Agricultural Input Subsidies in Pakistan: Nature and Impact

Pakistan has a history of subsidising agricultural inputs. Although none of the agricultural inputs were subsidised during the early 1950s, the process was initiated in the second half of the decade by subsidising chemical fertilisers in order to popularise their use [Niaz (1984)]. The list of subsidised inputs and the rate structure of the subsidies were expanded considerably throughout the Sixties. Towards the end of the Sixties, it was noted that almost all the agricultural inputs including fertilisers, insecticides, seeds, irrigation water, tubewell installations, and the operation and purchase of tractors and tractor-related equipment were subsidised in one form or another [Aresvik (1967) and Kuhnen (1989)]. In the 1970s, some curtailment of subsidies occurred as a result of input price increases which followed the worldwide recession, a major oil shock, the credit crunch, the war with India, and the consequent steep devaluation of Pakistani Rupee [Chaudhry (1982)]. Although the subsidies had survived the onslaught of the Seventies and tended to persist on most inputs, the government became totally committed to their removal beginning with the 1980s, under pressures from the IMF and the World Bank [Government of Pakistan (1980)]. As a consequence, there was a total withdrawal of subsidy from seeds, insecticides, tubewells, and tractors. A phased-out withdrawal of fertiliser subsidy, culminating in 1984-85 in the case of nitrogenous fertilisers and in 1989-90 in the case of phosphatic and potash fertilisers, was also to be undertaken [World Bank (1986)]. The purpose of the present paper is to highlight the progress of withdrawal of input subsidies in Pakistan, to study the nature of the input subsidies and possibly analyse the impact of the withdrawal of subsidies on the farm sector. Needless to add that the study is also intended to make policy recommendations on the various aspects of subsidy withdrawal.

Spontaneous breaking of time reversal symmetry in strongly interacting two dimensional electron layers in silicon and germanium

We report experimental evidence of a remarkable spontaneous time reversal symmetry breaking in two dimensional electron systems formed by atomically confined doping of phosphorus (P) atoms inside bulk crystalline silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge). Weak localization corrections to the conductivity and the universal conductance fluctuations were both found to decrease rapidly with decreasing doping in the Si:P and Ge:P $\delta-$layers, suggesting an effect driven by Coulomb interactions. In-plane magnetotransport measurements indicate the presence of intrinsic local spin fluctuations at low doping, providing a microscopic mechanism for spontaneous lifting of the time reversal symmetry. Our experiments suggest the emergence of a new many-body quantum state when two dimensional electrons are confined to narrow half-filled impurity bands

The use of ilizarov external fixator for open comminuted fractures in different parts of tibia

Background: Open fracture of tibia is a common occurrence in the orthopedic treatment arena. Ilizarov technique is a popular technique of treating open tibial fracture after debridement and open reduction. It is comparatively a newer method and has many advantages.Methods: This study was carried out in the department of orthopaedics, Centre for women and child health, Ashulia, Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period from January 2019 to June 2021. In total 30 patients with tibial fractures were selected as the study population. Before starting the intervention, the written consent of the participants was taken and this study was approved by the ethical committee of the respective medical college.Results: Out of total 30 participants, 24 (80%) were males and 6 (30%) were female. In analyzing mode of injuries, we found highest (86.7%) participants were from road accidents followed by 10% from sports injury and the remaining 3.3% from general falls. The duration of treatment with the fixator was 12-23 weeks (average 16 weeks). Fourteen patients wore a PTB cast for an additional period of 4 weeks. In our study total 30 cases were debrided on the same day and stabilized with Ilizarov ring fixator after a period of 5 to 12 days from the date of injury. The operation time ranged from 90 minutes to 120 minutes (Mean 102±4 minutes).Conclusions: No case developed deep infection, non-union or unacceptable mal-union. The construct is stable and enables the patient to bear weight on the affected limb a short time after the surgery, even in cases of comminuted fractures

生化学ネットワークの確率論的ダイナミクスのシミュレーションと理論解析

九州工業大学博士学位論文（要旨）学位記番号：情工博甲第330号 学位授与年月日：平成29年9月22

EFFECT OF NITROGEN AND POTASSIUM ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF TWO GARLIC GENOTYPE

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the interaction effect of nitrogen and potassium on growth and yield related characters of two garlic varieties at the of Spices Research Center, Bogra during november 2000 to march 2001. The experiment consists of two garmplasm i.e. Accession G19 and G20 with four levels of nitrogen (0, 100, 200, 300 kg N ha-1) and potassium (0, 100, 200, 300 kg K2O ha-1). The three factorial experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Results demonstrated that there was significant variation present among the studied treatments. Between the varieties, accession G20 showed the best performance (8.08 t ha-1). The solitary application both of N and K2O also increase the growth and yield of garlic at considerable amount. Among the treatments the highest bulb yield was achieved by using 200 kg ha-1 of N and K2O (9.62 and 8.61 t ha-1 respectively). This study suggested that the treatment combination of accession G20 with 200 kg N ha-1 and 200 kg K2O ha-1 will be more profitable (11.03 t ha-1) than any other studied treatment combinations

Evaluating manurial value of bioslurry for tomato cultivation in subtropical floodplain soil

Bioslurry is an anaerobically decomposed product, which comes out of the digester after extraction of biogas (chiefly CH4). Recently a huge amount of bioslurry is being produced in Bangladesh for enormous installation of biogas plants. Utilization of bioslurry is yet to be addressed adequately though it has potential value as a good quality organic fertilizer. Therefore, a field experiment supported by a laboratory analysis was conducted in floodplain soil of Bangladesh to evaluate the performance of bioslurry along with chemical fertilizers on the yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with six treatments viz., Control (no fertilizer/manure), N200P90K180 (100% Recommended Fertilizer Dose, RFD), N120P54K108 (60% RFD) + Poultry manure (PM), N120P54K108 (60% RFD) + Poultry slurry, N120P54K108 (60% RFD) + Cowdung (CD), N120P54K108 (60% RFD) + Cowdung slurry, each treatment replicated thrice. Chemical analysis of cowdung, cowdung bioslurry, poultry manure and poultry bioslurry showed that the organic carbon, N, P, K and S varied from 10.1-35.1, 0.70-2.52, 0.18- 1.28, 0.86- 3.80 and 0.13- 0.61% respectively. Cowdung and poultry manure had the higher organic carbon content as well as higher nutrient concentration compared to cowdung bioslurry and poultry bioslurry. Nutrient concentration particularly N, P and S in cowdung and cowdung bioslurry was found lower than the poultry manure and poultry bioslurry. The fruit yield of tomato increased by 81-225% due to the application of different slurry, manure and chemical fertilizers compared to no application of manure or fertilizer (control). The highest fruit yield (27.2 t ha-1) of tomato was obtained from N120P54K108 + Poultry slurry treatment. Hence application of poultry bioslurry in combination with 60% recommended dose of fertilizers can help improve the production of tomato in sub-tropical floodplain soil

Industrial Digitization, the Use of Real-Time Information, and Operational Agility: Digital and Information Perspectives for Supply Chain Resilience

Change is the permanent reality of the digital business world. Firms manage it by their ability and capability to cope with short-term and long-term deviations and disruptions. This paper presents an examination of the supply chain resilience (SCR) of firms operating in the Malaysian Service Sector. The data for this study were collected from 157 managers of 59 firms operating in seven sub-service sectors. Following Organizational Information Processing Theory (OIPT) and reviewing the relevant literature for the conceptualization, we tested a framework that suggests that the use of real-time information (URTI) enhances the SCR. We also found that the industrial digital environment has an important link with the URTI. The results indicate that the URTI is significantly associated with SCR and operational agility, which partially mediates the relationship between the URTI and SCR. We further discuss the theoretical contributions and implications with practical, and policy implications arising from this research

JANNAF "Test and Evaluation Guidelines for Liquid Rocket Engines": Status and Application

For many decades, the U.S. rocket propulsion industrial base has performed remarkably in developing complex liquid rocket engines that can propel critical payloads into service for the nation, as well as transport people and hardware for missions that open the frontiers of space exploration for humanity. This has been possible only at considerable expense given the lack of detailed guidance that captures the essence of successful practices and knowledge accumulated over five decades of liquid rocket engine development. In an effort to provide benchmarks and guidance for the next generation of rocket engineers, the Joint Army Navy NASA Air Force (JANNAF) Interagency Propulsion Committee published a liquid rocket engine (LRE) test and evaluation (T&E) guideline document in 2012 focusing on the development challenges and test verification considerations for liquid rocket engine systems. This document has been well received and applied by many current LRE developers as a benchmark and guidance tool, both for government-driven applications as well as for fully commercial ventures. The USAF Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) has taken an additional near-term step and is directing activity to adapt and augment the content from the JANNAF LRE T&E guideline into a standard for potential application to future USAF requests for proposals for LRE development initiatives and launch vehicles for national security missions. A draft of this standard was already sent out for review and comment, and is intended to be formally approved and released towards the end of 2017. The acceptance and use of the LRE T&E guideline is possible through broad government and industry participation in the JANNAF liquid propulsion committee and associated panels. The sponsoring JANNAF community is expanding upon this initial baseline version and delving into further critical development aspects of liquid rocket propulsion testing at the integrated stage level as well as engine component level, in order to advance the state of the practice. The full participation of the entire U.S. rocket propulsion industrial base is invited and expected at this opportune moment in the continuing advancement of spaceflight technology