Pro-poor intervention strategies in irrigated agriculture in Asia: poverty in irrigated agriculture: issues and options: Pakistan

Irrigated farming / Poverty / Irrigation management / Irrigation systems / Water policy / Water rights / Water law / Irrigation scheduling / Organizations / Social aspects / Households / Economic aspects / Expenditure / Irrigation programs / Performance evaluation / Water delivery / Equity / Models / Crop production / Productivity / Wheat / Pakistan

How to Retain the ‘Core- Employees’ Through HR Practices? An Empirical Study of Public & Private Sector Universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan

This study investigates the influence and effectiveness of Human Resource Management Practices which will help organization to sustain the “core-employees”.  Employee retention is one of the challenges facing many business organizations today. This empirical study examined the current Human Resource Management practices in Higher education institution of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In particular, the study identifies those elements of HRM, which strongly influence the “Core-employees” to stay in the organization, because organizations inclination now days depend on upon knowledge base human capital and due to the emergence of new Public & Private sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, most of the universities are facing employees turnover. In this study employee of both Public & Private sector universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is targeted, in order to extract information regarding HRM practices that which factor significantly influence these core employees to stay in the organization. For this study One hundred and thirty participants were selected from thirteen Public and Private sectors universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Through stratified random sampling method. The constructs of the study were measured using five-point Likert rating scale. Keywords: Employees Retention, HRM Practices, Core employees, Reward and Recognition, Compensation

A Review “The Research Status of Switched Reluctance Generator"

Switched Reluctance Generators (SRGs) have become quite popular lately because they offer some big advantages compared to regular generator technologies. This comprehensive review paper is dedicated to illuminating the latest developments in the realm of SRGs, offering a deep dive into their operational intricacies, diverse types, design principles, control strategies, versatile applications, and the formidable challenges that lay ahead. The paper begins by explaining in simple terms how Switched Reluctance Generators (SRGs) work and uncovering the main ideas that make them special and different from other generators. It then proceeds to categorize SRGs into various types, providing an insight into the diverse design features that distinguish them. This foundational understanding sets the stage for a more profound exploration of SRGs. The review focuses significantly on studying the complex control methods that manage SRGs, exploring the advanced techniques used to make them work better and more efficiently. As SRGs continue to evolve, their applicability spans a broad spectrum, ranging from clean energy generation to enhancing transportation systems and powering industrial machinery. This review carefully explains how SRGs can help change many different industries for the better. It shows how they have a lot of potential to make big improvements. Nevertheless, SRGs do not come without their share of challenges, encompassing issues related to efficiency, reliability, and the complexities inherent in control strategies. This review serves as an informative exploration of SRGs, highlighting their potential across various industries. It acknowledges their development and urges them to keep exploring their promising abilities. As switched reluctance generators become more popular, this discussion provides a detailed guide for those interested in understanding how they work and navigating their complex features

Temporomandibular Disorders: Association between Psychosocial Symptoms and Persistent Pain

This longitudinal study of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) reports the association of psychosocial dysfunctions (depression, somatization without pain, somatization, and anxiety) with characteristic pain intensity (CPI), pain interference (PI), and number of disability days (DD) for subjects with TMD. Subjects (N=330) underwent a thorough series of assessments at baseline and follow-up (5-10 years later) to receive both Axis I and Axis II diagnoses per the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD). They reported their levels of CPI, PI, and DD at baseline and follow-up. Linear and log-binomial regression analyses were used to evaluate the change in CPI and PI and assess the risk of DD by baseline categories of psychosocial symptoms as measured by the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90). Linear regression analysis revealed that subjects with depression at baseline had higher PI at follow-up. Also, subjects with moderate to severe somatization with and without pain had higher CPI at follow-up than subjects without somatization. In conclusion, we found that psychosocial impairments (depression, somatization) were associated with increased characteristic of pain intensity, pain interference, and disability days at follow-up

Outcomes of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Estimation of Healthcare Costs in Potential ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ Cases

Objectives: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a life-saving procedure which may fail if applied unselectively. ‘Do not resuscitate’ (DNR) policies can help avoid futile life-saving attempts among terminally-ill patients. This study aimed to assess CPR outcomes and estimate healthcare costs in potential DNR cases. Methods: This retrospective study was carried out between March and June 2014 and included 50 adult cardiac arrest patients who had undergone CPR at Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah, Oman. Medical records were reviewed and treating teams were consulted to determine DNR eligibility. The outcomes, clinical risk categories and associated healthcare costs of the DNR candidates were assessed. Results: Two-thirds of the potential DNR candidates were ≥60 years old. Eight patients (16%) were in a vegetative state, 39 (78%) had an irreversible terminal illness and 43 (86%) had a low likelihood of successful CPR. Most patients (72%) met multiple criteria for DNR eligibility. According to clinical risk categories, these patients had terminal malignancies (30%), recent massive strokes (16%), end-stage organ failure (30%) or were bed-bound (50%). Initial CPR was unsuccessful in 30 patients (60%); the remaining 20 patients (40%) were initially resuscitated but subsequently died, with 70% dying within 24 hours. These patients were ventilated for an average of 5.6 days, with four patients (20%) requiring >15 days of ventilation. The average healthcare cost per patient was USD $1,958.9. Conclusion: With careful assessment, potential DNR patients can be identified and futile CPR efforts avoided. Institutional DNR policies may help to reduce healthcare costs and improve services

Axial Load-carrying Capacity of Steel Tubed Concrete Short Columns Confined with Advanced FRP Composites

Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRPs) have wide applications in the field of concrete construction due to their superior performance over conventional materials. This research focuses on the structural behavior of steel tube FRP jacket–confined concrete (STFC) columns under axial concentric loading and proposes a new empirical equation for predicting the axial load-carrying capacity of STFC columns having thickness of FRP-fabric ranging from 0.09 mm to 5.9 mm. A large database of 700 FRP-confined concrete specimens is developed with the detailed information of critical parameters, i.e. elastic modulus of FRPs (Ef), compressive strength of unconfined concrete (fc’o), diameter of specimen (D), height of specimen (H), total thickness of FRPs (N.tf), and the ultimate strength of confined concrete (fc’c). After the preliminary evaluation of constructed database, a new empirical model is proposed for the prediction of axial compressive strength of FRP-confined specimens using general regression analysis by minimizing the error functions such as root mean squared error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R2). The proposed FRP-confinement strength model presented higher accuracy as compared with previously proposed models. Finally, an equation is proposed for the predictions of axial load carrying capacity of STFC columns. For the validation of proposed equation, an extensive parametric study is performed using the proposed nonlinear finite element model (FEM). The FEM is calibrated using the load-deflection results of STFC columns from literature. A close agreement was observed between the predictions of proposed finite element model and proposed capacity equation

Goat Immunity to Helminthes

Goat hematology, especially, shares considerable attention since the last 1980s. Large number of discrepant normal hematologic values is reported. The discrepancies resulted came from the differences in age group, breed, and health standing of goats. This makes it further complex with variances in climate of the region, its environment, and size and methodology applied. With time, many inconsistencies, reasonably standardization in normal caprine kinetic hematologic values, are in place. Both goats and sheep are infested by the same key digestive tract helminthes (DTHs) diseases. Helminthes are exceedingly ubiquitous worm parasites that progressed to adopt with many erudite means to evade host immune system

COMPARISON AND EVALUATION OF ONE-STEP REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE-POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (RT-PCR) AND REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE LOOP-MEDIATED ISOTHERMAL AMPLIFICATION ASSAY(RT-LAMP) FOR RAPID DETECTION OF FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE VIRUS (FMDV)

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is endemic in Pakistan and cause severe economic losses. Serotype O, A and Asia 1 is prevalent and their rapid detection for Pakistaniisolates is needed to determine the serotype prevalence in different areas of the country. One step reversetranscriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and reverse transcriptase loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT- LAMP) was compared for the rapid and sensitive detection of FMDV genome. FMDV genome was confirmed in 19/25clinically affected animals by sequencing. These positive samples (n=19) were also confirmed in both RT-PCR and RT-LAMP consensus assay.In theserotyping assay, RT-PCR detection rate was16.67%, 80%, and 50% and RT-LAMP detection rate was 50%, 60% and 50%for serotype Asia 1, O and type A respectively. In general detection of FMDV, RT-PCR assay and the RT-LAMP assay showed high concordance (k = 1.0). However, in serotype detection, RT-LAMP was found more sensitive as compared to RT-PCR for the detection of the FMDV serotype Asia1 and Vice Versa in the detection of serotype O. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is thefirst document on thecomparison of RT-LAMP and one-step RT- PCR for FMDV using ESE-Quant Tube Scanner in Pakistan.The RT-LAMP assay has the potential for early and rapid clinical diagnosis, surveillance and serotyping of FMDV infection in endemic countries

MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF INFECTIOUS BURSAL DISEASE VIRUS FROM COMMERCIAL POULTRY IN PAKISTAN

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is an immunosuppressive disease of young, growing chickens which results in impaired growth or mortality of rearing flocks. In the current era there is a re-emergence of very virulent Infectious Bursal Disease Viruses (vvIBDV) and classical variant (cv) IBDV strains which increased the financial losses of poultry industry worldwide. Recent studies were conducted to characterize the existing vvIBDVs prevailing in Pakistan. The suspected samples were collected from the field outbreaks during the period from 2014–2017. IBDV was detected by RT-PCR. The sequences of VP2 gene (hyper variable region) were determined and available details were aligned with sequences submitted inGenBank. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that both vvIBDV and classical variant strains were circulating in different regions of Pakistan. In Indo-Pak isolates, the presence of virulent markers, amino acids (A222, I242, Q253, I256 and S299) and “Serine rich- heptapeptide” indicated the presence of very virulent viruses. The presence of T284A isan indicator of vvIBDVs in local poultry farms. More than 99% similarity of Pakistani isolates with Indian sequences reflects the trans-boundary spread of IBD. In recent studies amino acid, Glutamine (Q) is present at position 221 (as reported in previous studies) rather than Histidine (H) in Pakistani sequences. It is investigated that Glutamic acid (E) is located at position 300 in minor hydrophilic region III of VP2 protein in all reported Pakistani isolates. It is the unique feature of indigenous strains. This study will be useful in understanding the origin and pathotypes of IBDV circulating in Pakistan