Evaluation of plant extracts for antifungal activity against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, the incitant of leaf blight in small cardamom and anthracnose of black pepper

Stress imposed by biological entities is considered as the major production constraint encountered by black pepper and small cardamom in India and elsewhere. Among the fungal diseases, leaf blight and anthracnose incited by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides in cardamom and black pepper, respectively, are the most prevalent and economically important diseases. In the present study, 35 plant species were evaluated to assess antifungal property against the targeted pathogen under in vitro conditions. Phytoextracts of Solanum nigrum (5%), S. torvum (20%) and Azadirachta indica (5%) exhibited maximum inhibitory effect whereas, Leucas aspera, Costus igneus, Datura stramonium, Lantana camara, Glycosmis pentaphylla and Adhatoda vasica promoted growth of the pathogen. Microscopic observations revealed abnormal morphological and structural alterations of hyphae, including increase in size and number of vacuoles, anomalous branching and abnormal swelling at hyphal tips. Information emanated from the present study indicates that, the efficacious plant species identified as potential sources of bioactive antifungal molecules could be further exploited to devise management strategies based on bio-prospecting

The Impact of Self-Efficacy and Social Support Towards Resilience Among Malaysian Working Adults During COVID-19 Pandemic: -

The drastic economic work stoppage during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has totally impacted many especially the working population. Resilience acts as a protective factor that emphasizes the potential to manage stress and promote wellbeing. In the working environment, resilience is an important asset to be possessed by every individual. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between self-efficacy, perceived social support, and resiliency among working adults in Malaysia. A total of 184 respondents were recruited using convenience and purposive sampling methods to answer online surveys anonymously. Findings revealed that self-efficacy, support from friends and family showed a positive significant relationship towards resilience while on the contrary, significant others showed a weak relationship. To sum up, results illustrated that self-efficacy was the strongest predictor for resilience among working adults in Malaysia. This research was intended to fill the main gaps in finding the avenues that uphold the resilience attitude among working adults. This study hopes to shed light and serves as a guideline for the policymakers and human resource firms in generating useful schemes to develop the self-efficacy and social support to thrive towards the difficult circumstances successfully among employees in Malaysia

Fruit Grade Classification and Disease Detection using Deep Learning Techniques

Ensuring optimal food quality and agricultural productivity hinges on effective fruit quality assessment and disease detection. Introducing a comprehensive strategy employing deep learning techniques to address critical aspects of fruit quality assessment and disease detection in agriculture. The methodology is structured into two distinct phases, each designed to optimize the accuracy and efficiency of the overall system. In the initial phase, image acquisition, preprocessing, and precise Region of Interest (ROI) detection using the Expectation-Maximization (EM) method lay the foundation for fruit classification with the AlexNet architecture. Rigorous training and testing procedures ensure the model's efficacy. The subsequent phase extends the initial process, with a heightened focus on feature extraction facilitated by DenseNet201. Thorough performance analysis, incorporating multiple metrics, assesses the accuracy and effectiveness of the system. This framework aspires to establish a robust solution for automated fruit grading and disease detection. By harnessing the capabilities of deep learning models, the goal is to accurately classify fruits and identify potential diseases, contributing significantly to agricultural practices and food quality management. The anticipated outcomes aim to set the groundwork for future advancements in the agricultural sector, providing a technological solution that enhances efficiency in fruit quality assessment and disease detection, ultimately benefiting food quality and crop yield

Isolation, characterization and antagonistic efficacy of fungal endosymbionts from allied genera of cardamom

Small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton) is a major spice crop cultivated for its economic, culinary and medicinal values.Rhizome/clump rot, caused by Pythium vexans, Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani, is one of the destructive fungal diseasesaccounting to 30 per cent crop loss. Deployment of beneficial microbes possessing growth promotion activity and antagonistic potentialagainst pathogens could be a viable and sustainable approach to nullify the deleterious effects of synthetic molecules on nature andto control the disease effectively. In this study, an effort was made to isolate the endosymbiotic fungi associated with allied genera ofcardamom and evaluating their antagonistic efficacy under in vitro conditions against the rhizome rot pathogens. Among the endophyticfungi isolated, maximum inhibition of P. vexans was noticed in AsuL4 with 72.4 per cent, followed by HcoL1 with 60.3 per cent, whileAmeR2 recorded maximum inhibition 65.3 per cent over control against R. solani followed by HcoL1 with 55.1 per cent inhibition.Among the 17 isolates tested against F. oxysporum, endophytes isolated from Amomum subulatum, AsuLV3 recorded maximuminhibition of 73.8 per cent followed by AsuL4 with 69.9 per cent. The shortlisted efficacious isolates need to be further evaluatedunder glasshouse and field conditions to confirm their efficacy and could be employed as integral components in cardamom productionsystem to manage rhizome-root rot efficiently, economically and eco-friendly in a sustainable manner

Macro micronutrients and Antioxidant Potentials of Plants and Fungal based Food from Tawang Area Arunachal Pradesh India

Certain variety of plants such as vegetables, spices and seaweed are abundantly being grown in high altitude cold desert region of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Therefore, five different vegetables, spices and seaweed were taken from that particular cold region viz., finger millet, nori seaweed, pepper corn, bean and mushroom have been selected based on the higher consumption of people of Northeast (NE) India for the proximate analysis, mineral, antioxidant and vitamin contents. So far, there is no nutritional composition studies have been carried out with available vegetables, spices and seaweeds growing in NE. For this reason, this study was undertaken to determine the macro and micro nutrients and antioxidant potential of these plant foods. Different analyzed varieties were significantly different for proximate composition and mineral content, and each variety showed significant differences. Common bean showed higher percentage of protein with 35.09% and fat percentage of the finger millet is higher (9.2%) as compared to other varieties from other regions (1-1.5%). Higher crude fibre was assessed in mushroom with 47.77% followed with pepper corn (38.42%), bean with 30.987%, and finger millet (5.14%).Calcium was higher in finger millet with 225 mg per 100g whereas iron content was higher in mushroom with 652 mg followed with beans (543 mg), pepper corn (408 mg per 100g). Higher amount of polyphenols observed in finger millet with 8.716 µg (GAE)/mg and highest total flavonoids in pepper corn with 48.196 µg (RU)/ml. Likewise, highest FRAP in finger millet noticed with 72.0 µg of FeSO4 equivalent /mg and reducing power (ascorbic acid equivalent /mg) in mushroom (244.0) and pepper corn (242.0). All samples had higher metal chelating activity between 86.657- 83.383 IC50 µg. Similarly, higher amount of vit B6 was noted in pepper corn with 197.0 mg while lowest in seaweed with 1.76 mg/100gm. &nbsp

A DFT approach to analyze charge transfer path through trans and cis isomers of azobenzene

700-704The influence of external electrical field (EF) over the trans and cis isomers of azobenzene is investigated upto molecular orbital level with the aid of density functional theory. The frontier molecular orbital analysis and electrostatic potential (ESP) mapping are used to figure out the response of the molecules (trans and cis isomers of azobenzene) to the applied EF. The variation in dipole moment gives the extent of polarization in the molecule due to EF. With the aid of natural bond orbital analysis (NBO) the possible charge transfer path through the molecule can be predicted. ESP and NBO analysis clearly shows that drastic charge redistribution takes place for the EF strength of 0.15 V/Å. Hence the EF strength above 0.15 V/Å can be considered as threshold filed strength for organic molecular conductance. All these theoretical investigations provide a basic knowledge about the influence of molecular conformation over the conductivity of a molecule in the presence of EF

DFT studies on role of methoxy group in radical scavenging ability of quebrachitol and viscumitol

The structure of quebrachitol and the influence of methoxy group on its radical scavenging ability is investigated by DFT studies. To study its electron donating ability, bond dissociation enthalpy (O-H BDE), frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs), molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) and molecular descriptors of quebrachitol and viscumitol are computed and compared. Charge delocalization and stability of the compounds are analyzed by natural bond orbital (NBO) method. The 4-OH radical of quebrachitol and 3-OH radical of viscumitol possess the least BDE and exhibit weak intramolecular hydrogen bonds which are clearly illustrated by NBO. The results show that quebrachitol, which has one methoxy group, can act as better radical scavenger than viscumitol having two methoxy groups at the same ring. The fundamental vibrational modes and wave numbers of quebrachitol are characterized theoretically based on potential energy distribution