Search results for: adventitious roots

Authors: Shafaqat Ali, Afzal Hussain, Muhammad Rizwan, Longhua Wu

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Chromium (Cr) is one of the widespread and toxic trace elements present in the agricultural land. Chromium can enter into the food chain mainly through agricultural crops grown on Cr-contaminated soils such as rice (Oryza sativa L.). The current study was done to evaluate the effects of increasing concentrations foliar applied zinc (Zn) chelated with lysine (Zn-lys) (0, 10, 20, and 30 mg L⁻¹) on rice biomass, photosynthesis, oxidative stress, key antioxidant enzyme activities and Cr uptake under increasing levels of Cr in the soil (0, 100, 500 mg kg⁻¹). Cr-induced toxicity reduced the height of plants, biomass, chlorophyll contents, gas exchange parameters, and antioxidant enzyme activities while increased the Cr concentrations and oxidative stress (malondialdehyde, electrolyte leakage, and H₂O₂) in shoots and roots than control plants. Foliar application of Zn-lys increased the plant growth, photosynthesis, Zn concentrations, and enzyme activities in rice seedlings. In addition, Zn-lys reduced the Cr concentrations and oxidative stress compared to the respective Cr treatments alone. The present results indicate that foliar Zn-lys stimulates the antioxidant defense system in rice, increase the rice growth while reduced the Cr concentrations in plants by promoting the Zn uptake and photosynthesis. Taken together, foliar spray of Zn-lys chelate can efficiently be employed for improving plant growth and Zn contents while reducing Cr concentration in rice grown in Cr-contaminated and Zn-deficient soils.

Keywords: antioxidants, chromium, zinc-lysine, oxidative stress, photosynthesis, tolerance

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Authors: Ladele Ademola A., Nkiru T. Meludu, Olufunke Ezekiel, Olaoye Taye F., Okanlowan Oluwatoyin M.

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Value addition to agricultural produce is of possible potential in reducing poverty, improving food security and malnutrition, therefore the need to develop small and micro-enterprises of sweet potato production. The study was carried out in Nigeria to determine the acceptability of blends sweet potato (Ipomea batatas) and commodities yellow maize (Zea mays), millet (Pennisetum glaucum), soybean (Glycine max), bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranean), guinea corn (Sorghum vulgare), wheat (Triticum aestivum), and roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) through sensory evaluation. Sweet potato (Ipomea batatas) roots were processed using two methods. The first method involved the use of a fabricated gas powered cabinet dryer to dry sulphited chips and the second method was the use of traditional sun drying method without the addition of the chemical. The blends were also assessed in terms of functional, chemical and color properties. Most acceptable blends include BAW (80:20 of sweet potato/wheat), BBC (80:20 of sweet potato/guinea corn), AAB (60:40 of sweet potato/guinea corn), YTE (100% soybean), TYG (100% sweet potato), KTN (100% wheat flour), XGP (80:20 of sweet potato/soybean), XAX (60:40 of sweet potato/wheat), LSS (100% Roselle), CHK (100% Guinea corn), and ABC (60:40% of sweet potato/ yellow maize). In addition, chemical analysis carried out revealed that sweet potato has high percentage of vitamins A and C, potassium (K), manganese (Mn), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe) and fibre content. There is also an increase of vitamin A and Iron in the blended products.

Keywords: blends, diversification, sensory evaluation, sweet potato, utilization

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Authors: Jose A. Aznar-Moreno, Xi Jiang, Stefan Burén, Luis M. Rubio

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Integration of prokaryotic nitrogen fixation (nif) genes into the plastid genome for expression of functional nitrogenase components could render plants capable of assimilating atmospheric N2 making their crops less dependent of nitrogen fertilizers. The nitrogenase Fe protein component (NifH) has been used as proxy for expression and targeting of Nif proteins within plant and yeast cells. Here we use tobacco plants with the Azotobacter vinelandii nifH and nifM genes integrated into the plastid genome. NifH and its maturase NifM were constitutively produced in leaves, but not roots, during light and dark periods. Nif protein expression in transplastomic plants was stable throughout development. Chloroplast NifH was soluble, but it only showed in vitro activity when isolated from leaves collected at the end of the dark period. Exposing the plant extracts to elevated temperatures precipitated NifM and apo-NifH protein devoid of [Fe4S4] clusters, dramatically increasing the specific activity of remaining NifH protein. Our data indicate that the chloroplast endogenous [Fe-S] cluster biosynthesis was insufficient for complete NifH maturation, albeit a negative effect on NifH maturation due to excess NifM in the chloroplast cannot be excluded. NifH and NifM constitutive expression in transplastomic plants did not affect any of the following traits: seed size, germination time, germination ratio, seedling growth, emergence of the cotyledon and first leaves, chlorophyll content and plant height throughout development.

Keywords: NifH, chloroplast, nitrogen fixation, crop improvement, transplastomic plants, fertilizer, biotechnology

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Authors: Jose Marie E. Ocdenaria, Riceli C. Mendoza

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Culturally, languages meet, merge, share, exchange, appropriate, donate, and divide in and to and from each other. Further, this type of recurrence manifests in East Asian cultures, where language influence diffuses across geographical proximities. Historically, China has notable impacts on Japan’s culture. For instance, Japanese borrowed words from China and their way of reading and writing. This qualitative and descriptive employing contrastive analysis study addressed the true and false cognates of Japanese-Philippine languages and Chinese-Philippine languages. It involved a rich collection of data from various sources like textual pieces of evidence or corpora to gain a deeper understanding of true and false cognates between L1 and L2. Cognates of Japanese-Philippine languages and Chinese-Philippine languages were analyzed contrastively according to orthography, phonology, and semantics. The words presented were the roots; however, derivatives, reduplications, and variants of stress were included when they shed emphases on the comparison. The basis of grouping the cognates was its phonetic-semantic resemblance. Based on the analysis, it revealed that there are words which may have several types of lexical relationship. Further, the study revealed that the Japanese language has more false cognates in the Philippine languages, particularly in Tagalog and Cebuano. On the other hand, there are more true cognates of Chinese in Tagalog. It is the hope of this study to provide a significant contribution to a diverse audience. These include the teachers and learners of foreign languages such as Japanese and Chinese, future researchers and investigators, applied linguists, curricular theorists, community, and publishers.

Keywords: Contrastive Analysis, Japanese, Chinese and Philippine languages, Qualitative and descriptive study, True and False Cognates

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Authors: T. C. Machaba, S. M. Mahlo

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The current study investigates the antifungal properties of crude plant extracts from selected medicinal plant species. Eight plant species used by the traditional healers and local people to treat fungal infections were selected for further phytochemical analysis and biological assay. The selected plant species were extracted with solvent of various polarities such as acetone, methanol, ethanol, hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and water. Leaf, roots and bark extracts of Maerua juncea Pax, Albuca seineri (Engl & K. Krause) J.C Manning & Goldblatt, Senna italica Mill., Elephantorrhiza elephantina (Burch.) Skeels, Indigofera circinata Benth., Schinus molle L., Asparagus buchananii Bak., were screened for antifungal activity against three animal fungal pathogens (Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus neoformans). All plant extracts were active against the tested microorganisms. Acetone, dichloromethane, hexane and ethanol extracts of Senna italica and Elephantorrhiza elephantine had excellent activity against Candida albicans and A. fumigatus with the lowest MIC value of 0.02 mg/ml. Bioautography assay was used to determine the number of antifungal compounds presence in the plant extracts. No active compounds were observed in plant extracts of Indigofera circinnata, Schinus molle and Pentarrhinum insipidum with good antifungal activity against C. albicans and A. fumigatus indicating possible synergism between separated metabolites.

Keywords: antifungal activity, bioautography, ethnobotanical survey, minimum inhibitory concentration

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Authors: Muhammad Mohsin, Mir Md Abdus Salam, Pertti Pulkkinen, Ari Pappinen

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Soil and water contamination by heavy metals is a major challenging issue for the environment. Phytoextraction is an emerging, environmentally friendly and cost-efficient technology in which plants are used to eliminate pollutants from the soil and water. We aimed to assess the copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) removal efficiency by two willow varieties such as Klara (S. viminalis x S. schwerinii x S. dasyclados) and Karin ((S.schwerinii x S. viminalis) x (S. viminalis x S.burjatica)) under different soil treatments (control/unpolluted, polluted, lime with polluted, wood ash with polluted). In 180 days of pot experiment, these willow varieties were grown in a highly polluted soil collected from Pyhasalmi mining area in Finland. The lime and wood ash were added to the polluted soil to improve the soil pH and observe their effects on metals accumulation in plant biomass. The Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ELAN 6000 ICP-EOS, Perkin-Elmer Corporation) was used in this study to assess the heavy metals concentration in the plant biomass. The result shows that both varieties of willow have the capability to accumulate the considerable amount of Cu and Zn varying from 36.95 to 314.80 mg kg⁻¹ and 260.66 to 858.70 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. The application of lime and wood ash substantially affected the stimulation of the plant height, dry biomass and deposition of Cu and Zn into total plant biomass. Besides, the lime application appeared to upsurge Cu and Zn concentrations in the shoots and leaves in both willow varieties when planted in polluted soil. However, wood ash application was found more efficient to mobilize the metals in the roots of both varieties. The study recommends willow plantations to rehabilitate the Cu and Zn polluted soils.

Keywords: heavy metals, lime, phytoextraction, wood ash, willow

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Authors: Francis Wargirai

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Since gaining independence in 1975, Papua New Guinea`s core challenge has been the consolidation of democracy against a backdrop of enormous social, political and territorial diversity. Consequently, the government has implemented several political reforms including decentralization. Constitutional planners believed that national unity, would be better achieved by sharing state power over centralization. They anticipated that this would institutionalize a democratic civic culture by providing opportunities to groups and individuals to make political decisions within their jurisdiction. This would then eventually lead to confidence and participation in the larger entity of the state. In retrospect, civil society and community based groups are largely underrated and have had minimal influence on decisions at the local level, consequently contributing to nepotism, patronism and cynicism. By applying an elitist approach to analyze how national political leaders exert their influence and power within the local government system and local communities, this paper argues that decentralization has fragmented local communities. With an absence of political party roots and deeply divided ethnic groups, national political leaders have used divide and rule tactics resulting in mistrust among citizens. Through their influence and power within local governments to dictate projects and services to certain areas, this has resulted in skepticism and divisions among civil society along different cultural cleavages. This has been a contributing factor to anomalies in democratic consolidation and democratic political culture in Papua New Guinea.

Keywords: civic culture, cultural cleavages, decentralization, democratic consolidation

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Authors: Bhuwan C. Joshi, Atish Prakash, Ajudhia N. Kalia

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Ethnopharmacological relevance: The plant Urtica dioica L. (Urticaceae) is used in various diseases including hepatic ailments. Traditionally, the leaves and roots of the plant are used in jaundice. Objective: The aim of the present work was to evaluate hepatoprotective potential of potent antioxidant from Urtica dioica L. against CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in-vitro and in-vivo model. Materials and methods: Antioxidant activity of hydro alcoholic extract and its fractions petroleum ether fraction (PEF), ethyl acetate fraction (EAF), n-butanol fraction (NBF) and aqueous fraction (AF) were determined by DPPH radicals scavenging assay. Fractions were subjected to in-vitro cell line study. Further, the most potent fraction (EAF) was subjected to in-vivo study. The in-vivo hepatoprotective active fraction was chromatographed on silica column to isolate the bioactive constituent(s). Structure elucidation was done by using various spectrophotometric techniques like UV, IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and MS spectroscopy. Results and conclusion: The ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) of Urtica. dioica L. possessed the potent antioxidant activity viz. DPPH (IC50 78.99 ± 0.17 µg/ml). The in-vitro cell line study showed EAF prevented the cell damage. The EAF significantly attenuated the increased liver enzymes activities in serum and tissue. Column chromatography of most potent antioxidant fraction (EAF) leads to the isolation of 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy cinnamic acid which is responsible for its hepatoprotective potential. Hence, the present study suggests that EAF has significant antioxidant and hepatoprotective potential on CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in-vitro and in-vivo.

Keywords: Urtica dioica L., antioxidant, HepG2 cell line, hepatoprotective

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Authors: Lisdey Espinoza Pedraza

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In places from Latin America to Africa, a big number of authoritarian regimes have given way to democratic forces and increasingly responsive and open societies. Many countries have embarked upon a process of democratisation for the first time while many others have moved to restore their democratic roots. Mexico is one of these countries, and although the Mexican state is not democratic neither dictatorial in the strict sense the Anglo-Saxon and European tradition has defined these concepts, it is possible to find elements that combine both concepts. History helps us understand and study the past, interpret the present and predict the future. In the case of the Mexican political system, history has had a very specific effect in each of the areas that comprise the making of what it is now the contemporary Mexican system. Each of the different historical periods has left a legacy that has marked the way the political system has evolved. The historical periods that Mexico has undergone since its emergence as an independent state, have permeated until modern days and some of these legacies are the ones which will help us understand and interpret many of the structures of the current Mexican political system. The most notorious characteristic of contemporary Latin America is its dependency, underdevelopment and economic disparity once this region if compared with Europe and North America. There is a widespread persistence of economic dependence and social problems despite the creation of independent countries. The role of the state is to supervise the development of relations among actors. The political phenomenon is full of a constant process of transitions and the particular case of the formation of the Mexican state evidences this.

Keywords: Mexico, democratisation process, PRI, authoritarian regimes, political transitions, Latin America

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Authors: Ahmad Qabaha

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This paper teases out the ways in which the constructs of placelessness and mobility are articulated in modern exilic Palestinian literature and American expatriate writing. The mode of placelessness embodied by the characters of each of my two authors (expatriation in Paris Montparnasse for Hemingway's characters and involuntary exile in Europe for Jabra's) will be elicited from the orientations of their mobility. This paper argues that the proclivity of Hemingway's characters for centrifugal motion (moving away from the centre) is a strategy to increase their sense of freedom that space (expatriation), rather than place, secures. By contrast, the movement of Jabra's characters is centripetal (moving or tending to move towards the centre). It echoes his Palestinian characters' recurrent futile attempts to return to Palestine, and it expresses their resistance to the lures of exile. This paper asserts that the involuntarily exiled character (the Palestinian in this case) is a figure obsessed with and ache for a place, roots and 'a dwelling' from which he was uprooted - a place that defines his authentic existence and frames his understanding of the world in Martin Heidegger's, Simone Weil's and Gaston Bachelard's senses. In parallel, this paper explains that the expatriate character (the American in this case) views place as confining, restrictive and disagreeable, while mobility as a figure of freedom, resistance, wealth, self-fashioning and understanding/inhabiting the world. Place in this sense is associated with past, tradition, ideology, existence and being. Mobility is equivalent with modernity, progression, innovation, self-fashioning and freedom.

Keywords: American expatriate literature, exilic Palestinian literature, mobility, place, placelessness

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Authors: Suchitra Chnadrashekhar

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Earlier looked as a support function in an organization information technology has now become a critical utility to manage their daily operations. Organizations are processing huge amount of data which was unimaginable few decades before. This has opened the opportunity for IT sector to help industries across domains to handle the data in the most intelligent manner. Presence of IT has been a leverage for the Oil & Gas industry to store, manage and process the data in most efficient way possible thus deriving the economic value in their day-to-day operations. Proper synchronization between Operational data system and Information Technology system is the need of the hour. Predictive analytics supports oil and gas companies by addressing the challenge of critical equipment performance, life cycle, integrity, security, and increase their utilization. Predictive analytics go beyond early warning by providing insights into the roots of problems. To reach their full potential, oil and gas companies need to take a holistic or systems approach towards asset optimization and thus have the functional information at all levels of the organization in order to make the right decisions. This paper discusses how the use of predictive analysis in oil and gas industry is redefining the dynamics of this sector. Also, the paper will be supported by real time data and evaluation of the data for a given oil production asset on an application tool, SAS. The reason for using SAS as an application for our analysis is that SAS provides an analytics-based framework to improve uptimes, performance and availability of crucial assets while reducing the amount of unscheduled maintenance, thus minimizing maintenance-related costs and operation disruptions. With state-of-the-art analytics and reporting, we can predict maintenance problems before they happen and determine root causes in order to update processes for future prevention.

Keywords: hydrocarbon, information technology, SAS, predictive analytics

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Authors: Maria Lina Garrido

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This paper aims to reflect upon instruction in English classes with the specific purpose of reading comprehension development, having as its paradigm the considerations presented by William Grabe, in his book Reading in a Second Language: Moving from theory to practice. His concerns regarding the connection between research findings and instructional practices have stimulated the present author to re-evaluate both her long practice as an English reading teacher and as the author of two reading textbooks for graduate students. Elements of the reading process such as linguistic issues, prior knowledge, reading strategies, critical evaluation, and motivation are the main foci of this analysis as far as the activities developed in the classroom are concerned. The experience with university candidates on postgraduate courses with different levels of English knowledge in Bahia, Brazil, has definitely demanded certain adjustments to this author`s classroom setting. Word recognition based on cognates, for example, has been emphasized given the fact that academic texts use many Latin words which have the same roots as the Brazilian Portuguese lexicon. Concerning syntactic parsing, the tenses/verbal aspects, modality and linking words are included in the curriculum, but not with the same depth as the general English curricula. Reading strategies, another essential predictor for developing reading skills, have been largely stimulated in L2 classes in order to compensate for a lack of the appropriate knowledge of the foreign language. This paper presents results that demonstrate that this author`s teaching practice is compatible with the implications and instruction concerning the reading process outlined by Grabe, however, it admits that each class demands specific instructions to meet the needs of that particular group.

Keywords: classroom practice, instructional activities, reading comprehension, reading skills

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Authors: Mark R. Skopec, Hamdi M. Issa, Henock B. Taddese, Kate Ippolito, Matthew J. Harris

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In peer review, there is a skew toward research from high-income countries, otherwise known as geographic bias. Research from well-known and prestigious institutions is often favored in the peer review process and is more frequently cited in biomedical research. English clinicians have been found to rate research from low-income countries worse compared to the same research presented as if from high-income countries. This entrenched bias, which is rooted in the perceived superiority of academic institutions in high-income countries is damaging in many regards. Crucially, it reinforces colonial roots by strengthening the dominance of knowledge bases in high-income contexts and perpetuates the perceived inferiority of research from low-income settings. We report on the interventions that Imperial College London is conducting to “decolonize” the higher education curriculum – a root and branch review of reading material in the Masters of Public Health course; identification of unconscious bias against low-income country research in faculty and staff; in-depth interviews with faculty members on their experiences and practices with respect to inclusion of low-income country research in their own teaching and learning practice; and exploring issues surrounding entrenched biases and structural impediments for enabling desirable changes. We intend to use these findings to develop frameworks and approaches, including workshops and online resources, to effect sustainable changes to diversify the curriculum at Imperial College London.

Keywords: curriculum design, diversity, geographic bias, higher education, implicit associations, inclusivity

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Authors: Zhazira Shemsheyeva, Zhanara Suleimenova, Olga Shemshura, Gulnaz Mombekova, Zhanar Rakhmetova

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Bacteria that colonize plant roots and promote plant growth are referred to as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). They not only provide nutrients to the plants (direct plant growth promotion) and protect plants against the phytopathogens (indirect plant growth promotion) but also increase the soil fertility. Indirectly PGPRs improve the plant growth by becoming a biocontrol agent for a fungal pathogen. The antifungal activities of the PGPrhizobacteria were assayed against different species of phytopathogenic fungi such as Fusarium tricinctum, Fusarium oxysporum, Sclerotiniasclerotiorum, and Botrytis cinerea. Pseudomonas putidaSM-1, Azotobacter sp., and Bacillus thuringiensis AKS/16 strains have been used in experimental tests on growth inhibition of phytopathogenic fungi infecting Kidney beans. Agar well diffusion method was used in this study. Diameters of the zones of inhibition were measured in millimeters. It was found that Bacillus thuringiensis AKS/16 strain showed the lowest antifungal activity against all fungal pathogens tested. Zones of inhibition were 15-18 mm. In contrast, Pseudomonas putida SM-1 exhibited good antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium tricinctum by producing 29-30 mm clear zones of inhibition. The moderate inhibitory effect was shown by Azotobacter sp. against all fungal pathogens tested with zones of inhibition from24 to 26 mm. In summary, Pseudomonas putida SM-1 strain demonstrated the potential of controlling root rot diseases in kidney beans.

Keywords: PGPR, pseudomonas putida, kindey beans, antifungal activity

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Authors: Marzieh Fotovvat, Farzaneh Najafi, Ramazan Ali Khavari-Nejad, Daryush Talei, Farhad Rejali

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Salvia leriifolia Benth. is one of the valuable and perennial medicinal plants of the Lamiaceae family, geographically growing in the south and tropical regions of Khorassan and Semnan provinces in Iran. In recent years, several medicinal properties such as antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-diabetic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory effects have been reported from this plant. The use of elicitors such as chitosan and Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) symbiosis are the main methods for increasing the production of secondary metabolites, growth, and physiological factors in plants. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effects of foliar spraying applications by chitosan and/or the contribution of AMF (Glomus interaradices) on some growth factors and chlorophyll content of S. leriifolia under glasshouse conditions. The sterilized seeds were germinated by placing them into a cocopeat. After one month, seedlings that were in the 2-4 leaf stage were transferred to plastic pots (garden soil and pumice at 2:1) with or without mycorrhizal fungi. Chitosan (0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg L-1) was sprayed four times in the fourth month of the vegetative period. The results showed that fresh leaf weight, fresh root weight, root height, and chlorophyll content could change in the plant treated with chitosan and AMF symbiosis. So that the highest chlorophyll content and fresh weight of roots and leaves were observed in the interaction of chitosan and G. interaradices. In general, by optimizing the chitosan concentration and the use of appropriate AMF symbiosis, it is possible to improve the growth and quality of the medicinal plant S. leriifolia.

Keywords: chitosan, chlorophyll, growth factors, mycorrhiza

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Authors: Batoul Mohamed Abdullatif, Nouf Ali Asiri

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O. basilicum plant was subjected to deficit irrigation using four treatments viz. control, irrigated with 70% of soil water capacity (SWC), Treatment 1, irrigated with 50% SWC, Treatment 2, irrigated with 30% SWC and Treatment 3, irrigated with 10 % SWC. Photosynthesis pigments viz. chlorophyll a, b, and the carotenoids, proline accumulation, and oil quantity were investigated under these irrigation treatments. The results indicate that photosynthesis pigments and oil content of deficit irrigation treatments did not significantly reduced than that of the full irrigation control. Photosynthesis pigments were affected by the stage of growth and not by irrigation treatments. They were high during flowering stage and low during seed formation stage for all treatments. The lowest irrigation plants (10 % SWC) achieved, during flowering stage, 0.72 mg\g\fresh weight of chlorophyll a, compared to 0.43 mg\g\fresh weight in control plant, 0.40 mg\g\fresh weight of chlorophyll b, compared to 0.19 mg\g\fresh weight in control plants and 0.29 mg\g\fresh weight of carotenoids, compared to 0.21 mg\g\fresh weight in control plants. It has been shown that reduced irrigation rates tend to enhance O. basilicum to have high oil quantity reaching a value of 63.37 % in a very low irrigation rate (10 % SWC) compared to 45.38 of control in seeds. Proline was shown to be accumulated in roots to almost double the amount in shoot during flowering stage in treatment 3. This accumulation seems to have a pronounce effect on O. basilicum acclimation to deficit irrigation.

Keywords: deficit irrigation, photosynthesis pigments, proline accumulation, oil quantity, sweet basil flowering formation, seed formation

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Authors: Nicole Cervenka

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On the question of norms in international politics, scholars are divided over whether norms are a tool for power politics or a genuine reflection of an emergent international society. The line is drawn between rationalism and idealism, but this dialectical relationship needs to be broken down if we hope to come to a comprehensive understanding of how norms play out in international society. The concept of an elusive international society is a simplification of a more pluralistic, cosmopolitan, and diverse collection of international societies. The English School effectively overcomes realist-idealist dichotomies and provides a pluralistic, comprehensive explanation and description of international societies through its application to two distinct areas: human rights as well as security and war. We argue that international norms have always been present in human rights, war, and international security, forming international societies that can be complimentary or oppositional, beneficial or problematic. Power politics are present, but they can only be regarded as partially explanatory of the role of norms in international politics, which must also include history, international law, the media, NGOs, and others to fully represent the normative influences in international societies. A side-by-side comparison of international norms of war/security and human rights show how much international societies converge. World War II was a turning point in terms of international law, these forces of international society have deeper historical roots. Norms of human rights and war/security are often norms of restraint, guiding appropriate treatment of individuals. This can at times give primacy to the individual over the sovereign state. However, state power politics and hegemony are still intact. It cannot be said that there is an emergent international society—international societies are part of broader historical backdrops. Furthermore, states and, more generally, power politics, are important components in international societies, but international norms are far from mere tools of power politics. They define a more diverse, complicated, and ever-present conception of international societies.

Keywords: English school, international societies, norms, pluralism

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Authors: Benselama Amel, Ounane S. Mohamed, Bekki Abdelkader

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A collection of 20 isolates from fresh Nodules of the legume plant Lablab purpureus was isolated. These isolates have been authenticated by seedling inoculation grown in jars containing sand. The results obtained after two months of culture have revealed that the 20 isolates (100% of the isolates) are able to nodulate their host plants. The results obtained were analyzed statistically by ANOVA using the software statistica and had shown that the effect of the inoculation has significantly improved all the growth parameters (the height of the plant and the dry weight of the aerial parts and roots, and the number of nodules). We have evaluated the tolerance of all strains of the collection to the major stress factors as the salinity, pH and extreme temperature. The osmotolerance reached a concentration up to 1710mm of NaCl. The strains were also able to grow on a wide range of pH, ranging from 4.5 to 9.5, and temperature, between 4°C and 40°C. Also, we tested the effect of the acidity, aluminum and ferric deficit on the Lablab-rhizobia symbiosis. Lablab purpureus has not been affected by the presence of high concentrations of aluminum. On the other hand, iron deficiency has caused a net decrease in the dry biomass of the aerial part. The results of all the phenotypic characters have been treated by the statistical Minitab software, the numerical analysis had shown that these bacterial strains are divided into two distinct groups at a level of similarity of 86 %. The SDS-PAGE was carried out to determine the profile of the total protein of the strains. The coefficients of similarity of polypeptide bands between the isolates and strains reference (Bradyrhizobium, Mesorizobium sp.) confirm that our strain belongs to the groups of rhizobia.

Keywords: SDS-PAGE, rhizobia, symbiosis, phenotypic characterization, Lablab purpureus

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Authors: Jin-Hui Lee, Myung-Min Oh

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The application of temporary abiotic stresses before crop harvest is a potential strategy to enhance phytochemical content. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of various UV-A LED lights on the growth and content of bioactive compounds in kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala). Fourteen-day-old kale seedlings were cultivated in a plant factory with artificial lighting (air temperature of 20℃, relative humidity of 60%, photosynthesis photon flux density (PPFD) of 125 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹) for 3 weeks. Kale plants were irradiated by four types of UV-A LEDs (peak wavelength; 365, 375, 385, and 395 nm) with 30 W/m² for 7 days. As a result, image chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) value of kale leaves was lower as the UV-A LEDs peak wavelength was shorter. Fresh and dry weights of shoots and roots of kale plants were significantly higher in the plants under UV-A than the control at 7 days of treatment. In particular, the growth was significantly increased with a longer peak wavelength of the UV-A LEDs. The results of leaf area and specific leaf weight showed a similar pattern with those of growth characteristics. Chlorophyll content was highest in kale leaves subjected to UV-A LEDs with the peak wavelength of 395 nm at 3 days of treatment compared with the control. Total phenolic contents of UV-A LEDs with the peak wavelength of 395 nm at 5 and 6 days of treatment were 44% and 47% higher than those of the control, respectively. Antioxidant capacity showed almost the same pattern as the results of total phenol content. The activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase was approximately 11% and 8% higher in the UV-A LEDs with the peak wavelength of 395 nm compared to the control at 5 and 6 days of treatment, respectively. Our results imply that the UV-A LEDs with relative longer peak wavelength were effective to improve growth as well as the content of bioactive compounds of kale plants.

Keywords: bioactive compounds, growth, Kale, UV-A LEDs

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Authors: Uzma Rashid, Mommnah Asad

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As more and more people fall victim to the intolerance that has become a plague globally, academicians are faced with the herculean task of sowing the roots for more tolerant individuals. Being the multilayered task that it is, promoting an acceptance of diversity and pushing an agenda to push back hate requires efforts on multiple levels. Not only does the curriculum need to be in line with such goals, but teachers also need to be trained to cater to the sensitivities surrounding conversations of tolerance and diversity. In addition, institutional support needs to be there to provide conducive conditions for a diversity driven learning process to take place. In reality, teachers have to struggle with forwarding ideas about diversity and tolerance which do not sound particularly risky to be shared but given the current socio-political and religious milieu, can put the teacher in a difficult position and can make the task exponentially challenging. This paper is based on an auto-ethnographic account of teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at a private university in Pakistan. These courses were aimed at teaching tolerance to adult learners through classes focused on key notions pertaining to religion, culture, gender, and society. Authors’ classroom experiences with the students in these courses indicate a marked heightening of religious sensitivities that can potentially threaten a teacher’s life chances and become a hindrance in deep, meaningful conversations, thus lending a superficiality to the whole endeavor. The paper will discuss in detail the challenges that this teacher dealt with in the process, how those were addressed, and locate them in the larger picture of how tolerance can be materialized in current times in the universities in Pakistan and in similar contexts elsewhere.

Keywords: tolerance, diversity, gender, Pakistani Universities

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Authors: Laura Lamas Abraira

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Large-scale Chinese immigration in Spain emerged in the 80's. Engaged in their own businesses or working for other Chinese migrants with long schedules, young couples had to choose between contracting or transnationalising the care labour as they were unable to combine productive and reproductive tasks. In most cases, they decided to transnationalize the care labour embodied on grandparents or children migratory paths. Either the grandparents go to Spain to take care of their grandchildren or the kids were left behind or sent to China after being born in Spain in order to be raised with their extended family members. Very little is known about how the people who have been raised in a transnational context relates their own experience and agency as care managers within the family care cycle. In order to fill this gap, this paper aims to inquire into these transnationally-reared Chinese young adults’ narratives about their own experience and expectations (past, present and future) by adopting care circulation and care cycle approach within life course framework. Drawing upon a qualitative study resulting from a multi-sited ethnography (Spain-China), we argue that young adults raised in transnational context build their narratives as a result of an otherness process related to their parents and an essentialization of their Chinese roots to use selectively among different contexts. In doing so, these family narratives constitute a part of their social identity that interact with other dimensions such as the ethnic one. We suggest when building their parent's otherness they also build their sameness among pairs, as members of the same club, marked by transnational care on a double time basis: the practices of their parents as wrong past, and their own as an amendable future.

Keywords: Chinese families, narratives, transnational care, young adults

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Authors: Yasufumi Yoshimoto, Enkhjargal Tserenochir, Eiji Kinoshita, Takeshi Otaka

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Next generation bio-alcohols produced from non-food based sources like cellulosic biomass are promising renewable energy sources. The present study investigates engine performance, combustion characteristics, and emissions of a small single cylinder direct injection diesel engine fueled by four kinds of next generation bio-alcohol isomer and diesel fuel blends with a constant blending ratio of 3:7 (mass). The tested bio-alcohol isomers here are n-butanol and iso-butanol (C₄ alcohol), and n-pentanol and iso-pentanol (C₅ alcohol). To obtain simultaneous reductions in NOx and smoke emissions, the experiments employed supercharging combined with EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation). The boost pressures were fixed at two conditions, 100 kPa (naturally aspirated operation) and 120 kPa (supercharged operation) provided with a roots blower type supercharger. The EGR rates were varied from 0 to 25% using a cooled EGR technique. The results showed that both with and without supercharging, all the bio-alcohol blended diesel fuels improved the trade-off relation between NOx and smoke emissions at all EGR rates while maintaining good engine performance, when compared with diesel fuel operation. It was also found that regardless of boost pressure and EGR rate, the ignition delays of the tested bio-alcohol isomer blends are in the order of iso-butanol > n-butanol > iso-pentanol > n-pentanol. Overall, it was concluded that, except for the changes in the ignition delays the influence of bio-alcohol isomer blends on the engine performance, combustion characteristics, and emissions are relatively small.

Keywords: alternative fuel, butanol, diesel engine, EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation), next generation bio-alcohol isomer blended fuel, pentanol, supercharging

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Authors: Ahmad Syauqi

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This paper analyzes the permissibility of demonstrations against a leader's decision, policies, as well as statements against Islamic values from an Islamic point of view. Recorded at the end of 2016, a large demonstration in Jakarta involving many people, mostly from Muslim society against the former Governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, was considered a form of harm to the value of harmony and the unity of religious communities in Indonesia. Hence, this paper aims to answer the question that became a tough discussion and a long debate among Indonesian Muslims after an immense demonstration known as the 212 movements, ‘how exactly Islam sees such act of demonstration?’. Is there any particular historical source in Islamic history that mention information related to demonstration? A phenomenological qualitative method was implemented throughout the process of this research to study the perspective of various Muslims scholars by reviewing, and comparing their opinions through the classical source of Islamic history and Hadith literature. One of the main roots of this extensive debate is due to the extremist group, which bans all forms of demonstration, assuming that such acts had come from the West and unknown culture in the Islamic history. In addition, they also claim that all the demonstrators are Bughat. While some other groups, freely declare that demonstration can be done anytime and anywhere, without specific terms and regulations associated. The findings of this research illustrate that the protests which we now know of today, in terms of demonstration had existed since ancient times, even from the time of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This paper reveals that there is a strong evidence that demonstration is justified in Islamic law and has a historical root. This can, therefore, be a proposition of such permissibility. However, there are still a number of things one has to be aware of when it comes to the demonstration, and clearly, not all demonstrations are legal from the Islamic perspective.

Keywords: Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, demonstration, Muslim scholars, protest

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Authors: Pravaree Phuneerub, Chanida Palanuvej, Nijsiri Ruangrungsi

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Cymbopogon nardus Rendel (Family Gramineae) is commonly known as citronella grass. The dried root of C. nardus is used for antipyretic, anti-inflammation, anti-analgesic and anticancer in traditional Thai medicine. Transverse sectional and pulverized C. nardus root were illustrated. The volatile oil was extracted from oil gland by hydrodistillation and analysed by GC/MS. Cymbopogon nardus root was exhaustively extracted by continuously maceration in ethanol and water respectively. The mutagenic and antimutagenic properties of the ethanol extract and fractionated water extract of C. nardus root were evaluated by Ames assay using the S. typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100 as the models. The result indicated that the anatomical character of root transverse section displayed epidermis, parenchyma, oil gland, phloem, xylem vessel, endodermis and pith. Histological characters of root powder showed parenchyma containing oleoresin, parenchyma in longitudinal view, reticulate vessel, annular vessel, starch granules and fragment of fiber. The root volatile oil was rich in sesquiterpenes dominated by elemol (22.87%) and alpha-eudesmol (16.09%). For mutagenic activity, the both extracts of C. nardus were no mutagenic toward S. typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100. Furthermore, the ethanol extract and fractionated water extract of C. nardus root demonstrated strong antimutagenic effect against of nitrite treated 1-aminopyrene to S. typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100. This present investigation suggested that the dried root extract of C. nardus can be further developed as promising antimutagenic agent.

Keywords: Cymbopogon nardus, volatile oil analysis, mutagenic, antimutagenic effect, Ames Salmonella assay

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Authors: Dalila Oulhaci, Mehdi Benlarbi, Mohammed Zahaf

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The irrigation method is fundamental for maintaining a wet bulb around the roots of the crop. This is the case with localized irrigation, where soil moisture can be maintained permanently around the root system between the two water content extremes. Also, one of the oldest methods used since Roman times throughout North Africa and the Near East is based on the frequent dumping of water into porous pottery vases buried in the ground. In this context, these two techniques have been combined by replacing the pottery vase with plastic bottles filled with sand that discharge water through their perforated walls into the surrounding soil. The first objective of this work is the theoretical determination using CLIMWAT and CROPWAT software of the irrigation doses of some crops (palm, wheat, and onion) and experimental by measuring the humidity of the soil before and after watering. The second objective is to determine the purifying power of the sand filter in the bottle. Based on the CROPWAT software results, the date palm needs 18.5 mm in the third decade of December, 57.2 mm in January, and 73.7 mm in February, whereas the doses received by experimentally determined by means of soil moisture before and after irrigation are 19.5 mm respectively, 79.66 mm and 95.66 mm. The onion needs 14.3 mm in the third decade of December of, 59.1 mm in January, and 80 mm in February, whereas the experimental dose received is 15.07 mm, respectively, 64.54 and 86.8 mm. The total requirements for the vegetative period are estimated at 1642.6 mm for date palms, 277.4 mm for wheat, and 193.5 mm for onions. The removal rate of the majority of pollutants from the bottle is 80%. This work covers, on the one hand, the context of water conservation, sustainable development, and protection of the environment, and on the other, the agricultural field.

Keywords: irrigation, sand, filter, humidity, bottle

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Authors: Matthias Stange

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Architectural visualization has been practiced for as long as there have been buildings. Visualization (lat.: visibilis "visible") generally refers to bringing abstract data and relationships into a graphically, visually comprehensible form. Particularly, visualization refers to the process of translating relationships that are difficult to formulate linguistically or logically into visual media (e.g., drawings or models) to make them comprehensible. Building owners have always been interested in knowing how their building will look before it is built. In the empirical part of this study, the roots of architectural visualization are examined, starting from the ancient civilizations to the end of the Roman Empire. Extensive literature research on architectural theory and architectural history forms the basis for this analysis. The focus of the analysis is basic research from the emergence of the first two-dimensional drawings in the Neolithic period to the triggers of significant further developments of architectural representation, as well as their importance for subsequent methods and the transmission of knowledge over the following epochs. The analysis focuses on the development of analog methods of representation from the first Neolithic house floor plans to the Greek detailed stone models and paper drawings in the Roman Empire. In particular, the question of socio-cultural, socio-political, and economic changes as possible triggers for the development of representational media and methods will be analyzed. The study has shown that the development of visual building representation has been driven by scientific, technological, and social developments since the emergence of the first civilizations more than 6000 years ago first by the change in human’s subsistence strategy, from food appropriation by hunting and gathering to food production by agriculture and livestock, and the sedentary lifestyle required for this.

Keywords: ancient Greece, ancient orient, Roman Empire, architectural visualization

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Authors: Amberkar Mohanbabu Vittalrao, Avin, Meena Kumari Kamalkishore, Padmanabha Udupa, Vinaykumar Bavimane, Honnegouda

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Objective: To evaluate the hepato-protective activity of Tinospora cordiofolia (Tc) against paracetamol induced hepatic damage in rats. Methods: The plant stem (test drug) was procured locally, shade dried, powdered and extracted with water. Silymarin was used as standard hepatoprotective drugs and 2% gum acacia as a control (vehicle) against paracetamol (PCT) induced hepatotoxicity. Results and Discussion: The hepato-protective activity of aqueous stem extract was assessed by paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity preventive model in rats. Alteration in the levels of biochemical markers of hepatic damage like AST, ALT, ALP and lipid peroxides were tested in both paracetamol treated and untreated groups. Paracetamol (3g/kg) had enhanced the AST, ALT, ALP and the lipid peroxides in the serum. Treatment of silymarin and aqueous stem extract of Tc (200 and 400mg/kg) extract showed significant hepatoprotective activity by altering biochemical marker levels to the near normal. Preliminary phytochemical tests were done. Aqueous Tc extract showed presence of phenolic compound and flavonoids. Our findings suggested that Tc extract possessed hepatoprotective activity in a dose dependent manner. Conclusions: Tc was found to possess significant hepatoprotective property when treated with PCT. This was evident by decreasing the liver enzymes significantly when treated with PCT as compared to PCT only treated group (P < 0.05). Hence Tinospora cardiofolia could be a good, promising, preventive agent against PCT induced hepatotoxicity.

Keywords: Tinospora cardiofolia, hepatoprotection, paracetamol, silymarin

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Authors: Agoun-bahar Salima

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The environmental variations to which plants are subjected require them to have a strong capacity for adaptation. Some plants are affected by pollutants and are used as pollution indicators; others have the capacity to block, extract, accumulate, transform or degrade the xenobiotic. The diversity of the legume family includes around 20 000 species and offers opportunities for exploitation through their agronomic, dietary and ecological interests. The lack of data on the bioavailability of the Aromatic Polycyclic Hydrocarbon (PAH) in polluted environments, as their passage in the food chains and on the effects of interaction with other pollutants, justifies priority research on this vast family of hydrocarbons. Naphthalene is a PAH formed from two aromatic rings, it is listed and classified as priority pollutant in the list of 16 PAH by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The aim of this work was to determinate effect of naphthalene at different concentrations on morphological and physiological responses of pea seedlings. At the same time, the behavior of the pollutant in the soil and its fate at the different parts of plant (roots, stems, leaves and fruits) were also recorded by Gas Chromatography/ Mass Spectrometry (GC / MS). In it controlled laboratory studies, plants exposed to naphthalene were able to grow efficiently. From a quantitative analysis, 67% of the naphthalene was removed from the soil and then found on the leaves of the seedlings in just three weeks of cultivation. Interestingly, no trace of naphthalene or its derivatives were detected on the chromatograms corresponding to the dosage of the pollutant at the fruit level after ten weeks of cultivating the seedlings and this for all the pollutant concentrations used. The pea seedlings seem to tolerate the pollutant when it is applied to the soil. In conclusion, the pea represents an interesting biological model in the study of phytoremediation mechanisms.

Keywords: naphtalene, PAH, Pea, phytoremediation, pollution

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Authors: Hrudaya Kamasani

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The cultural prevalence of vigilante justice is sustained through the social sanction for foregoing a judicial trial to determine guilt. Precisely due to its roots in social sanction, it has repercussions as more than just being symptomatic of cultural values that condone violence. In the long term, the practice of vigilante justice as a response to incidents of sexual violence, while veiled in civic discontent over the standards of women’s security in society, can adversely affect the discourse on sexual violence. To illustrate the impact that acts of vigilante justice can have in prematurely ending a budding discourse on sexual violence, the paper reviews three cases of heinous crimes committed against women in India that gained popular attention in the discursive spaces. The 2012 Nirbhaya rape and murder case in Delhi demonstrates how the criminal justice system can spur a social movement and can result in legislative changes and a discourse that challenged a wide range of socio-cultural issues of women’s security and treatment. The paper compares it with two incidents of sexual violence in India that ended with the suspects being killed in the name of vigilante justice that had wide social sanction. The two cases are the 2019 extrajudicial killing of Priyanka Reddy rape and murder case suspects in Hyderabad and the 2015 mob lynching of an accused in a rape case in Dimapur. The paper explains why the absence of judicial trials in sexual violence cases results in ending any likelihood of the instances inspiring civic engagement with the discourse on sexual violence.

Keywords: sexual violence, vigilante justice, extrajudicial killing, cultural values of violence, Nirbhaya rape case, mob violence

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Authors: Abazar Ghorbani, W. M. Wishwajith W. Kandegama, Seyed Mehdi Razavi, Moxian Chen

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The roles of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and melatonin (MT) as gasotransmitters in plants are widely recognised. Nevertheless, the precise nature of their involvement in defensive reactions remains uncertain. This study investigates the impact of the ML-H2S interaction on tomato plants exposed to vanadium (V) toxicity, focusing on synthesising secondary metabolites and V metal sequestration. The treatments applied in this study included a control (T1), V stress (T2), MT+V (T3), MT+H2S+V (T4), MT+hypotaurine (HT)+V (T5), and MT+H2S+HT+V (T6). These treatments were administered: MT (150 µM) as a foliar spray pre-treatment (3X), HT treatment (0.1 mM, an H2S scavenger) as root immersion for 12 hours as pre-treatments, and H2S (NaHS, 0.2 mM) and V (40 mg/L) treatments added to the Hoagland solution for 2 weeks. Results demonstrate that ML and H2S+ML treatments alleviate V toxicity by promoting the transcription of key genes (ANS, F3H, CHS, DFR, PAL, and CHI) involved in phenolic and anthocyanin biosynthesis. Moreover, they decreased V uptake and accumulation and enhanced the transcription of genes involved in glutathione and phytochelatin synthesis (GSH1, PCS, and ABC1), leading to V sequestration in roots and protection against V-induced damage. Additionally, ML and H2S+ML treatments optimize chlorophyll metabolism, and increase internal H2S levels, thereby promoting tomato growth under V stress. The combined treatment of ML+H2S shows superior effects compared to ML alone, suggesting synergistic/interactive effects between these two substances. Furthermore, inhibition of the beneficial impact of ML+H2S and ML treatments by HT, an H2S scavenger, underscores the significant involvement of H₂S in the signaling pathway activated by ML during V toxicity. Overall, these findings suggest that ML requires the presence of endogenous H₂S to mitigate V-induced adverse effects on tomato seedlings.

Keywords: vanadium toxicity, secondary metabolites, vanadium sequestration, h2s-melatonin crosstalk

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