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This study assessed the interactive effects of humic acid (HA) amended growing media (GM) and indole butyric acid (IBA) on a range of parameters determining growth and propagative capacity of Fig (Ficus carica L., var Black Mission) stem cuttings. Cuttings were treated varying IBA concentration (0, 500, 1000 and 1500 mg/L) and propagated in nine GM consisted of sandy loam and clay soils amended with four levels of HA (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 g/m2) and a mixture of sandy loam and clay soils (1:1 v/v) without HA. Ranking of GM changed across IBA concentrations for the majority of parameters, including plant survivability (PS) indicated significant GMxIBA interaction. PS increased with rising IBA concentration (500-1000 mg/L) under lower levels of HA (2.5-5.0 g/m2) across GM. However, the relative response was better in sandy loam based GM. Based on stepwise multiple linear regression, seven parameters viz., percent bud sprout (PBS), shoot length (SL), shoot diameter (SD), leaf area (LA), leaf chlorophyll content (LCC), root to shoot ratio (R/S) and plant N uptake (NUP) explained most of the variance (R2= 99.8%) in plant survival (PS) and acted as the critical determinants of survivability in Fig propagation via stem cuttings. Strong inter relationships existed among the critical traits, thus creating complex trade-offs affecting the overall propagative capacity of Fig stem cuttings. Our approach could be useful in developing indirect selection criterion determining success rates in propagation via stem cuttings.

This study assessed the impact of naphthalene acetic Acid (NAA) on the growth and yield of Okra cv. Sabz Pari at Agricultural Research Institute, Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A field experiment was set out in randomised complete block design with NAA application as a main factor. Different NAA concentrations were obtained by dissolving NAA in distilled water at the rate of 0 (control), 10, 30, 50, 70, 90 and 110 mg/L. NAA treatments along with control were foliar applied to okra plants after 30 days of sowing. Lower concentration of NAA (30-50 mg/L) stimulated maximum increase in plant height (59.5-57.2%), number of leaves/plant (50.4-45.5%,), total plant leaf area (113.9-119.4%), internodes/plant (72.5-61.6%), internode length (53.2-44.5%), pod diameter (53.5-49.9%), pod fresh weight (126.8-111.8%), pod yield (271.2-255.8%) compared to control (0 mg NAA/L). NAA at higher concentrations (>50 mg/L) had a supressing effect on most parameters. It was inferred that yield production in okra is influenced by multiple yield-determining component traits and their mutual interactions which could be manipulated by the application of NAA. Foliar application of NAA (30-50 mg/L) have a beneficial impact on plant characters and yield of Okra, hence recommended in Okra cultivation.

In the present study, three novel fluorinated terphenyl compounds i.e., 2′,4,4′′,5′-tetrafluoro-1,1':4′,1′′-terphenyl (1), 2′,5′-difluoro-1,1':4′,1′′-terphenyl (2) and 2′,5′-difluro-4,4′′-diphenoxy-1,1:4′,1′′-terphenyl (3) have been synthesized by Suzuki Miyaura method. Single crystal XRD study reveals ð-ð stacking stabilization in molecular packing along with F⋯H and F⋯C interactions. This computational quantum chemical exploration was also done by using density functional theory (DFT) methods. The comparison of experimental (SC-XRD) and theoretical (DFT) investigations on structural parameters have been reported which shows reasonable agreements. Hirshfeld surface analysis explores the strength of intermolecular interactions present in the synthesized compounds. A substantial computational analysis of synthesized compounds is done for their optoelectronic and third-order nonlinear optical properties. The third-order NLO study was performed at M06/6-311G* level of theory. A comparative analysis of third-order polarizability of studied compounds is done with that of para-nitroaniline (p-NA) molecule which is often considered as a prototype NLO molecule. The third-order NLO analysis results suggest that all investigated compounds 1, 2 and 3 have significant potential as efficient third-order NLO molecules as compared to p-NA. The studied compounds 1, 2 and 3 possess about 13.7 times, 5.2 times and 5.17 times larger third-order polarizability amplitudes than that of p-NA (25.45 × 10−36 esu) as calculated at same M06/6-311G* levels of theory. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations are performed for electronic excitation energies and their oscillator strengths. The studies of frontier molecular orbitals (FMO) analysis, total and partial density of states (DOS) were performed to investigate the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) process in the entitled compounds.

Phytochemicals are directly involved in therapeutic treatment or precursors to synthesize useful drugs. The current study was aimed to evaluate the phytocompounds and their biopotentials using methanolic and n-hexane extracts of various parts of

Limited studies have been conducted to assess key yield-determining processes and their inter-relationships in okra under both nitrogen (N) poor as well as optimum growing environments on a set of contrasting genotypes. Therefore, in this study, we analyze the yield formation in two diverse genotypes of okra (Sabz Pari ‘SP’ and Arka Anamika ‘AA’) across seven contrasting N environments (0–300 kg ha−1) and to determine effects of genetic (G), environmental (E) and their interaction (G × E) on a set of traits relevant to vegetative growth, onset of reproductive cycle, pod characteristics, and yield. The effects of G, E, and G × E were significant for majority of traits. Ranking of genotypes changed across the environments for most of the traits indicating a cross-over type G × E interactions. Majority of traits showed differential response to varied N availability. Mean values of plant height, canopy diameter, leaves plant−1, leaf area plant−1, stem girth, internodes plant−1, length of internode, pod length, pod diameter, and pod yield enhanced with rising N (50–300 kg ha−1). However, pod fresh weight and number of pods plant−1 declined with N availability above 150 kg ha−1. The onset of first flowering delayed with decline in N availability and vice versa. Late maturing genotype AA indicated a better yield potential across N environments by producing 50.96% more yield over early maturing genotype SP. There existed significant inter-relationships among most of the traits. Four traits including leaf area plant−1, pod diameter, pod fresh weight and number of pods plant−1 explained most of the variance (97.4%) in pod yield. It was concluded that gain in these parameters may lead to an increase in pod yield. Our approach could be useful in developing an indirect selection criterion for yield improvement in okra and could provide a theoretical framework for breeding programmes in developing an ideal genotype.

In the past decade, gay rights activism in the United Kingdom has led to favourable legislations of homosexuality. India, however, has not yet benefitted in the same way which also impacts Indian men living in the UK. This study aimed to explore the experiences of homosexual Indian and White British (WB) males living in London. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six cisgender males (3 White British, 3 Indian). Thematic analysis was used to identify themes from the interviews. The themes created from the dataset reflect the various aspects of participants’ lives including: the acceptance of one’s homosexuality; the impact of socio–cultural factors on experiences of homosexuality and the process of ‘coming out’ to one’s family, friends and employers. Implications of this study are also discussed.

My decision to enrol onto the Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology (DPsych) course was preceded with uncertainty and confusion as I did not plan to study to this level. Nonetheless, it has been incredibly rewarding. Currently in the third year of my DPsych studies, I reflect on the eight-year journey which began in my undergraduate years. I hope to offer insight into the challenges I faced along the way and strategies I used to manage them as a doctoral student, a member of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and an NHS healthcare professional.

The synthesis of pyrimidine and its derivatives is a dynamic emerging area of research due to its pharmaceutical, agricultural, and photonic applications. In this study, new derivatives of pyrimidine 5-([1, 1'-biphenyl]-4-yl) pyrimidine (3a), 5-[4-(methylsulfanyl)phenyl]pyrimidine (3b), 5-(4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl)pyrimidine (3c), and 5-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)pyrimidine (3d) were synthesized through Suzuki-Miyaura coupling, and assessed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FT-IR, and UV/Visible analysis. Furthermore, computational study such as spectroscopic, frontier molecular orbital (FMO), natural bond orbital (NBO), and the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) was performed at M06/6-311G** to obtain comprehensive insights into electronic communications and the structural property relationship for synthesized compounds. The maximum experimental absorption (λExp) for 3a to 3d was obtained at 260, 301, 248, and 233 nm, respectively in methanol, which displayed good agreement with theoretical (λDFT) result 279, 298, 247, and 233 nm, respectively. Moreover, different functional(s) such as HF, M06, M062X, CAM-B3LYP, and LC-BLYP with basis sets 6-311G** were utilized to compute the average polarizability ⟨α⟩, total dipole moment (μtot), and hyperpolarizability (βtot) values. Among the tested methods, highest μtot value (3.5465 D) was observed for 3d, and the lowest value (0.2680 D) for 3c through HF method. Consequently, the LC-BLYP method also showed the highest μtot value (3.4689 D) for 3d and the lowest value (0.3123 D) of 3c. Moreover, other methods: CAM-B3LYP, M062X, and M06 showed almost similar values for all compounds with similar trends. The M06 method showed the largest ⟨α⟩ values (190.779, 149.331, 130.430 and 138.964 a.u.) for 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d, respectively. In contrast, the HF method showed the least ⟨α⟩ values (178.166, 140.356, 121.848, and 128.994 a.u.) for 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d, respectively. The other methods (CAMB3LYP, M062X, and LC-BLYP) indicated nearly parallel ⟨α⟩ values. Moreover, the (βtot) values (604.898, 344.234, 41.628, and 299.958 a.u.) obtained with M06 method for 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d, respectively, were higher compared with urea (βtot = 69.399 a.u.).

Cryptosporidiosis is the second major cause of diarrheal illness in humans and animals. Despite being a major cause of digestive anomalies in goats of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan), there is a serious dearth of data regarding the infection induced alterations in physiological biomarkers. The present study was conducted to record changes in vital body parameters caused by the cryptosporidiosis. A total of 384 fecal and blood samples were randomly collected from adult goats showing clinical signs of the disease. Fecal samples were examined using the modified Ziehl Neelsen acid fast staining, and were confirmed for the infection using two-step nested PCR assay. A total of 66 animals were included in the diseased group, while 57 were included in healthy animals group. Blood samples were processed for measurement of hematological and biochemical parameters using automatic analyzer. Diseased goats showed significant increase in lymphocytes, eosinophils and packed cell volume (P

Aryl and hetero-aryl substituted pyrimidine derivatives demonstrate widespread applications in nonlinear optics (NLO), agrochemical and therapeutic drugs. Therefore, 2-(4-phenoxyphenyl)pyrimidine (2-PPP) and 5-(4-phenoxyphenyl) pyrimidine (5-PPP) were synthesized by palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling approach. The structure elucidation of synthesized products was done by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and UV–vis spectroscopic analyses. The natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis was performed using density functional theory (DFT) assisted M06/6-311G** functional, which confirmed the existence of delocalization process and the hyper-conjugative interaction with representative transitions as π(C10-N16)→π*(C14-N17) and π(C26-N30)→π*(C9-N31) having stabilization energies of 36.30 and 36.55 kcal/mol for 2-PPP and 5-PPP, respectively. The small energy ΔE LUMO HOMO gap as 5.330 eV in 2-PPP and 4.975 eV in 5-PPP was evident from the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis, computed at TD-DFT/M06/6-311G** level, Both the NBO and the FMO analysis predicted promising NLO molecular response. Furthermore, HF, LC-BLYP, CAM-B3LYP, M06-2X, and M06 methods, along with the 6-311G** basis set, were utilized to acquire the NLO findings of 2-PPP and 5-PPP. M06 and HF methods indicated the largest and lowest values of average polarizability ⟨α⟩ and first hyperpolarizability (βtot), respectively for both the compounds 2-PPP and 5-PPP. The ⟨α⟩ and βtot values of 2-PPP and 5-PPP were observed as 7.0 and 7.3 times and 15 and 36 times higher than the urea molecule, respectively. Both compounds hold fine NLO characteristics, thus recommended for future NLO applications.

The impact of city effluents on water quality of Indus River was assessed in the southern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Water samples were collected in dry (DS) and wet (WS) seasons from seven sampling zones along Indus River and the physical, bacteriological, and chemical parameters determining water quality were quantified. There were marked temporal and spatial variations in the water quality of Indus River. The magnitude of pollution was high in WS compared with DS. The quality of water varied across the sampling zones, and it greatly depended upon the nature of effluents entering the river. Water samples exceeded the WHO permissible limits for pH, EC, TDS, TS, TSS, TH, DO, BOD, COD, total coliforms, Escherichia coli, Ca2+, Mg2+, NO3−, and PO42−. Piper analysis indicated that water across the seven sampling zones along Indus River was alkaline in nature. Correlation analyses indicated that EC, TDS, TS, TH, DO, BOD, and COD may be considered as key physical parameters, while Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl−, F−, NO3−, PO42−, and SO42− as key chemical parameters determining water quality, because they were strongly correlated (r > 0.70) with most of the parameters studied. Cluster analysis indicated that discharge point at Shami Road is the major source of pollution impairing water quality of Indus River. Wastewater treatment plants must be installed at all discharge points along Indus River for protecting the quality of water of this rich freshwater resource in Pakistan.

Chemical quality and extent of pollution in effluent-contaminated irrigation water collected from two sectors (X and Y) of peri-urban southern regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, were investigated. Various physico-chemical parameters like pH, EC, TS, TSS, TDS, TH, cations (Na1+, K1+, Li1+, Ca2+, Mg2+), anions (Cl1−, F1−, HCO3 1−, NO3 1−, SO4 2−), and heavy metals (Cr, Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd) were determined. The data indicated wide ranges of variation in all the parameters. Concentration of physico-chemical properties such as EC, TS, TSS, TH, Li1+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and HCO3 1− and heavy metals (Cr, Fe, Cu, and Cd) exceeded WHO permissible limits. The distribution of heavy metals in two sampling areas followed the increasing order as Fe > Cr > Cd > Cu > Pb > Zn. The Piper diagram showed that water in the region was of alkaline type. Strong positive correlations were observed among most of the parameters; however, pH was negatively correlated with most of the parameters. According to principle component analysis, parameters causing variations in water quality were mainly EC, TDS, TS, TSS, TH, Na1+, K1+, Ca2+, Mg2+, F1−, NO3 1−, SO4 2−, Cr, Fe, Cu, and Zn. Linear regression analysis revealed that heavy metals like Cr, Fe, and Cu concentrations were strongly correlated having an R 2 value of 0.92 at P ≤ 0.001 with pH. Overall, the results suggested that irrigation water of the area was not fit for irrigation purposes and might cause serious threats for safe, healthy food and feed production. Proper monitoring of water of the said area should be carried out, and quality of irrigation water should be checked from time to time.