Zero-tillage Technology and Farm Profits: A Case Study of Wheat Growers in the Rice Zone of Punjab

The rice-wheat cropping zone of Punjab is the main producer of high-valued and fine quality basmati rice in Pakistan. The rice produced in this area is famous for its grain length and aromatic characteristics. Being an important export item, rice contributes significantly to the national foreign exchange earnings. Wheat is the other major crop of the rice-wheat system and being the staple food is central to national agricultural policies. Rice is grown on a vast area in this zone during Kharif mostly followed by wheat in the Rabi season. Studies have shown that a large gap exists between the potential and yields actually realised by the wheat growers of the area [Byerlee, et al. (1984); Hobbs (1985) and Sheikh, et al. (2000)]. Farmers’ practices regarding land preparation for paddy, wheat planting time, and other conflicts endogenous to the rice-wheat based cropping system were identified as the major factors limiting wheat yield in the area. The flooded and puddled soils that are well suited for paddy production as compared to well-drained conditions required for wheat is such an example of the system conflicts. The farmers in the rice-wheat zone of the Punjab predominantly grow basmati varieties, which are late maturing as compared to coarse varieties of rice. Therefore, paddy harvest is generally delayed at most of the farms in this zone. The late paddy harvest coupled with poor soil structure and loose plant residues create problems for preparation of a good seedbed and planting of wheat often gets late [Byerlee, et al. (1984)]. The farmers also had to resort to the broadcast method for wheat sowing which results in poor and patchy plant stands.

Plagiarism penalties

Research in all areas of sciences and humanities has led to the creation of a highly competitive environment which necessitates reporting of ideas, and discoveries at rapid pace. The emergence of new technologies of communication has significantly enhanced the capabilities of individuals to record and transcribe data at high speed. Even though, one can accumulate information in a fraction of time, but quite often the creative skills and ability to write one‘s own original thoughts do not match the required level of output. Writing ideas in one’s own words is not always easy and at times it becomes quite challenging particularly for those with limited command over the language. These situations often tempt a writer to look around easily available resources

ANALISIS SIFAT MEKANIS POLYESTER DENGAN PENAMBAHAN SERAT GELAS

Bahan komposit fiberglass semakin banyak dijumpai dan disambut baik oleh banyak Negara. Material komposit fiberglass merupakan penggabungan dua atau lebih bahan yang digabungkan secara makroskopis dimana bahan masih terlihat seperti aslinya, namun setelah bercampur bahan yang satu dengan yang lain tidak dapat dipisahkan. Fiberglass terdiri dari dua bahan penyusun utama : matrix yang berupa resin sebagai bahan pengikat dengan berat molekul yang besar dan mempunyai ikatan kimia yang panjang, dan reinforcement yang berupa serat gelas sebagai bahan penguat dengan jenis dan variasi bentuk yang bermacam-macam.\ud Metode penelitian dilaksanakan untuk megetahui seberapa besar pengaruh komposisi serat gelas terhadap kekuatan impak ( impact ). sehingga diketahui seberapa besar kekuatan mekanik untuk masing – masing komposisi serat gelas dan matrik untuk menentukan perlakuan optimum atau perbandingan komposisi yang memiliki kekuatan impat terbaik.\ud Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahawa adanya peningkatan kekuatan impact dari perbandingan komposisi 60 (resin) : 40 (serat gelas) sampai pada perbandingan 35 (resin) : 65 (serat gelas), kekuatan impact terbaik terdapat pada perbandingan komposisi 35 (resin) : 65 (serat gelas), sedangkan kekuatan impact mempunyai batas maksimum penambahan serat gelas pada kisaran 65% dan selebihnya dari itu akan mempunyai kekuatan impact yang semakin menurun

Osjetljiva kinetička spektrofotometrijska metoda za određivanje kaptoprila

A simple and sensitive kinetic spectrophotometric method has been developed. The method is based on the reduction of Fe(III) with captopril. Fe(II) then reacts with potassium ferricyanide, resulting in the formation of a blue product. The reaction is followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the rate of change of absorbance at 730 nm. Thus, 1.23 × 10-3 mol L-1 FeCl3 and 3.04 × 10-4 mol L-1 potassium ferricyanide were used as optimum values for maximum concentration of captopril in the calibration graph. The initial rate is utilized for constructing the calibration graph, which was found to be linear in the range 4.60 × 10–6–5.06 × 10–5 mol L-1; detection limit is 1.99 × 10–7 mol L-1. The proposed method has been validated; the mean recovery ranges from 99.8–101.4% with RSD < 2%. Common excipients do not interfere with the determination. The point and interval hypotheses tests have been performed and confirmed that there is no significant difference between the proposed method and conventional spectrophotometric method. The experimental true bias of all samples is lower than ± 2.0%. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of captopril in bulk and dosage forms.Razvijena je jednostavna osjetljiva kinetička spektrofotometrijska metoda za određivanje kaptoprila. Metoda se temelji na redukciji Fe(III) u Fe(II) koji zatim s kalijevim fericijanidom daje plavo obojeni produkt. Nastajanje produkta praćeno je spektrofotometrijski na valnoj duljini 730 nm. Optimalne koncentracije FeCl3 i potassium ferricyanida bile su 1,23 × 10-3 mol L-1, odnosno 3,04 × 10-4 mol L-1. Početna brzina upotrebljena je za izradu baždarnog pravca. Linearnost je postignuta u koncentracijskom području od 4,60 × 10–6 do 5,06 × 10–5 mol L-1; granica detekcije bila je 1,99 × 10–7 mol L-1. Predložena metoda je validirana. Srednja vrijednost analitičkog povrata iznosila je 99,8–101,4% uz RSD < 2%. Uobičajeni ekscipiensi nisu smetali određivanju. Ispitivanja hipoteze točke i intervala potvrdila su da nema značajne razlike između predložene metode i opisane spektrofotometrijske metode. Stvarna eksperimentalna pogreška za sve uzorke bila je manja od ± 2%. Opisana metoda primijenjena je za određivanje kaptoprila kao čiste supstancije i u ljekovitom pripravku

Inter-varietal variation in the composition of seeds and seed oils from winter mel on [Benincasa Hispida (thunb.) cogn.] fruits.

Winter melon (Benincasa hispida), locally known as Kundur, is a vegetable crop, popular, especially among Asian communities both for nutritional and medicinal attributes. In the present work, physicochemical properties of seeds and the extracted seed oils were examined and compared among three cultivars namely round, oval and hybrid of winter melon. The seeds from round, oval and hybrid fruits, exhibited protein, fiber and ash contents 28.18-42.03, 19.36-26.21 and 5.02- 11.81%, respectively. The oils were extracted based on Soxhlet method by petroleum ether, whilst yields ranged from 17.78- 32.53% (wt/wt). The extracted oils were analyzed for physicochemical parameters, and fatty acids, tocopherols and sterols profiles. The results for specific gravity (25°C), refractive index (nD 25°C), iodine value (IV), saponification value (SV), peroxide value (PV), and free fatty acid (% as oleic acid) were 0.89-0.91 g/mL, 1.4627-1.4646, 119.9-125.1 g I/100 g oil, 182.3-194.1 mg KOH/ g oil, 1.13-1.33 mequiv.O2 /kg, 1.57-2.10%, respectively. The oil color intensity in terms of yellow and red units was 6.9Y + 1.0 R to 8.9Y + 1.9R. The amounts of oil tocopherols as analyzed by HPLC varied widely among the cultivars tested showing &#945;-tocopherol 31.1-207.6 mg/kg and &#948;-tocopherol 60.4-146.0 mg/kg. According to the GLC analysis linoleic acid (C18:2) was established to be the principal fatty acid (63.10-70.64%) followed by C16:0 (12.45-17.59), C18:1 (8.46-12.87%) and C18:0 (5.13-7.48%). Analysis of oil sterol fractions, using GC and GC-MS, revealed the presence of &#946;-sitosterol (54.62–60.50%), campesterol (15.10–18.50%), stigmasterol (11.00–14.30% and &#916; 5 -avenasterol (6.40–8.14 %) as the four main components. Most of the properties of the seed oils analyzed varied significantly among fruit cultivars tested. Overall, we concluded that the seeds, which are under-utilized and often discarded as an agrowate, from winter melon should be explored for extraction of high-linoleic oil with additional tocopherols and phytosterol benefits

Emergency airway management of a patient with tracheal stenosis

We are presenting a case of a 26 year old healthy male, who came with gradual worsening of dyspnoea following prolonged intubation and ventilation, after a road traffic accident five months back. On arrival in ER, he was hypoxaemic with severe respiratory distress. He was transferred to the operation room (OR) for emergency tracheostomy. During the transfer, he was placed in an upright position with oxygen at 15 L/M. In the OR, anaesthesia was induced with sevoflurane gradually. Direct laryngoscopy was done which revealed normal vocal cords. A size 4.00 mm ID endotracheal tube was impossible to pass more than 1-2 cm distal to vocal cords. Due to a large leak, size 8 tube was passed below the cords and cuff was inflated slightly to reduce air leak. Oxygen saturation dropped to 95-96% and surgeon was asked to start tracheostomy. Findings included an almost complete subglottic stenosis, 2 cm below the vocal cords. A tracheostomy tube was inserted below the stenotic lesion which was followed by direct laryngoscopy

Phenotypes of Alpha 1 Antitrypsin in Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: To determine serum level of the protease inhibitor, to identify phenotypes and determine their frequencies. Study Design: A prospective study. Setting: PMRC Research Centre, JPMC and the Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi. Subjects: Healthy aduIts without history ol peptic ulcer disease and a normal endoscopy. Methodology: Quantitive measurement of serum alpha 1 AT was carried out by radial immunodiffusion. phenotyping by iso-electric focusing and confirmation of phenotypes by immunofixation and DNA analysis technique. Results:Serum alpha I AT was low in 13.4% of the subjects. Ni MM phenotype predominated followed by SZ SS, MZ and ZZ. DNA diagnosis accurately resolved the phenotypes as S and Z. Conclusion: Frequency by phenotype associated with total and intermediate deficiency is less in the populatio

Studies on the coccidia of passerine birds

Imperial Users onl

Real-time system identification of an unmanned quadcopter system using fully tuned radial basis function neural networks

In this paper, we present the performance analysis of a fully tuned neural network trained with the extended minimal resource allocating network (EMRAN) algorithm for real-time identification of a quadcopter. Radial basis function network (RBF) based on system identification can be utilised as an alternative technique for quadcopter modelling. To prevent the neurons and network parameters selection dilemma during trial and error approach, RBF with EMRAN training algorithm is proposed. This automatic tuning algorithm will implement the network growing and pruning method to add or eliminate neurons in the RBF. The EMRAN’s performance is compared with the minimal resource allocating network (MRAN) training for 1000 input-output pair untrained attitude data. The findings show that the EMRAN method generates a faster mean training time of roughly 4.16 ms for neuron size of up to 88 units compared to MRAN at 5.89 ms with a slight reduction in prediction accuracy

Characterization and prognostic value of mutations in exons 5 and 6 of the p53 gene in patients with colorectal cancers in central Iran

Background/Aims: We aimed to investigate the relation-ships among various mutations of the p53 gene and their protein products, histological characteristics, and disease prognosis of primary colorectal cancer in Isfahan, central Iran. Methods: Sixty-one patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma were enrolled in the study. Mutations of the p53 gene were detected by single-stranded conformation polymorphism and DNA sequencing. The protein stability was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Patients were followed up to 48 months. Results: Twenty-one point mutations in exons 5 and 6 were detected in the tumor specimens of 14 patients (23%). Of those, 81% and 9.5% were missense and nonsense mutations, respectively. There were also two novel mutations in the intronic region between exons 5 and 6. In 11 mutated specimens, protein stability and protein accumulation were identified. There was a relationship between the type of mutation and protein accumulation in exons 5 and 6 of the p53 gene. The presence of the mutation was associated with an advanced stage of cancer (trend, p&#60;0.009). Patients with mutated p53 genes had significantly lower survival rates than those with wild type p53 genes (p&#60;0.01). Conclusions: Mutations in exons 5 and 6 of the p53 gene are common genetic alterations in colorectal adenocarcinoma in central Iran and are associated with a poor prognosis of the disease