Papers by Muhammad Ashraf
Bioresources, 2018
Bacillus licheniformis is an endospore-forming bacterium that is commonly present in soil. The ai... more Bacillus licheniformis is an endospore-forming bacterium that is commonly present in soil. The aim of the present study was to isolate and characterize local strains of α-amylase producing B. licheniformis. Soil samples were collected from the decaying surfaces of potatoes and sweet potatoes. The samples were identified by Gram staining, spore staining, and motility testing under aerobic conditions. Twenty-three isolates were found to be from the Bacillus genus and six of those (26%) were found to be B. licheniformis. Two representative samples were run on API 20E and API 50 CH biochemical kits, and 16S rDNA polymerase chain reaction. The isolates were confirmed to be B. licheniformis by the API-web program and molecular detection. Partially purified α-amylase was characterized to determine the effect of the incubation period, temperature tolerance, and pH stability. The activity peaked at 740 mU/mL after 42 h of culturing. The relative activity reached a maximum at 55 °C and a pH o...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The sources, distribution, transformation, toxicity and accumulation of persistent organic pollut... more The sources, distribution, transformation, toxicity and accumulation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems have attracted global concern and attention over the last several decades. Although, POPs are toxic, degrade slowly and have a tendency to accumulate in the food chain, they are still widely used worldwide in many fields, such as industrial and agricultural activities. In addition, discharge of POPs into waterways may lead to serious health-related and environmental problems. This review provides an overview of the continental distributions of many types of POPs and the health risks associated with the exposure to POPs in daily life. This review also discusses the distribution of POPs in Malaysia, and the future work that will be conducted in the Klang River, one of the basins subjected to pollution due to development and urbanization.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most important nosocomial pathogens associated with a variet... more Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most important nosocomial pathogens associated with a variety of medical and veterinary infections and therefore, it presents a major public health threat. Different classes of antibiotics are being used to treat its infections which are increasing selective pressure to multi-drug resistance development. Resistance to antibiotics in P. aeruginosa is due to many of the common and unique mechanisms which include: reducing membrane permeability, modification or inactivation of antibiotics, alteration of enzymes, modification of target sites and over-expression of efflux systems. Over or under expression of the genes of porin channels and components of efflux systems play a major role in the resistance mechanisms of P. aeruginosa. To overcome the problem of the emergence of antibiotic resistance, many new strategies are being employed to control infections caused by P. aeruginosa. These include the use of herbs/medicinal plants and phage therapy. Wit...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Cloud Computing - Architecture and Applications
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Food Microbiology
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The South East Asian Journal of Management
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Catalysts
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Sugarcane Bacilliform Guadeloupe A Virus (SCBGAV, genus Badnavirus, family Caulimoviridae) is an ... more Sugarcane Bacilliform Guadeloupe A Virus (SCBGAV, genus Badnavirus, family Caulimoviridae) is an emerging, deleterious pathogen of sugarcane which presents a substantial barrier to producing high sugarcane earnings. The circular, double-stranded (ds) DNA genome of SCBGAV (7.4 Kb) is composed of three open reading frames (ORF) that replicate by a reverse transcriptase. In the current study, we used miRNA target prediction algorithms to identify and comprehensively analyze the genome-wide sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.)-encoded microRNA (miRNA) targets against the SCBGAV. A total of 28 potential mature target miRNAs were retrieved from the miRBase database and were further analyzed for hybridization to the SCBGAV genome. Multiple computational approaches—including miRNA-target seed pairing, multiple target positions, minimum free energy, target site accessibility, maximum complementarity, pattern recognition and minimum folding energy for attachments— were considered by all algor...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
IEEE Access
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Open Physics
Distribution network reconfiguration is a very complex and large-scale combinatorial optimization... more Distribution network reconfiguration is a very complex and large-scale combinatorial optimization problem. In network reconfiguration, whether an effective solution can be obtained is a key issue. Aiming at the problems in network reconstruction by traditional algorithm, such as long time required, more times of power flow calculation and high network loss, a network optimization design algorithm based on improved ant colony algorithm for high voltage power distribution network is proposed. After analyzing the operating characteristics of the high voltage power distribution network, the network topology of the high voltage power distribution network is described by constructing a hierarchical variable-structure distribution network model. A mathematical model of distribution network reconstruction considering the opportunity constraint with the minimum network loss as the objective function is established. The power flow distribution is calculated by using the pre-push back-generati...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Journal of Business Economics and Management
Banks are very important financial services sector, and in banking sector there is an intense com... more Banks are very important financial services sector, and in banking sector there is an intense competition amongst the local and foreign banks throughout the world. The objective of this research is to analyse the effects of perceived value and customer trust, and role of technology in banking service qualities and customers’ satisfaction in Pakistani context. For this purpose we employed modified SERVQUAL model with four dimensions such as empathy, competence, reliability, and online service. An adapted questionnaire was used to carry out this survey research, and collected 830 responses from the customers of Pakistani banking industry. We used factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and bootstrapping methods to carry out this research. The results of the study demonstrated that our four-dimensional model of modified SERVQUAL has a significant impact on overall customer satisfaction. It is further concluded from the bootstrapping method that modified SERVQUAL dimensions and c...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
TiO-based nanomaterials have attracted prodigious attention as a photocatalysts in numerous field... more TiO-based nanomaterials have attracted prodigious attention as a photocatalysts in numerous fields of applications. In this thematic issue, the mechanism behind the photocatalytic activity of nano-TiO as well as the critical properties have been reviewed in details. The synthesis routes and the variables that affect the size and crystallinity of nano-TiO have also been discussed in detail. Moreover, a newly emerged class of color TiO, TiO in aerogel form, nanotubes form, doped and undoped form, and other forms of TiO have been discussed in details. Photocatalytic and photovoltaic applications and the type of nano-TiO that is more suitable for these applications have been discussed in this review.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Environmental science and pollution research international, Jan 7, 2018
Zinc or copper deficiency and salinity are known soil problems and often occur simultaneously in ... more Zinc or copper deficiency and salinity are known soil problems and often occur simultaneously in agriculture soils. Plants undergo various changes in physiological and biochemical processes to respond to high salt in the growing medium. There is lack of information on the relation of exogenous application of Zn and Cu with important salinity tolerance mechanisms in plants. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the effect of foliar Zn and Cu on two maize cultivars (salt-tolerant cv. Yousafwala Hybrid and salt-sensitive cv. Hybrid 1898). Salinity caused a significant reduction in water and turgor potentials, stomatal conductance, and transpiration and photosynthetic rate, while increase in glycine betaine, proline, total soluble sugars, and total free amino acids was evident in plants under saline regimes. Furthermore, there was significant decline in P, N, Ca, K, Mn, Fe, Zn, and Cu and increase in Na and Cl contents in plants fed with NaCl salinity. Nitrate reductas...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB, Jan 15, 2017
The underlying mechanism of selenium (Se) mediating plant salt tolerance is not well understood a... more The underlying mechanism of selenium (Se) mediating plant salt tolerance is not well understood and information on how plant growth and development is regulated by phenological Se application (20 and 40 mg/L) under salinity stress is scarce. In present study, we have appraised the impact of phenological Se application on growth, antioxidant defense system and ionic imbalance in maize under salinity. Salinity (12 dS m-1) reduced growth, concentration of chlorophyll and K+ in root and leaf. Contrarily, salinity increased toxic Na+, malondialdehyde (MDA) and H2O2 concentration that resulted in oxidative damage. Lower level of Se application (20 mg/L) increased growth and chlorophyll by reducing oxidative damage due to high cell concentrations of MDA and H2O2. Se reduced endogenous levels of H2O2 and MDA under salinity. Moreover, Se regulated antioxidant defense system by increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD and CAT) and influenced the concentrations of non-enzymat...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
International Journal of Recent Scientific Research
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Pakistan journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 2017
This paper aims to observe and analyze effects of Codonopsis pilosula water extract on micro RNA ... more This paper aims to observe and analyze effects of Codonopsis pilosula water extract on micro RNA (miRNA) expression profile in liver tissue of senile mice. The 110 Konminmice were randomly divided into five groups, including D-galactose-induced senile model group, normal control group, and low, middle and high dose intervention groups. Continuous modeling lasted 40 days. General symptoms and changes of body mass of the model mice were monitored and observed. The levels of serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) of mice were compared, and miRNA of differential expression during aging of D-galactose-induction and high-dose Codonopsis pilosula intervention was analyzed. The serum ALT and ALP levels in the aging model group were significantly higher than those in the normal control group (P<0.05). The serum ALT and ALP levels of Codonopsis pilosula intervention group were lower than those of aging model group, and decrease in ALP value of high dose in...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Cogent Business & Management, 2017
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Open medicine (Warsaw, Poland), 2015
The application of food-specific IgG antibody detection in allergy dermatoses was explored. 181 p... more The application of food-specific IgG antibody detection in allergy dermatoses was explored. 181 patients with allergy dermatoses were diagnosed from January to September 2014 and 20 healthy subjects were selected. Fourteen kinds of food-specific IgG antibodies were detected by ELISA method among all the subjects. The positive rates of IgG antibody of the patient group and the healthy group were respectively 65.2% and 5.0%. The positive rates of IgG antibody of egg, milk, shrimp and crab took a large proportion in three groups of patients with three kinds of allergy dermatoses of urticaria, eczema and allergic dermatitis, the proportion of which was respectively 70.2%, 77.8% and 71.7%. Among urticaria and allergic dermatitis patients with positive antibody, the positive rate of children was significantly higher than that of adults (p<0.05) while there was no significant difference between children and adults among eczema patients with positive antibody (p>0.05). Allergy dermato...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Papers by Muhammad Ashraf