Complete Sequences of Organelle Genomes from the Medicinal Plant Rhazya Stricta (Apocynaceae) and Contrasting Patterns of Mitochondrial Genome Evolution Across Asterids

Rhazya stricta is native to arid regions in South Asia and the Middle East and is used extensively in folk medicine to treat a wide range of diseases. In addition to generating genomic resources for this medicinally important plant, analyses of the complete plastid and mitochondrial genomes and a nuclear transcriptome from Rhazya provide insights into inter-compartmental transfers between genomes and the patterns of evolution among eight asterid mitochondrial genomes. Results: The 154,841 bp plastid genome is highly conserved with gene content and order identical to the ancestral organization of angiosperms. The 548,608 bp mitochondrial genome exhibits a number of phenomena including the presence of recombinogenic repeats that generate a multipartite organization, transferred DNA from the plastid and nuclear genomes, and bidirectional DNA transfers between the mitochondrion and the nucleus. The mitochondrial genes sdh3 and rps14 have been transferred to the nucleus and have acquired targeting presequences. In the case of rps14, two copies are present in the nucleus; only one has a mitochondrial targeting presequence and may be functional. Phylogenetic analyses of both nuclear and mitochondrial copies of rps14 across angiosperms suggests Rhazya has experienced a single transfer of this gene to the nucleus, followed by a duplication event. Furthermore, the phylogenetic distribution of gene losses and the high level of sequence divergence in targeting presequences suggest multiple, independent transfers of both sdh3 and rps14 across asterids. Comparative analyses of mitochondrial genomes of eight sequenced asterids indicates a complicated evolutionary history in this large angiosperm clade with considerable diversity in genome organization and size, repeat, gene and intron content, and amount of foreign DNA from the plastid and nuclear genomes. Conclusions: Organelle genomes of Rhazya stricta provide valuable information for improving the understanding of mitochondrial genome evolution among angiosperms. The genomic data have enabled a rigorous examination of the gene transfer events. Rhazya is unique among the eight sequenced asterids in the types of events that have shaped the evolution of its mitochondrial genome. Furthermore, the organelle genomes of R. stricta provide valuable genomic resources for utilizing this important medicinal plant in biotechnology applications.King Abdulaziz UniversityIntegrative Biolog

The influence of environmental factors on the effect of market orientation towards business performance of SMEs in Yemen / Waleed Mohammed M. Al-Sabir

SMEs represent the vast majority of establishments in the Arab world and particularly in Yemen, where they represent 99% of the total number of establishments. These establishments lack a deep understanding of the importance of marketing to achieve their goals and continued growth. In addition, there are many SMEs that do not realize the concept of market orientation and how they apply it as one of the concepts of modern marketing that mainly focus on the customer. Furthermore, the supply and demand, forces of competition and the conditions of the market are the basic factors in the Yemeni environment that play a major role in determining to what extent large business companies, in general, are marketoriented companies, and SMEs, in particular, and their influence on the performance of these establishments. This study sought, firstly, to examine whether the relationship established between market orientation and performance in large business firm studies also holds in the context of SMEs in Yemen; and, secondly, to explore the potential effects of market turbulence, technological turbulence, competitive intensity, and market growth on the relationship between market orientation and the performance of SMEs

Impact of LFSR Seeding on the Test Pattern Generator in BIST

This paper considers the problem of minimizing the power required to test a BIST based combinational circuit without modifying the test pattern generator and with no extra area or delay overhead. The objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of the polynomial and seed selection of the LFSR on the power consumed by the circuit. It is shown that proper selection of the seed of the LFSR can lead to significant decrease in the power consumption of the BIST sessions. For this purpose, a Bit Flipping LFSR is used as a test pattern generator in the BIST design. Experimental results using the ISCAS benchmark circuits are reported, showing variations of the seed selected for the LFSR, the power consumed is ranging from 5.5% to 13.5%

Nurturing a Literary Revival: The ISTAID Center's Endeavors in Harnessing Islamic Thought and Information for Da'wah in Medan City, North Sumatra (1993-2022)

ISTAID Center is an institution active in the fields of da'wah, education, and thought. The ISTAID movement adheres to the principle of literacy based on the Islamic worldview and the ta'dib pattern as its main foundation. This research employs a historical research approach encompassing heuristics, verification, interpretation, and historiography. The findings of this study reveal that ISTAID focuses on promoting literacy in mosques. Mosques are chosen due to their significant role as centers for social and religious activities and their potential in da'wah and literacy efforts. ISTAID spreads newsletters using accessible language that is easily understood by the community. In conclusion, the current presence of ISTAID Center in fostering literacy among the people of Medan City has proven to be highly effective. Through the consistent efforts of the ISTAID movement, the dissemination of Islam can be improved. This research offers a deeper understanding of the development of Islamic literacy through ISTAID Center, with a specific emphasis on the advancement of literacy civilization within mosques

In vitro cytotoxic and antimicrobial effects of a novel peroxysesquiterpene glucoside from the rhizomes of Cyperus rotundus L (Cyperaceae)

Purpose: To study the antimicrobial and cytotoxic potential of a novel 3,9-peroxsesquiterpene-15-Oglucoside from Cyperus rotundus rhizomes, against HeLa cell line and selected strains of microorganisms. Methods: The rhizomes were macerated with methanol and fractionated with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and butanol. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was performed together with chemical analysis of the fractions. The 3,9-peroxysesquiterpene-15-O-glucoside was purified through column chromatography of the ethyl acetate fraction, and its purity was determined via reversephase HPLC. Structural elucidation was done with Infrared (IR), proton-nuclear magnetic resonance (HNMR), carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR), and mass spectrometry (MS) spectroscopic analyses. Results: The isolated compound exhibited bactericidal and fungicidal activities against S. aureus and C. albicans at concentration, respectively, in the range of 32 – 100 μg/mL, while MTT assay results showed the cytotoxicity of the compound against eukaryotic (HeLa) cell line (IC50, 88.32 μg/mL). Conclusion: The isolated metabolite from the methanol extract of C. rotundus rhizome exhibits bactericidal, fungicidal, and cytotoxic potential. However, further studies are required to ascertain its suitability for use as a therapeutic agent. Keywords: Terpenoids, Column chromatography, Spectroscopy, Antimicrobial, Cytotoxicity, Cyperus rotundu

Low admission serum albumin as prognostic determinant of 30-day case fatality and adverse functional outcome following acute ischemic stroke

Introduction: Over 80% of stroke deaths occur in low-income and middle-income regions of the world. Identification of predictors of mortality is vital so that prompt therapeutic measures could be instituted to improve outcome. Previous studies have identified factors such as stroke severity, stroke type, older age, impairment of consciousness and hyperglycaemia as predictors of mortality for acute stroke but mortality remain high among patients hospitalized for acute stroke. The study objective was to determine the association between admission serum albumin levels and short-term outcome following acute ischaemic stroke in Nigerians. Methods: Consecutive first-ever acute ischaemic stroke patients were prospectively enrolled between February 2009 and May 2010. Stroke severity at presentation was determined using National Institute of Heath Stroke Score (NIHSS). Admission serum chemistry including albumin, were measured. Patients were then followed up for 30 days and outcome measures applied at the end of the study were 30-day mortality and functional outcome using the Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) and graded as favourable(MRS 0-3) or unfavourable(MRS 4-6). Relationship between serum albumin and stroke outcome was determined. Results: 75 acute stroke cases were studied. Mean age was 57.68 ± 12.4 years. Outcome was favourable in 48% while 30-day case fatality was 17.3%. The mean age (61.13years) of those with poor outcome was significantly higher than those with favourable outcome. Mean serum albumin (3.03g/dL) of those with favourable outcome was also significantly higher than (2.08g/dL) of those with unfavourable outcome (p=0.0001). Patients that died had significantly lower serum albumin (1.66g/dl) than survivors (p=0.0001).Receiver operating characteristics curve for optimal cut off point of serum albumin to predict survival or death within 30 days revealed area under the cure (AUC) of 0.870, p-value 0.0001, 95% C/I=0.759-0.982. Serum albumin of 1.55g /dL has sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 61.5%. NIHSS and serum albumin were predictors of poor outcome using multiple regression. Conclusion: Low admission serum albumin was an independent determinant of poor outcome.Pan African Medical Journal 2013; 14:5

Some effects of sodium 2, 4- dichlorophenoxy ethyl sulfate (Crag herbicide 1) on Blakemore strawberry plants

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1953 A4Master of ScienceHorticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resource

E-Test, une plateforme e-learning collaborative, un modêle de contenus pédagogiques multimédia et un serveur de documents partagés en ligne au profit des universités

Cet article présente notre plateforme e-learning, e- test, de passage d'examens, de certificats et de tests de positionnement en ligne au profit des établissements de l'université Hassan II  Mohammedia Casablanca. Cette plateforme répond à  trois besoins : l'intégration des nouvelles technologies de l'Internet et du Web dans les activités d'enseignement et de recherche pour en améliorer la qualité, la production de ressources et services pédagogiques numériques accessibles aux étudiants et aux enseignants et la rationalisation des ressources humaines, des moyens matériels et logistiques. L'application d'une démarche à  deux dimensions : pédagogique centrée sur les apprenants et technique basée sur une architecture Web, nous a garantie une solution e-learning simple, efficace, réutilisable, extensible et interopérable. Notre  plateforme  peut  facilement  s'étendre  à   l'ensemble  des  universités marocaines. Notre plateforme exploite les atouts économiques et fonctionnels portées par les technologies numériques dans les contextes éducatifs. Elle apporte une solution efficace aux problêmes de l'augmentation des effectifs des étudiants et d'insuffisance des ressources. La solution E-Test a permis aussi d'accroà®tre la productivité de l'université par la mise en place d'un processus rapide permettant de passer des examens en ligne, la réduction significative des coà»ts de vacation et la réduction de la surcharge des salles