Life Sciences

Thermal control in buildings is highly essential in the tropics where high solar radiation is received throughout the year. Its importance cannot be overemphasized in the face of climate change which is rapidly changing our world and exposing it to higher risk of environmental disasters. Climate change has been attributed to increased energy use from various human activities which cause a release of carbon dioxide and other green house gases into the atmosphere. Thermal control in buildings is one of the gate ways to minimizing the energy used for cooling.

Utilization of spent duck through sausage preparation and estimating the optimum storage condition throughout the retail chain was the objective of the present study. PET/Poly and laminate of metalized PET/Poly with polyethylene pouches under aerobic and vacuum packaging stored in refrigerator (4±1° C) and freezer (-18±1° C) condition were considered in the experiment. TBA value, pH, Tyrosine value, TPC, TPSC and YMC of the samples increased with the storage period whereas a decreasing trend in case of moisture and all the sensory parameters throughout the storage period was observed.

The relative frequencies of bacterial isolates cultured from diabetic foot infections were studied. Samples were collected from 120 patients with diabetic foot infections from K. R. Hospital, Mysore, Karnataka, India, from June to November 2010. Out of 120 patients, 88 were of non-insulin dependent (NIDDM) and 32 male were insulin dependent (IDDM) among NIDDM 52 were male and 36 female. The specimens were collected from the site of the wound and cultured and identified by standards methods. From the results it is found that Staphylococcus sp. (76.66%), Pseudomonas sp. (63.33%), E.

Environmental concern is a major factor in consumer decision making. With green product markets expanding at a remarkable rate companies pursue market opportunities in the production and promotion of environmentally sensitive goods and services. By adopting resource conserving and environmentally-friendly strategies in all the stages of the value chain the firms can satisfy the growing environmental concerns of humanity. Socio demographic characteristics and their impact on attitude is an area where much research has not been conducted.

Organophosphorus, neonicotinoid insecticides are widely used in India for protection of agricultural yields from more than 120 pests. However, these pesticides pose various threats to organisms, including humans, and hamper soil microbial activity; thus, they are a cause for serious concern. Among them, peanut stem necrosis disease and sucking pests are the major threats to the groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) crop in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.

A study was conducted to appraise the shelf life of chicken meatball packed in PET/Poly and laminate of metalized PET/Poly with polyethylene pouches under aerobic and vacuum packaging and kept in refrigerator (4±1° C) and freezer (-18±1° C). The samples were analyzed for pH, Thiobarbituric Acid (TBA) Value, Tyrosine value, Total Plate Count (TPC), Total Psychrophilic Count (TPSC), Yeast and Mould Count (YMC), colour, flavour and tenderness.

Seed germination represents a crucial phase in the life cycle of angiosperms. Sewage is used for the irrigation of crops in field around most cities. Analysis of the sewage revealed presence of heavy metals which are known to suppress seed germination. Hence in the present investigation, the effect of sewage on the activities of total amylase, α-amylase and β-amylase in Pigeon pea plant has been studied. The activity of the enzymes was found to be significantly affected by higher concentration of sewage effluent due to unacceptable range of heavy metals in sewage effluent.

Indian economy is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The agriculture sector is the back bone of Indian economy as it accounts for about fifty eight percent of the employment in the nation (2001 census). India is the third largest producer of coconut and leads ninety coconut producing countries of the world. The New Agriculture Policy (NAP) which promotes the Rainbow revolution has a feature of promoting private investments in agriculture as one of its special feature. The LPG era has created electricity to become inseparable with the agriculture.

The variance due to SCA was higher than that of the variance due to GCA for all the six characters of interest. The variance due to dominance was much pronounced than that of additive genetic variance for all the characters studied. The study revealed the importance of both dominance and epistasis for evolving genotypes with higher fruit yield. It may be achieved by resorting to population improvement programme.

Pesticides have been used in agriculture to enhance food production by eradicating unwanted insects and controlling disease vectors. Among common pesticides, organophosphorus compounds are widely used in agriculture, medicine and industry. Excessive application of pesticides from agricultural fields contaminate aquatic medium, resulting in serious damage to non-target species, including fish. The changes in enzymatic system may alter the metabolic processes. More recently changes in enzymes concentrations are being employed in the evaluation of toxicological responses.