Production of fish pickle from abundantly available popular Batticaloa lagoon fishes

A study was carried out to select the most suitable lagoon fish for the production of fish pickle. The abundantly available popular Batticaloa lagoon fishes were selected based on the data collected from a questionnaire survey. Accordingly fish pickles were prepared using Tilapia, Etroplus and Catfish. Nutritional assessment and sensory evaluation were performed to select a suitable lagoon fish to prepare the fish pickle. The tilapia fish pickle was found to be superior in nutritional composition. It had high amount of soft flesh, protein and ash and moderate amount of fat The tilapia fish pickle was chosen as superior by the sensory panelists. It expressed higher scores for flavour, texture, taste and over all eating quality compared to the others. Cat fish pickle had the amount of fat but this fish is not suitable for the preparation of pickle due to its small amount of flesh, fishy odour, low amount of protein and ash, and lowest scores for flavor, texture, taste and overall eating quality. Etroplus gave moderate nutritional values and sensory scores. Therefore, tilapia was selected as the most suitable fish founding in the Batticaloa lagoon for the preservation as fish pickle

Nutritional status of pre-school children in Manmunai South West (Paddipalai) divisional secretariat area of Batticaloa

This study was conducted with the aim of assessing nutritional status of pre-school children at Paddipalai Divisional Secretariat area of Batticaloa District which is one of the war affected area in Sri Lanka. A sample of 150 subjects was selected from preschools through multi stage sampling techniques. Anthropometric measurements of Weight, Height, Mid Upper Arm Circumference, Hip and Waist were performed using standardized procedure on the preschool children. From those measurements anthropometric indices of Height-for-age, Weight-for-height, and Weight-for-age were generated. Information on socio-economic characteristic of household and dietary pattern of children was gathered by an interview using food frequency questionnaire. Study revealed that, nearly 70% of children's families receiving food aids or food stamps from government. Most of their parent's income level was under the poverty level of Rs.3000 per month. About 72.2% of the parent's education level was below the G.C.E (O/L) and rate of literacy of them around 27%. The student's meat intake frequency was monthly basis and they consume egg, milk and fruit at fortnight basis. Children showed a considerable risk for being stunted (65%), wasting (61%) and underweight (80%). It is also found that, girls had higher nutritional risk than boys. It is concluded that, the nutritional status of pre-school children in the Paddipalai Divisional Secretariat in Batticaloa district is very poor and civil unrest, unfavorable climatic changes are associated with malnutrition of children

Nutritional and Sensory Characteristics of Star Fruit and Sweet Orange Juices Blend Fruit Cordial

Star fruit is one of the tropical fruit that has received less attention from the food industry. A large number of ripened star fruits are wasted during the fruiting-season. Therefore, a study was conducted to develop mixed cordial from star fruit and sweet orange. Star fruit juice, in the amounts of 80, 70 and 60 ml were mixed with sweet orange juice for the formulation of 100 ml of cordial. The cordials were subjected to nutritional, microbial and sensory analysis after formulation and during storage. The nutritional analysis of the developed cordials revealed that, titrable acidity, ascorbic acid and total sugar increased with an increase in the level of sweet orange juice, with the 30% sweet orange juice level, having the values of 0.42%, 23.72 mg/100 ml, and 10.34% respectively and pH 3.46. Sensory analysis showed significant difference between treatments. The cordials were subjected to storage studies at 30°C and RH of 80% for 11 weeks. The storage studies revealed that, the declining trends in ascorbic acid, pH and total sugar and increasing trend in titrable acidity. After 11 weeks storage, the mixed cordial of 70% star fruit juice with 30% sweet orange juice contained 0.95% titrable acidity (as citric acid), 16.8 mg/100g ascorbic acid, 7.2% total sugar and 3.1 pH. No harmful total plate count was observed in cordials after formulation and during storage. No remarkable changes in sensory characters were observed during storage period. Based on the results of the assessment, the mixed cordial of 70% star fruit juice with 30% sweet orange juice was selected as best mixed cordial. KEYWORDS: Cordial, star fruit juice, storage, sweet orange juic

Characterization of an Nmr Homolog That Modulates GATA Factor-Mediated Nitrogen Metabolite Repression in Cryptococcus neoformans

Nitrogen source utilization plays a critical role in fungal development, secondary metabolite production and pathogenesis. In both the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, GATA transcription factors globally activate the expression of catabolic enzyme-encoding genes required to degrade complex nitrogenous compounds. However, in the presence of preferred nitrogen sources such as ammonium, GATA factor activity is inhibited in some species through interaction with co-repressor Nmr proteins. This regulatory phenomenon, nitrogen metabolite repression, enables preferential utilization of readily assimilated nitrogen sources. In the basidiomycete pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, the GATA factor Gat1/Are1 has been co-opted into regulating multiple key virulence traits in addition to nitrogen catabolism. Here, we further characterize Gat1/Are1 function and investigate the regulatory role of the predicted Nmr homolog Tar1. While GAT1/ARE1 expression is induced during nitrogen limitation, TAR1 transcription is unaffected by nitrogen availability. Deletion of TAR1 leads to inappropriate derepression of non-preferred nitrogen catabolic pathways in the simultaneous presence of favoured sources. In addition to exhibiting its evolutionary conserved role of inhibiting GATA factor activity under repressing conditions, Tar1 also positively regulates GAT1/ARE1 transcription under non-repressing conditions. The molecular mechanism by which Tar1 modulates nitrogen metabolite repression, however, remains open to speculation. Interaction between Tar1 and Gat1/Are1 was undetectable in a yeast two-hybrid assay, consistent with Tar1 and Gat1/Are1 each lacking the conserved C-terminus regions present in ascomycete Nmr proteins and GATA factors that are known to interact with each other. Importantly, both Tar1 and Gat1/Are1 are suppressors of C. neoformans virulence, reiterating and highlighting the paradigm of nitrogen regulation of pathogenesis

Factors associated with spontaneous stone passage in a contemporary cohort of patients presenting with acute ureteric colic. Results from the MIMIC Study (A Multi-centre cohort study evaluating the role of Inflammatory Markers in patients presenting with acute ureteric Colic)

Objectives There is conflicting data on the role of white blood cell count (WBC) and other inflammatory markers in spontaneous stone passage in patients with acute ureteric colic. The aim of the study was to assess the relationship of WBC and other routinely collected inflammatory and clinical markers including stone size, stone position and Medically Expulsive Therapy use (MET) with spontaneous stone passage (SSP) in a large contemporary cohort of patients with acute ureteric colic. Subjects and Methods Multi‐centre retrospective cohort study coordinated by the British Urology Researchers in Surgical Training (BURST) Research Collaborative at 71 secondary care hospitals across 4 countries (United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Australia and New Zealand). 4170 patients presented with acute ureteric colic and a computer tomography confirmed single ureteric stone. Our primary outcome measure was SSP as defined by the absence of need for intervention to assist stone passage. Multivariable mixed effects logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between key patient factors and SSP. Results 2518 patients were discharged with conservative management and had further follow up with a SSP rate of 74% (n = 1874/2518). Sepsis after discharge with conservative management was reported in 0.6% (n = 16/2518). On multivariable analysis neither WBC, Neutrophils or CRP were seen to predict SSP, with an adjusted OR of 0.97 [95% CI 0.91 to 1.04, p = 0.38], 1.06 [95% CI 0.99 to 1.13, p = 0.1] and 1.00 [95% CI 0.99 to 1.00, p = 0.17], respectively. Medical expulsive therapy (MET) also did not predict SSP [adjusted OR 1.11 [95% CI 0.76 to 1.61]). However, stone size and stone position were significant predictors. SSP for stones 7mm. For stones in the upper ureter the SSP rate was 52% [95% CI 48 to 56], middle ureter was 70% [95% CI 64 to 76], and lower ureter was 83% [95% CI 81 to 85]. Conclusion In contrast to the previously published literature, we found that in patients with acute ureteric colic who are discharged with initial conservative management, neither WBC, Neutrophil count or CRP help determine the likelihood of spontaneous stone passage. We also found no overall benefit from the use of MET. Stone size and position are important predictors and our findings represent the most comprehensive stone passage rates for each mm increase in stone size from a large contemporary cohort adjusting for key potential confounders. We anticipate that these data will aid clinicians managing patients with acute ureteric colic and help guide management decisions and the need for intervention

Community profiling and gene expression of fungal assimilatory nitrate reductases in agricultural soil

Although fungi contribute significantly to the microbial biomass in terrestrial ecosystems, little is known about their contribution to biogeochemical nitrogen cycles. Agricultural soils usually contain comparably high amounts of inorganic nitrogen, mainly in the form of nitrate. Many studies focused on bacterial and archaeal turnover of nitrate by nitrification, denitrification and assimilation, whereas the fungal role remained largely neglected. To enable research on the fungal contribution to the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle tools for monitoring the presence and expression of fungal assimilatory nitrate reductase genes were developed. To the ∼100 currently available fungal full-length gene sequences, another 109 partial sequences were added by amplification from individual culture isolates, representing all major orders occurring in agricultural soils. The extended database led to the discovery of new horizontal gene transfer events within the fungal kingdom. The newly developed PCR primers were used to study gene pools and gene expression of fungal nitrate reductases in agricultural soils. The availability of the extended database allowed affiliation of many sequences to known species, genera or families. Energy supply by a carbon source seems to be the major regulator of nitrate reductase gene expression for fungi in agricultural soils, which is in good agreement with the high energy demand of complete reduction of nitrate to ammonium

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability