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An increase in ride-hailing services in the sharing economy can help to reduce the number of vehicles on the road, which will lead to a decrease in air pollution and noise pollution, an improvement in environmental conditions, a decrease in travel costs, and an increase in social benefits to travelers. Hence, there is a great need to examine the consumer's intention toward usage of ride-hailing services in the sharing economy. The current study aims to examine the green consumption intention of eco-friendly services as an outcome of environmental responsibility and environmental knowledge. It also attempts to examine the serial mediation of green concern, value co-creation, and mediated moderation of social support as an explanatory mechanism of green consumption intention of eco-friendly services. The research design was cross-section and deductive. The respondents of the study were registered university students in Islamabad who were active consumers of major ride-hailing services in Pakistan, i.e., Uber, Careem, Uplift, InDriver, B4U Cabes, and SUVL. A total of 402 responses were gathered using purposive sampling. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in Smart PLS is used to evaluate the reliability of measurement instruments and the validity of the research model. The current study results showed that environmental responsibility and knowledge positively and significantly affect motivation to engage in green consumption. Furthermore, environmental concern and value co-creation partially mediate the proposed relationship. In addition, social support also moderates the association between green concern and value co-creation such that it strengthens the connection. The current research findings are an addition to the existing literature and have managerial applications with limitations preceded by future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the widely recognized positive nature of ethical leadership, recent studies have reported inconsistent findings in the link between ethical leadership and employees' behavior. Drawing on the social cognitive theory, this study seeks to address this gap by investigating the paradoxical influence of ethical leadership on unethical pro-organizational behavior among employees. Additionally, the study aims to explore the mediating mechanism of employees' psychological capital and the moderating effect of moral identity. Three time intervals data were collected from nursing professional from public and private hospitals in Pakistan. The data were evaluated employing PLS SEM. Interestingly, the findings contradict the hypothesis and demonstrate a positive link between ethical leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior among employees. Moreover, the relationship is mediated by employees' psychological capital. Furthermore, employees' moral identity moderates this relationship. These findings furnish important insights into the paradoxical impact of ethical leadership within organizations and challenge its universal perception of positive leadership style having significant theoretical and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Cress seeds release allelochemicals that over-stimulate the elongation of hypocotyls of neighbouring (potentially competing) seedlings and inhibit their root growth. The hypocotyl promoter is potassium, but the root inhibitor was unidentified; its nature is investigated here. Methods Low-molecular-weight cress-seed exudate (LCSE) from imbibed Lepidium sativum seeds was fractionated by phase partitioning, paper chromatography, high-voltage electrophoresis and gel-permeation chromatography (on Bio-Gel P-2). Fractions, compared with pure potassium salts, were bioassayed for effects on Amaranthus caudatus seedling growth in the dark for 4 days. Key Results The LCSE robustly promoted amaranth hypocotyl elongation and inhibited root growth. The hypocotyl inhibitor was non-volatile, hot acid stable, hydrophilic and resistant to incineration, as expected for K+. The root inhibitor(s) had similar properties but were organic (activity lost on incineration). The root inhibitor(s) remained in the aqueous phase (at pH 2.0, 6.5 and 9.0) when partitioned against butan-1-ol or toluene, and were thus hydrophilic. Activity was diminished after electrophoresis, but the remaining root inhibitors were neutral. They became undetectable after paper chromatography; therefore, they probably comprised multiple compounds, which separated from each other, in part, during fractionation. On gel-permeation chromatography, the root inhibitor co-eluted with hexoses. Conclusions Cress-seed allelochemicals inhibiting root growth are different from the agent (K+) that over-stimulates hypocotyl elongation and the former probably comprise a mixture of small, non-volatile, hydrophilic, organic substances. Abundant components identified chromatographically and by electrophoresis in cress-seed exudate fitting this description include glucose, fructose, sucrose and galacturonic acid. However, none of these sugars co-chromatographed and co-electrophoresed with the root-inhibitory principle of LCSE, and none of them (in pure form at naturally occurring concentrations) inhibited root growth. We conclude that the root-inhibiting allelochemicals of cress-seed exudate remain unidentified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disaster Management Program plays a critical role in coordinating and implementing strategies to address emergencies and disasters, ranging from natural events like hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfire to human-made incidents such as industrial accidents or terrorist attacks. Simultaneously, it is widely studied as a typical multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) problem. This paper investigates the concept of complex picture fuzzy sets (CPFS), an extension of picture fuzzy sets (PFS), achieved by the inclusion of a phase term. The existence of phase terms expand the scope of CPFS from real line to a complex plane of unit disc and highlight its originality by demonstrating its capacity to handle both vagueness and periodicity simultaneously. In this paper, the complex picture fuzzy Hamy mean operator (CPFHM) and complex picture fuzzy dual Hamy mean operator (CPFDHM) is studied. The reason of selecting complex picture fuzzy Hamy mean operator (CPFHMO) is that it can find interrelationship among multi-input variables. Then the various properties of CPFHM and CPFDHM operator are described in depth. A multi-attributes group decision-making (MAGDM) technique for solving group decision-making problems is proposed based on these operators. The validity of the present technique is demonstrated by analyzing a disaster management problem. Furthermore we check the sensitivity of parameter k and apply the validity test on our proposed technique. Finally, a comprehensive comparison is provided between the proposed model and specific existing approaches, illustrating that the suggested decision model is superior and more advantageous than the existing employed methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to investigate the management of noxious weed (Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav.) in chickpea growing areas of District Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan. A Randomized Complete Block (RCB) design with three replicates and various weed management practices were implemented. The treatments include; different herbicides (Pendimethalin, dual gold and fenxaprop-p-ethyl), mulches (Black polythene, white polythene and available weed biomass) and allelopathic weed extracts (Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav., Convolvulus arvensis L. and Lathyrus sp.) compared with control treatment. The study parameters include; weed density (m-2) before and after application, fresh and dry weight (m-2) of A. tenuifolius Cav., plant height (cm), number of nodes and branches plant-1, leaf area index (LAI), number of pods plant-1, number of grains pod-1, 500 seed weight (g), biological yield (kgha-1), grain yield (kgha-1) and cost benefit ratio (%). The data analysis revealed that the herbicide Pendimethalin showed the lowest A. tenuifolius Cav. density (6.10 m-2), fresh weight (1.30 kgm-2) and dry weight (0.43 kgm-2), while the control plots had the highest density, fresh weight and dry weight of A. tenuifolius Cav. Data regarding chickpea parameters, Pendimethalin showed the maximum plant height (46.66 cm), number of nodes (32.33 plant-1), number of branches (10.33 plant-1), leaf area index (1.85), number of pods (31.66 plant-1, number of grains (2.00 pod-1), 500 seed weight (165.46 g), biological yield (4532.9 kgha-1), grains yield (1438.2 kgha-1), and cost benefit ratio (1:3.1). Whereas, the lowest values for these parameters were observed in the control plots. Based on the results, it can be concluded that Pendimethalin herbicide was the most effective in controlling A. tenuifolius Cav. that has significantly increased the yield and yield components of chickpea. Fenoxaprop-p-ethyl also showed positive effects on weed control and chickpea yield, although to a lesser extent than Pendimethalin. The study highlights the importance of using appropriate weed control methods to enhance crop productivity and reduce weed competition in chickpea cultivation. However, it is essential to consider factors like herbicide resistance, environmental impacts, and sustainability while formulating weed management strategies in agricultural practices. Further research may be needed to optimize the application of different treatments and to explore additional weed management techniques to maintain effective weed control in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of dry leachates of Acasia saligna was tested on the seedling growth, photosynthesis, biochemical attributes, and gene expression of the economically important crops, including wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), radish (Raphanus sativus L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and arugula (Eruca sativa L.). Different concentrations (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%) of stem extract (SE) and leaf extract (LE) of A. saligna were prepared, and seedlings were allowed to grow in Petri plates for 8 days. The results showed that all plant species exhibited reduced germination rate, plant height, and fresh and dry weight due to leachates extracts of A. saligna. Moreover, the activities of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), exhibited differential regulation due to the extract treatment. The SOD was increased with increasing the concentration of extracts, while CAT and APX activities were decreased with increasing the extract concentrations. In addition, leachate extract treatment decrease chlorophyll content, photosynthesis, PSII activity, and water use efficiency, with evident effects at their higher concentrations. Furthermore, the content of proline, sugars, protein, total phenols, and flavonoids were reduced considerably due to leachates extract treatments. Furthermore, seedlings treated with high concentrations of LE increased the expression of genes. The present results lead to the conclusion that A. saligna contains significant allelochemicals that interfere with the growth and development of the tested crop species and reduced the crops biomass and negatively affected other related parameters. However, further studies are suggested to determine the isolation and purification of the active compounds present in A. saligna extracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weed management in okra is one of the challenging and expensive steps that ultimately result in reducing the productivity. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of various organic and cultural practices on yield and weed management in okra at the Agronomy Research Farm of The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan during spring season 2021 in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The following treatments were applied in the trial. Parthenium(Partheniumhysterophorus) weed extraction (120g.L-1), Coco grass (Cyperusrotundus) weed extraction (120g.L-1), Field bind weed (Convolvulus arvensis) weed extraction (120g.L-1), mulching (Eucalyptus leaves), mulching (News Paper), hand weeding (Once) 20 days after sowing (DAS), hand weeding (Twice) 20 &40 DAS, and a weedy check. Results showed that all the studied parameters of okra crop except the number of flowers per plant were significantly affected by the applied treatments. Maximum weed fresh biomass (143.3g), weed dry biomass (42.2g), plant height (64.2cm), number of branches per plant (11), fruit length (11.73 cm), fruit diameter (1.8 cm) and yield (3246.6kg. ha-1) were noted in hand weeding (Twice) 20- & 40DAS followed by hand weeding (Once) 20 DAS; how ever, minimum values were noted in weedy check treatment, except weed density which was found maximum in weedy check plots. In conclusion, hand weeding twice 20 & 40 DAS is recommended in order to get best yields of okra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, researcher incorporates the concept of social identity into entrepreneurship and analysis whether social identity of the women impact on their decision to become an entrepreneur and socialized their or not.This cross-sectional study was conducted through research questionnaire survey by adopting valid instruments. To this tenacity, the relevant data collected from 895 respondents ‘those were female students. The reliability test applied preceded by Pearson correlation test for significant association among variables. The hierarchical regression analysis (bootstrap) applied to test the impact of factors on women entrepreneurial intentions that leads to their behavior using SPSS- 20. The result showed that women with social identity scored higher on women entrepreneurial intention. As a moderator personal network positively influence on women entrepreneurial intention. Moreover, results suggest significant direct and indirect effects of social identity through the mediating variable, attitudes towards behavior and dependent variable women entrepreneurial intention. The findings of this study will contribute to the corporate body of knowledge and be useful to regulators and policy makers to encourage and enhance the business intention of women, enabling them to contribute their expected role in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was conducted at the New Developmental Research Farm, the University of Agriculture Peshawar during rabi season 2016-17. A wheat variety Ata-Habib was selected to check its performance by adopting methods of sowing and mixed tank herbicides application. The experiment was arranged in split-plot with randomized complete block (RCB) design with 4 replications. For practical adaptation of the experiment, the sowing methods were allotted as the main plots, while tank mixed herbicides were kept in the subplots to get prominent results for the possible positive differences among the treatments. The sub-plot size measured as 1.5 X 3 m while row to row distance was kept 30 cm. Data were recorded on weed density m-2, fresh and dry weed biomass (kg), plant height (cm), spike length (cm), leaf area (cm), number of tillers (m-2), number of grains spike-1, 1000 grain weight (g), biological yield (kg ha-1) and grain yield (kg ha-1), Harvest index (%). These data parameters were formally observed with great care to avoid any repetition or error of the data. Noxious weeds were observed and recorded in the field viz. Avena fatua, Anagallis arvensis, Euphorbia helioscopia, Phalaris minor, Poa annua, Medicago denticulata, Convolvulus arvensis, Coronopus didymus, Fumaria polymorpha, Melilotus parviflora, Chenopodium album and Rumex crispus. The obtained results indicated that sowing methods were statistically significant for plant height, grains spike-1,1000grain weight and biological yield that showed a clear effectiveness of the recorded data parameters. In addition to this, herbicides applications were also statistically significant for all the parameters except grains spike-1, while the interaction of sowing methods and herbicides application were also non-significant. In sowing methods, line sowing provided satisfactory results. As general understandings various weeds were managed significantly through tank mixed herbicide applications with a ratio of 60-72% for broad leaf and grassy weeds respectively. Consequently the instant results provided 54% increased yield compared to the untreated treatments. Hence it is concluded that, line sowing in combination with tank mixed herbicides are more suitable for management of weeds in the wheat field and increased yield in the agro-climatic conditions of Peshawar-Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]