The synthesis of nanoparticles by utilising plant extract has revolutionised the field of nanotechnology. In the present study, AgNPs were synthesised by utilising the leaves of as reducing and stabilising agent. UV-visible spectroscopy showed characteristic surface plasmon band in the range of 413-420 nm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) elucidated rectangular segments fused together. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the crystalline nature of AgNPs and presence of metallic silver ions was confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The different concentrations (10, 20, 30 and 40 ppm) of AgNPs were exogenously applied on to record the disease incidence at different day intervals. The disease intensity was progressively increased in all the applied treatments with the passage of time. The 30 ppm concentration of AgNPs was found to be most suitable concentration for creating the resistance against brown spot disease. Moreover, the effects of AgNPs were also assessed for biochemical profiling in . The enhanced production of endogenous enzymes and non-enzymatic components was observed in response to 30 ppm concentration of AgNPs. The present work highlighted that green synthesised AgNPs can be as used as biological control of citrus diseases and the enhanced production of secondary metabolites antioxidants.

Rhizoctonia solani Kühn (teleomorph = Thanatephorus cucumeris (Frank) Donk) is one of the important soil-borne fungal pathogen, which infects tomato with typical symptoms of seedling damping-off and foot rot. During surveys (2014 and 2015 crop season) of nine tomato growing areas in Pothohar region of Pakistan, symptoms of foot rot were noted on approximately 33.4% of the plants observed at soil line level of the stem. Lesions on infected plant stems were irregular in shape, water-soaked, brown in colour manifesting sunken appearance. Fungal colonies isolated from stem portions of the diseased plants on malt extract agar medium were light grey to brown in colour with abundant mycelial growth and branched hyphae. A septum was always present in the branch of hyphae near the originating point with a slight constriction at the branch. No conidia or conidiophores were observed. All isolates were multinucleate when subjected to DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) stain. Based on morphological characteristics of fungal hyphae, isolates were identified as R. solani . Restriction analysis of PCR-amplified ribosomal DNA with four discriminant enzymes ( MseI, AvaII, HincII , and MunI ) and hyphal interactions with known tester strains confirmed these isolates belong to AG-3-PT (64.2%), AG-2-1 (14.2%), AG-2-2 (9.5%), AG-5 (7.1%) and AG-4-HGI (4.7%). AG-3-PT was widely distributed to major tomato growing areas while other groups were confined to distinct locations. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA was amplified with the primers ITS1/ITS4 and sequenced which had 99–100% identity with the corresponding gene sequences of respective R. solani AGs. To confirm Koch’s postulates, four week old tomato plants were transplanted into 1.5 L plastic pots containing sterilized potting mixture i.e. sand: clay: farmyard manure, at the rate of 1:1:1. Soil inoculum containing 10 g of barley grains colonized with each isolate of R. solani for 14 days was mixed in the upper 2 cm layer of soil (Taheri and Tarighi, 2012). A set of uninoculated plants was used as a control. Ambient conditions were provided under the greenhouse. 21 days after inoculation, water-soaked greyish to brown lesions similar to the symptoms of the previous infection were observed on stem portions of all inoculated plants while control plants remained symptomless. Fungus re-isolated from infections was confirmed as R. solani by microscopic appearance of the hyphae. Present study is the first report of AG composition of R. solani infecting tomato in Pakistan which will be useful to breeding programs working on varietal evaluation.

Background. Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a bleeding disorder in which the immune system destroys native platelets. In this condition an autoantibody is generated against a platelet antigen. ITP affects women more often than men and is more common in children than adults. Objective. To assess the effect of Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy (HPET) on platelet count in Helicobacter pylori associated chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (chronic ITP) in adult. Materials and Methods. It is an interventional prospective study conducted at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, from 2014 to 2015. A set of 85 patients diagnosed with chronic ITP were included in the study via convenient sampling. Patients with platelets count < 100 × 109/L for >3 months were selected. They were posed to first-line investigations which comprised complete blood count (CBC) and peripheral blood smear examination followed by second-line tests including bone marrow examination and Helicobacter pylori stool specific antigen (HpSA-EIA). Standard H. pylori eradication therapy was offered and the patients were assessed at regular intervals for 6 months. Results. Of the 85 study patients, 32 (37.6%) were male and 53 (62.3%) were female. Mean ages of H. pylori positive and negative subjects were 43.89 ± 7.06 and 44.75 ± 7.91 years, respectively. Bone marrow examination confirmed the diagnosis and excluded other related BM disorders. H. pylori stool antigen (HpSA) was detected in 34 (40%) patients and hence regarded as H. pylori positive; the rest were negative. Treatment with eradication therapy significantly improved the mean platelet counts from 48.56 ± 21.7 × 109/l to 94.2 ± 26.8 × 109/l. Conclusion. We concluded that the anti-H. pylori eradication therapy improves blood platelet counts in chronic immune thrombocytopenia.

This study describes the activity-guided isolation and purification of a novel antimicrobial protein from the seed of Croton tiglium Linn. Purification was carried out by (NH(4))(2)SO(4) precipitation, gel filtration and DEAE-cellulose ion-exchange chromatography. Antifungal and antibacterial activities were determined after each purification step. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that the purified protein was a monomer with molecular mass of 50 kDa. This is a first report on purification of a protein from Croton tiglium, which possesses a strong and broad spectrum antimicrobial activity.

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This article explores the Jeffery-Hamel flow of an incompressible non-Newtonian fluid inside non-parallel walls and observes the influence of heat transfer in the flow field. The fluid is considered to be micropolar fluid that flows in a convergent/divergent channel. The governing nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) are converted to nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with the help of a suitable similarity transformation. The resulting nonlinear analysis is determined analytically with the utilization of the Taylor optimization method based on differential evolution (DE) algorithm. In order to understand the flow field, the effects of pertinent parameters such as the coupling parameter, spin gradient viscosity parameter and the Reynolds number have been examined on velocity and temperature profiles. It concedes that the good results can be attained by an implementation of the proposed method. Ultimately, the accuracy of the method is confirmed by comparing the present results with the results obtained by Runge-Kutta method.

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