Wild leafy vegetables: A study of their subsistence dietetic support to the inhabitants of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, India

Consumption of greens is a major source of vitamins and micro-nutrients for people using only vegetarian diets rich in carbohydrates. In remote rural settlements where vegetable cultivation is not practiced and market supplies are not organized, local inhabitants depend on indigenous vegetables, both cultivated in kitchen gardens and wild, for enriching the diversity of food. Knowledge of such foods is part of traditional knowledge which is largely transmitted through participation of individuals of households. A total of 123 households in six villages of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve buffer zone was surveyed using a schedule to assess the knowledge, availability and consumption pattern of wild leafy vegetables. Quantity estimations were done using regular visits with informants from 30 sample households of the six study villages during the collections. Monetization was used to see the value of wild leafy vegetables harvested during a year. The diversity of wild leafy vegetables being use by the local inhabitants is 21 species belonging to 14 genera and 11 families. This is far less than that being reported to be used by the communities from Western Ghats in India and some parts of Africa. Irrespective of social or economic status all households in the study villages had the knowledge and used wild leafy vegetables. The number of households reported to consume these wild leafy vegetables is greater than the number of households reporting to harvest them for all species except for Diplazium esculentum and Phytolacca acinosa. The availability and use period varied for the species are listed by the users. The study indicated that the knowledge is eroding due to changing social values and non participation of younger generation in collection and processing of such wild leafy vegetables

Seasonal variations in water quality and major threats to Ramsagar reservoir, India

Ramsagar reservoir, a small inland reservoir located in Datia district, Madhya Pradesh is constructed over Nichroli nallah, in the basin of Sindh River. The physico-chemical characteristics, trophic status and pollution studies of Ramsagar reservoir have been studied from April, 2003 to March, 2005. The nutrients including silicates (0.65 - 8.42 mgl-1), sulphates (1.50 - 8.87 mgl-1), phosphates (0.013 - 0.054 mgl-1), nitrates (0.011 - 0.033 mgl-1) and potassium (1.97 - 4.86 mgl-1) are in sufficient quantities for the growth of aquatic animals in the reservoir. The above study indicated that the Ramsagar reservoir is under the category of mesotrophic water body slightly inclined towards eutrophication. Therefore, the conservation and management of this water body is very much required

Design and Development of Halogenated Chalcone Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents

Purpose: To design and develop halogenated chalcone derivatives and evaluate them as anticancer agents using different cancer cell lines.Methods: Based on in silico design and docking on known target, crystal structure of the complex of interleukin-1beta converting enzyme (ICE) with a peptide based inhibitor, (3S )-N-Methanesulfonyl-3- ({1-[N-(2-naphtoyl)-l-valyl]-l-prolyl}amino)-4-oxobutanamide (1BMQ), novel halogenated chalcone derivatives were designed (7a-h) employing LigandFit module of Accelrys (Discovery Studio, 2.1 version). Standard protocols for ligand and protein preparation were employed and their binding orientation validated using (3S)-N-Methanesulfonyl-3-({1-[N-(2-naphtoyl)-l-valyl]-l-prolyl}amino)-4-oxobutanamide (MNO 601), a caspase inhibitor as reference standard. Energy minimized conformers with best dock scores were considered for the identification of interacting amino acid residues with ligands. Selected derivatives were synthesized and analyzed by melting point, 1H NMR, IR and mass spectroscopy. Their evaluation for anticancer activity was carried out using adriamycin, paclitaxel and 5-fluorouracil as reference standards on prostrate (PC-3), colon (COLO-205), ovary (OVCAR-5), liver (HEP-2) and neuroblastoma (IMR-32) cancer cell lines, and % growth inhibition and half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were calculated.Results: Among synthesized compounds, 7b showed the most promising cytotoxic activity with an IC50 of 49.9 ìM on colon cancer cell lines (Colo-205), followed by 7d with an IC50 of 66.6 ìM against ovarian cancer cell lines (OVCAR-5).Conclusion: We report the successful synthesis, spectral characterization and in vitro anticancer evaluation of a series of novel halogenated chalcone derivatives against a number of human cancer cell lines. The findings indicate the emergence of new anticancer compounds.Keywords: Halogenated chalcones, Dock scores, Anticancer activity,  Interleukin-1beta converting enzyme

Genetic diversity in Indian isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris, chickpea wilt pathogen

Forty-eight isolates of FOC collected from different chickpea growing regions in India were evaluated for genetic variations using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). Out of 48 isolates, 41 werefound pathogenic and seven non-pathogenic. Pathogenic isolates differ in their virulence however; there was no apparent correlation between geographical origin and virulence of the isolates. The genetic variation was evaluated by the AFLP analysis. A total 339 fragments were scored following selective amplification with five EcoR1 and Mse1 primer combinations E-TC/M-CAT, E-TC/M-CAC, EAC/ M-CAG, E-TA/MCAG, E-TA/M-CAG, out of which 331 fragments were polymorphic. UPGMA cluster analysis and principle coordinate analysis distinctly classified 48 isolates into two major groups; pathogenic and non-pathogenic. The pathogenic isolates could be further clustered into six majorgroups at 0.77 genetic similarities. Region specific grouping was observed with in few isolates. The results of the present study provide evidence of the high discriminatory power of AFLP analysis,suggesting the applicability of this method to the molecular characterization of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceris

Generalized Mittag-Leffler Distributions and Processes for Applications in Astrophysics and Time Series Modeling

Geometric generalized Mittag-Leffler distributions having the Laplace transform $\frac{1}{1+\beta\log(1+t^\alpha)},00$ is introduced and its properties are discussed. Autoregressive processes with Mittag-Leffler and geometric generalized Mittag-Leffler marginal distributions are developed. Haubold and Mathai (2000) derived a closed form representation of the fractional kinetic equation and thermonuclear function in terms of Mittag-Leffler function. Saxena et al (2002, 2004a,b) extended the result and derived the solutions of a number of fractional kinetic equations in terms of generalized Mittag-Leffler functions. These results are useful in explaining various fundamental laws of physics. Here we develop first-order autoregressive time series models and the properties are explored. The results have applications in various areas like astrophysics, space sciences, meteorology, financial modeling and reliability modeling.Comment: 12 pages, LaTe

A patient survey of out-of-hours care provided by Emergency Care Practitioners

© 2007 Halter et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

On Unbounded Composition Operators in L2L^2-Spaces

Fundamental properties of unbounded composition operators in $L^2$-spaces are studied. Characterizations of normal and quasinormal composition operators are provided. Formally normal composition operators are shown to be normal. Composition operators generating Stieltjes moment sequences are completely characterized. The unbounded counterparts of the celebrated Lambert's characterizations of subnormality of bounded composition operators are shown to be false. Various illustrative examples are supplied

The achievement of food and nutrition security in South Asia is deeply gendered

Women form an integral part of the agricultural sector, and in much of South Asia women make up a majority of the agricultural workforce, often compelled to work in order to meet their families’ basic needs. While their contributions are recognised as central to the food and nutrition security of households and communities, their work is not recognized or supported adequately by public policy and social institutions. Women continue to face inequality across key development indicators including health, education, and nutrition; discriminatory laws; and high levels of precarity in terms of income, employment conditions, safety and wellbeing. Social structures that promote gender inequality and inhibit the agency of women contribute to the South Asian enigma – the persistence of undernutrition despite economic growth – and must be addressed to achieve food and nutrition security