Treasury Bond and Corporate Bond Spread as an Indicator of Economic Activity

Bonds spread has been recognized as a strong indicator of future economic growth. Forecasting economic growth with spread is simpler compared to other measures. This paper focuses to study the usefulness of the spread between Treasury Bonds and High-Quality Corporate Bonds in predicting US economic growth, its accuracy between the years 1999 and 2021, and comparison with the traditional yield curve. By analyzing the relationship between different spreads and Industrial production index frequently used for observing and analyzing current economic performance, the results indicate that the traditional spreads such as 10Year–3Month and 10Year–2Year are not very accurate predictors of economic activity, while the new spread between Treasury Bonds and High-Quality Corporate Bonds can predict the economy. Keywords: Spread, Industrial Production, Economic Growth, Yield Curve

A STUDY REGARDING THE PREVAILING OF STRESS AMONG THE COLLEGE PLAYER IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

This study aimed to explore the prevailing level of stress among male and female college players. All the college players of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa formulated the population of the study of which a sample of 490 was drawn having 50% male and 50% female subjects. A research tool-questionnaire was developed with the help of literature, which was pilot tested having Cronbach alpha value as 0.870 before lunching in the field. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The data analysis revealed that the college players feel stress due to various reasons i.e. domination of opponents, self-poor performance and team, commitment of mistake, no cooperation among the team members, biased decision of the referee, competitions of vital importance, poor fitness level and expectation of people. It is concluded that the college players experience major stress as mental stress, psychological stress and emotional stress. The responses of male and female college players were compared and their expression regarding stress was almost similar. It is proposed that proper guidance and counseling services can be made beneficial for college players in order to overcome or minimize the stress and enhance the performance

Evaluation of Gas Potential in Early Cretaceous Shale Lower Indus Basin, Pakistan

The shale gas potential of the early Cretaceous Talhar shale member of the lower Goru Formation in lower Indus basin of Sanghar district, Sindh province, has been evaluated using 2D seismic and well logs data. Graphical and empirical techniques were applied to calculate various geochemical parameters for the evaluation of shale plays. Total Organic Carbon (TOC) is calculated by Passey's (∆LogR) Overlay technique and its values are about 2.44 wt.%. Vitrinite Reflectance (Ro) is estimated by graphical and empirical relation and the value lies between 0.95-1.0 which implies that the Talhar shale member is in peak oil and initial gas generation phase. Log-derived Maturity Index (LMI) is calculated by NPHI, RHOB or density log and uranium logs. The average value is about 0.55 which reflects that the formation is probably in the initial maturation phase. Kerogen Volume (Vk) is estimated by empirical relation using RHOB log as input and it is about 13 wt. % which reflects that the formation has enough potential of oil/gas expulsion. The results are compared and validated with a study of the adjacent field of the same basin. This study reveals that Talhar member of lower Goru Formation could be the future probable potential unconventional reservoir for exploration in lower Indus basin of Pakistan

A STUDY REGARDING THE PREVAILING OF STRESS AMONG THE COLLEGE PLAYER IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

This study aimed to explore the prevailing level of stress among male and female college players. All the college players of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa formulated the population of the study of which a sample of 490 was drawn having 50% male and 50% female subjects. A research tool-questionnaire was developed with the help of literature, which was pilot tested having Cronbach alpha value as 0.870 before lunching in the field. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The data analysis revealed that the college players feel stress due to various reasons i.e. domination of opponents, self-poor performance and team, commitment of mistake, no cooperation among the team members, biased decision of the referee, competitions of vital importance, poor fitness level and expectation of people. It is concluded that the college players experience major stress as mental stress, psychological stress and emotional stress. The responses of male and female college players were compared and their expression regarding stress was almost similar. It is proposed that proper guidance and counseling services can be made beneficial for college players in order to overcome or minimize the stress and enhance the performance

INFLUENCE OF RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL RESTRICTIONS UPON SPORTS PARTICIPATION

The main focus of the study is to examine the effect of religious and cultural restrictions upon sports participation among the secondary schools in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. In this particular study, the formulated research hypotheses were tested by using different appropriate statistical techniques such as “there is no significant effect of religious and cultural restrictions on sports participation among the students of secondary schools in  KP was tested through SIMPLE LINEAR REGRESSION. “There is no significant difference between the views of male and female respondents regarding the effect of religious and cultural restrictions upon students sports participation†was tested through t-test. There is no significant difference between the views of the respondent category-wise (teachers, parents and Head of the Institutions (HOIs) were tested through ANOVA. The population of this particular study comprised Teachers, HOIs, and parents in the province of KP, Pakistan. The researcher used multistage sampling techniques for the selection of sample. For the purpose of data collection, the researcher developed a Likert type questionnaire comprising 36 questions related to all aspects of the study. The result of this research study indicated that religious and cultural restrictions affect the participation of students in secondary schools of KP, Pakistan

Agent-Based Lost Person Movement Modelling, Prediction and Search in Wilderness

In this research we investigate the problem of searching for a Lost Person (LP) in wilderness using an autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The problem of search with a UAV is often treated as gridded environment search where the state of each grid (cell) is examined individually for the presence or absence of the target. However, this idealised way of search fails to exploit many potentially valuable dependencies and secondary cues — such as material deposited or left by the LP or topographical features such as natural tracks (trails) — which could significantly aid the search process. We discuss the need for such a system and review the current state-of-the-art work. Since key to a quick and successful search is a well defined initial distributions. We further argue the need to generate the initial distribution over the trajectory of the LP, not merely the end location, usually done in literature. We propose a search framework consisting of three key phases: information gathering, initial distribution generation and search. In the information gathering phase, we collect detailed information related to both the LP and the search environment. Then in the initial distribution generation phase, using the information gathered, we generate distribution over the LP’s trajectory using particles. Each particle represented by an agent model of LP movement with sampled parameters, navigating and interacting with the environment represented using data-sets in the form of terrain elevation, topography and vegetation. To ensure, the agent model is a good representation of the LP behaviour, we calibrate its parameters using the method called SMC2 . Finally in the Search phase, a UAV is deployed to explore the search area and detect the LP, any evidence features or changes in the environment. All information detected are localised and used to update the distribution over the LP trail until either the LP is located or the search is terminated

IMPACT OF EXERCISE, DIET, SMOKING & OBESITY UPON LIFE EXPECTANCY

Despite zenith in the field of scientific knowledge, any pin pointed factor behind the phenomenon of longevity and life expectancy has not yet been known. There are so many contributors that work together in affecting the span of life expectancy. Review of the literature reveals that participation in physical activities and exercises, use of proper diet, healthy lifestyle behaviour, avoidance of smoking and obesity are vital and they all have crucial role in determining the length of the life span.  This paper is aimed at to review the existing body of literature in perspectives of the factors contributing or otherwise with reference to the longevity and life expectancy. The factors examined in this paper include exercise & physical activity, diet and smoking. In view of the existing literature it has become evident that life expectancy is something that can be extended to a desirable limit provided consolidated efforts are put forth with reference to health care and healthy life style behaviour. Â

IMPACT OF EXERCISE, DIET, SMOKING & OBESITY UPON LIFE EXPECTANCY

Despite zenith in the field of scientific knowledge, any pin pointed factor behind the phenomenon of longevity and life expectancy has not yet been known. There are so many contributors that work together in affecting the span of life expectancy. Review of the literature reveals that participation in physical activities and exercises, use of proper diet, healthy lifestyle behaviour, avoidance of smoking and obesity are vital and they all have crucial role in determining the length of the life span.  This paper is aimed at to review the existing body of literature in perspectives of the factors contributing or otherwise with reference to the longevity and life expectancy. The factors examined in this paper include exercise & physical activity, diet and smoking. In view of the existing literature it has become evident that life expectancy is something that can be extended to a desirable limit provided consolidated efforts are put forth with reference to health care and healthy life style behaviour. 

Response of Soybean to Nitrogen Levels and Weed Management on Growth, Yield and Economic Efficiency

A field experiment was conducted during 2021 at the farm of Afghanistan National Agricultural Science and Technology University (ANASTU) to find out the suitable Response of Soybean to Nitrogen Levels and Weed Management on growth, yield and economic efficiency, the experimental design was Split plot design with two factors replicated thrice, the experiment consist of three weed management methods (Un-weeded check, Pendimethalin + hand weeding and Pendimethalin + Imazethapyr) and four nitrogen levels (Control, 40 kg N/ha, 60 kg N/ha and 80 kg N/ha). The maximum growth, yield and economic efficiency was in treatment (Pendimethalin + Imazethapyr), Root dry weight (9.42/plant), Nodules/plant (25.5),Nodes/plant (25.57, 27.68), Internodes distance(36.88 mm), Pods/plant(41.1), Seeds/pod (2.5), 1000 seed weight (102.5 gr), Grain yield (2.20 ton/ha), Gross Returns (187.863 AFN/ha), Net Returns (134.308 AFN/ha) and Benefit: cost ratio (2.504) compared to Un-weeded check and Pendimethalin + hand weeding, Root dry weight (9.67g/plant), Nodules/plant (25.6), Nodes/plant (27.68), Internodes distance(37.99 mm), Pods/plant(45.3), Seeds/pod (2.5), 1000 seed weight (104.7gr), Grain yield (2.20 ton/ha), Gross Returns (187.922 AFN/ha), Net Returns (133.159 AFN/ha) compared to 60 kg N/ha, 40 kg N/ha and control. it can be concluded that the application of (Pendimethalin + Imazethapyr) along with 80 kg N/ha was found to be suitable for profitable cultivation of soybean with optimum quality under the agro-climatic conditions of Kandahar Afghanistan