Isolation of phytohormones producing plant growth promoting rhizobacteria from weeds growing in Khewra salt range, Pakistan and their implication in providing salt tolerance to Glycine max L.

Present investigation was made to isolate and characterize plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (Rkh1 - Rkh4) from rhizosphere of four weeds: Chrysopogon aucheri, Lactuca dissecta, Solanum surratenseand Sonchus arvensis thriving under high salinity (EC: 2.3 dS/m) of Khewra salt range and the results were compared with strain Rak isolated from rhizosphere (EC: 0.2 dS/m) of Solanum surratense grown in arid area of district Attock. The tolerance of all the strains was checked against the salt present in culture media in the form of rhizospheric soil filtrate of weeds collected from Khewra salt range. The nutrient contents of rhizospheric soil of weeds were measured. All the strains were capable to producephytohormones indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), gibberellic acid (GA3), trans-zeatin riboside (t-zr) and abscisic acid (ABA) in the culture media. Inoculation of strains on soybean seedlings treated with or without 20 dS/m NaCl resulted in better growth and higher proline contents than control plants. Thestrains isolated from weeds of Khewra salt range particularly Rkh3 appears more promising for potential biofertilizers in saline fields

PENGARUH CITRA PASAR TRADISIONAL TERHADAP LOYALITAS KONSUMEN (STUDI KASUS DI PASAR OESAPA KOTA KUPANG)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of traditional market dimensions consisting of price, service, quality, physical environment, location and diversity of goods on consumer loyalty and the most dominant market dimension influencing consumer loyalty at the Oesapa Traditional Market in Kupang City. The results of this study indicate that the market dimensions that have a real or significant influence on consumer loyalty are price, quality, location and variety of goods.  Then what does not have a significant or real influence is the service and the physical environment.  It can be said that loyal consumers shopping at the Oesapa Traditional Market are more influenced by considerations of cheap and negotiable prices, good product quality, with a varied variety of goods and easily accessible locations.  The negative effect on the price variable is that if the price increases, consumer loyalty will decrease.  Then the dimension that has the greatest influence on consumer loyalty is the diversity of goods.  Loyal consumers shop at a traditional market due to the many and varied types of goods compared to other place

Interferometric and localized surface plasmon based fiber optic sensor

We demonstrate a novel single point, multi-parameter, fiber optic sensor concept based on a combination of interferometric and plasmonic sensor modalities on an optical fiber end face. The sensor consists of a microFabry-Perot interferometer in the form of a hemispherical stimuli-responsive hydrogel with immobilized gold nanoparticles. We present results of proof-of-concept experiments demonstrating local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensing of refractive index (RI) in the visible range and interferometric measurements of volumetric changes of the pH stimuli-responsive hydrogel in near infrared range. The response of LSPR to RI ( ∆λr ∆RI ∼ 877nm/RI) and the free spectral range (FSR) to pH ( ∆pH ∆FSR = 0.09624/nm) were measured with LSPR relatively constant for hydrogel swelling degree and FSR relatively constant for RI. We expect this novel sensor concept to be of great value for biosensors for medical applications

First step towards an interferometric and localized surface plasmon fiber optic sensor

We present a first demonstration of a novel multi-parameter fiber optic (FO) sensor concept based on gold nanoparticles (GNP) embedded in a stimuli-responsive hydrogel material. A hemispherical hydrogel immobilized on the optical fiber end-face forms a low-finesse Fabry-Perot (FP) interferometer. The GNPs exhibit local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) that is sensitive towards the refractive index of the surrounding environment, while the stimuli-responsive hydrogel is sensitive towards specific chemical compounds. We evaluate the quality of the interferometric and LSPR signal as a function GNP concentration and of hydrogel swelling degree stimulated by ethanol solutions. The GNPs shows to have little influence on the visibility of the FP etalon, while LSPR of GNP shows to be sensitive towards the surface refractive index rather than bulk refractive index. This demonstration shows that the sensor concept has the potential to be used in applications such as an intravenous two-parametric real-time sensor for medical purpose

Effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on root morphology of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.)

Rooting characteristics significantly affect the water-use patterns and acquirement of nutrient for any plant species. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria improve the plant growth by a variety of ways like the production of phytohormones, nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization and improvement in root morphology etc, and are also useful in cutting down the cost of chemical fertilizers. The present investigation was carried out to determine the comparative effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), Azospirillum brasilense, Azotobacter vinelandii and Pseudomonas stutzeri, either alone or in combination with different doses of chemical fertilizers [full dose (Urea at 60 kg ha-1 and DAP at 30 kg ha-1), half dose (Urea 30 kg ha-1 and DAP 15 kg ha-1) and quarter dose (Urea 15 kg ha-1 and DAP 7.5 kg ha-1)] on root morphology and root distribution pattern of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) viz. cvv. Thori and Saif-32 in the soil. The PGPR were applied as seed inoculation at 106 cells/ml prior to sowing. P. stutzeri either alone or in combination with full dose of chemical fertilizers, was highly effective in increasing the root area in cv. Saif-32, whereas, the percent increase due to A. brasilense was comparable to that of treatment with full dose of chemical fertilizers. P. stutzeri inoculation resulted in significantly higher root length in both the cultivars. Significantly, higher root width (54%) of cv. Thori was observed in treatment receiving inoculation with A. vinelandii and supplemented with half dose of chemical fertilizers, whereas maximum root width of cv. Saif-32 was recorded in treatment supplemented with half dose of chemical fertilizers. It is inferred that PGPR inoculation especially those of A. brasilense and P. stutzeri either alone and more so in combination with half dose of chemical fertilizers, are highly effective in improving root morphology and growth in safflower.Key words: Root area, safflower, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), root growth, chemical fertilizers

Single-Molecule Unbinding Forces between the Polysaccharide Hyaluronan and Its Binding Proteins

The extracellular polysaccharide hyaluronan (HA) is ubiquitous in all vertebrate tissues, where its various functions are encoded in the supramolecular complexes and matrices that it forms with HA-binding proteins (hyaladherins). In tissues, these supramolecular architectures are frequently subjected to mechanical stress, yet how this affects the intermolecular bonding is largely unknown. Here, we used a recently developed single-molecule force spectroscopy platform to analyze and compare the mechanical strength of bonds between HA and a panel of hyaladherins from the Link module superfamily, namely the complex of the proteoglycan aggrecan and cartilage link protein, the proteoglycan versican, the inflammation-associated protein TSG-6, the HA receptor for endocytosis (stabilin-2/HARE), and the HA receptor CD44. We find that the resistance to tensile stress for these hyaladherins correlates with the size of the HA-binding domain. The lowest mean rupture forces are observed for members of the type A subgroup (i.e., with the shortest HA-binding domains; TSG-6 and HARE). In contrast, the mechanical stability of the bond formed by aggrecan in complex with cartilage link protein (two members of the type C subgroup, i.e., with the longest HA-binding domains) and HA is equal or even superior to the high affinity streptavidin,biotin bond. Implications for the molecular mechanism of unbinding of HA, hyaladherin bonds under force are discussed, which underpin the mechanical properties of HA, hyaladherin complexes and HA-rich extracellular matrices

COMPARISON OF MAMMOGRAPHY AND ULTRASOUND COMBINED VERSUS ULTRASOUND ALONE IN EARLY EVALUATION OF SYMPTOMATIC BREAST CANCERS IN PAKISTAN

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to detect diagnostic accuracy of mammography and ultrasound combined versus ultrasound alone in early evaluation of symptomatic breast lesions.Materials and Methods: All new patients who presented to the breast clinic with symptomatic breast lesions, during the year 2012, were included in the study. A total of 695 patients were registered. Their clinical findings, mammogram, ultrasound and histopathology were reviewed.Results: Mammogram and ultrasound combined detected 693 (99.71%) lesions in total. Mammogram failed to detect lesions in 1.43% of patients, whereas the failure rate of ultrasound was 0.43%. The incidence of microcalcifications on mammogram was 19.13%.Conclusion: Ultrasound is a useful tool in the initial evaluation of symptomatic breasts. For places such as Pakistan where mammogram is not available at every centre, ultrasound can be used as an effective alternative for the assessment of symptomatic breast lesions.Key words: Breast cancer, mammography, ultrasoun

Membrane-containing virus particles exhibit the mechanics of a composite material for genome protection

The protection of the viral genome during extracellular transport is an absolute requirement for virus survival and replication. In addition to the almost universal proteinaceous capsids, certain viruses add a membrane layer that encloses their double-stranded (ds) DNA genome within the protein shell. Using the membrane-containing enterobacterial virus PRD1 as a prototype, and a combination of nanoindentation assays by atomic force microscopy and finite element modelling, we show that PRD1 provides a greater stability against mechanical stress than that achieved by the majority of dsDNA icosahedral viruses that lack a membrane. We propose that the combination of a stiff and brittle proteinaceous shell coupled with a soft and compliant membrane vesicle yields a tough composite nanomaterial well-suited to protect the viral DNA during extracellular transport

Proximate and nutrient analysis of selected vegetable species: A case study of Karak region, Pakistan

Karak, an arid region, have limited water and land resources to cultivate various crops specially vegetables. However, a few seasonal vegetable are available to the local communities in meager quantities. The ash, carbohydrate, protein, moisture, fat, fiber contents, energy values and nutrient composition of eight vegetables’ Abelmoschus esculentus, Spinacia oleraceae, Praecitrullus fistulosus, Luffa acutangula, Allium sativum, Amaranthus viridus, Chenopodium album and Momordica charantia were determined. Among these, A. sativum, S. oleraceae and C. album have the highest micro and macronutrients