HARDNESS PHENOMENON IN BEACH PEA (Lethyrus maritimus L.)

Beach pea is mostly grown on seashores and it contains higher amount of protein than other legumes. However, the pea has several undesirable  attributes, such as long cooking time and hard to germinate (imbibitions) that limited its use as food. The present investigation aimed to study the physico-chemical properties, cooking characteristics and hull crude fibre structure of beach pea as compare to other similar legumes. Standard methods of processing pulses were used for present study. Beach pea seeds contained very low grain weight, density, hydration capacity,  hydration index, swelling capacity and swelling index than the green pea and field pea. Beach pea had higher amount of crude protein, ash, crude fibre and polyphenols, but lower in starch content than the green pea and field pea. Without any treatment to beach pea seeds the water uptake capacity was very low. Mechanical treatment to beach pea seeds increasedthe water uptake percentage. The recovery of hull was 3 to 6 times higher in beach pea than that of green pea and field pea. The crude protein  content in beach pea hull was 2-5% higher than others. The beach pea hull, dhal and whole seeds were good source of macro- and micro- minerals than that of the other two peas. The electron microscopic  structure of beach pea hull crude fibre showed a very close and compact structure than green pea and field pea hull crude fibre structure. Lowering the hardness of beach pea seeds with mechanical or chemical treatments will give more scope for their utilization in the human nutrition

Design of Farthest-Point Masks for Image Halftoning

In an earlier paper, we briefly presented a new halftoning algorithm called farthest-point halftoning. In the present paper, this method is analyzed in detail, and a novel dispersion measure is defined to improve the simplicity and flexibility of the result. This new stochastic screen algorithm is loosely based on Kang's dispersed-dot ordered dither halftone array construction technique used as part of his microcluster halftoning method. Our new halftoning algorithm uses pixelwise measures of dispersion based on one proposed by Kang which is here modified to be more effective. In addition, our method exploits the concept of farthest-point sampling (FPS), introduced as a progressive irregular sampling method by Eldar et al. but uses a more efficient implementation of FPS in the construction of the dot profiles. The technique we propose is compared to other state-of-the-art dither-based halftoning methods in both qualitative and quantitative manners

Brane f(R)f(\cal R) gravity

We consider a brane world scenario in which the bulk action is assumed to have the form of a generic function of the Ricci scalar $f(\mathcal{R})$ and derive the resulting Einstein field equations on the brane. In a constant curvature bulk a conserved geometric quantity appears in the field equations which can be associated with matter. We present cosmological and spherically symmetric solutions by assuming specific forms for $f(\mathcal{R})$ and show that the former can explain an accelerated expanding universe while the latter may account for galaxy rotation curves.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, to appear in EP

Hardness Phenomenon in Beach Pea (Lethyrus Maritimus L.)

Beach pea is mostly grown on seashores and it contains higher amount of protein than other legumes. However, the pea has several undesirable attributes, such as long cooking time and hard to germinate (imbibitions) that limited its use as food. The present investigation aimed to study the physico-chemical properties, cooking characteristics and hull crude fibre structure of beach pea as compare to other similar legumes. Standard methods of processing pulses were used for present study. Beach pea seeds contained very low grain weight, density, hydration capacity, hydration index, swelling capacity and swelling index than the green pea and field pea. Beach pea had higher amount of crude protein, ash, crude fibre and polyphenols, but lower in starch content than the green pea and field pea. Without any treatment to beach pea seeds the water uptake capacity was very low. Mechanical treatment to beach pea seeds increasedthe water uptake percentage. The recovery of hull was 3 to 6 times higher in beach pea than that of green pea and field pea. The crude protein content in beach pea hull was 2-5% higher than others. The beach pea hull, dhal and whole seeds were good source of macro- and micro- minerals than that of the other two peas. The electron microscopic structure of beach pea hull crude fibre showed a very close and compact structure than green pea and field pea hull crude fibre structure. Lowering the hardness of beach pea seeds with mechanical or chemical treatments will give more scope for their utilization in the human nutrition

Spatial changes of beach profiles for a small tidal inlet (Currumbin Creek, Australia)

Many tidal inlets are actively monitored to investigate the change in flood or ebb shoals, as these sand deposits can have a major influence on the sediment budget of the adjacent coast. However, here it is hypothesized that the shores of the back barrier area can also act as a source of sediment to be considered in the sediment budget. Therefore, profile changes around Currumbin Creek tidal inlet were considered to identify the extent of such a contribution on the surrounding beach and the overall evolution of the inlet system. The results of 16 weeks survey showed that in general, the shores of the back barrier lagoon had a very marginal effect in the provision of material to the sand budget, although the gorge area is highly vulnerable and dynamic. Even an intense storm event and heavy rainfall during the data collection period, resulting in erosion of the surrounding beaches, showed no significant influence on the shore face of the lagoon

Virial mass in DGP brane cosmology

We study the virial mass discrepancy in the context of a DPG brane-world scenario and show that such a framework can offer viable explanations to account for the mass discrepancy problem. This is done by defining a geometrical mass $\mathcal{N}$ that we prove to be proportional to the virial mass. Estimating $\mathcal{N}$ using observational data, we show that it behaves linearly with $r$ and has a value of the order of $M_{200}$, pointing to a possible resolution of the virial mass discrepancy. We also obtain the radial velocity dispersion of galaxy clusters and show that it is compatible with the radial velocity dispersion profile of such clusters. This velocity dispersion profile can be used to differentiate various models predicting the virial mass.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, to appear in CQ

Serum level of interleukin-6 in patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma

Introduction: The clinical outcome of patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) located in the head and neck has remained poor despite ongoing advances in diagnosis and management. Interleukin-6(IL-6) is a multi-functional cytokine that plays an important role in the process of cell differentiation and is increased in several malignancies. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum levels of interleukin-6 in patients with oral tongue SCC. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 17 patients with oral tongue SCC were compared with the same number of age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. Serum IL-6 level fluctuation was determined using an immunological technique, before detecting its possible association with the subjects' age, gender, drinking and smoking history, cancer site, and disease severity. Results: The intensity of serum IL-6 in patients with oral tongue SCC was statistically significantly higher than that in healthy subjects (P<0.001). Serum IL-6 level was independent of the patients' age, gender, smoking and drinking history as well as cancer stage. Conclusion: IL-6 is a valuable biomarker in the diagnosis of oral tongue SCC. Its high sensitivity makes prediction of this condition possible, while this biomarker can also be used to screen high-risk patients

Serum level of interleukin-6 in patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma

Introduction: The clinical outcome of patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) located in the head and neck has remained poor despite ongoing advances in diagnosis and management. Interleukin-6(IL-6) is a multi-functional cytokine that plays an important role in the process of cell differentiation and is increased in several malignancies. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum levels of interleukin-6 in patients with oral tongue SCC. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 17 patients with oral tongue SCC were compared with the same number of age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. Serum IL-6 level fluctuation was determined using an immunological technique, before detecting its possible association with the subjects' age, gender, drinking and smoking history, cancer site, and disease severity. Results: The intensity of serum IL-6 in patients with oral tongue SCC was statistically significantly higher than that in healthy subjects (P<0.001). Serum IL-6 level was independent of the patients' age, gender, smoking and drinking history as well as cancer stage. Conclusion: IL-6 is a valuable biomarker in the diagnosis of oral tongue SCC. Its high sensitivity makes prediction of this condition possible, while this biomarker can also be used to screen high-risk patients

Inter-individual stereotypy of the Platynereis larval visual connectome

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Developmental programs have the fidelity to form neural circuits with the same structure and function among individuals of the same species. It is less well understood, however, to what extent entire neural circuits of different individuals are similar. Previously, we reported the neuronal connectome of the visual eye circuit from the head of a Platynereis dumerilii larva (Randel et al., 2014). We now report a full-body serial section transmission electron microscopy (ssTEM) dataset of another larva of the same age, for which we describe the connectome of the visual eyes and the larval eyespots. Anatomical comparisons and quantitative analyses of the two circuits reveal a high inter-individual stereotypy of the cell complement, neuronal projections, and synaptic connectivity, including the left-right asymmetry in the connectivity of some neurons. Our work shows the extent to which the eye circuitry in Platynereis larvae is hard-wired.The research leading to these results received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013)/European Research Council Grant Agreement 260821.European Research Council (ERC): Grant Agreement 260821, Gaspar Jekel