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In this numerical study particle behavior inside a sinusoidal pipe geometry is analyzed. The 3D geometry consists of three identical modules, with a periodic boundary condition applied to the flow in the stream wise direction. The incompressible, turbulent gas flow is modeled using a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach. Furthermore, the particle dynamics are simulated using a Lagrangian point force approach incorporating the Stokes drag and slip correction factor. Four different sizes of particles, corresponding to a Stokes number less than unity, are considered along with two different inflow conditions: continuous and pulsatile. The pulsatile inflow has an associated flow frequency of 80 Hz. The fluid flow through the sinusoidal pipe is characterized by weak flow separation in the expansion zones of the sinusoidal pipe geometry, where induced shear layers and weak recirculation zones are identified. Particle behavior under the two inflow conditions is quantified using particle dispersion, particle residence time, and average radial position of the particle. No discernible difference in the particle behavior is observed between the two inflow conditions. As the observed recirculation zones are weak, the particles are not retained within the cavities for a long duration of time, thereby reducing their likelihood of agglomerating.

A simplified sol-gel method that can be scaled up for large-scale production was adopted for the preparation of manganese oxide nanocrystals. Prepared Mn2O3 exhibited micron-sized particles with a nanoporous structure. In the present study, a simple and low-cost strategy has been employed to fabricate nanoporous Mn2O3 with an increased surface area for an electrode/electrolyte interface that improved the conduction of Mn2O3 material. The crystal phase and morphology of the prepared material was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The prepared electrode materials were deposited on a nickel foam substrate to investigate the electrochemical properties. The galvanostatic charge/discharge (GCD), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and complex impedance studies confirmed excellent specific capacitance and capacitive behavior of the prepared material. The synthesized Mn2O3/graphene composites exhibited an excellent specific capacitance of 391 F/g at a scan rate of 5 mV/S. Moreover, a specific capacitance of 369 F/g was recorded at a current density of 0.5 A/g using the galvanostatic charge/discharge test. The high porosity of the materials provided a better electrolyte-electrode interface with a larger specific area, thus suggesting its suitability for energy storage applications.

Objective: A reviewing study of the health policy planning and formulation was initiated which explored the procedure of formulation of health policy and its implementation in Pakistan. The purpose of the study is to learn the procedure of health policy formulation and its implementation and to observe the issues in health system in Pakistan. Methodology: This study on health policy formulation was exploratory in nature. The research design was qualitative. The data was collected through secondary sources which includes research articles published in various journals and available on online sites. Moreover, data was also collected through books written on public policy by some foreign and local authors. Findings: The findings indicates that the planning and policy formation of the health sector in Pakistan is capable at the preparation level but not at the execution level. Implications: This paper recommends overcoming the health-related problems in Pakistan through formulation and implementation of sound, assertive and credible policies.

In silico models of biomolecular regulation in cancer, annotated with patient-specific gene expression data, can aid in the development of novel personalized cancer therapeutic strategies. Drosophila melanogaster is a well-established animal model that is increasingly being employed to evaluate such preclinical personalized cancer therapies. Here, we report five Boolean network models of biomolecular regulation in cells lining the Drosophila midgut epithelium and annotate them with colorectal cancer patient-specific mutation data to develop an in silico Drosophila Patient Model (DPM). We employed cell-type-specific RNA-seq gene expression data from the FlyGut-seq database to annotate and then validate these networks. Next, we developed three literature-based colorectal cancer case studies to evaluate cell fate outcomes from the model. Results obtained from analyses of the proposed DPM help: (i) elucidate cell fate evolution in colorectal tumorigenesis, (ii) validate cytotoxicity of nine FDA-approved CRC drugs, and (iii) devise optimal personalized treatment combinations. The personalized network models helped identify synergistic combinations of paclitaxel-regorafenib, paclitaxel-bortezomib, docetaxel-bortezomib, and paclitaxel-imatinib for treating different colorectal cancer patients. Follow-on therapeutic screening of six colorectal cancer patients from cBioPortal using this drug combination demonstrated a 100% increase in apoptosis and a 100% decrease in proliferation. In conclusion, this work outlines a novel roadmap for decoding colorectal tumorigenesis along with the development of personalized combinatorial therapeutics for preclinical translational studies.

The increase in urbanization and industrialization has led to the discharge of wastes in environment causing more pollution. Textile industries are playing a havoc role in water pollution natural aquatic ecosystems. Bioremediation is the one of the cost effective and ecofriendly achievement of biotechnological novelty. Bioremediation is the key to waste management. It can remove textile dyes that are considered to be heterologous biological compounds and are difficult to degrade. In the present bio-remedial method, Klebsiella pneumoniae GM-04 was used promising microbial tool for the decolorization of disperse blue 284 dye. Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated from industrial wastewater. Under optimum conditions (37 °C and pH 7) Klebsiella pneumoniae led to 95% decoloration of DB-284 (200 ppm) within 24 hrs. The increase in dye concentration and temperature decreased the bacterial growth results in low decoloration of dye. UV–Vis and FTIR analysis suggested that the parent dye degraded into different products. The data was statistically analyzed.

Purpose: Integrity is pre-requisite for the prosperity and development of the society. Stable integration is the sign of justice, equality, rights and duties which provides tolerated society and religious inclusion. But, developing countries still have many challenges to stabilize their socio-religious integration due to non-cooperative behavior among different segments of the society, lack of politico-religious tolerance and less socio-economic development. The other factors responsible are poor educational and health system, weak social institution, marginalized segments of society, absences of culture of welfare state. Likewise, in India, communal conflicts remain present in every time as well as Pakistan faces sectarian tension and in both countries, religious norms and attitudes are used for political purposes. Similarly, both countries have the challenges of inequality and injustices within their communities. Design/Methodology/Approach: The qualitative techniques have been applied in this research. Date has been collected from Secondary and Primary Sources. Findings: Economic development is necessary for the development of the social prosperity without it socio-religious integration is a dream. Implications/Originality/Value: The epidemic COVID-19 has challenged the socio-religiosity of the developing countries which affected the socio-economic and religious set up of these countries ruthlessly.

Abstract Background Triple neural tube defects are rare. To the author’s knowledge, there are only four reported cases available in the literature up to date. Controversies exist with regards to the development of neural tube defects. We revisit the multisite closure theory and try to explain the mechanism of neural tube defects in our case. Case presentation We report a case of one-month-old baby boy who presented to us with three distinct neural tube defects. He had occipital and cervical encephaloceles along with thoracolumbar myelomeningocele accompanied by syrinx and mild hydrocephalus. All the three defects were surgically corrected with good neurological outcome. Conclusion In the multisite model of human neural tube closure, there are only two fusion sites and two neuropores unlike in mouse. This can explain the origin of open neural tube defects including anencephaly and myelomeningocele (as in our case) but cannot account for the development of encephalocele, which appears to be a post neurulation defect.

Pakistan is currently facing huge hurdles to maintain round the clock supply of electric power in the major areas. This makes more annoying when a short fall increase by the failure of the power transmissions and even this increases more in summer season when due to overload and high-level environmental effects of heat power transformers failure rate increases numerously. The transformers being damaged due to the over heat and high load across one or two of its three phases. Mismanagement of the power distribution causes most of the problems when a heavy power load observed on single phase whereas other phases were not equally loaded. The system design will provide a systematic solution to protect transformer and fault detection using PLC, phase monitoring and temperature sensing with power management of particular distribution and give notification through GSM and information sharing with control room/Grid station through Internet of Things (IoT). In case of overloading and heating the system will automatically cutoff the breakers of load, which will help to save the life of transformer. The operator in control room is only required to monitor updates from system regularly, to achieve real time data acquisition through GSM technology, which is adopted to update in time. The prime aspect of this solution is efficiently handling of the system load while maintaining the equipment in good condition. The protection schemes so far designed can successfully protect the transformer and mitigate the risk of enormous destruction caused by transformer explosion, protecting major and expensive power system equipment and human life.

A simplest way is introduced to generate a generalized algorithm of univariate and bivariate subdivision schemes. This generalized algorithm is based on the symbol of uniform B-splines subdivision schemes and probability generating function of Binomial distribution. We present a family of binary approximating subdivision schemes which has maximum continuity and less support size. Our proposed family members P4, P5, P6, and P7, have C7, C9, C11 and C13 continuities respectively. In fact, we use Binomial probability distribution to increase the continuity of uniform B-splines subdivision schemes up to more than double. We present the complete analysis of one family member of proposed schemes and give a visual performance to check smoothness graphically. In our analysis, we present continuity, Holder regularity, degree of generation, degree of reproduction and limit stencils analysis of proposed family of subdivision schemes. We also present a survey of high continuity subdivision schemes. Comparison shows that our proposed family of subdivision schemes gives high continuity of subdivision schemes comparative to existing subdivision schemes. We have found that as complexity increases the continuity also increases. In the last, we give the general formula for tensor product surface subdivision schemes and also present the visual performance of proposed tensor product surface subdivision schemes.

Knowledge is considered as a vital asset, an important fundamental driver and significant resource in banking industry. In current era, banks face positive consequences of sharing knowledge in workplace. Knowledge management is significant and reliable source for achieving excellence in organizational performance. But there is thirst in literature to have research on knowledge sharing and its significance in improving the business process of banking sector. This research has been designed to empirically investigate the significance of knowledge sharing on a business process with the mediating role of organizational factors. The researchers collect data through a self-administrative questionnaire. Drawing on insights from 200 valid respondents from various banks of Pakistan, SEM and Path modeling approach is used to examine the relationships between knowledge sharing and business process, using AMOS software. The finding of the study demonstrates that the organizational culture factors and knowledge sharing practices directly improve the banking performance and process in Pakistan. The statistical test accepted the hypothesis that intrinsic organizational factors mediated the business process through knowledge sharing at a 1% level of significance. The research is valuable as it provides useful information related to bank employees to engage in knowledge sharing practices.

Subdivision schemes are famous for the generation of smooth curves and surfaces in CAGD (Computer Aided Geometric Design). The continuity is an important property of subdivision schemes. Subdivision schemes having high continuity are always required for geometric modeling. Probability distribution is the branch of statistics which is used to find the probability of an event. We use probability distribution in the field of subdivision schemes. In this paper, a simplest way is introduced to increase the continuity of subdivision schemes. A family of binary approximating subdivision schemes with probability parameter p is constructed by using binomial probability generating function. We have derived some family members and analyzed the important properties such as continuity, Holder regularity, degree of generation, degree of reproduction and limit stencils. It is observed that, when the probability parameter p = 1/2, the family of subdivision schemes have maximum continuity, generation degree and Holder regularity. Comparison shows that our proposed family has high continuity as compare to the existing subdivision schemes. The proposed family also preserves the shape preserving property such as convexity preservation. Subdivision schemes give negatively skewed, normal and positively skewed behavior on convex data due to the probability parameter. Visual performances of the family are also presented.

Different rice cultivars contain various metabolites which are closely related with their nutritional and functional effects. In the current study, NMR and chemometrics methods – decision tree analysis (DTA) were applied to explore the chemical characteristics in different rice cultivars. The pigmented rice were completely discriminated from each other, and the key metabolites that mostly contributed to the rice discrimination were explored, including sugars compounds (sucrose, fructose and glucose) and non-sugar compounds (γ-amino butyric acid (GABA), asparagine, citric acid and malic acid) with DTA approach and 1HNMR metabolite fingerprints. The purple rice has the highest concentrations of sucrose, citric acid and asparagine (p

Hyperspectral reflectance (HR) technology as proxy approach to diagnose fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat crop could be a real-time and non-invasive approach for its in-field management to reduce grain damage. In-field canopy’s non-imaging HR (400–2400 nm using ground-based spectrometer system), photosynthesis rate (Pn) and disease severity (DS) data were simultaneously acquired from artificially inoculated wheat plots over a period of two years (2020 and 2021) in the field. Subsequently, continuous wavelet transform (CWT) was employed to select the consistent spectral bands (CSBs) and to develop the canopy-based difference indices with criterion of variable importance score using random forest—recursive feature elimination. Thereby, different machine learning algorithms were employed for FHB classification and multivariate estimation, and linear regression models to evaluate the newly developed indices against conventional vegetation indices. The results showed that inoculation reduced the Pn rate of spikes, elevated reflectance in visible and short-wave infrared regions and decreased in near infrared region at different days after inoculation (DAI). CWT analysis selected five CSBs (401, 460, 570, 786 and 840 nm) employing datasets from 2020 and 2021. These spectral bands were employed to develop wheat fusarium canopy indices (WFCI1 and WFCI2). Considering the average classification accuracy (ACA) in both years of experiments, WFCI1 manifested a maximum ACA of 75% at 5 DAI with DS of 9.73% which raised to 100% at 10 DAI with a DS of 18%. ACA mentions the averaged results of all machine learning classifiers (MLC). While in the perspective of MLC, random forest (RF) outperformed the rest of the MLC, individually, it revealed 100% classification accuracy through WFCI1 at DS 10.78% on the eight DAI. The univariate estimation of disease based on WFCI1 and WFCI2 with independent data produced R2 and root mean square error (RMSE) values of 0.80 and 14.7, and 0.81 and13.50, respectively. However, Knn regression analysis with both canopy indices (WFCI1 and WFCI2) manifested the maximum accuracy for disease estimation with RMSE of 11.61 and R2 = 0.83. Conclusively, the newly proposed HR indices show great potential as proxy approach for detecting FHB at early stage and understanding the physical state of crops in field conditions for the better management and control of plant diseases.

This study investigates the perceived level and sources of learning Online Information Searching (OIS) skills of the students of business studies. The study also explores the differences in the students' searching skill level of information resources, based on their selected personal and academic variables including gender, age, type of university, level of degree and major academic subjects.A cross-sectional survey research method was used to collect data on a self-reporting questionnaire. Business students of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels from 24 public and private sector universities of Lahore, Pakistan were selected through convenient sampling technique. Total population of this study was 114,500. With the margin error of 5% and confidence level of 97%, the sample of this study was 470 students.The study found a satisfactory level of students' searching skills. There was no significant difference in the skills based on various variables like gender, age, type of university and level of degree. However, short courses and training workshops had a positive impact on the level of skills.There is a lack of research on the topic and this paper will fill the gap in existing literature. This study will be helpful for Library Information Service (LIS) academicians, librarians, professional associations and LIS trainers to design and implement training programs for university students in the area of OIS. This study will also be helpful for Higher Education Commission (HEC) national digital library for selection of appropriate databases for business students.

Widespread application of dyes and disposal of their untreated effluents into water bodies adversely affect the ecosystem due to their complex aromatic structures and persistent nature. The present study aims to utilize the cotton stalks biochar (CSB) and its composite with zinc oxide nanoparticles (CSB/ZnONPs) to evaluate for the decontamination their batch scale potential of Congo red dye from wastewater. The characterization of CSB and CSB/ZnONPs was performed with Fourier-transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and point of zero charge (PZC) to get insight of their potential for the decontamination of CR. The effects of initial CR concentration (25–500 mg/L), dosage of CSB and CSB/ZnONPs (0.5–2 g/L), solution pH (2–10) and contact time (0–180 min) were evaluated on CR removal at temperature (25 ± 1.5 °C). The results disclosed that CSB/ZnONPs showed excellent adsorption potential (556.6 mg/g) in comparison with CSB (250 mg/g) and most of the other adsorbents previously studies in the literature. The equilibrium experimental data were equally explained with Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models (R2 > 0.98) while kinetic data demonstrated the best fit with pseudo second order model. The CSB/ZnONPs composite exhibited excellent reusability (89.65%) after five adsorption/desorption cycles for the sequestration of CR from contaminated systems. The present study demonstrated that metallic nanocomposite of CSB (CSB/ZnONPs) is an excellent candidate for the cost effective and environment friendly decontamination of CR from industrial wastewater and is suggested to be considered for the decontamination of other pollutants from the wastewater.

Zinc is an essential element for plant growth and development as it plays an important role in various metabolic processes with nutritional enrichment. The treatment with zinc sulfate is also economic. Momordica charantia is an economically important medicinal plant reported for a range of pharmaceutical and pharmacological properties. In this study, nutripriming with zinc sulfate (0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3% solution) was applied to M. charantia seeds to optimize better dose. Based upon seedling establishment, 0.3% zinc sulfate was selected for final field experiment with randomized complete block design (RCBD) with five replications. Improved germination percentage, vigor, total soluble sugars, chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, total chlorophyll content, and peroxidase activity were observed variably in leaves, fruit, and peel. Other nutritive components showed maintenance in fruits of treated plants indicating that the treatment did not cause any nutritive loss. Antimicrobial activity of leaves (in terms of the minimum inhibitory concentration) against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was positively correlated with sinapic acid, vanillic acid, cinnamic acid, syringic acid, chlorogenic acid, benzoic acid, and ferulic acid. It has been concluded from this study that seed priming with zinc sulfate can improve seedling establishment, photosynthetic pigments, and stable nutritive value. Therefore, zinc from zinc sulfate priming has been proved as a beneficial fertilizer for M. charantia plant growth, yield, and nutraceutical potential.

In this article, we present a new method to construct a family of 2N+2-point binary subdivision schemes with one tension parameter. The construction of the family of schemes is based on repeated local translation of points by certain displacement vectors. Therefore, refinement rules of the 2N+2-point schemes are recursively obtained from refinement rules of the 2N-point schemes. Thus, we get a new subdivision scheme at each iteration. Moreover, the complexity, polynomial reproduction, and polynomial generation of the schemes are increased by two at each iteration. Furthermore, a family of interproximate subdivision schemes with tension parameters is also introduced which is the extended form of the proposed family of schemes. This family of schemes allows a different tension value for each edge and vertex of the initial control polygon. These schemes generate curves and surfaces such that some initial control points are interpolated and others are approximated.

Subdivision schemes play a vital role in curve modeling. The curves produced by the class of 2n+2-point ternary scheme (Deslauriers and Dubuc (1989)) interpolate the given data while the curves produced by a class of 2n+2-point ternary B-spline schemes approximate the given data. In this research, we merge these two classes to introduce a consolidated and unified class of combined subdivision schemes with two shape control parameters in order to grow versatility for overseeing valuable necessities. However, the proposed class of subdivision schemes gives optimal smoothness in the final shapes, yet we can increase its smoothness by using a proposed general formula in form of its Laurent polynomial. The theoretical analysis of the class of subdivision schemes is done by using various mathematical tools and using their coding in the Maple environment. The graphical analysis of the class of schemes is done in the Maple environment by writing the codes based on the recursive mathematical expressions of the class of subdivision schemes.

Arsenic (As) contamination is a serious threat to agriculture and human health worldwide. It can adversely affect the growth attributes of food crops. On the other hand, using thiourea (TU) to ameliorate As stress is an economically consistent approach. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding the combined use of TU and Sewage sludge (SS). SS is considered important, unutilized biomass. It can be used as a fertilizer that has high organic matter and nutrients. Therefore, the current study was performed to evaluate TU and SS sole and combined responses under As toxicity on two wheat genotypes (Markaz 19 and Ujala 16). There were four treatments control (As 50 mg kg-1), SS (30 g kg−1)+TU (6.5 mM)+As, TU+As and SS+As applied with four replications. Results revealed that SS+TU performed significantly better over SS, TU and control for improvement in root and shoot fresh and dry weight of wheat varieties Markaz 19 and Ujala 16 under As toxicity. A significant decrease in POD, SOD and APX of Markaz 19 and Ujala 16 also validated the effective functioning of SS+TU over control. The maximum increase of 71 and 77% was noted in phosphorus, where SS+TU was applied over control in Markaz 19 and Ujala 16, respectively. In conclusion, SS+TU is a better approach than the sole application of SS and TU under As contamination for improvement in wheat growth attributes. More investigations are recommended at the field level under different As contamination and agro-climatic zones to declare SS+TU an effective amendment to mitigate As toxicity in wheat.

The recent decade has seen increased attention focused on understanding category formation–a cognition ability of preschool aged children. Children organize their knowledge about real-world objects by categorizing them under some common properties or functions. The advancement and popularity of mobile devices with touch screens provide a good opportunity for young children to learn and practice. In this study, an approach that models structural and functional categorization knowledge for developing mobile learning systems with dynamic categorization exemplars is proposed. A mobile application was implemented based on the proposed model for pre-schoolers (aged 3–6 years). Moreover, the quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test method was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed knowledge-based application in terms of categorization ability learning. The results show that the children who experienced dynamically created categorization exemplars from the modelled knowledge achieved increased scores compared to those who followed the traditional teaching using books and worksheets.

In the field of subdivision, the smoothness increases as the arity of schemes increases. The family of high arity schemes gives high smoothness comparative to low arity schemes. In this paper, we propose a simple and generalized formula for a family of multiparameter quaternary subdivision schemes. The conditions for convergence of subdivision schemes are also presented. Moreover, we derive subdivision schemes after substituting the different values of parameters. We also analyzed the important properties of the proposed family of subdivision schemes. After comparison with existing schemes, we analyze that the proposed family of subdivision schemes gives better smoothness and approximation compared with the existing subdivision schemes.

Wheat is a major staple food and has been extensively grown around the globe. Sessile nature of plants has exposed them to a lot of biotic and abiotic stresses including fungal pathogen attack. Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici causes stem rust in the wheat crop and leads to 70% decrease in its production. Pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins provide plants with defense against different fungal pathogens as these proteins have antifungal activities. This study was designed to screen Pakistani wheat varieties for PR2 and PR3 proteins and their in silico characterization. PR2 and PR3 genes were screened and isolated by PCR amplification from wheat variety Chenab-70 and Frontana, respectively. The nucleotide sequences of PR2 and PR3 genes were deposited in GenBank with accession numbers MT303867 and MZ766118, respectively. Physicochemical properties, secondary and tertiary structure predictions, and molecular docking of protein sequences of PR2 and PR3 were performed using different bioinformatics tools and software. PR2 and PR3 genes were identified to encode β-1,3-glucanase and chitinase proteins, respectively. Molecular docking of both PR2 and PR3 proteins with beta-glucan and chitin (i.e. their respective ligands) showed crucial amino acid residues involved in molecular interactions. Conclusively, molecular docking analysis of β-1,3-glucanase and chitinase proteins revealed crucial amino acid residues which are involved in ligand binding and important interactions which might have important role in plant defense against fungal pathogens. Moreover, the active residues in the active sties of these proteins can be identified through mutational studies and resulting information might help understanding how these proteins are involved in plant defense mechanisms.

This article provides a comprehensive review of the conceptual formation and explanation within International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)-based financial accounting research. The mandatory adoption of IFRS by the European Union (EU) on 1 January 2005 resulted in an increase in the number of scientific articles explaining the effect of mandating IFRS on capital markets within the EU. Independently, these studies offer interesting insights; however, there have been few attempts to offer a critical analysis of the current state of the field in terms of conceptual formation and the role of theories in explanation. This paper provides a richer understanding of the scientific basis of the empirical research within this emerging field. We identify and critically assess a sample of eight relevant scholarly articles. Our findings suggest that the concepts in these articles appear to be borrowed from the mainstream accounting and finance literature and used in the form of variables. These concepts primarily play a deductive role. The nature of explanation appears to be mechanistic. We offer a discussion of our review’s findings and suggest some implications for future research.

Magnetic field biostimulation plays a significant role in enhancing the germination of seeds and increasing the metabolic rate. The low magnetic field effect for long exposure time and its effect on antioxidant profiling have not been studied. Therefore, in the recent findings, the static magnetic field’s impact on sunflower seeds subjected to the magnetic field at varying intensity (millitesla) for different exposure times was examined. The effectiveness of magnetic biostimulation on presown sunflower seeds, growth parameters of seedlings (biomass, root and shoot length, fresh and dry weight of roots, shoots, leaf, and height of plants), and antioxidant activities were also studied. It has been revealed that magnetic treatment at 50 mT/45 min greatly influenced the growth parameters, including mean germination growth (100 ± 0.02) and final emergence rate. Concerning the antioxidant parameters, seed variety FH620 at 500 µg/µL concentration showed significant results compared to other varieties. FTIR was employed to determine the conformational changes and functional groups of organic compounds from sunflower seedlings. Tocopherol analysis by HPLC showed that magnetic treatment at 50 mT/45 min had a higher concentration of vitamin E compared to the control group. These modifications indicated that magnetic field induction enhanced seeds’ inner energy that led to seedlings’ growth and development enhancement. Besides, magnetic field pretreatment has been shown to have a beneficial influence on sunflower seeds and their bioactive compounds. Future studies should be focused on growth characteristics at the field level and yield attributes.

The purpose of this article is to employ the subdivision collocation method to resolve Bratu’s boundary value problem by using approximating subdivision scheme. The main purpose of this researcher is to explore the application of subdivision schemes in the field of physical sciences. Our approach converts the problem into a set of algebraic equations. Numerical approximations of the solution of the problem and absolute errors are compared with existing methods. The comparison shows that the proposed method gives a more accurate solution than the existing methods.

New subdivision schemes are always required for the generation of smooth curves and surfaces. The purpose of this paper is to present a general formula for family of parametric ternary subdivision schemes based on the Laurent polynomial method. The different complexity subdivision schemes are obtained by substituting the different values of the parameter. The important properties of the proposed family of subdivision schemes are also presented. The continuity of the proposed family is C2m. Comparison shows that the proposed family of subdivision schemes has higher degree of polynomial generation, degree of polynomial reproduction, and continuity compared with the exiting subdivision schemes. Maple software is used for mathematical calculations and plotting of graphs.

Objective: This study was designed to find the gender differences in psychological distress and psychological well-being (PWB) among lawyers. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted from January 2018 to April 2018 at Islamabad and Rawalpindi High courts. Materials and Methods: Purposive sampling technique was used. A sample of 110 lawyers (male=55 & female =55) were recruited for the study. Two scales, psychological distress-10 and psychological well-being was used for data collection. Results: For the investigation of relationship Pearson, product moment correlation was computed with the help of SPSS-21v. The results indicated that both parameters (psychological distress and psychological well-being) were negatively correlated (r=-.40). To examine the gender regarding differences T-test was used. Significant gender related difference was observed on psychological distress (t=2.09, p

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Acute renal colic is most common disease presented with agonizing pain worldwide. Our study aims to compare outcomes (mean operative time and frequency of complete stone removal) between local administrations of aminophylline versus saline on Transureteral lithotripsy (TUL) in patients presented with acute renal colic. METHODOLOGY: Our study design was randomized clinical trial, conducted at department of Urology & Kidney in Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad. Study duration was 6 months (February 2017-July 2017). Ethical approval and consent forms were taken in our study. A sample size of 90 cases was calculated (1:1 randomization that is 45 patients in each group) using WHO calculator. Acute renal colic patients were selected through consecutive (non-probability) sampling. A random division of patients is done in two groups; Group-A underwent local administration of aminophylline and group-B patients were given placebo. SPSS version 24 was used for analysis purpose. Post stratification chi-square and t-test was utilized in analysis for comparisons. In our study, p-value≤0.05 was found significant. RESULTS: Total 90 cases were included in study. Mean age of patients was 47.56±18.1SD.Mean operative time was found to be significantly lower in Group-A (aminophylline group) as compared to group-B (placebo group) p=0.000. Group-A patients showed significantly high stone removal frequency as compared to group-B (44.4% vs 35.6%, p=0.03). CONCLUSION: Aminophylline is an effective and safe drug in terms of lower operative time and complete stone removal among acute renal colic patients undergoing transureteral lithotripsy.

The subdivision scheme is used to illustrate smooth curves and surfaces. It is an algorithmic technique which takes a coarse polygon as an input and produces a refined polygon as an output. In this paper, a 10-point interpolating subdivision scheme is used to develop a numerical algorithm for the solution of fourth order nonlinear singularly perturbed boundary value problems (NSPBVPs). The studies of convergence and approximation order of the numerical algorithm are also presented. The solution of NSPBVPs is presented to see the efficiency of the algorithm.

Summary: Background: Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. Methods: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs. Findings: Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39·4–40·7) to 50·3% (50·0–50·5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46·3% (95% UI 46·1–46·5) in 2017, compared with 28·7% (28·5–29·0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88·6% (95% UI 87·2–89·7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664–711) of the 1830 (1797–1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76·1% (95% UI 71·6–80·7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53·9% (50·6–59·6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017. Interpretation: Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Current study was planned to explore the therapeutic response of different doses of hydroethanolic extract of Epimedium grandiflorum leaves in male albino rats. Phytochemical analysis, HPLC and FTIR spectroscopy results revealed the presence of wide range of phenolic compounds and functional groups, respectively. Further, extract not induced significant hemolysis (7.56 ± 1.297%) against PBS (3.65 ± 0.35%) as negative control; while have significant clot lysis (44 ± 5.2%) potential, exhibited DPPH (78.87 ± 5.427%) scavenging, H 2 O 2 (31.82 ± 3.491%) scavenging, antioxidant and reducing power activities. In vivo experimentation in albino male rats’ revealed that administration of different doses (50, 100, 200 mg/Kg b.w.) of extract orally for 42 days after CCl 4 intoxication significantly (P < 0.05) restore the selected parameters including liver enzymes, renal profiles, and stress markers and significantly (P < 0.05) increased reproductive hormones like testosterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone and prolactin while significantly (P < 0.05) decreased progesterone and estradiol toward normal in dose dependent manner. Significant (P < 0.05) improvement in the structural architecture of testicular tissue particularly in high dose group (200 mg/Kg b.w.) was also observed. Results revealed E. grandiflorum has significant therapeutic response to address the healthcare problems particularly of impotency.

Summary: Background: Lymphatic filariasis is a neglected tropical disease that can cause permanent disability through disruption of the lymphatic system. This disease is caused by parasitic filarial worms that are transmitted by mosquitos. Mass drug administration (MDA) of antihelmintics is recommended by WHO to eliminate lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem. This study aims to produce the first geospatial estimates of the global prevalence of lymphatic filariasis infection over time, to quantify progress towards elimination, and to identify geographical variation in distribution of infection. Methods: A global dataset of georeferenced surveyed locations was used to model annual 2000–18 lymphatic filariasis prevalence for 73 current or previously endemic countries. We applied Bayesian model-based geostatistics and time series methods to generate spatially continuous estimates of global all-age 2000–18 prevalence of lymphatic filariasis infection mapped at a resolution of 5 km2 and aggregated to estimate total number of individuals infected. Findings: We used 14 927 datapoints to fit the geospatial models. An estimated 199 million total individuals (95% uncertainty interval 174–234 million) worldwide were infected with lymphatic filariasis in 2000, with totals for WHO regions ranging from 3·1 million (1·6–5·7 million) in the region of the Americas to 107 million (91–134 million) in the South-East Asia region. By 2018, an estimated 51 million individuals (43–63 million) were infected. Broad declines in prevalence are observed globally, but focal areas in Africa and southeast Asia remain less likely to have attained infection prevalence thresholds proposed to achieve local elimination. Interpretation: Although the prevalence of lymphatic filariasis infection has declined since 2000, MDA is still necessary across large populations in Africa and Asia. Our mapped estimates can be used to identify areas where the probability of meeting infection thresholds is low, and when coupled with large uncertainty in the predictions, indicate additional data collection or intervention might be warranted before MDA programmes cease. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Summary: Background: Oral rehydration solution (ORS) is a form of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) for diarrhoea that has the potential to drastically reduce child mortality; yet, according to UNICEF estimates, less than half of children younger than 5 years with diarrhoea in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) received ORS in 2016. A variety of recommended home fluids (RHF) exist as alternative forms of ORT; however, it is unclear whether RHF prevent child mortality. Previous studies have shown considerable variation between countries in ORS and RHF use, but subnational variation is unknown. This study aims to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of relative and absolute coverage of ORS, RHF, and ORT (use of either ORS or RHF) in LMICs. Methods: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model including 15 spatial covariates and data from 385 household surveys across 94 LMICs to estimate annual proportions of children younger than 5 years of age with diarrhoea who received ORS or RHF (or both) on continuous continent-wide surfaces in 2000–17, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. Additionally, we analysed geographical inequality in coverage across administrative units and estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths averted by increased coverage over the study period. Uncertainty in the mean coverage estimates was calculated by taking 250 draws from the posterior joint distribution of the model and creating uncertainty intervals (UIs) with the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles of those 250 draws. Findings: While ORS use among children with diarrhoea increased in some countries from 2000 to 2017, coverage remained below 50% in the majority (62·6%; 12 417 of 19 823) of second administrative-level units and an estimated 6 519 000 children (95% UI 5 254 000–7 733 000) with diarrhoea were not treated with any form of ORT in 2017. Increases in ORS use corresponded with declines in RHF in many locations, resulting in relatively constant overall ORT coverage from 2000 to 2017. Although ORS was uniformly distributed subnationally in some countries, within-country geographical inequalities persisted in others; 11 countries had at least a 50% difference in one of their units compared with the country mean. Increases in ORS use over time were correlated with declines in RHF use and in diarrhoeal mortality in many locations, and an estimated 52 230 diarrhoeal deaths (36 910–68 860) were averted by scaling up of ORS coverage between 2000 and 2017. Finally, we identified key subnational areas in Colombia, Nigeria, and Sudan as examples of where diarrhoeal mortality remains higher than average, while ORS coverage remains lower than average. Interpretation: To our knowledge, this study is the first to produce and map subnational estimates of ORS, RHF, and ORT coverage and attributable child diarrhoeal deaths across LMICs from 2000 to 2017, allowing for tracking progress over time. Our novel results, combined with detailed subnational estimates of diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality, can support subnational needs assessments aimed at furthering policy makers' understanding of within-country disparities. Over 50 years after the discovery that led to this simple, cheap, and life-saving therapy, large gains in reducing mortality could still be made by reducing geographical inequalities in ORS coverage. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Purpose: Mostly developing countries are not receiving the remittances with same speed as compared to workers’ outflow. This cumbersome situation allows developing countries to go to external source of funding (debt) for economic and financial development-FD. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the nexus between FD and remittances in Pakistan for the period 1976-2015. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study utilizes the time series annual data for the period 1976-2015. Data were taken from different sources like world bank data source and different economic surveys of Pakistan. To evaluate the long run relationships between FD and remittances, Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) strategy is utilized. Findings: The empirical results indicate that remittances have a significant positive impact on FD (M2/GDP) except for CPS/GDP measure of FD which has insignificant positive coefficient. Implications/Originality/Value: Most of previous literature measured FD with the ratio of money supply to GDP (M2/GDP) however, the current study measured with two indicators i.e. the ratio of money supply to GDP (M2/GDP) and the ratio of bank credit to GDP (CPS/GDP). This is the main contribution in the literature. The study recommends that remittances channelize financial segment of the country in augmented manner and government should encourage Pakistani expatriates to send the remittance through formal sources (e.g. banks). Financial institutions and intermediaries working in Pakistan should exaggerate the recruitment of remittances with the purpose to make them significant source for loanable funds. In addition to this, the concern department should simplify the procedure for sending remittances.

In this study, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, brine shrimp lethality, and FTIR studies were evaluated. The oxidative burst assay using the chemiluminescence technique, MTT assay, brine shrimp lethality assay, and FTIR analysis were the methods used for the evaluation of anti-inflammatory, anticancer, brine shrimp lethality, and FTIR studies, respectively. The whole-plant butanol fraction of Heliotropium europaeum (WBFHE) showed anti-inflammatory activity on ROS having IC5014.7±2.5 while the extract and other fractions of the whole plant of Heliotropium europaeum exhibited no anti-inflammatory activity. None of the extract and fractions of the whole plant of Heliotropium europaeum exhibited anticancer (MCF-7, 3T3, and HeLa cell lines) activities. The whole-plant aqueous fraction of Heliotropium europaeum (WAFHE) and whole-plant butanol fraction of Heliotropium europaeum (WBFHE) showed lethality at high concentration while at low concentration, no toxicity was shown. The whole-plant methanolic extract of Heliotropium europaeum (WMEHE) and whole-plant n-hexane fraction of Heliotropium europaeum (WHFHE) exhibited no toxicity. FTIR interpretation showed the functional groups for the aromatic compounds, phenols, carboxylic acids, esters, alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, alkyl halides, sulfate esters, phosphines, silanes, nitriles, thiols, amines, phosphoric acids, and nitro compounds.

In this paper, a generalized algorithm to develop a class of approximating binary subdivision schemes is presented. The proposed algorithm is based on three-point approximating binary and four-point interpolating binary subdivision schemes. It contains a parameter which classifies members of the new class of subdivision schemes. A set of efficient properties, for instance, polynomial generation and reproduction, support, continuity, and Hölder continuity, is discussed. Moreover, applications of the proposed subdivision schemes are given in order to demonstrate their variety, flexibility, and visual performance.

Abstract Background The maternal 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25OHD) insufficiency is related to adverse maternal and neonatal outcome. The 25OHD content of breast milk is dependent on 25OHD status of the mothers. We undertook this study to ascertain the 25OHD status and its determinants in the nursing mothers of the south Punjab, Pakistan. Methods We recruited 67 mothers for this cross-sectional study by convenience sampling from August 2010 to June 2011 to ascertain their serum 25OHD level & its determinants. We used SPSS 23.0 for analyses. Results The mean age of the mothers was 25.75 ± 4.4 years. The median age (and mode) was 25 years (range 18-37 years). The majority of mothers were less than 25 years of age (62.7%), uneducated (68.7%), from rural area (70.1%), lived in open houses with ample sun exposure (85.1%) and belonged to low socioeconomic strata (71.6%). Serum 25OHD ranged from 7.2 to 43.8 nmol/L with a mean of 20.87 ± 7.69 nmol/L. The median and mode were 21.8 nmol/L & 24.0 nmol/L, respectively. The proportion of mothers with 25OHD

We derive three-step algorithm based on divided difference to generate a class of 6-point n-ary interpolating sub-division schemes. In this technique second order divided differences have been calculated at specific position and used to insert new vertices. Interpolating sub-division schemes are more attractive than approximating schemes in computer aided geometric designs because of their interpolation property. Polynomial generation and polynomial reproduction are attractive properties of sub-division schemes. Shape preserving properties are also significant tool in sub-division schemes. Further, some significant properties of ternary and quaternary sub-division schemes have been elaborated such as continuity, degree of polynomial generation, polynomial reproduction and approximation order. Furthermore, shape preserving property that is monotonicity is also derived. Moreover, the visual performance of proposed schemes has also been demonstrated through several examples.

The limiting of water resource and traditional farming practices are threatening the sustainability of important minor crops in Pakistan, including berseem, which is a key source of fodder for dairy farms. Each year, 2% reduction of cultivated area, low yield and grower’s non-preference (to rotate or replace wheat-cotton pattern) factors are adversely affecting the livestock sector. Consequently, animal rearing business is suffering badly due to lack of fresh forage in the country. Therefore, a three-replicated randomized complete block design (RCBD) field experiment was conducted during rabi season to evaluate berseem crop in term of yield and profit under existing farming practice (85:115:00 NPK kg ha−1 + 12 irrigations with 15 days intervals) and optimized treatments (70:100:30 NPK kg ha−1, 55:85:15 NPK kg ha−1 + 12, 08, 04 irrigations + 15, 18, 21 days intervals). The net plot size was 12 m2 with a pH range of 8.1 silty clay loam soil type. In addition, the climate was monitored as well, there was no rainfall observed during the entire crop period. The analysis of statistical data showed a significant (p < 0.05) vegetative, reproductive and economic performance of berseem in optimized farming practices compared to traditional practice. Thus, maximum plant height, leaves plant−1, branches plant−1, plant weight, fodder and seed yield, net profit, and profit on $−1 (81.8 cm, 100.8, 36.0, 19.3 (g), 72.0 t, 829.30 kg ha−1, $1910.8 ha−1, $2.03 respectably) were measured from treatment 70:100:30 NPK kg ha−1 + 12 irrigations at 15 days intervals, which is recommended to the farmers of synonymic agro-environmental conditions. Furthermore, the treatment 70:100:30 NPK kg ha−1 + 8 irrigations was also better with the aspect of satisfactory outcome and 33% less use of water.

A 25 year old Sindhi speaking Pakistani male presented to his physician with history of dysphagia and weight loss. After initial evaluation and routine investigations patient was referred to gastroenterology unit for endoscopic evaluation and diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Ilizarov external fixator is now considered a suitable alternate treatment modalityfor treatment of complex tibial pilon fractures with questionable soft tissue integrity; it allows early weight bearing without jeopardizing the fracture stability and bone healing. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of study was to evaluate clinico-radiological outcome and morbidity of the Ilizarov external fixator used for fixation of complex tibial pilon fractures. METHODS: This retrospective analytic cross-sectional study was conducted at Orthopaedic Surgery department, Dow Medical College / Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, from June 2014 to May 2017. A total of 17 consecutive patients with complex tibial pilon fracture (AO type 43C) operated with Ilizarov external fixator technique were evaluated functionally by using the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society scoring system (AOFAS) and radio-logically for fracture union (delayed, nonunion) after a mean followup of 6 months. Post-surgical complications were noted. Polytrauma patients with additional fracture in pelvis and spine, pathological fracture, delayed presentation (> 2 weeks) and AO type 43A & B were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Total 17 patients (29.4% female and 70.6% male) with mean age 28 years (range, 17 - 48 years) were analyzed in this study. 11 (64.7%) fractures had left ankle while 6 (35.2%) fractures had right ankle involvement. The minimum follow-up was 3 months after complete frame removal. According to AO classification, C1 in 9 cases, C2 in 3 cases and C3 in 5 cases. All fractures were united in average 14.6 weeks (range 10-28 weeks). According to AOFAS scoring system, the final functional results were excellent in 5 (29.4%), good in 10 (58.8%) and fair in 2 (11.7%). There were 82.3% pin tract infections in this series. Ankle joint arthritis was noted in five patients. We had no instance of postoperative deep infection and neurovascular complications due to Ilizarov fixation. CONCLUSIONS: The Ilizarov ring fixator is a minimal invasive procedure that offers biological advantages and is a suitable alternate for treatment of complex tibial pilon fractures with questionable soft tissue integrity providing fracture healing, rapid functional recovery, and avoidance of major complications associated with extensive operative dissection needed with plate osteosynthesis.

Abstract Background Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to play a vital role in several gene regulatory networks involved in the various biological processes in plants related to stress response. However, systematic analyses of lncRNAs expressed in rice Cadmium (Cd) stress are seldom studied. Thus, we presented the characterization and expression of lncRNAs in rice root development at an early stage in response to Cd stress. Results The lncRNA deep sequencing revealed differentially expressed lncRNAs among Cd stress and normal condition. In the Cd stress group, 69 lncRNAs were up-regulated and 75 lncRNAs were down-regulated. Furthermore, 386 matched lncRNA-mRNA pairs were detected for 120 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 362 differentially expressed genes in cis, and target gene-related pathway analyses exhibited significant variations in cysteine and methionine metabolism pathway-related genes. For the genes in trans, overall, 28,276 interaction relationships for 144 lncRNAs and differentially expressed protein-coding genes were detected. The pathway analyses found that secondary metabolites, such as phenylpropanoids and phenylalanine, and photosynthesis pathway-related genes were significantly altered by Cd stress. All of these results indicate that lncRNAs may regulate genes of cysteine-rich peptide metabolism in cis, as well as secondary metabolites and photosynthesis in trans, to activate various physiological and biochemical reactions to respond to excessive Cd. Conclusion The present study could provide a valuable resource for lncRNA studies in response to Cd treatment in rice. It also expands our knowledge about lncRNA biological function and contributes to the annotation of the rice genome.

Abstract Background Despite the great contributions of utilizing heterosis to crop productivity worldwide, the molecular mechanism of heterosis remains largely unexplored. Thus, the present research is focused on the grain number heterosis of a widely used late-cropping indica super hybrid rice combination in China using a high-throughput next-generation RNA-seq strategy. Results Here, we obtained 872 million clean reads, and at least one read could maps 27,917 transcripts out of 35,679 annotations. Transcript differential expression analysis revealed a total of 5910 differentially expressed genes (DGHP) between super-hybrid rice Wufengyou T025 (WFYT025) and its parents were identified in the young panicles. Out of the 5910 DGHP, 63.1% had a genetic action mode of over-dominance, 17.3% had a complete-dominance action, 15.6% had a partial-dominance action and 4.0% had an additive action. DGHP were significantly enriched in carotenoid biosynthesis, diterpenoid biosynthesis and plant hormone signal transduction pathways, with the key genes involved in the three pathways being up-regulated in the hybrid. By comparing the DGHP enriched in the KEGG pathway with QTLs associated with grain number, several DGHP were located on the same chromosomal segment with some of these grain number QTLs. Conclusion Through young panicle development transcriptome analysis, we conclude that the over-dominant effect is probably the major contributor to the grain number heterosis of WFYT025. The DGHP sharing the same location with grain number QTLs could be considered a candidate gene and provide valuable targets for the cloning and functional analysis of these grain number QTLs.

Optical character recognition is popular field for researchers during last decade of research, which is able to successfully recognize the scanned English image into editable text form. However, optical character systems for other regional languages such as Urdu, Arabic, and Sindhi, still presents a huge challenge and implementation problems. Thus, in this paper various techniques of optical character recognition system for such low level regional languages have been discussed and analyzed. This survey paper consolidates all such techniques and presents an overview to aid researcher understand the methodology of performing and implementing OCR system for Sindhi language.

We are going to implement least squares approach to fit the bivariate quartic polynomial to (2n+1)2- perceptions/data, where n>2. By taking different values of n, (2n+1)2-point approximating subdivision schemes are built. The proposed scheme can be applied for illustrate individual items as a part of 3D (Three Dimensional) space. The proposed scheme is based on fitting the local least squares bivariate quartic polynomial of degree four to the (2n+1)2-observations. The influence of the proposed scheme is shown by 2D example and its working is presented with the help of different quadrilateral meshes. Subdivision and topological rules are also explained with graphical and mathematical representation. Applications and visual exhibitions of the plan have additionally been displayed to show the implementation of the plan.

Abstract This paper proposes that Civil Engineering Heritage is a distinct form of heritage, related to but differing from Industrial Heritage and a separate field that should be treated independently. The critical element that signifies engineering heritage is ingenium or innovation in development of complex technological responses to physical challenges. Engineering heritage requires specific approaches to its identification, documentation, conservation and management. The important first step of this process is a clear understanding of the values and attributes that contribute to the significance of engineering heritage and must be safeguarded. The example of engineering heritage examined here is the colonial steel railway bridges of Pakistan; three case study bridges are presented and the values and attributes of each are discussed. The paper then identifies a set of shared essential values of this type of engineering heritage that can serve as a basis for value-based conservation and management.

Increasing rice production has become one of the ultimate goals for South Asian countries. The yield and area under rice production are also facing threats due to the consequences of climate change such as erratic rainfall and seasonal variation. Thus, the main aim of this work was to find out the supply response of rice in Malaysia in relation to both price and non-price factors. To achieve this target, time series analysis was conducted on data from 1970 to 2014 using cointegration, unit root test, and the vector error correction model. The results showed that the planted area and rainfall have a significant effect on rice production; however, the magnitude of the impact of rainfall is less conspicuous for off-season (season 2) rice as compared to main-season rice (season 1). The speed of adjustment from short-run to long-run for season-1 rice production is almost two-and-a-half years (five production seasons), while for season-2 production, it is only about one-and-a-half year (three production seasons). Consequently, the study findings imply the supply of water to be enhanced through better water infrastructure for both seasons. Moreover, the area under season 2 is continuously declining to the point where the government has to make sure that farmers are able to cultivate the same area for rice production by providing uninterrupted supply of critical inputs, particularly water, seed and fertilizers.

This article describes the study of wormhole solutions in f(Q) gravity with noncommutative geometry. Here, we considered two different f(Q) models—a linear model f(Q)=αQ and an exponential model f(Q)=Q−α1−e−Q, where Q is the non-metricity and α is the model parameter. In addition, we discussed the existence of wormhole solutions with the help of the Gaussian and Lorentzian distributions of these linear and exponential models. We investigated the feasible solutions and graphically analyzed the different properties of these models by taking appropriate values for the parameter. Moreover, we used the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkov (TOV) equation to check the stability of the wormhole solutions that we obtained. Hence, we found that the wormhole solutions obtained with our models are physically capable and stable.