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The effect of drying temperature on cup quality of coffee subjected to mechanical drying
Get PDFThe objective of the work was to study the effect of drying temperature on cup quality of the robusta coffee subjected to mechanical drying in comparison with conventional sun drying. The robusta coffee processed by wet (parchment coffee) and dry (cherry coffee) methods were subjected to drying at different temperature regimes (40 oC, 50 oC and 60 oC) in a rotary mechanical dryer. The results of the study indicated that as the drying temperature increased, the time of drying reduced. Sun drying of parchment coffee took 48 hours (approximately seven days) to attain the desired moisture content of 11-12 per cent, while mechanical drying reduced the drying time to 16 to 24 hours. Similarly, cherry coffee subjected to sun drying took 88 hours (approximately 15 days), while mechanical drying reduced the drying time to 32 to 48 hours. The cup quality rating of coffee dried by different drying methods revealed that sun-dried robusta parchment coffee scored the highest cup rating. As the drying temperature increased, the cup quality ratings decreased. A similar cup quality rating was also observed with cherry coffee. These results indicate a considerable reduction of drying time when coffee beans are dried in a mechanical dryer. However, there is a need to regulate the drying temperature, which otherwise would negatively impact the quality of coffee. The drying temperature should not exceed 40oC for preserving the innate quality of robusta coffee because the high drying rates provoked by high temperatures can cause damage to the coffee quality due to the damage caused to the cell membranes. Overall, mechanical drying is more advantageous to sun drying in-terms of drying hours (indirectly reduces dependency on manpower) and preservation of innate quality of the coffee
Molecular cloning and characterisation of a novel putative MYB-related transcription factor (ClMYB1R1) from Curcuma longa L.
Get PDFTurmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is gaining immense global importance due to the presence of curcumin that contributes to its immunomodulatory properties. Curcumin, a phenylpropanoid derivative, is the most important secondary metabolite present in turmeric rhizomes and understanding the regulatory mechanism of curcumin biosynthesis is hence important. In plants, activator and repressor type transcription factors (TFs) of the myeloblastosis (MYB) family have been found to regulate the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. MYB TF genes of the R2R3 class were identified by RNA-Seq based approach from turmeric. The present study involves RNA seq based identification, cloning and characterisation of a novel MYB TF of the 1R class. Gene-specific primers were used to amplify 1R MYB from the rhizome, and it was sequenced to give a full-length gene of 1056 bp. The identified MYB gene was designated as ClMYB1R1 and consisted of a 693 bp open reading frame (ORF) which encodes a 230 amino acid length protein with a molecular mass of 25 kDa and pI 9.51. The protein was predicted to consist of a single helix-turn-helix MYB-like motif and other highly conserved residues. ClMYB1R1 expression varied in different genotypes and tissues. UV-C light was found to upregulate, while NaCl and nutrient stresses down-regulated the expression. The expression showed a positive correlation with a candidate pathway gene ClPKS11 under all of the above experimental conditions, indicating the putative role of ClMYB1R1 in regulating curcumin biosynthesis
Robust non-parametric spatial regression and its application in field data analysis
Get PDFOutlier detection and robust estimation are an integral part of data mining and has attracted much attention recently. Generally, the data contain abnormal or extreme values either due to the characteristics of the individual or due to errors in tabulation/data entry. The presence of outliers will severely affect the data modelling and analysis. A robust nonparametric method is proposed to fit the spatial/surface regression that is not influenced by the presence of outliers in the data. Robust M-kernel weighted local linear regression smoother was used to fit the spatial regression function. The proposed method is useful to estimate/eliminate the spatial effect and identify the high potential trees in an orchard, which is useful for breeding programs. The method is illustrated through simulated data. The comparison of AMSE corresponding to the optimum bandwidth shows that the non-robust Kernel Weighted Local Regression Estimator (KWLRE) performs very badly in the presence of outliers. Among the robust estimators, the robust spatial smoother with biweight robustness weight function performed better than the Huber and Hampel weight functions. Comparison of AMSE corresponding to the optimum bandwidth showed that there is not much difference between different types of robustness weight function in the absence of outliers. In the case of robust spatial smoother with biweight per cent robustness weight function, the AMSE for 0 per cent, 4 per cent and 8 per cent outliers are almost the same, indicating that the method is robust against the outliers. The method was also applied to the annual yield data of 225 coconut palms in a field to eliminate spatial effect and to identify the high potential trees. It was found that by removing spatial effects and outliers, the MSE has reduced more than 50 per cent
Utilization of phytohormones for successful crop production under environmental stress conditions
Get PDFStress is an external factor that exerts a detrimental effect on overall growth of a plant. Environmental stress is a serious threat for sustainable crop production, and a main cause for food insecurity. Agricultural crops are exposed to a variety of environmental stresses including extreme temperatures and unfavorable chemical and physical soil conditions. Drought stress adversely affects some physiological and biochemical processes in plants, including transpiration, translocation of assimilates and nutrient metabolism. Salinity stress is responsible for loss of turgor, reduction in growth, wilting, leaf abscission, reduction in photosynthesis and respiration, loss of cellular integrity, tissue necrosis and finally death of the plant. Drought and salinity stress negatively affects the growth and yield of crop plants more than all the other stresses combined. Cold stress affects cellular components and metabolism, and temperature extremes impose stresses of variable severity that depend on the intensity and duration of the stress. Many approaches are being used to alleviate the deleterious effects of environmental stresses on successful agricultural crops production in recent years. Application of phytohormones (Abscisic acid, Indole-3-Aacetic Acid, Jasmonic acid and salicylic acid) is one of the curative measures to mitigate the environmental stresses in agricultural crops. Phytohormones play a significant role in enhancing stress tolerance and therefore, reduce the yield loss in crop plants. In this paper, the impacts of environmental stresses on productivity and physiological activities of crop plants, and the effective role of some phytohormones in alleviation of environmental stresses have been reviewed
Detection of radiation treatment of spices using Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy Technique: ESR detection of irradiated spices
No full textUse of ionising radiation for commercial sterilisation to increase the hygienic quality of spices is increasing worldwide. Among several detection methods, Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectroscopy is one of the reliable techniques for irradiated foods containing some hard and dried parts. Spices are therefore candidates of such a method and radiation treated spices can be detected. The purpose of the present work was to identify the radiation treatment of spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and rosemary using the sensitive technique of ESR spectroscopy. The spice samples were irradiated to 5, 10, 15 and 20 kilogray (kGy) or unirradiated and the samples were dried in vacuum oven and were placed into quartztubes for ESR measurement. On measurements, the unirradiated samples were found to show the ESR-signal at g-value of 2.004 that is typical in case of plant foods containing cellulose. Whereas, the irradiated samples showed a formation of a new paramagnetic structure that appeared in the form of a triplet-signal, attributed to radiation-induced cellulose radical. The clear difference between the nature of ESR signals in case of unirradiated and irradiated samples provided the evidence of the radiation treatment of spices samples. It is therefore concluded that radiation treatment of spices can be identified using sensitive ESR spectroscopy during a storage period of three to ten months
Reducing the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) In light of the Islamic Law and scientific approach: Protection, and prevention
Get PDFA virus is an ultramicroscopic (20-300 nanometers in diameter) metabolically inert, infectious agent that replicates only within the cells of living hosts. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 and is announced by World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic. As of 23 August 2020, 23,407,334 infected people and 810,242 deaths were reported worldwide. COVID-19 has affected our daily lives and influences all aspects of life, including economic, social, health, etc. On the healthcare level, the world is faced with many challenges, including diagnosis, quarantine, and treatment of suspected cases, overloaded doctors and healthcare professionals and the requirement of a high level of protection. This research focused on preventive measures - preventive medicine - to combat coronavirus according to Islamic law's and modern medicine's perspective. Sharia focuses on preserving diseases to achieve its objectives thereby, so it has legislated some of the rulings that achieve this purpose, so it based its provisions on bringing interests and warding off evil. This research has been divided into two requirements; the first requirement is that the researcher talked about preventive strategies, one of the most important branches of medicine because it precedes disease before it occurs to be rectified with awareness and guidance. The second requirement: supporting scientific research to make vaccines and medicines is the most important findings of the researcher. Besides the review intent to explaining the extent of compatibility and difference between practical applications in Islamic jurisprudence and modern medicine, Explaining the importance of treatment from diseases and epidemics and the necessity of supporting scientific research to find medicines and vaccines( not only preventive strategies), and A statement of the importance and necessity of adhering to the instructions and instructions issued by the competent medical authorities and institutions with expertise and competence to prevent transmission of infection by prevention, treatment and taking vaccinations
Domestic quarantine: An introspection and future perspectives on biosecurity interventions to contain pathogen spread in vegetatively propagated spices in India: Domestic quarantine in vegetatively propagated spices
No full textSafeguarding biodiversity poses a major challenge that warrants preventive legislative and regulatory frameworks to ensure biosecurity, preserve intrinsic biodiversity and mitigate risks from the invasion of exotic pathogenic microbes thereby sustaining agricultural productivity and food safety. The anthropogenic activities contribute enormously towards transboundary movement of invasive alien pathogens through trade and transport of seeds/propagation materials that need to be regulated by enacting appropriate laws and policy guidelines. Black pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric and vanilla are the major vegetatively propagated spices cultivated in India. Since primary spread of the major pathogens in these spices are mediated through planting materials, it is imperative to formulate guidelines for flawless and meticulous implementation of quarantine measures which are otherwise not adopted. This review discusses the significance of domestic quarantine in major vegetatively propagated spices with a comprehensive background on plant biosecurity and invasive plant pathogens which could pose threat to spice cultivation in India. It further illustrates the constraints and possible strategies to annihilate the cryptically disseminated pathogens through vegetative planting materials ultimately to safeguard our self-sustaining agricultural systems
Phytochemical analysis and biological activities of three wild Mesembryanthemum species growing in heterogeneous habitats
Get PDFThe objective of this study was to analyze the phytochemicals and to determine the antioxidant, antibacterial and allelopathic potential of three wild Mesembryanthemum species (M. crystallinum L., M. forsskaolii Hochst. Ex Boiss and M. nodiflorum L.). The phytochemical composition of the methanolic extract of studied species revealed the considerable quantities that might be responsible for their powerful antioxidant activity. The IC50 values were 386.51, 592.97, and 752.23µg/ml for M. nodiflorum, M. crystallinum and M. forsskaolii extracts respectively. The antibacterial activity index was calculated for each extract in comparison with the standard antibiotics. M. nodiflorum showed higher potency than ampicillin and penicillin G against against Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis. The allelopathic potential showed that the studied Mesembryanthemum species expressed a significant phytotoxic activity against Chenopodium murale weed in a dose dependent manner. M. nodiflorum sample showed the most phytotoxic effect among the studied species
Adjusting planting time of Binadhan-17 in boro season
Get PDFBoro rice (grown in winter under irrigated condition) contributes to the major portion of rice production (over 50%) in Bangladesh. Binadhan-17 is a green super rice developed by BINA which requires 30% less nitrogenous fertilizer and water which is grown in aman season (primely produced under rainfed). Due to it’s increasing popularity and adoption rice growers are keen to cultivate it in boro season also. Taking account of the above situation, two field trials were conducted at Magura during November 2019 to May 2020 to investigate the effect of variety, sowing dates and their interaction. Factorial RCBD (Randomized Complete Block Design) was applied for experimentation. Two rice varieties: Binadhan-17 (V1), BRRI dhan58 (V2) and three sowing times: 30th November (T1), 10th December (T2), 20th December (T3) were used as treatments. 35 days old seedlings were transplanted in main field. Relevant agronomic and morphological data were statistically analyzed through Statistix 10.0. Combined effect of the above factors at farm exposed that, T1×V1 required longest days (159.33 days) to mature. but, comparatively short life cycle (149.97 days) was observed by T3×V2. Maximum grain was yielded (7.70 t/ha) by T2×V1 and minimum (5.74 t/ha) by T1×V1 treatment combination. Outcomes of on station revealed that, T1×V1 needed more days (158.00 days) to mature; conversely, alike duration was noted with T2×V2 (147.20 days) and T3×V2 (145.43 days) which matured quite earlier. T2×V1 produced the highest grain yield (7.41 t/ha) and T1×V2 the lowest (5.94 t/ha). Our results indicate that, planting of Binadhan-17 on 10th December may give insect-disease free grains with optimum yield in context of Magura region. Farmers will be financially benefited if they cultivate this variety in the boro season in lieu of aman; due to higher yiel
Annihilating efficacy of Euphorbia hirta L. extracts on Artemia salina Nauplii and human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7 & MDA-MB-231)
Get PDFCancer is one of the major causes of death both in developed and developing countries. Recently the secondary metabolites produced by plants are being investigated due to their promising anticancer activities. Accordingly in the present study the anti-cancer potentials of Euphorbia hirta L., a well-known medicinal plant was explored for its anticancer activity. The methanol and aqueous extracts of Euphorbia hirta L. (EHA and EHM) were tested against Artemia salina nauplii for toxicity and MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines for its cytotoxic potentials. Both the extracts EHA and EHM exhibited maximum toxicity towards Artemia salina among which the methanol extract was able to kill all the nauplii in its highest concentration. Excitingly, Euphorbia hirta L. extracts exhibited minimal cytotoxicity on normal cells (VERO) than in human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7). In conclusion, the results suggest that EHM extract of the selected plant may have promising therapeutic potential against human breast cancers and may lead to the development of new clinical drug specifically against ER-positive breast cancer