University of Sargodha

About: University of Sargodha is a education organization based out in Sargodha, Pakistan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Ring (chemistry) & Dihedral angle. The organization has 1961 authors who have published 4344 publications receiving 45091 citations.

The role of mycorrhizae and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in improving crop productivity under stressful environments.

Abstract: Both biotic and abiotic stresses are major constrains to agricultural production. Under stress conditions, plant growth is affected by a number of factors such as hormonal and nutritional imbalance, ion toxicity, physiological disorders, susceptibility to diseases, etc. Plant growth under stress conditions may be enhanced by the application of microbial inoculation including plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and mycorrhizal fungi. These microbes can promote plant growth by regulating nutritional and hormonal balance, producing plant growth regulators, solubilizing nutrients and inducing resistance against plant pathogens. In addition to their interactions with plants, these microbes also show synergistic as well as antagonistic interactions with other microbes in the soil environment. These interactions may be vital for sustainable agriculture because they mainly depend on biological processes rather than on agrochemicals to maintain plant growth and development as well as proper soil health under stress conditions. A number of research articles can be deciphered from the literature, which shows the role of rhizobacteria and mycorrhizae alone and/or in combination in enhancing plant growth under stress conditions. However, in contrast, a few review papers are available which discuss the synergistic interactions between rhizobacteria and mycorrhizae for enhancing plant growth under normal (non-stress) or stressful environments. Biological interactions between PGPR and mycorrhizal fungi are believed to cause a cumulative effect on all rhizosphere components, and these interactions are also affected by environmental factors such as soil type, nutrition, moisture and temperature. The present review comprehensively discusses recent developments on the effectiveness of PGPR and mycorrhizal fungi for enhancing plant growth under stressful environments. The key mechanisms involved in plant stress tolerance and the effectiveness of microbial inoculation for enhancing plant growth under stress conditions have been discussed at length in this review. Growth promotion by single and dual inoculation of PGPR and mycorrhizal fungi under stress conditions have also been discussed and reviewed comprehensively.

Knowledge, attitude, practice and perceived barriers among healthcare workers regarding COVID-19: a cross-sectional survey from Pakistan.

Abstract: A self-administered validated (Cronbach's alpha=0.077) questionnaire was used to assess knowledge, attitude and practice among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Pakistan regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Findings showed that HCWs have good knowledge (93.2%, N=386), a positive attitude [mean 8.43 (standard deviation 1.78)] and good practice (88.7%, N=367) regarding COVID-19. HCWs perceived that limited infection control material (50.7%, N=210) and poor knowledge regarding transmission (40.6%, N=168) were the major barriers to infection control. Regression analysis indicated that pharmacists were more likely to demonstrate good practice than other HCWs (odds ratio 2.247, 95% confidence interval 1.11-4.55, P=0.025). This study found that HCWs in Pakistan have good knowledge, but there are gaps in specific aspects of knowledge and practice that warrant attention.

Tourism development, energy consumption and Environmental Kuznets Curve: trivariate analysis in the panel of developed and developing countries.

Abstract: The study investigates the relationship between economic growth, carbon dioxide emissions, tourism development, energy demand, domestic investment and health expenditures with an aim to test the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in the panel of three diversified World's region including East Asia & Pacific, European Union and High income OECD and Non-OECD countries. The study covers the period of last nine years i.e. 2005–2013. The study used the principal component analysis (PCA) to construct tourism development index which is the amalgamation of number of tourists' arrivals, tourism receipts and international tourism expenditures. The results validate the inverted U-shaped relationship between carbon emissions and per capita income in the region. The results further substantiate the following causal relationships i.e. i) tourism-induced carbon emissions, ii) energy-induced emissions, iii) investment – induced emissions, iv) growth led tourism, v) investment led tourism and vi) health led tourism development in the region.

Vanadium, recent advancements and research prospects: A review.

Abstract: Metal pollution is an important issue worldwide, with various documented cases of metal toxicity in mining areas, industries, coal power plants and agriculture sector. Heavy metal polluted soils pose severe problems to plants, water resources, environment and nutrition. Among all non-essential metals, vanadium (V) is becoming a serious matter of discussion for the scientists who deals with heavy metals. Due to its mobility from soil to plants, it causes adverse effects to human beings. This review article illustrates briefly about V, its role and shows the progress about V research so far done globally in the light of the previous work which may assist in inter-disciplinary studies to evaluate the ecological importance of V toxicity.

Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil: an Efficient Technique to Convert Waste into Biodiesel

Abstract: Biodiesel production from waste oils is an attractive option to produce biodiesel economically, but high free fatty acids (FFA) in waste oils are a serious bottleneck for the process of transesterification. Present investigation deals with the utilization of waste cooking oil (WCO) for the production of biodiesel. The acid value of WCO was 5.5 mg KOH/g which indicated high FFA content. The WCO was subjected to esterification using different acid catalysts (HCl, H2SO4 and H3PO4) and H2SO4 catalyzed reaction was found to be the most efficient since the FFA reduced up to 88.8% at 60 °C with 1:2.5 methanol to oil molar ratio. Transesterification was done in the presence of alkali catalyst (KOH) and Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield was 94% in the presence of 1% catalyst at 50 °C. The biodiesel was characterized based on acid value, saponification value, iodine value, cetane number, specific gravity, viscosity, cloud point, pour point and calorific value. The Gas Chromatography (GC) analysis of synthesized biodiesel was also performed. Base on ASTM standards, alkali catalyzed transesterification was an efficient method to produce biodiesel form WCO. Results revealed that the waste cooking oils can be converted into biodiesel as an energy source along with environmental pollution reduction.