IAA production and maize crop growth promoting potential of endophyte Aspergillus niger (AO11) under salt stress

Maize is cultivated under a broad range of soil conditions and environments. Maize is slightly vulnerable to salt stress and therefore it is seriously affected by soil salinity all over the world. Recognizing the responses of maize to salt stress and making a good strategy to overcome this problem could aid to develop solutions in saline areas to improve maize productivity. We investigated in this research the impacts, tolerance and salt stress management in corn. Many endophytic fungi can produce the Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is known for their role in plant growth and development both with and without salt stress conditions. The current study was focused on the production of IAA by endophytic fungi (Aspergillus niger) and maize seeds germination and promotion of seedling growth and vigor. In order to evaluate the defense response of maize plant, in relation to A. niger, an experiment was designed with three replications of treatments (control, salt stressed, salt stressed inoculated with A. niger, and only A. niger inoculated plants. It was determined that A. niger has the ability to produce the IAA in NaCl and KCl stress peaking 53 μg/ml and was not significantly by alternating the nitrogen and carbon sources in the nutrient broth but increasing the tryptophan concentration raised its production level. High concentration stress of sodium chloride and potassium chloride decrease maize plant seeds germination percentage, shoot and root length also affected the fresh and dry weight of maize. A. niger improves salt resistance in maize and also increased the germination percentage up to 30%, also improved the chlorophyll level and it was proved an effective approach for improving maize germination and growth under salt stress

The ALLELOPHATIC POTENTIAL OF WHEAT ROOT EXUDATES ON SEEDS GERMINATION AND SEEDLINGS GROWTH OF WILD MUSTARD (Sinapis arvensis L.)

Wheat is very important cereal crop both for food and economy but this crop is severely effected by weeds diminish its quantity and quality. Sinapis arvensis L. (wild mustard) is common annual weed found in wheat field cause serious problems in the wheat fields and  negatively affected its total yield. Allelochemicals have the potency to create weed management products which are ecofriendly. The experiment was designed with (three replications) of six wheat root exudates concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%), were tested on germination and seedling growth of wild mustard. The results showed as wheat root exudates concentration increased, its allelopathic effects on seeds germination and seedling growth rate of Sinapis arvensis also increased. Seed germination and seedling growth of Sinapis arvensis were reduced by increasing wheat root exudates concentration proves that its seeds were sensitive to it. Wheat root exudats at 100% concentration has more significant inhibitory effect on germination and seedling growth. The results demonstrated that usage of allelopathic behavior of wheat root exudates is an impressive method for biological control of wild mustard. Keywords: Wheat, Allelochemicals, Seed germination, Seedling growth, Wheat root exudates

A Neutrosophic AHP and TOPSIS Framework for Supply Chain Risk Assessment in Automotive Industry of Pakistan

Risk is inherent in all parts of life and brings consequences, but when it specifically emerges in supply chains, it is susceptible. Therefore, this study aims at identifying and assessing supply chain risks and developing criteria for managing these risks. Supply chain (SC) risks consist of complex, uncertain, and vague information, but risk assessment techniques in the literature have been unable to handle complexity, uncertainty, and vagueness. Therefore, this study presents a holistic approach to supply chain risk management. In this paper, neutrosophic (N) theory is merged with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) to deal with complexity, uncertainty, and vagueness. Then the proposed methodology is practically implemented through a case study on the automotive industry. SC resilience, SC agility, and SC robustness were selected as criteria for managing supply chain risks and analyzed using N-AHP. Furthermore, seventeen risks were identified and assessed by using N-TOPSIS. Results suggest supply chain resilience is the most important criterion for managing supply chain risks. Moreover, supplier delivery delays, supplier quality problems, supplier communication failures, and forecasting errors are the most vulnerable risks that occur in supply chains of the automotive industry in Pakistan

An Empirical Examination of Sustainable Supply Chain Risk and Integration Practices: A Performance-Based Evidence from Pakistan

In today’s emerging environment sustainable supply chain risks play a vital role in firms’ performance more than ever, because risks tend to disrupt sustainable operations, which ultimately reduces a firm’s performance, but these risks can be managed through supply chain integration practices, which leads to higher firms’ performance. Therefore, this paper examines the relationship between sustainable supply chain risks, supply chain integration, and firm’s financial performance. This study employs 296 survey observations along with financial data of published annual statements to estimate the quantitative causal-effects of three dimensions of sustainable supply chain risks on supply chain integration and financial performance. The findings of the study suggest that sustainable internal business process risks, sustainable supply risks, and sustainable demand risks have a negative relationship with supply chain integration. Furthermore, results of the study explored that all the three supply chain integration practices have a positive impact on firms’ financial performance, which suggests that implementing supply chain integration practices reduces the effect of supply chain risks and increases the firm’s performance

Bacterial Disinfection of Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) Resin Polymer Using Low Level Microwave Irradiation and Denture Cleaning Agent

The aim was to evaluate the disinfection of E. coli, S. aureus and S. mutans cultured on Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) resin polymer using microwave disinfection and sodium perborate (DC). Biofilms of E. coli, S. aureus and S. mutans were cultured on the PMMA denture base for 24, 36, 48 and 96 h. Specimens were subjected to three disinfection protocols, including microwave disinfection in distilled water (MW-DW), sodium perborate (denture cleaning tablet) with distilled water (DC-DW) and a combination of MW-DC-DW for 1 to 5 min. Colony-forming units among the study groups were analyzed using Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests. For E. coli and S. aureus cultured on PMMA, the MW-DC-DW group displayed complete disinfection at 2 min of exposure. However, for both bacteria, the MW-DW disinfection group showed zero CFU at 3 min. DC disinfection for E. coli and S. aureus displayed zero CFU at 5 min of exposure (p ≤ 0.05). For S. mutans, MW-DC-DW and MW-DW displayed zero CFU count at 1 min and 2 min, respectively. In DC-treated samples, CFU were significantly zero at 4 min when compared with the control at each growth time. A combination of MW irradiation with DC (sodium perborate) showed higher disinfection percentage of bacterial species on PMMA polymer denture bases compared to MW and DC alone. PMMA disinfection using DC displayed a lower antimicrobial disinfection percentage than the combined use of MW and DC as well as MW alone at 1 min or 2 min disinfection for E. coli, S. aureus and S. mutans

Antifungal Efficacy of Sodium Perborate and Microwave Irradiation for Surface Disinfection of Polymethyl Methacrylate Polymer

Various disinfecting agents showing variable success in disinfecting polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) are available. The aim of our study was to evaluate the antifungal efficacy of sodium perborate (denture cleaning tablet-DC), microwave irradiation, and their combination for eradicating candida albicans (C. albicans) from polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) denture base polymer. One hundred and sixty-eight PMMA resin specimens (30 × 30 × 15 mm) were divided into four groups, including control (no disinfection), microwave disinfection in distilled water (MW-DW), sodium perborate with distilled water (DC-DW), and a combination of MW-DC-DW (n = 10). Biofilms of C. albicans were cultured on the PMMA resin denture base specimens for 96 h. The samples were exposed to three different antifungal regimes, i.e., MW, denture cleaning agent-sodium perborate (DC) and DW, and a combination of MW-DC-DW for 1 to 5 min. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed to evaluate colony formation. The colony-forming units (CFU) among the experimental groups were assessed using ANOVA, a Kruskal–Wallis test, and a Mann–Whitney test. The mean CFU values were compared with the control for each disinfecting regime at 96 h growth time. For MW-DC-DW, the CFU were significantly low at 2 and 3 min of exposure when compared with the control (DW) (p p p C. albicans than that of microwave disinfection and sodium perborate alone