Arthropod Resistant Tomatoes: Screening Tools, Yield and Nutritional Quality of Interspecific Hybrids

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most economically important vegetable crops grown around globe but is a host for numerous pests and pathogens. In the future, tomato breeders will have to focus on increasing fruit quantity and on enhancing pest resistance. Many accessions of the wild relative of tomato, S. habrochaites display high levels of resistance towards arthropods such as spider mites. The presence of the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon, 7-epi-zingiberene, found in S. habrochaites type IV trichomes has been associated with arthropod resistance. However, the presence of other compounds in its trichome secretions may also be related to arthropod resistance. One goal of this research was to evaluate the potential for using a spectrophotometer to enable accurate selection for 7-epi-zingiberene content by breeders. Another objective was to identify and evaluate the relative antixenotic activities on spider mites of major components present in the trichome secretions of a wild tomato. The third objective was to evaluate yield, 7-epi-zingiberene content and fruit nutrient quality in advanced interspecific hybrid lines to demonstrate that high yield and high zingiberene content have been successfully combined, and also to evaluate nutritional aspects of fruit quality of these hybrids such as phenolic content, lycopene, soluble solids, and ascorbic acid. Results for the first objective included identification of two novel compounds present in wild tomato trichome secretions as hydroxy-zingiberene and 9-hydroxy-10,11-epoxy-zingiberene. The spider mite repellency of each of these compounds was at least five times greater than that of 7-epi-zingiberene. The results for objective two showed that a spectrophotometer could be a very valuable tool for aiding selection of plants having high levels of 7-epi-zingiberene on their leaves and having low levels of other compounds such as monoterpenes, which are present on arthropod –susceptible tomato plants. Completion of the third objective indicated that high yield has been successfully combined with high 7-epi-zingiberene concentration and that the nutritional value of the fruit in the hybrids is at least equal to the recurrent parent and in some cases, the interspecific hybrids may be useful for improving tomato fruit nutritional content including: phenolics, lycopene, soluble solids, and ascorbic acid. In general, the phenolic content of interspecific hybrid tomatoes ranged from 325 to 427 μg/g fresh fruit, lycopene content ranged from 31 to 66 μg/g and soluble solids ranged from 4 to 7.8%, whereas those characteristics were lower in cultivated tomato hybrids. Ascorbic acid typically ranged between 483 and 498 μg/g fresh fruit in interspecific hybrids and was higher than that in cultivated tomato hybrids (337 μg/g). For future prospects, it may be possible to breed genotypes that have high yield, have improved nutritional value and are also resistant to arthropod pests

HISTORY AND DYNAMICS OF PONDOK PESANTREN MODERN DAAR AL ULUUM KISARAN DISTRICT ASAHAN

The objective of this research were to analyze: 1) The dynamics of educator in Modern Boarding School Daar Al Uluum Kisaran Asahan District, 2) The dynamics of students in Modern Boarding School Daar Al Uluum Kisaran Asahan District, 3) The dynamics of curriculum in Modern Boarding School Daar Al Uluum Kisaran Asahan District. The approach of this research was qualitative methods. The data obtained through interviews, observation and document. The Informant of this research was the Director of Islamic boarding school, Director Curriculum of Islamic boarding school, Director Administration of Islamic boarding school, headmaster of MTs, headmaster of MA, headmaster PKU, Adviser to the Asahan regency Indonesia islamic boarding school Majelis Ulama and others. The result of this research showed that: 1) The dynamic of educator in boarding school initially, the teaching staff at the boarding school were only buya or ummi who taught at Madrasah Tsanawiyah, Madrasah Aliyah in 1979, but since the opening of the Madrasah Aliyah Religious program in 1999, the teaching force at this boarding school has continued to increase, and now the number of educators has reached 111 people. 2) The Students at the boarding school in the beginning of its establishment experienced an increase and the highest glory was 3000 students in 2000, in 2007 decreased by 1500 students, and now the number continues to decline 760 students. 3) There are three curricula used in this boarding school, namely the Tahfizh curriculum which is implemented using the tasmi’ and muraja’ah methods, while the National curriculum is a curriculum that is applied nationally throughout Indonesia such as  K.13 and the boarding school curriculum, which is all student activities for 24 hours at the boarding school, along with teaching classical books

The Optimization of HiperLAN/2 Baseband Transceiver Based Wavelet Signals with Multiple Antennas

The present trends in the improvement of high-data-rate wireless systems focus on the integration of multiple input, multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), this paper investigates a new approach to the adaptation of the HiperLAN/2 Baseband Transceiver based on Haar orthonormal wavelets signals and the physical layer performance of wireless communications systems, as well as multi-antenna techniques, such as multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) systems. The use Alamouti-based orthogonal space-time block coding technique. In MATLAB/ Simulink modeling simulation proved that the performance of HiperLAN/2 Baseband Transceiver Based wavelet Signals has a significant degradation in the packet (PDU or PSDU) error rate (PER) compared to conventional HiperLAN/2 Baseband Transceiver due to the considerable channel models. Keywords: HiperLAN/2, OFDM, DWT, IDWT, MIMO, PER, C/N

Sero-negative celiac disease with dermatitis herpetiformes: a case report

Introduction:We report a case of sero-negative celiac disease in Pakistan. Case Presentation: A 20-year-old female presented with papulovesicular rash for 15 years, diarrhea for 8 years, spasms of hands and twitching of face for 4-5 months. She had mild anemia, low vitamin-D3 and serum calcium. On exclusion of other causes of malabsorption, anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (immunoglobulin-A & immunoglobulin-G), anti-endomysial antibodies, total immunoglobulin-A levels and skin biopsy were performed, which were normal. Intestinal biopsy revealed subtotal villous atrophy. Patient was prescribed gluten-free diet, to which she responded with alleviation of symptoms. Conclusions: Negative serology should not rule out celiac disease, intestinal biopsy should be performed if there is strong clinical suspicion

Enhancing the teaching and learning process using video streaming servers and forecasting techniques

© 2019 by the authors. Higher educational institutes (HEI) are adopting ubiquitous and smart equipment such as mobile devices or digital gadgets to deliver educational content in a more effective manner than the traditional approaches. In present works, a lot of smart classroom approaches have been developed, however, the student learning experience is not yet fully explored. Moreover, module historical data over time is not considered which could provide insight into the possible outcomes in the future, leading new improvements and working as an early detection method for the future results within the module. This paper proposes a framework by taking into account module historical data in order to predict module performance, particularly the module result before the commencement of classes with the goal of improving module pass percentage. Furthermore, a video streaming server along with blended learning are sequentially integrated with the designed framework to ensure correctness of teaching and learning pedagogy. Simulation results demonstrate that by considering module historical data using time series forecasting helps in improving module performance in terms of module delivery and result outcome in terms of pass percentage. Furthermore, the proposed framework provides a mechanism for faculties to adjust their teaching style according to student performance level to minimize the student failure rate

Almond protects the liver in coronary artery disease: A randomized controlled clinical trial

Objective: To compare the effect of Pakistani and American almonds on serum concentration of liver enzymes in coronary artery disease patients.Methods: The randomised controlled trial was conducted at the Cardiology Clinics of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from February to July, 2012, and comprised patients who were randomised into intervention PA and AA groups and the control NI groups. Subjects in the intervention groups were provided Pakistani and American varieties of almonds 10g/day respectively with instructions to soak them overnight, remove the skin and eat them before breakfast for 12 weeks. The control group underwent no intervention. Serum concentrations of aspartate transaminase, Alanine transaminase and gamma-glutamyl transferase were analysed and compared.Results: Of the 150 subjects, 110(73.3%) completed the study. Of them, there were 38(34.5%) in PA group, 41(37.3%) in AA, and 31(28.2%) in the NI group. Dietary almonds significantly reduced serum concentrations of aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase and gamma-glutamyl transferase in the two intervention groups compared to the controls group (pConclusions: A low dose of almonds was found to be an effective strategy to protect the liver

Effect of pruning and spraying grofalcs and zeatin on vegetative growth, yield and quality of fig tree CV. "Waziri" (Ficus Carica l.)

An experiment was conducted in a private orchard at Abbasyia, Najaf Governorate during the growing seasons of 2011/ 2012 on fig cv. Waziri. The branches at the age of one year were pruned at level of 25, 50% and sprayed Grofalcs and Zeatin at concentrations of 250 mg/L for each at 15 March for the tow growing seasons. Results showed that pruning treatments and spraying Grofalcs and Zeatin treatments and their interactions caused a significant increase in GA3, IAA, Zeatin, total chlorophyll in leaves, total yield of tree, total soluble solids, vitamin C and fruit firmness, and decrease in fruit fall, fruit cracking percentage compared with control treatment. There was a significant effect between treatments. Treatment of pruning of branches at the age of one year as 50% + spraying Grofalcs and Zeatin, in concentrate 250 mg/L gave a significant effect and the best results for the two years of the experiment

Effect of Female Sex Hormones on Cardiorespiratory System: Theoretical Review

This study aimed at analyzing the effect of the female sex hormones upon  the cardiorespiratory system. And the results showed that the cardiac output measurement showed no significant increase during both phases of menstrual cycle before exercise but there was an insignificant increase soon after exercise owing to sympathetic over activity. The observed increase in the peripheral blood flow during mid-follicular phase before and after exercise revealed that influence of estrogen increases the arterial distensibility. The observed increase in the respiratory efficiency test during early luteal phase before and soon after exercise revealed the influence of progesterone, which is considered to be a potent stimulator of respiration, and added up effect of hormones and exercise-induced changes

Evaluation of seed priming on germination of Gladiolus alatus

Seed priming improves seed performance under environmental conditions. The study was designed to evaluate the effect of different priming treatments on germination behavior of Gladiolus alatus. The experiment was conducted under complete randomized design (CRD) with four replications. Seed priming was done with different concentration of potassium nitrate (KNO3) and hydropriming. All the treatments had significant effect on germination percentage, germination test in growth room, time for 50% germination and mean germination time. Results show that maximum invigoration was observed in seeds osmoprimed at lower concentrations of KNO3 and with hydropriming while minimum invigoration was observed at higher concentration of KNO3-. It was concluded that germination percentage can be increased by using lower concentrations of KNO3 and with hydropriming.Key words: Priming, hydropriming, gladiolus, germination

Hypo-osmotic swelling test modification to enhance cell membrane integrity evaluation in cryopreserved bull semen

The objective of this study was to enhance the hypo-osmotic swelling test evaluation when it reads under light microscope using 5% formaldehyde-fixed sperm solution buffer (FSSB). Twenty four ejaculates were collected from six crossbred bulls using electro-ejaculator (EE). Tris-egg yolk extender was used to cryopreserve the semen. Concentration, volume, motility, morphology and viability rates of fresh semen were evaluated and samples were cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen. After two weeks of liquid nitrogen treatment (freezing), the motility, morphology and viability rate of the semen were evaluated. In order to carry out a hypo-osmotic swelling test, post-thaw semen was divided into four aliquots based on period of incubation (30 or 60 minutes) adding FSSB to half the samples. The components of FSSB were 5% formaldehyde and 1% eosin-nigrosin stain in PBS. Results showed that F (61.48 ±0.89%) resulted in higher percentage (P0.05) with N60 (60.90±0.70%). In conclusion, adding 10 µl of FSSB after 60 minute of incubation with hypo-osmotic swelling solution (HOSS) will enhance evaluation of the hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST) under light microscope