Toxic potential of some indigenous plant oils against the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (Linnaeus)

Hafiz Azhar Ali KHAN,Waseem AKRAM,이수미,Taskeen AHMAD,Kamran MAQSOOD,Hassan Ali KHAN,Muhammad Waqas NAZIR,Muhammad Faisal JAVAID 한국곤충학회 2019 Entomological Research Vol.49 No.3

The present study was conducted to evaluate the toxic potential of five indigenous plant oils: black pepper (Piper nigrum), Chinese cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia), garlic (Allium sativum), river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), and yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana), against laboratory reared Sitophilus oryzae adults. The bioassays were done by the diet incorporation method with concentrations ranging from 50 ppm to 500 ppm. Based on lethal concentrations to kill 50% (LC50) of the subjected weevils, T. peruviana proved to be the most toxic having the lowest LC50 values, 414.58, 201.94, and 129.52 ppm, after 7, 14, and 21 days of exposure, respectively, followed by E. camaldulensis (475.51, 366.65, and 251.28 ppm, respectively). The rest of the plant oils also showed toxic potential, but these were less toxic compared with T. peruviana and E. camaldulensis. With respect to the time taken to cause 50% mortality (LT50) of the exposed weevils, T. peruviana had LT50 at 14.54 days followed by P. nigrum (22.09 days), E. camaldulensis (24.29 days), and C. cassia (28.71 days). Whereas, A. sativum took the longest time (44.47 days) to cause 50% mortality of the exposed weevils. In conclusion, the result revealed toxic potential of tested plant oils, and suggests further studies under simulated-field conditions should be included in the management plan for S. oryzae.

Structural and Electromechanical Behavior Evaluation of Polymer-Copper Nanocomposites

Gulfam Nasar,Muhammad Azhar Khan,Muhammad Farooq Warsi,Muhammad Shahid,Uzma Khalil,Muhammad Saleem Khan 한국고분자학회 2016 Macromolecular Research Vol.24 No.4

Copper nanoparticles were prepared by chemical reduction of copper nitrate by sodium borohydride as a reducing agent in de-ionized water/acetonitrile mixture. The prepared nanoparticles were incorporated in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) by physical dispersion method to obtain PVA/copper nanocomposites. Various compositions of nanocomposites were obtained by changing the w/w ratio of nanoparticles with the polymeric material. The prepared nanocomposites cast into films of uniform thickness. The composite films were subjected to the electrical, mechanical and surface morphology characterization. AC Impedance was figured out by AC Impedance analyser. The results illustrated that copper nanoparticles impart electrical conductivity in poly(vinyl alcohol). Moreover, electrical conductivity of the composites exhibited an increase with an increase of w/w% of the copper nanoparticles in poly(vinyl alcohol). Tensile properties were studied in terms of tensile strength, elongation at break and Young’s modulus. Elongation at break and Young’s modulus values demonstrated an increase while tensile strength displayed a decrease at higher concentration of the copper nanoparticles in the composites. AFM results unfolded the surface morphology of the composites illustrating a smooth surface with evenly distributed copper nanoparticles in the polymer matrix. The dimensions of the uneven surface is attributed to the copper nanoparticles were estimated to be of a range less than 100 nm. The prepared nanocomposites are suggested as potential candidates in charge storing devices.

Isoalantolactone, a sesquiterpene lactone, induces apoptosis in SGC-7901 cells via mitochondrial and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt signaling pathways

Azhar Rasul,Muhammad Khan,Bo Yu,Muhammad Ali,Yang Jing Bo,Hong Yang,Tonghui Ma 대한약학회 2013 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.36 No.10

Isoalantolactone, a sesquiterpene lactone, possessesanti-fungal as well as cytotoxic properties. In thisstudy, the effects of Isoalantolactone on cell viability, cellcycle, and apoptosis were investigated in human gastricadenocarcinoma SGC-7901 cells. The results demonstratedthat Isoalantolactone induced morphological changes anddecreased cell viability. Subsequently, we found that Isoalantolactoneinduced G2/M and S phase arrest, which wasassociated with a decrease in the expression level of cyclinB1. Apoptosis triggered by Isoalantolactone was visualizedusing propidium iodide (PI) and Annexin V-FITC/PIstaining. Isoalantolactone-induced apoptosis of SGC-7901cells was associated with the dissipation of mitochondrialmembrane potential (DWm) that was due to the down-regulationof Bcl-2 and up-regulation of Bax that led to thecleavage of caspase-3. Additionally, it was found thatIsoalantolactone was involved in the inhibition of phosphorylationof PI3K/Akt. Isoalantolactone-induced cytotoxicityand apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells involvemitochondria-caspase and PI3K/Akt dependent pathways,which gives the rationale for in vivo studies on the utilizationof Isoalantolactone as a potential cancer therapeuticcompound.

Butyrylcholinesterase Inhibitory Guaianolides from Amberboa ramosa

Khan Sher Bahadar,Haq Azhar-ul,Perveen Shagufta,Afza Nighat,Malik Abdul,Nawaz Sarfraz Ahmad,Shah Muhammad Raza,Choudhary Muhammad lqbal The Pharmaceutical Society of Korea 2005 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.28 No.2

Phytochemical investigation of the whole plant of Amberboa ramosa led to the isolation of six sesquiterpene lactones which could be identified as $8{\alpha}$-hydroxy-$11{\beta}$-methyl-$1{\alpha}H,\;5{\alpha}H,\;6{\beta}H,\;7{\alpha}H,\;11{\alpha}H-guai-10(14)$, 4(15)-dien-6, 12-olide(2), $3{\beta},\;8{\alpha}-dihydroxy-11{\alpha}-methyl-1{\alpha}H,\;5{\alpha}H,\;6{\beta}H,\;7{\alpha}H,\;11{\beta}H-guai-10(14)$, 4(15)-dien-6, 12-olide (2), $3{\beta},\;4{\alpha},\;8{\alpha}-trihydroxy-4{\beta}(hydroxymethyl)-1{\alpha}H,\;5{\alpha}H,\;6{\beta}H,\;7{\alpha}H-guai-10(14)$, 11(13)-dien-6, 12-olide (3), $3{\beta},\;4{\alpha},\;8{\alpha}-trihydroxy-4{\beta}-(chloromethyl)-1{\alpha}H,\;5{\alpha}H,\;6{\beta}H,\;7{\alpha}H-guai-10(14)$, 11(13)-dien-6, 12-olide(4), $3{\beta},\;4{\alpha},\;dihydroxy-4{\beta}-(hydroxymethyl)-1{\alpha}H,\;5{\alpha}H,\;6{\beta}H,\;7{\alpha}H-guai-10(14)$, 11(13)-dien-6, 12-olide(5), $3{\beta},\;4{\alpha}-dihydroxy-4{\beta}-(chloromethyl)-8{\alpha}-(4-hydroxymethacrylate)-1{\alpha}H,\;5{\alpha}H,\;6{\beta}H,\;7{\alpha}H-guai-10(14)$, 11(13)-dien-6, 12-olide (6) by spectroscopic methods. All of them showed inhibitory potential against butyrylcholinesterase.

Butyrylcholinesterase Inhibitory Guaianolides from Amberboa ramosa

Sher Bahadar Khan,Azhar-ul-Haq,Shagufta Perveen,Nighat Afza,Abdul Malik,Sarfraz Ahmad Nawaz,Muhammad Raza Shah,Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary 대한약학회 2005 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.28 No.2

Phytochemical investigation of the whole plant of Amberboa ramosa led to the isolation of six sesquiterpene lactones which could be identified as 8α-hydroxy-11β−methyl-1αH, 5αH, 6βH, 7αH, 11αH-guai-10(14), 4(15)-dien-6, 12-olide(1), 3β, 8α-dihydroxy-11α−methyl-1αH, 5αH, 6βH, 7αH, 11βH-guai-10(14), 4 (15)-dien-6, 12-olide (2), 3β, 4α, 8α-trihydroxy-4β-(hydroxymethyl)- 1αH, 5αH, 6βH, 7αH-guai-10(14), 11(13)-dien-6, 12-olide (3), 3β, 4α, 8α-trihydroxy-4β- (chloromethyl)-1αH, 5αH, 6βH, 7αH-guai-10(14),11(13)-dien-6, 12-olide(4), 3β, 4α, dihydroxy- 4β-(hydroxymethyl)-1αH, 5αH, 6βH, 7αH-guai-10(14),11(13)-dien-6, 12-olide(5), 3β, 4α-dihydroxy- 4β- (chloromethyl)-8α-(4-hydroxymethacrylate)-1αH, 5αH, 6βH, 7αH-guai-10(14),11 (13)-dien-6,12-olide (6) by spectroscopic methods. All of them showed inhibitory potential against butyrylcholinesterase.

Hexagonal boron nitride-based composites: an overview of processing approaches and mechanical properties

Abdul Karim Muhammad Ramzan,Khan Muhammad Awais,Zaman Atteeq Uz,Hussain Azhar 한국세라믹학회 2023 한국세라믹학회지 Vol.60 No.1

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)-based composites have been gaining prominence due to their versatile and significantly improved properties. For example they have good strength, better thermal conductivity, excellent resistance to thermal shocks and high temperatures, molten metal erosion resistance, ablation resistance, excellent machinability, good lubricating and chemical inertness. Owing to its excellent comprehensive properties, h-BN has significant potential applications in the fields of electronics, machinery, aerospace, nuclear energy, and metallurgy. Current article, first tries to critically review the literature, mainly published in the last decade, exploring the peculiar crystal structure and enhanced properties of h-BN and then various h-BN-based ceramics and its composites with oxides, nitrides, carbides, metals, and complex ceramics have been discussed based on their fabrication methods, mechanical properties, and the resultant applications. As per the reviewed results, hot pressing results in enhanced mechanical properties such as fracture toughness and flexural strength owing to the incorporation of BN by in situ reaction, which prevents BN agglomeration and reduces the size and quantity of defects. In contrast, the pressureless sintering method is reported to cause poor mechanical properties as compared to other fabrication methods of h-BN ceramics due to large porosity and poor bonding between h-BN grains caused by the forming of card room structure. Consequently, the green body's shrinkage is obstructed, and the expansion is occurred during the sintering process. All these aspects have been discussed in detail and they are the part of this review article.

Structural, spectral, dielectric and magnetic properties of Co–Cr-substituted hexagonal ferrites with X-type structure

Ejaz Syeda Rabia,Khan Muhammad Azhar,Gulbadan Shagufta,Akhtar Majid Niaz,Ahmad Mukhtar,Hussain Altaf,Islam Misbah ul 한국세라믹학회 2022 한국세라믹학회지 Vol.59 No.4

Co 2+ and Cr 3+ -substituted SrBaCu Fe 28- y O 46 X-type hexaferrite with x = y = 0, 0.1 to 0.5 (step = 0.1) were prepared Co Cr 2- x x y through auto-combustion sol–gel method and sintered at 1250 °C for 5 h which was found from thermal analysis. The thermal investigation, phase detection, spectral, magnetic, and dielectric characteristics of the prepared composition were investigated by TGA, XRD, FTIR, VSM, and dielectric measurement. XRD patterns of the entire composition confi rmed the development of a single phase of X-type structure. The enhancement in the lattice parameters and cell volume was observed by varying the Co–Cr concentration, attributed to the larger ionic radii substitution. FTIR\spectra of all samples exhibit two absorption peaks in the wavenumber range of 500–550  cm −1 and 418–425  cm −1 that confi rm the formation of hexaferrite. The dielectric properties have been inspected based on frequency and substitution variation in the sample. The dielectric constant exhibits the increasing trend with the Co–Cr ratio. The enhancement in Ac conductivity was also found by increased substitution ions. Single semi-circles were examined in Nyquist plots, attributed to the contribution of the grain boundaries. Detailed magnetic parameters such as saturation magnetization, remanence, squareness ratio, coercivity, and magneto-crystalline anisotropy constant were measured. By the increase in Co–Cr substitution the increased of saturation magnetization ( Ms ) from 61.12 emu/g to 64.89 emu/g, the remanence ( Mr ) from 27.43 emu/g to 30.71 emu/g, and coercivity ( H c ) from 1654.56 Oe to 1863.54 Oe was found. Therefore, the synthesized SrBaCu 2 X-type hexagonal ferrites with the appropriate amount of Co–Cr substitution are suitable candidates for microwave devices and valuable in longitudinal recording media.

Mold design optimization and quality assessment of steel castings through integrated simulations and experiments

Anwar Khalil Sheikh,Muhammad Azhar Ali Khan 대한기계학회 2020 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.34 No.7

The quality of steel castings was analyzed in this paper through integrated simulations and experiments. The standard tensile specimens were considered as actual cast products. These specimens were prepared using a multi-cavity mold which was initially designed using standards and foundry practices followed by its optimization in casting simulation software MAGMA Soft. The specimens produced with the optimized mold were then tested under tension until fracture. Porosity predicted in casting simulations was integrated to finite element simulations of tensile testing. Simulated and experimental results were compared, discussed, and conclusions drawn. Some specimens indicated discrepancy in the simulated and experimental stress-strain behavior; however, porosity was not found responsible for this disagreement as confirmed through X-ray imaging and by comparing the simulated and actual porosities. It is concluded that the quality of cast specimens is compromised due to ineffective heat treatment which should be done in a more controlled manner for improved quality and performance of castings produced using multi-cavity molds.

Relationship of the Big Five Personality Traits and Risk Aversion with Investment Intention of Individual Investors

SARWAR, Danish,SARWAR, Bilal,RAZ, Muhammad Asif,KHAN, Hadi Hassan,MUHAMMAD, Noor,AZHAR, Usman,ZAMAN, Nadeem uz,KASI, Mumraiz Khan Korea Distribution Science Association 2020 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.7 No.12

This empirical research is aimed at testing the relationship of the big five personality traits namely openness to experience, extraversion, consciousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and risk aversion with the investment intention of individual investors belonging to Balochistan, Pakistan. The primary data is collected through a self-administered questionnaire (a structured form that consists of a series of closed-ended and open-ended questions) from a sample of 397 active individual investors belonging to different districts of the province. The data is empirically analyzed by applying the Partial Least Square (PLS) path modeling technique by using the estimation package available in Smart-PLS. The findings of this study suggest that all the variables are statistically significant with investors' investment intention with risk aversion as the strongest predictor. Moreover, openness to experience, extraversion, consciousness, agreeableness, and risk are significantly and positively related to an investor's investment intention, whereas neuroticism is negatively related to an investor's investment intention. The results extended by this study can be used by financial planners and investment bankers to channelize the available financial resources in diversified portfolios. The results will help financial planners to make available diverse investment alternatives for investors in Balochistan, thus catering to their unique needs. Academia must offer courses on contemporary finance paradigm based on behavioral finance to enable future business graduates to make wise financial decisions.

New Mg0.5CoxZn0.5xFe2O4 nano-ferrites: Structural elucidation and electromagnetic behavior evaluation

Maria Yousaf Lodhi,Khalid Mahmood,Azhar Mahmood,Huma Malik,Muhammad Farooq Warsi,Imran Shakir,M. Asghar,Muhammad Azhar Khan 한국물리학회 2014 Current Applied Physics Vol.14 No.5

In this work cobalt substituted magnesium zinc nanocrystalline spinel ferrites having general formula Mg0.5CoxZn0.5xFe2O4 where x ¼ 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 were synthesized using micro-emulsion technique. The Co substituted samples annealed at 700 C and characterized by various characterization techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dielectric measurements and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). XRD analysis confirmed single phase spinel structure and the crystalline size calculated by Scherrer’s formula found to be in 21.38e45.5 nm range. The lattice constant decreases as substitution of Co is increased. The decrease in lattice constant is attributed to the smaller ionic radius of cobalt as compared to zinc ion. The FTIR spectra reveled two prominent frequency bands in the wave number range 400e600 cm1 which confirm the cubic spinel structure and completion of chemical reaction. The dielectric parameters were observed to decrease with the increased Co contents. The peaking behavior was observed beyond 1.8 GHz. The frequency dependent dielectric properties of all these nanomaterials have been explained qualitatively in accordance with Koop’s phenomenological theory. Magnetic studies revealed that the coercivity (Hc) attains maximum value of 818 Oe at w21 nm. The increasing trend of magnetic parameters (coercivity and retentivity) is consistent with crystallinity. The crystallite size is small enough to attain considerable signal to noise ratio in high density recording media. The optimized magnetic parameters suggest that the material with composition Mg0.5Co0.5Fe2O4 may have potential applications in high density recording media.