Status of Wheat Seed Sector in Pakistan: Opportunities and Challenges to Improve Quality Seed Supply for Increased Production and Food Security

Wheat accounts for 60% of the daily diet and 72% of the daily calorie intake in Pakistan. The average per hectare wheat yield in Pakistan is only 2.8 tons, which is far below potential yield of 6.8 tons/ha for wheat in Pakistan. In this study, we use time-series data from the previous 1.5 decades to analyze wheat seed supplies in four major wheat-growing provinces: Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh. The regression analysis indicates that the use of certified seed has a positive and significant impact on wheat production which is a key pillar of ensuring food security at the national level. Province-wise there exist some variation as results show that certified seed is available from public and private sources in Punjab to meet nearly a quarter of the province’s requirements and also supply a significant portion of Sindh’s wheat seed needs. However, available certified seed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces constitutes only 10% or less of the wheat seed sown. Throughout Pakistan, early-generation improved wheat seed comes mostly from public sector institutions; the private sector is involved primarily in the sale of improved seed and does not take part in wheat research or development programs. Farmers’ access to improved wheat seed can be enhanced through sustainable public-private partnerships, swift availability of pre-basic seed to well established private seed companies and introduction of legally-binding arrangements between public and private entities. This would not only help increase the wheat production but also bring improvement in the food security of rural households and country’s economic growth. Keywords: Wheat seed, Production, Public-private Partnership, Food security, Pakistan

Positive Data Visualization Using Trigonometric Function

A piecewise rational trigonometric cubic function with four shape parameters has been constructed to address the problem of visualizing positive data. Simple data-dependent constraints on shape parameters are derived to preserve positivity and assure smoothness. The method is then extended to positive surface data by rational trigonometric bicubic function. The order of approximation of developed interpolant is

Development of ANN optimized mucoadhesive buccal tablet containing flurbiprofen and lidocaine for dental pain

A novel mucoadhesive buccal tablet containing flurbiprofen (FLB) and lidocaine HCl (LID) was prepared to relieve dental pain. Tablet formulations (F1-F9) were prepared using variable quantities of mucoadhesive agents, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) and sodium alginate (SA). The formulations were evaluated for their physicochemical properties, mucoadhesive strength and mucoadhesion time, swellability index and in vitro release of active agents. Release of both drugs depended on the relative ratio of HPMC:SA. However, mucoadhesive strength and mucoadhesion time were better in formulations, containing higher proportions of HPMC compared to SA. An artificial neural network (ANN) approach was applied to optimise formulations based on known effective parameters (i.e., mucoadhesive strength, mucoadhesion time and drug release), which proved valuable. This study indicates that an effective buccal tablet formulation of flurbiprofen and lidocaine can be prepared via an optimized ANN approach

EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT AND FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITY OF SELECTED MEDICINAL PLANTS USING DIFFERENT MODELS IN SWISS ALBINO MICE BRAIN

The current research was aimed to estimate and compare the antioxidant effect of selected medicinal plants collected from different areas of Balochistan, Pakistan. The antioxidant activitywas determined by 2, 2-diphenyl-1- picryl hydrazyl(DPPH) a radical scavenging assay, lipid peroxidation assay and total antioxidant assay. Plant extracts demonstratedhangups alongside thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) tempted by pro-oxidant 10uM ferroussulphate (FeSO4) or sodium nitroprusside in the brain region of mice. Plants extracts showed significantferric reducing and free radical scavenging activity and also showed the higher concntration of both flavonoids and phenols. It was observed that higher thetotal polyphenolicand falavonoidscontentsbetter the antioxidant effect. All the plant samples showed the order of their antioxidant activity as SolanumNigram>Momordicacharantia>SolanumVillosum>TinosporaCordifolia> Ginkgo Biloba>Cuscutareflexa. The data obtained in the present study shows that all selected plants have inhibitory effect and antioxidant activity. The antioxidant effect of the selected plants might be related to the higher concentration of phenolic. Contents,ferric reducing ability and free radical scavenging activity.In this study we tried to provide the scientific proof for the traditional use of the selectedmedicinal plants as antioxidants. Key Words: Antioxidant activity, Free radical, DPPH, Medicinal plants, Oxidative stress, Mice brain

Formulation and in-vitro evaluation of topically applied curcumin hydrogel

The study aims to investigate a transdermal hydrogel formulation containing curcumin, which would attenuate the low bioavailability associated with oral administration of the drug. Carboxy polymethylene was used to develop topical hydrogel formulations of curcumin with different concentrations of penetration enhancers. Rheological properties, drug content, skin irritation, stability and in-vitro permeation studies were conducted. Permeation experiments were performed on silicon membrane and excised abdominal rabbit skin using Franz Diffusion Cell. All the prepared hydrogel formulations containing Curcumin showed good consistency, homogeneity, spreadability and has wider prospect for topical preparation. The formulation containing Curcumin (2 % w/w gel) and olive oil (2 % w/w, as enhancer) was found to have good permeation of the drug across artificial skin as well as rabbit skin. The anti-inflammatory activity of 2 % w/w Curcumin hydrogel in the rat hind paw edema model revealed that the drug was delivered to the inflammation site at a controlled rate over a desired period of about 3 h, using carboxy polymethylene as gel forming polymer and olive oil and tween 80 as penetration enhancers.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

C¹ Positive Surface over Positive Scattered Data Sites.

The aim of this paper is to develop a local positivity preserving scheme when the data amassed from different sources is positioned at sparse points. The proposed algorithm first triangulates the irregular data using Delauny triangulation method, therewith interpolates each boundary and radial curve of the triangle by C¹ rational trigonometric cubic function. Half of the parameters in the description of the interpolant are constrained to keep up the positive shape of data while the remaining half are set free for users' requirement. Orthogonality of trigonometric function assures much smoother surface as compared to polynomial functions. The proposed scheme can be of great use in areas of surface reconstruction and deformation, signal processing, CAD/CAM design, solving differential equations, and image restoration

Exploring the psychological contract breach of nurses in healthcare: an exploratory study

Purpose Recent advancements in the field of organizational psychology have transformed the employees' perceptions related to the reactions of the employment relationship. The main aim of the study is to explore the consequences of psychological contracts among the nursing staff and how to provide better patient care and quality service in the health-care system as nurses play a pivotal role in the context of Pakistan. Significantly, this study attempts to bridge the research gap by exploring consequences of psychological contracts. Drawing on the social exchange theory, this study examined the psychological contracts of nurses and their reactions to the perceived violation. Design/methodology/approach This research adopted a qualitative method and was based on an exploratory approach. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews from 21 nurses working in public, private and charity hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. The thematic content analysis is employed for the analysis of data by using NVivo software. Findings The study identified the relational and transactional elements related to the psychological contract of nurses who predominantly consisted of supervisor support, autonomy, tangible/intangible rewards and trust. The intrinsic motivation which relates to their devotion to work was found as an additional element to balance their psychological contract. This research also establishes that the psychological contract of nurses is being violated in their work settings. Practical implications By highlighting the importance of psychological contract breach, the findings demonstrate that health-care institutions should take measures to cope with psychological contract breach issues at the workplace. Originality/value This study contributes to the body of knowledge by exploring psychological contract breach. Substantially, there are rare studies conducted on psychological contract breach among nurses in developing country context (Pakistan). However, this study adds to the previous studies related to the psychological contract of nurses in the context of Pakistan by using social exchange theories. Finally, this study enables the management of healthcare to balance the psychological contract issues effectively