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This small scale study aims to analyze the question papers of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education in the subject of computer science with reference to item analysis and Bloom's taxonomy. Data were collected from 100 students of Grade 9th and 10th from the schools of Lahore city using convenient sampling technique. Data collected on the papers developed by Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education for the year of 2015 and 2016. Item analyses were performed using Conquest software. Findings of the study shows that in the question papers conducted by Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education the majority questions were measuring the student abilities of knowledge and comprehension and only few questions were given to measure the student abilities to analyze, synthesize and evaluate, and this can be very helpful for the policy makers. Result of item analysis shows that many questions were not in the acceptable range of item difficulty and item discrimination. Items in the question papers were either too easy or too difficult. Findings revealed that the papers conducted and administered by Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education were not up to the mark, with reference to Bloom's taxonomy. The researcher recommended to train the assessment committee/panel developing the items.

The major focus of school education is the intellectual development of students and mathematics is a very effective subject in this regard, if taught and assessed properly. For this study, papers of SSC (Grade-10) for the years 2014 and 2015 set by the Board of Secondary Education, Karachi were scrutinized to know if the items of these papers had measured essential mathematical skills or not. These items were then compared with the items set by General Certificate of Education (GCE: O-Level), University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) for mathematics papers, serving as a benchmark for this study to highlight the shortcomings. The results revealed that the items of SSC papers were highly biased towards 'Factual Knowledge' and 'Routine Procedures'. The study concluded that these items assess knowledge of facts and algorithms only and do not measure essential mathematical skills (involvement of higher levels of thinking processes) of students. The study recommends to improve the items of papers so that essential mathematical skills can be measured rather than the capacity of memorization because with this practice, thinking habits cannot be inculcated among students.

Aims: This study was designed to analyse the prevalence of class 1 and class 2 integron integrase genes among antibiotic-resistant coliform bacteria isolated from paper currency circulating in Pakistan., Methods and Results: A total of 500 individual currency notes were collected from different food vending sites at Lahore, Pakistan. Bacterial population were identified by biochemical and PCR techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disc diffusion assay. The highest bacterial population on currency was found from street vendors and butcher shops. Escherichia coli was found to be the most prevalent coliform bacteria followed by Klebsiella sp. and Enterobacter sp. PCR amplification of antimicrobial resistance gene showed the presence of ampC, bla TEM , bla NDM-1 , qnrA, tet(A) and tet(B) genes among coliform isolates. A total of 47 integron integrase bearing strains of coliform bacteria were analysed. Sequence analysis showed the presence of dfrA1-aadA1, dfrA1, dfrA5, dfrA7, aadA1, aadA4 cassette arrays in class 1 integron and dfrA1-sat2-aadA1 in class 2 integrase genes., Conclusion: Circulating currency was heavily contaminated with antimicrobial-resistant coliform bacteria bearing class 1 and class 2 integron integrase genes., Significance and Impact of the Study: This study describes a potential threat of severe bacterial infections due to improper hand hygiene and community sanitation when dealing with the currency notes., (© 2020 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Paper mulberry pollen, declared a pest in several countries including Pakistan, can trigger severe allergies and cause asthma attacks. We aimed to develop an algorithm that could accurately predict high pollen days to underpin an alert system that would allow patients to take timely precautionary measures. We developed and validated two prediction models that take historical pollen and weather data as their input to predict the start date and peak date of the pollen season in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan. The first model is based on linear regression and the second one is based on phenological modelling. We tested our models on an original and comprehensive dataset from Islamabad. The mean absolute errors (MAEs) for the start day are 2.3 and 3.7 days for the linear and phenological models, respectively, while for the peak day, the MAEs are 3.3 and 4.0 days, respectively. These encouraging results could be used in a website or app to notify patients and healthcare providers to start preparing for the paper mulberry pollen season. Timely action could reduce the burden of symptoms, mitigate the risk of acute attacks and potentially prevent deaths due to acute pollen-induced allergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classroom management is a vital aspect of teaching that greatly affects students’ learning experiences, particularly in secondary schools. This review paper examines the various strategies teachers use to maintain order and promote effective learning. In Pakistan, where classrooms often face challenges like large sizes and diverse student needs, teachers employ a range of techniques to keep students focused and engaged. These include establishing explicit guidelines, utilizing interactive teaching techniques, and fostering a positive environment. The article helps to find out the answers of these research questions: (1) how do different classroom management strategies impact student engagement and academic performance in secondary education? (2) To what extent do teacher preparation programs contribute to the development of effective classroom management skills for teachers working in diverse classrooms? The assessment also highlights the importance of teacher preparation programs and policies that support effective classroom management. It means that by understanding and implementing tried-and-true management techniques, educators can create a learning environment where every student has the opportunity to succeed. Since effective classroom management changes over time, it calls for ongoing effort. Enhancing the learning environment can be achieved through incorporating evidence-based practices, theoretical insights, and a thorough understanding of each student's needs. It encourages students' empowerment, academic advancement, and the growth of their interest in learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Although the role of airborne plant pollen in causing allergic rhinitis has been established, the association of concentrations of paper mulberry (Broussenetia papyrifera) pollens in the air and incidence of asthma exacerbations has not, despite an observed increase in the number of asthma patients attending physician clinics and hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) Departments during the paper mulberry pollen season. We aimed to assess the association between paper mulberry pollen concentrations (typically peaking in March each year) and asthma exacerbations in the city of Islamabad. Methods We used three approaches to investigate the correlation of paper mulberry pollen concentration with asthma exacerbations: A retrospective analysis of historical records (2000-2019) of asthma exacerbations of patients from the Allergy and Asthma Institute, Pakistan (n = 284), an analysis of daily nebulisations in patients attending the A&E Department of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (March 2020 to July 2021), a prospective peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) diary from participants (n = 40) with or without asthma and with or without paper mulberry sensitisation. We examined associations between pollen data and asthma exacerbations using Pearson correlation. Results We found a strong positive correlation between mean paper mulberry pollen counts and clinical records of asthma exacerbations in patients sensitised to paper mulberry (Pearson correlation coefficient (r) = 0.86; P < 0.001), but not in non-sensitised patients (r = 0.32; P = 0.3). There was a moderate positive correlation between monthly nebulisation counts and pollen counts (r = 0.56; P = 0.03), and a strong negative correlation between percent predicted PEFR and pollen counts in sensitised asthma patients (r = -0.72, P < 0.001). However, these correlations were of low magnitude in the non-sensitised asthma (r = -0.16; P < 0.001) and sensitised non-asthma (r = -0.28; P < 0.001) groups. Conclusions Our three approaches to analysis all showed an association between high paper mulberry pollen concentration in Islamabad and asthma exacerbations. Predicting pollen peaks could enable alerts and mobilise strategies to proactively manage these peaks of asthma exacerbations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Washback effect is the impact that tests have on teaching and learning, and are instructions to the notion that test should drive learning (Sohamy, 1993). In Pakistan it has generally been observed that the exams papers do not assess and evaluate English language skills of the learners. The current study has analyzed the content of the English question papers of 5th and 8th grade of PEC, identified the language skills that are assessed in these English papers and investigated the washback effects of these question papers on the learning of English language of 5th and 8th grade students. By employing quantitative research methods, the data for the study was collected in two modes that included five years i.e. 2014 - 2018 PEC English exam question papers of grade 5 and 8 and a survey of the washback effects of these exam via a closeended questionnaire. The questions in the exam papers of PEC were analyzed as per the dimensions in Bloom's Taxonomy, whereas, the data obtained via the close-ended questionnaires was statistically analyzed. The study has revealed that in both 5th and 8th grade PEC English exam papers primary focus is on developing two levels of learning i.e. knowledge, and application that develop rote-learning thus become impediment in using English language in meaningful contexts. PEC English exam papers only test the reading and writing skills that have negative washback effects on the linguistic competence of the learners. In English, as a second language in Pakistan, learners need to be tested for all the skills, as the testing of only reading and writing and neglecting the testing of listening and speaking results in partial language learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research study explains the material flow of paper from households to containers and ultimately to landfills. Moreover, it shows different behavior of various households towards the consumption of different paper products and the way they reuse them. Sampling was carried out from households, kerbside containers and landfills where material flow of paper was studied. Percentage composition was calculated on different waste items including paper. Six major paper items were segregated namely glossy paper, cardboard, tissue paper, boxboard, office paper and newspaper. Moreover, proximate analysis was carried out to find out the values for fixed carbon, ash content, moisture content and volatile organic compounds (VOC's) for different paper items mentioned above. Material flow of paper from households to kerbside containers and then to landfills was observed. The results showed that waste paper from the households is of very fine quality and before reaching to the landfill site it is either sold, reused or recovered. Today in Pakistan, the act of recovering paper from the waste stream is carried out by the informal sector which if followed by the formal sector too can raise profits and economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal derived milk which is an important part of human diet due to its high nutritional value not only supports humans but also presents a growth environment for pathogenic bacteria. Milk may become contaminated with bacteria through udder infections or through contact within the dairy farm environment. Infections are treated with antibiotics, with β-lactams most commonly used in veterinary medicine. However, their frequent use leads to the emergence of β-lactam resistant bacterial strains, which causes difficulties in the treatment of infections in both humans and animals. Detection of pathogens as well as their antibiotic sensitivity is a pre-requisite for successful treatment and this is generally achieved with laboratory-based techniques such as growth inhibition assays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) or polymerase chain reactions (PCRs), which are unavailable in resource-limited settings. Here, we investigated paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) for the presumptive detection of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) and their antibiotic resistant bacterial strains in milk samples. The μPADs were fabricated on filter paper using wax printing, and then impregnated with chromogenic substrates, which reacted with bacterial enzymes to form coloured products. Limits of detection of S. aureus and E. coli and their antibiotic resistant strains in milk samples were found to be 106 cfu mL−1. Enrichment of milk samples in a selective medium for 12 h enabled detection as low as 10 cfu mL−1. The paper devices tested on a set of 640 milk samples collected from dairy animals in Pakistan demonstrated more than 90% sensitivity and 100% selectivity compared to PCR, showing promise to provide inexpensive and portable diagnostic solutions for the detection of pathogenic bacteria in resource-limited settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of the study is to identify and comprehend the challenges experienced by the undergraduate medical and dental students in enrolled in public sector in Pakistan while conducting research. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out from April to June of 2023 among undergraduate students at public sector medical and dental schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A customized questionnaire was developed to gather information on the challenges faced by students when undertaking research. The survey was circulated online using Google Forms, and participation was entirely optional. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the responses. Results: Participants in the study were 58 male and 139 female students who were enrolled in the Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) programs. The analysis found that 47% of students cited a lack of knowledge and research skills as a major barrier, while 40% cited time restrictions as a major issue. Mentorship and training issues were cited as major barriers by 51% of students, while a lack of institutional support was cited as a significant issue by 53% of students. Language issues made it difficult to produce research papers for 14% of students, while finding research opportunities was challenging for 38% of students. Conclusion: According to the research, undergraduate medical and dentistry students in the public sector encountered a number of challenges when conducting research. It was suggested that these issues be resolved by include research projects in the curriculum, providing specific interventions for enhancing research skills, establishing mentorship programs, and allocating funds for research activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a cluster of acute respiratory illnesses with unknown etiology, which firstly appeared in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. All educational institutes of Pakistan were completely closed from March 13, 2020, to August 15, 2020. This condition disturbs the daily routines of children with mental health needs. This sudden closure limited their physical activities in their routine life. This study aims to observe the depression associated with COVID-19 and its impact on the physical activities of young adults of Pakistan. Materials and Methods: A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 384 young adults. A modified depression scale was used to assess depression, and the revised physical activity questionnaire was used to evaluate the physical activity of Pakistani young adults in the past month. Results: About 57.8% of the samples were sometimes sad; 44.5% sometimes felt grouchy in the mood; 43.8% never felt hopeless about the future. Also, 32.6% sometimes slept less or more than usual, 35.9% sometimes had difficulty concentrating on their work, 48.7% slept 6-8 hours per day. Besides, 49% engaged 1-3 hours in work or study per day; 43.2% watched TV, sat quietly, or listened to music for 1-3 hours. About 57.8% engaged less than 1 hour per week in light physical activities. Also, 77.9% engaged for less than 1 hour per week in moderately strenuous activities. Conclusion: Depression could be highly associated with the COVID-19 outbreak, and it might affect the physical activities of young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines quantitative and qualitative aspects of research on Moringa oleifera, based on global publications output (3187 publications), as covered in Scopus database during 1935-2019. The publications on Moringa oleifera registered annual average growth of 16.18% and cumulative growth of 3594.0% and averaged to 17.69 citations per paper. Bulk of global publications output (76.72%) and the global citations (68.06%) in the field emanates from top 10 countries. The paper further provides an insight into qualitative performance of research on Moringa oleifera in terms of relative citation index, citations per paper, highly cited papers, besides analyzing the top 25 global organizations and authors in the field, the distribution of publications by broad subjects, the identification of the most significance keywords, the most productive journals and the analysis of higher-cited papers in the field. The study found that Universidade Estadual de Maringa, Brazil (72 papers), National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt (66 papers) and University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan (65 papers) were the most productive organizations and University of Agriculture, Faisalaba, Pakistan (38.35 and 2.17), University of Karachi, Pakistan (35.23 and 1.99) and Mahidol University, Thailand (27.35 and 1.55) were the most significant organizations in terms of citation per paper and relative citation index. Similarly, R. Bergamasco. (65 papers), P.M.G. Paiva. (36 papers) and L.C.B.B Coelho (34 papers) were the most productive authors and F. Anwar. (124.21 and 7.02), J. Beltrán-Heredia (36.07 and 2.04) and J. Sánchez-Martín (34.69 and 1.96) were the leading authors in terms of citation per paper and relative citation index. South African Journal of Botany (62 papers), Journal of Ethnopharmacology (61 papers) and Desalination and Water Treatment (44 papers) were the leading journals contributing to the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aims to evaluate the Scopus-indexed publications of Professor Dr. Rubina Bhatti, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Chairperson, Department of Library and Information Sciences (LIS) at Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB), Pakistan. She obtained her Master's degree in LIS in 1991 from IUB, later she joined IUB as a Lecturer in the Department of LIS in 1993. She completed her Ph.D. at The University of Manchester, United Kingdom in 2003. She is the most productive LIS author belonging to the Southern part of Punjab province in Pakistan. The data of this study was retrieved from the Scopus database on January 2nd, 2023. The data analysis presented the periodic growth of papers, citation impact, authorship pattern, collaborative authors, frequently used sources of publications, topographic distribution of papers based on authors' used keywords and characteristics of top-cited papers. The findings of this study would encourage the females of Pakistan through sincere hard work, commitment and dedication, any female can achieve success in her practical and professional career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pandemics always create dreadful effects not only on human life but also drastically influence businesses and industries. Historical evidence has apparently indicated that the outbreak of Spanish flu, SARS, MERS, and Ebola viruses, all created radical impacts on businesses around the globe, leaving behind the economic structures into miseries and deprivations. Similar is the case of COVID-19 outbreak which instigated from China and dispersed all over the globe. In Pakistan, the first case was reported in March 2020 and since then the government has relentlessly tried to impose lockdown and social distancing in order to avert the harm. It has been substantiated that the public isolations and lockdowns have not only yielded negative impacts on the economy but also on different forms of business and employment. Therefore, this study is aimed to analyze potential impacts of COVID-19 on different forms of industries in Pakistan through gathering the public opinion as the source of data. The study is one of the preliminary studies therefore it is based on descriptive design in order to show perceived impact of outbreak of virus. Results indicated that the pandemic is harmful and affecting most of the business in negative manner however there are some businesses which are burgeoning on opportunities emerged from the pandemic and attaining growth due to the spread of the virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the risk of pollen allergy due to paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera L.), an Asian invasive plant species now common in large parts of the world. Pollen plays a key role in the pathogenesis of respiratory allergic diseases, particularly rhinitis and asthma, and Islamabad, a major metropolitan city, is severely affected by allergy owing to B. papyrifera pollen. Due to its seasonality and other relationships with climatic variables, we used remote sensing to monitor the trend of pollen count. We also mapped the localisation of patients affected by pollen allergy using geographic information systems. The maximum likelihood algorithm was applied to SPOT-5 satellite imagery for land use/land cover classification. Temporal analysis of remotely sensed data revealed an increasing trend of paper mulberry density towards the southern and south-western part of Islamabad. Although not evident during rainfall, a clear positive correlation was found between patient count and pollen count. Field survey data and hotspot spatial analysis of allergy patients revealed that residents of Shakerperiyan and Lok Virsa areas (Sectors H-8, I-8, I-9, G-8, G-7 and G-6 in Islamabad) had more pronounced symptoms compared to residents of other sectors. The methodology adopted used in this study can be used to map the distribution of similar invasive species in other parts of the country.

Pakistan is a developing country and has various chemical process industries to fulfill the local demands of numerous chemical products. In order to maintain the uninterrupted production from these industries, safety protocols need to be implemented. Safety progress must be studied with passage of time to identify the gaps and to decide the future actions. In this article, process safety in various chemical process industries (CPIs) of Pakistan is investigated regarding process safety management (PSM) and process hazard analysis (PHA). The covered industries include mainly fertilizer complexes, food processing plants, gas and oil processing plants, oil refineries, petrochemical plants, polymer processing plants, paper industries, tire industries, and sugar industries. This research will help in addressing the weaknesses. A comparative analysis of all considered CPIs is provided graphically. Overall analysis of all industries depicts that more emphasis on three categories is required, namely (1) documents upgradation and staff communication, (2) PHA revision and auditing, (3) PHA recommendations documentation and implementation. Provided suggestions, the implementation of PSM and PHA in Pakistan CPIs is expected to enhance, which may lead to a substantial increase in productivity of these industries without accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is aimed at exploring the perceptions of ESL teachers about ChatGPT as a detriment to analytical writing skills of graduate students. Since the inception of ChatGPT, an AI-powered tool, the argumentative and critical thinking skills of ESL learners are adversely affected. Analytical writing skill is an essential and valuable academic skill that a learner needs to master. The study is descriptive quantitative in nature with a closedended questionnaire as a research tool. Data comprises of a purposive sample of 30 ESL teachers from various public sector universities of Pakistan. Data is analysed via SPSS version 25 where tables are drawn to represent the statistical findings. Results of the study conclude that incorporation of ChatGPT has become a challenge in ESL classrooms because learners have become prone to malpractices of generating content from ChatGPT and plagiarising the subject matter. Consequently, analytical writing skills of ESL students are deteriorating. Theoretical underpinnings of the study are based upon TPACK framework by Mishra and Koehler (2006). The study a recommends institutes to ensure strict plagiarism policies to avoid malpractices of copy-pasting. Moreover, the study recommends ESL teachers to incorporate classroom tasks in order to promote creative ideation among learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research study aims to find out the research productivity of Nigerian authors and Pakistani authors to the library philosophy and practice from 2008 to 2013. The present research finds the 226 research articles have been contributed by Nigerian authors and 67 papers have been contributed by Pakistani authors. The highest number of papers has been written by Nigerian authors was 76 in 2010 and from Pakistan 18 papers were contributed in 2013. This present study identifies those 114 single authors from Nigeria and 18 from Pakistan. 116 papers form Nigerian author those range 6-10 pages while 18 from Pakistan. The total numbers of references were used by Nigerian authors those were 4140 while Pakistan was used 1506 references from 2008 to 2013. The most productive authors Rubina Bhatti from Pakistan who wrote 18 papers and Dike Agah from Nigeria has contributed only 5 papers. The most cited papers were retrieved from Nigerian author with 197 citations while 91 citations were received from Pakistan were top-cited research papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to evaluate the bibliometric research of Library and Information Science (LIS) research contributed by the authors affiliated with the University of Karachi (UoK), Pakistan. The dataset was limited to 22 years from January 2000 to December 2021 and a list of evaluated papers has been proved from various online and print sources. Google Scholar has been employed to access the record of citation(s). Ninety-two papers were identified with at least one author affiliated with the UoK on the subject category of LIS and these papers were cited 707 times. Two-author collaboration was found to be the preferred authorship pattern and the papers written in this pattern got a better citation result. A number of research articles' contributions have been found that female authors are more than male authors. Syed Jalaluddin Haider, Munira Nasreen Ansari and Farhat Hussain emerged as the most prolific authors with 26, 25 and 15 papers, respectively. The papers published in international journals got higher citations and about threefourth of the papers were published in the top 11 sources which in found from these research. The subject dispersion revealed that LIS Education and Library Management were the favorite areas. The characteristics of the ten most cited papers revealed that 60% citations were gained by these papers. The findings of this paper support understanding the research trends in LIS at UoK. There is a need to accelerate the research activities, revisit the research policies and promote the research culture in the UoK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to analyse the relationship between the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) and evaluation systems of two simultaneously existing examination systems in Pakistan: Secondary School Certificate (Matriculation) and Cambridge O Level system. The major concern of the paper lies in observing the targeted outcomes of the two types of examination systems in the light of the aims and objectives specified by the two systems. One paper from each testing system has been analysed and the prospective outcomes have been matched with their exclusive aims provided by their respective boards. Results show that both the systems, in their own distinct syllabi, aim at making the students proficient in the learning of English as foreign language through a system that involves skills which are incorporated into the learners and then tested so as to make them proficient in the language. The evaluation system, however, differs widely in both. Matriculation assessments are purely a test of memory and assess the students' ability on the basis of discrete implementation of skills in the questions while the Cambridge O Level system offers as process-based learning of the language by keeping in view a holistic approach of applying various modes of skills in to its question papers. Hence, a reformation in the system of evaluation as well as that of teaching needs to be promoted to meet the prescribed outcome mentioned in the syllabus of Punjab Board. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined students' performance through diverse assessments in MS first semester curriculum module in a women university. The module "Curriculum models and theories" incorporated three different assessments: a home assignment, a classroom presentation and a final term paper. A three step approach using mixed research method was used to investigate students' responses to the different assessment tools. First a quantitative analysis using descriptive statistics was conducted on the data from students' marks. Second, an examination of students' perceptions about different assessment was carried out through a questionnaire. Last a qualitative study was conducted using semi structured interviews. The findings revealed that majority of the students preferred more structured tasks having clear aligned learning outcomes. Familiarity with assessment types was also preferred by many students. The present study suggests that by making changes in assessment design and using more formative feedback, students' learning experience across diverse assessment tools can be enhanced.

The marketisation of higher education is a global phenomenon in the new millennium as the universities are facing intense competition to manage their financial resources and maintain their academic growth and reputation. Pakistan is also influenced by the globalisation of higher education. In this context, this study is a genre analysis of the introductory pages of prospectuses of Pakistani universities. Through Bhatia's model of Applied Genre Analysis, a six-move generic structure has been identified in the introductory pages of prospectuses to establish it as a complex hybrid promotional genre. The most significant communicative purposes are welcoming, informing, and persuading. The universities appear to borrow discourse from genres like accounts, advertisements, management, and the tourist industry. The analysis reveals that marketisation is deeply rooted in today's higher education in Pakistan.

Climate change has become the main domain in security and political studies. The main objectives of the present study is to analyse the impacts of climate change on Pakistan’s national security that is highly vulnerable in terms of climate change. Climate change is considered a grave non-traditional threat to the modern state system and its security. Climate change has become an essential non-traditional security realm that has immensely challenged Pakistan’s security. Rapidly changing climate is posing a great challenge and the threat to state machinery and increasing a security threat to Pakistan. The research seeks state’s policies in dealing with climate change and formulates the answers at national and international level which are absolutely essential for maintainable political and economic development of the state. Food crisis owing to climate crisis changing the societal behavior and undermining the nation building in recent time. Severe climate change is increasing vulnerability in agriculture, forests, water and live stocks, fisheries, forests etc. State institutions have done not much to adapt to climate change which makes the country more vulnerable. This research is significant because two heavy floods in Pakistan in 2010 and 2022 seriously challenged the country’s capability and extremely influenced the capacity of state and society. The research is conducted on qualitative and interpretative methodology to grasp the present study and to inquire that what are the identifiable security threats which emanating in the security environment of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic pollution is among the many socio-economic and environmental dilemmas that have engulfed Pakistan. The exponentially increasing consumption of plastic and the difficulty of dealing with its waste has compelled the government to impose a ban on the use of non-biodegradable plastics. This ban has made Pakistan the 128th country to curb plastic usage through punitive measures. However, the country lacks cheap and sustainable alternatives for plastic bags and bottles, which form the most significant chunk of plastic waste. This research study aims to analyze and propose alternatives that can replace these plastic bags and bottles without compromising the lifestyle of citizens. The aim of this study is two-fold; first, it employs Fuzzy VIKOR, a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making technique for comparison and prioritization of alternatives, i.e., Conventional Plastic bags, Paper bags, and Bioplastic bags, with respect to multiple aspects of sustainability. Secondly, it performs a cost–benefit analysis of a Bioplastic plant, with a focus on the production of biodegradable plastic bottles. The MCDM analysis prioritized the bioplastic bags, followed by paper bags and the least preferable alternative turned out to be conventional plastic bags. The cost–benefit analysis indicated that although the production of bioplastic bottles instead of conventional plastic bottles would lead to the reduction of detrimental environmental impacts, however, currently it is not financially profitable for the industrialists to switch to bioplastics. Therefore, it is recommended that government authorities should incorporate carbon taxes and subsidize the sustainable development sector, which would, in turn, lead to the reduction of plastic consumption and waste in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3D printing or additive manufacturing process is known as part of the digital manufacturing process, involves gradually adding materials to a geometric representation to manufacture physical objects. A quickly developing technology is 3D printing. The world now uses 3D printing extensively in the many fields such as automotive, locomotive, healthcare, agriculture mass customization, aviation sectors and manufacture of any form of open source designs using 3D printing technology are becoming more common. 3D printing process produce an object directly from a computer-aided design model by depositing material layer by layer. In this world mostly many countries are quickly advancing and heavily investing in 3D printing. The advancement of 3D printing technology in Pakistan will be accelerated by strong government assistance, both in the form of laws that are welcoming to investors and subsidies during the early stages of growth. The use of this technology will bear fruit with a few years. Economy will boost as a result of strong manufacturing base. Pakistan will be able to contribute to the international market with skilled professionals and complex products, thus paving way for a sustainable future. The varieties of 3D printing technologies, the materials utilised in 3D printing, the applications for 3D printing technology, and the difficulties associated with adopting 3D printing technologies in Pakistan are all covered in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The global scientific community has been quick to respond to health crisis unleashed by Covid-19 pandemic with intensified investments in R&D and thereby it gave new impetus to Covid-19 research. The world has come to witness unprecedented increase in research publications on control and treatment of Covid-19 pandemic. Like any other region in the world, South Asia too has been the worst-hit region and it too witnessed increase in Covid-related research studies. Systematic reviews of such literature and bibliometric studies are used nowadays as tools to identify and analyze key and significant South Asian contribution to the subject. The present study aims to assess and quantify the contribution and impact of Covid-19 research made by a group of select four South Asian countries. Methods: Publications data on Covid 19 covering the period between December 2019 and 8.7.2021 was sourced from the Scopus database. VOSviewer 1.6.14 software was applied to generate network maps, assess hot topics in the area and describe collaboration patterns in research between different countries. Results: A total of 18,64,275 publications reflecting the global research output on Covid-19 were retrieved from the Scopus database. The publications data of select four South Asian countries - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka - was also retrieved. Comparatively the data size of select four South Asian countries was small, limited to 4012 documents, and accounting for a 2.15% share of the global research output on Covid-19 virus. Pakistan published the most number of Covid-19 publications (n = 2246, 55.58%), followed by Bangladesh (n = 1203, 29.99%), Nepal (n=512, 12.76%) and Sri Lanka (n=202, 5.03%). The United States as the collaborating partner in most number of publications contributed by South Asian countries (n = 609, 25.41%), followed by the United Kingdom (n = 496, 20.69%), China (n=453, 18.90%), Saudi Arabia (n=441, 18.40%) and India (n=426, 17.77%). Covid-19 treatment type was the most studied topic in the contributions made by South Asian countries accounting for a 16.45% share, followed by epidemiology (15.63%), risk factors (5.835), clinical studies (4.81%), etc. Conclusion: This paper finds that the quantity and quality of research pursued by a select group of four South Asian countries in the domain of Covid 19 studies has so far been small and insignificant. There is an urgent need on the part of select group of South Asian counties to improve their productivity and qualitative performance at the national, institutional, and individual author level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prime purpose of this study is to find out the research productivity of three regions Nigeria, Pakistan, and India. The bibliometric quantification was used to analyze the data. The present research identifies the importance of this online journal. The study discloses frequency of publication growth, author's collaborations, papers length, and most cited papers, most productive authors, and total references used. Design/methodology/approach The survey method was used to find out the full-text research articles on the online database of LPP. The Google scholar was used to retrieve the citations. All the collected data has been analyzed using MS excel and other electronic devices. Findings The results of this study indicate that in the year 2008 to 2013. The contribution of Nigerian authors is more than the other two nations that are 226 while Indian comes 2nd with 193 research papers and Pakistan comes 3rd with 67 research articles from the studied period in the wellknown journal of Library and information science field that is LPP. The present study revealed the majority of the research articles were single authors from Nigeria 114, Pakistan 18, and India 80. The study results show that the majority of the paper length in the range of 6-10 Nigerian 116, Pakistan 34, and India 70 respectively. The study showed the total references were calculated 4140 from Nigeria, 1506 Pakistan, and 3243 from Indian. The most cited paper was retrieved by a Nigerian paper that is 197 citations. The analyzed data shows the most productive authors were Rubina Bhatti from Pakistan with 18 research papers. This study contributes to the existing literature of three-nation contributions to the Library Philosophy and practice throughout the year. This is the first study of three-nation research productivity in the well-known online journal library philosophy and practice. Limitations of the study The present study was limited to the well-known LIS Journal and research articles specifically published at online journal library philosophy and practice. This study is purely limited to the research productivity of Nigerian, Pakistani, and Indian authors to the Library Philosophy and Practice from 2008 to 2013. Practical implications Despite its limitations, the findings of the study will help the LIS professionals of three nations and as well as other parts of the LIS professionals to provide more information about their research productivity of a particular journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the Journal of Palaeogeography (Chinese Edition and English Edition) continually received manuscripts, in which some authors are from China and some are from Pakistan, Lithuania, Morocco, South Africa, etc. The authors of these manuscripts, according to the viewpoint and method of Miall's paper (1985), selected rocks from each bed in the clastic sections of their study areas and induced some rock types, such as conglomerates, sandstones and fine-grained stones, and considered them as lithofacies. It does not conform to the definition of lithofacies. I wrote some papers, i.e., Feng (2018, 2019, 2020), to point out the problems and hope that the authors worldwide, especially Chinese authors, will not continually cite, spread and follow Miall's paper (1985) viewpoint and method blindly. Prof. Miall is the first person who considered rocks (in fact, the sediments) as lithofacies and proposed a facies analysis method. His viewpoint and facies analysis method confused the definition of facies and facies analysis method. My current paper is a special article to discuss the principal problems of Miall's paper (1985), i.e., he considered the sediments as lithofacies and utilized lithofacies to analyze facies, but not to discuss the contributions and less strictness of architectural elements of his paper. Here, I have to declare that the facies in my current paper is the facies of sedimentary petrology, but not of other geological disciplines, such as igneous petrology, metamorphic petrology, palaeontology, stratigraphy, geophysics, geochemistry. Certainly, the definitions of facies and lithofacies are controversial. My current paper will adhere to the policy of "A hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend". I hope that through academic discussions, contends and geological practice, these problems will be solved gradually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historians of Partition have focused upon the bitterly polarized yet vibrant public sphere of the last days of the British Raj, wherein newspapers representing Congress, Muslim League and Akali opinion vied for influence through increasingly hostile propaganda targeted at the 'other/s'. Such studies' focus on ideological battles and propaganda results in relatively less attention being given to what became of these papers once the British departed and the parties these papers espoused or opposed captured power. This paper will seek to revisit such assumptions by analyzing the trials and tribulations of the significant newspaper houses unfortunate enough to be located on the geographical frontlines of Partition and in major centres of communal conflagration. Through such analyses, I will seek to show that it was a combination of initial mob action, reinforced often by state repression and even popular reproach, that forced newspapers viewed as belonging to the 'other' party to move to safer (and greener) pastures. In the process, late-colonial India's once pluralist public sphere came to be partitioned into sections that broadly conformed to the ideologies that the respective Dominions' new rulers espoused. While aligning newspapers with the majoritarian public opinion, this Partition occasioned shifts of personnel and presses that would fundamentally alter the postcolonial press industry in West and East Pakistan, and to a lesser extent, in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subterranean termites cause considerable damage to a wide number of agricultural crops, tree plantations and wooden infrastructures all over the world including Pakistan. This study was aimed to evaluate the comparative efficacy of 10 commercial formulations of new-chemistry insecticides against Odontotermes obesus (Isoptera: Termitidae), one of the most economic subterranean termite species in Indo-Pak region. Label-recommended dose rates of insecticides were tested against worker termites using modified filter paper disc method according to completely randomized design. All insecticides caused significant mortality of termites as compared to control treatment. Formulations of chlorantraniliprole, chlorfenapyr and pyriproxyfen exhibited maximum termite mortality, ranging from 31.18±5.67, 28.33±7.03 and 21.67±4.01%, respectively at 3 h post-exposure to 100% at 24 h, followed by triflumuron (81.67±3.07%) and indoxacarb (63.33±5.58%). Moreover, chlorantraniliprole, chlorfenapyr, pyriproxyfen, emamectin, indoxacarb and triflumuron showed LT50 values of 15.62 h (10.66 – 20.58), 18.48 h (14.72 – 22.93), 27.34 h (22.34 – 33.97), 28.22 h (23.37 – 34.53), 31.91 h (26.68 – 38.90) and 32.82 h (28.03 – 39.11), respectively. On the contrary, spirotetramat, pymetrozine and spinosad were least effective against O. obesus termites. Conclusively, based on the results of this study, chlorantraniliprole, chlorfenapyr, pyriproxyfen, triflumuron and indoxacarb are recommended to be incorporated in future integrated pest management programs against subterranean termites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To understand why skilled birth attendance-an acknowledged strategy for reducing maternal deaths-has been effective in some settings but is failing in Pakistan and to demonstrate the value of a theory-driven approach to evaluating implementation of maternal healthcare interventions., Design: Implementation research was conducted using an institutional ethnographic approach., Setting and Population: National programme and local community levels in Pakistan., Methods: Observations, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews were conducted with 38 Community Midwives (CMWs), 20 policymakers, 45 healthcare providers and 136 community members. A critical policy document review was conducted. National and local level data were brought together., Main Outcomes: Alignment of programme theory with real-world practice., Results: Data revealed gaps between programme theory, assumptions and reality on the ground. The design of the programme failed to take into account: (1) the incongruity between the role of a midwife and dominant class and gendered norms that devalue such a role; (2) market and consumer behaviour that prevented CMWs from establishing private practices; (3) the complexity of public-private sector cooperation. Uniform deployment policies failed to consider existing provider density and geography., Conclusions: Greater attention to programme theory and the 'real-world' setting during design of maternal health strategies is needed to achieve consistent results in different contexts., (© 2014 The Authors. BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.)

Heterotermes indicola (Wasmann) (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) is a species of subterranean termite that is a destructive pest of wood and wood products in Pakistan. This study evaluated the antioxidant and antienzyme potential of heartwood extractives against H. indicola. Heartwood extractives of four durable wood species, Tectona grandis (L.f), Dalbergia sissoo (Roxb.), Cedrus deodara (Roxb.), and Pinus roxburghii (Sarg.) were removed from wood shavings via soxhlet extraction with an ethanol:toluene solvent system. The antioxidant potential of the extractive compounds was determined using the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging test. Results showed maximum antioxidant activity for extractives of D. sissoo. D. sissoo had the lowest IC50 (the concentration where 50% inhibition of the DPPH radical is obtained) at 28.83 µg/ml among the heartwood extractives evaluated. This antioxidant activity, however, was not concentration dependent as was observed in the other heartwood extractives tested. At the maximum test concentration, T. grandis showed the highest percent inhibition at 89.7%, but this inhibition was lower compared to the positive control antioxidant compounds butylated hydroxytoluene and quercetin. When termites were fed filter paper treated with IC50s of the extractives and control compounds, glutathione S -transferase activity in the guts of H. indicola workers was significantly reduced by T. grandis and D. sissoo extractives. Similarly, esterase activity was reduced more by P. roxburghii extractives compared to control antioxidant treatments and other tested extractives. However, none of the extractives examined significantly reduced the activity of catalase enzymes in H. indicola compared to treatments with the antioxidant control compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metadiscourse markers are linguistic devices which use to ensure coherence in a text while adopting a communicative attitude towards readers. The editorial of newspaper deals with ongoing social issues because of their critical role in the representation of a society. It is important to investigate editors' choice of linguistic devices and how they use of metadiscourse features in the presentation of ongoing issues in a thought evoking way. The present study deals with the analysis of the features of metadiscourse markers in editorials of Sunday newspapers of Pakistan. It is both quantitative and qualitative in nature. The editorials of Pakistan's leading English newspapers are Dawn and The Nation. are collected and Hyland and Tse (2004a) model of Interpersonal metadiscourse is used as the theoretical framework. Findings revealed the significant use of metadiscourse markers in both corpora in which the interactive markers are more consistent than interactional markers along with few variations regarding hedges, boosters, and engagement markers. Altogether, the results state that editorial writers tend to use persuasive elements as they direct their readers through text using metadiscourse markers ultimately making the editorials reader-friendly. It emphasizes the importance of the use of metadiscourse features in developing a reader-writer relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand of natural fibres is increasing in the world for industrial uses to make high value products. An enormous potential of sisal fibre is present in Pakistan for making ropes, twines, paper, carpets, cloth and handicrafts, which has not been exploited so far. The aim of this study was to design and develop a small-scale portable sisal decorticator for extracting fibre from sisal leaves. A prototype of sisal decorticator was designed and fabricated at Agricultural and Biological Engineering Institute, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad. The prototype machine was tested for fibre extraction. Results indicated that sisal fibre production capacity of this machine was 15.94 kg h-1 (dry fibre). Average yield of dry sisal fibre was 3.2% of green leaf weight and average fibre length was 1348.9 mm per leaf. Average power required to decorticate sisal leaves was 3.1 kW. Operating cost of sisal decorticator together with a combing machine was Rs. 507.9 h-1. The breakeven point or payback period of this technology was 233 h. Sisal fibre needs to be washed, dried and brushed after decortication process for getting good quality fibre to make domestic products. This technology has a great potential and needs to be commercialised in sisal growing areas of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the present research work was to explore the nutritional composition of different infant formulas and determine the safety status of these products. For this purpose, different infant formula brands were procured from the local market of Faisalabad, Pakistan. After the collection of these different brands, nutritional composition, i.e. fat, protein, ash, moisture and fiber was determined whilst the microbial analysis, such as Salmonella, Yeasts and Molds Count, and Total Bacteria Count, was carried out through their methods. In addition, the amino acid profile was assessed through paper chromatography. Furthermore, an appropriate statistical design was carried out to determine the level of significance. Mean values for amino acids, i.e. lysine, valine and cysteine varied from 3.06 g/100 g to 6.63 g/100 g, 4.90 g/100 g to 6.51 g/100 g, and 2.32 g/100 g to 3.04 g/100 g, respectively, in different brands of infant formula. Moreover, moisture content, crude proteins, crude fat, crude fiber, ash content, and nitrogen-free extract (NFE) varied from 1.6% to 3.83%, 10.55% to 14.67%, 9.82% to 26.63%, 1.00% to 4.13%, 1.87% to 4.20%, and 51.03% to 69.17%, respectively. It is evident from the microbiological analyses that Salmonella was not present in any brand of infant formula. Whereas yeast and mold counts were ≤2 cfu/g to ≤10 cfu/g in different brands. Moreover, total bacteria count was exhibited in the range of 1.5 × 103cfu/g to 6.3 × 103 cfu/g among different brands. Local infant formulas contained high amounts of heavy metals, i.e. 0.99 pp, of lead content followed by cadmium and aluminum as 0.28–0.98 ppm and 1.48–2.05 ppm, respectively. Conclusively, it is evident from whole research that local brands contained higher contents of heavy metal as compared to branded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]