Nitrogen Dynamics Under Long Term Lantana Camara (L.) Residue and Fertilizer Application in a Rice-Wheat Cropping System

Long term effects of lantana (Lantana camera L.) residue and fertilizer application were studied on nitrogen (N) fractions in a Typic Hapludalf under rice-wheat cropping at Palampur, India (32°6’N, 76°3’E). After 12 crop cycles, lantana and fertilizer application showed an additive effect on the buildup of different N fractions. Hydrolyzable-N constituted 86% of total organic-N and 84% of total-N. All fractions of N except unidentified-N, non-hydrolyzable-N, and total-N were strongly interdependent and had a positive influence on grain yield and N uptake in rice and wheat crops. Serine+threonine-N was the most important fraction contributing towards grain yield and N uptake in rice and wheat. Fertilizers at 66% of recommendation plus lantana at 10 t ha^?1 maintained higher available-N than that under 100% fertilizers alone; the N content was same as 12 years before. Inclusion of lantana indicated net saving of 33% fertilizers plus higher yields and sustained soil health.     

A Cretaceous hoofed mammal from India

The sedimentary record documenting the northward drift of India (Late Cretaceous to late Early Eocene) has recently provided important clues to the evolution, radiation, and dispersal of mammals. Here, we report a definitive Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) archaic ungulate (Kharmerungulatum vanvaleni genus et species nova) from the Deccan volcano-sedimentary sequences exposed near Kisalpuri village in Central India. This find has important implications for the origin and diversification of early ungulates and raises three possible paleobiogeographic scenarios: (i) Archaic ungulates may have been cosmopolitan in distribution. (ii) Kharmerungulatum might be an immigrant from Western Asia. (iii) Archaic ungulates may have originated in India.     

Sucrose accumulation during high-temperature storage of potato tubers

Summary Potato tubers stored in a farm store from April to October (monthly average temperature between 24.7 and 36.2°C) accumulated considerable quantities of total sugars. Sucrose was the main component though in the variety Kufri Chandramukhi reducing sugars accumulated in amounts equal to sucrose.     

Surface energy balance model of transpiration from variable canopy cover and evaporation from residue-covered or bare soil systems: model evaluation

A surface energy balance model (SEB) was extended by Lagos et al. Irrig Sci 28:51–64 (2009) to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) from variable canopy cover and evaporation from residue-covered or bare soil systems. The model estimates latent, sensible, and soil heat fluxes and provides a method to partition evapotranspiration into soil/residue evaporation and plant transpiration. The objective of this work was to perform a sensitivity analysis of model parameters and evaluate the performance of the proposed model to estimate ET during the growing and non-growing season of maize (Zea Mays L.) and soybeans (Glycine max) in eastern Nebraska. Results were compared with measured data from three eddy covariance systems under irrigated and rain-fed conditions. Sensitivity analysis of model parameters showed that simulated ET was most sensitive to changes in surface canopy resistance, soil surface resistance, and residue surface resistance. Comparison between hourly estimated ET and measurements made in soybean and maize fields provided support for the validity of the surface energy balance model. For growing season’s estimates, Nash–Sutcliffe coefficients ranged from 0.81 to 0.92 and the root mean square error (RMSE) varied from 33.0 to 48.3 W m^?2. After canopy closure (i.e., after leaf area index (LAI = 4) until harvest), Nash–Sutcliffe coefficients ranged from 0.86 to 0.95 and RMSE varied from 22.6 to 40.5 W m^?2. Performance prior to canopy closure was less accurate. Overall, the evaluation of the SEB model during this study was satisfactory.     

Flocculation and Haze Removal from Crude Beer Using In-House Produced Laccase from Trametes versicolor Cultured on Brewer's Spent Grain

The potential of brewer's spent grain (BSG), a common waste from the brewing industry, as a support-substrate for laccase production by the well-known laccase producer Trametes versicolor ATCC 20869 under solid-state fermentation conditions was assessed. An attempt was made to improve the laccase production by T. versicolor through supplementing the cultures with inducers, such as 2,2-azino bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), copper sulfate, ethanol, gallic acid, veratryl alcohol, and phenol. A higher laccase activity of 13506.2 ± 138.2 IU/gds (gram dry substrate) was obtained with a phenol concentration of 10 mg/kg substrate in a tray bioreactor after 12 days of incubation time. The flocculation properties of the laccase treated crude beer samples have been studied by using various parameters, such as viscosity, turbidity, ζ potential, total polyphenols, and total protein content. The present results indicated that laccase (25 IU/L) showed promising results as a good flocculating agent. The laccase treatment showed better flocculation capacity compared to the industrial flocculation process using stabifix as a flocculant. The laccase treatments (25 IU/L) at 4 ± 1 °C and room temperature have shown almost similar flocculation properties without much variability. The study demonstrated the potential of in-house produced laccase using brewer's spent grain for the clarification and flocculation of crude beer as a sustainable alternative to traditional flocculants, such as stabifix and bentonite.     

Impact of Thermal Processing on Legume Allergens

Food induced allergic manifestations are reported from several parts of the world. Food proteins exert their allergenic potential by absorption through the gastrointestinal tract and can even induce life threatening anaphylaxis reactions. Among all food allergens, legume allergens play an important role in induction of allergy because legumes are a major source of protein for vegetarians. Most of the legumes are cooked either by boiling, roasting or frying before consumption, which can be considered a form of thermal treatment. Thermal processing may also include autoclaving, microwave heating, blanching, pasteurization, canning, or steaming. Thermal processing of legumes may reduce, eliminate or enhance the allergenic potential of a respective legume. In most of the cases, minimization of allergenic potential on thermal treatment has generally been reported. Thus, thermal processing can be considered an important tool by indirectly prevent allergenicity in susceptible individuals, thereby reducing treatment costs and reducing industry/office/school absence in case of working population/school going children. The present review attempts to explore various possibilities of reducing or eliminating allergenicity of leguminous food using different methods of thermal processing. Further, this review summarizes different methods of food processing, major legumes and their predominant allergenic proteins, thermal treatment and its relation with antigenicity, effect of thermal processing on legume allergens; also suggests a path that may be taken for future research to reduce the allergenicity using conventional/nonconventional methods.