Nutritional value OF Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) Seeds

Whole seeds, dehulled seeds and seed coats of bottle gourd seed (Lagenaria siceraria) were analysed for their proximate, amino acids and mineral compositions. The results of the analysis showed that, whole seed has highest content of moisture (17.5  0.21%) and ash (5.80  0.83%) while dehulled had highest amount of crude protein (35.0  0.48%) and crude lipid (39.22  1.48%) and seed coat contain highest amount of crude fiber (59.05  0.98%). The study showed a profile of seventeen amino acids (isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, cysteine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, threonine, valine, alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, proline and serine) with glutamic acid, leucine and aspartic acid being the predominant amino acid. The percentages (%) of essential and non-essential amino acids in dehulled seeds, whole seeds and seed coats were 44 vs 56, 41 vs 59 and 51 vs 49 respectively. The dehulled seeds contained essential amino acids that were found to be higher than WHO/FAO/UNU requirement. In whole seeds, threonine, lysine and lysine were found to be the most limiting amino acids. Seed coats were deficient in all the essential amino acids except for valine. Generally, the mineral composition of the seed was found to be relatively high, indicating the seed to be a good source of dietary elements, except for Ca, Zn, Co and Cr where very low values were obtained. Finally, the results of the study indicate that, bottle gourd seed is a potential source of protein, lipid, micro and macronutrients, and if properly utilised, could contribute in solving the problem of malnutrition and also serve as raw material for agro-based industries Keywords: Bottle gourd seeds, seed coat, proximate analysis, minerals and Amino acid composition.Global Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences Vol. 14 (3) 2008: pp. 301-30

Knowledge Exchange and the Trust Institution: a New Look at the Problem

In the knowledge economy, the search and exchange of knowledge is widely recognized as a key factor contributing to the creation and mobilization of company’s knowledge resources to maintain its competitive advantage. This study is devoted to identifying the role of interpersonal trust in the process of searching and sharing knowledge. Theoretical analysis shows that previously conducted studies in this research field are mainly focused on revealing the relationship between interpersonal trust and the willingness to use knowledge. This study is interested in the willingness to establish contact between economic actors for the purpose of knowledge exchange, and this becomes important when discontinuities in innovation result from a lack of knowledge exchange and interaction between stakeholders. The effects of two different types of interpersonal trust (cognition-based trust and affect-based trust) on willingness to share explicit and tacit knowledge between individuals have been separately examined and tested. The analysis conducted is based on data obtained from surveying 295 employees from large organizations in Penza, Russia. To validate the survey, a confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling was undertaken to verify advanced causal hypotheses. To test the hypotheses, a multiple correlation-regression analysis was used. Results reveal that both types of interpersonal trust positively correlate with the willingness to share both explicit and implicit knowledge. Additionally, it has been established that the willingness to share tacit knowledge is more influenced by affect-based trust between individuals, while cognition-based trust is more significant in explaining the willingness to share explicit knowledge. The need to create favorable conditions within organizations to ensure the exchange of knowledge without constraints is highlighted

Exogenous application of plant growth regulators increased the total flavonoid content in Taraxacum officinale Wigg

The effects of plant growth regulators (PGRs) were studied on growth, total flavonoid, gibberellins (GA) and salicylic acid (SA) contents of Taraxacum officinale (dandelion), a widely used medicinal plant in Korea. All the four PGRs used; gibberellic acid (GA3), kinetin (Kn), salicylic acid (SA) and ethephon (2- chloroethylphosphonic acid) were applied at the rates of 0.5 and 1.0 mM. GA3 markedly enhanced fresh shoot weight, while 0.5 mM of kinetin application significantly enhanced dry root mass as compared tocontrol. SA enhanced both shoot and root attributes, while ethephon decreased plant growth. Endogenous bioactive GA1 and GA4 content and SA content enhanced with the application of GA3, SA and kinetin, but declined with ethephon. The flavonoid content of dandelion significantly increased with SA treatment, but was not altered with the application of other PGRs. The current study demonstrated the favorable effect of GA3, kinetin and SA on growth, bioactive GAs, SA and flavonoid contents of dandelion. These investigations offered interesting information as PGRs were never tested for plant growth and development of dandelion. It also reports the presence of both early C-13 hydroxylation and non C-13 hydroxylation pathways of GA biosynthesis in dandelion for the first time

Синтез нечетких систем автоматического управления генетическими алгоритмами по векторным критериям в среде MATLAB

Задачи многокритериального параметрического синтеза систем управления сведены к задачам оптимизации векторных целевых функций, решение которых позволяет удержать процесс синтеза систем в допустимой области. Для оптимизации векторных целевых функций систем автоматического управления модифицированы бинарный и непрерывный генетические алгоритмы. Показана эффективность применения модифицированных генетических алгоритмов для синтеза систем управления путем оптимизации векторных целевых функций. Рассмотрение задач синтеза линейных и нечетких ПИД регуляторов показало, что в задаче синтеза нечеткого регулятора определяется вектор переменных параметров большей размерности, а в модели системы управления вместо линейных уравнений применяются нелинейные уравнения с использованием системы нечеткого вывода

Epidemiological surveillance study of female genital mutilation in the UK

OBJECTIVES: Describe cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) presenting to consultant paediatricians and sexual assault referral centres (SARCs), including demographics, medical symptoms, examination findings and outcome. DESIGN: The well-established epidemiological surveillance study performed through the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit included FGM on the monthly returns. SETTING: All consultant paediatricians and relevant SARC leads across the UK and Ireland. PATIENTS: Under 16 years old with FGM. INTERVENTIONS: Data on cases from November 2015 to November 2017 and 12 months later meeting the case definition of FGM. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Returns included 146 cases, 103 (71%) had confirmed FGM and 43 (29%) did not meet the case definition. There were none from Northern Ireland. RESULTS: The mean reported age was 3 years. Using the WHO classification of FGM, 58% (n=60) had either type 1 or type 2, 8% (n=8) had type 3 and 21% (n=22) had type 4. 13% (n=13) of the cases were not classified and none had piercings or labiaplasty. The majority, 70% had FGM performed in Africa with others from Europe, Middle East and South-East Asia. There were few physical and mental health symptoms. Only one case resulted in a successful prosecution. CONCLUSIONS: There were low numbers of children presenting with FGM and in the 2 years there was only one prosecution. The findings may be consistent with attitude changes in FGM practising communities and those at risk should be protected and supported by culturally competent national policie

Influence of prohexadione-calcium, trinexapac-ethyl and hexaconazole on lodging characteristic and gibberellin biosynthesis of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

We investigated the influence of prohexadione-calcium (Pro-Ca), trinexapac-ethyl (TNE) and hexaconazole (HX) on lodging and gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis pathway of rice cultivar, Hwayeongbyeo. It was observed that these novel synthetic growth retardants suppressed lodging of rice under field conditions through blocking GA biosynthesis pathway. These growth retarding chemicals were applied at basic (20 uM) and elevated (40 uM) rates either 10 days before heading (10 DBH) or 5 days before heading (5 DBH). We found that Pro-Ca, TNE and their combined application (Pro-Ca + TNE) were most effective in decreasing rice length and lodging index, when applied at 10 DBH. Similarly, the endogenous bioactive GA1 contents of rice significantly declined with application of Pro-Ca, TNE and Pro-Ca + TNE, while they were less effected by basic and elevated rates of HX as compared to the control. The growth retardants were more effective in decreasing rice lodging and blocking GA biosynthesis when applied in elevated rates. The levels of the endogenous gibberellins in rice shoots were measured by GC/MS-SIM using 2H2-labeled gibberellins as internal standards. Effect of these synthetic chemicals on growth and GA inhibition were stronger initially but eroded rapidly under field conditions. It was thus concluded that Pro-Ca and TNE were most effective in reducing plant length and suppressing lodging of rice crop under field conditions, where lodging is a major constraint to higher productivity.Key words: Growth retardants, plant growth, gibberellin biosynthesis, lodging index, rice

Dynamics of DNA replication loops reveal temporal control of lagging-strand synthesis

In all organisms, the protein machinery responsible for the replication of DNA, the replisome, is faced with a directionality problem. The antiparallel nature of duplex DNA permits the leading-strand polymerase to advance in a continuous fashion, but forces the lagging-strand polymerase to synthesize in the opposite direction. By extending RNA primers, the lagging-strand polymerase restarts at short intervals and produces Okazaki fragments. At least in prokaryotic systems, this directionality problem is solved by the formation of a loop in the lagging strand of the replication fork to reorient the lagging-strand DNA polymerase so that it advances in parallel with the leading-strand polymerase. The replication loop grows and shrinks during each cycle of Okazaki fragment synthesis. Here we use single-molecule techniques to visualize, in real time, the formation and release of replication loops by individual replisomes of bacteriophage T7 supporting coordinated DNA replication. Analysis of the distributions of loop sizes and lag times between loops reveals that initiation of primer synthesis and the completion of an Okazaki fragment each serve as a trigger for loop release. The presence of two triggers may represent a fail-safe mechanism ensuring the timely reset of the replisome after the synthesis of every Okazaki fragment.