20 research outputs found
Hydraulic simulations to evaluate and predict design and operation of the Chashma Right Bank Canal
No full textIrrigation systems / Irrigation canals / Flow control / Velocity / Canal regulation techniques / Hydraulics / Simulation models / Design / Operations / Crop-based irrigation / Distributary canals / Water delivery / Policy / Protective irrigation / Water allocation / Water requirements / Sedimentation / Water distribution / Equity / Water conveyance / Pakistan / Chashma Right Bank Canal
What Turns a Blessing into a Curse? The Political Economy of Natural Resource Wealth (Invited Lecture)
No full textI review the relationship between natural resource endowment type and economic growth in developing countries. Certain types of natural resources, such as oil and minerals, tend to exhibit concentrated production and revenue patterns, while revenue flows from other resources such as agriculture are more diffuse. Most developing countries that export products from the first group have been prone to growth failure in recent times. The most important channels are political economy mechanisms, where there are negative relationships between natural resource rents and institutional development. An explicit model of growth collapse with micro-foundations in rent-seeking contests that have increasing returns in rent-seeking outlays is presented.Endowment Type, Growth, Institutions
FREQUENCY OF HCV INFECTION AND ITS GENOTYPES AMONG PATIENTS ATTENDING A LIVER CLINIC AND VOLUNTARY BLOOD DONORS IN A RURAL AREA OF PAKISTAN
No full textABSTRACT Objectives: To determine the frequency of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and its genotypic distribution in a rural area of Sindh, Pakistan. Methodology: Retrospective study of patients attending the Free Liver Clinic (FLC), and investigated for detectable HCV antibodies (n=1638), and those screened for HCV infection prior to voluntary blood donation (n=804) at a teaching hospital, located in rural Sindh. All patients had HCV antibodies tested by ELISA. A total of 1022 patients, who tested 'reactive' to HCV antibodies, and who could financially afford to have HCV RNA tested by PCR, had their results analysed. A total of 200 patients also had their HCV genotyped and analysed. Results: Patients at FLC had a higher chance of being reactive for HCV antibodies, compared to voluntary blood donors (20% VS 14% -p = 0.004). HCV RNA was detectable in 904/1022 (88%) patients. Among typeable genotypes, 125/166 (75%) had a single genotype, and 7 patients (4%) were infected with genotype 1, either alone (n=4) or in combination with 3a. Conclusions: One out of every five people tested in our FLC, and 14% of "healthy" voluntary blood donors were seropositive for HCV antibodies. Genotype 1 is very rare in our region
A potentiometric indirect uric acid sensor based on ZnO nanoflakes and immobilized uricase
No full textLink to publisher's homepage at http://www.mdpi.com/In the present work zinc oxide nanoflakes (ZnO-NF) structures with a wall thickness around 50 to 100 nm were synthesized on a gold coated glass substrate using a low temperature hydrothermal method. The enzyme uricase was electrostatically immobilized in conjunction with Nafion membrane on the surface of well oriented ZnO-NFs, resulting in a sensitive, selective, stable and reproducible uric acid sensor. The electrochemical response of the ZnO-NF-based sensor vs. a Ag/AgCl reference electrode was found to be linear over a relatively wide logarithmic concentration range (500 nM to 1.5 mM). In addition, the ZnO-NF structures demonstrate vast surface area that allow high enzyme loading which results provided a higher sensitivity. The proposed ZnO-NF array-based sensor exhibited a high sensitivity of ~66 mV/ decade in test electrolyte solutions of uric acid, with fast response time. The sensor response was unaffected by normal concentrations of common interferents such as ascorbic acid, glucose, and urea
Study of frequency dependent electrical properties of ZnO nanorods
No full textThe 2nd International Malaysia-Ireland Joint Symposium on Engineering, Science and Business 2012 (IMiEJS2012) jointly organized by Universiti Malaysia Perlis and Athlone Institute of Technology in collaboration with The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) Malaysia, Education Malaysia and Malaysia Postgraduates Student Association Ireland (MyPSI), 18th - 19th June 2012 at Putra World Trade Center (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Impedance spectroscopy is used to study the frequency dependent electrical parameters such as impedance, dielectric constant and conductivity of ZnO nanorods MSM structure in the range of 1 Hz to 10MHz under atmospheric conditions. The real part of impedance (Z’) showed two semicircles that corresponds to the distribution of the grain boundries and electrode process. SEM image shoewed the densily packed ZnO nanorods on the surface of silicon substarte whereas, XRD revealed the grown nanorods have c-axis oreintation.The results shows that the impedance, dielectric increases as the frquency decreases while the conductivity showed the opposite behavior
Gamma rays induced genetic variability in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) germplasm
No full textThe present study assessed the effectiveness of gamma radiation in inducing favorable genetic variability in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). An experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design to produce M-1 generation. Significant differences were observed among the genotypes as well as between the treatments at individual plant level based on observed traits (seed germination percent-age, seedling survival, plant height, number of flower clusters plant(-1), number of flowers and fruits plant(-1)). All observed characters in the mutagenized population were adversely affected with increasing radiation dose. Results identified 450 Gy as the most damaging radiation dose followed by 300 Gy and 150 Gy. Moreover, 300 Gy treatment was identified as lethal dose (LD50) as it caused a 50% germination inhibition in almost all the evaluated genotypes. The 150 Gy treatment showed the least damaging impact and induced maximum genetic variability in almost all the genotypes under study. Character association studies were also conducted which could be utilized in the selection of desirable mutants. Correlation studies revealed an altered association among the observed parameters from positive to neg-ative direction in 300 Gy and 450 Gy treatments as compared to control. These deviations in correlation coefficients proved that mutagenesis can break the linkage among specific loci. Furthermore, path coefficient analysis identified the growth attributes with an effective direct and indirect contribution in yield.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University
Functionalised zinc oxide nanotube arrays as electrochemical sensors for the selective determination of glucose
No full textLink to publisher's homepage at http://www.theiet.org/In the present study, highly oriented single-crystal zinc oxide nanotube (ZnO-NT) arrays were prepared by a trimming of ZnO nanorods along the c-axis on the gold-coated glass substrate having a diameter of 100-200nm and a length of ∼1m using a low-temperature aqueous chemical growth process. The prepared (ZnO-NT) arrays were further used as electrochemical enzyme-based glucose sensors through immobilisation of glucose oxidase by the physical adsorption method in conjunction with a Nafion coating. The electrochemical response of the sensor was found to be linear over a relatively wide logarithmic concentration range from 0.5×10 -6 to 12×10 -3M. The proposed sensor showed a high sensitivity of 69.12mV/decade with R=0.9934 for sensing of glucose. A fast-response time less than 4s with good selectivity, reproducibility and negligible response to common interferents such as ascorbic acid and uric acid prevailed
Grain yield, chlorophyll and protein contents of elite wheat genotypes under drought stress
No full textBackground: Drought stress at different growth stages significantly alters growth, yield, and quality traits of wheat. However, great variability exists among genotypes regarding their response to drought stress. Therefore, determining the impacts of drought stress on yield and quality traits would help to select the superior genotypes.Methods: This study investigated the effects of drought stress on wheat grain yield, chlorophyll, and protein contents. Fourteen (14) recently developed elite bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes were used in this study for evaluation under irrigated (full irrigation) and drought conditions (half of normal irrigation). The data relating to growth, yield and protein contents were recorded.Results: Significant differences (P <= 0.01) were noted among genotypes for all recorded traits. Drought stress significantly reduced the days to 50 % heading, days to 50 % maturity, grain filling, plant height (cm), number of spikes per m2, chlorophyll index (SPAD), peduncle length (cm), number of grains spike1, thousand grain weight (g) and grain yield (kg ha-1). However, protein contents were increased under drought stress. Correlation analysis showed significant positive association of grain yield with thousand grain weight, number of spikes per m2, spike length, chlorophyll index, grain filling period and number of grains spike-1 under both irrigated and drought stress conditions. The protein contents expressed positive and negative relationship with yield under drought stress and irrigated conditions, respectively. Bioplot analysis revealed that genotype 'V-19618' and 'V-19600' proved superior under drought conditions regarding grain yield and related traits, while genotype 'V-19574' proved better under both irrigated and drought conditions.Conclusions: These identified genotypes, i.e., 'V-19618' and 'V-19600' can be utilized in future wheat breeding programs to induce desirable characters for producing drought tolerant wheat genotypes. (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia [TURSP-2020/64]Authors would like to thank Taif University Researchers Sup- porting Project number (TURSP-2020/64) , Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
Sensitivity of A-549 human lung cancer cells to nanoporous zinc oxide conjugated with Photofrin
No full textLink to publisher's homepage at http://www.springerlink.com/In the present study, we demonstrated the use of nanoporous zinc oxide (ZnO NPs) in photodynamic therapy. The ZnO NPs structure possesses a high surface to volume ratio due to its porosity and ZnO NPs can be used as an efficient photosensitizer carrier system. We were able to grow ZnO NPs on the tip of borosilicate glass capillaries (0.5 μm diameter) and conjugated this with Photofrin for efficient intracellular drug delivery. The ZnO NPs on the capillary tip could be excited intracellularly with 240 nm UV light, and the resultant 625 nm red light emitted in the presence of Photofrin activated a chemical reaction that produced reactive oxygen species (ROS). The procedure was tested in A-549 cells and led to cell death within a few minutes. The morphological changes in necrosed cells were examined by microscopy. The viability of control and treated A-549 cells with the optimum dose of UV/visible light was assessed using the MTT assay, and ROS were detected using a fluorescence microscopy procedure
Conversion of novel non-edible Bischofia javanica seed oil into methyl ester via recyclable zirconia-based phyto-nanocatalyst: A circular bioeconomy approach for eco-sustenance
No full textThe current study assesses Bischofia javanica Blume's potential as novel non-edible seed oil for environmentally benign biodiesel production using phyto-nanocatalyst, i.e., green nanoparticles (NPs) of zirconium oxide (ZrO2) synthesized with aqueous leaf extract of the same plant via the biological method. Using response surface methods, the maximum yield (95.8 wt.%) was obtained at a 1:6 oil-to-methanol molar ratio, 2.5 wt.% catalyst loading, 70 degrees C reaction temperature and 2 h of reaction time. In addition, advanced analytical techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) were used to characterize green nanoparticles. Six peaks in the GC-MS spectrum were identified, showing the presence of six different methyl esters such as methyl palmitate, methyl linoleate, methyl oleate, methyl stearate, methyl linolenate and methyl 11-eicosenoate. In addition, 1HNMR and 13CNMR confirmed the high conversion yield of the esters group with distinct peaks at 3.649 ppm and 174.19 ppm. Biodiesel prepared from Bischofia javanica has fuel qualities that meet international standards. Fuel properties were found analogous to international standards viz. ASTM and EN. These include flash point (80 degrees C), density at 15 degrees C (0.8623 kg/L), kinematic viscosity (5.32 mm2/s), cloud (-11 degrees C), pour point (-8 degrees C) and sulphur content of 0.00047 wt.%. The results indicate that the green nanocatalyst and synthesized biodiesel from the Bischofia javanica appear to be highly reliable and cost-effective candidates for producing sustainable and eco-friendly biodiesel to overcome energy crises and climatic deteriorations, which would assist in the shift from a linear to a circular economy.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).The current study assesses Bischofia javanica Blume's potential as novel non-edible seed oil for environmentally benign biodiesel production using phyto-nanocatalyst, i.e., green nanoparticles (NPs) of zirconium oxide (ZrO2) synthesized with aqueous leaf extract of the same plant via the biological method. Using response surface methods, the maximum yield (95.8 wt.%) was obtained at a 1:6 oil-to-methanol molar ratio, 2.5 wt.% catalyst loading, 70 degrees C reaction temperature and 2 h of reaction time. In addition, advanced analytical techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) were used to characterize green nanoparticles. Six peaks in the GC-MS spectrum were identified, showing the presence of six different methyl esters such as methyl palmitate, methyl linoleate, methyl oleate, methyl stearate, methyl linolenate and methyl 11-eicosenoate. In addition, 1HNMR and 13CNMR confirmed the high conversion yield of the esters group with distinct peaks at 3.649 ppm and 174.19 ppm. Biodiesel prepared from Bischofia javanica has fuel qualities that meet international standards. Fuel properties were found analogous to international standards viz. ASTM and EN. These include flash point (80 degrees C), density at 15 degrees C (0.8623 kg/L), kinematic viscosity (5.32 mm2/s), cloud (-11 degrees C), pour point (-8 degrees C) and sulphur content of 0.00047 wt.%. The results indicate that the green nanocatalyst and synthesized biodiesel from the Bischofia javanica appear to be highly reliable and cost-effective candidates for producing sustainable and eco-friendly biodiesel to overcome energy crises and climatic deteriorations, which would assist in the shift from a linear to a circular economy.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
