Preparation of Lapsi (Choerospondias axillaries roxb.) pulp using IMF technology and study on storage stability

The work was carried out to study the storage stability and food safety aspects of lapsi (Choerospondias axillaries roxb.) pulp stock prepared using Intermediate Moisture Food Technology. Three recipes were designed with the TSS of 55, 60 and 65 oBx and the TSS/Acidity ratio of 20, 25 and 30 respectively so as to achieve the theoretical water activity level of 0.86 to 0.90. Further three treatments using no preservative, potassium sorbate (0.3%) as preservative and pasteurisation with hot filling were done to those recipes. All samples were found to be safe from the food poisoning organism Staphylococcus aureus. All preservative added and pasteurised samples as well as 65 oBx sample with no preservative were stable up to 5 months storage and no Mold growth were observed. Mold observed after 2 month in 55 oBx sample and after 69th day in 60 oBx sample with no preservative. Preservative added samples were faint in colour while pasteurised samples were dark due to browning reaction during heating. No preservative used sample was best in appearance. 65 oBx with no preservative sample was good design but protection from air to prevent browning and use of sorbate to further extend shelf life was found necessary

Use of calcium carbide for artificial ripening of fruits : its application and hazards

A review of different articles related to artificial ripening was done. Focus was given on the hazards and applications of calcium carbide for artificial ripening, being a very common practice in Nepalese Market. Litterateurs showed many hazardous aspects of carbide use and also standard procedures of safety handling aspects. But being banned by regulation, due to its hazardous aspects and lack of proper handling methods among users, it was concluded that the use of calcium carbide is to be strictly monitored and controlled

CROSS-TALK BETWEEN THE TUMOR SUPPRESSORS PAR-4 AND P53

This work describes the fascinating interplay between two tumor suppressors Prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4) and p53. The guardian of the genome, p53, is frequently mutated in human cancers, and may contribute to therapeutic resistance. However, p53 is intact and functional in normal tissues, and we observed that specific activation of p53 in normal fibroblasts could induce apoptosis selectively in p53-deficient cancer cells. This paracrine apoptotic effect was executed by Par-4 secreted in response to p53 activation. Accordingly, activation of p53 in wild-type mice, but not in p53-/- or Par-4-/- mice, caused systemic elevation of Par-4 that induced apoptosis of p53-deficient tumor cells. Mechanistically, p53 induced Par-4 secretion by suppressing the expression of UACA, a binding partner of Par-4, and thereby releasing Par-4 from sequestration by UACA. Thus, normal cells can be empowered by p53 activation to induce Par-4 secretion for inhibition of therapy-resistant tumors. Conversely, our studies have also revealed a definite role for Par-4 in regulating p53 expression. The pro-apoptotic tumor suppressor Par-4 is lost, down-regulated, inactivated or mutated in a number of cancers. Loss of Par-4 is associated with therapeutic resistance and poor disease prognosis, yet the mechanism for resistance is not clearly understood. Using genetically matched cells, we show that Par-4 expression is required for stabilization and function of the tumor suppressor p53, which constitutes the hub of signaling networks controlling important cellular and organismal phenotypes. In particular, the expression of p53 protein and its stabilization in response to genotoxic stress were remarkably attenuated in response to Par-4 loss. Accordingly, Par-4-null or -knockdown cells demonstrated increased resistance to apoptosis induced by genotoxic stress. Par-4 loss resulted in elevated Mdm2 activity, which is known to cause p53 degradation. Our findings suggest that Par-4 stabilizes p53 by inhibiting Akt-mediated phosphorylation of Mdm2 that is known to prevent translocation of Mdm2 into the nucleus for p53 ubiquitination and degradation. These studies identify a novel regulatory relationship between two tumor suppressors and may provide a better understanding of therapeutic resistance in tumors with p53 wild type status

Effect of different substrate sterilization methods on performance of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)

Saabunud / Received 21.01.2021 ; Aktsepteeritud / Accepted 16.04.2021 ; Avaldatud veebis / Published online 16.04.2021 ; Vastutav autor / Corresponding author: Sanju Shrestha [email protected] sterilization of substrates is an indispensable step in oyster mushroom cultivation. Oyster mushroom growers in Nepal usually follow three different substrate sterilization methods; however, their comparative effectiveness is vastly unexplored. Thus, these experiments were carried out at the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS), Lamjung Campus, Lamjung, Nepal from January to March, in the years 2017 and 2019. The objective of these experiments was to identify the most appropriate method of sterilization. Three different types of sterilization methods viz chemical sterilization (formaldehyde + carbendazim), steam sterilization, and hot-water sterilization were evaluated for the growth parameters and productivity of oyster mushroom cultivated on rice straw. The experiments were laid out on Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with ten replications. The results showed that the spawning rate was 3.2% of the wet substrate. Data were collected until the third flush. A significantly longer duration to colonize the substrate (29.7 days) was observed under chemical sterilization. The oyster mushroom performed best under steam sterilization as it took the shortest time for pinhead formation (34.30 days), fruiting body formation (43.60 days), cropping duration (89.30 days), and produced the highest mushroom yield (1401.9 g per 4 kg bag), and consequently, the highest biological efficiency (101.38%). Average pileus diameter and stipe length were statistically indifferent among the treatments suggesting the significant effect of sterilization methods on the yield of oyster mushroom but not on its morphological attributes

How “Inclusive” Has the Inclusive Education Been?

The main intent of inclusive education is to include diversity in terms of access to education. Hence, inclusive education is of tremendous significance to a country like Nepal, which has so much diversity. However, the strategies formulated by the inclusive education policies in Nepal still follow a narrow definition of inclusive education, though the policies are progressive. Does inclusive education mean only a scheme for disabled learners? Through a desk review of the policies after 2000 related to inclusive education, this paper argues that the smooth transition to inclusion in education has been challenging. The paper argues that despite policy provisions, Nepal has not been able to actualize inclusion in education because its strategies and actions are not directed toward inclusion. This situation is there mainly because of the lack of uniform understanding of inclusive education, and its present practice will lead towards segregation but not towards integration

Nasal Parameters and Facial Index in Medical Undergraduates: A Cross Sectional Study

Introduction: Face has priority in identification of an individual. Nose occupying the middle of face is animportant sense organ that helps in respiration. Nose and face can be classified into different types accordingto nasal index and facial index. The aim of this study was to analyze nose and face type and find out itsdominance in different sex of Nepalese and Indian population. Methods: This was a quantitative observationalstudy conducted on 156 medical students using simple sampling method. Data were collected then nasalindex and facial index were calculated. Descriptive statistical data i.e. mean, standard deviation, togetherwith the independent-samples t-test results for anthropometric variables of nasal and facial parameters insex and Nationality (Nepalese and Indian) were analyzed. Results: All the measurement values were morein males compared to females, but the sexual dimorphism in nasal index (male 76.25 ± 7.75, female 75.70± 8.05) and facial index (male 85.77 ± 8.1, female 82.97 ± 7.63) is not statistically significant. Chi-squaretest revealed significant difference in face type among Nepalese and Indian population. Mesorrhine wasthe most common type of nose in both the population. Nepalese had commonly euryprosopic type of facewhile Indians had hypereuryprosopic type of face. Conclusion: Sexual dimorphism was not significant inboth nasal and facial parameters while type of face was helpful in differentiation of Nepalese and Indianpopulation

Preemptive use of Small Dose Fentanyl Suppresses Fentanyl Induced Cough

ABSTRACT Backgroun

Data Augmentation through Pseudolabels in Automatic Region Based Coronary Artery Segmentation for Disease Diagnosis

Coronary Artery Diseases(CADs) though preventable are one of the leading causes of death and disability. Diagnosis of these diseases is often difficult and resource intensive. Segmentation of arteries in angiographic images has evolved as a tool for assistance, helping clinicians in making accurate diagnosis. However, due to the limited amount of data and the difficulty in curating a dataset, the task of segmentation has proven challenging. In this study, we introduce the idea of using pseudolabels as a data augmentation technique to improve the performance of the baseline Yolo model. This method increases the F1 score of the baseline by 9% in the validation dataset and by 3% in the test dataset.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2310.0474

Storability of sweet potato genotypes under ordinary ambient storage conditions

Saabunud / Received 26.04.2021 ; Aktsepteeritud / Accepted 30.08.2021 ; Avaldatud veebis / Published online 30.08.2021 ; Vastutav autor / Corresponding author: Prakash Bhattarai [email protected] study was carried out to evaluate the storage performance of sweet potatoes in different conditions under ordinary ambient temperature (10.11–17.49 °C) at Khumaltar, Lalitpur (1350 masl) district of Nepal from December, 20 to March, 13 during the years 2018/19 and 2019/20. The experiment was laid out in Factorial Completely Randomized Design with three replications. Tuberous roots of three sweet potato genotypes (CIP 440015, CIP 440267, and Local White) harvested at 4-month maturity were stored inside an ordinary room in dry sand, sawdust, thin jute sack, natural mud pot, and open crates (control). Data were taken on the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th weeks of storage. The pooled results showed a significant effect of storage conditions on physiological loss in weight and rotting (%) of sweet potato genotypes. With the progression of the storage period, physiological weight loss (PLW) and rotting (%) were significantly increased in all treatments. At the 12th week of storage, the highest PLW was recorded in the tubers stored in open crates (70.2%) followed by natural mud pot (65.2%) whereas the lowest PLW was observed in tubers stored inside the dry sand (50.2%). Genotype CIP 440015 showed good storability with minimum PLW. No weevil infestation and sprouting were observed during the experimental period. The lowest percentage of tuber rotting was recorded in the genotype CIP 440015 (55.3%) and inside dry sand (48.7%) at the 12th week of storage while it was the highest up to 85.9% in CIP 440267. The highest rotting 76.7%) was recorded in thin jute bags which is statistically at par with natural mud pot (76.5%). The interaction effect of storage conditions and genotypes was found not significant. The results showed an increment in dry matter and reducing sugar content while the reduction in ß-carotene and starch content of tubers after 3 months of storage inside dry sand. There was positive and strong correlation of storage duration with dry matter (r = 0.750) and reducing sugar (r = 0.658) whereas, negative correlation with starch (r = –0.918) and ß-carotene (r = –0.352) content of sweet potato genotypes. The study concluded that sweet potato tuber can be kept for 8 to 10 weeks in dry sand with minimum postharvest loss in ordinary room condition and the genotype CIP 440015 has good storability among the tested genotypes in similar conditions