Students’ views of impact of textbooks on their achievements

The history of curricula and textbooks development in Pakistan has remained contentious particularly during Zia Ul Haq era (1977- 1988) and after. There have been quite a few reviews of the curricula and textbooks undertaken both by Ministry of Education, Government of Pakistan and independent researchers. These reviews have mainly employed document/textbook analysis methods and few of them explored teachers or students’ views of curricula and textbooks. This paper argues that since teachers and students are the ultimate users and beneficiaries of textbooks so their views are worth exploring before suggesting or initiating any change process including curricula and textbooks reforms. To fill some of this gap, therefore, this study explored secondary school students’ views of impacts textbooks had on their achievements. Data were collected through a questionnaire from a sample of 112 secondary school students of Karachi. The data were analysed and chi-square test was applied to test the hypotheses at 5% level of significance. The analysis of data indicated that Oxford University Press (OUP) textbooks had more impact for the achievement of students than Sindh Textbook Board (STB) textbooks. The study highlights curricula and textbooks as debatable phenomena and has attempted to bring students’ perspective into this debate. Based on its findings, this paper suggests reforms in the curricula and textbooks in order to enhance their impact for students’ achievements and calls for further research to explore students and teachers’ voices in order to undertake meaningful curricular reforms in Pakistan

Trade Liberalisation Policies, Intra-regional Trade and Opportunities for Sustainable Agricultural Development

Many of the Near East (NE) countries are currently opening their agricultural markets at three distinct but interacting levels: unilateral liberalisation, regional integration schemes and multilateral trade liberalisation. These changes hold important implications for intra- and extra-regional trade, use of agricultural resources and sustainability of agricultural development in the NE countries. Unilaterally, and since the late 1980s, most countries of the region have liberalised their agriculture sectors by eliminating or reducing input subsidies, removing or reducing guaranteed producer prices, reducing the number of subsidised commodities and liberalising the exchange rate and the trade regime. Most of the implicit and explicit subsidies for agricultural inputs and outputs were withdrawn. However, some of the NE countries were able to continue supporting agriculture mainly for food security reasons. Experiences showed that domestic reform is necessary but not sufficient condition for economic growth.

Effect of Weeds Infestation Rate on the Grain Yield and Yield Components of Lentil (Lens culinaris med.) Under Rainfed Conditions

To investigate the effect of the weed infested and weed free conditions on the grain yield and yield components of lentil (Lens culinaris Med.), fields experiments were carried out during rabi growing season 2010-11 and 2011-12 under rainfed conditions at Barani agricultural Research Institute, Chakwal, Pakistan.Lentil grain yields were decreased on average by 62.27% when crop areas remained weed infested until harvest compared with weed free conditions throughout the cropping season. As the rate of weed infestation decreased, grain yields enhanced. The diminution in grain yields (kg/ha) in lentil because of different infestation rate of weeds occurred mostly through the reduced number of pods/plant, which in turn was somewhat the result of reduced number of secondary branches/plant. Keywords: Grain yield, weed, infestation rate, rainfed, lenti

Economic Analysis of Milk Marketing in Sindh Province: A Case Study of District Dadu

In order to analyze milk marketing in Sindh province, a survey study was carried from distrct dadu, during the year 2014. Primary data were collected from 100 respondents which included 25 milk producers, 25 milk traders, 25 milk hawkers and 25 milk retailers. The results revealed that the average price of milk paid by a milk trader to the milk producer was Rs. 47/liter, while the marketing costs were Rs. 1.45/liter which were incurred on the processing, transportation and taxation etc. Hence, the total outlay of the milk was enumerated to be Rs. 48.45/liter and subsequently sold to milk hawker at the rate of Rs. 51/liter. The marketing margin and net margin of milk trader were estimated at Rs. 4/liter and Rs. 2.55/liter, respectively. The milk hawker sold the milk at the rate of Rs. 56/liter to retailer and the retailer sold at the rate of Rs. 60/liter to the consumer. Marketing expenditures incurred by hawker and retailer were estimated at Rs. 1.55/liter and Rs. 2.25/liter, respectively. Marketing margin and net margin of hawker were found to be Rs. 5/liter and Rs. 3.45/liter. The breakdown of consumer’s rupee revealed that 78.33 percent was taken by the milk producer, while the shares of milk trader, milk hawker and milk retailer were 6.67, 8.33 and 6.67 percent, respectively. It was concluded that marketing system for milk was not identical; the marketing structure was found completely non-commercialized. The milk traders were engaged in distinct types of operations; they purchased and processed milk and sold it to milk hawker, and also to the retailer. Similarly, milk hawker purchased milk from producers and also from milk trader, and sold to retailers and also to consumers. Finally, the retailers purchased milk from hawker and also from milk trader and sold it to consumers.. Keywords: Economic analyses, Milk Marketing, marketing system and. Dadu and Sind

mTOR inhibitors: A novel class of anti-cancer agents

threonine protein kinase that acts as a master switch between anabolic and catabolic functions of the human body in pathways stimulated by insulin, growth factors and mitogen [1]. mTOR functions as a central controller of growth, proliferation, metabolism and angiogenesis, but its signaling is dysregulated in various human diseases especially certain cancers like renal cell carcinoma and breast cancer [2]. In cancer, mTOR is frequently hyperactivated which promotes cancer development and progression. In certain cancers, resistance to antineoplastic agents such as topoisomerase 1, topoisomerase 2 inhibitors and methotrexate can be overcome with a synergistic combination with mTOR inhibitors [3,4]. Furthermore, mTOR activates the degradation of cyclin dependent kinases such as CDK1 which increases synthesis of dihydrofolate reductases. By decreasing this enzyme, mTOR inhibitors like sirolimus and temsirolimus, promote tumour sensitivity to agents such as methotrexate [4]. Recent development has made cancer treatment move on from conventional cytotoxic drugs to agents that target specific proteins like mTOR called mTOR inhibitors. A very common mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, is a bacterial product that inhibits mTOR by associating with its intracellular receptor [5]. [Currently, two mTOR inhibitors, temsirolimus and everolimuswhich are derivatives of rapamycin, temsirolimus(Torisel: Wyeth-Ayerst, Charlotte, NC, U.S.A.) and everolimus(Certican: Novarti

Trade Liberalisation Policies, Intra-regional Trade and Opportunities for Sustainable Agricultural Development

Many of the Near East (NE) countries are currently opening their agricultural markets at three distinct but interacting levels: unilateral liberalisation, regional integration schemes and multilateral trade liberalisation. These changes hold important implications for intra- and extra-regional trade, use of agricultural resources and sustainability of agricultural development in the NE countries. Unilaterally, and since the late 1980s, most countries of the region have liberalised their agriculture sectors by eliminating or reducing input subsidies, removing or reducing guaranteed producer prices, reducing the number of subsidised commodities and liberalising the exchange rate and the trade regime. Most of the implicit and explicit subsidies for agricultural inputs and outputs were withdrawn. However, some of the NE countries were able to continue supporting agriculture mainly for food security reasons. Experiences showed that domestic reform is necessary but not sufficient condition for economic growth

Does surgeon experience influence the amount of radiation exposure during orthopedic procedures?: A systematic review

With an increasing use of intraoperative fluoroscopy in operating rooms worldwide, the topic of radiation exposure has become a major concern among hospital staff, doctors and patients alike. Since fluoroscopy has become an integral part in orthopedic intraoperative management, we sought to identify whether surgeon grade or experience plays a role in the amount of radiation used and consequently exposed. We performed a systematic review examining the association between surgeon experience and radiation exposure using primary outcome measures (radiation dose and total screening time/fluoroscopy time). To be included in the review, the study population had to compare varying surgeon experience levels and their effect on the primary outcomes. A total of eighteen studies were included in the review. The studies were a mix of prospective and retrospective studies with low to moderate quality as evaluated by the MINORs criteria. Studies were variable in defining surgeon experience levels and in the type of operations being performed. Majority of the studies showed that inexperienced surgeons/trainees had a higher total fluoroscopy time and a higher mean radiation exposure as compared to experienced surgeons. We conclude that higher surgeon experience significantly reduces usage of fluoroscopy and the consequent radiation exposure in orthopedic procedures. Introduction of strict radiation guidelines involving limited usage of fluoroscopy and supervision of trainees may be beneficial in controlling radiation exposure in the future