An Engineering Approach to Roof Top Gardening

With the growing demand for vegetables and fruits in this world of urbanisation roof top gardening finds an insignificant place. The study focuses on identifying and suggesting remedies for effective management of the engineering components involved in roof top gardening. They majorly include design of roof, irrigation management, arrangement of pots, waste management, moisture proofing etc. These factors contribute significantly in designing an effective roof top garden. Various problems faced in the engineering intervention were identified and suitable remedies were suggested in the research using a case study approach of roof top gardens in Bangalore. A well maintained roof top garden is a positive sign of a healthy household.

Quantitative determination of sialic acid in Indian milk and milk products.

Background: Sialic acids are acidic sugars with a 9-carbon backbone, expressed as terminal residue on mammalian glycoconjugates. Sialic acid was found in two forms as N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) and N-Glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) in meat and milk products. Neu5Ac is important for the brain and neuro development while Neu5Gc is suspected as human carcinogen. There is no data reported on sialic acid content in Indian milk and milk based products. Objective: To determine sialic acid (Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc) content in Indian milk and milk products and thermal stability of non-human sialic acid (Neu5Gc) evaluation. Design: Milk products like chocolate, infant food products, milk based energy drinks, butter etc were examined for the sialic acid content. For Neu5Gc thermal stability studies cow, buffalo, cross cows and processed milk were used. Conclusion: The study indicates the level of sialic acid (Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc) in Indian milk and milk based products. Further the stability studies shows degradation (20 to 22 %) of non-human sialic acid (Neu5Gc) to the total sialic acid content.

Production and cytotoxicity studies of lovastatin from aspergillus niger PN2 an endophytic fungi isolated from Taxus baccata.

Aspergillus niger PN2 an endophytic fungus, was isolated from the healthy tissues of Taxus baccata. The fungus was screened for the production of lovastatin on a solid state fermentation with wheat bran as a substrate. The fungal species were identified by their characteristic cultural morphology and molecular analysis. The presence of lovastatin was confirmed by spectroscopic method, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods of analysis. The lovastatin production was quantified by ultraviolet (UV) analysis. The maximum amount of lovastatin production was recorded as 1.5 mg/g substrate. The extracted fungal lovastatin demonstrate a strong cytotoxic activity in in vitro culture of tested human cancer cells (HeLa and HepG2) by apoptotic assay. These results designate that the fungus, A. niger PN2 is an excellent candidate for lovastatin production and can serve as a potential organism for genetic engineering to enhance the production of lovastatin to a higher level.

Identifying the Intersection: adolescent unwanted pregnancy; HIV/AIDS unsafe abortion

This publication comprises essentially five parties related to the following subjects: (1) Main reasons of adolescents HIV vulnerability and unwanted pregnancy; (2) Risks and consequences of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion; (3) The Unmet Need; (4) Promotion of Global Action; (5) Addressing the Unasked and Unanswered Questions