EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN: A CASE STUDY OF HURDLES AND PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF EDUCATION SECTOR IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

ABSTRACT Education is the instrument used to build and develop nations. Education is a key t

Antibacterial activity of local herbs collected from Murree (Pakistan) against multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumonae, E. coli and methyciline resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Exploring healing power in plants emerged in prehistory of human civilization. Sustaining good health has been achieved over the millions of years by use of plant products in various traditional sockets. A major contribution of medicinal plants to health care systems is their limitless possession of bioactive components that stimulate explicit physiological actions. Luckily Pakistan is blessed with huge reservoir of plants with medicinal potential and some of them; we focused in this study for their medicinal importance.In this study we checked the antibacterial activity inherent in Ricinus communis, Solanum nigrum, Dodonaea viscose and Berberis lyceum extracts for multidrug resistance bacterial strains Klebsiella pneumonae, E. coli and methyciline resistant Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA showed sensitivity for Ricinus communis. Multidrug resistant Klebsiella pneumonae was sensitive with Pine roxburgii and Ricinus communis but weakly susceptible for Solanum nigrum. Multidrug resistant E. coli was resistant to all plant extracts. Treatment of severe infections caused by the bacterial strains used in this study with Ricinus communis, Pine roxburgii and Solanum nigrum can lower the undesired side effects of synthetic medicine and also reduce the economic burden

Public Perception of Drinking Water Quality and Health Risks in the District Vehari, Pakistan

Une eau de bonne qualité est importante pour la santé, l'énergie et le développement, mais elle n'est toujours pas disponible pour des millions de personnes dans le monde. Les activités anthropiques sont souvent responsables de la contamination de l'eau potable, ce qui entraîne des effets délétères. La présente étude a été menée pour déterminer les informations démographiques des personnes questionnées, leurs connaissances sur la qualité de l'eau potable, les sources de traitement de l'eau et d'assainissement et les maladies développées. Une enquête par questionnaire a été menée dans différents sites pour recueillir des informations sur la prévalence de la maladie liée à l'utilisation de l'eau contaminée parmi les résidents du district de Vehari. L'information démographique de la zone d'enquête a montré que 54,2 % des répondants étaient des femmes, 56,9 % n'étaient pas mariés et 59,7 % vivaient dans une famille mixte. Le taux d'alphabétisation des répondants n'était pas encourageant. La plupart des gens (61,1 %) croient que la qualité de l'eau affecte leur santé. La majorité des personnes (75 %) utilise des pompes électriques et une minorité (7 %) une source d'eau potable. La majorité des répondants (77,8 %) ont déclaré que les membres de leur famille souffraient de maladies d'origine hydrique telles que la gastroentérite, le choléra, la gêne abdominale, tandis que 22,2 % ne signalaient aucun type de maladie. Les données sur le traitement des maladies ont montré que la majorité de la population (73 %) a reçu le traitement de la maladie, tandis que 26,4 % n'ont reçu aucun traitement. On peut conclure que la plupart des citoyens interrogés n'étaient pas satisfaits de la qualité de leur eau potable et ont signalé des effets sanitaires qu’ils attribuent à l’eau consommée.Good quality water is important for health, energy and development but still not available to millions of people throughout the world. Anthropogenic activities are responsible to cause contamination of drinking water, which lead to severe health anomalies. The present study was conducted to determine demographic information of the respondents, knowledge about drinking water quality, sources of water treatment and sanitation and waterborne diseases. Questionnaire survey was conducted in different sites to collect information about the disease prevalence related to usage of contaminated water among the residents of District Vehari. Demographic information of the survey area showed that 54.2 % respondents were females, 56.9 % were un-married, and 59.7 % respondents were living in joint family setup, however, literacy rate of the respondents was not encouraging. Most of the peoples (61.1 %) strongly believed that drinking water quality affects their health. The highest number of population (75 %) used electric pumps and the lowest respondents (7 %) used sources of drinking water. Majority of the respondents (77.8 %) reported that their family members suffered from water borne diseases such as gastro, cholera, abdominal discomfort, while 22.2 % did not report any kind of disease. Data about treatment of diseases showed that majority of the population (73 %) got the disease treatment, while 26.4 % did not get any treatment. It was concluded that most of the peoples were not satisfied with their drinking water quality and reported more disease development

Public Perception of Drinking Water Quality and Health Risks in the District Vehari, Pakistan

Good quality water is important for health, energy and development but still not available to millions of people throughout the world. Anthropogenic activities are responsible to cause contamination of drinking water, which lead to severe health anomalies. The present study was conducted to determine demographic information of the respondents, knowledge about drinking water quality, sources of water treatment and sanitation and waterborne diseases. Questionnaire survey was conducted in different sites to collect information about the disease prevalence related to usage of contaminated water among the residents of District Vehari. Demographic information of the survey area showed that 54.2 % respondents were females, 56.9 % were un-married, and 59.7 % respondents were living in joint family setup, however, literacy rate of the respondents was not encouraging. Most of the peoples (61.1 %) strongly believed that drinking water quality affects their health. The highest number of population (75 %) used electric pumps and the lowest respondents (7 %) used sources of drinking water. Majority of the respondents (77.8 %) reported that their family members suffered from water borne diseases such as gastro, cholera, abdominal discomfort, while 22.2 % did not report any kind of disease. Data about treatment of diseases showed that majority of the population (73 %) got the disease treatment, while 26.4 % did not get any treatment. It was concluded that most of the peoples were not satisfied with their drinking water quality and reported more disease development

Fabrication of MXene/cellulose composite-based flexible supercapacitor: synthesis, properties, and future perspectives

MXenes have attracted considerable research interest in the field of energy storage due to their unique structure and favourable surface functional group properties. Recent efforts are focused extensively on synthesizing MXene composites for fabricating ideal electrode materials for energy storage applications. To fully exploit the characteristic features of MXene nanosheets and to ensure superb mechanical properties, cellulose is frequently used in combination with MXene to design high-potential functional nanocomposites. Cellulose serves as a promising reinforcing filler and flexible substrate due to its excellent mechanical strength. Its one-dimensional filamentous structure minimizes insulating contacts between 2D materials, enhancing both supercapacitive and mechanical properties. Furthermore, the 3D printing of micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) using MXene/cellulose inks yields desired printed interdigitated patterns with higher geometric accuracy, resulting in superior mechanical strength and capacitive performance. In this article, we present a comprehensive and timely review of recent research efforts and their outcomes related to the fabrication of flexible supercapacitors (SCs) based on MXene/cellulose composites. The scope extends to the fabrication of MXene/cellulose MSCs and electrodes that are wearable or free-standing. The initial sections of the article delve into the current synthesis methodologies for MAX phase and MXene, highlighting structural variations resulting from different synthesis procedures. Subsequently, we discuss the synthesis procedures for MXene/cellulose composites, the fabrication of MXene/cellulose based SCs, and their performance. Towards the end, we address existing research gaps and provide insights into future perspectives regarding MXene/cellulose SCs, drawing from the latest research findings. This review underscores the pivotal role played by MXene/cellulose composites in advancing the field of energy storage

Nature-resembled nanostructures for energy storage/conversion applications

Nature-inspired nanomaterial is one of the well-investigated nanostructures with favorable properties exhibiting high surface area, more active sites, and tailorable porosity. In energy storage systems, nature-inspired nanomaterials have been highly anticipated to obtain the desired properties. Such nanostructures of nature-inspired nanomaterials include porous carbon, metal oxides/sulfides/phosphides/selenides/hydroxides, and others that have shown exemplary performance in electrochemical energy storage devices. However, the growing studies of nature-inspired nanomaterials have not fully been explored and summarized for numerous applications. This review reports the development of nature-inspired nanomaterials from different applications. Notably, we report the current methodologies and challenges for obtaining nature-inspired nanomaterials for supercapacitors, different types of batteries, catalysis, and substrates. The review ends with addressing the challenges and future perspectives of nature-inspired nanostructures toward their commercialization in electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems

Organic template-assisted green synthesis of CoMoO₄ nanomaterials for the investigation of energy storage properties

Transitional metal oxide nanomaterials are considered to be potential electrode materials for supercapacitors. Therefore, in the past few decades, huge efforts have been devoted towards the sustainable synthesis of metal oxide nanomaterials. Herein, we report a synergistic approach to synthesize spherical-shaped CoMoO(4) electrode materials using an inorganic–organic template via the hydrothermal route. As per the synthesis strategy, the precursor solution was reacted with the organic compounds of E. cognata to tailor the surface chemistry and morphology of CoMoO(4) by organic species. The modified CoMoO(4) nanomaterials revealed a particle size of 23 nm by X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, the synthesized material was scrutinized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The optical band gap energy of 3.6 eV was calculated by a Tauc plot. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified cyclobutanol (C(4)H(8)O) and octodrine (C(8)H(19)N) as the major stabilizing agents of the CoMoO(4) nanomaterial. Finally, it was revealed that the bioorganic framework-derived CoMoO(4) electrode exhibited a capacitance of 294 F g(−1) by cyclic voltammetry with a maximum energy density of 7.3 W h kg(−1) and power density of 7227.525 W kg(−1). Consequently, the nanofeatures and organic compounds of E. cognata were found to enhance the electrochemical behaviour of the CoMoO(4)-fabricated electrode towards supercapacitor applications