Comparative analysis of conventional versus modern appraisal systems: an empirical evidence from telecom sector of Pakistan

Current study aims at investigating the comparison of online performance appraisal system in relation with Traditional paper and pencil based performance appraisal system on employees’ work outcome and behavior. In this way, the contemporary study will focus on major areas of online performance appraisal system and paper and pencil based performance appraisal system. The universe selected for this study is telecommunication industry of Pakistan and two stage sampling is used to conduct the study. First all the telecommunication and cellular companies were the population and then PTCL was finally selected for study purpose. The results showed that there is a significance difference between the responses of the manual and online respondents and it is very clear that the employees consider online based performance appraisal system to be more beneficial and accurate with respect to the above mentioned six constructs

Inter-varietal variation in the composition of seeds and seed oils from winter mel on [Benincasa Hispida (thunb.) cogn.] fruits.

Winter melon (Benincasa hispida), locally known as Kundur, is a vegetable crop, popular, especially among Asian communities both for nutritional and medicinal attributes. In the present work, physicochemical properties of seeds and the extracted seed oils were examined and compared among three cultivars namely round, oval and hybrid of winter melon. The seeds from round, oval and hybrid fruits, exhibited protein, fiber and ash contents 28.18-42.03, 19.36-26.21 and 5.02- 11.81%, respectively. The oils were extracted based on Soxhlet method by petroleum ether, whilst yields ranged from 17.78- 32.53% (wt/wt). The extracted oils were analyzed for physicochemical parameters, and fatty acids, tocopherols and sterols profiles. The results for specific gravity (25°C), refractive index (nD 25°C), iodine value (IV), saponification value (SV), peroxide value (PV), and free fatty acid (% as oleic acid) were 0.89-0.91 g/mL, 1.4627-1.4646, 119.9-125.1 g I/100 g oil, 182.3-194.1 mg KOH/ g oil, 1.13-1.33 mequiv.O2 /kg, 1.57-2.10%, respectively. The oil color intensity in terms of yellow and red units was 6.9Y + 1.0 R to 8.9Y + 1.9R. The amounts of oil tocopherols as analyzed by HPLC varied widely among the cultivars tested showing α-tocopherol 31.1-207.6 mg/kg and δ-tocopherol 60.4-146.0 mg/kg. According to the GLC analysis linoleic acid (C18:2) was established to be the principal fatty acid (63.10-70.64%) followed by C16:0 (12.45-17.59), C18:1 (8.46-12.87%) and C18:0 (5.13-7.48%). Analysis of oil sterol fractions, using GC and GC-MS, revealed the presence of β-sitosterol (54.62–60.50%), campesterol (15.10–18.50%), stigmasterol (11.00–14.30% and Δ 5 -avenasterol (6.40–8.14 %) as the four main components. Most of the properties of the seed oils analyzed varied significantly among fruit cultivars tested. Overall, we concluded that the seeds, which are under-utilized and often discarded as an agrowate, from winter melon should be explored for extraction of high-linoleic oil with additional tocopherols and phytosterol benefits

Effects of extraction system on antioxidant attributes of mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek]

The effects of three extraction techniques (shaking, soaking, and stirring) and two solvents (80% methanol and 80% ethanol) on the antioxidant attributes of extracts from seeds of mungbean have been investigated. The yield of mungbean extracts varied between 6.90 and 9.65 g/100 g of dry matter. Mungbean extracts contained a considerable amount of phenolics (0.78–1.12 g GAE/100 g) and flavonoids (1.23–1.78 g CE/100 g). An appreciable level of reducing power (1.46–2.18) at 10 mg/mL extract concentration, inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation (85.2–90.4%), and DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50 value 16.4–42.9 μg/mL) were also documented. Overall, the efficacy of an extraction system in isolating potent antioxidant components from mungbean seeds followed the order: shaking, 80% methanol > shaking, 80% ethanol > stirring, 80% methanol > stirring, 80% ethanol > soaking, 80% ethanol > soaking, 80% methanol. The yield and antioxidant activity of the mungbean extracts varied significantly (p < 0.05) as function of extraction techniques and solvents employed

Recent advances in food biopeptides: production, biological functionalities and therapeutic applications

The growing momentum of several common life-style diseases such as myocardial infarction, cardiovascular disorders, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, and atherosclerosis has become a serious global concern. Recent developments in the field of proteomics offering promising solutions to solving such health problems stimulates the uses of biopeptides as one of the therapeutic agents to alleviate disease-related risk factors. Functional peptides are typically produced from protein via enzymatic hydrolysis under in vitro or in vivo conditions using different kinds of proteolytic enzymes. An array of biological activities, including antioxidative, antihypertensive, antidiabetic and immunomodulating has been ascribed to different types of biopeptides derived from various food sources. In fact, biopeptides are nutritionally and functionally important for regulating some physiological functions in the body; however, these are yet to be extensively addressed with regard to their production through advance strategies, mechanisms of action and multiple biological functionalities. This review mainly focuses on recent biotechnological advances that are being made in the field of production in addition to covering the mode of action and biological activities, medicinal health functions and therapeutic applications of biopeptides. State-of-the-art strategies that can ameliorate the efficacy, bioavailability, and functionality of biopeptides along with their future prospects are likewise discussed

Anti-helicobacter pylori and urease inhibition activities of some traditional medicinal plants.

Different parts of Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile, Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton, Adhatoda vasica Nees, Fagoniaar abica L. and Casuarina equisetifolia L. are traditionally used in folk medicine for the treatment of a variety of common ailments like nausea, cold, cough, asthma, fevers, diarrhea, sore throat, swelling, etc. The present study was aimed to evaluate the anti-Helicobacter pylori and urease inhibition activities of extracts produced from the above selected medicinal plants native to Soon Valley (home to an old civilization) in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Methanol, acetone and water extracts of the plants were evaluated for anti-bacterial activity against thirty four clinical isolates and two reference strains of H. pylori. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the extracts were determined using the agar dilution method and compared with some standard antibiotics like amoxicillin (AMX), clarithromycin (CLA), tetracycline (TET) and metronidazole (MNZ), used in the triple therapy for H. pylori eradication. H. pylori urease inhibition activity of the extracts was assessed by the phenol red method, wherein, Lineweaver-Burk plots were used to determine Michaelis-Menten constants for elucidating the mechanism of inhibition. Methanol and acetone extracts from Acacia nilotica and Calotropis procera exhibited stronger anti-H. pylori activity than MNZ, almost comparable activity with TET, but were found to be less potent than AMX and CLT. The rest of the extracts exhibited lower activity than the standard antibiotics used in this study. In the H. pylori urease inhibitory assay, methanol and acetone extracts of Acacia nilotica and Calotropis procera showed significant inhibition. Lineweaver-Burk plots indicated a competitive mechanism for extract of Acacia nilotica, whereas extract of Calotropis procera exhibited a mixed type of inhibition

Diagnosis and Revelation of Faults in Induction Motors Using Integrated Techniques

Induction motors are used on greater scale in industries due to their user friendly interface. As these induction motors are highly reliable, they are prone to many types of faults. These faults can become dangerous and can cause various problems such as personal injuries, low production thereby bringing losses to industries.In this work we present communication media based system to monitor the conditions of motor revealingthe faults interrupting smooth performance of machinery in a very short span of time. Here we show the results to show its effectiveness

Physicochemical composition of hydro-distilled essential oil from coriander ( Coriandrum sativum L.) seeds cultivated in Pakistan.

This experiment describes the physiochemical composition of the essential oil derived from the seeds of coriander (Coriandrum sativum) cultivated in Pakistan. Hydrodistilled essential oil content from coriander seeds was found to be 0.15%. The physicochemical properties namely density (25°C), refractive index (25°C), acid value, ester value, and optical rotation (25°C) determined for the essential oil were found to be 0.8310, 1.4592, 4.0, 23.7, and +11.5 g/cm3, respectively. A total of 48 chemical constituents representing 90% of the essential oil tested were identified using Gas chromatographyflame ionization detector (GC-FID) and Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Linalool with contribution of 69.60% was found to be the principal constituent. Other important components identified were: geranyl acetate (4.99%), &#947;-terpinene (4.17%), &#945;-pinene (1.63%), anethol (1.15%) and pcymene (1.12%). The analyzed essential oil mainly comprised of oxygenated monoterpene hydrocarbons (80.83%), followed by monoterpene hydrocarbons (8.00%), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (0.47%) and oxygenated sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (0.35%). Overall, the physicochemical attributes and chemical profile of the tested essential oil from Pakistan were reasonably comparable with those investigated for coriander seed essential oils from other regions of the world suggesting its potential for functional foods and cosmetics applications

Effects of roasting on phenolics composition and antioxidant activity of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) kernel flour.

The effects of roasting on the phenolics composition and antioxidant activity of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) kernel flour were appraised. Peanut kernel flour, with and without skin, were roasted at 160 °C for 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 min. The resultant changes in the antioxidant activity of roasted peanut kernel flour were assessed by the determinations of total phenolics, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical-scavenging capacity, percent inhibition of linoleic acid oxidation and thiobarbituric acid test and compared with those of unroasted kernel flour. It was observed that roasting significantly (p 20 min of roasting time). In contrast, over the course of heating, the amounts of phenolics were noted to be slightly increased in the peanut kernel flour with skin; the most significant (p < 0.05) increase occurred in the concentration of p-coumaric acid and quercetin at 30, 40, and 50 min of roasting. The results of this study reveal that optimum roasting time should be sought to enhancing the antioxidant capacity and phenolics concentration in peanut kernel flour

Characterization of newly synthesized ZrFe2O5 nanomaterial and investigations of its tremendous photocatalytic properties under visible light irradiation

High functional ZrFe2O5 nanoparticles were synthesized using coprecipitation technique. The chemical composition of nanomaterials was studied by energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX). To observe the morphology, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used. X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was utilized to appraise the structure of the synthesized material. The photocatalytic behavior of ZrFe2O 5 nano-particles was investigated by measuring the degradation rate of toluidine blue O (TBO) dye in aqueous solution in the presence of ZrFe 2O5 nano-particles under visible light irradiation. A steady decrease in absorption peak under visible light irradiation was observed by increasing exposure time. The degradation efficiency was observed as 92% after 140 min of exposure to visible light. Besides, ZrFe2O 5 nanophotocatalyst could be recovered and recycled easily. The rate of TBO and total organic carbon (TOC) removal under visible light irradiation decreased by only 5% and 10%, respectively, after seven cycles of use, demonstrating the high photostability of the synthesized nano-photocatalyst material

Effects of extraction techniques on phenolic components and antioxidant activity of Mengkudu (Morinda citrifolia L.) leaf extracts.

The effect of four extraction techniques namely; solvent extraction (SE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) on the phenolic components and antioxidant activity of Morinda citrifolia leaf extracts was investigated. Total phenolics compounds (TPC) were quantified spectrophotometrically using Follin-Ciocalteu regent method, while the catechins were analyzed by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated by determining 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) capacity and ferric ion reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP). Overall, MAE produced extract exhibited the maximum amount of TPC and catechin while UAE-extract had the highest antioxidant activity. It could be concluded that, even though MAE extract contained high TPC and catechin, the accelerated temperature used during this extraction technique might have attributed to reduce the antioxidant activity of this extract. Therefore, UAE can be recommended for recovery of potent natural antioxidant components from M. citrifolia leaf offering better antioxidant activity