Archives-July 2011

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) also known as bottle squash is a delicious vegetable. Many fresh fruits, vegetables, spices and green and black tea have been found to contain natural antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, flavonoids, phenolic compounds like ferulic acid and catechins and can contribute significantly in scavenging free radicals if taken regularly in the diet. The present study aimed at assessing the effect of different processing methods and parts of the bottle gourd on antioxidant activities as well as determining the antioxidants present in different cultivars (organic and conventional) and developing value added products (tutte- fruity) from bottle gourd. Organic and conventional bottle gourds were used for the current study. The samples were collected from two different places of Coimbatore District. Organic bottle gourd was obtained from a certified organic farm located in Udumalpet. Conventional bottle gourd was purchased from a local market. Nutrient composition was determined in both the varieties with respect to fibre, vitamin- C, calcium, phosphorus and iron. Antioxidant activity was estimated using DPPH, FRAP and total phenols method. Shelf- life study was carried out for both the varieties and value addition of bottle gourd was done by preparing tutte- fruity and organoleptic evaluation was carried out. There was no significant difference between the fibre content of organic pulp and skin when compared to conventional pulp and skin. Organic whole bottle gourd showed slightly high values in fibre content than conventional sample. Calcium content of raw, boiled and steamed bottle gourd skin was high (12.50mg). This may be due to accumulation of calcium in skin portion. In all the three assays organic bottle gourd showed highest radical scavenging activity (331.4µM TE/g) when compared to conventional one (305.83µM TE/g). The difference between the values may be because of utilization of pesticides and fertilizers in conventional practice. Tutte- fruity prepared from the conventional bottle gourd was found to be similar to the commercially available ones. Thus inclusion of bottle gourd in our daily diet will promote health and well being through its micronutrients.

An accident notification system for a vehicle includes a degree of damage predicting system that detects whether the vehicle occupant has been injured in an accident. It consists of position monitoring system that monitors the position of the vehicle. If any accident occurs, the mobile communication terminal receives the signal and it informs to the nearest hospital about the accident, so that the occupant can be rescued soon and gets treatment. This project can be used in the areas where there is no one to help the injured occupant when they are met with an accident. It also makes note of the databases of the persons in and around the accidental area. This will be helpful for the police in further investigations.

Avian influenza, especially highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), poses global threat not only for poultry but also for public health. To control avian influenza expediently, rapid, sensitive, and specific detection method is therefore of high importance. Here we compared the sensitivity and specificity of real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) and nucleic acid sequence based amplification assay - microplate detection method (NASBA-MDM), with chicken embryo infective dose 50 (EID50). Additionally, we compared two cell culture systems, namely chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEF) and Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells for virus detection. rRT-PCR and NASBA-MDM could detect about 0.1 EID50 virus. Both methods showed negative results for pathogen other than avian influenza viruses (AIVs) tested, indicating that they are sensitive and specific. In contrast, both cell systems could detect viruses about 1 EID50 in presence supplementary trypsin. rRT-PCR and NASBA-MDM could generate result within few hours. However, NASBA-MDM was more laborious than rRT-PCR. MDCK cells were found more sensitive when compared with CEF, but less sensitive than chicken embryo. However, cell cultures may serve as an alternate tool for virus isolation. Both molecular methods tested here may be applicable for rapid, early, and specific detection of AIVs. The usefulness of the various methods utilized here may be further appraised in terms of virus typing, antigenic subtyping and pathotyping.

Determination of suitable probability distribution function in among frequency distribution models in evaluating occurrences for any phenomena is very important. The gradient ratio is the one of the best important parameter for evaluation of envelope clogging. To conduct this research, data of each replicate was divided into four hourly periodic lengths of 24, 48, 72, and 96. Then, with analysis of data in time series according to HYFA software output and goodness fit of Relative Residual Square Mean, suitable frequency distribution function for each envelope was selected. Based on relative frequency, the best fitted distribution was found to be Three Parameter Log Normal distribution (Moment method) and Two Parameter Log Normal distribution (maximum likelihood method) for synthetic envelope of PP450, Normal distribution (Moment method and maximum likelihood method) for synthetic envelope of PP700, Three Parameter Log Normal distribution (Moment method) and Two Parameter Log Normal distribution (maximum likelihood method) for synthetic envelope of PP900 and Pearson type III distribution (Moment method) and Normal distribution (maximum likelihood method) for envelope of gravel.

One of the major problems in using subsurface drain is pipe and envelope clogging by mineral materials. Such a process is the result of disturbances of soil structure during drain installation. Drain filter selection follows definite rules and neglecting them can result in project failure. Current study is based on evaluation of three kinds of synthetic filters in comparison with mineral filters. Two soil samples of northern Khorram Shahr (1.65m deep) were obtained for the study. Physical and chemical analysis on samples showed they do not have major differences in texture and particle size distribution (PSD). Original recommendations based on previous studies on synthetic filters in terms of PSD curve and soil texture was to use PP700 type. Two other types were also chosen as the upper and lower boundaries of the main choice. The performance of three types of filters (PP450, PP700 and PP900) was assessed in terms of clogging potential using ASTM-5101standard test. In addition, mineral blanket was designed according to the USBR criteria. Experiment was conducted in three treatments and completely on random. The test was conducted in laboratory, using physical model for infiltration (according to the ASTM D-5101 standard) and by creating four different hydraulic pressure head (25, 50, 75 and 100cm). In the study, changes in outflow from soil-geotextile system, hydraulic conductivity, gradient ratio and hydraulic conductivity ratio were analyzed for four filters. The results showed that 1) in terms of the gradient ratio, none of the filters were found sensitive to clogging, 2) outflow from mineral filter was 2 to 3 times greater than for geotextiles, 3) the hydraulic conductivity ratio of mineral filter for PP450, PP700 and PP900 geotextile filters were 3.47, 4.17 and 5.57 respectively, and 4) comparing outflow and hydraulic conductivity variations, geotextile filter of PP450 type was found the best. According to the optimization results, for PP450, optimum values for decision variables at different hydraulic heads (H) and drain outflows (Q) were equal to 47 cm and 0.166 cm3/s and for PP700 were 114 cm and 0.183 cm3/s. These values were equal to 94 cm and 0.198 cm3/s for model PP900 and 237 cm and 0.298 cm3/s for gravel filter, respectively.

A new indoor rearing device made up of polythene sheet with bamboo framework had been fabricated and, evaluated for maintenance of leaf freshness of detached twigs of Som plant (Persea bombycina Kost) and its indoor rearing performance of early stages of Muga silkworm (Antheraea assamensis Helfer). The device has a leaf bed platform and aeration system in one side of it. The device maintained high relative humidity while water soaked foam pads were used inside it. By keeping such foam pads inside for different periods the relative humidity inside the device could be raised conveniently. While water soaked foam pads were kept inside the device for 24 hours prior to twigs keeping and their continuous presence inside, raised the leaf moisture content dramatically to 63.094% over initial 56.233% at ‘0’ hours. After 24 hours leaf moisture content gradually decreased that became stable around its initial state throughout the rest period. As a result of almost no loss of leaf moisture, the leaf of the detached twigs of Som plant remained fresh inside the device for continuous five days. Muga silkworm larvae were reared indoor on detached twigs of Som plant in this device and 85.37% larvae of third instars were successfully released on outdoor tree. Larvae exhibited normal growth as measured by their body weight. Prevailing market rate of fabrication is also low restricting at Rs.39.00 per device. Thus, the device is found as an ideal one for early instars indoor rearing of Muga silkworm.

Lectures are inevitable in university classes and are used as a way of imparting knowledge to students. They must be comprehensible and salient especially for students of other languages who need help in understanding the content and in appropriating the language. Appropriate use of discourse markers (DMs) are believed to play an important role in producing a meaningful and coherent message. In the literature of second language acquisition, the field of discourse markers has been largely omitted so far and most of the studies on DMs have focused on native (or bilingual) speakers of English, who acquire this pragmatic competence in their childhood. This paper is an attempt to compare English (native) and Iranian (non-native) EFL lectures in the frequency and use of various discourse markers to identify the possible differences and related implications. For this purpose, a corpus of ten spoken lectures (5 North-American English lectures (NAC) taken from MICASE (Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English), and 5 Iranian EFL lectures (IC) recorded at Najafabad Azad University) were analyzed. The results of the study revealed that DMs were used more in the IC than in the NAC.

In recent times, among of the major problems in oil palm plantations is the lack of proper interpretation of yield maps for site-specific management. The ability to determine and diagnose leaf factors that influencing yield variability of oil palm will benefits in managing the plantation for better yield. A study on spatial variability of N, P, K, Mg and Ca in oil palm leaf was carried out at the Dusun Durian Estate of Golden Hope Plantations Berhad in Selangor, Malaysia. The aim of this study is to obtain accurate and timely information on the spatial distribution and status of N, P, K, Mg and Ca in leaf using semivariogram analysis and geographical information system (GIS), and its correlation to oil palm fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield. The collection of leaf tissue data was conducted using systematic sampling. A GPS device (AgGPS Trimble) was used to precisely determine samples locations. Geostatistics software and classical statistics were used for data analysis. Correlation analysis was used to determine the strength of the relationship between nutrient content in leaf tissue and FFB yield. From kriged map, results indicate that about 32.2% of the area is low in yield, 51.6% is moderate and 16.2% is high in yield, respectively. Correlation analyses shown the total of N and available of P in the leaf have strong positive relationship (r2 = 0.84 and 0.83) with FFB yields. Thus, result implies that N and P in leaf tissue can be used to determine the FFB yields for oil palm production.

Since the introduction of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Nigeria, cash handling has really reduced especially for those who live in the city and have easy access to ATM machines by means of their ATM cards. People no longer see the needs to carry excess cash at home when they already have an ATM card since ATM machines can be easily accessible. ATM operation did not turn out to be all rosy as it started out. This research surveys ATM malfunctions in four states in Nigeria to ascertain the nature of malfunction that is prevalent and formulates a modification algorithm/routine that should possibly correct this ATM misfit.

Thirty-two male male Large White weanling pigs of 8-9 weeks of age averaging 7.50 + 0.36kg were used to evaluate the effect of dietary copper on fertility of pubertal sows. The animals were randomly assigned in a Completely Randomized Design experiment to 4 diets containing 0, 100, 200 and 300ppm Cu/kg constituting the control(diet 1), diets 2, 3 and 4 respectively, in a 6-month feeding trial such that each treatment had 8 animals. The feeding trial was divided into 3 physiological phases [weanling (starter), pre-pubertal (grower) and pubertal (finisher)]. At the end of the feeding trial, 4 treated boars selected at random from each treatment were mated to 8 gilts (i.e. 1 boar to 2 gilts) following the gilts’ synchronization to determine the fertility rate of the boars. The mated gilts were sacrificed at the end of the 1st trimester and their uteri cut open longitudinally to check for conception, count the number of embryos therein and the embryo survival rate determined. The results showed significant (p<0.05) difference on fertility parameters assessed except foetal crown-rump length and litter weight. The conception rate tended to be constant across the treatment except for treatment 3 with 75%. The study revealed that male weanling pigs for breeding can be fed dietary Cu of between 100-300ppm for optimum reproductive performance.