Validating the use of Hippobromus pauciflorus (L.f) Radlk for the treatment of eye infections in the Eastern Cape South Africa

An ethnobotanical survey of plants used for the treatment of eye infections was carried out in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study revealed that 12 plant species are commonly used with Hippobromus pauciflorus (L.f) Radlk being the most frequent. The crude extracts of the leaves, stem bark and roots of the plant were investigated for antimicrobial activity against 10 bacterial and four fungal strains. The methanol extracts of the plant parts were the most active and showed appreciable activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The methanol extracts of the leaves and stem bark inhibited the growth of fungi with activities ranging from 78.70 percent to 100 percent on Aspergillus niger and Penicillium notatum. The acetone extracts of the leaves and stem bark were active against A. niger (51.76 percent) and P. notatum (77.22 percent). The aqueous extract of Hippobromus pauciflorus leaves at 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight doses were evaluated for anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activities in male Wistar rats. Anti-inflammatory activity was studied by using carrageenan-and histamine induced oedema right hind paw volume while the analgesic effect was evaluated using formalin-induced pain and tail flick nociception response. The brewer’s yeast-induced pyrexia model was used for the antipyretic investigation. The extract at all the doses used significantly inhibited both the carrageenan- and histamine-induced inflammation in a manner that was not dose dependent. The extract reduced the formalin-induced pain licking as well as prolonged the reaction time in the tail flick-induced pain. The effects of the aqueous extract of the plant leaves at 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight doses were investigated for 14 days on some biochemical parameters of male Wistar rats. The extract at all the doses tested did not significantly alter the levels of white blood cells, red blood cells, mean corpuscular volume, platelets, neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes and large unstained cells. While the levels of haemoglobin, packed cell volume and basophils increased at specific doses, those of mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration and eosinophils decreased. In vitro antiviral activities of the plant against herpes simplex virus type 1(HSV-1) and coxsakie virus B6 were investigated. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay in Vero cells. At concentrations ranging from 165-270/μg/ml there was significant antiviral activity against HSV-1, but toxicity was also noted. There was no antiviral activity against coxsakie virus B6. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the leaves of H. pauciflorus yielded three known compounds. From the ethyl acetate fraction, two compounds were isolated (epicatechin and -sitosterol ) and from the n- hexane fractions, one compound (lupeol) was isolated. They were isolated and identified using various techniques. The antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-pyretic activity of these compounds have been reported in literature. The structure and distribution of foliar appendages on the leaves of H. pauciflorus were examined by scanning electron microscope. The leaves have long unicellular nonglandular trichomes which were distributed over the mid rib and densely populated at the edges of the adaxial and abaxial surfaces. In general, the experiments and tests conducted in this study appear to have justified the use of Hippobromus pauciflorus for the treatment of eye infections and make a substantial contribution to the knowledge base of the use of herbal medicine for the treatment of the eye infections

Construction of Knowledge Test to Measure the Knowledge on Recommended Groundnut Production Practices

The non-availability of a standardized scale to measure the farmers’ knowledge level influenced the researchers to construct a test for measuring the knowledge on recommended groundnut production package of practices. Pertinent items were collected covering all aspects from the crop production guide developed by the Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Tamil Nadu & Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. After getting jury opinion on the items, test index of item difficulty, index of item discrimination and point biserial correlation for the items were worked out. All these were taken in to account to arrive at the final scale. While administrating the knowledge test a respondent was given one mark for each correct answer and zero for wrong answer. Eleven (11) items were finally selected from a total of fifty five (55) items

Experimental study on heat transfer coefficient and friction factor of Al2O3 nanofluid in a packed bed column

Forced convection heat transfer coefficient and friction factor are determined for flow of water and nanofluid in a vertical packed bed column. The analysis is undertaken in the laminar and transition Reynolds number range. The column is filled with spherical glass beads as the bed material. The heat transfer coefficients with Al2O3 nanofluid increased by 12 to 15% with the increase of volume concentration from 0.02 to 0.5% compared to water. The experimental values of axial temperature are in good agreement with NTU-? method proposed by Schumann's model

Assesment of Crop Residue Generation in Major Crops of Telangana, India

India is one of the key producer of food grains, oilseeds, sugarcane and other agricultural products. Agricultural crops generate considerable amounts of leftover residues, with increase in food production crop residues also increasing. These leftover residues exhibit not only resource loss but also a missed opportunity to improve a farmer’s income. Crop residue burning has become a major environmental problem causing health issues as well as contributing to global warming. Composting, biochar production and mechanization are a few effective sustainable techniques that can help to curtail the issue while retaining the nutrients present in the crop residue in the soil. The main aim of this paper is to assess the amount of crop residue generated in four major crops paddy, maize, red gram and cotton of Telangana in the year 2021. The assessment of crop residue generation is done using the residue production ratio of the above four crops and the total production in the year 2021 in Telangana state. The results shows that the paddy crop generating high amount of crop residue i.e., 15,29,60,297 followed by cotton, maize and redgram. The generated crop residue is needed to be disposed or managed without causing any harm to the environment. The study suggests that the proper management of crop residue by various methods like in-situ incorporation, cattle feed, industrial purpose etc., instead of burning of the crop residue which causing environmental pollution with the emission of harmful gases

Some fıxed point theorems for modified JS-G-contractions and an application to integral equations

Isik, Huseyin/0000-0001-7558-4088In this article, we establish some fixed point results in G-metric spaces using the modified JS-G-contractions and we provide some suitable examples to support the results. Also, we give an application to solve an integral equation

Study on Different Nectar Rich Flowering Plants of Few Butterfly Species at Different Habitats in Pjtsau Campus Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, India

The present study was conducted to investigate the different nectar rich flowering plants of few butterfly species at various habitats in PJTSAU campus, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad during the period from October 2022 to March 2023. The study was conducted in agricultural fields (college farm, student farm and Agricultural Research Institute (ARI)), open scrub areas, Agri biodiversity park (ABP) and botanical garden. To record the nectar plants of few butterfly species, systematic field survey through transact walk was conducted by employing visual count method (VCM) in various habitats. A total of 37 flowering plant species belongs to 20 families were visited by butterflies during the study period. Interestingly, flowering trees found to have contributed more (27.03%) followed by weeds (24.32%), cultivable crops (16.22%), herbs and shrubs with same contribution (13.51%) and the least contribution was found to have recorded with climbers (5.41%). Among the 20 families, Asteraceae (6 plant species) and Fabaceae (6 plant species) families with Yellow, white and pink colored flowers were visited more often for nectar collection. It could help to understand the locally available flora with different flower colors as source of food for few butterfly species and emphasized the need of herbaceous flora conservation to restore native butterfly species in various habitats

Experimental Study on Heat Transfer Coefficient and Friction Factor of Al2O3 Nanofluid in a Packed Bed Column

The forced convection heat transfer coefficient and friction factor are determined for the flow of water and nanofluid in a vertical packed bed column. The analysis is undertaken in the laminar and transition Reynolds number range. The column is filled with spherical glass beads as the bed material. The heat transfer coefficients with Al2O3 nanofluid increased by 12% to 15% with the increase of volume concentration from 0.02% to 0.5% compared with water. The experimental values of axial temperature are in good agreement with the NTU-ε method proposed by Schumann’s model

Influence of calcium and alumina-based pozzolanas on the strength properties of low calcium fly ash geopolymer concrete

This work presents the effect of Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), fly ash (FA) and metakaolin (MK) on the strength properties of geopolymer concrete (GPC). Geopolymer concrete made with FA produces calcium aluminosilicate hydrate (C-A-S-H) product due to presence of alumina and sodium aluminosilicate hydrate (N-A-S-H) gel as main reaction product of polymerization. Geopolymer concrete made with FA and GGBS, calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) also gets produced additionally with calcium aluminosilicate hydrate (C-A-S-H) gel and sodium aluminosilicate hydrate (N-A-S-H) gel due to presence of high content of CaO in GGBS. This additional product imparts more strength performance in GPC. In geopolymer concrete made with FA and MK, the more amount of calcium aluminosilicate hydrate (C-A-S-H) is produced due to presence of high amount of alumina in metakaolin along with sodium aluminosilicate hydrates (N-A-S-H) giving more strength to GPC. Metakaolin is recommended to be used for the development of GPC because it has high amount of alumina

Iteration and Identification of the Appropriate ARIMA Models for Forecasting Groundnut Area, Production, and Yield in Telangana and India

Groundnut cultivation plays a crucial role in India's agricultural landscape, but there has been a declining trend in acreage in the past two decades. At the state level, despite groundnut productivity in Telangana being higher than the national average, it was not among the major groundnut-producing states for its only rabi cultivation and low acreage. Under such conditions, forecasting area, production and yield beforehand the prices is necessary to address dynamics at the supply end. This study aims to forecast groundnut cultivation, production, and yield in India and Telangana using ARIMA modelling. The annual time series data were sourced from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of India from 1990-91 to 2021-22. ARIMA. SPSS software was employed for the analysis and modelling tasks. By analysing the model fit and residual statistics ARIMA (2,1,3) ARIMA (0,0,0), and ARIMA (3,1,3) were performed as the best-fit models for groundnut area, production, and yield forecasts in India. For Telangana, ARIMA (0,1,0) ARIMA (1,1,6), and ARIMA (14,1,14) were found better. The forecasts of groundnut at the country level indicated stagnation in production, declination in area and inclination in yield, which was found fluctuating. Proactive planning is necessary to address these challenges and ensure sustainable production at the country level. In Telangana, there is a positive trend in groundnut production and the increasing trend in cultivation but may decline in the long run, if proper planning and marketing strategies are not followed consistently. Accurate forecasting of groundnut metrics is crucial for stakeholders to make informed decisions, bridge supply-demand gaps, and promote a resilient groundnut industry