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Root-knot nematodes have wide host range, causing damage to many annual and perennial crops. Therefore the present study was planned to check the effect of PGPRs on juvenile’s mortality and egg hatching inhibition of M. incognita and attachment of Pasteuria penetrans with second stage Juveniles under lab conditions. All PGPR increased the spores attachment with second stage juveniles, maximum spores attachment (194.23 %) was found in E. cloacae and minimum spores attachment (142.3 %) was found in E. areogenis after 24 hours. All the PGPRs caused larval mortality and inhibition in egg hatching with varying degrees. Maximum eggs inhibition (75.48 %) was found in P. flourescencs and minimum eggs inhibition (69.47 %) was found in E. areogenis after six days and maximum juvenile's mortality (88%) was found in P. flourescencs and minimum juvenile's mortality (78%) was found in E. areogenis after two days.

Life on mountains is difficult and people depend on medicinal plants for primary health care. Many of mountain areas of Azad Kashmir are unexplored from taxonomic and ethnobotanical point of view. This study was conducted to document the indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants of village Patan Sher Khan and allied areas of District Sudhnuti Azad Kashmir Pakistan. Field surveys were conducted during March 2020 to March 2021 for collection of medicinal plants knowledge following standard ethnobotanical methods. A total of 120 key informants were interviewed by using semi-structured questioners. The data were analyzed through ethnobotanical indices i.e., Relative frequency of citation (RFC), Use value (UV), Informant consensus factor (ICF) and Fidelity level (FL). A total of 37 medicinal plant species belonging to 32 genera and 25 families were recorded during the study. Dominant ethnomedicinal families were Fabaceae with 4 species followed by Moraceae and Rosaceae with 3 species each. Leaves were the most frequently used parts (36 %) and decoction was preferred medicinal preparation (19 use reports). Highest relative frequency of citation was recorded for Ficus palmata (0.15) followed by Melia azedarchta (0.14) and highest use value was found for Dodonaea viscosa (0.58). The most valuable plant species of the study area are Ficus carica with 8 use reports and 48 use citations, Bauhinia variegata with 7 use reports and 45 use citations. The maximum value of FL was recorded for Berberis lyceum (100 %) and Plantago lanceolate, (100%). Based on documented data the reported ailments were grouped into 9 categories, The ICF values ranges between 0. 33 (sexual) to 0.90 (teeth and urinary). Medicinal plant knowledge is still alive and large papulation of area still depend on medicinal plants for primary healthcare. But medicinal plant knowledge is declining especially among younger people. Hence, there is an urgent need to document such precious knowledge by continuous ethnobotanical studies.

Root-knot nematodes have wide host range, causing damage to many annual and perennial crops. More than 100 species of Meloidogyne are known in which Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood is one of the most common and important plant parasitic nematode in tropical and subtropical regions of the world including Pakistan. This study was planned to investigate the interaction of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria and Pasteuria penetrans for the management of root knot nematode M. incognita on tomato in green house at 30 + 4 0C. Earthen pots 20 cm dia. having sterilized soil was mixed with Pasteuria penetrans root powder @ 103 spores per gm of soil. Three week old seedlings of tomato Money Maker were transplanted singly in pots. One week after transplanting, 30 ml of bacterial (Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Enterobacter cloacae) suspension were applied in root zone. Seven days after application of PGPR, 2000 J2 were applied at root zone. The experiment was arranged in Completely Randomized Design and six treatments were replicated tenfold. Pasteuria penetrans alone or in different combinations with PGPR were applied. Pots with nematode and without PGPR, Pp and nematode were kept as control. Sixty days after nematode application, plants were harvested carefully. Data were recorded on plant growth parameters and nematode reproduction in terms of number of egg mass, number of females, number of galls and galling index (0-10). The plant treated with Enterobacter cloacae + Pp significantly suppressed the number of egg mass 69.38%, number of galls 68%, number of females 66.21% and galling index 56.82% compared to control resulting in improved growth over control. The treatments B. subtilis + Pp and P. fluorescens + Pp showed intermediary effect on both nematode reproduction and plant growth..Pasteuria penetrans was least observed effective in suppressing number of egg mass 57.53 %, number of females 55%, number of galls 55.73% and galling index 47.73%.

Salinity stress is the most notorious among all abiotic stresses. It hampers the growth and productivity of crops via ionic imbalance, disturbance in the metabolic process and specific ions toxicity. The necessity of time is to introduce better organic amendment rates for its mitigation in cereal crops, especially maize. Therefore, a pot experiment was performed in the wirehouse of the Saline Agriculture Research Centre (SARC), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad to evaluate the effect of farmyard manure and compost application rates in saline soil. A hybrid maize variety (Monsanto DK-6789) was sown and recommended doses of NPK were applied. Organic amendments (FYM and Compost) with their rates (recommended, 25% increased dose of recommended and 50% increased dose of recommended) were applied to assess the growth of hybrid maize with salinity levels (Control < 2dS m-1, moderate salinity_5dS m-1, High salinity_10dS m-1). Seven treatments each with three replicates were carried out by using Complete Randomized Design (CRD). The results of the study indicated that T4 (50% increased farmyard manure) and T7 (50% increased compost) were significantly varied in controlling the shoot and root length, shoot and root fresh weight and dry weight of maize over control at

The primary purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of relationship-oriented leadership on harmonious passion based on Self-Determination Theory. Self-efficacy is taken as a mediator between the relationship-oriented leadership style and harmonious passion. A conscientious personality trait is integrated as a moderator to check whether it moderates the effect of relationship-oriented leadership on harmonious passion. The data were collected using a cross-sectional research design, and the study population is the front-line employees of fast-moving consumer goods companies in Pakistan. The research model was tested using a questionnaire survey instrument, and the sample size was 487. PLS-SEM was used for testing the hypotheses. Similarly, Hays process macro was used for testing mediating and moderating effects. Results revealed that employees increase their Harmonious Passion in the presence of relationship-oriented leadership. Self-efficacy mediates the relationship between relationship-oriented leadership and Harmonious Passion. Conscientiousness personality trait significantly acts as a moderator between relationship-oriented leadership and Harmonious Passion. As research on this leadership style and employee passion is scarce, this paper will help get a proper understanding of the specific leadership style necessary for cultivating harmonious passion. This study also concludes that fast-moving consumer goods companies should consider this leadership style and motivate their managers to adopt this particular style to increase their employees’ harmonious passion for better outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to examine how much celebrity endorsement stimulates skin color racism in the cosmetics industry.The data were collected from Google Scholar and Web of Science published articles, and researchers had chosen 45 research articles. Some of the research articles used a quantitative research approach while others had used qualitative research approach. And for the current study, content analysis has been used.The study finds that celebrity endorsement does influence and promote racism, implying that when celebrities promote fairness products, people perceive themselves inferior due to darker skin tone that gives birth to the notion of racism. Brand Image intervenes in the relationship between Celebrity Endorsement and Racism, and also, intervenes in the relationship between Celebrity Endorsement and Purchase Intention.This study is only limited to Google Scholar and Web of Science directory. Only forty-five articles were taken from 2001 to 2021 year. Real examples were taken from all over the world, but especially from the Less Developed countries like Pakistan and India due to the huge population, rising income, and surging cosmetics industry. Hence, the findings of this study cannot be generalized to the Technologically Advanced Countries.It is obvious that firms design advertisement campaigns that can get consumers' attention. For this purpose, they engage celebrities to evoke more interest and awareness as well as perception. The study will help the management of different brands to understand that how they can improve their advertisements in a way that does not promote racism. And the celebrities, signing contracts with brands that promote racism, will keep in mind the negative influence these endorsements have on society while companies will make sure that they are also not promoting racism by making such promotional campaigns.

This work was initiated by synthesizing a carboxylic derivative of Calix[4]resorcinarene through a three step protocol confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy and Electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS). As synthesized derivative, was used as reducing and capping material for the fabrication of small and stable silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in aqueous medium under the combined influence of dilute alkali and heat at 90°C. These nanoparticles were referred as KM20-AgNPs. Techniques used for characterization of AgNPs include UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta potential analyzer (ZPA). The finally produced KM20-AgNPs were recognized as highly sensitive and extremely selective voltammetric sensor for low level detection of methylene blue drug in the linear working range of 1–30 nM with limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) as 0.16 nM and 0.53 nM respectively. The developed sensor was successfully used for sensing of MB in human blood plasma.

The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of despotic leadership on organizational cynicism both directly and with the mediating role of moral disengagement. It was also posited that organizational identification inversely moderates the effect of despotic leadership on organizational cynicism. Data was collected from the SMEs in Gujranwala Division of Punjab, Pakistan. The sample consisted of 280 randomly chosen front line employees from nine strata of SME manufacturing concerns. To empirically test the hypothesized model, SEM (Structural equation modelling) and Process Macros in SPSS 25 were used. The results confirm the hypothesized model. Despotic leadership has positive effect on organizational cynicism. Moral disengagement mediated between despotic leadership and organizational cynicism. Furthermore, results proved that employees higher on organizational identification were lesser cynic and vice versa. The study is first of its first kind and has advanced our understanding of dark leadership, cynicism, disengagement and organizational identification in the SMEs. The results guide the leadership practice by highlighting the ill-effects of despotic leadership. The study has important implications for literature, policy and managerial practice presented in the end.

The continuous use of brackish groundwater for irrigation is detrimental for soil and crop attributes. A three-year research study was designed for the wheat crop to assess the effects of brackish groundwater on crop yield and soil health under a surface irrigation system. Three sites were selected in different cropping zones of Pakistan. The treatments comprised of irrigation with moderately brackish water having 0.8, 1.3 & 2.7 dSm−1 of salinity and canal water. The results indicated that EC, SAR, bicarbonates, Ca2+ and Mg2+ levels increased in the soil for consecutive years and this increase was more at site S3 followed by S2 and S1. As soil depth is concerned, the increase was more pronounced in upper layers of soil (0–15 cm) as compared to 15–30 cm depth. Growth and yield were also affected by the consecutive use of this water, the number of plants, plant height, the number of spikes per plant, and yield was reduced at all the three sites. However, the impact was less pronounced at the site S1 whereas S3 was the most affected one. Grain weight and dry matter weight were observed to be maximum at S1. Water productivity was also calculated for all the three sites. Maximum water productivity was observed at S1 followed by S2 & S3. It was concluded that the continuous use of brackish water would have an adverse effect on crop yield and subsequently, soil health is also affected by it significantly.

Water always finds its way" so do the money launderers, who are always successful in finding new ways of committing the crime. This study primarily aims to identify opportunities that launderers are exploiting to whitewash their black money. Dual nationality (DN), financial system sophistication (FSS), and cryptocurrency legal status (CCLS) are the advanced opportunities being used by launders to clean their funds. Some studies highlight the link between cryptocurrency and money laundering, but the role of dual nationality and financial system sophistication in money laundering is still a less addressed phenomenon (Ebeke, 2011) and (T. P. and J. Walker, 2011). The objective of this study is to explore the role of these three variables in money laundering by making improvements to the original version of the Walker model. The study's theoretical model was developed by borrowing justifications from Rational Choice Theory (RCT). For quantitative analysis, FGLS was employed over strongly balanced panel datasets. The final dataset of the study was prepared by gathering secondary data from 177 countries for 11 years (2009-2019). The study has found that overall, financial system sophistication is an important factor in choosing a laundering centre around the globe. However, Pakistani launderers do not perceive FSS as an attractive element for laundering their black money. In contrast, dual nationality was identified as a significant element in money laundering from Pakistan to other countries. However, the aspect of cryptocurrency legal status was found to be a significant attractive element for both national and international launders. The findings of the study guide policymakers and practitioners in strengthening the anti-money laundering strategy.

Purpose This study aims to estimate the amount of money laundering (ML) with multiple proxy approaches and measure the effects of ML on various indicators of the economic and financial sectors. Theoretical justifications are recruited from the parasite theory of organised crime. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research methodology was used on a balanced panel data set to test the study’s hypothesis through generalised method of moment (GMM). The study sample consisted of 77 countries, and the data was collected for 15 years (2005–2019). Findings A study has found that 1.23% of global gross domestic product is laundered yearly, and there is no noticeable decline in ML activities. Further study has also found that ML has devastating effects on countries, government revenue, foreign investment, economic development, political and peace conditions, bank liquidity, interest rate volatility and exchange rate volatility. The study has not witnessed the negative consequence of ML on countries’ inflation rates. Practical implications Estimates of the study guide policymakers about the volume of resources fleeing and helps them to decide the level of response needed. Further findings help them prioritise the response system according to the area most affected. Originality/value This study is an original contribution by the authors and has studied the effects of ML by computing the amount of ML by four different proxies.

Objective: To find out the impact of Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) on growth and endocrine functions at a tertiary care child healthcare facility of South Punjab. Study Design: Case Control study. Setting: Department of Pediatric Cardiology and Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Institute of Child’s Health (ICH), Multan, Pakistan. Period: December 2018 to March 2020. Material & Methods: During the study period, a total of 53 cases of Echocardiography confirmed CCHD were registered. Along with 53 cases, 50 controls during the study period were also enrolled. Height, weight, body mass index (BMI) along with hormonal and biochemical laboratory investigations were done. Results: There was no significant difference between gender and age among cases and controls (p value>0.05). Most common diagnosis of CCHD among cases, 24 (45.3%) were Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) followed by 9 (17.0%) transposition of the great arteries (TGA) with Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) with Pulmonary Stenosis (PS). Mean weight of CCHD cases was significantly lower in comparison to controls (21.19+6.24 kg vs. 26.48+8.1 kg, p value=0.0003). Blood glucose was significantly lower among cases in comparison to controls (77.58+14.58 mg/dl vs. 87.25+11.82 mg/dl, p value=0.0004). No significant difference was found in between cases and controls in terms of various hormone levels studied (p value>0.05) except Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) levels (p value

The Jassid, Amarasca bigutulla bigutullaa is an important sucking pest of the okra crop. An experimental study was conducted during 2018 to check the comparative toxicity of nitenpyrem and neem oil against jassid under okra field conditions. The study revealed that 24 hours after treatment, nitenpyrem was found more toxic and effective with maximum reduction of jassid population (72.15%). Whereas, 120 hours after treatment with 4% neem oil, 15.05% jassid reduction was observed. The mortality rate of the jassid was increased with increasing in time after application of chemical insecticides. The study concluded that insecticide was most toxic and gives higher mortality of jassid as compared to neem oil. Keywords: Abelmoschus esculentus, Malvaceae, Amarasca bigutulla bigutullaa, botanicals, insecticides, Pakistan

Objective: To evaluate the cardiac status of newborns in terms of structural and functional heart diseases. Methodology: This descriptive study was conducted at Paediatric Cardiology Department of “The Children’s Hospital and The Institute of Child Health”, Multan, Pakistan, from January 2017 to December 2019. Neonates aged 0-28 days and referred for echocardiographic evaluation were enrolled. Diagnostic findings were confirmed with the assistance of echocardiography. We were focused on analyzing total number and types of heart diseases along with gender distribution during the study period. Results: During the study period, a total of 2729 newborns were evaluated. We noted 1523 (55.8%) newborns as structurally and functionally normal, 866 (31.7%) had congenital heart disease, 69 (2.5%) duct dependent lesions, 248 (9.1%) persistent pulmonary hypertension and 23 (0.8%) left ventricular (LV) dysfunction but with structurally normal heart. Newborns with LV dysfunction might have hypoxic myocardial damage, metabolic derangements or acute myocarditis. Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) followed by Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) and Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) were the most frequent types of acyanotic CHD observed in 248 (28.2%), 171 (19.7%) and 100 (11.5%) neonates respectively while Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) was the most common type of cyanotic CHD 74 (8.5%). Conclusion: VSD followed by PDA, ASD and TOF were the most common types of CHD among neonates. Diagnosis of congenital heart defects in the early age is pointing towards improvement in healthcare facilities.

Heat stress at reproductive stage is one of the major limiting factors to reduce crop yield. This study aimed at investigating the impacts of thiourea on growth, physiology, and yield traits of camelina and canola genotypes under heat stress. The experiment comprised of three factors: (i) genotypes, Camelina sativa (611 and 618), Brassica napus (Hiola-401 and 45S42); (ii) thiourea spray, TU0 = control-no application, TU1 = 500 mg L−1, TU2 = 1000 mg L−1, and TU3 = 1500 mg L−1 at BBCH scale code-60 in camelina and BBCH scale code-60 in canola; and (iii) heat stress, T1 = control (25 °C) and T2 = heat stress (35 °C). The pot experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with factorial arrangements and three replications. High temperature stress reduced the growth attributes, gas exchange, and water relations in camelina and canola genotypes with more reduction in control (no thiourea spray) compared to thiourea spray. The photosynthetic rate (A) decreased by 23% in camelina and 30% in canola under heat stress compared to control-no heat stress, whereas all the physiological traits were negatively affected by heat stress. The yield traits including number of siliques per plant, number of seeds per silique, 1000-seed weight, and seed yield per pot were adversely affected under heat stress. However, supplemental thiourea applications alleviated heat stress damages by improving the photosynthetic efficiency, water potential, and other physiological attributes in both tested crops. Moreover, foliar applied thiourea had improved the seed yield by 39% in camelina and 38% in canola under heat stress. Among thiourea levels, thiourea applied at 1000 mg L−1 was more effective to improve heat stress tolerance as compared to other levels. The camelina genotype 618 was found more tolerant to heat stress than 611. Similarly, in canola, the genotype 45S42 performed better than Hiola-401 under heat stress conditions. While among both crops, camelina showed better resilience against heat stress as compared to canola. Application of thiourea at 1000 mg L−1 improved the growth, physiology, and yield of camelina and canola under heat stress. The camelina genotype 618 and canola genotype 45S42 were more tolerant to heat stress than 611 and Hiola-401, respectively.

Background & Objective: Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is described as severe respiratory failure along with hypoxaemia. PPHN is known to be linked with high morbidity and mortality around the world. This study was planned to determine the postnatal causes and assess the severity of persistent pulmonary hypertension of newborn in babies presenting to the Children’s Hospital, Multan. Methods: This observational study was conducted at the Department of Paediatric Cardiology, The Children Hospital &Institute of Child Health, Multan, Pakistan from July to December 2019. A total of 122 confirmed cases of PPHN admitted having gestational age above 34 weeks were enrolled. Demographic data of the newborns was recorded along with maternal medical history, pregnancy status and postnatal causes of PPHN. Severity of PPHN was also recorded. Results: Out of a total of 122 cases of PPHN, 81 (66.3%) were male. Majority, 78 (64.0%) had gestational age above 37 weeks. Mode of delivery as cesarean section was noted in 70 (57.4%). Meconium aspiration syndrome 52 (42.6%), birth asphyxia 48 (39.3%), respiratory distress syndrome 23 (18.8%) and sepsis 33 (27.0%) were found to be the commonest causes of PPHN. Severe PPHN was found to be the most frequent, noted among 63 (51.6%) while Moderate PPHN was observed in 40 (32.8%) and Mild PPHN in 19 (15.6%). Morality was noted among 26 (21.3%) of cases. Conclusion: Meconium aspiration syndrome, birth asphyxia and respiratory distress syndrome were the commonest postnatal causes of PPHN. Severe PPHN was found to be the most frequent form of PPHN. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.5.2218 How to cite this:Arshad MS, Adnan M, Anwar-ul-Haq HM, Zulqarnain A. Postnatal causes and severity of persistent pulmonary Hypertension of Newborn. Pak J Med Sci. 2021;37(5):1387-1391. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.5.2218 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Environmentalism has become not only a significant policy issue but also a crucial topic in marketing research. Environmental consciousness is now considered as a fundamental requirement to prevent further damage to the environment. Efforts have been made to improve the consumers understanding about the environmental consequences of their consumption patterns. This study develops a conceptual model of green purchase behaviour to determine the effects of environmentalism, advertisement message credibility and green perceived value on the consumers’ green purchase intentions with green product knowledge as a moderator. The convenience sampling technique with cross-sectional research design was used to select the sample. Data were collected using survey, and a total of 368 valid questionnaires were used for further analysis. The results from the structural analysis using Smart-PLS depict that environmentalism significantly influences the ad message credibility and green perceived value, and these constructs significantly affect the green purchase intentions. Furthermore, the green product knowledge moderates the relationship between environmentalism, ad message credibility and green perceived value. Overall, the findings of this study extend the theoretical basis of green purchase intentions by empirically testing the proposed model and provides the limitations and further research directions.

Soil salinity, together with zinc (Zn) and manganese (Mn) deficiencies, adversely affects rice growth and yield. The comparative salinity stress mitigation response of rice to Zn or Mn remains largely unknown. Rice cultivars, viz. Basmati-515 and KSK-282, were grown in saline soil having electrical conductivity (EC) of 7.5 dS m−1 (as control) parallel to EC 7.5 dS m−1 + Zn 3.5 mg kg−1 and EC 7.5 dS m−1 + Mn 3.5 mg kg−1 treatments in a pot experiment. Application of Zn in saline soil decreased (p

This study evaluates the effectiveness of potassium sulphate (K2SO4) fertilization under salt stressed conditions on physiological and biochemical characteristics and sugar contents of two soybean ...

Salinity is a major limiting factor which disrupts the plant physiology as well as reduces the plant growth. Salinity stress can be minimized by potassium application as it regulates the plant grow...

Iron (Fe) deficiency is a major health issue worldwide, which can be alleviated by biofortification. Agronomic biofortification is a practical solution to overcome the Fe deficiency in cereals without sacrificing on yield. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of Fe application on productivity, grain biofortification, and grain quality of bread wheat under conventional and conservation production systems. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with split-plot arrangement where wheat was sown under conventional tillage (CT) and zero tillage (ZT) systems and Fe was applied through various methods (no Fe application, seed priming (0.3% Fe solution), seed coating (250 mg kg−1 seed), basal application (12 kg ha−1), and foliar spray (0.5% Fe solution)). Iron nutrition significantly enhanced the yield and related traits and grain fat and protein contents. Averaged across two years, grain yield improvement from different Fe application methods was in the order of seed priming>basal application>foliar application>seed coating with respective increase of 33%, 28%, 25%, and 21% relative to control treatment. Grain Fe concentration was 65% and 58% higher with Fe foliar application compared with control during 2017–2018 and 2018–2019. Interaction of tillage systems and Fe nutrition highlighted that 1000-grain weight and grain yield were improved, whereas Fe seed priming in ZT system provided maximum 1000-grain weight and grain yield. The Fe application through either method proved to be profitable and the highest benefit-cost ratio was obtained with Fe foliar application. Among tillage systems, the highest net benefits were obtained with ZT. Zero tillage significantly improved the soil microbial biomass carbon, soil microbial biomass nitrogen, and soil organic carbon by 9.25%, 2.5%, and 14%, respectively, compared with CT. In conclusion, Fe seed priming in both tillage systems improved the yield, and proved to be the most cost-effective, whereas foliar application improved the grain Fe concentration in both tillage systems.