Synthesis and Antibacterial Activity of some 5,5’-(1,4-phenylene)-bis-1,3,4-Oxadiazole and bis-1,2,4-Triazole Derivatives as Precursors of New S-Nucleosides

Five compounds, namely 5,5’-benzene-1,4-diylbis(1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol)6 and 5,5’-benzene-1,4-diylbis(1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol) 7a and its derivatives 7b–d were synthesized. Two related S-nucleosides 9 and 10 have been prepared from 6 and 7a. Some of these synthesized compounds were tested in vitro by spotting on Mueller Hinton Agar medium against some Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis and three Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens and compared with the known antibiotics cephalosporin (cefotaxim) and gentamycin. Compound 6 showed significant inhibitory activity against Gram-positive E. faecalis and Gram-negative E. coli bacteria while the others have shown variable inhibition activity.Keywords: Terephthalic acid, 1,3,4-oxadiazole, 1H-1,2,4-triazole, S-nucleosides, antimicrobial activit

Growth and development of symbiotic Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Glomus mossea(Nicol. and Gerd.), in alachlor and glyphosate treated soils

Herbicides are applied to control weeds in agricultural practices and could also be detrimental to the development of some microorganisms living in the soil ecosystem. This study was conducted to determine the growth and development of mycorrhizal fungi, Glomus mossea (Nicol. and Gerd.), in soils treated with herbicides. Herbicide treatments were alachlor at 1.8, 3.6, 5.4 and 36 μg active ingredient (a.i.) g-1 or glyphosate at 1.1, 2.2, 3.3 and 21.6 μg a.i. g-1 dry soil, representing 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 10 x their recommended field application rates. Spore germination percentage and hyphal growth length were determined from spores germinated on cellulose membrane filters, sandwiched between the herbicide treated soil layers in Perti-dish after 30 days incubation in darkness at 22±1°C. External and internal hyphae and their active portions were determined from soil samples of the host growing medium and colonized host plant root systems, respectively. The alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) staining techniques were used to determine the respective active portion of the hyphae. Spores from the prepared inoculum source have high germination percentage (93%) in nonherbicide treated soil. Germination of spores and its hyphal growth were not significantly affected in soil treated with alachlor and glyphosate at the recommended field application rates or less. Alachlor reduced the spore germination and hyphal growth significantly at treatments higher than recommended field application rates, but non-significant effect caused by the glyphosate. The development of external hyphae was insignificantly affected in the herbicides treated soils compared with that of the untreated soil. Colonization and development of internal hyphae on host plant roots were not affected by the herbicide treatments to the soil growing medium at recommended field application rates or less. There was a tendency for the higher treatment rates of alachlor (1.5 and 10x) to affect the development of internal mycorrhizal tissues. Application of alachlor or glyphosate herbicide at their recommended field application rates were not harmful to mycorrhizal development and symbiotic colonization of plant roots. Alachlor, at higher treatments than the recommended field application rates affected the presymbiotic stages of the spore germination and the internal mycorrhizal tissues development substantially.Key words: Arbuscular mycorhrizal fungi, Glomus mossea (Nicol. and Gerd.), alachlor, glyphosate

Plojdy Analysis and Dna Content of Mutant Banana "Pisang Berangan" Using Flow Cytometry

Mutagens cause random changes in the nuclear DNA or cytoplasmic organelles, resulting in gene, chromosomal or genomic mutations and hence, create variability. In this study, flow cytometry (FCM) was used to determine ploidy levels and DNA content in gamma-irradiated variants of mutated Pisang Berangan (cv. Intan, AAA) - a local banana genotype. Induced variants such as short plant stature (stunted growth), late flowering plants (late maturity) and abnormalities in bunch characters were selected to study possible changes at the DNA level. The study showed that DNA content of mutated plants differed from non-irradiated control and that irradiation had the most effect at high doses (40 and 60 Gy). The increase of DNA content in 20 Gy and 30 Gy treated plants was not more than that of the control plants. The values of genomic DNA content of gamma-irradiation variants decreased as the dose of irradiation increased from 20 to 60 Gy, indicating that the high dose of gamma-irradiation had a significant effect on the genome of the plants. The analysis further showed that phenotypic variation due to mutagenesis was reflected in the DNA content of the plants. The results also showed that ploidy levels were not affected by gamma-irradiation even at high doses

Characterization of Malaysian Wild Bananas Based on Anthocyanins

The male buds of 16 Musa species (Musaceae) populations were investigated by HPLC for the occurrence of anthocyanins. The investigation was based on the presence of 6 anthocyanins. The 16 Musa samples could be classified into three distinct species i.e. Musa acuminata, Musa violascens and Musa balbisiana. Musa acuminata could be divided into two subspecies : malaccensis (lowland) and tmncata (highland) according to their constituents and content of major anthocyanins. No variation was observed in the composition of the anthocyanins of Kedah type ssp. siamea and Selangor types ssp. malaccensis. The classification of M. acuminata into two subspecies based on anthocyanin data further supported the current taxonomic grouping of the species

Examining the role of job resources on work engagement in the academic setting

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between job resources, namely autonomy, social support and performance feedback and work engagement.Data were gathered through questionnaire from a sample of academicians (n = 532) who worked in four public universities (Mu’tah University, The University of Jordan, The Hashemite University and Yarmouk University) located in the southern, middle and northern region of Jordan.Results indicate that autonomy, social support and performance feedback were a significant factor in influencing academicians work engagement.These findings generally supported past findings, which suggested that employees are more likely to engage with their work if they are given the autonomy, social support and performance feedback.The findings were discussed and implications were also put forward

Morphological Characterization of Malaysian Wild Banana Musa Acuminata

Fourteen populations of Musa acuminata ranging from populations in the lowlands of northern (ssp. siamea) to central Malaysian region (ssp. malaccensis) and highland banana (ssp. truncata) were characterized based on chromosome number and 46 morphological characters. A large amount of variation was observed within the populations. However, only highland bananas appeared morphologically distinct. Lowland populations both from northern and central Malaysia were found to be overlapping and no distinguishing pattern was observed. The morphological characters found variable within these populations were related to developmental changes and mutations. The results obtained in this study were not revolutionary. However, the survey of a large number of characters treated with multivariate techniques further sharpened the existing groupings of the Musa acuminata subspecies

The Challenges of Psychological Adjustment for International Students: A Critical Analysis of Coping Mechanisms and Support Services

This paper critically analyzes the challenges of psychological adjustment faced by international students and explores coping mechanisms and support services that can help them overcome these challenges. The essay first introduces the background information on international students and highlights the importance of psychological adjustment for their well-being and academic success. The challenges of psychological adjustment, including cultural, academic, social adjustment, and language barrier, are discussed in detail. The essay then explores coping mechanisms, including problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, seeking social support, and cultural adjustment programs, and the support services, including counseling services and international student services, that can help international students adjust to their new environment. Finally, the essay evaluates the effectiveness of these coping mechanisms and support services, emphasizing the importance of cultural competence in providing effective support services. This essay has practical implications for higher education institutions in providing tailored support to international students and highlights the need for future research to explore the effectiveness of coping mechanisms and support services for different groups of international students and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their psychological adjustment

New Features of Cervical Cells for Cervical Cancer Diagnostic System Using Neural Network.

Currently, Pap test is the most popular and effective test for cervical cancer. However, Pap test does not always produce good diagnostic performance. This problem has encouraged several studies to develop diagnosis system based on neural networks to increase the diagnostic performance