Search

Rice wine was prepared in the laboratory from a black pigmented rice (cv. Poireton) using standardized methodology. The wine was fortified with the probiotic strains Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 and Lactobacillus sakei ATCC 15521 and allowed to undergo a storage period of 28 days at 4°C. These rice wines were compared with a commercial wine used as a standard reference wine. A panel consisting of 30 judges performed the sensory evaluation. The scores obtained were based on the quality attributes of colour, taste, aroma and alcoholic strength. Analysis of the sensory scores and ranking of the different samples were performed using fuzzy analysis. The quality attributes were also ranked according to their importance in the overall acceptability. Colour and alcoholic strength were accorded the highest importance, compared with aroma and taste, as quality attributes. The rice wines were rated as 'not satisfactory', 'fair', 'medium', 'good' and 'excellent' on the sensory scale. Out of the wines prepared, black pigmented rice wine fortified with L. acidophilus was the most acceptable and was ranked as 'good', which was also at par with the commercial wine. On the other hand, black pigmented rice wine fortified with L. sakei and black pigmented rice wine fortified with L. acidophilus and L. sakei were ranked in the 'satisfactory' category followed by the unfortified wine ranked in the 'fair' category. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article infoms about India's entry into Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), an economic forum supporting sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific Region, on earlier reservation by U.S. and Australia to grant membership, and on India's effort for better and sustainable economic growth.

The emergence and spread of bacteria resistant to bacteriocins would threaten the safety of using them as food preservatives. To determine the physiological characteristics of resistant strain, resistance of Staphylococcus aureus NCDC 133 against pediocin, a class IIa bacteriocin, was isolated. A significant amplification in unsaturated fatty acid and hydroxy fatty acid in addition to branched chain fatty acid was observed in resistant which validates enhanced fluid membrane of resistant strain. Increased membrane fluidity leads to unstable oligomerization of bacteriocin which ceases pore formation. The composition of the phospholipids in resistant strain also differed from those in the wild-type strain. The putative zwitterionic amino-containing phospholipid in the resistant significantly increased, whereas amounts of amino-lacking phospholipids decreased which could be correlated to reduced negative charge making bacteriocin unable to associate optimally with bacterial membrane. Increased percent colorimetric response in resistant variant indicates that bacteriocin was positioned predominantly at the lipid-water interface rather than penetrating deep inside. Both physiological study and in vitro results confirm membrane changes during resistance acquisition which could be utilized to establish structure activity relationship and henceforth to develop potent peptide with suitable amino acid substitutes with enhanced stability and activity features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Admixture mapping has been enormously resourceful in identifying genetic variations linked to phenotypes, adaptation, and diseases. In this study throughanalysisof copy number variable regions (CNVRs),wereport extensive restructuring inthegenomesof the recently admixedAfrican-Indian population (OG-W-IP) that inhabits a highly saline environment in Western India. The study included subjects fromOG-W-IP (OG), five different Indian and three HapMap populations that were genotyped using Affymetrix version 6.0 arrays. Copy number variations (CNVs) detected using Birdsuite were used to define CNVRs. Population structure with respect to CNVRswas delineated using random forest approach.OGgenomes have a surprisingexcess ofCNVs incomparison toother studied populations. Individual ancestry proportions computed using STRUCTURE also reveals a unique genetic component in OGs. Population structure analysis withCNV genotypes indicatesOGto be distant fromboth the African and Indian ancestral populations. Interestingly, it shows genetic proximity with respect toCNVs to only one Indian population IE-W-LP4,which also happens to reside in the same geographical region. We also observe a significant enrichment of molecular processes related to ion binding and receptor activity in genes encompassing OG-specific CNVRs. Our results suggest that retention of CNVRs fromancestral natives and de novo acquisition of CNVRs could accelerate the process of adaptation especially in an extreme environment. Additionally, this population would be enormously useful for dissecting genes and delineating the involvement of CNVs in salt adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat straw was subjected to solid-state fermentation (SSF) with lignolytic white-rot fungus (WRF) Crinipellis sp. for 5 days to improve the nutritive value and digestibility. The fungal treatment caused a significant ( P < 0.05) decrease in cell wall constituents viz., neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), hemicellulose, lignin, and cellulose to the extent of 10.4, 11.2, 8.7, 8.7, and 12.1 %, respectively, with increase ( P < 0.05) in crude protein (CP) (51.6%) and ash (25.8%) contents in fungal treated wheat straw (FT-WS) than untreated wheat straw (UT-WS). Further, in vitro gas production, in vitro true dry matter digestibility and in vitro true organic matter digestibility at 48 h, metabolizable energy (ME) content, microbial biomass production, and short-chain fatty acids synthesis were significantly ( P < 0.05) higher in FT-WS. In vivo feeding trial in 10 Sahiwal calves (8–12 months) comprised of (1) control group (T1) fed with ad libitum chopped UT-WS and (2) treatment group (T2) offered with ad libitum chopped FT-WS, in addition to supplementation of groundnut cake and green berseem ( Trifolium alexandrium) forage to both groups. Digestibility of nutrients for dry matter (DM), organic matter, CP, NDF, ADF, hemicellulose, cellulose, and total carbohydrates were significantly ( P < 0.05) higher in T2 compared to T1. Moreover, daily DM ( P < 0.05), digestible crude protein ( P < 0.01), and ME intakes were also higher ( P < 0.05) in group T2 with higher ( P < 0.05) nitrogen (N) retention, which resulted in significantly ( P < 0.05) higher average daily gain in body weight (135 vs. 102 g/day). It was concluded that SSF with WRF Crinipellis sp. holds potential in upgrading the nutritional worth of wheat straw for feeding growing calves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ethnic specificity is a key determinant in understanding the association of genetic variants with outcome of disease susceptibility. SP110, a component of the nuclear body, has been subjected to association studies with conflicting results. In this study we probed SP110 variants in pulmonary (PTB) and lymph node tuberculosis (LNTB) cases to explore their role in controlling susceptibility to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in north Indians. We genotyped 24 SP110 variants in over 140 north Indian tuberculosis cases and 78 ethnicity-matched controls. The SP110 gene variants were available from public databases. The cases and controls were free of any population stratification when subjected to Eigenstrat principal component analysis. Genotyping was carried out using the Sequenom MassARRAY platform. Applying exclusion criteria, 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the LNTB panel and 13 SNPs of the PTB panel passed all filters and were analyzed further. No significant association was observed between SP110 variants and PTB. Surprisingly, we discovered evidence of an association of SP110 variants with LNTB, a form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, at 3 loci, namely, rs6436915, rs1427294, and rs1346311. When permutations analysis (n = 10,000) of allelic p values was undertaken, only rs1427294 passed the test with its p value remaining statistically significant. The C allele of rs1427294 exhibited a 5-fold risk of developing LNTB. No significant haplotypes were observed. In the pilot study presented here, our results provide evidence for the first time that SP110 may be a risk determinant locus in LNTB while confirming a doubtful role of SP110 in PTB in north Indians. In general, the results might indicate a role of SP110 variants in extrapulmonary tuberculosis rather than PTB. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Chargaff's rule of intra-strand parity (ISP) between complementary mono/oligonucleotides in chromosomes is well established in the scientific literature. Although a large numbers of papers have been published citing works and discussions on ISP in the genomic era, scientists are yet to find all the factors responsible for such a universal phenomenon in the chromosomes. In the present work, we have tried to address the issue from a new perspective, which is a parallel feature to ISP. The compositional abundance values of mono/oligonucleotides were determined in all non-overlapping sub-chromosomal regions of specific size. Also the frequency distributions of the mono/oligonucleotides among the regions were compared using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Interestingly, the frequency distributions between the complementary mono/oligonucleotides revealed statistical similarity, which we named as intra-strand frequency distribution parity (ISFDP). ISFDP was observed as a general feature in chromosomes of bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes. Violation of ISFDP was also observed in several chromosomes. Chromosomes of different strains belonging a species in bacteria/archaea (Haemophilus influenza, Xylella fastidiosa etc.) and chromosomes of a eukaryote are found to be different among each other with respect to ISFDP violation. ISFDP correlates weakly with ISP in chromosomes suggesting that the latter one is not entirely responsible for the former. Asymmetry of replication topography and composition of forward-encoded sequences between the strands in chromosomes are found to be insufficient to explain the ISFDP feature in all chromosomes. This suggests that multiple factors in chromosomes are responsible for establishing ISFDP. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The 12th Malaysian general elections have been significant in more ways than one. Most importantly, the opposition unity combined with the grievance vote of the ethnic minorities challenged the United Malays National Organisation hegemony long prevalent in Malaysian politics. The Bersih rally and Hindraf agitation that saw large-scale mobilisation before the elections also points to the active participation of civil society. The socio-economic marginalization of the ethnic minorities, erosion of religious rights, corruption, and unemployment accelerated such a change in the political scenario. This paper looks into different facets of the changing political dynamics in Malaysia and the role of ethnic minorities. It also looks into the policy options before India with regard to ethnic Indians in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a vascular disease involving permanent focal dilation of the abdominal aorta (≥30 mm) that can lead to catastrophic rupture. Destructive remodeling of aortic connective tissue in AAA contributes to wall stiffening, a mechanical parameter of the arterial system linked to a heightened risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Since aortic stiffening is associated with AAA progression, treatment options that target vascular inflammation would appear prudent. Given this, and growing evidence indicating robust anti-inflammatory and vasoprotective properties for long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3 PUFAs), this study evaluated the impact of these nutrients (1.8 g/day for 12 weeks) on indices of vascular stiffness in patients with AAA. At baseline, pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index normalized to a heart rate of 75 bpm (AIx75) were significantly higher in patients with AAA compared to control participants (PWV: 14.2 ± 0.4 m.s−1 vs. 12.6 ± 0.4 m.s−1, p = 0.014; AIx75: 26.4 ± 1.7% vs. 17.3 ± 2.7%, p = 0.005). Twelve-week LC n-3 PUFA supplementation significantly decreased PWV (baseline: 14.2 ± 0.6 m.s−1, week 12: 12.8 ± 0.7 m.s−1, p = 0.014) and heart rate (baseline: 63 ± 3 bpm, week 12: 58 ± 3 bpm, p = 0.009) in patients with AAA. No change was observed for patients receiving placebo capsules. While this raises the possibility that LC n-3 PUFAs provide improvements in aortic stiffness in patients with AAA, the clinical implications remain to be fully elucidated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work is to examine the effect of amylose–amylopectin ratios on physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of starch‐based bionanocomposite films. Starch sources with different amylose–amylopectin ratios (potato starch, 20:80; wheat starch, 25:75; corn starch, 28:72; and high‐amylose corn starch, 70:30) are blended with carboxyl methylcellulose (CMC) and sodium montmorillonite (Na‐MMT) to produce bionanocomposite films. Experimental results reveal that corn starch/CMC/nanoclay bionanocomposite films possess higher tensile strength, lower film solubility, lower water vapor permeability, and higher glass transition temperature due to molecular structure of amylose–amylopectin and their molecular space in corn starch, which help in strong interaction with CMC and extensive intercalation of nanoclay. The highest degree of crystallinity and strong interaction of corn starch with CMC (─OH and─COOH) and nanoclay (Si─O─Si and Al─OH) are confirmed by X‐ray diffractometer (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy results, respectively. The prepared bionanocomposite films can be used for food packaging applications to improve the shelf‐life and safety of food products, which can serve as a potential substitute for conventional plastic packaging materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]