Adoption and Impacts of Zero-Tillage in the Rice-Wheat Zone of Irrigated Punjab, Pakistan

This study documents the adoption and impacts of zero-tillage (ZT) wheat in the ricewheat systems of Pakistan’s Punjab province primarily drawing on a detailed empirical survey of 458 rice-wheat farmers. Our random stratified sample revealed 19% to be ZT wheat adopters and a similar share of the wheat area in the surveyed communities to be under ZT. The study suggests that diffusion has stagnated and also flags the issue of disadoption (14%). ZT adopters, non-adopters, and disadopters differ significantly in terms of their resource bases, with adopters typically showing the most favorable values. ZT drastically reduces tractor operations in farmers’ ZT wheat fields from an average of 8 passes to a single pass, implying a saving of 7 tractor hours and 35 liters of diesel per hectare. ZT did not have any significant effect on the mean farmer estimated wheat yield of 3.3 tons per hectare. ZT also had no significant effect on water productivity for wheat or spillover effect on the subsequent rice crop. ZT primarily appears to be a cost-saving technology for wheat in Pakistan’s Punjab. Based on these findings, the study provides a number of recommendations for research and development in Pakistan Punjab’s rice-wheat systems.Wheat, Rice, Agricultural development, Drilling equipment, Economic analysis, Innovation adoption, Farming systems, Cropping patterns, Production costs, Zero tillage, Pakistan, Crop Production/Industries, E16, F08,

AN INVESTIGATIVE STUDY ON JOB SATISFACTION LEVEL OF EMPLOYEES WORKING IN SOFTWARE INDUSTRY, A VIEW POINT OF EMPLOYEES IN PAKISTAN

The study aimed to examine the role of working environment, pay and promotion, job security, level of fairness, relationship with coworkers and relationship with supervisor on the job satisfaction of the employees. Survey based data was collected from 183 respondents working in the software sector. Regression analysis was used to test the impact of the independent variables of the study on the job satisfaction. The results of the research revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between working environment, pay and promotion, job security, and level of fairness and the job satisfaction. This implies that employees who are having good working environment, have reasonable and equitable pay and promotion, have higher job security, and are treated fairly, will have higher level of job satisfaction and these employees will contribute positively towards the success and overall productivity of the organization. Similarly, good and healthy relationship with coworkers and supervisor also leads to the job satisfaction. This implies that if employees coordinate well with each other and their supervisors they can have higher level of job satisfaction and they can contribute more towards the benefit of organization then the employees who do not coordinate well. In software sector if the management want to foster the job satisfaction of the employees they should provide good working environment, good pays and they should treat the employees fairly

Toxicity study and effect of the leaf extract of Acacia nilotica on some biochemical parameters of Wistar albino rats

Plants are the primary source of human medications and knowledge on its toxicity is vital; this work evaluates the acute toxicity and effect of Acacia nilotica leaf crude extract on the liver and kidney functions. The mean lethal dose (LD50) was determined by Lorke’s method, while the crude extract effect was evaluated by biochemical and histo-pathological assessments. The LD50 value was 3807.89 mg/kg for both oral and intra-peritoneal route of administrations. An elevated serum urea above the normal reference value in both control and treated group upon administration of 1000 mg/kg of the extract with mean values of 7.92 ± 1.19 and 7.86 ± 1.14 mmol/l respectively was observed. The results of ALAT, ASAT, ALP, T.protein, Albumin, and bilirubin in all cases were within the normal values. The kidney and liver function parameters at higher extract concentrations of 500 and 1000 mg/kg/day and relative organ weight were statistically significant (p< 0.05) and correlates with mild effect indicted on the histopathology of the organs. This study showed that administration of A. nilotica extract at 500 and 1000 mg/kg/day for an extended period could prompt hepatic and nephron toxicity

Citrus Marketing in Punjab: Constraints and Potential for Improvement

Pakistan is blessed with the agro-ecological environment conducive to the production of nearly thirty types of fruits of which citrus, mango, dates, guava, apple, melons and banana are relatively more common. The market value of these fruits produced during 2002-03 is estimated at about Rs 73 billion, which is roughly 6.73 percent of agriculture value added in the year [Pakistan (2004)]. During the same period, Pakistan earned nearly 5 billion rupees from fruit exports, representing 9 percent of total export earnings from all raw agricultural commodities. Citrus is the largest grown fruit in Pakistan. The market value of citrus produced in 2002-03 was Rs 10.6 billion [Pakistan (2004)]. Within the citrus family, Kinnow is the largest planted specie

Synthesis, characterisation and antimicrobial evaluation of the alkyd resins derived from castor seed oil

No AbstractKeywords: Alkyd resin, Castor Seed Oil, Phthalic anhydrid

2,6-Dibromo-4-chloro­aniline

The title compound, C6H4Br2ClN, is almost planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.024 Å) and two intra­molecular N—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds generate S(5) rings. In the crystal, N—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into chains propagating in [010]

Play Preference and Pretend Play Skills between Typically Developed Children and Autism

Pretend play emerged at the age of 18 months in children. The imagination of children creates new play ideas it has incorporated into their play. But Autism children find difficulty in play. Hence, this study aimed to find the different types of pretend and preference play among autistic and typical children. The total sample of 40 is divided into 20 each group respectively. Data analyzed by using Chi-Square result in the significant difference between the pretend play and play preference X² = 42.81 (p=0.05 and p=0.01). Future study needs to examine with larger samples.© 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.Keywords: Pretend Play; Play Preferences; Autism; Typically Developed children

Dermatological Manifestations of COVID-19: Data from a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan dedicated for COVID-19 Patients

Background: Cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 disease are poorly characterized around the globe. Data from Pakistan is lacking. Objective: To describe the cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 disease in Pakistani population. Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 virus has rapidly spread reaching the level of a pandemic disease. COVID-19 can affect different organ systems including the skin. There is a wide variety of descriptions of the cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19. However, cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 disease are poorly characterized around the globe. The data from Pakistan is especially lacking. Our study was aimed at describing the cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 disease in Pakistani population. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out at Benazir Bhutto Hospital from March 2020 till December 2020. A total of 150 patients were screened by senior dermatology postgraduate trainees who were deployed for the care of COVID-19 patients. The demographics, rash if any along with its complete history and description and laboratory investigations were noted on a preformed performa. The pictures of the rash were taken after verbal consent of patient or surrogate. The pictures were then discussed with the consultant for appropriate categorization. Results: A total of 150 patients with the diagnosis of COVID-19 were screened. The mean age of the subjects was 51.9 ± 17.2 years. There were 94 (62.7%) males and 56 (37.3%) females. The mean duration of illness at the time of screening was 12.5 ± 9.7 days. Only 7 (4.7%) COVID-19 patients showed skin lesions. These included generalized bullous pemphigoid like (1 patient), urticarial lesions (1 patient), vesicular eruption (1 patient), skin necrosis (1 patient) and maculopapular rash (3 patients). The average duration of illness at the time of dermatological manifestation of COVID-19 was 6.31 ± 2.3 days.  Skin necrosis was associated with severe disease. Conclusion: The skin manifestations of COVID-19 patients in Pakistan are less as compared to reports and data from western world. However, they are in accordance with the data reported from few Asian countries. Regardless of this, the type, distribution and association of skin lesions with COVID-19 appear to be universal. This difference of frequency can be attributed to the racial differences or the variety of COVID-19 viral strains predominant in different countries. However, further studies are required to prove this association.  Key Words: COVID-19, Dermatology, Skin Manifestations, Cutaneous Manifestation