Antimicrobial, Cytotoxic and Phytotoxic Potency of Ethyl Acetate Extract of Rhizopus stolonifer Culture

Purpose: To evaluate the antimicrobial, cytotoxic and phytotoxic activities of the organic extract of Rhizopus stolonifer whole cell static culture in order to determine the presence of potentially bioactive compounds in the culture.Methods: The organic extract was obtained by extracting the whole cell culture of R. stolonifer with Ethyl Acetate (EtOAc). The antifungal activity was determined by inhibitory effect on the growth of Alternaria alternate, Aspergillus flavus, Curvularia protuberata and Fusarium oxysporum, cytotoxic activity by brine shrimp lethality test, antibacterial activity against Ervinia carotovora and Xanthomonas campestris by disc diffusion technique, and phytotoxic activity by testing the crude extract against theLemna minor frond.Results: The extract showed phytotoxic activity (at 95% level of  significance) against Lemna minor (67.7 % lethality) with Fronds Inhibition (FI50) of 167.85 ìg mL-1. The extract exhibited a significant (at 95% level of significance) cytotoxic activity (LC50 of 115.71 ìg mL-1) against brine shrimp. Maximum mortality (56.7 %) was obtained at a concentration of 200 ìg mL-1 concentration after 48 h. In the antifungal test, the highest inhibitory effect was observed against Fusarium oxysporum (88.8 %)followed by Alternaria alternata (81.5 %), Aspergillus flavus (70.5 %) and Curvularia protuberata (37.5 %) at 1000 ìg. mL-1 when compared to negative reference. Antibacterial activity against Ervinia carotovora and Xanthomonas campestris was minimal even at extract level of 2000 ìg mL-1.Conclusion: The ethyl acetate extract of R. stolonifer possesses significant herbicidal, cytotoxic and antifungal properties. Isolation and  characterization is required for structural elucidation of its bioactivecompounds.Keywords: Rhizopus stolonifer, Antifungal, Antibacterial, Phytotoxicity, Cytotoxicity

Predicting most productive requirements elicitation teams using MBTI personality traits model

The social and collaborative nature of requirements elicitation process bases its core dependency on aptitude, attitudes, and personality characteristics of its participants. The participant's personality characteristics are directly related with their personality traits, which can be categorized using different model has been used successfully for the assessments of personality of software engineers since last few decades. In this article, the personality traits for requirements elicitation teams have been predicted using MBTI personality assessments model, on the basis of their industry demands job descriptions/tasks and major soft skills. The article presents a complete personality prediction process using a systematic approach based on major soft skills mapping with job descriptions, personality attributes and personality. The obtained results show that extroversion and feelings personality traits are the most suitable assigned the task of requirements elicitation. The obtained results are very much aligned with the already published scholar's work for software engineer's personality assessments and development team composition

PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING, ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES IN VARIOUS EXTRACTS FROM THE LEAVES OF FLAGELLARIA INDICA L. FROM SABAH, MALAYSIA

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant capacities of the leaves of Flagellaria indica L. (FI) and its phytochemical constituents in six different extracts.Methods: The assessment was done via a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay for the antioxidant test, the Folin-ciocalteau method for total phenolic content, Willet's method for total flavonoid content and several other qualitative phytochemical tests carried out on all extracts.Results: The results show the highest values of radical scavenging in the following order of extracts: butanol>ethyl acetate>aqueous>chloroform>methanol>hexane. The total phenolic content is the highest in the ethyl acetate (e. acetate) extract (153.28 mg/g) followed by butanol (134.78 mg/g), aqueous extract (65.88 mg/g), chloroform (55.28 mg/g), methanol (45.98 mg/g) and hexane (22.78 mg/g), expressed as gallic acid equivalents. The total flavonoids content was also the highest in e. acetate extract (38.96 mg/g) followed by butanol (28.45 mg/g), aqueous (21.18 mg/g), chloroform (12.9 mg/g), methanol (10.78 mg/g) and hexane extract (4.92 mg/g) using cathechin equivalents.Conclusion: The antioxidant and radical scavenging activities of FI might be due to the strong presence of phenolic constituents, flavonoids and several other bioactive compounds. Thus, further research can be conducted to elucidate the potential of this plant for pharmacological importance.Â

Ecological surveys of certain plant communities around urban areas of Karachi

A phytosociological study was conducted as an initial assessment of the vegetation on different sites to determine the community structure and how the communities were related based on their species composition and edaphic characteristics. The communities were distinct types ranging from halophytes to xerophytes with disturbed in nature. Plant communities based on first leading dominant species (Prosopis, Avicennia, Gynandropis, Salvadora, Ipomea, Halopyrum, Limonium, Abutilon and Calotropis) were explored in the study area. Out of thirty-nine plant species, Prosopis juliflora attained the highest total importance value index (I.V.I.) followed by Avicennia marina, Suaeda fruticosa and Gynandropsis gynandra. Nine species attained first leading position. Thirteen species attained second dominant position. However, twelve species attained third dominant position in all stands. P. juliflora was the only species that was found six times as a first dominant, three times as second and one time as a third dominates species. None of the other species was in a position to get first, second and third position as a leading dominant in all stands. The communities were of heterogeneous type, with low species diversity and ranged from 1.36 to 4.54. Most of the plant communities showed less than 50% CMI values. However, Prosopis in association with Pasplidium and Cenchrus community showed highest CMI value (70.00). The soils of the study areas were sandy loam, loamy sand, loamy silt, sandy and silty. The soils are alkaline in nature. An appreciable amount of calcium carbonate (13-26%) with moderate percentage of maximum water holding capacity (19-41%) and high soil EC (593 s/cm\u3bc) were recorded. It was also observed that certain edaphic and human activity, discharge of pollutants with out any pretreatment was found responsible for variation in the nature, structure and composition of vegetation. The plant growth and their continuity was in danger in many disturb areas, especially in some coastal areas where salinity and the incident of Tasman spirit oil spillage was occurred just few months before the survey carried out. Construction of flyover, expansion of the roads and cut down of the natural vegetation producing additional losses to flora of the region

2-[6-Thioxo-5-(2,4,6-trimethyl­phen­yl)-1,3,5-thia­diazinan-3-yl]acetic acid

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C14H18N2O2S2, the 1,3,5-thia­diazinane-2-thione ring adopts an envelope conformation with one of the N atoms at the flap position. The plane throught the five co-planar atoms of the heterocycle is oriented at a dihedral angle of 80.59 (8)° with respect to the aromatic ring. In the crystal structure, weak inter­molecular O—H⋯S inter­actions link the mol­ecules into chains along the b axis

Impact of CSR, Quality of Work Life and Organizational Structure on Employee’s Performance in Pakistan

The trends of organizations are changing and demanding satisfied employees rather than dissatisfied employees. This paper provides factors through which employee’s performance can be increased to achieve organizational goals and objectives. To attract the motivated employees and building relations, CSR can perform for society which will change the thoughts of stakeholders. Quality of work life has impact on organization’s effectiveness which is essential for firms to be healthy and productive. Firms should adopt employee oriented policies which satisfies them to achieve organizational objectives. This study also indicates that effective organizational structure is necessary for improving the performance of employees and the organization. The structure is a source of success or failure because it empowers the employee which will increase the sense of responsibility. For the improvement in the organization and removing stress of the employees management must consider the hygiene factors to motivate the employees. The conceptualized work is conducted which is proved through evidence. For further study statistical analysis can be done for confirmation of the hypothesis

SCREENING FOR RESISTANCE TO CUCUMBER MOSAIC CUCUMOVIRUS IN CHILLI PEPPER

ABSTRACT Cucumber mosaic cucumovirus (CMV) is destructive pathogen with widest host range, infecting more than 100 botanical families comprising more than 500 genera and 1300 plant species. Chilli pepper is a significant cash crop of Pakistan among vegetable grown. The identification of genetic resistance to CMV in Pakistan (CMV chilli isolate) in chilli pepper is of economic importance. Thus, 40 Chilli pepper genotypes, both local and imported, were evaluated by mechanical/ manual virus inoculation and resistance to CMV chilli isolate was examined by visual observations and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA). On the basis of 0-5 disease rating scale and ELISA, nine genotypes viz., C-2, CV-2, CV-5, BSS-269, PGRI, M-2001, CM-2001, M-97 and CP-328 were remained free of infection and catalogued as highly resistant. Rest of the genotypes exhibited characteristic symptoms like mosaic, mottling, leaf curling and reduced leaf size depending upon tested genotypes. Among these genotypes, five were categorized as resistant, seven as moderately resistant, eight as moderately susceptible and 11 as susceptible. These resistant and moderate resistant genotypes could be used by farmers in cultivation under integrated production systems and by breeders in developing new chilli pepper hybrid resistant genotypes to CMV

C-Terminal Domain of the Human Zinc Transporter hZnT8 Is Structurally Indistinguishable from Its Disease Risk Variant (R325W)

The human zinc transporter 8 (hZnT8) plays important roles in the storage of insulin in the secretory vesicles of pancreatic β cells. hZnT8 consists of a transmembrane domain, with its N- and C-termini protruding into the cytoplasm. Interestingly, the exchange of arginine to tryptophan at position 325 in the C-terminal domain (CTD) increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). In the present study, the CTDs of hZnT8 (the wild-type (WT) and its disease risk variant (R325W)) were expressed, purified, and characterized in their native forms by biophysical techniques. The data reveal that the CTDs form tetramers which are stabilized by zinc binding, and exhibit negligible differences in their secondary structure content and zinc-binding affinities in solution. These findings provide the basis for conducting further structural studies aimed at unravelling the molecular mechanism underlying the increased susceptibility to develop T2D, which is modulated by the disease risk variant