Comprehensive Account of Inoculation and Coinoculation in Soybean

This chapter elaborates dependency of leguminous plants on rhizobia to carry out dynamic process of nitrogen fixation. Soybean, an extensively grown leguminous crop with 30% share in world’s vegetable oil, is taken into account to understand its symbiotic relationship with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs). This chapter narrates colonization of PGPRs on soybean roots and single and mixed inoculation and coinoculation of certain strains of specialized bacteria with rhizobia. PGPRs’ coinoculation seemed more effective than mono-inoculation and is discussed in Ref. to nodulation rate. Moreover, dynamic linear models for quantification of leguminous biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) are reviewed. This chapter further uncoils the relevance of foliar application to the release of phytohormones by PGPRs, resulting in situ biosynthesis of active metabolites in phyllosphere. Inoculation of phytohormones is compared to their exogenous application for nodule organogenesis. Finally, the influence of coinoculation on enhanced micronutrient bioavailability is relayed. The chapter is concluded with technical and economic aspects of coinoculation in soybean

The Determinants of Rates of Octroi Tax in Pakistan

Octroi is a tax imposed by local governments in Pakistan on commodities imported into the municipal limits for local use, sale, or consumption. It is levied generally by urban local councils on goods coming in by all modes-sea, land, and air transport. The point of assessment is alongside roads at octroi posts situated at or before municipal boundaries, at railway stations, seaports or airports. Octroi is currently the largest source of revenue to urban local councils in the country and contributes 86 percent to total tax revenues and over 59 percent to total local revenue receipts (see Table I). Its revenue significance (in terms of share in total receipts) has increased over the years. In 1987-88, it accounted for about 57 percent of total local receipts. Also, revenue generation from octroi is higher than that by any provincial tax. In 1991-92, total national collection from octroi was Rs 5.5 billion as compared to Rs 3.5 billion from stamp duties, the largest provincial tax source

Toxoplasma gondii specific IgG avidity assay: Role and implication in the confirmatory diagnosis of acute toxoplasmosis in seropositive pregnant women

This study was undertaken to apply Toxoplasma gondii specific IgG avidity test in seropositive pregnant women to differentiate acute and past infection. T. gondii specific IgG avidity test was conducted in 39 seropositive pregnant women and their pregnancy outcomes were observed later on. Out of 39 T. gondii seropositive pregnant women 33 (84%) were only IgG positive and 6 (15.4%) were both IgG-IgM positive. All the IgG positive cases (100%) and 2(33.3%) IgG-IgM positive cases had high avidity antibodies and they gave birth to healthy babies. Rest of the 4 (66.7%) IgG-IgM positive women had low avidity and 50% of them had abortion and 50% gave birth to unhealthy babies. This reveals that the seropositive mothers having high IgG avidity had past infection and no risk of congenital transmission. Seropositive mothers having low IgG avidity had acute infection and so congenital transmission occurred. Presence of T. gondii specific IgG and IgM antibody does not indicate acute infection always. IgG-IgM positive pregnant women should be further evaluated by IgG avidity assay to confirm acute infection.

Nitrogen metabolism as a bio indicator of Cu stress in Vigna radiata

Abstract The possible involvement of Cu on N -metabolism in relation with protease activity, proline, amino acid contents and protein oxidation was observed. These were monitored as bio-indicators in the seedlings of Vigna radiata treated with (0-25 ppm) CuSO 4 to ascertain the role of Cu in generation of oxidative stress. Copper is an essential nutrient element for the plant growth, may be toxic when in excess by their participation in redox cycles producing hydroxyl radicals ( · OH) which are extremely toxic to the living cells. Cu produced a significant inhibition of growth as well as a reduction in the water contents in the roots and the leaves of the seedlings. Results showed an increase in the protease activity and decrease in the protein contents, which may be attributed with the plant defense against metal toxicity through hydrolysis of the oxidative proteins. An inverse relation between protease activity and other nitrogen compound showed the effective hydrolyzing role of protease due to which decrease in proline and total amino acid contents were observed, exhibited the highest sensitivity to excess metal, followed by the plant dry weight accumulation, leaf area formation. Decrease in proline contents support the sensitivity of Vigna radiata and weak defense of species against Cu stress

The Frequency of Low Serum Cortisol Level in Acute Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective:  The study focused on evaluating the frequency of low serum cortisol levels in acute traumatic brain injury. Material and Methods:  Patients with Acute Traumatic Brain Injury of both genders between the ages of 2 and 70 years old with a GCS of 12 or below were included. Information including name, age, gender, pregnancy, GCS, serum cortisol level, history of steroid use, and hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction were all recorded on a predesigned proforma. The results were stratified among age, sex, and GCS concerning outcome variables. Results:  The majority of patients (42%) ranged in age from 26 to 50. Male patients outnumbered female patients (77%). The GCS ranged between 9 and 12 in 63% of cases. Furthermore, 88 percent of patients had cortisol levels greater than 300nm/L. Hypocortisolemia was found in 13 people aged 26 to 50, 12 between the ages of 2 and 25, and only 7 between the ages of 51 and 70. There were 25 males and 7 women in the group. In 86 instances, GCS ranged from 9 to 12, while in 12 individuals, it varied from 3 to 8. Conclusion:  Although the majority of patients recovered, early hypopituitarism was common in severe TBI. It is required to identify concealed pituitary dysfunction in the course of the rehabilitation process of TBI patients. Keywords:  Cortisol, Traumatic Brain Injury, Hypocortisolemi

Determining the Role of Transformational Leadership on Firm Performance through Organizational Innovation and Technological Innovation Capabilities

This study aims to address the influential role of TL on FP through organizational innovation and technological capabilities innovation. The unit of analysis in study is individual employees working in software industry of Pakistan. The proposed research method for this study is Quantitative method. Research design of this study is administrative survey method. The current study is performed in the software marketplace which is incredibly energetic industry in Pakistan. Moreover, respondents are chosen randomly from different software companies for avoiding to any kind of biasness. A total of 395 survey questionnaire were collected from the software houses in Pakistan and 370 responses were completed. This study also uses statistically techniques such as reliability and structural equation model techniques for data analysis through AMOS and SPSS software. The empirical results show positive and significant influence of TL on FP. In addition, the findings of this study will help the firms to improve their business performance and improvements of new technological capabilities as well

Risk Factors and the Incidence of Diabetes Insipidus after Pituitary Surgery

Background:  To improve patient care, determining the post-surgery risk factors for diabetes insipidus are extremely significant. We demonstrated the pre-operative factors and postoperative incidence of diabetes insipidus in pituitary surgery. Materials and Methods:  Patients of both genders with ages between 18-65 years having pituitary adenoma amenable to surgery were included. The sample size mainly constitutes macroadenomas and giant adenomas i.e., greater than 1 cm and equal to or greater than 4 cm, respectively. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test was used to measure model fit. The receiver operator characteristic curve was used to evaluate the model and variables such as preoperative serum sodium and urine specific gravity. Results:  Only 210 of 279 patients met the selection criteria. Most of the patients have lesions greater than 1cm, as a result of which a greater number of patients had undergone transcranial approach. Out of these patients, 27% have developed diabetes insipidus. The mean age was 53 years in the non-DI group, whereas, 47 years was the mean age in the patients with DI. 25% of females and 31% of males developed diabetes insipidus. 75% of females and 64% of males did not develop DI. The highest percentage (61%) of patients who developed DI came from giant adenomas.  Conclusion:  Giant adenomas, aggressively primarily treated adenomas, and those lesions that were approached transcranially, showed an increased risk of diabetes insipidus and those who have undergone redo surgery have reduced incidence of diabetes insipidus

Financial Anxiety, Financial advice, and E-payment use: Relationship and perceived differences between males & females of Generation Z

This study sets out to solve a couple of research problems. First, to explore the correlation between individuals' financial anxiety, financial advice, and EPS (electronic payment system use) initially. Secondly, to explore the perceived differences among males and females, and to answer whether the gender inequality still prevalent amongst generation Z in India. This study applies basic statistics, spearman correlation and Man-Whitney U test on the dataset collected through 205 questionnaires from the northern states in India. The outcomes reveal few significant correlations and also give a positive indication that the gender differences are reducing, especially among the youth belonging to generation Z. Keeping in mind policymaker's viewpoint, it is vital to fully understand financial anxiety, financial advice seeking behaviour and EPS use, for designing better social policies, to empower the upcoming generation with adequate skills and abilities to tackle financial anxiety, avail proper financial advisory services and use EPS appropriately. This paper offers insights for the stronger investigations in future. The originality of the paper lies in the chosen variables, which are not explored thoroughly yet. The present research is an initial investigation concerned with young generations' financial anxiety, financial advice and EPS usage pattern. It contributes to the existing literature and intends to attract the attention of the researchers towards the investigated relationships. However, limitations detected in self-reporting and generalisation of the outcomes in other contexts, but authors believe that they can be overcome with further and extended research. © 2020 Innovare Academics Sciences Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved

Smoking and prevalence of COVID-19: Evidence from studies from January 2020 – May 2020

It is well-known that smoking tobacco harms the respiratory system and can lead to various health problems. Regarding COVID-19, a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, smoking may have implications for both the risk of infection and the severity of the disease. Several studies have explored the association between smoking and COVID-19. However, findings have been somewhat inconsistent and vary from region to region for sample size. This article aims to study the prevalence of COVID-19 among those affected with their ongoing smoking history by computing pooled estimates of the published research. Fixed effect meta-analysis by following the guidelines of PRISMA has been carried out on 34 studies. The patients with confirmed RT-PCR and CT-scan were included, a total of 13,368; The studies' quality assessment was performed according to the Appraisal Checklist recommended by the Joanna Briggs Institute. The effect sizes of the published research are presented in the form of pooled estimates with their respective confidence intervals. Forest plots are used to represent the effect size graphically. Current smokers' effect sizes are 0.12 (CI = 0.11–0.12); for non-smokers, it is estimated to be 0.88 (CI = 0.88–0.89). The heterogeneity statistic I2 describes 0% of the total variation, meaning no heterogeneity among studies exists. A higher prevalence of COVID-19 among non-smokers is observed than the smokers

Determining the Role of Transformational Leadership on Firm Performance through Organizational Innovation and Technological Innovation Capabilities

This study aims to address the influential role of TL on FP through organizational innovation and technological capabilities innovation. The unit of analysis in study is individual employees working in software industry of Pakistan. The proposed research method for this study is Quantitative method. Research design of this study is administrative survey method. The current study is performed in the software marketplace which is incredibly energetic industry in Pakistan. Moreover, respondents are chosen randomly from different software companies for avoiding to any kind of biasness. A total of 395 survey questionnaire were collected from the software houses in Pakistan and 370 responses were completed. This study also uses statistically techniques such as reliability and structural equation model techniques for data analysis through AMOS and SPSS software. The empirical results show positive and significant influence of TL on FP. In addition, the findings of this study will help the firms to improve their business performance and improvements of new technological capabilities as well