Farmland degradation in the mountains of Nepal: a study of watersheds ‘with’ and ‘without’ external intervention

Amidst growing concerns about farmlands conservation, this paper examines the status of farmlands in two mountain watersheds ‘with’ and ‘without’ external intervention, located in the western hills of Nepal. Information was obtained from a household survey and group discussions conducted during April to September 1999. The severity of soil erosion from farmers' perspectives, density of landslides, soil nutrient balance and change in crop yield have been adopted as indicators of the status of the land. Results of the analysis indicate that land resources in both watersheds are undergoing degradation, though the causes and extent of degradation vary from one type of land to another. Upland crop terraces, locally called bari, are undergoing degradation most seriously under the combined influence of severe soil erosion, landslide and the depletion of soil nutrients. In particular, soil erosion has severely affected nearly half of the upland crop terraces in both watersheds due to a number of natural and anthropogenic factors ranging from weak geological structure to arable agriculture. Landslide and nutrient depletion have affected all types of farmlands except homesteads in both watersheds. Overall, the extent and intensity of land degradation is relatively high in the non‐project area, as farmers were not provided with necessary technical and financial support. A broad strategy has been outlined for effective conservation of farmlands. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dimensional ultrasonographic relationship of the right lobe of pancreas with associated anatomic landmarks in clinically normal dogs

The purpose of this prospective study was to establish the ultrasonographic characteristics of the dimension of the right pancreatic lobe with that of the associated anatomic landmarks in healthy dogs. Ultrasonographic examinations were performed on 25 dogs. The thickness of the right pancreatic lobe was compared with that of mural thickness of duodenum, diameter of duodenum, pancreatic duct, abdominal aorta, portal vein, caudal vena cava, and length and width of the right kidney and right adrenal gland. The correlation between each pancreatic parameter and the dimensions of the anatomical landmarks were assessed using linear regression analysis and Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) test. Significant, but weak linear correlations were observed between thickness of right pancreatic lobe with that of duodenum mural thickness (r=0.605, R²=0.339, P=0.001); duodenum diameter (r=0.573, R²=0.299, P=0.003); and right adrenal gland length (r=0.508, R²=0.052, P=0.01). There was no significant dimensional relationship with other selected anatomic landmarks. The ratio between the thickness of right pancreatic lobe and the mural thickness of duodenum, diameter of duodenum and length of right adrenal gland were 2.88 ± 0.53, 1.27 ± 0.27 and 0.81 ± 0.15, respectively. Calculating the ratio of thickness of the right pancreatic lobe with the dimension of significantly correlated anatomic landmarks is a useful and simple method for evaluating the size of the right pancreatic lobe in dogs in clinical practice.     

Hydrothermal and biotechnological treatments on nutraceutical content and antioxidant activity of rice bran

The effect of processing such as steaming, germination and parboiling on nutraceuticals and in vitro bioactive properties of rice bran from three different rice varieties namely Jyothi (pigmented), IR64 and Sona masuri (non-pigmented) were investigated. Within the varieties envisaged, pigmented Jyothi variety contained higher levels of vitamin E, soluble, bound and total polyphenol, flavanoids, free radical scavenging activity and total antioxidant activity. Direct steam exposure of bran resulted in an increase in, ether extractives and oryzanol, as well as retention of all the vitamin E components, bound polyphenols, flavonoids and decrease in soluble and total polyphenol content, free radical scavenging activity and total antioxidant activity compared to native. Parboiling as well as germination of paddy resulted in an increase, in the content of ether extractives and oryzanol, whereas other bioactive properties decreased compared to native. Hence it may be concluded that bioactive components and antioxidant properties were significantly higher in Jyothi bran compared to the other two paddy brans, and processing leads to changes in bioactive properties with maximum retention of bioactive components in the steamed bran.     

Common Indian spices: Nutrient composition,consumption and contribution to dietary value

Nutrient composition of eight commonly consumed spices of South India was analysed. Spices analysed were red chillies (Capsicum annum), black pepper (Piper nigrum), coriander seeds (Coriandrum sativum), cumin seeds (Cuminum cyminum), garlic (Allium sativum), asafoetida (Ferula foetida), dry ginger (Zingiber officinale) and ajowan (Carum copticum). The nutrients analysed were proximate principles, minerals, starch, sugars, dietary fibre components, tannins, phytic acid, enzyme inhibitors and amino acids. Dry ginger, ajowan and asafoetida had high calcium (1.0–1.5%) and iron (54–62 mg/100 g) levels. The tannin content of spices was also high (0.9–1.3% DM). Dietary fibre ranged from 14–53%. Spices had appreciable amounts of essential amino acids like lysine and threonine. A survey revealed the average per capita consumption of spices to be 9.54 g and at that level, the nutrient contribution from spices ranged from 1.2 to 7.9% of an average adult Indian male's requirement for different nutrients.     

A Numerical Approach to Simulate the Biogeochemical Involvement in a Coastal Reduced Groundwater Environment

Bacteria-mediated reduction processes play a decisive role in the water quality alterations in the subsurface environment of coastal aquifers. Availability of organic carbon as the electron donor with other electron acceptors such as NO₃ ^?, MnO₂, Fe(OH)₃ and SO₄ ^2? induces different bacteria to activate under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. A two-dimensional reactive transport model has been developed to simulate the bacteria-mediated reduction reactions in a coastal aquifer. The model explains the utilisation of O₂, NO₃ ^?, MnO₂, Fe(OH)₃ and SO₄ ^2? as electron acceptors for the oxidation of organic carbon in the aquifer under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The conceptual model consists of three different phases named as bio phase, mobile phase and matrix phase. Model parameters are adopted from literature on bacteria-mediated multi-component modelling and bioremediation processes. Monod kinetic equation is assumed to formulate the bacterial growth. The model explains the behaviours of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria under the availability of organic carbon. Two scenarios are tested and numerical results are discussed. The present numerical study highlights the possibility of the simulation of the formation of reduced environments in coastal aquifers which has not received much attention of groundwater modelling community yet.     

不同介质间采用矩阵量化气单胞菌的交叉污染

为定量描述气单胞菌在不同介质间的转移及变化过程,基于单个细菌在每次转移过程中只能被转移到一个介质表面的假设,采用矩阵方式将气单胞菌的转移路径及被转移的可能性集中于一个二维的数据表格之中,并对不同场景下气单胞菌在不同介质表面的交叉污染水平进行分析。结果表明,采用矩阵方式不仅可用于探究交叉污染对细菌受体表面带菌量的变化,同时可定量分析细菌供体表面带菌量的变化,如在分割冷却猪肉前、后,猪肉中气单胞菌的带菌量平均值分别为3.02 lg CFU/g、1.82 lg CFU/g。对不同场景下各介质带菌量的量化结果证实:分割冷却猪肉后,若及时对被污染的案板、刀具等介质进行清洗或更换,可有效降低交叉污染水平并可预防二次交叉污染的发生。     

A family of IFN-γ-inducible 65-kD GTPases protects against bacterial infection

Immune interferon gamma (IFN-γ) is essential for mammalian host defense against intracellular pathogens. IFN-γ induces nearly 2000 host genes, yet few have any assigned function. Here, we examined a complete mouse 65-kilodalton (kD) guanylate-binding protein (Gbp) gene family as part of a 43-member IFN-γ-inducible guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) superfamily in mouse and human genomes. Family-wide loss-of-function analysis found that at least four Gbps--Gbp1, Gbp6, Gbp7, and Gbp10--conferred cell-autonomous immunity to listerial or mycobacterial infection within macrophages and gene-deficient animals. These Gbps solicited host defense proteins, including the phagocyte oxidase, antimicrobial peptides, and autophagy effectors, to kill intracellular bacteria. Thus, specific 65-kD Gbps coordinate a potent oxidative and vesicular trafficking program to protect the host from infection.