Technology of processing mussel meat

Green mussel (Perna viridis) and brown mussel (P.indica) are available in substantial quantities from their natural beds along the south- east and south-west coasts of India respectively. Mussel is locally collected for its meat which is consumed in the nearby areas. Mussel meat normally finds favour with people of low income group and that too when the fish is scarce or costly, which often results in poor economic returns to the collector

Carbon translocation accounting for yield variation in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L)

Nine lines of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) including four high yielders, one non-nodulating line and its progenitor parents, one high nitrogen fixer and a national check, were studied in situ for 14c translocation to various plant's parts- leaves, stem, root nodule, shell and kernel - at peg development and harvest stages. Of the 68% of observed yield variation accounted for by the carbon translocation to roots, nodules, shells and kernels at harvest, 65% was accounted by the former two traits alone. The relative increase in translocation to roots, nodules, shells and kernels at harvest, 65% was accounted by the former two traits alone. The relative increase in translocation to roots and nodules at harvest over peg development stage directly influenced pod yields. This was substantiated by the nature and magnitude of correlations between pod yield (PY) and % 14c at peg development (PD) and harvest (HS) stages. There was no correlation between PY and % 14c in (root + nodule) at PD; but that correlation at HS was positive and significant. The observed differences in 14c partitioning between the high and low yielders suggest partitioning of carbon to reproductive parts as an additional economic selection criterion for improving productivity in peanuts

Isozyme parameters in genetic evaluation in Brassica - a tribute to Haldane's vision on the synergy between biochemistry and genetics

Isozymes as biochemical markers possess distinct advantages over molecular markers like RFLP in breeding for quantitative trait (QT) improvement. Five parameters exhaustive of isozyme variation, viz. number of bands, relative absorption, standard error (relative absorption), relative mobility, and standard error (relative mobility) (IST) were conceived. The two standard error parameters are new and not used so far. They are crucial in accounting for environmental contributions to isozyme variation. In this paper, varieties were arranged into a set of base groups on a genetic basis using six QTs. The grouping was done afresh on IST and a commonality index was used to measure the efficiency of IST in genetic differentiation. Using two sets of experiments in Brassica representing four species, and the enzyme esterase, it was shown that IST based on esterase alone was quite efficient in identifying the base genetic groups. The results confirm Prof. J.B.S. Haldane's vision that integration of biochemical and genetic concepts on properly designed experiments, logically conceived data and analysis will provide novel avenues for innovative methods of improvement

Efficiency of isozymes markers in genetic differentiation of Brassicas

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Marker-aided genetic divergence analysis in Brassica

Genetic divergence was evaluated in 31 breeding lines from four Brassica species using Mahalanobis' D 2 . A new method of grouping using D 2 values was used to group the 31 lines, based on diagnostic morphological traits (called morphoqts). Isozyme variation of the individual enzymes esterase and glutamate oxaloacetate was quantified by five parameters (called isoqts) developed earlier. Grouping by the same method was also done based on the isoqts, and the grouping by isozymes was compared with that by morphoqts. Overall, there was an agreement of 73% suggesting that isoqts can be used in the choice of parents and also first stage selection of segregants in the laboratory. It was suggested that such an exercise would help to take care of season-bound and field-related problems of breeding. The new isozyme QTs, within lane variance of relative mobility and relative absorption, accounted for about 50% of the total divergence. The utility of the new method and isoqts in cost-effective breeding were highlighted

Bio synthesis, Characterization of ZnO Nanoparticles from Scoparia dulcis L. plant extract and its in-vitro Antioxidant, Acetylcholinesterase Activity

The current investigation is focused on the use of green synthesis methods for zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) from Scoparia dulcis L. extract (SDE). SDE-mediated ZnO NPs (SDE-ZnO-NPs) were made using a simple and eco-friendly method that required little reaction time and calcinations temperature. UV-Vis, FTIR, X-ray powder diffraction, SEM, TEM & EDAX were used into characterizes the skeletal and synthetic properties concerning biosynthesized ZnO nonmaterial. The UV–Visible spectroscopy absorption peak for SDE-ZnO-NPs was found to be at 380 nm, confirming the production of ZnO NPs. The FTIR spectrum also revealed bioactive functional groups as well as metal-oxygen groups. Synthesized ZnO NPs had a rod shape in 200 nm, according to TEM examination. The Zn and O in the produced ZnO NPs were approved by the EDAX analysis. The XRD results revealed that it had a crystal structure that was similar to SDE-ZnO-NPs. The dose-related Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory action of SDE-ZnO NPs was determined utilizing the Ellman’s test. AChE activity of the synthesized nanoparticles showed potential inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 75.34 µg/mL. The antioxidant activity was investigated the biosynthesized ZnO-NPs using DPPH, ABTS assay

Durability properties of fly ash and silica fume blended concrete for marine environment

1803-1812The improvement in durability and strength by replacing the conventional components with supplementary materials in concrete is one of the recently focused areas in concrete technology. From the previous till the recent times serious efforts have been taken to improve the structural adequacy and durability characteristics of concrete so as to efficiently replace the usual conventional concrete. In this present research work, the mechanical and durability properties of the concrete blended with fly ash (FC) and silica fume (SC) are studied in detail. The partial replacement of cement with silica fume and fly ash in the concrete improves the overall property of the concrete, gives a way for the reuse of the supplementary material to be efficiently brought back giving a cleaner environment. The fly ash is used with the replacement percentages of 10, 15 and 20 of the cement whereas for silica fume the replacement percentages are 8, 10 and 12, respectively. Also the study is extended to combination mixes to test the strength and durability and it has been found that the increase in the percentage of the silica fume increases the strength reduces the workability and permeability to a high extent and the inclusion of the fly ash paves a way for the increase in the durability property. The effect of the cementitious material with FC and SC on the concrete is compared with the nominal concrete and also the suitability in the usage of marine environment is validated in accordance with the International codes

Frequency Zooming Techniques for High Resolution Spectrum Analysis

Zooming or high resolution spectrum analysis over narrow spectral bands commonly employs Fast Fourier Transform. In this paper, various Zooming techniques are compared from the point of view of hardware implementation and complexityof computation

Antidandruff activity of Cassia auriculata and Cassia alata through fatty acids mediated inhibition of Malassezia furfur

Susceptibility of Malassezia furfur to certain medium chain fatty acids shed light onto novel strategies to control dandruff. This study explored antidandruff activity of the fatty acids and other bioactive compounds from flowers of Cassia auriculata and Cassia alata. The idea was supplementing the growth medium with fatty acids which are inhibitory to Malassezia so that plant-based antidandruff formulations could be developed based on the results. Chloroform and ethanolic flower extracts were tested there in vitro efficacy against M. furfur and the potential antidandruff compounds were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS). Minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined for both the extracts and IC50 values of 50 and 88 µM for chloroform extract of C. auriculata and C. alata were recorded. For ethanol extract, IC50 values of 75 and 70 µM were exhibited by C. auriculata and C. alata, respectively. Inhibition of M. furfur through fatty acids from Cassia is the first report, and it is possible to include specific fatty acids in the growth media to inhibit the growth of Malassezia which could be later served as lead molecules in antidandruff formulations. Further, the presence of citronellol, pinitol, anthracenedione and chrysine in Cassia flower extracts and their antidandruff activity reported in this study needed further research on those compounds to formulate effective treatment of Malassezia associated diseases

MPPT oscillations minimization in PV system by controlling non-linear dynamics in SEPIC DC-DC converter

Solar PV power generation has achieved rapid growth in developing countries which has many merits such as absence of noise, longer life, no pollution, less time for installation, and ease of grid interface. A maximum power point tracking circuit (MPPT) consists of DC-DC power electronics converters that are used to improve the energy attainment from solar PV array. This paper presents a detailed analysis to control of chaos, a non-linear dynamic in SEPIC DC-DC converter interfaced solar PV system, to minimize the oscillations near to MPP. In SEPIC DC-DC converter, the input inductor current is continuous and capable of sweeping the whole I-V curve of a PV module from open circuit voltage (Voc) to short circuit current (Isc) operating points. To trace the true maximum power point and to nullify the oscillations near to MPP, the yield output voltage needs to ensure period-1 operation