Conservation and sustainable use of tropical fruit species diversity: Bioversity's efforts in Asia, the Pacific and Oceania

Asia, the Pacific and Oceania region is very rich in genetic diversity of tropical fruits. Although, fruits have always been important agricultural species, it is only in recent years that there is an increasing awareness of the potential of native tropical fruit species as good sources of dietary vitamins, minerals and energy. They also play a very signifi cant role for the wellbeing of the people through enhancing household income, employment generation particularly for women, and environmental protection. At the same time, their genetic diversity and even the species diversity is threatened due to various human interventions and concerted efforts are required to take corrective measures. Bioversity International, in collaboration with national partners, implemented in recent past several programmes for effective conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources of tropical fruits in the region and is continuing to do so. This paper describes the results of studies on various aspects of tropical fruit genetic diversity and species diversity as well as their sustainable use in major fruit growing countries in Asia, the Pacifi c and Oceania in the last decade and half. The studies included exploration and collecting, characterization and evaluation, identifi cation of promising/elite lines, documentation, conservation, training and capacity building, socio-economic analysis, information dissemination, collaboration and networking, impacts and sustainability of efforts. The paper also touches on the current efforts and future thrusts for tropical fruit species genetic resources conservation, management and sustainable use

Tropical fruit tree diversity: good practices for in situ and on-farm conservation

Farmers have developed a range of agricultural practices to sustainably use and maintain a wide diversity of crop species in many parts of the world. This book documents good practices innovated by farmers and collects key reviews on good practices from global experts, not only from the case study countries but also from Brazil, China and other parts of Asia and Latin America

Digital Resources and Services awareness, use and other aspects among the students of JNTUK-Kakinada: a study

Abstract The tremendous growth of information technology and its advancement has made a drastic change in the way of retrieving, handling and storing information in the digital form became necessary to meet user needs of today. As per the user needs libraries are shifting from then traditional resources and services to digital resources and services. The present study paid most of its attention on the awareness, purpose of use, satisfaction and services amongst the users of Central Library of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada (JNTUK). The study discloses that among the digital resources majority of users are aware of e-books and e-journals and find these resources important for their study and research. The more frequently used service is OPAC/Web OPAC service. The study in its findings shows that the purpose of using digital resources and services amongst the users is to search for their area of interest. 69.4% of the respondents are satisfied with the available digital resources and services

Initial experimental investigations on natural fibre reinforced honeycomb core panels

The main attention of the present work is on eco-friendly honeycomb cores for sandwich panels. They are manufactured by combining flax fibres with polyethylene matrix; the analyses involve both reinforced and un-reinforced cores. Some experimental tests have been planned and carried out in order to qualify the modal characteristics of this important class of panels. Tests results, herein discussed, report a great improvement of reinforced cores (continuous-unidirectional and short-random) compared to un-reinforced ones in mechanical properties. An improvement in damping value is achieved by filling the core with wool fibres resulting in minimal weight increase. A summary of the impact and acoustic tests results of preview tests are also reported in order to have a global view of the behaviour of these sandwich panels

Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers in Garcinia gummi-gutta by next-generation sequencing and cross-species amplification

Garcinia gummi-gutta (L.) Roxb. (Clusiaceae) is an endemic, semidomesticated, fruit-yielding tree species distributed in the Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka. Various bioactive phytochemicals, such as garcinol, benzophenones and xanthones are isolated from G. gummi-gutta and have shown antibacterial, antiviral and antioxidant activities. We sequenced the total genomic DNA using Illumina Hiseq 2000 platform and examined 241,141,804 bp high quality data, assembled into 773,889 contigs. In these contigs, 27,313 simple-sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified, among which mononucleotide repeats were predominant (44.98%) followed by dinucleotide and trinucleotide repeats. Primers were designed for 9964 microsatellites among which 32 randomly selected SSR primer pairs were standardized for amplification. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of genomic DNA in 30 G. gummi-gutta genotypes revealed polymorphic information content (PIC) across all 32 loci ranging from 0.867 to 0.951, with a mean value of 0.917. The observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.00 to 0.63 and 0.896 to 0.974, respectively. Alleles per locus ranged from 12 to 27. This is the first report on the development of genomic SSR markers in G. gummi-gutta using next-generation sequencing technology. The genomic SSR markers developed in this study will be useful in identification, mapping, diversity and breeding studies

HBA1C Levels, Lipid Profile and Thyroid Profile in Patients Admitted with Severe Hypoglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Objective: We studied the association between HbA1c level, Lipid profile and Thyroid profile in patients admitted with hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Materials and methods: Patients admitted with severe hypoglycemia (50mg/dl) are included in this observational study from 4 hospitals from January 2013 till January 2015. HBA1C, Lipid profile and Thyroid profile recorded during admission are the points of interest in this study. Demographic and clinical variables were recorded to evaluate the relative risk (RR) of severe hypoglycemia across HbA1c levels. We also studied comorbidities associated with DM. Results: Among 1200 patients enrolled, mean age was 58.6±11.7 years. 83% of patients were above 50 years of age of which 50% were in 50-59 years age group. Mean Glycated hemoglobin was 8.3±2.09. Patients admitted with hypoglycemia constitute 118(9.83%), 64(5.33%), 200 (16.6%), 624(52%) and 194(16.16%) in HbA1c categories 6, 6–6.9, 7–7.9, 8–8.9, and 9% which is statistically significant (P value0.01). Abnormal lipid profile was found in 96.5 %( 1158) of the study population and abnormal Thyroid profile in 11.6%. Conclusions: Hypoglycemia can occur at any level of glycated Hemoglobin but high risk is found with HBA1c of 6% and 8%. Elderly population should not be subjected for stricter control of blood sugars which can do more harm than good. Patients with mean duration of diabetes more than 10 years are at higher risk of recurrent hypoglycemia

Molecular and morphological diversity in locally grown non-commercial (heirloom) mango varieties of North India

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) has been cultivated and conserved in different agro-ecologies including Malihabad region in northern part of India, that is well known for housing diverse types (heirloom and commercial varieties). In the present study, 37 mango types comprising of 27 heirloom varieties from Malihabad region and 10 commercial varieties grown in North and Eastern India were assessed for morphological attributes and molecular diversity. The employed SSR markers amplified 2-13 alleles individually, cumulatively amplifying 124 alleles. These were studied for allelic diversity and genetic dissimilarity ranged from 0.035 to 0.892 arranging the varieties in three major clusters. The results revealed that majority of unique heirloom mangoes from Malihabad were different from the eastern part of the country. It is interesting to note Dashehari, a commercial variety from Malihabad was not aligned with heirloom varieties. Commercial varieties like Gulabkhas and Langra were placed in a separate group including Bombay Green, Himsagar, Dashehari, etc., indicating their dissimilarity with heirloom varieties at molecular level and thus, indicating importance for later from conservation point of view. Furthermore, the hierarchical clustering of varieties based on fruit morphology, assembled these into four groups largely influenced by fruit size. The maximum agreement subtree indicated seemingly good fit as thirteen varieties were arrayed in common grouping pattern. Appreciable dissimilarity among the heirloom varieties demonstrated by molecular analysis, underlines the importance for their on-farm conservation

Tropical fruit tree species and climate change

Tropical fruits – full of rich nutrients and health properties – are adapted to hot and humid environments. Many tropical fruit species might spread beyond their current geographical limit whereas some species might exhibit irregular bearing of fruit. In this context, there are some important questions that need answers: What are the key characteristics that allow farmers to choose a new crop that they are not used to growing? Are farmers already experiencing impacts of climate change? If so, what are their adaptation strategies? Are there new opportunities for capitalizing tropical fruit tree genetic resources that benefit human kind? The study provides a state of knowledge to overcome threats to agriculture and food security, exploring new ways of helping vulnerable rural communities adjust to global changes in climate

Sedimentation record in the Konkan-Kerala Basin: implications for the evolution of the Western Ghats and the Western Indian passive margin

The Konkan and Kerala Basins constitute a major depocentre for sediment from the onshore hinterland of Western India and as such provide a valuable record of the timing and magnitude of Cenozoic denudation along the continental margin. This paper presents an analysis of sedimentation in the Konkan-Kerala Basin, coupledwith a mass balance study, and numerical modelling of flexural responses to onshore denudational unloading and o¡shore sediment loading in order to test competing conceptual models for the development of high-elevation passive margins. The Konkan-Kerala Basin contains an estimated 109,000 km<sup>3</sup>; of Cenozoic clastic sediment, a volume difficult to reconcile with the denudation of a downwarped rift flank onshore, and more consistent with denudation of an elevated rift flank. We infer from modelling of the isostatic response of the lithosphere to sediment loading offshore and denudation onshore that flexure is an important component in the development of the Western Indian Margin.There is evidence for two major pulses in sedimentation: an early phase in the Palaeocene, and a second beginning in the Pliocene. The Palaeocene increase in sedimentation can be interpreted in terms of a denudational response to the rifting between India and the Seychelles, whereas the mechanism responsible for the Pliocene pulse is more enigmatic

Simultaneous Determination of Amlodipine and Valsartan

A spectrophotometric method was developed for simultaneous determination of amlodipine (Aml) and valsartan (Val) without previous separation. In this method amlodipine in methanolic solution was determined using zero order UV spectrophotometry by measuring its absorbency at 360.5 nm without any interference from valsartan