Direct Electrochemical Regeneration of NADH on Au, Cu and Pt-Au Electrodes

The regeneration of a reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) in a batch electrochemical reactor employing Au, Cu and Pt-Au electrodes was investigated. The yield of enzymatically active NADH regenerated was found to depend on the electrolysis potential and the electrode material used. At low negative potentials the yield of active NADH regenerated is similar on both Au and Cu, and relatively high (75 % and 71 %, respectively), but the NAD+ reduction rate and the corresponding conversion degree is low. At high (industrially relevant) negative potentials the NAD+ reduction rate and the corresponding conversion degree is high, while the yield of active NADH formed on Au is low (28 %) and intermediate on Cu (52 %). In order to increase the yield of enzymatically active NADH formed at high (industrially relevant) potentials, the Au surface was modified with Pt. This resulted in an increase in the yield of active NADH from 29.6 % to 63 %. A reaction mechanism taking into account the influence of Pt is proposed

Study on the Drying Characteristics of Green Gram, Cowpea and Soybean

The study reveals the drying characteristics of Green gram, Cowpea and Soybean when exposed to two different drying mechanisms namely convective (i.e., Tray Drying) and a innovative method (i.e., microwave drying). The objective of the study is to come out with a most appropriate drying technique which gives the product a better keeping quality. In this study the drying characteristics i.e the amount of moisture removed for every 10min is calculated at different temperatures for the respective samples. The sample was dried in tray dryer and microwave at two temperatures

Variability, correlation and path coefficient analysis in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum- graecum L.) under water limited conditions

Genetic variability, character association and path analysis between yield and its component traits were carried out in 48 genotypes of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) at Udaipur (Rajasthan). Highly significant differences between genotypes were recorded for all the characters studied. High phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation coupled with high heritability and high genetic advance was observed for seed yield plot-1, biological yield plot-1, harvest index and pods plant-1 indicating the importance of additive gene effects for these traits. Biological yield plot-1 and harvest index exhibited positive and significant correlation with seed yield while days to 50% flowering exhibited negative and significant association with seed yield. Path coefficient analysis revealed that biological yield plot-1 had highest positive direct effect on seed yield followed by branches plant-1, pod length and test weight. It was concluded that improvement in the seed yield of fenugreek is possible through selection for biological yield plot-1, harvest index, branches plant-1, pod length and test weight. &nbsp

Variability, correlation and path coefficient analysis in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum- graecum L.) under water limited conditions

Genetic variability, character association and path analysis between yield and its component traits were carried out in 48 genotypes of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) at Udaipur (Rajasthan). Highly significant differences between genotypes were recorded for all the characters studied. High phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation coupled with high heritability and high genetic advance was observed for seed yield plot-1, biological yield plot-1, harvest index and pods plant-1 indicating the importance of additive gene effects for these traits. Biological yield plot-1 and harvest index exhibited positive and significant correlation with seed yield while days to 50% flowering exhibited negative and significant association with seed yield. Path coefficient analysis revealed that biological yield plot-1 had highest positive direct effect on seed yield followed by branches plant-1, pod length and test weight. It was concluded that improvement in the seed yield of fenugreek is possible through selection for biological yield plot-1, harvest index, branches plant-1, pod length and test weight. &nbsp

Impact of foot-and-mouth disease on mastitis and culling on a large-scale dairy farm in Kenya

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly transmissible viral infection of cloven hooved animals associated with severe economic losses when introduced into FMD-free countries. Information on the impact of the disease in FMDV-endemic countries is poorly characterised yet essential for the prioritisation of scarce resources for disease control programmes. A FMD (virus serotype SAT2) outbreak on a large-scale dairy farm in Nakuru County, Kenya provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact of FMD on clinical mastitis and culling rate. A cohort approach followed animals over a 12-month period after the commencement of the outbreak. For culling, all animals were included; for mastitis, those over 18 months of age. FMD was recorded in 400/644 cattle over a 29-day period. During the follow-up period 76 animals were culled or died whilst in the over 18 month old cohort 63 developed clinical mastitis. Hazard ratios (HR) were generated using Cox regression accounting for non-proportional hazards by inclusion of time-varying effects. Univariable analysis showed FMD cases were culled sooner but there was no effect on clinical mastitis. After adjusting for possible confounders and inclusion of time-varying effects there was weak evidence to support an effect of FMD on culling (HR = 1.7, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.88-3.1, P = 0.12). For mastitis, there was stronger evidence of an increased rate in the first month after the onset of the outbreak (HR = 2.9, 95%CI 0.97-8.9, P = 0.057)

Gadolinium and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis: time to tighten practice

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) is a relatively new entity, first described in 1997. Few cases have been reported, but the disease has high morbidity and mortality. To date it has been seen exclusively in patients with renal dysfunction. There is an emerging link with intravenous injection of gadolinium contrast agents, which has been suggested as a main triggering factor, with a lag time of days to weeks. Risk factors include the severity of renal impairment, major surgery, vascular events and other proinflammatory conditions. There is no reason to believe that children have an altered risk compared to the adult population. It is important that the paediatric radiologist acknowledges emerging information on NSF but at the same time considers the risk:benefit ratio prior to embarking on alternative investigations, as children with chronic kidney disease require high-quality diagnostic imaging

The role of Veterinarians in areas with persistent failure of rain (Drought Stricken areas)

The drought stricken areas are usually the marginal areas where livestock production system is the main farming system. Large parts of Somali fall under this category and the NE Somali (Puntland) being no exception. Apart from livestock being kept for nomadic livelihood and, the unregulated export of animals to Arabian and Gulf countries has introduced a new dimension in the lives of the livestock producers in terms of increased demand for pasture, water and veterinary drugs. In order for veterinarians either private or public, to play an effective role, in the treatment and control of livestock diseases, its important to understand the likely events which occur in resultant stress situations and make timely interventions. In the event of prolonged dry spell or drought, veterinary inputs may be of no value as severe scarcity of water and pasture are likely to cause situations where animals are nutritionally compromised and go through a period of being beyond help. The role of veterinarians in drought- stricken areas is crucial and veterinarians should be considered as stakeholders in trying to contain difficult situations. The Kenya Veterinarian Vol. 22 2001: pp. 58-5

Genetic variability analysis in diverse maize genotypes (Zea mays L.)

The present study was carried out to assess the genetic variability, heritability, genetic advance for yield and kernel quality traits in twenty diverse maize genotypes. The crop was raised at Instructional Farm, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur (Rajasthan) during kharif 2012. The trials were set up in randomized block design with three replications. Highly significant differences were observed for all the traits studied. Genetic variability parameters showed that phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was higher than the respective genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) and heritability is high for most of the traits. High genetic advance as percent of mean (genetic gain) along with high estimate of heritability and GCV are also observed for most of the traits. Test weight, grain yield per plant, grains per cob, cob length, grains per row and harvest index are important in selection programms aiming to maize yield improvement and the breeder may consider these traits as the main selection criteria

Practical locality-awareness for large scale information sharing

Tulip is an overlay for routing, searching and publish-lookup information sharing. It offers a unique combination of the advantages of both structured and unstructured overlays, that does not co-exist in any previous solution. Tulip features locality awareness (stretch 2) and fault tolerance (nodes can route around failures). It supports under the same roof exact keyed-lookup, nearest, copy location, and global information search. Tulip has been deployed and its locality and fault tolerance properties verified over a real wide-area network

ISSR-BASED MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF TRITICUM EASTIVUM L. CULTIVARS

Abstract: Molecular genetic markers are widely used tools in genotype and species identification. Genetic relationship study was performed with 20 ISSR primers among 12 Indian wheat accessions (6 salt tolerant and 6 salt susceptible). Genomic DNA from wheat genotypes were analyzed using inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers. Thirteen ISSR primers produced 78 amplified DNA fragments ranging in size from 100-2200 base pairs, 6 fragments were monomorphic (7.7%) and 72 fragments were polymorphic (92.3%) with an average of 6 fragments per primer and 5.53 polymorphic fragments per primer. Six primers were found to be highly informative as they gave unique bands to differentiate between salt susceptible and salt tolerant genotypes. From ISSR profiles similarity matrix was obtained and Jaccard's similarity coefficient was observed in between 0.40 to 0.77 and on this basis a dendogram was constructed with UPGMA method. Easy handling, high information levels and reliability are the features that justify the utility of ISSR markers in DNA fingerprinting and genetic variability analysis which is highly useful for finding genes controlling agronomically important traits in whea