Effects of intercropping, Bradyrhizobium inoculation and chicken manure fertilisation on the chemical composition and physical characteristics of soybean seed

A field experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of two Bradyrhizobium strains (local and imported), chicken manure fertilisation (7 t/ha) and intercropping with sorghum on the chemical composition and physical characteristics of soybean seed. For both monocropping and intercropping systems, moisture content slightly increased for both systems and for all treatments, while ash, fibre and carbohydrate contents fluctuated for both systems and treatments. The protein content of the seeds was significantly (p ? 0.05) increased for all treatments. Tannin content was increased significantly (p ? 0.05) with a concomitant decrease in protein digestibility for both systems and for all treatments. The seed weight (100 seeds), hydration coefficient and cookability were increased for all treatments. Mineral composition of the seeds was increased and the increment varied with different treatments.     

Sediment Removal Efficiency of Settling Basins

Experimental investigations have been carried out on the sediment removal efficiency of settling basins. Laboratory data on removal efficiency from the present and earlier studies were first used for checking the accuracy of the existing empirical and analytical methods for determination of the sediment removal efficiency of settling basins. The existing relationships were not found to yield satisfactory results over the whole range of data. Therefore, reanalysis of these data was done and a new relationship developed. The effect of continuous flushing of a sediment-water mixture from the settling basin on its removal efficiency was also studied through analysis of experimental data.     

Cactus cladode polysaccharide as cryoprotectant in frozen Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese)

The study investigated the optimisation of freezing conditions for Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) incorporated with cactus cladode polysaccharide as cryoprotectant. The freezing rate of both natural and commercial cryoprotectant‐containing samples varied significantly. The optimised (2% natural cryoprotectant) Paneer sample had about 44% moisture content, 14% protein, 16% carbohydrate and 22% fat. Freezing time of optimised Paneer sample packed in metalised polyester was 40 min. The study concluded that Paneer incorporated with 2% cactus cladode polysaccharide, packaged using metalised polyester and frozen with packaged immersion freezing method, had the least freezing time (40 min) and retained better texture during freezing.     

Microbial inactivation by high pressure processing: principle,mechanism and factors responsible

Food Science and Biotechnology - High-pressure processing (HPP) is a novel technology for the production of minimally processed food products with better retention of the natural aroma, fresh-like...     

Promising opportunities and potential risk of nanoparticle on the society

The ever‐promising opportunities and the uses of NP in our life are increasing but their present and future potential risks on the animals, plants and microorganisms are not well discussed elsewhere. In this review, the authors have systematically discussed the toxic effect of the uses of NP on animals, plants and microorganisms including human health. They have also discussed about the bioaccumulation of these NP in the food chain. Finally, they have provided some possible suggestions for the uses of NP to reduce the detrimental effect on the environment.Inspec keywords: nanoparticles, health and safety, toxicology, microorganismsOther keywords: ever‐promising opportunities, plants, microorganisms, toxic effect, human health, nanoparticle, food chain, bioaccumulation     

Handling Class-Imbalance with KNN (Neighbourhood) Under-Sampling for Software Defect Prediction

Software Defect Prediction (SDP) is highly crucial task in software development process to forecast about which modules are more prone to errors and faults before the instigation of the testing phase. It aims to reduce the development cost of the software by focusing the testing efforts to those predicted faulty modules. Though, it ensures in-time delivery of good quality end-product, but class-imbalance of dataset is a major hinderance to SDP. This paper proposes a novel Neighbourhood based Under-Sampling (N-US) algorithm to handle class imbalance issue. This work is dedicated to demonstrating the effectiveness of proposed Neighbourhood based Under-Sampling (N-US) approach to attain high accuracy while predicting the defective modules. The algorithm N-US under samples the dataset to maximize the visibility of minority data points while restricting the excessive elimination of majority data points to avoid information loss. To assess the applicability of N-US, it is compared with three standard under-sampling techniques. Further, this study investigates the performance of N-US as a trusted ally for SDP classifiers. Extensive experiments are conducted using benchmark datasets from NASA repository which are CM1, JM1, KC1, KC2 and PC1. The proposed SDP classifier with N-US technique is compared with baseline models statistically to assess the effectiveness of N-US algorithm for SDP. The proposed model outperforms the rest of the candidate SDP models with the highest AUC score (=?95.6%), the maximum Accuracy value (=?96.9%) and the closest ROC curve to the top left corner. It shows up with the best prediction power statistically with confidence level of 95%.

     

ATP Synthase and Mitochondrial Bioenergetics Dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder in our society, as the population ages, its incidence is expected to increase in the coming decades. The etiopathology of this disease still remains largely unclear, probably because of the highly complex and multifactorial nature of AD. However, the presence of mitochondrial dysfunction has been broadly described in AD neurons and other cellular populations within the brain, in a wide variety of models and organisms, including post-mortem humans. Mitochondria are complex organelles that play a crucial role in a wide range of cellular processes, including bioenergetics. In fact, in mammals, including humans, the main source of cellular ATP is the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), a process that occurs in the mitochondrial electron transfer chain (ETC). The last enzyme of the ETC, and therefore the ulterior generator of ATP, is the ATP synthase. Interestingly, in mammalian cells, the ATP synthase can also degrade ATP under certain conditions (ATPase), which further illustrates the crucial role of this enzyme in the regulation of cellular bioenergetics and metabolism. In this collaborative review, we aim to summarize the knowledge of the presence of dysregulated ATP synthase, and of other components of mammalian mitochondrial bioenergetics, as an early event in AD. This dysregulation can act as a trigger of the dysfunction of the organelle, which is a clear component in the etiopathology of AD. Consequently, the pharmacological modulation of the ATP synthase could be a potential strategy to prevent mitochondrial dysfunction in AD.     

Preservation effect of high pressure processing on ascorbic acid of fruits and vegetables: A review

High Pressure Processing (HPP) is a well‐established nonthermal technology for ensuring microbial safety and nutritional quality of foods. Ascorbic acid (AA) is highly labile antioxidant, susceptible to degradation when exposed to oxygen, change in pH, temperature, or pressure. Preservation of AA in fruit and vegetable products is a prime concern for food processors. This review summarizes recent data on the effect of HPP on AA content of different fruits and vegetables, and their products. In most of the food products, HPP has supported either preservation or better retention of AA after pressurization (400–600 MPa/5–10 min) at lower or room temperature. High pressure processed foods have demonstrated better stability of AA during refrigeration storage as compared to thermally processed ones. These studies establish the positive implications of HPP and justify its potential use as a promising preservation technique to safeguard AA in food products.