Water Resources and Conservation Strategy of Pakistan

Water is one of the basic necessities of life. God has gifted Pakistan with abundant water resources, with rivers flowing down the Himalayas and Karakoram heights from the world’s largest glaciers and free and unique bounty for this land. Pakistan is basically an agrarian economy. Out of its total geographical area of 79.61 million hectares, cultivated area is 22.05 million hectares. The total area under irrigation is 19.02 million hectares [Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan (2005-06)]. Irrigated land supplies more than 90 percent of agricultural production and most of the country’s food. Agriculture sector is regarded as the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. It contributes 25 percent of the GDP. About more than 50 percent labour force is employed in this sector. Agriculture sector is also the major user of water and its consumption will continue to dominate water requirement. Similarly, for industrial development main source of energy is hydropower which is generated by dint of water stored in big dams and reservoirs. Therefore the importance of the water for the survival of our economy cannot be denied

Career Education as Humanization: A Freirean Approach to Lifelong Learning

This article contrasts the view of lifelong learning posed by the human capital discourse with Freire’s understanding of education as a lifelong journey toward personal growth and social transformation. Rather than reducing learners to objects of economic globalization, Freire’s pedagogy considers students as political participants who actively shape their vocational and social lives. We argue that career education policies and programs should accept Freire’s understanding of lifelong learning as a necessary component of human ontology. The article also offers suggestions that career education teachers might employ to counteract the human capital assumptions framing the current discourse on lifelong learning.Cet article compare la perspective de l’éducation permanente selon le discours sur le capital humain d’une part et le point du vue de Freire selon lequel l’éducation constitue un voyage continu vers l’épanouissement personnel et la transformation sociale d’autre part. Plutôt que d’interpréter les apprenants comme de simples objets dans le contexte de la mondialisation économique, la pédagogie de Freire considère que les étudiants sont des participants politiques qui façonnent de manière active leurs vies professionnelles et sociales. Nous faisons valoir notre point de vue voulant que les politiques et les programmes en matière de formation au choix de carrière devraient accepter la vision de Freire selon laquelle l’apprentissage continu est une composante essentielle d’une ontologie humaine. De plus, nous proposons des stratégies que pourraient employer les enseignants d’éducation au choix de carrière pour amortir les hypothèses sur le capital humain qui dominent actuellement le discours sur l’apprentissage continu

Modern Walking Robots: A Brief Overview

In this review, we would like to present some of the most interesting modern designs of walking robots: bipedal, quadropedal, hexopedal, and octopods. Their advantages and disadvantages are highlighted. It has been determined that structures with eight or more limbs are ineffective due to high level of electricity consumption. The use of more than six number of legs does not give noticeable advantages in profile cross-country ability or maneuverability, however, it allows to reduce the forces and moments of inertia forces due to decrease in mode coefficient (ratio of time spent by propulsor in support to time of entire step), and, consequently, smoother leg movements in swing phase

Using Technology for Learning: Generalizable Lessons from Educational Technology Integration in Kenya

This paper presents some initial findings from a multi-year partnership project on the integration of technology into the Kenyan education system. Specifically, qualitative evidence is presented on how results and lessons learned from the partnership project can be generalized and used by other research teams and projects using other technology platforms. Grounded in the critical theory of educational technology and using methodological strategies on the intersections of critical discourse analysis and critical ethnography, this paper examines technology integration in Kenyan public schools using the Learning Toolkit+ developed at the Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada

ANTICARCINOGENIC ACTIVITY OF RICE BRAN PHYTIC ACID AGAINST HUMAN BREAST CANCER CELL LINE (MCF-7)

Phytic acid (PA) has been reported for anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer activity. However, molecular mechanism of anticancer activity is not clear. This study investigated the anticancer activity of rice bran PA against breast cancer (MCF-7). Cytotoxicty of PA (0 to 7 mM) against MCF-7 cells was examined by MTT and LDH assays after 24 and 48 h treatment. Apoptotic activity was evaluated by expressional analysis of apoptosis-regulatory genes [i.e., p53, Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3 and -9] by reverse transcriptase-PCR and DNA fragmentation assay. PA inhibited the growth of MCF-7 cells in a concentration dependent manner (p≤0.04). After 48 h treatment, cells viability was recorded 80.9, 71.1, 59.8, 36.6, 26.7 and 15.9% in MTT assay and 85.3, 72.6%, 62.3%, 42.1, 31.7 and 21.7% in LDH assay at concentration of 1.4, 2.2, 3.0, 3.8, 4.6, and 5.4 mM respectively. Hence, treatment of PA for 24 h, recorded viability of cells 84.6, 73.8, 61.0, 47.0, 28.8 and 17.3% in MTT assay and 87.8, 77.5%, 62.9%, 49.8, 35.7 and 23.3% in LDH assay at concentration of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 mM, respectively. PA treated MCF-7 cells showed up-regulation of p53, Bax, caspase-3 and -9, and down-regulation of Bcl-2 gene (p ≤0.03). At IC50 (3.4 mM) of PA, the p53, Bax, caspase 3 and -9 genes were up-regulated by 6.34, 4.90, 23.45 and 15.03 folds respectively. Also, the fragmented genomic DNA in PA treated cells showed the signs of apoptosis. Our study endorsed the biological activity of PA and demonstrated the PA induced growth inhibition and apoptosis in MCF-7 cells by modulating the expression of apoptosis-regulatory genes. Keyword: Phytic acid, antioxidant, cytotoxicity, apoptosis, caspases, p53, Bax, Bcl-2, DNA fragmentatio

MOAP1 (Modulator Of Apoptosis 1)

Short communication on MOAP1, with data on DNA/RNA, on the protein encoded and where the gene is implicated

Microwave-assisted synthesis, characterizations, antimicrobial activities, and DFT studies on some pyridine derived Schiff base

This study reports a joint experimental, theoretical and microbiological investigation on the (E)-N,N-dimethyl-4-((pyridine-2-ylmethylene)amino)aniline (5), (E)-N,N-dimethyl-4-((pyridine-4-ylmethylene)amino)aniline (6) and (E)-N,N-dimethyl-4-((pyridine-3-ylmethylene)amino)aniline (7). These compounds were synthesized with microwave method and their structures characterized by FT-IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and elemental analysis tecniques. In the theoretical studies, torsional barriers analysis, ground state structure, Fourier Transform Infrared spectra (FT-IR), and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectra (NMR) of 5, 6, and, 7 were calculated by Density Functional Theory (DFT) computations. The conformers obtained from the torsional barrier scanning were optimized by B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level. The harmonic vibrational frequencies, potential energy distribution (PED), infrared intensities, and NMR chemical shifts of the most stable conformers were determined using the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p). Theoretically, predicted spectral data were compared with experimental results. Antimicrobial studies of the synthesized compounds were performed against various microbial strains. Antimicrobial activities of 5, 6, and, 7 were tested against selected bacteria and yeast through minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and diffusion method. Compound 7 was found to be the most active against bacteria and yeast, while compound 5 was found to be moderately active. Compounds 6 (against S. aureus and C. albicans) and, 7 were found to have a very high minimum inhibitory concentration, ranging between 1.95 and 7.81 g/mL (against P. aeruginosa and E. coli). Compounds (6 and 7) showed zone of inhibition values in the range of 10–20 mm against other bacteria except L. monocytogenes and S. thyphimurium. © 2022 Elsevier B.V