Classification of antituberculosis herbs for remedial purposes by using fuzzy sets

Using fuzzy set theory, we created a system, that assesses a herb's usefulness for the treatment of tuberculosis, based on ethnobotanical data. We analysed two systems which contain different amount of inputs. The first system contains four inputs, the second one contains six inputs. We used the Takagi–Sugeno–Kanga model. Mamdani model is poor at representation as it needs more fuzzy rules than that of TSK to model a real world system where accuracy is demanded.It has been employed a fuzzy controller, and a fuzzy model, in successfully solving difficult control and modelling problems in practice. It is implemented in the Fuzzy Logic Toolbox in Matlab.The data for inputs are gathered in the database named SOPAT (selection of plants against tuberculosis), which is part of a project coordinated by the Oxford International Biomedical Centre. In this database there could be up to one millon plant species. It would be cumbersome to select a remedy from one (or some) of these species looking at the data base one-by-one. By means of the fuzzy set theory this remedy can be chosen very quickly.     

On the Mathematical Reconstruction of Two Dimensional Plants

A set of 10, chosen medicinal plants (some of them with a reputation as remedies for tuberculosis) has been investigated through Partitioned Iterated Function Systems-Semi Fractals with Angle (PIFS-SFA) coding, Lempel, Ziv, Welch with quantization and noise (LZW-QN) compression, and surface density statistics (f(α)-SDS) discrimination techniques. The final outcomes of this quantitative analysis were, firstly: the linear ordering of the plants in question accompanied by the hope that it reflects their medical significance, secondly: the mathematical representation of each of the plants, and thirdly: the impressive compression achieved, leading to remarkable computer memory saving, and still permitting successful pattern recognition i.e., proper identification of the plant from the compressed image.     

Segmentation of electron tomographic data sets using fuzzy set theory principles

In electron tomography the reconstructed density function is typically corrupted by noise and artifacts. Under those conditions, separating the meaningful regions of the reconstructed density function is not trivial. Despite development efforts that specifically target electron tomography manual segmentation continues to be the preferred method. Based on previous good experiences using a segmentation based on fuzzy logic principles (fuzzy segmentation) where the reconstructed density functions also have low signal-to-noise ratio, we applied it to electron tomographic reconstructions. We demonstrate the usefulness of the fuzzy segmentation algorithm evaluating it within the limits of segmenting electron tomograms of selectively stained, plastic embedded spiny dendrites. The results produced by the fuzzy segmentation algorithm within the framework presented are encouraging.     

Ethnopharmacological Survey of Plants Used for the Treatment of Stomach,Diabetes, and Ophthalmic Diseases in Sudhan Gali,Kashmir , Pakistan

The present paper represents the ethnopharmacological survey of Sudhan Gali, Kashmir, Pakistan. The study revealed that 12 plant species belonging to 11 families were used for the treatment of stomach, diabetes and ophthalmic diseases by the local people in Sudhan Gali. Achillea millefolium , Aconitum heterophyllum, Berberis lycium, Polygonum amplexicaule, Mentha longifolia, Paeonia emodi, Plantago lanceolata were locally used for stomach related problems treatment; Berberis lycium, Skimmia lareola, Solanum dulcamara for diabetes and Geranium wallichianum, Artemisia vulgaris, Solanum dulcamara, and Corydalis crassifolia used for the treatment of ophthalmic diseases. Two species Berberis lycium and Solanum dulcamara have multipurpose value. Former is used to treat stomach as well as diabetes while latter is used to treat not only to diabetes but also ophthalmic diseases. According to IUCN categories , out of these 12 plant species collected and marketed, Polygonum amplexicaule and Paeonia emodi are endangered, Aconitum heterophyllum; Berberis lycium species are vulnerable while Plantago lanceolata and Skimmia lareola species are rare.The availability of these medicinal plants has decreased during the past 20 years and these are facing a drastic biotic pressure due to their extensive usage and non-scientific methods of collection. It is quite evident that these valuable native medicinal plants species are going to decline in number and ultimately will become extinct if no timely proper conservation strategies are adopted.     

Improving the interpretation of fuzzy partitions in vegetation science with constrained ordinations

Classification and ordination techniques based in fuzzy set theory are now being commonly used in vegetation studies. However, several problems have been detected in spite of the significant theoretical advantages of the theory. In this paper we have improved the interpretability of fuzzy partitions by combining fuzzy partitions with correspondence analysis (CA) and detrended canonical correspondence analysis (DCCA) in an analysis of the beech forests of Basque Country, northern Spain. Our results seem to overcome difficulties in the interpretation of multi-group partitions.     

Systematic review on medicinal plants used for the treatment of Giardia infection

BackgroundHowever, broad adoption of herbal remedies for giardiasis is at present hampered by uncertain findings of investigation not always sufficiently powered. This study was aimed at systematically reviewing the existing literature in herbal medicines to treat giardiasis.MethodsThis review was carried out 06- PRISMA guideline and registered in the CAMARADES-NC3Rs Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Facility (SyRF) database. The search was performed in five databases which are Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Google Scholar without time limitation for all published articles (in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies). The searched words and terms were: “Giardia”, “giardiasis”, “extract”, “essential oil”, “herbal medicines”, “anti-Giardia”, “In vitro”, “In vivo”, “clinical trial” etc.ResultsOut of 1585 papers, 40 papers including 28 in vitro (70.0%), 7 in vivo (17.5%), 2 in vitro/ in vivo (5.0%), and 3 clinical trials (7.5%) up to 2020, met the inclusion criteria for discussion in this systematic review. The most widely used medicinal plants against Giardia infection belong to the family Lamiaceae (30.0%) followed by Asteraceae (13.5%), Apiaceae (10.5%). The most common parts used in the studies were aerial parts (45.0%) followed by leaves (27.4%) and seeds (7.5%). The aqueous extract (30.0%), essential oil (25.4%) and hydroalcholic and methanolic (10.5%) were considered as the desired approaches of herbal extraction, respectively.ConclusionThe current review showed that the plant-based anti-Giardia agents are very promising as an alternative and complementary resource for treating giardiasis since had low significant toxicity. However, more studies are required to elucidate this conclusion, especially in clinical systems.     

Development of response surface methodology for optimization of parameters and quantitative analysis of chebulinic acid from composition of medicinal herbs by HPLC

The purpose of the research is to study the development of response surface methodology for optimization of chebulinic acid extraction from composition of medicinal herbs such as Terminalia chebula, Phyllanthus emblica and seeds of Dimocarpus longan. Optimization of extraction parameters such as weight dosages, pH and time were carried out by response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal conditions determined for extraction of chebulinic acid through response surface methodology were dosage (6.25 g), pH (5.7) and time (24.23 h). These results showed that the developed model is satisfactory and relevant for the extraction of chebulinic acid. The analysis of variance showed a high goodness of model fit and the performance of the RSM method for improving chebulinic acid extraction from the composition of medicinal herbs. Quantitative estimation of chebulinic acid in the composition of medicinal herbs by HPLC studies revealed that 0.712% w/w of chebulinic acid content was present in the composition of herbal powder.     

Use of tool sets by chimpanzees for multiple purposes in Moukalaba-Doudou National Park,Gabon

We report our recent findings on the use of tool sets by chimpanzees in Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, Gabon. Direct observations and evidences left by chimpanzees showed that chimpanzees used sticks as pounders, enlargers, and collectors to extract honey from beehives of stingless bees (Meliponula sp.), which may correspond to those previously found in the same site for fishing termites and to those found in Loango National Park, Gabon. However, we observed chimpanzees using a similar set of tools for hunting a medium-sized mammal (possibly mongoose) that hid inside a log. This is the first report of hunting with tools by a chimpanzee population in Central Africa. Chimpanzees may recognize the multiple functions and applicability of tools (extracting honey and driving prey), although it is still a preliminary speculation. Our findings may provide us a new insight on the chimpanzee’s flexibility of tool use and cognitive abilities of complex food gathering.     

Identification of vibriocidal compounds from medicinal plants using chromatographic fingerprinting

The aim of the present study was to investigate the vibriocidal activity of bark of Syzygium cumini, leaves of Lawsonia inermis, fruits of Terminalia bellerica and identify the bioactive compounds. The vibriocidal activity of plant extracts was determined in aqueous and organic solvents, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Vibrio spp. using the disk diffusion method was established. The chemical constituents of the plant extracts were analysed by thin layer chromatography (TLC), the vibriocidal compounds were determined by TLC-bioautography and were further confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Significant inhibitory activity was observed with ethanol extract of plants against the test bacteria while less antibacterial activity was observed in acetone, methanol and aqueous extracts. The MIC of the plant extracts ranged between 2.5 and 20 mg/ml. The TLC, TLC-bioautography and HPLC analysis showed that gallic acid and tannin present in ethanol extracts of S. cumini, tannin present in L. inermis and gallic acid present in T. bellerica may be responsible for the vibriocidal activity. S. cumini, L. inermis and T. bellerica can be used for the treatment of gastroenteritis, diarrhoea and cholera diseases after detailed investigations. We also conclude that the plants rich in gallic acid and tannin can be used as an alternative to search for new vibriocidal drugs.     

Ordination on the basis of fuzzy set theory

Fuzzy set theory is an extension of classical set theory where elements of a set have grades of membership ranging from zero for non-membership to one for full membership. Exactly as for classical sets, there exist operators, relations, and mappings appropriate for these fuzzy sets. This paper presents the concepts of fuzzy sets, operations, relations, and mappings in an ecological context. Fuzzy set theory is then established as a theoretical basis for ordination, and is employed in a sequence of examples in an analysis of forest vegetation of western Montana, U.S.A. The example ordinations show how site characteristics can be analyzed for their effect on vegetation composition, and how different site factors can be synthesized into complex environmental factors using the calculus of fuzzy set theory.In contrast to current ordination methods, ordinations based on fuzzy set theory require the investigator to hypothesize an ecological relationship between vegetation and environment, or between different vegatation compositions, before constructing the ordination. The plotted ordination is then viewed as evidence to corroborate or discredit the hypothesis.I am grateful to Dr R. D. Pfister (formerly USDA Forest Service) for kind permission to publish data from a Forest Service study.I would like to gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments and criticisms of Drs. G. Cottam, J. D. Aber, T. F. H. Allen, E. W. Beals, I. C. Prentice, C. G. Lorimer, and two anonymous reviewers.Taxonomic nomenclature follows Hitchcock & Cronquist (1973).I would like to thank the Dean of the College of Letters and Sciences, University of Wisconsin—Madison, for a fellowship which supported this research, and the Department of Botany for computer funds to perform the analyses.     

A combination of fuzzy set ordination with detrended correspondence analysis: One way to combine multi-environmental variables with vegetation data

This paper examines one possible way of Fuzzy Set Ordination by using multi-environmental variables. FSO's function is improved through combination with Detrended Correspondence Analysis which is used to summarize environmental information. It can be used to analyse the relationships between vegetation and environment no matter how many environmental variables are involved. An example with vegetation and environmental data collected from upland grasslands in Northern Snowdonia, Wales, is presented. Its results are consistent with that of CCA and DCCA.Abbreviations FSO Fuzzy set ordination - DCA Detrended correspondence analysis - CCA Canonical correspondence analysis - DCCA Detrended canonical correspondence analysis     

Production of biomass and useful compounds from adventitious roots of high-value added medicinal plants using bioreactor

The increasing global demand for biomass of medicinal plant resources reflects the issues and crisis created by diminishing renewable resources and increasing consumer populations. Moreover, diverse usage of plants and reduced land for cultivation in the world accelerated the deficiency of plant resources. In addition, the preparation of safety of plant based medicine whips up demand for biomass of valuable medicinal plants. As one of alternative approach to upswing the productivity of plant-based pharmaceutical compounds, automation of adventitious root culture system in air-lift bioreactor was adopted to produce cosmic amount of root biomass along with enriched diverse bioactive molecules. In this review, various physiological, engineering parameters, and selection of proper cultivation strategy (fed-batch, two-stage etc.) affecting the biomass production and secondary metabolite accumulation have been discussed. In addition, advances in adventitious root cultures including factors for process scale-up as well as recent research aimed at maximizing automation of the bioreactor production processes are also highlighted. Examples of the scale-up of cultures of adventitious roots of Morinda citrifolia, Echinacea purpurea and angustifolia, Hypericum perforatum and Panax ginseng by applying 20L to 10,000L bioreactors in our lab were demonstrated with a view of commercial application.     

Screening of Korean medicinal plants for possible osteoclastogenesis effects in vitro

Bone undergoes continuous remodeling through bone formation and resorption, and maintaining the balance for skeletal rigidity. Bone resorption and loss are generally attributed to osteoclasts. Differentiation of osteoclasts is regulated by receptor activator of nuclear factor NF-kB ligand (RANKL), a member of tumor necrosis factor family. When the balance is disturbed, pathological bone abnormality ensues. Through the screening of traditional Korean medicinal plants, the effective molecules for inhibition and stimulation of RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation in mouse bone marrow macrophages were identified. Among 222 methanol extracts, of medicinal plants, 10 samples exhibited ability to induce osteoclast differentiation. These include Dryobalanops aromatica, Euphoria longana, Lithospermum erythrorhizon, Prunus mume, Prunus nakaii, and Polygonatum odoratum. In contrast, Ailanthus altissima, Curcuma longa, Solanum nigrum, Taraxacum platycarpa, Trichosanthes kirilowii, and Daphne genkwa showed inhibitory effects in RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation.     

Ethnopharmacological Survey of Plants Used for the Treatment of Stomach, Diabetes, and Ophthalmic Diseases in Sudhan Gali, Kashmir, Pakistan

IntroductionSudhan Gali is situated at about2100mabovesea level andlies between latitude34°3′35″-34°6′35″andlongitude73°44′30″-70°48′15″.It is60kmawayfromState Capital Muzaffarabad,Kashmir,Pakistan.The highest point of Sudhan Gali is Ganga Choti.Itsheight is about3045m,whichis famous for its fasci-natinglandscape.The soil of Sudhan Gali varies fromclay loamtosandyloamand calcareousin nature.Itis veryshallowon slopes and deep in valley floors.The area has ex-treme climate with…     

DNA barcoding as a complementary tool for conservation and valorisation of forest resources

Since the pre-historic era, humans have been using forests as a food, drugs and handcraft reservoir. Today, the use of botanical raw material to produce pharmaceuticals, herbal remedies, teas, spirits, cosmetics, sweets, dietary supplements, special industrial compounds and crude materials constitute an important global resource in terms of healthcare and economy. In recent years, DNA barcoding has been suggested as a useful molecular technique to complement traditional taxonomic expertise for fast species identification and biodiversity inventories. In this study, in situ application of DNA barcodes was tested on a selected group of forest tree species with the aim of contributing to the identification, conservation and trade control of these valuable plant resources.The “core barcode” for land plants (rbcL, matK, and trnH-psbA) was tested on 68 tree specimens (24 taxa). Universality of the method, ease of data retrieval and correct species assignment using sequence character states, presence of DNA barcoding gaps and GenBank discrimination assessment were evaluated. The markers showed different prospects of reliable applicability. RbcL and trnH-psbA displayed 100% amplification and sequencing success, while matK did not amplify in some plant groups. The majority of species had a single haplotype. The trnH-psbA region showed the highest genetic variability, but in most cases the high intraspecific sequence divergence revealed the absence of a clear DNA barcoding gap. We also faced an important limitation because the taxonomic coverage of the public reference database is incomplete. Overall, species identification success was 66.7%.This work illustrates current limitations in the applicability of DNA barcoding to taxonomic forest surveys. These difficulties urge for an improvement of technical protocols and an increase of the number of sequences and taxa in public databases.     

An application of fuzzy set ordination to determine tree habitat suitability of sites from a regional data set

Abstract. Fuzzy set ordination is employed to evaluate sites on the basis of their suitability for particular tree species. The technique orders sites along an axis defined by the presences and absences of a given species of interest. A rationale is given in terms of noise reduction; in many situations the overall vegetation of a site will reflect habitat conditions better than the presence, absence, or quantitative performance of any single species. A data set of tree presence/absence covering a large part of the southeastern United States was analyzed and habitat suitability scores were calculated for each species. Monte-Carlo tests were used to measure the statistical power of the data set with regard to habitat preferences; 38 of the 49 species have cumulative frequency distributions showing significant departures from random expectation. Most statistically significant habitat preferences seem to be related to geographic range limits located within the study area, but some species found throughout the area also show significant departures from random expectation. The method may find applications in autecological studies of species, selection of representative site conditions for simulation modeling, and the solution of certain technical problems in ordination.     

Primer and probe sets for group-specific quantification of the genera Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira using real-time PCR

Use of quantitative real-time PCR (QPCR) with TaqMan probes is increasingly popular in various environmental works to detect and quantify a specific microorganism or a group of target microorganism. Although many aspects of conducting a QPCR assay have become very easy to perform, a proper design of oligonucleotide sequences comprising primers and a probe is still considered as one of the most important aspects of a QPCR application. This work was conducted to design group specific primer and probe sets for the detection of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) using a real-time PCR with a TaqMan system. The genera Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira were grouped into five clusters based on similarity of their 16S rRNA gene sequences. Five group-specific AOB primer and probe sets were designed. These sets separately detect four subgroups of Nitrosomonas (Nitrosomonas europaea-, Nitrosococcus mobilis-, Nitrosomonas nitrosa-, and Nitrosomonas cryotolerans-clusters) along with the genus Nitrosospira. Target-group specificity of each primer and probe set was initially investigated by analyzing potential false results in silico, followed by a series of experimental tests for QPCR efficiency and detection limit. In general, each primer and probe set was very specific to the target group and sensitive to detect target DNA as low as two 16S rRNA gene copies per reaction mixture. QPCR efficiency, higher than 93.5%, could be achieved for all primer and probe sets. The primer and probe sets designed in this study can be used to detect and quantify the beta-proteobacterial AOB in biological nitrification processes and various environments.