Archives-April 2015

Shea butter is an under-utilized edible fat of nutritional importance in Nigeria. Research reports have not related it to the processing methods which vary from place to place. This work evaluated the effect of heat treatment methods on fatty acid and phytosterol profiles of manually extracted shea butters from fried, toasted, boiled and parboiled sheanuts pastes. Fatty acids and phytosterols profiles were determined using standard methods and they were affected by heat treatment methods. Fried sheanuts butter had highest percentage stearic acid (42.46 ± 0.12), parboiled sheanuts butter highest oleic acid (47.96 ±1.76) and boiled sheanuts the highest sitosterol content (117.31±0.11mg/100g).

Shea butter contributes minimally to edible fat supply due to variations in product quality, low yield and acceptability. Research reports have not related these to processing methods which vary from place to place. Effect of heat treatment methods on yield, sensory quality and some properties of manually extracted shea butters from fried, toasted, boiled and parboiled sheanuts pastes were evaluated using standard methods. Yield, sensory attributes and characteristics of shea butter from same sheanuts varied depending on method of heat treatment. Fried sheanuts had highest % shea butter yield (40.80±0.84) and saponification value (197.14±0.03). Boiled sheanuts butter was organoleptically preferred.

Nine genotypes of grain amaranthus (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) were evaluated for nine characters to evaluate field performance. Experiments were conducted at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Hill Campus, Ranichauri, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand during kharif 2011 and 2012. The results revealed that, the genotype Durga followed by IC35468 showed minimum days to 50% flowering during both years and Durga was found to be best for the character days to maturity having minimum days. The highest yield was recorded by PRA 2010-1 followed by PRA3, however, genotype PRA3 showed stability for many characters like germination per-cent, Days to 50% flowering, Spikelets as well as inflorescence length and can be used for improvement of these traits in breeding programme. Genotype PRA2010-1 performed better for almost all the characters over checks.

Network Interface Module (NIM) is a front-end receiver block, which interfaces incoming signals from outside world in to the High Definition (HD) Radio Frequency (RF) receivers. In most of the cases, NIM receives only one type of signal and down converts RF in to Intermediate Frequency (IF). In modern receivers there could be a separate block for this signal interface or there could be single silicon which acts as network interface module, Tuner and demodulator. Introduction of modularity concept in the front-end block of receivers will helps to enhance the performance of the receivers as and when required.

The Kenyan government’s directive to schools to use mother tongues as the main language of instruction in lower primary school classes has received support and dissent in equal measure among the country’s education stakeholders. Teachers unions and sections of Kenyan society fear it will promote ethnic division, and separate children along tribal lines.

Aeromonas species are ubiquitous bacteria in terrestrial and aquatic milieus. They are becoming renowned as enteric pathogens of serious public health concern as they acquire a number of virulence determinants that are linked with human diseases, such as gastroenteritis, septicaemia, and skin diseases. Identification of Aeromonads to the species level is problematic and complex due to their phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity. With the aim of clarifying taxonomic relationships among the strains, Repetitive Extragenic Palindromic sequence (REP) was used as molecular marker for biotyping Aeromonas strains isolated from surface and sub- surface soil sediments from Forest ecosystem. Out of a collection of 120 strains isolated from surface and sub-surface soil sediments, 15 strains were confirmed as Aeromonas based on phenotypic fingerprinting obtained from 69 biochemical tests. Genetic diversity among Aeromonas sp. was determined by analysing their REP fingerprint patterns using NTSYS pc software package and UPGMA cluster method. Considerable amount of genetic diversity was observed among the isolated strains. Furthermore, dendrogram demonstrated the existence of distinctive clusters at various similarity levels. These fingerprinting techniques can therefore be used to recognize the relatedness of strains derived from clinical and environmental isolates, which helps in further characterization of factors/genes responsible for the disease.

Noise generally is known as unwanted and unwelcome sound. It is considered as the most pervasive pollutant besides the emission pollutants. Along with the increasing degree of air and water pollution, noise pollution is also emerging as a new threat to the inhabitants of Al-Samawah city. Al- Samawah city experienced rapid development and high influx of people with the implication of increased generation of noise. Hence the need to evaluate the noise pollution level of the city. Measurement of noise pollution level was carried out in 20 locations around the city using a GM1351 digital sound level meter with a range of 30-130 dB. Day-time urban noise quality assessment was studied in Al-Samawah city for six critical zones viz. Industrial , Commercial, Residential, Recreational ,Silence zone and Traffic areas. Noise pollution indices viz. L10, L50, L90, noise climate (NC), equivalent continuous noise level (Leq) and noise pollution level (Lnp) were computed for all zones. Excel's computer program used for fitting model equations to the obtained experimental data. Results indicated that the highest Leq of 72.5 dB in the industrial zone followed by 70.0 dB in traffic areas ,68.1 dB was observed in commercial zone, 65.2 dB in residential zone ,63.5 dB in silent zone, and 62.4 dB in recreational zone. For commercial zones, Leq observed were down the statutory limits, while for other zones it was above the WHO limits. The noise assessment study clearly revealed that the Industrial and residential zones caused noise pollution in Al-Samawah city and silence areas need attention and care from the institutions to be silent zones. As excessive noise affects health of people deleteriously, the establishment of an agency under the name of Iraqi Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) is essential for controlling this and similar hazards.

The reported incidence of thyroid nodules in children and adolescents is estimated to be between 1% and 2%. However, this incidence may be increasing because diagnostic radiological procedures are detecting incidental thyroid nodules in children and to find their correlation with histopathology. To Study the Demographic distribution of Papillary carcinoma of thyroid on USG-guided biopsy with free guided biopsy` and confirm the same with cytohistopathological diagnosis. The study was conducted in a teaching hospital for a period of 1 year. It was a prospective hospital based Study. Patients were explained about whole of the procedure & the consent for the procedure was taken in all patients. FNAC of thyroid gland was done both free guided and ultrasonic- guided and the results were correlated statistically followed by histopathological examination wherever possible. Out of 139 patients, maximum numbers of patients were in 31-40 age group i.e., 43 and minimum patients were in < 10 years and > 70 year age group. 24 patients were males and rest 115 were females. The diagnosis of thyroid lesions as per Betheseda System by USG and conventional FNAC. Cytological diagnosis of papillary carcinoma was made in 32 cases in ultrasound guided FNAC. Out of 32 patients, 30 were clinically euthyroid and 2 had clinical toxic features. Two cases was reported as unsatisfactory smears in free hand FNAC while as guided aspirates proved to be papillary carcinoma. Age ranged from 8 to 68 yrs., with mean age of 39.5 yrs. Majority were female numbering 27 and 5 were male. Comparison of neoplastic lesions results both by USG guided FNAC and Free Hand FNAC in 38 patients shows difference of 2 cases in Papillary carcinoma. Number of unsatisfactory smears were 4 and 1 in free and USG Guided FNAC respectively. The Histo-pathological results were same as that seen cytological study. Out of 30 cases of papillary carcinoma diagnosed on Free-Hand FNAC histopathology was available in only in 15 cases. The statistical significance of USG-guded FNAC as: Sensitivity 96.96%, Specificity 93.3%, Positive predictive value 96.96%,negative predictive vale 93.33%,diagnostic accuracy 95%.The statistical significance of USG-guded FNAC as: Sensitivity 90%, specificity 80%, positive predictive value 90%, negative predictive vale 80%, diagnostic accuracy 86.66%.

Many of people read fiction for joy, but a few of them float particularly to works about the past. People have enjoyed historical fiction since 800 BC, when Homer wrote about the Trojan War in the Iliad. The words to which historical fiction carries us may seem utterly different from our own - but they really existed. A deep understanding of the past can help us understand our own time and our own motivations better. And by blending history and fiction, a novel lets us do more than simply read history: it lets us participate in the hopes, fears, passions, mistakes and triumphs of the people who lived it. (“People read fiction for joy,” 2015).History and literature have always found proximity with each other, until it got separated after Rankean positivist research methodology for history in 19th century. But after the coming of postmodernism by 1960s and its formal introduction by 1980s, history and literature have started working hand in hand again, with new development in the form of historical novels. Many of the postmodernist literature refer historical documents, re-reading the sources in order to develop theories and stories around the facts, giving birth to multiple theories to attract readers as well as to make subjectivity feasible in reading the text, unlike what was postulated by Ranke.

Liquid 13C-NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy) spectra of HA (humic acid) extracted from a Hanslope Soil, Writtle College, UK under five types of land management: grassland under permanent pasture on 5 y ley before stocking; grassland under permanent pasture sown with red clover a y before stocking; grassland under permanent pasture treated with N-fertilizer a y before stocking; arable land under barley and deciduous woodland showed four major fragments: the aliphatic (alkyl C) region between 10 – 48 ppm; the carbohydrate (o-alkyl C) region between 49 and 110 ppm; the aromatic (aryl C) region between 111 and 165 ppm and the carboxyl region between 166 and 195 ppm. The study also revealed carboxyl conspicuous spectra between 150 and 200 ppm. The highest concentration of humic acid was in deciduous woodland, 55.2 mg g-1, and least in permanent pasture on a 5 y ley before stocking, 33.8 mg g-1.. Since soil organic matter (SOM) influences soil structure and fertility, humic substances effects bioavailability of elements and chemical compounds in the environment. The degradation of humic substances are slow. Hence, they do not appear to be a major direct source of nutrients – carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur.