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Effects of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were studied on lentil plants inoculated with Alternaria alternata, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lentis, Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli, Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae and Meloidogyne incognita. Plant growth, chlorophyll, carotenoid contents, nitrate reductase (NR) activity and nodulation of lentil both in the presence and absence of Rhizobium sp. were examined in a pot test. Inoculation of plants with A. alternata / F. oxysporum f. sp. lentis / X. axonopodis pv. phaseoli / P. syringae pv. syringae or M. incognita caused a significant reduction in plant growth, number of pods per plant, chlorophyll, carotenoids and NR activity over uninoculated control. Inoculation of plants with Rhizobium sp. with or without pathogen increased plant growth and number of pods per plant, chlorophyll, carotenoids and NR activity. When plants were grown without Rhizobium, a foliar spray of plants with 10 ml solution of 0.1 mg ml–1of ZnO NPs per plant caused a significant increase in plant growth and number of pods, chlorophyll, carotenoid contents and NR activity in both inoculated and uninoculated plants. Spray of ZnO NPs to plants inoculated with Rhizobium sp. caused non significant increase in plant growth, number of pods per plant, chlorophyll, carotenoid contents and NR activity when plants were either uninoculated or inoculated with pathogens. Numbers of nodules per root system were high in plants treated with Rhizobium sp. but foliar spray of ZnO NPs had adverse effect on nodulation. Inoculation of plants with test pathogens also reduced nodulation. Spray of ZnO NPs to plants reduced galling, nematode multiplication, wilt, blight and leaf spot disease severity indices.
Abstract
The adsorption behaviour of99Mo in the form of molybdate and of99mTc in the form of pertechnetate on hydrated titanium dioxide was investigated at different molarities of hydrochloric acid. The adsorption capacity of molybdate on hydrated TiO2 is higher than on Al2O3. A99mTc-generator is suggested. This generator is based on the adsorption of (99Mo) molybdate on hydrated TiO2, at acidities of 0.05–0.1M. HCl.99mTc is eluted with 0.9% NaCl. Radionuclidic, radiochemical and chemical purities of the eluates were checked. This generator seems to have a great potential as compared to the traditional alumina generators.
Abstract
Some plastic sheets manufactured or commercially available in Pakistan have been tested as radiation dosimeters for cobalt-60 
-rays. Radiation induced colouration in the plastics have been measured spectrophotometrically. The results show that 2 mm thick clear poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) can be used as radiation dosimeter up to 45 kGy when absorption measurements are made at 305 nm and 314 nm; whereas 1 mm thick clear poly(vinylchloride) (PVC) is useful up to 30 kGy when measured at 396 nm. The response of PMMA dosimeter is stable for at least 15 days and that for PVC for 30 days, when stored under ambient conditions after irradiation. Post-irradiation stability at various temperatures (–10 to 55°C) has also been studied.
Most agronomic soils contain large reserves of total phosphorus [P], but the fixation and precipitation of P cause P deficiency, and in turn, restrict the growth of crops severely. Phosphorus replenishment, especially in sustainable production systems, remains a major challenge as it is mainly fertilizer-dependent. Though the use of chemical P fertilizers is obviously the best means to circumvent P deficiency in different agro-ecosystems, their use is always limited due to its spiralling cost. A greater interest has, therefore, been generated to find an alternative yet inexpensive technology that could provide sufficient P to plants while reducing the dependence on expensive chemical P fertilizers. Among the heterogeneous and naturally abundant microbes inhabiting the rhizosphere, the phosphate solubilizing microorganisms (PSM) including bacteria have provided an alternative biotechnological solution in sustainable agriculture to meet the P demands of plants. These organisms in addition to providing P to plants also facilitate plant growth by other mechanisms. Despite their different ecological niches and multiple functional properties, P-solubilizing bacteria have yet to fulfil their promise as commercial bio-inoculants. Current developments in our understanding of the functional diversity, rhizosphere colonizing ability, mode of actions and judicious application are likely to facilitate their use as reliable components in the management of sustainable agricultural systems.
Abstract
Natural radioactivity in various types of marbles available in Rawalpindi/Islamabad industrial area have been assessed using HP(Ge) gamma-ray spectrometer. The concentration of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th ranges from 6.15 to 159.65 Bq.kg-1, 1.45 to 29.34 Bq.kg-1 and 1.16 to 6.28 Bq.kg-1, respectively. The radium equivalent activity lies between 5.56 to 33.42 Bq.kg-1. The average external and internal indices have been found to be 0.03 and 0.05, respectively. The average absorbed dose rate at 1 m was found to be 6.53 nGy.h-1. The estimated annual effective dose rate for whole body was found to be 0.04 mSv.y-1. These values are smaller than those predicted by UNSCEAR for normal background areas. The marbles analyzed pose less health hazard as compared to Pakistani baked bricks and other construction materials.
A rapid, accurate, and sensitive reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination and quantification of glibenclamide and thymoquinone in rat plasma in the presence of internal standard (thymol). Chromatograms were developed with methanol, acetonitrile, and buffer (50:20:30, v/v/v) solvent system on a Symmetry® C18 (5 μm, 3.9 × 150 mm) column, and pH was adjusted to 4.5 with orthophosphoric acid. Mobile phase was pumped at a flow rate of 1.5 mL min−1 with 254 nm ultraviolet (UV) detection. Validation of the method was performed in order to demonstrate its selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, limits of detection, and quantification (LOD and LOQ). Standard curves were linear (r 2 = 0.996 and 0.999 for glibenclamide and thymoquinone) over the concentration range 0.5–50 μg mL−1. The coefficient of variation (CV) of < 6% and accurate recovery of 87.54–105.19% for glibenclamide and CV of <5% and accurate recovery of 86.08–103.19% for thymoquinone were found to be in the selected concentration range of 0.5–50 μg mL−1. The lower limits of detection and quantitation of the method were 0.109 and 0.332 μg mL−1 for glibenclamide and 0.119 and 0.361 μg mL−1 for thymoquinone, respectively. The within and between-day coefficients of variation were less than 7%. The validated method has been successfully applied to measure the plasma concentrations in a drug interaction study of glibenclamide with thymoquinone in an animal model to illustrate the scope and application of the method.
Continuous-flow synthesis of specific functional materials is now seen as a reliable synthesis approach that gives consistent product properties. This perspective article aims to survey recent work in some of the relevant areas and to identify new domains where flow synthesis of functional materials can be better than the conventional synthesis methods. It also emphasizes the need for developing high-throughput integrated synthesis and screening systems for almost all functional materials so that laboratory-scale recipes can be transformed into reliable manufacturing processes. New areas relevant to functional materials which have remained unexplored in flow synthesis are also highlighted.
Abstract
In the present study samples of Se100 − x S x has been prepared by conventional melt-quenching technique in the composition range 5 ≤ x ≤ 20 (at.%). The crystallization process in glassy system was investigated under non-isothermal condition using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at 5, 10, 15, and 20 °C/min heating rates (φ). The DSC traces have been analyzed in terms of activation energy (ΔE c) and Avrami exponent (n) using different models viz. the Starink, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa, the Friedman–Ozawa, Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose equations. The composition dependence on the glass transition temperature (T g), the crystallization temperature (T c), and the peak temperatures (T p) of the samples were also determined. The analysis shows that the incorporation of sulfur content has a strong influence on the crystallization mechanism for the Se–S glassy system.
The allelic variation for Glu-1, Glu-3 loci and presence of IBL-1RS translocation was determined in 126 spring wheat accessions. The most common alleles at Glu-1 loci were Glu-A1b (59.52%), Glu-B1c (41.26%), and Glu-D1d (57.14%) and at Glu-3 loci were Glu-A3c (56.45%), Glu-B3j (29.36%), and Glu-D3b (76.98%). Modern Pakistani wheat varieties carried superior alleles at Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci for bread-making quality and had no negative influence of secalin protein-synthesized by 1BL-1RS translocation. For LMW-GS, the most common combination was Glu-A3c, Glu-B3j and Glu-D3b. The loci Glu-B1 and Glu-B3 had the highest allelic diversity of Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci, respectively.
