Aims: This study aimed at isolating a probiotic strain from a collection of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with the high antioxidant property and confirms its potential in D-gal-induced oxidative stress (OS) murine model. Methods and Results: The in vitro antioxidant ability of 16 LAB strains was determined in the cell-free supernatant of 3-to 5-day-old culture, intact cells and cell lysates using three different methods for determining the reactive oxygen species scavenging activity and inhibition of lipid peroxidation. The strain, An28, presented the best antioxidant activity and was identified as Lactobacillus brevis MG000874 on the basis of 16 sRNA gene sequencing. The antioxidant potential of L. brevis MG000874 was confirmed in an OS murine model. Albino mice were exposed to D-galactose at a dose of 150 mg kg À1 BW and fed with L. brevis MG000874 (0Á2 ml of 10 10 CFU per ml cell suspension per animal per day). Antioxidant enzymes were quantified spectrophotometrically in the liver, kidney and serum. Subcutaneous administration of D-gal resulted in decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH) and increase in glutathione-S-transferase (GST) levels in animals. The L. brevis MG000874treated animals displayed improvement in SOD, CAT and GST in all tissues and GSH in the liver and serum. The safety assessment of L. brevis MG000874 was performed by comparing liver and renal function tests. None of the selected indicators was significantly different from the negative control group. Conclusions: The antioxidant potential of 16 strains was noticed to be strain specific and in vivo performance of L. brevis MG000874 was found satisfactory in a D-gal murine model. Significance and Impact of the Study: Lactobacillus brevis MG000874 was identified for its admirable antioxidant property. This strain or/and its metabolites could be further investigated for possible applications in humans and veterinary fields. enzymatic class is comprised of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX), while nonenzymatic class includes a large number of natural and simulated antioxidant compounds such as carotenoids, vitamins, thiols, GSH, etc. The deleterious effects of the arbitrary radicals are kept under control by a subtle balance between the rate of their production and eradication (Halliwell 1994). Both enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant defence systems are quintessential for cellular

ABSTRACT

Purpose The security of the stored biometric template is itself a challenge. Feature transformation techniques and biometric cryptosystems are used to address the concerns and improve the general acceptance of biometrics. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of different techniques and processes for securing the biometric templates. Furthermore, the paper explores current research trends in this area. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors provide an overview and survey of different features transformation techniques and biometric cryptosystems. Findings Feature transformation techniques and biometric cryptosystems provide reliable biometric security at a high level. There are many techniques that provide provable security with practical viable recognition rates. However, there remain several issues and challenges that are being faced during the deployment of these technologies. Originality/value This paper provides an overview of currently used techniques for securing biometric templates and also outlines the related issues and challenges.

Background: In children, the leading cause of morbidity and mortality is infectious disease. Immunization is one of the most cost-effective methods for child survival. The purpose of the survey is to assess access and coverage of immunizations in the rural areas of the District Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Methods: A cross‑sectional study was conducted in a rural population area of District Peshawar from February 2016 to April 2016 using the WHO’s 30 cluster sampling method for evaluation of immunization coverage. Results: A total of 390 children aged 12-23 months were included in the study. It was found that 67.94% of the children were fully immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases. Thirty percent of the children were partially immunized; the percentage of unimmunized children was 2.06%. Immunization cards were issued to and available with 58.8% of the subjects. The most common cause of partial immunization was a lack of information regarding vaccinations (27%). Immunization against measles was found to be low (67%). Those using private facilities were more likely to be completely immunized as compared to government facilities. Conclusions: Immunization coverage in our survey was 68%. Sustained efforts are required to achieve universal coverage of immunization. Significant interventions are required, especially in areas that are more rural and less educated.

Nelumbinis semen is commonly known as lotus seeds that have been used as a vegetable, functional food, and medicine for 7,000 years. These are low caloric, a rich source of multiple nutrients and bioactive constituents, which make it a unique therapeutic food. N. semen plays an important part in the physiological functions of the body. Nowadays, people are more conscious about their health and desire to treat disease naturally with minimal side effects. So, functional foods are getting popularity due to a wide range of essential constituents, which are associated to decrease the risk of chronic diseases. These bioactive compounds from seeds are involved in anti‐adipogenic, antioxidant, antitumor, cardiovascular, hepato‐protective, anti‐inflammatory, anti‐fertility, anti‐microbial, anti‐viral, hypoglycemic, etc. Moreover, the relationship between functional compounds along with their mechanism of action in the body, their extraction from the seeds for further research would be of great interest.

Whole wheat flour was fortified with premix containing ferrous sulfate, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid and folic acid (20.0:20.0:1.5 ppm) and was stored at ambient temperature for 60 days. Naans (flat bread) were prepared from 0 ppm, 25 ppm, 50 ppm and 75 ppm ferrous iron-fortified flour samples at 10-day intervals and were analyzed for physicochemical constants and sensory evaluation. It was observed that flour containing 75 ppm ferrous sulfate contained the highest iron residues. The total iron in flour samples showed no significant difference, while ferrous iron significantly decreased in fortified flour (0.53-3.08%) and in the naans (0.42-3.48%) because of its oxidation to ferric iron during storage. The phytic acid content decreased (0.886-0.810%) significantly during the same storage period. Iron levels affected some sensory characteristics significantly (P < or =0.05), including color, texture, flexibility, chewability and overall acceptability of the naans, but not taste and flavor. The sensory attributes of naans illustrated that naans containing 50 ppm ferrous iron are more acceptable than those prepared with 75 ppm ferrous iron.

Calcium fortification is usually achieved by employing wheat flour as the most frequently used vehicle. In this study, potential of calcium extraction from chicken eggshell and its utilization as a bread fortificant in straight grade flour (SGF) is investigated. In addition, the fortified and unfortified (control) flour samples were evaluated for nutrient composition and rheological properties. Results showed that addition of fortificant at different concentrations significantly (p<0.05) enhanced calcium content of fortified flour and it was considerably increased from 115.80 mg/kg (T o) to 1135.1 mg/kg (T 3). Nutrient composition data of fortified flour have shown a significant (p<0.05) reduction in moisture content of flour from 12.7% (T o) to 11.76% (T 3) and protein content from 9.89% (T o) to 9.79% (T 3). However, a significant increase in ash content was observed by increasing fortificant level from 0.54% (T o) to 1.04% (T 3). Rheological properties indicated a significant increase in water absorption from 63.60 to 67.527%, dough development time (DDT) from 7.38 to 11.37 min and dough stability from 13.79 to 17.37 min. Textural characteristics of fortified bread revealed a significant reduction for hardness values from 11.40 N (control) to 6.50 N (T 3) in response to fortificant addition. Quality assessment of bread indicated that bread quality was significantly affected with corresponding rises in fortificant addition levels.

Natural products are gaining clinical significance in modern day health care systems to prevent diseases. Bitter melon, a health promoting vegetable, is traditionally used for medical nutrition therapy to cure diabetes but to reap maximum health claims, vigilant control of its substances in diet is crucial as part of curative action for effective diabetes management. In the present research, first phase focused on detection of key bioactive components, i.e., charantin and vicine in different parts of its fruit. In the second phase, normal and hyperglycemic Sprague Dawley rats were fed on skin, flesh and whole fruit of bitter melon at 150 and 300 mg/kg body weight and assessed for diabetes prophylaxis and treatment. The highest amount of charantin (0.16 ± 0.02 mg/g) was recorded in flesh while vicine was present in abundance in whole fruit (0.21 ± 0.01 μg/100 g). In normal rats, bitter melon supplementation was helpful in managing the onset of diabetes. Hyperglycemic rats showed diabetic complications including polydipsia, polyuria, glycosuria, renal hypertrophy and increased glomerular filtration rate. However, bitter melon consumption showed significant improvements in these parameters. The most potent dose was 300 mg/kg whole fruit that resulted in 31.64% lowering of blood glucose level and 27.35% increase in insulin level in hyperglycemic rats.