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

EFFECTS OF SORGHUM LEAVES, ROOTS AND STEMS WATER EXTRACT, HAND WEEDING AND HERBICIDE ON WEEDS SUPPRESSION AND YIELD OF WHEAT

ABSTRACT To compare allelopathic effects of sorghum plant parts water extract (WE) with hand weeding and herbicide on suppression of weeds in wheat and wheat yield under rain fed conditions, an experiment was conducted at the research farm, Universit

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

Molecular probing of Aflatoxigenic fungi in rice grains collected from local markets of Lahore, Pakistan

Background: Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus strains have emerged as a serious threat to food safety and quality assurance. The objective of this study was to identify the aflatoxigenic Aspergillus sp. by targeting the amplification of aflatoxigenic genes i.e., aflR, nor1, omt1, ver1, in different fugal strains isolated from the rice grains being marketed in local markets of Lahore city, Pakistan.Methods: Total eleven (11) Aspergillus strains were isolated from rice grains and aflatoxigenic genes i.e., aflR, nor1, omt1, ver1 were amplified to differentiate between aflatoxin producing and non-producing strains.Results: Four (04) out of total eleven (11) strains showed the presence of aflatoxins producing genes, indicating the possible contamination of aflatoxins in rice grains being sold in local markets of Lahore.Conclusion: This research provides the basis for the quantification of aflatoxins; a significant threat to the quality of foodstuffs and consumers. The situation demands the attention of rice growers, processors as well as government officials to tackle the problem to assure the safety of rice eaters.Keywords: Aflatoxins; Aspergillus; Cereal grains; Contamination; Mycotoxigenic

Comparison of clinico-pathological characteristics and survival of recurrent ovarian cancer patients on seven different chemo-protocols

Despite the growing prevalence of ovarian cancer (OC) in Pakistan, no literature evidence exists regarding its clinic-pathological characteristics, survival and compliance of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer and various chemo-protocols. An observational study was conducted by enrolling 251 recurrent OC patients on 7 different chemo-protocols, from a specialized cancer care hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, using convenient judgmental sampling. The study was conducted for a period of 6 months. Most of the patients were between 18 and 70 years of age, with IIIC FIGO stage and papillary serous histological grade. As per RECIST, improved partial response (PR) (63.3 %) and complete response (CR) (52.1 %) was observed in the CP (carboplatin + paclitaxel) arm, substantiated by improved median progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in CP and CD (carboplatin + docetaxel) arms, respectively, yet with no significant differences in survival curves, PFS (p = 0.12) and OS (p = 0.22). Interestingly, the highest and the lowest patient non-compliance were observed in CG (carboplatin + gemcitabine) (81.6 %) and paclitaxel (4.5 %) arms, resp. As per the hazard model for survival, topotecan showed significant association with the therapy related events/deaths compared to other protocols. These data suggest that CP regimen exhibited improved clinical efficacy and decreased toxicity related non-compliance in recurrent ovarian cancer patients of Lahore

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

Glyphosate: cancerous or not? Perspectives from both ends of the debate

Glyphosate is non-selective herbicide. Studies published in the last decade, point towards glyphosate toxicity. Shikimic acid pathway for the biosynthesis of folates and aromatic amino acids is inhibited by glyphosate. Glyphosate carcinogenicity is still considered to be a controversial issue. The World Health Organizations’ International Agency recently concluded that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Some researchers believed that glyphosate is not linked with carcinogenicity

Energy Comparison Based Design Review of 100 MWp QASPP and Crest

Energy needs of the world can be achieved by considering photovoltaic (PV) energy as a large-scale source that has been proved by recent growth in production of PV modules and decrement in their prices. Deserts are in demand for the purpose of energy generation through PV, began utilized by countries too. This article scrutinizes the issue of offbeat energy generation by contrasting the two 100 MW PV power plants analogous in location, environment and installed equipment. Irregularity of performance is conducted and assessed by plane of array (POA), annual deterioration rate, inter row spacing, PV cleaning frequency, equipment losses, temperature and other factors. Actual monthly generation differences of a year are examined considering deterioration rate and vice versa for the two in sight. Inter row spacing and POA are emphasized with sun path plots and eclipse diagrams for maximizing the energy yield. Any discrepancy of these parameters during design stage prompted with pecuniary loss that ramified over the life cycle of the project. While a meliorated design impacted a USD 0.85 million financial saving with supplement of energy output

Patient Esthetics and Functional Satisfaction with Complete Denture Therapy

Objective: To evaluate patient esthetics and functional satisfaction with complete denture therapy. Study Design: Cross-sectional observational study. th Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Lahore Medical and Dental College from 10 February 2023 to 10 August 2023. Materials and Methods: Sixty-seven edentulous patients who have undergone complete denture therapy of tooth losses using complete denture for at least six months were enrolled. Patients' satisfaction was recorded having variables regarding socio demographic features and questions regarding esthetic and functional satisfaction of complete denture. Results: Forty-four patients (65.7%) have satisfied esthetics whereas 23 (34.3%) patients have no esthetics satisfaction. Forty patients (59.7%) were functionally satisfied, and 27 patients (40.3%) were not functionally satisfied. 89.5% patients were between 6-12 months and 7 (10.4%) patients were between 13-20 months of duration of use of denture. Conclusion: Patients appeared to be largely satisfied with their dentures, indicating that patient happiness is a key factor in the success of denture delivery