Chickpea is an important leguminous crop that improves soil fertility through atmospheric nitrogen fixation with the help of rhizobia present in nodules. Non-rhizobia endophytes are also capable of inducing nodulation and nitrogen fixation in leguminous crops. The aim of the current study was to isolate, characterize and identify the non-rhizobia endophytic bacterial strains from root nodules of chickpea. For this purpose, more than one hundred isolates were isolated from chickpea root nodules under aseptic conditions and were confirmed as endophytes through re-isolating them from root nodules of chickpea after their inoculation. Nineteen confirmed endophytic bacterial strains revealed significant production of indole acetic acid (IAA) both in presence and absence of L-tryptophan and showed their ability to grow under salt, pH and heavy metal stresses. These strains were evaluated for in vitro plant growth promoting (PGP) traits and results revealed that seven strains showed solubilization of P and colloidal chitin along with possessing catalase, oxidase, urease and chitinase activities. Seven P-solubilizing strains were further evaluated in a jar trial to explore their potential for promoting plant growth and induction of nodulation in chickpea roots. Two endophytic strains identified as Paenibacillus polymyxa ANM59 and Paenibacillus sp. ANM76 through partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene showed the maximum potential during in vitro PGP activities and improved plant growth and nodulation in chickpea under the jar trial. Use of these endophytic strains as a potential biofertilizer can help to reduce the dependence on chemical fertilizers while improving crop growth and soil health simultaneously.

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The municipal solid waste (MSW) generation rate in Asian cities is dramatically increasing with rising urbanization and conventional interaction. In many urban areas, the strategy for MSW disposal is neither environmentally sustainable nor appropriate for human health. Based on the awareness and the implementation of appropriate technology, the selection of waste disposal technology is a sensitive issue. This ultimate decision could have a deep-rooted effect on the environment and commercial development. This study considers the multi-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) process that also handles uncertainty to select a sustainable waste disposal technology. For this purpose, 2-tuple linguistic q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets (2TLq-ROFSs) are used to permit decision-makers to make assessments in a broader space and to depict the unreliability and vagueness in making real decisions. Firstly, we introduce novel aggregation operators, such as 2TLq-ROF power Maclaurin symmetric mean (2TLq-ROFPMSM) and 2TLq-ROF power weighted Maclaurin symmetric mean (2TLq-ROFPWMSM) operators. We develop an elegant MAGDM approach using the 2TLq-ROFPWMSM operator. Finally, to demonstrate the practicability and efficacy of the proposed method, we consider an MAGDM problem for selecting a sustainable waste disposal technology. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is evaluated further through comparison with different approaches and sensitivity analysis.

Background: Nanoparticles formed by plant extracts present a good alternative of existing antibiotics to compete with the resistant strains of bacteria. Antioxidants present in plants synthesize the nanoparticles from metal salt and also cap them. Methods:In the present study, Melia azedarach fresh leaves were extracted with water. These extracts were reduced by adding silver nitrate (AgNO 3 (25.4±0.36 mm) and (47.2±0.25 mm) against Borditella pertussis and Xanthomonas axonopodis respectively. ) solution separately. Plant extract in different volumes was used to develop nanoparticles with constant strength of salt solution. Color change of extracts represented the development of silver nanoparticles due to reduction of silver ions to form silver nanoparticles. Absorbance of reaction mixtures were determined by UV Vis spectrophotometry. Further antimicrobial activity of these nanoparticles was tested against Borditella pertussis and Xanthomonas axonopodis by agar well diffusion method. Results: Maximum absorbance was noticed between 400-500 nm. EDX analysis proved the presence of silver ions and SEM analysis showed size and shape of nanoparticles (105 nm). Silver nanoparticles developed from water extract of M. azedarach exhibited maximum inhibition zones Conclusions:The conclusion was established that silver nanoparticles from M. azedarach revealed enhanced antibacterial activity with comparison to pure plant extract and silver nitrate solution and can be used in different antibacterial products. IntroductIonG roups of atoms size ranging from 1-100 nm are nanoparticles. These nanoparticles have many chemical, optical and mechanical properties. Nano technology has been used widely in physical, chemical and biological processes. Nanotechnology has evolved as a growing new field and has many applications especially in the biosciences and technology by forming new products at nanoscale level. Biosynthetic methods are being used nowadays by using both biological organisms such as plant extracts, fungus and bacteria.These methods have emerged as a simple and viable alternative as compared to more difficult chemical methods for nanoparticles. Different nanoparticles like copper, zinc, titanium, magnesium, gold and silver are being used but silver nanoparticles have proved to be most effective as it has good antimicrobial efficacy against bacteria, viruses and other eukaryotic microorganisms (1-3). Biosynthesized nanoparticles by plants can be used in different fields like cosmetics, medicines and food industry. Silver is well known for its antimicrobial effect in medicine and industrial products (5). Silver nanoparticles can be used for the prevention of AIDS because they interact with the HIV-1 virus (6). These are often used in ointments for curing infections against burn and open wounds. As silver nanoparticles have antimicrobial activity, so these are employed in textile, food, packaging and plastic industry. These nanoparticles are also being used in room sprays, laundry detergents, and wall paints (7-...