Nutritional composition and antioxidant properties of Raphionacme splendens (schl.) tubers

People of Western Kordofan (Sudan) are endowed with a deep knowledge concerning the use of wild plants. Tubers of Raphionacme splendens Schl. subspecies splendens Flickr (family Apocynaceae), locally known as Elfayo, are used as a food reserve during times of famine or poor harvest. The aim of this study was to analyze the nutritional composition and antioxidant capacity of root tubers of R. splendens. Samples were collected from South-West Kordofan. Analyses included determination of moisture, carbohydrate, crude protein, fat, fibre, ash, minerals, vitamin C, amino acids and fatty acids composition. Antioxidant activity was determined by the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2.2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) assays. The total phenolic content was also assessed. The results, which are referred to as (%) dry weight, showed that the tubers contained 3.2% protein, 18% carbohydrate, 0.5% lipid, 2.4% crude fibre, 3.5% ash, 79.2% moisture and gross energy 101.7 kJ/g. The total amino acids were 10776 mg/100g where the essential amino acids represented 28.2%. The more abundant essential amino acids were leucine (792mg/100g), isoleucine (712mg/100g) and threonine (536mg/100g). Methionine and lysine were the limiting amino acids. Minerals were potassium (259mg/100g), calcium (183mg/100g), magnesium (64mg/100g), phosphorus (37mg/100g), copper (3.6mg/100g), manganese (2.4mg/100g), zinc (1.8mg/100g) and iron (1.2mg/100g). Total saturated fatty acids were 45.6% whereas total unsaturated fatty acids were 54.4%. Oleic acid (32.56%) and palmitic acid (30.23%) were the most abundant fatty acids. Tubers displayed good antioxidant activity with IC50 values 0.987 and 1.559mg/mL against DPPH and ABTS radicals respectively. Vitamin C was 31.5mg/100g and total phenolic content was 60mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) per 100g dry sample and they could be the main contributor to the antioxidant capacity of the tubers. In conclusion, the results of this study suggested that tubers of R. splendens could have beneficial effect for food and/or nutraceutical application for normal growth and adequate protection against diseases associated with reactions of free radicals.Keywords: Raphionacme splendens, proximate analysis, amino acids, fatty acids, antioxidant activit

Nonlinear stability of magnetic islands in a rotating helical plasma

Coexistence of the forced magnetic reconnection by a resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) and the curvature-driven tearing mode is investigated in a helical (stellarator) plasma rotated by helical trapped particle-induced neoclassical flows. A set of Rutherford-type equations of rotating magnetic islands and a poloidal flow evolution equation is revisited. Using the model, analytical expressions of criteria of spontaneous shrinkage (self-healing) of magnetic islands and sudden growth of locked magnetic islands (penetration of RMP) are obtained, where nonlinear saturation states of islands show bifurcation structures and hysteresis characteristics. Considering radial profile of poloidal flows across magnetic islands, it is found that the self-healing is driven by neoclassical viscosity even in the absence of micro-turbulence-induced anomalous viscosity. Effects of unfavorable curvature in stellarators are found to modify the critical values. The scalings of criteria are consistent with low-β experiments in the large helical device

Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants in West Kordofan (Western Sudan)

The aim of the present study was primarily to evaluate the medicinal uses of the plants known to some western Kordofan tribes and to encourage preservation of their culture, conservation and sustainable utilization of the plant wealth. The present study revealed a record of 49 plant species belonging to 26 families which are used in the folk medicine of West Kordofan, Sudan. It is believed to be a form of healthcare in many aspects of curing practices. The plants were arranged alphabetically by their family name followed by species name, local name, parts used, mode of preparation and medicinal uses. This wisdom available with the tribes is transmitted only through oral communication therefore needs conservation

Newcomers Meet the Intracluster Medium in the Coma Cluster

A main topic at this meeting is how galaxies are affected when they enter for the first time the cluster environment from the outskirts. Most of the times we are forced to infer the environmental effects indirectly, relying on systematic variations of galaxy properties with environment, but there aren't many examples of direct observations able to unveil ongoing transformations taking place, and the corresponding mechanism producing it. We present a case in which it is possible to identify the cluster environment, and in particular the intracluster medium and the recent infall history of galaxies onto the cluster, as the cause for a recent, abrupt change in the evolutionary history of galaxies.Comment: 5 pages, 1 postscript figure -- to appear in "Outskirts of Galaxy Clusters: intense life in the suburbs", IAU Colloquium N. 195, 2004, ed. A Diaferi

Self-annihilation of Magnetic Islands in Helical Plasmas

The evolution of the magnetic island which is induced by the resonant deformation by external currents in helical systems (such as LHD) is analyzed. The defect of the bootstrap current, caused by the magnetic island, has a parity which reduces the size of the magnetic island, if the bootstrap current enhances the vacuum rotational transform. The width of the externally-driven magnetic island can be suppressed to the level of ion banana width if the pressure gradient exceeds a threshold value. This island annihilation is self-sustained. That is, the annihilation continues, for fixed beta-value, until the external drive for island generation exceeds a threshold. Effects of the reversal of the direction of the bootstrap current and of the sign of radial electric field are also investigated. The possibility of the neoclassical tearing mode in the LHD-like plasma is discussed

\Omega-deformation of B-twisted gauge theories and the 3d-3d correspondence

We study \Omega-deformation of B-twisted gauge theories in two dimensions. As an application, we construct an \Omega-deformed, topologically twisted five-dimensional maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on the product of a Riemann surface $\Sigma$ and a three-manifold $M$, and show that when $\Sigma$ is a disk, this theory is equivalent to analytically continued Chern-Simons theory on $M$. Based on these results, we establish a correspondence between three-dimensional $\mathcal{N} = 2$ superconformal theories and analytically continued Chern-Simons theory. Furthermore, we argue that there is a mirror symmetry between {\Omega}-deformed two-dimensional theories.Comment: 26 pages. v2: the discussion on the boundary condition for vector multiplet improved, and other minor changes mad

<Advanced Energy Generation Division> Advanced Atomic Energy Research Section

3-1. Research Activities in 202