In vitro multiplication protocol for Curcuma mangga : Studies on carbon, cytokinin source and explant size

Mango ginger (Curcuma mangga Valeton & Zijp.) is an underutilized rhizomatous species that has been valued in tropical Asian countries as a source of vegetable, spice, salad, medicine, and essential oil. This species is hardy and requires less care for obtaining good yields. Rhizomes are the commonly used propagules for the species, which are also the economic part of the crop. Huge quantity of seed rhizomes is required to promote this crop in larger areas. An efficient in vitro multiplication protocol is one of the options to meet the planting material requirement. Effects of carbon source (glucose, fructose and sucrose) and concentration (1 and 3%, w/v), cytokinins (BAP and meta topolin) and concentration (1 mg/L and 2 mg/L), size of explants (one/ two/ three bud) and IBA treatment (0, 250, 500 and 1,000 mg/L) for concurrent ex vitro rooting cum hardening were studied. Results revealed that for facilitating efficient multiplication, the medium should be supplemented with glucose (3%) as a carbon source and meta topolin (1 mg/L) as cytokinin. Two-bud explant should be used for subculture as it promoted superior shoot proliferation. Concurrent ex vitro rooting cum hardening was possible even without auxin treatment. The present protocol could be useful for large-scale production of quality planting material of this underexploited tropical species

Synthesis, Spectral and Magnetic Properties of Ternary Nickel (II) Complexes with Acid Hydrazones and Heterocyclic Bases

A series of nickel(II) complexes have been synthesized by the reaction of nickel(II) acetate with some hydrazones in presences of heterocyclic bases like 2 2’-bipyridine and 1, 10- phenanthroline and characterized by analytical and other spectral techniques, like IR, far IR, and UV-Vis spectral studies and magnetic susceptibility studies

Newsgist: video generation from news stories

Digital transition has started to change the way people read news articles more through a digital device and less on paper. Youngsters today do not spend enough time reading news articles. In this work, a knowledge-driven news story generation using collaborative learning to represent the gist of news is proposed. The entire work focuses on two major concerns. Initially, the dialogues associated with the corresponding speaker are extracted from the news. Secondly, the audio of the mapped dialogues is incorporated into the final video. Logistic Regression is deployed to identify the theme the news.  Deep learning techniques are employed to identify the main characters in a supervised manner  using Named Entity Recognition (NER) tagging algorithm, suitable cartoon dispositions and their semantic relations. This approach improves not the reader's comprehension and creativity but also improves mutual goals, opportunities for peer discussion and engaging the underachievers to think reflexively. In addition, it also improves the learner’s motivation and participation. The proposed framework outperforms an accuracy of 83.98% when compared with conventional methods also suggests that the readers found the packages interesting and informative on digital devices. Moreover, this method can be used efficiently in real-time for various applications

Anemia in elderly patients ≥65 years of age: a hospital-based cross-sectional study

Introduction: Anemia in elderly patients of any degree contributes significantly to morbidity and mortality and has a significant effect on the quality of life. Despite of high prevalence, very few studies have examined the effect of anemia in elderly patients in India. Hence, this study is undertaken to know the prevalence and clinicopathological pattern of anemia in elderly patients. Objectives: 1. To estimate the prevalence of anemia in the elderly aged 65 years and above. 2. To determine the severity, clinicohematological patterns, and causes of anemia in the elderly aged 65 years and above. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study was done. The study was conducted for 1 year; during this period, elderly patients aged 65 years and above admitted for other medical conditions were recruited in the study using consecutive sampling technique until the desired sample size of 236 was achieved and they were evaluated for anemia. Among them with hemoglobin cutoff value <13 g% for men, <12 g% for women were further evaluated to known the cause of anemia and its clinicohematological pattern. Ethical committee approval was obtained. Data were analyzed using SPSS Software version 23.0. Results: The mean age of the participants was 73.9 ± 7.4 (standard deviation [SD]) years. Majority, 53.8%, of the participants were males. Among the 236 elderly patients, recruited in the study 65.3% were anemic and among them 44.2 had mild anemia and 37% had moderate anemia. Mean hemoglobin value of the participants was 10.7 ± 2.83 SD and it ranged from 3 to 16.3 g/dl. There was no significant difference in the hematological parameters between male and female elderly patients in the study. The main cause of anemia was found to be due to chronic diseases followed by iron-deficiency anemia. Conclusion: This study concludes that anemia was highly prevalent among elderly patients and most of them had identifiable and treatable etiology. Hence, all elderly patients with anemia should be evaluated properly for underlying etiology and treated accordingly to reduce the mortality and morbidity in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities

Fiber-Rich Food Processing Byproducts Enhance the Expansion of Cornstarch Extrudates

Expansion characteristics of cornstarch-based extrudates incorporating fiber-rich food processing byproducts was explored. Waxy and regular cornstarch were used as the base materials with apple pomace and sugarcane bagasse incorporated at two addition levels (0%, 15%, and 30% w/w). Extrusions were conducted at three different screw speeds (150, 200, and 250 rpm) with other parameters optimized and kept constant. Apple pomace inclusion resulted in higher initial expansion index (4.23 to 5.60) and higher stable expansion index (2.76 to 4.43), but also showed higher shrinkage (8.50% to 34.72%) than sugarcane bagasse extrudates at the same inclusion levels. Inclusion of apple pomace showed potential of producing extrudates with significantly higher expansion than cornstarch control, with relatively lower energy inputs. Extrusion methods used here have the potential to preserve the textural quality and nutritional value of the fiber-enriched extrudates, providing the base for healthier snack food items. Findings from this study can be extended to the other fiber-rich food processing byproducts, such as other fruit and vegetable pomace, cereal brans, and pulse hulls among other materials. This data will help the development of fiber-enriched extruded snacks that would have favorable consumer traits

Generation and Characterization of Chicken Egg Yolk Antibodies Against Propionibacterium Acnes for the Prevention of Acne Vulgaris

Introduction: Antigen-specific antibody has been widely used for immunological analysis in the field of diagnosis as well as in pure scientific research, where the IgY antibodies can be raised against P acnes antigen. Material and Methods: To produce IgY against Propionibacterium acnes, laying hens were immunized with P acnes (MTCC No: 1951) and subsequent booster injections were given. The antibodies produced were purified from the egg yolk of immunized chicken using the polyethylene glycol and ammonium sulfate precipitation method and, further, by Diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) cellulose ion-exchange column chromatography. The protein fraction of IgY was isolated from the egg yolk. The separation was rapid, and the success of each step was viewed on Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The reactivity of anti-P acnes was evaluated by the Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test and the dot-immunoassay. Results: With ELISA, the highest titter of 1:10000 was observed on the 150 th day after vaccination. The results of dot-immunoassay suggested that anti-P acnes IgY developed a brown color as positive reaction, which showed the antigen-antibody binding even after a maximum dilution of 1/500. These results suggest that anti-acne IgY was produced and had strong specific antibody reactivity. Conclusion: The findings indicate that anti-acne IgY is worth utilizing as a preventive agent for acne vulgaris

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Not AvailableEscherichia coli has been recognized as a pathogen of concern in the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) perspective. Globally initiatives were taken to control AMR. Bacteriophages are recognized as promising alternative to antibiotics. Harnessing broad-spectrum bacteriophages for augmenting phage repositories is being prioritized across continents for future health care needs. In this context, a study was conducted to isolate coliphages against a collection of AMR E. coli isolated from diverse aquatic niche. Thirty pooled water samples (5 each from rivers, aquaculture ponds, lake, sewage treatment plant, domestic waste and canals) were analysed, and fifty-four lytic coliphages were isolated against the wide range of E. coli host strains. Broad host-spectrum phages were isolated predominantly from sewage water samples. Enriched phages were quantified, and the concentrations ranged from 106 to 107 PFU/mL. Ten phages, viz. ФEC-S-18, ФEC-S-21, ФEC-S-22, ФEC-S-23, ФEC-S-24, ФEC-S-25, ФEC-S-28, ФEC-S-30, ФEC-S-39 and ФEC-S-49, exhibited lytic activity against more than ten AMR strains of E. coli. PCR analysis of the 54 phages using the major capsid protein (MCP) specific primers coupled with gene sequence analysis identified two phages related to Berlinvirus and 35 phages to Kayfunavirus of Autographiviridae. However, the remaining 17 phages did not show amplification using the MCP primers. The study has demonstrated that aquatic environment harboured phages with broad host spectrum that can potentially be used as agents for biological control of E. coli for infection control and food safety.Not Availabl

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