EXOGENOUS APPLICATIONS OF POTASSIUM DIHYDROGEN ORTHOPHOSPHATE AND SOWING DATES ENHANCE FRUIT YIELD AND ESSENTIAL OIL OF CORIANDRUM SATIVUM L.

A field experiment was conducted during two growing seasons to study the effect of foliar application of potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate (KH2PO4) at different concentrations; 0, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 ppm, and sowing date (15th October, 1st November and 15th November) on the growth, fruit yield, and essential oil productivity of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.). Among the three sowing dates tested, plants sown on 1st November recorded the best results regarding all characteristics during both seasons, except for plant height during the second season only and stem diameter during both seasons which were significantly increased for the plants sown on 15th October. Plants grown on 15th October significantly surpassed those grown on 15th November in most of the studied parameters. Foliar application of KH2PO4 fertilizer exhibited a significant effect on plant height, branch number/plant, stem diameter, umbel number/plant, fruit dry weight per plant and per fed, harvest index, essential oil percentage and essential oil yield per plant and per fed. The highest concentration of KH2PO4 (4000 ppm) showed the best results of all studied parameters comparing to the control and the other concentrations in both seasons. The best results were noticed in the plants grown on 1st November and treated with potassium at 4000 ppm in all parameters except for plant height which achieved the best combination when plants were sown on 15th October and treated with potassium at 4000 ppm

SALT TOLERANCE OF OCIMUM BASILICUM CV. GENOVESE USING SALICYLIC ACID, SEAWEED, DRY YEAST AND MORINGA LEAF EXTRACT

To improve the salt tolerance of Genovese cultivar of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) plants, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of certain growth substances (salicylic acid, seaweed extract, dry yeast and moringa leaf extract) on growth, volatile oil percentage and yield as well as chemical constituents under saline water irrigation stress conditions (control, 1000, 2000 and 4000 ppm NaCl). The obtained results revealed that the higher salinity levels (2000 and 4000 ppm NaCl) caused significant decreases in vegetative growth measurements of basil plants compared to control and the lowest salinity level (1000 ppm NaCl). Maximum reduction was observed at 4000 ppm NaCl which showed higher increase of the total phenolics and free proline contents. All recoded parameters were enhanced for plants grown under 1000 ppm NaCl. Seaweed extract was superior than other treatments in enhancing the plant tolerance to salinity which appeared in the significantly increasing of growth and volatile oil content of basil. Phenolics and proline contents were increased with salicylic acid treatment comparing with other ones. The best combination recommended as a result of the current study is treating basil plants with seaweed extract under low salinity level (1000 ppm) for improving the growth and volatile oil parameters

Antioxidant and Antimutagenic Potential of Extracts of Some Agavaceae Family Plants

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.The application of natural antimutagens and antioxidants, particularly those derived from higher plants has been seen as a promising approach to the protection of human health. In this work, we studied methanolic extracts from Sansevieria cylindrica, Sansevieria trifasciata, and Polianthes tuberosa plants focusing on their antioxidative and antimutagenic capacities based on the following parameters: inhibitory activity on lipid peroxidation, suppressing ability on direct-acting mutagen sodium azide-induced mutagenesis in Salmonella typhimurium cells. A clear dose-dependent decrease in lipid peroxidation was observed with all the extracts tested. Extracts from leaves of P. tuberosa and rhizomes of S. cylindrica and S. trifasciata (1 mg/mL) displayed the highest antioxidant effect. At the same time, extracts from rhizomes of S. cylindrica and S. trifasciata significantly reduced the sodium azide-induced mutations. The highest antimutagenic activity (76 %) in the S. typhimurium TA100 strain was obtained for the S. cylindrica rhizomes extract (1 mg/plate). We propose that the observed protective effects of plant extracts tested may correspond to a synergic participation of several secondary metabolites and mainly to polyphenolic compounds

Ongoing strategies to improve antimicrobial utilization in hospitals across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) : findings and implications

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an increasing global concern, increasing costs, morbidity, and mortality. National action plans (NAPs) to minimize AMR are one of several global and national initiatives to slow down rising AMR rates. NAPs are also helping key stakeholders understand current antimicrobial utilization patterns and resistance rates. The Middle East is no exception with high AMR rates. Antibiotic point prevalence surveys (PPS) provide a better understanding of existing antimicrobial consumption trends in hospitals, and assist with the subsequent imple-mentation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs). These are important NAP activities. We examined current hospital consumption trends across the Middle East along with documented ASPs. A narrative assessment of 24 PPS studies in the Region found that, on average, more than 50% of in-patients received antibiotics, with Jordan having the highest rate at 98.1%. Published studies ranged in size from single to 18 hospitals. The most prescribed antibiotics were ceftriax-one, metronidazole, and penicillin. In addition, significant postoperative antibiotic prescribing lasting up to five days or longer was common to avoid surgical site infections. These findings have resulted in a variety of suggested short-, medium-, and long-term actions among key stakehold-ers, including governments and healthcare workers, to improve and sustain future antibiotic prescribing in order to decrease AMR throughout the Middle East

Antibiotic susceptibility surveillance in the Punjab Province of Pakistan : findings and implications

Background and Objectives: The increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across countries has seriously impacted the effective management of infectious diseases, with subsequent impact on morbidity, mortality and costs. This includes Pakistan. Antimicrobial surveillance activities should be mandatory to continually assess the extent of multidrug-resistant bacteria and the implications for future empiric prescribing. The objective of this retrospective observational study was to monitor the susceptibility pattern of microbes in Pakistan. Materials and Methods: Clinical samples from seven laboratories in Punjab, Pakistan were collected between January 2018 and April 2019, with Punjab being the most populous province in Pakistan. The isolates were identified and their antimicrobial susceptibility was tested using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion assay and micro broth dilution methods. The antibiotics assessed were those typically prescribed in Pakistan. Results: In total, 2523 bacterial cultural reports were studied. The most frequently isolated pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus (866, 34.3%), followed by Escherichia coli (814, 32.2%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (454, 18.0%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (269, 10.7%). Most pathogens were isolated from pus (1464, 58.0%), followed by urine (718, 28.5%), blood (164, 6.5%) and sputum (81, 3.2%). Conclusions: The findings suggest that current antimicrobial options are severally restricted in Pakistan due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens. This calls for urgent actions including initiating antimicrobial stewardship programs to enhance prudent prescribing of antibiotics. This includes agreeing on appropriate empiric therapy as part of agreed guidelines, in line with the WHO EML and AWaRe book, whilst awaiting culture reports. This is alongside other measures to reduce inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing and reverse the threat of rising AMR

Darcy flow of convective and radiative Maxwell nanofluid over a porous disk with the influence of activation energy

This study reveals an incompressible steady Darcy flow of Maxwell nanofluid by a porous disk with the impact of activation energy. The liquid flow is due to a stretchable rotating disk. The heat equation also includes the impact of heat source/sink and radiation for the purpose of heat transportation. The von Karman transformations are utilized to gain the dimensionless form of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The solutions are visualised in the form of graphical results using bvp 4c method in Matlab software. The ranges of the associated physical parameters as, 0.0≤β≤0.9, 0.0≤M≤0.9, 0.0≤λ≤1.5, 0.1≤R≤0.9, −0.2≤s≤1.3, 0.3≤Bi≤0.6, 0.0≤γ≤0.15, 0.1≤Nt≤2.0, 0.2≤Nb≤0.8, 0.0≤Rd≤0.3, 0.0≤σ≤1.5, and 0.0≤E≤0.9 are provided for the graphical solutions developed for the problem. The data of Nussetl and Sherwood numbers are presented here with regard to various physical parameters. According to the numerical results, increasing the Deborah number has a trend to decrease the radial curves. Moreover, the temperature distribution is increased considerably for rising the radiation parameter and the higher rate of the rotation parameter shows a weaker concentration trend. To validate the numerical approach, an excellent comparison is established using a tabular description. To sum up, the current study effectively fills a gap in the antecedent literature

Antioxidant and Antimutagenic Potential of Extracts of Some Agavaceae Family Plants

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.The application of natural antimutagens and antioxidants, particularly those derived from higher plants has been seen as a promising approach to the protection of human health. In this work, we studied methanolic extracts from Sansevieria cylindrica, Sansevieria trifasciata, and Polianthes tuberosa plants focusing on their antioxidative and antimutagenic capacities based on the following parameters: inhibitory activity on lipid peroxidation, suppressing ability on direct-acting mutagen sodium azide-induced mutagenesis in Salmonella typhimurium cells. A clear dose-dependent decrease in lipid peroxidation was observed with all the extracts tested. Extracts from leaves of P. tuberosa and rhizomes of S. cylindrica and S. trifasciata (1 mg/mL) displayed the highest antioxidant effect. At the same time, extracts from rhizomes of S. cylindrica and S. trifasciata significantly reduced the sodium azide-induced mutations. The highest antimutagenic activity (76 %) in the S. typhimurium TA100 strain was obtained for the S. cylindrica rhizomes extract (1 mg/plate). We propose that the observed protective effects of plant extracts tested may correspond to a synergic participation of several secondary metabolites and mainly to polyphenolic compounds

Antioxidant and Antimutagenic Potential of Extracts of Some Agavaceae Family Plants

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.The application of natural antimutagens and antioxidants, particularly those derived from higher plants has been seen as a promising approach to the protection of human health. In this work, we studied methanolic extracts from Sansevieria cylindrica, Sansevieria trifasciata, and Polianthes tuberosa plants focusing on their antioxidative and antimutagenic capacities based on the following parameters: inhibitory activity on lipid peroxidation, suppressing ability on direct-acting mutagen sodium azide-induced mutagenesis in Salmonella typhimurium cells. A clear dose-dependent decrease in lipid peroxidation was observed with all the extracts tested. Extracts from leaves of P. tuberosa and rhizomes of S. cylindrica and S. trifasciata (1 mg/mL) displayed the highest antioxidant effect. At the same time, extracts from rhizomes of S. cylindrica and S. trifasciata significantly reduced the sodium azide-induced mutations. The highest antimutagenic activity (76 %) in the S. typhimurium TA100 strain was obtained for the S. cylindrica rhizomes extract (1 mg/plate). We propose that the observed protective effects of plant extracts tested may correspond to a synergic participation of several secondary metabolites and mainly to polyphenolic compounds

Antioxidant and Antimutagenic Potential of Extracts of Some Agavaceae Family Plants

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.The application of natural antimutagens and antioxidants, particularly those derived from higher plants has been seen as a promising approach to the protection of human health. In this work, we studied methanolic extracts from Sansevieria cylindrica, Sansevieria trifasciata, and Polianthes tuberosa plants focusing on their antioxidative and antimutagenic capacities based on the following parameters: inhibitory activity on lipid peroxidation, suppressing ability on direct-acting mutagen sodium azide-induced mutagenesis in Salmonella typhimurium cells. A clear dose-dependent decrease in lipid peroxidation was observed with all the extracts tested. Extracts from leaves of P. tuberosa and rhizomes of S. cylindrica and S. trifasciata (1 mg/mL) displayed the highest antioxidant effect. At the same time, extracts from rhizomes of S. cylindrica and S. trifasciata significantly reduced the sodium azide-induced mutations. The highest antimutagenic activity (76 %) in the S. typhimurium TA100 strain was obtained for the S. cylindrica rhizomes extract (1 mg/plate). We propose that the observed protective effects of plant extracts tested may correspond to a synergic participation of several secondary metabolites and mainly to polyphenolic compounds