Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis of methanolic extract of Magnolia champaca leaves

Plants remain a vibrant source of diverse bioactive phytochemicals that are secondary metabolites protecting them from infections and predations. Magnolia champaca is reported to possess a multitude of phytochemicals. In the present study, the phytochemical constituents of the methanolic extract of Magnolia champaca leaves were analysed qualitatively and with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis was performed to identify the chemical nature of the extract and to find structurally similar compounds. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes, glycosides, phenols, steroids, tannins and saponins. FTIR spectroscopic analysis revealed structurally related compounds. GC-MS/MS analysis revealed the presence of 99 diverse compounds with varied biological activities, among which 1,2,4-butanetriol, n-hexadecanoic acid, cis vaccenic acid, phytol, trans longipinocarveol and caryophyllene oxide were found predominantly. Thus, the identification and characterisation of the phytochemicals in the extract favour the development of novel therapeutic agents

Assessing the relationship between bpm maturity and the success of organizations

Pinto, J., & dos Santos, V. D. (2020). Assessing the relationship between bpm maturity and the success of organizations. In R. Silhavy (Ed.), Applied Informatics and Cybernetics in Intelligent Systems: Proceedings of the 9th Computer Science On-line Conference, CSOC 2020 (pp. 108-126). (Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing; Vol. 1226 AISC). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51974-2_10For the past decades, organizations have been investing heavily in BPM projects in the hope of improving their competitive advantage in an increasingly complex environment. However, although it is believed that the higher the level of BPM maturity the greater the success of the organization, experience shows that this relationship is not always possible to prove. The purpose of this study is to help clarify the relationship between the level of BPM maturity and the success of an organization. This was done through the implementation of a case study-based research within a global company, focusing on the shared services organization. An analysis of the existing BPM maturity models and its level of coverage of BPM core areas was conducted to select the most suitable BPM maturity model to conduct the assessment of the current BPM maturity level. It was also established a framework to characterize the success of an organization. These two inputs, along with information gathered to understand implemented process improvements, were the basis for conducting the research. Results show a successful organization, with a high maturity level according to the BPM OMG maturity model, that has been investing in continually improving its processes with a strong focus on digital transformation. The identified benefits from a high level of BPM maturity, namely improved productivity, cost reduction, error & risk prevention, higher agility, employee upskilling and knowledge retention, were shown to have a positive influence in the majority of the dimensions used to characterize the success of the organization.authorsversionpublishe

Establishing Campylobacter culture methods in a clinical diagnostic laboratory and the first report of Campylobacter species isolation in northern Sri Lanka

Introduction: The Enteric Reference Laboratory of the Medical Research Institute (ERL/MRI), Colombo is the only public sector laboratory in Sri Lanka that performs Campylobacter cultures. Due to logistic limitations involving specimen transport from distant sites, efforts were taken to establish Campylobacter culture facilities in our local clinical microbiology laboratory.Methods: A blood-free charcoal-based selective agar medium (Karmali medium) was chosen based on performance characteristics and quality control (QC)/verification performed at the ERL/MRI. A suitable incubating method was assessed and chosen, and QC was performed in our laboratory. A technical staff member of our local laboratory received capacity building training at the ERL/MRI.Results: The quality control/verification process of the Karmali medium was satisfactory. The variable atmospheric incubator was chosen as the incubating method as it was shown to be more economical in the long-term given the anticipated work load and the QC was satisfactory. Following a satisfactory verification process, Campylobacter culture method was introduced in our laboratory. Five C. jejuni and one hippurate-negative C. jejuni/C. coli was detected in faecal specimens of six paediatric patients between May-December 2018. The isolation rate was 2.25% (6/267). Ciprofloxacin resistance was detected in four out of five C. jejuni isolates.Conclusion: Establishing Campylobacter culture methods in a routine clinical diagnostic laboratory will be beneficial in regions with high prevalence of diarrhoeal disease and with logistic limitations for specimen transport to the central reference laboratory. This is the first report of isolation and antimicrobial susceptibility of Campylobacter species from patients in northern Sri Lanka.</p

Optimizing planting geometries in eucalyptus-based food production systems for enhanced yield and carbon sequestration

The integration of trees into diverse land-use systems holds potential for India to meet nationally determined contribution (NDC) targets under the Paris Climate Agreement. With a target of sequestering 2.5–3 billion tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030, the study focused on the widespread and economically viable eucalyptus-based agroforestry, practiced widely in various planting geometries tailored to meet industrial end-use requirements. In this context, a detailed study was conducted to quantify the influence of five planting geometries [3 m × 3 m, 6 × 1.5 m, 17 × 1 × 1 m (paired row) and two boundary plantations (east–west and north–south directions) at 2 m away from tree to tree] of eucalyptus on intercrops [dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata)—barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) rotation] biomass, soil properties, and carbon stock of the system during 2009–2016. Results revealed that biomass accumulation of different tree components was 62.50%–74.09% in stem; 6.59%–9.14% in branch; 3.18%–5.73% in leaves; 12.20%–20.44% in stump roots; and 1.71%–3.48% in fine roots across the planting geometries. The mean carbon content of the stem, branch, leaves, and roots was 49.00, 47.00, 43.00, and 49.00%, respectively. Over the 8-year period, geometry of 3 × 3 m performed better in terms of total biomass production (344.60 Mg ha− 1 by tree biomass and 62.53 Mg ha−1 by intercrops). The independent parameter, DBH2H (DBH: diameter at breast height and H: tree height), was found to be a very good predictor of dry weight, followed by DBH alone. Among various functions (linear, allometric, logistic, Gompertz, Chapman, and exponential), the best-fit equation was allometric, i.e., B = 300.96 × DBH2H0.93 (adjusted R2 = 0.96) for eucalyptus based on universal model adequacy and validation criteria. The carbon sequestration rate was maximum (20.79 Mg C ha−1 year−1) in 3 × 3 m followed by 17 × 1 × 1 m. The total carbon stock of eucalyptus-based system (tree + crop + soil) varied significantly under different planting geometries and sole crop rotation (dhaincha–barley). The higher carbon stock (237.27 Mg ha−1) was obtained from 3 × 3 m spacing and further partitioning carbon stock in trees—166.29 Mg ha−1, crops—25.01 Mg ha−1 and soil—45.97 Mg ha−1. The paired row spacing (17 × 1 × 1 m) yielded higher crop yield and net returns (Rs. 600,475 ha−1), underscoring wide spacing’s role in system productivity and sustainability. Tree-based systems were valuable components of agriculture, advocating for their widespread adoption to reduce CO2 emissions and generate income through carbon credits. These findings will provide crucial insights into sustainable land-use practices and advance India’s commitment toward adaptation of climate change mitigation strategies

The development and validation of a scoring tool to predict the operative duration of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: The ability to accurately predict operative duration has the potential to optimise theatre efficiency and utilisation, thus reducing costs and increasing staff and patient satisfaction. With laparoscopic cholecystectomy being one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide, a tool to predict operative duration could be extremely beneficial to healthcare organisations. Methods: Data collected from the CholeS study on patients undergoing cholecystectomy in UK and Irish hospitals between 04/2014 and 05/2014 were used to study operative duration. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was produced in order to identify significant independent predictors of long (> 90 min) operations. The resulting model was converted to a risk score, which was subsequently validated on second cohort of patients using ROC curves. Results: After exclusions, data were available for 7227 patients in the derivation (CholeS) cohort. The median operative duration was 60 min (interquartile range 45–85), with 17.7% of operations lasting longer than 90 min. Ten factors were found to be significant independent predictors of operative durations > 90 min, including ASA, age, previous surgical admissions, BMI, gallbladder wall thickness and CBD diameter. A risk score was then produced from these factors, and applied to a cohort of 2405 patients from a tertiary centre for external validation. This returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.708 (SE = 0.013, p  90 min increasing more than eightfold from 5.1 to 41.8% in the extremes of the score. Conclusion: The scoring tool produced in this study was found to be significantly predictive of long operative durations on validation in an external cohort. As such, the tool may have the potential to enable organisations to better organise theatre lists and deliver greater efficiencies in care

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Not AvailableExperiment were undertaken to determine variability and correlation among the fifteen Leucaena leucocephala genetic resources from the three states of India viz., Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The observations were recorded on plant height, basal diameter, number ofbranches and volume index. The fifteen genotypes differed significantly for all the studied traits. The genotypes viz., FCRILL 8 and FCRILL 15 recorded significantly higher plant height, basal diameter and volume index than the rest of the genotypes. The volume index recorded maximum PCV (37.18) and GCV (28.89) and high heritability value of 0.60. The genetic advance as per cent of mean of volume index was 46.23 which were highest among all traits. Volume index exhibited positive and significant phenotypic and genotypic association with plant height (0.76), basal diameter (0.97). Basal diameter exhibited significant phenotypic (0.61) and genotypic (0.77) intercorrelation with plant height. Plant height had positive and non-significant phenotypic (0.02) and genotypic (0.16) interassociation with number of branches. The path analysis study indicated that plant height and basal diameter had direct effect on volume index.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableAn investigation was carried out to estimate genetic variability and interrelationship of characters in 225 sorghum germplasm under arid condition. Highly significant variations were recorded among 225 sorghum germplasm for all the traits studied. The phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV) estimates were higher than the genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV) estimates for all the traits under investigation. The combined results for heritability showed that high estimates of heritability with high genetic advance and GCV were reported for panicle length, panicle width, fresh weight per plant and dry weight per plant indicating that these traits were under control of additive genetic effects. The fresh and dry weight per plant was strongly and positively associated with all the traits, except panicle width. The path coefficient analysis indicated positive and significant correlation as well as high, moderate or low direct effects of dry weight per plant, panicle length, stem diameter, days to flowering, leaf area, 1000 seed weight and grain yield per plant on fresh weight per plant. This indicates that effectiveness of selection for dual purpose sorghum as fodder cum grain crop could be enhanced by inclusion of leaf area, stem diameter, number of leaves per plant, panicle length and 1000 seed weight.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableStudies were carried out in Forest College and Research Institute to assess the chemical properties of 27 Jatropha hybrid clonal seed oil, which was experimented in the laboratory for properties such as acid value, free fatty acid, saponification value, iodine value and cetane number. As these properties are important to determine the present condition of oil, the current study confirms that, hybrid clonal seeds performed superior with respect to the international standards for saponification value, iodine number and cetane number, which shows that Jatropha hybrid clonal seeds could be an important source to meet the future energy requirements.Not Availabl

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