Horticulture policy for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Prepared as part of the Technical Assistance to Department of Agriculture and Livestock, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PakistanPakistan’s rich soil and four seasons are favorable for horticulture. The country’s horticultural sector: (a) benefits from favourable and diversified agroecological conditions; (b) geographically and strategically well placed to enhance its exports to highly competitive but lucrative markets like Middle East, Afghanistan, Iran, China, Central Asian Republics, Europe and Far East; and (c) plays a major socioeconomic role in Pakistan, in particular for women’s economic empowerment. While Pakistan is a major producer of horticultural products, its tremendous export potential remains largely untapped. The sector’s structure, the characteristics and varieties of the Fruits and Vegetables (F&V) grown locally, and the way in which F&V are being cultivated, aggregated, and transported have a huge bearing on the sector’s trade performance and have a tremendous impact on its competitiveness. The production base is highly fragmented, with approximately 85% of the orchards having an area of less than 12.5 acres

Modified halloysite nanotubes decorated with Ceria for synergistic corrosion inhibition of Polyolefin based smart composite coatings

The deteriorating effect of corrosion can be controlled by applying suitable polymeric-based coatings. In this work, polyolefin based smart composite coatings containing modified halloysite nanotubes decorated with ceria particles were investigated to analyze their anti-corrosion behavior. For this purpose, halloysite nanotubes (Hals) were utilized as nanocarriers which were loaded with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a corrosion inhibitor via overnight stirring and vacuum cycling method. The loaded Hals were then modified/decorated with cerium oxide (CeO2) particles by reacting cerium nitrate (Ce (NO3)3.6H2O) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) which resulted in the formation of CeO2@HAL/SDS. The synthesized modified particles (CeO2@HAL/SDS) were characterized by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential thermal gravimetric analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and UV-vis spectroscopic analysis. TGA analysis results demonstrated that about 32% (w/w) of SDS has been loaded into Hal, and 47% (w/w) of CeO2 has been immobilized on the surface of Hal. UV-Vis analysis results demonstrated the pH-sensitive and time-dependent release behavior of synthesized particles. Furthermore, the modified CeO2@HAL/SDS particles (1 wt%) were reinforced into the polyolefin-based matrix, coated on a polished steel substrate and their electrochemical properties were investigated. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis confirms the promising improvement in the corrosion inhibition performance of polyolefin coatings modified with CeO2@HAL/SDS particles when compared to the polyolefin composite coatings modified with HAL/SDS due to the synergistic corrosion inhibition performance of Ce(OH)3 and Fe-SDS formation at the cathodic and anodic region of steel.This research was funded by the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation ), grant number NPRP13S-0120-200116 and Qatar University internal grant number QUCG-CENG-22/23-461 . Statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.Scopu

CO-INOCULATION WITH RHIZOBIUM AND BACILLUS SP TO IMPROVE THE PHOSPHORUS AVAILABILITY AND YIELD OF WHEAT (Triticum aestivum L.)

ABSTRACT Intensive cropping has resulted-in wide spread deficiency of nutrients in most of the soils and situation is becoming more serious because of a increase in the use of high priced chemical fertilizers and their negative influence on the environment. Exploitation of biological intervention mainly phosphate solublizing bacteria (PSB) has attracted great attention, as they have enormous potential in providing soil phosphorus for plant growth, by increasing the availability of accumulated phosphate through solubilization. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of Rhizobium and Bacillus, alone and in combination on the yield parameters of wheat. Uniform dose of N and K (160 and 60 kg ha ), grain protein (11.84%) and 1000 grain weight (62 g) were higher in co-inoculation of Rhizobium and Bacillus. It was also recorded that coinoculation of Rhizobium and Bacillus improved the grain yield up to 17.5% as compared to control. In single inoculation Bacillus gave better result and showed an increase of 7.7% in grain yield. Phosphorus uptake by grains (25.29 kg ha -1 ) was maximized by co-inoculation followed by Bacillus inoculation. Available phosphorus in post harvest sample of soil was recorded (16.27 mg kg -1 ) which was significantly higher than all other treatments. Results clearly demonstrated that co-inoculation of Rhizobium and Bacillus sp enhanced the availability of phosphorus and exert positive effect on the growth and yield of crop

Case Report: Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Induced Multiorgan Vasculitis Successfully Treated With Rituximab

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of cancer. ICIs have a unique side effect profile, generally caused by inflammatory tissue damage, with clinical features similar to autoimmune conditions. Acute kidney injury from ICIs has been well studied; incidence ranges from 1% to 5%, with higher incidence when combination ICI therapies are used. Although the overall reported incidence of ICI-associated glomerulonephritis is less than 1%, vasculitis is the most commonly reported ICI-related glomerulonephritis. Other biopsy findings include thrombotic microangiopathy, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, minimal change disease, and IgA nephropathy with secondary amyloidosis. We report a case in which a woman previously treated with the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer with pre-existing antineutrophil cytoplasmic (anti-PR3) antibody who later developed multi-organ vasculitis after ICI exposure, which was successfully treated with rituximab, with continued cancer remission for 3 years

A 2019-20 social accounting matrix for Balochistan, Pakistan

Prepared as part of the Technical Assistance to the Government of Balochistan in collaboration with Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering & Management Sciences (BUITEMS) and Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University (SBKWU), QuettaThis paper documents the different steps followed to construct Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Balochistan for the year 2019-20. More precisely, it describes the estimation methods and the nature of the data used in developing the SAM at the subnational level. The Balochistan SAM includes 13 production activities, 4 factors of production, 4 household groups and rest of the world account, assessing linkages between production, factor income distribution, and households’ incomes and expenditures, and capturing distributional effects. The Balochistan SAM reveals that the shares of services and manufacturing sector remains lower than national average and there is an overwhelming contribution of the livestock and horticulture sector in the subnational economy which has the potential in boosting national livestock and horticulture exports. Further, the consumption pattern in Balochistan supports Engle’s law of consumption showing that with an increase in households’ income, the share of expenditure on food decreases and consumption of non-food items increases. This paper is organized as follows. The first section presents an overview of Balochistan province of Pakistan. The second Section highlights the background of Social Accounting Matrix and its key features. The third section review the literature and various efforts made to develop Pakistan SAM with varying features. The fourth section describes the process and the methodology used to develop SAM. The fifth section presents the structure of Balochistan SAM, accounts, and data sources and elaborates the process and techniques used to balance Balochistan SAM. The sixth section highlights the structure of Balochistan’s economy and an evaluation of value addition. The seventh section underscores the key findings of Balochistan SAM. The final section underlines how the SAM Balochistan can contribute to evidence-based policy making that helps in economic growth and reducing poverty in Balochistan

Implications of Social Factors and Management Outcomes Among Patients with Corrosive Ingestion

Background: Corrosive poisoning is a growing concern in developing countries and although management options have improved over the years, preventive strategies have failed to provide results. The objective of this study was to determine social and epidemiological factors related to corrosive intake in patients and to assess the effect of these factors on management outcomes in terms of morbidity and mortality. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out in Surgical Unit-1 of Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi from February 2019 to June 2020. Each corrosive poisoning patient’s age, gender, residence, ethnicity, education, and financial status were recorded. Previous psychiatric illnesses were also recorded. Management outcomes in terms of wound infections, anastomotic leaks, weight gain, return to work and mortality were recorded. The correlation between social characteristics and the outcome of management was statistically analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Out of 70 patients, the majority were females 48(68.6%). Chief suicidal motives included low-income [49(70%)], marital discord [16(22.5%)] and domestic violence [21(29.5%). Education level was the only social factor that was significantly associated with major as well as minor complications after intervention (p=0.021). Only 10(14.3%) patients had an established past psychiatric history. At 6 months follow-up, 57(81.4%) never went back to their original weight and only 22(31.4%) were able to return to work. Conclusion: Domestic violence was found to be major cause of suicidal intent [21(29.5%)] followed by marital discord [16(22.5%)]. In managing such patients, a multidisciplinary approach including a surgical and gastroenterology team, psychologist and social workers must be employed. Keywords: Corrosive; Demography; Epidemiology; Jejunostomy

Case Report: Immune checkpoint inhibitor–induced multiorgan vasculitis successfully treated with rituximab

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of cancer. ICIs have a unique side effect profile, generally caused by inflammatory tissue damage, with clinical features similar to autoimmune conditions. Acute kidney injury from ICIs has been well studied; incidence ranges from 1% to 5%, with higher incidence when combination ICI therapies are used. Although the overall reported incidence of ICI-associated glomerulonephritis is less than 1%, vasculitis is the most commonly reported ICI-related glomerulonephritis. Other biopsy findings include thrombotic microangiopathy, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, minimal change disease, and IgA nephropathy with secondary amyloidosis. We report a case in which a woman previously treated with the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer with pre-existing antineutrophil cytoplasmic (anti-PR3) antibody who later developed multi-organ vasculitis after ICI exposure, which was successfully treated with rituximab, with continued cancer remission for 3 years

An Unbiased Lipid Phenotyping Approach To Study the Genetic Determinants of Lipids and Their Association with Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors.

Direct infusion high-resolution mass spectrometry (DIHRMS) is a novel, high-throughput approach to rapidly and accurately profile hundreds of lipids in human serum without prior chromatography, facilitating in-depth lipid phenotyping for large epidemiological studies to reveal the detailed associations of individual lipids with coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors. Intact lipid profiling by DIHRMS was performed on 5662 serum samples from healthy participants in the Pakistan Risk of Myocardial Infarction Study (PROMIS). We developed a novel semi-targeted peak-picking algorithm to detect mass-to-charge ratios in positive and negative ionization modes. We analyzed lipid partial correlations, assessed the association of lipid principal components with established CHD risk factors and genetic variants, and examined differences between lipids for a common genetic polymorphism. The DIHRMS method provided information on 360 lipids (including fatty acyls, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and sterol lipids), with a median coefficient of variation of 11.6% (range: 5.4-51.9). The lipids were highly correlated and exhibited a range of associations with clinical chemistry biomarkers and lifestyle factors. This platform can provide many novel insights into the effects of physiology and lifestyle on lipid metabolism, genetic determinants of lipids, and the relationship between individual lipids and CHD risk factors

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised