Screening of Different Tomato Varieties in Saline Areas of Bangladesh

A field study was conducted to screen out a number of Bangladeshi Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) varieties for salinity tolerance. Three levels of salinity were 2.0-4.0 dS m-1, 4.1-8.0 dS m-1 and 8.1-12.0 dS m-1. Significant varietal and or salinity treatment effects were registered on plant height, leaf area, plant growth, yield, dry matter plant-1, Na+ and Claccumulation in tomato tissues. Variety BARI Tomato 14, BARI Hybrid Tomato 5 and BARI Tomato 2 consistently showed superior biological activity at moderate salinity (4.1-8.0 dS m-1), based on dry matter biomass production thus displaying relatively greater adaptation to salinity. Under saline condition, all plant parameters of tomato varieties were reduced compared to the control except number of fruits of BARI Tomato 14, BARI Hybrid Tomato 5 and BARI Tomato 2. Thus, BARI Tomato 14, BARI Hybrid Tomato 5 and BARI Tomato 2 can be regarded as a breeding material for development of new tomato varieties for tolerance to salinity in saline areas of Bangladesh. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/ijarit.v2i1.13989 Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 2 (1): 13-18, June, 201

Medicinal importance of grapefruit juice and its interaction with various drugs

Grapefruit juice is consumed widely in today's health conscious world as a protector against cardiovascular diseases and cancers. It has however, been found to be an inhibitor of the intestinal cytochrome P – 450 3A4 system, which is responsible for the first pass metabolism of many drugs. The P – glycoprotein pump, found in the brush border of the intestinal wall which transports many of these cytochrome P – 450 3A4 substrates, has also been implicated to be inhibited by grapefruit juice. By inhibiting these enzyme systems, grapefruit juice alters the pharmacokinetics of a variety of medications, leading to elevation of their serum concentrations. Most notable are its effects on the calcium channel antagonist and the statin group of drugs. In the case of many drugs, the increased serum concentration has been found to be associated with increased frequency of dose dependent adverse effects. In this review, we have discussed the phytochemistry of grapefruit juice, the various drugs involved in the drug – grapefruit juice eraction with their mechanisms of action and have presented the clinical implications of these interactions

Water model experiments on mixing phenomena in a VOD ladle

Mixing phenomena in a VOD ladle were characterized by a watermodel simulation from the determination of mixing times by electrical conductivity measurements. Two mixing times defined for two degrees of mixing, viz., t(95) (95% mixing) and t(99) (99% mixing) were identified for each experiment. Various operating conditions as well as different placements of bottom nozzle with and without a top jet were simulated. irrespective of whether the top blow is present or not, mixing rates were found to be increasing considerably as the nozzle position is moved from the center to the mid-radius position. The presence of a top jet, as in a VOD ladle, was found to weaken mixing for both a coaxial and non coaxial placement of the lance with the bubble plume. The results of watermodel experiments have been used to construct a simple two-tank model of mixing inside the actual ladle, in which the parameters are obtained as functions of process variables