Morphophysiological Responses of Oat (Avena sativa L.) Genotypes from Pakistan’s Semiarid Regions to Salt Stress

Soil salinity is a major constraint to modern agriculture, with around 20% of the previously irrigated area becoming salt affected. Identifying suitable salt stress-tolerant genotypes based on their agronomic and physiological traits remains a herculean challenge in forage-type Oat (Avena sativa L.) breeding. The present study was designed to investigate the response of oat crop plants against the salt (NaCl) stress in Mardan, Pakistan. The experiment was carried out in complete randomized design (CRD) with two factors trail comprising of the performance of four different genotypes of oat (NARC oat, PARC oat, Green Gold and Islamabad oat) in response to four levels of saline stress (0, 25, 50 and 75 mmol L-1 NaCl). Plant growth and physiological parameters including germination (G, %); fresh shoot weight (FSW, g); fresh root weight (FRW, g); chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, total chlorophyll, and total carotenoids were analyzed for identifying salt tolerance. Germination (%) of oat genotypes was negatively affected by higher salt stress. Mean values showed that maximum germination (57.5%) was recorded for control while minimum germination (48.75%) was recorded for 25 mmol L-1 NaCl and that maximum germination (58%) was recorded for PARC oat. The root and shoot fresh weight of all genotypes declined with increasing salt stress, while NARC and Green Gold oat showed considerably higher values than the other genotypes. Although chlorophyll and carotenoids were found to be negatively affected by increasing salt concentrations, NARC and Green Gold oat genotypes performed considerably better at 75 mmol L-1 NaCl when compared to the other genotypes. Based on the mean shoot dry weight ratio ± one standard error, the four Oat genotypes were categorized as salt-tolerant (Green Gold), moderately tolerant (PARC and NARC), and salt-sensitive (Islamabad). The more salt-tolerant genotype (Green Gold) demonstrated relatively high salinity tolerance and may be useful for developing high-yielding oat hybrids in future breeding programs under salt stress conditions

Effect of Various Levels of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash on the Yield of French Bean

The experiment was conducted at the farm of Agricultural Research Station, Baffa (Mansehra) during August 2014 to monitor the effect of various levels of fertilizer treatments on plant height, number of branches plant-1, pod length, pod weight and pod yield of French bean variety (paulista). The experimental results revealed that that all the fertilizer treatments increased the plant height, number of branches plant-1, pod length, pod weight and pod yield of French bean significantly over control treatment. Maximum plant height (39.03 cm), number of branches plant-1(18.25), pod length (14.10 cm),  pod weight (5.37 gm) and pod yield (8.26 t ha-1) were recorded in the treatment receiving 120 kg N, 90 kg P2O5 and 90 kg K2O ha-1. The economics of fertilizers were also worked out on the basis of current market prices and it was found that use of fertilizer was profitable. The cost benefit ratio ranged between 4.90. to 6.05.

Effect of Sowing Dates on the Yield and Seed Production of Okra Cultivars in Mansehra

To monitor the effect of different sowing dates on the yield and seed production of okra cultivars, an experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Baffa Mansehra during 2014. Six cultivars of okra i.e. Irka, Sabz Pari, Pusa Green, Pusa Sawani, Sarhad Green and Green Star were sown on three different sowing dates with 15 days interval i.e. 15th March, 30th March and 14th April, 2014. Maximum number of pods plant-1 (32.12), pod length (11.12 cm), pod diameter (1.54 cm), pod weight (15.24 gm), plant height (184.28 cm), pod yield (16.24 t ha-1), seed yield (1601.92 kg ha-1) and 1000-seed weight (86.92 gm) were recorded in cultivars, sown on 30th March, 2014. Maximum number of pods plant-1 (32.75), pod length (11.57 cm), pod diameter (1.67 cm), pod weight (16.04 gm), plant height (187.17 cm), pod yield (17.50 t ha-1), seed yield (1735.00 kg ha-1) and 1000-seed weight (89.32 gm) were recorded in cultivar Sabz Pari. Sowing of okra cultivar Sabz Pari on 30th March is recommended for realizing maximum fresh pod and seed yields under the agro-climatic conditions of Mansehra District. Key words: okra, cultivar, sowing date, pod yield, seed weight

Effect of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers on Brinjal Cultivars under the Agro-Climatic Conditions of Mansehra

The effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on Brinjal cultivars under the agro-climatic conditions of Mansehra was studied at Agricultural Research Station Baffa Mansehra, during crop season 2011. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with two factors having split plot arrangement. There were three treatments which includes control (No fertilizer), inorganic regime (NPK @ 100:50:50 kg ha-1) and organic regime (Farm yard manure + Poultry manure + Mashroom waste @ 25 t ha-1, 5 t ha-1 and 10 t ha-1 respectively) were assigned to main plot. Four brinjal cultivars i.e. Pusa Long, Long Black, Black Beauty and Purple Long were used as sub plot factors.  Both the growing regimes and cultivars significantly affected all the growth and yield parameters except the survival percentage of seedlings. Among the growing regimes the organic fertilizer significantly influenced most of growth and yield components of brinjal. However, minimum days to flowering (33.6), fruit set (46.6), fruit harvest (57.3) and the maximum fruit length (21.2 cm) and fruit diameter (7.0 cm) were recorded in plants grown under organic fertilizers.  The brinjal cultivars also significantly influenced most of the parameters. The cultivar Pusa Long significantly resulted in the maximum plant height (82.9 cm) and also took less number of days to flowering (37.8). While the maximum fruit length (20.8 cm), less number of days to fruit set (48.1) and days to harvest (58.6) were recorded for cultivar Purple Long. Regarding to interaction of growing regimes and cultivars, the organic regime and cultivar Pusa Long showed the best performance for most of the growth and yield characteristics of brinjal. It is concluded from the present findings that brinjal cultivar Pusa Long should be cultivated under organic regime to obtain the higher yield and maximum profitability at Mansehra, Abbottabad- Pakistan. Keywords: Brinjal, variety, organic, inorganic, fruit diameter

Man and creativity: a contrastive analysis between Western and Islamic psychologies

Among all creations of God living in this planet, man is the most intelligent, innovative and creative. Imbued with these qualities, man was able to plan, create and recreate new things using the resources available in the environment. Man’s position as God’s best creation and as the recipient of the creative intelligence from his Creator has further advanced him in mastering science and technology. As a result of his advancement in knowledge and science in one way or another has ushered man into creating great civilizations. While the discussion goes on as to whether man’s creativity is an inborn or a learned behaviour, this paper intends to explore and analyze some of the existing concepts on human creativity found in Western and Islamic psychologies. Very particularly, the researchers would like to examine the concept of creativity put forward by Freudian Psychoanalysis, Behaviorists, Humanistic and Islamic psychologies. It is expected that the findings of this research can motivate mankind to be more dynamic and productive in bringing upon the much needed positive change to the present world conditions

Comparison of Garden Soil with Nitrogen and Potassium for Growing Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in Glass House.

The experiment was conducted during the year 2019-20 by Vegetable Section, Agriculture Research Station (ARS) Baffa Mansehra to compare garden soil with nitrogen (Urea) and potassium (Murate of Potash) for lettuce production in glass house. Lettuce is an important summer off-season and high valued crop cultivated at District Mansehra in the months of July-August. The produce is transported to other metropolises with handsome earning,  but excessive use of minerals and synthetic fertilizers may render the produce less profitable in one or another way. Hence this experiment was designed to compare garden soil with  nitrogen and potassium doses.  It is evident from the statistical analysis that garden soil has a significant effect on  number of leaves, leaf area, seed per plant, yield per plant and yield per acre. Seed production is noticeable for garden soil when the prevailing temperature during seed formation was 250C.  In terms of leaf area maximum leaf area 576.10 cm2was recorded for garden soil while minimum leaf area 303.43 cm2 was recorded with nitrogen applied @ 200 kg ha-1 and potassium applied @ 100 kg ha-1 respectively. Maximum number of leaves 28.03 was recorded for garden soil while the minimum number 21.96 was recorded for nitrogen applied @ 200 kg ha-1 and potassium applied @ 100 kg ha-1. Seed formation was successful with mean temperature 250C in glass house for 30 days, here again garden soil surpassed nitrogen and potassium with 4.03gm plant-1. Yield per plot 3.69 kg was recorded for garden soil and the minimum value 1.1843 kg was recorded for nitrogen and potassium applied @ 200 kg ha-1 nitrogen while potassium applied @ 100 kg ha-1. Garden soil gives maximum yield of 13600 kg acre-1 compared with the lowest production 6070.5 kg acre-1 of nitrogen and potassium applied @ 200 kg ha-1 nitrogen while potassium applied @ 150 kg ha-1.  Keywords:, Lettuce, garden soil, leaf area, seed production, glass house DOI: 10.7176/CEIS/14-2-06 Publication date:May 31st 202

Knowledge & Awareness about COVID-19 and the Practice of Respiratory Hygiene and Other Preventive Measures among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus in Pakistan

COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has emerged and it is rapidly spreading throughout the world and subsequently causing great damage to the global economy and health-care. Patients with diabetes or other comorbidities are at a greater risk of developing severe illness. Knowledge and awareness are key elements to stimulate practice of preventive measures. The present study evaluated the level of knowledge and awareness about COVID-19 among individuals with diabetes and their compliance with the preventive measures against it. A total of 242 individuals who were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and were 18 years or older participated in the study. The data was collected using an interview based questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences(SPSS) version 24. The mean age ± SD of the study population was 50.78 ± 11.24 years. In this study, 215 (88.8%) participants were aware that COVID-19 is caused by a virus and the disease is spread through droplets after sneezing or touching and shaking hands with an infected person (78.5%). However, only half the study populace regularly monitored their glucose level and complied with the “sick day rules” that is applicable during this pandemic. The present study indicates that despite the adequate knowledge and awareness about the coronavirus disease, the study participants were non-compliant with the practice of preventive and precautionary measures against the pandemic

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London