Azotobacter: A potential bio-fertilizer for soil and plant health management

Stressor (biotic as well as abiotic) generally hijack the plant growth and yield characters in hostile environment leading to poor germination of the plants and yield. Among the plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, Azotobacter spp. (Gram-negative prokaryote) are considered to improve the plant health. Various mechanisms are implicated behind improved plant health in Azotobacter spp. inoculated plants. For example, acceleration of phytohormone like Indole-3-Acetic Acid production, obviation of various stressors, nitrogen fixation, pesticides and oil globules degradation, heavy metals metabolization, etc. are the key characteristics of Azotobacter spp. action. In addition, application of this bacteria has also become helpful in the reclamation of soil suggesting to be a putative agent which can be used in the transformation of virgin land to fertile one. Application of pesticides of chemical origin are being put on suspension mode as the related awareness program is still on. As far as the limitations of this microbe is concerned, commercial level formulations availability is still a great menace. Present review has been aimed to appraise the researchers pertaining to utility of Azotobacter spp. in the amelioration of plant health in sustainable agroecosystem. The article has been written with the target to gather maximum information into single pot so that it could reach to the dedicated researchers.     

Deciphering the genetic diversity of Avicennia officinalis L. across the salinity gradient in the Sundarbans mangrove forest of Bangladesh

Wetlands Ecology and Management - Mangroves adaptive plasticity in the changing environmental conditions is of vital importance for conservation management. Genetic diversity of mangrove brings...     

An economic assessment framework for decommissioning of offshore wind farms using a cost breakdown structure

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - As wind power generation increases globally, there will be a substantial number of wind turbines that need to be decommissioned in the coming...     

In-vitro and In-vivo management of Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood and Rhizoctonia bataticola (Taub.) Butler in cotton using organic’s

Root-knot nematodes Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood and Rhizoctonia bataticola (Taub.) Butler, fungus, are very dangerous root damaging pathogens. Present study was planned to establish a chemical control of these root deteriorating pathogens under lab conditions as well as in field. Maximum death rate of nematode juveniles and minimum numbers of nematode eggs hatched were recorded in plates treated with Cadusafos (Rugby® 100G) @12 g/100 ml and Cartap® (4% G) @9g/100 ml. Chemical treatment of Rhizoctonia bataticola with Trifloxystrobin + Tebuconazole (Nativo®) @0.2 g/100 ml and Mancozeb + Matalaxyl (Axiom) @0.25 g/100 ml significantly controlled the mycelial growth in plates. The best treatments tested in laboratory were applied in field as protective and curative treatments. Results proved that chemical control of root-knot nematode and root rot fungi by tested chemicals at recommended time and dose is a significant management technique under field conditions.     

Assessment of risk management and control measures against coronavirus disease

This article presents the COVID-19 situation and control measures taken by the Government of Pakistan. Two waves of pandemic are faced globally and similar in the study area. We have investigated the risk management decision in two phases. Primarily, strict lockdown was observed from March 2020 to July 2020 and smart lockdown was enforced from August 2020 to December 2020. It has been studied that during strict lockdown, COVID cases reduced gradually but reopening of institutes and smart lockdown strategy resulted gradual increase in confirmed cases and death rates. During first wave of COVID-19 in Pakistan, a total confirmed number of patients of COVID-19 were 263,496 till 18th of July 2020 with total deaths of 5,568 people and 204,276 recoveries, while total number of COVID-19 patients reached 555,511 till 9th of February 2021 with total deaths of 12,026 people. Province of Sindh was affected badly with total number of 251,434 COVID-19 cases followed by Punjab Province with total number of 161,347 COVID-19 till 9th of February 2020.     

The Impact of a Sport-Based Life Skill Program on Adolescent Prosocial Values

Abstract

This article describes the implementation and evaluation of a sport-based life skills and community service program. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the impact of a combined life skills and community service program on adolescents' prosocial values. The program was part of a national golf and life skills enrichment academy for adolescents (n = 100). It was hypothesized that the life skills component would have a significant impact on adolescents' prosocial values and that participants (n = 42) who were involved in the community service component following the program, when compared to a comparison group (n = 23), would maintain their increased levels of prosocial values. Results indicated that the program had a significant positive impact on adolescents' prosocial values and that the community service experience positively impacted the adolescents' levels of empathic concern and social responsibility. These results are consistent with existing research on participating in community service.     

Comparative modeling of Rab6 proteins: identification of key residues and their interactions with guanine nucleotides

The cytoplasm of a eukaryotic cell consists of a wide variety of membrane bound cell organelles and continuous flow of proteins amongst these organelles is a major challenge and must be stringently maintained in order to continue the correct biochemical functioning inside a cell. The transportation of various proteins amongst these organelles is facilitated by a vast Tubulo-vesicular network mediated by carrier proteins. The Rabs belong to small G proteins super family involved in the regulation and vesicle transport in between the organelles by shuttling between the active GTP and inactive GDP bound states. In this paper we put forth the homology modeling and docking studies of Rab6A proteins (Mus musculus, Gallus gallus and Caenorhabditis elegans) with GTP, GMP-PNP and GDP molecules and a comparative study between these proteins is done to identify key residues out of which serine of the phosphate binding loop (P – loop) and aspartic acid showed prominent interactions with the GTP, GDP and GMP-PNP nucleotides and cogitate that aspartic acid might also help in the stabilization of the switch I region of the Rab proteins besides serine.     

Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution and Human Health Risks Assessment in Soils Around an Industrial Zone in Neyshabur,Iran

Biological Trace Element Research - Heavy metal pollution of soils in industrial zones continues to attract attention because of its potential human health risks. The present research is an attempt...     

Computational prediction and experimental validation of the activator function of C2-β-D-glucopyranosyl-1,3,6,7-tetrahydroxyxanthone on pancreatic and hepatic hexokinase

Abstract

This study identifies and validates hexokinase type 4 (HK4), an isozyme of hexokinase in the liver and pancreas, as an important target of C2-β-D-glucopyranosyl-1,3,6,7-tetrahydroxyxanthone (βdGT), a xanthone glucoside suggested to have antidiabetic property. In the study, we applied the computational pipeline of molecular docking followed by the molecular dynamics simulations to shortlist potential βdGT protein targets. The analysis of protein dynamics and the binding free energy (ΔG) led us to the identification of HK4 as a key βdGT target, whereby the binding mode and domain dynamics suggested the activator function of βdGT. βdGT bound to the allosteric site of the isozyme ～13?Å away from the substrate (glucose)-binding site. The binding free energy of the ligand-protein complex was energetically feasible (ΔG, –41.61?kcal/mol) and the cleft angle deviation between the two (small and large) domains of HK4 revealed differential HK4 dynamics in response to βdGT binding. 3D structure analysis of the isozyme-ligand complex highlighted the role of Arg63, Glu67 and Lys458 in ligand stabilization and hydrophobic interactions mediated by Tyr214 and Met235. Experimental validation of the results of computational analysis confirmed the activator function of βdGT on HK4. The study has implication in diabetes as βdGT may be used to lower the blood glucose level by activating hepatic and pancreatic hexokinase without the risk of hypoglycemia.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma     

Intestinal proteases of free-living and parasitic astigmatid mites

Among arthropod pests, mites are responsible for considerable damage to crops, humans and other animals. However, detailed physiological data on these organisms remain sparse, mainly because of their small size but possibly also because of their extreme diversity. Focusing on intestinal proteases, we draw together information from three distinct mite species that all feed on skin but have separately adapted to a free-living, a strictly ecto-parasitic and a parasitic lifestyle. A wide range of studies involving immunohistology, molecular biology, X-ray crystallography and enzyme biochemistry of mite gut proteases suggests that these creatures have diverged considerably as house dust mites, sheep scab mites and scabies mites. Each species has evolved a particular variation of a presumably ancestral repertoire of digestive enzymes that have become specifically adapted to their individual environmental requirements.