Role of phosphate solubilizing fungi during phosphocompost production and their effect on the growth of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L) plants

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of phosphate solubilizing fungi (Aspergillus awamori and Trichoderma viride) in phosphocompost preparation along with low grade rock phosphate. Co-inoculation of phosphate-solubilizing fungi significantly increased the nutrient value of the compost that explores high P-solubilizing potential of A.awamori and T.viride which can be exploited for the solubilization of fixed phosphates thereby enhancing soil fertility and plant growth. Rock phosphate application along with phosphate solubilizing fungi increased 69.2% acid phosphatase and 65% alkaline phosphatase activity over ordinary compost. With co-inoculation, maximum P content (64.3%) was observed followed by single inoculation with A.awamori (62.2%). The present findings revealed that phosphate solubilizing fungi can interact positively in promoting nutrient content of compost and plant growth leading to improved yield

Molecular identification of insecticide degradation by gut bacteria isolated from Helicoverpa armigera of Cotton plants

The cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera occurs as a major pest in many economically important crops, including cotton, pigeon pea, chickpea, pea, cowpea, sunflower, tomato, sorghum, pearl millet and other crops. Intestinal microorganisms play important role in the degradation of diet components of insects. In order to know the role of gut bacteria in insecticide resistance five   insecticides Chlorpyriphos (20% EC), Cypermethrin (25% EC), Malathion (50% EC), Quinalphos (25% EC), Triazophos (40% EC), were selected for the insecticide degradation studies. All the bacterial isolates from the gut of lab and field populations of H. armigera were identified using 16S rRNA gene-based identification and tested for their growth on minimal salt medium (MSM) along with the selected insecticides. A total of 11 bacterial isolates were tested and among them, isolate CL4 (Rhodococcus sp.) was found to grow on minimal salt medium (MSM) and with chlorpyriphos and isolate CL2 (Enterococcus casseliflavus) was able to grow in MSM with chloropyriphos (C22H19Cl2NO3) and malathion (C10H19O6PS2) and no growth was seen in MSM without insecticide (control).  Gas Chromatography analysis of the positive bacterial isolate cultures in MSM showed that the isolate CL4 (Rhodococcus sp.) was able to utilize 43.9% of chlorpyriphos and isolate CL2 (E.casseliflavus) was able to utilize 26% of chlorpyriphos and 57.1% of malathion in MSM broth cultures with comparison with the respective control cultures. Findings of the current work suggested that gut bacteria in the field populations of H. armigera plays a role in insecticide resistanc

Standardized method to extract phenolic compounds from Lagerstroemia speciosa L. (Jarul) for enhanced antioxidant activity

Phenolic compounds contribute to the antioxidant property of plants and the efficient extraction of plant phenolics could enhance its antioxidant potential. Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers. has been investigated for its pharmacological activities, but comparing its antioxidant activities of phenolics derived from its various parts has a key role in developing natural antioxidants. This study was conducted to standardize the extraction of phenolics from leaves, pods and branches of L. speciosa plant, followed by determination of antioxidant activities of their solvent fractions. Phenolic compounds were extracted from the leaves, pods and branches under different parameters such as temperature, pH, type of solvent and volume of the solvent. The extracted phenolic compounds were subjected to solvent fractions and antioxidant assays were performed. Among the various extraction methods tested, the best method was 50% ethanol +1% HCl, refluxing temperature, 100 ml of solvent and 1 hour extraction time. The best solvent fractions were determined as NaHCO3 + ethyl acetate for pods and ethyl acetate alone for leaves and branches with extracted phenolics content of 150.2 mg/g, 136.2 mg/g and 82.9 mg/g, respectively. The chloroform fraction was best among the fractions with maximum ascorbic acid equivalent (ASE) in all the parts of L. speciosa tested. Ferrous ion chelating capacity indicated that butanol fraction had the highest chelation and the same was recorded in ferric ion chelating assay with an EC50 value of 28.2. Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity of the fractions indicated that NaHCO3 + EtOAc fraction of pods had potential activity. Thus, the phenolic compounds from L. speciosa are excellent sources for future investigation on potent natural antioxidant compounds

Physicochemical and antibacterial activities of Apis honey types derived from Coorg, Karnataka, India

Natural honey has various ingredients in it that contribute to its incredible properties. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the physicochemical and antibacterial activity of various Apis honey from Coorg, Karnataka. Four samples of Apis honey viz., A. florea, A.  mellifera, A. cerana and A.  dorsata were collected from various regions of Coorg, Karnataka. The honey samples' physicochemical properties and antibacterial activities against Streptococcus sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus sp were determined in vitro. The moisture and ash content varied from 13.6 - 17.2% and 0.32 – 0.49%, respectively. Hydroxy methyl furfurals) content of A. dorsata honey samples was highest with 9.2±0.5 mg/Kg and least was recorded with 6.8±0.4 mg/Kg for A. florae honey. The reducing sugar content of A. florea honey sample was highest with 87.5±3.2 (%) and the peroxide levels were in the range of 10.2 – 14.9 µg/g/h at 20°C. The antibacterial assay revealed that S. aureus, Enterococcus sp and Streptococcus sp were most susceptible against the honey varieties tested and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values between 25-6.5 (%v/v) were determined. In conclusion, honey varieties from Coorg could be used in specific antibacterial prophylaxis as the activity depends on the honey bee species, their metabolism and floral sources in specific geographical regions

Assessment of optimal growth conditions for specific carotenoids production by Chlorella vulgaris

Exploration of regional microalgae for carotenoids production under optimized cultural conditions is a sustainable economic and technical perspective. This study details comprehensive research on the influence of growth conditions on microalgal carotenoids. Carotenoid triggering factors were optimized to identify suitable growth conditions to produce specific carotenoids by Chlorella vulgaris.  Media optimization and cultivation conditions were the factors considered and the results revealed the optimum growth conditions for carotenoid production by C. vulgaris was pH 8, 35°C temperature, 0.04 M salinity and 160 µE\m²\sec light intensity. Among the nutrient sources, potassium nitrate and potassium phosphate were suitable for nitrogen and phosphorous supplements. The results indicated optimizing the culture conditions and nutrient sources help to attain desirable carotenoid production by C. vulgaris. Specific carotenoids were extracted from the algal extract and were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography in which lutein (8.8%) was present as major carotenoid followed by astaxanthin (4.6%) and ?-carotene (3.9%). This study revealed that that carotenoid production by C. vulgaris could be enhanced by manipulating culture conditions thereby attain desirable carotenoid production.

In vitro anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and antioxidant potential of Cissus quadrangularis along with its orexigenic activity in Drosophila melanogaster

Plants with diverse pharmacological activities are actively being explored for human health. Cissus quadrangularis (L) has been reported to possess numerous phytochemicals and is used to relieve various disorders. This article aims at providing evidence of the diverse pharmacological activities in terms of orexigenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and antioxidant activities of C. quadrangularis for further application in clinical development. The results revealed that inhibition of hemolysis was within the range of 8-9-25.6% at concentrations of 12.5-200 µg/ml. Methanol extract of C. quadrangularis stems exhibited porcine pancreatic ?-amylase (PPA) inhibition (p?0.05) at concentrations of 0.25 and 0.30 mg/ml. The glucose adsorption capacity of the C. quadrangularis was observed to be inversely proportional to the molar concentration of glucose. The higher food intake by Drosophila in food medium with plant extract is presumably related to orexigenic property of C. quadrangularis. Protease activity of C. quadrangularis stem extract revealed total activity 975 U/ml and specific activity as 3768 U/mg. The absorbance of C. quadrangularis in reducing power assay were between 0.91and 1.85. Highest total antioxidant activity of 67.2 µg TE/g was observed and the hydroxyl radicals scavenging activity was observed in a dose dependent manner. The results provide supporting data that C. quadrangularis may contain active compounds useful in treating anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic disorders

Antidandruff activity of Cassia auriculata and Cassia alata through fatty acids mediated inhibition of Malassezia furfur

Susceptibility of Malassezia furfur to certain medium chain fatty acids shed light onto novel strategies to control dandruff. This study explored antidandruff activity of the fatty acids and other bioactive compounds from flowers of Cassia auriculata and Cassia alata. The idea was supplementing the growth medium with fatty acids which are inhibitory to Malassezia so that plant-based antidandruff formulations could be developed based on the results. Chloroform and ethanolic flower extracts were tested there in vitro efficacy against M. furfur and the potential antidandruff compounds were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS). Minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined for both the extracts and IC50 values of 50 and 88 µM for chloroform extract of C. auriculata and C. alata were recorded. For ethanol extract, IC50 values of 75 and 70 µM were exhibited by C. auriculata and C. alata, respectively. Inhibition of M. furfur through fatty acids from Cassia is the first report, and it is possible to include specific fatty acids in the growth media to inhibit the growth of Malassezia which could be later served as lead molecules in antidandruff formulations. Further, the presence of citronellol, pinitol, anthracenedione and chrysine in Cassia flower extracts and their antidandruff activity reported in this study needed further research on those compounds to formulate effective treatment of Malassezia associated diseases

PERATAAN TENAGA KERJA PADA PROYEK BANGUNAN DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN MICROSOFT PROJECT (STUDI KASUS: PROYEK PEMBANGUNAN TERMINAL AKAP TANGKOKO BITUNG)

Seiring dengan berkembangnya proyek konsruksi pada saat ini menjadikan proyek semakin kompleks dan rumit. Berbagai masalah yang sering mucul dalam pelaksanaan proyek konstruksi adalah sulitnya menyelesaikan proyek tepat waktu, terjadi pembengkakkan biaya, dan sulitnya menggunakan sumber daya yang efisien. Pengalokasian sumber daya yang tidak efisien menjadi sumber masalah besar, terutama pada tenaga kerja yang merupakan salah satu sumber daya proyek konstruksi yang sangat vital dan sensitif, karena dalam pelaksanaan suatu proyek seringkali ditemui penggunaan tenaga kerja yang masih mengalami fluktuasi, maka diperlukan suatu usaha untuk meminimumkan fluktuasi tersebut yaitu dengan melakukan perataan tenaga kerja.PDM merupakan salah satu network planning yang banyak digunakan dan diselaikan dengan bantuan program komputer, karena prinsipnya adalah hunbungan ketergantungan tiap pekerjaan, seperti pekerjaan mana yang akan dimulai terlebih dahulu dan yang mana yang berikutnya. Hubungan antar kegiatan ini sangat menentukan, karena dari hubungan ini dapat dibuat suatu jaringan kerja (network planning). Microsoft project 2016 merupakan software administrasi proyek yang digunakan untuk melakukan perencanaan, pengelolaan, pengawasan dan pelaporan data dari suatu proyek.Dengan menggunakan aplikasi program Microsoft Project 2016 dapat membantu kita untuk melihat penggunaan sumber daya yang kurang merata atau masih berfluktuasi. Dari program Microsoft Project 2016 diperoleh Penggunaan tenaga kerja terbesar pada minngu pertama di bulan September sampai minggu terakhir di bulan September 2017 dimana dibutuhkan pekerja sebanyak 120 orang dan diperoleh schedule yang terbaik untuk penjadwalan proyek Pembangunan Terminal AKAP Tangkoko Bitung. Kata kunci: Tenaga kerja , sumber daya, Microsoft Project 2016

Ophiorrhiza, a promising herbaceous source of the anticancer compound camptothecin

Camptothecin is an important source for the synthesis of some of the major anti-cancer agents such as irinotecan and topotecan. Traditional source of camptothecin are prominently woody plants such as Camptotheca acuminata Decne. and Nothopodytes nimmoniana (Graham) Mabb., and the increasing demand for camptothecin leads to the level of threatening their existence. Ophiorrhiza species composed of herbaceous plants with quick growth characteristics which are reported as alternative source of camptothecin. The present review focus on taxonomical status, traditional uses, biological activities and phytochemical constituents with a special attention in bioproduction of camptothecin from Ophiorrhiza species and its future prospects

Tomato: a crop species amenable to improvement by cellular and molecular methods

Tomato is a crop plant with a relatively small DNA content per haploid genome and a well developed genetics. Plant regeneration from explants and protoplasts is feasable which led to the development of efficient transformation procedures. In view of the current data, the isolation of useful mutants at the cellular level probably will be of limited value in the genetic improvement of tomato. Protoplast fusion may lead to novel combinations of organelle and nuclear DNA (cybrids), whereas this technique also provides a means of introducing genetic information from alien species into tomato. Important developments have come from molecular approaches. Following the construction of an RFLP map, these RFLP markers can be used in tomato to tag quantitative traits bred in from related species. Both RFLP's and transposons are in the process of being used to clone desired genes for which no gene products are known. Cloned genes can be introduced and potentially improve specific properties of tomato especially those controlled by single genes. Recent results suggest that, in principle, phenotypic mutants can be created for cloned and characterized genes and will prove their value in further improving the cultivated tomato.