitological, Serological and DNA Amplification Methods for Diagnosis of Natural Trypanosomal Infection in Equines

Abstract.-The study was conducted to evaluate and compare the parasitological (micro-haematocrit method, MHCT), serological (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, ELISA) and molecular (polymerase chain reaction, PCR) methods for diagnosis of trypanosomal infection in equines. Blood samples, taken from 500 animals (horses and donkeys), were primarily screened with formol gel test. Of 500 samples examined, 120 samples were found positive with formol gel test. Later, these samples were further processed for the parasitaemia with MHCT, detection of antibody against trypanosmal antigens positive ELISA and trypanosomal DNA using PCR. Results showed that higher number of positive samples (p < 0.05) were detected with PCR (30.8%) compared to either ELISA (21.6%) or MHCT (17.5%). The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA were 85.7% and 79.5%, respectively compared to PCR which were found to be 100% and 58.97%, respectively. To conclude PCR test was found to be a superior test over MHCT and ELISA for the diagnosis of trypanosome in equines and can be used in field conditions

RNA interference-mediated knockdown of a cytochrome P450 gene enhanced the toxicity of α-cypermethrin in xanthotoxin-fed larvae of Spodoptera exigua (Hübner)

The beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua) is a highly polyphagous agricultural pest that is distributed worldwide. However, the adaptive mechanisms of S. exigua for various insecticides and defensive substances in host plants are unknown. Insect P450 monooxygenases play an important role in the detoxification of plant toxins and insecticides, leading to insecticides resistance. We investigated the induced effects of xanthotoxin exposure on detoxification enzyme activity and larval tolerance to α-cypermethrin in S. exigua. Our results showed that the lethal concentration (LC50) of α-cypermethrin for xanthotoxin-exposed larvae was 2.1-fold higher than in the control. Moreover, cytochrome P450 enzyme activity was significantly elevated by upregulation of P450 genes in treated larvae. RT-qPCR results showed that CYP9A10 expression level was significantly increased in all treatments, while maximal expression level was observed in xanthotoxin+α-cypermethrin-fed larvae. RNAi-mediated silencing of CYP9A10 further increased mortality by 18%, 26% and 35% at 48 h and by 27%, 43% and 55% at 72 h when larvae were exposed to diets containing chemicals as compared to the control. The results show that CYP9A10 might play an important role in xanthotoxin and α-cypermethrin detoxification in S. exigua. RNAi-mediated silencing could provide an effective synergistic agent for pest control or insecticide resistance management

Failure of Laser Welds and Formability of Bimaterial Thin Steel Sheets.

In the first part of the thesis, failure modes and fatigue behavior of laser welds in lap-shear specimens of HSLA steel sheets are investigated based on experimental observations and finite element analyses. The optical micrographs of failed specimens show that laser welds failed in the base metal due to the necking/shear of the load carrying sheets towards weld face under quasi-static loading conditions and in the HAZ due to the kinked fatigue crack propagating through the load carrying sheets towards the weld root under cyclic loading conditions. Elastic-plastic finite element analyses are conducted to explain the ductile failure and effects of the sheet thickness on the failure modes under quasi-static loading conditions. A kinked fatigue crack growth model based on the computational global and local stress intensity factor solutions for finite kinked cracks and a structural stress model based on the closed-form structural stress solutions of the beam bending theory are adopted to estimate the fatigue lives of the laser welds. Approximate stress intensity factor solutions as functions of the normalized weld width are 2 proposed for the right pre-existing crack tip of the load carrying thinner sheet. The effect of weld gap is also investigated based on the computational stress intensity factor solutions and an analytical structural stress model. In the second part of the thesis, Niobium-clad and polymer-graphite coated stainless steel sheets were examined for their ductility and formability. The effects of annealing temperature and time on the mechanical behavior and failure mechanisms of Nb-clad 304L stainless steel sheets were investigated under uniaxial tensile, bending and flattening tests. Nano-indentation tests indicated that the intermetallic layer formed due to the annealing process exhibits much higher values of hardness and elastic modulus as compared to those of the stainless steel and Nb sheets. Uniaxial tensile, bend and flattening tests and ball punch deformation tests were carried out to determine the mechanical behavior and failure mechanisms of EB-815 coated 316L stainless steel sheets under different straining conditions. The experimental results obtained from these tests will be helpful in future application of these bimaterial sheets as bipolar plates in PEM fuel cells.Ph.D.Mechanical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/84618/1/asimk_1.pd

On the inverse problems for a family of integro-differential equations

An integro-differential equation involving arbitrary kernel in time variable with a family of non-local boundary condition has been considered. Two inverse source problems for integro-differential equations are formulated and the unique-existence results for the solution of inverse source problems are presented. Some particular examples in support of our analysis are discussed