Determination of macro and micronutrients levels in organic manure soils and irrigation water

The organic fertilization is cornerstone to raise production value of agricultural land and reduce environmental pollution resulting from the excessive use of chemical fertilizers. Therefore, recycling is important factor that lead to the provision of large quantities of organic fertilizers that meet the needs of agricultural land, especially sandy soils that are poor in organic matter. The study includes estimating the concentration of selected chemical elements and heavy metals in agricultural soils fertilized with organic matter and recycled irrigation water in some areas of the Wadi-Al shati including (Ashkeda , Qyra, Dabdab, Qaqum , Tamazawa , Aqar , and Mahruqa ), where the soil physical and chemical properties are analyzed here. The results showed that the studied soils consistency range from sandy to loamy sand, which has an important role in determining the ability of the soil to retain nutrients. Organic matter played a role in increasing the productivity of sandy soils by 0.63% and improved the cation exchange capacity to reach 39.36 million equivalent / 100 g soil in sandy soils textures. Also, the study showed that the clay minerals and organic matter and pH are the most important factors that influence the content of the soil of heavy elements in addition to the clay minerals which originated the soil. The results showed that irrigation water has direct effect on the properties of physico-chemical properties of soil where accumulation of salts like sulfates of calcium,  magnesium and sodium chloride , calcium, Bicarbonate calcium in the soil. Results showed that the concentration of the elements manganese, chromium, and cadmium in irrigation water was higher than the maximum limits by the FAO standard. Also, the results show that levels of zinc, nickel and iron were within the allowable limit, and the elemental lead and copper are below detection limits. Keywords: Fertilization, Environmental pollution, Recycling, Nutrients, Production value, Physico-chemical properties

Determination of Macro and Micronutrients Levels in Organic Manure Soils and Irrigation Water

The organic fertilization is cornerstone to raise production value of agricultural land and reduce environmental pollution resulting from the excessive use of chemical fertilizers. Therefore, recycling is important factor that lead to the provision of large quantities of organic fertilizers that meet the needs of agricultural land, especially sandy soils that are poor in organic matter. The study includes estimating the concentration of selected chemical elements and heavy metals in agricultural soils fertilized with organic matter and recycled irrigation water in some areas of the Wadi-Al shati including (Ashkeda , Qyra , Dabdab , Qaqum , Tamazawa , Aqar , and Mahruqa ), where the soil physical and chemical properties are analyzed here.The results showed that the studied soils consistency range from sandy to loamy sand, which has an important role in determining the ability of the soil to retain nutrients. Organic matter played a role in increasing the productivity of sandy soils by 0.63% and improved the cation exchange capacity to reach 39.36 million equivalent / 100 g soil in sandy soils textures. Also, the study showed that the clay minerals and organic matter and pH are the most important factors that influence the content of the soil of heavy elements in addition to the clay minerals which originated the soil.The results showed that irrigation water has direct effect on the properties of physico-chemical properties of soil where accumulation of salts like sulfates of calcium,  magnesium and sodium chloride , calcium, Bicarbonate calcium in the soil. Results showed that the concentration of the elements manganese, chromium, and cadmium in irrigation water was higher than the maximum limits by the FAO standard. Also, the results show that levels of zinc, nickel and iron were within the allowable limit, and the elemental lead and copper are below detection limits. Keywords: Fertilization, Environmental pollution, Recycling, Nutrients, Production value, Physico-chemical properties

Effectiveness of bagasse ash for performance improvement of asphalt concrete pavements

AbstractThe performance of asphalt concrete pavements (ACP) is greatly related to the rate of rutting. Stone dust is mostly used as a filler in ACP. Bagasse ash being cementitious in nature, and costless waste can also be used as a filler. The overall aim is to select a suitable filler for better performance of asphalt concrete pavements. The effectiveness of locally available bagasse ash is examined as a filler for asphalt concrete in terms of its effect on job mix formula, stability, rutting depth, the rise in temperature, and cost of asphalt concrete. All tests are performed as per AASHTO standards. The bagasse ash asphalt concrete showed a reduction in rutting depth, temperature rise, and cost as compared to that of the stone dust asphalt concrete without disturbing the job mix formula. Hence, bagasse ash can be helpful for the performance enhancement of asphalt concrete pavements

The Relationship between Perception of Organizational Politics, Emotional Intelligence and Work Outcomes: Empirical Evidence from Banking Sector of Pakistan

Emotional intelligence and organizational politics are an essential part of organizational lifespan and a politically charged organization is discouraging to work in The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between perceived organizational politics and emotional intelligence and work outcomes The major objective is to explore the role of emotion in organizational politics in the banking sector of Pakistan The self-designed questionnaire was used for data collection from 105 employees who are working at managerial level and non managerial level in banking sector The findings of the study showed the positive relationship between emotional intelligence and perception of politics and these findings help the top management of banking sector to know the how emotion and organizational politics affect on the work out comes of the employees The finding will also be useful in designing and implementing the strategic management decision

3D Printing in Pharmaceutical Sector: An Overview

The pharmaceutical industry is moving ahead at a rapid pace. Modern technology has enabled the development of novel dosage forms for targeted therapy. However, the fabrication of novel dosage forms at industrial scale is limited and the industry still runs on conventional drug delivery systems, especially modified tablets. The introduction of 3D printing technology in the pharmaceutical industry has opened new horizons in the research and development of printed materials and devices. The main benefits of 3D printing technology lie in the production of small batches of medicines, each with tailored dosages, shapes, sizes, and release characteristics. The manufacture of medicines in this way may finally lead to the concept of personalized medicines becoming a reality. This chapter provides an overview of how 3D printed technology has extended from initial unit operations to developed final products

A Bibliometric Analysis of the Top 100 Cited Articles on Hepatic Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

The purpose of this study is to guide the readers to the impact of the articles published on hepatic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We searched Scopus using 10 different search terms for hepatic MRI. The selected studies were thoroughly reviewed by two independent authors and any disagreement was sorted out by mutual consensus. The list of articles and journals was downloaded into an excel spreadsheet. Only the top 100 cited articles were selected by mutual consensus among all the authors. These articles were further read in the full-text form and were further categorized into subgroups. Three authors independently reviewed the top 100 selected articles, and subsequently data was extracted from them and analyzed. Our study showed that the highest number of top 100 cited articles on hepatic MRI were from Radiology (30 articles) followed by European Radiology (14 articles). The American Journal of Roentgenology, Radiographics, and Journal of Magnetic Resonance had seven articles each. The United States had the highest number of articles by region. Nineteen other journals contributed only one article each to the list of top 100 cited articles. The contribution of authors to the top 100 cited articles was reviewed; all the authors contributing with more than two articles to the highly cited articles are given in Table 3 in the supplementary material. The maximum number of articles were published during 2009 (14 articles), and for a five-year period, the maximum contribution was made during 2008-2013 (44 articles). Our analysis gives an insight on the frequency of citations of top articles on hepatic MRI, categorizes the subtopics, the timeline of the publications, and contributions from different geographic distributions

Creation of an In-Vitro Generated Colonic Stem-Cell Niche Using Gradient-Generating Microdevices

The limitations of existing cell culture and animal studies have provided an impetus for the development of alternative cell based in vitro models that better mimic the complex structures and functions of living organs. This thesis lays the groundwork for the development of an in vitro model of the colonic epithelium by focusing on the development of microdevices to recreating the colonic stem-cell niche. New advances enable long-term organotypic culture of colonic epithelial stem cells that develop into structures known as colonoids. Colonoids represent a primary tissue source acting as a potential starting material for development of an in vitro model of the colon. However for that to be possible, there needs to an improved crypt isolation and 3-D colonoid protocols. In the first chapter, an incubation buffer and time are outlined, along with the finding that 50% Matrigel resulted in the highest colonoid formation efficiency. In the second chapter, threshold concentrations of the key Wnt-signaling factors are discovered. While critically important to homeostatic renewal, the threshold concentrations of factors such as Wnt-3a and R-spondin1 that promote stem cell renewal are unknown. A simple, linear gradient-generating device was used to screen a wide range of Wnt-3a and R-spondin1 concentrations for their impact on a large number of colonoids. A Wnt-3a concentration of 60 ng/mL and R-spondin1 concentration of 88 ng/mL were identified as the critical concentrations required for stem-cell renewal and colonoid expansion. The lower factor concentrations yielded the added benefit of a more morphologically appropriate colonoid possessing columnar cells surrounding a central lumen with active crypt-like bud formation. In the final chapter, a gradient-generating device was used to introduce variable concentrations of the two key Wnt-signaling proteins along the length of a single colonoid. After 5 days in culture under a combination of Wnt-3a and R-spondin gradients, novel image analysis techniques leveraged the intrinsic fluorescence of the mouse model to quantify the levels of stem cell polarity across a colonoid. The microenvironment able to create a stem cell niche within a colonoid by applying external growth factors in a graded fashion across the colonoid.Doctor of Philosoph

Developing of Institutional Repository in Public Sector University Libraries of Punjab, Pakistan

The target of this analysis to discover the current status of open source institutional repository software’s usage in the public sector university libraries of Punjab, Pakistan. Survey method was used by the researchers and a survey was adopted for information gathering. The target population of the investigation was library professionals of public sector universities in Punjab. Data was gathered from a sample of 135 university librarians using a convenience sampling approach. The analyses explored in which majority of library professionals have incorporated or are currently in the process of incorporating institutional repositories (IR) into their respective libraries which shows that library professionals are well aware about the importance of development/need of IR in this digital age. Further, this study revealed that most of the professionals preferred to use open source software i.e. D-Space for development of IR. Moreover, library professionals are of the view that IR software is a vital tool to organize the digital content/material. Further, IR software provides easy access to the users and enables them to provide efficient and effective services to their users. Furthermore, this study highlights that majority of participants were preferred to use those software which have the facility of customization, E-mail based sharing of books. Library professionals are satisfied with that IR software which is freely available, provide format for conversion of different digital files, and publishing digital contents. The study also highlights barriers which faced by majority of respondents i.e. selection of proper software while developing the Institutional Repository. The respondents also ranked lack of budget is another major barrier that forbade the development of IR followed by the selection of scanner technology, selection of material for digitization, institutional repository knowledge. The investigators will explore additional avenues for additional investigation through the lens of institutional repositories (IR)