An Overview into the Activities of Women Extension Wing in Agricultural Development of District Muzaffarabad-AJ&K

Women Extension wing is a sole department which provides a platform for the women extension workers to interact directly with the female farmers. The present study was conducted in 2011 to overview the activities of women extension wing in district Muzaffarabad-AJ & K. For this study all the female extension staff was interviewed, including 16 Lady Extension Assistants and 4 Lady Extension Officers. Multistage sampling was used to select the required sample, 67 female farmers were randomly selected from the three selected villages. A pre-tested questionnaire and interview schedule was used for data collection. Female extension staff was satisfied from the extension department activities; they faced problems of communication and lack of cooperation. On the other hand, it was found that majority (46%) of female farmers was illiterate but had several year experiences which were helpful to them in applying the knowledge given by the extension workers practically. It was observed that 100% female farmers knew female extension staff both by name and face, and also satisfied from their activities. Majority (96%) were owner-cultivators as they grow vegetables and crops on their lands. About 58% of the female respondents had >5000 rupees monthly increase in income because of their participation in agricultural activities. They faced problems; lack of education, awareness and financial problems while participating in agricultural development. It is concluded that majority of the female extension staff and female farmers were satisfied from activities of women extension wing. Also, women extension wing is carrying out activities which are beneficial to female farmers. By using Chi-square test it is cleared that there is a non-significant association between the farming experience and the satisfaction from extension wing activities. It was recommended that female extension workers should be in regular contact with the female farmer, and number of trainings for both the farmers and staff should be increased by the Extension department. Also, audio-visual aids should be used for educating farmers. Keywords; Women; Extension wing; Agricultural Developmen

Morphological diversity of Morus spp. (Mulberry accessions) grown in Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan

Genetic diversity of thirty mulberry accessions was determined by using the eleven different phenotypic characters. The study was conducted in field areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The main objective of this study was to find out the diversity in morphological characters of Mulberry accessions found in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan. The results showed that there is a significant difference in quantitative parameters among the thirty accessions (p≤0.001). The cluster analysis showed that the data is divided into two main groups at near 80 dissimilarity level. This study suggests that the Morus germplasm is quite diverse

Do Financial Development and Economic Openness Matter for Economic Progress in an Emerging Country? Seeking a Sustainable Development Path

While emerging economies face the challenge of competing with developed nations, they are capable of catching up to the developed world. In this context, financial development and the degree of economic openness may provide better living conditions for the current generation without giving up future generations’ prosperity. Therefore, this research’s prime intention is to investigate the impact of economic openness and financial development on economic progress, employing Pakistan’s time-series data from 1975–2018. To examine the long-term association between economic openness, financial development, and economic progress, Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration tests were performed and the results present a long-term association between these variables. Findings from ARDL estimates indicate that the relationship between financial development and economic progress is significantly positive in the long term. Contrastingly, the relationship between economic openness and economic progress is significantly positive in the short term. A fully modified ordinary least square technique was applied to check the robustness of the long-term links. The Granger causality test revealed that economic progress is motivated by both economic openness and financial development in an emerging economy such as Pakistan. Thus, policies boosting financial development and economic openness are proposed to put the emerging economies on a path of sustainable economic development

Body Mass Index and its Relation with Socio-Demographic Factors among Healthcare Workers

Background and Objective: Obesity leads to multiple complications that in turn increase mortality worldwide. There is a rapid rise in obesity in the last decade, especially among physicians. The objective of this study was to find out the frequency and relationship of obesity with socio-economic factors among faculty of a local medical college in Lahore, Pakistan.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 162 medical and paramedical staff of Fatima Memorial College of Medicine and Dentistry, Lahore for a duration of 7 months from February 2019 to August 2019. Data were collected by filling the questionnaires and standard tools were used for height and weight measurement. Overweight/obesity was defined as a body mass index of &ge;25 kg/m2.Results: In this study, out of 86 males and 76 females, the majority of the respondents were between the ages of 21 and 35 years. Seventy three (45.1%) and thirty (18.5%) respondents were overweight and obese, respectively. Out of a total 162 subjects, 38 (24%) were hypertensive and 18 (11%) were suffering from diabetes. There was a statistically significant association of obesity with age (p &lt; 0.05), marital status (p &lt; 0.001), family history of obesity (p &lt; 0.001), and smoking (p &lt; 0.05).Conclusion: Risk factors like age, marital status, family history of obesity, and smoking have a strong correlation with obesity in faculty members of a medical school.</p

On Center, Periphery and Average Eccentricity for the Convex Polytopes

A vertex v is a peripheral vertex in G if its eccentricity is equal to its diameter, and periphery P ( G ) is a subgraph of G induced by its peripheral vertices. Further, a vertex v in G is a central vertex if e ( v ) = r a d ( G ) , and the subgraph of G induced by its central vertices is called center C ( G ) of G . Average eccentricity is the sum of eccentricities of all of the vertices in a graph divided by the total number of vertices, i.e., a v e c ( G ) = { 1 n ∑ e G ( u ) ; u ∈ V ( G ) } . If every vertex in G is central vertex, then C ( G ) = G , and hence, G is self-centered. In this report, we find the center, periphery and average eccentricity for the convex polytopes

Ficus religiosa bark an efficient adsorbent for Alizarin Red S dye: Equilibrium and kinetic analysis

The discharge of unsafe color dyes into the effluents of various industries can harm the environment and human health and therefore needs remediation. The current research assesses the environmental friendly decontamination of the Alizarin Red S (ARS) dye from industrial aqueous effluents by powder bark of a low-cost and indigenous plant, Ficus religiosa, as a biosorbent. The biosorbent was processed, powdered, and then characterized via SEM and FTIR spectroscopy before and after exposure to ARS. For maximum dye-decontamination of industrial effluents, adsorption parameters including dosage of the biosorbent, contact time between the dye and the biosorbent, shaking time and temperature of the adsorption process were optimized. SEM images confirmed the presence of high surface area active binding sites, and FTIR analysis shows that the adsorption of ARS on the adsorbent is due to groups like ‒OH, –NH, –CH, C=O and C=C. The kinetics study of the adsorption follows pseudo-second order kinetic model. Best fit isotherm to the equilibrium data was obtained for Langmuir and Freundlich models. The decontamination ARS from aqueous phase by the adsorption process could be an inexpensive and viable way of protecting humans from carcinogenicity, DNA mutagenicity, jaundices, allergies and skin irritations

Evaluation of potential inhibitory effects on acetylcholinesterase, pancreatic lipase, and cancer cell lines using raw leaves extracts of three fabaceae species

The present study examined the biological potential and phytochemicals of Sophora mollis, Mucuna pruriens, and Indigofera atropurpurea methanolic leaf extracts. In vitro anti-acetylcholinesterase and anti-lipase assays were performed using different concentrations of plant extracts, and the IC50 values were determined. The cytotoxic potential of the selected plant extracts was assessed against HeLa, PC3, and 3T3 cell lines using an MTT assay. S. mollis leaf extract displayed the highest inhibition percentage (114.60% ± 19.95 at 1000 μg/mL) for the anti-acetylcholinesterase activity with a prominent IC50 value of 75.9 μg/mL. The anti-lipase potential was highest with the M. pruriens leaf extract (355.5 μg/mL IC50), followed by the S. mollis extract (862.7 μg/mL IC50). Among the cell lines tested, the cytotoxic potential of the I. atropurpurea extract (91.1 ppm IC50) against the PC3 cell line was promising. High-performance liquid chromatography revealed gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, vanillic acid, rutin trihydrate, and quercetin dihydrate in varying concentrations in all plant species. The concentration of chlorogenic acid (69.09 ppm) was highest in M. pruriens, and the caffeic acid concentration (45.20 ppm) was higher in S. mollis. This paper reports the presence of bioactive therapeutic compounds in selected species of the Fabaceae family that could be micro-propagated, isolated, and utilized in pharmaceutical industries