Changing Pattern of Mycena polygramma in Pakistan

There are number of factors which influence the natural vegetation of any area. These include rapid industrialization and developing infrastructure along with environmental problems which disturbed the natural habitat of the native species. Such factors also influence the entrance of new biodiversity in the ecosystem. The recent study attempts to report such phenomenon for the genus Mycena (Family Tricholomataceae). Keywords: Macromycetes, Mycena polygramma, Rapid Industrialization, environmental influence

Dissolved Concentrations, Sources, and Risk Evaluation of Selected Metals in Surface Water from Mangla Lake, Pakistan

The present study is carried out for the assessment of water quality parameters and selected metals levels in surface water from Mangla Lake, Pakistan. The metal levels (Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Sr, and Zn) were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Average levels of Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, and Pb were higher than the allowable concentrations set by national and international agencies. Principal component analysis indicated significant anthropogenic contributions of Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, and Pb in the water reservoir. Noncarcinogenic risk assessment was then evaluated using Hazard Quotient HQing/derm and Hazard Index HIing/derm following USEPA methodology. For adults and children, Cd, Co, Cr, and Pb HQing>1 emerged as the most important pollutants leading to noncarcinogenic concerns via ingestion route, whereas there was no risk via dermal contact of surface water. This study helps in establishing pollutant loading reduction goal and the total maximum daily loads, and consequently contributes to preserve public health and develop water conservation strategy

Association patterns of volatile metabolites in urinary excretions among Type-2 Non-Insulin dependent diabetes patients

Background: Patterns of volatile metabolites in urine are important to detect abnormalities associated with diabetes. Present study was conducted to find out the excretion patterns of endogenously produced alcohols in urine for type 2 (Non-Insulin Dependent) diabetes mellitus. A cross sectional analytical study was conducted with duration extended from Jan to Mar 2015.Methods: The current study included 40 patients with chronic type 2 diabetes mellitus. In total, 10 sex and age matched subjects with no history of any disease were considered as controls. Blood sugar was estimated by autoanalyzer using standard kit of Merck following manufacturer`s instructions. Urine sugar was quantitatively detected by biuret reagent using titration technique. Urinary alcohol was identified and estimated by gas chromatography.  Urinary ketone bodies were estimated by urinary strip.Results: It was observed that level of fasting blood sugar was significantly increased (P<0.001) in patients as compared to their controls. The blood sugar and urinary alcohol in patients were 3.0% and 6.0% respectively. Urinary ketone bodies were found to be 2+. On the other hand urine sugar, alcohol and ketone bodies were not detected in the negative control subjects.Conclusions: It is concluded that urinary alcohol is endogenously produced in patients with type 2 diabetes due to uncontrolled hyperglycemia. However further work is needed to find out the ratio of urinary and blood alcohol which may confirm the present findings

Career Development an Imperative of Job Satisfaction and Career Commitment: Empirical Evidence from Pakistani Employees in Banking Sector

The idea of strengthening human capital to beginning creativeness, business soul, and advancement through preparing the careers of institutional members using HRM policies and methods to develop different skills, mindsets and expertise with the ultimate aim to provide a range of innovative goods and services is gaining attention. The overall perspective for the research study was to discover the effects and outcomes of profession growth initiatives on companies and employees. The survey is conducted to collect data from the Banking sector in Islamabad and sample selected is of five major private banks. The data is analyzed by using SPSS and Amos to authenticate the model and propositions made by the researcher. Organizations invest resources in profession growth kinds of actions for recruiting, there tends to be less investment in similar kinds of actions for worker retention. This paper examines the link between profession preparing and profession control as antecedents of profession growth and job fulfillment, and profession dedication as its outcome. There is a significant link between the factors of profession preparing and profession control, and profession growth, and in turn, with job fulfillment and profession dedication. The paper converses about the significances of these conclusions for career development

DNA Barcoding: Amplification and sequence analysis of rbcl and matK genome regions in three divergent plant species

Background: DNA barcoding is a novel method of species identification based on nucleotide diversity of conserved sequences. The establishment and refining of plant DNA barcoding systems is more challenging due to high genetic diversity among different species. Therefore, targeting the conserved nuclear transcribed regions would be more reliable for plant scientists to reveal genetic diversity, species discrimination and phylogeny.Methods: In this study, we amplified and sequenced the chloroplast DNA regions (matk+rbcl) of Solanum nigrum, Euphorbia helioscopia and Dalbergia sissoo to study the functional annotation, homology modeling and sequence analysis to allow a more efficient utilization of these sequences among different plant species. These three species represent three families; Solanaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Fabaceae respectively. Biological sequence homology and divergence of amplified sequences was studied using Basic Local Alignment Tool (BLAST).Results: Both primers (matk+rbcl) showed good amplification in three species. The sequenced regions reveled conserved genome information for future identification of different medicinal plants belonging to these species. The amplified conserved barcodes revealed different levels of biological homology after sequence analysis. The results clearly showed that the use of these conserved DNA sequences as barcode primers would be an accurate way for species identification and discrimination.Conclusion: The amplification and sequencing of conserved genome regions identified a novel sequence of matK in native species of Solanum nigrum. The findings of the study would be applicable in medicinal industry to establish DNA based identification of different medicinal plant species to monitor adulteration

An innovative approach for hyperproduction of cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic enzymes by consortium of Aspergillus niger MSK-7 and Trichoderma viride MSK-10

The present work describes the production of cellulolytic enzymes (CMC-ase, FP-ase, β-glucosidase) and hemicellulolytic enzyme (xylanase) along with total extracellular protein by Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma viride using submerged fermentation. Among seven different kinds of experiments, secretion rate of protein and enzymes was investigated by mono- and co-cultures of A. niger and T. viride using wheat bran as substrate with the supply of Eggins and Pugh salt medium. Co-culture of A. niger and T. viride (when both were mixed together simultaneously) gave 30-50% higher production of total protein (0.58 mg/ml) and enzymes; CMC-ase (2.79 U/ml/min), FP-ase (1.75 U/ml/min) and xylanase (189.7 U/ml/min) than mono-cultures and all other combinations. Biosynthesis of β-glucosidase was found higher i.e., 4.66 U/ml/min in co-culture of A. niger and T. viride (when T. viride was mixed with 24 hours old culture of A. niger). Simultaneous co-culture of A. niger and T. viride was further optimized with fermentation rate, different carbon sources, incubation temperature and different pH of fermentation media.Key words: Strain compatibility, co-culture, mono-culture, fermentation

Rearing of Trilocha varians (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) on Ficus benjamina and its Parasitization with Trichogramma chilonis

Ficus benjamina commonly known as weeping fig is an ornamental that planted alongside the road to increase the aesthetic value. Leaf eating caterpillar, Trilocha varians was observed on Ficus benjamina and many other ornamental plants in the surrounding area of Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University. Large larval population was recorded on fig plants with 100 % defoliation. The rearing of Trilocha varians on F. benjamina was carried out under controlled conditions and parasitism of Trichogramma chilonis on eggs were checked. Incubation period was 5-6 days while single female laid 150-210 eggs in her whole life period. With five larval instars, duration period of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th was 2.0 days, 3-5 days, 2-4 days, 3-6 days and 3-7 days, respectively. Pupa was obtect in nature. Mated and unmated female were long lived as compared to male, 7.50 and 9.25 % egg parasitization was recorded at 16 and 24 hours of exposure, respectively. The coefficient variations were 89.50, 55.92, 42.21 and 29.59 at 12, 16, 20 and 24 h. To determine the larval damage, five different host plants belonging to moraceae family were used. The moderate damage of larvae was observed on Ficus religiosa. The severe feeding damage was observed on F. benjamina and F. virens, while M. alba and F. elastica were found not favorable hosts of T. varians. The study concluded that Trichogramma chilonis was recorded the most suitable parasitoid of T. varians and further need to record the natural enemies of the pest in the country

Biological Activity and Characterization of Bioactive Compounds under Lead Induced Stress in Maize

Background: Lead is most commonly released environmental contaminant making its way to air, soils and water. It causes hormonal imbalance and over production of reactive oxygen in plants when absorbed through leaves and roots. It contaminates the ground water depending on the type of soils and characteristics of lead. Plants ability to tolerate lead is linked with cell wall potential, activation of antioxidants defense mechanism and synthesis of osmolytes.Methods: The study was designed to evaluate the effects of Pb(NO3)2 induced stress on biological activity and bioactive compounds in maize. The plants were subjected under two different lead concentrations (T1- 0.35mg/ml and T2- 0.45mg/ml). Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, coumarins, saponins, tannins and terpenoids in maize. Total Phenolic Content (TPC) was increased (T1- 45%, T2- 58.42%) under lead stress when compared with control (36.29%). The cytotoxicity was checked using hemolytic activity against human red blood cells.Results: The scavenging rate was highest (T1- 33.5%, T2- 52%) when compared with control (18.6%). Zone of inhibition of Aspergillus niger was highest amongst other fungal strains. The HPLC results showed that maize has some phyto-ingredients which may be accountable for cell reinforcement and anti-microbial activity. The extracts were further analyzed for the biochemical profile like superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, amylase and protease. Escherichia colishowed maximum activity with control (25±3.46mm) and maximum under stress (T1- 17±1.633 mm, T2- 20±4.08 mm).Conclusion: Lead stress altered all the activities when compared to control plants. In conclusion, Maize can be used as a potential indicator for lead and other compounds to play a vital role in phytoremediation. The results would further lead to find the new compounds and plant mechanism to cope with stress.

Molecular probing of Aflatoxigenic fungi in rice grains collected from local markets of Lahore, Pakistan

Background: Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus strains have emerged as a serious threat to food safety and quality assurance. The objective of this study was to identify the aflatoxigenic Aspergillus sp. by targeting the amplification of aflatoxigenic genes i.e., aflR, nor1, omt1, ver1, in different fugal strains isolated from the rice grains being marketed in local markets of Lahore city, Pakistan.Methods: Total eleven (11) Aspergillus strains were isolated from rice grains and aflatoxigenic genes i.e., aflR, nor1, omt1, ver1 were amplified to differentiate between aflatoxin producing and non-producing strains.Results: Four (04) out of total eleven (11) strains showed the presence of aflatoxins producing genes, indicating the possible contamination of aflatoxins in rice grains being sold in local markets of Lahore.Conclusion: This research provides the basis for the quantification of aflatoxins; a significant threat to the quality of foodstuffs and consumers. The situation demands the attention of rice growers, processors as well as government officials to tackle the problem to assure the safety of rice eaters.Keywords: Aflatoxins; Aspergillus; Cereal grains; Contamination; Mycotoxigenic

Sugar Cane Bagasse Pretreatment: An Attempt To Enhance The Production Potential Of Cellulases By Humicola Insolens TAS-13

Pretreatment of the cellulosic substrate has miracle effect on the enhancement of cellulase production by fungal strains. A thermophilic strain of Humicola insolens TAS-13 was locally isolated and was tested for cellulases production under solid-state fermentation conditions using sugar cane bagasse as substrate. The cultural conditions for the H. insolens were also optimized for the higher rate of cellulase secretion. In order to enhance the production rate of heterogenous cellulosic proteins, bagasse was pretreated with NaOH, H2SO4, H2O2 and H2O2+1.5%NaOH. The pretreatment of bagasse with 2.0% H2O2 along with 1.5% NaOH enhanced the biosynthesis of cellulases by H. insolens. Production rate was also optimized with different parameters like thickness of fermentation medium, initial pH, incubation time and temperature. The thickness of the fermentation medium of 0.8 cm (10 g) with pH range of 5.5 was found to be better for enhanced production at 50\ub0C. The yield of the enzyme was reached maximum with CMC-ase (18.98 U/g/min), FP-ase (13.63 U/g/min), \u3b2-glucosidase (19.54 U/g/min) 72 h after inoculation