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Screening of Different Varieties of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) against Sucking Insect Pests
No full textThe screening of different varieties is one of the key strategies used in Integrated Pest Management to control the insect population and to escape the use of synthetic insecticides. This study was aimed to screen different okra varieties against sucking insect pest complex such as thrip, jassid, aphid, whitefly and mealybug. The experiment was conducted at Agriculture Research Institute Tandojam. The varieties such as Rama Krishna, Silky-460 and Bharat Kawairi were cultivated in RCBD layout and each treatment was replicated five times. The results revealed that the most infested variety was Bharat Kaiwari followed by Silky-460 and Rama Krishna throughout the experimental period. The highest mean population of the sucking insect pests (thrip, jassid, aphid, whitefly and mealybug) was 9.61±0.35, 3.22±0.13, 18.33±0.50, 3.25±0.15 and 3.75±0.19 respectively was observed on Bharat Kaiwari and the lowered on Rama Krishna. However, the attack of aphid was prominent on all okra varieties and overall pest attack was higher in the month of June. Similarly, the co-efficient correlation analysis showed a positive relationship of temperature and humidity (r= 0.012; r = 0.128) with thrip population whereas there was a negative relationship between temperature and humidity with remaining sucking pests. Both jassid and mealybug population indicated a significant difference with temperature. Similarly, relative humidity displayed a significant impact on population of mealybug (r = 0.365) and aphid (r = -0.096). Thus, it could be concluded based on the results that Rama Krishna is the most resistance against sucking insect pests as compared to Silky-460 and Bharat Kaiwairi
Determination of Heavy Metals in the Different Samples of Table Salt
Get PDFTable salt is most widely used food additive around the globe. Any contamination to salt may lead to health hazards and ailments. In this study concentration of heavy metals were determined in different table salt sample. Twelve different salt sample were collected from various localities of Pakistan including all the four provinces. The concentration lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn) and Copper (Cu) were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy and compared it with Codex Alimentarius commission. The level of Pb, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mn and Cu were in the range of 0.1-2.96 mg/kg, 0.08-1.18 mg/kg,0.02-2.4 mg/kg, 2.5-16.7 mg/kg, 0.1-5.1 mg/kg, 0.6-3.1 mg/kg respectively. In most of the sample the level of toxic metal are within the permissible limits as prescribed by Codex Alimentarius Commission
Growth of Magnesium Oxide Thin Films Using Molecular Beam Epitaxy
Get PDFUltra thin MgO films (1-2 nm) are grown on Si/SiO2 substrates using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Different growth conditions such as substrate temperatures, annealing conditions and growth rates are tested in order to achieve optimum parameters for the smooth and uniform growth. The films were characterized ex-situ using atomic force microscopy and x ray diffractio. Our results demonstrate MBE growth of MgO films with an rms roughness better than 0.5 nm on Si/SiO2 substrates. These results are important for the applications of MgO films as tunnel barriers in spintronic devices
Effects of Fe-Doping on the Structural and Magnetic Properties of Indium Oxide Nanoparticles Synthesized by Bottom up Techniqu
Get PDFWe study Fe doped In2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) from structural and magnetic point of view. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveal cubic bixbyite structure for both pure and Fe doped samples thereby confirming successful incorporation of Fe in host In2O3 lattice. Average crystallite size of pure and Fe doped (5% and 10%) In2O3 as calculated by Scherer’s formula shows slight increase from 21 nm for pure to 27 nm for the sample with 10% Fe content. The Williamson Hall (WH) method was also utilized to further determine crystallite size and Fe induced strain in In2O3 lattice. The crystallite sizes by WH plot are found to be 18 nm (for undoped), 22 nm (for 5% Fe) and 24 nm (for 10% Fe). These values are in good agreement with TEM results. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) indicates the existence of some oxygen vacancies in Fe doped In2O3 samples. Magnetic measurements show that all Fe doped In2O3 NPs exhibit typical ferromagnetic hysteresis loop with saturation magnetization Ms increasing with increasing Fe concentration. Temperature dependence of field cooled (FC) and zero field cooled (ZFC) magnetizations show no divergence and transition from ferromagnetism to paramagnetism in the temperature range of 5 to 300 K. This evidences a robust room-temperature-ferromagnetism (RTFM) in these NPs. The RTFM of our samples is attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancies in our samples
Spectral and Spatial Feature Extraction of Electroencephalographic (EEG) Data Using Independent Component Analysis (ICA)
Get PDFPurpose of this research is to extract features associated with human brain signal related to electroencephalographic measurements and classification of extracted EEG signals to the relevant the brain region. EEG brain signals from 14 electrodes placed on the human scalp is recorded non-invasively using Emotiv EPOC / EPOC+:Scientific contextual EEG system with a sampling rate of 128 Hz. EEG data of human brain functions related to evoked motor imagery tasks consisting of two different classes of activities, namely imagination of right arm-movement i.e. arm down (termed here as PUSH) and arm up (termed here as PULL) for three healthy subjects is recorded. After pre-processing for noise and artifacts removal, the EEG signals associated with investigated evoked activities are extracted using Independent Component Analysis (ICA). The results obtained show good contrast plots for the extracted brain signals recorded on F7, FC5 and FC6 electrodes, decomposed on independent components, namely IC1, IC4, IC5, IC6. Classification of extracted features is mapped on to the motor imagery parts of human brain. The algorithm based on independent component analysis gives good results for feature extraction corresponding to evoked signals. Power spectra are also determined for the extracted independent components
Prioritizing Factors of Entrepreneurial University to Inculcate Enterprise Formation Pursuit Among University Graduates Using Analytical Hierarchical Process
Get PDFThe objective of this paper is to prioritize entrepreneurial activities in higher education institutions to inculcate enterprise development pursuit among university graduates. Various phases of enterprise development process are determined along with prominent activities of entrepreneurial universities through literature review. Problem formulation is done by structuring goal, objectives and alternatives into a hierarchical model in order to prioritize factors with the help of Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). Experts of academic entrepreneurship are approached for pairwise comparison of factors on the preference scale of nine levels with the help of software tool Expert Choice 11. After recording judgments, preferences of all experts are combined in order to get overall priorities of objectives and alternatives. Results show that Internal Motivation has highest and Business Growth and Sustainability have lowest priority along with priorities of all other objectives of enterprise formation process falling between both. Moreover, University Incubation Center is prioritized among alternatives in order to achieve objectives. Sensitivity analysis of results is carried out with the help of Expert Choice in which weight of a single objective is varied to observe effect on hierarchical model. Research presents a complete picture to academicians and policy makers to determine role of universities for entrepreneurship development in country. It will also help government officials to allocate resources in a prioritized way in order to achieve specific objectives.
Inspection of Phytochemical Content and In Vitro Antioxidant Profile of Gnaphalium luteoalbum L.: An Unexplored Phytomedicine
Get PDFBackground:Oxidative stress is intensely linked with several pathological manifestations. Searching for medicinal plant with the superior safety profile for the treatment of oxidative stress related disorders are ongoing due to multiple unwanted effects associated with synthetic antioxidants. Therefore the purpose of this study was to examine the phytochemical content, in vitro antioxidant potentiality of crude methanol extract (CME), carbon tetrachloride fraction (CTF), petroleum ether fraction (PEF), chloroform fraction (CLF) and ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) of aerial parts of Gnaphalium luteoalbum (GL) L.
Methods:The aerial parts of the GL were extracted with methanol followed by fractionation using carbon tetrachloride, petroleum ether, chloroform and ethyl acetate.The phytochemical screening of this plant was performed by using standard methods to evaluate the existence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, phenols, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, terpenoids and fixed oils.Antioxidant potentiality was estimated by, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl (OH) and nitric oxide (NO) radical scavenging tests. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were also measured.
Results: Phytochemical analysis of the aerial parts of GL confirmed the presence of carbohydrates, phenols, flavonoids and saponins in crude extract and its all fractions. The CME showed the highest scavenging activity (43.28%) with IC50 of 398.49 μg/mL in the DPPH radical scavenging test. The IC50 values of EAF, CME were statistically significant (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) with respect to ascorbic acid (ACA). For OH and NO radical scavenging tests maximum scavenging (48.39%, 69.64%) was also reported for CME compared to CTF, PEF, CLF and EAF. Compared to ACA, in case of OH and NO radical scavenging activities the IC50 values of CME were markedly significant (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). In the TAC test, CME showed the highest antioxidant activity (absorbance, 2.6 nm) related to other fractions. TPC was found to be the highest in the CME (115.96 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g of dried extract) rather than other fractions. The ranking order of CTF, PEF, CLF, EAF and CME for TFC was 48.67 < 55.75 < 65.29 < 71.35 < 82.29 mg quercetin equivalent/g of dried extract.
Conclusion: The existing study suggested that CME of the aerial parts of GL can be used as a natural source of antioxidant which might be effective towards preventing or slowing oxidative stress related disorders
Food Extrusion Technology: Initiatives to Address Food and Nutrition Insecurity in South Africa
Get PDFThe use of extrusion can be regarded as beneficial due to its short production time and wide variety of foods produced by this method. South Africa as a developing country has been involved in food extrusion since the 1980’s and this technology is gaining momentum in academic research areas. A number of research efforts related to extrusion in South Africa have shown the consumption of extruded dry beans can reduce plasminogen activator inhibitor levels in hyperlipidaemic men; the production of sorghum-cowpea extruded instant porridge resulted in a nutritional acceptable product and can be used to supplement the diet of young children to assist with protein deficiencies. Furthermore, research has proven extruder parameters play a role in the outcome of the product and can influence product properties. Based on these research initiatives, Vaal University of Technology/Centre of Sustainable Livelihoods (VUT/CSL) has acquired an Extrusion Pilot Plant to implement interdisciplinary research of nutrition and engineering science. The research will look at process optimisation studies to obtain maximum product output and evaluating nutritional compositions of the products under various conditions. It is hoped the future research efforts at VUT/CSL will address food and nutrition insecurity and showcase the pilot plant as a testing facility and potential advancement to commercialisation
Prevalence and Associated Factors of Malnutrition among Children Aged 6-59 Months in Addi Harush Eritrean Refugees Camp, Tigray Region, North Ethiopia
Get PDFMalnutrition is a serious medical condition marked by a deficiency of energy, essential proteins, vitamins, and minerals in a diet. In Refugee situations where the population is often extremely dependent on the humanitarian assistance and food aid; the value of the food is greatly determine their nutritional status. That is why under nutrition is a critical public health problem among refugee children aged 6-59 months. Institutional based cross- sectional study was conducted from March to June, 2015 in Addi Harush Refugee camp, Northern Ethiopia. The data was collected using interview administered questioners, observational and Anthropometric measurement. Among the total of 372 planed participants 367 of them were enrolled in the study with a response rate of 98.7%. This had identified 69 (18.80%) of stunting and 36 (9.81%) of wasting. Children who fed exclusive breast feeding for the duration of six months were 0.04 times less likely to be wasted. Children, those who used bottle feeding were 6.067 times more likely to be affected with acute malnutrition (wasting). Children who had been vaccinated with BCG were 0.037 times less likely to be wasted. While generally immunized children were 0.013 times less likely to be wasted and 0.054 times less likely to be stunted. Both stunting and wasting are remaining public health nutrition problem in the refugee. Wasting is observed to be affected by immunization practice behavior, duration of exclusive breast feeding, BCG vaccination and bottle feeding. Stunting is observed to be affected by hand washing practice before serving food and immunization practice behaving. Bottle feeding should be avoided, Exclusive breast feeding till six months should be strengthen, Child immunization should be encouraged more than the current and Awareness towards cause and prevention of stunting and wasting should be increased at a refugee communities level
Evaluation of Raised-Bed and Conventional Irrigation Systems for Yield and Water Productivity of Wheat Crop
Get PDFA study was conducted at Drainage and Reclamation Institute of Pakistan (DRIP), Tandojam in a clay loam soil. The treatments include raised-bed irrigation system (T1) and conventional irrigation system (T2). The experiment was laid down using randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The total area under experiment for each treatment and replication was 1004.65 m2 and 334.88 m2 respectively. Groundwater quality of experimental sight was slightly saline. Results of the experiment showed that there was highly significant difference in volume of water applied, yield and water productivity of wheat crop under the raised-bed and conventional irrigation systems. Both water saving (50.73%) and water productivity (54.37%) of wheat crop was higher under raised-bed irrigation system. The raised-bed irrigation system obtained 24.65% higher yield compared to conventional irrigation system. All other parameters were also higher under the raised-bed irrigation system. Thus raised-bed irrigation system is recommended to achieve higher yield and water productivity of wheat crop and to save water particularly in a clay loam soil