In vitro response from cotyledon and hypocotyls explants in tomato by inducing 6-benzylaminopurine

Differential response of tomato was evaluated by hypocotyls and cotyledon explants on 6- benzylaminopurine (BAP) containing MS media. Among the four levels (0, 1, 2 and 4 mg/l) of BAP employed in Murashige and Skoog (MS) media, 2.0 mg/l BAP was found superior in growth traits (number of shoots/explants and shoot length) and cultivars. No significant difference was noticed between cotyledon and hypocotyls explants on media having 2.0 mg/l BAP. In the same treatment, shoot length was significantly different between cotyledon and hypocotyls derived explants. No adventitious shoots was noted in the control and higher concentration of BAP containing media but theexplants turned into callus on media having 4.0 mg/l BAP

Structural, electronic and optical studies of Sr<inf>2</inf>NiTeO<inf>6</inf> double perovskite by first-principle DFT–LDA + U calculation

The structural, electronic and optical properties of monoclinic Sr2NiTeO6 double perovskite have been studied using corrected density functional theory–local density approximation with applying of Hubbard U corrected energy (DFT–LDA + U) method in plane-wave pseudopotential basis. The influence of on-site Coulomb interaction on structural, electronic and optical properties of Sr2NiTeO6 double perovskite compound, which consists of strongly localized Ni 3d electrons, were investigated. The highly Coulomb repulsion between electrons was corrected using Hubbard U parameter, varying from 0 to 8 eV for Ni 3d orbitals. The calculated results demonstrated that Sr2NiTeO6 double perovskite was sensitive to the change in U values. The optimized structural properties give a good agreement with experiment and other calculation data with lattice parameters a = 5.673 Å, b = 5.565 Å, c = 7.847 Å, α = 89.999°, β = 90.257° and γ = 90.000°. The DFT–LDA + U predicted the calculated electronic band structure of Sr2NiTeO6 was showed metallic behaviour (0 and 2 eV) and insulator behaviour (4, 6 and 8 eV). The density of state (DOS) shows that there was a significant effect on hybridization of Ni 3d and O 2p states at the conduction and valence band, respectively. Moreover, the results of optical studies such as dielectric function, absorption and reflectivity were found significant to the variation of U values applied indicates that the U values give a better description on the electronic localization of Ni 3d states

BACTEC MGIT 960 TM system for screening of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex among cattle

Bovine tuberculosis remains a disease of economic and public health importance in developing countries. The largest number of new cases of tuberculosis usually occurs in South-East Asia region and Africa. This study was aimed to evaluate the recent technique (BACTEC MGIT 960 TM system) for screening of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex among cattle in Egypt. From the 1180 cattle examined in three different Governorates (El-Sharkia, El-Gharbia and El-Monefeia) by single intradermal tuberculin test, 29 animals (2.46%) were positive reactors. The post mortem examination of the positive reactors showed that 22 animals (75.9%) had visible lesions [respiratory form (31.0%), digestive form (13.8%), mixed form (20.7%) and generalized form (10.3%)], while seven (24.1%) did not show visible lesions. The results of isolation and identification using conventional culture method (Lowenstein- Jensen medium) were 22 mycobacterial isolates (75.9%), 20 (68.97%) Mycobacterium bovis and 2 (6.9%) unidentified slow growth. The BACTEC MGIT 960 TM system was used for recovery of Mycobacteria and compared with conventional culture method (Lowenstein-Jensen medium). The recovery rate of BACTEC MGIT 960 TM system was 82.8%, while that of Lowenstein-Jensen medium was 75.9%. The mean time for detection of Mycobacteria was 17.8 ± 0.9 days and 46.5 ± 0.4 days for BACTEC MGIT 960 TM system and Lowenstein-Jensen medium, respectively while the contamination rate with BACTEC MGIT 960 TM system was 6.9% and 10.3% in Lowenstein-Jensen medium.Key words: Bovine tuberculosis, tuberculin test, Lowenstein-Jensen medium, BACTEC system

Factors influencing the adoption of online banking services in Malaysia

Online banking is an electronic payment system that allows customers to conduct financial transaction on a website. However, there are some factors that influencing an individual’s choices on the adoption of online banking services. The objectives of this is to identify the level of online banking adoption and factors influencing the adoption of online banking among Malaysians. The study was based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) which has been extended with the inclusion of perceived risks as one of the independent variable. Cluster sampling technique was chosen involving three main villages in Rengam, Johor which are New Village, Taman Sri Jaya and Taman Senda. Self-administered survey with the use of closeended questionnaire was applied in study involving a total of 357 target respondents. A total of 244 questionnaires were returned. Out of this, 237 questionnaires were usable with a response rate of 66.4%. Data was analysed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Findings showed that the level of online banking services adoption is quite low among respondents and all three factors have a significant influence on the level of adoption of online banking among respondent

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction for detection and characterization of shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC)

Escherichia coli is ubiquitous in the cow's environment that is contaminated by feces, and it is also a frequent cause of bovine mastitis. Thus, the present study was targeted at the rapid detection and characterization of shiga toxigenic E. coli (STEC) in bovine fecal and milk samples. Twenty two strains of E. coli (39.29%) were isolated from 56 diarrheic calves, while only 5 strains (20.83%) were isolated from apparently normal contact calves. Moreover, 20 strains of E. coli (25%) were isolated from milk samples collected from 80 animals suffering from mastitis and subclinical mastitis. E. coli serovars yielded from bacteriological examination of milk samples were similar to that of fecal samples. Serogroup-specific multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay could detect all the bacteriologically positive samples as well as 4 strains (7.98%), O157:H7 and 3 strains (5.36%), O111 from diarrheic calves and 2 strains (8.33%), O111 from normal calves. Such samples were proved to be negative by bacteriological examination. Multiplex PCR for detection of genes encoding accessorySTEC virulence factors, such as shiga toxin type-2 (stx2) and intimin gene (eaeA) revealed the specificity of such gene to O157:H7 serovars and small number of other sero-groups

Effect of Aerobic Exercise Versus Vestibular Stimulation on Lipid Profile in Premenstrual Syndrome

Objective:&nbsp; To determine the effect of aerobic exercise versus vestibular stimulation on lipid profile in premenstrual syndrome. Subjects and Methods: Sixty patients with premenstrual syndrome had regular menstrual cycles were participated in this study. Their ages were ranged between 23-30 year. Their body mass index did not exceed 30 kg/ m2. They were not participating in physical therapy exercise program at the last 3 months. Patients with cardiovascular problems, pulmonary problems and endometriosis are excluded from the study. All patients were divided randomly into two equal groups (A&amp;B). Group A: It consisted of thirty patients with premenstrual syndrome. They were treated by aerobic exercises in the form of treadmill training at moderate intensity of 60- 70% of the maximum heart rate, 3 times per week for 2 months. Group B: It consisted of thirty patients with premenstrual syndrome. They were treated by vestibular stimulation, 3 times per week for 2 months. Outcome measures: Total cholesterol level, HDL, LDL, triglycerides were assessed for all patients before and after treatment in both groups (A&amp;B). Premenstrual syndrome scale was used to confirm the diagnosis of PMS before study and to evaluate the severity of PMS symptoms for all patients in both groups (A&amp;B) before and after treatment. Results:&nbsp; Results revealed that, between groups; pretreatment, there was no significant difference between both groups A and B in total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL and premenstrual syndrome scale. While post treatment, there was significant difference between both groups A and B in total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL and premenstrual syndrome scale (with favour of group A; more decrease in total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and premenstrual syndrome scale and more increase in HDL). Conclusion: Aerobic exercise was found to be effective more than vestibular stimulation on lipid profile in premenstrual syndrome, in relieving stress and symptoms of PMS

A critical review on the contributions of chemical and physical factors toward the nucleation and growth of large-area graphene

Since the first isolation of graphene over a decade ago, research into graphene has exponentially increased due to its excellent electrical, optical, mechanical and chemical properties. Graphene has been shown to enhance the performance of various electronic devices. In addition, graphene can be simply produced through chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Although the synthesis of graphene has been widely researched, especially the CVD growth method, the lack of understanding of various synthetic parameters still limits the fabrication of large-area and defect-free graphene films. This report critically reviews various parameters affecting the quality of CVD grown graphene to understand the relationship between these parameters and thechoice of metal substrates and to provide a point of reference for future studies of large-area, CVD-grown graphene

Effect of Foot Refelexology on Preeclampsia

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of foot reflexology on mean arterial blood pressure, Serum Cortisol level, proteinuria and quality of life in pregnant women suffering from mild preeclampsia. Subjects and Methods: Sixty mild preeclamptic pregnant women were selected randomly from Out Patient Clinic of Obstetrics Department in Minia University Hospital in Minia to participate in this study. Their ages were between 20-36 years old. Their body mass index less than 35 kg/m2. They were divided randomly into two equal groups (A &amp; B); Group A (control group): It comprised thirty pregnant women with mild preeclampsia who were treated by antihypertensive drugs only while group B (study group): It comprised thirty pregnant women with mild preeclampsia who were treated by antihypertensive drugs and foot reflexology sessions (25 minutes, 2 sessions weekly for 8 weeks). Assessment: Mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), Serum Cortisol level and proteinuria were assessed before and after treatment for all patients in both groups (A&amp;B), as well as quality of life was evaluated through World Health Organization quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL). Results: revealed that, between groups; pretreatment, there was insignificant difference between both groups A &amp; B in MABP, serum cortisol level, proteinuria and WHOQOL questionnaire scores. While post treatment, there was significant difference between both groups A &amp;B in MABP, serum cortisol level, proteinuria and WHOQOL questionnaire scores [in favor of group B (more decrease in MABP, serum cortisol level and proteinuria; and more increase in WHOQOL questionnaire scores)]. Conclusion: Foot reflexology is an effective modality in decreasing MABP, serum cortisol level and proteinuria, as well as enhancing the quality of life of mild preeclamptic pregnant women