Assessment of morphological and molecular diversity among okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench.] germplasm

Forty (40) RAPD primers and eight quantitative traits were used for the assessment of genetic diversity and establishing phenetic relationships in a set of 70 okra germplasm lines. Of the 40 RAPD primers, four namely, OPC-4, OPC-6, OPB-4 and OPB-5 did not show any amplification. A total of 170 RAPD scorable fragments were produced of which 92.94% alleles were observed to be polymorphic. Number of alleles scored per primer ranged from 2 to 7 with an average of 4.72 alleles per primer. PIC values ranged from 0 (OPC-5) to 0.89 (OPC-2) with an average value of 0.75. The genotypes were broadly divided into three clusters. Accession IC90171 appeared to be quite distinct as compared to other members of cluster I. Cluster III included five genotypes namely, IC117218, IC90165, IC117215, IC112496 and IC117217. Cophenetic r correlation value was found to be 0.94 suggesting that the cluster analysis strongly represents the similarity matrix. Genetic diversity as assessed by DARwin (based on quantitative morphological data) revealed that grouping of genotypes into different constellations did not follow any specific pattern suggesting independence of clustering pattern of the entries and their geographical origin.Keywords: Decamer primers, Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), genetic diversity, yellow vein mosaic virus, yieldAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(21), pp. 3160-317

Effect of different seed priming treatments on germination of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.)

Abstract In order to sort out the problem of uneven and poor germination during early seasons (Feb-March) in okra the effect of seed priming treatments and soaking durations on germination percentage, mean germination time, seedling length (root length + shoot length), seed vigor index was studied. Okra seeds primed with four priming treatments T 1 (hydropriming), T 2 , T 3 (osmo-priming with 5% PEG and 10% PEG), T 4 (distilled water) with soaking durations from 6 to 48 hrs at 6 hrs interval (i.e.) 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42 and 48 hrs were used. Dry okra seeds were considered control treatment that was 0 h soaked. Priming treatments and soaking durations significantly affected germination percentage, number of days to germinated seeds, seedling growth, and seed vigour index of germinating okra seeds. The maximum increase was observed in T 2 followed by T 1 , T 3 and T 4 . These factors contribute to better establishment of okra crop

Maternal and neonatal health expenditure in Mumbai slums (India): A cross sectional study

Background: The cost of maternity care can be a barrier to access that may increase maternal and neonatal mortality risk. We analyzed spending on maternity care in urban slum communities in Mumbai to better understand the equity of spending and the impact of spending on household poverty.Methods: We used expenditure data for maternal and neonatal care, collected during post-partum interviews. Interviews were conducted in 2005-2006, with a sample of 1200 slum residents in Mumbai (India). We analysed expenditure by socio-economic status (SES), calculating a Kakwani Index for a range of spending categories. We also calculated catastrophic health spending both with and without adjustment for coping strategies. This identified the level of catastrophic payments incurred by a household and the prevalence of catastrophic payments in this population. The analysis also gave an understanding of the protection from medical poverty afforded by coping strategies (for example saving and borrowing).Results: A high proportion of respondents spent catastrophically on care. Lower SES was associated with a higher proportion of informal payments. Indirect health expenditure was found to be (weakly) regressive as the poorest were more likely to use wage income to meet health expenses, while the less poor were more likely to use savings. Overall, the incidence of catastrophic maternity expenditure was 41%, or 15% when controlling for coping strategies. We found no significant difference in the incidence of catastrophic spending across wealth quintiles, nor could we conclude that total expenditure is regressive.Conclusions: High expenditure as a proportion of household resources should alert policymakers to the burden of maternal spending in this context. Differences in informal payments, significantly regressive indirect spending and the use of savings versus wages to finance spending, all highlight the heavier burden borne by the most poor. If a policy objective is to increase institutional deliveries without forcing households deeper into poverty, these inequities will need to be addressed. Reducing out-of-pocket payments and better regulating informal payments should have direct benefits for the most poor. Alternatively, targeted schemes aimed at assisting the most poor in coping with maternal spending (including indirect spending) could reduce the household impact of high costs

Bone densitometry status and its associated factors in peri and post menopausal females: A cross sectional study from a tertiary care centre in India

Objective: Osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder characterized by diminished bone strength that increases the risk of fracture at instances of trivial trauma. Asians have a lower bone mass than the west. The present study was designed to add data from India on women above the age of 40 years with respect to low bone mineral density (BMD) and its associated high risk factors. Materials and Methods: After a written informed consent, a detailed history was taken. Basal metabolic index was recorded, and biochemical and endocrine tests were done, followed by dual X ray absorptiometry scan. Results: Average age of the study population was 46.54 years and BMI 26.58. The prevalence of osteopenia in the study was 36%, and that of osteoporosis, 4%; the overall prevalence of low BMD being 40%. Proportion of women with low BMD increased with advancing age and menopausal status. On endocrine evaluation, 53.44% cases with insufficient vitamin D, 62.5% with hyperparathyroidism, 100% with hypothyroidism, 75% with hyperthyroidism suffered from low BMD. Among chronic diseases, 75% women with diabetes, 33.3% with hypertension, 25% with deranged liver function and 50% with rheumatoid arthritis were found to have low BMD. 46.75% women with sun exposure less than one hour daily had poor bone mineralization. The proportion of women with normal BMD decreased from 84.09% to 43.33% with decrease in daily physical work. On logistic regression analysis, insufficient serum vitamin D concentrations, less physical work and inadequate sun exposure were found to be significantly associated with low BMD. Conclusion: Low BMD is not a disorder confined to postmenopausal women alone. It is widely prevalent in women above 40 years of age. Screening women above 40 in the absence of any high risk factors has the potential of nipping this silent killer in the bud

Development and quality evaluation of polyphenols enriched black carrot (Daucus carota L.) powder incorporated bread

Black carrot is a prominent source of polyphenols and the cheapest source of anthocyanins in India. In this study, an attempt has been made to examine the feasibility of black carrot powder as an ingredient in bread. Black carrot bread was prepared by incorporating different concentrations of black carrot powder (BCP) at 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 %. The developed bread samples were analyzed for physical and textural quality, proximate composition, bioactive compounds, antioxidant properties, sensory characteristics, mineral content and storage quality. The results revealed that loaf volume and specific volume decreased (1995–1254 mL, 5.25–3.28 mL/g) with the incorporation of BCP into bread. Textural analysis revealed that the addition of BCP led to increased hardness in the bread (0.110–12 0.151 N), whereas the resilience (43.64–35.10 %), cohesion and springiness (89.930–13 82.146 %) decreased significantly. The content of bioactive compounds such as total phenols, anthocyanins (29.63–112.68 mg/100 g) and flavonoids increased to exceptionally high levels in BCP-incorporated bread and showed high antioxidant activity. Incorporation of BCP up to 7.5 % showed the most acceptable sensory analysis score (7.85) with a significant increase in dietary fiber (40 %) and total mineral content (50 %), which revealed that black carrot powder could be used up to 7.5 % as an ingredient into bread with high acceptability. The present study revealed significant enhancement in bioactive compounds and mineral content of bread after the incorporation of black carrot powder, which supports its immense potential in preventing hunger and oxidative stress-induced disorders in developing countries

Heterosis and Combining Ability for Fruit Yield, Sweetness, β-Carotene, Ascorbic Acid, Firmness and Fusarium Wilt Resistance in Muskmelon (<i>Cucumis melo</i> L.) Involving Genetic Male Sterile Lines

Ten genetically diverse inbred lines, including two genic male sterile lines, of muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) were crossed in a half-diallel to generate 45 F1 hybrids. These hybrids, along with the parental lines and commercial check, were evaluated for their fruit yield, level of phytochemicals and Fusarium wilt resistance. Both additive and non-additive genetic variances were important in governing the expression of all of the traits; however, the additive gene action for the fruit weight (g), flesh thickness (cm), rind thickness (mm), firmness (lb inch−2), β-carotene content (mg/100 g), non-additive variance for fruit yield (t ha−1), fruit number, total soluble solids (TSS, °Brix), ascorbic acid (mg/100 g) and reaction to Fusarium wilt were comparatively more important. The parental line MM-625 was the best general combiner for fruit yield, rind thickness and β-carotene content (mg/100 g). The exotic line Riogold was the best combiner for flesh thickness and firmness. The netted inbred line MM-610 was the best general combiner for fruit weight, ascorbic acid and reaction to Fusarium wilt. The inbred lines KP4HM-15 and MM-916 were the best general combiners for the number of fruits per vine and TSS. The best cross-combinations for fruit yield ha−1 and TSS were MS-1×M-610 and Kajri×MM-904, respectively. The hybrids KP4HM-15×MM Sel-103 and KP4HM-15×MM-1831 recorded the highest standard heterosis for fruit yield and TSS. The landrace-derived inbred lines Kajri, MM Sel-103 and KP4HM-15 produced moderate-to-highly FW-resistant hybrids. Out of the 121 SSR markers applied, 70 exhibited parental polymorphism. The markers DM0561, CMAAAGN14, TJ147, CMMS35_3, CMAGN45 and DE1337 identified specific/unique alleles in certain parental genotypes. Thus, the findings of this study revealed that the novel inbred lines can effectively be combined to generate heterotic F1 hybrids for yield and other traits, such as rind and flesh thickness, TSS, β-carotene content and firmness. Furthermore, SSR markers can potentially be utilized to confirm the genetic diversity among the parental lines, and for the DNA fingerprinting of F1 hybrids