Influence of germination techniques on sprout yield,biosynthesis of ascorbic acid and cooking ability,in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Effects of germination time and illuminations on sprout yield, biosynthesis of ascorbic acid, cooking ability and moisture accumulation in chickpeas were significant (p ? 0.01). Green light had the highest promoting effect on the ascorbic acid level (40.59 mg/100 g) as compared to other illuminations but significantly reduced the sprout yield (188.6 g) as compared to dark, fluorescence and γ-rays illuminations with significantly high sprout yield (196 g) and imbibing moisture (51%). Cooking time was reduced by 43% due to γ-rays in un-soaked seed. Cooking time increased in all treated chickpea samples after 24 h germination and thereafter decreased significantly. Red light significantly increased the cooking time (68.44 min) followed by fluorescent (64.5 min), yellow (61.8 min) and green light (60.9 min). The results indicated that germination of chickpea under green light was an effective process in enhancing ascorbic acid content while dark, fluorescence and γ-rays were effective in promoting sprout growth and to some extent biosynthesis of ascorbic acid.     

Purification,surface modification of coal ash silica and its potential application in rubber composites

This article reports the purification and surface modification of coal ash silica and afterwards its utilization as reinforcing filler in solution‐styrene‐butadiene rubber/butadiene rubber (S‐SBR/BR). The coal ash silica free of unwanted metal ions/mineral oxides was obtained using phosphoric acid. The chemical composition of the purified coal ash silica in comparison to impure coal ash indicates the presence of characteristic hydroxyl functional group at 3440 cm^?1 and an increase in the oxygen content as determined with the help of Fourier Transform Infrared and x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The contact angle analysis shows that after purification the polar part of the surface energy increased to 17.5 from 12 m Jm^?2. While the surface area increased to an order of magnitude, i.e., 11.6 to 110.5 m² g^?1. The modification of purified silica particles with bis(3‐triethoxysilylpropyl) tetrasulfane reveal the functionalization of hydroxyl to ‐Si‐O‐R groups as detected at 1560 cm^?1. As a consequence, the modified silica based S‐SBR/BR composite resulted in improved mechanical properties due to enhanced silica‐rubber interaction. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Estimation of a Unique Pair of Nash Model Parameters: An Optimization Approach

Water resources planning and management requires hydrologic models to estimate runoff from a catchment. For catchments with limited data, the choice of model and identification of its parameters is very important for development of a direct runoff hydrograph. A method is presented to determine a unique pair of hydrologic parameters of the Nash Model, number of linear cascade (n) and storage coefficient (k), using optimization based on Downhill Simplex technique. In this study physical parameters of the catchment are derived from (SPOT) satellite imageries of the basin using ERDAS software. Four different objective functions of varying complexity are tested to find the best solution. Weighted root mean square error (RMSE) and Model Efficiency (Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient) are used to evaluate the model performance. Using the NASH model, a direct surface runoff hydrograph (DSRH) is developed. Kaha catchment is part of Indus river system and is located in the semi-arid region of Pakistan. This catchment is dominated by hill torrent flows and is used in this work to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method. Ten randomly selected rainfall-runoff events are used for calibration and five events are used for validation. Model results during validation are very promising with model efficiency exceeding 93% and error in peak discharge under 8%. The sensitivity of the Nash model output in response to variation in hydrologic parameters n and k is also investigated. When evaluating the hydrologic response of large catchments, model output is more sensitive to n as compared to k indicating that the runoff diffusion phenomenon is dominant compared to translation flow effects.     

Doxorubicin-loaded cholic acid-polyethyleneimine micelles for targeted delivery of antitumor drugs: synthesis,characterization, and evaluation of their in vitro cytotoxicity

Doxorubicin-loaded micelles were prepared from a copolymer comprising cholic acid (CA) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) for the delivery of antitumor drugs. The CA-PEI copolymer was synthesized via pairing mediated by N,N’-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide using dichloromethane as a solvent. Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses were performed to verify the formation of an amide linkage between CA and PEI and doxorubicin localization into the copolymer. Dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy studies revealed that the copolymer could self-assemble into micelles with a spherical morphology and an average diameter of <200 nm. The CA-PEI copolymer was also characterized by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. Doxorubicin-loaded micelles were prepared by dialysis method. A drug release study showed reduced drug release with escalating drug content. In a cytotoxicity assay using human colorectal adenocarcinoma (DLD-1) cells, the doxorubicin-loaded CA-PEI micelles exhibited better antitumor activity than that shown by doxorubicin. This is the first study on CA-PEI micelles as doxorubicin carriers, and this study demonstrated that they are promising candidates as carriers for sustained targeted antitumor drug delivery system.     

Hydrogen peroxide induces protection against lethal effects of cumene hydroperoxide in Escherichia coli cells: an Ahp dependent and OxyR independent system?

Despite a large body of evidence showing the beneficial effects of successful treatment of anemia with recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) in patients with end-stage renal disease, controversy remains as to whether EPO treatment of anemia can improve the nutritional status in patients on maintenance hemodialysis. This prompted us to conduct a prospective study in 41 hemodialysis patients with basal hemoglobin less than 9 g/dl. The dose of EPO was increased for 12 weeks to achieve the target hemoglobin concentration of 10 g/dl and then titrated in the following 12 weeks to maintain the target value. Nutritional status was assessed at baseline and after 6 months of follow-up, using the global protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM) index proposed by Bilbrey and Cohen. A low global PCM score indicates better nutrition. The results showed that hemoglobin values significantly increased from 8.7 +/- 0.8 g/dl at baseline to 10.7 +/- 0.5 g/dl in the 6th month (p < 0.001). No significant changes were observed in the normalized protein catabolic rate and Kt/V during the study period. Global PCM scores improved from 30.0 +/- 7.5 to 23.6 +/- 3.1 (p < 0.001) and paralleled the correction of anemia by EPO treatment. The data were consistent with a major improvement in the nutritional markers of relative body weight, triceps skinfold, midarm circumference, midarm muscle circumference, serum albumin, serum transferrin and total lymphocyte count in the 6th month as compared to baseline. The percentages of mild and moderate-severe PCM at baseline were 32 and 58%, respectively. These percentages were significantly reduced during the 6th month to 20 and 30%, respectively (p = 0.0004). In summary, correction of renal anemia with EPO improves the nutritional status in hemodialysis patients. A postulated mechanism is that EPO may exhibit anabolic effects, with a better utilization of ingested protein.     

Single-frequency 1310-nm AlGaInAs-InP grating-outcoupled surface-emitting lasers

Single-frequency 1310-nm grating-outcoupled surface-emitting (GSE) semiconductor lasers with output slope efficiencies exceeding 0.1 mW/mA into multimode fibers, threshold currents below 22 mA, and >30-dB sidemode suppression ratios are reported. These GSE lasers consist of 500-/spl mu/m-long active ridges that excite one end of surface-emitting second-order outcoupling gratings with 200-/spl mu/m-long first-order distributed Bragg reflector gratings terminating the laser cavities at both ends. The grating outcouplers range from 10 to 50 /spl mu/m in length. These lasers have an open eye pattern for nonreturn-to-zero signals at 2.5 Gb/s into single-mode fibers. The full-width half-maximum far-field beam divergences range from 1.5/spl deg/ /spl times/ 8/spl deg/ to 5/spl deg/ /spl times/ 8/spl deg/.     

Phytate and mineral content in different milling fractions of some Pakistani spring wheats

Six Pakistani wheat cultivars, namely C-273, Inqulab-91, Pasban-90, Parwaz-94, Shahkar-95 and Rohtas-90, were included in the present study. The kernel weight of the wheat cultivars varied from 31.43 to 36.76 g (per thousand kernels), Parwaz-94 having the highest and Rohtas-90 having the lowest. The test weight of cultivars ranged from 70.23 (Shakar-95) to 76.13 kg hL^–1 (Pasban-90). The bran contained the highest amount of phytic acid (6.12%) in C-273 followed by whole-wheat flour (2.23%) in Inqulab-91, and straight-grade flour (0.24%) in Parwaz-94. The phytate content was reduced during the baking of bread and chapati. The bread scores and other quality characteristics varied significantly among cultivars. The total bread scores ranged from 35.20 to 42.00, out of a possible fifty, with Parwaz-94 being the highest. The concentration of minerals varied widely in different milling fractions of various wheat cultivars. The concentration of Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn ranged from 5.00 to 52.50, 26 to 147.50, 0.00 to 97.00, 9.0 to 80.80 ppm, respectively, in different milling fractions of the wheat cultivars. The total chapati scores ranged from 22.40 to 24.20 of a possible score of 30. The minimum chapati scores were found in Rohtas-90 and Parwaz-94, while Inqulab-91 produced the maximum score.