Fertilizantes comerciais e polpa de banana no cultivo in vitro de um híbrido de Phalaenopsis (Orchidaceae Commercial fertilizers and banana pulp for in vitro cultivation of a Phalaenopsis hybrid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronan Carlos Colombo

2012-12-01

Full Text Available A propagação in vitro de orquídeas é bastante utilizada para a produção de mudas. A busca por meios de cultura alternativos para este fim vem sendo amplamente estudada devido à complexidade dos meios comumente utilizados, como o meio MS. Os híbridos de Phalaenopsis encontram-se dentre as orquídeas mais comercializadas no mundo devido à longevidade e à beleza peculiar de suas flores. Nesse trabalho, objetivou-se avaliar o efeito de formulações de fertilizantes comerciais e adição de polpa de banana 'Nanica' em meio de cultura no cultivo in vitro de um híbrido de Phalaenopsis (P. amabilis x P. equestris. Plântulas germinadas in vitro, em meio MS, foram subcultivadas em meios de cultura à base de fertilizantes comerciais e meio MS modificado com metade da concentração dos macronutrientes. Os meios de cultura foram avaliados com e sem a adição de polpa de banana 'Nanica' (100 g L-1 no estádio de maturação quatro. A base dos meios de cultura foi composta por sacarose (30 g L-1, carvão ativado (1 g L-1 e ágar (9 g L-1. Aos 180 dias foram avaliadas as seguintes variáveis: área foliar, número de folhas e raízes, comprimento de raízes e massas de matérias secas de folhas e raízes. Conclui-se que o tratamento composto por Biofert® acrescido de polpa de banana apresentou os melhores resultados para o desenvolvimento in vitro do híbrido, inclusive apresentando resultados estatisticamente superiores em relação ao meio MS sem banana.The in vitro propagation of orchids is a largely used procedure for the production of seedlings. The search for alternative culture media with this purpose has been widely studied due to the complexity of the commonly used media, e.g. the MS medium. The hybrids of Phalaenopsis are among the most commercialized orchids in the world due to the longevity and distinct beauty of its flowers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of commercial fertilizers' formulations and the

Peptoid-Peptide hybrid backbone architectures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Christian Adam

2010-01-01

Peptidomimetic oligomers and foldamers have received considerable attention for over a decade, with beta-peptides and the so-called peptoids (N-alkylglycine oligomers) representing prominent examples of such architectures. Lately, hybrid or mixed backbones consisting of both alpha- and beta......-amino acids (alpha/beta-peptides) have been investigated in some detail as well. The present Minireview is a survey of the literature concerning hybrid structures of alpha-amino acids and peptoids, including beta-peptoids (N-alkyl-beta-alanine oligomers), and is intended to give an overview of this area...

Anti-nutrients and heavy metals in some new plantain and banana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Plantain and banana flour are important raw material in the baking and confectionery industry, and complementary food formulation. Five new plantain and banana hybrids developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) at Highrainfall Station, Onne, Nigeria were screened for certain anti-nutritional ...

Liquid Crystalline Symposium

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Mather, Patrick

2003-01-01

.... Talks spanned a very diverse set of LC-related topics, ranging from reports on the latest hot research areas, including flexoelectrooptics, V-shaped switching, chiral discotics, and banana phases...

Gold nanoparticles in plastic columnar discotic liquid crystalline material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mishra, Mukesh, E-mail: mukeshphysics927@gmail.com [Center of Material Sciences, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Allahabad, Allahabad 211002 (India); Kumar, Sandeep [Raman Research Institute, C.V. Raman Avenue, Sadashivanagar, Bangalore 560080 (India); Dhar, Ravindra, E-mail: dr.ravindra.dhar@gmail.com [Center of Material Sciences, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Allahabad, Allahabad 211002 (India)

2016-05-10

Highlights: • Dispersion of Gold nanoparticles in a discotic liquid crystal has been studied. • σ{sub i} increases by seven orders of magnitude in the case of 1.2 wt% GNPs composites. • X-ray scattering results revel that a decrement in the core–core separation. • Study suggests that dispersion at low concentrations is uniform. • Band gap has decreased due to dispersion of GNPs in HAT4. - Abstract: We have studied the effect of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) on the thermodynamical, optical and dielectrical parameters of a discotic liquid crystal (DLC) namely hexabutyloxytriphenylene (HAT4). It has been observed that with the increase of GNPs concentration in DLC, composites shows two different regions. In the first regions i.e. low concentrations (<1 wt%), columnar hexagonal-isotropic (Col{sub hp}-I{sub L}) transition temperature and enthalpy (ΔH) decrease rapidly while in the second region i.e. higher concentrations (>1 wt%) Col{sub hp}-I{sub L} transition temperature and ΔH are approximately constant. It has been observed that, in the case of composites having 0.2 and 0.6 wt% of GNPs, conductivity has enhanced but it is poor as compared to the composite having 1.2 wt% of GNPs. For 1.2 wt% of GNPs, conductivity has increased by seven orders of magnitude as compared to the DLC. Optical study suggests that band gap of nanocomposites has decreased due to dispersion of GNPs.

Readout Architecture for Hybrid Pixel Readout Chips

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)694170; Westerlund, Tomi; Wyllie, Ken

The original contribution of this thesis to knowledge are novel digital readout architectures for hybrid pixel readout chips. The thesis presents asynchronous bus-based architecture, a data-node based column architecture and a network-based pixel matrix architecture for data transportation. It is shown that the data-node architecture achieves readout efficiency 99 % with half the output rate as a bus-based system. The network-based solution avoids ``broken'' columns due to some manufacturing errors, and it distributes internal data traffic more evenly across the pixel matrix than column-based architectures. An improvement of $>$ 10 % to the efficiency is achieved with uniform and non-uniform hit occupancies. Architectural design has been done using transaction level modeling ($TLM$) and sequential high-level design techniques for reducing the design and simulation time. It has been possible to simulate tens of column and full chip architectures using the high-level techniques. A decrease of $>$ 10 in run-time...

Charge carrier transport in layers of discotic liquid crystals as studied by transient photocurrents

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Rybak, A.; Pfleger, Jiří; Jung, J. Y.; Pavlík, Martin; Glowacki, I.; Ulanski, J.; Tomovic, Z.; Müllen, K.; Geerts, Y.

2006-01-01

Roč. 156, 2-4 (2006), s. 302-309 ISSN 0379-6779 Grant - others:NANOFUN-POLY(PL) 5709/R04/R05 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40500505 Keywords : organic semiconductors * discotic liquid crystals * photoconductivity Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry Impact factor: 1.685, year: 2006

Architecture and evaluation of software-defined optical switching matrix for hybrid data centers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mehmeri, Victor; Vegas Olmos, Juan José; Tafur Monroy, Idelfonso

2016-01-01

A software architecture is proposed for hybrid packet/optical data centers employing programmable NETCONF-enabled optical switching matrix, and a performance evaluation is presented comparing hybrid and electrical-only architectures for elephant flows under different traffic patterns. Network...

Prospects and determinants of adoption of IITA plantain and banana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

High yielding and disease resistant plantain and banana hybrids and its associated technologies generated by IITA to combat the menace of black Sigatoka disease (Mycosphaerella fijiensis) were massively disseminated in year 2000. Since the hybrids were slightly different from the existing varieties in fruit size there was ...

Tobacco arabinogalactan protein NtEPc can promote banana (Musa AAA) somatic embryogenesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Shu, H; Xu, L; Li, Z; Li, J; Jin, Z; Chang, S

2014-12-01

Banana is an important tropical fruit worldwide. Parthenocarpy and female sterility made it impossible to improve banana varieties through common hybridization. Genetic transformation for banana improvement is imperative. But the low rate that banana embryogenic callus was induced made the transformation cannot be performed in many laboratories. Finding ways to promote banana somatic embryogenesis is critical for banana genetic transformation. After tobacco arabinogalactan protein gene NtEPc was transformed into Escherichia coli (DE3), the recombinant protein was purified and filter-sterilized. A series of the sterilized protein was added into tissue culture medium. It was found that the number of banana immature male flowers developing embryogenic calli increased significantly in the presence of NtEPc protein compared with the effect of the control medium. Among the treatments, explants cultured on medium containing 10 mg/l of NtEPc protein had the highest chance to develop embryogenic calli. The percentage of lines that developed embryogenic calli on this medium was about 12.5 %. These demonstrated that NtEPc protein can be used to promote banana embryogenesis. This is the first paper that reported that foreign arabinogalactan protein (AGP) could be used to improve banana somatic embryogenesis.

Mars Conjunction Crewed Missions With a Reusable Hybrid Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Merrill, Raymond G.; Strange, Nathan J.; Qu, Min; Hatten, Noble

2015-01-01

A new crew Mars architecture has been developed that provides many potential benefits for NASA-led human Mars moons and surface missions beginning in the 2030s or 2040s. By using both chemical and electric propulsion systems where they are most beneficial and maintaining as much orbital energy as possible, the Hybrid spaceship that carries crew round trip to Mars is pre-integrated before launch and can be delivered to orbit by a single launch. After check-out on the way to cis-lunar space, it is refueled and can travel round trip to Mars in less than 1100 days, with a minimum of 300 days in Mars vicinity (opportunity dependent). The entire spaceship is recaptured into cis-lunar space and can be reused. The spaceship consists of a habitat for 4 crew attached to the Hybrid propulsion stage which uses long duration electric and chemical in-space propulsion technologies that are in use today. The hybrid architecture's con-ops has no in-space assembly of the crew transfer vehicle and requires only rendezvous of crew in a highly elliptical Earth orbit for arrival at and departure from the spaceship. The crew transfer vehicle does not travel to Mars so it only needs be able to last in space for weeks and re-enter at lunar velocities. The spaceship can be refueled and resupplied for multiple trips to Mars (every other opportunity). The hybrid propulsion stage for crewed transits can also be utilized for cargo delivery to Mars every other opportunity in a reusable manner to pre-deploy infrastructure required for Mars vicinity operations. Finally, the Hybrid architecture provides evolution options for mitigating key long-duration space exploration risks, including crew microgravity and radiation exposure.

Interaction of polymer with discotic clay particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Auvray, L.; Lal, J.

1999-01-01

Normally synthetic well defined monodisperse discotic laponite clays are known to form a gel phase at mass concentrations as low as a few percent in distilled water. Hydrosoluble polymer polyethylene oxide was added to this intriguing clay system, it was observed that it either prevents gelation or slows it down extremely depending on the polymer weight, concentration or the laponite concentration. Small Angle Neutron scattering (SANS) was used to study these systems because only by isotopic labeling can the structure of the adsorbed polymer layers be determined. The contrast variation technique is specifically used to determine separately the different partial structure factors of the clay and polymer. In this way the signal of the adsorbed chains is separated from the signal of the free chains in the dilute regime. Attempts have also been made to characterize the structure in the concentrated regime of laponite with polymer

Response of banana cultivars to banana weevil attack | Kiggundu ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

East African Highland Bananas (EAHB) (Musa AAA, 'Matooke' group) are a major staple food in the East African region. However, banana weevil (Cosmopolites sorllidus) is a major production constraint to bananas and may cause damage levels of up to 100%. Pesticides can effectively control banana weevil but these are ...

Hybrid Architecture for Coordination of AGVs in FMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo G. Hernandez-Martinez

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a hybrid control architecture that coordinates the motion of groups of automated guided vehicles in flexible manufacturing systems. The high-level control is based on a Petri net model, using the industrial standard ISA-95, obtaining a task-based coordination of equipment and storage considering process restrictions, logical precedences, shared resources and the assignment of robots to move workpieces individually or in subgroups. On the other hand, in the low-level control, three basic control laws are designed for unicycle-type robots in order to achieve desired formation patterns and marching behaviours, avoiding inter-robot collisions. The control scheme combines the task assignment for the robots obtained from the discrete-event model and the implementation of formation and marching continuous control laws applied to the motion of the mobile robots. The hybrid architecture is implemented and validated for the case of a flexible manufacturing system and four mobile robots using a virtual reality platform.

The banana (Musa acuminata) genome and the evolution of monocotyledonous plants.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Hont, Angélique; Denoeud, France; Aury, Jean-Marc; Baurens, Franc-Christophe; Carreel, Françoise; Garsmeur, Olivier; Noel, Benjamin; Bocs, Stéphanie; Droc, Gaëtan; Rouard, Mathieu; Da Silva, Corinne; Jabbari, Kamel; Cardi, Céline; Poulain, Julie; Souquet, Marlène; Labadie, Karine; Jourda, Cyril; Lengellé, Juliette; Rodier-Goud, Marguerite; Alberti, Adriana; Bernard, Maria; Correa, Margot; Ayyampalayam, Saravanaraj; Mckain, Michael R; Leebens-Mack, Jim; Burgess, Diane; Freeling, Mike; Mbéguié-A-Mbéguié, Didier; Chabannes, Matthieu; Wicker, Thomas; Panaud, Olivier; Barbosa, Jose; Hribova, Eva; Heslop-Harrison, Pat; Habas, Rémy; Rivallan, Ronan; Francois, Philippe; Poiron, Claire; Kilian, Andrzej; Burthia, Dheema; Jenny, Christophe; Bakry, Frédéric; Brown, Spencer; Guignon, Valentin; Kema, Gert; Dita, Miguel; Waalwijk, Cees; Joseph, Steeve; Dievart, Anne; Jaillon, Olivier; Leclercq, Julie; Argout, Xavier; Lyons, Eric; Almeida, Ana; Jeridi, Mouna; Dolezel, Jaroslav; Roux, Nicolas; Risterucci, Ange-Marie; Weissenbach, Jean; Ruiz, Manuel; Glaszmann, Jean-Christophe; Quétier, Francis; Yahiaoui, Nabila; Wincker, Patrick

2012-08-09

Bananas (Musa spp.), including dessert and cooking types, are giant perennial monocotyledonous herbs of the order Zingiberales, a sister group to the well-studied Poales, which include cereals. Bananas are vital for food security in many tropical and subtropical countries and the most popular fruit in industrialized countries. The Musa domestication process started some 7,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. It involved hybridizations between diverse species and subspecies, fostered by human migrations, and selection of diploid and triploid seedless, parthenocarpic hybrids thereafter widely dispersed by vegetative propagation. Half of the current production relies on somaclones derived from a single triploid genotype (Cavendish). Pests and diseases have gradually become adapted, representing an imminent danger for global banana production. Here we describe the draft sequence of the 523-megabase genome of a Musa acuminata doubled-haploid genotype, providing a crucial stepping-stone for genetic improvement of banana. We detected three rounds of whole-genome duplications in the Musa lineage, independently of those previously described in the Poales lineage and the one we detected in the Arecales lineage. This first monocotyledon high-continuity whole-genome sequence reported outside Poales represents an essential bridge for comparative genome analysis in plants. As such, it clarifies commelinid-monocotyledon phylogenetic relationships, reveals Poaceae-specific features and has led to the discovery of conserved non-coding sequences predating monocotyledon-eudicotyledon divergence.

Iterative Multiuser Equalization for Subconnected Hybrid mmWave Massive MIMO Architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Magueta

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Millimeter waves and massive MIMO are a promising combination to achieve the multi-Gb/s required by future 5G wireless systems. However, fully digital architectures are not feasible due to hardware limitations, which means that there is a need to design signal processing techniques for hybrid analog-digital architectures. In this manuscript, we propose a hybrid iterative block multiuser equalizer for subconnected millimeter wave massive MIMO systems. The low complexity user-terminals employ pure-analog random precoders, each with a single RF chain. For the base station, a subconnected hybrid analog-digital equalizer is designed to remove multiuser interference. The hybrid equalizer is optimized using the average bit-error-rate as a metric. Due to the coupling between the RF chains in the optimization problem, the computation of the optimal solutions is too complex. To address this problem, we compute the analog part of the equalizer sequentially over the RF chains using a dictionary built from the array response vectors. The proposed subconnected hybrid iterative multiuser equalizer is compared with a recently proposed fully connected approach. The results show that the performance of the proposed scheme is close to the fully connected hybrid approach counterpart after just a few iterations.

Hybrid parallel computing architecture for multiview phase shifting

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Kai; Li, Zhongwei; Zhou, Xiaohui; Shi, Yusheng; Wang, Congjun

2014-11-01

The multiview phase-shifting method shows its powerful capability in achieving high resolution three-dimensional (3-D) shape measurement. Unfortunately, this ability results in very high computation costs and 3-D computations have to be processed offline. To realize real-time 3-D shape measurement, a hybrid parallel computing architecture is proposed for multiview phase shifting. In this architecture, the central processing unit can co-operate with the graphic processing unit (GPU) to achieve hybrid parallel computing. The high computation cost procedures, including lens distortion rectification, phase computation, correspondence, and 3-D reconstruction, are implemented in GPU, and a three-layer kernel function model is designed to simultaneously realize coarse-grained and fine-grained paralleling computing. Experimental results verify that the developed system can perform 50 fps (frame per second) real-time 3-D measurement with 260 K 3-D points per frame. A speedup of up to 180 times is obtained for the performance of the proposed technique using a NVIDIA GT560Ti graphics card rather than a sequential C in a 3.4 GHZ Inter Core i7 3770.

SpaceCubeX: A Framework for Evaluating Hybrid Multi-Core CPU FPGA DSP Architectures

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Andrew G.; Weisz, Gabriel; French, Matthew; Flatley, Thomas; Villalpando, Carlos Y.

2017-01-01

The SpaceCubeX project is motivated by the need for high performance, modular, and scalable on-board processing to help scientists answer critical 21st century questions about global climate change, air quality, ocean health, and ecosystem dynamics, while adding new capabilities such as low-latency data products for extreme event warnings. These goals translate into on-board processing throughput requirements that are on the order of 100-1,000 more than those of previous Earth Science missions for standard processing, compression, storage, and downlink operations. To study possible future architectures to achieve these performance requirements, the SpaceCubeX project provides an evolvable testbed and framework that enables a focused design space exploration of candidate hybrid CPU/FPGA/DSP processing architectures. The framework includes ArchGen, an architecture generator tool populated with candidate architecture components, performance models, and IP cores, that allows an end user to specify the type, number, and connectivity of a hybrid architecture. The framework requires minimal extensions to integrate new processors, such as the anticipated High Performance Spaceflight Computer (HPSC), reducing time to initiate benchmarking by months. To evaluate the framework, we leverage a wide suite of high performance embedded computing benchmarks and Earth science scenarios to ensure robust architecture characterization. We report on our projects Year 1 efforts and demonstrate the capabilities across four simulation testbed models, a baseline SpaceCube 2.0 system, a dual ARM A9 processor system, a hybrid quad ARM A53 and FPGA system, and a hybrid quad ARM A53 and DSP system.

Analysis of quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) data of discotic systems using different molecular dynamics (MD) models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kruglova, O.; Mulder, F.M.; Picken, S.J.; Stride, J.; Kearley, G.J.

2004-01-01

Discotic molecules are composed of an aromatic core surrounded by aliphatic chains. These molecules are of importance because they can form columns in which the π orbitals of neighbouring molecules overlap leading to conductivity along the column. These materials find applications in molecular electronics and recently--with record quantum efficiencies--in photo voltaics. Because the correlation time of the electron (or hole) hopping is in the picosecond region, molecular dynamics on this timescale is of central importance. We have recently shown that these dynamics, which is easily measured by quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS), can be understood with a rather simple 'short single-column' model via an MD simulation that reproduces the measured QENS spectra. Before progressing to the larger technologically important systems we must understand any fortuitous error cancellations that may cause the simple model to reproduce the experimental signal so well. By taking a very simple discotic, hexamethyltriphenylene (HMT), we are able to compare QENS data with three types of models: simple column, cluster and periodic. It transpires that the cluster model cannot properly accommodate inter column interactions, and a fairly modest periodic model overcomes this problem and the tendency for un-physical harmonic modes along the column

A Hybrid Three Layer Architecture for Fire Agent Management in Rescue Simulation Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alborz Geramifard

2005-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a new architecture called FAIS for implementing intelligent agents cooperating in a special Multi Agent environment, namely the RoboCup Rescue Simulation System. This is a layered architecture which is customized for solving fire extinguishing problem. Structural decision making algorithms are combined with heuristic ones in this model, so it's a hybrid architecture.

One-step method of producing uniaxially oriented layers of organic discotic molecules for field effect transistors

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Miskiewicz, P.; Rybak, A.; Jung, J. Y.; Glowacki, I.; Maniukiewicz, W.; Tracz, A.; Pfleger, Jiří; Ulanski, J.; Müllen, K.

2007-01-01

Roč. 37, 1-3 (2007), s. 207-218 ISSN 1543-0537. [International Conference Erpos on Electrical and Related Properties of Organic Solids and Polymers /10./. Carges, 10.7.2005-15.7.2005] Grant - others:Cordis(PL) G5RD-CT-2000-0032 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40500505 Keywords : FETs * discotic liquid crystals * organic semiconductors Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry

Did backcrossing contribute to the origin of hybrid edible bananas?

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

De Langhe, E.; Hřibová, Eva; Carpentier, S.; Doležel, Jaroslav; Swennen, R.

2010-01-01

Roč. 106, č. 6 (2010), s. 849-857 ISSN 0305-7364 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA600380703 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50380511 Keywords : Backcrossing * banana * breeding Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 3.388, year: 2010

A Hybrid Three Layer Architecture for Fire Agent Management in Rescue Simulation Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alborz Geramifard

2008-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a new architecture called FAIS for imple- menting intelligent agents cooperating in a special Multi Agent environ- ment, namely the RoboCup Rescue Simulation System. This is a layered architecture which is customized for solving fire extinguishing problem. Structural decision making algorithms are combined with heuristic ones in this model, so it's a hybrid architecture.

Effect of five-membered ring and heteroatom substitution on charge transport properties of perylene discotic derivatives: A theoretical approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Navarro, Amparo, E-mail: anavarro@ujaen.es; Fernández-Liencres, M. Paz; Peña-Ruiz, Tomás; Granadino-Roldán, José M.; Fernández-Gómez, Manuel [Departamento de Química Física y Analítica, Universidad de Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas, E23071 Jaén (Spain); García, Gregorio [Instituto de Energía Solar and Departamento TFB, E.T.S.I. Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid 28040 (Spain)

2016-08-07

Density functional theory calculations were carried out to investigate the evolvement of charge transport properties of a set of new discotic systems as a function of ring and heteroatom (B, Si, S, and Se) substitution on the basic structure of perylene. The replacement of six-membered rings by five-membered rings in the reference compound has shown a prominent effect on the electron reorganization energy that decreases ∼0.2 eV from perylene to the new carbon five-membered ring derivative. Heteroatom substitution with boron also revealed to lower the LUMO energy level and increase the electron affinity, therefore lowering the electron injection barrier compared to perylene. Since the rate of the charge transfer between two molecules in columnar discotic systems is strongly dependent on the orientation of the stacked cores, the total energy and transfer integral of a dimer as a disc is rotated with respect to the other along the stacking axis have been predicted. Aimed at obtaining a more realistic approach to the bulk structure, the molecular geometry of clusters made up of five discs was fully optimized, and charge transfer rate and mobilities were estimated for charge transport along a one dimensional pathway. Heteroatom substitution with selenium yields electron transfer integral values ∼0.3 eV with a relative disc orientation of 25°, which is the preferred angle according to the dimer energy profile. All the results indicate that the tetraselenium-substituted derivative, not synthetized so far, could be a promising candidate among those studied in this work for the fabrication of n-type semiconductors based on columnar discotic liquid crystals materials.

Hybrid architecture for building secure sensor networks

Science.gov (United States)

Owens, Ken R., Jr.; Watkins, Steve E.

2012-04-01

Sensor networks have various communication and security architectural concerns. Three approaches are defined to address these concerns for sensor networks. The first area is the utilization of new computing architectures that leverage embedded virtualization software on the sensor. Deploying a small, embedded virtualization operating system on the sensor nodes that is designed to communicate to low-cost cloud computing infrastructure in the network is the foundation to delivering low-cost, secure sensor networks. The second area focuses on securing the sensor. Sensor security components include developing an identification scheme, and leveraging authentication algorithms and protocols that address security assurance within the physical, communication network, and application layers. This function will primarily be accomplished through encrypting the communication channel and integrating sensor network firewall and intrusion detection/prevention components to the sensor network architecture. Hence, sensor networks will be able to maintain high levels of security. The third area addresses the real-time and high priority nature of the data that sensor networks collect. This function requires that a quality-of-service (QoS) definition and algorithm be developed for delivering the right data at the right time. A hybrid architecture is proposed that combines software and hardware features to handle network traffic with diverse QoS requirements.

Molecular structure of the discotic liquid crystalline phase of hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene/oligothiophene hybrid and their charge transport properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bag, Saientan; Maingi, Vishal; Maiti, Prabal K.; Yelk, Joe; Glaser, Matthew A.; Clark, Noel A.; Walba, David M.

2015-01-01

Using atomistic molecular dynamics simulation, we study the discotic columnar liquid crystalline (LC) phases formed by a new organic compound having hexa-peri-Hexabenzocoronene (HBC) core with six pendant oligothiophene units recently synthesized by Nan Hu et al. [Adv. Mater. 26, 2066 (2014)]. This HBC core based LC phase was shown to have electric field responsive behavior and has important applications in organic electronics. Our simulation results confirm the hexagonal arrangement of columnar LC phase with a lattice spacing consistent with that obtained from small angle X-ray diffraction data. We have also calculated various positional and orientational correlation functions to characterize the ordering of the molecules in the columnar arrangement. The molecules in a column are arranged with an average twist of 25° having an average inter-molecular separation of ∼5 Å. Interestingly, we find an overall tilt angle of 43° between the columnar axis and HBC core. We also simulate the charge transport through this columnar phase and report the numerical value of charge carrier mobility for this liquid crystal phase. The charge carrier mobility is strongly influenced by the twist angle and average spacing of the molecules in the column

Current hybrid-electric powertrain architectures: Applying empirical design data to life cycle assessment and whole-life cost analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hutchinson, Tim; Burgess, Stuart; Herrmann, Guido

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Design data for 44 hybrid cars available in the US has been gathered and analysed. • An empirical life cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions is performed. • Empirical whole-life cost modelling is used to evaluate powertrain architectures. • The value to be seen in each architecture is highly dependent on its application. • Mild, HSD and Plug-in HSD powertrains are the most likely architectures to dominate. - Abstract: The recent introduction of hybrid-electric powertrain technology has disrupted the automotive industry, causing significant powertrain design divergence. As this radical powertrain innovation matures, will hybrid vehicles dominate the future automotive market and does this represent a positive shift in the environmental impact of the industry? The answer to this question is sought within this paper. It seeks to take advantage of the position that the industry has reached, replacing previous theoretical studies with the first extensive empirical models of life cycle emissions and whole-life costing. A comprehensive snapshot of today’s hybrid market is presented, with detailed descriptions of the various hybrid powertrain architectures. Design data has been gathered for 44 hybrid passenger cars currently available in the US. The empirical data is used to explore the relative life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and whole-life costing of different hybrid powertrain architectures. Potential dominant designs are identified and their emissions are shown to be reduced. However, both the emissions and economic competitiveness of different hybrid powertrains are shown to vary significantly depending on how the vehicle is used

Hybrid Experiential-Heuristic Cognitive Radio Engine Architecture and Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashwin Amanna

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The concept of cognitive radio (CR focuses on devices that can sense their environment, adapt configuration parameters, and learn from past behaviors. Architectures tend towards simplified decision-making algorithms inspired by human cognition. Initial works defined cognitive engines (CEs founded on heuristics, such as genetic algorithms (GAs, and case-based reasoning (CBR experiential learning algorithms. This hybrid architecture enables both long-term learning, faster decisions based on past experience, and capability to still adapt to new environments. This paper details an autonomous implementation of a hybrid CBR-GA CE architecture on a universal serial radio peripheral (USRP software-defined radio focused on link adaptation. Details include overall process flow, case base structure/retrieval method, estimation approach within the GA, and hardware-software lessons learned. Unique solutions to realizing the concept include mechanisms for combining vector distance and past fitness into an aggregate quantification of similarity. Over-the-air performance under several interference conditions is measured using signal-to-noise ratio, packet error rate, spectral efficiency, and throughput as observable metrics. Results indicate that the CE is successfully able to autonomously change transmit power, modulation/coding, and packet size to maintain the link while a non-cognitive approach loses connectivity. Solutions to existing shortcomings are proposed for improving case-base searching and performance estimation methods.

Trait variation and genetic diversity in a banana genomic selection training population

Science.gov (United States)

Nyine, Moses; Uwimana, Brigitte; Swennen, Rony; Batte, Michael; Brown, Allan; Christelová, Pavla; Hřibová, Eva; Lorenzen, Jim

2017-01-01

Banana (Musa spp.) is an important crop in the African Great Lakes region in terms of income and food security, with the highest per capita consumption worldwide. Pests, diseases and climate change hamper sustainable production of bananas. New breeding tools with increased crossbreeding efficiency are being investigated to breed for resistant, high yielding hybrids of East African Highland banana (EAHB). These include genomic selection (GS), which will benefit breeding through increased genetic gain per unit time. Understanding trait variation and the correlation among economically important traits is an essential first step in the development and selection of suitable GS models for banana. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that trait variations in bananas are not affected by cross combination, cycle, field management and their interaction with genotype. A training population created using EAHB breeding material and its progeny was phenotyped in two contrasting conditions. A high level of correlation among vegetative and yield related traits was observed. Therefore, genomic selection models could be developed for traits that are easily measured. It is likely that the predictive ability of traits that are difficult to phenotype will be similar to less difficult traits they are highly correlated with. Genotype response to cycle and field management practices varied greatly with respect to traits. Yield related traits accounted for 31–35% of principal component variation under low and high input field management conditions. Resistance to Black Sigatoka was stable across cycles but varied under different field management depending on the genotype. The best cross combination was 1201K-1xSH3217 based on selection response (R) of hybrids. Genotyping using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers revealed that the training population was genetically diverse, reflecting a complex pedigree background, which was mostly influenced by the male parents. PMID:28586365

Trait variation and genetic diversity in a banana genomic selection training population.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moses Nyine

Full Text Available Banana (Musa spp. is an important crop in the African Great Lakes region in terms of income and food security, with the highest per capita consumption worldwide. Pests, diseases and climate change hamper sustainable production of bananas. New breeding tools with increased crossbreeding efficiency are being investigated to breed for resistant, high yielding hybrids of East African Highland banana (EAHB. These include genomic selection (GS, which will benefit breeding through increased genetic gain per unit time. Understanding trait variation and the correlation among economically important traits is an essential first step in the development and selection of suitable GS models for banana. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that trait variations in bananas are not affected by cross combination, cycle, field management and their interaction with genotype. A training population created using EAHB breeding material and its progeny was phenotyped in two contrasting conditions. A high level of correlation among vegetative and yield related traits was observed. Therefore, genomic selection models could be developed for traits that are easily measured. It is likely that the predictive ability of traits that are difficult to phenotype will be similar to less difficult traits they are highly correlated with. Genotype response to cycle and field management practices varied greatly with respect to traits. Yield related traits accounted for 31-35% of principal component variation under low and high input field management conditions. Resistance to Black Sigatoka was stable across cycles but varied under different field management depending on the genotype. The best cross combination was 1201K-1xSH3217 based on selection response (R of hybrids. Genotyping using simple sequence repeat (SSR markers revealed that the training population was genetically diverse, reflecting a complex pedigree background, which was mostly influenced by the male parents.

Trait variation and genetic diversity in a banana genomic selection training population.

Science.gov (United States)

Nyine, Moses; Uwimana, Brigitte; Swennen, Rony; Batte, Michael; Brown, Allan; Christelová, Pavla; Hřibová, Eva; Lorenzen, Jim; Doležel, Jaroslav

2017-01-01

Banana (Musa spp.) is an important crop in the African Great Lakes region in terms of income and food security, with the highest per capita consumption worldwide. Pests, diseases and climate change hamper sustainable production of bananas. New breeding tools with increased crossbreeding efficiency are being investigated to breed for resistant, high yielding hybrids of East African Highland banana (EAHB). These include genomic selection (GS), which will benefit breeding through increased genetic gain per unit time. Understanding trait variation and the correlation among economically important traits is an essential first step in the development and selection of suitable GS models for banana. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that trait variations in bananas are not affected by cross combination, cycle, field management and their interaction with genotype. A training population created using EAHB breeding material and its progeny was phenotyped in two contrasting conditions. A high level of correlation among vegetative and yield related traits was observed. Therefore, genomic selection models could be developed for traits that are easily measured. It is likely that the predictive ability of traits that are difficult to phenotype will be similar to less difficult traits they are highly correlated with. Genotype response to cycle and field management practices varied greatly with respect to traits. Yield related traits accounted for 31-35% of principal component variation under low and high input field management conditions. Resistance to Black Sigatoka was stable across cycles but varied under different field management depending on the genotype. The best cross combination was 1201K-1xSH3217 based on selection response (R) of hybrids. Genotyping using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers revealed that the training population was genetically diverse, reflecting a complex pedigree background, which was mostly influenced by the male parents.

Better bananas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

This is a public relations film describing problems associated with the genetic improvement of bananas and plantains. These fruit and food crops have a large economic and nutritional value for tropical regions. The vulnerability of bananas to disease epidemics urgently requires breeding for resistance to black Sigatoka (leaf spot disease). The joint FAO/IAEA division has initiated a programme and developed a biotechnological strategy for genetic improvement of bananas and plantains

Evaluation of indicators to determine black sigatoka susceptibility in five banana hybrid cultivars ( Mycosphaerella fijiensis Morelet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reinaldo Pérez Armas

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This work had the objective of determining the variation of growth, development and yields indicators of five banana hybrid cultivars. The research was carried in the Agroindustrial Farm Marta Abreu, Cienfuegos, in a carbonated Brown soil. It was made a characterization of the soil and the climatic variables. A field experiment was developed with a design in blocks at random with four repetitions with five banana cultivars as treatments (‘FHIA-18’, ‘FHIA-02’, ‘FHIA-01’, ‘SH-3436 L-9’ and ‘FHIA-23’ . The plots had an area of 56 m2 with 16 plants, been evaluated eight for a total 32 plants for cultivar. The variable evaluated were the spotty youngest leaf, number of leaf by plant, incubation time (PI, evolution time of symptoms (TES and developing time of symptoms (TED, severity index (IS, active photosynthetic index (INHE and infection relative index. The cultivars FHIA-23 and SH 3436 L9 presented a hither time of development of the disease. In a general the more susceptible cultivar to the black Sigatoka under of the farm condition was FHIA-23. The clones FHIA-18, FHIA-01 and FHIA-02 presented the best behavior in the spotted youngest leaf and the number of leaf up to the flowering and the harvest time. The clones FHIA-01 and FHIA-18 have the better response to Black Sigatoka attending to the incubation period, the evolution time of the symptom and develo pment time of the disease

Combining Performance and Flexibility for RMS with a Hybrid Architecture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dennis Koole; Arjan Groenewegen; Daniël Telgen; Patrick Wit; Leo van Moergestel; Arjan van Zanten; John-Jules Meyer; Ing. Erik Puik; Dick van der Steen; Pascal Muller

2013-01-01

Author supplied Combining Performance and Flexibility for RMS with a Hybrid Architecture Dani¨el Telgen 12? , Leo van Moergestel 1 , Erik Puik 1 , Pascal Muller 1 , Arjan Groenewegen 1 , Dick van der Steen 1 , Dennis Koole 1 , Patrick de Wit 1 , Arjen van Zanten 1 , and John-Jules

Software architecture for hybrid electrical/optical data center network

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mehmeri, Victor; Vegas Olmos, Juan José; Tafur Monroy, Idelfonso

2016-01-01

This paper presents hardware and software architecture based on Software-Defined Networking (SDN) paradigm and OpenFlow/NETCONF protocols for enabling topology management of hybrid electrical/optical switching data center networks. In particular, a development on top of SDN open-source controller...... OpenDaylight is presented to control an optical switching matrix based on Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) technology....

Origins and Domestication of Cultivated Banana Inferred from Chloroplast and Nuclear Genes

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Cui; Wang, Xin-Feng; Shi, Feng-Xue; Chen, Wen-Na; Ge, Xue-Jun

2013-01-01

Background Cultivated bananas are large, vegetatively-propagated members of the genus Musa. More than 1,000 cultivars are grown worldwide and they are major economic and food resources in numerous developing countries. It has been suggested that cultivated bananas originated from the islands of Southeast Asia (ISEA) and have been developed through complex geodomestication pathways. However, the maternal and parental donors of most cultivars are unknown, and the pattern of nucleotide diversity in domesticated banana has not been fully resolved. Methodology/Principal Findings We studied the genetics of 16 cultivated and 18 wild Musa accessions using two single-copy nuclear (granule-bound starch synthase I, GBSS I, also known as Waxy, and alcohol dehydrogenase 1, Adh1) and two chloroplast (maturase K, matK, and the trnL-F gene cluster) genes. The results of phylogenetic analyses showed that all A-genome haplotypes of cultivated bananas were grouped together with those of ISEA subspecies of M. acuminata (A-genome). Similarly, the B- and S-genome haplotypes of cultivated bananas clustered with the wild species M. balbisiana (B-genome) and M. schizocarpa (S-genome), respectively. Notably, it has been shown that distinct haplotypes of each cultivar (A-genome group) were nested together to different ISEA subspecies M. acuminata. Analyses of nucleotide polymorphism in the Waxy and Adh1 genes revealed that, in comparison to the wild relatives, cultivated banana exhibited slightly lower nucleotide diversity both across all sites and specifically at silent sites. However, dramatically reduced nucleotide diversity was found at nonsynonymous sites for cultivated bananas. Conclusions/Significance Our study not only confirmed the origin of cultivated banana as arising from multiple intra- and inter-specific hybridization events, but also showed that cultivated banana may have not suffered a severe genetic bottleneck during the domestication process. Importantly, our findings

A Hybrid Power Management (HPM) Based Vehicle Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Eichenberg, Dennis J.

2011-01-01

Society desires vehicles with reduced fuel consumption and reduced emissions. This presents a challenge and an opportunity for industry and the government. The NASA John H. Glenn Research Center (GRC) has developed a Hybrid Power Management (HPM) based vehicle architecture for space and terrestrial vehicles. GRC's Electrical and Electromagnetics Branch of the Avionics and Electrical Systems Division initiated the HPM Program for the GRC Technology Transfer and Partnership Office. HPM is the innovative integration of diverse, state-of-the-art power devices in an optimal configuration for space and terrestrial applications. The appropriate application and control of the various power devices significantly improves overall system performance and efficiency. The basic vehicle architecture consists of a primary power source, and possibly other power sources, providing all power to a common energy storage system, which is used to power the drive motors and vehicle accessory systems, as well as provide power as an emergency power system. Each component is independent, permitting it to be optimized for its intended purpose. This flexible vehicle architecture can be applied to all vehicles to considerably improve system efficiency, reliability, safety, security, and performance. This unique vehicle architecture has the potential to alleviate global energy concerns, improve the environment, stimulate the economy, and enable new missions.

Phenylphenalenones Accumulate in Plant Tissues of Two Banana Cultivars in Response to Herbivory by the Banana Weevil and Banana Stem Weevil

OpenAIRE

H?lscher, Dirk; Buerkert, Andreas; Schneider, Bernd

2016-01-01

Phenylphenalenone-type compounds accumulated in the tissues of two banana cultivars—Musa acuminata cv. “Grande Naine” (AAA) and Musa acuminata × balbisiana Colla cv. “Bluggoe” (ABB)—when these were fed on by the banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus (Germ.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)) and the banana stem weevil (Odoiporus longicollis (Oliver) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)). The chemical constituents of the banana material were separated by means of chromatographic techniques and identified by N...

One-Pot Synthesis of Three-Dimensional Graphene/Carbon Nanotube/SnO2 Hybrid Architectures with Enhanced Lithium Storage Properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zheye; Wang, Lu; Xiao, Jian; Xiao, Fei; Wang, Shuai

2015-08-19

Three-dimensional (3D) graphene/carbon nanotube (CNT)/SnO2 (GCS) hybrid architectures were constructed by a facile and cost-effective self-assembly method through hydrothermal treatment of a mixture of Sn(2+), CNTs, and graphene oxide (GO). The resultant GCS displayed a 3D hierarchically porous structure with large surface area and excellent electrical conductivity, which could effectively prevent the aggregation and volume variation of SnO2 and accelerate the transport of ions and electrons through 3D pathways. Benefiting from the unique structure and the synergistic effect of different components in the hybrid architectures, the GCS exhibited a remarkably improved reversible capacity of 842 mAh g(-1) after 100 cycles at 0.2 A g(-1) and excellent rate performance for lithium storage compared with that of graphene/SnO2 (GS) hybrid architectures. Hence, the impressive results presented here could provide a universal platform for fabricating graphene/CNT-based hybrid architectures with promising applications in various fields.

Alcohol from bananas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hammond, J.B.; Egg, Richard; Coble, C.G. [Texas A and M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Agricultural Engineering; Diggins, Drew

1996-04-01

Laboratory studies were conducted to assess the ethanol production potential from waste bananas. Over a 10-day ripening period, there was a 9% loss of fresh weight by day 6 and a 15% loss by day 10. Ethanol yields from normal ripe bananas were: whole fruit - 0.091, pulp -0.082, and peel -0.006 l/kg of whole fruit. Ripeness effects on ethanol yield were measured as green - 0.090, normal ripe - 0.082, and overripe - 0.069 l/kg of green whole bananas. Enzymatic hydrolysis was necessary for maximum yields. Dilution water was not essential for effective fermentation. Waste parameters of the banana stillage were measured. (Author)

Interaction of Spatially Localized LHW with Banana Particles

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Krlín, Ladislav; Fuchs, Vladimír; Pánek, Radomír; Papřok, Richard; Seidl, Jakub

2014-01-01

Roč. 1, č. 3 (2014), s. 166-168 ISSN 2336-2626. [SPPT 2014 - 26th Symposium on Plasma Physics and Technology/26./. Prague, 16.06.2014-19.06.2014] R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP205/11/2341 Institutional support: RVO:61389021 Keywords : anomalous acceleration * stochasticity * lower hybrid waves * banana particles * tokamaks Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics http://fyzika.feld.cvut.cz/misc/ppt/articles/2014/krlin.pdf

A discotic triphenylene dimer as organic hole transporting material for electroluminescence devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mao Huaxiang; He Zhiqun; Wang Junling; Zhang Chunxiu; Xie, Ping; Zhang Rongben

2007-01-01

A triphenylene dimer, an intermediate between a discotic triphenylene molecule and the macromolecule, had been prepared by linking together two triphenylene units via phenylene carbamate linkages, which was formed through a reaction between one 1,4-phenylene diisocyanate and two hydroxyl end groups on flexible substituents of triphenylenes. The dimer exhibited good film-forming property. Its temperature-dependent phase transitions were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry and polarized optical microscopy. Room temperature microstructure of the dimer was analyzed by X-ray diffraction. Charge mobility of the triphenylene dimer was also measured. Our preliminary result using the materials in a sandwich light-emitting device is reported here. It demonstrates that the triphenylene dimer is a promising candidate as a hole transporting material

Bananas and plantains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

The film shows the germplasm diversity within the Genus Musa and the evolution of cultivated forms of bananas and plantains. Cultivation history and geographical distribution are depicted; features of plant morphology and the floral biology are demonstrated. Economic and nutritional impact and importance of bananas and plantains for developing countries are briefly discussed. The second part of the film surveys problems in the propagation and genetic improvement of bananas and plantains: fruits of these vegetatively propagated plants are usually seedless which complicate the application of conventional plant breeding methods. In-vitro techniques are shown to be useful for plant propagation and germplasm conservation. Cross breeding with some semi-sterile clones of bananas has not led so far to lines which are resistant to the most harmful diseases, e.g. panama disease, black sigatoka. The Joint FAO/IAEA division has initiated an in-vitro mutation breeding programme to improve disease resistance in bananas

Genetic Architecture of Male Sterility and Segregation Distortion in Drosophila pseudoobscura Bogota–USA Hybrids

Science.gov (United States)

Phadnis, Nitin

2011-01-01

Understanding the genetic basis of reproductive isolation between recently diverged species is a central problem in evolutionary genetics. Here, I present analyses of the genetic architecture underlying hybrid male sterility and segregation distortion between the Bogota and USA subspecies of Drosophila pseudoobscura. Previously, a single gene, Overdrive (Ovd), was shown to be necessary but not sufficient for both male sterility and segregation distortion in F1 hybrids between these subspecies, requiring several interacting partner loci for full manifestation of hybrid phenomena. I map these partner loci separately on the Bogota X chromosome and USA autosomes using a combination of different mapping strategies. I find that hybrid sterility involves a single hybrid incompatibility of at least seven interacting partner genes that includes three large-effect loci. Segregation distortion involves three loci on the Bogota X chromosome and one locus on the autosomes. The genetic bases of hybrid sterility and segregation distortion are at least partially—but not completely—overlapping. My results lay the foundation for fine-mapping experiments to identify the complete set of genes that interact with Overdrive. While individual genes that cause hybrid sterility or inviability have been identified in a few cases, my analysis provides a comprehensive look at the genetic architecture of all components of a hybrid incompatibility underlying F1 hybrid sterility. Such an analysis would likely be unfeasible for most species pairs due to their divergence time and emphasizes the importance of young species pairs such as the D. pseudoobscura subspecies studied here. PMID:21900263

Genetic architecture of male sterility and segregation distortion in Drosophila pseudoobscura Bogota-USA hybrids.

Science.gov (United States)

Phadnis, Nitin

2011-11-01

Understanding the genetic basis of reproductive isolation between recently diverged species is a central problem in evolutionary genetics. Here, I present analyses of the genetic architecture underlying hybrid male sterility and segregation distortion between the Bogota and USA subspecies of Drosophila pseudoobscura. Previously, a single gene, Overdrive (Ovd), was shown to be necessary but not sufficient for both male sterility and segregation distortion in F(1) hybrids between these subspecies, requiring several interacting partner loci for full manifestation of hybrid phenomena. I map these partner loci separately on the Bogota X chromosome and USA autosomes using a combination of different mapping strategies. I find that hybrid sterility involves a single hybrid incompatibility of at least seven interacting partner genes that includes three large-effect loci. Segregation distortion involves three loci on the Bogota X chromosome and one locus on the autosomes. The genetic bases of hybrid sterility and segregation distortion are at least partially--but not completely--overlapping. My results lay the foundation for fine-mapping experiments to identify the complete set of genes that interact with Overdrive. While individual genes that cause hybrid sterility or inviability have been identified in a few cases, my analysis provides a comprehensive look at the genetic architecture of all components of a hybrid incompatibility underlying F(1) hybrid sterility. Such an analysis would likely be unfeasible for most species pairs due to their divergence time and emphasizes the importance of young species pairs such as the D. pseudoobscura subspecies studied here.

Phenylphenalenones Accumulate in Plant Tissues of Two Banana Cultivars in Response to Herbivory by the Banana Weevil and Banana Stem Weevil.

Science.gov (United States)

Hölscher, Dirk; Buerkert, Andreas; Schneider, Bernd

2016-08-25

Phenylphenalenone-type compounds accumulated in the tissues of two banana cultivars-Musa acuminata cv. "Grande Naine" (AAA) and Musa acuminata × balbisiana Colla cv. "Bluggoe" (ABB)-when these were fed on by the banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus (Germ.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)) and the banana stem weevil (Odoiporus longicollis (Oliver) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)). The chemical constituents of the banana material were separated by means of chromatographic techniques and identified by NMR spectroscopy. One new compound, 2-methoxy-4-phenylphenalen-1-one, was found exclusively in the corm material of "Bluggoe" that had been fed on by the weevils.

Real-Time 3D Face Acquisition Using Reconfigurable Hybrid Architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitéran Johel

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Acquiring 3D data of human face is a general problem which can be applied in face recognition, virtual reality, and many other applications. It can be solved using stereovision. This technique consists in acquiring data in three dimensions from two cameras. The aim is to implement an algorithmic chain which makes it possible to obtain a three-dimensional space from two two-dimensional spaces: two images coming from the two cameras. Several implementations have already been considered. We propose a new simple real-time implementation based on a hybrid architecture (FPGA-DSP, allowing to consider an embedded and reconfigurable processing. Then we show our method which provides depth map of face, dense and reliable, and which can be implemented on an embedded architecture. A various architecture study led us to a judicious choice allowing to obtain the desired result. The real-time data processing is implemented in an embedded architecture. We obtain a dense face disparity map, precise enough for considered applications (multimedia, virtual worlds, biometrics and using a reliable method.

Ecuadorian Banana Farms Should Consider Organic Banana with Low Price Risks in Their Land-Use Portfolios

Science.gov (United States)

Castro, Luz Maria; Calvas, Baltazar; Knoke, Thomas

2015-01-01

Organic farming is a more environmentally friendly form of land use than conventional agriculture. However, recent studies point out production tradeoffs that often prevent the adoption of such practices by farmers. Our study shows with the example of organic banana production in Ecuador that economic tradeoffs depend much on the approach of the analysis. We test, if organic banana should be included in economic land-use portfolios, which indicate how much of the land is provided for which type of land-use. We use time series data for productivity and prices over 30 years to compute the economic return (as annualized net present value) and its volatility (with standard deviation as risk measure) for eight crops to derive land-use portfolios for different levels of risk, which maximize economic return. We find that organic banana is included in land-use portfolios for almost every level of accepted risk with proportions from 1% to maximally 32%, even if the same high uncertainty as for conventional banana is simulated for organic banana. A more realistic, lower simulated price risk increased the proportion of organic banana substantially to up to 57% and increased annual economic returns by up to US$ 187 per ha. Under an assumed integration of both markets, for organic and conventional banana, simulated by an increased coefficient of correlation of economic return from organic and conventional banana (ρ up to +0.7), organic banana holds significant portions in the land-use portfolios tested only, if a low price risk of organic banana is considered. We conclude that uncertainty is a key issue for the adoption of organic banana. As historic data support a low price risk for organic banana compared to conventional banana, Ecuadorian farmers should consider organic banana as an advantageous land-use option in their land-use portfolios. PMID:25799506

Avaliação de cultivares e híbridos de bananeira no recôncavo baiano Evaluation of banana cultivars and hybrids in northeastern Bahia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcelo Bezerra Lima

2005-06-01

Full Text Available O programa de melhoramento genético de bananeira da Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura Tropical visa desenvolver e selecionar novas cultivares de bananeira com alta produtividade, bom sabor dos frutos e que apresentem resistência às principais doenças. Objetivou-se com este trabalho avaliar cultivares e híbridos de bananeira visando a identificação de genótipos superiores em produtividade e resistência a doenças. Foram avaliados os híbridos da cv. Gros Michel (Calipso, Bucaneiro e Ambrosia; da cv.Yangambi (YB42-21 e YB42-17; da cv. Prata (ST42-08 e ST12-31 e de Prata-Anã (SH3640 e as cultivares Pacovan e Nanicão. As características utilizadas para as avaliações foram: altura da planta (m; diâmetro do pseudocaule (cm; número de folhas vivas na floração; número de folhas vivas na colheita; número de frutos por cacho; peso do cacho (kg; peso médio de frutos (g; comprimento do fruto (cm; diâmetro do fruto (cm; espessura da casca (mm; número de dias do plantio à floração e número de dias do plantio à colheita. Usou-se o delineamento em blocos casualizados com 10 tratamentos, cinco repetições e seis touceiras por parcela, espaçadas de 2,00 m x 3,00 m. Os híbridos avaliados apresentaram características agronômicas iguais ou superiores as cultivares que lhes deram origem. Os melhores híbridos de 'Prata', 'Yangambi' e 'Gros Michel' foram respectivamente, ST12-31, YB42-21 e Bucaneiro.The banana genetic breeding program at Embrapa Cassava and Tropical Fruits aims to develop and select new banana varieties with high productivity, good fruit flavor and resistance to most banana diseases. The objective of this work was to evaluate banana cultivars and hybrids in order to identify superior genotypes for productivity and disease resistance. The following characteristics were evaluated: plant height (cm; pseudostem diameter (cm; number of living leaves during flowering; and at harvest number of fingers per bunch; bunch weight

Synthesis, characterization and frictional wear behavior of ceria hybrid architectures with {111} exposure planes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, Pengfei [School of Mechanical Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang 421001 (China); Chen, Yong, E-mail: chenyongjsnt@163.com [School of Mechanical Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang 421001 (China); Sun, Rong [Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai (Japan); Chen, Yue; Yin, Yaru [School of Mechanical Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang 421001 (China); Wang, Zhongchang, E-mail: zcwang@wpi-aimr.tohoku.ac.jp [Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai (Japan)

2017-04-15

Highlights: • A hybrid architecture comprising three types of cerium nanoparticles (nano-octahedron and its’ ramifications) is synthesized. • The exposure planes of the prepared ceria nanoparticles are {111} crystal planes. • The nanoparticles show markedly material remove capacity and inferior polishing quality. - Abstract: A hybrid architecture comprising three types of cerium nanoparticles, nano-octahedron and its ramifications, is synthesized via a facile yet efficient hydrothermal process. Comprehensive transmission electron microscopy analysis identifies the exposure planes of the cube-shaped ceria nanoparticles as {111} crystal planes. As a result of this unique morphology, the nanoparticles are found to show markedly enhanced material removal capacity and inferior polishing quality compared to the sphere-shaped ceria nanoparticles.

The Banana Genome Hub

Science.gov (United States)

Droc, Gaëtan; Larivière, Delphine; Guignon, Valentin; Yahiaoui, Nabila; This, Dominique; Garsmeur, Olivier; Dereeper, Alexis; Hamelin, Chantal; Argout, Xavier; Dufayard, Jean-François; Lengelle, Juliette; Baurens, Franc-Christophe; Cenci, Alberto; Pitollat, Bertrand; D’Hont, Angélique; Ruiz, Manuel; Rouard, Mathieu; Bocs, Stéphanie

2013-01-01

Banana is one of the world’s favorite fruits and one of the most important crops for developing countries. The banana reference genome sequence (Musa acuminata) was recently released. Given the taxonomic position of Musa, the completed genomic sequence has particular comparative value to provide fresh insights about the evolution of the monocotyledons. The study of the banana genome has been enhanced by a number of tools and resources that allows harnessing its sequence. First, we set up essential tools such as a Community Annotation System, phylogenomics resources and metabolic pathways. Then, to support post-genomic efforts, we improved banana existing systems (e.g. web front end, query builder), we integrated available Musa data into generic systems (e.g. markers and genetic maps, synteny blocks), we have made interoperable with the banana hub, other existing systems containing Musa data (e.g. transcriptomics, rice reference genome, workflow manager) and finally, we generated new results from sequence analyses (e.g. SNP and polymorphism analysis). Several uses cases illustrate how the Banana Genome Hub can be used to study gene families. Overall, with this collaborative effort, we discuss the importance of the interoperability toward data integration between existing information systems. Database URL: http://banana-genome.cirad.fr/ PMID:23707967

Phenylphenalenones Accumulate in Plant Tissues of Two Banana Cultivars in Response to Herbivory by the Banana Weevil and Banana Stem Weevil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dirk Hölscher

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Phenylphenalenone-type compounds accumulated in the tissues of two banana cultivars—Musa acuminata cv. “Grande Naine” (AAA and Musa acuminata × balbisiana Colla cv. “Bluggoe” (ABB—when these were fed on by the banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus (Germ. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae and the banana stem weevil (Odoiporus longicollis (Oliver (Coleoptera: Curculionidae. The chemical constituents of the banana material were separated by means of chromatographic techniques and identified by NMR spectroscopy. One new compound, 2-methoxy-4-phenylphenalen-1-one, was found exclusively in the corm material of “Bluggoe” that had been fed on by the weevils.

Innovative architecture design for high performance organic and hybrid multi-junction solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ning; Spyropoulos, George D.; Brabec, Christoph J.

2017-08-01

The multi-junction concept is especially attractive for the photovoltaic (PV) research community owing to its potential to overcome the Schockley-Queisser limit of single-junction solar cells. Tremendous research interests are now focused on the development of high-performance absorbers and novel device architectures for emerging PV technologies, such as organic and perovskite PVs. It has been predicted that the multi-junction concept is able to boost the organic and perovskite PV technologies approaching the 20% and 30% benchmarks, respectively, showing a bright future of commercialization of the emerging PV technologies. In this contribution, we will demonstrate innovative architecture design for solution-processed, highly functional organic and hybrid multi-junction solar cells. A simple but elegant approach to fabricating organic and hybrid multi-junction solar cells will be introduced. By laminating single organic/hybrid solar cells together through an intermediate layer, the manufacturing cost and complexity of large-scale multi-junction solar cells can be significantly reduced. This smart approach to balancing the photocurrents as well as open circuit voltages in multi-junction solar cells will be demonstrated and discussed in detail.

Electronic and vibronic properties of a discotic liquid-crystal and its charge transfer complex

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haverkate, Lucas A.; Mulder, Fokko M. [Reactor Institute Delft, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 15, 2629JB Delft (Netherlands); Zbiri, Mohamed, E-mail: zbiri@ill.fr; Johnson, Mark R. [Institut Laue Langevin, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Carter, Elizabeth [Vibrational Spectroscopy Facility, School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, NSW 2008 (Australia); Kotlewski, Arek; Picken, S. [ChemE-NSM, Faculty of Chemistry, Delft University of Technology, 2628BL/136 Delft (Netherlands); Kearley, Gordon J. [Bragg Institute, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Menai, NSW 2234 (Australia)

2014-01-07

Discotic liquid crystalline (DLC) charge transfer (CT) complexes combine visible light absorption and rapid charge transfer characteristics, being favorable properties for photovoltaic (PV) applications. We present a detailed study of the electronic and vibrational properties of the prototypic 1:1 mixture of discotic 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexakishexyloxytriphenylene (HAT6) and 2,4,7-trinitro-9-fluorenone (TNF). It is shown that intermolecular charge transfer occurs in the ground state of the complex: a charge delocalization of about 10{sup −2} electron from the HAT6 core to TNF is deduced from both Raman and our previous NMR measurements [L. A. Haverkate, M. Zbiri, M. R. Johnson, B. Deme, H. J. M. de Groot, F. Lefeber, A. Kotlewski, S. J. Picken, F. M. Mulder, and G. J. Kearley, J. Phys. Chem. B 116, 13098 (2012)], implying the presence of permanent dipoles at the donor-acceptor interface. A combined analysis of density functional theory calculations, resonant Raman and UV-VIS absorption measurements indicate that fast relaxation occurs in the UV region due to intramolecular vibronic coupling of HAT6 quinoidal modes with lower lying electronic states. Relatively slower relaxation in the visible region the excited CT-band of the complex is also indicated, which likely involves motions of the TNF nitro groups. The fast quinoidal relaxation process in the hot UV band of HAT6 relates to pseudo-Jahn-Teller interactions in a single benzene unit, suggesting that the underlying vibronic coupling mechanism can be generic for polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Both the presence of ground state CT dipoles and relatively slow relaxation processes in the excited CT band can be relevant concerning the design of DLC based organic PV systems.

Benefits of a parallel hybrid electric architecture on medium commercial vehicles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boot, Marco Aimo; Consano, Ludovico [Iveco S.p.A, Turin (Italy)

2009-07-01

Hybrid electric technology is becoming an increasingly interesting solution for medium and heavy trucks involved in urban and suburban missions. The increasing demand for gas and oil, consequent price rises and environmental concerns are driving a market that is in need of alternative solutions. For these reasons, the growth in the global hybrid market significantly exceeded all the hybrid sales forecasts. The parallel hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) employs an additional power source (electric motogenerator) in combination with the conventional diesel engine. This architecture exploits the benefits of both power sources in order to reduce the fuel consumption, increase the overall power, and above all, decrease CO2 emissions. Moreover, the emissions reduction target is lead by EU Regulations and local initiatives for traffic limitations, but the real drivers for the growth in the market are demonstrable fuel economy improvements and productivity costs optimization (global efficiency). This paper presents the results achieved by Iveco in the development and testing of parallel hybrid systems applied to medium range commercial vehicles, with the intent to evaluate the functionality, driveability performance and leading the best reduction in terms of fuel consumption and emissions in different real-world missions. The system architecture foresees one electric motor/generator and a single clutch unit. An external electrical power source for the battery recharging it is not necessary. The chosen configuration allows to implement the following functional modes: Stop and Start with Electric Launch, Hybrid Mode, Regenerative Braking Mode, Inertial Start and Creeping Mode. The software contained in the supervisor control unit has been tuned to the customer specific missions, taking in account on road data acquisition in order to demonstrate the reliability, driveability and the overall efficiency of the hybrid system. The field tests carried out in collaboration with

Marketing of banana and banana products in Uganda: Results of a rapid rural appraisal

OpenAIRE

Digges, Philip

1994-01-01

This report concerns a survey undertaken by NRI in Uganda during September and December 1993, which sought to characterise the banana and banana beer marketing systems. The study follows on from the recommendations of the Banana Based Cropping System Rapid Rural Appraisal (1991), and focuses upon the Kampala market.

Lightning talk slide for "SLACKHA: Software Library for Accelerating Chemical Kinetics on Hybrid Architectures"

OpenAIRE

Niemeyer, Kyle; Sung, Chih-Jen

2018-01-01

Lightning talk slide describing the "SLACKHA: Software Library for Accelerating Chemical Kinetics on Hybrid Architectures" project at the 2018 NSF SI2 PI meeting: https://si2-pi-community.github.io/2018-meeting/

From crossbreeding to biotechnology-facilitated improvement of banana and plantain.

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz, Rodomiro; Swennen, Rony

2014-01-01

The annual harvest of banana and plantain (Musa spp.) is approximately 145 million tons worldwide. About 85% of this global production comes from small plots and kitchen or backyard gardens from the developing world, and only 15% goes to the export trade. Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana are the ancestors of several hundreds of parthenocarpic Musa diploid and polyploid cultivars, which show multiple origins through inter- and intra-specific hybridizations from these two wild diploid species. Generating hybrids combining host plant resistance to pathogens and pests, short growth cycles and height, high fruit yield, parthenocarpy, and desired quality from the cultivars remains a challenge for Musa crossbreeding, which started about one century ago in Trinidad. The success of Musa crossbreeding depends on the production of true hybrid seeds in a crop known for its high levels of female sterility, particularly among polyploid cultivars. All banana export cultivars grown today are, however, selections from somatic mutants of the group Cavendish and have a very narrow genetic base, while smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa, tropical Asia and Latin America use some bred-hybrids (mostly cooking types). Musa improvement goals need to shift to address emerging threats because of the changing climate. Innovative cell and molecular biology tools have the potential to enhance the pace and efficiency of genetic improvement in Musa. Micro-propagation has been successful for high throughput of clean planting materials while in vitro seed germination assists in obtaining seedlings after inter-specific and across ploidy hybridization. Flow cytometry protocols are used for checking ploidy among genebank accessions and breeding materials. DNA markers, the genetic maps based on them, and the recent sequencing of the banana genome offer means for gaining more insights in the genetics of the crops and to identifying genes that could lead to accelerating Musa betterment. Likewise, DNA

Natural Radioactivity in Bananas

Science.gov (United States)

Zagatto, V. A. B.; Medina, N. H.; Okuno, E.; Umisedo, N. K.

2008-08-01

The content of 40K natural radionuclide in bananas (Musa sapientum) from the Vale do Ribeira region, São Paulo, Brazil, has been measured. We have collected several samples of bananas prata and nanica, its peels, leaves, and also different soils where the banana tree was planted, such as soil with a standard amount of fertilizer, the fertilizer itself and also soil without fertilizer for comparison. We have used the gamma-ray spectroscopy technique with a NaI(T1) crystal inside a 12 cm thick lead shield to detect the gamma-radiation. The results indicate that only part of the available potassium is absorbed by the plant, which is mainly concentrated in the banana peel.

Natural Radioactivity in Bananas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zagatto, V. A. B.; Medina, N. H.; Okuno, E.; Umisedo, N. K.

2008-01-01

The content of 40 K natural radionuclide in bananas (Musa sapientum) from the Vale do Ribeira region, Sao Paulo, Brazil, has been measured. We have collected several samples of bananas prata and nanica, its peels, leaves, and also different soils where the banana tree was planted, such as soil with a standard amount of fertilizer, the fertilizer itself and also soil without fertilizer for comparison. We have used the gamma-ray spectroscopy technique with a NaI(T1) crystal inside a 12 cm thick lead shield to detect the gamma-radiation. The results indicate that only part of the available potassium is absorbed by the plant, which is mainly concentrated in the banana peel

Substituting Wheat Flour with Banana Skin Flour from Mixture Various Skin Types of Banana on Making Donuts

OpenAIRE

Renny Futeri; Pharmayeni Pharmayeni

2014-01-01

Tropical forest plants is a very rich source of chemical compounds or bioactive efficacious . Many of the compounds potential as a source of raw materials in food processing . One is the banana plant , West Sumatra Padang and Bukittinggi is one area in Indonesia with banana . Generally people in West Sumatra just consume or eat the fruit and throw banana skin just because it is considered as waste ( waste banana peel ) . When the banana peel waste is left alone so do not rule out the possibil...

The effect of different fibre volume fraction on mechanical properties of banana/pineapple leaf (PaLF)/glass hybrid composite

Science.gov (United States)

Hanafee, Z. M.; Khalina, A.; Norkhairunnisa, M.; Syams, Z. Edi; Liew, K. E.

2017-09-01

This paper investigates the effect of fibre volume fraction on mechanical properties of banana-pineapple leaf (PaLF)-glass reinforced epoxy resin under tensile loading. Uniaxial tensile tests were carried out on specimens with different fibre contents (30%, 40%, 50% in weight). The composite specimens consists of 13 different combinations. The effect of hybridisation between synthetic and natural fibre onto tensile properties was determined and the optimum fibre volume fraction was obtained at 50% for both banana and PaLF composites. Additional 1 layer of woven glass fibre increased the tensile strength of banana-PaLF composite up to 85%.

In vitro digestibility of banana starch cookies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bello-Pérez, Luis A; Sáyago-Ayerdi, Sonia G; Méndez-Montealvo, Guadalupe; Tovar, Juscelino

2004-01-01

Banana starch was isolated and used for preparation of two types of cookies. Chemical composition and digestibility tests were carried out on banana starch and the food products, and these results were compared with corn starch. Ash, protein, and fat levels in banana starch were higher than in corn starch. The high ash amount in banana starch could be due to the potassium content present in this fruit. Proximal analysis was similar between products prepared with banana starch and those based on corn starch. The available starch content of the banana starch preparation was 60% (dmb). The cookies had lower available starch than the starches while banana starch had lower susceptibility to the in vitro alpha-amylolysis reaction. Banana starch and its products had higher resistant starch levels than those made with corn starch.

Hybrid Power Management-Based Vehicle Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Eichenberg, Dennis J.

2011-01-01

Hybrid Power Management (HPM) is the integration of diverse, state-of-the-art power devices in an optimal configuration for space and terrestrial applications (s ee figure). The appropriate application and control of the various power devices significantly improves overall system performance and efficiency. The basic vehicle architecture consists of a primary power source, and possibly other power sources, that provides all power to a common energy storage system that is used to power the drive motors and vehicle accessory systems. This architecture also provides power as an emergency power system. Each component is independent, permitting it to be optimized for its intended purpose. The key element of HPM is the energy storage system. All generated power is sent to the energy storage system, and all loads derive their power from that system. This can significantly reduce the power requirement of the primary power source, while increasing the vehicle reliability. Ultracapacitors are ideal for an HPM-based energy storage system due to their exceptionally long cycle life, high reliability, high efficiency, high power density, and excellent low-temperature performance. Multiple power sources and multiple loads are easily incorporated into an HPM-based vehicle. A gas turbine is a good primary power source because of its high efficiency, high power density, long life, high reliability, and ability to operate on a wide range of fuels. An HPM controller maintains optimal control over each vehicle component. This flexible operating system can be applied to all vehicles to considerably improve vehicle efficiency, reliability, safety, security, and performance. The HPM-based vehicle architecture has many advantages over conventional vehicle architectures. Ultracapacitors have a much longer cycle life than batteries, which greatly improves system reliability, reduces life-of-system costs, and reduces environmental impact as ultracapacitors will probably never need to be

A Hybrid FPGA/Coarse Parallel Processing Architecture for Multi-modal Visual Feature Descriptors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Lars Baunegaard With; Kjær-Nielsen, Anders; Alonso, Javier Díaz

2008-01-01

This paper describes the hybrid architecture developed for speeding up the processing of so-called multi-modal visual primitives which are sparse image descriptors extracted along contours. In the system, the first stages of visual processing are implemented on FPGAs due to their highly parallel...

Modifying Bananas: From Transgenics to Organics?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James Dale

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Bananas are one of the top ten world food crops. Unlike most other major food crops, bananas are difficult to genetically improve. The challenge is that nearly all banana cultivars and landraces are triploids, with high levels of male and female infertility. There are a number of international conventional breeding programs and many of these are developing new cultivars. However, it is virtually impossible to backcross bananas, thus excluding the possibility of introgressing new traits into a current cultivar. The alternative strategy is to “modify” the cultivar itself. We have been developing the capacity to modify Cavendish bananas and other cultivars for both disease resistance and enhanced fruit quality. Initially, we were using transgenes; genes that were derived from species outside of the Musa or banana genus. However, we have recently incorporated two banana genes (cisgenes into Cavendish; one to enhance the level of pro-vitamin A and the other to increase the resistance to Panama disease. Modified Cavendish with these cisgenes have been employed in a field trial. Almost certainly, the next advance will be to edit the Cavendish genome, to generate the desired traits. As these banana cultivars are essentially sterile, transgene flow and the outcrossing of modified genes into wild Musa species. are highly unlikely and virtually impossible in other triploid cultivars. Therefore, genetic changes in bananas may be compatible with organic farming.

Micropropagation of banana.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaçar, Yıldız Aka; Faber, Ben

2012-01-01

Banana (Musa spp. AAA) is propagated vegetatively and can be rapidly and efficiently propagated by micropropagation. Conventional micropropagation techniques, however, may be too costly for commercial purposes. Our laboratory has found that depending on the combination of culture vessel and gelling agent more economic methods can be chosen for successfully micropropagating banana.

Radiation enhances shelf life of Nendra bananas without changing the lectin content of raw and steamed Nendra banana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coelho, Neil Renault; Nivas, Shashikiran; D'Souza, L.

2016-01-01

Our study shows that the shelf life of bananas is increased with low doses of radiation (300 Gy, 400 Gy, 500 Gy). However, there is no decrease in the lectin content. This improves the keeping quality of nendra bananas without affecting their lectin content. Hence, radiation can be used safely for the bananas distributed to HIV children. The present study was also to compare the lectin content of raw and steamed Nendra bananas with the gamma irradiated bananas

Proposing Hybrid Architecture to Implement Cloud Computing in Higher Education Institutions Using a Meta-synthesis Appro

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

hamid reza bazi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Cloud computing is a new technology that considerably helps Higher Education Institutions (HEIs to develop and create competitive advantage with inherent characteristics such as flexibility, scalability, accessibility, reliability, fault tolerant and economic efficiency. Due to the numerous advantages of cloud computing, and in order to take advantage of cloud computing infrastructure, services of universities and HEIs need to migrate to the cloud. However, this transition involves many challenges, one of which is lack or shortage of appropriate architecture for migration to the technology. Using a reliable architecture for migration ensures managers to mitigate risks in the cloud computing technology. Therefore, organizations always search for suitable cloud computing architecture. In previous studies, these important features have received less attention and have not been achieved in a comprehensive way. The aim of this study is to use a meta-synthesis method for the first time to analyze the previously published studies and to suggest appropriate hybrid cloud migration architecture (IUHEC. We reviewed many papers from relevant journals and conference proceedings. The concepts extracted from these papers are classified to related categories and sub-categories. Then, we developed our proposed hybrid architecture based on these concepts and categories. The proposed architecture was validated by a panel of experts and Lawshe’s model was used to determine the content validity. Due to its innovative yet user-friendly nature, comprehensiveness, and high security, this architecture can help HEIs have an effective migration to cloud computing environment.

Olfactory responses of banana weevil predators to volatiles from banana pseudostem tissue and synthetic pheromone.

Science.gov (United States)

Tinzaara, W; Gold, C S; Dicke, M; van Huis, A

2005-07-01

As a response to attack by herbivores, plants can emit a variety of volatile substances that attract natural enemies of these insect pests. Predators of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) such as Dactylosternum abdominale (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) and Pheidole megacephala (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), are normally found in association with weevil-infested rotten pseudostems and harvested stumps. We investigated whether these predators are attracted to such environments in response to volatiles produced by the host plant, by the weevil, or by the weevil plant complex. We evaluated predator responses towards volatiles from banana pseudostem tissue (synomones) and the synthetic banana weevil aggregation pheromone Cosmolure+ in a two-choice olfactometer. The beetle D. abdominale was attracted to fermenting banana pseudostem tissue and Cosmolure+, whereas the ant P. megacephala was attracted only to fermented pseudostem tissue. Both predators were attracted to banana pseudostem tissue that had been damaged by weevil larvae irrespective of weevil presence. Adding pheromone did not enhance predator response to volatiles from pseudostem tissue fed on by weevils. The numbers of both predators recovered with pseudostem traps in the field from banana mats with a pheromone trap were similar to those in pseudostem traps at different distance ranges from the pheromone. Our study shows that the generalist predators D. abdominale and P. megacephala use volatiles from fermented banana pseudostem tissue as the major chemical cue when searching for prey.

Combating the Sigatoka disease complex on banana

Science.gov (United States)

Banana is the fourth most important staple food in the world behind rice, wheat and maize, with more than 100 million tons produced annually. Although the majority of bananas produced are consumed locally, banana export is a multi-billion dollar business. Bananas are grown in more than 100 countri...

The radurisation of bananas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huyzers, C.J.; Basson, R.

1985-01-01

Early studies on the radurisation of bananas indicated that this commodity did not benefit substantially from the treatment. This work, which was carried out at Pelindaba, indicated a low threshold dose for radiation damage and little shelf-life extension at this dose. In a second study carried out at Tzaneen more promising results were obtained. The reason for the differences seemed to be due to the time between harvesting and treatment which was much shorter in the Tzaneen study. Consequently it was decided to undertake a third and much larger trial in which the bananas would be treated in Tzaneen and then dispatched to Pretoria for storage and evaluation by a joint Nucor/Banana Board team. Parameters investigated included colour, firmness (by penatrometer testing) and sensory qualities. The bananas were stored for various periods at 15 o C, ripened by exposure to ethylene gas under commerical conditons and then stored at ambient temperature for the remainder of the experiment. Bananas we re irradiated at various doses between 0,3 kGy and 1,5kGy and were compared with control batches which were stored under the same conditions

Bananas go paraelectric

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loidl, A; Krohns, S; Hemberger, J; Lunkenheimer, P

2008-01-01

Using a banana as an example, we demonstrate how the ferroelectric-like hysteresis loops measured in inhomogeneous, conducting materials can easily be identified as non-intrinsic. With simple experiments, the response of a banana to electric fields is revealed as characteristic for an inhomogeneous paraelectric ion conductor. Not even absolute beginners in dielectrics should identify this biological matter as ferroelectric. (viewpoint)

Testing a Cloud Provider Network for Hybrid P2P and Cloud Streaming Architectures

OpenAIRE

Cerviño Arriba, Javier; Rodríguez, Pedro; Trajkovska, Irena; Mozo Velasco, Alberto; Salvachúa Rodríguez, Joaquín

2011-01-01

The number of online real-time streaming services deployed over network topologies like P2P or centralized ones has remarkably increased in the recent years. This has revealed the lack of networks that are well prepared to respond to this kind of traffic. A hybrid distribution network can be an efficient solution for real-time streaming services. This paper contains the experimental results of streaming distribution in a hybrid architecture that consist of mixed connections among P2P and Clou...

Effects of hybridization and evolutionary constraints on secondary metabolites: the genetic architecture of phenylpropanoids in European populus species.

Science.gov (United States)

Caseys, Celine; Stritt, Christoph; Glauser, Gaetan; Blanchard, Thierry; Lexer, Christian

2015-01-01

The mechanisms responsible for the origin, maintenance and evolution of plant secondary metabolite diversity remain largely unknown. Decades of phenotypic studies suggest hybridization as a key player in generating chemical diversity in plants. Knowledge of the genetic architecture and selective constraints of phytochemical traits is key to understanding the effects of hybridization on plant chemical diversity and ecological interactions. Using the European Populus species P. alba (White poplar) and P. tremula (European aspen) and their hybrids as a model, we examined levels of inter- and intraspecific variation, heritabilities, phenotypic correlations, and the genetic architecture of 38 compounds of the phenylpropanoid pathway measured by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS). We detected 41 quantitative trait loci (QTL) for chlorogenic acids, salicinoids and flavonoids by genetic mapping in natural hybrid crosses. We show that these three branches of the phenylpropanoid pathway exhibit different geographic patterns of variation, heritabilities, and genetic architectures, and that they are affected differently by hybridization and evolutionary constraints. Flavonoid abundances present high species specificity, clear geographic structure, and strong genetic determination, contrary to salicinoids and chlorogenic acids. Salicinoids, which represent important defence compounds in Salicaceae, exhibited pronounced genetic correlations on the QTL map. Our results suggest that interspecific phytochemical differentiation is concentrated in downstream sections of the phenylpropanoid pathway. In particular, our data point to glycosyltransferase enzymes as likely targets of rapid evolution and interspecific differentiation in the 'model forest tree' Populus.

Effects of hybridization and evolutionary constraints on secondary metabolites: the genetic architecture of phenylpropanoids in European populus species.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Celine Caseys

Full Text Available The mechanisms responsible for the origin, maintenance and evolution of plant secondary metabolite diversity remain largely unknown. Decades of phenotypic studies suggest hybridization as a key player in generating chemical diversity in plants. Knowledge of the genetic architecture and selective constraints of phytochemical traits is key to understanding the effects of hybridization on plant chemical diversity and ecological interactions. Using the European Populus species P. alba (White poplar and P. tremula (European aspen and their hybrids as a model, we examined levels of inter- and intraspecific variation, heritabilities, phenotypic correlations, and the genetic architecture of 38 compounds of the phenylpropanoid pathway measured by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS. We detected 41 quantitative trait loci (QTL for chlorogenic acids, salicinoids and flavonoids by genetic mapping in natural hybrid crosses. We show that these three branches of the phenylpropanoid pathway exhibit different geographic patterns of variation, heritabilities, and genetic architectures, and that they are affected differently by hybridization and evolutionary constraints. Flavonoid abundances present high species specificity, clear geographic structure, and strong genetic determination, contrary to salicinoids and chlorogenic acids. Salicinoids, which represent important defence compounds in Salicaceae, exhibited pronounced genetic correlations on the QTL map. Our results suggest that interspecific phytochemical differentiation is concentrated in downstream sections of the phenylpropanoid pathway. In particular, our data point to glycosyltransferase enzymes as likely targets of rapid evolution and interspecific differentiation in the 'model forest tree' Populus.

Dissecting the genetic architecture of F1 hybrid sterility in house mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Dzur-Gejdosova, Maria; Simecek, Petr; Gregorova, Sona; Bhattacharyya, Tanmoy; Forejt, Jiri

2012-11-01

Hybrid sterility as a postzygotic reproductive isolation mechanism has been studied for over 80 years, yet the first identifications of hybrid sterility genes in Drosophila and mouse are quite recent. To study the genetic architecture of F(1) hybrid sterility between young subspecies of house mouse Mus m. domesticus and M. m. musculus, we conducted QTL analysis of a backcross between inbred strains representing these two subspecies and probed the role of individual chromosomes in hybrid sterility using the intersubspecific chromosome substitution strains. We provide direct evidence that the asymmetry in male infertility between reciprocal crosses is conferred by the middle region of M. m. musculus Chr X, thus excluding other potential candidates such as Y, imprinted genes, and mitochondrial DNA. QTL analysis identified strong hybrid sterility loci on Chr 17 and Chr X and predicted a set of interchangeable autosomal loci, a subset of which is sufficient to activate the Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibility of the strong loci. Overall, our results indicate the oligogenic nature of F(1) hybrid sterility, which should be amenable to reconstruction by proper combination of chromosome substitution strains. Such a prefabricated model system should help to uncover the gene networks and molecular mechanisms underlying hybrid sterility. © 2012 The Author(s). Evolution© 2012 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

SUSCETIBILIDADE VARIETAL DE FRUTOS DE BANANEIRA AO FRIO COLD DAMAGE IN BANANAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LUIZ ALBERTO LICHTEMBERG

2001-12-01

Full Text Available No Sul do Brasil, os danos causados pelo frio depreciam a qualidade da banana que permanece no campo durante o outono e inverno, dificultando a sua comercialização. Visando a verificar diferenças entre cultivares quanto à resistência ao frio no campo e em pós-colheita, foram realizados três experimentos em Itajaí-SC. No primeiro, foram avaliados os danos de frio em 13 cultivares do grupo AAA, 7 cultivares do grupo AAB, 6 híbridos do grupo AAAB e 1 cultivar do grupo ABB, em cachos colhidos em outubro de 1997. No segundo experimento, foram avaliados danos de frio em cultivares dos grupos AAA, AAB, ABB e AAAB, em cachos colhidos de 07-05-99 a 27-08-99. No terceiro experimento, foram avaliados danos de frio em bananas de quatro cultivares, armazenadas a 10°C, durante 5, 10 e 20 dias. O genoma B conferiu maior resistência da fruta às baixas temperaturas, tanto a campo quanto na armazenagem. Verificaram-se diferenças quanto a danos de frio tanto entre grupos genômicos, quanto entre cultivares do mesmo grupo. A maior resistência às baixas temperaturas pode permitir o transporte de bananas dos grupos AAB, ABB e AAAB a longas distâncias, em temperaturas inferiores a 12°C.In Southern Brazil, banana bunches that remain in the field during the Fall and Winter are subject to cold damage. Three experiments were carried out in Itajaí, SC, Brazil, with the purpose of investigating the differences among banana cultivars as to their resistance to cold damage. In the first experiment, 13 AAA group cultivars, 7 AAB group cultivars, 6 AAAB hybrids and 1 ABB group cultivar were evaluated as to the level of cold damage. The second experiment evaluated banana bunches of cultivars of AAA, AAB, ABB, and AAAB groups, harvested from May 07/99 to August 27/99. The third experiment examined cold damage to banana clusters stored at 10°C during 5, 10 and 20 days. The B genome appeared to confer the greatest cold resistance to banana fruits, both in the

A hybrid method for evaluating enterprise architecture implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nikpay, Fatemeh; Ahmad, Rodina; Yin Kia, Chiam

2017-02-01

Enterprise Architecture (EA) implementation evaluation provides a set of methods and practices for evaluating the EA implementation artefacts within an EA implementation project. There are insufficient practices in existing EA evaluation models in terms of considering all EA functions and processes, using structured methods in developing EA implementation, employing matured practices, and using appropriate metrics to achieve proper evaluation. The aim of this research is to develop a hybrid evaluation method that supports achieving the objectives of EA implementation. To attain this aim, the first step is to identify EA implementation evaluation practices. To this end, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted. Second, the proposed hybrid method was developed based on the foundation and information extracted from the SLR, semi-structured interviews with EA practitioners, program theory evaluation and Information Systems (ISs) evaluation. Finally, the proposed method was validated by means of a case study and expert reviews. This research provides a suitable foundation for researchers who wish to extend and continue this research topic with further analysis and exploration, and for practitioners who would like to employ an effective and lightweight evaluation method for EA projects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inheritance of black sigatoka disease resistance in plantain-banana (Musa spp.) hybrids.

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz, R; Vuylsteke, D

1994-10-01

Black sigatoka (Mycosphaerella fijiensis Morelet), an airborne fungal leaf-spot disease, is a major constraint to plantain and banana (Musa spp.) production world-wide. Gaining further knowledge of the genetics of host-plant resistance will enhance the development of resistant cultivars, which is considered to be the most appropriate means to achieve stable production. Genetic analysis was conducted on 101 euploid (2x, 3x and 4x) progenies, obtained from crossing two susceptible triploid plantain cultivars with the resistant wild diploid banana 'Calcutta 4'. Segregating progenies, and a susceptible reference plantain cultivar, were evaluated over 2 consecutive years. Three distinct levels of host response to black sigatoka were defined as follows: susceptible ( 10). Segregation ratios for resistance at the 2x level fitted a genetic model having one major recessive resistance allele (bs 1) and two independent alleles with additive effects (bsr 2 and bsr 3). A similar model explains the results at the 4x level assuming that the favourable resistance alleles have a dosage effect when four copies of them are present in their respective loci (bs i (4) ). The proposed model was further validated by segregation data of S 1 progenies. Mechanisms of black sigatoka resistance are discussed in relation to the genetic model.

Construction and characterization of a plant transformation-competent BIBAC library of the black Sigatoka-resistant banana Musa acuminata cv. Tuu Gia (AA).

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz-Vázquez, E; Kaemmer, D; Zhang, H-B; Muth, J; Rodríguez-Mendiola, M; Arias-Castro, C; James, Andrew

2005-02-01

A plant transformation-competent binary bacterial artificial chromosome (BIBAC) library was constructed from Musa acuminata cv. Tuu Gia (AA), a black Sigatoka-resistant diploid banana. After digestion of high-molecular-weight banana DNA by HindIII, several methods of DNA size selection were tested, followed by ligation, using a vector/insert molar ratio of 4:1. The library consists of 30,700 clones stored in 80 384-well microtiter plates. The mean insert size was estimated to be 100 kb, and the frequency of inserts with internal NotI sites was 61%. The majority of insert sizes fell into the range of 100+/-20 kb, making them suitable for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Only 1% and 0.9% of the clones contain chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA, respectively. This is the first BIBAC library for banana, estimated to represent five times its haploid genome (600 Mbp). It was demonstrated by hybridization that the library contains typical members of resistance gene and defense gene families that can be used for transformation of disease susceptible banana cultivars for banana genetic improvement.

Study on Banana Cooperatives in Hainan Province

OpenAIRE

Huang, Huide; Zhang, Wanzhen; Liu, Enping; Zhang, Xizhu

2013-01-01

This paper gives an overview of the distribution, member scale, production and operation of banana cooperatives in Hainan Province, and points out the market risk and natural risk faced by the production of banana cooperatives in Hainan Province. In order to promote the banana cooperatives to form new agricultural management system integrating organization and intensification, this paper puts forth the production and operation recommendations, such as joint production of banana cooperatives, ...

Avaliação de banana-passa obtida de frutos de diferentes genótipos de bananeira Evaluation of dehydrated banana obtained from fruits of different genotypes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Cerqueira de Jesus

2005-06-01

its hybrids PV03-44 and PV03-76; Prata Anã and its hybrids FHIA-18, Pioneira and Prata Graúda. Antioxidant treatments were ascorbic acid (0.25%, citric acid (0.30%; and osmotic dehydration treatment was sucrose (40%, at 70°C. Dehydration was completed in a dryer with forced air circulation. Products obtained were appraised for physical, physico-chemical, chemical and sensory aspects. The highest yield was obtained with Pacovan. Dehydrated bananas produced by the genotypes studied had good sensory acceptance, with means higher than 6 for the following attributes: appearance, color, aroma, flavor and texture. Pioneira was the genotype with highest sensory acceptance.

A screening method for banana weevil ( Cosmopolites sordidus ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus Germar) is a serious pest in most banana-growing areas of the world. Host-plant resistance is considered to be the most feasible and sustainable method for its control. However, a quick and effective method for screening banana genotypes for resistance against the banana ...

Integrating deep and shallow natural language processing components : representations and hybrid architectures

OpenAIRE

Schäfer, Ulrich

2006-01-01

We describe basic concepts and software architectures for the integration of shallow and deep (linguistics-based, semantics-oriented) natural language processing (NLP) components. The main goal of this novel, hybrid integration paradigm is improving robustness of deep processing. After an introduction to constraint-based natural language parsing, we give an overview of typical shallow processing tasks. We introduce XML standoff markup as an additional abstraction layer that eases integration ...

Translating the “Banana Genome” to Delineate Stress Resistance, Dwarfing, Parthenocarpy and Mechanisms of Fruit Ripening

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Prasanta K Dash

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Evolutionary frozen, genetically sterile and globally iconic fruit Banana entered the genomics era with decoding of structural genome of double haploid Pahang (AA genome constitution genotype of M. acuminata. This wonder crop, as of today, remains untouched by the green revolution and researchers face intrinsic impediments for varietal improvement to enhance its yield. The complex genome of banana was decoded by hybrid sequencing strategies revealed panoply of genes and transcription factors involved in the process of sucrose conversion that imparts sweetness to its fruit. Banana has historically faced the wrath of pandemic bacterial, fungal and viral diseases and multitude of abiotic stresses that has ruined the livelihood of small and marginal farmers’ and destroyed commercial plantations. Decoding of its structural genome has given impetus to a deeper understanding of the repertoire of genes involved in disease resistance, understanding the mechanism of dwarfing to develop an ideal plant type, unravelling the process of parthenocarpy for better fruit quality, and fruit ripening in this climacteric fruit. Injunction of comparative genomics research will usher in to integrate information from its decoded genome and other monocots into field applications in banana related but not limited to yield enhancement, food security, livelihood assurance, and energy sustainability. In this mini review, we discuss pre- and post-genomic discoveries and highlight accomplishments in structural genomics, genetic engineering and forward genetic accomplishments with an aim to target genes and transcription factors for translational research in banana.

Banana orchard inventory using IRS LISS sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Nishant, Nilay; Upadhayay, Gargi; Vyas, S. P.; Manjunath, K. R.

2016-04-01

Banana is one of the major crops of India with increasing export potential. It is important to estimate the production and acreage of the crop. Thus, the present study was carried out to evolve a suitable methodology for estimating banana acreage. Area estimation methodology was devised around the fact that unlike other crops, the time of plantation of banana is different for different farmers as per their local practices or conditions. Thus in order to capture the peak signatures, biowindow of 6 months was considered, its NDVI pattern studied and the optimum two months were considered when banana could be distinguished from other competing crops. The final area of banana for the particular growing cycle was computed by integrating the areas of these two months using LISS III data with spatial resolution of 23m. Estimated banana acreage in the three districts were 11857Ha, 15202ha and 11373Ha for Bharuch, Anand and Vadodara respectively with corresponding accuracy of 91.8%, 90% and 88.16%. Study further compared the use of LISS IV data of 5.8m spatial resolution for estimation of banana using object based as well as per-pixel classification and the results were compared with statistical reports for both the approaches. In the current paper we depict the various methodologies to accurately estimate the banana acreage.

DArT whole genome profiling provides insights on the evolution and taxonomy of edible Banana (Musa spp.).

Science.gov (United States)

Sardos, J; Perrier, X; Doležel, J; Hřibová, E; Christelová, P; Van den Houwe, I; Kilian, A; Roux, N

2016-12-01

Dessert and cooking bananas are vegetatively propagated crops of great importance for both the subsistence and the livelihood of people in developing countries. A wide diversity of diploid and triploid cultivars including AA, AB, AS, AT, AAA, AAB, ABB, AAS and AAT genomic constitutions exists. Within each of this genome groups, cultivars are classified into subgroups that are reported to correspond to varieties clonally derived from each other after a single sexual event. The number of those founding events at the basis of the diversity of bananas is a matter of debate. We analysed a large panel of 575 accessions, 94 wild relatives and 481 cultivated accessions belonging to the section Musa with a set of 498 DArT markers previously developed. DArT appeared successful and accurate to describe Musa diversity and help in the resolution of cultivated banana genome constitution and taxonomy, and highlighted discrepancies in the acknowledged classification of some accessions. This study also argues for at least two centres of domestication corresponding to South-East Asia and New Guinea, respectively. Banana domestication in New Guinea probably followed different schemes that those previously reported where hybridization underpins the emergence of edible banana. In addition, our results suggest that not all wild ancestors of bananas are known, especially in M. acuminata subspecies. We also estimate the extent of the two consecutive bottlenecks in edible bananas by evaluating the number of sexual founding events underlying our sets of edible diploids and triploids, respectively. The attribution of clone identity to each sample of the sets allowed the detection of subgroups represented by several sets of clones. Although morphological characterization of some of the accessions is needed to correct potentially erroneous classifications, some of the subgroups seem polyclonal. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company.

Effect of fermented Banana peel on Broiler Carcass

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Koni TNI

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This experiment was conducted to examine effect of inclusion of fermented banana peel by Rhyzopus oligosporus in diets on slaughter weight, carcass weight and carcass percentage, weight and percentage abdominal fat of broiler. The experiment was done based on Completely Randomized Design with four treatments and four replications and each replication consisted of six chickens. The treatment were R0 = without banana peel fermented, R1 = 5% banana peel fermented, R2 = 10% banana peel fermented, R3 = 15% banana peel fermented. Data of the experiment were analyzed, using ANOVA and then continued with Duncan's Multiple Range Test. Result showed that level of fermented banana peel affected slaughter weight and carcass weight. However carcass persentage, weight and percentage of abdominal fat was not affected by treatment. Banana peel fermented by Rhizopus oligosporus could can be used maximally 10% in broiler ration.

Evolution of the Banana Genome (Musa acuminata) Is Impacted by Large Chromosomal Translocations.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Guillaume; Carreel, Françoise; Coriton, Olivier; Hervouet, Catherine; Cardi, Céline; Derouault, Paco; Roques, Danièle; Salmon, Frédéric; Rouard, Mathieu; Sardos, Julie; Labadie, Karine; Baurens, Franc-Christophe; D'Hont, Angélique

2017-09-01

Most banana cultivars are triploid seedless parthenocarpic clones derived from hybridization between Musa acuminata subspecies and sometimes M. balbisiana. M. acuminata subspecies were suggested to differ by a few large chromosomal rearrangements based on chromosome pairing configurations in intersubspecies hybrids. We searched for large chromosomal rearrangements in a seedy M. acuminata ssp. malaccensis banana accession through mate-pair sequencing, BAC-FISH, targeted PCR and marker (DArTseq) segregation in its progeny. We identified a heterozygous reciprocal translocation involving two distal 3 and 10 Mb segments from chromosomes 01 and 04, respectively, and showed that it generated high segregation distortion, reduced recombination and linkage between chromosomes 01 and 04 in its progeny. The two chromosome structures were found to be mutually exclusive in gametes and the rearranged structure was preferentially transmitted to the progeny. The rearranged chromosome structure was frequently found in triploid cultivars but present only in wild malaccensis ssp. accessions, thus suggesting that this rearrangement occurred in M. acuminata ssp. malaccensis. We propose a mechanism for the spread of this rearrangement in Musa diversity and suggest that this rearrangement could have played a role in the emergence of triploid cultivars. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Production of ethyl alcohol from bananas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jones, R.L.; Towns, T.

1983-12-01

The production of ethyl alcohol from waste bananas presents many special problems. During cooking, matting of the latex fibers from the banana peel recongeal when cooled and left untreated. This problem has been addressed by Alfaro by the use of CaC1/sub 2/. Separation of solids prior to distillation of the mashes in an economical fashion and use of the by product are also of concern to banana processors.

Generalized ripple-banana transport in a tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yushmanov, P.N.

1983-01-01

The paper considers the transport of banana particles in a rippled magnetic field over the entire energy range. It is shown that all familiar regimes of ripple transport - ripple-plateau, banana-drift and stochastic - can be described in a unified manner. The general expression obtained for the rippled fluxes of banana particles describes, apart from the already familiar regimes, also the as yet unstudied energy region between the drift and stochastic regimes. A generalized ripple-banana thermal conductivity coefficient, chisub(i)sup(RB), is calculated. (author)

Facile Preparation of TiO2 Nanobranch/Nanoparticle Hybrid Architecture with Enhanced Light Harvesting Properties for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

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Ju Seong Kim

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We report TiO2 nanobranches/nanoparticles (NBN hybrid architectures that can be synthesized by a facile solution phase method. The hybrid architecture simultaneously improves light harvesting and charge collection performances for a dye-sensitized solar cell. First, TiO2 nanorods with a trunk length of 2 μm were grown on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO/glass substrate, and then nanobranches and nanoparticles were deposited on the nanorods’ trunks through a solution method using an aqueous TiCl3 solution at 80°C. The relative amount of nanobranches and nanoparticles can be controlled by multiplying the number of TiCl3 treatments to maximize the amount of surface area. We found that the resultant TiO2 NBN hybrid architecture greatly improves the amount of dye adsorption (five times compared to bare nanorods due to the enhanced surface area, while maintaining a fast charge collection, leading to a three times higher current density and thus tripling the maximum power conversion efficiency for a dye-sensitized solar cell.

Transgenic approaches for development of disease resistance in banana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shekhawat, Upendra K.S.; Ghag, Siddhesh B.; Ganapathi, Thumballi R.

2014-01-01

Banana (Musa spp.) is an important food and cash crop worldwide. Diseases and pests pose the most serious constraint to banana cultivation. Among the diseases, Fusarium wilt and Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) are the most important economically. We have explored different transgenic approaches for development of efficient resistance in banana against these two diseases. For countering Fusarium wilt, we have over expressed Petunia floral defensins using a strong constitutive promoter in transgenic banana plants. We have also tested a host induced gene silencing strategy targeting two vital fungal genes to obtain Fusarium resistant banana plants. For development of BBTV resistant banana plants also, we have used a host-induced gene silencing approach utilizing the full and partial coding sequence of the viral replication initiation protein. Successful bioassays performed in controlled greenhouse conditions have shown the efficacy of using these strategies to develop disease resistant banana plants. (author)

Molecular analysis and genomic organization of major DNA satellites in banana (Musa spp.).

Science.gov (United States)

Čížková, Jana; Hřibová, Eva; Humplíková, Lenka; Christelová, Pavla; Suchánková, Pavla; Doležel, Jaroslav

2013-01-01

Satellite DNA sequences consist of tandemly arranged repetitive units up to thousands nucleotides long in head-to-tail orientation. The evolutionary processes by which satellites arise and evolve include unequal crossing over, gene conversion, transposition and extra chromosomal circular DNA formation. Large blocks of satellite DNA are often observed in heterochromatic regions of chromosomes and are a typical component of centromeric and telomeric regions. Satellite-rich loci may show specific banding patterns and facilitate chromosome identification and analysis of structural chromosome changes. Unlike many other genomes, nuclear genomes of banana (Musa spp.) are poor in satellite DNA and the information on this class of DNA remains limited. The banana cultivars are seed sterile clones originating mostly from natural intra-specific crosses within M. acuminata (A genome) and inter-specific crosses between M. acuminata and M. balbisiana (B genome). Previous studies revealed the closely related nature of the A and B genomes, including similarities in repetitive DNA. In this study we focused on two main banana DNA satellites, which were previously identified in silico. Their genomic organization and molecular diversity was analyzed in a set of nineteen Musa accessions, including representatives of A, B and S (M. schizocarpa) genomes and their inter-specific hybrids. The two DNA satellites showed a high level of sequence conservation within, and a high homology between Musa species. FISH with probes for the satellite DNA sequences, rRNA genes and a single-copy BAC clone 2G17 resulted in characteristic chromosome banding patterns in M. acuminata and M. balbisiana which may aid in determining genomic constitution in interspecific hybrids. In addition to improving the knowledge on Musa satellite DNA, our study increases the number of cytogenetic markers and the number of individual chromosomes, which can be identified in Musa.

Behavior of occurrence of Banana Streak virus in in vitro propagated plants from cultivars of Musa hybrids FHIA-20 and FHIA-21

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orelvis Portal

2004-07-01

Full Text Available The losses taken place by the black and yellow Sigatoka have impelled the introduction to the country of the tetraploid hybrids from FHIA, however, at the present time, the high incidence of Banana Streak Virus in these hybrids is well known. To evaluate the effect of the micropropagatión process, on the fluctuations of the viral concentration in the tissue, they were introduced to the in vitro propagation positive and negative plants serologically tested of the cultivars FHIA 20 and 21, previously indexed in field (DAS-ELISA, later on they passed to phase of adaptation to evaluate the derived results of the diagnosis tests carried out after 3-6 months of transplanted. As a result of the DAS-ELISA carried out to the plants in phase of adaptation (37 22.2 % of the negative plants, indexed in field, was positive, while 68.4 % of the positive plants, indexed in field, was negative, in both cases all the plants were positive to the diagnosis for PCR. In some cases, given the implication of the obtained results, was used the ISEM as technique of diagnostic, for the corroboration of the same ones. Key Words: badnavirus, diagnostic, in vitro culture, Musa

Banana (Musa. spp.) strain HD-1 appraisal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longyan, G.; Xinguo, L.; Lingxia, W.; Xuefei, J.

2016-01-01

Being one of the important tropical and subtropical fruit trees, banana (Musa spp.) belongs to the family Musaceae and the order Scitaminae with two genera, Musa and Ensete. In a field survey, research team has discovered a potential banana mutant strain HD-1 with a sound economic value. The results of the finding are as follows: based on Simmonds classification, the pseudostem of banana strain HD-1 is relatively short and purplish red; its upright outward petiole groove has red edges and wraps its pseudostem loosely. Its ploidy is 3, AAA type. Karyotype analysis shows that the number of chromosomes is 33, the karyotype formula is 2n=3x=33=2L + 3 M2 + 4 M1 + 2 S, HD-1 is classified as 1B type. With the help of ISSR molecular markers, we find thatbanana HD-1 has the closest relationship with Pubei and Tianbao dwarf banana; the similarity coefficient is 0.81. In an artificial simulation tests of cold, drought and salt resistance environment changes of physiological and biochemical indexes indicate that HD-1 exhibits stronger defense capability than Brazil banana. By way of inoculation with injury of root dipping method, we respectively treat two kinds of banana seedlings inoculated Banana Fusarium wilt race 4 small species. The results show that their resistance evaluation scores are 3 and 4, disease levels are susceptible and high sensitivity respectively. We conclude that HD-1 has stronger resistance ability to Fusarium wilt than Brazil banana. (author)

Energy storage technologies and hybrid architectures for specific diesel-driven rail duty cycles: Design and system integration aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meinert, M.; Prenleloup, P.; Schmid, S.; Palacin, R.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We assessed integration of energy storage systems into hybrid system architectures. • We considered mechanical and electrical energy storage systems. • Potential of different combinations has been analyzed by standardized duty cycles. • Most promising are diesel-driven suburban, regional and shunting operations. • Double-layer capacitors and Lithium-ion batteries have the highest potential. - Abstract: The use of diesel-driven traction is an intrinsic part of the functioning of railway systems and it is expected to continue being so for the foreseeable future. The recent introduction of more restrictive greenhouse gas emission levels and other legislation aiming at the improvement of the environmental performance of railway systems has led to the need of exploring alternatives for cleaner diesel rolling stock. This paper focuses on assessing energy storage systems and the design of hybrid system architectures to determine their potential use in specific diesel-driven rail duty cycles. Hydrostatic accumulators, flywheels, Lithium-ion batteries and double-layer capacitors have been assessed and used to design hybrid system architectures. The potential of the different technology combinations has been analyzed using standardized duty cycles enhanced with gradient profiles related to suburban, regional and shunting operations. The results show that double-layer capacitors and Lithium-ion batteries have the highest potential to be successfully integrated into the system architecture of diesel-driven rail vehicles. Furthermore, the results also suggest that combining these two energy storage technologies into a single hybridisation package is a highly promising design that draws on their strengthens without any significant drawbacks.

Banana Gold: Problem or Solution?

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Garnet

1992-01-01

Since 1955, the British banana industry has dominated the lives of the Caribs and other peoples in Dominica. Banana growing supplants other economic activities, including local food production; toxic chemicals and fertilizers pollute the land; community is dwindling; suicide is common; and child labor diminishes school attendance. (SV)

In vivo fertilization of banana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taliane Leila Soares

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research was to study the in vivo fertilization process of banana cultivars. The diploid hybrid (AA 091087-01 was the male progenitor. Flower samples were checked for fertilization from the first to the twentieth day after pollination. The size of the diploid ovules increased gradually at the beginning of the seed formation process. On the other hand, in the AAA triploids (Cavendish subgroup, the not fertilized ovules were aborted. In the AAB triploids (Prata subgroup some ovules were fertilized. The flowers of Grand Naine, Nanicão and 'Pacovan' cultivars presented necrosis in the distal part of the ovary on the first day after pollination. Necrosis can hinder pollen tube growth towards the ovule, which might be related to the low seed yield in 'Pacovan' cultivars and to the absence of seeds in the Cavendish subgroup cultivars.

Hybrid power system intelligent operation and protection involving distributed architectures and pulsed loads

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamed, Ahmed

Efficient and reliable techniques for power delivery and utilization are needed to account for the increased penetration of renewable energy sources in electric power systems. Such methods are also required for current and future demands of plug-in electric vehicles and high-power electronic loads. Distributed control and optimal power network architectures will lead to viable solutions to the energy management issue with high level of reliability and security. This dissertation is aimed at developing and verifying new techniques for distributed control by deploying DC microgrids, involving distributed renewable generation and energy storage, through the operating AC power system. To achieve the findings of this dissertation, an energy system architecture was developed involving AC and DC networks, both with distributed generations and demands. The various components of the DC microgrid were designed and built including DC-DC converters, voltage source inverters (VSI) and AC-DC rectifiers featuring novel designs developed by the candidate. New control techniques were developed and implemented to maximize the operating range of the power conditioning units used for integrating renewable energy into the DC bus. The control and operation of the DC microgrids in the hybrid AC/DC system involve intelligent energy management. Real-time energy management algorithms were developed and experimentally verified. These algorithms are based on intelligent decision-making elements along with an optimization process. This was aimed at enhancing the overall performance of the power system and mitigating the effect of heavy non-linear loads with variable intensity and duration. The developed algorithms were also used for managing the charging/discharging process of plug-in electric vehicle emulators. The protection of the proposed hybrid AC/DC power system was studied. Fault analysis and protection scheme and coordination, in addition to ideas on how to retrofit currently available

Effects of covering highland banana stumps with soil on banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) oviposition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Masanza, M.; Gold, C.S.; Huis, van A.; Ragama, P.E.

2005-01-01

The effect of covering post-harvest banana stumps with soil on banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) oviposition levels was investigated at three locations, Sendusu, Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and Ntungamo district of southwestern Uganda. In the first experiment

Genome-wide dissection of hybrid sterility in Drosophila confirms a polygenic threshold architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Morán, Tomás; Fontdevila, Antonio

2014-01-01

To date, different studies about the genetic basis of hybrid male sterility (HMS), a postzygotic reproductive barrier thoroughly investigated using Drosophila species, have demonstrated that no single major gene can produce hybrid sterility without the cooperation of several genetic factors. Early work using hybrids between Drosophila koepferae (Dk) and Drosophila buzzatii (Db) was consistent with the idea that HMS requires the cooperation of several genetic factors, supporting a polygenic threshold (PT) model. Here we present a genome-wide mapping strategy to test the PT model, analyzing serially backcrossed fertile and sterile males in which the Dk genome was introgressed into the Db background. We identified 32 Dk-specific markers significantly associated with hybrid sterility. Our results demonstrate 1) a strong correlation between the number of segregated sterility markers and males' degree of sterility, 2) the exchangeability among markers, 3) their tendency to cluster into low-recombining chromosomal regions, and 4) the requirement for a minimum number (threshold) of markers to elicit sterility. Although our findings do not contradict a role for occasional major hybrid-sterility genes, they conform more to the view that HMS primarily evolves by the cumulative action of many interacting genes of minor effect in a complex PT architecture.

Multi-step wind speed forecasting based on a hybrid forecasting architecture and an improved bat algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao, Liye; Qian, Feng; Shao, Wei

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Propose a hybrid architecture based on a modified bat algorithm for multi-step wind speed forecasting. • Improve the accuracy of multi-step wind speed forecasting. • Modify bat algorithm with CG to improve optimized performance. - Abstract: As one of the most promising sustainable energy sources, wind energy plays an important role in energy development because of its cleanliness without causing pollution. Generally, wind speed forecasting, which has an essential influence on wind power systems, is regarded as a challenging task. Analyses based on single-step wind speed forecasting have been widely used, but their results are insufficient in ensuring the reliability and controllability of wind power systems. In this paper, a new forecasting architecture based on decomposing algorithms and modified neural networks is successfully developed for multi-step wind speed forecasting. Four different hybrid models are contained in this architecture, and to further improve the forecasting performance, a modified bat algorithm (BA) with the conjugate gradient (CG) method is developed to optimize the initial weights between layers and thresholds of the hidden layer of neural networks. To investigate the forecasting abilities of the four models, the wind speed data collected from four different wind power stations in Penglai, China, were used as a case study. The numerical experiments showed that the hybrid model including the singular spectrum analysis and general regression neural network with CG-BA (SSA-CG-BA-GRNN) achieved the most accurate forecasting results in one-step to three-step wind speed forecasting.

Banana ethylene response factors are involved in fruit ripening through their interactions with ethylene biosynthesis genes.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Yun-yi; Chen, Jian-ye; Kuang, Jiang-fei; Shan, Wei; Xie, Hui; Jiang, Yue-ming; Lu, Wang-jin

2013-05-01

The involvement of ethylene response factor (ERF) transcription factor (TF) in the transcriptional regulation of ethylene biosynthesis genes during fruit ripening remains largely unclear. In this study, 15 ERF genes, designated as MaERF1-MaERF15, were isolated and characterized from banana fruit. These MaERFs were classified into seven of the 12 known ERF families. Subcellular localization showed that MaERF proteins of five different subfamilies preferentially localized to the nucleus. The 15 MaERF genes displayed differential expression patterns and levels in peel and pulp of banana fruit, in association with four different ripening treatments caused by natural, ethylene-induced, 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP)-delayed, and combined 1-MCP and ethylene treatments. MaERF9 was upregulated while MaERF11 was downregulated in peel and pulp of banana fruit during ripening or after treatment with ethylene. Furthermore, yeast-one hybrid (Y1H) and transient expression assays showed that the potential repressor MaERF11 bound to MaACS1 and MaACO1 promoters to suppress their activities and that MaERF9 activated MaACO1 promoter activity. Interestingly, protein-protein interaction analysis revealed that MaERF9 and -11 physically interacted with MaACO1. Taken together, these results suggest that MaERFs are involved in banana fruit ripening via transcriptional regulation of or interaction with ethylene biosynthesis genes.

Effect of fermented Banana peel on Broiler Carcass

OpenAIRE

Koni TNI

2013-01-01

This experiment was conducted to examine effect of inclusion of fermented banana peel by Rhyzopus oligosporus in diets on slaughter weight, carcass weight and carcass percentage, weight and percentage abdominal fat of broiler. The experiment was done based on Completely Randomized Design with four treatments and four replications and each replication consisted of six chickens. The treatment were R0 = without banana peel fermented, R1 = 5% banana peel fermented, R2 = 10% banana peel fermented...

PROPOLIS EXTRACT IN POSTHARVEST CONSERVATION BANANA ' PRATA'

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FLÁVIA REGINA PASSOS

2016-01-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT In the present work were evaluated the effects of propolis coatings of various botanical sources on quality traits of bananas cv. Prata (Musa sapientum L. stored at room temperature. ´Prata´ bananas were selected and submitted to five postharvest treatments: four coatings applied by immersion in propolis extracts at a concentration of 2.5% (w/v and a control (without coating. Propolis extracts were applied as 1 a wild type aqueous propolis extract, 2 a wild type hydroalcoholic propolis extract, 3 a rosemary green type hydroalcoholic propolis extract and 4 a red type hydroalcoholic propolis extract. The bananas were evaluated at three-day intervals along 12 days for fresh weight losses, flesh firmness, soluble solids (SS, titratable acidity (TA, the ratio SS/TA and pH. Sensory analyses were performed after three and six days of storage by 55 not trained panelists designed for acceptability. At the end of the twelve-day storage period, bananas coated either with the rosemary green hydroalcoholic extract or with the aqueous extract presented lower fresh weight losses in comparison to the bananas of the control treatment. No differences were determined in relation to flesh firmness and along the storage period TA values decreased and pH values increased in bananas of all treatments. SS contents increased towards the end of the storage period that, consequently, contributed to increases in the SS/TA ratio. The most significant increase in SS/TA ratio was determined in bananas coated with the red type hydroalcoholic extract. Taste panelists did not detect significant differences amongst coated and not coated cv. Prata bananas up to six days of storage.

Evaluation of banana hybrids for tolerance to black leaf streak (Mycosphaerella fijiensis Morelet) in Puerto Rico

Science.gov (United States)

In Puerto Rico, bananas (including plantains) are important agricultural commodities; their combined production totaled 133,500 tons in 2008. Black leaf streak (BLS) and Sigatoka leaf spot diseases, caused by Mycosphaerella fijiensis and M. musicola, respectively, are responsible for significant los...

Genotype-by-Environment Interaction and Testing Environments for Plantain and Banana (Musa spp. L. Breeding in West Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ortiz, R.

1999-01-01

Full Text Available With reduced budgets allocated for international agricultural research, site rationalisation had become an important issue to consider when carrying out multilocational testing of promising selections. The aim of this paper was to determine the importance of the genotype-by-environment interaction in multilocational trials of plantains and bananas (Musa spp. L. in selected sites of West Africa comprising the humid forest and the forest-savanna transition zones. A sample of plantain-banana hybrids, plantain landraces, exotic banana cultivars and diploid parental banana accessions were evaluated in three locations : Mbalmayo and Onne (humid forest and Ibadan (forest-savanna transition. The experimental results of our research suggested that multilocational testing is more profitable than single site evaluation over several years in the Musa breeding station. Furthermore, based on correlated responses across environments for yield potential, we suggest that one of the selection sites in the humid forest (i. e., Mbalmayo be dropped since selections in one site (Onne may be well adapted to the other location in the same agroecozone. Conversely, the relatively poor performance of most genotypes in dry environments (e. g. Ibadan reinforces the importance of early testing across a wide range of environments. In this way selections with broad or specific adaptation may be identified for further release to targeted farmers.

Elucidating the resistance response of irradiated banana cv. Lakatan to banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) infection transmitted by the banana aphid Pentalonia nigronervosa Coquerol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dela Cueva, F.M.; Sison, M.L.J.; Dinglasan, E.G.; Damasco, O.P.

2014-01-01

Development of banana bunchy top virus (BBTV)-resistant banana variety Lakatan through gamma-irradiation had been successfully done as part of integrated management strategies against the disease. Ten irradiated Lakatan lines exhibited resistance to BBTV. Resistance of these lines was evaluated based on symptomatology and host-virus relationship. Insect colony development on Lakatan banana irradiated lines was monitored by artificially inoculating viruliferous banana aphids, Pentalonia nigronervosa, and counting the resulting number of aphids per plant at weekly intervals. Resistance to virus multiplication of Lakatan irradiated lines was characterized by quantifying the virus titer through Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Results showed that not all lines were suitable as hosts in establishing aphid population. The reaction of the mutant lines to the vector and the pathogen varied to some extent. Disease incidence in some cases was correlated with aphid preference. Disease incidence was significantly higher (50%) on lines that were preferred by aphids and lower (50%) in those that were not colonized. Some mutant lines with very low aphid colony count, however showed high BBTV incidence. Variability in the results could be affected by other factors such as the developmental stage of the plant and prevailing environmental conditions during the conduct of the experiment. Virus titer was also reduced on these mutant lines, thus reduced virus multiplication. Non-irradiated (control) Lakatan banana had comparably high population of aphids, high disease incidence, and high virus titer

Association of a cucumber mosaic virus strain with mosaic disease of banana, Musa paradisiaca--an evidence using immuno/nucleic acid probe.

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, A; Raj, S K; Haq, Q M; Srivastava, K M; Singh, B P; Sane, P V

1995-12-01

Virus causing severe chlorosis/mosaic disease of banana was identified as a strain of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). Association of CMV with the disease was established by Western immunoblot using polyclonal antibodies to CMV-T and slot blot hybridization with nucleic acid probe of CMV-P genome.

Severity of banana leaf spot in an intercropping system in two cycles of banana Prata Anã

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valdeir Dias Gonçalves

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Prata Anã is the most planted banana cultivar in northern Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is however susceptible toseveral pathogens. This study was carried out to evaluate the disease severity of banana leaf spot in the Prata Anã cv. in thefirst and second cycle under six different planting systems. The randomized block experimental design was used with sixtreatments and four replications. In an evaluation of the severity of banana leaf spot, no disease symptoms were found onThap Maeo and Caipira. The evolution curve of the disease indicated seasonal effects in the first and second cycles. Theseverity of banana leaf spot was highest soon after the regional rainy period from November to March. A comparison of themeans of the evaluations indicated a reduction in disease severity from the first to the second cycle.

Ring-Opening Polymerization of N-Carboxyanhydrides for Preparation of Polypeptides and Polypeptide-Based Hybrid Materials with Various Molecular Architectures

KAUST Repository

Pahovnik, David; Hadjichristidis, Nikolaos

2015-01-01

Different synthetic approaches utilizing ring-opening polymerization of N-carboxyanhydrides for preparation of polypeptide and polypeptide-based hybrid materials with various molecular architectures are described. An overview of polymerization

M3BA: A Mobile, Modular, Multimodal Biosignal Acquisition Architecture for Miniaturized EEG-NIRS-Based Hybrid BCI and Monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

von Luhmann, Alexander; Wabnitz, Heidrun; Sander, Tilmann; Muller, Klaus-Robert

2017-06-01

For the further development of the fields of telemedicine, neurotechnology, and brain-computer interfaces, advances in hybrid multimodal signal acquisition and processing technology are invaluable. Currently, there are no commonly available hybrid devices combining bioelectrical and biooptical neurophysiological measurements [here electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)]. Our objective was to design such an instrument in a miniaturized, customizable, and wireless form. We present here the design and evaluation of a mobile, modular, multimodal biosignal acquisition architecture (M3BA) based on a high-performance analog front-end optimized for biopotential acquisition, a microcontroller, and our openNIRS technology. The designed M3BA modules are very small configurable high-precision and low-noise modules (EEG input referred noise @ 500 SPS 1.39 μV pp , NIRS noise equivalent power NEP 750 nm = 5.92 pW pp , and NEP 850 nm = 4.77 pW pp ) with full input linearity, Bluetooth, 3-D accelerometer, and low power consumption. They support flexible user-specified biopotential reference setups and wireless body area/sensor network scenarios. Performance characterization and in-vivo experiments confirmed functionality and quality of the designed architecture. Telemedicine and assistive neurotechnology scenarios will increasingly include wearable multimodal sensors in the future. The M3BA architecture can significantly facilitate future designs for research in these and other fields that rely on customized mobile hybrid biosignal modal biosignal acquisition architecture (M3BA), multimodal, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), wireless body area network (WBAN), wireless body sensor network (WBSN).

The effects of compost prepared from waste material of banana plants on the nutrient contents of banana leaves.

Science.gov (United States)

Doran, Ilhan; Sen, Bahtiyar; Kaya, Zülküf

2003-10-01

In this study, the possible utilization of removed shoots and plant parts of banana as compost after fruit harvest were investigated. Three doses (15-30-45 kg plan(-1)) of the compost prepared from the clone of Dwarf Cavendish banana were compared with Farmyard manure (50 kg plant(-1), Mineral fertilizers (180 g N + 150 g P + 335 g K plant(-1)) and Farmyard manure + Mineral fertilizers (25 kg FM + 180 g N + 150 g P + 335 g K plant(-1)) which determined positive effects on the nutrient contents of banana leaves. The banana plants were grown under a heated glasshouse and in a soil with physical and chemical properties suitable for banana growing. The contents of N, P, K and Mg in compost and in farmyard manure were found to be similar. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contents of leaves in all applications except control, and Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu contents in all applications were determined between optimum levels of reference values. There were positive correlations among some nutrient contents of leaves, growth, yield and fruit quality characteristics. Farmyard manure, Farmyard manure + Mineral fertilizers and 45 kg plant(-1) of compost increased the nutrient contents of banana leaves. According to obtained results, 45 kg plant(-1) of compost was determined more suitable in terms of economical production and organic farming than the other fertiliser types.

7 CFR 318.13-22 - Bananas from Hawaii.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Bananas from Hawaii. 318.13-22 Section 318.13-22... SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE STATE OF HAWAII AND TERRITORIES QUARANTINE NOTICES Regulated Articles From Hawaii and the Territories § 318.13-22 Bananas from Hawaii. (a) Green bananas (Musa spp.) of the...

Development of bunchy top virus resistant banana cv lakatan in vitro culture and radiation technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Estrella, J.D.; Caymo, L.S.; Dizon, T.O.; Dela Cruz, F. Jr; Damasco, O.P.

2002-01-01

Bunchy to virus (BTV) is the most destructive virus disease of banana in the Philippines. Incorporation of resistance to this virus disease by conventional hybridization is not possible due to male and female sterility of most commercial banana cultivars. In vitro culture coupled with radiation technology can be used to develop BTV resistance in banana cv. Lakatan. The sensitivity of banana shot tip explants to gamma irradiation was determined by subjecting the shoot tips to varying doses (5, 10, 20, 25, 30, 40, 60, 80 and 100 Gy) of irradiation. The LD sub 50 for banana shoot tips determined by 50% reduction in growth and shoot proliferation, was observed to around 20-25 Gy. Bulk irradiation of shoot tip explants was conducted using 20-25 Gy. Irradiated cultures were multiplied for 3-5 cycles and plants regenerated were potted out and screened for BTV resistance. A total of 3,447 irradiated plants regenerated from the radiosensitivity experiment (1,847 plants) and bulk irradiation of 20/25 Gy (1,600 plants) were screened for BTV resistance in the greenhouse using artificial BTV inoculation using the aphid vector Pentalonia nigronervosa. One hundred eighteen plants or 3.4% (118/3,447) of the artificially irradiated plants showed seedling resistance after 4-7 months of evaluation. These plants were planted in the field and were subjected to natural BTV infection. To date, 85 (out of the 118) putative seedling resistant plants continuously expressed BTV resistance in the field after more than 10 months of evaluation. The absence of BTV infection in 39 putative resistant plants was confirmed by ELISA test. Suckers from selected putative resistance plants will be collected, propagated and evaluated for the second cycle stability of BTV resistance and detailed characterization of important horticultural traits

Physical and biochemical properties of green banana flour.

Science.gov (United States)

Suntharalingam, S; Ravindran, G

1993-01-01

Banana flour prepared from two cooking banana varieties, namely 'Alukehel' and 'Monthan', were evaluated for their physical and biochemical characteristics. The yields of flour averaged 31.3% for 'Alukehel' and 25.5% for 'Monthan'. The pH of the flour ranged from 5.4 to 5.7. The bulk density and particle size distribution were also measured. The average chemical composition (% dry matter) of the flours were as follows: crude protein, 3.2; crude fat, 1.3; ash, 3.7; neutral detergent fiber, 8.9; acid detergent fiber, 3.8; cellulose, 3.1; lignin, 1.0 and hemicellulose, 5.0. Carbohydrate composition indicated the flour to contain 2.8% soluble sugars, 70.0% starch and 12.0% non-starch polysaccharides. Potassium is the predominant mineral in banana flour. Fresh green banana is a good source of vitamin C, but almost 65% is lost during the preparation of flour. Oxalate content (1.1-1.6%) of banana flour is probably nutritionally insignificant. The overall results are suggestive of the potential of green bananas as a source of flour.

Ply tensile properties of banana stem and banana bunch fibres

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2012-03-01

Mar 1, 2012 ... BANANA BUNCH FIBRES REINFORCED NATURAL RUBBER. COMPOSITE ... National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, (NIIST) CSIR Trivandrum, India. ..... Handbook of Ceramics and Composites,. Vol.

The ABC Adaptive Fusion Architecture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bunde-Pedersen, Jonathan; Mogensen, Martin; Bardram, Jakob Eyvind

2006-01-01

and early implementation of a systemcapable of adapting to its operating environment, choosingthe best fit combination of the client-server and peerto-peer architectures. The architecture creates a seamlessintegration between a centralized hybrid architecture and adecentralized architecture, relying on what...

A hybrid optical switch architecture to integrate IP into optical networks to provide flexible and intelligent bandwidth on demand for cloud computing

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Wei; Hall, Trevor J.

2013-12-01

The Internet is entering an era of cloud computing to provide more cost effective, eco-friendly and reliable services to consumer and business users. As a consequence, the nature of the Internet traffic has been fundamentally transformed from a pure packet-based pattern to today's predominantly flow-based pattern. Cloud computing has also brought about an unprecedented growth in the Internet traffic. In this paper, a hybrid optical switch architecture is presented to deal with the flow-based Internet traffic, aiming to offer flexible and intelligent bandwidth on demand to improve fiber capacity utilization. The hybrid optical switch is capable of integrating IP into optical networks for cloud-based traffic with predictable performance, for which the delay performance of the electronic module in the hybrid optical switch architecture is evaluated through simulation.

33 CFR 117.263 - Banana River.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Banana River. 117.263 Section 117.263 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BRIDGES DRAWBRIDGE OPERATION REGULATIONS Specific Requirements Florida § 117.263 Banana River. (a) The draw of the Mathers (SR...

Diseases threatening banana biodiversity in Uganda ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Recent on station and on-farm studies suggest the major diseases threatening banana biodiversity in Uganda include: 1)Black sigatoka which severely affects all East African Highland (EA-AAA) banana cultivars and a range of introduced genotypes; 2) Fusarium wilt which affects several introduced genotypes though all EA ...

HoCaMA: Home Care Hybrid Multiagent Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Fraile, Juan A.; Bajo, Javier; Abraham, Ajith; Corchado, Juan M.

Home Care is one of the main objectives of Ambient Intelligence. Nowadays, the disabled and elderly population, which represents a significant part of our society, requires novel solutions for providing home care in an effective way. In this chapter, we present HoCaMA, a hybrid multiagent architecture that facilitates remote monitoring and care services for disabled patients at their homes. HoCaMA combines multiagent systems and Web services to facilitate the communication and integration with multiple health care systems. In addition, HoCaMA focuses on the design of reactive agents capable of interacting with different sensors present in the environment, and incorporates a system of alerts through SMS and MMS mobile technologies. Finally, it uses Radio Frequency IDentification and JavaCard technologies to provide advanced location and identification systems, as well as automatic access control facilities. HoCaMA has been implemented in a real environment and the results obtained are presented within this chapter.

I Have a Banana Tree in My Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Patricia A.

2007-01-01

When the banana is growing, the broadest part of the banana is located at the bottom, while the tapered end points upward. It appears upside down, however, from the banana tree's perspective, it is growing right side up. The author observes that the students in her classroom labeled by society as "at risk," are also, in a sense, "upside down."…

Ring-Opening Polymerization of N-Carboxyanhydrides for Preparation of Polypeptides and Polypeptide-Based Hybrid Materials with Various Molecular Architectures

KAUST Repository

Pahovnik, David

2015-09-01

Different synthetic approaches utilizing ring-opening polymerization of N-carboxyanhydrides for preparation of polypeptide and polypeptide-based hybrid materials with various molecular architectures are described. An overview of polymerization mechanisms using conventional (various amines) as well as some recently developed initiators (hexamethyldisilazane, N-heterocyclic persistent carbenes, etc.) is presented, and their benefits and drawbacks for preparation of polypeptides with well-defined chain lengths and chain-end functionality are discussed. Recent examples from literature are used to illustrate different possibilities for synthesis of pure polypeptide materials with different molecular architectures bearing various functional groups, which are introduced either by modification of amino acids, before they are transformed into corresponding Ncarboxyanhydrides, or by post-polymerization modifications using protective groups and/or orthogonal functional groups. Different approaches for preparation of polypeptide-based hybrid materials are discussed as well using examples from recent literature. Syntheses of simple block copolymers or copolymers with more complex molecular architectures (graft and star copolymers) as well as modifications of nanoparticles and other surfaces with polypeptides are described.

The influence of crop management on banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) populations and yield of highland cooking banana (cv. Atwalira) in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Rukazambuga, N D T M; Gold, C S; Gowen, S R; Ragama, P

2002-10-01

A field study was undertaken in Uganda using highland cooking banana (cv. Atwalira) to test the hypothesis that bananas grown under stressed conditions are more susceptible to attack by Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar). Four banana treatments were employed to create different levels of host-plant vitality: (1) high stress: intercrop with finger millet; (2) moderate stress: monoculture without soil amendments; (3) low stress: monoculture with manure; (4) high vigour: monoculture with continuous mulch and manure. Adult C. sordidus were released at the base of banana mats 11 months after planting and populations were monitored for three years using mark and recapture methods. Cosmopolites sordidus density was greatest in the mulched plots which may have reflected increased longevity and/or longer tenure time in moist soils. Lowest C. sordidus numbers were found in intercropped banana. Damage, estimated as percentage corm tissue consumed by larvae, was similar among treatments. However, the total amount of tissue consumed was greater in mulched banana than in other systems. Plants supporting the heaviest levels of C. sordidus damage displayed bunch size reductions of 40-55%. Banana yield losses ranged from 14-20% per plot with similar levels in the intercropped and mulched systems. Yield reductions, reported as t ha-1, were twice as high in the mulched system as in the intercrop. The results from this study indicate that C. sordidus problems are not confined to stressed banana systems or those with low levels of management, but that the weevil can also attain pest status in well-managed and productive banana stands.

Hybrid Energy Cell with Hierarchical Nano/Micro-Architectured Polymer Film to Harvest Mechanical, Solar, and Wind Energies Individually/Simultaneously.

Science.gov (United States)

Dudem, Bhaskar; Ko, Yeong Hwan; Leem, Jung Woo; Lim, Joo Ho; Yu, Jae Su

2016-11-09

We report the creation of hybrid energy cells based on hierarchical nano/micro-architectured polydimethylsiloxane (HNMA-PDMS) films with multifunctionality to simultaneously harvest mechanical, solar, and wind energies. These films consist of nano/micro dual-scale architectures (i.e., nanonipples on inverted micropyramidal arrays) on the PDMS surface. The HNMA-PDMS is replicable by facile and cost-effective soft imprint lithography using a nanoporous anodic alumina oxide film formed on the micropyramidal-structured silicon substrate. The HNMA-PDMS film plays multifunctional roles as a triboelectric layer in nanogenerators and an antireflection layer for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), as well as a self-cleaning surface. This film is employed in triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) devices, fabricated by laminating it on indium-tin oxide-coated polyethylene terephthalate (ITO/PET) as a bottom electrode. The large effective contact area that emerged from the densely packed hierarchical nano/micro-architectures of the PDMS film leads to the enhancement of TENG device performance. Moreover, the HNMA-PDMS/ITO/PET, with a high transmittance of >90%, also results in highly transparent TENG devices. By placing the HNMA-PDMS/ITO/PET, where the ITO/PET is coated with zinc oxide nanowires, as the top glass substrate of DSSCs, the device is able to add the functionality of TENG devices, thus creating a hybrid energy cell. The hybrid energy cell can successfully convert mechanical, solar, and wind energies into electricity, simultaneously or independently. To specify the device performance, the effects of external pushing frequency and load resistance on the output of TENG devices are also analyzed, including the photovoltaic performance of the hybrid energy cells.

A Hybrid Hardware and Software Component Architecture for Embedded System Design

Science.gov (United States)

Marcondes, Hugo; Fröhlich, Antônio Augusto

Embedded systems are increasing in complexity, while several metrics such as time-to-market, reliability, safety and performance should be considered during the design of such systems. A component-based design which enables the migration of its components between hardware and software can cope to achieve such metrics. To enable that, we define hybrid hardware and software components as a development artifact that can be deployed by different combinations of hardware and software elements. In this paper, we present an architecture for developing such components in order to construct a repository of components that can migrate between the hardware and software domains to meet the design system requirements.

Farmer evaluation of dried banana based products | Pekke | African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A farmer participatory evaluation of dried banana based products was conducted in various districts of Uganda. Bananas were dried using a tunnel solar dryer developed by Post Harvest Handling and Storage project (PHHS) of Kawanda Post-harvest Programme and improved by the National Banana Research ...

Architecture design of resistor/FET-logic demultiplexer for hybrid CMOS/nanodevice circuit interconnect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li Shu; Zhang Tong [Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180 (United States)], E-mail: lis4@rpi.edu, E-mail: tzhang@ecse.rpi.edu

2008-05-07

Hybrid nanoelectronics consisting of nanodevice crossbars on top of CMOS backplane circuits is emerging as one viable option to sustain Moore's law after the CMOS scaling limit is reached. One main design challenge in such hybrid nanoelectronics is the interface between the highly dense nanowires in nanodevice crossbars and relatively coarse microwires in the CMOS domain. Such an interface can be realized through a logic circuit called a demultiplexer (demux). In this context, all the prior work on demux design uses a single type of device, such as resistor, diode or field effect transistor (FET), to realize the demultiplexing function. However, different types of devices have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of functionality, manufacturability, speed and power consumption. This makes none of them provide a satisfactory solution. To tackle this challenge, this work proposes to combine resistor with FET to implement the demux, leading to the hybrid resistor/FET-logic demux. Such hybrid demux architecture can make these two types of devices complement each other well to improve the overall demux design effectiveness. Furthermore, due to the inevitable fabrication process variations at the nanoscale, the effects of resistor conductance and FET threshold voltage variability are analyzed and evaluated based on computer simulations. The simulation results provide the requirement on the fabrication process to ensure a high demux reliability, and promise the hybrid resistor/FET-logic demux an improved addressability and process variance tolerance.

Architecture design of resistor/FET-logic demultiplexer for hybrid CMOS/nanodevice circuit interconnect.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shu; Zhang, Tong

2008-05-07

Hybrid nanoelectronics consisting of nanodevice crossbars on top of CMOS backplane circuits is emerging as one viable option to sustain Moore's law after the CMOS scaling limit is reached. One main design challenge in such hybrid nanoelectronics is the interface between the highly dense nanowires in nanodevice crossbars and relatively coarse microwires in the CMOS domain. Such an interface can be realized through a logic circuit called a demultiplexer (demux). In this context, all the prior work on demux design uses a single type of device, such as resistor, diode or field effect transistor (FET), to realize the demultiplexing function. However, different types of devices have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of functionality, manufacturability, speed and power consumption. This makes none of them provide a satisfactory solution. To tackle this challenge, this work proposes to combine resistor with FET to implement the demux, leading to the hybrid resistor/FET-logic demux. Such hybrid demux architecture can make these two types of devices complement each other well to improve the overall demux design effectiveness. Furthermore, due to the inevitable fabrication process variations at the nanoscale, the effects of resistor conductance and FET threshold voltage variability are analyzed and evaluated based on computer simulations. The simulation results provide the requirement on the fabrication process to ensure a high demux reliability, and promise the hybrid resistor/FET-logic demux an improved addressability and process variance tolerance.

Architecture design of resistor/FET-logic demultiplexer for hybrid CMOS/nanodevice circuit interconnect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Shu; Zhang Tong

2008-01-01

Hybrid nanoelectronics consisting of nanodevice crossbars on top of CMOS backplane circuits is emerging as one viable option to sustain Moore's law after the CMOS scaling limit is reached. One main design challenge in such hybrid nanoelectronics is the interface between the highly dense nanowires in nanodevice crossbars and relatively coarse microwires in the CMOS domain. Such an interface can be realized through a logic circuit called a demultiplexer (demux). In this context, all the prior work on demux design uses a single type of device, such as resistor, diode or field effect transistor (FET), to realize the demultiplexing function. However, different types of devices have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of functionality, manufacturability, speed and power consumption. This makes none of them provide a satisfactory solution. To tackle this challenge, this work proposes to combine resistor with FET to implement the demux, leading to the hybrid resistor/FET-logic demux. Such hybrid demux architecture can make these two types of devices complement each other well to improve the overall demux design effectiveness. Furthermore, due to the inevitable fabrication process variations at the nanoscale, the effects of resistor conductance and FET threshold voltage variability are analyzed and evaluated based on computer simulations. The simulation results provide the requirement on the fabrication process to ensure a high demux reliability, and promise the hybrid resistor/FET-logic demux an improved addressability and process variance tolerance

Analysis of genetic variation in different banana ( Musa species ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The banana (Musa acuminata Colla) is considered as an important crop plant due to its high economic value as good dietary source. Here, we analyze the genetic relationship of four different banana varieties that are cultivated in south India. Random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) fingerprinting of these banana ...

Remote quality monitoring in the banana chain.

Science.gov (United States)

Jedermann, Reiner; Praeger, Ulrike; Geyer, Martin; Lang, Walter

2014-06-13

Quality problems occurring during or after sea transportation of bananas in refrigerated containers are mainly caused by insufficient cooling and non-optimal atmospheric conditions, but also by the heat generated by respiration activity. Tools to measure and evaluate these effects can largely help to reduce losses along the banana supply chain. The presented green life model provides a tool to predict the effect of deviating temperature, relative humidity, and CO2 and O2 gas concentrations on the storage stability of bananas. A second thermal model allows evaluation of the cooling efficiency, the effect of changes in packaging and stowage and the amount of respiration heat from the measured temperature curves. Spontaneous ripening causes higher respiration heat and CO2 production rate. The resulting risk for creation of hot spots increases in positions in which the respiration heat exceeds the available cooling capacity. In case studies on the transport of bananas from Costa Rica to Europe, we validated the models and showed how they can be applied to generate automated warning messages for containers with reduced banana green life or with temperature problems and also for remote monitoring of the ripening process inside the container.

Application of Cold Storage for Raja Sere Banana (Musa acuminata colla)

Science.gov (United States)

Crismas, S. R. S.; Purwanto, Y. A.; Sutrisno

2018-05-01

Raja Sere is one of the indigenous banana cultivars in Indonesia. This cultivar has a yellow color when ripen, small size and sweet taste. Traditionally, the growers market this banana cultivar to the market without any treatment to delay the ripening process. Banana fruits are commonly being harvested at the condition of hard green mature. At this condition of hard green mature, banana fruits can be stored for a long-term period. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of cold storage on the quality of raja sere banana that stored at 13°C. Banana fruits cultivar Raja Sere were harvested from local farmer field at the condition of hard green mature (about 14 weeks age after the flower bloom). Fifteen bunches of banana were stored in cold storage with a temperature of 13°C for 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 days, respectively. For the control, room temperature storage (28°C) was used. At a storage period, samples of banana fruits ripened in the ripening chamber by injecting 100 ppm of ethylene gas at 25°C for 24 hours. The quality parameters namely respiration rate, hardness, total soluble solids (TSS), change in color, and weight loss were measured. For those banana fruits stored at room temperature, the shelf-life of banana was only reached up to 6 days. For those banana fruits stored in cold storage, the condition of banana fruits was reached up to 12 days. After cold storage and ripening, the third day measurement was the optimal time for bananas to be consumed which indicated by the yellow color (lightness value = 68.51, a* = 4.74 and value b* = 62.63), TSS 24.30 °Brix and hardness 0.48 kgf, weight loss about 7.53-16.45% and CO2 respiration rate of 100.37 mLCO2 / kg.hr.

Compositional changes in banana ( Musa ssp. ) fruits during ripening

African Journals Online (AJOL)

overripe banana fruits, respectively. The results showed that the nutritional composition of banana pulp was diversely affected by ripening. Changes in mineral composition varied and were not consistent with the stages of ripeness. Bananas are considered a good source of Mg in the diet, and the data obtained herein ...

Market opportunities for Ugandan banana products: National ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mo

the decade between 1991 and 2001, banana consumption has increased by three ... obtain only 17 % of the retail price per bunch of banana, whereas the rest ..... The Middle and Far East will experience the biggest growth rates in terms of ...

Weed management in banana production: The use of Nelsonia ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

During a survey of weeds in the Tiko banana plantations, the plant Nelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng was found to have invaded large areas of the plantation with no visible adverse effects on the banana crop. The effects of this Acanthaceae on banana yield parameters, snails' population and weed species diversity and ...

Quantized Self-Assembly of Discotic Rings in a Liquid Crystal Confined in Nanopores

Science.gov (United States)

Sentker, Kathrin; Zantop, Arne W.; Lippmann, Milena; Hofmann, Tommy; Seeck, Oliver H.; Kityk, Andriy V.; Yildirim, Arda; Schönhals, Andreas; Mazza, Marco G.; Huber, Patrick

2018-02-01

Disklike molecules with aromatic cores spontaneously stack up in linear columns with high, one-dimensional charge carrier mobilities along the columnar axes, making them prominent model systems for functional, self-organized matter. We show by high-resolution optical birefringence and synchrotron-based x-ray diffraction that confining a thermotropic discotic liquid crystal in cylindrical nanopores induces a quantized formation of annular layers consisting of concentric circular bent columns, unknown in the bulk state. Starting from the walls this ring self-assembly propagates layer by layer towards the pore center in the supercooled domain of the bulk isotropic-columnar transition and thus allows one to switch on and off reversibly single, nanosized rings through small temperature variations. By establishing a Gibbs free energy phase diagram we trace the phase transition quantization to the discreteness of the layers' excess bend deformation energies in comparison to the thermal energy, even for this near room-temperature system. Monte Carlo simulations yielding spatially resolved nematic order parameters, density maps, and bond-orientational order parameters corroborate the universality and robustness of the confinement-induced columnar ring formation as well as its quantized nature.

33 CFR 334.570 - Banana River near Orsino, Fla.; restricted area.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Banana River near Orsino, Fla... THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.570 Banana River near Orsino, Fla.; restricted area. (a) The area. That part of Banana River N of the NASA Banana River...

DISTRIBUTION AND INCIDENCE LEAF DISEASES OF BANANA IN SEVERAL BANANA PRODUCTION CENTERS IN NORTH SUMATRA, WEST SUMATRA BENGKULU AND WEST JAVA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sahlan

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The research was aimed to determine the type, the distribution and the incidence of banana leaf diseases in several production centers in West Sumatra, Bengkulu, North Sumatra and West Java. Direct observations on banana orchards were conducted in some districts in Simalungun, Deli Serdang and Medan (North Sumatra, Tanah Datar, Limapuluh Kota, Agam, Pariaman and Pasaman (West Sumatra, Rejang Lebong and Kepahyang (Bengkulu, Sukabumi, Purwakarta and Subang (West Java from November to December 2006. Two banana orchards were randomly selected in each district. Plant population at the selected orchard was at least 100 plants. From each sampled orchard, if banana population consisted of similar or only one variety, 10 plants were randomly chosen according to wind direction. Meanwhile, when the banana varieties were varied, five plants were randomly selected. The result showed that Black Sigatoka and Eumusae leaf spot were found in West Sumatra, Bengkulu and North Sumatra at severity level of between 15 % to 62.31%, whilst speckle disease was mainly found in North Sumatra and in parts of West Sumatra at severity level of between 72,72% to 100% and 15 to 30%, respectively. Banana varieties that were primarily attacked by leaf diseases were Cavendish, Telor, Barangan and Emas.

Research on Risks and Forecasting Countermeasures of Hainan Banana Industry

OpenAIRE

Liu, Yan-qun; Zeng, Xiao-hong; Fang, Jia

2011-01-01

Based on the overviews of the current conditions of Hainan banana industry, the research makes an analysis of the risks faced by Hainan banana industry. They are respectively marketing risks, natural risks, information risks and production risks. In order to promote a sustainable and rapid development of Hainan banana industry, Countermeasures are proposed in the research. The first is to strengthen the leading organization of forecasting mechanisms on banana industry. The second is to establ...

Synchrotron x-ray study of the orientational ordering D2-D1 structural phase transition of freely suspended discotic strands in triphenylene hexa-n-dodecanoate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Safinya, C.R.; Liang, K.S.; Varady, W.A.; Clark, N.A.; Andersson, G.

1984-01-01

We demonstrate the feasibility of x-ray scattering studies of freely suspended strands of discotic liquid crystals (of triphenylene hexa-n-dodecanoate). We are able to grow strands, which are stable for days, of diameter >50 μm with a few single crystal domains. Unexpectedly, we find that the quasi two-dimensional structural phase transition from columnar D2 to columnar D1 corresponds to the orientational ordering of columns of molecules with the molecules tilted at finite angles to the column axis in both phases

Evolution of endogenous sequences of banana streak virus: what can we learn from banana (Musa sp.) evolution?

Science.gov (United States)

Gayral, Philippe; Blondin, Laurence; Guidolin, Olivier; Carreel, Françoise; Hippolyte, Isabelle; Perrier, Xavier; Iskra-Caruana, Marie-Line

2010-07-01

Endogenous plant pararetroviruses (EPRVs) are viral sequences of the family Caulimoviridae integrated into the nuclear genome of numerous plant species. The ability of some endogenous sequences of Banana streak viruses (eBSVs) in the genome of banana (Musa sp.) to induce infections just like the virus itself was recently demonstrated (P. Gayral et al., J. Virol. 83:6697-6710, 2008). Although eBSVs probably arose from accidental events, infectious eBSVs constitute an extreme case of parasitism, as well as a newly described strategy for vertical virus transmission in plants. We investigated the early evolutionary stages of infectious eBSV for two distinct BSV species-GF (BSGFV) and Imové (BSImV)-through the study of their distribution, insertion polymorphism, and structure evolution among selected banana genotypes representative of the diversity of 60 wild Musa species and genotypes. To do so, the historical frame of host evolution was analyzed by inferring banana phylogeny from two chloroplast regions-matK and trnL-trnF-as well as from the nuclear genome, using 19 microsatellite loci. We demonstrated that both BSV species integrated recently in banana evolution, circa 640,000 years ago. The two infectious eBSVs were subjected to different selective pressures and showed distinct levels of rearrangement within their final structure. In addition, the molecular phylogenies of integrated and nonintegrated BSVs enabled us to establish the phylogenetic origins of eBSGFV and eBSImV.

Building 3D Layer-by-Layer Graphene-Gold Nanoparticle Hybrid Architecture with Tunable Interlayer Distance

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-26

saturated 0.1 M KOH electrolyte aqueous solution. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and LSV curves were measured on a computer-controlled potentiostat (CHI 760C...analyzed by Raman spectroscopy, molecular simulation using Gaussian 09, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electron diffraction (ED). The typical... Raman features of GO are Figure 1. Synthesis of GO-Cys-GNR. Figure 2. Scheme of the representative layer-by-layer graphene−GNR hybrid architecture. The

A novel survivable architecture for hybrid WDM/TDM passive optical networks

Science.gov (United States)

Qiu, Yang; Chan, Chun-Kit

2014-02-01

A novel tree-ring survivable architecture, which consists of an organization of a wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) tree from optical line terminal (OLT) to remote nodes (RNs) and a time division multiplexing (TDM) ring in each RN, is proposed for hybrid WDM/TDM passive optical networks. By utilizing the cyclic property of arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs) and the single-ring topology among a group of optical network units (ONUs) in the remote node, not only the feeder and distribution fibers, but also any fiber failures in the RN rings are protected simultaneously. Five-Gbit/s transmissions under both normal working and protection modes were experimentally demonstrated and a traffic restoration time was successfully measured.

Identification of genes differentially expressed during ripening of banana.

Science.gov (United States)

Manrique-Trujillo, Sandra Mabel; Ramírez-López, Ana Cecilia; Ibarra-Laclette, Enrique; Gómez-Lim, Miguel Angel

2007-08-01

The banana (Musa acuminata, subgroup Cavendish 'Grand Nain') is a climacteric fruit of economic importance. A better understanding of the banana ripening process is needed to improve fruit quality and to extend shelf life. Eighty-four up-regulated unigenes were identified by differential screening of a banana fruit cDNA subtraction library at a late ripening stage. The ripening stages in this study were defined according to the peel color index (PCI). Unigene sequences were analyzed with different databases to assign a putative identification. The expression patterns of 36 transcripts confirmed as positive by differential screening were analyzed comparing the PCI 1, PCI 5 and PCI 7 ripening stages. Expression profiles were obtained for unigenes annotated as orcinol O-methyltransferase, putative alcohol dehydrogenase, ubiquitin-protein ligase, chorismate mutase and two unigenes with non-significant matches with any reported sequence. Similar expression profiles were observed in banana pulp and peel. Our results show differential expression of a group of genes involved in processes associated with fruit ripening, such as stress, detoxification, cytoskeleton and biosynthesis of volatile compounds. Some of the identified genes had not been characterized in banana fruit. Besides providing an overview of gene expression programs and metabolic pathways at late stages of banana fruit ripening, this study contributes to increasing the information available on banana fruit ESTs.

A Case Study of a Hybrid Parallel 3D Surface Rendering Graphics Architecture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holten-Lund, Hans Erik; Madsen, Jan; Pedersen, Steen

1997-01-01

This paper presents a case study in the design strategy used inbuilding a graphics computer, for drawing very complex 3Dgeometric surfaces. The goal is to build a PC based computer systemcapable of handling surfaces built from about 2 million triangles, andto be able to render a perspective view...... of these on a computer displayat interactive frame rates, i.e. processing around 50 milliontriangles per second. The paper presents a hardware/softwarearchitecture called HPGA (Hybrid Parallel Graphics Architecture) whichis likely to be able to carry out this task. The case study focuses ontechniques to increase...

Banana leaf and glucose mineralization and soil organic matter in microhabitats of banana plantations under long-term pesticide use.

Science.gov (United States)

Blume, Elena; Reichert, José Miguel

2015-06-01

Soil organic matter (SOM) and microbial activity are key components of soil quality and sustainability. In the humid tropics of Costa Rica 3 pesticide regimes were studied-fungicide (low input); fungicide and herbicide (medium input); and fungicide, herbicide, and nematicide (high input)-under continuous banana cultivation for 5 yr (young) or 20 yr (old) in 3 microhabitats-nematicide ring around plants, litter pile of harvested banana, and bare area between litter pile and nematicide ring. Soil samples were incubated sequentially in the laboratory: unamended, amended with glucose, and amended with ground banana leaves. Soil organic matter varied with microhabitat, being greatest in the litter pile, where microbes had the greatest basal respiration with ground banana leaf, whereas microbes in the nematicide ring had the greatest respiration with glucose. These results suggest that soil microbes adapt to specific microhabitats. Young banana plantations had similar SOM compared with old plantations, but the former had greater basal microbial respiration in unamended and in glucose-amended soil and greater first-order mineralization rates in glucose-amended soil, thus indicating soil biological quality decline over time. High pesticide input did not decrease microbial activity or mineralization rate in surface soil. In conclusion, microbial activity in tropical volcanic soil is highly adaptable to organic and inorganic inputs. © 2015 SETAC.

Análise do comércio de bananas em Lavras: Minas Gerais Analysis of banana trade in Lavras: Minas Gerais

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lair Victor Pereira

2009-06-01

Full Text Available A participação de Lavras na oferta de banana no mercado local é muito pequena, considerando-se que o Brasil é o segundo país maior produtor com 6,6 milhões de toneladas e Minas Gerais é o quarto entre os Estados produtores dessa fruta. Visando a quantificar a participação de Lavras e região na oferta de banana no mercado local, realizou-se esse trabalho em duas etapas: 2002/2003 e 2004/2005. A aplicação mensal de questionários nos principais estabelecimentos comerciais de hortifruti e feiras - livre de Lavras, permitiu conhecer o volume comercializado, procedência e perdas das principais cultivares de banana. Os resultados obtidos mostram que em 2002/2003 foram comercializados 945,24 t e em 2004/2005 foi de 1.001,98 t. Desse volume, 6,56% em 2002/2003 e 14,62% em 2004/2005 tiveram como origem Lavras. O consumo per capita anual manteve-se em torno de 11,8 kg nos dois períodos pesquisados. As bananas tipo 'Prata', foram as mais comercializadas nas duas etapas, 54,7% no primeiro período e 58,7% no segundo, sendo que 7,91% e 18,35% , respectivamente, tiveram como origem Lavras. O volume de banana 'Marmelo' e do tipo 'Nanicão', foram de 1,91% e 28,4%, respectivamente, sendo que 84,0% da 'Marmelo' e 3,43% da tipo 'Nanicão' na segunda etapa foram procedentes de Lavras. A banana 'Maçã' teve uma redução de 125,30 t para 107,47 t, correspondendo a 13,26%, sendo que a oferta dessa cultivar, originada de Lavras, manteve-se em 13,8%. As bananas 'Maçã' e 'Marmelo' apresentaram as menores perdas, 3,56% e 4,78% e as dos tipos 'Prata'e 'Nanicão'as maiores perdas, 9,39% e 10, 75%, respectivamente.The participation of Lavras in the banana production offered to the local commerce is still very low considering that Brazil is the second banana producer of the world, with a production around 6.6 ton/year and per-capita consumption of 24.4 kg/year. Minas Gerais ranks in the fifth place among the most important Brazilian state producers. This

Performance of Public and Non-Public Organisations in the Dissemination of Cooking Bananas in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tshiunza, M.

2001-01-01

Full Text Available The study assessed the performance of public (POs and non-public (NPOs organisations in the dissemination of cooking bananas in Southeast Nigeria. Cooking bananas were introduced in the area as an interim measure to reduce the incidence of black sigatoka disease on plantains. Eight POs and 4 NPOs carried out the dissemination exercise. In all, about 55, 000 cooking banana suckers were distributed in about 700 villages to about 30, 000 farmers. NPOs out-performed POs in the dissemination exercise ; they accounted for about 90 % of suckers distributed, as well as about 80 % of villages and 99 % of farmers reached with the crop. Without the involvement and the efforts of the NPOs, the majority of the farmers and villages would not have obtained the crop. Unfortunately, the distribution of suckers by NPOs was limited to villages within the areas where they carry out their main activities, i. e. oil exploration/exploitation. As a resuit, more than 80 % of suckers distributed in the region were concentrated in the states of Bayelsa and Rivers. For a more even distribution of the newly developed hybrid plantains a key recommendation of the study is the involvement in the dissemination exercise of as many church and village groups as possible, especially in areas where NPOs do not operate.

Batch biomethanation of banana trash and coir path

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deivanai, K.; Bai, R.K. [Madurai Kamaraj Univ. (India)

1995-08-01

Anaerobic digestion of banana trash and coir pith was carried out for a period of one month by batch digestion. During biomethanation reduction of total- and volatile-solids was, respectively, 25.3 and 39.6% in banana trash and 13.6 and 21.6% in coir pith. A production of 9.22 l and 1.69 l (per kg TS added) of biogas with average methane content of 72 and 80% was achieved from banana trash and coir pith, respectively. (author)

Molecular Characterization of Cocoa, Mango, Banana and Yam ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Molecular Characterization of Cocoa, Mango, Banana and Yam Isolates of Botryodiplodia theobromae in Ghana. ... A total of 25 fungal isolates were sampled from cocoa, mango, banana and yam within four ... HOW TO USE AJOL.

Certain growth related attributes of bunchy top virus infected banana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Effect of banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) on morpho-physiological characteristics of banana (Musa sp.) cv., Basrai plants was assessed. Healthy and BBTV infected samples of banana were collected from its open fields and micro-propagated aseptically. These plantlets were established in wire-house for three months.

Banana production systems: identification of alternative systems for more sustainable production.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellamy, Angelina Sanderson

2013-04-01

Large-scale, monoculture production systems dependent on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, increase yields, but are costly and have deleterious impacts on human health and the environment. This research investigates variations in banana production practices in Costa Rica, to identify alternative systems that combine high productivity and profitability, with reduced reliance on agrochemicals. Farm workers were observed during daily production activities; 39 banana producers and 8 extension workers/researchers were interviewed; and a review of field experiments conducted by the National Banana Corporation between 1997 and 2002 was made. Correspondence analysis showed that there is no structured variation in large-scale banana producers' practices, but two other banana production systems were identified: a small-scale organic system and a small-scale conventional coffee-banana intercropped system. Field-scale research may reveal ways that these practices can be scaled up to achieve a productive and profitable system producing high-quality export bananas with fewer or no pesticides.

Biomethanation of banana peel and pineapple waste

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bardiya, N.; Somayaji, D.; Khanna, S. [Tata Energy Research Inst., New Delhi (India)

1997-10-01

Biomethanation of banana peel and pineapple wastes studied at various HRTs showed a higher rate of gas production at lower retention time. The lowest possible HRT for banana peel was 25 days, resulting in a maximum rate of gas production of 0.76 vol/vol/day with 36% substrate utilization, while pineapple-processing waste digesters could be operated at 10 days HRT, with a maximum rate of gas production of 0.93 vol/vol/day and 58% substrate utilization. For pineapple-processing waste lowering of retention time did not affect the methane content significantly; however, with banana peel an HRT below 25 days showed a drastic reduction in methane content. (author)

Avaliação agronômica em híbridos diplóides (AA de bananeira Agronomical evaluation of (AA banana diploid hybrids

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Lauro Saraiva Lessa

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Objetivou-se avaliar características agronômicas em híbridos diplóides (AA de bananeira. No experimento, conduzido no campo experimental da Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura Tropical, em blocos casualizados com quatro repetições, foram avaliados 11 híbridos diplóides (AA de bananeira (4279-06, TH03-01, 8987-01, 0323-03, 1318-01, 0116-01, 8694-20, 1304-06, 9179-03, 4223-06 e SH3263. Os dados dos caracteres agronômicos avaliados foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias dos genótipos foram agrupadas pelo teste de Scott-Knott, a 5% de probabilidade. O genótipo SH3263 apresentou valores favoráveis ao melhoramento para número de pencas e de frutos por cacho e baixa incidência de Sigatoka-amarela na floração, além de menor número de dias da floração à colheita, maior peso da segunda penca e comprimento de fruto acima de 10 cm. O híbrido 0323-03 apresentou a maior retenção de folhas vivas na colheita do cacho e, também, a menor nota para incidência de sigatoka-amarela na colheita. A alta variabilidade encontrada com a avaliação dos híbridos permite a seleção de diplóides (AA com potencial para utilização em programas de melhoramento da cultura.The aim of the present work was to characterize horticultural characteristics in (AA banana diploid hybrids. The experiment was carried out at the experimental field of Embrapa Cassava and Tropical Fruits in randomized blocks with four replicates and 11 (AA banana diploid hybrids were evaluated: (4279-06, TH03-01, 8987-01, 0323-03, 1318-01, 0116-01, 8694-20, 1304-06, 9179-03, 4223-06 and SH3263. Data of the agronomical characteristics evaluated were submitted to the analysis of variance and the averages of the genotypes grouped by the Scott-Knott test at 5% of probability. The SH3263 genotype presented favorable values to the breeding for number of hands per bunch, number of fruits per bunch, low yellow-sigatoka incidence during flowering and also lower number of days

Fermentation of Foc TR4-infected bananas and Trichoderma spp.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, J; Li, B; Liu, S W; Biswas, M K; Liu, S; Wei, Y R; Zuo, C W; Deng, G M; Kuang, R B; Hu, C H; Yi, G J; Li, C Y

2016-10-17

Fusarium wilt (also known as Panama disease) is one of the most destructive banana diseases, and greatly hampers the global production of bananas. Consequently, it has been very detrimental to the Chinese banana industry. An infected plant is one of the major causes of the spread of Fusarium wilt to nearby regions. It is essential to develop an efficient and environmentally sustainable disease control method to restrict the spread of Fusarium wilt. We isolated Trichoderma spp from the rhizosphere soil, roots, and pseudostems of banana plants that showed Fusarium wilt symptoms in the infected areas. Their cellulase activities were measured by endoglucanase activity, β-glucosidase activity, and filter paper activity assays. Safety analyses of the Trichoderma isolates were conducted by inoculating them into banana plantlets. The antagonistic effects of the Trichoderma spp on the Fusarium pathogen Foc tropical Race 4 (Foc TR4) were tested by the dual culture technique. Four isolates that had high cellulase activity, no observable pathogenicity to banana plants, and high antagonistic capability were identified. The isolates were used to biodegrade diseased banana plants infected with GFP-tagged Foc TR4, and the compost was tested for biological control of the infectious agent; the results showed that the fermentation suppressed the incidence of wilt and killed the pathogen. This study indicates that Trichoderma isolates have the potential to eliminate the transmission of Foc TR4, and may be developed into an environmentally sustainable treatment for controlling Fusarium wilt in banana plants.

Characterization of Heavy metals from banana farming soils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Dian; Huang, Cheng He; Huang, Dong Yi [College of Agronomy, Hainan University, Haikou City, Hainan Province (China); Ouyang, Ying [Department of Water Resources, St. Johns River Water Management District, Palatka, FL (United States)

2010-06-15

There is a growing public concern about the contamination of heavy metals in agricultural soils in China due to the increasingly applications of chemical fertilizers and pesticides during the last two decades. This study characterized the variability of heavy metals, including copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and nickel (Ni), from the banana farming soils in western Hainan Island, China. Five banana farms from different locations in the island were selected to collect 69 mixed-soil samples in this study. Experimental data showed that concentrations of Cu ranged from 3.38 to 54.52, Zn from 24.0 to 189.8, Pb from 15.98 to 58.42, Cd from 0.43 to 3.21, and Ni from 3.47 to 121.86 mg kg{sup -1} dry wt. In general, concentrations of the heavy metals varied with metal species and changed from location to location, which occurred presumably due to the variations of soil parent materials and to a certain extent due to the use of different types of agrochemicals. Our study further revealed that concentrations of Cu and Zn were higher in the banana farming soils than in the natural (control) soils among all of the five locations, whereas mixed results were observed for Pb, Cd, and Ni in both the banana farming and control soils, depending on the locations. Comparisons of the heavy metal concentrations with the Chinese Soil Quality Standards (CSQSs) showed that Cu, Zn, and Pb contents were lower but Cd and Ni contents were higher in the banana farming soils than the Class II standard of the CSQSs. Results suggested that accumulation of Cu, Zn, and Pb in the soils is safe for banana fruit production, whereas accumulation of Cd and Ni in the same soils could potentially pose threats to banana fruit safety. (Abstract Copyright [2010], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Architectural elements of hybrid navigation systems for future space transportation

Science.gov (United States)

Trigo, Guilherme F.; Theil, Stephan

2017-12-01

The fundamental limitations of inertial navigation, currently employed by most launchers, have raised interest for GNSS-aided solutions. Combination of inertial measurements and GNSS outputs allows inertial calibration online, solving the issue of inertial drift. However, many challenges and design options unfold. In this work we analyse several architectural elements and design aspects of a hybrid GNSS/INS navigation system conceived for space transportation. The most fundamental architectural features such as coupling depth, modularity between filter and inertial propagation, and open-/closed-loop nature of the configuration, are discussed in the light of the envisaged application. Importance of the inertial propagation algorithm and sensor class in the overall system are investigated, being the handling of sensor errors and uncertainties that arise with lower grade sensory also considered. In terms of GNSS outputs we consider receiver solutions (position and velocity) and raw measurements (pseudorange, pseudorange-rate and time-difference carrier phase). Receiver clock error handling options and atmospheric error correction schemes for these measurements are analysed under flight conditions. System performance with different GNSS measurements is estimated through covariance analysis, being the differences between loose and tight coupling emphasized through partial outage simulation. Finally, we discuss options for filter algorithm robustness against non-linearities and system/measurement errors. A possible scheme for fault detection, isolation and recovery is also proposed.

Architectural elements of hybrid navigation systems for future space transportation

Science.gov (United States)

Trigo, Guilherme F.; Theil, Stephan

2018-06-01

The fundamental limitations of inertial navigation, currently employed by most launchers, have raised interest for GNSS-aided solutions. Combination of inertial measurements and GNSS outputs allows inertial calibration online, solving the issue of inertial drift. However, many challenges and design options unfold. In this work we analyse several architectural elements and design aspects of a hybrid GNSS/INS navigation system conceived for space transportation. The most fundamental architectural features such as coupling depth, modularity between filter and inertial propagation, and open-/closed-loop nature of the configuration, are discussed in the light of the envisaged application. Importance of the inertial propagation algorithm and sensor class in the overall system are investigated, being the handling of sensor errors and uncertainties that arise with lower grade sensory also considered. In terms of GNSS outputs we consider receiver solutions (position and velocity) and raw measurements (pseudorange, pseudorange-rate and time-difference carrier phase). Receiver clock error handling options and atmospheric error correction schemes for these measurements are analysed under flight conditions. System performance with different GNSS measurements is estimated through covariance analysis, being the differences between loose and tight coupling emphasized through partial outage simulation. Finally, we discuss options for filter algorithm robustness against non-linearities and system/measurement errors. A possible scheme for fault detection, isolation and recovery is also proposed.

Acetylation and characterization of banana (Musa paradisiaca) starch.

Science.gov (United States)

Bello-Pérez, L A; Contreras-Ramos, S M; Jìmenez-Aparicio, A; Paredes-López, O

2000-01-01

Banana native starch was acetylated and some of its functional properties were evaluated and compared to corn starch. In general, acetylated banana starch presented higher values in ash, protein and fat than corn acetylated starch. The modified starches had minor tendency to retrogradation assessed as % transmittance of starch pastes. At high temperature acetylated starches presented a water retention capacity similar to their native counterpart. The acetylation considerably increased the solubility of starches, and a similar behavior was found for swelling power. When freeze-thaw stability was studied, acetyl banana starch drained approximately 60% of water in the first and second cycles, but in the third and fourth cycles the percentage of separated water was low. However, acetyl corn starch showed lower freeze-thaw stability than the untreated sample. The modification increased the viscosity of banana starch pastes.

Development of environmental friendly lost circulation material from banana peel

Science.gov (United States)

Sauki, Arina; Hasan, Nur â.€˜Izzati; Naimi, Fardelen Binti Md; Othman, Nur Hidayati

2017-12-01

Loss of expensive mud could lead to major financial problem in executing a drilling project and is one of the biggest problems that need to be tackled during drilling. Synthetic Based Mud (SBM) is the most stable state of the art drilling mud used in current drilling technologies. However, the problem with lost circulation is still inevitable. The focus of this project is to develop a new potential waste material from banana peel in order to combat lost circulation in SBM. Standard industrial Lost Circulation Material (LCM) is used to compare the performance of banana peel as LCM in SBM. The effects of different sizing of banana peels (600 micron, 300 micron and 100 micron) were studied on the rheological and filtration properties of SBM and the bridging performance of banana peel as LCM additive. The tests were conducted using viscometer, HTHP filter press and sand bed tester. Thermal analysis of banana peel was also studied using TGA. According to the results obtained, 300 and 100 micron size of banana peel LCM exhibited an improved bridging performance by 65% as compared to industrial LCM. However, banana peel LCM with the size of 600 micron failed to act as LCM due to the total invasion of mud into the sand bed.

Caracterização da farinha de banana verde Green banana flour characterization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonia de Maria Borges

2009-06-01

Full Text Available O presente trabalho objetivou a obtenção, a caracterização físico-química e o controle microbiológico durante o processamento da farinha de banana (Musa spp. verde, cv. Prata, visando o seu aproveitamento na panificação, produtos dietéticos e alimentos infantis. Para obtenção da farinha, os frutos foram cortados, imersos em metabissulfito de sódio, desidratados e triturados, sendo em seguida, feitas as seguintes determinações: umidade; extrato etéreo; proteína bruta; fibra bruta; cinzas; fração glicídica; amido; valor calórico; pH; acidez total titulável; vitamina C; macrominerais (K, P, Ca, Mg, S e N; microminerais (B, Cu, Mn, Zn e Fe; coliformes a 45 °C; fungos filamentosos e leveduras; Bacillus cereus; Salmonella sp.; Staphylococcus aureus; e contagem de aeróbios mesófilos. Os resultados indicaram que a banana 'Prata' verde é viável para o processo de obtenção da farinha de banana, tendo em vista que é rica em amido, proteína, potássio, fósforo, magnésio, zinco, cobre e tem um alto valor calórico. O pH, a acidez total titulável e a vitamina C estão compatíveis com os valores encontrados em outras farinhas. Quanto ao uso de boas práticas no processamento, a farinha encontra-se dentro do padrão microbiológico ideal e, portanto, está apta para o consumo.The objective of the present study was the physicochemical characterization and the microbiological control during the processing of the green banana flour (Musa spp., Prata cultivar, aiming at the use of the flour in bread-making, dietary products and children's food. To obtain the flour, the fruits were cut, immersed in sodium meta-bisulfite, dehydrated, and ground. The following criteria were determined: humidity; ethereal extract; raw protein; raw fiber; ash; glicidic fraction; starch; caloric value; pH; total titratable acidity; vitamin C; macrominerals (K, P, Ca, Mg, S and N; microminerals (B, Cu, Mn, Zn and Fe; coliforms at 45 °C; filamentous

Systemic Architecture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poletto, Marco; Pasquero, Claudia

-up or tactical design, behavioural space and the boundary of the natural and the artificial realms within the city and architecture. A new kind of "real-time world-city" is illustrated in the form of an operational design manual for the assemblage of proto-architectures, the incubation of proto-gardens...... and the coding of proto-interfaces. These prototypes of machinic architecture materialize as synthetic hybrids embedded with biological life (proto-gardens), computational power, behavioural responsiveness (cyber-gardens), spatial articulation (coMachines and fibrous structures), remote sensing (FUNclouds...

THE ARCHITECTURE OF MULTI-COMPONENT DISTRIBUTED HYBRID EXPERT TRAINING SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Оleh Shevchuk

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The paper reports on the design of a multi-component architecture of distributed hybrid expert training system that can be used for the study of knowledge base of both internal and external expert systems and artificial intelligence systems that are distributed on Internet servers and other computer networks. Expert training system is based on three groups of basic principles: cybernetic, reflecting experience of previous research of systems of artificial intelligence, expert training systems; pedagogical, determining the principles, on which pedagogical design and use of expert training systems are based; psychological, determining preconditious and understanding of pupils psychics, on which the processes of design and use of expert training systems in professional training of future specialists are based.It accounts for the efficient training through the distributed knowledge via the Internet, which greatly increases the didactic capabilities of the system.

REACTION OF Musa balbisiana TO BANANA BACTERIAL WILT ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Prof. Adipala Ekwamu

2Makerere University, Department of Agricultural Production, P. O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda. Corresponding author: kumalfred@gmail.com. (Received 7 February, 2012; accepted 3 September, 2013). ABSTRACT. Banana bacterial wilt (Xanthomonas campestris) is an emerging disease of bananas in Uganda.

Physicochemical characterization of purple banana fiber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goncalves, A.P.B.; Guimaraes, D.H.; Miranda, C.S.; Oliveira, J.C.; Cruz, A.M.F.; Luporini, S.; Jose, N.M.

2014-01-01

Due to the environmental appeal that has grown in recent years, researches involving the use of renewable sources raw materials reaffirm this need. The vegetable fibers has excelled as promising materials with possibilities in different applications. The objective of this work is the evaluation of the physicochemical properties of banana fiber. These fibers were extracted from the banana pseudostem of a species not yet reported in the literature, Musa velutina, known as purple banana. For this experiment were used in natura fibers and processed fibers with NaOH 5% which were characterized by TGA, DSC, DRX and FTIR analysis. In the thermal analysis, both tested fibers showed good thermal properties. In DRX analysis, the processed fibers showed higher crystallinity. The use of these materials implies adding value to an agricultural waste in addition to being a more ecologically correct proposal. (author)

The enhancement of photoresponse of an ordered inorganic-organic hybrid architecture by increasing interfacial contacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Bin; Chen Xudong; Ma Shaohua; Yang Jin; Zhang Mingqiu; Chen Yujie

2010-01-01

A modified ZnO quantum dot/polythiophene (ZnO/PTh) inorganic-organic hybrid architecture was fabricated by using ordered mesoporous silica (SBA-15) as the retaining template. First, a two-step strategy was developed to synthesize an ordered organic conducting polymer composite (PTh/SBA-15). Then, ZnO quantum dots were in situ formed on the pore walls of the ordered PTh/SBA-15 composite. Photoresponse of the inorganic-organic hybrid was studied with respect to its incident photon to collected electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) and morphology. The presence of SBA-15 proved to be critical for controlling the interfacial morphology and hence enlarging the interfacial area of the inorganic-organic heterojunction. The proposed approach may act as a key method to open up potential applications in photovoltaic devices.

The enhancement of photoresponse of an ordered inorganic-organic hybrid architecture by increasing interfacial contacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bin; Chen, Xudong; Ma, Shaohua; Chen, Yujie; Yang, Jin; Zhang, Mingqiu

2010-02-10

A modified ZnO quantum dot/polythiophene (ZnO/PTh) inorganic-organic hybrid architecture was fabricated by using ordered mesoporous silica (SBA-15) as the retaining template. First, a two-step strategy was developed to synthesize an ordered organic conducting polymer composite (PTh/SBA-15). Then, ZnO quantum dots were in situ formed on the pore walls of the ordered PTh/SBA-15 composite. Photoresponse of the inorganic-organic hybrid was studied with respect to its incident photon to collected electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) and morphology. The presence of SBA-15 proved to be critical for controlling the interfacial morphology and hence enlarging the interfacial area of the inorganic-organic heterojunction. The proposed approach may act as a key method to open up potential applications in photovoltaic devices.

banana juice as an alternative energy source for banana in vitro

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ACSS

2015-02-23

Feb 23, 2015 ... Corresponding author: sbmukasa@caes.mak.ac.ug, sbmukasa@yahoo.com ... However, the cost of tissue culture grade energy sources is high, thus making tissue ..... Treatment (banana juice from different Cvs at 50 ml l-1).

A new polymer electrolyte based on a discotic liquid crystal triblock copolymer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoeva, Zlatka; Lu, Zhibao; Ingram, Malcolm D.; Imrie, Corrie T.

2013-01-01

A discotic liquid crystal triblock copolymer consisting of a central main chain triphenylene-based liquid crystal block capped at both ends by blocks of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) (M W = 2000 g mol −1 ) has been doped with lithium perchlorate in an EO:Li 6:1 ratio. The polymer electrolyte exhibits a phase separated morphology consisting of a columnar hexagonal liquid crystal phase and PEO-rich regions. The polymer electrolyte forms self-supporting, solid-like films. The ionic conductivity on initial heating of the sample is very low below ca. 60 °C but increases rapidly above this temperature. This is attributed to the melting of crystalline PEO-rich regions. Crystallisation is suppressed on cooling, and subsequent heating cycles exhibit higher conductivities but still less than those measured for the corresponding lithium perchlorate complex in poly(ethylene glycol) (M W = 2000 g mol −1 ). Instead the triblock copolymer mimics the behaviour of high molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide) (M W = 300,000 g mol −1 ). This is attributed, in part, to the anchoring of the short PEG chains to the liquid crystal block which prevents their diffusion through the sample. Temperature and pressure variations in ion mobility indicate that the ion transport mechanism in the new material is closely related to that in the conventional PEO-based electrolyte, opening up the possibility of engineering enhanced conductivities in future

Ploidy Variation in Hybrids from Interploid 3x X 2x Crosses in Musa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Osuji, JO.

1997-01-01

Full Text Available Hybrids were obtained after in vitro germination of embryos from interploid crosses between triploid 'French' plantain cultivars (Musa spp. AAB group 'Ntanga 2' and 'Bobby Tannap' with diploid banana (Ivlusa acuminata subsp. burmannicoidesj 'Calcutta 4'. Cross-pollinated bunches were harvested at full maturity and ripened with acetylene in a room for 4 days. Seeds were extracted from peeled ripe fruits by squashing. Embryos from the seeds were excised aseptically after 2 days and germinated in vitro. Seedlings were subsequently planted in early evaluation trials after acclimatising in the greenhouse. Chromosome counts were carried out on root tips of mature and maiden suckers to determine ploidy levels using a modified squashing technique. Counts showed that two of the hybrids were aneuploids (trisomies with somatic chromosome number of 2n = 2x + 1 = 23, one hybrid was diploid while the other two were tetraploids. Tetraploids are the most promising hybrids for the genetic improvement of plantains. Diploids are valuable material for further improvement of the plantain genome at this ploidy level. Trisomies provide means for further characterisation of the Musa genome and physical gene mapping in plantain and banana.

Architecture and Stages

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kiib, Hans

2009-01-01

as "experiencescape" - a space between tourism, culture, learning and economy. Strategies related to these challenges involve new architectural concepts and art as ‘engines' for a change. New expressive architecture and old industrial buildings are often combined into hybrid narratives, linking the past...... with the future. But this is not enough. The agenda is to develop architectural spaces, where social interaction and learning are enhanced by art and fun. How can we develop new architectural designs in our inner cities and waterfronts where eventscapes, learning labs and temporal use are merged with everyday...

A high performance 90 nm CMOS SAR ADC with hybrid architecture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tong Xingyuan; Zhu Zhangming; Yang Yintang; Chen Jianming

2010-01-01

A 10-bit 2.5 MS/s SAR A/D converter is presented. In the circuit design, an R-C hybrid architecture D/A converter, pseudo-differential comparison architecture and low power voltage level shifters are utilized. Design challenges and considerations are also discussed. In the layout design, each unit resistor is sided by dummies for good matching performance, and the capacitors are routed with a common-central symmetry method to reduce the nonlin-earity error. This proposed converter is implemented based on 90 nm CMOS logic process. With a 3.3 V analog supply and a 1.0 V digital supply, the differential and integral nonlinearity are measured to be less than 0.36 LSB and 0.69 LSB respectively. With an input frequency of 1.2 MHz at 2.5 MS/s sampling rate, the SFDR and ENOB are measured to be 72.86 dB and 9.43 bits respectively, and the power dissipation is measured to be 6.62 mW including the output drivers. This SAR A/D converter occupies an area of 238 x 214 μm 2 . The design results of this converter show that it is suitable for multi-supply embedded SoC applications. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Genetic architecture of hybrid male sterility in Drosophila: analysis of intraspecies variation for interspecies isolation.

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, Laura K; LaFlamme, Brooke A; Markow, Therese A

2008-08-27

The genetic basis of postzygotic isolation is a central puzzle in evolutionary biology. Evolutionary forces causing hybrid sterility or inviability act on the responsible genes while they still are polymorphic, thus we have to study these traits as they arise, before isolation is complete. Isofemale strains of D. mojavensis vary significantly in their production of sterile F(1) sons when females are crossed to D. arizonae males. We took advantage of the intraspecific polymorphism, in a novel design, to perform quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping analyses directly on F(1) hybrid male sterility itself. We found that the genetic architecture of the polymorphism for hybrid male sterility (HMS) in the F(1) is complex, involving multiple QTL, epistasis, and cytoplasmic effects. The role of extensive intraspecific polymorphism, multiple QTL, and epistatic interactions in HMS in this young species pair shows that HMS is arising as a complex trait in this system. Directional selection alone would be unlikely to maintain polymorphism at multiple loci, thus we hypothesize that directional selection is unlikely to be the only evolutionary force influencing postzygotic isolation.

The Role of Polyploidization and Interspecific Hybridization in the Breeding of Ornamental Crops

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marasek-Ciolakowska, A.; Arens, P.F.P.; Tuyl, van J.M.

2016-01-01

Polyploidy and hybridisation are critical processes in plant evolution and speciation. Many current agricultural crops are either natural or agricultural hybrids or polyploids, including potato, sugarcane, wheat, strawberries, and banana. There is a great deal of potential to utilise these natural

Dynamic mechanical and dielectric behavior of banana–glass hybrid fiber reinforced polyester composites.

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Pothan, LA

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Hybrid composites of glass and banana fiber (obtained from the pseudo stem of Musa sapientum) in polyester matrix, are subjected to dynamic mechanical analysis over a range of temperature and three different frequencies. The effect of temperature...

MECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND ANALYSIS OF RANDOMLY DISTRIBUTED SHORT BANANA FIBER REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. K. Misra

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Short banana fiber reinforced composites have been prepared in laboratory to determine mechanical properties. It has been observed that as soon as the percentage of the banana fiber increases slightly there is a tremendous increase in ultimate tensile strength, % of strain and young modulus of elasticity. Reinforcement of banana fibers in epoxy resin increases stiffness and decreases damping properties of the composites. Therefore, 2.468% banana fiber reinforced composite plate stabilizes early as compared to 7.7135 % banana fiber reinforced composite plate but less stiff as compared to 7.7135 % banana fiber reinforced composite plate

Ethanol production of banana shell and cassava starch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monsalve G, John F; Medina de Perez, Victoria Isabel; Ruiz colorado, Angela Adriana

2006-01-01

In this work the acid hydrolysis of the starch was evaluated in cassava and the cellulose shell banana and its later fermentation to ethanol, the means of fermentation were adjusted for the microorganisms saccharomyces cerevisiae nrrl y-2034 and zymomonas mobilis cp4. The banana shell has been characterized, which possesses a content of starch, cellulose and hemicelluloses that represent more than 80% of the shell deserve the study of this as source of carbon. The acid hydrolysis of the banana shell yield 20g/l reducing sugar was obtained as maximum concentration. For the cassava with 170 g/l of starch to ph 0.8 in 5 hours complete conversion is achieved to you reducing sugars and any inhibitory effect is not noticed on the part of the cultivations carried out with banana shell and cassava by the cyanide presence in the cassava and for the formation of toxic compounds in the acid hydrolysis the cellulose in banana shell. For the fermentation carried out with saccharomyces cerevisiae a concentration of ethanol of 7.92± 0.31% it is achieved and a considerable production of ethanol is not appreciated (smaller than 0.1 g/l) for none of the means fermented with zymomonas mobilis

The Banana Fruit SINA Ubiquitin Ligase MaSINA1 Regulates the Stability of MaICE1 to be Negatively Involved in Cold Stress Response.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Zhong-Qi; Chen, Jian-Ye; Kuang, Jian-Fei; Lu, Wang-Jin; Shan, Wei

2017-01-01

The regulation of ICE1 protein stability is important to ensure effective cold stress response, and is extensively studied in Arabidopsis . Currently, how ICE1 stability in fruits under cold stress is controlled remains largely unknown. Here, we reported the possible involvement of a SEVEN IN ABSENTIA (SINA) ubiquitin ligase MaSINA1 from banana fruit in affecting MaICE1 stability. MaSINA1 was identified based on a yeast two-hybrid screening using MaICE1 as bait. Further yeast two-hybrid, pull-down, bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) and co-immunoprecipitation (CoIP) assays confirmed that MaSINA1 interacted with MaICE1. The expression of MaSINA1 was repressed by cold stress. Subcellular localization analysis in tobacco leaves showed that MaSINA1 was localized predominantly in the nucleus. In vitro ubiquitination assay showed that MaSINA1 possessed E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. More importantly, in vitro and semi- in vivo experiments indicated that MaSINA1 can ubiquitinate MaICE1 for the 26S proteasome-dependent degradation, and therefore suppressed the transcriptional activation of MaICE1 to MaNAC1, an important regulator of cold stress response of banana fruit. Collectively, our data reveal a mechanism in banana fruit for control of the stability of ICE1 and for the negative regulation of cold stress response by a SINA E3 ligase via the ubiquitin proteasome system.

Hydrolysis of alkaline pretreated banana peel

Science.gov (United States)

Fatmawati, A.; Gunawan, K. Y.; Hadiwijaya, F. A.

2017-11-01

Banana peel is one of food wastes that are rich in carbohydrate. This shows its potential as fermentation substrate including bio-ethanol. This paper presented banana peel alkaline pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. The pretreatment was intended to prepare banana peel in order to increase hydrolysis performance. The alkaline pretreatment used 10, 20, and 30% w/v NaOH solution and was done at 60, 70 and 80°C for 1 hour. The hydrolysis reaction was conducted using two commercial cellulose enzymes. The reaction time was varied for 3, 5, and 7 days. The best condition for pretreatment process was one conducted using 30% NaOH solution and at 80°C. This condition resulted in cellulose content of 90.27% and acid insoluble lignin content of 2.88%. Seven-day hydrolysis time had exhibited the highest reducing sugar concentration, which was7.2869 g/L.

Cooking Banana Consumption Patterns in the Plantain-growing Area of Southeastern Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tshiunza, M.

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Cooking bananas (Musa spp., ABB genome were intro-duced into Southeastern Nigeria by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA in the mid-1980s as an interim measure to reduce the incidence of black sigatoka disease (caused by the fungus Mycosphaerel-la fijiensis Morelet on plantain. However, the people of this region were not familiar with their utilisation methods. To address this lack of the knowledge and thereby sustain cooking banana cultivation, IITA, in collaboration with the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC and the Nigeria Agip OU Company (NAOC commenced a training campaign on cooking banana processing methods. This study examined the patterns of utilisation of cooking bananas ten years after the training took place and compared them with plantain. About 95 % of the households interviewed are consuming cooking banana, indicating a broad acceptance of the crop in the region. Overall, two ripening stages termed green and ripe are the most popular ripening stages for the consumption of both plantain and cooking banana, followed by partially ripe maturity stage. The most common forms of consumption for green plantain are, in decreasing order of importance, pottage, boiled, roasted, and fried. Green cooking banana is also mostly eaten in pottage and boiled forms, and less frequently in fried and pounded forms. Ripe plantain is mostly eaten in fried and pottage forms, while ripe cooking banana is mostly eaten in fried and raw forms. Partially ripe plantain is mostly eaten in pottage, fried, boiled, and roasted forms, while partially ripe cooking banana is eaten in fried, pottage and boiled forms. These results indicate that the consumption patterns of plantain and cooking banana are very similar. This similarity has greatly contributed to the rapid integration of cooking banana within the existing plantain consumption and cropping systems.

The influence of gamma irradiation on shelf-life extension of banana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiravat, K.

1971-01-01

Effect of various doses of gamma radiation on shelf-life extension of Hom Tong banana stored at 17 0 C, 20 0 C, and 23 0 C was described. Irradiated banana stored at 20 0 C and 23 0 C did not show any retardation in ripening. Doses from 20-40 Krad appeared to delay ripening of the banana stored at 17 0 C for 3-5 days. No significant difference in weight losses between irradiated and non-irradiated banana was detected during storage

Characterisation of colletotrichum species associated with anthracnose of banana.

Science.gov (United States)

Zakaria, Latiffah; Sahak, Shamsiah; Zakaria, Maziah; Salleh, Baharuddin

2009-12-01

A total of 13 Colletotrichum isolates were obtained from different banana cultivars (Musa spp.) with symptoms of anthracnose. Colletotrichum isolates from anthracnose of guava (Psidium guajava) and water apple (Syzygium aqueum) were also included in this study. Based on cultural and morphological characteristics, isolates from banana and guava were identified as Colletotrichum musae and from water apple as Colletotrichum gloeosporiodes. Isolates of C. musae from banana and guava had similar banding patterns in a randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis with four random primers, and they clustered together in a UPGMA analysis. C. gloeosporiodes from water apple was clustered in a separate cluster. Based on the present study, C. musae was frequently isolated from anthracnose of different banana cultivars and the RAPD banding patterns of C. musae isolates were highly similar but showed intraspecific variations.

Marketing de banana: preferências do consumidor quanto aos atributos de qualidade dos frutos Marketing of banana: consumer preferences relating to fruit quality attributes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando César Akira Urbano Matsuura

2004-04-01

Full Text Available O Brasil produz aproximadamente seis milhões de toneladas por ano de banana (Musa spp., com consumo médio da ordem de 35 kg/ habitante / ano. A aceitação da banana deve-se, principalmente, a seus aspectos sensoriais, valor nutricional e conveniência. A identificação das necessidades e desejos dos clientes consiste em uma atividade crítica do marketing. O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de pesquisar as preferências do consumidor de um mercado local (município de Cruz das Almas - Estado da Bahia considerando os atributos de qualidade dos frutos frescos de banana madura. A metodologia utilizada foi a da pesquisa descritiva por método estatístico. Os dados foram coletados por questionário, na forma de entrevista pessoal com 400 pessoas. Os atributos de qualidade (variáveis questionados e avaliados foram relacionados com a aparência, cor, textura, aroma, sabor e vida útil esperada dos frutos de banana. De acordo com a preferência dos consumidores entrevistados, o fruto de banana maduro ideal deve apresentar características como: penca contendo 10 a 12 dedos (frutos, dedos de tamanho médio ou grande, diâmetro médio, quina presente, ausência de pintas pretas na casca, cor da polpa amarelo-clara ou média, textura firme, aroma e sabor de intensidade média, mediamente doce e vida útil de 7 a 10 dias em condição ambiente. O sabor, vida útil e aparência dos frutos de banana são considerados os mais importantes atributos na escolha ou compra da banana, segundo os consumidores entrevistados.Brazil has an approximate production of six million annual tons of banana (Musa spp., with a consumption close to 35 kg / inhabitant / year. The acceptance of the banana fruit is due, mainly, to its sensorial aspects, nutritional value and convenience. The identification of the customers' needs and desires consists of a critical activity of the marketing. The objective of this work was to research the consumer preferences of a local market (Cruz

Comparative Genomics of the Sigatoka Disease Complex on Banana Suggests a Link between Parallel Evolutionary Changes in Pseudocercospora fijiensis and Pseudocercospora eumusae and Increased Virulence on the Banana Host.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ti-Cheng Chang

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The Sigatoka disease complex, caused by the closely-related Dothideomycete fungi Pseudocercospora musae (yellow sigatoka, Pseudocercospora eumusae (eumusae leaf spot, and Pseudocercospora fijiensis (black sigatoka, is currently the most devastating disease on banana worldwide. The three species emerged on bananas from a recent common ancestor and show clear differences in virulence, with P. eumusae and P. fijiensis considered the most aggressive. In order to understand the genomic modifications associated with shifts in the species virulence spectra after speciation, and to identify their pathogenic core that can be exploited in disease management programs, we have sequenced and analyzed the genomes of P. eumusae and P. musae and compared them with the available genome sequence of P. fijiensis. Comparative analysis of genome architectures revealed significant differences in genome size, mainly due to different rates of LTR retrotransposon proliferation. Still, gene counts remained relatively equal and in the range of other Dothideomycetes. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on a set of 46 conserved single-copy genes strongly supported an earlier evolutionary radiation of P. fijiensis from P. musae and P. eumusae. However, pairwise analyses of gene content indicated that the more virulent P. eumusae and P. fijiensis share complementary patterns of expansions and contractions in core gene families related to metabolism and enzymatic degradation of plant cell walls, suggesting that the evolution of virulence in these two pathogens has, to some extent, been facilitated by convergent changes in metabolic pathways associated with nutrient acquisition and assimilation. In spite of their common ancestry and shared host-specificity, the three species retain fairly dissimilar repertoires of effector proteins, suggesting that they likely evolved different strategies for manipulating the host immune system. Finally, 234 gene families, including seven

Comparative Genomics of the Sigatoka Disease Complex on Banana Suggests a Link between Parallel Evolutionary Changes in Pseudocercospora fijiensis and Pseudocercospora eumusae and Increased Virulence on the Banana Host.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Ti-Cheng; Salvucci, Anthony; Crous, Pedro W; Stergiopoulos, Ioannis

2016-08-01

The Sigatoka disease complex, caused by the closely-related Dothideomycete fungi Pseudocercospora musae (yellow sigatoka), Pseudocercospora eumusae (eumusae leaf spot), and Pseudocercospora fijiensis (black sigatoka), is currently the most devastating disease on banana worldwide. The three species emerged on bananas from a recent common ancestor and show clear differences in virulence, with P. eumusae and P. fijiensis considered the most aggressive. In order to understand the genomic modifications associated with shifts in the species virulence spectra after speciation, and to identify their pathogenic core that can be exploited in disease management programs, we have sequenced and analyzed the genomes of P. eumusae and P. musae and compared them with the available genome sequence of P. fijiensis. Comparative analysis of genome architectures revealed significant differences in genome size, mainly due to different rates of LTR retrotransposon proliferation. Still, gene counts remained relatively equal and in the range of other Dothideomycetes. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on a set of 46 conserved single-copy genes strongly supported an earlier evolutionary radiation of P. fijiensis from P. musae and P. eumusae. However, pairwise analyses of gene content indicated that the more virulent P. eumusae and P. fijiensis share complementary patterns of expansions and contractions in core gene families related to metabolism and enzymatic degradation of plant cell walls, suggesting that the evolution of virulence in these two pathogens has, to some extent, been facilitated by convergent changes in metabolic pathways associated with nutrient acquisition and assimilation. In spite of their common ancestry and shared host-specificity, the three species retain fairly dissimilar repertoires of effector proteins, suggesting that they likely evolved different strategies for manipulating the host immune system. Finally, 234 gene families, including seven putative effectors, were

Lipophilic extracts from banana fruit residues: a source of valuable phytosterols.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Lúcia; Freire, Carmen S R; Silvestre, Armando J D; Cordeiro, Nereida

2008-10-22

The chemical composition of the lipophilic extracts of unripe pulp and peel of banana fruit 'Dwarf Cavendish' was studied by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Fatty acids, sterols, and steryl esters are the major families of lipophilic components present in banana tissues, followed by diacylglycerols, steryl glucosides, long chain fatty alcohols, and aromatic compounds. Fatty acids are more abundant in the banana pulp (29-90% of the total amount of lipophilic extract), with linoleic, linolenic, and oleic acids as the major compounds of this family. In banana peel, sterols represent about 49-71% of the lipophilic extract with two triterpenic ketones (31-norcyclolaudenone and cycloeucalenone) as the major components. The detection of high amounts of steryl esters (469-24405 mg/kg) and diacylglycerols (119-878 mg/kg), mainly present in the banana peel extract, explains the increase in the abundance of fatty acids and sterols after alkaline hydrolysis. Several steryl glucosides were also found in significative amounts (273-888 mg/kg), particularly in banana pulp (888 mg/kg). The high content of sterols (and their derivatives) in the 'Dwarf Cavendish' fruit can open new strategies for the valorization of the banana residues as a potential source of high-value phytochemicals with nutraceutical and functional food additive applications.

Comparative analysis of pigments in red and yellow banana fruit.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Xiumin; Cheng, Sihua; Liao, Yinyin; Huang, Bingzhi; Du, Bing; Zeng, Wei; Jiang, Yueming; Duan, Xuewu; Yang, Ziyin

2018-01-15

Color is an important characteristic determining the fruit value. Although ripe bananas usually have yellow peels, several banana cultivars have red peels. As details of the pigments in banana fruits are unknown, we investigated these pigments contents and compositions in the peel and pulp of red cultivar 'Hongjiaowang' and yellow cultivar 'Baxijiao' by UPLC-PDA-QTOF-MS and HPLC-PDA techniques. The 'Hongjiaowang' peel color was mainly determined by the presence of anthocyanin-containing epidermal cells. Rutinoside derivatives of cyanidin, peonidin, petunidin, and malvidin were unique to the red peel, and possibly responsible for the red color. 'Hongjiaowang' contained higher total content of carotenoids than 'Baxijiao' in both pulp and peel. Lutein, α-carotene, and β-carotene were main carotenoids, which might play a more important role than flavonoids in producing the yellow banana color owing to the properties and distribution in the fruit. The information will help us understand a complete profile of pigments in banana. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Farmer acceptance of introduced banana genotypes in Uganda ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The same cultivars were acceptable mainly as dessert but also as cooking bananas during food shortages in central and western parts, especially, in areas where the growing of traditional cultivars is progressively declining. There was little interest in the new bananas in western parts of the country. Major considerations for ...

Effects of relative humidity on banana fruit drop

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Saengpook, C.; Ketsa, S.; Doorn, van W.G.

2007-01-01

Commercial ripening of banana fruit occurs at high relative humidity (RH), which prevents browning of damaged skin areas. In experiments with ripening at high RH (94 ± 1%) the individual fruit (fingers) of `Sucrier¿ (Musa acuminata, AA Group) banana exhibited a high rate of drop. The falling off of

Visually suboptimal bananas: How ripeness affects consumer expectation and perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Symmank, Claudia; Zahn, Susann; Rohm, Harald

2018-01-01

One reason for the significant amount of food that is wasted in developed countries is that consumers often expect visually suboptimal food as being less palatable. Using bananas as example, the objective of this study was to determine how appearance affects consumer overall liking, the rating of sensory attributes, purchase intention, and the intended use of bananas. The ripeness degree (RD) of the samples was adjusted to RD 5 (control) and RD 7 (more ripened, visually suboptimal). After preliminary experiments, a total of 233 participants were asked to judge their satisfaction with the intensity of sensory attributes that referred to flavor, taste, and texture using just-about-right scales. Subjects who received peeled samples were asked after tasting, whereas subjects who received unpeeled bananas judged expectation and, after peeling and tasting, perception. Expected overall liking and purchase intention were significantly lower for RD 7 bananas. Purchase intention was still significantly different between RD 5 and RD 7 after tasting, whereas no difference in overall liking was observed. Significant differences between RD 5 and RD 7 were observed when asking participants for their intended use of the bananas. Concerning the sensory attributes, penalty analysis revealed that only the firmness of the RD 7 bananas was still not just-about-right after tasting. The importance that consumers attribute to the shelf-life of food had a pronounced impact on purchase intention of bananas with different ripeness degree. In the case of suboptimal bananas, the results demonstrate a positive relationship between the sensory perception and overall liking and purchase intention. Convincing consumers that visually suboptimal food is still tasty is of high relevance for recommending different ways of communication. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Architectural Narratives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kiib, Hans

2010-01-01

a functional framework for these concepts, but tries increasingly to endow the main idea of the cultural project with a spatially aesthetic expression - a shift towards “experience architecture.” A great number of these projects typically recycle and reinterpret narratives related to historical buildings......In this essay, I focus on the combination of programs and the architecture of cultural projects that have emerged within the last few years. These projects are characterized as “hybrid cultural projects,” because they intend to combine experience with entertainment, play, and learning. This essay...... and architectural heritage; another group tries to embed new performative technologies in expressive architectural representation. Finally, this essay provides a theoretical framework for the analysis of the political rationales of these projects and for the architectural representation bridges the gap between...

Unfolding energetics and stability of banana lectin.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Garima; Sinha, Sharmistha; Surolia, Avadhesha

2008-08-01

The unfolding pathway of banana lectin from Musa paradisiaca was determined by isothermal denaturation induced by the chaotrope GdnCl. The unfolding was found to be a reversible process. The data obtained by isothermal denaturation provided information on conformational stability of banana lectin. The high values of DeltaG of unfolding at various temperatures indicated the strength of intersubunit interactions. It was found that banana lectin is a very stable and denatures at high chaotrope concentrations only. The basis of the stability may be attributed to strong hydrogen bonds of the order 2.5-3.1 A at the dimeric interface along with the presence of water bridges. This is perhaps very unique example in proteins where subunit association is not a consequence of the predominance of hydrophobic interactions. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Production of bioethanol using agricultural waste: banana pseudo stem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Snehal Ingale

2014-09-01

Full Text Available India is amongst the largest banana (Musa acuminata producing countries and thus banana pseudo stem is commonly available agricultural waste to be used as lignocellulosic substrate. Present study focuses on exploitation of banana pseudo stem as a source for bioethanol production from the sugars released due to different chemical and biological pretreatments. Two fungal strains Aspergillus ellipticus and Aspergillus fumigatus reported to be producing cellulolytic enzymes on sugarcane bagasse were used under co-culture fermentation on banana pseudo stem to degrade holocellulose and facilitate maximum release of reducing sugars. The hydrolysate obtained after alkali and microbial treatments was fermented by Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCIM 3570 to produce ethanol. Fermentation of cellulosic hydrolysate (4.1 g% gave maximum ethanol (17.1 g/L with yield (84% and productivity (0.024 g%/h after 72 h. Some critical aspects of fungal pretreatment for saccharification of cellulosic substrate using A. ellipticus and A. fumigatus for ethanol production by S. cerevisiae NCIM 3570 have been explored in this study. It was observed that pretreated banana pseudo stem can be economically utilized as a cheaper substrate for ethanol production.

Production and evaluation of precooked dehydrated unripe banana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

No significant change in total aerobic counts or yeasts and moulds counts occurred in dehydrated banana slices packaged in 250 gauge polyethylene bags and stored at ambient temperature for 3 months. The slices were found to be high in starch (~68.5%) and minerals. When shallow fried, the dehydrated banana slices ...

Avaliação de genótipos de banana à sigatoca-amarela na amazônia ocidental Evaluation of the bananas genotypes to yellow sigatoka in ocidental amazon

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Amauri Siviero

2002-12-01

Full Text Available A resistência de genótipos de banana em relação à Mycosphaerella musicola foi avaliada em condições naturais de infecção. Foram avaliadas 24 plantas de cada genótipo. As cultivares 'Pacovan' e 'Prata-anã' atuaram como fonte de inóculo do patógeno. A avaliação da doença foi realizada com uso de uma escala de notas variando de 1 (plantas sem sintomas até 8 (folhas velhas e novas com sintomas, obtendo-se o índice de doença pela média ponderada das notas. As cultivares 'Mysore' e 'Nam' e o híbrido 'PA 12-03' foram classificados como suscetíveis ao patógeno. Os demais genótipos 'Yangambi km5', 'Thap Maeo', 'Pelipita', 'Pioneira', 'JV 03-15' e 'PV 03-44' foram classificados como resistentes ao patógeno.The reactions of hybrids and cultivars of banana were evaluated in response to Mycosphaerella musicola in field conditions. A total of twenty-four plants of each genotype were evaluated using 'Pacovan' and 'Prata-anã' cultivars as the source pathogen. The disease response was ranged from 1 to 8, where 1 represented a weak attack with few or no symptoms and 8 when lesions were observed both in young and old leaves. Disease index (DI was calculated for each genotype by multiplying the number of plant with the same scoring by the score and dividing the total by 24 (total mumber of one genotypes. The highest DIs were verified for susceptible genotypes, 'Nam', 'Mysore' and hybrid 'PA 12-03'. 'Yangambi km5', 'Thap Maeo', 'Pelipita', 'Pioneira', 'JV 03-15' and 'PV 03-44' were classified as resistant in our test.

Value-adding post harvest processing of cooking bananas (Musa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Yomi

2010-12-29

Dec 29, 2010 ... It is estimated that more than 30% of the banana production are lost after harvest. The losses .... nutritional qualities are important factors in the production of banana flour and ..... Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria, VII, p. 166.

Cultural control of banana weevils in Ntungamo, southwestern Uganda

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Okech, S.H.; Gold, C.S.; Bagamba, F.; Masanza, M.; Tushemereirwe, W.; Ssennyonga, J.

2005-01-01

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the Uganda National Banana Research Programme tested and evaluated selected cultural management options for the banana weevil through on-farm farmer participatory research in Ntungamo district, Uganda between 1996 and 003. A farmer adoption

Biomass waste-to-energy valorisation technologies: a review case for banana processing in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Gumisiriza, Robert; Hawumba, Joseph Funa; Okure, Mackay; Hensel, Oliver

2017-01-01

Uganda's banana industry is heavily impeded by the lack of cheap, reliable and sustainable energy mainly needed for processing of banana fruit into pulp and subsequent drying into chips before milling into banana flour that has several uses in the bakery industry, among others. Uganda has one of the lowest electricity access levels, estimated at only 2-3% in rural areas where most of the banana growing is located. In addition, most banana farmers have limited financial capacity to access modern solar energy technologies that can generate sufficient energy for industrial processing. Besides energy scarcity and unreliability, banana production, marketing and industrial processing generate large quantities of organic wastes that are disposed of majorly by unregulated dumping in places such as swamps, thereby forming huge putrefying biomass that emit green house gases (methane and carbon dioxide). On the other hand, the energy content of banana waste, if harnessed through appropriate waste-to-energy technologies, would not only solve the energy requirement for processing of banana pulp, but would also offer an additional benefit of avoiding fossil fuels through the use of renewable energy. The potential waste-to-energy technologies that can be used in valorisation of banana waste can be grouped into three: Thermal (Direct combustion and Incineration), Thermo-chemical (Torrefaction, Plasma treatment, Gasification and Pyrolysis) and Biochemical (Composting, Ethanol fermentation and Anaerobic Digestion). However, due to high moisture content of banana waste, direct application of either thermal or thermo-chemical waste-to-energy technologies is challenging. Although, supercritical water gasification does not require drying of feedstock beforehand and can be a promising thermo-chemical technology for gasification of wet biomass such as banana waste, it is an expensive technology that may not be adopted by banana farmers in Uganda. Biochemical conversion technologies are

Preliminary evaluation of improved banana varieties in Mozambique ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Banana (Musa spp.) production in Mozambique is largely confined to the Cavendish variety that is eaten as a dessert. On the other hand, banana is a staple food crop in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The introduction of a range of high yielding and disease resistant cooking and dessert varieties in Mozambique ...

Genetic architecture of hybrid male sterility in Drosophila: analysis of intraspecies variation for interspecies isolation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura K Reed

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The genetic basis of postzygotic isolation is a central puzzle in evolutionary biology. Evolutionary forces causing hybrid sterility or inviability act on the responsible genes while they still are polymorphic, thus we have to study these traits as they arise, before isolation is complete. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Isofemale strains of D. mojavensis vary significantly in their production of sterile F(1 sons when females are crossed to D. arizonae males. We took advantage of the intraspecific polymorphism, in a novel design, to perform quantitative trait locus (QTL mapping analyses directly on F(1 hybrid male sterility itself. We found that the genetic architecture of the polymorphism for hybrid male sterility (HMS in the F(1 is complex, involving multiple QTL, epistasis, and cytoplasmic effects. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The role of extensive intraspecific polymorphism, multiple QTL, and epistatic interactions in HMS in this young species pair shows that HMS is arising as a complex trait in this system. Directional selection alone would be unlikely to maintain polymorphism at multiple loci, thus we hypothesize that directional selection is unlikely to be the only evolutionary force influencing postzygotic isolation.

Effect of Banana Stalk Organic Fertilizer on the Growth of Chinese Cabbage

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Zheli; DING; Lina; HAN; Zhiqiang; JIN; Bizun; WANG; Huicai; ZENG; Wei; ZHENG; Yingdui; HE; Xiaoping; ZANG

2016-01-01

In order to solve the problem of waste disposal after banana harvest,we use banana stalk to produce banana stalk organic fertilizer,through a plot experiment. We compare the influence of normal organic fertilizer( Wanlubao) and banana stalk organic fertilizer as base fertilizers on Chinese cabbage growth,and evaluate the economic benefits of banana stalk organic fertilizer. The results show that organic fertilizer has little effect on water content and nutrient content of Chinese cabbage,but has significant effect on plant height and leaf width. Using organic fertilizer can increase the production of Chinese cabbage by 22. 50%- 43. 10%. With 6750 kg / ha normal organic fertilizer,Chinese cabbage gets the highest yield,which reaches 30135 kg / ha,followed by the treatment of 6750 kg / ha stalk organic fertilizer. At farmers’ conventional fertilization level( 4500 kg / ha),stalk organic fertilizer can increase the yield by more than 3. 50% in comparison with the normal organic fertilizer,and the economic benefit increases by 1800 yuan / ha. As a kind of banana waste cycling product,banana stalk organic fertilizer is of low cost and good effect,and can be used instead of normal organic fertilizer.

A Hybrid Multilevel Storage Architecture for Electric Power Dispatching Big Data

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Hu; Huang, Bibin; Hong, Bowen; Hu, Jing

2017-10-01

Electric power dispatching is the center of the whole power system. In the long run time, the power dispatching center has accumulated a large amount of data. These data are now stored in different power professional systems and form lots of information isolated islands. Integrating these data and do comprehensive analysis can greatly improve the intelligent level of power dispatching. In this paper, a hybrid multilevel storage architecture for electrical power dispatching big data is proposed. It introduces relational database and NoSQL database to establish a power grid panoramic data center, effectively meet power dispatching big data storage needs, including the unified storage of structured and unstructured data fast access of massive real-time data, data version management and so on. It can be solid foundation for follow-up depth analysis of power dispatching big data.

Hybrid Three-Phase/Single-Phase Microgrid Architecture with Power Management Capabilities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sun, Qiuye; Zhou, Jianguo; Guerrero, Josep M.

2015-01-01

With the fast proliferation of single-phase distributed generation (DG) units and loads integrated into residential microgrids, independent power sharing per phase and full use of the energy generated by DGs have become crucial. To address these issues, this paper proposes a hybrid microgrid...... architecture and its power management strategy. In this microgrid structure, a power sharing unit (PSU), composed of three single-phase back-to-back (SPBTB) converters, is proposed to be installed at the point of common coupling (PCC). The aim of the PSU is mainly to realize the power exchange and coordinated...... control of load power sharing among phases, as well as to allow fully utilization of the energy generated by DGs. Meanwhile, the method combining the modified adaptive backstepping-sliding mode control approach and droop control is also proposed to design the SPBTB system controllers. With the application...

Genetic Diversity Among East African Highland Bananas For ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

There are 84 distinct cultivars of highland bananas (Musa spp.) in Uganda, grouped in five clone sets and it is not known which among these are female fertile. The objective of the study reported herein was to identify female fertile highland bananas that can be used in a cross breeding program and to determine the ...

A Simple Diffraction Experiment Using Banana Stem as a Natural Grating

Science.gov (United States)

Aji, Mahardika Prasetya; Karunawan, Jotti; Chasanah, Widyastuti Rochimatun; Nursuhud, Puji Iman; Wiguna, Pradita Ajeng; Sulhadi

2017-01-01

A simple diffraction experiment was designed using banana stem as natural grating. Coherent beams of lasers with wavelengths of 632.8 nm and 532 nm that pass through banana stem produce periodic diffraction patterns on a screen. The diffraction experiments were able to measure the distances between the slit of the banana stem, i.e. d = (28.76 ±…

Ky'osimba Onaanya: Understanding Productivity of East African Highland Banana

OpenAIRE

Taulya, G.

2016-01-01

Over 30 million people in East Africa depend on East African highland bananas for food and income. The bananas are grown with limited additions of nutrients and no irrigation, despite widespread poor soil fertility and regular dry seasons. This thesis describes the effect of increasing rainfall and application of potassium and nitrogen fertilizers on banana growth and yields. In areas that receive less than 1100 mm of rainfall per year, additional rainfall increases yields by 65%. Application...

Physicochemical evaluation of cooking and dessert bananas (Musa sp.) varieties

OpenAIRE

Rosales-Reynoso, O. Lidia; Agama-Acevedo, Edith; Aguirre-Cruz, Andres; Bello-Perez, Luis A.; Dufour, Dominique; Gibert, Olivier

2014-01-01

In México, banana (Musa sp.) varieties ate used for human consumption as well as for traditional medicine, but the literature lacks information on local diversity and functional justification for their use. Three varieties of dessert bananas (Valery, Morado, and Enano) and one cooking banana (Macho) were collected in a commercial farm in Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, México, at the agronomic maturity stage, and they were physically and chemically evaluated. A random sampling, ANOVA, and Tukey tests were ...

Chemical and physical characterization of Musa sepientum and Musa balbisiana fibers of banana tree

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albinante, Sandra R.; Pacheco, Elen B.A.V.; Visconte, Leila L.Y.; Batista, Luciano do N.

2011-01-01

This study aimed to characterize the fibers of cavendish and silver banana trunks (Musa sepientum and Musa balbisiana, respectively) concerning their density, lignin and moisture contents, and chemical structure by using the techniques of infrared spectroscopy and low field solid state nuclear magnetic resonance, NMR. From NMR analysis, it was possible to observe the morphological differences between cavendish and silver types of banana fibers. FTIR technique did not allow the observation of any important difference in the banana fibers spectra. The cavendish banana fiber showed higher moisture and lignin contents than the silver banana fiber The NMR technique showed that relaxation times for silver banana fiber were higher than those for cavendish banana fiber, which can be credited to the lower moisture content values found in the silver fibers. (author)

Urban consumer willingness to pay for introduced dessert bananas ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... therefore have a market potential. It is recommended that market development activities including organising and training farmers in improved agronomic methods, handling bananas for local markets; and promotional studies of the introduced dessert bananas among the urban consumers be done to widen their demand.

Impact test on natural fiber reinforced polymer composite materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Chandramohan

2013-06-01

Full Text Available In this research, natural fibers like Sisal (Agave sisalana, Banana (Musa sepientum & Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa , Sisal and banana (hybrid , Roselle and banana (hybrid and Roselle and sisal (hybrid are fabricated with bio epoxy resin using molding method. In this work, impact strength of Sisal and banana (hybrid, Roselle and banana (hybridand Roselle and sisal (hybrid composite at dry and wet conditions were studied. Impact test were conducted izod impact testing machine. In this work micro structure of the specimens are scanned by the Scanning Electron Microscope.

Chemical Composition, Nutritive and Energetic Value of Plantain (Musa ssp. Hybrids CRBP 14, CRBP 39, FHIA 17, FHIA 21and Orishele Variety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Coulibaly, S.

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Chemical characteristics as well as contents in main components such as dry matter, sugars, lipids proteins and some minerals were determined in four banana hybrids CRBP 14, CRBP 39, FHIA 17, FHIA 21 and Orishele variety (used as control. Titrable acidity, pH, and calorific energy of these various cultivars of banana (Musa ssp. were also determined. The results indicated that Orishele variety had the highest content of dry matter, total carbohydrate and potassium. On the other hand, CRBP 39 hybrid which had the highest total acidity was the richest in total sugars and was the most energetic. Concerning FHIA 17, it contained the highest amount of proteins, lipids, magnesium, calcium and iron.

Lipophilic phytochemicals from banana fruits of several Musa species.

Science.gov (United States)

Vilela, Carla; Santos, Sónia A O; Villaverde, Juan J; Oliveira, Lúcia; Nunes, Alberto; Cordeiro, Nereida; Freire, Carmen S R; Silvestre, Armando J D

2014-11-01

The chemical composition of the lipophilic extract of ripe pulp of banana fruit from several banana cultivars belonging to the Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana species (namely 'Chinese Cavendish', 'Giant Cavendish', 'Dwarf Red', 'Grand Nain', 'Eilon', 'Gruesa', 'Silver', 'Ricasa', 'Williams' and 'Zelig') was studied by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the first time. The banana cultivars showed similar amounts of lipophilic extractives (ca. 0.4% of dry material weight) as well as qualitative chemical compositions. The major groups of compounds identified in these fractions were fatty acids and sterols making up 68.6-84.3% and 11.1-28.0%, respectively, of the total amount of lipophilic components. Smaller amounts of long chain aliphatic alcohols and α-tocopherol were also identified. These results are a relevant contribution for the valorisation of these banana cultivars as sources of valuable phytochemicals (ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids, and sterols) with well-established beneficial nutritional and health effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cereal bars produced with banana peel flour: evaluation of acceptability and sensory profile.

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, Vania Silva; Conti-Silva, Ana Carolina

2018-01-01

A mixture design was used to investigate the effects of banana peel flour, rice flakes and oat flour on sensory acceptability of cereal bars, with subsequent evaluation of sensory profile of products identified as having high acceptability. Regions of greater response for acceptability of the cereal bars, which are dependent on the three investigated components, were found. Although having good acceptability, sensory profiles of cereal bars were different. A cereal bar with the lowest quantity of banana peel flour was described as having a higher amount of rice flakes, chewiness and crispness, while formulations with intermediate and highest quantities of banana peel flour were described by darker color, higher banana aroma and bitter taste. Contrary to expectations, banana flavor of cereal bar with highest quantity of banana peel flour was lower than cereal bars with intermediate quantities. Cereal bars were not different in terms of hardness and adhesiveness and they also had a similar sweet taste and oat flavor. The use of banana peel flour in production of cereal bars is feasible and, even with different sensory profiles, cereal bars with banana peel flour are acceptable, which may favor the development of new products for different market niches. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Determinants of market production of cooking banana in Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The factors that influence farmers' decisions to produce cooking banana for market in southeast Nigeria were examined. Data were collected from a ... Results of the study indicate that about 80% of the farmers interviewed produce cooking banana both for household consumption and for sale. The proportion of cooking ...

Banana Cultivar Mapping and Constraints Identification With Farmers in Southwest Kenya

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onyago, M.; Makworo, S.; Njue, E.; Rees, D.

1999-01-01

Southwest Kenya is one of the major banana growing ares of Kenya and contributes about 40% of the country's production. Banana is an important crop in Kenya providing the small-scale resource poor farmers with food and the much-needed income. In southwest Kenya, Banana is a priority crop that is grown in a wide range of farms from backyard gardens to medium farms. Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRP) and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) were conducted between January, 1996 and December 1997. The overall objective was to identify major constraints in specific areas, rank them with farmers and determine suitable interventions. The RRA and PRA revealed that farmers grow banana as a pure stand, intercropped with crops like maize, beans and groundnuts, in addition along the contour lines for soil conservation purpose. Diverse banana cultivars are grown in the region, of which some are localised while others are widespread. The major cultivars grown include 'Ekeganda', Kisukari', 'Ng'ombe' and 'Pisang Awak'. Pisang Awak was found prevalent in drier areas of Kendu Bay (LM 3 ) and very cold areas of Bomet (LH 1 ). Ekeganda is the most popular cooking type while Kisukari is a dessert type and is the second most popular banana cultivar in the region. Some of the constraints cut across the AEZs and include a complex of pests and diseases, poor orchard management, soil exhaustion because of land pressure, lack of superior cultivars and socioeconomic factors such as poor infrastructure. Panama disease, nematodes and banana weevil are prevalent at the medium and lower AEZs while moles are menace in the upper midlands and highland areas. To address some of the major constraints, on-farm banana cultivar evaluation trials were initiated in four AEZs namely LM 3-4 , LH 1 , UM 1 and LM 2 , respectively. Monitoring and evaluation of these cultivars by both researchers, extension and farmers is on-going

Detection of banana streak virus (BSV) Tamil Nadu isolate (India ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Yomi

2012-10-09

641 003, Tamil Nadu, India. 2Department of Fruit Crops, ... Hence, attempts were made for diagnosis of BSV and to study the serological relationship with ... Among the five virus diseases of banana, disease caused by banana ...

Tissue culture regeneration and radiation induced mutagenesis in banana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulkarni, V.M.; Ganapathi, T.R.

2009-01-01

Radiation induced mutagenesis is an important tool for banana genetic improvement. At BARC, protocols for shoo-tip multiplication of commercial banana varieties have been developed and transferred to user agencies for commercial production. Excellent embryogenic cell suspensions were established in banana cvs. Rasthali and Rajeli, and were maintained at low temperatures for long-term storage. Normal plantlets were successfully regenerated from these cell suspensions. The cell suspensions and shoot-tip cultures were gamma-irradiated for mutagenesis. The mutagenized populations were field screened and a few interesting mutants have been isolated. The existence of genetic variation was confirmed using DNA markers. Further evaluation of these mutants is in progress. (author)

Ethical perception of human gene in transgenic banana | Amin ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Transgenic banana has been developed to prevent hepatitis B through vaccination. Its production seems to be an ideal alternative for cheaper vaccines. The objective of this paper is to assess the ethical perception of transgenic banana which involved the transfer of human albumin gene, and to compare their ethical ...

Small scale banana farmers' awareness level and adoption of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Descriptive statistics and binary logit regression were employed for data analyses. The results show that although majority of the farmers (96.67%) were aware of and had access to improved banana varieties, only 15.83% of them adopted the use of improved planting materials. Gros mitchel, Cavendish and sweet bananas ...

Molecular Characterization of Geographically Different Banana bunchy top virus Isolates in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Selvarajan, R; Mary Sheeba, M; Balasubramanian, V; Rajmohan, R; Dhevi, N Lakshmi; Sasireka, T

2010-10-01

Banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) caused by Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) is one of the most devastating diseases of banana and poses a serious threat for cultivars like Hill Banana (Syn: Virupakshi) and Grand Naine in India. In this study, we have cloned and sequenced the complete genome comprised of six DNA components of BBTV infecting Hill Banana grown in lower Pulney hills, Tamil Nadu State, India. The complete genome sequence of this hill banana isolate showed high degree of similarity with the corresponding sequences of BBTV isolates originating from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh State, India, and from Fiji, Egypt, Pakistan, and Australia. In addition, sixteen coat protein (CP) and thirteen replicase genes (Rep) sequences of BBTV isolates collected from different banana growing states of India were cloned and sequenced. The replicase sequences of 13 isolates showed high degree of similarity with that of South Pacific group of BBTV isolates. However, the CP gene of BBTV isolates from Shervroy and Kodaikanal hills of Tamil Nadu showed higher amino acid sequence variability compared to other isolates. Another hill banana isolate from Meghalaya state had 23 nucleotide substitutions in the CP gene but the amino acid sequence was conserved. This is the first report of the characterization of a complete genome of BBTV occurring in the high altitudes of India. Our study revealed that the Indian BBTV isolates with distinct geographical origins belongs to the South Pacific group, except Shervroy and Kodaikanal hill isolates which neither belong to the South Pacific nor the Asian group.

Phylogeny of Banana Streak Virus reveals recent and repetitive endogenization in the genome of its banana host (Musa sp.).

Science.gov (United States)

Gayral, Philippe; Iskra-Caruana, Marie-Line

2009-07-01

Banana streak virus (BSV) is a plant dsDNA pararetrovirus (family Caulimoviridae, genus badnavirus). Although integration is not an essential step in the BSV replication cycle, the nuclear genome of banana (Musa sp.) contains BSV endogenous pararetrovirus sequences (BSV EPRVs). Some BSV EPRVs are infectious by reconstituting a functional viral genome. Recent studies revealed a large molecular diversity of episomal BSV viruses (i.e., nonintegrated) while others focused on BSV EPRV sequences only. In this study, the evolutionary history of badnavirus integration in banana was inferred from phylogenetic relationships between BSV and BSV EPRVs. The relative evolution rates and selective pressures (d(N)/d(S) ratio) were also compared between endogenous and episomal viral sequences. At least 27 recent independent integration events occurred after the divergence of three banana species, indicating that viral integration is a recent and frequent phenomenon. Relaxation of selective pressure on badnaviral sequences that experienced neutral evolution after integration in the plant genome was recorded. Additionally, a significant decrease (35%) in the EPRV evolution rate was observed compared to BSV, reflecting the difference in the evolution rate between episomal dsDNA viruses and plant genome. The comparison of our results with the evolution rate of the Musa genome and other reverse-transcribing viruses suggests that EPRVs play an active role in episomal BSV diversity and evolution.

32-Channel banana-avg montage is better than 16-channel double banana montage to detect epileptiform discharges in routine EEGs.

Science.gov (United States)

Ochoa, Juan; Gonzalez, Walter; Bautista, Ramon; DeCerce, John

2008-10-01

We designed a study, comparing the yield of standard 16-channel longitudinal bipolar montage (double banana) versus a combined 32-channel longitudinal bipolar plus average referential montage (banana-plus), to detect epileptic abnormalities. We selected 25 consecutive routine EEG samples with a diagnosis of spike or sharp waves in the temporal regions and 25 consecutive focal slowing and 50 normal EEGs. A total of 100 samples were printed in both montages and randomized for reading. Thirty independent EEG readers blinded from the EEG diagnosis were invited to participate. Twenty-two readers successfully completed the test for a total of 4400 answers collected for analysis. The average sensitivity to detect epileptiform discharges for 16 and 32-channel montages was 36.5% and 61%, respectively (Pdouble banana montage. Residents and EEG fellows could improve EEG-reading accuracy if taught on a combined 32-channel montage.

Evaluation of Banana Hypersensitivity Among a Group of Atopic Egyptian Children: Relation to Parental/Self Reports

OpenAIRE

El-Sayed, Zeinab A.; El-Ghoneimy, Dalia H.; El-Shennawy, Dina; Nasser, Manar W.

2013-01-01

Purpose To evaluate the frequency of banana sensitization and allergy among a group of atopic Egyptian children in relation to parental/self reports. Methods This is a case-control study included 2 groups of allergic children with and without history of banana allergy, each included 40 patients. They were subjected to skin prick test (SPT) using commercial banana allergen extract and prick-prick test (PPT) using raw banana, in addition to measuring the serum banana-specific IgE. Oral banana c...

Expression Study of Banana Pathogenic Resistance Genes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fenny M. Dwivany

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Banana is one of the world's most important trade commodities. However, infection of banana pathogenic fungi (Fusarium oxysporum race 4 is one of the major causes of decreasing production in Indonesia. Genetic engineering has become an alternative way to control this problem by isolating genes that involved in plant defense mechanism against pathogens. Two of the important genes are API5 and ChiI1, each gene encodes apoptosis inhibitory protein and chitinase enzymes. The purpose of this study was to study the expression of API5 and ChiI1 genes as candidate pathogenic resistance genes. The amplified fragments were then cloned, sequenced, and confirmed with in silico studies. Based on sequence analysis, it is showed that partial API5 gene has putative transactivation domain and ChiI1 has 9 chitinase family GH19 protein motifs. Data obtained from this study will contribute in banana genetic improvement.

Production of transgenic banana plants conferring tolerance to salt stress (abstract)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ismail, I.A.; Salama, M.; Hamid, A.A.; Sadiq, A.S.

2005-01-01

Production of bananas is limited in areas that have soils with excess sodium. In this study, a transformation system in banana Grand Nain cultivar was established using the apical meristem explant and plasmid pAB6 containing the herbicide-resistant gene (bar) as a selectable marker and gus reporter gene. The micro projectile bombardment transformation system using 650 psi was successfully used for introducing the studied genes in banana explants. The expression of the introduced genes was detected using leaf painting and GUS histochemical tests, respectively. The present results showed that among the selection stage, 36.5% of the bombarded explants survived on the BI3 medium supplemented with 3 mg/L bialaphos, while, 26.6% of the tested explants showed a positive reaction in the GUS assay. To detect the presence of bar and gus genes the PCR was successfully used. These results encourage the idea of possibility of banana crop improvement using in vitro technique through micro projectile bombardment. Therefore, the plasmid pNM1 that carries the bar and P5CS (delta 1 l-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase for proline accumulation) genes was introduced in banana Grand Nain cultivar to produce transgenic plants expressing the salt tolerance gene. Results showed that the majority of herbicide-resistant banana plaptlets were successfully acclimatized. In studying the effects of different salt concentrations on the produced transgenic banana plants, results showed lower decrease in the percentage of survived plants, pseudostem diameter and leaf area with an increase of salt concentrations in case of transgenic plants compared with the controls. (author)

Temperature effects on peel spotting in "Sucrier banana" fruit

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Trakulnaleumsai, C.; Ketsa, S.; Doorn, van W.G.

2006-01-01

Banana fruit of the cultivar `Sucrier¿ (Musa acuminata, AA Group) develops peel spotting at a relatively early stage of development (when the peel is about as slightly more yellow than green). Holding ripening bananas at 15 and 18 °C instead of room temperature (26¿27 °C) only temporarily reduced

Agronomic performance of five banana cultivars under protected cultivation

Science.gov (United States)

Banana has been grown both in open-field and protected cultivation in Turkey. So far protected cultivation is very popular due to the high yield and quality. The objective of the study was to evaluate agronomic performance of five new banana cultivars under plastic greenhouse. ‘MA 13’, ‘Williams’, ‘...

Egg and banana sign of severe pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Science.gov (United States)

Veean, Satyam; Nixon, William; Keshavamurthy, Jayanth

2018-01-01

The egg and banana sign can be seen on chest computed tomography (CT) in patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). It is identified by the presence of the pulmonary artery (PA) lateral to the aortic arch with the aortic arch being described as the banana and the PA as the egg.

Banana Xanthomonas wilt in Ethiopia: Occurrence and insect vector ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Bacterial wilt caused by Xanthomonas vasicola pv. musacearum (Xvm) is an important disease of enset and banana in south and south-western Ethiopia where, the diversity of the insect fauna on banana inflorescences was unknown and the role of insects as vectors of the disease had not been studied. The objectives of ...

Larger spontaneous polarization ferroelectric inorganic-organic hybrids: [PbI3](infinity) chains directed organic cations aggregation to Kagomé-shaped tubular architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Hai-Rong; Li, Dong-Ping; Ren, Xiao-Ming; Song, You; Jin, Wan-Qin

2010-01-13

Four isostructural inorganic-organic hybrid ferroelectric compounds, assembled from achiral 3-R-benzylidene-1-aminopyridiniums (R = NO(2), Br, Cl, or F for 1-4, respectively) and [PbI(3)](-) anions with the chiral Kagomé-shaped tubular aggregating architecture, show larger spontaneous polarizations.

Biosynthesis of CdS nanoparticles in banana peel extract.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Guang Ju; Li, Shuo Hao; Zhang, Yu Cang; Fu, Yun Zhi

2014-06-01

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by using banana peel extract as a convenient, non-toxic, eco-friendly 'green' capping agent. Cadmium nitrate and sodium sulfide are main reagents. A variety of CdS NPs are prepared through changing reaction conditions (banana extracts, the amount of banana peel extract, solution pH, concentration and reactive temperature). The prepared CdS colloid displays strong fluorescence spectrum. X-ray diffraction analysis demonstrates the successful formation of CdS NPs. Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectrogram indicates the involvement of carboxyl, amine and hydroxyl groups in the formation of CdS NPs. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) result reveals that the average size of the NPs is around 1.48 nm.

Genetic resources in Musa bananas and improvement of their disease resistance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borges Fuentes, O.L.

1977-01-01

The cultivated bananas belong to the genus Musa and it is the wild species Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana which contributed to the origin of the sorts used as food. Most of these are triploids and possess a high degree of sterility. The sources of variation that are of importance for genetic improvement of the bananas are (1) hereditary differences between the cultivated clones; (2) difference between species and sub-species; (3) differences between the primitive cultivars derived from Musa acuminata, and (4) mutations that can be artiificially induced. The bananas are attacked by many diseases. Their vulnerability to certain diseases is highly significant in view of the extreme genetic uniformity of the commercial crops and the absence of resistant genes. In the past the wild species and the diploids used as food served as sources of resistance. However, efforts to induce resistance in the cultivated triploid bananas have not been successful. The use of mutagenic agents is proposed as a possible way of improving genetic variability in banana cultivation. (author)

Production of Banana Fiber Yarns for Technical Textile Reinforced Composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zaida Ortega

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Natural fibers have been used as an alternative to synthetic ones for their greener character; banana fibers have the advantage of coming from an agricultural residue. Fibers have been extracted by mechanical means from banana tree pseudostems, as a strategy to valorize banana crops residues. To increase the mechanical properties of the composite, technical textiles can be used as reinforcement, instead of short fibers. To do so, fibers must be spun and woven. The aim of this paper is to show the viability of using banana fibers to obtain a yarn suitable to be woven, after an enzymatic treatment, which is more environmentally friendly. Extracted long fibers are cut to 50 mm length and then immersed into an enzymatic bath for their refining. Conditions of enzymatic treatment have been optimized to produce a textile grade of banana fibers, which have then been characterized. The optimum treating conditions were found with the use of Biopectinase K (100% related to fiber weight at 45 °C, pH 4.5 for 6 h, with bath renewal after three hours. The first spinning trials show that these fibers are suitable to be used for the production of yarns. The next step is the weaving process to obtain a technical fabric for composites production.

Biology, etiology, and control of virus diseases of banana and plantain.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, P Lava; Selvarajan, Ramasamy; Iskra-Caruana, Marie-Line; Chabannes, Matthieu; Hanna, Rachid

2015-01-01

Banana and plantain (Musa spp.), produced in 10.3 million ha in the tropics, are among the world's top 10 food crops. They are vegetatively propagated using suckers or tissue culture plants and grown almost as perennial plantations. These are prone to the accumulation of pests and pathogens, especially viruses which contribute to yield reduction and are also barriers to the international exchange of germplasm. The most economically important viruses of banana and plantain are Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV), a complex of banana streak viruses (BSVs) and Banana bract mosaic virus (BBrMV). BBTV is known to cause the most serious economic losses in the "Old World," contributing to a yield reduction of up to 100% and responsible for a dramatic reduction in cropping area. The BSVs exist as episomal and endogenous forms are known to be worldwide in distribution. In India and the Philippines, BBrMV is known to be economically important but recently the virus was discovered in Colombia and Costa Rica, thus signaling its spread into the "New World." Banana and plantain are also known to be susceptible to five other viruses of minor significance, such as Abaca mosaic virus, Abaca bunchy top virus, Banana mild mosaic virus, Banana virus X, and Cucumber mosaic virus. Studies over the past 100 years have contributed to important knowledge on disease biology, distribution, and spread. Research during the last 25 years have led to a better understanding of the virus-vector-host interactions, virus diversity, disease etiology, and epidemiology. In addition, new diagnostic tools were developed which were used for surveillance and the certification of planting material. Due to a lack of durable host resistance in the Musa spp., phytosanitary measures and the use of virus-free planting material are the major methods of virus control. The state of knowledge on BBTV, BBrMV, and BSVs, and other minor viruses, disease spread, and control are summarized in this review. © 2015 Elsevier Inc

Social Interactions in Growing Bananas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Van Den Broeck, Katleen; Dercon, Stefan

This paper analyses whether agricultural information flows give rise to social learning effects in banana cultivation in Nyakatoke, a small Tanzanian village. Based on a village census, full information is available on socio-economic characteristics and banana production of farmer kinship members......, neighbours and informal insurance group members. This allows a test for social learning within these groups and the identification of different types of social effects. Controlling for exogenous group characteristics, the effect of group behaviour on individual farmer output is studied. The results show...... that social effects are strongly dependent on the definition of the reference group. It emerges that no social effects are found in distance based groups, exogenous social effects linked to group education exist in informal insurance groups, and only kinship related groups generate the endogenous social...

Biochemical and molecular tools reveal two diverse Xanthomonas groups in bananas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adriko, John; Aritua, V.; Mortensen, Carmen Nieves

2016-01-01

Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum (Xcm) causing the banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) disease has been the main xanthomonad associated with bananas in East and Central Africa based on phenotypic and biochemical characteristics. However, biochemical methods cannot effectively distinguish between...... pathogenic and non-pathogenic xanthomonads. In this study, gram-negative and yellow-pigmented mucoid bacteria were isolated from BXW symptomatic and symptomless bananas collected from different parts of Uganda. Biolog, Xcm-specific (GspDm), Xanthomonas vasicola species-specific (NZ085) and Xanthomonas genus......-specific (X1623) primers in PCR, and sequencing of ITS region were used to identify and characterize the isolates. Biolog tests revealed several isolates as xanthomonads. The GspDm and NZ085 primers accurately identified three isolates from diseased bananas as Xcm and these were pathogenic when re...

Ky’osimba Onaanya: understanding productivity of East African Highland banana

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Taulya, G.

2015-01-01

Over 30 million people in East Africa depend on East African highland bananas for food and income. The bananas are grown with limited additions of nutrients and no irrigation, despite widespread poor soil fertility and regular dry seasons. This thesis describes the effect of increasing rainfall

Effect of green banana pulp on physicochemical and sensory properties of probiotic yoghurt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabete Lourenço da COSTA

Full Text Available Abstract In order to investigate the potential of the green banana as a prebiotic, and for its content of resistant starch, fermented yogurts were produced by cultures composed of Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus acidophilus as well as being enriched with three concentrations of industrialized green banana pulp (GBP (3%, 5% and 10% w/v. The green banana pulp added to the yogurt stimulated the multiplication of L. acidophilus after the first day of fermentation and B. bifidum after seven days in cold storage compared to the control that consisted of yogurt without the addition of green banana pulp. The dose-response effect was not observed; however, the results show that the green banana pulp has a prebiotic potential without interfering with either the physicochemical or sensorial characteristics.

Root activity pattern of banana under irrigated and rain conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobhana, A.; Aravindakshan, M.; Wahid, P.A.

1989-01-01

Root morphology by excavation method and root activity pattern by 32 P soil-injection technique have been studied in banana var., Nendran under rainfed/irrigated conditions. The number of roots, length and diameter of roots and dry weight of roots were found to be more for the rainfed banana crop compared to the irrigated. The results of the radiotracer studies indicated that about 60 per cent of the active roots of irrigated banana lie within 20 cm distance and about 90 per cent of the total root activity is found within 40 cm distance from the plant. In the case of rainfed crop about 85 per cent of the active roots were found within a radius of 40 cm around the plant. Active roots were found to be more concentrated at 15 to 30 cm depth under rainfed conditions while the density of active roots was more or less uniform along the profile upto a dpeth of 60 cm in irrigated banana. (author). 4 refs., 3 figs

It is only a banana-Traveltime sensitivity kernels using the unwrapped phase

KAUST Repository

Djebbi, Ramzi; Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali

2012-01-01

Traveltime sensitivity kernels for finite-frequency traveltimes computed using the Born or Rytov approximations admits hallow banana shaped responses in the plane of propagation and a circular doughnut shaped responses in the cross section. This suggests that finite-frequency traveltimes are insensitive to velocity information along the infinite-frequency ray path, which is obviously inaccurate and creates a disconnect in the traveltime dependency on frequency. Using the instantaneous traveltime of the wavefield, which is capable of unwrapping the phase function, we obtain traveltime sensitivity kernels that have plain banana shape responses, with the thickness of the banana governed by the investigated frequency. This result confirms that the hallow banana shape is simply a result of the wrapping of the phase of the wavefield, in which Born nor Rytov approximations can properly deal with. The instantaneous traveltime can, thus, mitigate the nonlinearity problem encountered in finite-frequency traveltime inversions that may arise from these hallow banana sensitivity kernels.

Image analysis to evaluate the browning degree of banana (Musa spp.) peel.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Jeong-Seok; Lee, Hyeon-Jeong; Park, Jung-Hoon; Sung, Jun-Hyung; Choi, Ji-Young; Moon, Kwang-Deog

2016-03-01

Image analysis was applied to examine banana peel browning. The banana samples were divided into 3 treatment groups: no treatment and normal packaging (Cont); CO2 gas exchange packaging (CO); normal packaging with an ethylene generator (ET). We confirmed that the browning of banana peels developed more quickly in the CO group than the other groups based on sensory test and enzyme assay. The G (green) and CIE L(∗), a(∗), and b(∗) values obtained from the image analysis sharply increased or decreased in the CO group. And these colour values showed high correlation coefficients (>0.9) with the sensory test results. CIE L(∗)a(∗)b(∗) values using a colorimeter also showed high correlation coefficients but comparatively lower than those of image analysis. Based on this analysis, browning of the banana occurred more quickly for CO2 gas exchange packaging, and image analysis can be used to evaluate the browning of banana peels. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The complete chloroplast genome of banana (Musa acuminata, Zingiberales): insight into plastid monocotyledon evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Guillaume; Baurens, Franc-Christophe; Cardi, Céline; Aury, Jean-Marc; D'Hont, Angélique

2013-01-01

Banana (genus Musa) is a crop of major economic importance worldwide. It is a monocotyledonous member of the Zingiberales, a sister group of the widely studied Poales. Most cultivated bananas are natural Musa inter-(sub-)specific triploid hybrids. A Musa acuminata reference nuclear genome sequence was recently produced based on sequencing of genomic DNA enriched in nucleus. The Musa acuminata chloroplast genome was assembled with chloroplast reads extracted from whole-genome-shotgun sequence data. The Musa chloroplast genome is a circular molecule of 169,972 bp with a quadripartite structure containing two single copy regions, a Large Single Copy region (LSC, 88,338 bp) and a Small Single Copy region (SSC, 10,768 bp) separated by Inverted Repeat regions (IRs, 35,433 bp). Two forms of the chloroplast genome relative to the orientation of SSC versus LSC were found. The Musa chloroplast genome shows an extreme IR expansion at the IR/SSC boundary relative to the most common structures found in angiosperms. This expansion consists of the integration of three additional complete genes (rps15, ndhH and ycf1) and part of the ndhA gene. No such expansion has been observed in monocots so far. Simple Sequence Repeats were identified in the Musa chloroplast genome and a new set of Musa chloroplastic markers was designed. The complete sequence of M. acuminata ssp malaccensis chloroplast we reported here is the first one for the Zingiberales order. As such it provides new insight in the evolution of the chloroplast of monocotyledons. In particular, it reinforces that IR/SSC expansion has occurred independently several times within monocotyledons. The discovery of new polymorphic markers within Musa chloroplast opens new perspectives to better understand the origin of cultivated triploid bananas.

The complete chloroplast genome of banana (Musa acuminata, Zingiberales: insight into plastid monocotyledon evolution.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guillaume Martin

Full Text Available Banana (genus Musa is a crop of major economic importance worldwide. It is a monocotyledonous member of the Zingiberales, a sister group of the widely studied Poales. Most cultivated bananas are natural Musa inter-(sub-specific triploid hybrids. A Musa acuminata reference nuclear genome sequence was recently produced based on sequencing of genomic DNA enriched in nucleus.The Musa acuminata chloroplast genome was assembled with chloroplast reads extracted from whole-genome-shotgun sequence data. The Musa chloroplast genome is a circular molecule of 169,972 bp with a quadripartite structure containing two single copy regions, a Large Single Copy region (LSC, 88,338 bp and a Small Single Copy region (SSC, 10,768 bp separated by Inverted Repeat regions (IRs, 35,433 bp. Two forms of the chloroplast genome relative to the orientation of SSC versus LSC were found. The Musa chloroplast genome shows an extreme IR expansion at the IR/SSC boundary relative to the most common structures found in angiosperms. This expansion consists of the integration of three additional complete genes (rps15, ndhH and ycf1 and part of the ndhA gene. No such expansion has been observed in monocots so far. Simple Sequence Repeats were identified in the Musa chloroplast genome and a new set of Musa chloroplastic markers was designed.The complete sequence of M. acuminata ssp malaccensis chloroplast we reported here is the first one for the Zingiberales order. As such it provides new insight in the evolution of the chloroplast of monocotyledons. In particular, it reinforces that IR/SSC expansion has occurred independently several times within monocotyledons. The discovery of new polymorphic markers within Musa chloroplast opens new perspectives to better understand the origin of cultivated triploid bananas.

Mars Hybrid Propulsion System Trajectory Analysis. Part I; Crew Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Chai, Patrick R.; Merrill, Raymond G.; Qu, Min

2015-01-01

NASAs Human spaceflight Architecture team is developing a reusable hybrid transportation architecture in which both chemical and electric propulsion systems are used to send crew and cargo to Mars destinations such as Phobos, Deimos, the surface of Mars, and other orbits around Mars. By combining chemical and electrical propulsion into a single space- ship and applying each where it is more effective, the hybrid architecture enables a series of Mars trajectories that are more fuel-efficient than an all chemical architecture without significant increases in flight times. This paper provides the analysis of the interplanetary segments of the three Evolvable Mars Campaign crew missions to Mars using the hybrid transportation architecture. The trajectory analysis provides departure and arrival dates and propellant needs for the three crew missions that are used by the campaign analysis team for campaign build-up and logistics aggregation analysis. Sensitivity analyses were performed to investigate the impact of mass growth, departure window, and propulsion system performance on the hybrid transportation architecture. The results and system analysis from this paper contribute to analyses of the other human spaceflight architecture team tasks and feed into the definition of the Evolvable Mars Campaign.

Characterization of a new pathovar of Agrobacterium vitis causing banana leaf blight in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Siliang; Long, Mengling; Fu, Gang; Lin, Shanhai; Qin, Liping; Hu, Chunjin; Cen, Zhenlu; Lu, Jie; Li, Qiqin

2015-01-01

A new banana leaf blight was found in Nanning city, China, during a 7-year survey (2003-2009) of the bacterial diseases on banana plants. Eight bacterial strains were isolated from affected banana leaves, and identified as an intraspecific taxon of Agrobacterium vitis based on their 16S rDNA sequence similarities with those of 37 randomly selected bacterial strains registered in GenBank database. The representative strain Ag-1 was virulent on banana leaves and shared similar growth and biochemical reactions with the reference strain IAM14140 of A. vitis. The strains causing banana leaf blight were denominated as A. vitis pv. musae. The traditional A. vitis strains virulent to grapevines were proposed to be revised as A. vitis pv. vitis. This is the first record of a new type of A. vitis causing banana leaf blight in China. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Mars Hybrid Propulsion System Trajectory Analysis. Part II; Cargo Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Chai, Patrick R.; Merrill, Raymond G.; Qu, Min

2015-01-01

NASA's Human Spaceflight Architecture Team is developing a reusable hybrid transportation architecture in which both chemical and electric propulsion systems are used to send crew and cargo to Mars destinations such as Phobos, Deimos, the surface of Mars, and other orbits around Mars. By combining chemical and electrical propulsion into a single spaceship and applying each where it is more effective, the hybrid architecture enables a series of Mars trajectories that are more fuel-efficient than an all chemical architecture without significant increases in flight times. This paper shows the feasibility of the hybrid transportation architecture to pre-deploy cargo to Mars and Phobos in support of the Evolvable Mars Campaign crew missions. The analysis shows that the hybrid propulsion stage is able to deliver all of the current manifested payload to Phobos and Mars through the first three crew missions. The conjunction class trajectory also allows the hybrid propulsion stage to return to Earth in a timely fashion so it can be reused for additional cargo deployment. The 1,100 days total trip time allows the hybrid propulsion stage to deliver cargo to Mars every other Earth-Mars transit opportunity. For the first two Mars surface mission in the Evolvable Mars Campaign, the short trip time allows the hybrid propulsion stage to be reused for three round-trip journeys to Mars, which matches the hybrid propulsion stage's designed lifetime for three round-trip crew missions to the Martian sphere of influence.

Automation of column-based radiochemical separations. A comparison of fluidic, robotic, and hybrid architectures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grate, J.W.; O' Hara, M.J.; Farawila, A.F.; Ozanich, R.M.; Owsley, S.L. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA (United States)

2011-07-01

Two automated systems have been developed to perform column-based radiochemical separation procedures. These new systems are compared with past fluidic column separation architectures, with emphasis on using disposable components so that no sample contacts any surface that any other sample has contacted, and setting up samples and columns in parallel for subsequent automated processing. In the first new approach, a general purpose liquid handling robot has been modified and programmed to perform anion exchange separations using 2 mL bed columns in 6 mL plastic disposable column bodies. In the second new approach, a fluidic system has been developed to deliver clean reagents through disposable manual valves to six disposable columns, with a mechanized fraction collector that positions one of four rows of six vials below the columns. The samples are delivered to each column via a manual 3-port disposable valve from disposable syringes. This second approach, a hybrid of fluidic and mechanized components, is a simpler more efficient approach for performing anion exchange procedures for the recovery and purification of plutonium from samples. The automation architectures described can also be adapted to column-based extraction chromatography separations. (orig.)

Pectinase production by Aspergillus niger using banana (Musa balbisiana) peel as substrate and its effect on clarification of banana juice.

Science.gov (United States)

Barman, Sumi; Sit, Nandan; Badwaik, Laxmikant S; Deka, Sankar C

2015-06-01

Optimization of substrate concentration, time of incubation and temperature for crude pectinase production from A. niger was carried out using Bhimkol banana (Musa balbisiana) peel as substrate. The crude pectinase produced was partially purified using ethanol and effectiveness of crude and partially purified pectinase was studied for banana juice clarification. The optimum substrate concentration, incubation time and temperature of incubation were 8.07 %, 65.82 h and 32.37 °C respectively, and the polygalacturonase (PG) activity achieved was 6.6 U/ml for crude pectinase. The partially purified enzyme showed more than 3 times of polygalacturonase activity as compared to the crude enzyme. The SDS-PAGE profile showed that the molecular weight of proteins present in the different pectinases varied from 34 to 42 kDa. The study further revealed that highest clarification was achieved when raw banana juice was incubated for 60 min with 2 % concentration of partially purified pectinase and the absorbance obtained was 0.10.

Caracterização microclimática em cultivo consorciado café/banana Microclimatic characterization in coffee and banana intercrop

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José R. M. Pezzopane

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Medições de radiação solar global, velocidade do vento, temperatura e umidade relativa do ar, foram realizadas em cafeeiros (Coffea arabica L. cv. Icatu Vermelho IAC 4045, cultivados a pleno sol e consorciados com bananeira (MusaspAAB 'Prata Anã', em Mococa, SP (21º 28' S, 47º 01' W, altitude 665 m, entre outubro de 2001 e setembro de 2002. Os elementos foram monitorados em um ponto do cultivo a pleno sol e em dois pontos do cultivo consorciado, sendo um próximo à planta de banana e outro situado em uma condição central, entre as plantas de banana. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que o cultivo consorciado de café promoveu atenuação dos valores médios da radiação solar global, tendo sido mais evidente no ponto amostral situado próximo às bananeiras. Verificou-se, ainda, uma redução média de 48% na velocidade do vento no cultivo consorciado, influenciada pela época do ano, além do desbaste das bananeiras. Com relação à temperatura e umidade do ar, foram encontradas diferenças apenas na temperatura máxima no ponto central da parcela do cultivo consorciado que, por sua vez, apresentou médias superiores em relação ao cultivo a pleno sol no verão e outono e em relação ao ponto situado próximo às bananeiras na primavera, verão e outono; essas diferenças foram mais significativas em dias com condição ensolarada e de pouca ocorrência de vento.Microclimatic measurements (solar radiation, wind speed, air temperature and relative humidity were taken on a daily and hourly basis, from October, 2001 to September, 2002 in a coffee crop (Coffea arabica L. cv. Icatu Verrmelho IAC 4045, grown in two different conditions: shaded by banana (Musa sp AAB 'Prata Anã' and unshaded. The experiment was carried out at Mococa, São Paulo State, Brazil (21º 28' S, 47º 01' W, altitude 665 m. The microclimatic measurements were taken in one position of the unshaded coffee crop and in two different positions of the shaded coffee crop

Gamma radiation effects on the viscosity of green banana flour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uehara, Vanessa B.; Inamura, Patricia Y.; Mastro, Nelida L. Del

2009-01-01

Banana (Musa sp) is a tropical fruits with great acceptability among consumers and produced in Brazil in a large scale. Bananas are not being as exploited as they could be in prepared food, and research could stimulate greater interest from industry. The viscosity characteristics and a product consistency can determine its acceptance by the consumer. Particularly the starch obtained from green banana had been studied from the nutritional point of view since the concept of Resistant Starch was introduced. Powder RS with high content of amylose was included in an approved food list with alleged functional properties in Brazilian legislation. Ionizing radiation can be used as a public health intervention measure for the control of food-borne diseases. Radiation is also a very convenient tool for polymer materials modification through degradation, grafting and crosslinking. In this work the influence of ionizing radiation on the rheological behavior of green banana pulp was investigated. Samples of green banana pulp flour were irradiated in a 60 Co Gammacell 220 (AECL) with doses of 0 kGy,1 kGy, 3 kGy, 5 kGy and 10 kGy in glass recipients. After irradiation 3% and 5% aqueous dilution were prepared and viscosity measurements performed in a Brooksfield, model DVIII viscometer using spindle SC4-18 and SC4-31. There was a reduction of the initial viscosity of the samples as a consequence of radiation processing, being the reduction inversely proportional to the flour concentration. The polysaccharide content of the banana starch seems to be degraded by radiation in solid state as shown by the reduction of viscosity as a function of radiation dose. (author)

Physicochemical and sensorial quality of banana genotypes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronielli Cardoso Reis

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Despite the diversity of banana varieties in Brazil, only a few cultivars have the proper agronomic traits and fruit quality for commercial exploitation. This study aimed at evaluating the physicochemical traits and sensorial acceptance of banana genotypes, in order to identify those with potential for commercial growing. Six improved banana genotypes were assessed (BRS Maravilha, PC 0101, FHIA 18, TM 2803, YB 4203 and BRS Caipira, as well as three commercial cultivars (Grand Naine, Pacovan and Prata Anã. Analyses of peel and pulp color, peel thickness, pulp yield, moisture, pH, soluble solids, titratable acidity, total carotenoids and sensorial acceptance were performed. The BRS Maravilha, FHIA 18, YB 4203 and BRS Caipira genotypes presented physicochemical traits similar to the Grand Naine, Pacovan and Prata Anã commercial cultivars. The BRS Maravilha and TM 2803 genotypes had sensorial acceptance similar to the Prata Anã and Grand Naine cultivars, and are therefore promising for commercial growing, with the advantage of being resistant to the black Sigatoka and Panama disease.

The "Blue Banana" Revisited

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Faludi, A.K.F.

2015-01-01

This essay is about the “Blue Banana”. Banana is the name given subsequently by others to a Dorsale européenne (European backbone) identified empirically by Roger Brunet. In a background study to the Communication of the European Commission ‘Europe 2000’, Klaus Kunzmann and Michael Wegener put

The Effects of Treatments on Batu Banana Flour and Percentage of Wheat Substitution on The Resistant Starch, In Vitro Starch Digestibility Content and Palatability of Cookies Made with Banana (Musa balbisiana Colla) Flour

Science.gov (United States)

Ratnasari, D.; Rustanti, N.; Arifan, F.; Afifah, DN

2018-02-01

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the most common endocrine disease worldwide. Resistant starch is polysaccharide that is recommended for DM patient diets. One of the staple crops containing resistant starch is banana. It is the fourth most important staple crop in the world and critical for food security, best suited plant in warm, frost-free, and coastal climates area. Among banana varieties, Batu bananas (Musa balbisiana Colla) had the highest content of resistant starch (~39%), but its use as a food ingredient is limited. Inclusion of Batu banana flour into cookies manufacturing would both increase the economic value of Batu bananas and provide alternative snacks for DM patients. Here we sought to examine whether cookies made with modified Batu banana flour would be a suitable snack for DM patients. This study used a completely randomized design with two factors: substitution of Batu banana flour (25%, 50%,75%) for wheat-based flour and Batu banana flour treatment methods (no treatment, autoclaving-cooling, autoclaving-cooling-spontaneous fermentation). The resistant starch and in vitro starch digestibility levels were analyzed using two-way ANOVA and Tukey test, whereas the acceptance level was analyzed by Friedman and Wilcoxon tests. The content of resistant starch and in vitro starch digestibility of the different treatments ranged from 3.10 to 15.79% and 16.03 to 52.59%, respectively. Both factors differed significantly (p0.05). Meanwhile, palatability in terms of color, aroma, texture, and flavor differed significantly among the different treatments and starch contents (ppatients. Keywords: Batu banana, cookies, resistant starch, in vitro starch digestibility

Effect of LED irradiation on the ripening and nutritional quality of postharvest banana fruit.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jen-Yi; Xu, Fengying; Zhou, Weibiao

2018-04-24

With the ability to tailor wavelengths necessary to the photosynthetically active radiation spectrum of plant pigments, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) offer vast possibilities in horticultural lighting. The influence of LED light irradiation on major postharvest features of banana was investigated. Mature green bananas were treated daily with selected blue (464-474 nm), green (515-525 nm) and red (617-627 nm) LED lights for 8 days, and compared with non-illuminated control. The positive effect of LED lighting on the acceleration of ripening in bananas was greatest for blue, followed by red and green. Under the irradiation of LED lights, faster peel de-greening and flesh softening, and increased ethylene production and respiration rate in bananas were observed during storage. Furthermore, the accumulations of ascorbic acid, total phenols, and total sugars in banana fruit were enhanced by LED light exposure. LED light treatment can induce the ripening of bananas and improve their quality and nutrition potential. These findings might provide new chemical-free strategies to shorten the time to ripen banana after harvest by using LED light source. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Differential transcriptional regulation of banana sucrose phosphate synthase gene in response to ethylene, auxin, wounding, low temperature and different photoperiods during fruit ripening and functional analysis of banana SPS gene promoter.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy Choudhury, Swarup; Roy, Sujit; Das, Ranjan; Sengupta, Dibyendu N

2008-12-01

Sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) (EC 2.3.1.14) is the key regulatory component in sucrose formation in banana (Musa acuminata subgroup Cavendish, cv Giant governor) fruit during ripening. This report illustrates differential transcriptional responses of banana SPS gene following ethylene, auxin, wounding, low temperature and different photoperiods during ripening in banana fruit. Whereas ethylene strongly stimulated SPS transcript accumulation, auxin and cold treatment only marginally increased the abundance of SPS mRNA level, while wounding negatively regulated SPS gene expression. Conversely, SPS transcript level was distinctly increased by constant exposure to white light. Protein level, enzymatic activity of SPS and sucrose synthesis were substantially increased by ethylene and increased exposure to white light conditions as compared to other treatments. To further study the transcriptional regulation of SPS in banana fruit, the promoter region of SPS gene was cloned and some cis-acting regulatory elements such as a reverse GCC-box ERE, two ARE motifs (TGTCTC), one LTRE (CCGAA), a GAGA-box (GAGA...) and a GATA-box LRE (GATAAG) were identified along with the TATA and CAAT-box. DNA-protein interaction studies using these cis-elements indicated a highly specific cis-trans interaction in the banana nuclear extract. Furthermore, we specifically studied the light responsive characteristics of GATA-box containing synthetic as well as native banana SPS promoter. Transient expression assays using banana SPS promoter have also indicated the functional importance of the SPS promoter in regulating gene expression. Together, these results provide insights into the transcriptional regulation of banana SPS gene in response to phytohormones and other environmental factors during fruit ripening.

Leaf anatomy of genotypes of banana plant grown under coloured ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of spectral light quality on different anatomical features of banana tree plantlets grown under coloured shade nets. Banana plants of five genotypes obtained from micropropagation, were grown under white, blue, red and black nets, with shade of 50%, in a completely randomized ...

Development of an in vitro culture system adapted to banana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

STORAGESEVER

2009-06-17

Jun 17, 2009 ... The beneficial impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on banana nutrition and resistance against abiotic and biotic stresses is well documented. However, most studies were conducted under greenhouse or field conditions and none reported the life cycle of the AM fungi on banana roots. It is obvious ...

Development of an in vitro culture system adapted to banana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The beneficial impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on banana nutrition and resistance against abiotic and biotic stresses is well documented. However, most studies were conducted under greenhouse or field conditions and none reported the life cycle of the AM fungi on banana roots. It is obvious that any system ...

Eggshells – assisted hydrolysis of banana pulp for biogas production

African Journals Online (AJOL)

KARAKANA

In this study, pretreatment of banana pulp using eggshells in both calcined and un-calcined forms to examine the ... Key words: Anaerobic digestion, banana pulp hydrolysis biogas, eggshells. .... obtain fine powder. ..... using pig waste and cassava peels. ... from bioethanol waste: the effect of pH and urea addition to biogas.

Prediction of textural attributes using color values of banana (Musa sapientum) during ripening.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaiswal, Pranita; Jha, Shyam Narayan; Kaur, Poonam Preet; Bhardwaj, Rishi; Singh, Ashish Kumar; Wadhawan, Vishakha

2014-06-01

Banana is an important sub-tropical fruit in international trade. It undergoes significant textural and color transformations during ripening process, which in turn influence the eating quality of the fruit. In present study, color ('L', 'a' and 'b' value) and textural attributes of bananas (peel, fruit and pulp firmness; pulp toughness; stickiness) were studied simultaneously using Hunter Color Lab and Texture Analyser, respectively, during ripening period of 10 days at ambient atmosphere. There was significant effect of ripening period on all the considered textural characteristics and color properties of bananas except color value 'b'. In general, textural descriptors (peel, fruit and pulp firmness; and pulp toughness) decreased during ripening except stickiness, while color values viz 'a' and 'b' increased with ripening barring 'L' value. Among various textural attributes, peel toughness and pulp firmness showed highest correlation (r) with 'a' value of banana peel. In order to predict textural properties using color values of banana, five types of equations (linear/polynomial/exponential/logarithmic/power) were fitted. Among them, polynomial equation was found to be the best fit (highest coefficient of determination, R(2)) for prediction of texture using color properties for bananas. The pulp firmness, peel toughness and pulp toughness showed R(2) above 0.84 with indicating its potentiality of the fitted equations for prediction of textural profile of bananas non-destructively using 'a' value.

Antioxidant and Antihyperglycemic Properties of Three Banana Cultivars (Musa spp.).

Science.gov (United States)

Adedayo, Bukola C; Oboh, Ganiyu; Oyeleye, Sunday I; Olasehinde, Tosin A

2016-01-01

Background . This study sought to investigate the antioxidant and antihyperglycemic properties of Musa sapientum (Latundan banana) (MSL), Musa acuminata (Cavendish banana) (MAC), and Musa acuminate (Red Dacca) (MAR). Materials and Methods. The sugar, starch, amylose, and amylopectin contents and glycemic index (GI) of the three banana cultivars were determined. Furthermore, total phenol and vitamin C contents and α -amylase and α -glucosidase inhibitory effects of banana samples were also determined. Results . MAC and MAR had the highest starch, amylose, and amylopectin contents and estimated glycemic index (eGI) with no significant different while MSL had the lowest. Furthermore, MAR (1.07 mg GAE/g) had a higher total phenol content than MAC (0.94 mg GAE/g) and MSL (0.96 mg GAE/g), while there was no significant difference in the vitamin C content. Furthermore, MAR had the highest α -amylase (IC 50 = 3.95 mg/mL) inhibitory activity while MAC had the least (IC 50 = 4.27 mg/mL). Moreover, MAC and MAR inhibited glucosidase activity better than MSL (IC 50 3.47 mg/mL). Conclusion . The low sugar, GI, amylose, and amylopectin contents of the three banana cultivars as well as their α -amylase and α -glucosidase inhibitory activities could be possible mechanisms and justification for their recommendation in the management of type-2 diabetes.

Banana peel: A novel substrate for cellulase production under solid ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

These results indicated that banana peel provided necessary nutrients for cell growth and cellulase synthesis. It can be used as a potential substrate for cellulase production by T. viride GIM 3.0010 under solid-state fermentation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on cellulase production using banana peel.

Nitrogen and potassium fertilization on 'Caipira' and 'BRS Princesa' bananas in the Ribeira Valley.

OpenAIRE

NOMURA, E. S.; CUQUEL, F. L.; DAMATTO JUNIOR, E. R.; FUZITANI, E. J.; BORGES, A. L.; SAES, L. A.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT ‘BRS Princesa’ (AAAB) and ‘Caipira’ (AAA) banana cultivars have similar sensorial features in comparison to the ‘Maçã’ banana. They are resistant to Panama disease, which allows them to grow in the Ribeira Valley, the largest banana plantation area in the São Paulo State. However, there is no information on how to fertilize crop under these edaphoclimatic conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the development and production of ‘Caipira’ and ‘BRS Princesa’ bananas, by applying four ...

Architecture and characterization of the P4DI CMOS hybrid pixel sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatzistratis, D.; Theodoratos, G.; Kazas, I.; Loukas, D.; Zervakis, E.; Lambropoulos, C.P.

2017-01-01

Gamma ray imaging can be used for the extraction either of the activity map of a source or of the attenuation map of an object or both, as well as for the identification of the material composition of the emitting source or the object. All these imaging modalities can benefit from instruments giving the information of the energy of the converted photons and also the spatial and time coordinates of the conversion. The P4DI CMOS and hybrid provides the core technology for this task being a 2-D array based on Cd(Zn)Te material for the sensing layer. It consists of 1250 pixels with 400 μ m pitch. The energy resolution of the 241 Am photopeak is 3.5 keV, time resolution is less than 12 μ s and power consumption is less than 100 mW. Architecture and characterization are described.

Effect of thidiazuron on in vivo shoot proliferation of popular banana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

SARAH

2014-09-30

Sep 30, 2014 ... Mzuzu underscore the need for further studies to determine alternative best cytokine-based growth regulators. Key words: Thidiazuron, in vivo proliferation, Sucker growth, Banana. INTRODUCTION. In vivo macropropagation is an alternative technique for mass production of banana planting materials.

Chemical compositions and glycemic responses to banana varieties.

Science.gov (United States)

Hettiaratchi, U P K; Ekanayake, S; Welihinda, J

2011-06-01

Chemical compositions and glycemic indices of four varieties of banana (Musa spp.) (kolikuttu-Silk AAB, embul-Mysore AAB, anamalu-Gros Michel AAA, seeni kesel-Pisang Awak ABB) were determined. Silk, Gros Michel, Pisang Awak and Mysore contained the highest percentages of starch (14%), sucrose (38%), free glucose (29%) and fructose (58%) as a percentage of the total available carbohydrate content respectively. Total dietary fiber contents of four varieties ranged from 2.7 to 5.3%. Glycemic indices of Silk, Mysore, Gros Michel and Pisang Awak were 61 ± 5, 61 ± 6, 67 ± 7, 69 ± 9 and can be categorized as low against white bread as the standard. A single banana of the four varieties elicited a low glycemic load. Thus, consumption of a banana from any of these varieties can be recommended as a snack for healthy or diabetic patients who are under dietary management or pharmacological drugs to regulate blood glucose responses in between meals.

Vomiting, abdominal distention and early feeding of banana (Musa paradisiaca) in neonates.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiryo, Hananto; Hakimi, M; Wahab, A Samik; Soeparto, Pitono

2003-09-01

The objective of this cohort study was to assess the relationship between banana given as early solid food with the symptoms of intestinal obstruction (SIO) among neonates, in a rural community in West Lombok District, West Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. Mothers having newborn infants were interviewed and 3,420 neonates were followed for 28 days. Compared with infants who were not given solid food, the relative risk (RR) for infants given food other than banana as early solid food was 1.87, 95% CI 0.48-8.24, p=0.4, while for infants given banana only as early solid food the RR was 9.15, 95% CI 1.96-42.58, p 0.0005. After adjustment for birthweight, colostrum, and breastfeeding, the odds ratio for infants given banana and the appearance of SIO was 2.99, 95% CI 2.65-5.14; p=0.0012. These data indicate that banana given as early solid food is an important risk factor for the appearance of SIO in neonates.

Synthesis of NiO-TiO2 hybrids/mSiO2 yolk-shell architectures embedded with ultrasmall gold nanoparticles for enhanced reactivity

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Jiasheng; Zhang, Yiwei; Zhou, Yuming; Zhao, Shuo; Zhang, Chao; Huang, Mengqiu; Gao, Yan

2017-08-01

Novel NiO-TiO2 hybrids/mSiO2 yolk-shell architectures loaded with ultrasmall Au nanoparticles (STNVS-Au) were developed via the rational synthetic strategy. The hierarchical yolk-shell nanostructures (STNVS) with high surface areas were constructed by a facile "bottom-up" assembly process using SiO2 materials and polymer resins as cores/shells and sacrificial templates, accompanied by a simple hydrothermal incorporation of NiO into uniform amorphous TiO2 layers that were converted to NiO-anatase TiO2 p-n heterojunction hybrids. Then, numerous sub-3 nm Au nanoparticles were post encapsulated within STNVS nanostructures through the low-temperature hydrogen reduction based on the unique deposition-precipitation method with Au(en)2Cl3 compounds as gold precursors. The NiO-TiO2 hybrids alloying with Au nanoparticles were effectively protected and entrapped within STNVS architectures, and interacted with outer mSiO2-Au shells, which comprised the powerful STNVS-Au yolk-shell nanoreactors and produced stronger configural synergies in enhancing the heterogeneous catalysis. Into catalyzing the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol, the STNVS-Au was shown with outstanding activity and reusability, and its pristine morphology was well retained during the recycling process.

Novel WRM-based architecture of hybrid PON featuring online access and full-fiber-fault protection for smart grid

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xingfeng; Gan, Chaoqin; Liu, Zongkang; Yan, Yuqi; Qiao, HuBao

2018-01-01

In this paper, a novel architecture of hybrid PON for smart grid is proposed by introducing a wavelength-routing module (WRM). By using conventional optical passive components, a WRM with M ports is designed. The symmetry and passivity of the WRM makes it be easily integrated and very cheap in practice. Via the WRM, two types of network based on different ONU-interconnected manner can realize online access. Depending on optical switches and interconnecting fibers, full-fiber-fault protection and dynamic bandwidth allocation are realized in these networks. With the help of amplitude modulation, DPSK modulation and RSOA technology, wavelength triple-reuse is achieved. By means of injecting signals into left and right branches in access ring simultaneously, the transmission delay is decreased. Finally, the performance analysis and simulation of the network verifies the feasibility of the proposed architecture.

BANANAS: providing child care services to a multi-ethnic community.

Science.gov (United States)

Vu, Catherine M; Schwartz, Sara L; Austin, Michael J

2011-01-01

BANANAS, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that has provided child care resource and referral services for over 35 years. BANANAS emerged as a grassroots effort initiated by a group of female volunteers who sought to build a network of women with children who needed childcare. As the organization developed, its leaders recognized and responded to additional needs, including resource and information sharing, workshops and classes, and political advocacy. Beginning as a collective, BANANAS has grown into a multifaceted service delivery and advocacy nonprofit operating with an annual budget of $12 million. This history of the agency reflects the development of a unique community-based effort, its challenges and rewards, and the multiple successes that this pioneering nonprofit has experienced.

Hybrid Ceramic Matrix Fibrous Composites: an Overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naslain, R

2011-01-01

Ceramic-Matrix Composites (CMCs) consist of a ceramic fiber architecture in a ceramic matrix, bonded together through a thin interphase. The present contribution is limited to non-oxide CMCs. Their constituents being oxidation-prone, they are protected by external coatings. We state here that CMCs display a hybrid feature, when at least one of their components is not homogeneous from a chemical or microstructural standpoint. Hybrid fiber architectures are used to tailor the mechanical or thermal CMC-properties whereas hybrid interphases, matrices and coatings to improve CMC resistance to aggressive environments.

Hybrid Ceramic Matrix Fibrous Composites: an Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Naslain, R.

2011-10-01

Ceramic-Matrix Composites (CMCs) consist of a ceramic fiber architecture in a ceramic matrix, bonded together through a thin interphase. The present contribution is limited to non-oxide CMCs. Their constituents being oxidation-prone, they are protected by external coatings. We state here that CMCs display a hybrid feature, when at least one of their components is not homogeneous from a chemical or microstructural standpoint. Hybrid fiber architectures are used to tailor the mechanical or thermal CMC-properties whereas hybrid interphases, matrices and coatings to improve CMC resistance to aggressive environments.

A Genome-Wide Association Study on the Seedless Phenotype in Banana (Musa spp. Reveals the Potential of a Selected Panel to Detect Candidate Genes in a Vegetatively Propagated Crop.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julie Sardos

Full Text Available Banana (Musa sp. is a vegetatively propagated, low fertility, potentially hybrid and polyploid crop. These qualities make the breeding and targeted genetic improvement of this crop a difficult and long process. The Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS approach is becoming widely used in crop plants and has proven efficient to detecting candidate genes for traits of interest, especially in cereals. GWAS has not been applied yet to a vegetatively propagated crop. However, successful GWAS in banana would considerably help unravel the genomic basis of traits of interest and therefore speed up this crop improvement. We present here a dedicated panel of 105 accessions of banana, freely available upon request, and their corresponding GBS data. A set of 5,544 highly reliable markers revealed high levels of admixture in most accessions, except for a subset of 33 individuals from Papua. A GWAS on the seedless phenotype was then successfully applied to the panel. By applying the Mixed Linear Model corrected for both kinship and structure as implemented in TASSEL, we detected 13 candidate genomic regions in which we found a number of genes potentially linked with the seedless phenotype (i.e. parthenocarpy combined with female sterility. An additional GWAS performed on the unstructured Papuan subset composed of 33 accessions confirmed six of these regions as candidate. Out of both sets of analyses, one strong candidate gene for female sterility, a putative orthologous gene to Histidine Kinase CKI1, was identified. The results presented here confirmed the feasibility and potential of GWAS when applied to small sets of banana accessions, at least for traits underpinned by a few loci. As phenotyping in banana is extremely space and time-consuming, this latest finding is of particular importance in the context of banana improvement.

A Genome-Wide Association Study on the Seedless Phenotype in Banana (Musa spp.) Reveals the Potential of a Selected Panel to Detect Candidate Genes in a Vegetatively Propagated Crop.

Science.gov (United States)

Sardos, Julie; Rouard, Mathieu; Hueber, Yann; Cenci, Alberto; Hyma, Katie E; van den Houwe, Ines; Hribova, Eva; Courtois, Brigitte; Roux, Nicolas

2016-01-01

Banana (Musa sp.) is a vegetatively propagated, low fertility, potentially hybrid and polyploid crop. These qualities make the breeding and targeted genetic improvement of this crop a difficult and long process. The Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) approach is becoming widely used in crop plants and has proven efficient to detecting candidate genes for traits of interest, especially in cereals. GWAS has not been applied yet to a vegetatively propagated crop. However, successful GWAS in banana would considerably help unravel the genomic basis of traits of interest and therefore speed up this crop improvement. We present here a dedicated panel of 105 accessions of banana, freely available upon request, and their corresponding GBS data. A set of 5,544 highly reliable markers revealed high levels of admixture in most accessions, except for a subset of 33 individuals from Papua. A GWAS on the seedless phenotype was then successfully applied to the panel. By applying the Mixed Linear Model corrected for both kinship and structure as implemented in TASSEL, we detected 13 candidate genomic regions in which we found a number of genes potentially linked with the seedless phenotype (i.e. parthenocarpy combined with female sterility). An additional GWAS performed on the unstructured Papuan subset composed of 33 accessions confirmed six of these regions as candidate. Out of both sets of analyses, one strong candidate gene for female sterility, a putative orthologous gene to Histidine Kinase CKI1, was identified. The results presented here confirmed the feasibility and potential of GWAS when applied to small sets of banana accessions, at least for traits underpinned by a few loci. As phenotyping in banana is extremely space and time-consuming, this latest finding is of particular importance in the context of banana improvement.

Effect of packaging materials on shelf life and quality of banana cultivars (Musa spp.).

Science.gov (United States)

Hailu, M; Seyoum Workneh, T; Belew, D

2014-11-01

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of packaging materials on the shelf life of three banana cultivars. Four packaging materials, namely, perforated low density polyethylene bag, perforated high density polyethylene bag, dried banana leaf, teff straw and no packaging materials (control) were used with three banana cultivars, locally known as, Poyo, Giant Cavendish and Williams I. The experiment was carried out in Randomized Complete Block Design in a factorial combination with three replications. Physical parameters including weight loss, peel colour, peel thickness, pulp thickness, pulp to peel ratio, pulp firmness, pulp dry matter, decay, loss percent of marketability were assessed every 3 days. Banana remained marketable for 36 days in the high density polyethylene and low density polyethylene bags, and for 18 days in banana leaf and teff straw packaging treatments. Unpackaged fruits remained marketable for 15 days only. Fruits that were not packaged lost their weight by 24.0 % whereas fruits packaged in banana leaf and teff straw became unmarketable with final weight loss of 19.8 % and 20.9 %, respectively. Packaged fruits remained well until 36th days of storage with final weight loss of only 8.2 % and 9.20 %, respectively. Starting from green mature stage, the colour of the banana peel changed to yellow and this process was found to be fast for unpackaged fruits. Packaging maintained the peel and the pulp thickness, firmness, dry matter and pulp to peel ratio was kept lower. Decay loss for unpackaged banana fruits was16 % at the end of date 15, whereas the decay loss of fruits packaged using high density and low density polyethylene bags were 43.0 % and 41.2 %, respectively at the end of the 36th day of the experiment. It can, thus, be concluded that packaging of banana fruits in high density and low density polyethylene bags resulted in longer shelf life and improved quality of the produce followed by packaging in dried banana leaf

Olfactory responses of banana weevil predators to volatiles from banana pseudostem tissue and synthetic pheromone

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tinzaara, W.; Gold, C.S.; Dicke, M.; Huis, van A.

2005-01-01

As a response to attack by herbivores, plants can emit a variety of volatile substances that attract natural enemies of these insect pests. Predators of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) such as Dactylosternum abdominale (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) and

The banana (Musa acuminata) genome and the evolution of monocotyledonous plants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hont, D' A.; Denoeud, F.; Aury, J.M.; Kema, G.H.J.; Dita Rodriguez, M.A.; Waalwijk, C.

2012-01-01

Bananas (Musa spp.), including dessert and cooking types, are giant perennial monocotyledonous herbs of the order Zingiberales, a sister group to the well-studied Poales, which include cereals. Bananas are vital for food security in many tropical and subtropical countries and the most popular fruit

Heat and mass transfer coefficients and modeling of infrared drying of banana slices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernanda Machado Baptestini

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Banana is one of the most consumed fruits in the world, having a large part of its production performed in tropical countries. This product possesses a wide range of vitamins and minerals, being an important component of the alimentation worldwide. However, the shelf life of bananas is short, thus requiring procedures to prevent the quality loss and increase the shelf life. One of these procedures widely used is drying. This work aimed to study the infrared drying process of banana slices (cv. Prata and determine the heat and mass transfer coefficients of this process. In addition, effective diffusion coefficient and relationship between ripening stages of banana and drying were obtained. Banana slices at four different ripening stages were dried using a dryer with infrared heating source with four different temperatures (65, 75, 85, and 95 ºC. Midilli model was the one that best represented infrared drying of banana slices. Heat and mass transfer coefficients varied, respectively, between 46.84 and 70.54 W m-2 K-1 and 0.040 to 0.0632 m s-1 for temperature range, at the different ripening stages. Effective diffusion coefficient ranged from 1.96 to 3.59 × 10-15 m² s-1. Activation energy encountered were 16.392, 29.531, 23.194, and 25.206 kJ mol-1 for 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th ripening stages, respectively. Ripening stages did not affect the infrared drying of bananas.

Screening of in vitro derived mutants of banana against nematodes ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The rest of the mutants namely Ro Im V4 6-1-2 and Si Im V4 6-2-5 were found to be susceptible to nematodes. The resistant and moderately resistant mutants of banana could be further used in breeding programmes as well as being recognized as potential cultivars of commerce. Key words: Banana, nematode, resistance, ...

K40 y Cs137 in bananas exported from Costa Rica

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loria, L. G.; Mora, P.; Badilla, M.

1999-01-01

Using low level gamma spectroscopy, the specific activity of K 4 0 and Cs 1 37 in banana samples is quantified during the period 1996-1998. The bananas were supplied by the export companies that operate in Costa Rica. The calculated derived intervention level (DIL) for Cs 1 37 was 4000 times greater than the specific activity measured in the fruit due to worldwide nuclear events. This result permits its free commercialization. Banana is an excellent source of potassium, since it was determined that each kg of the fruit has 3.8 g of this element. (Author) [es

Nanocomposites of rice and banana flours blend with montmorillonite: Partial characterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodríguez-Marín, María L.; Bello-Pérez, Luis A. [Centro de Desarrollo de Productos Bióticos, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Km 6 carr Yautepec-Jojutla, Calle Ceprobi No. 8, Colonia San Isidro, Apartado Postal 24, C.P 62731, Yautepec, Morelos (Mexico); Yee-Madeira, Hernani [Departamento de Física, Escuela Superior de Física y Matemáticas-IPN, Edificio 9, U.P., ‘Adolfo López Mateos’ Col. Lindavista, C.P. 07738, México, D. F. (Mexico); Zhong, Qixin [Department of Food science and Technology, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (United States); González-Soto, Rosalía A., E-mail: rsoto@ipn.mx [Centro de Desarrollo de Productos Bióticos, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Km 6 carr Yautepec-Jojutla, Calle Ceprobi No. 8, Colonia San Isidro, Apartado Postal 24, C.P 62731, Yautepec, Morelos (Mexico)

2013-10-15

Rice and banana flours are inexpensive starchy materials that can form films with more improved properties than those made with their starch because flour and starch present different hydrophobicity. Montmorillonite (MMT) can be used to further improve the properties of starch-based films, which has not received much research attention for starchy flours. The aim of this work was to evaluate the mechanical and barrier properties of nanocomposite films of banana and rice flours as matrix material with addition of MMT as a nanofiller. MMT was modified using citric acid to produce intercalated structures, as verified by the X-ray diffraction pattern. The intercalated MMT was blended with flour slurries, and films were prepared by casting. Nanocomposite films of banana and rice flours presented an increase in the tensile at break and elongation percentage, respectively, more than their respective control films without MMT. This study showed that banana and rice flours could be alternative raw materials to use in making nanocomposite films. - Highlights: • Flour films presented adequate mechanical and barrier properties. • Addition of montmorillonite modified the mechanical and barrier properties of flour films. • The mechanical properties of the films were influenced by the different components of the flours. • The fiber of the banana flour improved the mechanical properties of the films.

Nanocomposites of rice and banana flours blend with montmorillonite: Partial characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodríguez-Marín, María L.; Bello-Pérez, Luis A.; Yee-Madeira, Hernani; Zhong, Qixin; González-Soto, Rosalía A.

2013-01-01

Rice and banana flours are inexpensive starchy materials that can form films with more improved properties than those made with their starch because flour and starch present different hydrophobicity. Montmorillonite (MMT) can be used to further improve the properties of starch-based films, which has not received much research attention for starchy flours. The aim of this work was to evaluate the mechanical and barrier properties of nanocomposite films of banana and rice flours as matrix material with addition of MMT as a nanofiller. MMT was modified using citric acid to produce intercalated structures, as verified by the X-ray diffraction pattern. The intercalated MMT was blended with flour slurries, and films were prepared by casting. Nanocomposite films of banana and rice flours presented an increase in the tensile at break and elongation percentage, respectively, more than their respective control films without MMT. This study showed that banana and rice flours could be alternative raw materials to use in making nanocomposite films. - Highlights: • Flour films presented adequate mechanical and barrier properties. • Addition of montmorillonite modified the mechanical and barrier properties of flour films. • The mechanical properties of the films were influenced by the different components of the flours. • The fiber of the banana flour improved the mechanical properties of the films

Relative susceptibility of Musa genotypes to banana bunchy top disease in Cameroon and implication for disease management

Science.gov (United States)

Banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) is a serious threat to banana and plantain (Musa spp.) production. BBTD is caused by the Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV, genus Babuvirus) which is spread through infected plant propagules and banana aphid, Pentalonia nigronervosa. A high level of resistance to BBTD in...

Synthetic Ni3S2/Ni hybrid architectures as potential contrast agents in MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, J; Chen, K

2016-01-01

Traditional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents mainly include superparamagnetic (SPM) iron oxide nanoparticle as T 2 contrast agent for liver and paramagnetic Gd (III)-chelate as T 1 contrast agent for all organs. In this work, weak ferromagnetic kale-like and SPM cabbage-like Ni 3 S 2 @Ni hybrid architectures were synthesized and evaluated as potential T 1 MRI contrast agents. Their relatively small r 2 /r 1 ratios of 2.59 and 2.38, and high r 1 values of 11.27 and 4.89 mmol −1 L s −1 (for the kale-like and cabbage-like Ni 3 S 2 @Ni, respectively) will shed some light on the development of new-type MRI contrast agents. (paper)

Low Cost Design of a Hybrid Architecture of Integer Inverse DCT for H.264, VC-1, AVS, and HEVC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Martuza

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents a unified hybrid architecture to compute the 8×8 integer inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT of multiple modern video codecs—AVS, H.264/AVC, VC-1, and HEVC (under development. Based on the symmetric structure of the matrices and the similarity in matrix operation, we develop a generalized “decompose and share” algorithm to compute the 8×8 IDCT. The algorithm is later applied to four video standards. The hardware-share approach ensures the maximum circuit reuse during the computation. The architecture is designed with only adders and shifters to reduce the hardware cost significantly. The design is implemented on FPGA and later synthesized in CMOS 0.18 um technology. The results meet the requirements of advanced video coding applications.

Effect of mulching on banana weevil movement relative to pheromone traps

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tinzaara, W.; Gold, C.S.; Dicke, M.; Huis, van A.; Ragama, P.E.

2008-01-01

Banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus) is a major pest in East Africa causing yield losses of up to 14 metric tonnes per hectare annually. A study was conducted in Uganda to determine the effect of mulching on banana (Musa spp. L.) weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae),

Transgenic Cavendish bananas with resistance to Fusarium wilt tropical race 4.

Science.gov (United States)

Dale, James; James, Anthony; Paul, Jean-Yves; Khanna, Harjeet; Smith, Mark; Peraza-Echeverria, Santy; Garcia-Bastidas, Fernando; Kema, Gert; Waterhouse, Peter; Mengersen, Kerrie; Harding, Robert

2017-11-14

Banana (Musa spp.) is a staple food for more than 400 million people. Over 40% of world production and virtually all the export trade is based on Cavendish banana. However, Cavendish banana is under threat from a virulent fungus, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (TR4) for which no acceptable resistant replacement has been identified. Here we report the identification of transgenic Cavendish with resistance to TR4. In our 3-year field trial, two lines of transgenic Cavendish, one transformed with RGA2, a gene isolated from a TR4-resistant diploid banana, and the other with a nematode-derived gene, Ced9, remain disease free. Transgene expression in the RGA2 lines is strongly correlated with resistance. Endogenous RGA2 homologs are also present in Cavendish but are expressed tenfold lower than that in our most resistant transgenic line. The expression of these homologs can potentially be elevated through gene editing, to provide non-transgenic resistance.

Optimization of extraction parameters on the antioxidant properties of banana waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Toh, Pui Yee; Leong, Fei Shan; Chang, Sui Kiat; Khoo, Hock Eng; Yim, Hip Seng

2016-01-01

Banana is grown worldwide and consumed as ripe fruit or used for culinary purposes. Peels form about 18-33% of the whole fruit and are discarded as a waste product. With a view to exploiting banana peel as a source of valuable compounds, this study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of different extraction parameters on the antioxidant activities of the industrial by-product of banana waste (peel). Influence of different extraction parameters such as types of solvent, percentages of solvent, and extraction times on total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity of mature and green peels of Pisang Abu (PA), Pisang Berangan (PB), and Pisang Mas (PM) were investigated. The best extraction parameters were initially selected based on different percentages of ethanol (0-100% v/v), extraction time (1-5 hr), and extraction temperature (25-60°C) for extraction of antioxidants in the banana peels. Total phenolic content (TPC) was evaluated using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent assay while antioxidant activities (AA) of banana peel were accessed by DPPH, ABTS, and β-carotene bleaching (BCB) assays at optimum extraction conditions. Based on different extraction solvents and percentages of solvents used, 70% and 90% of acetone had yielded the highest TPC for the mature and green PA peels, respectively; 90% of ethanol and methanol has yielded the highest TPC for the mature and green PB peels, respectively; while 90% ethanol for the mature and green PM peels. Similar extraction conditions were found for the antioxidant activities for the banana peel assessed using DPPH assay except for green PB peel, which 70% methanol had contributed to the highest AA. Highest TPC and AA were obtained by applying 4, 1, and 2 hrs extraction for the peels of PA, PB and PM, respectively. The best extraction conditions were also used for determination of AAs using ABTS and β-carotene bleaching assays. Therefore, the best extraction conditions used have given the highest TPC and AAs. By

Ripe Banana Flour as a Source of Antioxidants in Layer and Sponge Cakes.

Science.gov (United States)

Segundo, Cristina; Román, Laura; Lobo, Manuel; Martinez, Mario M; Gómez, Manuel

2017-12-01

About one-fifth of all bananas harvested become culls that are normally disposed of improperly. However, ripe banana pulp contains significant amounts of fibre and polyphenol compounds as well as a high content of simple sugars (61.06 g/100 g), making it suitable for sucrose replacement in bakery products. This work studied the feasibility of incorporating ripe banana flour (20 and 40% of replacement) in cake formulation. Physical, nutritional and sensory attributes of sponge and layer cakes were evaluated. The inclusion of ripe banana flour generally led to an increased batter consistency that hindered cake expansion, resulting in a slightly lower specific volume and higher hardness. This effect was minimised in layer cakes where differences in volume were only evident with the higher level of replacement. The lower volume and higher hardness contributed to the decline of the acceptability observed in the sensory test. Unlike physical attributes, the banana flour inclusion significantly improved the nutritional properties of the cakes, bringing about an enhancement in dietary fibre, polyphenols and antioxidant capacity (up to a three-fold improvement in antioxidant capacity performance). Therefore, results showed that sugar replacement by ripe banana flour enhanced the nutritional properties of cakes, but attention should be paid to its inclusion level.

Influence of ripeness of banana on the blood glucose and insulin response in type 2 diabetic subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hermansen, K; Rasmussen, O; Gregersen, S; Larsen, S

1992-10-01

Banana is a popular and tasty fruit which often is restricted in the diet prescribed for diabetic patients owing to the high content of free sugars. However, in under-ripe bananas starch constitutes 80-90% of the carbohydrate content, which as the banana ripens changes into free sugars. To study the effect of ripening on the postprandial blood glucose and insulin responses to banana, 10 type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic subjects consumed three meals, consisting of 120 g under-ripe banana, 120 g over-ripe banana or 40 g white bread on separate days. The mean postprandial blood glucose response area to white bread (181 +/- 45 mmol l-1 x 240 min) was significantly higher compared with under-ripe banana (62 +/- 17 mmol l-1 x 240 min: p alfa-amylase in humans.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on Banana Yields in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Climate variability and change are existing sets of conditions which affect crop productivity. An evaluation of their impacts on banana yield in the CDC-DelMonte Banana Project at Tiko is fundamental in conceiving adaptation strategies towards coping with, and minimizing their deleterious impacts for maximum productivity ...

Effect of physiological harvest stages on the composition of bioactive compounds in Cavendish bananas*

Science.gov (United States)

Bruno Bonnet, Christelle; Hubert, Olivier; Mbeguie-A-Mbeguie, Didier; Pallet, Dominique; Hiol, Abel; Reynes, Max; Poucheret, Patrick

2013-01-01

The combined influence of maturation, ripening, and climate on the profile of bioactive compounds was studied in banana (Musa acuminata, AAA, Cavendish, cv. Grande Naine). Their bioactive compounds were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu assay and high-performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method. The polyphenol content of bananas harvested after 400 degree days remained unchanged during ripening, while bananas harvested after 600 and 900 degree days exhibited a significant polyphenol increase. Although dopamine was the polyphenol with the highest concentration in banana peels during the green developmental stage and ripening, its kinetics differed from the total polyphenol profile. Our results showed that this matrix of choice (maturation, ripening, and climate) may allow selection of the banana (M. acuminata, AAA, Cavendish, cv. Grande Naine) status that will produce optimal concentrations of identified compounds with human health relevance. PMID:23549844

Numerical linear algebra on emerging architectures: The PLASMA and MAGMA projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agullo, Emmanuel; Demmel, Jim; Dongarra, Jack; Hadri, Bilel; Kurzak, Jakub; Langou, Julien; Ltaief, Hatem; Luszczek, Piotr; Tomov, Stanimire

2009-01-01

The emergence and continuing use of multi-core architectures and graphics processing units require changes in the existing software and sometimes even a redesign of the established algorithms in order to take advantage of now prevailing parallelism. Parallel Linear Algebra for Scalable Multi-core Architectures (PLASMA) and Matrix Algebra on GPU and Multics Architectures (MAGMA) are two projects that aims to achieve high performance and portability across a wide range of multi-core architectures and hybrid systems respectively. We present in this document a comparative study of PLASMA's performance against established linear algebra packages and some preliminary results of MAGMA on hybrid multi-core and GPU systems.

SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS: A high performance 90 nm CMOS SAR ADC with hybrid architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Xingyuan, Tong; Jianming, Chen; Zhangming, Zhu; Yintang, Yang

2010-01-01

A 10-bit 2.5 MS/s SAR A/D converter is presented. In the circuit design, an R-C hybrid architecture D/A converter, pseudo-differential comparison architecture and low power voltage level shifters are utilized. Design challenges and considerations are also discussed. In the layout design, each unit resistor is sided by dummies for good matching performance, and the capacitors are routed with a common-central symmetry method to reduce the nonlin-earity error. This proposed converter is implemented based on 90 nm CMOS logic process. With a 3.3 V analog supply and a 1.0 V digital supply, the differential and integral nonlinearity are measured to be less than 0.36 LSB and 0.69 LSB respectively. With an input frequency of 1.2 MHz at 2.5 MS/s sampling rate, the SFDR and ENOB are measured to be 72.86 dB and 9.43 bits respectively, and the power dissipation is measured to be 6.62 mW including the output drivers. This SAR A/D converter occupies an area of 238 × 214 μm2. The design results of this converter show that it is suitable for multi-supply embedded SoC applications.

Deleterious effects of plant cystatins against the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiggundu, Andrew; Muchwezi, Josephine; Van der Vyver, Christell; Viljoen, Altus; Vorster, Juan; Schlüter, Urte; Kunert, Karl; Michaud, Dominique

2010-02-01

The general potential of plant cystatins for the development of insect-resistant transgenic plants still remains to be established given the natural ability of several insects to compensate for the loss of digestive cysteine protease activities. Here we assessed the potential of cystatins for the development of banana lines resistant to the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus, a major pest of banana and plantain in Africa. Protease inhibitory assays were conducted with protein and methylcoumarin (MCA) peptide substrates to measure the inhibitory efficiency of different cystatins in vitro, followed by a diet assay with cystatin-infiltrated banana stem disks to monitor the impact of two plant cystatins, oryzacystatin I (OC-I, or OsCYS1) and papaya cystatin (CpCYS1), on the overall growth rate of weevil larvae. As observed earlier for other Coleoptera, banana weevils produce a variety of proteases for dietary protein digestion, including in particular Z-Phe-Arg-MCA-hydrolyzing (cathepsin L-like) and Z-Arg-Arg-MCA-hydrolyzing (cathepsin B-like) proteases active in mildly acidic conditions. Both enzyme populations were sensitive to the cysteine protease inhibitor E-64 and to different plant cystatins including OsCYS1. In line with the broad inhibitory effects of cystatins, OsCYS1 and CpCYS1 caused an important growth delay in young larvae developing for 10 days in cystatin-infiltrated banana stem disks. These promising results, which illustrate the susceptibility of C. sordidus to plant cystatins, are discussed in the light of recent hypotheses suggesting a key role for cathepsin B-like enzymes as a determinant for resistance or susceptibility to plant cystatins in Coleoptera. 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

FRUIT JUICES AS AN ALTERNATIVE TECHNIQUE FOR CONSERVATION OF FRESH-CUT BANANA

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ANDERSON ADRIANO MARTINS MELO

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Browning discoloration after cutting is detrimental for the quality of a number of fruits and vegetables, such as banana, apple, pear, potato, and some roots such as cassava, yam, and others. Browning and softening compromise banana after cut shelf-life in a few hours under cold storage. Therefore, anti-browning compounds have been applied to slices before packing. Some commonly used substances are calcium chloride, ascorbic acid, cysteine and citric acid, in immersed inchemical mixtures. Recent studies have demonstrated the possibility of preserving fresh-cut banana immersed in sweetened fruit juice for relatively longer periods, favoring commercialization. This type of conservation, although widely used in Brazil for fruit salads, consists of a more complex system in a physiological basis, requiring adjustment of the solution parameters, such as sugar concentration, pH and acidity, considering the viability and freshness of the plant tissue. In this short review, we discuss some experimental data and present a new method for preserving fresh-cut banana. Reduction of enzymatic activity, either in temporary dipping treatment or permanent immersion of banana slices is regarded as a key factor for maintaining its quality during cold storage.

Antioxidant activity test on ambonese banana stem sap (Musa parasidiaca var. sapientum

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Hendrik Setia Budi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Polymorphonuclear cells (PMN release oxygen free radicals or reactive oxygen species (ROS during inflammation. As a result, ROS level is higher than antioxidant level in our body during oxidative stress leading to prolong inflammation or continuous tissue damage. Indonesia, on the other hand, is a country with various herbal medicines. For instance, ambonese banana (Musa parasidiaca var. sapientum is often used as herbal medicine. Ambonese banana, moreover, has flavonoid, polyphenol, tannin, and saponin as antioxidants to reduce free radicals by transferring their hydrogen atom. Medicine used to reduce the impact of free radicals is known as antioxidant. Antioxidant is proved to accelerate wound healing. Purpose: This research aims to analyze the effects of the antioxidant activity of Ambonese banana stem sap extract. Method: Antioxidant activities in this research were examined with 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hidrazyl (DPPH method by reacting with stable radical compounds. Spectrophotometry with a wavelength of 517 nm was used to measure absorption results shown in purple. The absorption results then were calculated by IC50 reduction activity. Result: There were significant differences of Ambonese banana stem sap antioxidant activity (p50%. Conclusion: Ambonese banana stem sap extract has antioxidant activities.

Towards improving highland ban.anas

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The most fertile land races belonged to 'Nakabululu' and 'Nfuuka' clone sets. Viable seeds were obtained from several land races indicating that genetic improvement ofthese highland bananas through cross breeding is possible. The fertile Iandraces should be cross-pollinated with improved diploids to produce resistant ...

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analyses of Aquaporin Gene Family during Development and Abiotic Stress in Banana

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Wei; Hou, Xiaowan; Huang, Chao; Yan, Yan; Tie, Weiwei; Ding, Zehong; Wei, Yunxie; Liu, Juhua; Miao, Hongxia; Lu, Zhiwei; Li, Meiying; Xu, Biyu; Jin, Zhiqiang

2015-01-01

Aquaporins (AQPs) function to selectively control the flow of water and other small molecules through biological membranes, playing crucial roles in various biological processes. However, little information is available on the AQP gene family in bananas. In this study, we identified 47 banana AQP genes based on the banana genome sequence. Evolutionary analysis of AQPs from banana, Arabidopsis, poplar, and rice indicated that banana AQPs (MaAQPs) were clustered into four subfamilies. Conserved motif analysis showed that all banana AQPs contained the typical AQP-like or major intrinsic protein (MIP) domain. Gene structure analysis suggested the majority of MaAQPs had two to four introns with a highly specific number and length for each subfamily. Expression analysis of MaAQP genes during fruit development and postharvest ripening showed that some MaAQP genes exhibited high expression levels during these stages, indicating the involvement of MaAQP genes in banana fruit development and ripening. Additionally, some MaAQP genes showed strong induction after stress treatment and therefore, may represent potential candidates for improving banana resistance to abiotic stress. Taken together, this study identified some excellent tissue-specific, fruit development- and ripening-dependent, and abiotic stress-responsive candidate MaAQP genes, which could lay a solid foundation for genetic improvement of banana cultivars. PMID:26307965

Strategy to increase Barangan Banana production in Kabupaten Deli Serdang

Science.gov (United States)

Adhany, I.; Chalil, D.; Ginting, R.

2018-02-01

This study was conducted to analyze internal and external factors in increasing Barangan Banana production in Kabupaten Deli Serdang. Samples were determined by snowball sampling technique and purposive sampling method. Using SWOT analysis method, this study found that there were 6 internal strategic factors and 9 external strategic factors. Among that strategic factors, support for production facilities appears as the most important internal strategic factor, while the demand for Barangan Banana. as the most important external strategic factor. Based on the importance and existing condition of these strategic factors, using support for production facilities and realization of supporting facilities with farming experience are the strategies covering strength-opportunity (SO), organizing mentoring to meet the demand for Barangan Banana are the strategies covering weakness-opportunity (WO), making use of funding support and subsidies to widen the land, using tissue culture seeds and facilities and infrastructures are the strategies covering strength-threat (ST), increas the funding support to widen the land, the use of tissue culture seeds and facilities and infrastructures are the strategies covering weakness-threat (WT) are discussed and proposed to increase Barangan Banana productivity in Kabupaten Deli Serdang.

Synthesis and analysis of acou-physical properties of banana biocomposite

Science.gov (United States)

Mishra, S. P.; Bhanupriya; Nath, G.

2018-02-01

The sound absorbing materials have been developed using various natural fibres which are renewable, biodegradable, recyclable and economic in nature. After the cultivation of banana fruit as its stem which is fibrous in nature has no use, it may use in various scientific applications as like as the preparation of sound absorbing materials. The suitable and proper mixture of the epoxy resin with the banana fibre gives rise to formation of the biocomposite material which is mechanically firm and tough. The EDS and SEM analysis of the sample gives an idea about the formation of closed chain in between banana fibre and epoxy in the molecular level and porous quality. The thermal conductivity gradually decreases with the increase of particle concentration and the electrical conductivity increases in the order of 10-5 which demonstrates the insulating behaviour of the prepared sample. At the higher frequencies there is a reduction of dielectric constant due to the interfacial and orientation polarisation. The intensity of sound decreases in presence of the material and the absorption coefficient rise with increase of frequency. Thus the banana fibre biocomposite material can be used as a sound absorber which behaves as thermally and electrically insulator.

Sheep fed with banana leaf hay reduce ruminal protozoa population.

Science.gov (United States)

Freitas, Cláudio Eduardo Silva; Duarte, Eduardo Robson; Alves, Dorismar David; Martinele, Isabel; D'Agosto, Marta; Cedrola, Franciane; de Moura Freitas, Angélica Alves; Dos Santos Soares, Franklin Delano; Beltran, Makenzi

2017-04-01

A ciliate protozoa suppression can reduce methane production increasing the energy efficiency utilization by ruminants. The physicochemical characteristics of rumen fluid and the profile of the rumen protozoa populations were evaluated for sheep fed banana leaf hay in replacement of the Cynodon dactylon cv. vaqueiro hay. A total of 30 male sheep were raised in intensive system during 15 days of adaptation and 63 days of experimental period. The animals were distributed in a completely randomized design that included six replicates of five treatments with replacement levels (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) of the grass vaquero for the banana leaf hay. Samples of fluid were collected directly from the rumen with sterile catheters. Color, odor, viscosity, and the methylene blue reduction potential (MBRP) were evaluated and pH estimated using a digital potentiometer. After decimal dilutions, counts of genus protozoa were performed in Sedgewick Rafter chambers. The averages of pH, MBRP, color, odor, and viscosity were not influenced by the inclusion of the banana leaf hay. However, the total number of protozoa and Entodinium spp. population significantly decreased at 75 and 100% inclusions of banana leaf hay as roughage.

Consumo de massas, biodiversidade e fitomelhoramento da banana de exportação 1920 a 1980 Mass markets, biodiversity and breeding improvements of export bananas 1920-1980

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John Soluri

2008-06-01

Full Text Available A exportação de banana, na América, foi constituída sob uma base genética extremamente limitada: ao longo de setenta anos, uma só variedade de banana, a Gros Michel, foi praticamente a única a ser vendida nos mercados norte-americanos. Esta variedade produzia grandes cachos, resistentes ao transporte, e dotados de um sabor e de uma casca que os consumidores norte-americanos identificavam como pertencentes a uma banana de qualidade. Entretanto, a Gros Michel também se mostrou muito suscetível a um grande número de patógenos fúngicos, incluindo o Mal do Panamá e a Sigatoka. A dinâmica histórica ocasionada, durante a primeira metade do século XX, pela propagação desse fungo, acelerou o aumentou dos índices de desmatamento, desestabilizou os sistemas de vida rural, aumentou os riscos à saúde dos trabalhadores do campo, e limitou os rendimentos das principais companhias de comércio de banana. Tais epidemias impeliram o governo britânico e a United Fruit Company a estabelecerem programas de fitomelhoramento, durante a década de 1920, tendo como meta o desenvolvimento de uma banana para exportação, que fosse resistente ao Mal do Panamá. Contudo, a criação de um híbrido que fosse capaz tanto de prosperar nas zonas tropicais, quanto de encontrar aceitação no mercado norte-americano, se mostrou uma tarefa de difícil realização. A história dos programas de melhoramento revela uma das principais contradições da agricultura do século XX: os mesmos processos de produção massificada, que tendem a reduzir a diversidade biológica a nível local e regional, permaneciam dependentes do acesso a de um banco genético "global", para manter níveis lucrativos de produção.The export banana industry in Latin America and the Caribbean developed on a very narrow genetic base: a single variety, the Gros Michel, was the only banana variety mass marketed in the United States for at least seventy years. The Gros Michel variety

Hyperspectral imaging system for disease scanning on banana plants

Science.gov (United States)

Ochoa, Daniel; Cevallos, Juan; Vargas, German; Criollo, Ronald; Romero, Dennis; Castro, Rodrigo; Bayona, Oswaldo

2016-05-01

Black Sigatoka (BS) is a banana plant disease caused by the fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis. BS symptoms can be observed at late infection stages. By that time, BS has probably spread to other plants. In this paper, we present our current work on building an hyper-spectral (HS) imaging system aimed at in-vivo detection of BS pre-symptomatic responses in banana leaves. The proposed imaging system comprises a motorized stage, a high-sensitivity VIS-NIR camera and an optical spectrograph. To capture images of the banana leaf, the stage's speed and camera's frame rate must be computed to reduce motion blur and to obtain the same resolution along both spatial dimensions of the resulting HS cube. Our continuous leaf scanning approach allows imaging leaves of arbitrary length with minimum frame loss. Once the images are captured, a denoising step is performed to improve HS image quality and spectral profile extraction.

Green banana pasta: an alternative for gluten-free diets.

Science.gov (United States)

Zandonadi, Renata Puppin; Botelho, Raquel Braz Assunção; Gandolfi, Lenora; Ginani, Janini Selva; Montenegro, Flávio Martins; Pratesi, Riccardo

2012-07-01

The objective of this study was to develop and analyze a gluten-free pasta made with green banana flour. The study was divided into five steps: preparation/selection, chemical, sensory, technological, and statistical analysis. The modified sample presented greater acceptance (84.5% for celiac individuals and 61.2% for nonceliac) than standard samples (53.6% for nonceliac individuals). There was no significant difference between the modified and the standard samples in terms of appearance, aroma, flavor, and overall quality. The modified pastas presented approximately 98% less lipids. Green bananas are considered a subproduct of low commercial value with little industrial use. The possibility of developing gluten-free products with green banana flour can expand the product supply for people with celiac disease and contribute to a more diverse diet. Copyright © 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enhancing banana weevil ( Cosmopolites sordidus ) resistance by ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Enhancing banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus) resistance by plant genetic modification: A perspective. Andrew Kiggundu, Michael Pillay, Altus Viljoen, Clifford Gold, Wilberforce Tushemereirwe, Karl Kunert ...

Effects of Increasing Levels of Dietary Cooked and Uncooked Banana Meal on Growth Performance and Carcass Parameters of Broiler Chicken

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N.S.B.M Atapattu* and T.S.M.S. Senevirathne

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Discarded banana is a valuable feed ingredient for poultry feed formulations. However, due to the presence of resistant starches, inclusion of more than 10% banana meal in poultry rations reduces the growth performance. The objective of this study was to determine whether higher levels of banana meal could be included in broiler diets if raw banana is cooked before being processed into meal. Discarded banana (Cavendish collected at harvesting was processed into two types of banana meals. Cooked banana meal was prepared by cooking banana at 100oC for 15 minutes and subsequent drying. Uncooked banana meal was prepared by drying at 800C for three days. Giving a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement, 144 broiler chicks in 48 cages received one of the eight experimental diets containing either cooked or uncooked banana meal at 0, 10, 20 or 30% ad libitum from day 21-42. Birds fed cooked banana meal were significantly heavier on day 28 and 35. Live weight on day 42, weight gain, feed intake or feed conversion efficiency were not affected either by the type or level of banana meal and their interaction. Cooked banana meal increased the weights of the crop and liver significantly. Weight of the small intestine, proventriculus, gizzard abdominal fat pad and the fat free tibia ash contents were not affected by the dietary treatments. It was concluded that uncooked banana meal produced using peeled raw banana can be included up to 30% in nutritionally balanced broiler finisher diets without any adverse effects on performance.

Avaliação de variedades e híbridos de bananeiras sob irrigação Evaluation of banana varieties and hybrids under irrigation

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Sérgio Luiz Rodrigues Donato

2003-08-01

Full Text Available O Brasil dispõe de um grande número de variedades de bananeira, porém poucas atendem integralmente as exigências relativas à preferência dos consumidores, à produtividade e à resistência a doenças. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar, durante dois ciclos produtivos, em Guanambi (BA, as variedades Nam (AAA, Caipira (AAA, Grande Naine (AAA e Prata Anã (AAB e os híbridos (AAAB PA12-03, FHIA-01, SH3640 e FHIA-18 quanto ao porte, ao peso do cacho, ao número de pencas e de frutos, ao número de folhas no florescimento e na colheita e ao ciclo, no delineamento inteiramente casualizado. A 'Grande Naine' destacou-se nos dois ciclos, sobretudo na produtividade. No primeiro ciclo, a 'Caipira' e os híbridos FHIA-18 e SH3640 obtiveram, após a Grande Naine, os melhores rendimentos no peso do cacho. A Caipira também se destacou no número de frutos e os híbridos SH3640, FHIA-01 e FHIA-18 mostraram um bom desempenho no número de pencas, superando a 'Prata Anã'. O SH3640 apresentou o maior número de folhas na colheita e o PA12-03 foi o genótipo mais baixo e mais precoce. No segundo ciclo, o SH3640 foi um dos destaques quanto ao peso do cacho, ao número de pencas e ao número de folhas no florescimento e na colheita, perdendo apenas para a Grande Naine, nos dois primeiros caracteres, e para a Prata Anã, nos dois últimos. No número de frutos, a Caipira sobressaiu-se, superando a Grande Naine. Como no primeiro ciclo, o PA12-03 foi o genótipo mais precoce, ao lado do FHIA-18, e o segundo mais baixo, ao lado da Nam. O porte e o peso do cacho tiveram um acréscimo, entre os ciclos, nos genótipos avaliados. Os híbridos possuem potencial para ser lançados como cultivares.Brazil has a great number of banana varieties, however a few of them attend completely the exigencies related to the consumers preference requirements, productivity and diseases resistance. The objective of this work was to evaluate banana varieties and hybrids in Guanambi

Atraso do amadurecimento de banana 'Maçã' pelo 1-MCP, aplicado previamente à refrigeração Ripening delay of 'Apple' banana submitted to 1-MCP, prevoiously applied to refrigeration

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Gustavo Costa Almeida

2006-08-01

Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de diferentes períodos de exposição da banana 'Maçã' a 50 ppb de 1-MCP (0; 3; 6; 9; 12 e 24 horas sobre sua vida pós-colheita e qualidade. Após exposição ao 1-MCP, os frutos verde-maturos foram armazenados por 30 dias em câmaras com temperatura de 13ºC ± 0,5 e umidade relativa de 95%. Em seguida, as bananas foram armazenadas à temperatura de 20ºC ± 1, até amarelecimento completo da casca. A exposição de banana 'Maçã' a 50 ppb de 1-MCP, por 9 horas, retardou em 7 dias o seu amadurecimento, em comparação a frutos não expostos ao 1-MCP, após 30 dias de armazenamento refrigerado (13ºC, sem prejuízos à sua aparência e composição química. A exposição de banana 'Maçã' a 50 ppb de 1-MCP, por 3 e 6 horas, não estendeu sua vida pós-colheita, tampouco alterou sua composição química. Embora a exposição de banana 'Maçã' a 50 ppb de 1-MCP, por 12 e 24 horas, tenha retardado o seu amadurecimento, promoveu alterações indesejáveis na casca do fruto. Logo, a aplicação de 50 ppb de 1-MCP, por 9 horas, antes da refrigeração, constitui-se numa alternativa viável para prolongar o período de comercialização da banana.The aim of this work was to evaluate 'Apple' banana different periods exposure effect to 50 ppb of 1-MCP (0, 3, 6, 9 and 24 hours on its postharvest life and quality. Mature-green fruits were stored for 30 days in chambers at 13ºC + 0,5 and relative humidity 95%, after exposure to 1-MCP. Then, the bananas were stored at 20ºC + 1 until peel complete yellowing. 'Apple' banana to 50 ppb of 1-MCP exposure during 9 hours delayed in seven days the fruit ripening, comparing to fruit control, after 30 days of cool storage (13ºC, without changing its appearance and chemical composition. The exposure of 'Apple' banana to 50 ppb of 1-MCP for 3 and 6 hours did not extend its postharvest life; neither changed its chemical composition. Although the exposure of

Exploring the Potential of Banana SAP as Dye for the Adinkra ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A study was carried out to explore the potential of banana sap as a dye for the Adinkra industry in Ghana. Pseudostem extract of banana and stem bark extract of Bridelia micratha were compared as dyeing stuff. A consumer preference study was also conducted to assess the acceptability of the products developed.

Optical linear algebra processors - Architectures and algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Casasent, David

1986-01-01

Attention is given to the component design and optical configuration features of a generic optical linear algebra processor (OLAP) architecture, as well as the large number of OLAP architectures, number representations, algorithms and applications encountered in current literature. Number-representation issues associated with bipolar and complex-valued data representations, high-accuracy (including floating point) performance, and the base or radix to be employed, are discussed, together with case studies on a space-integrating frequency-multiplexed architecture and a hybrid space-integrating and time-integrating multichannel architecture.

The hybrid thermography approach applied to architectural structures

Science.gov (United States)

Sfarra, S.; Ambrosini, D.; Paoletti, D.; Nardi, I.; Pasqualoni, G.

2017-07-01

This work contains an overview of infrared thermography (IRT) method and its applications relating to the investigation of architectural structures. In this method, the passive approach is usually used in civil engineering, since it provides a panoramic view of the thermal anomalies to be interpreted also thanks to the use of photographs focused on the region of interest (ROI). The active approach, is more suitable for laboratory or indoor inspections, as well as for objects having a small size. The external stress to be applied is thermal, coming from non-natural apparatus such as lamps or hot / cold air jets. In addition, the latter permits to obtain quantitative information related to defects not detectable to the naked eyes. Very recently, the hybrid thermography (HIRT) approach has been introduced to the attention of the scientific panorama. It can be applied when the radiation coming from the sun, directly arrives (i.e., possibly without the shadow cast effect) on a surface exposed to the air. A large number of thermograms must be collected and a post-processing analysis is subsequently applied via advanced algorithms. Therefore, an appraisal of the defect depth can be obtained passing through the calculation of the combined thermal diffusivity of the materials above the defect. The approach is validated herein by working, in a first stage, on a mosaic sample having known defects while, in a second stage, on a Church built in L'Aquila (Italy) and covered with a particular masonry structure called apparecchio aquilano. The results obtained appear promising.

Fabrication of Biomembrane from Banana Stem for Lead Removal

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Afianti Sulastri

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Heavy metal (i.e. lead (Pb is one of the environmental issues recently due to its danger for human health. Therefore, strategy for removing Pb from waste water treatment is important. One of the prospective methods to remove Pb is membrane biofilter. Here, the purpose of this study was to prepare the membrane biofilter for Pb removal process. In this study, membrane biofilter was produced from banana stem. Banana stem was selected because of its abundant availability   in Indonesia. And, for somewhat, this banana stem can be environmental problems (become waste since Indonesia is one of the top producers in the world. In short of the experimental procedure, we conducted three steps of experiments: (1 Preparation of microbial cellulose using Acetobacter xylinum using banana stem for a main source; (2 Synthesis of cellulose acetate; and (3 Preparation of biomembrane from obtained cellulose acetate. To produce membrane biofilter, the cellulose acetate was dissolved into dichloromethane to form a dope solution. Then, the doped solution was printed in Petri dish. Some biomembrane properties were characterized for identification, i.e. infrared spectra, electron microscope, and elemental analysis. Experimental results showed that we succeeded to prepare biomembrane with a pore size of 5 μm. The filtration efficiency of our prepared membrane was 93.7% of Pb when using Pb with a concentration of 10 ppm.

The effects of banana peel preparations on the properties of banana peel dietary fibre concentrate

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Phatcharaporn Wachirasiri

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Four different preparation methods of banana peel, dry milling, wet milling, wet milling and tap water washing, and wet milling and hot water washing were investigated on their effects on the chemical composition and properties of the banana peel dietary fibre concentrate (BDFC. The dry milling process gave the BDFC a significant higher fat, protein, and starch content than the wet milling process, resulting in a lower water holding capacity (WHC and oil holding capacity(OHC. Washing after wet milling could enhance the concentration of total dietary fibre by improving the removal of protein and fat. Washing with hot water after wet milling process caused a higher loss of soluble fibre fraction, resulting in a lower WHC and OHC of the obtained BDFC when compared to washing with tap water. Wet milling and tap water washing gave the BDFC the highest concentration of total and soluble dietary fibre, WHC and OHC.

Digital column readout architectures for hybrid pixel detector readout chips

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poikela, T; Plosila, J; Westerlund, T; Buytaert, J; Campbell, M; Gaspari, M De; Llopart, X; Wyllie, K; Gromov, V; Kluit, R; Beuzekom, M van; Zappon, F; Zivkovic, V; Brezina, C; Desch, K; Fu, Y; Kruth, A

2014-01-01

In this paper, two digital column architectures suitable for sparse readout of data from a pixel matrix in trigger-less applications are presented. Each architecture reads out a pixel matrix of 256 x 256 pixels with a pixel pitch of 55 μm. The first architecture has been implemented in the Timepix3 chip, and this is presented together with initial measurements. Simulation results and measured data are compared. The second architecture has been designed for Velopix, a readout chip planned for the LHCb VELO upgrade. Unlike Timepix3, this has to be tolerant to radiation-induced single-event effects. Results from post-layout simulations are shown with the circuit architectures

Bio solids Application on Banana Production: Soil Chemical Properties and Plant Nutrition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teixeira, L.A.J; Berton, R.S.B; Coscione, A.R; Saes, L.A

2011-01-01

Bio solids are relatively rich in N, P, and S and could be used to substitute mineral fertilization for banana crop. A field experiment was carried out in a Yellow Oxisol to investigate the effects of bio solids application on soil chemical properties and on banana leaf's nutrient concentration during the first cropping cycle. Soil analysis (ph, organic matter, resin P, exchangeable Ca and K, available B, DTPA-extracted micro nutrients, and heavy metals) and index-leaf analysis (B, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb) were evaluated. Bio solids can completely substitute mineral N and P fertilizer to banana growth. Soil exchangeable K and leaf-K concentration must be monitored in order to avoid K deficiency in banana plants. No risk of heavy metal (Cr, Ni, Pb, and Cd) concentration increase in the index leaf was observed when bio solids were applied at the recommended N rate.

In vitro mutation induction for resistance to Fusarium wilt in the banana

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tulmann Neto, A; Mendes, B M.J.; Latado, R [Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Piracicaba, SP (Brazil); Cesar Santos, P dos; Boliani, A [Universidade Estadual Paulista, Ilha Solteira, SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Agronomia

1995-11-01

In Brazil, which is one of the world`s principal banana production regions, almost all production is consumed within the country. Consumers show high preference for the cultivar Maca (AAB group). However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to produce bananas of this type because of their high susceptibility to Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense. Sexual breeding, which consists of recombination and selection, is limited in the banana because of polyploidy and sterility. Spontaneous somatic mutations are an important source of new cultirvars, and mutation breeding might be particularly important to generate genetic variation. Because of this, the mutation breeding approach has been used in Brazil. The objective of this research was to induce gamma ray mutations for resistance or to increase the level of tolerance to Fusarium wilt in the banana cultivar Maca on the basis of screening under field conditions. 4 refs.

A study on effect of ATH on Euphorbia coagulum modified polyester banana fiber composite

Science.gov (United States)

Kumari, Sanju; Rai, Bhuvneshwar; Kumar, Gulshan

2018-02-01

Fiber reinforced polymer composites are used for building and structural applications due to their high strength. In conventional composites both the binder and the reinforcing fibers are synthetic or either one of the material is natural. In the present study coagulum of Euphorbia royleana has been used for replacing polyester resinas binder in polyester banana composite. Euphorbia coagulum (driedlatex) is rich in resinous mass (60-80%), which are terpenes and polyisoprene (10-20%). Effect of varying percentage of coagulum content on various physico-mechanical properties of polyester-banana composites has been studied. Since banana fiber is sensitive to water due to presence of polar group, banana composite undergoes delamination and deterioration under humid condition. Alkali treated banana fiber along with coagulum content has improved overall mechanical properties and reduction in water absorption. The best physico-mechanical properties have been achieved on replacing 40% of polyester resin by coagulum. An increase of 50% in bending strength, 30% bending modulus and 45% impact strength as well as 68% decrease in water absorption was observed. Incorporation of 20% ATH as flame retardant in coagulum modified banana polyester composite enhanced limiting oxygen index from 20.6 to 26.8% and smoke density reduced up to 40%. This study presents the possibility of utilization of renewable materials for environmental friendly composite development as well as to find out alternative feedstock for petroleum products. Developed Euphorbia latex modified banana polyester composites can have potential utility in hardboard, partition panel, plywood and automotive etc.

Global Transcriptomic Analysis of Targeted Silencing of Two Paralogous ACC Oxidase Genes in Banana

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Yan; Kuan, Chi; Chiu, Chien-Hsiang; Chen, Xiao-Jing; Do, Yi-Yin; Huang, Pung-Ling

2016-01-01

Among 18 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) oxidase homologous genes existing in the banana genome there are two genes, Mh-ACO1 and Mh-ACO2, that participate in banana fruit ripening. To better understand the physiological functions of Mh-ACO1 and Mh-ACO2, two hairpin-type siRNA expression vectors targeting both the Mh-ACO1 and Mh-ACO2 were constructed and incorporated into the banana genome by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The generation of Mh-ACO1 and Mh-ACO2 RNAi transgenic banana plants was confirmed by Southern blot analysis. To gain insights into the functional diversity and complexity between Mh-ACO1 and Mh-ACO2, transcriptome sequencing of banana fruits using the Illumina next-generation sequencer was performed. A total of 32,093,976 reads, assembled into 88,031 unigenes for 123,617 transcripts were obtained. Significantly enriched Gene Oncology (GO) terms and the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with GO annotation were ‘catalytic activity’ (1327, 56.4%), ‘heme binding’ (65, 2.76%), ‘tetrapyrrole binding’ (66, 2.81%), and ‘oxidoreductase activity’ (287, 12.21%). Real-time RT-PCR was further performed with mRNAs from both peel and pulp of banana fruits in Mh-ACO1 and Mh-ACO2 RNAi transgenic plants. The results showed that expression levels of genes related to ethylene signaling in ripening banana fruits were strongly influenced by the expression of genes associated with ethylene biosynthesis. PMID:27681726

Molecular characterization of Banana streak virus isolate from Musa Acuminata in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhuang, Jun; Wang, Jian-Hua; Zhang, Xin; Liu, Zhi-Xin

2011-12-01

Banana streak virus (BSV), a member of genus Badnavirus, is a causal agent of banana streak disease throughout the world. The genetic diversity of BSVs from different regions of banana plantations has previously been investigated, but there are relatively few reports of the genetic characteristic of episomal (non-integrated) BSV genomes isolated from China. Here, the complete genome, a total of 7722bp (GenBank accession number DQ092436), of an isolate of Banana streak virus (BSV) on cultivar Cavendish (BSAcYNV) in Yunnan, China was determined. The genome organises in the typical manner of badnaviruses. The intergenic region of genomic DNA contains a large stem-loop, which may contribute to the ribosome shift into the following open reading frames (ORFs). The coding region of BSAcYNV consists of three overlapping ORFs, ORF1 with a non-AUG start codon and ORF2 encoding two small proteins are individually involved in viral movement and ORF3 encodes a polyprotein. Besides the complete genome, a defective genome lacking the whole RNA leader region and a majority of ORF1 and which encompasses 6525bp was also isolated and sequenced from this BSV DNA reservoir in infected banana plants. Sequence analyses showed that BSAcYNV has closest similarity in terms of genome organization and the coding assignments with an BSV isolate from Vietnam (BSAcVNV). The corresponding coding regions shared identities of 88% and -95% at nucleotide and amino acid levels, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis also indicated BSAcYNV shared the closest geographical evolutionary relationship to BSAcVNV among sequenced banana streak badnaviruses.

Phosphate fertilization changes the characteristics of 'Maçã' banana starch.

Science.gov (United States)

Mesquita, Camila de Barros; Garcia, Émerson Loli; Bolfarini, Ana Carolina Batista; Leonel, Sarita; Franco, Célia Maria L; Leonel, Magali

2018-06-01

The unripe banana has been studied as a potential source of starch for use in various applications. Considering the importance of phosphorus in the biosynthesis of the starch and also the interference of this mineral in starch properties, in this study it was evaluated the effect of rates of phosphate fertilizer applied in the cultivation of 'Maçã' banana on the characteristics of the starch. Starches extracted from fruits from different treatments were analyzed for morphological characteristics, X-ray diffraction pattern, relative crystallinity, granule size, amylose, resistant starch and phosphorus levels, as well as, for pasting and thermal properties. Results showed that the phosphate fertilization has interference on the characteristics of the banana starch led to increase of phosphorus content and size of the granules, reduction of crystallinity and resistant starch content, decrease of viscosity peak, breakdown, final viscosity, setback, transitions temperatures and enthalpy. These changes caused by phosphate fertilizer conditions can be increase the applications of the 'Maçã' banana starch. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Nanocomposites of rice and banana flours blend with montmorillonite: partial characterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Marín, María L; Bello-Pérez, Luis A; Yee-Madeira, Hernani; Zhong, Qixin; González-Soto, Rosalía A

2013-10-01

Rice and banana flours are inexpensive starchy materials that can form films with more improved properties than those made with their starch because flour and starch present different hydrophobicity. Montmorillonite (MMT) can be used to further improve the properties of starch-based films, which has not received much research attention for starchy flours. The aim of this work was to evaluate the mechanical and barrier properties of nanocomposite films of banana and rice flours as matrix material with addition of MMT as a nanofiller. MMT was modified using citric acid to produce intercalated structures, as verified by the X-ray diffraction pattern. The intercalated MMT was blended with flour slurries, and films were prepared by casting. Nanocomposite films of banana and rice flours presented an increase in the tensile at break and elongation percentage, respectively, more than their respective control films without MMT. This study showed that banana and rice flours could be alternative raw materials to use in making nanocomposite films. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Identification of genes encoding granule-bound starch synthase involved in amylose metabolism in banana fruit.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongxia Miao

Full Text Available Granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS is responsible for amylose synthesis, but the role of GBSS genes and their encoded proteins remains poorly understood in banana. In this study, amylose content and GBSS activity gradually increased during development of the banana fruit, and decreased during storage of the mature fruit. GBSS protein in banana starch granules was approximately 55.0 kDa. The protein was up-regulated expression during development while it was down-regulated expression during storage. Six genes, designated as MaGBSSI-1, MaGBSSI-2, MaGBSSI-3, MaGBSSI-4, MaGBSSII-1, and MaGBSSII-2, were cloned and characterized from banana fruit. Among the six genes, the expression pattern of MaGBSSI-3 was the most consistent with the changes in amylose content, GBSS enzyme activity, GBSS protein levels, and the quantity or size of starch granules in banana fruit. These results suggest that MaGBSSI-3 might regulate amylose metabolism by affecting the variation of GBSS levels and the quantity or size of starch granules in banana fruit during development or storage.

Effect of chitosan coating and bamboo FSC (fruit storage chamber) to expand banana shelf life

Science.gov (United States)

Pratiwi, Aksarani'Sa; Dwivany, Fenny M.; Larasati, Dwinita; Islamia, Hana Cahya; Martien, Ronny

2015-09-01

Chitosan has been widely used as fruit preserver and proven to extend the shelf life of many fruits, such as banana. However, banana producers and many industries in Indonesia still facing storage problems which may lead to mechanical damage of the fruits and ripening acceleration. Therefore, we have designed food storage chamber (FSC) based on bamboo material. Bamboo was selected because of material abundance in Indonesia, economically effective, and not causing an autocatalytic reaction to the ethylene gas produced by the banana. In this research, Cavendish banana that has reached the maturity level of mature green were coated with 1% chitosan and placed inside the FSC. As control treatments, uncoated banana was also placed inside the FSC as well as uncoated banana that were placed at open space. All of the treatments were placed at 25°C temperature and observed for 9 days. Water produced by respiration was reduced by the addition of charcoal inside a fabric pouch. The result showed that treatment using FSC and chitosan can delay ripening process.

Identification of Genes Encoding Granule-Bound Starch Synthase Involved in Amylose Metabolism in Banana Fruit

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Weixin; Xu, Biyu; Jin, Zhiqiang

2014-01-01

Granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS) is responsible for amylose synthesis, but the role of GBSS genes and their encoded proteins remains poorly understood in banana. In this study, amylose content and GBSS activity gradually increased during development of the banana fruit, and decreased during storage of the mature fruit. GBSS protein in banana starch granules was approximately 55.0 kDa. The protein was up-regulated expression during development while it was down-regulated expression during storage. Six genes, designated as MaGBSSI-1, MaGBSSI-2, MaGBSSI-3, MaGBSSI-4, MaGBSSII-1, and MaGBSSII-2, were cloned and characterized from banana fruit. Among the six genes, the expression pattern of MaGBSSI-3 was the most consistent with the changes in amylose content, GBSS enzyme activity, GBSS protein levels, and the quantity or size of starch granules in banana fruit. These results suggest that MaGBSSI-3 might regulate amylose metabolism by affecting the variation of GBSS levels and the quantity or size of starch granules in banana fruit during development or storage. PMID:24505384

Effects of Green Banana Flour on the Physical, Chemical and Sensory Properties of Ice Cream.

Science.gov (United States)

Yangılar, Filiz

2015-09-01

In the present study, possible effects of the addition of banana flour at different mass fractions (1 and 2%) are investigated on physical (overrun, viscosity), chemical (dry matter, fat and ash content, acidity, pH, water and oil holding capacity and colour), mineral content (Ca, K, Na, P, S, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn and Ni) and sensory properties of ice cream. Fibre--rich banana pieces were found to contain 66.8 g per 100 g of total dietary fibre, 58.6 g per 100 g of which were insoluble dietary fibre, while 8.2 g per 100 g were soluble dietary fibre. It can be concluded from these results that banana is a valuable dietary fibre source which can be used in food production. Flour obtained from green banana pulp and peel was found to have significant (pice creams. Sulphur content increased while calcium content decreased in ice cream depending on banana flour content. Sensory results indicated that ice cream sample containing 2% of green banana pulp flour received the highest score from panellists.

Hyperkalemia and hyperdopaminemia induced by an obsessive eating of banana in an anorexia nervosa adolescent.

Science.gov (United States)

Tazoe, Mami; Narita, Masaaki; Sakuta, Ryoichi; Nagai, Toshiro; Narita, Naoko

2007-07-01

Banana is known as a dopamine-rich and potassium-rich food, however no previous data regarding biochemical or psychological alteration induced by excess intake of banana has been reported. We have experienced an adolescent female case of Anorexia nervosa (AN) who denied eating anything but maximum 20 bananas and less than 500 ml mineral water per day for more than two years. During the period of massive banana eating habit, she showed increase of serum potassium (from 4.7 mEq/l to 6.1 mEq/l) and whole blood dopamine (from 11 ng/ml to 210 ng/ml; normal range 0.5-6.2 ng/ml), and obvious dysthymia that is inexplicable only by the pathology of AN. When the patient resumed other food ingestion after 26 months of obsessive and restricted eating of banana, the abnormalities in her blood data and her psychological state were all corrected toward normal. We conclude that in this case, the obsessive and restricted habit of banana ingestion resulted in hyperkalemia, hyperdopaminemia, and psychological change.

Three Infectious Viral Species Lying in Wait in the Banana Genome

Science.gov (United States)

Chabannes, Matthieu; Baurens, Franc-Christophe; Duroy, Pierre-Olivier; Bocs, Stéphanie; Vernerey, Marie-Stéphanie; Rodier-Goud, Marguerite; Barbe, Valérie; Gayral, Philippe

2013-01-01

Plant pararetroviruses integrate serendipitously into their host genomes. The banana genome harbors integrated copies of banana streak virus (BSV) named endogenous BSV (eBSV) that are able to release infectious pararetrovirus. In this investigation, we characterized integrants of three BSV species—Goldfinger (eBSGFV), Imove (eBSImV), and Obino l'Ewai (eBSOLV)—in the seedy Musa balbisiana Pisang klutuk wulung (PKW) by studying their molecular structure, genomic organization, genomic landscape, and infectious capacity. All eBSVs exhibit extensive viral genome duplications and rearrangements. eBSV segregation analysis on an F1 population of PKW combined with fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis showed that eBSImV, eBSOLV, and eBSGFV are each present at a single locus. eBSOLV and eBSGFV contain two distinct alleles, whereas eBSImV has two structurally identical alleles. Genotyping of both eBSV and viral particles expressed in the progeny demonstrated that only one allele for each species is infectious. The infectious allele of eBSImV could not be identified since the two alleles are identical. Finally, we demonstrate that eBSGFV and eBSOLV are located on chromosome 1 and eBSImV is located on chromosome 2 of the reference Musa genome published recently. The structure and evolution of eBSVs suggest sequential integration into the plant genome, and haplotype divergence analysis confirms that the three loci display differential evolution. Based on our data, we propose a model for BSV integration and eBSV evolution in the Musa balbisiana genome. The mutual benefits of this unique host-pathogen association are also discussed. PMID:23720724

Host plant odours enhance the responses of adult banana weevil to the synthetic aggregation pheromone Cosmolure+

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tinzaara, W.; Gold, C.S.; Dicke, M.; Huis, van A.; Ragama, P.E.

2007-01-01

Attraction of adult banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus to volatiles from banana pseudostem tissue and the synthetic pheromone Cosmolure+ presented singly or in combination, was studied in the laboratory and in the field. Olfactometric studies in the laboratory showed that 50 g of fermented banana

Hyperspectral Surface Analysis for Ripeness Estimation and Quick UV-C Surface Treatments for Preservation of Bananas

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, W.; Yang, Zh.; Chen, Zh.; Liu, J.; Wang, W. Ch.; Zheng, W. Yu.

2016-05-01

This study aimed to determine the ripeness of bananas using hyperspectral surface analysis and how a rapid UV-C (ultraviolet-C light) surface treatment could reduce decay. The surface of the banana fruit and its stages of maturity were studied using a hyperspectral imaging technique in the visible and near infrared (370-1000 nm) regions. The vselected color ratios from these spectral images were used for classifying the whole banana into immature, ripe, half-ripe and overripe stages. By using a BP neural network, models based on the wavelengths were developed to predict quality attributes. The mean discrimination rate was 98.17%. The surface of the fresh bananas was treated with UV-C at dosages from 15-55 μW/cm2. The visual qualities with or without UV-C treatment were compared using the image, the chromatic aberration test, the firmness test and the area of black spot on the banana skin. The results showed that high dosages of UV-C damaged the banana skin, while low dosages were more efficient at delaying changes in the relative brightness of the skin. The maximum UV-C treatment dose for satisfactory banana preservation was between 21 and 24 μW/cm2. These results could help to improve the visual quality of bananas and to classify their ripeness more easily.

Eco-friendly asbestos free brake-pad: Using banana peels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U.D. Idris

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The use of asbestos fibre is being avoided due to its carcinogenic nature that might cause health risks. A new brake pad produced using banana peel waste to replace asbestos and Phenolic resin (phenol formaldehyde, as a binder was investigated. The resin was varying from 5 to 30 wt% with an interval of 5 wt%. Morphology, physical, mechanical and wear properties of the brake pad were studied. The results show that compressive strength, hardness and specific gravity of the produced samples were seen to be increasing with an increase in wt% of resin addition, while oil soak, water soak, wear rate and percentage charred decreased as the wt% of resin increased. Overall samples, containing 25 wt% in uncarbonized banana peels (BUNCp and 30 wt% in carbonized (BCp gave better properties. The result of this research indicates that banana peel particles can be effectively used as a replacement for asbestos in brake pad manufacture.

Ethanol production process from banana fruit and its lignocellulosic residues: Energy analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Velasquez-Arredondo, H.I. [Grupo de Investigacion Bioprocesos y Flujos Reactivos, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellin, Calle 59 A N 63-20 (Colombia); Departamento de Engenharia Mecanica, Escola Politecnica, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Avenida Professor Mello Moraes 2231 (Brazil); Ruiz-Colorado, A.A. [Grupo de Investigacion Bioprocesos y Flujos Reactivos, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellin, Calle 59 A N 63-20 (Colombia); De Oliveira, S. Jr. [Departamento de Engenharia Mecanica, Escola Politecnica, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Avenida Professor Mello Moraes 2231 (Brazil)

2010-07-15

Tropical countries, such as Brazil and Colombia, have the possibility of using agricultural lands for growing biomass to produce bio-fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. This study applies an energy analysis to the production process of anhydrous ethanol obtained from the hydrolysis of starch and cellulosic and hemicellulosic material present in the banana fruit and its residual biomass. Four different production routes were analyzed: acid hydrolysis of amylaceous material (banana pulp and banana fruit) and enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic material (flower stalk and banana skin). The analysis considered banana plant cultivation, feedstock transport, hydrolysis, fermentation, distillation, dehydration, residue treatment and utility plant. The best indexes were obtained for amylaceous material for which mass performance varied from 346.5 L/t to 388.7 L/t, Net Energy Value (NEV) ranged from 9.86 MJ/L to 9.94 MJ/L and the energy ratio was 1.9 MJ/MJ. For lignocellulosic materials, the figures were less favorable; mass performance varied from 86.1 to 123.5 L/t, NEV from 5.24 to 8.79 MJ/L and energy ratio from 1.3 to 1.6 MJ/MJ. The analysis showed, however, that both processes can be considered energetically feasible. (author)

Banana NAC transcription factor MusaNAC042 is positively associated with drought and salinity tolerance.

Science.gov (United States)

Tak, Himanshu; Negi, Sanjana; Ganapathi, T R

2017-03-01

Banana is an important fruit crop and its yield is hampered by multiple abiotic stress conditions encountered during its growth. The NAC (NAM, ATAF, and CUC) transcription factors are involved in plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present study, we studied the induction of banana NAC042 transcription factor in drought and high salinity conditions and its overexpression in transgenic banana to improve drought and salinity tolerance. MusaNAC042 expression was positively associated with stress conditions like salinity and drought and it encoded a nuclear localized protein. Transgenic lines of banana cultivar Rasthali overexpressing MusaNAC042 were generated by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of banana embryogenic cells and T-DNA insertion was confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analysis. Our results using leaf disc assay indicated that transgenic banana lines were able to tolerate drought and high salinity stress better than the control plants and retained higher level of total chlorophyll and lower level of MDA content (malondialdehyde). Transgenic lines analyzed for salinity (250 mM NaCl) and drought (Soil gravimetric water content 0.15) tolerance showed higher proline content, better Fv/Fm ratio, and lower levels of MDA content than control suggesting that MusaNAC042 may be involved in responses to higher salinity and drought stresses in banana. Expression of several abiotic stress-related genes like those coding for CBF/DREB, LEA, and WRKY factors was altered in transgenic lines indicating that MusaNAC042 is an efficient modulator of abiotic stress response in banana.

Bacterial Diseases of Bananas and Enset: Current State of Knowledge and Integrated Approaches Toward Sustainable Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guy Blomme

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Bacterial diseases of bananas and enset have not received, until recently, an equal amount of attention compared to other major threats to banana production such as the fungal diseases black leaf streak (Mycosphaerella fijiensis and Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense. However, bacteria cause significant impacts on bananas globally and management practices are not always well known or adopted by farmers. Bacterial diseases in bananas and enset can be divided into three groups: (1 Ralstonia-associated diseases (Moko/Bugtok disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum and banana blood disease caused by R. syzygii subsp. celebesensis; (2 Xanthomonas wilt of banana and enset, caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum and (3 Erwinia-associated diseases (bacterial head rot or tip-over disease Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora and E. chrysanthemi, bacterial rhizome and pseudostem wet rot (Dickeya paradisiaca formerly E. chrysanthemi pv. paradisiaca. Other bacterial diseases of less widespread importance include: bacterial wilt of abaca, Javanese vascular wilt and bacterial fingertip rot (probably caused by Ralstonia spp., unconfirmed. This review describes global distribution, symptoms, pathogenic diversity, epidemiology and the state of the art for sustainable disease management of the major bacterial wilts currently affecting banana and enset.

Architectural Drawing - an Animate Field

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hougaard, Anna Katrine

2015-01-01

Architectural drawing is changing because architects today draw with computers. Due to this change digital diagrams employed by computational architectural practices are often emphasized as powerful structures of control and organisation in the design process. But there are also diagrams, which do...... ways of directing behaviour of artefacts and living things without controlling this behaviour completely. I analyse a musical composition by John Cage as an example of a sketch diagram, and then hypothesize that orthogonal, architectural drawing can work in similar ways. Thereby I hope to point out...... important affordance of architectural drawing as a ¬hybrid between the openness of hand-sketching and the rule-based-ness of diagramming, an affordance which might be useful in the migrational zone of current architectural drawing where traditional hand drawing techniques and computer drawing techniques...

Arabidopsis and Musa cyclin D2 expressed in banana (cv. “Sukali ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Genetic transformation of banana is important because of its polyploidy, sterility and long generation time of most cultivars which limit conventional breeding. However, transformability and regeneration of transgenic lines remains low in bananas. This research reports on the potential of CycD2 genes to improve ...

Effect of age, female mating status and density on the banana weevil ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The banana (Musa spp.) weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a major pest in East Africa causing yield losses of up to 14 metric tonnes per hectare annually. Laboratory and field experiments were conducted to determine whether the response of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus ...

Post harvest changes gamma-irradiated banana Prata; Modificações pós-colheita de banana 'prata' y-irradiada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vilas Boas, E.V. de; Chitarra, A. B.; Chitarra, M. I.F.

1996-09-15

The effect of the gamma-irradiation was evaluated at 0.25 and 0.50 kGy, on the development of peel coloration, CO{sub 2} and ethylene evolution, conversion of starch to sugars, pulp-to-peel ratio, pectic solubilization and activities of enzymes of the cell wall, pectin methylesterase (PME), and polygalacturonase (PG), during maturation of 'Prata' bananas. The gamma-irradiation did not affect the normal colour development of the fruits. An increase in the ethylene peak and a decrease in the CO{sub 2} peak was observed. The gamma-irradiation did not affect the degradation of starch, while a delay in soluble sugar accumulation was noted on the 6 and 7 colour grades. The fruits subjected to 0.25 kGy had the highest increase in the pulp-to-peel relation, beginning with colour grade 5, due to a possible stress effect of that dose. An increase of pectin solubilization was observed. Higher PME activities were exhibited by irradiated fruits, although the gamma-irradiation suppressed the PG activity throughout the maturation period. The gamma-irradiation did not extend the post-harvest life of 'Prata' bananas. (author) [Portuguese] Avaliou-se o efeito da radiacao y a 0,25 e 0,50 kGy sobre o desenvolvimento da coloracao da casca da banana, a evolucao de etileno e CO{sub 2} a conversao de amido em acucares, a relacao polpa/casca, a solubilizacao pectica e as atividades das enzimas relacionadas a degradacao da parede celular, a pectinametilesterase (PMF) e poligalacturonase (PG), na polpa da banana 'prata' durante sua maturacao. A radiacao y nao afetou o desenvolvimento normal da coloracao da casca; entretanto, incrementou o pico de etileno e reduziu o pico de CO{sub 2}. A radiacao y nao afetou a degradacao do amido, mas determinou um efeito retardador sobre o acumulo de acucares soluveis totais na polpa, nos graus 6 e 7 de coloracao da casca. A dose 0,25 kGy determinou o maior incremento na relacao polpa/casca, a partir do grau 5 de coloracao, resultado de um possivel efeito

Fermentative characteristics and nutritional value of elephant grass silage added with dehydrated banana peel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lara Maria Santos Brant

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the fermentative losses and nutritional value of elephant grass silages with the increasing of inclusion levels of dehydrated banana peel. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design, with six treatments and four replications, being the silage exclusively from elephant grass, and five levels of inclusion of banana peel to the elephant grass silage, as the following - 5; 10; 15; 20 and 25%, being added based on natural matter. The addition of the banana peel in the silage reduced linearly (p < 0.05 the pH, the ammoniacal nitrogen and the losses of the fermentative process. In addition, the inclusion of banana peel increased linearly (p < 0.05 the dry matter and non-fibrous carbohydrates. On the other hand, the neutral detergent fiber and the acid detergent fiber were linearly reduced with the inclusion of the banana peel (p < 0.05, but there was no change in the dry matter digestibility in situ. The inclusion of dehydrated banana peel in elephant grass silage reduces the losses of the fermentation process with more consistent results at the 25% inclusion level, however, it reduces the silage nutritional value due to fibrous and protein quality.

Investigations on Thermal Conductivities of Jute and Banana Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites

Science.gov (United States)

Pujari, Satish; Ramakrishna, Avasarala; Balaram Padal, Korabu Tulasi

2017-04-01

The Jute and Banana fibers are used as reinforcement in epoxy resin matrix for making partially green biodegradable material composite via hand lay-up technique. The thermal conductivity of the jute fiber epoxy composites and banana fiber epoxy composites at different volume fraction of the fiber is determined experimentally by using guarded heat flow meter method. The experimental results had shown that thermal conductivity of the composites decrease with an increase in the fiber content. Experimental results are compared with theoretical models (Series model, Hashin model and Maxwell model) to describe the variation of the thermal conductivity versus the volume fraction of the fiber. Good agreement between theoretical and experimental results is observed. Thermal conductivity of Banana fiber composite is less when compared to that of Jute composite which indicates banana is a good insulator and also the developed composites can be used as insulating materials in building, automotive industry and in steam pipes to save energy by reducing rate of heat transfer.

Inventory of Musa paradisiaca L. (banana kepok in Lumajang regency, Malang regency, and Magelang regency

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Suhadi Suhadi

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Banana is fruit containing fairly high nutrition and provides quick reserve enegy. The crop grows in tropical area with average rainfall all the year and banana produces at any season. One of the bananas which has high value sale and high competable potency is subvariety of kepok banana. Kepok banana has various subvarieties, these subvarieties have the same morphologies but have different texture appearances thus uneasy to differenciate among them. The texture appearance determines the quality and price of the banana. Often the buyer makes a mistake in choosing subvariety of kepok he wants to, whereas the seller gives him the cheapiest subvariety of kepok. Methods we used was method of exploration using free exploration technique step by step without any certain path. There were two phases in the research namely the fi rst phase was carried out in field and the second phase was done in the laboratory. Subvarieties of kepok found in Lumajang Regency are 4 subcultivars, Malang Regency there are 3 and Magelang Regency are subcultivars subcultivars, The sequence of the qulity of kapok subcultivars are as follows, red kepok, yellow kepok, big (gede, gilo, gembrot kepok, and white kepok. Sugestion, organic ferlitilizer should be used in the fertilization of banana cultivation, and conservation of red kepok is highly required.

The use of green banana (Musa balbisiana pulp and peel flour as an ingredient for tagliatelle pasta

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Vanessa Naciuk Castelo-Branco

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Green banana flour shows good potential as a functional ingredient for special-purpose foods, but there are no data in the literature concerning the use of a green banana pulp and peel flour for the development of products such as pasta. The aim of the present study was to develop tagliatelle pasta substituting the wheat flour with different concentrations of a green banana mixed pulp and peel flour. The pasta formulations were prepared replacing the wheat flour by the green banana mixed pulp and peel flour in two concentrations: 15% and 30%. A control formulation with wheat flour was also prepared. The green banana mixed pulp and peel flour presented higher ash, total fibre and total phenolic compound contents than traditional wheat flour. The pasta formulation with the addition of 15% green banana flour showed the highest ash content and the best sensory acceptability of all the formulations. It was concluded that it was possible to develop a tagliatelle pasta with satisfactory acceptance replacing the wheat flour by a green banana mixed pulp and peel flour.

Natural Ecosystem Surrounding a Conventional Banana Crop Improves Plant Health and Fruit Quality

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Florence P. Castelan

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Natural ecosystems near agricultural landscapes may provide rich environments for growing crops. However, the effect of a natural ecosystem on crop health and fruit quality is poorly understood. In the present study, it was investigated whether the presence of a natural ecosystem surrounding a crop area influences banana plant health and fruit postharvest behavior. Plants from two conventional banana crop areas with identical planting time and cultural practices were used; the only difference between banana crop areas is that one area was surrounded by a natural forest (Atlantic forest fragment (Near-NF, while the other area was inserted at the center of a conventional banana crop (Distant-NF. Results showed that bananas harvested from Near-NF showed higher greenlife and a more homogeneous profile during ripening compared to fruits harvested from Distant-NF. Differences in quality parameters including greenlife, carbohydrate profile, and pulp firmness between fruits harvested from Near-NF and Distant-NF are explained, at least partly, by differences in the balance of plant growth regulators (indole-3-acetic acid and abscisic acid in bananas during ripening. Furthermore, plants from Near-NF showed a lower severity index of black leaf streak disease (BLSD and higher levels of phenolic compounds in leaves compared to plants from Distant-NF. Together, the results provide additional evidence on how the maintenance of natural ecosystems near conventional crop areas could be a promising tool to improve plant health and fruit quality.

Uncoupling File System Components for Bridging Legacy and Modern Storage Architectures

Science.gov (United States)

Golpayegani, N.; Halem, M.; Tilmes, C.; Prathapan, S.; Earp, D. N.; Ashkar, J. S.

2016-12-01

Long running Earth Science projects can span decades of architectural changes in both processing and storage environments. As storage architecture designs change over decades such projects need to adjust their tools, systems, and expertise to properly integrate such new technologies with their legacy systems. Traditional file systems lack the necessary support to accommodate such hybrid storage infrastructure resulting in more complex tool development to encompass all possible storage architectures used for the project. The MODIS Adaptive Processing System (MODAPS) and the Level 1 and Atmospheres Archive and Distribution System (LAADS) is an example of a project spanning several decades which has evolved into a hybrid storage architecture. MODAPS/LAADS has developed the Lightweight Virtual File System (LVFS) which ensures a seamless integration of all the different storage architectures, including standard block based POSIX compliant storage disks, to object based architectures such as the S3 compliant HGST Active Archive System, and the Seagate Kinetic disks utilizing the Kinetic Protocol. With LVFS, all analysis and processing tools used for the project continue to function unmodified regardless of the underlying storage architecture enabling MODAPS/LAADS to easily integrate any new storage architecture without the costly need to modify existing tools to utilize such new systems. Most file systems are designed as a single application responsible for using metadata to organizing the data into a tree, determine the location for data storage, and a method of data retrieval. We will show how LVFS' unique approach of treating these components in a loosely coupled fashion enables it to merge different storage architectures into a single uniform storage system which bridges the underlying hybrid architecture.

Anti-nutrients and heavy metals in some new plantain and banana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Plantain and banana flour are important raw material in the baking and confectionery industry, and complementary food formulation. Five new plantain and banana ... PITA\\'s 14, 24 and Agbagba contained 4.0x10-5% cyanide, while 4.0x10-5 was obtained for PITA\\'s 17, 26 and BITA 3. The phenolic content of PITA\\'s 14 and ...

Banana fluxes in the plateau regime for a nonaxisymmetrically confined plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balescu, R.; Fantechi, S.

1990-01-01

The banana (or banana-plateau) fluxes, related to the generalized stresses left-angle B·∇·π α(n) right-angle, left-angle B T ·∇·π α(n) right-angle have been determined in the plateau regime, for a plasma confined by a toroidal magnetic field of arbitrary geometry. The complete set of transport coefficients for both the ''parallel'' (ambipolar) and ''toroidal'' (nonambipolar) banana fluxes was obtained in the 13-moment (13M) approximation, going beyond the previously known expressions in the nonaxisymmetric case. The main emphasis is laid on the structure of the transport matrix and of its coefficients. It is shown that the Onsager symmetry of this matrix partly breaks down (for the mixed electron--ion coefficients) in a nonaxisymmetrically confined plasma

PROTOCOL FOR HARVESTING ‘BRS PRINCESS’ BANANA FRUITS

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LUIZ FERNANDO GANASSALI DE OLIVEIRA JUNIOR

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to develop a protocol to determine the ideal harvest time for ‘BRS Princess’ banana, using the number of aborted bracts. The bananas were selected according to the number of aborted bracts since the flowering until the time of harvest, yield clusters with 90, 95, 100 and 105 aborted bracts. The physical and chemical analyzes were performed every 3 days on fruits: soluble solids, titratable acidity, weight loss, length and diameter, pH, firmness, skin color (CIELab and pectin enzyme activity. The statistical design was completely randomized in a 4x5 factorial, with 4 points and 5 periods of harvest analysis and data were evaluated using analysis of variance and regression. For all parameters, fruits harvested at 90 and 105 aborted bracts had unwanted changes in its metabolism when compared to the other treatments, while fruits harvested at 95 and 100 aborted bracts had the best post-harvest characteristics. This method was effective in determining the point of harvest in ‘BRS Princess’ banana fruits, since it allows to obtain fruit quality after storage, and is a simple and objective method.

Effects of Green Banana Flour on the Physical, Chemical and Sensory Properties of Ice Cream

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Filiz Yangılar

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In the present study, possible eff ects of the addition of banana flour at different mass fractions (1 and 2 % are investigated on physical (overrun, viscosity, chemical (dry matter, fat and ash content, acidity, pH, water and oil holding capacity and colour, mineral content (Ca, K, Na, P, S, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn and Ni and sensory properties of ice cream. Fibre-rich banana pieces were found to contain 66.8 g per 100 g of total dietary fibre, 58.6 g per 100 g of which were insoluble dietary fi bre, while 8.2 g per 100 g were soluble dietary fi bre. It can be concluded from these results that banana is a valuable dietary fi bre source which can be used in food production. Flour obtained from green banana pulp and peel was found to have signifi cant (p<0.05 effect on the chemical composition of ice creams. Sulphur content increased while calcium content decreased in ice cream depending on banana flour content. Sensory results indicated that ice cream sample containing 2 % of green banana pulp flour received the highest score from panellists.

Antioxidant activity of banana flavonoids.

Science.gov (United States)

Vijayakumar, S; Presannakumar, G; Vijayalakshmi, N R

2008-06-01

The antioxidant activity of flavonoids from banana (Musa paradisiaca) was studied in rats fed normal as well as high fat diets. Concentrations of peroxidation products namely malondialdehyde, hydroperoxides and conjugated diens were significantly decreased whereas the activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase were enhanced significantly. Concentrations of glutathione were also elevated in the treated animals.

Physicochemical quality and antioxidant changes in ‘Leb Mue Nang’ banana fruit during ripening

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Pannipa Youryon

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The physicochemical and antioxidant changes of ‘Kluai Leb Mue Nang’ banana fruit (Musa AA group were investigated during ripening. The visual appearance, peel and pulp color, firmness, total soluble solids concentration (TSS, total acidity (TA and bioactive compounds of the fruit at three stages of ripening (mature green, ripe and overripe were monitored. Changes in both the peel and pulp color, texture, TSS and TA contents during banana ripening were similar to those of other banana fruits. Interestingly, the highest total antioxidants capacity and total phenols concentration were found in the ripe banana fruit. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity remained constant and the highest total flavonoids concentration was found in the mature green fruit.

Effect of gamma radiation treatment on some fungi causing storage diseases of banana fruits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

EL-Ashmawi, A.M.M.

1982-01-01

Banana is one of the most popular fruits in many tropical and sub-tropical countries. in recent years, the quality of egyptian banana markedly declined. A major factor contributing to this decline is the development of fruit rot, which is the most widely occurring disease either in the field or in storage. Different fungi attack banana fruits causing considerable losses. Most of the fungi responsible for post harvest rots of banana are usually carried from the field, on the surface of the fruit itself or in injured and rotting fruits causing severe rats during storage. These rots make the fruits difficult to handle and undesirable to the consumers. Botryodiplodia theobromae is known to be the most important pathogen responsible for the infection in storage

Evaluation of Information and Communication Technology Utilization by Small Holder Banana Farmers in Gatanga District, Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Mwombe, Simon O. L.; Mugivane, Fred I.; Adolwa, Ivan S.; Nderitu, John H.

2014-01-01

Purpose: The study was carried out to identify information communication technologies (ICTs) used in production and marketing of bananas, to determine factors influencing intensity of use of ICT tools and to assess whether use of ICT has a significant influence on adoption of tissue culture bananas by small-scale banana farmers in Gatanga…

High performance 3D neutron transport on peta scale and hybrid architectures within APOLLO3 code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamelot, E.; Dubois, J.; Lautard, J-J.; Calvin, C.; Baudron, A-M.

2011-01-01

APOLLO3 code is a common project of CEA, AREVA and EDF for the development of a new generation system for core physics analysis. We present here the parallelization of two deterministic transport solvers of APOLLO3: MINOS, a simplified 3D transport solver on structured Cartesian and hexagonal grids, and MINARET, a transport solver based on triangular meshes on 2D and prismatic ones in 3D. We used two different techniques to accelerate MINOS: a domain decomposition method, combined with an accelerated algorithm using GPU. The domain decomposition is based on the Schwarz iterative algorithm, with Robin boundary conditions to exchange information. The Robin parameters influence the convergence and we detail how we optimized the choice of these parameters. MINARET parallelization is based on angular directions calculation using explicit message passing. Fine grain parallelization is also available for each angular direction using shared memory multithreaded acceleration. Many performance results are presented on massively parallel architectures using more than 103 cores and on hybrid architectures using some tens of GPUs. This work contributes to the HPC development in reactor physics at the CEA Nuclear Energy Division. (author)

Implementation of a cell-wise block-Gauss-Seidel iterative method for SN transport on a hybrid parallel computer architecture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosa, Massimiliano; Warsa, James S.; Perks, Michael

2011-01-01

We have implemented a cell-wise, block-Gauss-Seidel (bGS) iterative algorithm, for the solution of the S_n transport equations on the Roadrunner hybrid, parallel computer architecture. A compute node of this massively parallel machine comprises AMD Opteron cores that are linked to a Cell Broadband Engine™ (Cell/B.E.)"1. LAPACK routines have been ported to the Cell/B.E. in order to make use of its parallel Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs). The bGS algorithm is based on the LU factorization and solution of a linear system that couples the fluxes for all S_n angles and energy groups on a mesh cell. For every cell of a mesh that has been parallel decomposed on the higher-level Opteron processors, a linear system is transferred to the Cell/B.E. and the parallel LAPACK routines are used to compute a solution, which is then transferred back to the Opteron, where the rest of the computations for the S_n transport problem take place. Compared to standard parallel machines, a hundred-fold speedup of the bGS was observed on the hybrid Roadrunner architecture. Numerical experiments with strong and weak parallel scaling demonstrate the bGS method is viable and compares favorably to full parallel sweeps (FPS) on two-dimensional, unstructured meshes when it is applied to optically thick, multi-material problems. As expected, however, it is not as efficient as FPS in optically thin problems. (author)

Socioeconomic importance of the banana tree (Musa spp.) in the Guinean Highland Savannah agroforests.

Science.gov (United States)

Mapongmetsem, Pierre Marie; Nkongmeneck, Bernard Aloys; Gubbuk, Hamide

2012-01-01

Home gardens are defined as less complex agroforests which look like and function as natural forest ecosystems but are integrated into agricultural management systems located around houses. Investigations were carried out in 187 households. The aim of the study was to identify the different types of banana home gardens existing in the periurban zone of Ngaoundere town. The results showed that the majority of home gardens in the area were very young (less than 15 years old) and very small in size (less than 1 ha). Eleven types of home gardens were found in the periurban area of Ngaoundere town. The different home garden types showed important variations in all their structural characteristics. Two local species of banana are cultivated in the systems, Musa sinensis and Musa paradisiaca. The total banana production is 3.57 tons per year. The total quantity of banana consumed in the periurban zone was 3.54 tons (93.5%) whereas 1.01 tons were sold in local or urban markets. The main banana producers belonged to home gardens 2, 4, 7, and 9. The quantity of banana offered to relatives was more than what the farmers received from others. Farmers, rely on agroforests because the flow of their products helps them consolidate friendship and conserve biodiversity at the same time.

Socioeconomic Importance of the Banana Tree (Musa Spp. in the Guinean Highland Savannah Agroforests

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Pierre Marie Mapongmetsem

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Home gardens are defined as less complex agroforests which look like and function as natural forest ecosystems but are integrated into agricultural management systems located around houses. Investigations were carried out in 187 households. The aim of the study was to identify the different types of banana home gardens existing in the periurban zone of Ngaoundere town. The results showed that the majority of home gardens in the area were very young (less than 15 years old and very small in size (less than 1 ha. Eleven types of home gardens were found in the periurban area of Ngaoundere town. The different home garden types showed important variations in all their structural characteristics. Two local species of banana are cultivated in the systems, Musa sinensis and Musa paradisiaca. The total banana production is 3.57 tons per year. The total quantity of banana consumed in the periurban zone was 3.54 tons (93.5% whereas 1.01 tons were sold in local or urban markets. The main banana producers belonged to home gardens 2, 4, 7, and 9. The quantity of banana offered to relatives was more than what the farmers received from others. Farmers, rely on agroforests because the flow of their products helps them consolidate friendship and conserve biodiversity at the same time.

Standardization of a molecular diagnostic method for Cucumber mosaic virus (cmv in Ecuadorian bananas

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Johanna Liseth Buitrón-Bustamante

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Several pests and diseases affect banana crop in Ecuador and Cucumber mosaic virus (cmv is one of the most important pathogens. The aim of this research was to standardize a new molecular approach to achieve a sensitive and highly specific detection of cmv in Ecuadorian bananas. Specific primers were designed from the sequence encodingResumoA cultura da banana no Equador vê-se afetada por uma série de doenças, das quais o cucumber mosaic vírus(cmv é um dos fitopatógenos mais impor-tantes. Com este estudo procurou-se padronizar uma técnica molecular para a detecção sensível e altamente específica deste agente viral na banana equatoriana. Para este fim, realizou-se o desenho de primers específicos, a partir da sequência que se codifica para a proteína da cápside do vírus. for the virus capsid protein. PC-F1, PC-R D1 and K-F primers, obtained from cDNA replicated from R NA of infected banana, allowed accurate virus detection by Reverse transcription and Hemi-nested PCR. Virus detection was possible even in asymptomatic plants, providing a tech-nology with potential use for the Ecuadorian banana producers.

The Draft Genome Sequence of Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the Black Sigatoka Pathogen of Banana

Science.gov (United States)

Mycosphaerella fijiensis is a fungal pathogen of banana and the causal agent of the devastating Black Sigatoka or black leaf streak disease. Its control requires weekly fungicide applications when bananas are grown under disease-conducive conditions, which mostly represent precarious tropical enviro...

Dietary fibre components and pectin chemical features of peels during ripening in banana and plantain varieties.

Science.gov (United States)

Happi Emaga, Thomas; Robert, Christelle; Ronkart, Sébastien N; Wathelet, Bernard; Paquot, Michel

2008-07-01

The effects of the ripeness stage of banana (Musa AAA) and plantain (Musa AAB) peels on neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, pectin contents, and pectin chemical features were studied. Plantain peels contained a higher amount of lignin but had a lower hemicellulose content than banana peels. A sequential extraction of pectins showed that acid extraction was the most efficient to isolate banana peel pectins, whereas an ammonium oxalate extraction was more appropriate for plantain peels. In all the stages of maturation, the pectin content in banana peels was higher compared to plantain peels. Moreover, the galacturonic acid and methoxy group contents in banana peels were higher than in plantain peels. The average molecular weights of the extracted pectins were in the range of 132.6-573.8 kDa and were not dependant on peel variety, while the stage of maturation did not affect the dietary fibre yields and the composition in pectic polysaccharides in a consistent manner. This study has showed that banana peels are a potential source of dietary fibres and pectins.

Use of Banana (Musa acuminata Colla AAA) Peel Extract as an Antioxidant Source in Orange Juices.

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz, Lucía; Dorta, Eva; Gloria Lobo, M; González-Mendoza, L Antonio; Díaz, Carlos; González, Mónica

2017-03-01

Using banana peel extract as an antioxidant in freshly squeezed orange juices and juices from concentrate was evaluated. Free radical scavenging capacity increased by adding banana peel extracts to both types of orange juice. In addition, remarkable increases in antioxidant capacity using 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical were observed when equal or greater than 5 mg of banana peel extract per ml of freshly squeezed juice was added. No clear effects were observed in the capacity to inhibit lipid peroxidation. Adding 5 mg banana peel extract per ml of orange juice did not substantially modify the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of either type of juice. However, undesirable changes in the sensory characteristics (in-mouth sensations and colour) were detected when equal or greater than 10 mg banana peel extract per ml of orange juice was added. These results confirm that banana peel is a promising natural additive that increases the capacity to scavenge free radicals of orange juice with acceptable sensory and physicochemical characteristics for the consumer.

Repetitive part of the banana (Musa acuminata) genome investigated by low-depth 454 sequencing.

Science.gov (United States)

Hribová, Eva; Neumann, Pavel; Matsumoto, Takashi; Roux, Nicolas; Macas, Jirí; Dolezel, Jaroslav

2010-09-16

Bananas and plantains (Musa spp.) are grown in more than a hundred tropical and subtropical countries and provide staple food for hundreds of millions of people. They are seed-sterile crops propagated clonally and this makes them vulnerable to a rapid spread of devastating diseases and at the same time hampers breeding improved cultivars. Although the socio-economic importance of bananas and plantains cannot be overestimated, they remain outside the focus of major research programs. This slows down the study of nuclear genome and the development of molecular tools to facilitate banana improvement. In this work, we report on the first thorough characterization of the repeat component of the banana (M. acuminata cv. 'Calcutta 4') genome. Analysis of almost 100 Mb of sequence data (0.15× genome coverage) permitted partial sequence reconstruction and characterization of repetitive DNA, making up about 30% of the genome. The results showed that the banana repeats are predominantly made of various types of Ty1/copia and Ty3/gypsy retroelements representing 16 and 7% of the genome respectively. On the other hand, DNA transposons were found to be rare. In addition to new families of transposable elements, two new satellite repeats were discovered and found useful as cytogenetic markers. To help in banana sequence annotation, a specific Musa repeat database was created, and its utility was demonstrated by analyzing the repeat composition of 62 genomic BAC clones. A low-depth 454 sequencing of banana nuclear genome provided the largest amount of DNA sequence data available until now for Musa and permitted reconstruction of most of the major types of DNA repeats. The information obtained in this study improves the knowledge of the long-range organization of banana chromosomes, and provides sequence resources needed for repeat masking and annotation during the Musa genome sequencing project. It also provides sequence data for isolation of DNA markers to be used in genetic

Design for scalability in 3D computer graphics architectures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holten-Lund, Hans Erik

2002-01-01

This thesis describes useful methods and techniques for designing scalable hybrid parallel rendering architectures for 3D computer graphics. Various techniques for utilizing parallelism in a pipelines system are analyzed. During the Ph.D study a prototype 3D graphics architecture named Hybris has...

Effects of Green Banana Flour on the Physical, Chemical and Sensory Properties of Ice Cream

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

Summary In the present study, possible effects of the addition of banana flour at different mass fractions (1 and 2%) are investigated on physical (overrun, viscosity), chemical (dry matter, fat and ash content, acidity, pH, water and oil holding capacity and colour), mineral content (Ca, K, Na, P, S, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn and Ni) and sensory properties of ice cream. Fibre--rich banana pieces were found to contain 66.8 g per 100 g of total dietary fibre, 58.6 g per 100 g of which were insoluble dietary fibre, while 8.2 g per 100 g were soluble dietary fibre. It can be concluded from these results that banana is a valuable dietary fibre source which can be used in food production. Flour obtained from green banana pulp and peel was found to have significant (pbanana flour content. Sensory results indicated that ice cream sample containing 2% of green banana pulp flour received the highest score from panellists. PMID:27904363

Inhibition of bananas ripening by gamma radiation: physical, chemical and sensory aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Domarco, Raquel Elisabeth; Walder, Julio Marcos Melges; Spoto, Marta Helena Fillet; Blumer, Lucimara; Matraia, Clarice

1996-01-01

In order to extend the shelf-life, nanica bananas (Musa AAA group, Caverdish subgroup), packed and not in polyethylene bags (o,03 mm thickness) were irradiated with 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 kGy. A cobalt-60 source, with an activity of 109.71 Gbq was used at a dose rate of 1,71 kGy/h. The experiment was developed on three different storage conditions: a) room temperature, without packaging, for 15 days; b) 17 deg C, without packaging, for 21 days; c) 17 deg C, with packaging, for 42 days. The chemical analysis were done on soluble solids, tirable acidity, pH and ratio. The bananas were subjected to sensorial evaluation by visual and flavor analysis. The results were analysed using SAS-ANOVA. Bananas irradiated with 0,4 kGy could be storage for 15 days on room temperatures without packaging. Dose of 0,6 kGy and 17 deg C temperature were enough to conservate bananas, without packaging for 21 days and with packaging for 42 days. (author)

Nutritional potential of green banana flour obtained by drying in spouted bed

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Carolina Vieira Bezerra

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This study evaluated the chemical composition of peeled and unpeeled green banana Cavendish (AAA flour obtained by drying in spouted bed, aiming at adding nutritional value to food products. The bananas were sliced and crushed to obtain a paste and fed to the spouted bed dryer (12 cm height and T = 80 ºC in order to obtain flour. The flours obtained were subjected to analysis of moisture, protein, ash, carbohydrates, total starch, resistant starch, fiber. The green banana flours, mainly unpeeled, are good sources of fiber and resistant starch with an average of 21.91g/100g and 68.02g/100g respectively. The protein content was found in an average of 4.76g/100g, being classified as a low biological value protein with lysine as the first limiting amino acid. The results showed that unpeeled green banana flour obtained by spouted bed drying can be a valuable tool to add nutritional value to products in order to increase their non-digestible fraction.

BAITS FOR MONITORING WEEVILS IN BANANA PLANTATION OF VARIETY CV. NANICÃO

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J. N. Corassa

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar, 1824 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae and Metamasius hemipterus (Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae are the main beetles associated with banana plants in Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of attractive traps for monitoring these beetles, from May to September 2012 (hot season and October 2012 to April 2013 (rainy season, in the Amazon biome conditions. The experiment was installed in commercial banana plantations that produce the banana variety cv. Nanicão, divided into three plots of 0.5 hectare each, assessing the following treatments: 1 synthetic aggregation pheromone for the species C. sordidus (control; 2 molasses sugarcane and; 3 sugarcane oarlock. It was found that the three baits showed similar behavior in the hot and rainy season, with the highest catch of C. sordidus in the rainy season. The molasses sugarcane and sugarcane oarlock did not show efficiency in the capture of C. sordidus. Attractive bait sugarcane oarlock, in pitfall trap, proved efficient for both monitoring and mass collect M. hemipterus in banana plantations.

Kinetic study on ferulic acid production from banana stem waste via mechanical extraction

Science.gov (United States)

Zainol, Norazwina; Masngut, Nasratun; Khairi Jusup, Muhamad

2018-04-01

Banana is the tropical plants associated with lots of medicinal properties. It has been reported to be a potential source of phenolic compounds such as ferulic acid (FA). FA has excellent antioxidant properties higher than vitamin C and E. FA also have a wide range of biological activities, such as antioxidant activities and anti-microbial activities. This paper presents an experimental and kinetic study on ferulic acid (FA) production from banana stem waste (BSW) via mechanical extraction. The objective of this research is to determine the kinetic parameters in the ferulic acid production. The banana stem waste was randomly collected from the local banana plantation in Felda Lepar Hilir, Pahang. The banana stem juice was mechanically extracted by using sugarcane press machine (KR3176) and further analyzed in high performance liquid chromatography. The differential and integral method was applied to determine the kinetic parameter of the extraction process and the data obtained were fitted into the 0th, 1st and 2nd order of extraction process. Based on the results, the kinetic parameter and R2 value from were 0.05 and 0.93, respectively. It was determined that the 0th kinetic order fitted the reaction processes to best represent the mechanical extraction.

A modular function architecture for adaptive and predictive energy management in hybrid electric vehicles; Eine modulare Funktionsarchitektur fuer adaptives und vorausschauendes Energiemanagement in Hybridfahrzeugen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilde, Andreas

2009-10-27

Due to the relatively low energy density of electrical energy storage devices, the control strategy of hybrid electric vehicles has to fulfil a variety of requirements in order to provide both, the availability of hybrid functions, and their efficient execution. Energy consuming functions such as electric drive or electric boost need a high amount of energy stored in the battery. On the other hand for the optimum use of the energy regeneration function a lower state of charge is preferable in order to enable storage of the kinetic energy of the vehicle in all situations, including upon deceleration from high speeds or downhill driving. These diverging requirements yield a conflict of objectives for the charging strategy of hybrid electric vehicles. This work proposes a way to overcome the restrictions on efficiency in hybrid electric vehicles without deteriorating overall driving performance by charging or discharging the traction battery, and by setting the energy management parametres according to the current and forthcoming driving situation. Specific charging and electric drive strategies are presented for various driving situations which are identified by sensors such as navigation systems, cameras or radar. Necessary sensor data fusion methods for driving situation identification are described and a modular function architecture for predictive energy management is derived that is plug-and-play compatible with a broad fleet of vehicles. In order to evaluate its potential, this work also focuses on the simulation of the energy functions and their implementation into an experimental vehicle. This allows measurements under real traffic conditions and a sensivity analysis of the main module interactions within the architecture. (orig.)

Modelling charge transport of discotic liquid-crystalline triindoles: the role of peripheral substitution.

Science.gov (United States)

Volpi, Riccardo; Camilo, Ana Claudia Santos; Filho, Demetrio A da Silva; Navarrete, Juan T López; Gómez-Lor, Berta; Delgado, M Carmen Ruiz; Linares, Mathieu

2017-09-13

We have performed a multiscale approach to study the influence of peripheral substitution in the semiconducting properties of discotic liquid-crystalline triindoles. Charge carrier mobility as high as 1.4 cm 2 V -1 s -1 was experimentally reported for triindoles substituted with alkynyl chains on the periphery (Gómez-Lor et al. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 2011, 50, 7399-7402). In this work, our goal is to get a deeper understanding of both the molecular electronic structure and microscopic factors affecting the charge transport properties in triindoles as a function of the spacer group connecting the central cores with the external alkyl chains (i.e., alkyne or phenyl spacers groups). To this end, we first perform Quantum Mechanical (QM) calculations to assess how the peripheral substitution affects the electronic structure and the internal reorganization energy. Secondly, boxes of stacked molecules were built and relaxed through molecular dynamics to obtain realistic structures. Conformational analysis and calculations of transfer integrals for closed neighbours were performed. Our results show that the insertion of ethynyl spacers between the central aromatic core and the flexible peripheral chains results in lower reorganization energies and enhanced intermolecular order within the stacks with a preferred cofacial 60° staggered conformation, which would result in high charge-carrier mobilities in good agreement with the experimental data. This work allows a deeper understanding of charge carrier mobility in columnar phases, linking the structural order at the molecular level to the property of interest, i.e. the charge carrier mobility. We hope that this understanding will improve the design of systems at the supramolecular level aiming at obtaining a more defined conducting channel, higher mobility and smaller fluctuations within the column.

[Banana peel: a possible source of infection in the treatment of nipple fissures].

Science.gov (United States)

Novak, Franz Reis; de Almeida, João Aprígio Guerra; de Souza e Silva, Rosana

2003-01-01

To study the microbiology of banana peel being sold in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in an attempt to determine the possibility that the peel may represent a source of infection for women who use it to treat nipple fissures. The following microorganisms were studied in 20 banana peel samples: mesophiles, total coliforms, fecal coliforms, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, lipolytic and proteolytic microorganisms, molds and yeasts, lactic bacteria, and coagulase-positive staphylococcus. The microbiological analyses revealed the occurrence of several typical groups of microorganisms, with the following distribution of positive results being detected in banana peel samples: mesophiles, 100%; total coliforms, 20%; coagulase-positive staphylococcus, 25%; molds and yeasts, 30%; proteolytic microorganisms, 70%; lipolytic microorganisms, 30%, and lactic bacteria, 95%. Fecal coliforms and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were not isolated. The results show the presence of potentially pathogenic microorganisms in levels which could compromise the microbiological quality of the banana peel. Its use for the treatment of nipple fissures can initiate an infectious process.

Distribution, timing of attack, and oviposition of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus, on banana crop residues in Uganda

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Masanza, M.; Gold, C.S.; Huis, van A.

2005-01-01

Crop sanitation (removal and chopping of residue corms and pseudostems following plant harvest) has been recommended as a 'best bet' means of reducing banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), populations. However, it has been unclear when such practices should be

Effect of banana pulp and peel flour on physicochemical properties and in vitro starch digestibility of yellow alkaline noodles.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramli, Saifullah; Alkarkhi, Abbas F M; Shin Yong, Yeoh; Min-Tze, Liong; Easa, Azhar Mat

2009-01-01

The present study describes the utilization of banana--Cavendish (Musa acuminata L., cv cavendshii) and Dream (Musa acuminata colla. AAA, cv 'Berangan')--pulp and peel flours as functional ingredients in yellow alkaline noodles. Noodles were prepared by partial substitution of wheat flour with ripe banana pulp or peel flours. In most cases, the starch hydrolysis index, predicted glycaemic index (pGI) and physicochemical properties of cooked noodles were affected by banana flour addition. In general, the pGI values of cooked noodles were in the order; banana peel noodles banana pulp noodles peel flour was higher in total dietary fibre but lower in resistant starch contents than the pulp flour, the low pGI of banana peel noodles was mainly due to its high dietary fibre content. In conclusion, banana pulp and peel flour could be useful for controlling starch hydrolysis of yellow noodles, even though some physicochemical properties of the noodles were altered.

Continous application of bioorganic fertilizer induced resilient culturable bacteria community associated with banana Fusarium wilt suppression

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Lin; Ruan, Yunze; Tao, Chengyuan; Li, Rong; Shen, Qirong

2016-06-01

Fusarium wilt of banana always drives farmers to find new land for banana cultivation due to the comeback of the disease after a few cropping years. A novel idea for solving this problem is the continuous application of bioorganic fertilizer (BIO), which should be practiced from the beginning of banana planting. In this study, BIO was applied in newly reclaimed fields to pre-control banana Fusarium wilt and the culturable rhizobacteria community were evaluated using Biolog Ecoplates and culture-dependent denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (CD-DGGE). The results showed that BIO application significantly reduced disease incidences and increased crop yields, respectivly. And the stabilized general bacterial metabolic potential, especially for the utilization of carbohydrates, carboxylic acids and phenolic compounds, was induced by BIO application. DGGE profiles demonstrated that resilient community structure of culturable rhizobacteria with higher richness and diversity were observed in BIO treated soils. Morever, enriched culturable bacteria affiliated with Firmicutes, Gammaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria were also detected. In total, continuous application of BIO effectively suppressed Fusarium wilt disease by stabilizing culturable bacterial metabolic potential and community structure. This study revealed a new method to control Fusarium wilt of banana for long term banana cultivation.

Love Is Like a Squished Banana

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Stephen

1976-01-01

An unemployed poet obtained a CETA public service job as a teacher's aide in Marin County, California, where he has guided elementary children's imaginative projects. His experiences are described. He has published a volume of the children's verse under the title "Love Is Like a Squished Banana." (AJ)

Correlação fenotípica entre caracteres de híbridos diploides (AA de bananeira Phenotypic correlation between characters in banana (AA diploid hybrids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lauro Saraiva Lessa

2012-12-01

Full Text Available O estudo de correlação tem como propósito mensurar a alteração em um caráter quando se altera outro. Neste trabalho, objetivou-se estimar correlações fenotípicas entre o número de frutos por cacho e 22 caracteres avaliados em híbridos diploides (AA de bananeira. No experimento, conduzido na Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura, em blocos casualizados com quatro repetições, foram avaliados 11 híbridos diploides (AA de bananeira. Os caracteres avaliados foram: altura de plantas, diâmetro do pseudocaule, número de filhos, número de folhas na floração, período do plantio ao florescimento, presença de pólen, peso do cacho e da ráquis, sigatoka-amarela no florescimento, número de folhas na colheita, Sigatoka-amarela na colheita do cacho, número de dias do florescimento à colheita, comprimento e diâmetro do engaço, peso da segunda penca, número de pencas e de frutos por cacho, fragilidade do pedicelo, comprimento e diâmetro do fruto e comprimento do pedicelo, além de presença de semente. Após a tabulação, procederam-se a estudos de correlação entre o número de frutos e os demais caracteres da planta. Essas correlações variaram entre os genótipos, sendo assim, observado que as associações entre o número de frutos e os caracteres vegetativos da planta foram, de forma geral, não significativas. Já as relações entre o número de frutos por cacho e os outros caracteres produtivos foram, predominantemente, significativas.The objective of the present study was to estimate the phenotypic correlations between the number of fruits per bunch and 22 characters evaluated in banana (AA diploid hybrids. The experiment was carried out at Embrapa Cassava and Fruits in randomized blocks with four repetitions and 11 (AA banana diploid hybrids were evaluated. The following characteristics were evaluated: plant height, pseudostem diameter, number of suckers, number of leaves during flowering, plant cycle until emission of the

The ABC Adaptive Fusion Architecture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bunde-Pedersen, Jonathan; Mogensen, Martin; Bardram, Jakob Eyvind

2006-01-01

Contemporary distributed collaborative systems tend to utilizeeither a client-server or a pure peer-to-peer paradigm. Aclient-server solution may potentially spawn direct connectionsbetween the clients to offload the server thereby creatinga hybrid architecture. A pure peer-to-peer paradigmmay on...

"The Rotten Banana" Fires Back: The Story of a Danish Discourse of "Inclusive" Rurality in the Making

Science.gov (United States)

Winther, Malene Brandt; Svendsen, Gunnar Lind Haase

2012-01-01

The popularity of a particular term--the Rotten Banana--has paralleled the one-sided centralisation of public services since the Danish Municipal Reform of 2007. The Rotten Banana denotes peripheral Denmark, which takes a geographically curved form that resembles a banana, and it symbolises the belief that rural areas are backward and (too)…

(2R,5S)-Theaspirane Identified as the Kairomone for the Banana Weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus, from Attractive Senesced Leaves of the Host Banana, Musa spp.

Science.gov (United States)

Abagale, Samson A; Woodcock, Christine M; Hooper, Antony M; Caulfield, John C; Withall, David; Chamberlain, Keith; Acquaah, Samuel O; Van Emden, Helmut; Braimah, Haruna; Pickett, John A; Birkett, Michael A

2018-04-12

The principal active component produced by highly attractive senesced host banana leaves, Musa spp., for the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus, is shown by coupled gas chromatography-electroantennography (GC-EAG), coupled GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), chemical synthesis and coupled enantioselective (chiral) GC-EAG to be (2R,5S)-theaspirane. In laboratory behaviour tests, the synthetic compound is as attractive as natural host leaf material and presents a new opportunity for pest control. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

SENSITIVITY OF PIGMENT CONTENT OF BANANA AND ORCHID TISSUE CULTURE EXPOSED TO EXTREMELY LOW FREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC FIEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riry Prihatini

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Natural exposure of extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF occurs in the environment and acts as one of the abiotic factors that affect the growth and development of organisms. This study was conducted to determine the effect of ELF-EMF on the tissue cultured banana and slipper orchid chlorophyll content as one of the indicators in measuring plant photosynthetic capacity. Four days old banana (Musa sp. cv. Berangan corm and seven days old slipper orchid (Paphiopedilum rothschildianum cultures were exposed to 6 and 12 mT ELF-EMF generated by controllable ELF-EMF built up machine for 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 hours. After exposure, the banana and orchid cultures were incubated at 25° C for 8 and 16 weeks, respectively. The results showed that the ELF-EMF exposure had different effects on banana and slipper orchid cultures though both plant species belong to monocotyledon. The highest increase in chlorophyll content on banana was resulted by the high intensity and long duration of ELF-EMF exposure (12 mT for 4 hours, whereas on slipper orchid the modest and short duration of ELF-EMF exposure produced the most excessive chlorophyll content. Different ELF-EMF exposures (12 mT for 4 hours and 6 mT for 30 minutes had potential to be applied on each plant to improve in vitro plant (banana and slipper orchid, respectively growth. The increased chlorophyll and carotene/xanthophyll content on banana indicated that the banana was more tolerant to ELF-EMF exposure compared to slipper orchid. 

Large area, soft crystalline thin films of N,N' ,N'' -trialkyltriazatriangulenium salts with homeotropic alignment of the discotic cores in a lamellar lattice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Just Sørensen, Thomas; Hildebrandt, Christoffer B.; Elm, Jonas

2012-01-01

techniques confirm that the 15–30 nm thick films maintain the lamellar structure of the bulk crystals, are flat on macroscopic length scales, and are completely ordered relative to the substrate. The triazatriangulenium molecules are electroactive dyes, and in the highly anisotropic polycrystalline thin film......N,N' ,N'' -Trialkyltriazatriangulenium (R-TATA+) tetrafluoroborate (BF4) salts form highly ordered thin films directly when spin-cast onto rotating substrates. The homogeneous and crystalline thin films show macroscopic order over centimetres. The crystal structures of the R-TATA$BF4 salts...... are investigated and compared for the propyl, 3-methylpentyl and octyl derivatives. In all cases the molecules pack in hexagonally ordered bilayers, with segregation of the ionic groups and the alkyl chains. This is a rare packing motif with the rigid discotic TATA+ cores organized co-planarly in sheets separated...

Field Plot Techniques for Black Sigatoka Evaluation in East African Highland Bananas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Okoro, JU.

1997-01-01

Full Text Available Number of plants per experimental unit and number of replications for the efficient and precise assessment of black sigatoka leaf spot disease caused by Mycosphaerella fijiensis in East African Highland bananas were determined. Two representative cultivars were used. Host response to black sigatoka infection was measured by recording the youngest leaf with necrotic spots. The number of plants per experimental unit was determined, using the methods of maximum curvature and comparison of variances, while the number of replications was estimated by Hatheway's method. The optimum experimental plot size was 3 plants (18 m2 for the beer banana cultivar 'Igitsiri', and 30 plants (180 m2 for the cooking banana cultivar 'Igisahira Gisanzwe', using the comparison of variances method. However, the optimum plot size was 15 plants (90 m2 for both cultivars using the method of maximum curvature. The latter statistical method was preferred because of the low precision of the estimates in the former method. Unreplicated trials with plots of 15 plants could be adequate to assess black sigatoka response in East African bananas if uniform disease pressure exists.

Improved tolerance toward fungal diseases in transgenic Cavendish banana (Musa spp. AAA group) cv. Grand Nain.

Science.gov (United States)

Vishnevetsky, Jane; White, Thomas L; Palmateer, Aaron J; Flaishman, Moshe; Cohen, Yuval; Elad, Yigal; Velcheva, Margarita; Hanania, Uri; Sahar, Nachman; Dgani, Oded; Perl, Avihai

2011-02-01

The most devastating disease currently threatening to destroy the banana industry worldwide is undoubtedly Sigatoka Leaf spot disease caused by Mycosphaerella fijiensis. In this study, we developed a transformation system for banana and expressed the endochitinase gene ThEn-42 from Trichoderma harzianum together with the grape stilbene synthase (StSy) gene in transgenic banana plants under the control of the 35S promoter and the inducible PR-10 promoter, respectively. The superoxide dismutase gene Cu,Zn-SOD from tomato, under control of the ubiquitin promoter, was added to this cassette to improve scavenging of free radicals generated during fungal attack. A 4-year field trial demonstrated several transgenic banana lines with improved tolerance to Sigatoka. As the genes conferring Sigatoka tolerance may have a wide range of anti-fungal activities we also inoculated the regenerated banana plants with Botrytis cinerea. The best transgenic lines exhibiting Sigatoka tolerance were also found to have tolerance to B. cinerea in laboratory assays.

Focused Ion Beam Analysis of Banana Peel and Its Application for Arsenate Ion Removal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamil R. Memon

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Banana peel, a common fruit waste, has been investigated for its ability to remove arsenate ions from ground water as a function of pH, contact time, and initial metal ion concentration. Focused ion beam (FIB analysis revealed the internal morphology of the banana peels. Arsenate ions were entered into micropores of banana peel. pH was seen to have no effect on the sorption process. Retained species were eluted using 5 mL of 2 M H2SO4. The kinetics of sorption were observed to follow the pseudo first order rate equation. The sorption data followed Freundlich and D-R isotherms. The energy value obtained from the D-R isotherms indicated that the sorption was physical in nature for arsenate species. Our study has shown that banana peel has the ability to remove arsenate species from ground water samples.

Studies on physico-chemical changes during artificial ripening of banana (Musa sp) variety 'Robusta'.

Science.gov (United States)

Kulkarni, Shyamrao Gururao; Kudachikar, V B; Keshava Prakash, M N

2011-12-01

Banana (Musa sp var 'Robusta') fruits harvested at 75-80% maturity were dip treated with different concentrations of ethrel (250-1,000 ppm) solution for 5 min. Ethrel at 500 ppm induced uniform ripening without impairing taste and flavour of banana. Untreated control banana fruits remained shriveled, green and failed to ripen evenly even after 8 days of storage. Fruits treated with 500 ppm of ethrel ripened well in 6 days at 20 ± 1 °C. Changes in total soluble solids, acidity, total sugars and total carotenoids showed increasing trends up to 6 days during ripening whereas fruit shear force values, pulp pH and total chlorophyll in peel showed decreasing trends. Sensory quality of ethrel treated banana fruits (fully ripe) were excellent with respect to external colour, taste, flavour and overall quality.

Focused ion beam analysis of banana peel and its application for arsenate ion removal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Memon, J.R.

2015-01-01

Banana peel, a common fruit waste, has been investigated for its ability to remove arsenate ions from ground water as a function of pH, contact time, and initial metal ion concentration. Focused ion beam (FIB) analysis revealed the internal morphology of the banana peels. Arsenate ions were entered into micropores of banana peel. pH was seen to have no effect on the sorption process. Retained species were eluted using 5 mL of 2 M H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/. The kinetics of sorption were observed to follow the pseudo first order rate equation. The sorption data followed Freundlich and D-R isotherms. The energy value obtained from the D-R isotherms indicated that the sorption was physical in nature for arsenate species. Our study has shown that banana peel has the ability to remove arsenate species from ground water samples. (author)

Molecular diagnostics for the sigatoka disease complex of banana.

Science.gov (United States)

Arzanlou, Mahdi; Abeln, Edwin C A; Kema, Gert H J; Waalwijk, Cees; Carlier, Jean; Vries, Ineke de; Guzmán, Mauricio; Crous, Pedro W

2007-09-01

ABSTRACT The Sigatoka disease complex of banana involves three related ascomycetous fungi, Mycosphaerella fijiensis, M. musicola, and M. eumusae. The exact distribution of these three species and their disease epidemiology remain unclear, because their symptoms and life cycles are rather similar. Disease diagnosis in the Mycosphaerella complex of banana is based on the presence of host symptoms and fungal fruiting structures, which hamper preventive management strategies. In the present study, we have developed rapid and robust species-specific molecular-based diagnostic tools for detection and quantification of M. fijiensis, M. musicola, and M. eumusae. Conventional species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers were developed based on the actin gene that detected DNA at as little as 100, 1, and 10 pg/mul from M. fijiensis, M. musicola, and M. eumusae, respectively. Furthermore, TaqMan real-time quantitative PCR assays were developed based on the beta-tubulin gene and detected quantities of DNA as low as 1 pg/mul for each Mycosphaerella sp. from pure cultures and DNA at 1.6 pg/mul per milligram of dry leaf tissue for M. fijiensis that was validated using naturally infected banana leaves.

Hydrogen bonding discotic liquid crystals: Synthesis, self-assembly, and molecular recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Bushey, Mark Lawrence

The triamides shown below form discotic liquid crystalline phases with intermolecular hydrogen bonding stabilizing the columnar structure, A and B. The mesomorphic orientations of the columns are dependent on the amide side chain. Three mesophasic orientations are described: columns aligned perpendicular to the surface, columns aligned parallel to the surface in a radial pattern, and columns aligned parallel to the surface in a parallel or aligned pattern. The aggregation of the tridodecyloxy-triamides show N-H shifting in the IR at elevated temperatures, an indication that hydrogen bonding is important in the association of liquid crystalline mesophases. Powder X-ray diffraction studies indicate packing of the columns into a hexagonal lattice.* Studies on triamides with chiral side chains result in molecules stacking into columns displaying a helical pitch. In concentrated solutions of dodecane, molecules with chiral side chains display behavior consistent with chiral nematic liquid crystals; a super helical packing of the chiral columns. These superhelical packed systems show temperature dependent selective reflection of visible light and fingerprint textures. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) confirms in sub-monolayer films, that molecules preferring an edge-on orientation form long columns on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), those that prefer a face-on orientation form large amorphous domains. Electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) images of the domains of molecules in the edge-on orientation provides no discernible polarity, imaging of the domains of molecules in the face-on orientation indicates a negative polar orientation. Scanning probe measurements (SPM) of the tridodecynyl-triamide have shown similar edge-on orientations of other tridodecyloxy-triamides. Powder X-ray diffraction of these liquid crystalline phases shows a hexagonal packing of the columnar assembly. Electro-optic switching studies indicate a piezoelectric switching mechanism, possibly

Co-extrusion of food grains-banana pulp for nutritious snacks: optimization of process variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Mridula, D; Sethi, Swati; Tushir, Surya; Bhadwal, Sheetal; Gupta, R K; Nanda, S K

2017-08-01

Present study was undertaken to optimize the process conditions for development of food grains (maize, defatted soy flour, sesame seed)-banana based nutritious expanded snacks using extrusion processing. Experiments were designed using Box-Behnken design with banana pulp (8-24 g), screw speed (300-350 rpm) and feed moisture (14-16% w.b.). Seven responses viz. expansion ratio (ER), bulk density (BD), water absorption index (WAI), protein, minerals, iron and sensory acceptability were considered for optimizing independent parameters. ER, BD, WAI, protein content, total minerals, iron content, and overall acceptability ranged 2.69-3.36, 153.43-238.83 kg/m 3 , 4.56-4.88 g/g, 15.19-15.52%, 2.06-2.27%, 4.39-4.67 mg/100 g (w.b.) and 6.76-7.36, respectively. ER was significantly affected by all three process variables while BD was influenced by banana pulp and screw speed only. Studied process variables did not affected colour quality except 'a' value with banana pulp and screw speed. Banana pulp had positive correlation with water solubility index, total minerals and iron content and negative with WAI, protein and overall acceptability. Based upon multiple response analysis, optimized conditions were 8 g banana pulp, 350 rpm screw speed and 14% feed moisture indicating the protein, calorie, iron content and overall sensory acceptability in sample as 15.46%, 401 kcal/100 g, 4.48 mg/100 g and 7.6 respectively.

Cloning and functional characterization of MusaVND1 using transgenic banana plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Negi, Sanjana; Tak, Himanshu; Ganapathi, T R

2015-06-01

Vascular related NAC (NAM, ATAF and CUC) domain-containing genes regulate secondary wall deposition and differentiation of xylem vessel elements. MusaVND1 is an ortholog of Arabidopsis VND1 and contains the highly conserved NAC domain. The expression of MusaVND1 is highest in developing corm and during lignification conditions, the increase in expression of MusaVND1 coincides with the expression of PAL, COMT and C4H genes. MusaVND1 encodes a nuclear localized protein as MusaVND1-GFP fusion protein gets localized to nucleus. Transient overexpression of MusaVND1 converts banana embryogenic cells to xylem vessel elements, with a final differentiation frequency of 33.54% at the end of tenth day. Transgenic banana plants overexpressing MusaVND1 showed stunted growth and were characterized by PCR and Southern blot analysis. Transgenic banana plants showed transdifferentiation of various types of cells into xylem vessel elements and ectopic deposition of lignin in cells of various plant organs such as leaf and corm. Tracheary element formation was seen in the cortical region of transgenic corm as well as in epidermal cells of leaves. Biochemical analysis indicates significantly higher levels of lignin and cellulose content in transgenic banana lines than control plants. MusaVND1 overexpressing transgenic banana plants showed elevated expression levels of genes involved in lignin and cellulose biosynthesis pathway. Further expression of different MYB transcription factors positively regulating secondary wall deposition was also up regulated in MusaVND1 transgenic lines.

A Socio-Economic History of the International Banana Trade, 1870-1930

OpenAIRE

ABBOTT, Roderick

2009-01-01

The genesis, and even more the growth, of the international banana industry is intimately bound up with the development of steamships (from 1850 onwards) and with the spread of railway construction around the world. The coming of steam, which ensured consistent and swifter passage from the Caribbean and Central America to the United States, and later to Europe, meant that bananas could be delivered in good condition rather than rotten, as had happened in earlier days. Later, when refrigerated...

Genetic basis to hybrid inviability is more complex than hybrid male sterility in Caenorhabditis nematodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Bundus, Joanna D; Wang, Donglin; Cutter, Asher D

2018-04-07

Hybrid male sterility often evolves before female sterility or inviability of hybrids, implying that the accumulation of divergence between separated lineages should lead hybrid male sterility to have a more polygenic basis. However, experimental evidence is mixed. Here, we use the nematodes Caenorhabditis remanei and C. latens to characterize the underlying genetic basis of asymmetric hybrid male sterility and hybrid inviability. We demonstrate that hybrid male sterility is consistent with a simple genetic basis, involving a single X-autosome incompatibility. We also show that hybrid inviability involves more genomic compartments, involving diverse nuclear-nuclear incompatibilities, a mito-nuclear incompatibility, and maternal effects. These findings demonstrate that male sensitivity to genetic perturbation may be genetically simple compared to hybrid inviability in Caenorhabditis and motivates tests of generality for the genetic architecture of hybrid incompatibility across the breadth of phylogeny.

Architecture in the Experience City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kiib, Hans

2009-01-01

. The article identifies new rationales related to this development, and it argues that ‘cultural planning' has increasingly shifted its focus from a cultural institutional approach to a more market-oriented strategy that combines art and business in a close relationship. The role of architecture has changed......This article focuses on the combination of programs and the architecture of cultural projects that have emerged within the last few years. These projects are characterized in the article as ‘hybrid cultural projects', because they intend to combine experience with entertainment, play and learning...... too. Architecture not only provides a functional framework for these concepts, but it increasingly tries to give the main idea of the cultural project a spatially aesthetic expression - a shift towards ‘experience architecture'. A great number of these projects typically recycles and reinterprets...

Identification and evaluation of two diagnostic markers linked to Fusarium wilt resistance (race 4) in banana (Musa spp.).

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wei; Hu, Yulin; Sun, Dequan; Staehelin, Christian; Xin, Dawei; Xie, Jianghui

2012-01-01

Fusarium wilt caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense race 4 (FOC4) results in vascular tissue damage and ultimately death of banana (Musa spp.) plants. Somaclonal variants of in vitro micropropagated banana can hamper success in propagation of genotypes resistant to FOC4. Early identification of FOC4 resistance in micropropagated banana plantlets is difficult, however. In this study, we identified sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers of banana associated with resistance to FOC4. Using pooled DNA from resistant or susceptible genotypes and 500 arbitrary 10-mer oligonucleotide primers, 24 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) products were identified. Two of these RAPD markers were successfully converted to SCAR markers, called ScaU1001 (GenBank accession number HQ613949) and ScaS0901 (GenBank accession number HQ613950). ScaS0901 and ScaU1001 could be amplified in FOC4-resistant banana genotypes ("Williams 8818-1" and Goldfinger), but not in five tested banana cultivars susceptible to FOC4. The two SCAR markers were then used to identify a somaclonal variant of the genotype "Williams 8818-1", which lost resistance to FOC4. Hence, the identified SCAR markers can be applied for a rapid quality control of FOC4-resistant banana plantlets immediately after the in vitro micropropagation stage. Furthermore, ScaU1001 and ScaS0901 will facilitate marker-assisted selection of new banana cultivars resistant to FOC4.

TRADE ENHANCEMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF DESSERT BANANA FRUITS AND ESTIMATES OF TRANSACTION COSTS IN OKIGWE METROPOLIS, IMO STATE NIGERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Ogbonna Emerole

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This study on trade enhancement Characteristics of sweet (dessert banana fruit and estimation of transaction costs was conducted in Okigwe Metropolis of Imo State, Nigeria. Stratified random sampling technique was adopted in selecting 80 respondents comprising 40 dessert banana traders (panelists and 40 dessert banana consumers. Monthly trade data was collected from the respondents using pretested semi-structured questionnaire during dry season (November-April and rain season (May-October for the year 2012. Data collected were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis; with transaction costs estimated as ex ante and ex post components. Hedonic pricing regression model was used in determining buyer socioeconomic/banana attributes that influenced willingness to pay price. Fruit characteristics that significantly enhanced trade of sweet banana in descending order were taste (3.83, fruit variety (3.57, and fruit skin colour (3.50. Other significant factors were level of ripeness (3.49, availability in off-season (3.46, fruit size (3.20 and cleanliness (3.20. Mean ex-ante transaction costs for sweet banana was N77, 800.00/trader and its mean ex-post transaction cost was N25,080.00/trader. We recommended that traders should take advantage of Global Mobile System (GSM to overcome information barriers on banana trading. Government and health institutions should intensify consumer safety education, and encourage horticultural unions to heighten postharvest monitoring of stored and displayed dessert banana fruits to enforce observance of ripening standards.

A Hybrid OFDM-TDM Architecture with Decentralized Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation for PONs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taner Cevik

2013-01-01

Full Text Available One of the major challenges of passive optical networks is to achieve a fair arbitration mechanism that will prevent possible collisions from occurring at the upstream channel when multiple users attempt to access the common fiber at the same time. Therefore, in this study we mainly focus on fair bandwidth allocation among users, and present a hybrid Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed/Time Division Multiplexed architecture with a dynamic bandwidth allocation scheme that provides satisfying service qualities to the users depending on their varying bandwidth requirements. Unnecessary delays in centralized schemes occurring during bandwidth assignment stage are eliminated by utilizing a decentralized approach. Instead of sending bandwidth demands to the optical line terminal (OLT which is the only competent authority, each optical network unit (ONU runs the same bandwidth demand determination algorithm. ONUs inform each other via signaling channel about the status of their queues. This information is fed to the bandwidth determination algorithm which is run by each ONU in a distributed manner. Furthermore, Light Load Penalty, which is a phenomenon in optical communications, is mitigated by limiting the amount of bandwidth that an ONU can demand.

A Hybrid OFDM-TDM Architecture with Decentralized Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation for PONs

Science.gov (United States)

Cevik, Taner

2013-01-01

One of the major challenges of passive optical networks is to achieve a fair arbitration mechanism that will prevent possible collisions from occurring at the upstream channel when multiple users attempt to access the common fiber at the same time. Therefore, in this study we mainly focus on fair bandwidth allocation among users, and present a hybrid Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed/Time Division Multiplexed architecture with a dynamic bandwidth allocation scheme that provides satisfying service qualities to the users depending on their varying bandwidth requirements. Unnecessary delays in centralized schemes occurring during bandwidth assignment stage are eliminated by utilizing a decentralized approach. Instead of sending bandwidth demands to the optical line terminal (OLT) which is the only competent authority, each optical network unit (ONU) runs the same bandwidth demand determination algorithm. ONUs inform each other via signaling channel about the status of their queues. This information is fed to the bandwidth determination algorithm which is run by each ONU in a distributed manner. Furthermore, Light Load Penalty, which is a phenomenon in optical communications, is mitigated by limiting the amount of bandwidth that an ONU can demand. PMID:24194684

Assembling high activity phosphotriesterase composites using hybrid nanoparticle peptide-DNA scaffolded architectures

Science.gov (United States)

Breger, Joyce C.; Buckhout-White, Susan; Walper, Scott A.; Oh, Eunkeu; Susumu, Kimihiro; Ancona, Mario G.; Medintz, Igor L.

2017-06-01

Nanoparticle (NP) display potentially offers a new way to both stabilize and, in many cases, enhance enzyme activity over that seen for native protein in solution. However, the large, globular and sometimes multimeric nature of many enzymes limits their ability to attach directly to the surface of NPs, especially when the latter are colloidally stabilized with bulky PEGylated ligands. Engineering extended protein linkers into the enzymes to achieve direct attachment through the PEG surface often detrimentally alters the enzymes catalytic ability. Here, we demonstrate an alternate, hybrid biomaterials-based approach to achieving directed enzyme assembly on PEGylated NPs. We self-assemble a unique architecture consisting of a central semiconductor quantum dot (QD) scaffold displaying controlled ratios of extended peptide-DNA linkers which penetrate through the PEG surface to directly couple enzymes to the QD surface. As a test case, we utilize phosphotriesterase (PTE), an enzyme of bio-defense interest due to its ability to hydrolyze organophosphate nerve agents. Moreover, this unique approach still allows PTE to maintain enhanced activity while also suggesting the ability of DNA to enhance enzyme activity in and of itself.

Using possibilities of some agricultural wastes in open-field banana cultivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet ÖTEN

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Usage of farmyard manure is the one of the major factors to increase production cost in banana cultivation. Besides increasing the production costs, other disadvantages of farmyard manure are playing active role on carrying diseases and pests and also difficulty in obtaining. Due to the stated disadvantages, the use farmyard manure of banana farmers is decreasing. Therefore, we need alternative ways to increase the organic matter capacity of the soil. The effects of alternative applications to farmyard manure, namely banana waste and mushroom compost were investigated. The objective of the study was to evaluate effects of these applications on some morphological properties (plant height, plant circumference and number of leaves, yield (number of hands, number of fingers, bunch weight, finger weight and length and quality properties (flesh/skin ratio, total soluble solids matter, sugars etc. under open-field banana cultivation. The experiment was conducted in Kargıcak location of Alanya in randomized complete block design (RCBD with 3 replications. Experimental results revealed that using of farmyard manure and waste treatments positively affected the yield parameters like the number of hands and fingers, finger length, finger weight and bunch weight. On the other hand, treatments did not have a statistically significant effect on fruit quality parameters like soluble solids content, titratable acidity, pH and ash.

Effect of crop sanitation on banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) populations and associated damage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Masanza, M.

2003-01-01

The banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a serious pest of bananas. However, its ecology is not well elucidated especially in East Africa where plantations are up to 50 years old and are under various management and cropping systems. No single

Evidence for the presence of a female produced sex pheromone in the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus Germar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Science.gov (United States)

Behavior-modifying chemicals such as pheromones and kairomones have great potential in pest management. Studies reported here investigated chemical cues involved in mating and aggregation behavior of banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus, a major insect pest of banana in every country where bananas a...

Climatic Forcing on Black Sigatoka Disease of Banana Crops in Urabá, Colombia

Science.gov (United States)

Ochoa, A.; Álvarez, P.; Poveda, G.; Buriticá, P.; Mira, J.

2012-12-01

Bananas are widely the most consumed fruit in the world and Colombia is one of the major producers and exporters of bananas worldwide. We analyzed the climatic forcing agents on banana crops in the Urabá region, the largest banana producer in Colombia. Although this crop is harvested continuously throughout the entire year, it exhibits climate driven seasonality. Black Sigatoka Disease (BSD) has been the most important threat for banana production worldwide. BSD attacks plant leaves producing small spots of dead material. When BSD is not treated, it can grow enough to damage the entire leaf, reducing both growth and developmental rates which may result in the loss of the plant. BSD is caused by Mycosphaerella fijiensis. This fungus is dispersed by wind with its inoculation occurring when there is water on the leaf. Thus, climatic variables such as wind, relative humidity of air (RH) and leaf wetness duration (LWD) all affect phenological phases of the banana crop (suckering, growing, flowering and harvesting). This study was carried out at the Cenibanano Experimental Plot located in Carepa (Urabá, Colombia) during 2007-2012. We used phytopathologic and weather data from the Cenibanano database along with climatic data from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR). BSD was diagnosed using the Biological Forecasting method. Results show that rainfall drives both plant and disease development rate. During wet periods the Foliar Emission Rate exceeds rates measured during dry periods. Although wetness is a positive factor for fungal reproduction (and BSD), it also heightens the chance for the plant to create more foliar tissue to fight against BSD. Hence, during wet periods the Severity Index of BSD is reduced in relation to dry periods. This effect was also observed at the inter-annual scale of the El Niño - South Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. During the ENSO warm/cold phase (El Niño/La Niña) rainfall anomalies in Colombia were observed as negative

Architectural optimization of an epoxy-based hybrid sol–gel coating for the corrosion protection of a cast Elektron21 magnesium alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murillo-Gutiérrez, N.V., E-mail: murillo@chimie.ups-tlse.fr [Université de Toulouse UPS-INP-CNRS, Institut Carnot CIRIMAT, Toulouse (France); Ansart, F.; Bonino, J-P. [Université de Toulouse UPS-INP-CNRS, Institut Carnot CIRIMAT, Toulouse (France); Kunst, S.R.; Malfatti, C.F. [Universidade Federal do Rio grande do Sul, Laboratory of Corrosion Research (LAPEC), Porto Alegre (Brazil)

2014-08-01

An epoxy-based hybrid sol–gel coating was prepared in various architectural configurations has been studied for the corrosion protection of a cast Elektron21 magnesium alloy. The creation of a single layer of this coating presents defects consisting of macro-pores and protuberances, which opens access for corrosive species to reach the metallic substrate. These defects are suspected to result from the high reactivity of the substrate, as well as to the irregular topography of the substrate disrupted by the microstructure of the own magnesium alloy. Hence, a sol–gel coating in bilayer architecture is proposed, where the first layer would “inert” the surface of the magnesium substrate, and the second layer would cover the defects of the first layer and also thickening the coating. The morphological characteristics of the sol–gel coatings were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and their corrosion behavior was evaluated by OCP (open circuit potential) monitoring and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in chloride media. It is shown that both the architectural arrangement and the individual thickness of the first and second layers have an important influence on the anticorrosion performances of the protective system, just as much as its global thickness.

Architectural optimization of an epoxy-based hybrid sol-gel coating for the corrosion protection of a cast Elektron21 magnesium alloy

Science.gov (United States)

Murillo-Gutiérrez, N. V.; Ansart, F.; Bonino, J.-P.; Kunst, S. R.; Malfatti, C. F.

2014-08-01

An epoxy-based hybrid sol-gel coating was prepared in various architectural configurations has been studied for the corrosion protection of a cast Elektron21 magnesium alloy. The creation of a single layer of this coating presents defects consisting of macro-pores and protuberances, which opens access for corrosive species to reach the metallic substrate. These defects are suspected to result from the high reactivity of the substrate, as well as to the irregular topography of the substrate disrupted by the microstructure of the own magnesium alloy. Hence, a sol-gel coating in bilayer architecture is proposed, where the first layer would “inert” the surface of the magnesium substrate, and the second layer would cover the defects of the first layer and also thickening the coating. The morphological characteristics of the sol-gel coatings were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and their corrosion behavior was evaluated by OCP (open circuit potential) monitoring and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in chloride media. It is shown that both the architectural arrangement and the individual thickness of the first and second layers have an important influence on the anticorrosion performances of the protective system, just as much as its global thickness.

Architectural optimization of an epoxy-based hybrid sol–gel coating for the corrosion protection of a cast Elektron21 magnesium alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murillo-Gutiérrez, N.V.; Ansart, F.; Bonino, J-P.; Kunst, S.R.; Malfatti, C.F.

2014-01-01

An epoxy-based hybrid sol–gel coating was prepared in various architectural configurations has been studied for the corrosion protection of a cast Elektron21 magnesium alloy. The creation of a single layer of this coating presents defects consisting of macro-pores and protuberances, which opens access for corrosive species to reach the metallic substrate. These defects are suspected to result from the high reactivity of the substrate, as well as to the irregular topography of the substrate disrupted by the microstructure of the own magnesium alloy. Hence, a sol–gel coating in bilayer architecture is proposed, where the first layer would “inert” the surface of the magnesium substrate, and the second layer would cover the defects of the first layer and also thickening the coating. The morphological characteristics of the sol–gel coatings were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and their corrosion behavior was evaluated by OCP (open circuit potential) monitoring and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in chloride media. It is shown that both the architectural arrangement and the individual thickness of the first and second layers have an important influence on the anticorrosion performances of the protective system, just as much as its global thickness.

Agroforestry leads to shifts within the gammaproteobacterial microbiome of banana plants cultivated in Central America.

Science.gov (United States)

Köberl, Martina; Dita, Miguel; Martinuz, Alfonso; Staver, Charles; Berg, Gabriele

2015-01-01

Bananas (Musa spp.) belong to the most important global food commodities, and their cultivation represents the world's largest monoculture. Although the plant-associated microbiome has substantial influence on plant growth and health, there is a lack of knowledge of the banana microbiome and its influencing factors. We studied the impact of (i) biogeography, and (ii) agroforestry on the banana-associated gammaproteobacterial microbiome analyzing plants grown in smallholder farms in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Profiles of 16S rRNA genes revealed high abundances of Pseudomonadales, Enterobacteriales, Xanthomonadales, and Legionellales. An extraordinary high diversity of the gammaproteobacterial microbiota was observed within the endophytic microenvironments (endorhiza and pseudostem), which was similar in both countries. Enterobacteria were identified as dominant group of above-ground plant parts (pseudostem and leaves). Neither biogeography nor agroforestry showed a statistically significant impact on the gammaproteobacterial banana microbiome in general. However, indicator species for each microenvironment and country, as well as for plants grown in Coffea intercropping systems with and without agri-silvicultural production of different Fabaceae trees (Inga spp. in Nicaragua and Erythrina poeppigiana in Costa Rica) could be identified. For example, banana plants grown in agroforestry systems were characterized by an increase of potential plant-beneficial bacteria, like Pseudomonas and Stenotrophomonas, and on the other side by a decrease of Erwinia. Hence, this study could show that as a result of legume-based agroforestry the indigenous banana-associated gammaproteobacterial community noticeably shifted.

The antagonistic effect of Banana bunchy top virus multifunctional protein B4 against Fusarium oxysporum.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhuang, Jun; Coates, Christopher J; Mao, Qianzhuo; Wu, Zujian; Xie, Lianhui

2016-06-01

The viral-induced banana bunchy top disease and the fungal-induced banana blight are two major causes of concern for industrial scale production of bananas. Banana blight is particularly troublesome, affecting ∼80% of crops worldwide. Strict guidelines and protocols are in place in order to ameliorate the effects of this devastating disease, yet little success has been achieved. From the data presented here, we have found that Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV)-infected bananas are more resistant to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). BBTV appears to be antagonistic towards Foc, thus improving the survivability of plants against blight. The BBTV suppressor of RNA silencing, namely protein B4, displays fungicidal properties in vitro. Furthermore, transgenic tomatoes expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged protein B4 demonstrate enhanced resistance to F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fol). Differential gene expression analysis indicates that increased numbers of photogenesis-related gene transcripts are present in dark-green leaves of B4-GFP-modified tomato plants relative to those found in WT plants. Conversely, the transcript abundance of immunity-related genes is substantially lower in transgenic tomatoes compared with WT plants, suggesting that plant defences may be influenced by protein B4. This viral-fungal interaction provides new insights into microbial community dynamics within a single host and has potential commercial value for the breeding of transgenic resistance to Fusarium-related blight/wilt. © 2016 BSPP AND JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD.

Sulphate Potasium Extraction From Banana Stem Ash with Bleaching Earth Waste Liquid

OpenAIRE

Edahwati, Luluk

2010-01-01

Sulphate potassium is one of the important chemistry compound for industrial at our country, usually for fertilizerindustry. Therefore, necessary done sulphate potassium maker watchfulness from various ingredient that containsulphate potassium compound. Among others with extract banana stem ash. Watchfulness methodology that is withmix banana stem ash with aquadest (20 gram ash/1 water litre) in temperature 100oc during 30 minutes and stirringrotation 300 rpm. Ash extract that got reaction wi...

Production and Characterization of a Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Obtained by Fermentation of Banana Waste (Musa cavendishii from Selected Yeast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mara Eli de Matos

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Banana is one of the most important fruits in the Brazilian diet and is mainly consumed naturally. Losses from crop to final consumer are high and estimated in about 30%. The aim of this work was to elaborate a distilled alcoholic beverage from discarded banana and to compare with commercial trademarks. Initially, yeast strains were isolated from banana fruit and characterized by their production of volatile aroma compounds. The highest aroma-producing yeast isolate was identified by ITS-rRNA gene sequencing as Pichia kluyveri. Pasteurized banana pulp and peel was fermented by the selected P. kluyveri at approximately 107 cells/mL. The sugars were converted quickly, and a high ethanol concentration (413 mg/L was achieved after 24 h of fermentation. The fermented banana must was distilled in a Femel Alambic, and the head, heart and tail fractions were collected. The banana brandy produced had highest concentration of volatile compounds compared to trademarks, such as isoamyl acetate (13.5 mg/L, ethyl hexanoate (0.8 mg/L and others. The results showed that whole banana must could be a good substrate for fermentation and distillation, and the sensory analysis performed revealed that the produced beverage had good acceptance by the tasters. This study demonstrates the potential of banana as a possible alternative to reduce waste and increase income to farmers.

Expansion of banana (Musa acuminata) gene families involved in ethylene biosynthesis and signalling after lineage-specific whole-genome duplications.

Science.gov (United States)

Jourda, Cyril; Cardi, Céline; Mbéguié-A-Mbéguié, Didier; Bocs, Stéphanie; Garsmeur, Olivier; D'Hont, Angélique; Yahiaoui, Nabila

2014-05-01

Whole-genome duplications (WGDs) are widespread in plants, and three lineage-specific WGDs occurred in the banana (Musa acuminata) genome. Here, we analysed the impact of WGDs on the evolution of banana gene families involved in ethylene biosynthesis and signalling, a key pathway for banana fruit ripening. Banana ethylene pathway genes were identified using comparative genomics approaches and their duplication modes and expression profiles were analysed. Seven out of 10 banana ethylene gene families evolved through WGD and four of them (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase (ACS), ethylene-insensitive 3-like (EIL), ethylene-insensitive 3-binding F-box (EBF) and ethylene response factor (ERF)) were preferentially retained. Banana orthologues of AtEIN3 and AtEIL1, two major genes for ethylene signalling in Arabidopsis, were particularly expanded. This expansion was paralleled by that of EBF genes which are responsible for control of EIL protein levels. Gene expression profiles in banana fruits suggested functional redundancy for several MaEBF and MaEIL genes derived from WGD and subfunctionalization for some of them. We propose that EIL and EBF genes were co-retained after WGD in banana to maintain balanced control of EIL protein levels and thus avoid detrimental effects of constitutive ethylene signalling. In the course of evolution, subfunctionalization was favoured to promote finer control of ethylene signalling. © 2014 CIRAD New Phytologist © 2014 New Phytologist Trust.

Banana (Musa spp) from peel to pulp: ethnopharmacology, source of bioactive compounds and its relevance for human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Aline; Maraschin, Marcelo

2015-02-03

Banana is a fruit with nutritional properties and also with acclaimed therapeutic uses, cultivated widely throughout the tropics as source of food and income for people. Banana peel is known by its local and traditional use to promote wound healing mainly from burns and to help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses, as depression. This review critically assessed the phytochemical properties and biological activities of Musa spp fruit pulp and peel. A survey on the literature on banana (Musa spp, Musaceae) covering its botanical classification and nomenclature, as well as the local and traditional use of its pulp and peel was performed. Besides, the current state of art on banana fruit pulp and peel as interesting complex matrices sources of high-value compounds from secondary metabolism was also approached. Dessert bananas and plantains are systematic classified into four sections, Eumusa, Rhodochlamys, Australimusa, and Callimusa, according to the number of chromosomes. The fruits differ only in their ploidy arrangement and a single scientific name can be given to all the edible bananas, i.e., Musa spp. The chemical composition of banana's peel and pulp comprise mostly carotenoids, phenolic compounds, and biogenic amines. The biological potential of those biomasses is directly related to their chemical composition, particularly as pro-vitamin A supplementation, as potential antioxidants attributed to their phenolic constituents, as well as in the treatment of Parkinson's disease considering their contents in l-dopa and dopamine. Banana's pulp and peel can be used as natural sources of antioxidants and pro-vitamin A due to their contents in carotenoids, phenolics, and amine compounds, for instance. For the development of a phytomedicine or even an allopathic medicine, e.g., banana fruit pulp and peel could be of interest as raw materials riches in beneficial bioactive compounds. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Utilization Of The Visceral Organsof Catfish (Pangasius Hypoptalmus) Added To Banana Peel (Musa Acuminata Balbisiana) To Produceliquid Organic Fertilizer

OpenAIRE

Fryathama, Ilham; Sukmiwati, Mery; ', Sumarto

2017-01-01

This study aimed to obtain liquid organic fertilizer produced from the visceral organs of catfish added to banana skin for enriching the macro elements N, P, and K.The method used in this study was the experimental. Parameters used were the value of pH, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The experimentwas composed as completely randomized design (CRD), and the treatment was addition of banana peel which varied into 4 different amoun, namely: without the banana peel (K0), banana peel 100 g (K...

Banana Peel: A Green and Economical Sorbent for Cr(III Removal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamil R. Memon

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Banana peel, a common fruit waste has been investigated to remove and preconcentrate Cr(III from industrial wastewater. It was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy. The parameters pH, contact time, initial metal ion concentration and temperature were investigated and the maximum sorption was found to be 95%. The binding of metal ions was found to be pH dependent with the optimal sorption occurring at pH 4. The retained species were eluted using 5mL of 2 M HNO3. The mechanism for the binding of Cr(III on the banana peel surface was also studied in detail. The Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R isotherms were used to describe the partitioning behavior for the system at different temperatures. Kinetic and thermodynamic measurements of the banana peel for chromium ions were also studied. The method was applied for the removal and preconcentration of Cr(III from industrial wastewater.

Certain growth related attributes of micropropagated banana under different salinity levels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haq, I.U.; Soomro, F.

2011-01-01

The effect of salinity (NaCl) was assessed on banana (Musa spp.) cv., Sindhri Banana (Basrai) propagating plantlets in aseptic condition. Four different NaCl levels [0 (control) 50, 100 and 150 mM] were maintained at shoot multiplication stage for 6-weeks. Salinity reduced the number of plantlets per explants and plant biomass significantly. A proportional relationship was observed for Na/sup +/ and Cl/sub -/ but K/sup +/, Ca/sup 2+/and NO/sub 3/ were observed to be inversely proportioned with NaCl stress. Similarly, total proteins as well as carbohydrate contents were decreased significantly. Increasing mode of secondary metabolites (proline, betaine contents and reducing sugars) were showing a negative relationship of saline stress with plant micro-propagation efficiency. Among photosynthetic pigments, total carotenoids were increased while chlorophyll contents (Chl a and b) decreased. Similarly, nitrate reductase activity also reduced. Overall, vegetative propagation of banana was affected significantly by NaCl stress under in-vitro conditions. (author)

Optimisation of low temperature extraction of banana juice using commercial pectinase.

Science.gov (United States)

Sagu, Sorel Tchewonpi; Nso, Emmanuel Jong; Karmakar, Sankha; De, Sirshendu

2014-05-15

The objective of this work was to develop a process with optimum conditions for banana juice. The procedure involves hydrolyzing the banana pulp by commercial pectinase followed by cloth filtration. Response surface methodology with Doehlert design was utilised to optimize the process parameters. The temperature of incubation (30-60 °C), time of reaction (20-120 min) and concentration of pectinase (0.01-0.05% v/w) were the independent variables and viscosity, clarity, alcohol insoluble solids (AIS), total polyphenol and protein concentration were the responses. Total soluble sugar, pH, conductivity, calcium, sodium and potassium concentration in the juice were also evaluated. The results showed reduction of AIS and viscosity with reaction time and pectinase concentration and reduction of polyphenol and protein concentration with temperature. Using numerical optimization, the optimum conditions for the enzymatic extraction of banana juice were estimated. Depectinization kinetics was also studied at optimum temperature and variation of kinetic constants with enzyme dose was evaluated. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Banana peel: a green and economical sorbent for Cr(III) removal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Memon, J.R.; Bhanger, M.I.; Memon, S.Q.

2008-01-01

Banana peel, a common fruit waste has been investigated to remove and preconcentrate Cr(III) from industrial wastewater. It was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy. The parameters pH, contact time, initial metal ion concentration and temperature were investigated and the maximum sorption was found to be 95%. The binding of metal ions was found to be pH dependent with the optimal sorption occurring at pH 4. The retained species were eluted using 5 ml of 2 M HNO/sub 3/. The mechanism for the binding of Cr(III) on the banana peel surface was also studied in detail. The Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherms were used to describe the partitioning behavior for the system at different temperatures. Kinetic and thermodynamic measurements of the banana peel for chromium ions were also studied. The method was applied for the removal and preconcentration of Cr(III) from industrial wastewater. (author)

Biochemical effects of gamma irradiation on banana fruits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Motaium, R.A.

1980-01-01

It is of important to study the extension of shelf-life at ambient temperature. This study would be of significant in the case of non- refrigerated transport, practices within the country and transhipment to distant countries. studies have therefore extended to assess the shelf-life of irradiated banana stored under-room temperature. Extension of shelf -life have been achieved by many methods, the most modern one is using gamma irradiation as a promising technology for developing nations. the aim of this investigation is to study the biochemical effects of gamma irradiation on G ros Michel m ature green banana fruits and also to determine the optimum dose level and the optimum storage conditions which resulted in, keeping the organoleptic qualities as it is and maximum extension in shelf-life

The bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of ethanol and ethyl ecetate extracts of Candi Banana (Musa paradisiaca)

Science.gov (United States)

Laeliocattleya, R. A.; Estiasih, T.; Griselda, G.; Muchlisyiyah, J.

2018-03-01

Banana has various benefits for health. One local variety of banana is candi banana (Musa paradisiaca). The aim of this research was to study the content of the bioactive compounds of phenolics, flavonoids, tannin, carotenoids and the antioxidant activity of extract ethanol and ethyl acetate of candi banana. Powdered candi banana was extracted using ethanol and ethyl acetate in an ultrasonic bath. The results showed that the content of phenolics, flavonoids, tannin and carotenoids in ethanol extract were 58.76 ± 3.19 mg/kg, 416.08 ± 18.79 mg/kg, 209.83 ± 15.87 mg/kg and 74.55 ± 4.31 mg/kg, respectively. The content of phenolics, flavonoids, tannin and carotenoids in ethyl acetate extract were 0.83 ± 0.12 mg/kg, 4.31 ± 0.66 mg/kg, 49.97 ± 2.43 mg/kg and 304.40 ± 16.62 mg/kg. While the antioxidant activity (IC50) of ethanol extract and ethyl acetate were 3374.13 ± 123.46 ppm and 40318.19 ± 1014.90 ppm. This research showed that type of solvents of ethanol and ethyl acetate affected the content of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of candi banana. The antioxidant activity of ethanol extract was higher than that of ethyl acetate extract. It showed that ethanol was a better solvent than ethyl acetate to extract bioactive compounds in candi banana.

Effects of gamma radiation on banana 'nanica' (Musa sp., group AAA) irradiated in pre climacteric phase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Simone Faria; Dionisio, Ana Paula; Walder, Julio Marcos Melges

2007-01-01

The present work verified the effect of gamma radiation on physical and chemical parameters of banana 'nanica', analyzing possible alterations on the period of conservation and the possibility of commercial irradiation aiming the exportation. The results had demonstrated that the radiations had not produced effect on pH and total acidity. However, the bananas of the 'control group' and those that had received 0,75 kGy, had presented greater maturation degree and, radiated with 0,30 kGy, had presented greater firmness. In accordance with the results of the organoleptic analysis, can be perceived that the bananas most mature, especially of the 'control group', had had greater acceptance. The bananas of treatments 0,30 and 0,60 kGy had had minors notes for presenting minor maturation stadium. Knowing that the irradiation in adequate dose and fruits of good quality brings benefits to the storage and the process of exportation, we conclude that the dose most appropriate for the control of the maturation of the 'nanica' banana is 0,30 kGy. (author)

Casca de banana: uma possível fonte de infecção no tratamento de fissuras mamilares Banana peel: a possible source of infection in the treatment of nipple fissures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franz Reis Novak

2003-06-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: o presente trabalho foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de estudar a microbiota da casca de banana prata, comercializada na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, tentando correlacioná-la com a possibilidade de que seja uma fonte de infecção para a mulher que a utiliza como terapia para fissuras mamilares. MÉTODOS: foram estudados, em 20 amostras de casca de banana, os seguintes microrganismos: mesófilos, coliformes totais, coliformes fecais, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, lipolíticos, proteolíticos, bolores e leveduras, bactérias lácticas e estafilococos coagulase-positiva. RESULTADOS: as análises microbiológicas revelaram a ocorrência de diversos grupos clássicos de microrganismos. A distribuição percentual dos resultados positivos nas amostras de casca de banana, em função das contagens, foram: mesófilos, 100%; coliformes totais, 20%; estafilococos coagulase-positiva, 25%; bolores e leveduras, 30%; proteolíticos, 70%; lipolíticos, 30% e bactérias lácticas, 95%. Coliformes fecais e Pseudomonas aeruginosa não foram isolados. CONCLUSÃO: a avaliação conjunta dos resultados revela a presença de microrganismos potencialmente patogênicos em níveis capazes de comprometer a qualidade microbiológica da casca de banana. A sua aplicação sobre fissuras mamilares para o tratamento destas pode favorecer o início de um processo infeccioso.OBJECTIVE: the objective of the present investigation is to study the microbiology of banana peel being sold in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in an attempt to determine the possibility that the peel may represent a source of infection for women who use it to treat nipple fissures. METHODS: the following microorganisms were studied in 20 banana peel samples: mesophiles, total coliforms, fecal coliforms, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, lipolytic and proteolytic microorganisms, molds and yeasts, lactic bacteria, and coagulase-positive staphylococcus. RESULTS: the microbiological analyses revealed the occurrence of

Phenolics and essential mineral profile of organic acid pretreated unripe banana flour.

Science.gov (United States)

Anyasi, Tonna A; Jideani, Afam I O; Mchau, Godwin R A

2018-02-01

Banana fruit (Musa spp) though rich in essential minerals, has also been implicated for the presence of phytochemicals which nonetheless beneficial, can also act as mineral inhibitors when in forms such as phenolic compounds, phytates and tannins. This study assayed the essential macro and trace minerals as well as phenolic compounds present in unripe banana flour (UBF) obtained from the pulp of four different cultivars. Unripe banana flour was processed by oven drying in a forced air oven dryer at 70°C upon pretreatment with ascorbic, citric and lactic acid. Organic acid pretreatment was done separately on each unripe banana cultivar at concentrations of 10, 15 and 20g/L. Phenolic compounds were profiled using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry electrospray ion (LC-MS-ESI) while essential minerals were determined using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) respectively. Results of LC-MS-ESI assay of phenolics revealed the presence of flavonoids: epicatechin and myricetin 3-O-rhamnosyl-glucoside in varying concentrations in UBF. Essential mineral profile indicated that Zinc had the least occurrence of 3.55mg/kg (ppotassium was the most abundant mineral at 14746.73mg/kg in UBF of all four banana cultivars. Correlation between phenolic compounds and essential minerals using Pearson's Correlation Coefficient test revealed weak and inverse association between flavonoids and most macro and trace minerals present in UBF samples. Organic acid pretreatment thus exhibited little effect on phenolics and essential minerals of UBF samples, though, inhibitory influence of phenolic compounds was recorded on essential minerals. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Detection of antimicrobial activity of banana peel (Musa paradisiaca L.) on Porphyromonas gingivalis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans: An in vitro study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapadia, Suraj Premal; Pudakalkatti, Pushpa S; Shivanaikar, Sachin

2015-01-01

Banana is used widely because of its nutritional values. In past, there are studies that show banana plant parts, and their fruits can be used to treat the human diseases. Banana peel is a part of banana fruit that also has the antibacterial activity against microorganisms but has not been studied extensively. Since, there are no studies that relate the antibacterial activity of banana peel against periodontal pathogens. Hence, the aim of this study is to determine the antimicrobial activity of banana peel extract on Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans). Standard strains of P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans were used in this study which was obtained from the in-house bacterial bank of Department of Molecular Biology and Immunology at Maratha Mandal's Nathajirao G. Halgekar Institute of Dental Sciences and Research Centre. The banana peel extract was prepared, and the antibacterial activity was assessed using well agar diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentration was assessed using serial broth dilution method. In the current study, both the tested microorganisms showed antibacterial activity. In well diffusion method, P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans showed 15 mm and 12 mm inhibition zone against an alcoholic extract of banana peel, respectively. In serial broth dilution method P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans were sensitive until 31.25 μg/ml dilutions. From results of the study, it is suggested that an alcoholic extract of banana peel has antimicrobial activity against P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Nitrogen and potassium fertilization on ‘Caipira’ and ‘BRS Princesa’ bananas in the Ribeira Valley

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edson S. Nomura

Full Text Available ABSTRACT ‘BRS Princesa’ (AAAB and ‘Caipira’ (AAA banana cultivars have similar sensorial features in comparison to the ‘Maçã’ banana. They are resistant to Panama disease, which allows them to grow in the Ribeira Valley, the largest banana plantation area in the São Paulo State. However, there is no information on how to fertilize crop under these edaphoclimatic conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the development and production of ‘Caipira’ and ‘BRS Princesa’ bananas, by applying four fertilization doses of N and K2O (no fertilization; 175 and 285 kg ha-1 year-1; 350 and 570 kg ha-1 year-1; 525 and 855 kg ha-1 year-1. The most adequate fertilizer recommendation for ‘Caipira’ and ‘BRS Princesa’ cultivars was 150% of the standard recommendation for banana (525 kg ha-1 year-1 of N and 855 kg ha-1 year-1 of K2O in both production cycles, promoting adequate growth and production, since most of the evaluated characteristics showed linear responses with the increase in the fertilization doses. ‘Caipira’ and ‘BRS Princesa’ require higher amounts of N and K than that recommended for the banana crop in the São Paulo State, in order to express their productive potential.

Programmable architecture for quantum computing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, J.; Wang, L.; Charbon, E.; Wang, B.

2013-01-01

A programmable architecture called “quantum FPGA (field-programmable gate array)” (QFPGA) is presented for quantum computing, which is a hybrid model combining the advantages of the qubus system and the measurement-based quantum computation. There are two kinds of buses in QFPGA, the local bus and

In vitro colonic fermentation and glycemic response of different kinds of unripe banana flour.

Science.gov (United States)

Menezes, Elizabete Wenzel; Dan, Milana C T; Cardenette, Giselli H L; Goñi, Isabel; Bello-Pérez, Luis Arturo; Lajolo, Franco M

2010-12-01

This work aimed to study the in vitro colonic fermentation profile of unavailable carbohydrates of two different kinds of unripe banana flour and to evaluate their postprandial glycemic responses. The unripe banana mass (UBM), obtained from the cooked pulp of unripe bananas (Musa acuminata, Nanicão variety), and the unripe banana starch (UBS), obtained from isolated starch of unripe banana, plantain type (Musa paradisiaca) in natura, were studied. The fermentability of the flours was evaluated by different parameters, using rat inoculum, as well as the glycemic response produced after the ingestion by healthy volunteers. The flours presented high concentration of unavailable carbohydrates, which varied in the content of resistant starch, dietary fiber and indigestible fraction (IF). The in vitro colonic fermentation of the flours was high, 98% for the UBS and 75% for the UBM when expressed by the total amount of SCFA such as acetate, butyrate and propionate in relation to lactulose. The increase in the area under the glycemic curve after ingestion of the flours was 90% lower for the UBS and 40% lower for the UBM than the increase produced after bread intake. These characteristics highlight the potential of UBM and UBS as functional ingredients. However, in vivo studies are necessary in order to evaluate the possible benefit effects of the fermentation on intestinal health.

Seleção de híbridos diplóides (AA de bananeira com base em três índices não paramétricos Selection of (AA diploid banana hybrids using three non-parametric indices

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Lauro Saraiva Lessa

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Objetivou-se selecionar híbridos diplóides (AA de bananeira com base em três índices não paramétricos, a fim de orientar a seleção e aumentar o aproveitamento da variabilidade existente no Banco de Germoplasma de Bananeira da Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura Tropical. Foram avaliados 11 híbridos, no delineamento de blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições. As parcelas constituíram-se de seis plantas, espaçadas de 2,5 m x 2,5 m, tendo na bordadura plantas da cultivar Pacovan. Tomaram-se dados dos seguintes caracteres: altura da planta, diâmetro do pseudocaule, número de filhos na floração, número de folhas na floração, ciclo da planta do plantio à emissão do cacho, presença de pólen, número de pencas, número de frutos, comprimento do fruto e resistência à Sigatoka-amarela. As médias desses 10 caracteres foram empregadas no cálculo dos índices multiplicativos, de soma de classificação e da distância genótipo-ideótipo. Os dois híbridos de melhor desempenho geral, o SH3263 e o 1318-01, foram classificados, respectivamente, em primeiro e segundo lugares pelos índices multiplicativos e de soma de classificação, enquanto o índice da distância genótipo-ideótipo os classificou em primeiro e quarto lugares respectivamente. Embora os três índices tenham demonstrado uma boa correspondência entre o desempenho geral dos híbridos e a sua classificação, os índices multiplicativo e de soma de classificação propiciaram classificação mais adequada desses híbridos.The objective of the present study was to select diploids (AA hybrids of banana based on three non-parametric indices as to guide the selection and increase the use of the variability present in the Banana Germplasm Bank of Embrapa Cassava and Tropical Fruits. Eleven hybrids were evaluated in random blocks with four replicates. The plots consisted of six plants spaced 2.5 m x 2.5 m whereas the border rows were from the Pacovan cultivar. The following

Review on postharvest technology of banana fruit

African Journals Online (AJOL)

mu

2013-02-13

Feb 13, 2013 ... The aim of this review is in threefold: First, to explore the effect of different preharvest treatments on postharvest ... biochemical changes in banana during development, maturation, ripening and storage were reviewed. Third, postharvest ..... at full mature stage for local domestic market (Gowen,. 1995).

introduction and evaluation of improved banana cultivars

African Journals Online (AJOL)

jen

important parameters in banana marketing thus the reason they were considered in this study. The data were analysed using Statistics Analysis. System (SAS) for analysis of variance (ANOVA) and means were separated by the Student-. Newman-Keuls test. RESULTS. The differences in growth parameters of the 10.

Hybrid spacecraft attitude control system

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Renuganth Varatharajoo

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The hybrid subsystem design could be an attractive approach for futurespacecraft to cope with their demands. The idea of combining theconventional Attitude Control System and the Electrical Power System ispresented in this article. The Combined Energy and Attitude ControlSystem (CEACS consisting of a double counter rotating flywheel assemblyis investigated for small satellites in this article. Another hybrid systemincorporating the conventional Attitude Control System into the ThermalControl System forming the Combined Attitude and Thermal ControlSystem (CATCS consisting of a "fluid wheel" and permanent magnets isalso investigated for small satellites herein. The governing equationsdescribing both these novel hybrid subsystems are presented and theironboard architectures are numerically tested. Both the investigated novelhybrid spacecraft subsystems comply with the reference missionrequirements.The hybrid subsystem design could be an attractive approach for futurespacecraft to cope with their demands. The idea of combining theconventional Attitude Control System and the Electrical Power System ispresented in this article. The Combined Energy and Attitude ControlSystem (CEACS consisting of a double counter rotating flywheel assemblyis investigated for small satellites in this article. Another hybrid systemincorporating the conventional Attitude Control System into the ThermalControl System forming the Combined Attitude and Thermal ControlSystem (CATCS consisting of a "fluid wheel" and permanent magnets isalso investigated for small satellites herein. The governing equationsdescribing both these novel hybrid subsystems are presented and theironboard architectures are numerically tested. Both the investigated novelhybrid spacecraft subsystems comply with the reference missionrequirements.

Attitudes, perceptions, and trust. Insights from a consumer survey regarding genetically modified banana in Uganda

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kikulwe, E.M.; Wesseler, J.H.H.; Falck-Zepeda, J.

2011-01-01

Genetically modified (GM) crops and food are still controversial. This paper analyzes consumers’ perceptions and institutional awareness and trust toward GM banana regulation in Uganda. Results are based on a study conducted among 421 banana-consuming households between July and August 2007. Results

End-to-End Trajectory for Conjunction Class Mars Missions Using Hybrid Solar-Electric/Chemical Transportation System

Science.gov (United States)

Chai, Patrick R.; Merrill, Raymond G.; Qu, Min

2016-01-01

NASA's Human Spaceflight Architecture Team is developing a reusable hybrid transportation architecture in which both chemical and solar-electric propulsion systems are used to deliver crew and cargo to exploration destinations. By combining chemical and solar-electric propulsion into a single spacecraft and applying each where it is most effective, the hybrid architecture enables a series of Mars trajectories that are more fuel efficient than an all chemical propulsion architecture without significant increases to trip time. The architecture calls for the aggregation of exploration assets in cislunar space prior to departure for Mars and utilizes high energy lunar-distant high Earth orbits for the final staging prior to departure. This paper presents the detailed analysis of various cislunar operations for the EMC Hybrid architecture as well as the result of the higher fidelity end-to-end trajectory analysis to understand the implications of the design choices on the Mars exploration campaign.

Detection of DNA methylation changes in micropropagated banana plants using methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP).

Science.gov (United States)

Peraza-Echeverria, S; Herrera-Valencia, V A.; Kay, A -J.

2001-07-01

The extent of DNA methylation polymorphisms was evaluated in micropropagated banana (Musa AAA cv. 'Grand Naine') derived from either the vegetative apex of the sucker or the floral apex of the male inflorescence using the methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP) technique. In all, 465 fragments, each representing a recognition site cleaved by either or both of the isoschizomers were amplified using eight combinations of primers. A total of 107 sites (23%) were found to be methylated at cytosine in the genome of micropropagated banana plants. In plants micropropagated from the male inflorescence explant 14 (3%) DNA methylation events were polymorphic, while plants micropropagated from the sucker explant produced 8 (1.7%) polymorphisms. No DNA methylation polymorphisms were detected in conventionally propagated banana plants. These results demonstrated the usefulness of MSAP to detect DNA methylation events in micropropagated banana plants and indicate that DNA methylation polymorphisms are associated with micropropagation.

33 CFR 334.560 - Banana River at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.; restricted area.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Banana River at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.; restricted area. 334.560 Section 334.560 Navigation and Navigable Waters CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.560 Banana...

Micromechanics of Amorphous Metal/Polymer Hybrid Structures with 3D Cellular Architectures: Size Effects, Buckling Behavior, and Energy Absorption Capability.

Science.gov (United States)

Mieszala, Maxime; Hasegawa, Madoka; Guillonneau, Gaylord; Bauer, Jens; Raghavan, Rejin; Frantz, Cédric; Kraft, Oliver; Mischler, Stefano; Michler, Johann; Philippe, Laetitia

2017-02-01

By designing advantageous cellular geometries and combining the material size effects at the nanometer scale, lightweight hybrid microarchitectured materials with tailored structural properties are achieved. Prior studies reported the mechanical properties of high strength cellular ceramic composites, obtained by atomic layer deposition. However, few studies have examined the properties of similar structures with metal coatings. To determine the mechanical performance of polymer cellular structures reinforced with a metal coating, 3D laser lithography and electroless deposition of an amorphous layer of nickel-boron (NiB) is used for the first time to produce metal/polymer hybrid structures. In this work, the mechanical response of microarchitectured structures is investigated with an emphasis on the effects of the architecture and the amorphous NiB thickness on their deformation mechanisms and energy absorption capability. Microcompression experiments show an enhancement of the mechanical properties with the NiB thickness, suggesting that the deformation mechanism and the buckling behavior are controlled by the brittle-to-ductile transition in the NiB layer. In addition, the energy absorption properties demonstrate the possibility of tuning the energy absorption efficiency with adequate designs. These findings suggest that microarchitectured metal/polymer hybrid structures are effective in producing materials with unique property combinations. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Studies on mould growth and biomass production using waste banana peel.

Science.gov (United States)

Essien, J P; Akpan, E J; Essien, E P

2005-09-01

Hyphomycetous (Aspergillus fumigatus) and Phycomycetous (Mucor hiemalis) moulds were cultivated in vitro at room temperature (28 + 20 degrees C) to examined their growth and biomass production on waste banana peel agar (BPA) and broth (BPB) using commercial malt extract agar (MEA) and broth (MEB) as control. The moulds grew comparatively well on banana peel substrates. No significant difference (p > 0.05) in radial growth rates was observed between moulds cultivated on PBA and MEA, although growth rates on MEA were slightly better. Slight variations in sizes of asexual spores and reproductive hyphae were also observed between moulds grown on MEA and BPA. Smaller conidia and sporangiospores, and shorter aerial hyphae (conidiophores and sporangiophores) were noticed in moulds grown on BPA than on MEA. The biomass weight of the test moulds obtained after one month of incubation with BPB were only about 1.8 mg and 1.4 mg less than values recorded for A. fumigatus and M. hiemalis respectively, grown on MEB. The impressive performance of the moulds on banana peel substrate may be attributed to the rich nutrient (particularly the crude protein 7.8% and crude fat 11.6% contents) composition of banana peels. The value of this agricultural waste can therefore be increased by its use not only in the manufacture of mycological medium but also in the production of valuable microfungal biomass which is rich in protein and fatty acids.

Ex-Ante Economic Impact Assessment of Genetically Modified Banana Resistant to Xanthomonas Wilt in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Ainembabazi, John Herbert; Tripathi, Leena; Rusike, Joseph; Abdoulaye, Tahirou; Manyong, Victor

2015-01-01

Credible empirical evidence is scanty on the social implications of genetically modified (GM) crops in Africa, especially on vegetatively propagated crops. Little is known about the future success of introducing GM technologies into staple crops such as bananas, which are widely produced and consumed in the Great Lakes Region of Africa (GLA). GM banana has a potential to control the destructive banana Xanthomonas wilt disease. To gain a better understanding of future adoption and consumption of GM banana in the GLA countries which are yet to permit the production of GM crops; specifically, to evaluate the potential economic impacts of GM cultivars resistant to banana Xanthomonas wilt disease. The paper uses data collected from farmers, traders, agricultural extension agents and key informants in the GLA. We analyze the perceptions of the respondents about the adoption and consumption of GM crop. Economic surplus model is used to determine future economic benefits and costs of producing GM banana. On the release of GM banana for commercialization, the expected initial adoption rate ranges from 21 to 70%, while the ceiling adoption rate is up to 100%. Investment in the development of GM banana is economically viable. However, aggregate benefits vary substantially across the target countries ranging from US$ 20 million to 953 million, highest in countries where disease incidence and production losses are high, ranging from 51 to 83% of production. The findings support investment in the development of GM banana resistant to Xanthomonas wilt disease. The main beneficiaries of this technology development are farmers and consumers, although the latter benefit more than the former from reduced prices. Designing a participatory breeding program involving farmers and consumers signifies the successful adoption and consumption of GM banana in the target countries.

Sensory and chemical interactions of food pairings (basmati rice, bacon and extra virgin olive oil) with banana

OpenAIRE

Traynor, Mark; Burke, Roisin; O'Sullivan, Maurice G; Hannon, John; Barry-Ryan, Catherine

2013-01-01

The aim of this study aimed to investigate food pairings as an important sensory phenomenon in order to determine how different components in the selected food pairings affect and interact with other components. Three novel food pairings (banana and bacon, banana and olive oil, and banana and rice) were selected. A conjoint approach utilising qualitative (organic volatile analysis and descriptive sensory analysis) and quantitative (comparable semi quantitative organic volatile analysis and af...

Carbon footprint of premium quality export bananas: case study in Ecuador, the world's largest exporter.

Science.gov (United States)

Iriarte, Alfredo; Almeida, Maria Gabriela; Villalobos, Pablo

2014-02-15

Nowadays, the new international market demands challenge the food producing countries to include the measurement of the environmental impact generated along the production process for their products. In order to comply with the environmentally responsible market requests the measurement of the greenhouse gas emissions of Ecuadorian agricultural goods has been promoted employing the carbon footprint concept. Ecuador is the largest exporter of bananas in the world. Within this context, this study is a first assessment of the carbon footprint of the Ecuadorian premium export banana (Musa AAA) using a considerable amount of field data. The system boundaries considered from agricultural production to delivery in a European destination port. The data collected over three years permitted identifying the hot spot stages. For the calculation, the CCaLC V3.0 software developed by the University of Manchester is used. The carbon footprint of the Ecuadorian export banana ranged from 0.45 to 1.04 kg CO2-equivalent/kg banana depending on the international overseas transport employed. The principal contributors to the carbon footprint are the on farm production and overseas transport stages. Mitigation and reduction strategies were suggested for the main emission sources in order to achieve sustainable banana production. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rearing larvae of the oriental fruit fly, Dacus Dorsalis Hendel on media containing banana or rice bran

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poramarcom, R.; Mitchell, S.

1983-12-01

Materials available in Thailand were substituted for some of those in the standard medium currently used in rearing larvae of Dacus dorsalis Hendel at the Tropical Fruit and Vegetable Research Laboratory, Honolulu, Hawaii. The purpose of this study is to decrease rearing costs through medium modification in Thailand. Larvae were reared in different media: three media containing banana and the other three containing rice bran, as the main ingredient. Wheat germ flakes and torula yeast were added to at: (1) 7.2 and 3.6% (2) 7.2 and 7.2% and (3) 10.8 and 7.2% by weight respectively. The standard medium comprised the seventh medium. The results showed that higher mean pupal recovery, higher mean pupal weight, and higher mean percentage of adult eclosion were obtained from media containing banana compared to media without banana. Media containing banana, (3) and (1), resulted in a significantly (P=0.05) higher mean pupal recovery, 57.49 and 56.88% respectively. Media containing banana, (2) and (3), resulted in the highest mean pupal weight, 12 and 11.68 mg. respectively. Media containing banana produced pupae with highest percentage of adult eclosion. No significant difference was observed in fecundity and fertility of flies reared in all media. Torula yeast and/or wheat germ flakes did not increase the number or weight of pupae. This study showed that media containing banana was the most suitable media for rearing D. dorsalis larvae. All three media containing rice bran were unsuitable for rearing this insect

REGULATION OF BLOOD PRESSURE IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY HYPERTENSION WITH SMOOTHIE BANANA (MUSA PARADISIACA

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Eni Puji Lestari

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Hypertension is a major problem that often happen in Indonesia. Hypertension can cause many complications. In Indonesia almost patients with hypertension got farmacologic therapy, but there is no difference. Banana smoothie is one of nonfarmacologic therapy that can be used to lower blood pressure. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of banana smoothie on regulation in patients with primary hypertension. Method: This study used quasy experimental design. The population in this study were patients with primary hypertension in Kedungturi village Taman Sidoarjo. The sampling technique used nonprobability sampling type of purposive sampling. The total number of sample were 16 respondents who were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Result:The Result of paired t-test at the systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure in experiment group showed p value = 0.000. Independent t test between experiment group post-test and control group post-test showed p value = 0.000 for systolic blood pressure and p value = 0.002 for diastolic blood pressure. This result showed that there was a difference value of pretest and post-test systolic and diastolic blood pressure. With the result of independen t-test we know that there is a difference value between exsperiment and control blood pressure. Discussion: This study explain that there was significant effect of banana smoothie to regulate blood pressure in patients with primary hypertention. Banana smoothie can regulate the blood pressure because of high kalium substance. The function of kalium is to reduce the effect of natrium so the blood pressure can down. It can be conclude that banana smoothie can regulate the blood pressure in patients with primary hypertention. In further day patients with hypertension can choose banana smoothie to regulate their blood pressure.

Plasma potassium concentration and content changes after banana ingestion in exercised men.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Kevin C

2012-01-01

Individuals prone to exercise-associated muscle cramps (EAMCs) are instructed to eat bananas because of their high potassium (K(+)) concentration and carbohydrate content and the perception that K(+) imbalances and fatigue contribute to the genesis of EAMCs. No data exist about the effect of bananas on plasma K(+) concentration ([K(+)](p)) or plasma glucose concentration ([glucose](p)) after exercise in the heat. To determine whether ingesting 0, 1, or 2 servings of bananas after 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise in the heat alters [K(+)](p) or [glucose](p) and whether changes in [K(+)](p) result from hypotonic fluid effluxes or K(+) ion changes. Crossover study. Laboratory. Nine euhydrated men (age = 27 ± 4 years, height = 180.3 ± 8.4 cm, mass = 84.9 ± 26.1 kg, urine specific gravity ≤ 1.006) without EAMCs volunteered. On 3 separate days, participants completed 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous cycling (temperature = 36.4°C ± 1.1°C, relative humidity = 19.4% ± 2.5%) and then ate 0 g (0 servings), 150 g (1 serving), or 300 g (2 servings) of bananas. Blood samples were collected at 3, 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes postingestion. The [K(+)](p), changes in plasma K(+) content, plasma volume changes, and [glucose](p). The [K(+)](p) differed between conditions at 60 minutes; 2 servings (4.6 ± 0.3 mmol/L [conventional unit = 4.6 ± 0.3 mEq/L]) was greater than 1 serving (4.5 ± 0.2 mmol/L [conventional unit = 4.5 ± 0.2 mEq/L]) and 0 servings (4.4 ± 0.3 mmol/L [conventional unit = 4.4 ± 0.3 mEq/L]) (P banana ingestion on EAMCs is unknown; however, these data suggested bananas are unlikely to relieve EAMCs by increasing extracellular [K(+)] or [glucose](p). The increases in [K(+)](p) were marginal and within normal clinical values. The changes in [K(+)](p), plasma K(+) content, and [glucose](p) do not occur quickly enough to treat acute EAMCs, especially if they develop near the end of competition.

Detection of antimicrobial activity of banana peel (Musa paradisiaca L. on Porphyromonas gingivalis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans: An in vitro study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suraj Premal Kapadia

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction and Aim: Banana is used widely because of its nutritional values. In past, there are studies that show banana plant parts, and their fruits can be used to treat the human diseases. Banana peel is a part of banana fruit that also has the antibacterial activity against microorganisms but has not been studied extensively. Since, there are no studies that relate the antibacterial activity of banana peel against periodontal pathogens. Hence, the aim of this study is to determine the antimicrobial activity of banana peel extract on Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans. Material and Methods: Standard strains of P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans were used in this study which was obtained from the in-house bacterial bank of Department of Molecular Biology and Immunology at Maratha Mandal's Nathajirao G. Halgekar Institute of Dental Sciences and Research Centre. The banana peel extract was prepared, and the antibacterial activity was assessed using well agar diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentration was assessed using serial broth dilution method. Results: In the current study, both the tested microorganisms showed antibacterial activity. In well diffusion method, P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans showed 15 mm and 12 mm inhibition zone against an alcoholic extract of banana peel, respectively. In serial broth dilution method P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans were sensitive until 31.25 μg/ml dilutions. Conclusion: From results of the study, it is suggested that an alcoholic extract of banana peel has antimicrobial activity against P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Banana peel extract suppressed prostate gland enlargement in testosterone-treated mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Akamine, Kiichiro; Koyama, Tomoyuki; Yazawa, Kazunaga

2009-09-01

A methanol extract of banana peel (BPEx, 200 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly suppressed the regrowth of ventral prostates and seminal vesicles induced by testosterone in castrated mice. Further studies in the androgen-responsive LNCaP human prostate cancer cell line showed that BPEx inhibited dose-dependently testosterone-induced cell growth, while the inhibitory activities of BPEx did not appear against dehydrotestosterone-induced cell growth. These results indicate that methanol extract of banana peel can inhibit 5alpha-reductase and might be useful in the treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia.

Structural properties and digestion of green banana flour as a functional ingredient in pasta.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Zeqi; Stanley, Roger; Gidley, Michael J; Dhital, Sushil

2016-02-01

Gluten free pasta was made from raw banana flour in combination with vegetable gums and protein for comparison to pasta similarly made from wheat flour. After cooking, it was found that the banana flour pasta was less susceptible to alpha-amylase digestion compared to conventional wheat flour pasta. Release of glucose by alpha-amylase digestion followed first order kinetics with an initial rapid rate of digestion and a subsequent second slower phase. The structure of green banana pasta starch at the inner and outer pasta surfaces was observed under confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and the viscosities of the flour mixtures were measured by a Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA). The digestibility of banana flour pasta was found to be related, not only to the properties of the starch granules, but also to the protein network of the surrounding food matrix. The effects of gums and proteins on pasta formation and digestibility are discussed in the context of its potential use as a gluten free lower glycaemic alternative to conventional wheat based pastas.

Manual transportation within the plot and physical damages to bananas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magalhães Mário Jorge Maia de

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The manual transportation of banana bunches within plots provokes physical damages to fruits compromising their quality. To assess the influence of the distance banana bunches travel on the shoulders of harvesters within the plot, on the incidence of physical damages present on the peel of fruits of the Nanicão cultivar, two experiments were carried out in the Vale do Ribeira region (SP, in sites with slope < 1%. Each experiment divided the plot in different distance bands, two of which were included in this study: one located far away from the collection roads (30-50 m and 80-100 m distance bands and another in an intermediate position (70-80 m and 130-150 m distance bands. For each distance band, six banana bunches of 36 mm gauged fruits were randomly sampled. Four banana hands were cut from the middle region of each bunch and ten fruits were assessed per hand, totaling 240 fruits per treatment. Bunches were harvested at the same maturity degree and those served as control were not transported. A total of 1440 fruits was assessed in the two experiments. The physical damages on the fruit surface were graded on a scale with 6 divisions: 0-0.25 cm²; 0.25-0.5 cm²; 0.5-1.0 cm²; 1.0-1.5 cm²; 1.5-2.0 cm²; 2.0-2.5 cm². The bunches transported on the shoulders of harvesters on distances over 70 m suffered increased (P < 0.01 damaged area. Most damages presented areas up to 0.5 cm².

FRUIT JUICES AS AN ALTERNATIVE TECHNIQUE FOR CONSERVATION OF FRESH-CUT BANANA

OpenAIRE

ANDERSON ADRIANO MARTINS MELO; LEONARDO THOMAZ DINIZ; ADRIANO DO NASCIMENTO SIMÕES; ROLF PUSCHMANN

2014-01-01

Browning discoloration after cutting is detrimental for the quality of a number of fruits and vegetables, such as banana, apple, pear, potato, and some roots such as cassava, yam, and others. Browning and softening compromise banana after cut shelf-life in a few hours under cold storage. Therefore, anti-browning compounds have been applied to slices before packing. Some commonly used substances are calcium chloride, ascorbic acid, cysteine and citric acid, in immersed inchemical mixtures. Rec...

EVALUATION OF NATURAL ENEMIES IN CONTROLLING OF THE BANANA WEEVIL BORER Cosmopolites sordidus Germar IN WEST SUMATRA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahsol Hasyim

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus Germar, is an important pest of highland banana and plantain in Africa, but it exists in low densities in presumed area of origin in Southeast Asia such as in Indonesia. This suggests a possible existence of effective co-evolved natural enemies in the origin area of Indonesia, especially West Sumatra. The objectives of this study were: (1 to evaluate banana weevil pest status at selected sites in West Sumatra, (2 to survey parasitoids and predators, and (3 to determine the control potential of the most important natural enemies. Surveys were undertaken in March 2002-August 2003 in five locations in West Sumatra, i.e., Bukittinggi, Sitiung, Pariaman, Pasaman, and Batusangkar. Five farms per site were selected randomly among all farms that contained banana stands of > 0.5 ha. Sampling for banana weevil adults and damage, and for predators was done throughout small banana stands and within a 20 m x 40 m (0.08 ha subplot on larger farms. Field-collected larvae were taken to the laboratory and reared on corm pieces (3 cm x 3 cm x 3 cm until pupation. Larvae were collected from pseudostem as well as corm residues. To estimate the abundance of non-social predators, i.e., those other than ants, 10 residues each on each farm were examined from plants that had been harvested 1-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks or 9 or more weeks before our visit to the site. Samples of the different morphospecies were saved in alcohol for later identification. The result showed that the banana weevil incidence was found to be low,  0.6-1.7 adults per trap. Plant damage indices were below 2.2%. We collected and reared 24,360 eggs and 3118 larvae, but no parasitism was detected. Phorids (Megaselia sp. and drosophilids were recovered from larval rearings, but most likely were scavengers. A complex of predators was detected, the most important of which was the histerid beetles,  Plaesius javanus Erichson. In laboratory tests, adults and larvae

Adsorption of Cu, As, Pb and Zn by Banana Trunk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nurzulaifa Shaheera Erne Mohd Yasim; Zitty Sarah Ismail; Suhanom Mohd Zaki; Mohd Fahmi Abd Azis

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of banana trunk as an adsorbent in removal of heavy metals in aqueous solution. Functional groups of adsorbent were determined using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Batch experiments were conducted to determine the adsorption percentage of heavy metals (Cu, As, Pb and Zn). The optimum adsorption using banana trunk was based on pH difference, contact time and dosage. Adsorption percentage was found to be proportional to pH, contact time and dosage. Maximum adsorption percentage of Cu, As, Pb and Zn at pH 6, 100 minutes and 8 gram of dosage are 95.80 %, 75.40 %, 99.36 % and 97.24 %, respectively. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were used to determine the equilibrium state for heavy metals ion adsorption experiments. All equilibrium heavy metals were well explained by the Freundlich isotherm model with R"2= 0.9441, R"2= 0.8671, R"2= 0.9489 and R"2= 0.9375 for Cu, As, Pb and Zn respectively. It is concluded that banana trunk has considerable potential for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution. (author)

Growth Performance of Pekin Ducks Fed with Golden Snail and Fresh Banana Peelings

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Ulep, LJL.

1995-01-01

Full Text Available The growth performance and economics of feeding confined Pekin ducks with three different levels of golden snail fresh meat and banana peelings in equal percentage for replacing 50 %, 70 % or 90 % of the commercial feed of the diet was studied. Body weight gains and feed consumption of ducks, cost of feed and profit above feed and stock cost different significantly among treatments. Feed conversion varied during the first month of feeding but became comparable after the second month. Ducks fed the diet with 45 % banana peel and 45 % golden snail meat gave the best performance, were the most economical and yielded the highest profit. Snail meat and banana peeling utilization as replacement to commercial diet for ducks is advantageaous in terms of growth performance and cost benefit.

Genetic variability among 18 cultivars of cooking bananas and plantains by RAPD and ISSR markers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

YUYU SURYASARI POERBA

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Poerba YS, Ahmad F (2010 Genetic variability among 18 cultivars of cooking bananas and plantains by RAPD and ISSR markers. Biodiversitas 11: 118-123. This study was done to assess the molecular diversity of 36 accessions (18 cultivars of the plantain and cooking bananas (Musa acuminata x M. balbisiana, AAB, ABB subgroups based on Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD and and Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR markers and to determine genetic relationships in the bananas. RAPD and ISSR fingerprinting of these banana varieties was carried out by five primers of RAPDs and two primers of ISSRs. RAPD primers produced 63 amplified fragments varying from 250 to 2500 bp in size. 96.82% of the amplification bands were polymorphic. ISSR primers produced 26 amplified fragments varying from 350 bp to 2000 bp in size. The results showed that 92.86% of the amplification bands were polymorphic. The range of genetic distance of 18 cultivars was from 0.06-0.67.

Agronomic performance and soil chemical attributes in a banana tree orchard fertigated with humic substances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Magalhães de Melo

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Fertigation with humic substances products has been adopted in commercial banana tree plantations. However, there are few studies on the procedure to confirm its technical feasibility. This study aimed at assessing the effects of fertigation with humic substances on the chemical attributes of a Dystric Densic Xantic Ferralsol cultivated with the 'BRS Princesa' banana tree cultivar and on the agronomic performance of the orchard. The experiment was conducted using a randomized blocks design, with six treatments and four replications. Treatments consisted of a monthly application of humic substances doses based on the commercially recommended reference dose for the banana plantation (12.09 kg ha-1 cycle-1. The doses used were equivalent to percentages of the reference dose (100 %, 150 %, 200 %, 250 % and 300 %, in addition to the control. No significant effects of the fertigation with humic substances that could justify the use of the product at the doses assessed were observed on the soil chemical attributes, banana growth and yield.

Natural Variation in Banana Varieties Highlights the Role of Melatonin in Postharvest Ripening and Quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Wei; Yang, Hai; Tie, Weiwei; Yan, Yan; Ding, Zehong; Liu, Yang; Wu, Chunlai; Wang, Jiashui; Reiter, Russel J; Tan, Dun-Xian; Shi, Haitao; Xu, Biyu; Jin, Zhiqiang

2017-11-22

This study aimed to investigate the role of melatonin in postharvest ripening and quality in various banana varieties with contrasting ripening periods. During the postharvest life, endogenous melatonin showed similar performance with ethylene in connection to ripening. In comparison to ethylene, melatonin was more correlated with postharvest banana ripening. Exogenous application of melatonin resulted in a delay of postharvest banana ripening. Moreover, this effect is concentration-dependent, with 200 and 500 μM treatments more effective than the 50 μM treatment. Exogenous melatonin also led to elevated endogenous melatonin content, reduced ethylene production through regulation of the expression of MaACO1 and MaACS1, and delayed sharp changes of quality indices. Taken together, this study highlights that melatonin is an indicator for banana fruit ripening in various varieties, and the repression of ethylene biosynthesis and postharvest ripening by melatonin can be used for biological control of postharvest fruit ripening and quality.

Attitudes, perceptions, and trust. Insights from a consumer survey regarding genetically modified banana in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Kikulwe, Enoch M; Wesseler, Justus; Falck-Zepeda, Jose

2011-10-01

Genetically modified (GM) crops and food are still controversial. This paper analyzes consumers' perceptions and institutional awareness and trust toward GM banana regulation in Uganda. Results are based on a study conducted among 421 banana-consuming households between July and August 2007. Results show a high willingness to purchase GM banana among consumers. An explanatory factor analysis is conducted to identify the perceptions toward genetic modification. The identified factors are used in a cluster analysis that grouped consumers into segments of GM skepticism, government trust, health safety concern, and food and environmental safety concern. Socioeconomic characteristics differed significantly across segments. Consumer characteristics and perception factors influence consumers' willingness to purchase GM banana. The institutional awareness and trust varied significantly across segments as well. The findings would be essential to policy makers when designing risk-communication strategies targeting different consumer segments to ensure proper discussion and addressing potential concerns about GM technology. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of a free-standing film from banana pseudostem nanocellulose generated from TEMPO-mediated oxidation.