Archives-May 2016

In the present study chemolithotrophs producing glycolic acid were isolated from unexplored low grade iron ore (magnetite quartzite) and Lignite mining sites mines of Kanjamalai hill and Neyveli respectively in India. A total of twenty nine soil and three rock samples were taken from different location and screened for sulfur and iron oxidizing chemolithotrophs. The soil samples were inoculated into medium containing ferrous sulphate at pH 2.0 and incubated for 3 days at 30?C. Thirty three isolates were screened to utilize ferrous sulphate. Among the thirty three isolates, thirteen isolates were Gram positive short rods and twenty were of pleomorphic forms. All the thirty three isolates were found to be spore-formers and non-motile. A rapid and simple spectrophotometric assay was done to screen the production of glycolic acid by these isolates. It was observed that all the thirty three isolates produced glycolic acid and a maximum of 0.11mg/mL was produced by KM13 isolate.

Production of date syrup as use for sweeteners in food has become very essential in view of the high consumption of table sugar which is high in calories and has been a precursor to certain ailment such as increased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes. This work was designed to produce sweetener from date fruits and to determine the chemical properties, microbial and sensory attributes of the sweetener. Date fruits were sorted washed and wet milled. Slurry obtained was screened and filtrate was poured into an evaporator. Sweetener was analysed for pH, brix, proximate, vitamins B1 and C acceptability of the product was determined.The syrup obtained was a brown coloured viscous liquid of 5.71 Pa s at 25oC. pH of date syrup was 4.95. The moisture content was 23.75%. The results for protein, ash, crude fiber and fat were 2.41, 1.81, 0.14 and 1.21% respectively. Significant values of vitamins B1 and C were observed. The date sweetener had a brix of 71.5 which indicate high sweetening value. The product compared favourably with honey in terms of sensory attributes. Application of sweetener produced from date syrup will serve as a means of increasing the nutritional value of food, when added.

This research examines the concept of self-regulation from student’s perspective among gifted students in Jeddah Saudi Arabia. The discussion in the study is based on the theoretical framework of the emotional intelligence Theory Goleman’s (1995). A total of 150 respondents were involved in the quantitative study comprising of male and female gifted students whereby 10 teachers and 30 gifted students were used for qualitative study. During the analysis and interpretation of the responses gathered from gifted students which is the quantitative data, effect size was used to investigate which of the emotional intelligence element (self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skill) would be the best predictor of academic achievement among gifted students in Saudi Arabia. For the qualitative data thematic analysis was used through manual qualitative style to describe the concept of self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills and provide suggestions from the teachers that could be adopted to improve emotional intelligence among gifted students in Saudi Arabia. The findings of the study show the effect of emotional intelligence factors on academic achievement. The study will be significant to teachers of gifted students, educational planners, government, international agencies such as UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP, e t c and nongovernmental organizations by putting into practice the suggestions and recommendations which will help them improve emotional intelligence among gifted students in Saudi Arabia.

Wetlands are among the most productive life-support systems in the world and are of immense socio-economic and ecological importance to mankind. These are areas where water is the primary factors controlling the environment and the associated plant and animal life. They occur where the water table is at or near the surface of the land, or where the land is covered by shallow water. They are critical for the maintenance of biodiversity and perform a great role in the biosphere. Ironically, wetlands have been perceived as wastelands associated with disease, difficulty and danger. Emphasizing the negative impacts and ignoring their importance, these habitats were considered obstacles in the path of progress and hence drained, filled, despoiled and degraded for economic gains. The wetland loss has been responsible for bringing to the verge of extinction countless species of animals and plants. Inadequate understanding of the crucial role and utility of wetlands is a matter of serious concern. In the present paper, seven types of wetlands are compared in terms of their potentiality and economic advantages with tropical sea grass bed with highest productivity and estuarine mangrove wetland with lowest one.

Drying seeds and maintaining low seed moisture content is critical in hot and humid climatic conditions. In this study Zeolite beads which are inert adsorbent materials have been used for drying tomato and onion seeds. Response Surface Methodology was employed to optimize the parameters of drying in central composite experimental design. The seeds of tomato cv. Pusa Ruby and onion cv. Nasik Dark Red with initial moisture content of 8.6 to 15.4% dry weight basis (d.b.), were dried at five levels of residence time (1.3, 4, 8, 12, 14.7 h) and five levels of seed bead ratio (1:0.33, 1:0.5, 1:0.75, 1:1, 1:1.17). Second degree polynomial models were found significant for each response viz. germinability, vigour and final moisture content. The optimum values of process variables was found to be 1:0.5, 10.8 hours and 11.84 %, seed bead ratio, residence time and initial moisture content, respectively in case of tomato seed. Seed bead ratio, residence time and initial moisture content of 1:0.62, 6.52 and 13.62, respectively were found optimum for onion seed.

Customer satisfaction is end result of the service and products quality. This study measures the service quality dimensions given by Parasuraman (1990). The present study is taken up with an objective to measure the opinion of respondents on service quality such as product quality, price, product availability, store environment and design of product display. To assess the customer satisfaction; and to suggest specific steps to improve service quality of the retail store 120 samples are considered to pool up the opinions by structured questionnaire. This study tries to find interrelationship between various Retail Service Qualities dimensions, which will help the retailers to identify the steps needed to improve the overall quality of service.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to discuss that whether a major portion of the monthly budget of each household is spent on FMCG products. With more than 6, 38,588 villages and more than 72.2% of the population, rural India has become a massive consumer goods market. Further the purpose of this study is to examine the brand awareness in rural area and to study the interest of consumers in branded products of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws from a research study comprising qualitative methods as well as case study analyses. The central aspect of the approach to this topic is that it is a bottom?up perspective grounded in understanding rural markets. The theoretical scope of the paper includes brand awareness, FMCG products and consumer preferences in impoverished environment of rural markets. Findings: The authors' key finding is that FMCG has emerged as a major product category in rural consumption. Companies marketing FMCG to rural consumers cannot merely extend their general marketing strategies to rural markets. Instead, they need to devise rural specific strategies. The brand awareness is showing increasing tendency everywhere and Baroda Region of Gujarat State is not an exception to it. Research limitations/implications: This research has implications for theoretical and empirical advancement in the areas of structuring marketing activities in rural areas. Practical implications: This research has implications for several aspects of rural marketing strategy. To examine the validity of this general statement that is being discussed day in and day out by the researcher, market managers, producers, consumers, advertisers, etc. Originality/value: This paper suggests that brand awareness and spending power are inextricably linked in subsistence contexts with important implications for rural marketing. Research Paper on brand awareness in rural area of Fast Moving Consumer Goods in Baroda Region of Gujarat State is taken up.

Rapid population growth is critical especially in developing countries because rapid population growth is often time not matched with the socio-economic demands of the people. For instance prolonged high fertility rate may lead to a relatively high proportion of children and high dependency burden and eventual poverty and other social vices.

Modern probability theory studies several processes for which the knowledge of previous outcomes influences predictions for future experiments. When we observe a sequence of chance experiments, all of the past outcomes could influence our predictions for the next experiment. In this work, our aim is to discuss the properties of the Markov Chain model applied to the data set which includes the details on smoking cessation of U.S.A. adults. In this set of data, the selected possible outcomes are, an adult being a non – smoker (A),a smoker who is interested in quitting (B),a smoker who is not interested in quitting (C). All the data was taken from CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly reports 2011 and 2009. Using the information given in the data set, the transition probabilities of matrix P were calculated and they are PAA = 0.951, PBA = 0.062, PCA= 0, PAB= 0, PBB = 0.524, PCB = 0.879, PAC = 0.049, PBC = 0.414, PCC = 0.121. Since column entries of matrix P add up to 1 this is a stochastic matrix (a Transition matrix). Then, the probability vector for this study was obtained and named as X0, X0 = [ 0.794 ; 0.0933; 0.1127]; which explains the probability of non- smokers in 2008 = 0.794, probability of smokers who are interested in quitting 2008 = 0.0933, probability of smokers who are not interested in quitting 2008 = 0.1127. Furthermore, the properties of P were analyzed and regularity was determined and the equilibrium approach was calculated. Using this method smoking behavior of US adults was predicted. Our choice of transition probabilities for each outcome, lead to a regular transition matrix P. Hence, after 92 steps, the system converged to a steady state vector V = [0.4508; 0.3562; 0.1929]. This can be seen after 184 years. Therefore, mandatory actions can be taken to prevent tobacco smoking. All the matrix calculations were implemented by MATLAB software.

Background: Several studies have objectified a high prevalence of metabolic syndrom (MS) in psoriasis patients. Objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrom and its components in psoriasis patients compared with controls, also the factors determinants the occurrence of MS in our patients. Patients and Methods: This was a prospective study including 100 psoriasis patients versus 100 controls seen in consultation or in hospitals. Conducted for a period of 12 months. Results: The prevalence of MS was higher in patients with psoriasis compared with controls (OR= 2.89, p=0,0002). with a significant increase in obesity (OR = 3.25, p = 0.001), hypertriglyceridemia (OR = 3.9, p = 0.013) and glucose intolerance (OR = 2.13, p = 0.046). Risk factors determining the appearance of SM in psoriatic were age, family history of psoriasis, seniority of psoriasis, but we did not find a correlation with sex, severity of psoriasis and the clinical form Conclusion: The management of psoriasis will integrate research risk factors for a possible metabolic syndrome and its treatment through a multidisciplinary approach.