Profitability and Working Capital Management Nexus: Evidence from Food & Personal Care Products Sector Firms Listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange

Working capital management (WCM) usually have an essential role to play in a firm’s overall performance, especially those of manufacturing sector. The key aim of the current research work is to find the empirical association amid profitability and working capital management of the Food & Personal Care Product sector Pakistani firms. Eight companies are selected randomly as a sample from the firms listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange. Secondary data for six years, that is, 2010 - 2016 is gathered from the financial reports of these companies and evaluated through Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis techniques, using STATA software. The results prove that Return on Assets (ROA) is negatively correlated with Average Collection Period (ACP) and positively correlated with Inventory Turnover in Days (ITID), Average Payment Period (APP), Current Ratio (CR) and Sales Growth (SG). All the relationships are significant except ITID and SG one

IMPACTS OF ATTABAD LAKE (PAKISTAN) AND ITS FUTURE OUTLOOK

Due to geological, hydrological and anthropogenic variations in Northern Areas of Pakistan, the possibility of hazards like earthquake, flash floods, landslide and Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) have increased manifolds. The incident of Attabad landslide on 4th January 2010 blocking the Hunza River and resulting in the formation of huge lake as a sequel to Astore earthquake in 2002 and Kashmir earthquake in 2005 is a testimony to the fact hazards turn into disasters causing loss and damage to lives, properties, assets and environment. There are multiple reasons ranging from global warming, deforestation, unplanned settlements, population growth, aggressive farming and host of other man induced activities which have made the Northern Areas of Pakistan hazards prone and are likely to pose continuous threat if requisite preparation and response options are not considered well in advance. In case of Attabad landslide, viewing from the prism of disaster risk management the response of Gilgit-Baltistan and Federal Governments has though not been up to the mark yet mobilization of resources and opinion to manage the disaster leaves a promising environment of hope and capacity which can be further developed to more resilient respondent provided little extra deliberations are done and attention is paid. The solution to Attabad landslide dam crisis lies in reducing the risk by either draining out the lake completely or making a reliable structure with proper design for flow of the water from the lake

ENHANCEMENT IN OVERALL THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF A GAS TURBINE POWER PLANT USING COMBINED CYCLE SYSTEM

The gas turbines are one of the major resources of power generation in the world and its usage is increasing day by day. Although the gas turbines have several advantages over other systems (such as high power to weigh ratio, high rotational speed or fast activation capabilities) but they still waste the energy in the form of high temperature exhaust gases coming out of the gas turbine which pollute the atmosphere and affect the environment. A waste heat recovery system (WHRS) installed at Gas turbine exhaust helps not only to reduce the exhaust temperature of these gases emitting from the uptake into the atmosphere but also enables to produce useful steam for various processes. The air mass flow rate which enters the compressor has a direct relation with the performance of gas turbine power plant. The volumetric efficiency of the gas turbines decreases with rise in the temperature of the inlet air. The increase in temperature will reduce the density which results in the reduction of gas turbine efficiency. In the present work the steam produced from WHRS has been used in the vapor absorption system of refrigeration. The refrigeration system is utilized to cool the air at the entry of the gas turbine compressor power plant. It was observed in gas turbine power plant that there is a 10% increase in thermal efficiency

Role of Credit Information Sharing and the Funding Cost of Banks: Evidence from the Top Ten “AA Rating” Commercial Banks of Pakistan

Purpose - The objective of the study is to investigate the relationship between the credit information sharing and the funding cost of banks of the top ten “AA rating” commercial banks of Pakistan as the Commercial banks also play a significant role in the economy of every country. Design/Methodology - In this study, panel data were analyzed from 2011 to 2017. We selected the top ten “AA rating” banks from Pakistan credit rating agency (PACRA) website, and data related to another related variables are obtained from financial statements of the respective banks. Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) statistical technique was employed to measure the relationship among related variables. Findings - The result of the study shows that there is a negative and significant relationship between credit information sharing, operation efficiency, and funding cost. On the other side, profitability has a positive and significant relationship with the funding cost of the bank. Practical Implications - To manage the funding cost policymakers must focus two key findings which are credit information sharing and operational efficiency of bank and set up a credit information sharing institutions which help to reduce information irregularity and ultimately manage the funding cost of the banks

Efficacy of Botanical Plant Extracts on the Population Dynamics of Cotton Aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera; Aphididae)

Synthetic pesticides are excessively consumed to control crop pests but abundant use of chemicals may implicate the whole ecosystem badly in the end. Despite the growing concern, few natural products are commercialized for pest control whilst on-farm use of existing botanically-based pesticides remains a small, but growing, component of crop protection practice. The experiment was conducted to assess the potential trade-offs of using botanical extracts (Neem leaf extract, NLE, and Moringa leaf extract, MLE) along with synthetic insecticide, Confidor 200 SL, against Aphis gossypii Glover. Meanwhile, impact of these insecticides on natural enemies were also determined in the field experiment. Data were recorded 12h before, as well as 1, 3, and 7 days after the application (DPA) of insecticides. Results revealed that chemical insecticide after 1DPA were showed higher mortality (%) of aphid’s population at leaf (33%) and boll stage (41%), whereas, the botanical treated plots showed lower mortality used alone as well combined application but lower numbers were observed on the negative controls. The same trend of insecticidal activity was observed from all treatments after 3DPA, but interestingly, after 7DPA, the resurgence of beneficial insects were only recorded in botanical extract-treated plots. The Confidor presented an adverse effect on natural enemies whereas no or few natural enemies were observed compared to herbal extracts. Overall, for long-term control, the combined use of botanical insecticides is proved to be more efficient in the management of the aphids than Confidor and caused no or little adverse impact on the beneficial insects

pH-Responsive Liposomes of Dioleoyl Phosphatidylethanolamine and Cholesteryl Hemisuccinate for the Enhanced Anticancer Efficacy of Cisplatin

The current study aimed to develop pH-responsive cisplatin-loaded liposomes (CDDP@PLs) via the thin film hydration method. Formulations with varied ratios of dioleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) to cholesteryl hemisuccinate (CHEMS) were investigated to obtain the optimal particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, in vitro release profile, and stability. The particle size of the CDDP@PLs was in the range of 153.2 ± 3.08-206.4 ± 2.26 nm, zeta potential was -17.8 ± 1.26 to -24.6 ± 1.72, and PDI displayed an acceptable size distribution. Transmission electron microscopy revealed a spherical shape with ~200 nm size. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis showed the physicochemical stability of CDDP@PLs, and differential scanning calorimetry analysis showed the loss of the crystalline nature of cisplatin in liposomes. In vitro release study of CDDP@PLs at pH 7.4 depicted the lower release rate of cisplatin (less than 40%), and at a pH of 6.5, an almost 65% release rate was achieved compared to the release rate at pH 5.5 (more than 80%) showing the tumor-specific drug release. The cytotoxicity study showed the improved cytotoxicity of CDDP@PLs compared to cisplatin solution in MDA-MB-231 and SK-OV-3 cell lines, and fluorescence microscopy also showed enhanced cellular internalization. The acute toxicity study showed the safety and biocompatibility of the developed carrier system for the potential delivery of chemotherapeutic agents. These studies suggest that CDDP@PLs could be utilized as an efficient delivery system for the enhancement of therapeutic efficacy and to minimize the side effects of chemotherapy by releasing cisplatin at the tumor site

Efficacy of Avicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh. leaves extracts against some atmospheric fungi

Crude ethanolic extract of Avicennia marina leaves was tested against seven allergenic fungi viz., Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium herbarum, Penicillium notatum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae using five different solvents: dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), distilled water (DW), chloroform, ethanol and acetone at 2000, 4000 and 6000 ppm doses. Dose dependent tendency in the increase or decrease in the growth of fungi was observed. Two synthetic drugs miconazole and amphotericin-B were used as positive control. Miconazole was 100% effective against A. alternata, C. herbatum, P. notatum and S. cerevisiae with the concentrations of 95.00 ± 1.62, 78.00 ± 4.99, 100.00 ± 0.69 and 110.00 ± 2.33 (μg/ml of SDA medium), respectively. Amphotericin-B completely controlled the growth of A. flavus, A. fumigatus and A. niger in the concentration of 24.00 ± 17.00, 30.00 ± 15.66 and 18.00 ± 18.34 (μg/ml of SDA medium), respectively. Distilled water and DMSO were considered to be the most effective solvents preventing 83.00 ± 4.73% growth of A. niger, 80.33 ± 5.60% A. flavus, 78.58 ± 3.18% A. alternata, 72.91 ± 7.96% P. notatum, 65.25 ± 3.55% C. herbarum, 63.25 ± 4.52% A. fumigatus and 48.5 ± 7.89% S. cerevisiae. Statistically, the results were compared with negative control and found to be highly significant (p<0.01).Key words: Allergenic fungi, inhibition, dose dependent, growth control, synthetic drugs

Effects of Fallow Management Practices on Soil Water, Crop Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Winter Wheat Monoculture System: A Meta-Analysis

Winter wheat monoculture is a predominant cropping system for agricultural production in dry areas. However, fallow management effects on soil water conservation and crop yield and water use have been inconsistent among studies. We selected 137 studies and performed a meta-analysis to test the effects of tillage and mulching during the fallow period on precipitation storage efficiency (PSE), soil water storage at wheat planting (SWSp), crop yield, evapotranspiration (ET), and water use efficiency (WUE). Compared to conventional tillage (CT), conservation tillage during fallow period overall increased PSE, SWSp and wheat yield by 31.0, 6.4, and 7.9%, respectively, but did not affect ET and WUE. No tillage (NT) had a better performance on soil water conservation during fallow period but a similar effect on wheat yield and WUE compared to reduced tillage (RT) and subsoil tillage (ST). Compared to no mulching, fallow mulching practices overall increased PSE by 19.4%, but had a non-significant impact on SWSp, wheat yield, and ET. Compared to straw mulching, film mulching, and stubble mulching during fallow period, cover cropping as a biological mulching decreased SWSp, wheat yield, and WUE significantly. Wheat WUE was improved by straw mulching but not affected by film mulching and stubble mulching. Strong interactions between tillage method and mulching practices were found for most variables. NT with fallow mulching or with no mulching exhibited a greater impact on soil water conservation during fallow period compared to other combinations. The effects of tillage and mulching during fallow period on soil water conservation and wheat yield and water use also varied with soil and climatic conditions. Overall, NT in combination with straw mulching significantly increased SWSp, PSE, wheat yield, and WUE and can be the best fallow management practice for winter wheat production in varying edaphic and climatic conditions

Indigenous knowledge of zootherapeutic use among the people of Hazara division Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

568-579The various animals and plant species, their parts, and products are being used in traditional health care and cultural practices but the use of animals, their parts and products have rarely recorded especially in Pakistan. This study investigated and documented animal species used by traditional residents for treatments in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hazara area of Pakistan. A field survey conducted in 2017-2018 in 6 districts of the Hazara region. A total of 63 animal species belonging to 47 families were reported for their ethnozoological importance including Mammals 33%, Birds 25%, Arthropods 17%, Reptiles 8%, Fishes 6%, Mollusks 3%, Annelids 3% Platyhelminthes and Amphibians 2% respectively. Out of 63 animals, 59 have medicinal importance and used to treat different human diseases. The most used animal species to treat various human ailments in Hazara region were includes Ovisaries (sheep), Portunessanguinolentus crab), Capra aegagrushircus (goat), Columba liviadomestica (pigeon), Bubalusbubalis (Buffalo) and Apiscerana (honey bee) and most used body parts include fats, meat, blood, milk, feces, urine, honey, tusk, feathers and shell. This ethnozoology study can play an important role in the biodiversity and conservation of animal species in the study area, laying the foundation for drug development

Indigenous knowledge of zootherapeutic use among the people of Hazara division Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

The various animals and plant species, their parts, and products are being used in traditional health care and cultural practices but the use of animals, their parts and products have rarely recorded especially in Pakistan. This study investigated and documented animal species used by traditional residents for treatments in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hazara area of Pakistan. A field survey conducted in 2017-2018 in 6 districts of the Hazara region. A total of 63 animal species belonging to 47 families were reported for their ethnozoological importance including Mammals 33%, Birds 25%, Arthropods 17%, Reptiles 8%, Fishes 6%, Mollusks 3%, Annelids 3% Platyhelminthes and Amphibians 2% respectively. Out of 63 animals, 59 have medicinal importance and used to treat different human diseases. The most used animal species to treat various human ailments in Hazara region were includes Ovisaries (sheep), Portunessanguinolentus crab), Capra aegagrushircus (goat), Columba liviadomestica (pigeon), Bubalusbubalis (Buffalo) and Apiscerana (honey bee) and most used body parts include fats, meat, blood, milk, feces, urine, honey, tusk, feathers and shell. This ethnozoology study can play an important role in the biodiversity and conservation of animal species in the study area, laying the foundation for drug development