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Zinc (Zn) deficiency is one of the causes of anemic disease and mortality in developing countries where rice is the staple food. Such deficiency is enhanced with over polishing of rice grains. Grain Zn contents can be improved through fortification. Agronomic fortification through the use of Wuxal Zn and Antracol (Zn containing fungicide) were tested with BRRI dhan58 and BRRI dhan74 (Zn enriched variety) and compared with no spraying conditions on grain Zn contentin two locations of Bangladesh during 2016-17. Grain yield increased with Zn spraying by about 2–10% for BRRI dhan58 and about 6–18% for BRRI dhan74 compared to control. Grain Zn content in brown rice of BRRI dhan58 under control condition was about 17 mg kg−1 that increased to about 19 mg kg−1 through Zn spraying. Similarly, Zn content of BRRI dhan74 varied from 22.02 to 23.78 mg kg-1 under control condition, which increased to 24.25–25.79 mg kg−1 after Zn spraying. Grain non-parboiled polishing at 9–10% reduced Zn content by about 2.6–5.84 mg kg−1 irrespective of varieties and locations. Zinc enrichment through agronomic practices and awareness buildup on reduced polishing would be the important options for improving rice grain nutritional quality in Bangladesh. Keywords: Rice, Paddy soil, Zn spraying, Grain yield, Polishing, Zn enrichment

The protonation states of aspartic acids and glutamic acids as well as histidine are investigated in four X-ray cases: Ni,Ca concanavalin A at 0.94 A, a thrombin-hirugen binary complex at 1.26 A resolution and two thrombin-hirugen-inhibitor ternary complexes at 1.32 and 1.39 A resolution. The truncation of the Ni,Ca concanavalin A data at various test resolutions between 0.94 and 1.50 A provided a test comparator for the ;unknown' thrombin-hirugen carboxylate bond lengths. The protonation states of aspartic acids and glutamic acids can be determined (on the basis of convincing evidence) even to the modest resolution of 1.20 A as exemplified by our X-ray crystal structure refinements of Ni and Mn concanavalin A and also as indicated in the 1.26 A structure of thrombin, both of which are reported here. The protonation-state indication of an Asp or a Glu is valid provided that the following criteria are met (in order of importance). (i) The acidic residue must have a single occupancy. (ii) Anisotropic refinement at a minimum diffraction resolution of 1.20 A (X-ray data-to-parameter ratio of approximately 3.5:1) is required. (iii) Both of the bond lengths must agree with the expectation (i.e. dictionary values), thus allowing some relaxation of the bond-distance standard uncertainties required to approximately 0.025 A for a '3sigma' determination or approximately 0.04 A for a '2sigma' determination, although some variation of the expected bond-distance values must be allowed according to the microenvironment of the hydrogen of interest. (iv) Although the F(o) - F(c) map peaks are most likely to be unreliable at the resolution range around 1.20 A, if admitted as evidence the peak at the hydrogen position must be greater than or equal to 2.5 sigma and in the correct geometry. (v) The atomic B factors need to be less than 10 A(2) for bond-length differentiation; furthermore, the C=O bond can also be expected to be observed with continuous 2F(o) - F(c) electron density and the C-OH bond with discontinuous electron density provided that the atomic B factors are less than approximately 20 A(2) and the contour level is increased. The final decisive option is to carry out more than one experiment, e.g. multiple X-ray crystallography experiments and ideally neutron crystallography. The complementary technique of neutron protein crystallography has provided evidence of the protonation states of histidine and acidic residues in concanavalin A and also the correct orientations of asparagine and glutamine side chains. Again, the truncation of the neutron data at various test resolutions between 2.5 and 3.0 A, even 3.25 and 3.75 A resolution, examines the limits of the neutron probe. These various studies indicate a widening of the scope of both X-ray and neutron probes in certain circumstances to elucidate the protonation states in proteins.

This qualitative study on donkey was conducted in Bauchi, Kano and Kebbi States of Nigeria. The objective of the study was to understand the role, significance and potential areas needing intervention in donkey rearing in the rural setting. The study was also used to obtain first-hand baseline information on the state of knowledge on the donkey in the states surveyed. Sixty two locations were visited comprising 36 from Kebbi, 19 from Bauchi and 17 from Kano States respectively. Rapid Rural Participatory Appraisal (RRPA) technique with check list of questions and farmers' participation was employed in villages/towns randomly selected to cover all the ecological zones in each of the three States. A meeting of one to two hours was organized with the farmers and donkey owners. Observations were made on donkeys at home and in the field. Problems mentioned by respondents included: Colics (Anomari),ulcerative lymphangitis, inflammation of the tongue, interdigital dermatitis, ear sore, fistulous withers, unknown causes of lameness and nervous system disorder called locally as “chinkai chinkai”. There were generally poor or no veterinary facilities and services in most of the villages and towns. It was not the farmers practice to take donkeys to clinic for treatment. Mortality was high during the late dry season in most places but also occurred in the rainy season in some places. Areas for further investigations were also highlighted. Keywords: Nigeria, Appraisal, Northern States, diseases, donkey

A safe shutdown earthquake analysis of ZPR 6 Reactor Facility was conducted through seismic risk analysis, soil-structure interaction analysis, reactor building dynamic time history analysis and equipment response spectrum analysis due to an assumed El Centro earthquake. Several ASME, AISC and ANSI design codes were used to demonstrate the adequacy of this facility and to design several equipment and piping supports.