This study was designed to explore the impacts of the pulsed electric field (PEF; 2 to 6 kV/cm; a number of pulses 25 and 50) on wheat (Tritium aestivum L.) seeds before imbibition to improve the germination, growth, and their nutritional profile in juice form. It was observed that the PEF treatment at 6 kV/cm at 50 pulses increased water uptake, germination of seeds, and growth parameters of seedlings. A significant increase in total phenolic contents, DPPH, chlorophylls, carotenoids, soluble proteins, minerals, and amino acids in PEF-treated seeds plantlets juice as compared to the untreated seeds plantlets juice was observed. The results indicate that the PEF may effectively stimulate the growth of the wheat kernels and positively affect their metabolism, optimize the nutrients, and enhance the strength of the wheat kernels plantlets. K E Y W O R D S bioactive compounds, growth parameters, nutritional values, pulsed electric field, wheat seeds 1 | INTRODUC TI ON Wheat kernel (Tritium aestivum L.) is a staple food grown worldwide. The human body needs carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals, fibers, and antioxidants such as tocopherols, carotenoids, phenolic acids, phytic acid, flavonoids, tocotrienols, and phytosterols, which are commonly present in wheat kernels (Abdel-Aal & Rabalski, 2008). Wheat plantlets aged 8-15 days, | 2491 AHMED Et Al.

A major proportion of women exhibited symptoms of antenatal composite DAS, and various factors were found to be related to their psychological distress. A young maternal age, low husband support, low income, large family size, adverse life events, lack of confidence, pregnancy-related concerns, and domestic violence were stronger determinants of poor antenatal psychological status. The study findings concluded that policymakers at the government level should launch special intervention programs to improve maternal perinatal mental and psychological health at the community level.

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A comparative study was undertaken to assess the nutritional status, dietary practices and physical activities of school going adolescents in public and private schools (PPSs) of Karachi, Pakistan. A sample of 101 boys and 100 girls from PPSs was randomly selected for their weight, height, waist and hip circumferences, percent body fat and lean body mass measurements. Adolescent boys and girls were interviewed for their dietary practices, socio-economic status, frequency and type of physical activities and their responses were recorded. Results by gender and school type revealed that both the boys and girls of private schools had a significantly lower mean age but significantly higher mean height-for-age Z-score, waist and hip circumferences than the public school adolescents. Food frequency results revealed that the frequency and patterns of breakfast, break-time snack, lunch and dinner of private school going adolescents were more diverse and nutritiously rich. Skipping breakfast was more common among adolescents being higher in girls than boys. Parents of adolescents belonging to private schools had a higher education and socio-economic status. Private school adolescents were physically more active (p<0.05) in terms of frequency and type of physical activities. The study concludes that the adolescents of private schools had a better nutritional status, consumed food and beverages of better quality and were physically more active. However, boys and girls of both the public and private schools failed to meet the national and international dietary guidelines of recommended food servings.

The xylanase gene (xynA) of Bacillus licheniformis 9945A was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) using pET-22b(+) as an expression vector. The recombinant xylanase enzyme was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, followed by single-step immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography with a 57.58-fold purification having 138.2 U/mg specific activity and recovery of 70.08 %. Molecular weight of the purified xylanase, 23 kDa, was determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The enzyme was stable for up to 70 °C with a broad pH range of 4-9 pH units. The enzyme activity was increased in the presence of metal ions especially Ca(+2) and decreased in the presence of EDTA, indicating that the xylanase was a metalloenzyme. However, an addition of 1-4 % Tween 80, β-mercaptoethanol, and DTT resulted in the increase of enzyme activity by 51, 52, and 5 %, respectively. Organic solvents with a concentration of 10-40 % slightly decreased the enzyme activity. The xylanase enzyme possesses the ability of bioconversion of plant biomasses like wheat straw, rice straw, and sugarcane bagasse. Among the different tested biomasses, the highest saccharification percentage was observed with 1 % sugarcane bagasse after 72 h of incubation at 50 °C with 20 units of enzyme. The results suggest that recombinant xylanase can be used in the bioconversion of natural biomasses into simple sugars which could be further used for the production of biofuel.