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In the recent study, the entomopathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae against wheat aphid species in field conditions to check the insecticidal effect of entomophathogenic fungi were used to evaluate their pathogenecity against adults of different aphid species i.e., Schizaphis graminum, Rhopalosiphum padi, Brevicoryne brassicae and Lipaphis erysimi, and their natural enemies of crops. Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae were found effective at all concentrations i.e., 1×106, 1×107 and 1×108 cfu/ml on all aphid species, but the uppermost concentration (1×108 cfu/ml) provided maximum control within a short period of time. B. bassiana concentration (1×108 cfu/ml) proved to be lethal to wheat aphid species after the 3rd day. Mortality of wheat aphids were observed at maximum highest concentration of 1×108 cfu/ml were in range of 100% at 8th day of treatment for different aphid species treated at various concentrations. M. anisopliae (1×108 cfu/ml) showed excellent mortality 85% and 84% at 5th and 6th day respectively, against wheat aphid species. In conclusion, the use of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae as biopesticides in agriculture is a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to control insects’ pests.

Service quality management plays its vital role for the enhancement of students' satisfaction. This current research paper aims to explore the concepts of service quality management dimensions and its effect on students' satisfaction. In this study, the dependent variable was students' satisfaction which was measured by the independent variable service quality. The secondary school students of public and private education institutions were the population of this study in Punjab, Pakistan. Random sampling approach applied for the delimitation of the population. Sample was 727 students (public 345, private 382). Five point Likert scale was used in the questionnaire for the collection of data. This study adopted from Parasuraman'S SERVEQUAL dimensions model (1991). Findings of the study show that the quality of the public secondary schools was better as compared to private school. This paper provides the guidance to sort out the most effective factors about the customers' satisfaction regarding service quality.

From last two decades, the Higher Education institutions of the developing countries have also realized the importance of better quality services and leadership behavior. Previous studies investigated that better quality services and leadership behavior are fundamental tools for the enhancement of satisfaction level of the university lecturers. Like other business organizations, the education sector also required to adopt the new approaches and techniques for effective leadership. Pakistan is also trying to improve as an education hub amongst all the countries in this region and focusing to render the quality of services according to the perception and expectations of the staff. The objective of this paper is to determine the intervening role of service quality management on the relationship between leadership behavior and job satisfaction. This research study based on quantitative in its nature. The lecturers of public universities in Punjab, Pakistan were a population of the study. Total 396 public university lecturers were selected as sample for the delimitation of the population from public universities and stratified random sampling technique was adopted for collection data. 15% proportionate was adopted to select the sample of the study. A survey method was used to collect the data from the respondents by questionnaire. Data was entered in sheets for analysis using smart PLS-SEM 3 (Partial Least Square). The findings of the study show that leader's behavior has significance effect on job satisfaction whereas, service quality management has significance-mediating role on the relationship between leadership behavior and job satisfaction.

To enhance the reliability and flexibility of DC microgrids (DCMGs), this paper presents a decentralized power flow control strategy (PFCS) by using the transition operation modes. The transition operation modes are introduced as an effective communication method among power units, eliminating the use of additional digital communication links (DCLs) for the purpose of ensuring the power balance as well as the voltage regulation even under uncertain conditions. During the transition operation modes, the power unit which transmits the information shifts the DC-link voltage level, and the power unit which receives the information continuously monitors the DC-link voltage with predetermined time. When uncertain conditions occur in a particular power unit, this power unit triggers the transition operation modes to send this information to all power units in the DCMG system. The proposed PFCS can maintain the DC-link voltage at the nominal value for steady-state conditions both in the grid-connected mode and islanded mode. Moreover, the proposed PFCS significantly enhances the overall reliability of the decentralized DCMG system by effectively addressing several uncertainties stemmed from electricity price fluctuations, grid availability, battery state-of-charge (SOC) levels, and wind power variations. The scalability of the DCMG system is also demonstrated by incorporating an electric vehicle (EV) unit as an additional energy storage system (ESS). The EV unit seamlessly cooperates with the existing battery unit, functioning as additional ESS to regulate the DC-link voltage when the battery SOC level is low. Simulation and experimentation results under various conditions demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed PFCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leadership competencies contribute to the ability of teachers to perform successfully and efficiently in the modern technology era. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between digital leadership competencies and teachers' performance. The study was correctional following the cross-sectional survey method. The sample of the study consisted of 273 social sciences teaching faculty members of Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad and Virtual University of Pakistan selected through a simple random sampling technique. The reliability of the instruments; digital leadership competencies and teachers' performance were confirmed by calculating Cronbach's Alpha score; .969 and .936 respectively. After ensuring ethical considerations from participants, the data were collected by administering the Six E-Competencies model of Roman et al., (2019) consisting of 18-items and Goodman and Svyantek (1999) Teachers' Performance (TP) scale comprised of 15-items mode of 7-points Likert responses. Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling [PLS-SEM] was computed to analyze the proposed hypotheses in this study while the measurement model and structural model were assessed. The findings of the study showed a significant correlation between digital leadership competencies and teachers' performance. The study helps to enhance the performance of university teachers through the support of digital leadership by using modern technology tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During general anesthesia, inserting a relatively stiff endotracheal tube using a metallic laryngoscope through the soft tissues of the pharynx and larynx, along with applying a pressured cuff, can result in varying degrees of tissue trauma and adverse outcomes. Anesthesiologists commonly encounter post-operative issues such as hoarseness, sore throat, and laryngospasm. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of topical applications of dexamethasone emollient, lidocaine gel, and glycerin emollient in reducing these complications. One hundred patients were randomly assigned to four groups of 25 patients each: the control group (Group C), lidocaine gel group (Group L), glycerin emollient group (Group G), and dexamethasone emollient group (Group D). The assigned medication was topically applied to the endotracheal tube, and patients were monitored for postoperative laryngospasm, hoarseness, and sore throat within the first 24 hours. No statistically significant differences were found among the four groups in terms of demographic characteristics, postoperative sore throat, hoarseness, or laryngospasm (p>0.05). Lidocaine gel was an effective drug that can be used to attenuate the incidence rate of post-operative sore throat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]