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The notion of discerning political affiliations from users' social media behavior instills a sense of unease in many. Democracy necessitates that individuals' political affiliations remain private, and social media challenges this foundational principle of democracy. This study uses BERT, a pre-trained language model to analyze X's (formally Twitter) users and their political affiliations to understand that how much it is easy now to find the political affiliation of people. We collect posts in both English and Urdu languages from different political leaders and their followers, which are used to fine-tune the BERT model. The model classifies the users' profiles into Pro, Neutral, or Anti-government classes. To assess the performance of the proposed method, experiments are conducted to evaluate its accuracy, efficiency, and effectiveness. The findings of this study confirm the hypothesis that it is easy to detect the political affiliation of individuals using social media with high accuracy (69% for English and 94% for Urdu language) and it can undermine democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of the study were to measure the efficiency in trade and transport through China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and to ascertain efficiency in trade and economic development through developed transport infrastructures. The present study was conducted in Peshawar, Pakistan. The data was collected from the relevant developing sectors and stakeholders through CPEC including investors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Peshawar Railway Station track employees. Majority of bi-variate analysis through chi-square test result showed that there was a strong and significant association between the project of CPEC and efficiency in trade and transport in terms of economy. Similarly, a strong and significant association was found between the development of transport routes through CPEC and smooth transportation of goods and services. Furthermore, a strong and significant association was found between CPEC project and improvement in travelling potential. Similarly, a significant association was found between development in transport infrastructure and fastness and reliability in business travelling. In the same way, a significant association was found between CPEC and increase in the geographical size of the labour market. As in the chain, a strong and significant association was found between the development of transport infrastructures through CPEC and increase in labour force productivity along with an increase in the range of choice of individual and firms. This could come true that CPEC as a project would ensure smooth efficiency transportation of trade goods and services in terms of reducing time distance and cost. CPEC as a project should not be only limited to economic activities, rather it should contribute to the overall socio-economic development of the region.

Fractional calculus and fractal theory remain significant tools in modeling complex real-world problems in biology and life science. In this study, we formulated a compartmental mathematical model using the Caputo fractional and fractal–fractional operators to study the dynamics and transmission of Nipah virus infection. Initially, the model is developed by a system of seven nonlinear ordinary differential equations that govern the dynamics of viral concentration, the flying fox, and the human populations. Furthermore, the model is restructured using more general modeling approaches based on fractional calculus and fractal theory to gain valuable insights into the dynamics of Nipah virus transmission. The necessary properties of the model, such as uniqueness and existence in both cases, were investigated, and possible equilibrium points with their existence were presented. The model parameters are estimated on the basis of the clinical epidemiology of the Nipah outbreak in Bangladesh, one of the most affected regions. The stability of the fractional model is studied by applying the Ulam–Hyers and Ulam–Hyers–Rassias stability conditions. Moreover, computational schemes for the model in fractional and fractal–fractional cases are developed using interpolation techniques. Finally, a detailed simulation was presented to validate the theoretical findings. We affirm that the present findings will help researchers incorporate advanced computational techniques in infectious disease modeling and control studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infection that can result in lung issues such as pneumonia and, in extreme situations, the most severe acute respiratory syndrome. COVID-19 is widely investigated by researchers through mathematical models from different aspects. Inspired from the literature, in the present paper, the generalized deterministic COVID-19 model is considered and examined. The basic reproduction number is obtained which is a key factor in defining the nonlinear dynamics of biological and physical obstacles in the study of mathematical models of COVID-19 disease. To better comprehend the dynamical behavior of the continuous model, two unconditionally stable schemes, i.e., mixed Euler and nonstandard finite difference (NSFD) schemes are developed for the continuous model. For the discrete NSFD scheme, the boundedness and positivity of solutions are discussed in detail. The local stability of disease-free and endemic equilibria is demonstrated by constructing Jacobian matrices for NSFD scheme; nevertheless, the global stability of aforementioned equilibria is verified by using Lyapunov functions. Numerical simulations are also presented that demonstrate how both the schemes are effective and suitable for solving the continuous model. Consequently, the outcomes obtained through these schemes are completely according to the solutions of the continuous model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nonlinear mathematical model of COVID-19 containing asymptomatic as well as symptomatic classes of infected individuals is considered and examined in the current paper. The largest eigenvalue of the next-generation matrix known as the reproductive number is obtained for the model, and serves as an epidemic indicator. To better understand the dynamic behavior of the continuous model, the unconditionally stable nonstandard finite difference (NSFD) scheme is constructed. The aim of developing the NSFD scheme for differential equations is its dynamic reliability, which means discretizing the continuous model that retains important dynamic properties such as positivity of solutions and its convergence to equilibria of the continuous model for all finite step sizes. The Schur–Cohn criterion is used to address the local stability of disease-free and endemic equilibria for the NSFD scheme; however, global stability is determined by using Lyapunov function theory. We perform numerical simulations using various values of some key parameters to see more characteristics of the state variables and to support our theoretical findings. The numerical simulations confirm that the discrete NSFD scheme maintains all the dynamic features of the continuous model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxadiazole-based-thiourea analogs (1–18) were synthesized and evaluated for their β-glucuronidase inhibitory activity. All analogs showed extensive β-glucuronidase inhibitory potential ranging between (IC50 = 2.20 ± 0.01 µM) to (IC50 = 52.25 ± 1.20 µM) by comparing with the standard D-Saccharic acid 1,4-lactone (IC50 = 48.30 ± 1.25 µM). Among the series, analogue 7 having IC50 value (IC50 = 2.20 ± 0.01 µM)), 16 (IC50 = 4.40 ± 0.10 µM) and 4 (IC50 = 9.20 ± 0.20 µM) showed an excellent inhibitory potential greater than that of standard D-saccharic acid-1,4- lactone. Analogue 7 (IC50 = 2.20 ± 0.01 µM) of this series having flouro group at ortho-position of phenyl ring was recognized to be most active analogue due to involvement of flouro group in hydrogen bonding with the enzyme active site. In addition, all synthesized derivatives characterized by using High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HR-MS), 13C-NMR and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H-NMR proton). For better understanding of binding mode of interactions of these active analogs molecular docking study was performed. Structure Activity relationship (SAR) was also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hepatitis B infection is a global epidemic disease which is a huge risk to the public health. In this paper, the transmission dynamics of hepatitis B deterministic model are presented and studied. The basic reproduction number is attained and by applying it, the local as well as global stability of disease-free and endemic equilibria of continuous hepatitis B deterministic model are discussed. To better understand the dynamics of the disease, the discrete nonstandard finite difference (NSFD) scheme is produced for the continuous model. Different criteria are employed to check the local and global stability of disease-free and endemic equilibria for the NSFD scheme. Our findings demonstrate that the NSFD scheme is convergent for all step sizes and consequently reasonable in all respect for the continuous deterministic epidemic model. All the aforementioned properties and their effects are also proved numerically at each stage to show their mathematical as well as biological feasibility. The theoretical and numerical findings used in this paper can be employed as a helpful tool for predicting the transmission of other infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, the SIR model with nonlinear recovery and Monod type equation as incidence rates is proposed and analyzed. The expression for basic reproduction number is obtained which plays a main role in the stability of disease-free and endemic equilibria. The nonstandard finite difference (NSFD) scheme is constructed for the model and the denominator function is chosen such that the suggested scheme ensures solutions boundedness. It is shown that the NSFD scheme does not depend on the step size and gives better results in all respects. To prove the local stability of disease-free equilibrium point, the Jacobean method is used; however, Schur–Cohn conditions are applied to discuss the local stability of the endemic equilibrium point for the discrete NSFD scheme. The Enatsu criterion and Lyapunov function are employed to prove the global stability of disease-free and endemic equilibria. Numerical simulations are also presented to discuss the advantages of NSFD scheme as well as to strengthen the theoretical results. Numerical simulations specify that the NSFD scheme preserves the important properties of the continuous model. Consequently, they can produce estimates which are entirely according to the solutions of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to locate the voice of the native African women in Okot p' Bitek's 'Song of Lawino: The Woman with Whom I Share my Husband'. This poem gives an outlet to the feelings of a native woman named Lawino who responds to her husband influenced by Western culture and education. Lawino becomes the voice of the native African women who are treated as lesser human beings along with their men by the Western people. Okot p' Bitek is successful in situating his work in postcolonial canon by aptly establishing a counter-narrative in his work that sufficiently dismantles the Western narrative about the natives of Africa, who are colonized by the West. As it is a great challenge for the writers from the colonized world to counter the narrative of colonizers, and they cannot often do justice in giving space to the voice of the colonized. This poem has been analyzed in light of the postcolonial theory that provides a powerful tool to de-structure colonial narrative. Textual analysis has been used to analyze the poem. The study shows that Okot p' Bitek's Lawino defends her culture and native people to the fullest extent by meaningfully situating her response against the Western narrative. Colonial literature has often represented the natives of Africa, in the African context, and people of Asia, in the Asian context, as uncultured, uncivilized, and backward people. Such (mis) representation of the natives has been so much popular that it was deemed to be true. As Said (1978) has termed such type of representation as to be the structure of lies that is far away from reality. Postcolonial writers and readers assume the responsibility of dismantling such representation, in the colonial texts, by bringing the voice of the suppressed/oppressed people whose voice is not given space in colonial texts that predominantly keep the narrative of the colonizers intact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main theme of this study is to investigate the information needs and seeking behavior of distance and regular Library and Information undergraduate students studying at different public sector universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan. Quantitative research method was used to carry out this research study. Adopted questionnaire was used as data collection tool. A total of 299 questionnaires were distributed among the respondents and 213 questionnaires were received. It was depicted that lectures and course books were the prime needed information of both groups for their academic qualifications. The prime needed information of both groups was found as "Information on course of study", followed by Scholarships for onward education, job opportunities, postgraduate education and career development. It is recommended that with provision of course related information; some efforts should be made for provision of extra services like career development, job facilitation, scholarships searching and information for further education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study was executed to explore the prevalence of PPR in different production systems of sheep and goat in district Nowshera, KPK. A total of 246 serum samples were randomly collected from three age groups (<1 year, 1-2 year and >2 years) of sheep and goats. Competitive ELISA was performed to evaluate sero-prevalence of PPR in goats and sheep. The swab and tissue samples were collected from the surrounding areas from suspected sheep and goats to confirm the PPRV. Out of total 246 sera, 144 (58.54%) samples were found seropositive for PPRV. PPR was more prevalent in sheep (61.82%) as compared to goats (55.88%). In sheep population, the highest prevalence was recorded in the transhumant production system with 73.3% seropositive for PPRV. Younger animals seemed to be more susceptible to PPRV infection, 58.82% goats of age less than 1 year were seropositive for PPRV as compared to 51.43% of goats above 2 years. Results of antigen detections showed that the outbreaks were going in study population and confirmed positive for PPRV by IcELISA and RT-PCR (N-gene). The study revealed a comparison of PPRV occurrence in the different production system of small ruminants and on-going disease outbreaks in the target area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debate on secular and religious education is very common in Pakistan. This dialogue has been an academic concern for all of those working in the field of sociology of education across the boundaries. This study mainly focuses to explore how and when the discourse of secular and religious education emerged in Pakistan. Besides, this investigation additionally means to uncover the significant explanations for this partition of training into mainstream and strict. Exploring the discourse of secularreligious education in Pakistan, this study uses the research philosophy of interpretivism which guides qualitative methodology. Using judgmental sampling technique, a sample of 60 respondents (comprises of 30 school/college/university teachers and 30 madrassa teachers/alims) was selected for data collection. Interview guide was used as tool of data collection for in depth interviews with the respondents from across the KP province. The key theoretical insights come for this study from post colonialism to explore the question: how and why the secular-religious discourse of education emerged and what are the major causes of this discourse. The study findings suggest that ideological differences, misunderstanding of modern education, political differentiation among Muslim scholars, and lack of interest to understand secular education have given birth to the secular-religious discourse of education in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the level of spirituality and social support along with its impact on health related quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from 15th July to 31st August 2018 on 200 patients selected through purposive sampling. Pre-validated questionnaires were used to collect the data on spirituality, social support and QoL, which were analyzed using SPSS v.20.0. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied where needed. RESULTS: In 200 patients, 151 (75.5%) were male, majority (n=70; 35%) were from >48 to 58 years of age group, maximum (n=116; 58%) were unmarried, while majority had primary education (n=62; 31%). Laryngeal carcinoma (n=24; 12%), was the commonest clinical presentation followed by breast cancer (n=23; 11.5%). Majority (n=77; 38.5%) presented at Stage III, 140 (70%) reported it to be diagnosed at first evaluation, 161 (80.5%) had no family history, 109 (54.5%) reported to start spiritual treatment after diagnosis, and 117 (58.5%) reported family as their main support during the whole phase. In spirituality distinctiveness, 68 (34%) patients showed very high spiritual level, 72 (36%) reported to recite specific Quranic verses in religious practice, in which 112 (56%) reported to recite, واذا ﻣﺮﺿﺖ ﻓﻬﻮ ﻳﺸــــــــــــﻔﻴﻦ 168 (84%) leaned towards spiritual practices after diagnosis. In correlation, spirituality (2.42±0.596) and social support (2.19±0.568), both had a significant correlation with QoL (2.37±0.494) with values of r=0.289, p=0.000 and r=0.238, p=0.001 respectively. CONCLUSION: Spirituality and social support are the key coping mechanisms that have supportive influences on the patients' overall health-related QoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aflatoxin M1 contamination of milk in Pakistan, like many developing countries, is poorly understood. The present study was therefore conducted to determine AFM1 contamination of milk and its contributory factors in Pakistan. We sampled milk and feedstuffs from 450 peri-urban dairy farms in seven major cities following a cross-sectional study design. Analysis of milk using ELISA revealed high contamination with an overall average of 3164.5 ng of AFM1/L, and significant differences (p < 0.001) between cities. The milk sampled from Gilgit, in northern hilly areas, had an average AFM1 level of 92.5 ng/L. Milk from other cities had 3529.7 ng/L average contamination, with only 5.7% samples qualifying the maximum tolerable limit of 500 ng of AFM1/L. Heavy mean aflatoxin contamination was found in bakery waste (724.6 μg/kg), and cottonseed cake (600.8 μg/kg). Rest of the other feedstuffs had moderate to low mean aflatoxin contamination, ranging from 66.0 μg/kg in maize stover to 3.4 μg/kg in wheat bran. The mean aflatoxin level in commercial dairy concentrates was 32.7 µg/kg. About 80% of the total aflatoxin intake of dairy animals was contributed by cottonseed cake alone due to its high aflatoxin contamination and proportion in dairy rations. On-farm storage time of oilseed cakes varied (p < 0.01) in different cities but was not associated with aflatoxin contamination. The exceptionally high AFM1 contamination suggests that milk from peri-urban dairy farms is a serious public health threat in Pakistan. This situation can be mitigated by reducing aflatoxin contamination in cottonseed cake and promoting the use of commercial concentrates and other feedstuffs with low contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of action threshold depends on the pest density and its change rate is more general and furthermore can produce new modelling techniques related to integrated pest management (IPM) as compared with those that appeared in earlier studies, which definitely bring challenges to analytical analysis and generate new ideas to the state control measures. Keeping this in mind, using the strategies of IPM, we develop a prey-predator system with action threshold depending on the pest density and its change rate, and study its dynamical behavior. We develop new criteria guaranteeing the existence, uniqueness, local and global stability of order-1 periodic solutions. Applying the properties of Lambert W function, the Poincaré map is portrayed for the exact phase set, which is helpful to provide the sufficient conditions for the existence and stability of the interior order-1 periodic solutions and boundary order-1 periodic solution, also confirmed by numerical simulations. It is studied in detail that how and under what conditions the fixed point of Poincaré map and its stability are affected by the newly introduced action threshold. The analytical methods developed in this paper will be very beneficial to study other generalized models with state-dependent feedback control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat flour is a dietary staple of Pakistani population. This study is mainly focused on the measurement of radioactivity concentration due to naturally occurring radioactive nuclides, uranium-238, thorium-232, potassium-40, and the corresponding hazardous radiological parameters, radium equivalent dose (Raeq), annual effective dose, internal hazard index (Hint), and ingestion effective activity (Io,x) in 12 local brands of wheat flour retailed throughout Pakistan. The radiometric assessment was performed by using a high-purity germanium detector. The specific activities (means ± standard deviations) of uranium-238, thorium-232, and potassium-40 were found to be 5.7 ± 0.41, 1.9 ± 0.02, and 132.4 ± 0.82 Bq/kg, respectively. The mean values of the corresponding radiometric variables, Raeq, Hint, and Io,x (sum), were also found to be 18.651 Bq/kg, 0.313 mSv/year, and 0.213 mSv/year, respectively. The total mean annual effective dose due to the presence of the aforementioned radionuclides in the collected samples was found to be 213.1 μSv/year, which is less than 1.00 mSv/year that is recommended by the World Health Organization and International Atomic Energy Agency. Thus, the natural radioactivity mass concentrations and the corresponding radiological variables were found to be below the recommended specific values and have no health risks for consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study investigated the confounding effects of factors on injury outcomes for all occupants in fatal single-vehicle crashes that involved a rollover event.Method: A generalized ordered logit model was used to investigate the role of roadway attributes, environmental factors, driver characteristics, and vehicle features in injury severity outcomes for occupants. Five years of single-vehicle rollover crash data for the United States were studied.Results: Results showed that the likelihood of serious and fatal injuries increases in rollover crashes with partial or complete ejection of the occupant, no seat belt use, speeding, higher posted speed limits, roadside and median rollovers, undulating terrain, blacktop road surface, and rural roads. We also found that evening, weekdays, previous driver crash, careless or inattentive driving, driver-passenger engagement, aggressive driving, and vehicle type affect injury severity. The deployment of airbags was associated with fewer serious and fatal injuries. Regional differences were found for injury severity outcomes in rollover crashes.Conclusions: The study provides valuable insight for reducing injury severity in single-vehicle crashes where a rollover occurs. Several proven countermeasures may prevent rollovers or reduce injury severity. These strategies include increasing seatbelt use, posting lower speed limits and installing speed enforcement cameras in high-risk areas, flattening roadside embankments, and promoting in-vehicle stability enhancement systems such as electronic stability control and rollover-activated side curtain airbags. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religion is one of the basic institution of a society which characterised by equal opportunities to men and women. The fundamental point of the inquiry was to discover the strict deterrents looking by ladies in investment in legislative issues. The Charsadda locale was chosen the universe of the investigation. Through survey/talk with plan the information were gathered from the structured example size. For the assortment of essential information assortment from the respondents the strategy of straightforward arbitrary examining of the likelihood inspecting was utilized. The complete populace for the study was 196 councillors where, 130 were taken as a sample size through measures planned by Sekaran. The collected data was examined in univariate investigations through illustrative measurements to discover the recurrence and rates of the information when the essential information was taken from the respondents. The bivariate information was examined by put on Chi-square test in inferential insights to discover the relationship between the factors of needy and free. In man centric culture the solid strict devotees confines ladies to family exercises just (p= 0.003). The confusion of faith retains ladies away from the governmental issues (p=0.001). This should develop in deciding the position of ladies with a unique job in entire spheres of life. The study recommended that all the institutions should take initiative to create awareness about women politics and leadership. This would improve in deciding the status and position of ladies with a powerful job in each circles of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the frequency and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Acinetobacter baumannii isolated at a tertiary care setting. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Microbiology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from July to Dec 2018. Methodology: All the specimens submitted, which yielded the growth of Acinetobacter baumannii, were included in the study. Isolates were confirmed biochemically by using api 20NE. Antimicrobial susceptibility was done using standard procedures and as per CLSI's latest guidelines. Results: Nine thousand nine hundred thirty-one specimens were submitted to the Microbiology Department AFIP for culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing during the study period. Amongst these, 1633(16.5%) specimens yielded the growth of different pathogens. Of 1633 culture-positive isolates, 101(6.2%) were identified as Acinetobacter baumannii. Among these, 34.6% of the isolates were recovered from respiratory specimens, while 29.7% from pus and pus swab specimens. Minocycline was the most sensitive antibiotic with 59.4% sensitivity, followed by Doxycycline, to which 48.5% of isolates were susceptible. Sensitivity to all other antimicrobials was 24% or less. In vitro, sensitivity to Carbapenems is very low. Conclusion: Acinetobacter baumannii was isolated from 6.2% of specimens submitted for culture and susceptibility testing. Minocycline was the most sensitive antibiotic, followed by Doxycycline. Sensitivity to most of the other antimicrobials was 24% or less. An alarming resistant pattern demands strict infection control practices and judicious use of antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study focused on the attitude of the jail staff with the well-being of the juvenile inmates in targeted prisons of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study aimed to explore that how the jail staffs interact with juvenile inmates in jails on daily basis. The study further revealed that what kind of conditions and facilities are available to juvenile inmates in jails. The targeted prisons such as Mansehra, Swabi, Dera Ismail Khan, Peshawar and Mardan were purposively selected. The researchers applied simple random sampling technique for the collection of the primary data. The researchers used structured interview schedule for collection of the empirical data from 132 juveniles out of 199. The empirical data were analysed through SPSS where univariate data was analysed through descriptive statistics and bivariate data was analysed through inferential statistics where Chi-square test is used to find out the association between the independent (attitude of the jail staff) and dependent (Well-being of juveniles) variables. The results of the study show a highly significant association between jail staff who fairly deals with juveniles. The results show a highly significant association with jail staff promoting the welfare of juveniles. Furthermore, the analysis gave a highly significant association between rehabilitative practices at correction facilities available at jails. Additionally, penalty at jail has negative effects on juveniles where the results show a highly significant association with the wellbeing of juveniles. The results of the study recommend that the government must take strict actions against those jail staff whose behaviour and attitude are very harsh with the juvenile inmates. The government must give proper training and education to the jail staff and they must deal the juvenile inmates in a proper way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether the integrated control measures are applied or not depends not only on the current density of pest population, but also on its current growth rate, and this undoubtedly brings challenges and new ideas to the state control measures that only rely on the pest density. To address this, utilizing the tactics of IPM, we constructed a Lotka-Volterra predator-prey system with action threshold depending on the pest density and its changing rate and examined its dynamical behavior. We present new criteria guaranteeing the existence, uniqueness, and global stability of periodic solutions. With the help of Lambert W function, the Poincaré map is constructed for the phase set, which can help us to provide the satisfactory conditions for the existence and stability of the semitrivial periodic solution and interior order-1 periodic solutions. Furthermore, the existence of order-2 and nonexistence of order-k(k≥3) periodic solutions are discussed. The idea of action threshold depending on the pest density and its changing rate is more general and can generate new remarkable directions as well compared with those represented in earlier studies. The analytical techniques developed in this paper can play a significant role in analyzing the impulsive models with complex phase set or impulsive set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper was to investigate the impacts of bonded child labour in the brick kiln industries. It aimed to analyse that how these children are exploited for less wages and increased work hours so that to highlight the complete violation of human rights in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach - The paper analyses the literature on the socioeconomic conditions of the children particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and engages its theoretical development. Findings -The paper analyses that the socio-economic conditions of the poor masses especially the children in KP, Pakistan are deteriorating day by day. Moreover, the poor policies of the government both federal and provincial to cater the needs of the underprivileged class are further worsening the situation. Research limitations/implications - The research uses an analytical approach based on some empirical data to probe into the heart of this issue. Originality/value - This paper traces out the policies being formulated by the government of Pakistan from time to time. However, there is a strong dichotomy between what the government is trying to convey and the ground realities in different parts of the country. This paper, therefore, investigates four distinguishing points: social conditions of bonded labour, exploitative strategies used for bonded labour, the extent of bonded child labour, pessimistic effects of hazardous child labour on the personality of the affected children. Paper type - Mixed Method Approach (Quantitative and Quantitative data collection) has been adopted in this Paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safety at highway rail grade crossings (HRCs) continues to be a serious concern despite improved safety practices. Accident frequencies remain high despite increasing emphasis on HRCs safety. Consequently, there is a need to re-examine both the design practices and the safety evaluation methods at HRCs. Previous studies developed accident prediction models by incorporating highway, crossing inventory, rail, and vehicle traffic characteristics, but none of these factors considered population in the vicinity of HRCs. This study developed a binary logit regression model to predict accident likelihood at HRCs by incorporating various contributory factors in addition to population (based on census blocks 2010) within five miles of crossings. Previous North Dakota accident data from 2000 to 2016 was analyzed and used in the model development. The model results show that the number of daily trains, the maximum typical train speed, the number of through railroad tracks, and the number of highway/traffic lanes all affect accident likelihood. The presence of pavement markings in the form of stop lines helps reduce accident probability, while populations within five miles of HRCs have a positive relationship with crash likelihood. This study will help transportation agencies improve HRC safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current research study investigate the relationship between different attributes of transformational leadership and organization citizenship behaviour (OCB).For this purpose data was obtained from manufacturing sector of SME's in KPK and Islamabad area. Researchers used adopted version of questionnaires to measure transformational leadership and OCB of employees. OCB construct was checked through Confirmatory Factor analysis (CFA). While relationship between dependent and independent variables was measured through simple and multiple regression analysis. Results indicate that High performance is the highest significant predictor of employees citizenship behaviour showing positive relationship (B=0.437, & p=.000) followed by group goal attribute (B=0.398 & p=.000). While the relationship between Individualized consideration as well as intellectual stimulation have significant but negative relationship (B = -0.097 p=0.001 and B= -0.141 p=0.030).Finding indicate that employees can perform in any culture that only suits to their survival. But if employees are given the confidence as well as their individual need is assist by the leaders than the outcome will be highly motivated workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present research work,Nannorrhops ritchiana(Mazri Palm) was used as an effective biosorbent for removal of Cu2+and Ni2+ions from aqueous solution.Nannorrhops ritchiana(Mazri Palm), a dead biomass powder, was used as a low-cost adsorbent without any chemical treatment. In order to estimate the equilibrium parameters, the equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed using Freundlich, Langmuir, and Temkin isotherms. Freundlich isotherms indicated that the sorption capacities on the biomass surfaces increased with increasing initial concentrations of both metals. The adsorption isotherms were correlated with a comparison of linear and non-linear regression analysis. The squares of the errors (SSE) and chi-square test (χ2) along with the coefficient of determination (R2) were used to determine the best fit isotherm. Langmuir type I was found the best fitting isotherm for adsorption of both Cu2+and Ni2+ions as compared to the other three Langmuir linear isotherms on the basis of the values forR2and other error functions like SSE andχ2obtained from Langmuir-type I linear equation. The present study revealed thatNannorrhops ritchianaproved to be an effective, inexpensive, alternative, and environmentally friendly biosorbent for the removal of Cu2+and Ni2+ions from aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research study examined the application of innovative strategies for improving writing skills of Secondary level students. It also examined the steps taken by Secondary level teachers for the improvement of writing skills of their students. Effective written communication is the problem faced by all the ESL students at secondary level. The objective of the study was to help the secondary level students to overcome this problem. More specifically, this research study aimed to guide the teachers, teaching at secondary level, to bring innovation in their teaching by showing the results of innovative strategies. In order to know about the practices of the teachers, inside the classroom, data was calculated through rating scale questionnaire. After that experimental study was carried out. No improvement was observed in the writing skills of the students, belonging to Control group. Thus this research study proved to be a great contribution by guiding the teachers to bring a significant change in the writing skills of the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Current research study explores the impact of Terrorism on the social Environment of Effected Areas of District Bannu. Terrorism was measured on the basis of four Different attributes namely (Creating Violence in the society, Loss of life Factor, Religious Extremism and finally felling of Insecurity among Masses). While different Areas of Social Environment (Lack of Interest among Peoples, Fear, Anxiety, social life setup, Poverty, Modern mean of communication, Infrastructure Development, Free Speech and Level of education) was measured. For this purpose data was collected from three different Clusters of District Bannu Population. Cluster One consist of sample from Bannu City Area, Cluster two sample consist of Adjacent Areas to Bannu City and finally Cluster Three sample size comprise offar flung areas of District Bannu. From Each Group 50 Respondents response was summarized. Questionnaire was designed for this purpose and its ratability was also measured. Prior to construct Reliability Measurement it was pilot tested by 10 experts in the field of Political Science. Four different Regression Models was generated for testing the relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research efforts in the field of sentiment analysis have exponentially increased in the last few years due to its applicability in areas such as online product purchasing, marketing, and reputation management. Social media and online shopping sites have become a rich source of user-generated data. Manufacturing, sales, and marketing organizations are progressively turning their eyes to this source to get worldwide feedback on their activities and products. Millions of sentences in Urdu and Roman Urdu are posted daily on social sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Disregarding people's opinions in Urdu and Roman Urdu and considering only resource-rich English language leads to the vital loss of this vast amount of data. Our research focused on collecting research papers related to Urdu and Roman Urdu language and analyzing them in terms of preprocessing, feature extraction, and classification techniques. This paper contains a comprehensive study of research conducted on Roman Urdu and Urdu text for a product review. This study is divided into categories, such as collection of relevant corpora, data preprocessing, feature extraction, classification platforms and approaches, limitations, and future work. The comparison was made based on evaluating different research factors, such as corpus, lexicon, and opinions. Each reviewed paper was evaluated according to some provided benchmarks and categorized accordingly. Based on results obtained and the comparisons made, we suggested some helpful steps in a future study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the impact of eco-feminism on gender construction through the fictional representation in Bapsi Sidhwa's The Pakistani Bride (1990) in the guidelines of the theoretical framework applied - Judith Butler's gender performativity. It is an attempt to trace elements of ecofeminism and gender construction in the novel under study to add a new dimension different from the old and traditional feminist and gender perspectives. Ecofeminism is a newly theoretical perspective that creates a common bond between nature and women, both being the victims of the hegemonic (Adams, 1994) socio-cultural dominant powers. Therefore, the two schools of thought, feminism and ecology, highlight inequalities and discrimination against both the victims on the platform of ecofeminism. Furthermore, similarly subservient segments of society and nature suffer at the hands of the patriarchal and gender biased culture. That is why eco-feminists unfold the identical features of nature and women like nurturing, caring and sacrificial affections that can be found inherent in the two. Thus, the story of gender categorized culture does not end upon the wretchedness of ecological structure, the novel proceeds to mark the force of socio-cultural taboos constituting gender constraints for its weaker segment in power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed at exploring English language teaching-learning process at intermediate level in District Bannu, in order to know how much the students were empowered. The research design used in this study was qualitative research design. Data was obtained from English language Classrooms through observation. In order to study the matter in-depth; an interview was taken, both from the teachers as well as students. The data was analyzed after converting the field notes into themes and sub themes. Data revealed that monologic teaching was prevalent in majority of the classrooms, with no or very little space for the students to interact in English language. Dialogic pedagogy may prove to be a better alternative for the teaching methodologies in vogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: Vigor (%) in the hybrids over the standard check regarding seed yield ranged from 4.84 % in the cross CMS- Traits in the hybrids, as revealed in this study, offers good prospects for the future use of hybrid breeding in Breeding sunflower hybrids with high oil and seed Area under sunflower is planted to hybrid seed (www. (HD), 100-grain weight (g) (100-GW), oil content (OC) (%) and seed yield (kg/ha) (SY) in nine hybrids as.

Indole based thiadiazole derivatives (1 – 18) were synthesized and evaluated for their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibition. The IC 50 values of the synthesized analogues ranging between 0.17 ± 0.05 to 33.10 ± 0.6 μM against (AChE) and 0.30 ± 0.1 to 37.60 ± 0.6 μM against (BChE) enzymes. Among the series compounds 8 (IC 50 = 0.17 ± 0.05 μM) (IC 50 = 0.30 ± 0.1 μM), 9 (IC 50 = 0.30 ± 0.05 μM) (IC 50 = 0.60 ± 0.05 μM) and 10 (IC 50 = 1.30 ± 0.1 μM) (IC 50 = 2.60 ± 0.1) were found to be the most potent analogues bearing para , ortho , and meta -fluoro substitutions on phenyl ring attached to thiadiazole. In addition, all the synthesized scaffolds were characterized by using 1H NMR, 13C NMR spectroscopy, and high-resolution Mass Spectrometry (HR-MS). To apprehend the binding mode of interaction of the most potent synthesized derivatives, a molecular docking study was performed. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A very simple and low-cost procedure has been adopted to synthesize efficient copper (Cu), silver (Ag) and copper-silver (Cu-Ag) mixed nanoparticles on the surface of pure cellulose acetate (CA) and cellulose acetate-copper oxide nanocomposite (CA-CuO). All nanoparticles loaded onto CA and CA-CuO presented excellent catalytic ability, but Cu-Ag nanoparticles loaded onto CA-CuO (Cu 0 -Ag 0 /CA-CuO) exhibited outstanding catalytic efficiency to convert 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) into 4-aminophenol (4-AP) in the presence of NaBH 4 . Additionally, the Cu 0 -Ag 0 /CA-CuO can be easily recovered by removing the sheet from the reaction media, and can be recycled several times, maintaining high catalytic ability for four cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic scintillating material used in optical fibre sensors (OFS) when used as dosimeters for measuring percentage depth dose (PDD) characteristics have exhibited significant differences when compared to those measured using an ionization chamber (IC), which is the clinical gold standard for quality assurance (QA) assessments. The percentage difference between the two measurements is as high as 16.5% for a 10 × 10 cm 2 field at 10 cm depth below the surface. Two reasons have been suggested for this: the presence of an energy effect and Cerenkov radiation. These two factors are analysed in detail and evaluated quantitatively. It is established that the influence of the energy effect is only a maximum of 2.5% difference for a beam size 10 × 10 cm 2 compared with the measured ionization chamber values. And the influence of the Cerenkov radiation is less than 0.14% in an inorganic scintillating material in the case of OFS when using Gd 2 O 2 S:Tb as the luminescent material. Therefore, there must be other mechanisms leading to over-response. The luminescence mechanism of inorganic scintillating material is theoretically analysed and a new model is proposed and validated that helps explain the over-response phenomenon.