Application of 1-methylcyclopropene on mango fruit (Cv. Kesar): potential for shelf life enhancement and retention of quality.

The present investigation was carried out to study the effect of gaseous application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on quality and shelf life of mango fruits of Cv. Kesar. The freshly harvested matured mango fruits were washed, cleaned and treated with fungicide at 500 ppm concentration for 10 min. The fruits were then subjected to 1-MCP treatment at different concentrations (500, 1000, 1500, 2000 ppb) and exposed for 18 and 24 h at 20 °C temperature in an air tight chamber along with control sample. The results indicated that the ripening in the early stages of mango was delayed by 1-MCP and shelf life of the fruits was increased with increase in the concentration of 1-MCP, also the physico-chemical changes such as percent physiological loss in weight of fruit, total soluble solids and colour was slowly increased and ascorbic acid content was effectively reduced. 1-MCP treatment of 2000 ppb for 24 h exposure time gave the best results for percent physiological loss in weight of fruit from 6.1 to 13% and ascorbic acid content from 80.28 to 22.34 mg/100 g, total soluble solids increased from 7.3 to 16.23 °Brix and the colour was improved from 50.9 to 68.6 h with shelf life of 20 days.

Effect on Morphology, Osmotic Fragility and Electro Kinetic Potential of Erythrocytes in Hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a common health problem concerning a large proportion of population and a leading global risk factor for the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of the erythrocyte zeta potential as a potential additional indicator for cardiovascular disorder risk so that patients with this can be more rapidly identified and treated. METHODS: In the present study, blood samples were collected in 5% dextrose solution from patients suffering from hypertension and healthy volunteers (Not taken any medication). The mobility of individual RBCs was tracked by equipped Zeta meter-ZM4DAQ software using microscopicallyacquired video images, data were recorded 10 times for each sample and average zeta-potential in mv was recorded. RESULTS: We found that mean erythrocytic ZP of control group was found to be 23.41 mv (± 1.87) whereas, erythrocytic ZP for Hypertensive patients was found to be 16.05 (±1.72) mV and Hypertensive patients with Diabetes is much lower from 6.96 mV to 22.76 (+3.88) mV along with structural deformities and increased osmotic fragility of erythrocytes. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that there are morphological changes in erythrocyte structure, increased osmotic fragility along with significantly lower ZP value as compared to that of healthy volunteers which may be the major cause for progression to the development of cardiovascular disease.

DNA barcoding of nymphalid butterflies (Nymphalidae: Lepidoptera) from Western Ghats of India.

We have checked the utility of DNA barcoding for species identification of nymphalid butterflies from Western Ghats of India by using 650 bp sequence of mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I. Distinct DNA barcoding gap (i.e. difference between intraspecies and interspecies nucleotide divergence), exists between species studied here. When our sequences were compared with the sequences of the conspecifics submitted from different geographic regions, nine cases of deep intraspecies nucleotide divergences were observed. In spite of this, NJ (Neighbour Joining) clustering analysis successfully discriminated all species. Observed cases of deep intraspecies nucleotide divergences certainly warrant further study.