An Empirical Study on the Impact of Micro-Credit Financing on the Socio-Economic Status of Small Agriculturists in Pakistan

This study empirically studies the impacts of micro-credit finance on the socio-economic status of small agriculturists in Pakistan. Little research has been conducted in this area in Pakistan. The data was gathered from 693 micro-credit finance participants and non-participants, at a 2 to 3 ratio, through an adapted questionnaire from the 8-clusters out of 12 clusters of 36 districts of Punjab using the cluster sampling technique. A survey was organized to perform the investigation in which two close-ended structured questionnaires were developed to collect data from the small agriculturists who owned less than twelve and a half acres of land. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the results of the study. Various statistical tests, such as EFA, SEM, KMO, ANOVA tests, etc., were used to test the expected hypothesis of the study and to confirm the affinity among variables. This research revealed that micro-credit finance has performed a positive role in developing the socio-economic status of small agriculturists after obtaining the micro-credit finance. The study indicated that micro-credit finance has played a significant role in changing and developing the socio-economic status of the respondents. Participation of small agriculturists enables the poor masses of rural areas to eradicate poverty in rural areas to enhance their living standards and to strengthen their financial conditions. The end results of the study revealed that most small agriculturists were taking benefits from micro-credit lending schemes. They also improved their socio-economic status and mitigated poverty. The findings of the study provide profound insight and should be helpful to regulators, policy makers, managers, microfinance institutions, government authorities, and all other stakeholders

Studies on the influence of temperature and humidity on biological traits of silkworm (Bombyx mori L.; Bombycidae)

Impact of variations in temperature and humidity on pupation, hatchability and larval mortality of eleven inbred silkworm lines M-101, M-103, M-104, M-107, Pak-1, Pak-2, Pak-3, Pak-4, PFI-I, PFI-II and S-1 was investigated during autumn and spring, 2007-2008 at Sericulture Research Laboratory, Lahore. The experiment was laid out in factorial design with replications and the data was pooled over season. The larvae of 4th and 5th instar were exposed to three temperature regimes (25, 30 and 35 ± 1°C). Significant variations in hatchability, pupation and mortality were noticed due to the effect of temperature and relative humidity on 4th and 5th instar larvae of inbred silkworm lines. The maximum mean values of hatchability (93.15), pupation (93.12) and the lowest mean larval mortality (2.60) was observed at 25°C and 70-80% RH. Lower RH of (55 and 65%) even at 25°C lowered the hatchability and pupation of the silkworm lines and contributed significantly in higher larval mortality. The lowest mean value of hatchability (68.96) and pupation (76.55) was recorded at 35°C and 55% RH while highest larval mortality (11.92) was noticed at 35°C with 55% RH. The results indicate that the mean performance of inbred silkworm lines under various conditions of temperature and humidity was significantly different from each other at various temperature and humidity exposures during 4th and 5th instar. At 25°C with 75% RH, the performance of silkworm lines remained consistent but variations in temperature or humidity for three hours significantly affected all three parameters (hatchability, pupation and larval mortality). The results illustrate that hatchability percentage of M-101(84.98), Pak-2 (84.52), Pak-3 (84.32) and Pak-4 (84.05) and pupation rate of Pak-4 (86.60), Pak-2 (86.08), PFI-I (85.33) and M-101(84.88) was significantly better as compared to other silkworm lines. The mean values of larval mortality observed in Pak-2 (5.56), Pak-3 (5.76), PFI-I (6.03) and M-107 (6.20) showed significantly lower mortality. The lower relative humidity level (less than 65%) is not conducive for seed cocoon production even at the optimum temperature of 25°C. The study clearly underlines the importance of optimization of environmental conditions during larval rearing in relation to seed cocoon production. The investigations strongly recommend that temperature and relative humidity in the range of 25-26°C and 70-80% respectively are mandatory for excellent results of egg hatchability, pupation and survival rate (low larval mortality). The results also emphasize that Pak-2, Pak-3, Pak-4, PFI-I, M-101 and M-107 showed better potential for seed production and commercial exploitation.Key words: Sericulture Pakistan, silkworm rearing

Precise Computation of Energy Levels and Radiative Lifetimes in the s, p, d, and f Sequence of Hydrogen Isotope, with Natural Line Widths

Energy levels and Radiative lifetimes in Deuterium for the following: ns 2S1/2(n≥2), np2Po(1/2,3/2)(n≥2), nd 2D(3/2,5/2)(n≥3), and nf 2Fo(5/2,7/2)(n≥4) sequence have been  evaluated with uncertainties in energies caused due to uncertainty principal. Theoretical calculations performed utilizing the Weakest Bound Electron Potential Model Theory (WBEPMT). Both sets of data show quite an excellent agreement with the experimental data listed at NIST.  This theoretical computation is also a continuation of the work by Raza. S. et al. in Neutral Hydrogen. The high ‘n’ (principal quantum number) values for both sets  of data are presented very first time by utilizing WBEPMT. Keywords: Energy levels, Radiative lifetimes, Quantum defects, Weakest bound electron, Natural line width. DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/9-10-07 Publication date:May 31st 201

Effects of Aluminium Exposures on Growth, Photosynthetic Efficiency, Lipid Peroxidation, Antioxidant Enzymes and Artemisinin Content of Artemisia annua L.

Acid soils are widely distributed at a global scale; under acidic conditions, the solubility of aluminium (Al) increases and the elevated concentration of toxic Al3+ in soil solution seriously limits crop production. There is no information on the effects of aluminium (Al) on Artemisia annua L., which is a most important antimalarial plant in the recent time being artemisinin; responsible for its antimalarial activity. In this report, we describe the effects of Al contamination on growth, photosynthetic efficiency, membrane damage, antioxidant enzyme activities and changes in artemisinin content in A. annua. Al addition to the soil medium significantly reduced the yield and growth of the plants. Lower values of net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, internal CO2 and total chlorophyll content were observed as a result of different Al concentrations applied. The activities of nitrate reductase (NR) and carbonic anhydrase (CA) were also found to be hampered by Al exposure to the plants. Al enhanced lipid peroxidation rate (TBRAS content) and activated the activities of catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymes in the treated plants. The elicitation in the endogenous ROS levels, due to the Al treatments, was also noticed in the present study. Furthermore, enhanced artemisinin content and yield was obtained at 0.10mM concentration of soil applied Al. Our study provides evidence that excess Al in soil hamper the growth and yield, slow down the activities of NR and CA, induce lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes but a low level of Al-toxicity can induce artemisinin content in A. annua plants.Key words: Aluminium (Al); Artemisia annua L.; Artemisinin; Lipid peroxidation; Reactive oxygen species (ROS)Tariq Aftab et al. Effects of Aluminium Exposures on Growth, Photosynthetic Efficiency, Lipid Peroxidation, Antioxidant Enzymes and Artemisinin Content of Artemisia annua L. J Phytol 2/8(2010) 23-37

Fractional variational iteration method via modified Riemann–Liouville derivative

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to present an efficient and reliable treatment of the variational iteration method (VIM) for partial differential equations with fractional time derivative. The fractional derivative is described in the Jumarie sense. The obtained results are in good agreement with the existing ones in open literature and it is shown that the technique introduced here is robust, efficient and easy to implement

5H-Thio­chromeno[2,3-b]pyridine-5,10,10-trione

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C12H7NO3S, contains two independent mol­ecules with different geometric­al configurations. The dihedral angles between the benzene and pyridine rings in the two mol­ecules are 3.7 (2) and 5.40 (19)°. The central heterocyclic fused rings have different puckering parameters [Q = 0.122 (3) Å, θ = 100.4 (13), ϕ = 185.3 (19)° in one mol­ecule, 0.101 (3) Å, 101.4 (3) and 2 (2)° in the other]. The SO2 group is oriented at dihedral angles of 81.06 (14) and 82.58 (15)° with the benzene and pyridine rings, respectively, in one mol­ecule [87.21 (14) and 87.66 (14)° in the second]. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are linked into zigzag polymeric chains along the b axis by inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonding. π–π inter­actions with centroid–centroid distances in the range 3.825 (3)–4.153 (3) Å stabilize the structure. S—O⋯π and C—O⋯π inter­actions are also observed

An effective modification of the homotopy perturbation method for MHD viscous flow over a stretching sheet

AbstractIn this paper, we propose a powerful modification of the homotopy perturbation method that will accelerate the rapid convergence of series solution. The modified method is employed to solve the MHD boundary-layer equations. The viscous fluid is electrically conducting in the presence of a uniform applied magnetic field and the induced magnetic field is neglected for small magnetic Reynolds number. Similarity solutions of ordinary differential equation resulting from the momentum equation are obtained. Finally, some numerical comparisons among the new modified homotopy perturbation method, the standard homotopy perturbation, the Exact Solution and the Shooting method have been made, which manifest that the modified method is a very accurate and effective algorithm to solve the two-dimensional MHD viscous flow over a stretching sheet

Effect of Fluxing Additive on Sintering Temperature, Microstructure and Properties of BaTiO\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3e

Various fluxing materials are added to technical ceramics in an attempt to lower their sintering temperatures and make their processing economical. The effect of 0·3wt% Li2CO3 addition on the phase, microstructure, phase transition temperatures and dielectric properties of BaTiO3 was investigated in the present study. The addition of 0·3wt% Li2CO3 was observed to lower the optimum sintering temperature by ∼200◦C with no second phase formation and cause a five-fold reduction in grain size. Rhombohedral-to-orthorhombic and tetragonal-to-cubic phase transitions at the expected temperatures were evident from the Raman spectra, but the orthorhombic-totetragonal phase transition was not clearly discernible. The persistence of various phase(s) at higher temperatures in the flux-added materials indicated that the phase transitions occurred relatively slowly. A decrease in dielectric constant of Li2O-added BaTiO3 in comparison to pure BaTiO3 may be due to the diminished dielectric polarizability of Li+ in comparison to Ba2+