Chemical analysis and nutritional assessment of Teramnus labialis (L.) Spreng. (Fabaceae)

Seeds of Teramnus labialis (L.) Spreng.(Fabaceae), used as food by Malayali tribals in theKollihills of Salem District, Tamil Nadu in SouthIndia, were investigated for their nutritional value. These seeds were analyzed for proximate composition,total (true) seed proteins, seed proteinfractions, amino acid composition, fatty acidcomposition, minerals and antinutritional factors. Crude protein, crude fat, ash, and nitrogen freeextracts constituted 22.86%, 6.10%, 4.62%, and,58.15%, respectively, of the seed weight. The caloricvalue of 100 g dry matter of seed material was 378.94kcal. The essential amino acids lysine, leucine +isoleucine, arginine, valine and histidine werepresent in relatively large quantities. Theunsaturated fatty acids constituted more than 60% ofthe crude fat. Concentrations of minerals such aspotassium, magnesium, calcium, and, phosphorus werehigh. Antinutritional factors such as total freephenols, tannins, L-DOPA, hydrogen cyanide andphytic acid were present in minute quantities. Theseantinutritional factors are potentially eliminated using the conventional method of soaking the seeds in water,boiling with water and decanting prior to consumption.     

Uniaxially drawn polylactic acid film based physiological sensor for monitoring sleeping parameters

In this study, we investigated the effect of cutting angle, draw ratio (DR), and degree of orientation on the shearpiezoelectric behavior of uniaxially drawn PLA film. Piezoelectric results suggest that the PLA film with DR=4.5 and cutting angle of 45^o exhibit maximum shear-piezoelectricity as expected. Piezoelectric output signals of drawn PLA films well correlated with birefringence rather than draw ratio due to the fact that the degree of chain orientation is not directly proportional to draw ratio. A physiological sensing belt (PSB) was developed by implanting silicone rubber coated PLA film in between two elastic textile bands and mounted on the mattress to monitor physiological signals such as heartbeat and respiration rate. Physiological signals were acquired during sleeping of the human subject through the elongation of PLA film implanted in the PSB sensor. Heartbeat and respiration rates of the subject during sleep were easily estimated to be 70 min^-1 and 18.6 min^-1, respectively. Monitoring of cardio-respiratory signals during sleep using our PLA film based PSB sensor was found to be very useful for diagnosing sleep related disorders such as sleep-apnea, snoring, insomnia, etc.     

Silica-coated quantum dots and magnetic nanoparticles for bioimaging applications (Mini-Review)

Fluorescent quantum dots (e.g., CdSe-ZnS) and magnetic nanoparticles (e.g., Fe(2)O(3) or Fe(3)O(4)) are two important candidate systems that have been emerging as potential probes for bioimaging applications. This review focuses on the development of silica-coated inorganic probes (optical and magnetic) that are originated mainly from the author's laboratory for bioimaging applications. The recent developments in the synthesis of rare earth nanoparticles for multimodality imaging are also delineated.