Investigating the Knowledge Sharing among students in Pakistan

This paper’s goal is to empirically examine the impact of trust, attitude, and ICT Use on knowledge sharing among degree students of universities in Vehari. Self-efficacy theory was used as an underpinning theory to test the suggested model. A sample size of 120 students was selected to collect the primary data through survey from respondents. Correlation and multiple regression analysis were performed to test the hypotheses drawn from this study. The findings show that trust, attitude and ICT Use are the key factors in order to boost knowledge sharing amongst students. The results show that ICT Use is highly significant and correlated predictor of knowledge sharing. The study also discussed implications, limitations and future research recommendation that can be helpful both universities and researchers for further study

Community Participation in Socio-Economic Development through Secondary Education in one of the Remotest Regions of Pakistan

This research study was designed to find out the role of community participation in Socio-economic development through secondary education in one of the remotest regions in Pakistan. The objectives of study were to investigate to what extent the community is involved in dissemination of secondary education in public sector, to find out the benefits of community involvement in secondary education, to unpack the issues and challenges faced by teachers due to lack of community participation and to stumble on the character of education in socio-economic development of Baltistan region. Researcher used stratified sampling technique. There are six tehsils in district Skardus i.e. Skardu, Gamba Skardu, Gultari, Kharmang, Shigar and Rondu. To give representation to wide spread geographic region of the Skardu District, these Tehsils were divided into two groups. The group 1 was comprised of Skardu, Gamba Skardu and Roundu while the remaining three Tehsils (Gultari, Kharmang, Shigar) were put into group 2. Seventeen institutions were taken as sample of the study from six Tehsils of the Skardu District formed 44.7% of available 38 Public Sector Secondary Schools in Skardu. Two teachers and the head teacher were contacted for the purpose of data collection from each sample school. Opinion of 13 community notables was also sought through structured interview. The data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics, chi square and percentage methods. On the basis of findings it was concluded that majority teachers and head teachers of secondary schools viewed that the community participation is necessary part of education, majority of teachers, head teachers and community notables viewed that the main reasons of lack of community / parents participation are illiteracy, unawareness and busy life due to economic pressure, all respondents’ teachers, head teachers and community notables have supported the statement that the parent’s active participation can enhance the student’s achievements, and all respondent have responded that Education plays a vital role in socio-economic development of the society. The recommendations of the study included that there is great need to make aware the parents about the importance of their participation in child’s educational achievement, raise awareness about the relation between school and community, repeated contacts and meetings with the SMC members, conduct of seminars, workshops can play a vital role for the development of community participation in education, community members can invite in co-curricular activities like Parent’s days, cleanliness weeks, and prize distribution ceremonies and national and Islamic events, there may be a counseling center in school where counseling of students may be conducted and parents and community members may also be invite, through community involvement it can be possible to make more and more registration of children in the school, and  media both print and electronic is also an effective source through which community can be motivated to participate in education

Community Participation in Socio-Economic Development through Secondary Education in one of the Remotest Regions of Pakistan

This research study was designed to find out the role of community participation in Socio-economic development through secondary education in one of the remotest regions in Pakistan. The objectives of study were to investigate to what extent the community is involved in dissemination of secondary education in public sector, to find out the benefits of community involvement in secondary education, to unpack the issues and challenges faced by teachers due to lack of community participation and to stumble on the character of education in socio-economic development of Baltistan region. Researcher used stratified sampling technique. There are six tehsils in district Skardus i.e. Skardu, Gamba Skardu, Gultari, Kharmang, Shigar and Rondu. To give representation to wide spread geographic region of the Skardu District, these Tehsils were divided into two groups. The group 1 was comprised of Skardu, Gamba Skardu and Roundu while the remaining three Tehsils (Gultari, Kharmang, Shigar) were put into group 2. Seventeen institutions were taken as sample of the study from six Tehsils of the Skardu District formed 44.7% of available 38 Public Sector Secondary Schools in Skardu. Two teachers and the head teacher were contacted for the purpose of data collection from each sample school. Opinion of 13 community notables was also sought through structured interview. The data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics, chi square and percentage methods. On the basis of findings it was concluded that majority teachers and head teachers of secondary schools viewed that the community participation is necessary part of education, majority of teachers, head teachers and community notables viewed that the main reasons of lack of community / parents participation are illiteracy, unawareness and busy life due to economic pressure, all respondents’ teachers, head teachers and community notables have supported the statement that the parent’s active participation can enhance the student’s achievements, and all respondent have responded that Education plays a vital role in socio-economic development of the society. The recommendations of the study included that there is great need to make aware the parents about the importance of their participation in child’s educational achievement, raise awareness about the relation between school and community, repeated contacts and meetings with the SMC members, conduct of seminars, workshops can play a vital role for the development of community participation in education, community members can invite in co-curricular activities like Parent’s days, cleanliness weeks, and prize distribution ceremonies and national and Islamic events, there may be a counseling center in school where counseling of students may be conducted and parents and community members may also be invite, through community involvement it can be possible to make more and more registration of children in the school, and  media both print and electronic is also an effective source through which community can be motivated to participate in education

Assessment of Students’ Academic Performance in Government Schools of Pakistan

The main purpose of this study was to reduce the gaps in the evaluation of academic performance in Pakistan government schools. This study analyzed the students’ academic performance with respect to social media usage, physical activity, and motivation. A sample of 204 students was selected for studying in different government schools located in Lahore (Pakistan). Both stratified random sampling and simple random sampling techniques were used to draw the sample. This study focused on 9th class and 10th class students who were the respondents of primary data collection. Both correlation and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The results showed that all the predicted variables were significant and positively correlated with academic performance

Efficient PPA-SiO2-catalyzed synthesis of β-enaminones under solvent-free conditions

An efficient method has been developed for the synthesis of β-enaminones under solvent-free reaction conditions using PPA-SiO2 as catalyst. The reaction yields were good to excellent (up to 90%). This methodology affords high selectivity and good tolerance of a variety of different functional groups present on both aromatic and aliphatic amines. In addition, the methodology is environmentally benign and cost-effective due to absence of solvent and easy work-up

Renewable electricity enables green routes to fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals

Syntheses of chemicals using renewable electricity and when generating high atom economies are considered green and sustainable processes. In the present state of affairs, electrochemical manufacturing of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals is not as common place as it could be and therefore, merits more attention. There is also a need to turn attention toward the electrochemical synthesis of valuable chemicals from recyclable greenhouse gases that can accelerate the process of circular economy. CO2 emissions are the major contributor to human-induced global warming. CO2 conversion into chemicals is a valuable application of its utilisation and will contribute to circular economy while maintaining environmental sustainability. Herein, we present an overview of electro-carboxylation, including mechanistic aspects, which forms carboxylic acids using molecular carbon dioxide. We also discuss atom economies of electrochemical fluorination, methoxylation and amide formation reactions

Green fabrication of silver nanoparticles using Melia azedarach ripened fruit extract, their characterization, and biological properties

In the current research work, an attempt was made to synthesize silver nanoparticles (MA-AgNPs) utilizing the ripened fruit extract of Melia azedarach. Various characterization techniques such as UV-visible spectroscopic analysis, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to confirm the AgNPs synthesis. The bioreduction and color changes were tracked by UV-visible spectroscopy while SEM confirmed AgNPs of size 2–60 nm. TGA revealed the stability of the synthesized AgNPs. The antibacterial potential of the M. azedarach-based AgNPs and the fruit extract was assessed in terms of zone of inhibition (ZI), minimum bactericidal concentration, and minimum inhibitory concentration against tested bacterial strains where higher activity was noted for NPs (P. aeruginosa ZI = 22). The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and (2,2-azinobis-[3-ethylbenzthiazoline]-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assays revealed that NPs have significant antioxidant activities. The IC50 values recorded for extract was 340 and 350 μg·mL−1 against DPPH and ABTS whereas the corresponding values obtained for AgNPs were 40 and 58 μg·mL−1, respectively. The study suggests that the engineered NPs have promising biological activities compared to the parental extract, and thus could be used in drug designing as antibacterial and antioxidant agents; however, there should be further in vivo exploration in this regard before extending their uses to biological systems

Green synthesis, characterization of silver nanoparticles using Rhynchosia capitata leaf extract and their biological activities

Green production of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using biological samples is the most cost-effective and environment friendly method. Plants and other biological resources might be exploited to create biologically active AgNPs. Rhynchosia capitata (an endangered species) leaf extract acted as reductant in fabrication of AgNPs in the current study; while, the fabricated particles have been characterized by UV-visible spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). UV-visible spectroscopy was utilized to confirm the fabrication of the nanoparticles (NPs) via bioreduction. SEM revealed the formation of round and spherical AgNPs with sizes ranging from 2 to 60 nm. According to TGA, the synthesized R. capitata AgNPs were not much stable and high mass loss was observed at temperature from 40 to 80°C. The antioxidant potential was higher as estimated through 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl-hydrate assay with IC50 value of 60 µg/mL rather than 2,2-azinobis-[3-ethylbenzthiazoline]-6-sulfonic acid assay (IC50 120 µg/mL). The antibacterial potential against the selected bacterial strains for NPs was high as compared to aqueous extract, determined through agar well diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration, and minimum bactericidal concentration methods. These findings demonstrated that R. capitata-based NPs had greater antibacterial and antioxidant properties than plant extract and it should be potentially used as antibacterial and antioxidant agents

Phytochemical and biological evaluation of defatted seeds of Jatropha curcas

In this study, the antimicrobial, antioxidant, phytotoxic and phytochemical properties of defatted seeds of Jatropha curcas were evaluated. A crude methanolic extract of defatted seeds was tested against three fungal strains - Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus - and five bacteria: Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae (Gram-negative) and Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram positive). The methanolic extract was diluted in dimethylsulfoxide to final concentrations of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 mg/10 mL. The largest zones of inhibition against K. pneumoniae, M. luteus and B. subtilis were achieved using the concentration of 5 mg/10 mL. The concentration of 1 mg/10 mL was most effective against S. aureus and E. coli. In a 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylahydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay, the 5 mg/10 mL concentration of the Jatropha seed extract showed the strongest activity. Higher concentrations of the Jatropha seed extract (10 mg/50 mL and 5 mg/50 mL) significantly inhibited the germination of radish seeds and had negative effects on radish seedling relative water content, shoot length, root length, seedling fresh weight and seedling dry weight (p<0.05). Phytochemical analyses of the defatted seeds detected alkaloids (7.3%), flavonoids (0.39%) and soluble phenolics (mg gallic acid equivalents/g extract). Based on these results, it was inferred that J. curcas seeds contain active ingredients that are effective against pathogenic microbes and therefore could be used to formulate drugs to treat various diseases

New 14-Membered Cyclopeptide Alkaloids from Zizyphus oxyphylla Edgew

Two new 14-membered cyclopeptide alkaloids, Oxyphylline B (4) and Oxyphylline C (5), along with three known 13-membered cyclopeptide alkaloids, were isolated from stem and roots of Zizyphus oxyphylla Edgew. The compounds were tested for antibacterial activity. Oxyphylline B (4) showed comparatively better antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli (MIC, 5 μg/mL) than other compounds. This compound also exhibited weak antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus (MIC, 25 μg/mL), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC, 50 μg/mL) and Salmonella typhi (MIC, 50 μg/mL)