eChapters

1. Introduction

Purple colour passion fruit (Passifora edulis Sims) is a tropical fruit and is well known for its nutritional content and medicinal properties (Patel, 2009). Various type of vitamin E such as α-tocopherol (5,7,8 trimethyl), β-tocopherol (5,8 dimethyl),g-tocopherol (7, 8-dimethyl),d-tocopherol (8-methyl) and α-tocotrienol, b-tocotrienol,g–tocotrierol and d- tocotrienol were quantified in passion fruit as antioxidant molecules with various health benefits (Ramaiya et al., 2013).

Foam mat drying convert thin pulp into stable foam by whipping. Eventually, the whipping process increases surface area, and speed up the drying rates which yield dried foam mat powder of acceptable quality in reduced time span (Kudra and Ratti, 2006). Rheology plays a vital role in food manufacture and marketing nowadays viz., design of handling systems, quality control and evaluation of sensory stimuli of viscosity (Barnes, 2001). It also concerns with how all food materials respond to applied forces and deformations. Basic concepts of stress (force per area) and strain (deformation per length) are keys to all rheological evaluations. Stress(r) is always a measurement of force per unit of surface area and is expressed in units of Pascals (Pa). The direction of the force with respect to the impacted surface area determines the type of stress. Normal stress occurs when the force is directly perpendicular to a surface and can be achieved during tension or compression. Shear stress occurs when the forces act in parallel to a surface. Various food shows different rheological behavior and categorized into solid and liquids stages. It basically means that food varies their characteristic in viscous and elastic behaviors commonly known as viscoelasticity of food, caused by entanglement of long chain molecules with other molecules (Abang, 2010). The dough rheology of various flour has been investigated by various research. Although, there has not been any published literature about dough rheology with incorporated passion fruit powder. To the best of our knowledge, there are no published reports regarding the shear stress properties of passion fruit powder incorporated rice dough.

1. Introduction

Underutilized fruits and vegetables are commercially neglected but recognized as rich sources of nutrients and non-nutrient bioactive compounds (Ali et al., 2008). These crops are very popular among local communities in many parts of the world and well accepted in their traditional diets and therapeutic medicines (Animesh et al., 2010). Nowadays, these are gaining significance in research and development programs of many organizations. Meghalaya is endowed with rich and unique diversity of indigenous wild edible fruit species of which most of them are less known and underutilized (Haque et al., 2009). There are rich in functional bioactive components such as vitamins and minerals are the much talked dietary nutrient for women and children health. It is being supplied to body through tablets, vegetables, fruits and other food items (Islam et al., 2012).

2.1. The Physical environment
    Light
    Soil temperature
    Water dynamics

2.2. Chemical environment
    Production of phytotoxins

2.3. Biological environment
    Trophic dynamics
    Community structure
    Biodiversity

1. Introduction

Ohmic heating is an emerging method of thermal processing which have the feature of HTST treatment (Halden et al., 1990) with lower energy inputs (Choi et al., 2011; Sastry et al., 2011). During ohmic heating (Fig. 1) the alternating current is passed through the food material, where food acts as a resistor to the flow of electric current and leads to the instant volumetric heat generation by following the Joules first law of heating (Pereira & Vicente 2010; Lima et al., 1999 and 2001; Wang, 2014). Ohmic heat treatment of food material has been found to reduce microbial load of the food material simultaneously with the inactivation of the inherent enzymes (Demirdoven & Baysal 2014; Yildiz & Baysal 2006; Jakob et al., 2010). Despite the problems of electrochemical degradation associated with it, ohmic heating has been successfully studied for its use in preheating, blanching, pasteurization and extraction (Leizerson, & Shimoni, 2005; Lima & Sastry, 1999; Lakkakula et al., 2004). A majority of studies that have explored the effect of ohmic treatment have focused on a number of commercial products from pulp (strawberry), or puree (pea) to juice (grape), etc. (Castro et al, 2004; Icier et al, 2008; Icier et al., 2006). However, the present chapter is confined to put some light on the studies conducted on ohmic heating of various liquid food material and its effects on various parameters of the food material.

1. Introduction

Organophosphate (OP) and organocarbamate (OC) pesticides are highly used in modern agriculture due to their low persistence and high insecticidal activity. Although they are relatively less persistent than the organochlorines, they have greater acute toxicity with tolerance level ranging from 1 to 8 μg mL-1 (Mulchandani et al., 2001). The high toxicity of OP and OC neurotoxins and their large use in modern agriculture practices has increased public concern, health risk and the consequent contamination of water and food sources (Buonasera et al., 2010). Development of fast and cost effective analytical tools for onsite monitoring of OP and OC contaminations in food, water and in the environment is highly necessary. An approach toward that has resulted the evolution of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) based biosensors for OP and OC pesticides. Ample literature is available on AChE based biosensors (Zhou et al., 2013). But some intrinsic disadvantages remain that limits its utility and field deployment. The most influencing ones are their inability to sustain in organic solvents and the limited class selectivity that demands alternate bioreceptor for pesticide detection. Given the diversity in mode of action of different classes of pesticide, it is quite challenging to come up with different sensor molecules for each class of pesticides. As a continuous effort towards that goal, attempts have been made to use the Glutathione S –transferses (GSTs; EC 2.5.1. 18) for the purpose. GSTs are a multigenic family of cytosolic proteins with multifunctional biological roles, widely distributed throughout the body and found in the liver, kidney, brain, pancreas, testis, heart, lung, small intestine, skeletal muscles, prostate and spleen (Jancova et al., 2010). The important biological functions those are making GSTs the focus of current research includes its catalytic role in detoxification reaction (Lumjuan et al., 2011) over expressions during phase II metabolism as well as drug resistance associated with anticancer therapies of human and the resistance acquired by certain insects while getting exposure to pesticides (Borah et al., 2016).

ABSTRACT
The rapid industrialisation and speedy progress towards urbanisation across the world have created the huge demand for energy moreover creating enormous quantity of wastes. The latter is in charge for polluting the environment in an exponential manner, resulting out of the harmful and poisonous compounds released by them. In recent years, there has been a pattern change from ‘waste-to-wealth’, considering the value of high organic fraction accessible in the wastes. The best-accomplished methods are that of anaerobic digestion; contribute to the production of methane (CH₄). Similar biotransformation has partial net energy harvests. Recently, fermentation industries steering their interest towards the production of value added products, viz., biohydrogen (H₂), biopolymers, ethanol, vitamins, acetic acid, enzymes, butanediols, etc. from carbon rich organic waste like cellulosic substrates have been envisioned to flourish in a multi-step process, such as the ‘Biorefinery’. A contemporary development in fermentation technology holds the key to overcome the constraints for such processes that may lead to a sustainable economy. One related technology is electrofermentation that has attracted significant attention recently owing to its capacity to boost the metabolic activities of microbes by means of extracellular electron transfer.

1.     Maintaining Embryonic Stem (ES) Cells
    
2.     Establishing ES Cells
    
3.     Freezing of ES Cells
    
4.     Thawing of Frozen ES Cells
    
5.     Production of Transgenic using ES Cells
    
6.     MTT Assay for Cell Viability

Introduction

Climate change is of great concern to India in view of food and nutritional security of its ever growing population. The impacts of climate change are global, but Indian subcontinent is more vulnerable due to dependence of its large population on agriculture. It can cause millions of deaths a year worldwide and costing more than a trillion of US dollar. Climate change has direct effect on agriculture due to 0.74°C average global increase in temperature in the last 100 years and atmospheric CO₂ concentration having increased from 280 ppm (1750) to 400 ppm (2013). These changes have direct effect on growth and multiplication/fecundity, spread and severity/infestation of many plant pathogens/insect pests, which in turn are affecting the pattern of incidence of pests (including diseases). Changing pest scenario due to climate change has warranted the need for future studies on such models which can predict the severity of important pathogens of major crops in real-field conditions. Simultaneously, pest management strategies may be reoriented to cope up with changing scenario for sustainable food production.

Non-specific uterine infections reduce the reproductive efficiency of livestock.  They are called nonspecific because the initial colonizing bacterium is not known and the specific bacteria causing the signs of infection are not known.  Even though numerous bacteria, in a variety of combinations, have been isolated from infected uteri, Corynebacterium pyogenes and Escherichia coli are usually associated with uterine infections in cattle and sheep.  Empirical therapeutic approach, prescriptions without scientific validation (extra-label use) or inadequate clinical judgment itself to ascertain the nature of uterine infection, obviously due to lack of diagnostic tools are the prime reasons for therapeutic failure for the unsuccessful treatment of uterine infection by large animal practitioners.

In contrast to the earlier and existing non-sustainable land use practices, agro forestry presents a more dynamic, productive and sustainable solution to the increasing demand of food, fodder, timber and other agricultural and tree goods. According to the United Nations,the world population was more than 7 billion in 2011 which is expected to go up to 9.3 billion by the mid-century. Consequently food production needs to be increased by over 60% by the year 2050. Agroforestry, which is a multifunctional, ecologically based, natural resource management system can help in dealing with such environmental, economic or social issues.

We are living in a world that is in a grim state of environmental disruptions. Callous developmental activities resulting in pollution of all environmental components and gradually culminating in global warming, climate change, and species extinction are responsible for triggering the processes of environmental disruption. Pollution of air, water, and soil is rapidly assuming alarming proportions.

The very processes of socioeconomic development are now posing threat to economic progress as well as to human health. Ominous changes in global climate are posing threat to life on Earth. The irony is that the major cause of environmental disruptions is anthropogenic rather than natural. Human’s materialistic progress and environmental pollution in our contemporary world go hand in hand.

3.1    Air Pollution
    3.1.1 Classification of Air Pollutants
    3.1.2  Properties of Air Pollutants
    3.1.3  Health Effects
    3.1.4 Particulate Pollution Control Equipments
    3.1.5 Gaseous Pollution Control Equipments
    
3.2    Water Pollution
    3.2.1 Causes of Pollution
    3.2.2 Origin of Wastewater
    3.2.3 Waste Water Composition
    3.2.4 Types of Water Pollutants
    3.2.5 Basic Processes of Water Treatment
    
3.3    Land
    
3.4    Marine Pollution
    3.4.1 Sources and Effects of Marine Pollution Toxics
    3.4.2 Control Measures
    
3.5    Noise
    3.5.1 Effects of Noise
    3.5.2 Major Noise Sources
    3.5.3 Noise Control Measures
    
3.6    Thermal Pollution
    3.6.1 Effects of Thermal Pollution
    
3.7     Nuclear Hazards
    3.7.1 Nuclear Weapons
    3.7.2 Types of Nuclear Bursts
    3.7.3 Nuclear Injuries
    3.7.4 Residual Radiation
    
3.8    Nuclear Waste and their Treatment
    
3.9    Solid Waste Management
    3.9.1 Role of Human in Prevention of Pollution
    
3.10    Disaster Management
    3.10.1 Floods
    3.10.2 Earthquake
    3.10.3 Cyclone
    3.10.4 Landslides

1.     Asssay for Catalase
    
2.     Assay for Peroxidase
    
3.     Assay for Poly Phenol Oxidase
    
4.     Assay for Phosphatases

1.     Extraction of b-galactosidase from Yeast Cells
    
2.     Measurement of Enzyme Activity
    
3.     Immobilization of Enzymes
    
4.     Precipitation of Enzyme and Proteins
    
5.     Protien Purification by Dialysis

9.1 Methylases
    
9.2 Polymerases
    
9.3 Nucleases
    
9.4 Ligases
    
9.5 Phosphatase
    
9.6 Topoisomerase
    
9.7 Restriction enzymes

Enzymes are biocatalysts composed of amino acids. Enzyme reactions are highly specific. It binds to the substrate to form a reversible intermediate product called enzyme substrate complex. As the concentration of the substrate increases the rate of formation of the intermediate complex also increases. This increase in velocity of the reaction is in a hyperbolic manner till it achieves the maximum velocity called Vmax .At this point all the enzymes will be in the form of ES complex. Substrate concentration will be in at its optimum level i.e. further increase in substrate concentration will not affect the rate of the reaction. The substrate concentration at which the rate of the reaction is half the maximum velocity Vmax is called the Michaelis-Menten constant, Km. This is constant for the given enzyme acting on the same substrate.

Epigenetics is the study of reversible heritable changes in gene function that occur without a change in the sequence of nuclear DNA and Gene-regulatory information that is not expressed in DNA sequences is transmitted from one generation (of cells or organisms) to the next. Epigenetics has become an integral part of the study of evolution and development during the past 50 years. It was originally defined by Conrad Hal Waddington in 1942 (Waddington, 1942), but it is currently referred to any mechanism that affects genes without changing the nucleotide sequence. These mechanisms are involved in deploying the genetic program for the many processes operating during the lifespan of a cell: development, differentiation, stress response, and pathological conditions, and by the environment to adapt to those situations (Rakyan and Beck, 2006). Epigenetic mechanisms include covalent chemical modification of DNA (methylation) and chromatin (covalent histone modifications), non-coding RNAs, and polycomb group (PcG) genes, and are ultimately related to the regulation of gene expression and chromatin structure.

1.     Equipments

Preliminaries
    
Minimum Variance Unbiased Estimator and Cramer, Rao Inequality
    
Minimum Variance Unbiased Estimator (M.V.U.E.) and Black Wellisation
    
Results on UMVUE and MVUE
    
Efficiency and Consistency
    
Consistency
    
Sufficiency and Completeness
    
Distribution Possessing Sufficient Statistics
    
Sufficient Statistic for Several Parameters
    
Completeness of a Sufficient Statistic
    
Some Important Results in Theorem Forms
    
Minimal Sufficient Statistic
    
Results on Complete Sufficient Statistic

Estrous cycle

After puberty the female enters a period of reproductive cyclicity, which continues throughout most of her productive life.  Estrous cycle is the rhythmic sexual behavioral pattern exhibited by the female, which begins at one estrus (heat) and ends at subsequent estrus.   It is the period between two estruses of the regular cycle.  The reproductive activity of the female is maintained by the co- ordinated functioning of different organs of reproduction (Table: 1.1). Estrous cycle provides repeated opportunities for the females to become pregnant. When conception does occur, the female enters a period of anestrous during pregnancy, which ends after parturition (giving birth) and uterine involution (repair and returning to normal size).