The Moderating Role of Gender in the Relationship among Organizational Justice, Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors of Secondary School Teacher

This study intends to search the structural relations among organizationaljustice, job satisfaction, supervisor support, organizational commitment,and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) of a sample of 500secondary school teachers (SSTs) of district Sargodha using a surveyresearch design. The analyses revealed that all demographic variableshad insignificant effects on most of the organizational citizenshipbehaviors of SSTs while only gender had significant effects as amoderator variable. Regression analysis revealed affective commitmentand operational justice were significantly correlated to all dimensions ofcitizenship behaviors, whereas only sportsmanship behavior of teacherswas related to normative commitment and interactional justice. Teachers’compliance behavior and civic virtue were correlated with continuancecommitment. Gender turned out to be a significant moderator betweenthe relationships of the pairs of variables such as; continuancecommitment and civic virtue, affective commitment and compliance,interactional justice and helping, operational justice and civic virtue, jobsatisfaction and sportsmanship, continuance commitment andsportsmanship

Antibacterial activity of some selected medicinal plants of Pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Screening of the ethnobotenical plants is a pre-requisite to evaluate their therapeutic potential and it can lead to the isolation of new bioactive compounds.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The crude extracts and fractions of six medicinal important plants (<it>Arisaema flavum</it>, <it>Debregeasia salicifolia</it>, <it>Carissa opaca</it>, <it>Pistacia integerrima</it>, <it>Aesculus indica</it>, and <it>Toona ciliata</it>) were tested against three Gram positive and two Gram negative ATCC bacterial species using the agar well diffusion method.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The crude extract of <it>P. integerrima </it>and <it>A. indica </it>were active against all tested bacterial strains (12-23 mm zone of inhibition). Other four plant's crude extracts (<it>Arisaema flavum</it>, <it>Debregeasia salicifolia</it>, <it>Carissa opaca</it>, and <it>Toona ciliata</it>) were active against different bacterial strains. The crude extracts showed varying level of bactericidal activity. The aqueous fractions of <it>A. indica </it>and <it>P. integerrima </it>crude extract showed maximum activity (19.66 and 16 mm, respectively) against <it>B. subtilis</it>, while the chloroform fractions of <it>T. ciliata </it>and <it>D. salicifolia </it>presented good antibacterial activities (13-17 mm zone of inhibition) against all the bacterial cultures tested.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The methanol fraction of <it>Pistacia integerrima</it>, chloroform fractions of <it>Debregeasia salicifolia </it>&<it>Toona ciliata </it>and aqueous fraction of <it>Aesculus indica </it>are suitable candidates for the development of novel antibacterial compounds.</p

Regeneration of 'Centella asiatica' plants from non-embryogenic cell lines and evaluation of antibacterial and antifungal properties of regenerated calli and plants

BACKGROUND: The threatened plant Centella asiatica L. is traditionallyused for a number of remedies. In vitro plant propagation and enhanced metabolite production of active metabolites through biotechnological approaches has gained attention in recent years. RESULTS: Present study reveals that 6-benzyladenine (BA) either alone or in combination with 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) supplemented in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium at different concentrations produced good quality callus from leaf explants of C. asiatica. The calli produced on different plant growth regulators at different concentrations were mostly embryogenic and green. Highest shoot regeneration efficiency; 10 shoots per callus explant, from non-embryogenic callus was observed on 4.42 μM BA with 5.37 μM NAA. Best rooting response was observed at 5.37 and 10.74 μM NAA with 20 average number of roots per explant. Calli and regenerated plants extracts inhibited bacterial growth with mean zone of inhibition 9-13 mm diameter when tested against six bacterial strains using agar well diffusion method. Agar tube dilution method for antifungal assay showed 3.2-76% growth inhibition of Mucor species, Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium moliniformes. CONCLUSIONS: The present investigation reveals that non-embryogenic callus can be turned into embryos and plantlets if cultured on appropriate medium. Furthermore, callus from leaf explant of C. asiatica can be a good source for production of antimicrobial compounds through bioreactor

Correction: Ishaque et al. Iriflophenone-3-C-&beta;-d Glucopyranoside from Dryopteris ramosa (Hope) C. Chr. with Promising Future as Natural Antibiotic for Gastrointestinal Tract Infections. Antibiotics 2021, 10, 1128

At the request of Dr. Markus Bacher, Dr. Johann Schinnerl, and Dr. Karin Valant-Vetschera, they have been removed as authors of the paper [...

Ciprofloxacin loaded PEG coated ZnO nanoparticles with enhanced antibacterial and wound healing effects

Abstract Antimicrobial resistance is a worldwide health problem that demands alternative antibacterial strategies. Modified nano-composites can be an effective strategy as compared to traditional medicine. The current study was designed to develop a biocompatible nano-drug delivery system with increased efficacy of current therapeutics for biomedical applications. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) were synthesized by chemical and green methods by mediating with Moringa olifera root extract. The ZnO–NPs were further modified by drug conjugation and coating with PEG (CIP-PEG-ZnO-NPs) to enhance their therapeutic potential. PEGylated ZnO-ciprofloxacin nano-conjugates were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, and Scanning Electron Microscopy. During antibacterial screenings chemically and green synthesized CIP-PEG-ZnO-NPs revealed significant activity against clinically isolated Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. The sustainable and prolonged release of antibiotics was noted from the CIP–PEG conjugated ZnO-NPs. The synthesized nanoparticles were found compatible with RBCs and Baby hamster kidney cell lines (BHK21) during hemolytic and MTT assays respectively. Based on initial findings a broad-spectrum nano-material was developed and tested for biomedical applications that eradicated Staphylococcus aureus from the infectious site and showed wound-healing effects during in vivo applications. ZnO-based nano-drug carrier can offer targeted drug delivery, and improved drug stability and efficacy resulting in better drug penetration

Determination of ROS Scavenging, Antibacterial and Antifungal Potential of Methanolic Extract of Otostegia limbata (Benth.) Boiss.

Wide spectrum medicinal significance augments plant utilization as the primary source of significant pharmaceutical agents. In vitro investigation of antioxidant and antimicrobial activity highlights the therapeutic potential of Otostegia limbata. Methanol extract of the plant (MEP) shows considerable dose dependent antioxidant ability at six concentrations (7.81 µg/mL to 250 µg/mL) in 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, phosphomolybdate assay (PMA) and reducing power assay (RPA). The plant capability to scavenge free radicals in the mixture ranged from 37.89% to 63.50% in a concentration-dependent manner. MEP was active against five tested bacterial strains in the agar-well diffusion method. Staphylococcus aureus, gram-positive bacteria was found to be most susceptible followed by S. epidermidis with 18.80 mm and 17.47 mm mean zone of inhibition. The mean inhibition zone against gram-negative strains Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas spp. and Escherichia coli were 15.07 mm, 14.73 mm, and 12.17 mm. MEP revealed potential against Alternaria spp. and Aspergillus terreus fungal strains evaluated through agar-tube dilution assay. Aspergillus terreus was more sensitive than Alternaria spp. with an average 78.45% and 68.0% inhibition. These findings can serve as a benchmark for forthcoming scrutiny such as bioactive components discovery and drug development

Determination of ROS Scavenging, Antibacterial and Antifungal Potential of Methanolic Extract of <i>Otostegia limbata</i> (Benth.) Boiss.

Wide spectrum medicinal significance augments plant utilization as the primary source of significant pharmaceutical agents. In vitro investigation of antioxidant and antimicrobial activity highlights the therapeutic potential of Otostegia limbata. Methanol extract of the plant (MEP) shows considerable dose dependent antioxidant ability at six concentrations (7.81 µg/mL to 250 µg/mL) in 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, phosphomolybdate assay (PMA) and reducing power assay (RPA). The plant capability to scavenge free radicals in the mixture ranged from 37.89% to 63.50% in a concentration-dependent manner. MEP was active against five tested bacterial strains in the agar-well diffusion method. Staphylococcus aureus, gram-positive bacteria was found to be most susceptible followed by S. epidermidis with 18.80 mm and 17.47 mm mean zone of inhibition. The mean inhibition zone against gram-negative strains Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas spp. and Escherichia coli were 15.07 mm, 14.73 mm, and 12.17 mm. MEP revealed potential against Alternaria spp. and Aspergillus terreus fungal strains evaluated through agar-tube dilution assay. Aspergillus terreus was more sensitive than Alternaria spp. with an average 78.45% and 68.0% inhibition. These findings can serve as a benchmark for forthcoming scrutiny such as bioactive components discovery and drug development

Extraction, Separation and Purification of Bioactive Anticancer Components from <i>Peganum harmala</i> against Six Cancer Cell Lines Using Spectroscopic Techniques

Conventional cancer treatments normally involve chemotherapy or a combination of radio- and chemotherapy. However, the adverse effects of synthetic medicines encouraged the exploration of novel therapeutic medications of a bio-friendly nature. In an effort to explore anticancer compounds from natural resources, crude extract of Peganum harmala (seeds) was fractionated on the basis of polarity, and the fractions were further tested for anticancer activity. Brine shrimp lethality assays and potato disc antitumor assays were used to test each fraction for cytotoxic and antitumor potential. The ethyl acetate fraction was found to be most potent, with LC50 and IC50 values of 34.25 µg/mL and 38.58 µg/mL, respectively. Further activity-guided fractionation led to the isolation of the bioactive compound PH-HM-10 which was identified and characterized by Mass Spectroscopy (MS), Infrared Spectroscopy (IR), Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1HNMR), Carbon Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (13CNMR) and Heteronuclear Single Quantum Correlation (HSQC). Anticancer aspects in the isolated compound were determined against six human cancer cell lines with a maximum anticancer effect (IC50 = 36.99 µg/mL) against the tested human myeloid leukemia (HL-60) cell line, followed by the human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cell line (A549) and the breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) with an IC50 of 63.5 µg/mL and 85.9 µg/mL, respectively). The findings of the current study suggest that the isolated compound (Pegaharmine E) is significantly active against the tested cancer cell lines and can be further investigated to develop future novel anticancer chemotherapeutic agents