Pepper is considered one of the most important vegetable crops in Egypt. Wilt is a serious disease attacking pepper plants causing considerable loss of pepper productivity. One hundred and thirty-nine isolates related to 4 genera and 7 species were recovered from 40 wilted pepper plant samples (from each of the root and stem) collected from 15 localities in Assiut and Behera Governorates in Egypt. These species were encountered in the following order of number of isolates: Fusarium solani > F. oxysporum > Alternaria alternata > Macrophomina phaseolina > F. verticillioides > F. subglutinans > Acremonium strictum. Sixty isolates were tested for their pathogenicity and aggressiveness under greenhouse conditions. The highest pathogenic strains were related to Fusarium oxysporum, Macrophomina phaseolina and F. solani. The pathogenicity of these 3 species was tested against 4 cultivars of pepper (sweat balady, hot balady, sweat hybrid and hot hybrid) and the results revealed that Fusarium oxysporum (AUMC11424) showed the highest severity for all cultivars tested. On the other hand, sweat balady was the most susceptible cultivar to the pathogens while hot hybrid was the most resistant.
Keywords: Pathogenicity, Severity, Pepper cultivars, Fusarium oxysporum.In light of the thriving audience participation on YouTube, which has come across as a fundamental part of digital culture, it has eventually acted as a direct medium between the consumer and the media producer. In addition to it, the tumultuous generation of amateur media ranging from social commentaries, reaction videos to official content, has resulted in the shaping of a seemingly democratic participatory media. This widespread participation has resulted in the system of sharing social media, in a supposed proto-socialist economy.
In relation to it, Adorno's concept of free time has been completely overturned in view of the uploading of reaction videos by major production companies(Vevo, etc.), and the consequential formation of Reactor channels who merely post their reactions to it. Regular viewership of YouTube videos often indulges one to watch these reactions in turn, in an attempt to identify with the pseudo-celebrities. This can be seen as an instance of the ideology of personification (value of personalities is inflated to compensate for the social determination of normal life).Thus, the concept of 'Do everything by yourself' is presented in an inverted fashion, such that our leisure time is dictated by the schedules relatively secondary sources of YouTube channels. Furthermore, the process of clickbaiting utilized as a part of marketing strategies of the YouTube site, seems to play a major hand in the social capital formation of the virtual world. Here, You Tubing by the masses and its easy and variable access in the recent years has brought forth such an array of informational hub, that the viewer is not just watching the video uploads that s/he needs to at the moment, but is compelled to watch more and more in kind, through the auto play option. Furthermore, the inclusion of 30 sec advertisements (e.g. ad sense) to each YouTube video presents itself as one of the most effective source of incomes for professional You Tubers, excepting donations, thus, serving as an addition to the already present social capital in the digital realm. Therefore, the supposed concept of democratic viewership and sharing is undercut by the rules and regulations of YouTube, which often borders on slight censorship, thus, further problematizing the notion of 'digital utopianism.
Keywords: Audience participation, digital culture, reaction videos, democratic participatory media, clickbaiting, digital utopianism.Laboratory experiment was carried out during 2014 year to study the effect of dressing wheat seed (c.v. Misr1) with yeast extract, fungicides (Vitavax-200 and Maxim XL) or mixture of fungicide and yeast extract on physiological seed quality after 0, 6, 12,18 months from storage. The results revealed that prolonging storage period was significantly affected, where seed viability (germination percentage, germination rate, speed of germination), seedling vigor (seedling length and its dry weight as well as seedling vigor index), seed rot and abnormal seedlings after 18 months as compared with other storage periods. Increasing storage period lead to decreasing field fungi (Alternaria triticina, Bipolaris sorokiniana, Fusarium spp.) and increasing storage fungi (Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp.) Also, the effect of seed treatments by yeast extract or fungicides on all studied characters was significant, yeast extract treatment was the highest values followed by Maxim XL + yeast extract, Vitavax-200 + yeast extract, Maxim XL and Vitavax-200, respectively and gave the less value with abnormal seedlings and seed rot. Fungicides (Maxim XL and Vitavax-200) or Maxim with yeast extract lead to eliminated all fungi of seed wheat (c.v. Misr1), while yeast extract treatment reduced number of field and storage fungi. Field or storage fungi were negatively and significantly correlated with normal seedlings, speed of germination, seedling length, seedling dry weight and seedling vigor index, while it was positively significantly correlated with abnormal seedlings and seed rot. It could be suggested to use yeast extract (Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) 3gm/l or yeast extract + fungicides 2gm/kg (Maxim XL or Vitavax-200) as seed dressing of wheat to improve seed performance , reduce number of fungi in field and storage as well as decrease seed deterioration during storage.
Keywords: wheat- storage - seed borne fungi - yeast – fungicides.Indian banking system has witnessed a history of transformation from traditional to modern services provider; from technology driven to customer service driven; from single product to universal banking models and the journey is still going on. The blurring of boundaries in the functioning of banks and financial institutions led to the emergence of universal banking or umbrella banking in 1999.
An extensive survey of extant literature of related studies is presented in this paper. Many factors and situations leading to the changes towards Universal Banking from around the world have been examined. The paper also tries to explore whether Universal Banking helps in enhancing the profitability of the bank. This study is carried out to make qualitative and comprehensive evaluation of emerging and most preferred Universal Banking (UB) concept in India. For the purpose descriptive research design has been adopted which is based on secondary data.
Keywords: profitability, service quality, technology, Universal Banking.We live in an increasingly digital world, which is changing the way we experience ourselves and the places we inhabit. But will this change be for the better? One of the biggest challenges faced by digital cities is how to combine competitiveness and sustainable urban development. The UN estimates that more than 50% of the world population lives in big cities, and this percentage is rapidly increasing. To handle this large-scale urbanization, new ways are needed to manage complexity, increase efficiency, and reduce environmental impact. The expression ‘‘smart city’’ was originally introduced to describe an urban environment that takes advantage of advanced ICT infrastructure (such as ultra-low power sensors, wireless networks, and web- and mobile-based applications) to improve citizens’ quality of life, manage natural resources ,and foster participatory governance. Although there is little agreement on what a smart city is, there is no doubt that technology giants consider it a tremendous business opportunity. Firms such as IBM, Siemens, Microsoft, Intel, and Cisco are developing solutions to address a range of city problems, from water leaks to air pollution to traffic congestion. Making a city “smart†is emerging as a strategy to mitigate the problems generated by the urban population growth and rapid urbanization. In this paper, the author defines the decisive six characteristics of a Smart City. The focus on this topic is justified by a strong influence of the six characteristics of a Smart City on entrepreneurial activities. Based on the exploration of a wide and extensive array of literature from various disciplinary areas we identify eight critical factors of smart city initiatives: management and organization, technology, governance, policy context, people and communities, economy, built infrastructure, and natural environment. These factors form the basis of an integrative framework that can be used to examine how local governments are envisioning smart city initiatives. The framework suggests directions and agendas for smart city research and outlines practical implications.
Keywords: Smart City; entrepreneurship; definitions; small- and medium-sized, enterprise; SME; opportunities.Mesophiles, halophiles and thermophiles fungi were isolated from water, mud and newly reclaimed soil of the biggest eight hypersaline, alkaline lakes of Wadi-El-Natrun, Egypt. Morphological techniques were used to identify the isolated fungi and in many cases molecular technique was used to confirm the identification. Mesophiles showed the highest number of taxa from newly reclaimed soil, followed by mud and water. Aspergillus was almost the most common genus recovered on the three isolation media contributing regularly the highest CFUs. Acremonium was the most dominant genus recovered from water on Czapek's + 10 % NaCl medium. Penicillium was the second most dominant behind Aspergillus in the mud and soil and it was completely absent at 45° C. A distinctive isolate was recovered from a water sample representing a new species of Ramophialophora based on its morphology and rDNA analysis. A 281 strains of mesophiles and halophiles were screened for their ability to grow on Czapek’s broth medium supplemented with different NaCl concentrations (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 %) and all could grow up to 15 % NaCl (weakly halotolerant), while 248 isolates up to 20 % NaCl (moderately halotolerant), 32 up to 25 % NaCl (highly halotolerant) and 12 could grow up to 30 % NaCl (extremely halotolerant). These 12 strains could further survive 30 % salt concentration for up to18 months.
Keywords: Alkaline lakes, Extremophiles, Halophiles, Hypersaline, Thermophiles, Wadi-El-Natrun.Hydroponic fodder production is a technique for germinate seeds to sprout in free environment without chemicals (fertilizer, insecticides or fungicides) for a short growth period, the hydroponic green fodder should produced from seeds have high germination rate. Standard germination parameter of fifteen barley cultivars i.e. (Giza123,Giza124, Giza125,Giza126, Giza127, Giza 128, Giza 129, Giza130, Giza 131, Giza 132, Giza133, Gia134, Giza135, Giza136 and Giza 2000) were recorded comparing its ability for green fodder production. Significant differences among barley cv for standard germination, seedlings vigor traits and green fodder production. Barley cv Giza 136 and Giza 132 surpassed other cv for standard germination, germination rate and green fodder production. Positive and significant correlations coefficient were recorded between green fodder yield and germination %, germination index, seedling seedlings fresh weight, seedling/seed ratio, seedling length. Simple linear regression revealed that germination %, germination index and seedlings fresh weight as significantly contributing variables to variation in green fodder yield. These findings revealed that Giza 136 and Giza 132 barley cv can be considered the best choice for production of hydroponic green fodder compared with other cv.
Keywords: Barley, cultivars, sprouted, green fodder, hydroponic.In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oil from Cymbopogantravancorensis and its efficacy for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities are reported. The essential oil from fresh grass of Cymbopogantravancorensis (Poaceae), obtained by hydrodistillation method was analysed by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Totally sixty nine components, representing more than 98.22 % of the oil with an yield of 2.0 % (v/w) were identified. From this oil 13 components were identified by GC-MS studies. Tricyclene, α-Pinene, Camphene , dl-Limonene , β-Ocimene , Camphor, (-)-Borneol 2-(3-Methoxyphenoxy) propanoicacid, Fenchyl alcohol , Borneol,acetate , α-Cubebene, Elemicin and Caryophyllene oxide are the major constituents of the essential oil extracted from the aerial (grass) part of the plant. The essential oil sample when screened for its possible antioxidant activity by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), Reducing power, Nitric oxide (NO) methods showed significant inhibition efficiency. The oil when tested for its anti-inflammatory activity by Human Red Blood Cell membrane stabilization (HRBC) method showed higher inhibition efficiency than standard diclofenac sodium at all the test doses.
Keywords: Hydrodistillation, Essential oil, Cymbopogantravancorensis, Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.