An Instrument for Measuring National Readiness and Capacity to Participate in Global Knowledge Base Economy

An important question often asked is what are the determinants of science, technology and innovation (STI)? Is STI a measurable quantity? How can it be measured in quantitative terms? To answers                                                          these questions, a Science, Technology and Innovation Index (STII) has been developed for top 100 economies of the world on the basis of GDP, to evaluate, determine and measure the overall scientific, technological and innovative capacity and readiness of a country. The STII relies on four dimensions, each built around two or three pillars, each of which is composed of individual indicators, for a total of 44 STI indicators. The STI index is the average of aggregate of four dimensions. The economies are ranked on the basis of STII values and classified into six groups: i.e. leaders, potential leaders, dynamic adopters, slow adopters, marginalized and laggards. For more meaningful assessment of the STI capacities of nations, it captures the achievement gap of individual countries with the highest achiever. A comprehensive analysis into the strengths and weaknesses in different dimensions of STI capability of eight East - South Asian countries is also provided. The results show that there are significant dispari¬ties between developed and developing nations in STI capacity and its various aspects. STI capacity and achievement gap analysis of individual countries provides useful information for STI policy makers to furnish their STI policies for increasing national capacity, and readiness to participate in the knowledge based economy

Parental Effects on Primary School Enrolment under Different Types of Household Headship: Evidence from Pakistan

Previous studies in Pakistan have established the number of pupil, parents, household, and community characteristics as determinants of primary school enrolment. However, treatment of the role of the household power structure in these studies is limited to the inclusion of a single dummy variable for female headship. Present study estimates separate probit regressions for different types of headships, hence allowing for an analysis of the power structure of the household and its impact on other explanatory variables. In addition to confirming the findings of previous studies, this study concludes that mother‘s headship results in greater positive influence of her own education and the economic status of the household on child‘s primary school enrolment. Father‘s headship in this regard has only limited influence. JEL Classification: C25, J16, I21 Keywords: Probit Models, School Enrolment, Gender Issue

Monetary Policy Channels and Industrial Production in Pakistan: Evidences based on ARDL Approach

Monetary policy is a significant component of economic management, with which we can control higher inflation, boost the economic growth and stabilize the other macroeconomic activities. This study investigates the channels of monetary policy affecting the industrial production using monthly data of Pakistan. In this regard, we have applied Bound test for co-integration to investigate the dynamic behaviour of the variables. Our results indicate that the consumer prices, money supply and money market rates are negatively effective for industrial production in the short-run. On the other hand, exchange rate has positive effect in short-run. The results also indicate that there is statistically significant and positive relationship between industrial output and money supply in the long-run, too. The adjustment mechanism suggests stability in the system and is statistically significant. Our results imply that the authorities should use expansionary monetary stance through money supply channel to boost the industrial sector

Impact of Science Technology and Innovation (STI) on Economic Growth and Development: A Case Study of Pakistan

The study reports the case study research about the impact of STI on economic growth and development. 305 scientists responded the questionnaire. Out of 305, 94% (288) confirmed that STI has the impact on economic growth and economic development.  In response to the 2nd question, about the impact of their research on economic growth and development, 85 %(260) scientists supported that STI has the positive impact on economic growth. The STI system of Pakistan is also discussed and found that STI system in Pakistan is very weak. To improve STI system of Pakistan, there is dire need of long-term STI policy. Therefore, at the end of the study on the basis of survey results and STI capacity indicator, the policy recommendations and implications of the study are presented. These recommendations are very useful for STI policy makers and planners for Pakistan as well as developing countries, to improve STI situation.&nbsp

Multimodal framework based on audio‐visual features for summarisation of cricket videos

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/166171/1/ipr2bf02094.pd

Basics of Self Micro Emulsifying Drug Delivery System

About 70-75% of drugs is taken orally and is found not to be as useful as desired. A self-micro emulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) is a drug delivery system that uses a micro-emulsion achieved by chemical rather than mechanical means. Micro-emulsions have significant potential for use in drug delivery, and SMEDDS are the best of these systems. SMEDDS are of particular value in increasing the absorption of lipophilic drugs taken orally. SMEDDS are mixtures  of natural or  synthetic oils,  solid  or  liquid  surfactants, or alternatively, one or more  hydrophilic solvents and  co-solvents/surfactants  that have a unique ability  of  forming fine  oil-in-water (o/w) micro  emulsions  upon mild agitation followed  by  dilution in  aqueous media, such as  GI fluids. SMEDDS spread readily in the GI tract, and the digestive motility of the stomach and the intestine provide the agitation necessary for self-emulsification. SMEDDS can be encapsulated in hard or soft gelatin capsules or can be converted to solid state (Solid SEDDS/SMEDDS). This review article provides an overview of SMEDDS and its advantages over conventional dosage forms. Keywords: SMEDDS, Micro-emulsions, Co-solvent

EFFECT OF INOCULATION METHODS OF BIOZOTE-MAX (PLANT GROWTH PROMOTING RHIZOBACTERIA-PGPR) ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF RICE UNDER NATURALLY SALT-AFFECTED SOIL

A field experiment was carried out at the experimental farm of Soil Salinity Research Institute, Pindi Bhattian during 2016-17 to assess evaluate different Rhizobial inoculation methods on growth and yield of rice (Oryza sativa) cv. Basmati-385 under naturally salt-affected soil (pH= 8.12, ECe= 7.88 dS m-1and SAR=24.96). Seeds of rice were inoculated with Biozote–Max (Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria-PGPR) produced in Soil Biology and Biotechnology Research Programme of Land Resources Research Institute, National Agricultural research Centre (NARC), Islamabad under PARC-Agrotech. Company (Pvt) Ltd. NARC, Islamabad in three ways i.e. rice seeds inoculated for direct seeding and nursery and dipping seedling roots in the solutions of these rhizobial strains comparable of control un-inoculated (control) by each inoculation method. The performances of Rhizobial strain Biozote–Max used as seed and seedling root dipping inoculation were superior to uninoculated control in all the parameters of the rice crop. Among the treatments, seed and seedling root dipping inoculation with Rhizobial strain Biozote–Max performed best in recording plant height, panicle length, number of tillers, 1000-grain weight and grain yield of rice crop. Maximum tillering was observed with all strains under different inoculation methods. Although, the strains performed better as compared to control, however, dipping of nursery roots produced significantly higher yield followed by seed inoculation for direct seeding. Overall, among all the inoculation methods seedling root dipping produced comparable paddy yield. The highest paddy yield (367 g m-2) was harvested with SBCC (M8) seed inoculation which was 13% more than that of un-inoculated (control)

Immobilization of Rose Waste Biomass for Uptake of Pb(II) from Aqueous Solutions

Rosa centifolia and Rosa gruss an teplitz distillation waste biomass was immobilized using sodium alginate for Pb(II) uptake from aqueous solutions under varied experimental conditions. The maximum Pb(II) adsorption occurred at pH 5. Immobilized rose waste biomasses were modified physically and chemically to enhance Pb(II) removal. The Langmuir sorption isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models fitted well to the adsorption data of Pb(II) by immobilized Rosa centifolia and Rosa gruss an teplitz. The adsorbed metal is recovered by treating immobilized biomass with different chemical reagents (H2SO4, HCl and H3PO4) and maximum Pb(II) recovered when treated with sulphuric acid (95.67%). The presence of cometals Na, Ca(II), Al(III), Cr(III), Cr(VI), and Cu(II), reduced Pb(II) adsorption on Rosa centifolia and Rosa gruss an teplitz waste biomass. It can be concluded from the results of the present study that rose waste can be effectively used for the uptake of Pb(II) from aqueous streams

3-(3-Bromo­benz­yl)-1H-isochromen-1-one

In the title compound, C16H11BrO2, the isocoumarin ring system is planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.015 Å) and subtends a dihedral angle of 88.90 (2)° with the bromo­benzene ring. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked, forming a three-dimensional packing pattern involving C—H⋯O inter­actions, Br⋯O contacts [3.4734 (10) Å] and π–π stacking inter­actions with centroid–centroid distances ranging from 3.667 (2) to 3.765 (2) Å

Fabrication, physicochemical characterization and preliminary efficacy evaluation of a W/O/W multiple emulsion loaded with 5% green tea extract

Emulsões múltiplas complexas possuem excelente habilidade de agregar grandes quantidades de agentes cosméticos funcionais. Este estudo teve por objetivo encapsular grandes volumes de chá verde em uma emulsão múltipla clássica e comparar sua estabilidade com a emulsão múltipla sem o extrato do chá verde. Emulsões múltiplas são desenvolvidas usando cetil dimeticona copoliol como emulsificante lipofílico e o clássico polissorbato-80 como emulsificante hidrofílico. As emulsões múltiplas foram avaliadas por meio de vários aspectos fisico-químicos como condutividade, pH, análise microscópica e reologia. Estas características foram observadas por um período de 30 dias sob diferentes condições de armazenamento. Testes de proteção da pele in vivo e in vitro foram realizados para ambos os tipos de emulsões testadas, i.e. com o ativo em estudo (MeA) e sem ativo (MeB). Ambas as formulações apresentaram características comparáveis no que diz respeito aos diferentes fatores físico-químicos avaliados sob diferentes condições de armazenamento. A análise reológica mostrou que as formulações apresentaram comportamento pseudo-plástico sob contínuo estresse de cisalhamento. Os resultados dos testes in vivo e in vitro sobre a proteção da pele revelaram que a formulação ativa promoveu efeitos comparáveis à formulação controle. Nossos dados mostraram que emulsões múltiplas estáveis poderiam ser escolhas promissoras para a aplicação tópica do chá verde. Entretanto, a fórmula das emulsões múltiplas apresentadas neste estudo precisam ser melhoradas no que diz respeito ao pH, condutividade e viscosidade aparente.Complex multiple emulsions have an excellent ability to fill large volumes of functional cosmetic agents. This study was aimed to encapsulate large volume of green tea in classical multiple emulsion and to compare its stability with a multiple emulsion without green tea extract. Multiple emulsions were developed using Cetyl dimethicone copolyol as lipophilic emulsifier and classic polysorbate-80 as hydrophilic emulsifier. Multiple emulsions were evaluated for various physicochemical aspects like conductivity, pH, microscopic analysis, rheology and these characteristics were followed for a period of 30 days in different storage conditions. In vitro and in vivo skin protection tests were also performed for both kinds of multiple emulsions i.e. with active (MeA) and without active (MeB). Both formulations showed comparable characteristics regarding various physicochemical characteristics in different storage conditions. Rheological analysis showed that formulations showed pseudo plastic behavior upon continuous shear stress. Results of in vitro and in vivo skin protection data have revealed that the active formulation has comparable skin protection effects to that of control formulation. It was presumed that stable multiple emulsions could be a promising choice for topical application of green tea but multiple emulsions presented in this study need improvement in the formula, concluded on the basis of pH, conductivity and apparent viscosity data