Fertiliser, Plant Nutrient Management, and Self-reliance in Agriculture

The importance of agriculture in the economy of Pakistan is well established. Agricultural plays an important role both directly and indirectly in generating economic activity, growth and development. Agriculture has strong backward and forward linkages and is vital to the food security of the country. Fertilisers have played an important role in Pakistan agriculture particularly in meeting the growing demand for food grains, fibre, fuel and fodder. Fertiliser consumption has increased during the last four decades to 2.6 million tonnes by 1997-98. The use level is, however, not only sub optimal but also imbalanced. Better plant nutrient management is, therefore, necessary for achieving self reliance in agriculture.

Why are girls out of school in 2021? Reasons which stop girls from getting an education – Can we fight with these reasons?

oai:ojs2.internationaljournalsmart.com:article/1Girls have the same educational rights as boys. Girls who have received an education are more equipped to make well-informed decisions as compared to those who didn’t have any education. In addition, educating girls strengthens families, communities, and economies all at the same time. A country's productivity rises and its economy expands when its girls are well educated. Many girls throughout the globe are forced to skip school daily.  Girls are often excluded from formal education just because they are female and it is not the cultural norm for them to be in school. If they come from a low-income household or have a disability, their chances of receiving a good education are considerably less (King and Winthrop, 2015)

Polyolefins as polymeric matrix for magnetic and conductive nanocomposites

In this present thesis polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) conductive and magnetic nanocomposites were synthesis by in situ polymerization using metallocene catalysts, bis(n-butyl cyclopentadienyl) zirconium dichloride [(nBuCp)2ZrCl2] for ethylene polymerization and racethylene bis(indenyl) zirconium dichloride[rac-Et(Ind)2ZrCl2)] for propylene polymerization and methylaluminoxane (MAO) as a co-catalyst. The preparation of PP magnetic and conducting nanocomposites was also done by melt mixing method. The fillers used were carbon nanotubes with iron nanoparticles, reduced graphite oxide and activated carbon with nickel encapsulated. The carbon nanotubes (CNT), were obtained by two approaches, (i) chemical vapor deposition method (CVD) using ferrocene as the precursor and catalyst and high surface area silica (SiO2) as support of synthesis, (ii) pyrolysis of sawdust from the furniture industry. Reduced graphite oxide (rGO) was obtained from oxidation of the flakes using a modified Staudenmaier method and thermal reduction. The nickel activated carbon (Ni-C) was obtained by microwave assisted pyrolysis. The catalytic activities of the in situ polymerization of ethylene or propylene were high hence no deactivation of the catalysts was observed. The fillers were well dispersed in the polyethylene and polypropylene matrices as evidenced by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Only small amounts of magnetic fillers, 0.8 - 0.9 wt.%, changed the diamagnetic polyethylene and polypropylene matrixes into ferromagnetic polymers at room temperature. The addition of the 2.4 wt.% of rGO or 3.8 wt.% of CNT changes the insulating polyolefin matrices to semi-conductors. The thermal stability of the nanocomposites investigated by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry showed an enhancement in the maximum degradation, crystallization and melting temperatures as compared to the neat polymer. The elastic modulus was enhanced by the presence of the fillers. Some fillers decreased the permeability towards oxygen. The novelty of the work was the production of thermoplastics with all the same or higher outstanding properties of the original matrixes increased of magnetic and conducting properties with the use of a small amount of the filler. The outstanding properties of the nanocomposites are attributed to the use of the two techniques, namely the encapsulation of iron in the CNT which protect iron particles from easy oxidation, secondly the in situ polymerization which guarantee the uniform dispersion of the filler in the polymer matrix. There were also tested two fillers that can be considered eco-friendly because they come from waste.Na presente tese, nanocompósitos condutores e magnéticos de polietileno e polipropileno foram sintetizados pela polimerização in situ utilizando o catalisador de metalocênico dicloreto de bis(n-butil ciclopentadienil) zircônio [(nBuCp)2ZrCl2] na polimerização de etileno e [racetileno bis (indenil) zircônio (rac-Et (Ind)2ZrCl2)] na polimerização de propileno e metilaluminoxano (MAO) como co-catalisador. A preparação de nanocompositos magnéticos e condutores de PP também foi feita por meio do método de mistura em fusão. As cargas utilizadas foram nanotubos de carbono com nanopartículas de ferro, óxido de grafite reduzido e carvão ativado com níquel encapsulado. Os nanotubos de carbono (CNT) foram sintetizados por dois método: i) deposição química de vapor (CVD) utilizando ferroceno como precursor e catalisador e sílica de alta área superficial (SiO2) como suporte de síntese, ii) pirólise da serragem da indústria moveleira. O óxido de grafite reduzido (rGO) foi obtido a partir da oxidação dos flocos usando o método de Staudenmaier modificado e redução térmica. O carbono ativado com níquel (Ni-C) foi obtido por pirólise assistida por microondas. As atividades catalíticas da polimerização in situ de etileno e propileno foram altas, portanto, nenhuma desativação dos catalisadores foi observada. As cargas foram bem dispersas nas matrizes de polietileno e polipropileno, como evidenciado por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (SEM) e microscopia eletrônica de transmissão (TEM). Apenas pequenas quantidades de nanopartículas magnéticas, 0,8 - 0,9% em peso, alteraram as matrizes diamagnéticas de polietileno e polipropileno em polímeros ferromagnéticos à temperatura ambiente. A adição de 2,8% em peso de rGO ou 3,8% em peso de CNT altera as matrizes isolantes de poliolefina para semi-condutores. O módulo elástico aumentou pela presença da cargas. Alguma nanopartículas diminuíram a permeabilidade em relação ao oxigênio. A novidade do trabalho foi a produção de termoplásticos mantendo ou melhorando as propriedades das matrizes originais e incrementando propriedades magnéticas e condutoras com o uso de uma pequena quantidade de nanopartículas. As propriedades notáveis dos nanocompósitos são atribuídas ao uso principalmente de duas técnicas, isto é, o encapsulamento de ferro nos CNT que protege as partículas de ferro da oxidação, e também a utilização da polimerização in situ que garante a dispersão uniforme da carga na matriz polimérica. Também XVI foram testados dois enchimentos que podem ser considerados ecológicos porque provêm de resíduos

CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS NON-LOCAL PRODUCTS: A CASE OF PAKISTAN

This study investigated the attitudes of Pakistani consumers towards non local (imported) products. Country of Origin (COO) effect was the main thing to find out. A survey questionnaire was distributed among 200 respondents in the twin cities Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The questionnaire contained the measure of, quality of the products, social status, and unavailability of local substitutes; admiration for EDCs life style, consumers’ ethnocentrism and attitudes towards non local products. Nine hypotheses were designed and tested by Pearson correlation and simple regression analysis by using SPSS 15 version. Analysis of the data showed that consumers in the developing countries like Pakistan considered the imported products as of high value and they feel a pride when having the products of the developed countries. The moderating impact of admiration for EDCs life style and consumers’ ethnocentrism was also confirmed by this study. The research findings suggest for the MNCs to go for a joint venture with a local firm or set up a foreign subsidiary to control the effect of ethnocentricity which is extremely important to cope with. Local producers and marketers should focus on the quality of their products to compete with multinational corporations in their domestic markets and survive with a rising head. This research showed that if the imported products are of high quality, more reliable and of reasonable price then ethnocentrism can not become hostile to them

Fungal-Derived Nanoparticles as Novel Antimicrobial and Anticancer Agents

In order to control microbial resistance against commonly used antibiotics, it is indispensable to develop novel and efficient antimicrobial agents. For this purpose, metallic nanoparticles (mainly inorganic) with their antimicrobial activites represent an effective solution for this global problem. However, synthesis of nanoparticles involves the use of expensive, poisonous and dangerous chemicals responsible for different biological and environmental hazards. This fact increases the necessity of developing environment-friendly procedure by means of green synthesis (using plants) and extra-biological methods (using microbes such as bacteria and fungi). More recently, metallic nanoparticles, derived from fungal sources, have demonstrated their potential not only as a new-generation antimicrobial agents but also as anticancer agents. Therefore, this chapter is aimed to explore the various nanoparticles producing fungi with ultimate objective of elucidating the possible (i) mechanism of biosynthesis of metallic NPs by various fungi and (ii) mode of action of these mycosynthesized NPs on bacterial cell. This chapter would certainly increase our knowledge about interaction of nanoparticles with bacterial cell for their use in health biotechnology

Education, Religion and the Creation of Subject: Different Educational Systems of Pakistan

Educational systems have assumed great sociological significance in modern nation states because education is the only instrument which provides the possibilities to progress and prosper in the world today. It has put a lot of power in the designers of education systems. This paper argues that the three different educational systems of Pakistan have very different historical origins, pedagogical style and curriculum. Therefore, the students of these schools develop totally different worldviews. I argue that this difference in basic outlook towards life among different subgroups of population is one of the major reasons for the religious violence and terrorism in Pakistan

A SILENCE REMOVAL AND ENDPOINT DETECTION APPROACH FOR SPEECH PROCESSING

In this paper a brief overview of silence removal and voice activity detection is discussed and a new method for silence removal is suggested. The objective of suggested method is to delete the silence and unvoiced segments from the speech signal which are very useful to increase the performance and accuracy of the system. Endpoint detection is used to remove the DC offset value from the signal after silence removal process. Silence removal and Endpoint detection are main part of many applications such as speaker and speech recognition. The proposed method uses Root Mean Square (RMS) to delete the unvoiced segments from the speech signal. This work showed better results for silence removal and endpoint detection than existing methods. The performance of this research work is evaluated using MATLAB tool and accuracy of 97.2% is achieved

Fertiliser, Plant Nutrient Management, and Self-reliance in Agriculture

The importance of agriculture in the economy of Pakistan is well established. Agricultural plays an important role both directly and indirectly in generating economic activity, growth and development. Agriculture has strong backward and forward linkages and is vital to the food security of the country. Fertilisers have played an important role in Pakistan agriculture particularly in meeting the growing demand for food grains, fibre, fuel and fodder. Fertiliser consumption has increased during the last four decades to 2.6 million tonnes by 1997-98. The use level is, however, not only sub optimal but also imbalanced. Better plant nutrient management is, therefore, necessary for achieving self reliance in agriculture

The Nostalgic Detective: Identity formation in Detective Fiction of Pakistan

Through an analysis of Ibn-e-Safi’s writings, this article explores the existence of a reflective nostalgia in Post-Colonial Pakistan. We propose that this nostalgia operated at three levels; firstly, it represented an approach that saw the geographical separation of India not as a complete socio-cultural break where the entire heritage of India had to be disowned in order to become an “authentic†Pakistani. Secondly, it was a yearning for the inclusive religiosity where religion was a matter of personal choice and not a state enforced enterprise. Finally, it represented an attitude towards Colonialism  which accepted modernity and rationality while keeping indigenous traditional values intact

Stuck in Slums: A Case Study of Slums in Islamabad, Pakistan

This paper focuses on finding answers to the reasons why people keep living in the slums and why they cannot get out of their precarious conditions. This paper looks into different reasons for people being stuck in slums from a religious perspective. Reasons for different religious groups being stuck in slums are not explored fully in the literature. The analysis draws on qualitative research with a sample of 53 semi-structured interviews conducted in 8 katchi abadis in Islamabad, Pakistan. The study shows that slums are nonhomogenous entities and are regarded as a living organism that provide safety, security, and a sense of belonging to some of the residents. The results revealed that both Christian and Muslim slum residents had different reasons for living in slums. There were not only inter-religious differences in the choice of living but intra religious differences had also been found. In the process, the paper highlights that most Christians lived in slums by choice due to strong social capital, with an exception of a few. On the other hand, Muslim slum residents lived in poverty which was a major reason most of the slum dwellers are stuck in slums. Policymakers should meet the needs of the people before implementing any policies. This is because relocation policies can bring misery to some of the slum dwellers. Finally, the paper demonstrated that slums play a pivotal role in the lives of the slum dwellers in keeping them