Soil Fertility Management for Sustainable Agriculture: A Case Studyof District Bahawalnagar, Pakistan

The study was conducted to classify soil of crop growing areas of District Bahawalnagar with respect to low, satisfactory and high soil fertility status for better management of the whole area. A total of 3624 soil samples collected from all tehsils of Bahawalnagar district (888 samples from Bahawalnagar, 743 samples from Chishtian, 528 samples from Fort Abbas, 573 samples from Haroon Abad and 892 soil samples from Minchin Abad) were tested in Soil and Water Testing Laboratory, Bahawalpur, Pakistan during 2011-2013.Soil characteristics of Bahawalnagar district were evaluated through physical and chemical analysis. Representative soil samples received/collected from farmers fields were analyzed for texture, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, organic matter (OM), available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) contents. Texture of the soils varied from sandy loam to loam. About 66% soils had EC values within the normal range (< 4 dS m-1). The pH values of 94% soils ranged from 7.5 to 8.5 with an average of 8.03 and 5% soils had pH > 8.5. About 99% soils were poor( < 0.86%) in organic matter and only 1% samples had satisfactory level of organic matter(0.86-1.29%).About 68% soils were poor(<7 ppm) in available phosphorus, 23 % samples had satisfactory level of  available phosphorus(7-14 ppm) and only 9% samples had adequate level of available phosphorus (>14 ppm) contents. The K status of most of soils was in satisfactory (58%) and adequate range (30%). The objective of present study is to assess the soil fertility and salinity status of Bahawalnagar district for formulation of optimum fertilizer recommendations for different crops grown in the area. Key words: Soil Analysis, EC, pH, SOM, P, K, Bahawalnaga

Physico-Chemical Properties and Fertility Status of District Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan

Physico-chemical properties of soils in Rahim Yar Khan district of Punjab Province, Pakistan, were determined for better management. A total of 3198 soil samples collected from all tehsils of Rahim Yar Khan district (662 samples from Khan Pur, 800 samples from Liaquat Pur, 866 samples from Rahim Yar Khan and 870 soil samples from Sadiq Abad) were tested in Soil and Water Testing Laboratory, Bahawalpur, Pakistan during 2011-2013. Soil characteristics of Rahim Yar Khan district were evaluated through physical and chemical analyses. Representative soil samples received/collected from farmers fields were analyzed for texture, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, organic matter (OM), available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) contents. Texture of the soils varied from sandy loam to loam. About 53% soils had EC values within the normal range (< 4 dS m-1). The pH values of 92% soils ranged from 7.5 to 8.5 with an average of 8.06 and 7% soils had pH > 8.5. About 93% soils were poor (< 0.86%) in organic matter and only 7% soil samples had satisfactory level of organic matter (0.86-1.29%). About 47% soils were poor( < 7 ppm) in available phosphorus,33 % samples had satisfactory level of  available phosphorus (7-14 ppm) and only 20 % samples had adequate level of  available phosphorus (>14 ppm) contents. The K status of most of soils was in satisfactory (50%) and adequate range (43%). The objective of present study is to assess the soil fertility and salinity status of Rahim Yar Khan district for formulation of optimum fertilizer recommendations for different crops grown in the area. Keywords: Soil Analysis, EC, pH, SOM, P, K, Rahim Yar Kha

Pooled analysis of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89.6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60.6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0.17, 95 per cent c.i. 0.14 to 0.21, P <0001) or low (363 of 860, 422 per cent; OR 008, 007 to 010, P <0.001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference -94 (95 per cent c.i. -11.9 to -6.9) per cent; P <0001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+121 (+7.0 to +173) per cent; P <0001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0.60, 0.50 to 073; P <0.001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low- and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries.Peer reviewe

Global variation in anastomosis and end colostomy formation following left-sided colorectal resection

Background End colostomy rates following colorectal resection vary across institutions in high-income settings, being influenced by patient, disease, surgeon and system factors. This study aimed to assess global variation in end colostomy rates after left-sided colorectal resection. Methods This study comprised an analysis of GlobalSurg-1 and -2 international, prospective, observational cohort studies (2014, 2016), including consecutive adult patients undergoing elective or emergency left-sided colorectal resection within discrete 2-week windows. Countries were grouped into high-, middle- and low-income tertiles according to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). Factors associated with colostomy formation versus primary anastomosis were explored using a multilevel, multivariable logistic regression model. Results In total, 1635 patients from 242 hospitals in 57 countries undergoing left-sided colorectal resection were included: 113 (6·9 per cent) from low-HDI, 254 (15·5 per cent) from middle-HDI and 1268 (77·6 per cent) from high-HDI countries. There was a higher proportion of patients with perforated disease (57·5, 40·9 and 35·4 per cent; P < 0·001) and subsequent use of end colostomy (52·2, 24·8 and 18·9 per cent; P < 0·001) in low- compared with middle- and high-HDI settings. The association with colostomy use in low-HDI settings persisted (odds ratio (OR) 3·20, 95 per cent c.i. 1·35 to 7·57; P = 0·008) after risk adjustment for malignant disease (OR 2·34, 1·65 to 3·32; P < 0·001), emergency surgery (OR 4·08, 2·73 to 6·10; P < 0·001), time to operation at least 48 h (OR 1·99, 1·28 to 3·09; P = 0·002) and disease perforation (OR 4·00, 2·81 to 5·69; P < 0·001). Conclusion Global differences existed in the proportion of patients receiving end stomas after left-sided colorectal resection based on income, which went beyond case mix alone

Kinesiophobia and its association with balance and mobility in knee osteoarthritis patients in Rawalpindi & Islamabad

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship of fear avoidance belief or kinesiophobia with balance and mobility in knee osteoarthritis patients. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted in Fauji Foundation Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi/Islamabad from January 2019 to June 2019. A total of 64 knee osteoarthritis patients (both male and female) between the ages of 40- 60 years were included in this study. They were selected using the Kallgren Lawrence Classification system (Grade I, II and III) and American College of Rheumatology criteria. Fear avoidance belief questionnaire was used to identify fear avoidance belief/kinesiophobia, Step-up test and Functional Reach test were used to measure balance and timed up and go test was used to measure mobility. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 21. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied to find out the normal distribution. &nbsp;The relationship between fear avoidance belief and balance and mobility was examined using Spearman’s test of correlation. Results: Results showed a weak negative correlation between fear avoidance belief and functional reach test (r= -0.259, P= 0.039), and a weak positive correlation between fear avoidance belief and timed up and go test (r= 0.26, P= 0.841). Conclusion: Balance and mobility are negatively affected by fear avoidance beliefs in knee osteoarthritic patients. Thus, fear avoidance belief is an important psychological construct to be considered in the assessment and treatment of knee osteoarthritic patients to prevent balance impairments and fall risk. &nbsp

Performance Optimization of a Ten Check MPPT Algorithm for an Off-Grid Solar Photovoltaic System

In order to operate a solar photovoltaic (PV) system at its maximum power point (MPP) under numerous weather conditions, it is necessary to achieve uninterrupted optimal power production and to minimize energy losses, energy generation cost, and payback time. Under partial shading conditions (PSC), the formation of multiple peaks in the power voltage characteristic curve of a PV cell puzzles conventional MPP tracking (MPPT) algorithms trying to identify the global MPP (GMPP). Meanwhile, soft-computing MPPT algorithms can identify the GMPP even under PSC. Drawbacks such as structural complexity, computational complexity, huge memory requirements, and difficult implementation all affect the viability of soft-computing algorithms. However, those drawbacks have been successfully overcome with a novel ten check algorithm (TCA). To improve the performance of the TCA in terms of MPPT speed and efficiency, a novel concept of data arrangement is introduced in this paper. The proposed structure is referred to as Optimized TCA (OTCA). A comparison of the proposed OTCA and classic TCA algorithms was conducted for standard benchmarks. The results proved the superiority of the OTCA algorithm compared to both TCA and flower pollination (FPA) algorithms. The major advantage of OTCA in MPPT stems from its speed as compared to TCA and FPA, with almost 86% and 90% improvement, respectively

Designing of a spatially separated hetero-junction pseudobrookite (Fe2TiO5-TiO2) yolk-shell hollow spheres as efficient photocatalyst for water oxidation reaction

For the first time, controlled pseudobrookite phase as the yolk and titanium oxide as the shell of hollow spheres were synthesized for the photocatalytic water oxidation. Simple and facile sacrificial hard template strategy was utilized. Firstly, the distribution of TiO2 in the hollow spheres was controlled by loading aqueous solution of 2,3, and 5 mol/LTiCl4 precursor respectively onto carbonaceous template followed by annealing. To prove the Fe3+ ions radial penetration into the hydrophobic core of carbonaceous template, we optimized the ethanol to water ratio. The Fe2TiO5-TiO2 yolk-shell hollow spheres exhibited high oxygen evolution reaction (OER) rate up to 148 mu mol g(-1) h(-1) under UV-vis light. This was attributed to the better light harvesting due to the geometry of hollow sphere; charge separation by a thin shell yolk hetero-junction, a void cavity to access reaction solvent to reactive sites and the hetero-junction of Fe-O-Ti in the hollow structure. These findings suggest that our designed Fe2TiO5-TiO2 yolk-shell hollow spheres are beneficial for the photocatalytic water oxidation. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</p

Ordering Technique for the Maximum Power Point Tracking of an Islanded Solar Photovoltaic System

The world’s attention has turned towards renewable energy due to escalating energy demands, declining fossil fuel reservoirs, greenhouse gas emissions, and the unreliability of conventional energy systems. The sun is the only renewable energy source that is available every day for a specific period of time. Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is known for its direct conversion of sunlight into electricity using the photoelectric effect. However, due to the non-linear electrical characteristics, the power output of solar PV cells is bound to a lower value and can not produce the power of which it is capable. To extract the maximum possible power, the PV cell needs to be operated at its maximum power point (MPP) uninterruptedly under numerous weather conditions. Therefore, an electronic circuit driven by a set of rules known as an algorithm is utilized. To date, the flower pollination algorithm (FPA) is one of the most renowned maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms due to its effective tracking ability at the local and global positions. After an in-depth analysis of the design, strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of the FPA algorithm, we have proposed an additional filtration and distribution process named “Random walk” along with the ordering of solutions, to improve its efficiency and tracking time. The proposed structure named “Ordered FPA” has outperformed the renowned FPA algorithm under various weather conditions at all the standard benchmarks. Simulations are performed in MATLAB/Simulink

Upwind skewed radial basis functions (USRBF) for solution of highly convective problems over meshfree nodes

An upwind skewed radial basis function (USRBF)-based solution scheme is presented for stabilized solutions of convection-dominated problems over meshfree nodes. The conventional, radially symmetric radial basis functions (RBFs) are multiplied with an upwinding factor which skews the RBFs toward the upwind direction. The upwinding factor is a function of flow direction, intensity of convection, size of local support domain, and nodal distribution. The use of USRBFs modifies the weight values such that the necessary artificial diffusion is added only along the flow direction, whereas the crosswind diffusion is avoided. Subsequently, these skewed radial basis functions are employed in finite difference mode (RBF-FD) for derivative approximation. The performance and accuracy of the proposed scheme is studied by solving convection–diffusion problems over uniform and random distribution of meshfree nodes with various convection intensities. The upwinding effectively suppresses non-physical perturbation in numerical solution of convection-dominated problems. The results show that significant improvement in accuracy can be achieved by using the proposed USRBF-based solution scheme, particularly at higher convection intensities