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Problem statement: Teaching not only involves the transmission of information/knowledge from teachers to students, but it is a job which involves multidimensional human interaction to achieve the desired goals of an educational organization. The education sector has become very diverse and demanding. Professional liabilities of teachers in Pakistan have increased day by day. These liabilities have made the work environment more difficult to adjust to, resulting into low organizational commitment in teachers. Interaction with colleagues, students and work-family pressure are all increasing the emotional labour of the teachers, and many of them are unable to strike a balance between job demands, relationships at school and family liabilities. When teachers lack commitment to their jobs, they tend to get lousy results. When they are clear about what they want and commit themselves to achieve it, they usually get there in some fashion. The organizational commitment of teachers is a significant area to be investigated in relation to emotional intelligence in the Pakistani scenario where most of the teachers do not join the teaching profession as their primary choice, but rather as a last resort. The low level of teacher commitment to their organization has resulted in a poor sense of responsibility and poor standards for education. Purpose of the study: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and organizational commitment of college teachers in the Pakistani context. Method: The study was a descriptive survey in nature. Data were collected from 494 college teachers in Pakistan. Schutte's Assessing Emotions Scale and Allen & Mayer's three components of organizational commitment measures were used to collect the data. Pearson Product Moment Formula was applied to test the hypotheses. Regression Analysis was also applied to determine the effect of emotional intelligence on organizational commitment. Results and Findings: Findings of the research revealed a significant relationship of emotional intelligence to organizational commitment. EI also displayed significant positive relationships with three components of organizational commitment which are denoted by affective, continuance and normative commitment, respectively. Emotional intelligence reflects a reasonable power of predictability toward the organizational commitment of teachers. Conclusions and Recommendation: The study recommended emotional intelligence be included in the criteria for selection and recruitment of teachers, and that it be utilized as an intervention to enhance the level of organizational commitment of prospective and in-service teachers in Pakistani colleges.

Cotton, a key source of income for Pakistan, has suffered significantly by cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) since 1990. This disease is caused by a complex of phylogenetically-related begomovirus (genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae) species and a specific betasatellite (genus Betasatellite, family Tolecusatellitidae), cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite. Additionally, another DNA satellite called alphasatellite (family Alphasatellitidae), is also frequently associated. All these virus components are vectored by a single species of whitefly (Bemisia tabaci). While many factors affect cotton productivity, including cotton variety, sowing time, and environmental cues such as temperature, humidity, and rainfall, CLCuD is a major biotic constraint. Although the understanding of begomoviruses transmission by whiteflies has advanced significantly over the past three decades, however, the in-field seasonal dynamics of the viruses in the insect vector remained an enigma. This study aimed to assess the levels of virus and betasatellite in whiteflies collected from cotton plants throughout the cotton growing season from 2014 to 2016. Notably, begomovirus levels showed no consistent pattern, with minimal variations, ranging from 0.0017 to 0.0074 ng.μg-1 of the genomic DNA in 2014, 0.0356 to 0.113 ng.μg-1 of the genomic DNA in 2015, and 0.0517 to 0.0791 ng.μg-1 of the genomic DNA in 2016. However, betasatellite levels exhibited a distinct pattern. During 2014 and 2015, it steadily increased throughout the sampling period (May to September). While 2016 showed a similar trend from the start of sampling (July) to September but a decline in October (end of sampling). Such a study has not been conducted previously, and could potentially provide valuable insights about the epidemiology of the virus complex causing CLCuD and possible means of controlling losses due to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citrus fruits, revered for their nutritional value, face significant threats from diseases like citrus canker, particularly impacting global citrus cultivation, notably in Pakistan. This study delves into the critical role of NPR1-like genes, the true receptors for salicylic acid (SA), in the defense mechanisms of citrus against Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (Xcc). By conducting a comprehensive genome-wide analysis and phylogenetic study, the evolutionary dynamics of Citrus limon genes across diverse citrus cultivars are elucidated. Structural predictions unveil conserved domains, such as the BTB domain and ankyrin repeat domains, crucial for the defense mechanism. Motif analysis reveals essential conserved patterns, while cis-regulatory elements indicate their involvement in transcription, growth, response to phytohormones, and stress. The predominantly cytoplasmic and nuclear localization of NPR1-like genes underscores their pivotal role in conferring resistance to various citrus species. Analysis of the Ks/Ka ratio indicates a purifying selection of NPR1-like genes, emphasizing their importance in different species. Synteny and chromosomal mapping provide insights into duplication events and orthologous links among citrus species. Notably, Xac infection stimulates the expression of NPR1-like genes, revealing their responsiveness to pathogenic challenges. Interestingly, qRT-PCR profiling post-Xac infection reveals cultivar-specific alterations in expression within susceptible and resistant citrus varieties. Beyond genetic factors, physiological parameters like peroxidase, total soluble protein, and secondary metabolites respond to SA-dependent PR genes, influencing plant characteristics. Examining the impact of defense genes (NPR1) and plant characteristics on disease resistance in citrus, this study marks the inaugural investigation into the correlation between NPR1-associated genes and various plant traits in both susceptible and resistant citrus varieties to citrus bacterial canker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study set out to determine how Emotional Intelligence (EI) impacts the success of construction projects. This study showed that organisational culture has a role in moderating the relationship between team cohesion and project success, and its significance in this regard was also examined. Workers on several construction projects in Pakistan were contacted and provided information for this study. The data was analysed utilising the regression analysis in SPSS and partial least squares in SMART PLS, and it has been found that emotional intelligence significantly influences project success. Relationships between emotional intelligence and project success are both favourable and statistically significant. Emotionally astute colleagues can help teams to build stronger bonds with one another. Furthermore, the organisational culture positively and significantly impacts the relationship between a successful project and a cohesive team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sheds light on strategies for retaining skilled pharmacists in Pakistan's pharmaceutical sector, offering valuable insights for both academia and industry stakeholders by investigating the impact of human resource management practices, including training and development, compensation and rewards, job performance, and job satisfaction, on employee retention. It also examines the moderating role of career growth in this context. Theoretical foundations are grounded in international migration theories and social exchange theory, providing a comprehensive framework for the study. A cross‐sectional survey design was used to collect data from 254 pharmacists in southern Punjab, Pakistan. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for data analysis. Findings reveal that training and development, compensation and rewards, job performance, and job satisfaction all have significant direct effects on employee retention. Additionally, career growth acts as a crucial moderator, strengthening the relationship between training and development and job performance, as well as compensation and rewards and job satisfaction in relation to employee retention. Theoretical implications emphasize the importance of tailored training programs, fair compensation practices, and career growth opportunities. Practical recommendations include creating a positive work environment, rewarding high‐performing employees, and fostering career development. Future research directions encompass longitudinal studies, the influence of organizational culture and technology, regional variations, and additional factors affecting retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Headwater in the Indus River in Pakistan is largely dependent on the glaciers located in the northern part of the country, along with other sources such as direct precipitation. Glaciers are a major source of freshwater that provides agriculture and livelihood to millions of people. The hydro-climatic variations in the Gilgit watershed of the Upper Indus basin are poorly investigated scientifically due to high topographical differences, geography, remoteness of the region, and larger variations in climatic conditions. These glaciers are continuously changing due to melting as a consequence of global warming or accumulation due to snowfall/precipitation at higher altitude regions. The study is carried out using remote sensing data to quantify glacier changes in spatiotemporal variability in the past three decades. Five glaciers in the Gilgit region (near the junction of the Hindukush and Karakoram Mountains) with an area of more than 5 square kilometers were selected, namely Phakor, Karamber, East Gammu, Bhort, and Bad-e-Swat glaciers. These glaciers were monitored for changes in their sizes through a cloud-free continuous series of Landsat satellite imagery. The annual climatic trends were studied through spatially interpolated gridded climate data WοrldClim version-1 climate database for 1970–2000, utilized for assessment of meteorological condition by analyzing the variations of minimum and maximum temperature, solar radiation, and precipitation. The temporal variations in five glaciers in the Gilgit watershed are found to be minimal and, thus, are rather stable and show no sign of rapid melting or diminishing. The little variability of glaciers' extent may be attributed to their geographic condition, altitude, topography, and orientation. The mapped glacier classes have been validated to check the accuracy assessment through an error matrix method. The kappa coefficient from the error matrix has been calculated as 84%, which shows a good agreement. The study makes a critical input towards understanding the dynamics of the glacier in the upper Indus catchment's Gilgit watershed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) between China and Pakistan passes through the environmentally fragile region of the Himalayas−Karakorum−Hindukush (HKH). Surging human influence in the form of transportation and tourism may pose a potential threat to the socio-environmental sustainability especially, the water resources of the region. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the status and hydrogeochemistry of freshwater in mountainous catchments. For this purpose, water samples were collected from the Hunza, Gilgit, and Indus River Basins from 2019 to 2020. The physicochemical and biological characteristics of surface water were investigated using the water quality index (WQI), multivariate statistics, Piper diagram, and Gibbs plots. The results revealed high seasonal variability in the hydrochemistry of water samples in all basins. Heavy metals (HM) i.e., arsenic (As), and lead (Pb) were detected in more than 50% of total water samples, whereas cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) were detected in less than 15% of total water samples. 82% of water samples collected during summer and 48% in winter were contaminated with bacterial contamination (Escherichia coli (E. coli) and total coliform (T. coli)). Piper diagram and Gibbs plot suggested that rock weathering and dissolution of carbonate rocks are the dominating factors controlling the chemistry of glacial streams and river water. The results of this study have important implications for policymakers, regulators, and practitioners involved in water and environmental management across CPEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternanthera yellow vein virus (AlYVV), a monopartite begomovirus, has been identified infecting a diverse range of crops and native plants in Pakistan, India, and China. However, distinctive yellow vein symptoms, characteristic of begomovirus infection, were observed on the Ageratum conyzoides weed in Oman, prompting a thorough genomic characterization in this study. The results unveiled a complete genome sequence of 2745 base pairs and an associated betasatellite spanning 1345 base pairs. In addition, Sequence Demarcation Tool analyses indicated the highest nucleotide identity of 92.8% with a previously reported AlYVV-[IN_abalpur_A_17:LC316182] strain, whereas the betasatellite exhibited a 99.8% nucleotide identity with isolates of tomato leaf curl betasatellite. Thus, our findings propose a novel AlYVV Oman virus (AlYVV-OM) variant, emphasizing the need for additional epidemiological surveillance to understand its prevalence and significance in Oman and the broader region. To effectively manage the spread of AlYVV-OM and minimize its potential harm to (agro)ecosystems, future research should focus on elucidating the genetic diversity of AlYVV-OM and its interactions with other begomoviruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pedilanthus leaf curl virus (PeLCV) is a monopartite begomovirus (family Geminiviridae) discovered just a few decades ago. Since then, it has become a widely encountered virus, with reports from ca. 25 plant species across Pakistan and India, indicative of its notable evolutionary success. Viruses mutate at such a swift rate that their ecological and evolutionary behaviors are inextricably linked, and all of these behaviors are imprinted on their genomes as genetic diversity. So, all these imprints can be mapped by computational methods. This study was designed to map the sequence variation dynamics, genetic heterogeneity, regional diversity, phylogeny, and recombination events imprinted on the PeLCV genome. Phylogenetic and network analysis grouped the full-length genome sequences of 52 PeLCV isolates into 7 major clades, displaying some regional delineation but lacking host-specific demarcation. The progenitor of PeLCV was found to have originated in Multan, Pakistan, in 1977, from where it spread concurrently to India and various regions of Pakistan. A high proportion of recombination events, distributed unevenly throughout the genome and involving both inter- and intraspecies recombinants, were inferred. The findings of this study highlight that the PeLCV population is expanding under a high degree of genetic diversity (π = 0.073%), a high rate of mean nucleotide substitution (1.54 × 10−3), demographic selection, and a high rate of recombination. This sets PeLCV apart as a distinctive begomovirus among other begomoviruses. These factors could further exacerbate the PeLCV divergence and adaptation to new hosts. The insights of this study that pinpoint the emergence of PeLCV are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper aims to explore the influence of corporate entrepreneurship on entrepreneurial performance in manufacturing companies based in Pakistan. A comprehensive review of relevant literature, including research studies, books, websites, and journals, was conducted to provide a solid theoretical foundation. It follows a quantitative research approach, employing a questionnaire survey method. Hypotheses were formulated to establish the relationships between corporate entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial performance in these manufacturing firms. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and factor analysis techniques. The target population for this study was the Lahore Chamber of Commerce (LCC), and a random sample of 384 managers was selected, with 307 of them responding to the questionnaire. To our knowledge this the first study of its kind that examine the entrepreneurial capacity of manufacturing sector in Pakistan. The findings revealed that all dimensions of corporate entrepreneurship, namely innovation, new business venturing, strategic renewal, pro-activeness, and autonomy, significantly and positively impacted the entrepreneurial performance of manufacturing companies in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) is a significant constraint to the economies of Pakistan and India. The disease is caused by different begomoviruses (genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae) in association with a disease-specific betasatellite. However, another satellite-like molecule, alphasatellite, is occasionally found associated with this disease complex. A quantitative real-time PCR assay for the virus/satellite components causing CLCuD was used to investigate the performance of selected cotton varieties in the 2014–2015 National Coordinated Varietal Trials (NCVT) in Pakistan. The DNA levels of virus and satellites in cotton plants were determined for five cotton varieties across three geographic locations and compared with seed cotton yield (SCY) as a measure of the plant performance. The highest virus titer was detected in B-10 (0.972 ng·µg−1) from Vehari and the lowest in B-3 (0.006 ng·µg−1) from Faisalabad. Likewise, the highest alphasatellite titer was found in B-1 (0.055 ng·µg−1) from Vehari and the lowest in B-1 and B-2 (0.001 ng·µg−1) from Faisalabad. The highest betasatellite titer was found in B-23 (1.156 ng·µg−1) from Faisalabad and the lowest in B-12 (0.072 ng·µg−1) from Multan. Virus/satellite DNA levels, symptoms, and SCY were found to be highly variable between the varieties and between the locations. Nevertheless, statistical analysis of the results suggested that betasatellite DNA levels, rather than virus or alphasatellite DNA levels, were the important variable in plant performance, having an inverse relationship with SCY (−0.447). This quantitative assay will be useful in breeding programs for development of virus resistant plants and varietal trials, such as the NCVT, to select suitable varieties of cotton with mild (preferably no) symptoms and low (preferably no) virus/satellite. At present, no such molecular techniques are used in resistance breeding programs or varietal trials in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pakistan is one of the nations with the worst statistics for pregnancy-related outcomes. Health programmes in underdeveloped nations frequently ignore the role of partners in maternal health, which is a crucial contributing factor in these worst situations. This research study aims to explore the role of husbands in maternity care and safe childbirth in Pakistan. Methods: The data for this study comes from the Pakistan Maternal Mortality Survey 2019. The k-Modes clustering algorithm was implemented to generate clusters from the dataset. Cluster profiling was used to identify the problems in pregnancy-related outcomes in cases where women live away from their partners. The chi-square test and logistic regression model were fitted to identify the significant factors associated with women's health and safe childbirth. Results: The finding of the study reveals that the partner's support during and after pregnancy plays a vital role in maternal health and safe child-birth. It was revealed that the women living away from their partners have certain health problems during pregnancy. These problems include Vaginal bleeding, Excessive vomiting, Chest pain, Cough, High B.P, Excessive weight gain, Body aches, Swelling of feet, and Swelling of the face. This also leads to complications and health problems in the postpartum period. Due to a lack of antenatal care from the spouse during pregnancy, the women who lived away from their partners lost their pregnancies. Conclusion: The study concludes that the husband's emotional and financial support substantially impacts the overall health of expecting mothers and the safety of delivery in Pakistan. Given its potential advantages for mother and child health outcomes, male engagement in health education must be acknowledged and addressed. The finding of the study is of immense importance, as it guides the policymakers to arrange various awareness programs for the male partners to support their pregnant spouse and provide proper antenatal care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parthenium hysterophorus is an invasive weed, produces a lot of non edible biomass that is hazardous to humans. This study provides an insight to its beneficial use by converting the biomass into value-added materials like compost and biochar and subsequent amendment in soil as fertilizer. The biochar was prepared in a locally fabricated charcolator while the compost was prepared in a rolling tumbler. Two-year field experiment was set up using different combinations of biochar (BC), compost (C) and commercial fertilizer (CF) in the rice-wheat cultivation system in Lahore, Pakistan to assess soil health and crops performance after characterizing the products using advanced analyses. GCMS analysis has revealed the presence of stigmasterol and campesterol (plant growth promoters) in prepared compost. Field data showed that the combined application of compost and biochar in rice and wheat fields significantly improved the characteristics of soil like SOM and CEC. Agronomic characteristics such as the number of grains per tiller, grain weight and biological yield were significantly higher in C + CF (half dose of each) and almost equal to CF in the first year. In the second year, both crops agronomic performance was considerably more evident and pronounced following the same pattern. All other agronomic features also followed the same pattern. Thus, mixed application of organic and inorganic fertilizer on recurrent basis is recommended to improve yield of wheat and rice along with soil amelioration in the rice wheat cultivation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Customer reviews of mobile banking (m-banking) apps contain the most direct and first-hand accounts of customer experiences with m-banking. However, surprisingly little effort has been made to understand m-banking service quality using these reviews. Therefore, this study aims to discover m-banking service quality dimensions from customers' reviews of the m-banking apps through a text mining approach. Design/methodology/approach: Reviews of m-banking apps of 24 banks operating in Pakistan were scraped from Google Play Store. Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) method was applied to discover the dimensions of m-banking service quality from 24,529 positive and 29,569 negative useable reviews. Findings: Different dimensions of m-banking service quality are discussed in positive and negative reviews. Positive reviews focus on security, convenience, ease of use, continuous improvement, usefulness and app attributes, whereas negative reviews discuss system availability, responsiveness, faulty updates, login problems and reliability. Research limitations/implications: The results are based only on customer reviews in one country and generalization may not be possible. Moreover, due to the unavailability of demographic information about reviewers, the effect of demographic characteristics on users' perceptions of m-banking quality could not be determined. Practical implications: The study provides managers with useful insights to improve the service experience of m-banking customers. The study also demonstrates how managers can employ text analytical techniques to assess and improve the quality of m-banking services. Originality/value: In addition to enriching the understanding of m-banking quality based on direct and first-hand user experiences, the current study also provides initial evidence for the two-factor structure of m-banking service quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Tuberculosis (TB) coinfection in human immunodeficiency virus- (HIV-) infected patients is considered a risk of antiretroviral therapy (ART) failure. Coadministration of antitubercular therapy (ATT) with ART is another challenge for TB management. Objective. The study was aimed at investigating contributing factors affecting treatment outcomes in HIV-/TB-coinfected patients. Design. Cross-sectional. Setting. Samples were collected from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital Islamabad. Subject and Methods. Clinicodemographic and immunovirological factors between the two groups were compared. The Student t -test and chi-square test were applied to compare outcome variables, and logistic regression was applied to determine the effect of TB on virological failure (VF). Main Outcome Measures. TB coinfection did not increase VF even in univariate (p = 0.974) and multivariate analysis at 6 and 12 months of 2nd-line ART start. ARV switching was significant (p = 0.033) in TB-coinfected patients. VF was significantly high in ATT-coadministered patients along with a viral load of ≥1000 (p = 0.000). Sample Size and Characteristics. We recruited seventy-four HIV patients on 2nd-line ART; 33 coinfected with TB were followed for at least 12 months. Conclusion. In HIV-/TB-coinfected patients, CD4 count, CD4 gain, and VF remained comparable to HIV patients with no TB infection. ATT significantly affects the treatment outcome, suggesting drug-to-drug interactions. These factors are important to revisit the therapeutic guidelines to maximize the benefit of dual therapy in resource-limited settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationship between teachers' sense of efficacy and their organizational commitment at colleges in Pakistan. It was conducted on a sample comprising 494 public-sector Pakistani college teachers. Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2001) developed the teachers' sense of efficacy scale, and John P. Meyer and Natalie J. Allen's developed organizational commitment scale (1991) was applied to collect the data. Hypotheses were tested using the Pearson Product Moment formula. The effects of the factors of the teachers' sense of efficacy on organizational commitment were determined using the Regression Analysis. It was determined that a higher degree of teachers' sense of efficacy enhances organizational commitment, as highlighted by a significant positive correlation between the teachers' sense of efficacy and organizational commitment. There was a significant positive correlation between three factors of the teachers' sense of efficacy scale and three components of organizational commitment of college teachers. It was also established that the teachers' sense of efficacy can predict organizational commitment. The study shows that teachers' sense of efficacy must be considered when selecting and training prospective teachers. To become efficient and effective, teaching organizations must pay considerable attention to monitoring and boosting the positive Sense of self- efficacy among their teaching staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wet (rain, snow, fog, sleet, dew) and dry (transport of aerosol, particles and gases) deposition of acidic substance in environment results due to human, automobile, fossil fuel burning and industrial activities. Acid deposition is worldwide environmental degradation problems and in recent years these acidic materials are increasing at alarming scale in the environment both in developed and developing countries, including Pakistan. Some scientific literature survey reports suggest that plant growth and agriculture yield decrease due to consequence of acid rain. In addition, acid rain is found responsible for producing toxic effects on the morphological parameters of agricultural crop. The evidence collected from last more than fifty years showed the common significant effects of acid rain on seed germination percentage, seedling height, root hair and structure, alteration in leaf anatomy, size and area, stomatal structure, size, pollen germination, photosynthetic pigments and physiological changes in herbs, shrubs and trees. Still, little is known on the impact of acid rain on plant growth. This study was aimed to review the effects of acid mist on growth performances of some selected plant species. This review is contributed with the help of literature survey, research work published on the impact of acid rain on the plant growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses the difficulties encountered by women in Pakistani society as a result of the prevailing patriarchal norms, with a particular emphasis on issues of exploitation. The study aims to effectively sensitize the younger generation to these critical issues and underscore the influential impact of discourse in perpetuating gender inequality, while mitigating potential political and social ramifications. This paper employs the principles of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine the construction of gender identity in the short story Saleema, the poignant narrative of a servant girl's rejection, her descent into engaging in sexual favors, and her eventual destitution. The examination reveals the utilization of discourse strategies and manipulative speech that mold gender identity, along with the socioeconomic elements that impact it. The results indicate that women residing in patriarchal societies, such as Pakistan, frequently experience a lack of independence and are subjected to mistreatment. Their roles are primarily defined by men, which greatly restricts their ability to act autonomously. The research emphasizes the importance of acknowledging these concerns and confronting the existing gender norms and roles in Pakistani society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chilli (Capsicum annuum), which belongs to the family Solanaceae, is an important spice crop cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries. A Protocol for chili plant regeneration with hypocotyl and cotyledon explants was established. The study was conducted to observe the effect of genotypes, culture conditions and growth regulators on plant regeneration of chili pepper genotypes (Seedex Pepper (SP), Loungi, Tatapuri, and Sanam) grown in Pakistan including. For both hypocotyl and cotyledon explants, SP was found to be the most sensitive among the tested genotypes tested. Maximum mean callus induction rate of hypocotyl was 76.6% in SP followed by TP (73.3%); Sanam (57.3%); Loungi (43.3%) respectively. Whereas in case of cotyledon maximum inductions rate was found in Loungi (62.0%) followed by SP (60); Sanam (57.3); TP (46) individually. According to the observations maximum plant regeneration was found in genotype SP (9%), followed by Loungi (1.8%); Sanam (1.5%) but no plant regeneration was found in TP. A. tumefaciens LBA4404 with the 35S GFP/pFGC construct were used to evaluate hypocotyl and cotyledon explants for transformation. The effects of co-cultivation at different temperatures (22 and 25oC), photoperiods (16 hours of light, 8 hours of darkness, and full darkness), and co-cultivation periods were studied. GFP assays revealed that the putative transgenic calli were not transformed and died after 40-60 days. The experiment was repeated ten times to see the success rate of the regeneration system. In this study a protocol for chili plant regeneration was developed for callus induction, plant regeneration, and plant transformation. Because developing a viable chilli tissue culture and plant regeneration system is difficult, this study was designed to help develop one. SP was found to be the most suitable among the four genotypes used for regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the Diagnostic accuracy of Kramer's visual assessment of jaundice in term neonates by taking total serum bilirubin levels as a gold standard. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Neonatology Department, Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, Mar to Sep 2019. Methodology: The study was based on examining and investigating 300 neonates. Kramer scale was used to examine jaundice in all neonates, and results were compared to total serum bilirubin levels. Results: A total of 300 patients were included in this study. The mean bilirubin level was 229.1±74.5mol/L. The sensitivity and specificity of visual assessment of jaundice using the Kramer visual scale were 83.84% and 73.53%, respectively, for neonates who were not jaundiced below the abdomen and thighs included in Kramer zones 1 to 3. Conclusion: Kramer visual assessment can be used as a noninvasive screening method in neonates jaundiced up to the abdomen and thighs, which is included in Kramer zones 1 to 3 but for markedly jaundiced neonates Kramer scale is not a reliable noninvasive method of bilirubin estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic interdependence between China and Pakistan increased in the post‐9/11 period due to various regional and international developments. The strategic partnership between the two states which was evolved in 1960s due to Indian factor has now been transformed especially in the post‐Cold period where new factors have been added in their relationship. Some of the factors identified in this study include enhancement of the strategic value of these states for each other especially closer collaboration in the defense and security, Cooperation in regional connectivity, cooperation in the regional organizations, mutual consensus on core political issues of Kashmir and Taiwan and China's support to Pakistan stance on the India's membership of Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG). China‐Pakistan strategic cooperation has raised concerns in India which on its part is devising counter‐strategies. Although, the study is qualitative and based on content analysis, but at the same time it is empirical as it also explains the correlations between independent and dependent variable i.e China‐Pakistan strategic cooperation versus India's counter‐strategies. In this backdrop, the main argument of the study is that the strategic partnership between China and Pakistan is not just India centric but in the post‐Cold War period several other factors have been added and one of the prominent factor is the construction of CPEC. The study moreover finds out that these new developments in China‐Pakistan strategic partnership have implications for India due to India's unresolved border issues with both Pakistan and China. The study is significant in terms of its relevance to policy makers, politicians, academia, and think tanks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the occurrence and molecular features of ESBL‐producing and colistin‐resistant Escherichia coli isolates recovered from healthy food‐producing animals in Pakistan. Methods: A total of 153 E. coli isolates were recovered from 250 faecal samples collected from livestock and poultry. The antibiotic susceptibility, resistant determinants and mobile genetic elements were determined for all the isolates. The clonal relatedness was analysed by MLST. Plasmids harbouring, localization and transferability of mcr‐1 gene were carried out by Southern hybridization, S1‐PFGE and transconjugation. Results: Out of 153 E. coli strains, 49.01% isolates were ESBLs producers, whereas 18.95% were resistant to colistin and 84.31% of the isolates. Multidrug resistance was found in 84% of the isolates. The ESBL‐producing E. coli in buffaloes, cattle, sheep, goat and broilers faecal samples were 60%, 74%, 54%, 50% and 68%, respectively. Among the ESBLs genes, blaCTX‐M was the most prevalent group detected in 98.66%, while only mcr‐1 of the colistin‐resistant genes could be PCR amplified in 29 isolates. The common MGEs found were ISECP1 (35.13%), ISCR1 (33.78%), ISApl1 (20.27%) and Inti1 (58.10%). The most predominant Inc. types found were IncFIB 46.66%, followed by IncFIA 30.66%, IncFIC 26.66%, IncFrepB 26.66%, IncHI2 26.66%, IncP 22.66% and IncX4 21.33%. The most frequent sequence type detected was ST58. Southern blot and S1‐PFGE confirmed the plasmid harbouring of mcr‐1 gene. Conclusion: The co‐occurrence of mcr‐1 and ESBLs‐encoding genes, along with MGEs in E. coli from healthy food animals in Pakistan, is a major concern. Significance and Impact of Study: Antimicrobial resistance can be transferred from animals to humans by direct contact or via the food chain and environment. The prevalence and co‐occurrence of ESBL and colistin resistance genes from food‐producing animals is rare in Pakistan. To our knowledge, this is the first report to find ESBLs and mcr‐1‐harbouring E. coli from the faecal samples of the healthy food‐producing animals in Pakistan. The presence of ARGs in association with MGEs, co‐harbouring the virulence factors, as determined in the current study, is a severe threat to livestock and the human community as it has horizontally and food web transferability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare mean platelet volume in neonates with and without sepsis. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jul 2017 to Jan 2018. Methodology: A total of 140 neonates of either gender with ages between 0-28 days, suspected of neonatal sepsis presenting with any two of the signs: a core body temperature of >38.5°C or <36°C at time of presentation, pulse rate beyond the range of 100-200 beats/minute, leukocyte count beyond the range of 4000 to 30,000/mm3 or >10% immature neutrophils on peripheral smear, tachypnea (>60 breaths/minute) and oxygen saturation (<90%) on the pulse oximeter, were included. Three ml of blood was drawn and sent for culture, while another 3ml of blood was sent for peripheral smear and mean platelet volume. Conclusion: Neonates having sepsis were found to have significantly raised mean platelet volume. As a result, mean platelet volume is available in complete blood counts without additional cost to prove cost-effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of unsupervised clustering methods is well established in the statistics and machine learning literature. Many sophisticated unsupervised classification techniques have been made available to deal with a growing number of datasets. Due to its simplicity and efficiency in clustering a large dataset, the k-means clustering algorithm is still popular and widely used in the machine learning community. However, as with other clustering methods, it requires one to choose the balanced number of clusters in advance. This paper's primary emphasis is to develop a novel method for finding the optimum number of clusters, k, using a data-driven approach. Taking into account the cluster symmetry property, the k-means algorithm is applied multiple times to a range of k values within which the balanced optimum k value is expected. This is based on the uniqueness and symmetrical nature among the centroid values for the clusters produced, and we chose the final k value as the one for which symmetry is observed. We evaluated the proposed algorithm's performance on different simulated datasets with controlled parameters and also on real datasets taken from the UCI machine learning repository. We also evaluated the performance of the proposed method with the aim of remote sensing, such as in deforestation and urbanization, using satellite images of the Islamabad region in Pakistan, taken from the Sentinel-2B satellite of the United States Geological Survey. From the experimental results and real data analysis, it is concluded that the proposed algorithm has better accuracy and minimum root mean square error than the existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citrus is a valuable crop in Pakistan. It is rich in vitamin C, other nutrients and antioxidants. Huanglongbing (HLB) caused by a bacterium "Candidatus liberibacter asiaticus" (CLas), africanus and americanus has an influence on citrus production around the world. Beside HLB there exist several other bacterial species in citrus groves in Pakistan. The structure and diversity of bacterial species in various ecosystems can be quickly examined using NGS. This approach is considerably quicker and more precise than outdated methods. Healthy or citrus greening infected leaf samples of Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi), C. aurantifolia, and C. reticulata Blanco were used for diversity analysis. In this study high throughput, NGS technique was used to access the population of both cultivable and non-cultivable bacterial endophytes from citrus leaves, by using PCR amplicons of 16S rDNA sequences (V5–V7 regions) with Illumina Hi seq. As a result, a total number of 68,722 sequences were produced from the test samples. According to the NGS-based diversity classification, the most common genera of exploited bacterial endophytes were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroides, Cyanobacteria, and Actinobacteria. C. aurantifolia and C. paradisi showed almost equal diversity, whereas C. reticulata Blanco had a higher proportion of Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria in their leaves. To determine alpha diversity (AD), additional data was analyzed using statistical indices such as Shannon, Chao1, and Simpson. According to the inverse Simpson diversity index, the abundance of the microbial population in six different citrus samples was 0.48, 0.567, and 0.163, respectively. The metagenomics of microbiota in plant tissues was successfully recorded by NGS technology, which can help us learn more about the interactions between plants and microbes. This research is the first step toward a better understanding of 16SrRNA-based metagenomics from citrus in Pakistan using Illumina (Hi seq) Technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain discoloration affects grain quality, quantity, and yield of rice crop worldwide. Herein, morphological, molecular, and pathogenic characterizations of the pathogen causing rice grain discoloration were performed. A set of 20 rice genotypes were scored for disease infestation in field and scanned with 12 unlinked polymorphic SSR primer pairs for genetic diversity assay. Pathogens from the discolored rice panicles were isolated to investigate the disease-causing pathogen on DNA sequencing basis. The universal primer pairs were used for DNA sequencing of the isolated pathogen. Furthermore, the new pathogen was reconfirmed morphologically by using Koch's postulates. The bacterial species Bacillus licheniformis was identified as a major pathogen causing grain discoloration disease in rice. The genotypes found to be resistant to rice grain discoloration include Super-basmati, Rondo, Gulfmont, KSK-133 and L-203 which can be used as potential genetic resources for breeding rice grain discoloration resistant cultivars. The study provided information to the researchers and farmers for managing and controlling rice grain disease by the adoption of Bacillus licheniformis. The study is equally beneficial both for researchers and scientific community to start up a new research program by utilization of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid increase in automobile density and discharge of different types of pollutants from automobile are a serious issue for whole civilized world and in Bhakkar also. Vehicle emission from automobiles released an enormous quantity of toxic pollutants likewise nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon mono oxide, heavy metals particularly lead, cadmium in environment and produced harmful effects on germination and growth of plants. This study was aim to investigate the effect of automobile polluted soil on the growth of some tree species. In present study the variation in seedling growth performance of three different selected tree species namely, Acacia nilotica L., Albizia lebbeck L. (Benth.) and Eucalyptus globulus Labill. raised in roadside polluted soils of District Bhakkar, Pakistan were recorded in the pots. Results showed that root, shoot, seedling length, number of leaves, and seedling dry weight of Acacia nilotica grown in polluted road soils of Bhakkar-Khansar road showed a significant (p<0.05) decline. Statistical analysis of recorded data showed that root growth and leaf area of Albizia lebbeck in the soil of Bhakkar-Khansar road soil significantly (p<0.05) decreased as compared to control. Similarly, a significant (p<0.05) reduction in shoot, seedling length, number of leaves, leaf area and seedling dry weight performance of E. globulus in polluted soils of Bhakkar-Notak was recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry in Pakistan is experiencing a surge in public sector projects due to major investments in infrastructure projects. Project delays and cost overrun are common features in public sector construction projects in Pakistan. Therefore, an understanding of the causes of time and cost overrun in public projects is essential. This paper investigates delay and cost overrun factors within the context of public sector projects in Pakistan. This study identifies 48 potential factors from existing literature and semi-structured interviews were used to refine the identified factors into ten categories. A questionnaire survey was used to establish a hierarchy of factors using descriptive statistics. The results showed that the major causes of time overruns in public projects were (1) legal issues, such as court stay orders, land acquisition, relocation of public facilities; (2) technical errors leading to low-quality drawings, rework, and errors at bidding stage; and (3) Poor project management. The findings of this research contribute to understanding the causes of project delays in public sector projects in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fierce competition and globalization has transformed the playing field of the businesses. Abundant choices of the products have overall increased the expectation of the customers while decreasing their loyalty. The organizations are looking for unique ways to get hold of the customers’ patronage. CSR has emerged out to be a leading research theme in majority of the consumer behavior literature. By the same token service quality is believed to influence consumer behavior. Following the trail, the main research focus in the field of marketing is to have a better understanding of the dynamic nexus between service quality and buying behavior. This study strives to explore the relationship among corporate social responsibility (CSR), service quality (SQ), corporate image, and consumer buying behavior in the context of the fast food industry, the second largest industry of the country having 180 million consumers. A cross sectional quantitative examination was conducted. A sample size of 1530 respondents from restaurant industry operating in Pakistan was considered for the study. The result of the study shows that both CSR and service quality can enhance consumer buying behavior but the positively perceived CSR is a stronger predictor of consumer buying behavior than service quality. Corporate image is partially mediating the relationship between CSR/SQ and consumer buying behavior. Therefore, CSR is more important and promising marketing strategy towards improving the consumers’ positive assessment about the organization, building positive corporate image, influencing consumer buying, contributing towards unique competitive characteristics and eventually gathering the customers’ patronage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sleep medicine is an under‐recognised medical specialty in Pakistan and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) often goes unnoticed. Final year medical students and junior doctors are the primary medical contact to elicit patient history and physical examination. We aimed to measure the current knowledge of OSA amongst the final year medical students and junior doctors at four university teaching hospitals across three large Pakistani cities. Methods: Cross‐sectional survey of final year medical students and junior doctors rotating through medical wards of four university teaching hospitals were conducted during August–October 2019. The knowledge section of the OSA knowledge and attitude (OSAKA) questionnaire was used. Descriptive statistics were used to present the data with Chi‐Square test and independent samples student t‐test to compare the differences between individual items and mean scores of the participants, respectively. Results: A total 282 final year medical students and 204 junior doctors completed the survey yielding a response rate of 53% for medical students and 97% for junior doctors. The knowledge of sleep apnoea was poor in both groups of participants with a mean score of 7.6 (42%) on the knowledge scale of OSAKA questionnaire. Medical students scored higher on the item related to snoring as the most prevalent symptom in OSA patients when compared to the junior doctors (χ2 = 8.92, P = 0.003). More junior doctors responded correctly about the role of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty in the management of OSA when compared to the medical students (χ2 = 5.14, P = 0.02). Differences in scores of both groups of participants on other items were small and did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion: Final year medical students and junior doctors from a sample of four university teaching hospitals in three large cities of Pakistan have limited knowledge about the diagnosis and management of OSA. The observed limited knowledge of OSA may contribute towards under‐diagnosis of this increasingly prevalent medical condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The determining force behind the value premium is the matter of debate among the researchers. Some are of the opinion that the financial distress risk determines value premium whereas other theorize that value premium is basically the compensation for operating leverage (investment activity risk). This research provides empirical evidence on this theoretical contradiction by investigating the relationships of financial leverage (FL) and operating leverage (OL) with stock returns, the book to market ratio (B/M), and systematic risk on non-financial sector firms trading at the Pakistan stock exchange (PSE). This research empirically finds significant and direct influence of operating leverage on stock returns, the book to market ratio, and systematic risk respectively. Overall findings provide support for the theoretical models which have a linked book to market effect with operating leverage. Thus, we conclude that investment activity risk seems to be the major factor that determines value premium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Cultivated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is the most important fibre crop in the world. Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) is the major limiting factor and a threat to textile industry in India and Pakistan. All the local cotton cultivars exhibit moderate to no resistance against CLCuD. In this study, we evaluated an exotic cotton accession Mac7 as a resistance source to CLCuD by challenging it with viruliferous whiteflies and performing qPCR to evaluate the presence/absence and relative titre of CLCuD‐associated geminiviruses/betasatellites. The results indicated that replication of pathogenicity determinant betasatellite is significantly attenuated in Mac7 and probably responsible for resistance phenotype. Afterwards, to decipher the genetic basis of CLCuD resistance in Mac7, we performed RNA sequencing on CLCuD‐infested Mac7 and validated RNA‐Seq data with qPCR on 24 independent genes. We performed co‐expression network and pathway analysis for regulation of geminivirus/betasatellite‐interacting genes. We identified nine novel modules with 52 hubs of highly connected genes in network topology within the co‐expression network. Analysis of these hubs indicated the differential regulation of auxin stimulus and cellular localization pathways in response to CLCuD. We also analysed the differential regulation of geminivirus/betasatellite‐interacting genes in Mac7. We further performed the functional validation of selected candidate genes via virus‐induced gene silencing (VIGS). Finally, we evaluated the genomic context of resistance responsive genes and found that these genes are not specific to A or D sub‐genomes of G. hirsutum. These results have important implications in understanding CLCuD resistance mechanism and developing a durable resistance in cultivated cotton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The red cotton bug, Dysdercus koenigii F. (Hemiptera: Pyrrhocoridae) is a destructive pest of cotton in the cotton belt region of Pakistan. This pest attacks the cotton bolls, mature cotton seeds and causes serious damage to premature bolls. A trial was conducted under laboratory conditions to check the predatory potential of A. coquebertii on different stages of D. koenigii. Four stages of D. koenigii i.e. 3rd, 4th, 5th nymphal instars and adults were provided to A. coquebertii adults to check their survival, fecundity response and feeding potential. Results were statistically significant when comparing feeding preferences of A. coquebertii on different stages of D. koenigii. Adult male and female longevity of A. coquebertii was significantly higher when these insects were fed with 3rd instar nymphs of D. koenigii, which was 115.25 ± 6.91 and 88.75 ± 4.64 days, respectively. Maximum egg laying percentage of 34% was recorded on medium 3 and minimum egg laying percentage of 16% was recorded on medium 2. Based on the results of this study, survival and fecundity rate of A. coquebertii can be highly affected when the suitable stage of D. koenigii is not present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the years, there have been several discussions on the mainstreaming of Madrassas in Pakistan with their main focus to provide career opportunities to their students by reforming curriculum, removing hate speeches and adding some additional subjects such as Mathematics, IT and English. The issue of Madrassa reforms particularly came to lime light in the backdrop of post-9/11 developments especially the global war on terror. The terrorist attack on Army Public School in Peshawar in December 2014 provided further impetus for a 20-Points National Action Plan (NAP) for countering terrorism and extremism of which one the important points was that Madrassas would be regularized and reformed. The present study is aimed to highlight the importance of Madrassa reforms by discussing the challenges and sensitivities involved in this process. It also discusses the perceptions and ground realities about the role of the Madrassas in the society by highlighting its various dimensions. The discussion begins with an analytical overview of the history and background of these institutions. It also analysis the prevailing administrative structures controlling the working of various Madrassas. The analysis concludes on presenting various options and strategies for introducing reforms in the Madrassa system in Pakistan by offering some policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weeds are reservoirs for the survival of pathogenic microorganisms and cause of spread of infectious disease of plants through vectors. To minimize the spread of bacteria to other host crops, proper characterization is required to suggest suitable control strategy. Survey was conduct in December 2015, leaf blight was observed on barnyard grass growing in surroundings of citrus orchards located in Lahore, Pakistan. Isolation of the bacterium on nutrient agar medium was performed and their characterization based on morphological and biochemical tests. 16S rRNA was amplified directly with primers 27F/1492R, cloned and sequenced. Sequences were blast in NCBI data base which showed 99% identity to P. agglomerans strain. A neighbor-joining tree was generated with reported bacterial strain that were most closely to isolated strain P. agglomerans (LT592133). Pathogenicity test was conducted on barnyard grass with bacterial suspensions having 1.5 × 108 CFU/ml in controlled conditions to confirm Koch's postulates. According to results this is first report on the incidence of Pantoea agglomerans on Barnyard grass in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Flexor tendons injuries are common emergency procedures The objectives of this study were to determine the frequency, distribution and results of treatment of acute flexor tendon injuries in zone v of hand in our population. Material and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional was conducted in the Department of Orthopedic, Gomal Medical College, D.I.Khan, Pakistan from January 2015 to December 2017. Sample size was 30, selected through consecutive technique. Patients having flexor tendon injuries in zone v, admitted through emergency department were included in this study. Demographic variable were sex and age-groups. The research variable were tendon involved, nerves involved, artery involved, mechanism of injury, wound size, duration of injury, season, type of injury, hand involved and results of treatment. All variables, being categorical were analyzed by frequency and percentages using SPSS version 16.0. Results: Out of 30 patients, 22(73.33%) were male. Twenty four (80%) patients were between 21 to 40 years age. Mechanism of injury was glass in 16(53.33%) cases, knife in 10(33.33%) cases. Twenty (66.66%) cases presented in summer. Flexor digitorum sublimus was injured in 21(70.0%), FCR in 11(36.66%), FPL in 8(26.66), FDP in 6(20.0%) and FCU in 4(13.33%) cases. Median nerve was involved in nine (30%) cases. Radial artery was involved in eight (26.66%) cases. Wound size was 2 cm in 24(80%) cases. Sixteen (53.33%) cases came with self-inflicted injuries. Twenty (66.66%) cases came after 12 hours. Twenty five (83.33%) patients achieved good to excellent results. Conclusion: Flexor digitorus sublimus was the most common tendon injured in non-dominant hand, especially in young males. Median nerve and radial artery were commonly injured structures mostly with glass. Majority patients presented more than 12 hours after injury, having wound size of 2cm. Mostly the injuries were self-inflicted and occurred in summer season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a careful survey was conducted at twenty-nine different car-wash stations in Peshawar city to collect wastewater samples and evaluate the usage of fresh water in those stations. Experiments were carried out on a prototype treatment unit comprising sedimentation and filtration. After treatment, the TSS reduced from 1000 to 200 mg/L, hardness 321.60 to 120 mg/L and turbidity 253 to 3.70 NTU, TDS 591 to 400 mg/L and oil contents 27 to 14 mg/L. The quality of treated water was found suitable for car washing again. Furthermore, a design and cost estimation of a commercial scale low-cost wastewater treatment unit has been provided. It was found that the installation of low-cost wastewater treatment units can save 12 m3/day offresh water in a carwash station. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the Northern and Central part of Lahore district is supplied with ground water by Water and Sanitation Government Authority. The quality of public water supply is getting deteriorating due to increasing population of Lahore city. Moreover, the effects of microbial water pollutants on health of population of study area have been addressed. In this research, presence of Escherichia coli in pre & post monsoon seasons has been focused. The water samples were taken from tube wells as well as adjacent houses. A questionnaire survey was also conducted to find out the responses of people in study area. It was clear from the results of the study that E. coli were detected in all the water samples of public water supply system. An increase in growth of pathogens was also noticed in post monsoon season. It was also proved from study that many people were suffering from diarrhoea at sample places where E. coli were identified. The mixing of sewage with drinking water was the major cause of presence of pathogens in water samples of houses although they were less or absent in water samples of tube wells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Wakhan Corridor, a narrow strip of territory in the Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, is situated at the crossroads of four countries: China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The corridor has great historic value being part of ancient Silk Road. Even today it has great potential for regional connectivity and tourism. The Wakhan territory is considered very peaceful having no law and order problem. If a road is built across Wakhan, it will enhance trade and business activities in the region, especially for Pakistan, Central Asia and Afghanistan. It could offer a shortest trade route for Pakistan to reach Central Asia and for China to reach Afghanistan. In this backdrop the paper examines the possibilities of reviving Wakhan corridor by building roads infrastructure. The study highlights the geostrategic significance of Wakhan Corridor in the context of changing regional situation. It also discusses various challenges in undertaking this proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistani politics is full of political rhetoric. Attractive slogans are used by leaders of political parties to inspire and set the mood of public about a particular issue. Even parliament is neglected by politicians. This political immaturity led the nation towards street politics and polarization in the society. Due to elements of intolerance in politics, leadership could not find consensus and viable solutions. The paper analyzes political rhetoric; slogan politics and role of parliament in Pakistan especially focusing on the first one year of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz's (PML-N) current government. In this context, political parties and their leaders' popular statements particularly in print media containing rhetoric and slogans to resolve two important issues i.e. electoral reforms and energy crisis has been examined. Political parties' initiatives in the form of calling attention notices, questions, resolutions, bills, motions and point of orders in the parliament have also been assessed followed by recommendations. The paper highlights that politicians generally use rhetoric and slogan politics instead of using parliament to satisfy the public on various issues. The paper recommends that political parties should enhance intellectual depth of party members and leaders so that they can effectively use the forum of parliament for resolving issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the use of geographical information system (GIS) datasets and methods to investigate landslide susceptibility in the rugged mountainous terrain of Shigar and Shyok Basins in northern areas of Pakistan. Study area is situated in Karakorum mountainous region where catastrophic landslides occur frequently and pose a serious threat to local living conditions. Landslide susceptibility index maps were prepared by combining four main indicators groups: (1) human induced parameters, which contain Landsat 8 imagery and distance from roads; (2) topographical parameters, which include slope, aspect and plan curvature; (3) hydrological parameters, which contain stream power index, topographic wetness index and distance from drainage and (4) geological parameters, which consist of lithology and distance from major thrusts and faults. These layers were prepared in GIS environment, and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) based heuristic approach was adopted to generate final landslide susceptibility map for this preliminary regional level landslide hazard study. Three different susceptibility zones have been identified in the region. AHP weights with 0.04 consistency ratio were used in the preparation of final map. The final landslide susceptibility map of the study area indicates that the low, moderate, and high landslide susceptibility classes are respectively covering 23.2% (4745 km2), 45% (6737 km2), 23.2% (3444 km2) when distance from roads, distance from drainage and distance from major thrusts and faults parameters were not incorporated in the analysis. Including distance from roads, distance from drainage and distance from major thrusts and faults parameters layers to the final landslide susceptibility analysis shows that moderate susceptibility class is the predominant landslide susceptibility category covering 88% (13,412 km2) of the study area characterized by steep slopes (30°–45°), low positive plan curvature (0–1) and weak lithology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) is the major biotic constraint to cotton production in Pakistan and northwestern India. The disease is caused by monopartite begomoviruses in association with a specific DNA satellite, Cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite. The virus-betasatellite complex is also frequently associated with another DNA satellite-like molecule; an alphasatellite. A quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay to detect all three components of the monopartite begomovirus/betasatellite/alphasatellite complex which causes CLCuD was established. This was used to investigate the relationship between symptoms and virus/satellite titre. Not surprisingly the analysis showed that, overall, there was a reasonable correlation between symptom severity and virus/satellite titre − more severe symptoms usually being associated with more virus/satellite. However, cotton plants were identified with no or very mild symptoms with relatively high virus/satellite titres and plants with severe symptoms but relatively low virus/satellite titres. This may be attributed to the resistance/susceptibility of the cotton variety − tolerant plants being able to sustain a relatively high virus/satellite titre whilst exhibiting mild symptoms. The usefulness of this qPCR procedure in the screening for resistance in cotton against CLCuD is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brucellosis is an endemic disease in Pakistan, yet an overall systemic surveillance data of the country is missing. This study aims to determine seroprevalence in domestic livestock population and high and low riskassociated humans of tribal Kurram Agency, Pakistan. A total of 567 random animal blood samples (148 cattle, 105 buffaloes, 154 sheep, and 160 goats), 197 human serum samples (n= 83 from low risk population n= 114 from high risk individuals) and,in order to establish association between abortion and brucellosis, additional 395 animals with maximum of 4 weeks of foetal-birth history with or without abortion were initially screened by rose bengal plate test (RBPT) and further confirmed by indirect enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (I-ELISA). Our results indicated an overall seroprevalence of 4.73% in cattle, 4.76% in buffaloes, 1.95% in sheep, and 3.13% in goats. Interestingly, seroprevalence of brucellosis in males of cattle, sheep and goats was found higher as compared to females, while, it was found higher in male buffaloes as compared to female buffaloes. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant relationship between occurrence of brucellosis and abortion (Chi-square test, p<0.05). The overall seropositivity in individuals at high risk (those with close and physical contacts with animals) was found 4.39% as compared to 1.20% seropositivity of low risk (people with no obvious close physical contacts with animals) general population. Interestingly, seroprevalence of human brucellosis was relatively higher in human females as compared to males. Overall, these results indicate a higher seroprevalence of brucellosis in human and their livestock animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kasur is one of the hubs of leather industry in the Punjab, Pakistan, where chrome tanning method of leather processing is extensively being used. Chromium (Cr) accumulation levels in the irrigation water, soil, and seasonal vegetables were studied in three villages located in the vicinity of wastewater treatment plant and solid waste dumping site operated by the Kasur Tanneries Waste Management Agency (KTWMA). The data was interpreted using analysis of variance (ANOVA), clustering analysis (CA), and principal component analysis (PCA). Interpolated surface maps for Cr were generated using the actual data obtained for the 30 sampling sites in each of the three villages for irrigation water, soil, and seasonal vegetables. The level of contamination in the three villages was directly proportional to their distance from KTWMA wastewater treatment plant and the direction of water runoff. The highest level of Cr contamination in soil (mg kg) was observed at Faqeeria Wala (37.67), intermediate at Dollay Wala (30.33), and the least in Maan (25.16). A gradational variation in Cr accumulation was observed in the three villages from contaminated wastewater having the least contamination level (2.02-4.40 mg L), to soil (25.16-37.67 mg kg), and ultimately in the seasonal vegetable crops (156.67-248.33 mg kg) cultivated in the region, having the highest level of Cr contamination above the permissible limit. The model used not only predicted the current situation of Cr contamination in the three villages but also indicated the trend of magnification of Cr contamination from irrigation water to soil and to the base of the food chain. Among the multiple causes of Cr contamination of vegetables, soil irrigation with contaminated groundwater was observed to be the dominant one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many nations, including Pakistan, students in higher education use social media as a common means of communication. Even while research suggests that using social media in a classroom setting would probably improve students' academic performance, the mechanism underlying this link has not yet been fully investigated. Based on the assertions that integrating social media use is intended to increase student involvement, the purpose of this study was to examine how college students use social media and determine whether social media use has any impact on their academic performance. There are two phases to this study project. Phase I of the data collection process begins with the Top 10 universities in Pakistan being chosen at random. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from 234 sample respondents, including social media users and non-users, in order to accomplish the study's goals. The findings show that when students use social media's knowledge-sharing capabilities, their academic performance improves. Also, the learning outcome of students who engaged in the social media facilities is more; various aspects discussed in the study revolving around social media are useful for the students, teachers, and educational institutions to enhance their academic purposes. • In this research work, an empirical study is undergone to gather information about thefeatures of social media. • The data has been collected from the 234 respondents with a set of 45 questions. • The collected data were analyzed via SEM, F-test, Descriptive statistics and correlationanalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study has been conducted to find out the effect of exchange rate uncertainty on the export volume of Pakistan to its major trading partner countries. Volatility in the nominal exchange rate of Pakistan has been estimated through Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Hetroscedastic (GARCH) process. The findings showed that exchange rate uncertainty has negative significant impact on the volume of exports of Pakistan with all considered trading partner countries. In case of Hong Kong, Kuwait and Malaysia relative prices have negative significant effect on the volume of exports, while for the rest, trading partner countries the relationship is found positive and significant. It is further documented that political instability has significant negative impact on the volume of exports in almost all the trading partner countries. Exchange rate volatility curtails the volume of exports, so appropriate policies are required to be adopted, which will stabilize the exchange rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) is the major biotic constraint to cotton production on the Indian subcontinent, and is caused by monopartite begomoviruses accompanied by a specific DNA satellite, Cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite (CLCuMB). Since the breakdown of resistance against CLCuD in 2001/2002, only one virus, the “Burewala” strain of Cotton leaf curl Kokhran virus (CLCuKoV-Bur), and a recombinant form of CLCuMB have consistently been identified in cotton across the major cotton growing areas of Pakistan. Unusually a bipartite isolate of the begomovirus Tomato leaf curl virus was identified in CLCuD-affected cotton recently. In the study described here we isolated the bipartite begomovirus Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) from CLCuD-affected cotton. To assess the frequency and geographic occurrence of ToLCNDV in cotton, CLCuD-symptomatic cotton plants were collected from across the Punjab and Sindh provinces between 2013 and 2015. Analysis of the plants by diagnostic PCR showed the presence of CLCuKoV-Bur in all 31 plants examined and ToLCNDV in 20 of the samples. Additionally, a quantitative real-time PCR analysis of the levels of the two viruses in co-infected plants suggests that coinfection of ToLCNDV with the CLCuKoV-Bur/CLCuMB complex leads to an increase in the levels of CLCuMB, which encodes the major pathogenicity (symptom) determinant of the complex. The significance of these results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]