EVALUATION OF AQUEOUS FRUIT EXTRACT OF TAMARINDUS INDICA (L) FOR INHIBITION OF TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-a AND CYCLO OXYGENASE ENZYMES IN EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL

 Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF)-α and cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX) inhibition potency of Tamarindus indica Linn. in comparison to standard drug (indomethacin).Methods: Three plants are selected for the studies, namely: Aloe vera (L.), Terminalia chebula Reitz., and T. indica Linn. Estimation of TNF-α in serum (at 1:10 dilution in PBS) was performed using the immunoenzymatic (ELISA) technique. COX inhibitor screening assay kits were used for estimation of COX.Result: All three plant extracts showed a potent significant inhibition of the COX enzyme as compared to the positive control and standard drug when the animal was administered with 400 mg/kg. These studies indicate that the T. indica plant extract showed significant COX inhibition even at low dose. All the extracts were effective anti-inflammatory in nature, however, T. indica extracts at a dose of 400 mg/kg were found to be most potent. It was found to be comparable with that of Indomethacin 10 mg/kg body weight.Conclusion: The anti-inflammatory activity expressed by all the three plants A. vera (L.), T. chebula Reitz., and T. indica L. Among all three plants T. indica (L) was found to be more active against both TNF-α and COX, and it was comparable to standard drug Indomethacin. Need further studies to elucidate the exact secondary metabolite by which these plants express this activity

Factors Affecting Impulsive Buying Behavior with Mediating role of Positive Mood: An Empirical Study

This research which is guided by impulse buying literature and “Stimulus-Organism Response (S-O-R) model”, explores the relationship between individual differences and impulse buying behavior directly and indirectly through the mediating role of positive mood. Survey methodology was conducted in order to collect data from 300 customers in Lahore. Convenience sampling technique was used and the associations between the concepts were analyzed by using PLS based SEM analysis. Results of the study prove that the factors which significantly affect impulse buying behavior are positive mood, impulse buying tendency and fashion involvement while insignificant variables for impulse buying are self-esteem, shopping enjoyment and hedonism. SE, IBT, Hedonism and Self-esteem have a direct significant impact with the mediating variable positive mood whereas FI shows an insignificant relation with PM. Results regarding mediation demonstrated that the relationship between IBB and Shopping enjoyment is completely mediated by positive mood but the relationship between fashion involvement, self-esteem, Hedonism, Impulsive buying tendency and IBB is partially mediated by positive mood. This research paper will prove beneficial for marketing practitioners and researchers by developing a comprehensive knowledge and understanding about customer’s impulse buying behavior and its relationship with its determinants. This study validates and extends the “S-O-R model of Mehrabian and Russell (1974)” by incorporating personal traits’ influences  on impulse buying behavior

Factors Affecting Impulsive Buying Behavior with Mediating role of Positive Mood: An Empirical Study

This research which is guided by impulse buying literature and “Stimulus-Organism Response (S-O-R) model”, explores the relationship between individual differences and impulse buying behavior directly and indirectly through the mediating role of positive mood. Survey methodology was conducted in order to collect data from 300 customers in Lahore. Convenience sampling technique was used and the associations between the concepts were analyzed by using PLS based SEM analysis. Results of the study prove that the factors which significantly affect impulse buying behavior are positive mood, impulse buying tendency and fashion involvement while insignificant variables for impulse buying are self-esteem, shopping enjoyment and hedonism. SE, IBT, Hedonism and Self-esteem have a direct significant impact with the mediating variable positive mood whereas FI shows an insignificant relation with PM. Results regarding mediation demonstrated that the relationship between IBB and Shopping enjoyment is completely mediated by positive mood but the relationship between fashion involvement, self-esteem, Hedonism, Impulsive buying tendency and IBB is partially mediated by positive mood. This research paper will prove beneficial for marketing practitioners and researchers by developing a comprehensive knowledge and understanding about customer’s impulse buying behavior and its relationship with its determinants. This study validates and extends the “S-O-R model of Mehrabian and Russell (1974)” by incorporating personal traits’ influences  on impulse buying behavior

An annotated list of planthoppers with alternate hosts from Kallar tract of Punjab, Pakistan

Diversity of planthoppers and their host plants were studied in the "Kallar" tract of the Punjab, Pakistan (an important growing area of the world for producing Basmati rice). Planthoppers are considered the most important pests of rice. Delphacidae and Cixiidae are families of planthoppers with the most harmful species. Delphacids are primarily vector of the viruses, whereas Cixiids are vectors of phytoplasmas, mycoplasmas and prokaryotes-like associated to the class Mollicutes. Specimens of planthoppers were collected from the rice fields and surrounding weeds. A list of Fulgoromorpha is provided, with distributional and biological records as well. Records are extracted primarily from field data and specialized reference sources. Seven species from two different families of Fulgoromorpha were related to rice ecosystem (Cixiidae, one species and Delphacidae; six species). Three Delphacid species, whitebacked planthopper Sogatella furcifera, brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens and small brown planthopper (SBPH) Laodelphax striatellus are well-known vectors of severe rice pathogenic diseases in the Oriental and Paleartic regions. Laodelphax striatellus was recorded on rice for the first time in Pakistan. Among alternate hosts, Trifolium alexandrium, Leptochloa chinensis, Helianrhus allus, Medicago polymorpha and Sorghum bicolor were recorded for L. striatellus, while Leptochloa chinensis, Helianrhus allus, Medicago polymorpha, Sorghum bicolor, Zea mays and Cynodon dactylon were recorded for S. furcifera for the first time. N. lugens was recorded on weeds Leptochloa chinensis and Medicago polymorpha.Fil: Rizwan, Muhammad. Rice Research Institute; PakistánFil: Atta, Bilal. Rice Research Institute; PakistánFil: Marino, Ana Maria. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Entomología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Mariani, Roxana. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Entomología; ArgentinaFil: Sabir, Arshed Makhdoom. Rice Research Institute; PakistánFil: Tahir, Muhammad. The Islamia University of Bahawalpur; PakistánFil: Rizwan, Misbah. Government College for Women; PakistánFil: Sabar, Muhammad. Rice Research Institute; PakistánFil: Rafique, Ch. Muhammad. Rice Research Institute; PakistánFil: Afzal, Muhammad. Hill Fruit Research Station; Pakistá

An Efficient Algorithm for Recognition of Human Actions

Recognition of human actions is an emerging need. Various researchers have endeavored to provide a solution to this problem. Some of the current state-of-the-art solutions are either inaccurate or computationally intensive while others require human intervention. In this paper a sufficiently accurate while computationally inexpensive solution is provided for the same problem. Image moments which are translation, rotation, and scale invariant are computed for a frame. A dynamic neural network is used to identify the patterns within the stream of image moments and hence recognize actions. Experiments show that the proposed model performs better than other competitive models

Actinobacteria: Potential Candidate as Plant Growth Promoters

Plant growth enhancement using plant beneficial bacteria has been viewed in the sustainable agriculture as an alternative to chemical fertilizers. Actinobacteria, among the group of important plant-associated bacteria, have been widely studied for its plant growth promotion activities. Actinobacteria are considered as a limelight among agriculturists for their beneficial aspects toward plants. They are naturally occurring spore-forming bacteria inhabiting the soil and known for their plant growth-promoting and biocontrol properties. The mechanisms behind these activities include nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, siderophore production, and other attributes such as antifungal production of metabolites, phytohormones, and volatile organic compound. All these activities not only enhance the plant growth but also provide resistance in plants to withstand unfavorable conditions of the environment. Hence, this chapter emphasizes on the plant growth traits of actinobacteria and how far it was studied for enhanced growth and bio-fortification

M-polynomial and topological indices of zigzag edge coronoid fused by starphene

Chemical graph theory is a subfield of graph theory that studies the topological indices for chemical graphs that have a good correlation with chemical properties of a chemical molecule. In this study, we have computed M-polynomial of zigzag edge coronoid fused by starphene. We also investigate various topological indices related to this graph by using their M-polynomial

HERMITE-HADAMARD TYPE INTEGRAL INEQUALITIES FOR HARMONICALLY RELATIVE PREINVEX FUNCTIONS

In this paper, we establish several new upper bounds of HermiteHadamard type integral inequalities for harmonically relative preinvex functions and their different types such as s-harmonic preinvex functions, s-harmonic Godunova-Levin functions and harmonic P-preinvex functions

Twenty-seven year old man presenting with a strangulated diaphragmatic hernia eight years after the initial injury

A 27-year-old man presented with a 5 day history of abdominal pain and distension, with associated constipation and vomiting. He had presented 8 years earlier following a traumatic injury to the left side of the chest, and no diaphragmatic injury was reported at that time. On this admission, a computed tomography scan showed herniation of the splenic flexure of the colon into the left hemithorax. Subsequently, he had an emergency laparotomy for resection, with formation of a loop ileostomy. The various imaging techniques all have advantages and disadvantages when diagnosing a traumatic diaphragmatic hernia. It is the clinician’s role to maintain a high index of suspicion when a patient initially presents with trauma where a traumatic diaphragmatic hernia may be a possibility

Delayed fixation of displaced type II and III pediatric femoral neck fractures

BACKGROUND: Time from injury to fixation of femoral neck fractures has been postulated as a vital determinant for rate of complications; however, no prospective study is available in the English literature. Delay, unfortunately, is inevitable in developing countries. The aim of the present study is to retrospectively review the outcome after delayed fixation of displaced type II and III femoral neck fractures in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using a standard assessment chart, we retrospectively reviewed medical records of all pediatric patients having femoral neck fractures presenting to our institution from June 1999 to May 2006. Inclusion criteria were children between 5 and 15 years of age sustaining displaced Delbet type II and III femoral neck fractures having a complete follow-up of at least 2 years. Patients with known metabolic disease, poliomyelitis or cerebral palsy, were excluded from the study. After application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 22 patients having 22 fractures (13 type II and 9 type III) were studied. Surgery could be performed after a mean delay of 11.22 days (ranging from 2 to 21 days). Closed reduction was achieved in 14 cases and 8 cases required open reduction through anterolateral approach. RESULT: Osteonecrosis was noted in eight patients (36.37%) who included two of nine patients (22.22%) operated in the first week, three of eight patients (37.51%) operated in the second week, and three of five patients (60%) operated in the third week of injury. Nonunion was seen in four (18.18%) cases, and two of them were associated with failure of implants. One was treated by valgus osteotomy and the other by Meyer's procedure. Fractures united in both children but the latter developed avascular necrosis. Functional results, as assessed using Ratliff's criteria, were good in 14 (63.63%), fair in 2 (9%), and poor in 6 (27.27%) patients. CONCLUSION: Delay in fixation, type of fracture, and ability to achieve and maintain reduction are factors primarily responsible for the outcome. We also found that delay after the first week further adversely affects the outcome