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Objective: To compare hand-sewn and stapled sutures and the influence of intestinal excision on postoperative complications. Study Design: Retrospective comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: General Surgery Department of CMH Peshawar, from Jan 2020 to Jan 2021. Methodology: Once receiving consent, all individuals hospitalized in the medical facility for ileostomy closure were included in our investigation. In a questionnaire, postoperative complications were documented. Result: This study involved a total of 60 subjects. Individuals were scheduled for surgery after receiving clearances and a loopogram distally. Thirty patients had their wounds hand-sewn shut, while 30 others had their wounds stapled shut. The mean operating time for the hand-sewn method was 2.46 ± 0.29 hours, compared to 1.86 ± 0.17 hours mean for the stapled method. In both categories, the anastomotic leak was comparable. Thirty patients in the hand-sewn group took a mean of 2.42 ± 0.25 days to return bowel sounds after surgery, whereas it took 1.83 ± 0.20 days to return bowel sounds. Conclusion: The stapler method greatly decreases the duration of surgery, promotes rapid recovery, and has a lower fatality rate. Stapling is a simple procedure that can be performed in inaccessible locations, such as a low colorectal anastomosis. In elective gastrointestinal procedures, stapler anastomosis can be utilized safely and successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was aspired to investigate the factor of production that were influencing the technical efficiency of wheat crop in Pakistan. A formal survey of 430 wheat crop farmers was conducted in the district of Rahim Yar Khan in year 2014. In order to estimate the impact of farm inputs on wheat crop production, Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) was used. The major objectives of this survey were to identify factors of variation and effect of planting of wheat after BT and Non-BT-cotton varieties on wheat production. In this study, the average technical efficiency of wheat farms on collective level was around 0.76. The mean technical efficiency of wheat after Non-BT and BT-cotton was 0.78 and 0.74, respectively. The result of the study revealed that those farmers cultivated the wheat crop after Non-BT cotton were technically more efficient compared to those who cultivated wheat after BT-cotton. The major factors that were found to be compliant for improved wheat production in study area were operational holding under wheat crop, which was cultivated after Non-BT or BT cotton, date of sowing, number of irrigations, tractors and tubewell's ownership, tenancy status, farmer's education and experience. The result of the study reported that farmers of wheat crop have the potential to produce the maximum level of wheat production provided that the farmers should improve their management skills. It is prerequisite in farm sector that farmers should use their managerial ability, knowledge, and technical skills in order to obtain the higher production and farm returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing population and decreasing on farm resources are threating the future food security. In this scenario, the cropping systems which can meet the increasing demand of food, feed and forage are needed. Intercropping is an eco-friendly option for sustaining and increasing the productivity of farmlands. Therefore, a field study relating to sunflower-mungbean intercropping intensities under irrigated conditions was conducted at Agronomic Research Farm, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during the spring season, 2014 in RCB design with triplicate run. The treatments included viz. Four sunflower plants m-2 + 30 mungbean m-2, 6 sunflower plants m-2 + 30 mungbean plants m-2, 8 sunflower plants m-2 + 30 mungbean plants m-2, 4 plants m-2 of sunflower alone, 6 plants m-2 of sunflower alone, 8 plants m-2 of sunflower alone and 30 plants m-2 of mungbean alone. Plant population was maintained by keeping 75 cm apart single rows of sunflower and 50 cm apart double rows of mungbean both in sole and in the intercropped plots. The results indicated that sole sunflower grown in the pattern of 6 sunflower plants m-2 produced significantly higher achene yield than rest of the planting patterns under study. As regard sunflower-mungbean intercropping system all intercrops gave more economic returns than sole cropping of sunflower and mungbean and planting 6 sunflower plants + 30 mungbean plants m-2 proved to be superior with respect to grain yield and net economic return per unit area. Sunflower appeared to be dominant crop as was indicated by its higher values of competitive ratio and positive sign of aggressivity. However, on the basis of land equivalent ratio, maximum yield advantage was recorded in in 4 sunflower plants m-2 + 30 mungbean plants m-2 intercropping system. These results suggested that farmers may adopt 6 sunflower plants m-2 + 30 mungbean plants m-2 in intercropping system for increased productivity and economic return. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growth in agricultural production along with low variability is highly desirable. The objective of this study was to investigate growth and variability in area, production and yield of selected fruit crops including apple, peach, pear, and plum in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The study is based on secondary data from 1975-76 to 2011-12 which is further bifurcated into three periods; period-I (from 1975-76 to 1990-91), period-II (from 1991-92 to 2011-12), and period-III (from 1975-76 to 2011-12). Cuddy-Della Valle index has been used for variability analysis. The findings of the study revealed that growth in production of selected fruit remained positive with area under fruit as a major contributor during period-I. Period-II witnessed either low or negative growth in fruit production except peach. Variability in fruit production was higher in period-II as compared to period-I. Main contributor to fluctuations in fruit production during period-I was variability in area under fruit, whereas, both area and yield variability were mainly responsible for variability in fruit production during period-II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of physiochemical factors on the productivity of endoglucanases by a local thermophilic fungal strain of Humicola insolens was investigated Carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) was produced under submerged fermentation and the effects of inoculum size, temperature, pH and substrate concentration on the growth kinetic parameters (μ, td, Yp/x, qp, μ max, qp(max) were determined. Optimal conditions for CMCase production were: inoculum density= 8% v/v (12.41mg cells mL>-1), substrate (CMC) = 5% (w/v), pH = 5.0, temp = 45°C. The extracellular CMCase and protein production under optimized conditions was 2.0 UmL-1 and 0.129 mg mL-1, respectively. Growth kinetic parameters were as follows: specific growth rate (μ) = 0.046; td = 15.02 h; Yp/x = 0.0139, μ max = 0.0458 h-1, qp(max)= 0.0011 U h-1 mg-1 cell mass. The activation energy for the enzyme production Ea(p) was 108.69 kJ mol-1. Thermodynamic parameters i.e., ΔH*p, AG*p and AS*p were 106.047 KJ mol-1, 117.589 KJ mol-1 and -36.29 J mol-1K-1, respectively. The results are novel because it is the first report on kinetics and thermodynamics of CMCase production by H. insolens. © 2014 Friends Science Publishers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typhoid, caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi), is a major health problem worldwide especially in developing countries. Lipopolysaccharides are one of the main virulence factors of S. Typhi. Hydrophobic lipid A anchors the lipopolysaccharides into the bacterial outer membrane and also serves as the epicenter of endotoxicity, which is linked to the presence of several fatty acid chains. Fatty acid profiling is, therefore, very important to understand the endotoxicity of these pathogenic bacteria. To profile lipid A with respect to its fatty acid constituents, a S. Typhi was isolated from blood culture of a typhoid patient from the Faisalabad region of Pakistan. After its complete identification using biochemical and molecular techniques, this bacterium was cultivated in a fermentor. The cell pellet obtained was subjected to hot phenol process to extract and purify lipopolysaccharides. Acid hydrolysis of the lipopolysaccharides yielded lipid A, which was subjected to analyses using GC-MS after derivatization into their fatty acid methyl esters. The fatty acid methyl esters were identified on the basis of their retention times, compared with standards as well as characteristic mass fragmentation patterns of their respective mass spectra. This fatty acid profiling revealed the occurrence of dodecanoic acid (C12:0), tetradecanoic acid (C14:0), 3-hydroxy tetradecanoic acid (3-OH C14:0) and hexadecanoic acid (C16:0) in the lipid A component of S. Typhi strain with the relative percentage abundances 8.5%, 12.5%, 55.9% and 23.1%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A late maturing (End Aug to Mid Sept) Pakistani mango cv. Sufaid Chaunsa has high export potential, particularly in neighboring markets of Iran and China. However, market access is conditional with hot water (HW) phytosanitary treatment protocol for disinfestation of fruit fly as agreed with both countries (Iran: HW dip at 45°C for 75 min; China: HW dip at 48°C for 60 min). Objectives of present studies were to evaluate the effect of obligatory market access protocols on Sufaid Chaunsa mangoes; and to optimize storage temperature (10 & 12°C) under the prospective of shipping the treated mangoes to these countries. For this purpose, uniform mature mangoes were subjected to hot water treatment (HWT) at 45 and 48°C for 75 and 60 min, respectively. Some more fruit were also subjected to HWT of 48°C for 60 min with additional dip of hot carbendazim (40 g/100 L) at 52°C for 5 min. Non-treated fruit were considered as control. Treated fruit were divided into two equal lots and stored at 10 and 12°C (80-85% RH). During storage, fruit peel color and softness were recorded on 21, 27 and 32 days, while disease development, physico-chemical and organoleptic characteristics were assessed at ripe stage. Fruit subjected to HWT (48°C for 60 min) with additional treatment of hot carbendazim (40 g/100 L) at 52°C for 5 min were more firm and had higher levels of total sugars as compared to the fruit of other treatments. Higher fruit peel color development score (after 21, 27 & 32 days of storage) and higher total carotenoid levels (at ripe stage) were recorded in fruit stored at 12°C, irrespective of HW treatment effect. Higher titratable acidity was recorded in fruit subjected to HWT at 45°C for 75 min at 10°C storage. Among organolaptic characteristics, better pulp color score with better taste, texture and aroma was recorded in fruit stored at 10°C by the taste panel. HW treated fruit showed lesser anthracnose incidence as compared to fruit with no treatment. In conclusion, HW phytosanitary protocols for export of mango to Iran and China had no negative effect on fruit quality attributes of cv. Sufaid Chaunsa; and 10°C was found as the better shipping temperature. However, control of diseases especially stem end rot is critical and aroma volatile production warrants further research for successful sea shipments for export of this cultivar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experimented was conducted to study different direct seeded rice-based inter/relay cropping systems and their effect on residual soil fertility at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad for two consecutive years (1998-1999 & 1999-2000). The intercropping systems comprised rice alone, rice + maize, rice + sesbania, rice + mungbean, rice + ricebean, rice + cowpea and rice + pigeonpea while wheat, lentil and Egyptian clover were sown as relay crops on residual soil moisture just after the harvest of rice previously intercropped with forage legumes and non-legumes at zero tillage. The results revealed that among the three sets of rice based inter/relay cropping systems, the overall production level of total rice grain yield equivalent (TRGYE) was higher for rice-based Egyptian clover set followed by lentil oriented to the lowest for wheat oriented set. Production level of TRGYE was highest (10.95 t ha-1) for rice + maize - Egyptian clover inter/relay cropping system followed by rice + sesbania - Egyptian clover inter/relay cropping system (10.29 t ha-1) compared to lowest (6.48 t ha-1) for rice alone - wheat cropping system. However, rest of the cropping systems gave TRGYE ranging between 7.18 to 10.17 t ha-1. Regarding residual soil fertility, residual soil nitrogen was improved in all leguminous inter/relay cropping systems as compared to sole rice as well as non-legume inter/relay cropping systems. Similarly residual soil organic matter was also improved in all inter/relay cropping systems. However, Egyptian clover oriented inter/relay cropping systems increased more residual nitrogen and organic matter as compared to lentil oriented inter/relay cropping systems, while wheat oriented inter/relay cropping systems either decreased or did not add nitrogen and organic matter in the soil. Residual soil phosphorus and potassium were depleted in all inter/relay cropping systems compared with the initial soil analysis. Similarly, as compared to rice alone, all intercropping systems showed similar trend in both years. Since rice-based leguminous inter/relay cropping systems proved to be more remunerative and sustainable than wheat-oriented inter/relay cropping systems, so some leguminous crop like lentil and Egyptian clover should be added in rice-based cropping system in place of wheat to sustain the yield of component crops of the cropping system and maintain the fertility status of the soil for long duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the message of Libyan Professor Suleman Abusrewil, Sudan Professor Dr. Mohammad Elton and Pakistani Professor Abdul Jabbar, during the International Conference on Diabetes and Endocrinology 2016, on the effects of Ramadan in controlling diabetes of Muslims. The topics discussed include the estimated percentage of adults suffering from diabetes mellitus, the effects of lifestyle change on Muslims with diabetes, and the number of individuals suffering from hypoglycemia.

In rice-wheat cropping system of Punjab, Pakistan, seeding directly into the standing rice stubbles is gaining popularity. This study was conducted to develop the most favorable and economical no-till technique for wheat sowing in combine-harvested paddy fields with different residue conditions. The experiment was comprised of three no-till techniques viz. (1) turbo seeder, (2) happy seeder and (3) zone disk tiller. There were four heights of standing rice stubbles viz. (1) 15 cm, (2) 30 cm, (3) 45 cm, and (4) 60 cm. Different no-till techniques at various heights of standing rice stubbles significantly affected the stand establishment and yield related traits of wheat during both growing seasons. Turbo seeded plot showed 12-14% more total soil porosity in comparison with zone disk tiller sown field. Conversely, wheat plots sown by zone disk tiller exhibited 8% more soil bulk density than turbo seeder sown field. Better stand establishment and grain yield were observed in turbo seeded wheat in comparison with happy seeder and zone disk tiller sown wheat. Among the stubble heights, wheat crop sown in standing rice stubbles at 45 cm height performed the best with maximum germination, 1000 grain weight and grain yield. Furthermore, turbo seeder in standing rice stubbles at 45 cm height significantly produced 32-35% more benefit cost ratio than zone disk tiller at 15 cm stubble height during both years of experiment. In crux, direct drilling of wheat by turbo seeder in rice field combine harvested at 45 cm stubble height is the most viable technology for rice-wheat cropping system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objective: To estimate the frequency of gallbladder perforation with conventional Monopolar Diathermy versus Harmonic scalpel in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Study Design: Quasiexperimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Surgery, Combined Military Hospital, Quetta Pakistan, from Sep 2018 to Sep 2019. Methodology: A total of 160 patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy for symptomatic gallstones were included in the study and were randomly allocated into two groups based on the surgical technique of dissecting gall bladder from the liver bed. In Group-A, Monopolar Diathermy was used, and in Group-B Harmonic scalpel was used. Frequency of gall bladder perforation and demographic details were recorded on predefined proforma. Results: In our study, mean age was 48.21±8.94 years and 49.14±9.31 years in Group-A and Group-B respectively. Comparison of Gallbladder perforation in both groups showed 17(21.25%) cases in Group-A and 5(6.25%) cases in Group-B, (p-value <0.001). Conclusion: In laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the frequency of gallbladder perforation with conventional monopolar diathermy is significantly higher compared to the harmonic scalpel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fisheries as a sub-sector of agriculture, is considered as one of the most important economic activity along the coastline of provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. This paper assesses current stock of seafood production, seafood exports, direction and future prospects of seafood exports from Pakistan. The production of inland and marine fish was 729,000 t in 2012-13. Not only seafood output in the country is low but dwindling to the disastrous level. Export of seafood has increased from 131,620 t (a value of US$ 315.5 million) in 2011-12 to 136,360 t (a value of US$ 333.13 million) in 2012-13, with an annual increase of 9.5% in term of quantity and 4.5% in term of value. Decline in seafood resources, lack of shrimp culture, insufficient facilities at fish markets, inadequate fishing policies and low export prices of seafood are major challenges faced by fisheries sector of Pakistan. Sustainable conservation of marine resources, promotion of shrimp culture, enhancement of the fish processing for export, provision of adequate facilities at fish markets and formulation of sustainable fishing policies are ways forward for the sustainable development of seafood resources development in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sugar industry in Pakistan is the second largest agro-based industry after textile. The calculation of ex-factory production cost of sugar supports the sugarcane support price programme in the country. The present paper aimed at up-dating the financial profitability of white sugar on the basis of recent data in the country. The total cost of white sugar production was Rs. 50.11kg-1 in Pakistan. The estimated financial profit of white sugar production was Rs. 2.47 kg-1 in the country in 2012-13. The estimated supply and demand of white sugar was worked out as 6.62 and 5.01 m t, respectively during the same period. The per capita availability (consumption kg person-1 year-1) was 27.18 in Pakistan. Urgent research efforts are required to ensure development of improved varieties of sugarcane with higher sucrose recovery. Effective measures are needed for disease control and optimal pesticide use. Adequate supply of water, optimal use of fertilizer and judicious use of pesticides can improve yield and hence higher financial profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new alkaloidal steroid glycosides; solanoid A and B (1 and 2), along with two known alkaloidal steroid glycosides; solamargine (3) and khasianine (4) a known steroidal saponin; dioscin (5), a benzoylated steroid, carpesterol (6) methyl caffeate (7), ferulic acid (8) and oleic acid (9) were isolated from the methanolic extract of Solanum surattense. The new compounds were identified through 1D and 2D NMR techniques, and high resolution mass spectrometric analysis, while the known compounds were elucidated due to 1D NMR, mass spectrometry and in comparison with the literature values of their spectroscopic data. Compounds 1-6 were evaluated for anti-α- glucosidase, anti-urease and antioxidant activity, where only compound 6 inhibited the activity of α- glucosidase with IC50 value of 42.26 μM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carisphthalate, a new cyclic trimer of ethylene terephthalate (1) along with β-sitosterol (2), 6-hydroxy-7-methoxycoumarin (3), ursolic acid (4), epigenin (5), luteolin (6) and β-sitosterol 3- O-β-D-glucopyarnoside (7) have been isolated from the methanolic extract of the aerial parts of Carissa opaca. The structures of these isolates (1-7) were established by 1D (¹H, 13C), 2D NMR (COSY, HSQC, HMBC) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (EIMS, HREIMS, FABMS, HRFABMS). The structure of compound 1 was also confirmed by single X-ray crystallographic analysis. All the compounds (1-7) were screened for DPPH free radical scavenging and enzyme inhibitory activities against the enzymes acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and lipoxygenase (LOX). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aervfuranoside (1), a new chlorinated dibenzofuran glycoside together with ten (2-11) known compounds were isolated from ethyl acetate soluble fraction of methanolic extract of the flowers of Aerva javanica. The structures of isolates were elucidated by the combination of 1D (¹H and 13C-NMR), 2D (HMQC, HMBC and COSY) NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (FABMS, HRFABMS) or in comparison with the literature data in case of known metabolites. Among these isolates, only compounds 1-3 were evaluated for DPPH free radical scavenging potential and enzyme inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), lipoxygenase (LOX) and metallo-ß-lactamase (IMP-1). The test compound 2 exhibited moderate inhibition of the enzyme lipoxygenase with the IC50 value of 53.5 µM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the methanolic extract of Vincetoxicum stocksii yielded four new compounds; vincetolate (1), vincetoside (2), vincetetrol (3) and vincetomine (4) along with seven know compounds; 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,2,3,-propanetriol (5), feruloyl-6-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), apocynin (7), 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybenzoic acid (8), 7- megastigmene-3,5,6,9-tetrol (9), qurcetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (10) and 4'- methoxykaempferol-3-O- β-D-glucopyranoside (11). The chemical structures of all the isolates were determined due to spectral analysis including sophisticated 1D- and 2D-NMR techniques and high resolution FABMS. Compounds 5-8 and 10 exhibited moderate to low antioxidant activity with IC50 values of 56.42±0.04-150±0.5 µg/ml whereas, compounds 1, 5 and 8-11 showed significant antiurease activity with IC50 values in the range of 22.1±0.43-105.47 ± 0.01µg/ml. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In continuation of our search for bioactive secondary metabolites from Seriphidium stenocephalum, chromatographic analysis of some ignored fractions from previous work on ethyl acetate part of the methanolic extract yielded five new sphingolipids; seriphidalin A [(2S,3S,4R,12E)-2-{[heptdecanoyl]amino}unieicos-12-ene-1,3,4-triol; 1], seriphidalin B [(2S,3S,4R,12E)-2-{[(2R)-2-hydroxydodidecanoyl]amino}trididec-12-ene-1,3,4-triol; 2], seriphidalin C [(2S,3S,4R,9E)-2-{[(2R)-2-hydroxydodidecanoyl]amino}didec-9-ene-1,3,4-triol; 3], seriphidalin D [(2S,3S,4R)-2-{[(2R,5E)-2-hydroxyheptadec-5-enoyl]amino}pentadecane-1,3,4-triol- 1-O-β-D-galactopyranoside; 4] and seriphidalin E [(2S,3S,4R,7E,12E)-2-{[(2R)-2- hydroxyheptanoyl]amino}heptadeca-7,12-diene-1,3,4-triol-1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside; 5] together with five known compounds (6-10). The structures of the isolated compounds were determined by 1D and 2D NMR and high resolution mass spectrometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on forecasting the production and yield of food crops in Pakistan. Utilizing the "Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average" (ARIMA) model and data from 1948 to 2011. The data was obtained from Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Islamabad and various Economic Surveys of Pakistan. The result predicts that wheat (production and yield) forecast for 2029-30 to be about 37188 thousand tons and 3454 kg ha-1, respectively. The rice (production and yield) forecast for 2029-30 will be about 7176 thousand tons and 2630 kg ha-1, respectively. The maize (production and yield) forecast for 2029-30 will be about 5784 thousand tons and 6088 kg ha-1, respectively. In short, the production growth rate of wheat, rice and maize was higher in 2012. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytochemical investigations of Suaeda fruticosa resulted in the isolat ion of two new dopamine-derived amides: N-(4-hydoxy-3-methoxyphenylethyl)-hexacosanamide (1) and N-(4- hydoxy-3-methoxyphenylethyl)-tet racosanamide (2), along with five known tyramine-derived amides: N-(4-hydroxyphenethyl)-hexacosanamide (3), N-(4-hydroxyphenethyl)-octacosanamide (4), tet racosunoyltyrumine (5), N-docosanoyltyrumine (6), and crotamide B (7). Their st ructures were elucidated due to the combinat ion of various spect roscopic data including 1D- and 2D-NMR techniques and high resolution mass spectrometry. All the isolates (1-7) were tested and found to be inact ive against α-glucosidase, acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholineste, lipoxygenase and DPPH free radical [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chromatographic purification of the methanolic extract of Tecomella undulata yielded a new flavonoid glycoside; kaempferol-3-O-β-D-[3''',4'''di-p-E-coumaroyl-α-L-rhamnosyl(1→6)] galactoside (1), two new megastigmanes; (6R 7Z)-9,10-dihydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-3-one (2) and (6E)-9,10-dihydroxy-4,6-megastigmadien-3-one (3) along with three known compounds; (6R 9S)-9,10-dihydroxy-4-megastigmaen-3-one (4) quercetin-3-galactoside (5) and 3'-dimethoxy-5,6,4'-trihydroxyflavon (6). All the isolates 1-6 were characterized by the combination of 1D (1H, 13C), 2D (COSY, HSQC and HMBC) NMR data and high resolution mass spectrometric analysis. In antibacterial assay, compound 1 showed moderate inhibitory activity against Escherichia coli and Salmonalla typhi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytochemical analysis of the methanolic extract of Seriphidium oliverianum resulted in the isolation of eleven compounds namely: 5,8-dihydroxy-6,7,4'-trimethoxyflavone (1), 5-hydroxy- 6,7,4'-trimethoxyflavone (2), 5,4'-dihydroxy-6,7-dimethoxyflavone (3), 5,7-dihydroxy-6,3',4'- trimethoxyflavone (4), 5,6-dihydroxy-7,3',4'-trimethoxyflavone (5), 5,7,4'-tihydroxy-6,3'- dimethoxyflavone (6), 5,6,4'-trihydroxy-7,3'-dimethoxyflavone (7), 5,3',4'-trihydroxy-6,7- dimethoxyflavone (8), 5,7,3',4'-tetrahydroxy-3,6-dimethoxyflavone (9), 7,4'-dihydroxy-3,5,6- trimethoxyflavone (10) and 3,6-O-dimethylquercetagetin-7-O-β-D-glucoside (11) for the first time from this source. Their structures were established through to spectroscopic analyses and in comparison with the literature. All the isolates were tested for their antioxidant and anti-urease activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fourteen compounds (1-14) namely 3-carbomethoxyindole (1), 6-hydroxy-7- methoxycoumarin (2), methyl-4-hydroxybenzoate (3), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4), p-coumaric acid (5), oleanolic acid (6), 4-ketopinoresinol (7), apigenin (8), apigenin-7-p-coumerate (9) apigenin-7-O- β-D-glucopyranoside (10), acacetin-7-O-[4-hydroxy-E-cinnamoyl-(6)-β-D-glucopyranoside (11), apigenin-7-O-[4-hydroxy-E-cinnamoyl-(6)-β-D-glucopyranoside (12), apigenin 7-O-β-D-[2'',6''- bis(4-hydroxy-E-cinnamoyl)]glucopyranoside (13) and apigenin 7-O-rutinoside (14) were isolated from the methanolic extract of the whole plant of Chrozophora plicata. The structures of these compounds were confirmed by UV, IR, NMR (1H and13C) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (EIMS, HREIMS, FABMS, HRFABMS) and in comparison with reported data in literature. These isolates (1-14) showed DPPH radical scavenging and enzyme inhibitory activities against enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and lipoxygenase (LOX). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water-wise crop production is gaining enormous attention due to looming water crises world. System of rice intensification (SRI) is a promising method for water-saving rice cultivation; however, it is more labor-intensive than the traditional method of rice production. Direct seeding (DSR) in SRI may be evaluated for potential benefits of both DSR and SRI. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of rice seed priming in improving the performance of direct seeded SRI. Rice was direct seeded using primed seeds. For priming, seeds, of two rice cultivars Super Basmati and Shaheen Basmati, were overnight soaked in water (on-farm priming), soaked in aerated solution of CaCl2 (osmopriming) or water (hydropriming) for 48 h. Direct seeding with dry seeds and conventional transplanting were taken as controls. Seed priming improved the seedling emergence, plant height, tillering, kernel weight and the paddy yield in DSR in both tested cultivars. However, paddy yield was higher from conventionally transplanting rice. Nonetheless, DSR in SRI using primed seeds had high benefit cost ratio than conventional transplanting or direct seeding using dry seeds. In conclusion, seed priming techniques may be employed to improve the performance of direct seeded SRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xanthoxyloidin (1), a new biscoumarin together with esculetin (2), 5,7- dihydroxycoumarin (3) and 6,8-dihydroxy-7-methoxycoumarin (4) were isolated from the methanolic extract of the whole plant of Fraxinus xanthoxyloides. These compounds (1-4) were purified by using normal and reverse phase column and thin layer chromatographic techniques and their structures were determined using 1D (1H and 13C), 2D NMR (HSQC, HMBC, COSY, NOESY) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (EIMS, HREIMS, FABMS, HRFABMS) and in comparison with reported data in literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]