ANTIMICROBIAL AND CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITIES OF SELECTED QATARI FLORA

Conventional medicine has been challenged by various issues, including drug resistance and safety. On the other hand, Complementary Alternative Medicine has been increasingly gaining the interest of the scientific community and the public for its efficacy and safety. Therefore, the search for cytotoxic and antimicrobial agents from plants has been booming in the last few decades. This study was designed to investigate the anticancer and antifungal activities of the crude extracts (aqueous and organic) from four native Qatari plant species; Aerva javanica, Limonium axillare, Salsola soda and Suaeda vermiculata. The antifungal activity of their crude extracts on the species; Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Fusarium oxysporum, and Botrytis cinerea, was assessed in vitro by two methods; poisoned food and agar diffusion method. While aqueous extracts were not effective, the ethanolic extracts of all plant (aerial parts) were active against all of the tested fungi, and the concentration of 10 mg/ml was enough to inhibit fungal growth. Extracts of L. axillare had the highest activity, with minimal concentration values between 5 and 2.5 mg/ml. The anti-cancer activity of the crude extracts was also assessed on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line, indicating that with water crude extracts of S. vermiculata at concentrations of 400 and 300 μg/μl were the only effective doses worked against MCF-7 cell proliferation. A comprehensive study is needed to assess the anticancer activity of the S. vermiculata crude extract, using normal human epithelial breast cells and various additional breast cancer cell lines. Last but not least, fractionation will be carried out to identify the bioactive ingredients that are responsible for both anti-cancer and anti-fungal activities

Pre-storage putrescine application suppresses ethylene biosynthesis andretards fruit softening during low temperature storage in 'Angelino' plum

To investigate the role of putrescine (PUT) in ethylene biosynthesis and fruit softening of plum (Prunus salicina Lindl. cv. Angelino), fruit on trees were sprayed 1 week before anticipated commercial harvest, or after harvest fruit were dipped in an aqueous solution containing different concentrations of PUT (0.0, 0.1, 1.0 and 2.0 mM), and 'Tween 20' (0.01%) as a surfactant. Following PUT treatments fruit were stored at 0 ± 1 °C and 90 ± 5% RH for 0, 3 and 6 weeks. Ethylene production, activities of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase (ACS) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase (ACO) enzymes, and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) content, fruit firmness and activities of fruit softening enzymes including exo-polygalacturonase (exo-PG), endo-polygalacturonase (endo-PG), pectin esterase (PE) and endo-1,4-²-d-glucanase were estimated after 0, 3 and 6 weeks storage. Pre- and postharvest PUT application reduced ethylene production after 3 and 6 weeks of storage as compared to untreated fruit. Preharvest spray application of higher PUT concentrations substantially reduced ethylene production compared to lower PUT concentrations and postharvest PUT treatments. Activities of ACS enzymes and ACC contents during storage decreased with increased concentration of PUT applied irrespective of the methods of its application, both in skin and pulp tissues. Preharvest PUT-sprayed fruit exhibited lower ACO activities than postharvest PUT-treated skin and pulp tissues. The preharvest spray application of higher concentrations of PUT (2.0 and 1.0) significantly reduced the activities of fruit softening enzymes (exo-PG, endo-PG, PE and EGase) in skin and pulp tissues during storage. In conclusion, pre-storage application of PUT retarded plum fruit softening during low temperature storage through suppressed ethylene biosynthesis and reduced activities of fruit softening enzymes such as PE, EGase, exo and endo-PG in skin and pulp tissues

Axisymmetric stagnation-point flow of a third-grade fluid over a lubricated surface

In this article, axisymmetric stagnation-point flow of a third-grade fluid over a disk lubricated with a power law fluid is considered. Due to thin lubrication layer of variable thickness, third-grade fluid experiences a partial slip on the surface. The flow problem is governed through a system of nonlinear partial differential equations with nonlinear boundary conditions. A nonsimilar solution is presented in this article by implementing hybrid homotopy analysis method. This method combines the features of homotopy analysis and shooting methods. The results varying from no-slip to full-slip case are discussed under the influence of pertinent parameters

Impact analysis of the in-service teacher training programmes of the Testing and Evaluation sub-committee of the ELTR Project in Pakistan

AbstractThe study seeks to explore the perception of the concerned EL teachers (trainees) on the in-service training programmes conducted by the Testing and Evaluation sub-committee of the English Language Teaching Reforms (ELTR) Project of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. The researchers administered a questionnaire to gauge the overall effectiveness of programmes of the target sub-committee. The study brought to light a few gaps between the training objectives and their realization in real classroom settings mainly owing to the problem (of the lack of resources) faced by the trainees at their workplaces. The researchers felt the need for making merit or need-based selections/nominations of the trainees, devising a fool-proof mechanism for the follow-up of the trainees and for providing facilities to the trainees for implementation of the training input. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd

Investigation of the development obstacles of the informational literacy of faculty members in Region 1 Universities, Iran

The present research investigates the development of obstacles to the informational literacy of faculty member in Islamic Azad Universities, and presents the proposed methods to improve this skill. The present research appraises the technological, economic, cultural, structural and human obstacles in university environments. The present research is survey-descriptive and Statistical population consists of 2131 faculty members of region1 Islamic Azad Universities in 2011-2012. The sample consists of 325 professors based on Morgan’s table. We selected them using cluster random sampling, so we selected several universities and appraised their professors. The data collected by a questionnaire that is made by researcher based on liker’s spectrum. This questionnaire was used after the determination of its validity by specialists and its stability was conformed using Cronbach Alpha coefficient (Alpha: 0.941). The analysis of data carried out using descriptive statistics methods (frequency, the percent of frequency, mean and standard deviation) and SPSS software. The results of research show that economic and technological obstacles are the most important obstacles of the informational literacy of faculty members

Investigation of the development obstacles of the informational literacy of faculty members in Region 1 Universities, Iran

The present research investigates the development of obstacles to the informational literacy of faculty member in Islamic Azad Universities, and presents the proposed methods to improve this skill. The present research appraises the technological, economic, cultural, structural and human obstacles in university environments. The present research is survey-descriptive and Statistical population consists of 2131 faculty members of region1 Islamic Azad Universities in 2011-2012. The sample consists of 325 professors based on Morgan’s table. We selected them using cluster random sampling, so we selected several universities and appraised their professors. The data collected by a questionnaire that is made by researcher based on liker’s spectrum. This questionnaire was used after the determination of its validity by specialists and its stability was conformed using Cronbach Alpha coefficient (Alpha: 0.941). The analysis of data carried out using descriptive statistics methods (frequency, the percent of frequency, mean and standard deviation) and SPSS software. The results of research show that economic and technological obstacles are the most important obstacles of the informational literacy of faculty members

What Defines Counterfeiting? A Timeline Analysis of the Definition

Though addressed widely by academicians and researchers across the globe, the subject of counterfeiting dates back to historical times of 27BC. In academic literature, the discussion on counterfeit(ing) began a century back when researchers started to define its boundaries through their understanding. Ranging from the classical descriptions on counterfeit, counterfeiting, counterfeit trade and counterfeit product(s), this article intends to use text analysis technique to provide the reader with a summary of the existing academic literature on the aforementioned subjects. It summarizes key definitions from the respective area with a broader aim to bridge the gap in the existing counterfeiting and counterfeit product-related literature by providing a brief (yet ample) list on counterfeit(ing). Moreover, it also identifies the key similarities exiting in the definition set. The article concludes with authors own definition of counterfeiting and counterfeit product(s) based on the conceptualization developed through the understanding of combined definitions from the literature

Investigation of the development obstacles of the informational literacy of faculty members in Region 1 Universities, Iran

The present research investigates the development of obstacles to the informational literacy of faculty member in Islamic Azad Universities, and presents the proposed methods to improve this skill. The present research appraises the technological, economic, cultural, structural and human obstacles in university environments. The present research is survey-descriptive and Statistical population consists of 2131 faculty members of region1 Islamic Azad Universities in 2011-2012. The sample consists of 325 professors based on Morgan’s table. We selected them using cluster random sampling, so we selected several universities and appraised their professors. The data collected by a questionnaire that is made by researcher based on liker’s spectrum. This questionnaire was used after the determination of its validity by specialists and its stability was conformed using Cronbach Alpha coefficient (Alpha: 0.941). The analysis of data carried out using descriptive statistics methods (frequency, the percent of frequency, mean and standard deviation) and SPSS software. The results of research show that economic and technological obstacles are the most important obstacles of the informational literacy of faculty members

Measuring process capability for bivariate non-normal process using the bivariate burr distribution

As is well known, process capability analysis for more than one quality variables is a complicated and sometimes contentious area with several quality measures vying for recognition. When these variables exhibit non-normal characteristics, the situation becomes even more complex. The aim of this paper is to measure Process Capability Indices (PCIs) for bivariate non-normal process using the bivariate Burr distribution. The univariate Burr distribution has been shown to improve the accuracy of estimates of PCIs for univariate non-normal distributions (see for example, [7] and [16]). Here, we will estimate the PCIs of bivariate non-normal distributions using the bivariate Burr distribution. The process of obtaining these PCIs will be accomplished in a series of steps involving estimating the unknown parameters of the process using maximum likelihood estimation coupled with simulated annealing. Finally, the Proportion of Non-Conformance (PNC) obtained using this method will be compared with those obtained from variables distributed under the bivariate Beta, Weibull, Gamma and Weibull-Gamma distributions