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Since the institutionalization of microcredit as the flagship poverty alleviation program, its potential has been under constant scrutiny by practitioners and researchers. This article extends previous work by analyzing two issues: (a) whether microcredit has the potential to alleviate poverty and (b) whether the conclusion drawn from the first issue is sensitive to interest rate variations. We first theoretically show that there is reason to believe that microcredit has the potential to change the fortunes of poor communities. However, the direction of the change in fortunes is uncertain and depends on how costly microfinance institutions’ financial services are perceived by the poor. We then test these theoretical assertions against data collected from 568 individuals from Northern Pakistan. By comparing various sub-groups using Ordinary Least Square and Binary Logistic regression analysis, our results reveal that higher interest rates more than offset the positive effects of microcredit on clients’ income. We also discuss policy implications of the findings. JEL Classification : I30, G21, C61, E64.

To satisfy the electricity needs of a village in Tangi, northwest Pakistan, the present research can design and evaluate the environmental and economical aspects of an optimal hybrid photovoltaic-biogas-hydropower-battery energy sustainable system (PV-BG-HP-BESS). This framework integrates various renewable energy sources, delivering a modern, efficient approach to sustainable energy solutions. The HOMER Pro software is utilized to optimize the most economical and effective hybrid energy system. The results showed that the proposed hybrid system comprising 91.4 kWp PV modules, 19.6 kW hydropower, a 50 kW biogas generator (BG), 36 batteries, and a 60.6 kW converter was the most economical choice. This system, which used the cyclic charging (CC) method, had a cost of energy (COE) of 0.0728 $/kWh and a total net present cost (NPC) of $152,242. The suggested hybrid energy system for rural areas of Pakistan includes photovoltaic (PV), biogas (BG), hydro, and battery components to provide a dependable and sustainable power supply. This system minimizes the need for expensive fossil fuels while simultaneously minimizing environmental impact by lowering pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. The system's annual electricity production is 294,782 kWh, with PV leads at 59.4%, BG at 6.02%, and hydro at 34.6%, ensuring uninterrupted power generation even in remote areas. The unmet load, extra electricity, and capacity shortage illustrate the reliability of the system and make it possible to address rural electrification challenges while supporting sustainable development and economic growth. Moreover, the outcomes of the proposed hybrid system dominate the previous studies in multiple objectives, including cost and sensitivity analysis, when compared.

No abstract available.

Brucellosis is a major threat to public health especially in developing countries including Pakistan. This study reveals the characterisation of Brucella species affecting humans and goats in the Swat region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Blood samples were collected from shepherds and goats and analysed by Rose Bengal precipitation test (RBPT), standard plate agglutination test (SPAT), polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Sanger sequencing of 16S rRNA gene. The findings of the study indicated 24% (36/150) and 11.3% (17/150) positivity for Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis, respectively, in human samples. In samples of goats, 26.66% (40/150) were positive for B. abortus and 16.66% (25/150) samples were positive B. melitensis by SPAT. The species-specific PCR confirmed B. abortus in 24% (36/150) of human samples and 26.66% (17/150) of goat samples by targeting the IS711 locus. The remaining seropositive samples were confirmed as B. melitensis using IS711 M species-specific primer. The sequences of the amplified fragments of the 16S rRNA gene were blasted, and phylogenetic analysis revealed that Brucella species circulating in the Swat district were closely related to B. melitensis and B. abortus reported from India, China, Philippines, and the United States (US) showing the existence of the possible epidemiological linkage among the Brucella species. This study concluded that there was a higher prevalence of B. abortus (26.6%) in humans and goats compared to B. melitensis (16.6%). These results revealed that the Brucella species were circulating in both humans and goats in the study areas. The findings of the study concluded that B. abortus and B. melitensis were circulating in goats and shepherds with a higher prevalence of B. abortus than B. melitensis. Furthermore, the Brucella species identified in Swat were phylogenetically related to the Brucella species reported from India, China, Philippines and the US. Contribution: The proposed study covers the scope of the journal. The species of the genus Brucella affect both animals and shepherds. This study investigates the seroprevalence of brucellosis in shepherds and goats in different geographical areas in the Swat district. The phylogenetic analysis of the Brucella spp. identified in Swat showed close relationships to the Brucella species reported in India, China, Philippines and the US, which shows the possible epidemiological linkages between the Brucella spp.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of Generative leadership (GL) in fostering employees toward green creativity (GrCRT) in tourism and hospitality industry. The present study theorized a model with the help of the theory of componential creativity to investigate GL, PGC, and GC as precursors of GrCRT. In addition to positing the direct associations, the model anticipates the mediation effect of PGC and GC on the association between GL and GrCRT. The data collected from a sample of 380 frontline workers in the hospitality industry of Pakistan assessed by their respective 112 supervisors is analyzed using Process macro. Empirical results confirm that GL significantly fosters employees toward GrCRT. Furthermore, results confirm that psychological green climate (PGC) and green commitment (GC) partially mediate the link between GL-GrCRT. Moreover, the results show that serial mediation is positive and significant. This is maidan study to empirically examine a new construct, such as Generative leadership on green creativity in tourism and hospitality. Further, this study is the first one to study the mediating role of psychological green climate and green commitment on the said relationship and validating the theory of componential creativity. Furthermore, this study would be among the few ones that has examined the serial mediation of psychological green climate and green commitment between GL-GrCRT. This study also make valuable contributions to policy makers in the tourism and hospitality industry to understand how they can reduce the environmental footprints through generative leaders who can encourage employees toward green creativity.

Bamboo is a naturally available, fast growing and renewable resource. Bamboo plants are found all over the world in tropical and non-tropical regions. Asia pacific region is specifically rich in bamboo biodiversity. Due to high energy demand of existing construction materials and scarcity of other naturally available materials like wood, bamboo is a good alternative for construction. This paper reviews the mechanical properties and use of bamboo in construction. The tensile strength of different bamboo species varies in the range 70-210 MPa, compressive strength 20-65 MPa, elastic modulus 2500-17500 MPa, and modulus of rupture 50-200 MPa. Bamboo is a versatile material and can be used in construction in various ways. Bamboo can be engineered to specific need in construction such as laminated and scrimber bamboo. Engineered bamboo are used for various housing purposes such as roofing and flooring. Bamboo culms are often used directly without any alteration as structural members such as beams and columns. Bamboo can also be used as reinforcement in concrete as a replacement to steel. The shear and flexural behavior of bamboo reinforced concrete (BRC) beams is significantly better than plain concrete beams. Bamboo fibers reinforced concrete (BFRC) is a good alternative to existing synthetic fibers reinforced concrete such as glass and steel fibers. Development of standardized testing procedures and structural specifications utilizing existing and future research findings will pave the way towards an extensive use of bamboo in construction industry.

The SARS COV-2 and its variants are spreading around the world at an alarming speed, due to its higher transmissibility and the conformational changes caused by mutations. The resulting COVID-19 pandemic has imposed severe health consequences on human health. Several countries of the world including Pakistan have studied its genome extensively and provided productive findings. In the current study, the mCSM, DynaMut2, and I-Mutant servers were used to analyze the effect of identified mutations on the structural stability of spike protein however, the molecular docking and simulations approaches were used to evaluate the dynamics of the bonding network between the wild-type and mutant spike proteins with furin. We addressed the mutational modifications that have occurred in the spike protein of SARS-COV-2 that were found in 215 Pakistani's isolates of COVID-19 patients to study the influence of mutations on the stability of the protein and its interaction with the host cell. We found 7 single amino acid substitute mutations in various domains that reside in spike protein. The H49Y, N74K, G181V, and G446V were found in the S1 domain while the D614A, V622F, and Q677H mutations were found in the central helices of the spike protein. Based on the observation, G181V, G446V, D614A, and V622F mutants were found highly destabilizing and responsible for structural perturbation. Protein-protein docking and molecular simulation analysis with that of furin have predicted that all the mutants enhanced the binding efficiency however, the V622F mutant has greatly altered the binding capacity which is further verified by the KD value (7.1 E−14) and therefore may enhance the spike protein cleavage by Furin and increase the rate of infectivity by SARS-CoV-2. On the other hand, the total binding energy for each complex was calculated which revealed −50.57 kcal/mol for the wild type, for G181V −52.69 kcal/mol, for G446V −56.44 kcal/mol, for D614A −59.78 kcal/mol while for V622F the TBE was calculated to be −85.84 kcal/mol. Overall, the current finding shows that these mutations have increased the binding of Furin for spike protein and shows that D614A and V622F have significant effects on the binding and infectivity.

Salmonella paratyphi A harbors gall bladder in the human body. It serves as a site of persistence for Salmonella paratyphi A. It is an enteric pathogen which has become resistant to many drugs. Therefore, the current study was designed for the identification and antibiogram analysis of S. paratyphi A, isolated from the gall bladder patients undergone cholecystectomy. It included 250 samples of bile, stone, and tissue of patients. The samples were cultured on blood, macConkey, and Salmonella Shigella media. Further identification was carried out by morphological oxidase test and Analytical Profile Index (API) strips, followed by antibiogram analysis of the isolates. In the current study, twenty-eight (11.2%) paratyphi A were isolated including 10 (10%) from male patients and 18 (12%) from female patients. Furthermore, 96 samples were found to be positive for miscellaneous growth including 53 with S. typhi (21.2%), 13 with Escherichia coli (5.2%), 09 with Klebsiella (3.6%), 07 with Providencia (2.8%), 05 with Pseudomonas (2%), 03 with Proteus (1.2%), and 06 with Staphylococcus aureus (2.4%). The distribution and susceptibility pattern of S. paratyphi A isolates was checked in different types of clinical specimens including bile, stones, tissue, bile/stones, bile/tissue, stones/tissue, and bile/stone/tissue. S. paratyphi A was distributed as follows: bile (11), stones (5), tissue (3), bile/ stones (4), stones/ tissue (1), bile/tissue (1), and bile/stones/tissue (3). The results of the antibiogram analysis found that the isolates of Paratyphi A were resistant to sulfamethoxazole 23 (82.14%), cefixime 23 (82.14%), ceftriaxone (rocephin) 20 (71.42%), augmentin 19 (67.85%), and azithromycin 18 (64.28%). The increased susceptibility of these isolates was towards meronem 28 (100%), imipenem 28 (100%), cefoperazon + sulbactam (sulzone) 25 (89.28%), and amikacin 23 (82.14%). The current study signifies the use of the most susceptible and effective antibiotic options for gall bladder diseases complicated by S. paratyphi A, which showed resistance to ceftriaxone (rocephin), cefixime, sulfamethoxazole, azithromycin, and augmentin, while sensitivity to meropenem, imipenem, cefoperazone + sulbactam (sulzone), and amikacin. It makes the latter a better choice for treatment against the gall stone disease complicated with S. paratyphi A infection.

According to the constitution of Pakistan, the state is responsible for the provision of necessities of life to its citizens whenever their livelihood is permanently or temporarily threatened. COVID-19 and its associated lockdowns were a series of events where amenities of life around the world were seriously endangered. Especially, hard hit were the small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs (SMEs) of rural Pakistan. To quantitatively assess the social and economic impact of COVID-19, we interviewed the local microenterprise owners in rural Pakistan from January to February 2021 and then June 2021. Mean comparison tests were estimated for pre- and post-COVID-19 periods. Results reveal that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly and negatively affected wellbeing of micro and small entrepreneurs in the regions as the income of most of the sampled entrepreneurs significantly decreased during the pandemic. Disaggregated consumption analysis however revealed that nominal consumption of food, clothing, energy, health, and education all increased, except for communication, during the pandemic. Furthermore, the regression analysis revealed that changes in income, occupation, borrowing during COVID-19, and family type of the respondents were significant factors in mitigating the effects of COVID-19. Based on the findings, policy recommendations are also spelled out in the last section.

This paper presents the outcome of a research study aimed at the performance evaluation of rice husk ash as partial replacement of cement in sandcrete blocks used as masonry units. Rice husk from rice cultivated in the North of Pakistan was used in the study. It was first combusted in a locally manufactured incinerator to convert it into rice husk ash (RHA) and then finely ground to powder form for use with cement. Blocks of size 305 mm×203 mm×152 mm were molded with 0, 10, 30, 40 and 50 % replacement of cement with RHA to find compressive strength at 3, 7, 14 and 28 days age of curing. The results showed that water requirement for the required workability of the sandcrete increased with increase in RHA content whereas compressive strength decreased with increase in RHA content. However, the comparison of compressive strengths of RHA sandcrete blocks with the strength of commercial concrete blocks available in the market and used as masonry units in Pakistan showed that sandcrete blocks having sand to binder ratio of 1:8 and using up to 40% of RHA as replacement of cement gave larger compressive strength than that of commercial concrete blocks and only marginally lower strength for 50% replacement.

Background: Stress in the working environment occur when there is imbalance between demand and ability of physiotherapists to fulfill those demands. Objective: This study aims to find out the stressors causing stress at the workplace and to determine the association of stress experienced by physiotherapists with their age. Methodology: A total of 100 physiotherapists from Faisalabad was included in this study to see the effect of workplace stressors in relation to their age, by giving them questionnaires. Simple Random sampling technique was used in this study and written informed consent was taken from all the participants. Criteria included age between 24-60, working hours 4 to 7 and experience of 1 year or more prominent. Results: Caseload Quantity, complexity of patients, staff shortage and increased work demand were identified as main workplace stressors. Physiotherapists aged below 25 years (junior physiotherapists) have experienced higher symptoms of the stress in their working environment as compared to senior and senior most physiotherapist (X2 = 9.752, p

This study examined the relationship between Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) and Corporate Social Responsibility Performance (CSRP). Furthermore, it explored the effectiveness of chief executive characteristics as a moderator in the CFP-CSRP nexus. We employed a dynamic sysGMM regression model on 2,439 firm-year observations of Chinese firms. The results reveal that CFP (market-based) has a significant positive impact on CSRP. However, CFP (historical) is significantly negatively related to CSRP. Furthermore, the study found that CEO turnover and CEO duality negatively moderate the CFP-CSRP relationship, while CEO as CFO positively moderates this relationship. The findings have substantial implications for all stakeholders, including investors, CEOs, corporate regulators, and policymakers.

Introduction: Cardiovascular complications are considered as the main cause of mortality in patients with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) includes disorders of the Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH) of the heart which is the most frequent cardiac alteration in ESRD. Galectin-3 (GAL-3), a β-galactoside-binding protein has been proposed to be a new clinical biomarker that reflects cardiac fibrosis in patients with Heart Failure (HF). Aim: To evaluate the relationship between GAL-3 and biochemical parameters in Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) patients with and without LVH. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 45 patients (25 women and 20 men) with ESRD who were categorised as having CVD with (n=12) or without (n=33) LVH. Demographic, biochemical and clinical characteristics of 45 patients were analysed. The relationship of plasma GAL-3 levels was analysed with the biochemical parameters for both the groups of patients. For comparison between groups, Student unpaired t-test was used for the data of normal distribution while Mann-Whitney test was used for data of non-Gaussian distribution. Pearson’s correlation test was performed to examine various correlations. Results: Significantly high number (83.3%) of female patients were observed in ESRD with LVH. The groups did not differ significantly in their demographic, and biochemical and clinical parameters. There was significant increase in Left Ventricular End-Diastolic Diameters (LVEDD), Left Ventricular (LV) mass and LV mass index in patients with LVH as compared to the patients without LVH. The levels of GAL-3 showed slight increase (91±23.98 ng/mL) levels in LVH patients as compared to the patients without LVH (83.68±32.8 ng/mL). Exponential positive correlation between serum levels of GAL-3 and creatinine in ESRD patients without LVH (r=0.563, p=0.001). GAL-3 also showed positive correlations with urea without (r=0.563, p=0.001) as well as and uric acid (r=0.416, p=0.0178) for ESRD patients without LVH. However, GAL-3 showed no association with uric acid and urea (r=0.04487, p=0.896; r=0.2383, p=0.48) in ESRD patients with LVH. Conclusion: GAL-3 positively correlated to the biochemical parameters in ESRD patients. Patients with LVH only showed positive correlation between GAL-3 and creatinine. Moreover, GAL-3 could not be used as the biomarker because it did not correlate with established diagnostic parameter like LV mass and LV mass index. Hence, in this study GAL-3 is not a potential clinical biomarker for the progression of cardiovascular complications in ESRD patients. Overall, these data reflect the need for further investigation of GAL-3 to HF in patients with ESRD.

Environment has become a major social problem for a greater number of people than ever before in recent years. As a consequence, in-depth research on green marketing and green purchasing has increased significantly. Although academic researchers have examined antecedents of green purchasing behavior, there still is room for further progress. One such area that needs further investigation is the role of generativity on green purchasing behavior because sustainability requires a long-term perspective that is embedded in the concept of generativity. This study examines the impact of generativity on consumer green purchasing behavior. Generativity refers to individuals’ beliefs that their current behaviors have consequences that extend into future generations. Moreover, the moderating roles of man-nature orientation and perceived behavioral control on generativity-green purchasing behavior link are also examined. Based on moral norm-activation theory, value-belief-norm theory, and theory of planned behavior, hypotheses were developed. Data were collected from a homogenous sample of 416 university students of four faculties through the non-probability sampling technique. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Results show that generative consumers are more likely to show green purchasing behavior. Man-nature orientation and perceived behavioral control positively moderate the relationship between generativity and green purchasing behavior. Findings revealed that consumers who possess a greater concern for future generations, and high on man-nature orientation and perceived behavioral control constitute a segment that will be more likely to engage in green purchasing behavior, enabling effective targeting of marketing communications.

Since the last few decades, the firms have shifted their focus towards risk management from traditional risk management practices to enterprise risk management. For this purpose, the current study is designed to investigate the critical firm's characteristics that influence firms to adopt enterprise risk management practices. The data for this study comprises of 65 non-financial firms during the period 2009 to 2017. Binary Logistic and robust least square method was administered to determine the relationship among variables. Empirical results revealed that large firms, firms with a higher return on assets, and firms having more independent directors on board leads towards the implementation of enterprise risk management. The study also found a significant encouraging relationship between implementing of this risk management and Tobin's Q both in the short and long run. The implementation of an enterprise risk management system augments the performance of the firm soon after the induction of this system as revealed by the results.

Pirin (PIR) protein is highly conserved in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Recently, it has been identified that PIR positively regulates breast cancer cell proliferation, xenograft tumor formation, and metastasis, through an enforced transition of G1/S phase of the cell cycle by upregulation of E2F1 expression at the transcriptional level. Keeping in view the importance of PIR in many crucial cellular processes in humans, we used a variety of computational tools to identify non-synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the PIR gene that are highly deleterious for the structure and function of PIR protein. Out of 173 SNPs identified in the protein, 119 are non-synonymous, and by consensus, 24 mutations were confirmed to be deleterious in nature. Mutations such as V257A, I28T, and I264S were unveiled as highly destabilizing due to a significant stability fold change on the protein structure. This observation was further established through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation that demonstrated the role of the mutation in protein structure destability and affecting its internal dynamics. The findings of this study are believed to open doors to investigate the biological relevance of the mutations and drugability potential of the protein.

Abstract Effect of Trichoderma harzianum was investigated on plant growth and inhibitory activity against Phythium ultimum and Phytopthora capsici under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Data under lab conditions revealed that mycelial growth of both pathogens were inhibited by T. harzianum in vitro. The effect of T. harzianum on different plant growth parameters was assessed in the presence of P. ultimum and P. capsici. Fresh and dry shoot weight was reduced by both fungal strains. The fresh shoot weight was decreased by 38.8 and 44.4% in case of P. capsici and P. ultimum, respectively. T. harzianum improved the overall plant growth in the presence of P. ultimum and P. capsici. Histopathological observation of P. ultimum and P. capsici infected tissue of the root clearly indicated that both severely affected the epidermis and vascular bundle of the host plant. T. harzianum reduced the size of lesions caused by the two pathogens. Observation of hyphae interaction of the T. harzianum with pathogens demonstrated that it inhibited the entry of both pathogens to the vascular bundle of the host tissue. Furthermore, no effect was observed on the vascular bundle, pith and cortex of treated host plant inoculated with T. harzianum and pathogens.

In the present study Mentha arvensis medaited Magnesium oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by novel green route followed by advanced characterization via XRD, FTIR, UV, SEM, TEM, DLS and TGA. The mean grain size of 32.4 nm and crystallite fcc morphology were confirmed by X-ray diffractive analysis. Scanning and Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed the spherical and elliptical morphologies of the biosynthesized nanoparticles. Particle surface charge of −16.1 mV were determined by zeta potential and zeta size of 30–120 nm via dynamic light scattering method. Fourier transform spectroscopic analysis revealed the possible involvement of functional groups in the plant extract in reduction of Mg2+ ions to Mg0. Furthermore, the antioxidant, anti-Alzheimer, anti-cancer, and anti-H. pylori activities were performed. The results revealed that MgO-NPs has significant anti-H. pyloric potential by giving ZOI of 17.19 ± 0.83 mm against Helicobacter felis followed by Helicobacter suis. MgO-NPs inhibited protein kinase enzyme up to 12.44 ± 0.72% at 5 mg/mL and thus showed eminent anticancer activity. Significant free radicals scavenging and hemocompatability was also shown by MgO-NPs. MgO-NPs also displayed good inhibition potential against Hela cell lines with maximum inhibition of 49.49 ± 1.18 at 400 µg/mL. Owing to ecofriendly synthesis, non-toxic and biocompatible nature, Mentha arvensis synthesized MgO-NPs can be used as potent antimicrobial agent in therapeutic applications.

Background: There is a high prevalence of smoking among people with severe mental ill health (SMI). Helping people with SMI to quit smoking could improve their health and longevity, and reduce health inequalities. However, those with SMI are less likely to access and engage with routine smoking cessation services than the general population. Objectives: To compare the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a bespoke smoking cessation (BSC) intervention with usual stop smoking services for people with SMI. Design: A pragmatic, two-arm, individually randomised controlled trial. Setting: Primary care and secondary care mental health services in England. Participants: Smokers aged ≥ 18 years with SMI who would like to cut down on or quit smoking. Interventions: A BSC intervention delivered by mental health specialists trained to deliver evidence-supported smoking cessation interventions compared with usual care. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was self-reported, CO-verified smoking cessation at 12 months. Smoking-related secondary outcomes were self-reported smoking cessation, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence and the Motivation to Quit questionnaire. Other secondary outcomes were Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items, Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment-7 items and 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey, to assess mental health and body mass index measured at 6 and 12 months post randomisation. Results: The trial randomised 526 people (265 to the intervention group, 261 to the usual-care group) aged 19 to 72 years (mean 46 years). About 60% of participants were male. Participants smoked between 3 and 100 cigarettes per day (mean 25 cigarettes per day) at baseline. The intervention group had a higher rate of exhaled CO-verified smoking cessation at 6 and 12 months than the usual-care group [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 12 months: 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9 to 2.8; adjusted OR 6 months: 2.4, 95% CI 1.2 to 4.7]. This was not statistically significant at 12 months (p = 0.12) but was statistically significant at 6 months (p = 0.01). In total, 111 serious adverse events were reported (69 in the BSC group and 42 in the usual-care group); the majority were unplanned hospitalisations due to a deterioration in mental health (n = 98). The intervention is likely (57%) to be less costly but more effective than usual care; however, this result was not necessarily associated with participants’ smoking status. Limitations: Follow-up was not blind to treatment allocation. However, the primary outcome included a biochemically verified end point, less susceptible to observer biases. Some participants experienced difficulties in accessing nicotine replacement therapy because of changes in service provision. Efforts were made to help participants access nicotine replacement therapy, but this may have affected participants’ quit attempt. Conclusions: People with SMI who received the intervention were more likely to have stopped smoking at 6 months. Although more people who received the intervention had stopped smoking at 12 months, this was not statistically significant. Future work: Further research is needed to establish how quitting can be sustained among people with SMI. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN72955454. Funding: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 23, No. 50. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Marine rhodophyte polysaccharides have a wide range of described biological properties with nontoxic characteristics, and show great potential in prebiotics and the functional foods industries. However, there is a virtual lack of Gracilaria blodgettii polysaccharides (GBP) profiling and their bioactivities. This study was designed while keeping in view the lack of physical and chemical characterization of GBP. This polysaccharide was also not previously tested for any bioactivities. A linear random coil conformation was observed for GBP, which was found to be a polysaccharide. A significant sulfate (w/w, 9.16%) and 3,6-anhydrogalactose (AHG, w/w, 17.97%) content was found in GBP. The significant difference in its setting (27.33 °C) and melting (64.33 °C) points makes it resistant to increasing heat. This, in turn, points to its utility in industrial scale processing and in enhancing the shelf-life of products under high temperatures. A radical scavenging activity of 19.80%, 25.42% and 8.80% was noted for GBP (3 mg/mL) in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2’-azino-bis (ABTS) and hydroxyl radical (HO) scavenging assays, respectively. Therefore, the findings suggest that Gracilaria blodgettii polysaccharides display a good antioxidant potential and may have potential applications in the functional food industry.

In this work, meshless methods based on a radial basis function (RBF) are applied for the solution of two-dimensional steady-state heat conduction problems with nonlocal multi-point boundary conditions (NMBC). These meshless procedures are based on the multiquadric (MQ) RBF and its modified version (i.e., integrated MQ RBF). The meshless method is extended to the NMBC and compared with the standard collocation method (i.e., Kansa’s method). In extended methods, the interior and the boundary solutions are approximated with a sum of RBF series, while in Kansa’s method, a single series of RBF is considered. Three different sorts of solution domains are considered in which Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions are specified on some part of the boundary while the unknown function values of the remaining portion of the boundary are related to a discrete set of interior points. The influences of NMBC on the accuracy and condition number of the system matrix associated with the proposed methods are investigated. The sensitivity of the shape parameter is also analyzed in the proposed methods. The performance of the proposed approaches in terms of accuracy and efficiency is confirmed on the benchmark problems.

The different parts of Physalis philadelphica were evaluated for the antifungal, anti-oxidant and HPLC assay. The methanol extract of leaf showed inhibitory activity against Pencillium digitatum (58% ZI), Aspergillus flavus (95% ZI) and Rhizopus oryzae (96% ZI) at a concentration of 400 ppm. Strong anti-oxidant activities were found in different parts of the plant. The effects of different extraction solvents on the anti-oxidant activity and antifungal activity of the medicinal extracts were observed. The methanol extract from the leaf, stem, fruit and water fractions from the calyx exhibited strong anti-oxidant activity of 94, 89, 88 and 93% respectively. The ethyl acetate extract was found as a best solvent for the recovery of gallic acid in HPLC assay. No correlation was observed between the gallic acid and anti-oxidant capacity of the extracts. Video Clip of Methodology: 11 min 13 sec: Full Screen Alternate

Minerals are essential for ruminants affecting significantly the production of grazing livestock. Iron level in forages, soil, and blood plasma of the small ruminants (goat and sheep) was investigated in three districts of Punjab. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to determine the concentration of iron in collected samples. The results revealed that the mean Fe concentrations in soil of districts Sargodha, Mianwali, and Bhakhar were significantly varied and ranged from 21.85 to 23.78, 28.45 to 31.2, and 18.079 to 24.33 mg/kg, respectively. The Fe level in soil of Mianwali significantly varied and was higher than Sargodha and Bhakkar. The mean Fe concentration in forages which were used for feeding purpose were significantly varied and found between 10.95-14.49, 23.63-25.65, and 6.616-9.45 mg/kg for Sargodha, Mianwali, and Bhakhar, respectively. The mean Fe concentrations in blood plasma of goat which consumed the contaminated forages were 8.5026-11.763 mg/L in district Sargodha, 19.77-20.19 mg/L in Mianwali, and 5.508-5.858mg/L in Bhakkar. In blood plasma of sheep, the residual levels of Fe in districts Sargodha, Mianwali, and Bhakhar were ranged from 9.987 to 12.455, 15.8 to 19.785, and 3.425 to 6.383 mg/L, respectively. This study provides the data of metals effected by different sites and also their mobility from low to higher trophic level which enables us to study the iron toxicity in different trophic levels, and we recommend different safe limits and treatment in case of low and high metal profile., (© 2021. This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

The use of wastewater in irrigation weakens the beneficial properties of the soil and leads to a threat to food safety standards. The present research was designed to explore the cobalt toxicity associated with the ingestion of wastewater irrigated wheat. Wheat plants of five different varieties were collected from 7 different sites of Punjab, Pakistan, which were irrigated with three different sources of water. The sampling was done in two cropping years. The cobalt values in water, soil and wheat samples (root, shoot, grain) ranged from 0.46 to 1.24 mg/l, 0.15 to 1.20, 0.29 to 1.30, 0.08 to 0.76 and 0.12 to 0.57 mg/kg, respectively. All the water samples showed high cobalt concentration than the maximum permissible value. However, all the soil and wheat plant samples were found within the maximum allowable range. The high cobalt concentration in irrigating water showed that the continuous usage of such type of water may lead to cobalt toxicity in living organisms with the passage of time and may results in severe health risks.

The aim of this study was to determine and compare the effect of the chemical fertilizer and organic fertilizers such as cow manure and poultry manure applications on the heavy metal/metalloid accumulation in the wheat samples. A field experiment was conducted using a complete randomized block design with three replicates per treatment to observe the impact of organic and chemical fertilizers on the heavy metal/metalloid accumulation in a wheat variety (Lasani-08). Heavy metal/metalloid concentrations in the root, shoot, and grains of wheat samples were determined using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). In addition, the growth parameters of wheat samples were assigned. Results indicated that morphological parameters showed maximum growth under chemical fertilizer treatment. The heavy metal/metalloid concentrations in the wheat grains ranged from 12.95 to 25.83, 1.03 to 1.11, 16.83 to 20.26, 0.92 to 0.98, 0.504 to 1.997, 2.24 to 5.98, and 0.493 to 1.154 mg/kg for Zn, Co, Fe, Cd, Pb, Cu, and Cr, respectively. All heavy metal/metalloid values in the present study were within the safe limits reported by the FAO/WHO except for Pb. However, the health risk index determined for all metals are higher in the wheat grown with chemical fertilizer applications, but it has been shown that the consumption of wheat grown with organic and chemical applications is not hazardous for health.

In the present study, the outcome of sewage, canal, and ground water on the chromium (Cr) concentration in corn and ultimately in chicken body parts was reported. To evaluate Cr level, atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer AA 6300, Shimadzu Japan) was used. The highest level of Cr in grains (0.50 ± 0.05 mg/kg), shoots (0.90 ± 0.01 mg/kg), and roots (1.01 ± 0.02 mg/kg) were noticed in the Sadaf variety watered with canal water. The least concentration of Cr was recorded in grains (0.07 ± 0.01 mg/kg), shoots (0.59 ± 0.01 mg/kg), and roots (0.71 ± 0.01 mg/kg) of Pearl variety irrigated with ground water. The maximum concentration of chromium in the blood (1.68 ± 0.02 mg/kg) and bones (1.26 ± 0.24 mg/kg) was observed in chicks fed on Millet Research Institute (MMRI) grains reared with the sewage water. The lowest concentration was observed in the blood (1.60 ± 0.04 mg/kg) and in bone (0.80 ± 0.01 mg/kg) of the chicks fed Pearl variety grains reared with canal water. In the second experiment, the maximum content of Cr was determined in the blood (0.74 ± 0.04 mg/kg) and bones (1.76 ± 0.02 ppm) of chicks consuming Sadaf variety grains reared with canal water and the least concentration in the blood (0.26 ± 0.03 mg/kg) and bones (1.64 ± 0.01 mg/kg) was determined on the consumption of the Pearl variety grains reared with ground water. A similar trend was observed in other body organs. It was concluded that polluted water causes higher accumulation levels of Cr in plant parts and even in animals' body parts after the utilization of such plants.

The study was carried out to evaluate the health risks associated with accumulation of cadmium in the different genotypes of wheat, grown in agricultural regions of Punjab, Pakistan. Five genotypes irrigated with three varied water sources were selected randomly from each region. Among all sources of water, types of soil, and grain samples, the cadmium (Cd) quantities were found (2.24-2.82 mg/L, 1.75-4.16 mg/kg, 0.86-1.90, respectively), exceeding the maximum permissible limits (0.01 mg/L, 1.1 mg/kg, 0.2 mg/kg, respectively) described by FAO/WHO. The pollution load index (PLI) exhibited by all of the samples was higher than 1.00, the permissible limit; however, other factors including bioaccumulation, translocation, bio-concentration, daily intake, and enrichment values of Cd were less than 1.00. Moreover, the health risk index for cadmium in all types of wheat grain samples was less than 1.00. The study concluded that the continuous use of wastewater resources may lead to the accumulation of cadmium in the vital body organs that may cause severe health hazards.

At present, the forage production is the foundation of beef cattle and sheep industries in graziery. This study was designed to assess the toxic metal composition of the conventional pastures and non-conventional pastures in consideration of mineral needs of ruminants. At all the surveyed sites, these mean soil metal concentrations were measured to be higher or lower than the referred threshold levels. Specifically, these concentrations of Co, Pb, and Cr were observed as much higher than the referred threshold levels of 0.01-0.06 mg/kg (Co), 0.05 mg/kg (Pb), and 0.02 mg/kg (Cr). On the contrary, the mean soil concentrations of Cd were observed to be relatively lower than the threshold levels of 0.50-10 mg/kg at all sites. The estimated mean concentrations of Co, Cd, Pb, and Cr in both conventional and non-conventional forage species were measured to be lower than the referred threshold levels. The supplementation of these metals for livestock grazing from pasture was unnecessary based on these findings. However, further research should be conducted for ecological safety and conservation of ruminant forages, so that both the conventional and non-conventional pastures are employed as livestock friendly consuming forages.

The accumulation of heavy metals by crops irrigated with wastewater has been considered as a serious environmental problem in many developing countries, where the wastewater irrigation has emerged as a common practice. In this research, we were concerned with the highly toxic metal lead (Pb) in water, agricultural soils, and wheat crops, and the possible risk on human health in the peripheral agricultural regions of Punjab, Pakistan. Various types of irrigated water (ground, sewage, industrial), soil, and wheat plant (root, shoot, grain) samples of five different varieties (Seher-2006, Punjab-2011, Faislabad-2008, Watan, and Galaxy-2013) were collected from seven different districts and then pooled up to make one composite sample and analyzed for Cd concentration. The various pollution and mobility indices (pollution load index, enrichment factor, daily intake of metal, health risk index, translocation factor, bioaccumulation factor, and bio-concentration factor) were also calculated. The descending order for Pb concentration was as follows: water>soil>wheat plant. The range of concentration of Pb in all types of water, soil, and wheat plant (root, shoot, grains) samples was (7.05-7.83 mg/l), (6.32-7.74 mg/kg), (3.23-4.82, 1.14-2.75, 0.09-0.51 mg/kg), respectively. The concentration of Pb in all types of water samples exceeded the maximum permissible limit. There were values found to be < 1.00 in all the pollution and mobility indices for all types of samples. These results reveal that high levels of Pb in irrigated water may pollute the soil and wheat plants of these regions in the near future, if various control measures have not been taken. It may pose a great health risk to the local human and animal populations. Preventive measures should be taken to reduce heavy metal pollution of irrigation water and soils to protect both human and animal health in various regions of Punjab, Pakistan.

The present investigation was performed in different district of Punjab to determine the chromium level in soil, forages, and blood plasma of the small ruminants (goat and sheep). The results showed that the mean concentrations of chromium in the soil of Sargodha, Mianwali, and Bhakkar districts were ranged from 1.8 to 2.3, 3.01 to 4.99, and 2.04 to 2.87 mg/kg, respectively. The chromium level was higher in Mianwali compared with Sargodha and Bhakkar. The mean concentrations of chromium in forages which were used for feeding purposes were found between 0.672 and 1.631, 1.493 and 2.612, and 0.7804 and 1.047 mg/kg for Sargodha, Mianwali, and Bhakkar, respectively. The mean concentrations of chromium in blood plasma of goat which consumed the contaminated forages were between 0.666 and 1.269 mg/L in Sargodha, 0.657 and 0.752 mg/L in Mianwali, and 1.39 and 2.37 mg/L in Bhakkar. In blood plasma of sheep, the residual levels of chromium in the districts Sargodha, Mianwali, and Bhakkar were ranged from 0.673 to 1.384, 0.83 to 1.086, and 1.496 to 3.611 mg/L, respectively. In the present research, there was a higher concentration of chromium in blood plasma of sheep from Bhakkar and the lowest was in Sargodha. The chromium level in blood samples was found to be higher than the tolerable level of 1.0 mg/L in all districts. In light of these results, it was concluded that chromium levels in the soil and forages of all sites were present within the safe limit while in blood samples of sheep and goats were found to be above the acceptable limit. Sheep and goats also consume water from river, streams, and ponds and other contaminated water sources. So it might be the reason of higher level of chromium in their blood plasma. Hence, the proper monitoring of study sites will be necessary to prevent the excessive accumulation of chromium in ruminants in the near future.

Mineral fertilizers and organic manure are used as soil amender to enhance the mineral status of the soil. These fertilizers contain trace metals besides providing macro and micronutrients. The present study was performed to observe the effect of mineral fertilizers, poultry manure and cow manure on trace metal content of soil and various parts (root, shoot, and grains) of maize plant (Zea mays L.). The analysis of metals was performed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AA-6300 Shimadzu Japan). The highest level of Pb, Fe, Ni and Cu was observed in the root as 0.36-0.55, 70.41-83.03, 4.98-7.44 and 2.94-4.43 mg kg - 1 , respectively. The highest level of Cd, Zn and Mn was determined in grains as 0.44-1.59, 28.05-46.39 and 26.24-46.57 mg kg - 1 , respectively. The values of all metals were found within their permissible limit given by FAO/WHO except for the Cd. The interactive use of mineral and organic fertilizers enhanced the level of trace metals in maize as compared to their sole application. In the present findings, the health risk index for all metals was less than 1 in all treatments. So, it was concluded that the level of metals in poultry manure, cow manure and mineral fertilizer treated maize did not pose any potential threat to the consumers.

The cheapest way of disposal of wastewater is its use in agriculture. The pressure in using fresh water resources may be alleviated by the domestic wastewater in agriculture. Wastewater holds significant quantity of plant nutrients like N, P, Ca, K, Co, Zn, and Mn. Therefore, it increases the crop yield. Triticum aestivum is the staple food crop for Pakistan, where it is an important caloric source. It is grown successfully in rain fed areas of the country as well as in irrigated areas with minimum water without losing its production potential. In this study, cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), and cobalt (Co) were evaluated; the effect of wastewater was studied on wheat variety (Punjab-2011) by applying different treatments of wastewater. In the comparison between five different treatments, in soil, Fe was the highest. The chromium in the current findings exceeded the permissible limit (0.03 mg/kg) in wheat grains. The reason of high Cr concentration might be due to the increased usage of wastewater for long periods. The level of pollution or the factor of contamination was the lowest for Zn and was highest for Cd in all treatments. Chromium has the lowest value of health risk index while Cd has the highest value in all treatments, indicating that exposed population is unlikely to experience obvious adverse effects on utilization of these contaminated grains of wheat.

The present study was carried out to ascertain the level of various metals in wheat variety (Chagi-4) irrigated with diverse doses of wastewater. The concentration of metals in soil, water and wheat grain samples was examined through an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. In wheat grains, the mean values of metals (mg/kg) varied from 0.06 to 0.2 for Pb, 1.2 to 1.6 for Cd, 0.6 to 0.9 for Ni, 0.8 to 1.6 for Fe, 0.4 to 1.0 for Mn, 0.7 to 1.4 for Cu, 0.3 to 0.5 for Cr, 0.1 to 0.9 for Zn and 0.03 to 0.2 for Co, correspondingly. Measured concentrations were found within the permissible limit given by FAO/WHO except for cadmium whose concentration exceeded an acceptable limit 0.2 mg/kg suggested by FAO/WHO. It might be due to high soil pH, which hinders the efficient transfer of metals between different mediums. Wastewater irrigated soil, wheat and water had high metal values, but the low rate of transfer was noticed from soil to grains. Higher bioconcentration factor was obtained for manganese and cadmium; cadmium had even higher pollution load index, which could indicate the contamination status of soil. Therefore, regular monitoring of wastewater is necessary to prevent the excessive build-up of metals.

The irrigation with sewage water can be useful if it has no negative effects on food crop yield, soil pollution, and health of humans. However, it includes various types of contaminants like heavy metals that pollute the soil and crops. In this regard, the aim of this study was to evaluate the possible health risks of heavy metals in forages. Forages both of summer and winter were grown with different water treatments (sewage water and tap water) in Department of Botany, University of Sargodha. The concentration of iron (Fe) in water, soil, and plant samples was determined. The Fe values in tap and sewage water were observed as 0.090 and 0.115 mg/L, respectively. The highest mean concentration of Fe was 9.608 mg/kg in the soil where Trifolium alexandrinum is grown, and the lowest mean concentration was 0.154 mg/kg which occurred in the soil where Trifolium resupinatum is grown in winter. The maximum mean concentration of Fe in the root samples of plants was observed as 2.483 mg/kg in Pennisetum typhoideum, and the minimum mean concentration occurred as 0.390 mg/kg in Zea mays grown in summer. The maximum bioconcentration factor value of Fe was observed for T. resupinatum (5.259) grown in winter. The maximum pollution load index value of Fe was observed for T. alexandrinum (0.1688). The maximum value of daily intake of metals was observed as 0.0731 in Medicago sativa, and the maximum health risk index value was determined as 0.1091 in P. typhoideum.

The trace metal pollution in the environment is a highly concerned issue in these days. One of the important causes of trace metal pollution is the exhaust gases released from the vehicles on the roads. These dangerous gases pose life-threatening effects on the forage plants grown along the roadside as these plants are at direct risk to these trace metals. The aims of the present study were to determine the cobalt (Co) concentrations in soil, forages, and blood plasma of the buffaloes and to evaluate the Co deficiencies and toxicities in these samples. All samples were collected from six sites (Faisalabad roadside, Bhalwal roadside, Shaheenabad roadside, Mateela roadside, 50 Chak roadside, and Dera Saudi-control) of Sargodha city. The Co concentrations in these samples were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AA-6300 Shimadzu Japan). In soil samples, Co level ranged from 1.958 to 3.457 mg/kg in the six sampling sites. The highest Co level was observed at site 6 and the lowest at site 2. In forage samples, Co level ranged from 0.770 to 2.309 mg/kg in the six sampling sites. The highest Co level was observed at site 3 and the lowest at site 2. In blood plasma samples, Co level ranged from 2.644 to 4.927 mg/kg in the six sampling sites. The highest Co level was observed at site 1 and the lowest at site 3. The results showed higher Co values in the samples collected from the site IV while the bioconcentration factor for forage-soil was found highest in the samples collected from Site III. On the other hand, a correlation was found positively significant when soil and forage were correlated, and it was found negatively significant when blood and forage were correlated.