Callus induction from leaf explant of ficus deltoidea varkunstleri

Ficus deltoidea or commonly known as ‘mas cotek’ is a herbal plant indigenous to Southeast Asia including Malaysia and Indonesia. This plant is popular for its medicinal values such as improve blood circulation, regain energy and enhance fertility naturally for both men and women. The main objective of this study is to develop in vitro clonal propagation method for rapid production of F. deltoidea using different concentrations of benzyl aminopurine (BAP) through shoot induction and multiplication, rooting and subsequent establishment in soil following acclimatization. Surface sterilization of the leaf explants was done using mercury chloride and ethanol as the disinfectants. Pre-treatment of the explants with carbendazim successfully reduced the occurrence of fungal contamination. At the end of the experiment, no shoot and root induction were observed but calli were successfully induced on MS medium containing 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 mg/l BAP, with calli induced from 3.0 mg/l BAP were bigger and healthier. In short, the higher the concentration of BAP used, the higher tendency for the explant to induce callus

Block method for third order ordinary differential equations

The problem of third order ordinary differential equations (ODEs) is solved directly by using the block backward differentiation formula. The block method is constructed by utilizing three back values and by differentiating the interpolating polynomial once, twice and thrice. Two approximated solutions are generated concurrently for each integration step. Numerical results indicate the efficiency of the direct method than the usual approach of transforming it into the first order ODEs

On the convergence of two point block backward differentiation formula for second order ODEs

The Two Point Block Backward Differentiation Formula (BBDF2) is a direct solver for second order Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs). It had shown its efficiency by having less total number of steps and less computational time over the first order ODEs solver. In this paper, the convergence of the BBDF2 is justified by its consistency and zero-stability properties

Assessment of genetic diversity and hybrid identification in stevia using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers

Identification of intra-specific diversity is an essential condition for the analysis of genetic diversity. Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni belonging to the family Compositae, has a long and successful history of use as a commercial sweetening agent. Stevia is a self-incompatible plant. Originated from a temperate country Paraguay, stevia is considered as an introduced species thus the number of stevia accessions available in Malaysia is still small and limited. Hybridization through Trigona-assisted pollination has successfully produced seven putative stevia F1 hybrids. In this study, 17 stevia accessions and introductions, mostly from Paraguay and different parts of Malaysia including seven putative stevia hybrids were assayed by inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers to differentiate and explore their genetic relationships. A total of 332 clear bands were generated, out of which 275 (82.8 %) were polymorphic. The total number of markers varied from 6 to 18 with a mean of 10 markers per primer. The number of polymorphic markers for each primer varied from 3 (IS34/2) to 17 (IS55) with a mean of 8 polymorphic markers per primer. The amplified product size ranged from 50125 to 5000 bp. The PIC values ranged from 0.16 (IS34/2) to 0.5 (IS19, IS55, IS50, IS70 and IS78), with a mean PIC value of 0.43. The Jaccard‘s similarity coefficient values ranged from 0.375 to 812 with an average of 0.54. A dendrogram constructed based on the UPGMA clustering method, revealed two major Groups (A and B). Group-A showed segregated Bertam while Group B was further segregated into seven subgroups consisted of the remaining accessions studied. The present findings unarguably suggest extending the scope of detecting and quantifying the prevalent genetic diversity existing at the molecular level in the stevia accessions and the putative hybrids. To our knowledge this is the first report on the characterization stevia accessions and developed putative stevia hybrids in Malaysia based on thirty two primers. ISSRs have the potential to distinguish closely related accessions based on the patterns of their amplicons. High polymorphism obtained indicates ISSR is an efficient technique or evaluating genetic diversity in stevia. The present study also elucidates the utility of ISSR markers as an efficient tool to screen putative hybrids obtained from Trigona- assisted pollination

Diagonally implicit block backward differentiation formula for solving linear second order ordinary differential equations

The three point block method for solving second order ordinary differential equations (ODEs) directly using constant step size is derived. The reliability of this new method is verified in the numerical results with the improved performance in terms of computation time while maintaining the accuracy. The comparison is presented between the new method and classical backward differentiation formulas (BDF) of order 3

Sequencing-based analysis for the identification of bacteria associated with severe early childhood caries (SECC)

Severe early childhood caries (SECC) is a microbialinfection that severely compromises the dentition ofyoung children.The aim of this study is toidentify bacteria associated with SECC and compare bacterial species between SECC and caries-free children. Bacterial samples were isolated from dental plaque samples of 3 to 6-yearold preschool children and the status of dental caries at the surface level was evaluated using World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic criteria for decayed, missing and filled tooth surfaces (DFMS). 30 samples from the interproximal part were collected and genomic DNA was extracted using MasterPure™ Gram Positive DNA Purification Kit. Polymerase Reaction (PCR) was conducted on the genomic DNA extracted to amplify 16S rRNA gene and successfully amplified 16S rRNA gene from the samples was sent for sequencing.This research was approved by the IIUM Research Ethic Committee (IREC). Using the selected kit, genomic DNA was successfully extracted and PCR amplification of the bacterial 16S rRNAgeneusing universal bacterial primers was achieved giving a product of 1500 bp. Results from sequencing when analysedusing BLAST from the NCBI website, identified bacteria from the genus Vibrio, Haemophilus and Aggregatibacter from SECC samples while for caries-free samples Granulicatella was identified

Development of stevia rebaudiana hybrids through trigona-assisted pollination (pembangunan hibrid stevia rebaudiana melalui pendebungaan berbantukan trigona)

Hybridization is an important method to widen variations and to develop novel varieties in plants. The increasing interest in Stevia rebaudiana over the last decade soared by its potential as an alternative source of sugar. In this study, improvement in stevia has been conducted through hybridization using Trigona for the development of stevia hybrids. Trigona, which consists of small to medium-sized bees, is usually found in tropical and subtropical parts of the world. They are common visitors to owering plants and pose an important function as crop pollinators. A eld experiment was conducted using 17 stevia accessions (from Malaysia and Paraguay), and the F1 hybrids were morphologically and chemically evaluated. Among the F1 individuals, a wide range of variability with regards to qualitative and quantitative morphological parameters was observed. A selection of seven F1 hybrids namely MS007HYB1, MS007HYB2, LangatHYB, EireteIIHYB, NilaiHYB1, NilaiHYB2, and NilaiHYB3 was made based on their promising features. Improvements were observed in total stevioside content for MS007HYB1 (45%) and MS007HYB2 (30%), rebaudioside content for MS007HYB2 (4.2%), NilaiHYB2 (3.8%), NilaiHYB3 (3.6%) and LangatHYB (14.4%), and delay in owering for MS007HYB1 (46 days), MS007HYB2 (46 days), LangatHYB (51 days), EireteHYB (47 days), NilaiHYB1 (49 days), NIlaiHYB2 (46 days) and NilaiHYB3 (46 days) when compared to their respective mother plants

IN-VITRO REGENERATION OF ORTHOSIPHON STAMINEUS (MISAI KUCING) USING AXILLARY BUD

Orthosiphon stamineus or known as Misai kucing is a popular herbal tea plant that helps in treating the ailments of kidney and bladder, diabetes mellitus and gout. Due to high demand of this medicinal plant, a large propagation of this plant is recommended. In this study, a protocol for regeneration of Orthosiphon stamineus using axillary bud as explant was established. Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with various concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) were evaluated for their effects on shoot induction. Results obtained revealed that the best shooting ability was observed when explants were cultured on MS medium supplemented with 0.2 ppm of BAP. Subsequently, shoot elongation of established shoot was obtained in medium containing gibberelic acid (GA3) with concentration of 0.5 ppm and 1.0 ppm. The best shoot elongation was achieved with medium supplemented with 0.5 ppm of GA3. Subsequently, the elongated explants were transformed to root induction medium with the addition of either 0.2 ppm of 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) or 0.5 ppm NAA. The explants showed positive response in medium supplemented with 0.2 ppm of NAA. From this study it could be confirmed that suitable concentration of plant growth regulators could be used in the regeneration of Orthosiphon stamineus through tissue culture technique