ABSTRACT This study is in line with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to evaluate the post-Paris Agreement (COP21) through technological innovations and carbon pricing in a panel of 39 R&D economies from 1995 to 2018. The results show that sustainable technological innovations and smart applications of insurance and financial services help decrease GHG emissions in the lowest to highest quantile distribution. In contrast, air transportation freight, air freight pricing, and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows escalate GHG emissions due to unsustainable logistics activities, inefficient freight pricing, and dirty production, which confirmed the ‘pollution haven’ hypothesis across countries. The impact of air freight revenues has a differential impact on GHG emissions in the different quantiles’ distribution, as in the lowest quantiles (i.e., τ0.2 to τ0.4), air freight revenues increase GHG, whereas, at the highest quantiles’ distribution (i.e., τ0.9) emissions decrease. Thus, the viability of air freight revenues is further assessed using Panel Granger causality and panel innovation matrix. The results show the bidirectional causality between i) air freight pricing and GHG emissions, ii) air transportation freight (and freight pricing, freight revenues, FDI) and technology innovations, iii) FDI and air freight revenues, while there is a unidirectional causality running from i) insurance and financial services to GHG emissions, ii) GHG emissions to technological innovations and FDI inflows, and iii) air transportation freight to FDI inflows.

RESUMEN Este estudio está en línea con la Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático (CMNUCC) para evaluar el Acuerdo post-París (COP21) a través de innovaciones tecnológicas y fijación de precios del carbono en un panel de 39 economías de I + D desde 1995 hasta 2018. Los resultados muestran que las innovaciones tecnológicas y las aplicaciones inteligentes de los servicios financieros y de seguros ayudan a reducir las emisiones de GEI en la distribución de cuantiles desde más bajos a más altos. Por el contrario, el transporte aéreo de mercancías, los precios del transporte aéreo y el flujo de inversión extranjera directa (IED) aumentan las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero debido a actividades logísticas no sostenibles, precios de transporte ineficientes y producción sucia, confirmando la hipótesis del ‘paraíso de contaminación’ en todos los países. Los ingresos por flete aéreo tienen un impacto diferencial en las emisiones de GEI en la distribución de cuantiles, ya que en los cuantiles más bajos (τ0.2 a τ0.4) los ingresos por flete aéreo aumentan emisiones de GEI, mientras que en los cuantiles más altos (τ0.9), las disminuyen. Por lo tanto, la viabilidad de los ingresos por transporte aéreo se evalúa a mayor profundidad utilizando la matriz de innovación de panel y causalidad de Panel Granger. Los resultados muestran causalidad bidireccional entre i) los precios del flete aéreo y las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, ii) el flete del transporte aéreo (y el precio del flete, los ingresos por flete, la IED) y las innovaciones tecnológicas, iii) la IED y los ingresos del flete aéreo, mientras que existe una causalidad unidireccional desde i) seguros y servicios financieros a emisiones de GEI, ii) emisiones de GEI a innovaciones tecnológicas y flujos de IED, y iii) fletes de transporte aéreo a flujos de IED.

Abstract This work was aimed to analyze metronidazole tablet for its properties by explaining the role of compaction and compression related to its process of manufacturing in round and oblong shape tablets. The desirable features of a tablet that includes a known value of hardness, friability, disintegration, weight variation and dissolution was carefully evaluated. The weight variation test performed on different days for round and oblong shape tablets. All tablets of round shape were within limits of +/- 5% (USP, BP) however some of oblong shape tablets deviating from +/-5% limit. The hardness and friability tests indicate that oblong shape tablets are more prone to breaking during handling and transportation while round shape tablets are well within limits of hardness and friability tests i.e. within 1% and 0.8% (USP, BP). The disintegration time of both round and oblong shape tablets are nearly same and within the limits. The dissolution profile of both round and oblong shape tablets were determined according to USP. The obtained dissolution profile of both shaped tablets were evaluated and compared using two different statistical methods, the fit factor (f1 and f2) and the dissolution efficiency (DE) model. The values obtained were 9 and 64 for f1 and f2 respectively. The DE was found to be 63 and 72 for round and oblong shape. The experimental findings showed that change in shape of tablet affect different physicochemical parameters. In addition, tablet shape enhances tablets mechanical properties, packaging, handling ease and the aesthetic appearance of the tablet.

In post disastrous situations, coordinated and integrated interventions aimed at relief and rehabilitation not only help facilitate reaching out to the affected communities in a timely fashion but also pave the way to channel scarce and valued resources towards end users in an efficient and effective manner. This article attempts to trace the origins and gradual development of 'inter-agency collaboration' and the implications thereof for disaster management strategies in Pakistan through an analysis of relief and rehabilitation interventions undertaken by the Government of Pakistan in collaboration with local and international Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and relief agencies in the ex post of the 2005 earthquake. Data for this study were collected through structured and semi-structured interviews from government officials, representatives of NGOs and relief agencies and ordinary women and men in the earthquake stricken localities of Balakot and Mansehra districts of Pakistan. On the heels of the 2005 earthquake, both local NGOs and faith-based organisations in concert with international NGOs and relief agencies from around the world rushed to assist Pakistan in it's rescue and relief operations at a time when the country was faced with the twin dilemma of both the non-existence of peculiar institutional arrangements for disaster management and a lack of the necessary technical and financial resources. The aftermath of the 2005 earthquake offered opportunity to the Government of Pakistan and the NGOs and relief agencies alike to transform their individual interventions into a robust and organised 'inter-agency collaboration', which was later on realised in the form of establishment of a national disaster management organisation called the 'Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA)'. The establishment of ERRA not only paved the way for avoiding duplication and wastage of resources but also ensued in reaching out to the affected communities in a timely fashion. The Pakistani case offers implications in terms of highlighting the salience of establishing 'inter-agency collaboration' in other settings.

In post disastrous situations, coordinated and integrated interventions aimed at relief and rehabilitation not only help facilitate reaching out to the affected communities in a timely fashion but also pave the way to channel scarce and valued resources towards end users in an efficient and effective manner. This article attempts to trace the origins and gradual development of 'inter-agency collaboration' and the implications thereof for disaster management strategies in Pakistan through an analysis of relief and rehabilitation interventions undertaken by the Government of Pakistan in collaboration with local and international Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and relief agencies in the ex post of the 2005 earthquake. Data for this study were collected through structured and semi-structured interviews from government officials, representatives of NGOs and relief agencies and ordinary women and men in the earthquake stricken localities of Balakot and Mansehra districts of Pakistan. On the heels of the 2005 earthquake, both local NGOs and faith-based organisations in concert with international NGOs and relief agencies from around the world rushed to assist Pakistan in it's rescue and relief operations at a time when the country was faced with the twin dilemma of both the non-existence of peculiar institutional arrangements for disaster management and a lack of the necessary technical and financial resources. The aftermath of the 2005 earthquake offered opportunity to the Government of Pakistan and the NGOs and relief agencies alike to transform their individual interventions into a robust and organised 'inter-agency collaboration', which was later on realised in the form of establishment of a national disaster management organisation called the 'Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA)'. The establishment of ERRA not only paved the way for avoiding duplication and wastage of resources but also ensued in reaching out to the affected communities in a timely fashion. The Pakistani case offers implications in terms of highlighting the salience of establishing 'inter-agency collaboration' in other settings.

Abstract Plants from genus Ephedra are commonly used by the Chinese people as folk medicine for treatment of various diseases. The current study was designed to explore the ethno-pharmacological based pharmacological potentials of Ephedra intermedia Schrenk & C.A. Mey. (E. intermedia). Plant aerial parts were extracted using ten solvent systems with increasing order of polarity. Samples were analyzed for total phenolic and flavonoid contents, HPLC-DAD analysis, antibacterial, antifungal, HepG2 cell line cytotoxicity, hemolysis and antioxidant potentials following standard procedures. Highest percent extract recovery was observed in Eth+WT (25.55 % w/w) solvent system. Flavonoid and phenolic contents were higher in chloroform and Met+WT fractions respectively. Considerable antibacterial activity was shown by Eth+Met extract against B. subtilis and K. pneumonia (MIC of 11.1μg/mL for each). Eth extract exhibited high antifungal activity against A. fumigates (15±0.31 mm DIZ). Met+WT extract showed significant cytotoxicity against HepG2 cell lines with IC50 of 13.51+0.69 μg/mL. Substantial free radical scavenging activity (74.9%) was observed for Met+Eth extract. In the current study, several solvent systems were used for more effective extraction of fractions and can be useful in the isolation of phytochemicals. Various fractions exhibited considerable antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic potentials. Biological potentials of E. intermedia signify its potential uses in microbial, cancer and degenerative disorders and thus warrant further detailed studies.

Abstract The dynamical system has an important research area and, due to its wide applications, many researchers and scientists are working to develop new models and techniques for their solution. In this work, we present in this work the dynamics of a chaotic model in the presence of newly introduced fractal-fractional operators. The model is formulated initially in ordinary differential equations, and then we utilize the fractal-fractional (FF) in power law, exponential, and Mittag-Leffler to generalize the model. For each fractal-fractional order model, we briefly study its numerical solution via the numerical algorithm. We present some graphical results with arbitrary order of fractal and fractional orders, and present that these operators provide different chaotic attractors for different fractal and fractional order values. The graphical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the fractal-fractional operators.

Resumo No presente estudo, as atividades anti-helmínticas de Arundo (A.) donax L., Areca (Ar.) Catechu L. e Ferula (F.) assa-foetida L. foram determinadas. Folhas de A. donax L., látex de F. assa-foetida L. e sementes de Ar. catechu L. em diferentes frações de solvente foram submetidos a testes in vitro (teste de eclosão de ovos, EHA e ensaio de motilidade em adultos, AMA); e in vivo (teste de redução da contagem de ovos fecais, FECRT) de atividade anti-helmíntica, usando-se Haemonchus contortus. Na AMA, extratos aquosos brutos de metanol (CAME) e frações de acetato de etila de F. assa-foetida. Dez horas pós-tratamento, apresentaram mortalidade máxima de H. contortus em 12,5-50 mg mL-1. No EHA, CAME de F. assa-foetida foi identificado como um ovicida potente baseado em seu baixo LC50 (16,9 µg mL-1), seguido em ordem por Ar. catechu e A. donax. Os resultados do FECRT também mostraram que o extrato de F. assa-foetida L. é mais eficaz do que o de Ar. catechu L. e A. donax L., contra nematoides parasitas gastrointestinais. As frações clorofórmio e acetato de etila mostraram melhores atividades anti-helmínticas contra vermes adultos in vitro, enquanto o CAME dessas plantas foi melhor do que o pó bruto in vivo. Recomenda-se documentar e investigar o conhecimento indígena de possíveis plantas medicinais para planejar ensaios científicos que possam justificar seu endosso.

Abstract In the present study, anthelmintic activities of Arundo (A.) donax L., Areca (Ar.) catechu L., and Ferula (F.) assa-foetida L. were determined. Leaves of A. donax L., latex of F. assa-foetida L. and seeds of Ar. catechu L. in different solvent fractions were subjected to in vitro (egg hatch assay; EHA, and adult motility assay; AMA) and in vivo (faecal egg count reduction test; FECRT) tests of anthelmintic activity using Haemonchus contortus model. In the AMA, crude aqueous methanol extracts (CAME) and ethyl acetate fractions of F. assa-foetida at 10 hr post-treatment showed maximum mortality of H. contortus at 12.5-50 mg mL-1. In the EHA, CAME of F. assa-foetida was identified as a potent ovicide based on its low LC50 (16.9 µg mL-1), followed in order by Ar. catechu and A. donax. Results from the FECRT also showed the extract of F. assa-foetida L. to be more effective than those of Ar. catechu L. and A. donax L., against the gastrointestinal parasitic nematodes. Chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions showed better anthelmintic activities against the adult worms in vitro, while CAME of these plants were better than their crude powders in vivo. It is recommended to document and investigate indigenous knowledge of possible medicinal plants to plan scientific trials that may justify their endorsement.

Abstract: The properties of CLT can be affected by the type of adhesives used. The thermal properties of the adhesive that join the timber together is essential to determine the thermal endurance of the CLT product. In this study, two types of adhesives were used to join the cross laminated timber (CLT) manufactured from Acacia mangium namely phenol resorcinol formaldehyde (PRF) and one component polyurethane (PUR). The thermal properties of the adhesives, A. mangium wood and the glue lines were determined via Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) tests. The TGA test showed that PRF adhesive had higher degradation temperature at 530 ºC compared to PUR adhesive at 430 ºC. Meanwhile, the PRF adhesive as a glue line in CLT also showed better thermal resistance where a higher amount of residue of 20,94 % was recorded at temperature up to 900 ºC compared to PUR glue line with 18,26 % residue. The integrity of the CLT over temperature was determined via DMA test and the results showed that PRF adhesive as glue line had superior properties, indicating better interfacial bonding with the woods.

ABSTRACT Genetic improvement of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), a recalcitrant crop, has been largely restricted owing to a lack of efficient regeneration methods. In this study, four chickpea genotypes (Giza 4, Giza 88, Giza 195, and Giza 531) were efficiently micropropagated using embryo axes and synthetic seeds developed using an encapsulation technique. Multiple shoots grew from embryo explants using 2 and 4 mg L-1 benzylaminopurine (BAP). The number of shoots for Giza 195 explants using 4 and 6 mg L-1 BAP were 5.8 and 6.2, respectively. The elongated shoots were transferred to two indole- 3-butyric acid (IBA) concentrations (50 and 100 mmol L-1) for root induction. A high rooting percentage (67%-100%) followed by successful acclimatization (70%-75%) was obtained for shoots dipped in 50 mmol L-1 IBA and cultured into an MS liquid medium. Apical buds from in vitro shoots were encapsulated in sodium alginate along with calcium chloride to produce synthetic seeds, which were successfully stored at 4 °C for 5 mo. Giza 195 and Giza 531 were better conserved than Giza 4 and Giza 88, with 70%-75% regrowth and recovery rates. These results confirmed an efficient regeneration protocol and synthetic seed production, which could be utilized for genetic transformations and crop improvement.

Abstract Background: Antifungal activity of slender amaranth (Amaranthus viridis L.) is well documented but such studies are scarce in Pakistan, especially against plant pathogens. It was hypothesized that A. viridis has antifungal activity against fungal phyto-pathogens also. Objective: Identification of antifungal constituents from leaf extracts of A. viridis. Methods: Different organic solvent extracts of A. viridis leaves were evaluated against 5 plant pathogenic fungal species viz. Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, Drechslera australiensis, Fusarium oxysporum and Macrophomina phaseolina. Antifungal activity of A. viridis was determined by serial dilution method. Six levels (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 mg mL-1) of treatments of each n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate were employed against all fungal species in a Completely Randomised Design (CRD). Results: Generally, all organic solvent extracts reduced the fungal biomass significantly with the increase in extract concentration but ethyl acetate leaf fraction exhibited pronounced activity and reduced the fungal growth up to 44% in A. alternata, 39% in A. flavus, 48% in D. australiensis, 48% in F. oxysporum and 45% in M. phaseolina. Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) analysis of ethyl acetate leaf fraction revealed 09 compounds. Out of these 9 compounds, one compound identified as 1,2- Benzenedicarboxylic acid, mono (2-ethylhexyl) ester) showed 58.5% peak value. Conclusions: It was concluded that 1,2- Benzenedicarboxylic acid, mono (2-ethylhexyl) ester) being in the highest concentration in the ethyl acetate leaf fraction of A. viridis may be responsible for antifungal activity. This compound can serve as structural analog to develop ecofriendly fungicides.

ABSTRACT American bollworm (ABW), Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner), is considered as a major pest of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum, all over the globe. Due to its destructive feeding nature and continuous consumption of the same chemicals, it devolved resistant against many insecticides. Therefore, a combined application of bio- and synthetic-pesticide need to evaluate against this pest. The entomopathogenic viruses like nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV), a member of baculoviruses, can be the potential candidates for better control against ABW. The present study was conducted to assess the comparative efficacy of NPV and Spinosad 240SC (with the concentration of 250 mL · ha-1) against ABW in the controlled environment. The ABW was treated with different concentrations of NPV and Spinosad separately and in a combination of NPV with 0.1% Spinosad. The results revealed that highest concentrations showed highest mortality (95%) followed by 95%, 92%, 84%, 82% and 78% mortality at 1 × 109, 1 × 108, 1 × 107, 1 × 106 and 1 × 105 POBs, respectively. Spinosad when mixed in diet give 100% mortality at 0.8% followed by 50.87%, 42.10%, 29.82%, 26.31% and 22.80% mortality at 0.4%, 0.2%, 0.1%, 0.5% and 0.025% respectively. The results of this study revealed that microbial control of ABW through NPV is an effective tool. The repeated use of synthetic pesticides caused the resurgence of many insect pests, and this study results would provide useful insight to build a framework for future investigations for the management of many major insect pests.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The increased use of colistin against infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa has resulted in colistin resistance. The purpose of this study was to detect plasmid-mediated mcr-1 gene in colistin-resistant A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa isolates. METHODS: A total of 146 clinical isolates of A. baumannii (n = 62) and P. aeruginosa (n = 84) were collected from the four largest tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar, Pakistan. All bacterial isolates were phenotypically screened for multidrug resistance using the Kirby-Baur disc diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of colistin in all isolates was phenotypically performed using dilution methods. mcr-1 gene was detected through polymerase chain reaction and the nucleotide sequence of amplicon was determined using Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: Approximately 96.7% A. baumannii and 83.3% P. aeruginosa isolates were resistant to multiple antibiotics. Colistin resistance was found in 9.6% (6/62) of A. baumannii and 11.9% (10/84) of P. aeruginosa isolates. Among 16 colistin resistant isolates, the mcr-1 gene was detected in one A. baumannii (1.61% of total isolates; 16.6% of colistin resistant isolates) and one P. aeruginosa strain (1.19% of total isolates; 10% of colistin resistant isolates). Nucleotide BLAST showed 98-99% sequence similarity to sequences of the mcr-1 gene in GenBank. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reports, for the first time, the emergence of plasmid-mediated mcr-1-encoded colistin resistance in multidrug resistant strains of A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa. Further large scales studies are recommended to investigate the prevalence of this mode of resistance in these highly pathogenic bacteria.

ABSTRACT: In this study an Iron oxide/carbon nanocomposite from maize straw was prepared and was characterized by XRD, SEM, EDX, FTIR, TG/DTA and Surface area analyzer. The adsorbent was fed to different groups of poultry birds along with aflatoxin B1. Different physiological and blood parameters were monitored in order to study the efficacy of the prepared adsorbent for binding of aflatoxin B1 in the gastrointestinal tract of chickens. It was found that adsorbent at dose of 0.3%/ kg feed was highly effective in detoxifying aflatoxin B1 in gastrointestinal tract of poultry birdswith no harmful effects. The high doses given to groups E and F; 0.4% and 0.5% respectively showed slight variation in tested parameters from group A. No negative symptoms associated with the use of activated carbon as previously reported were observed for the adsorbent under study.

Abstract Objective: The present study was aimed to evaluate the practices and attitudes of young Malaysian adults towards the use of antibiotics, and to determine the socioeconomic factors associated with the antibiotic use. Methods: A survey was carried in Cheras community by approaching a conveniently selected sample of 480 participants. A pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection. Result: Of 480 participants approached, 400 agreed to participate in this study, giving a response rate of 83.3%. The study results showed that 42.75% of the participants exhibited poor attitudes towards antibiotic usage. Chinese race and high income were significantly associated with the positive attitudes towards antibiotic usage. It is shown that the practice of the participants towards antibiotics was relatively poor. The majority of participants agreed that they do not consult a doctor for minor illnesses (64%). The main reason for not consulting a doctor was the high fees of consultation (34.25%) and the inconvenience of visit (29.25%). However, a large proportion of respondents (77.5%) agreed that there is a need to enhance antibiotic education among public. Conclusion: The study results identified some crucial gaps in the attitudes and practices of Cheras community about the use of antibiotics. Thus, improving the public knowledge and changing their attitude towards antibiotic use along with proper interventions to regulate the ease of their availability would play a significant role for the effective use of antibiotics in the community.