Aim and Scope

In our agricultural world, the inefficient control of pathogens which cause diseases in plant yield, is still a very big issue. Although for controlling plant diseases classical means such as plant breeding exists but genetic engineering has provided us an entirely new approach. Genetically modified crops having resistance against diseases occupy less area as compared to those crops having resistance to “herbicide” or resistance to insects. Various approaches exist for making a plant tolerant against bacteria, virus, fungi and nematode. RNA interference (RNAi) technology has emerged as a new defense system to combat plant diseases by making plant transgenic having resistance against diseases. The major benefit of RNAi technology as Novel Gene therapy against bacterial, fungal and the viral infection clearly shows that it controls the gene expression by translational degradation or translational inhibition. The silencing process is triggered by the product of dsRNA such as small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and micro RNAs (miRNAs). This targeted or specific gene silencing has enabled researchers to look after yields counter to detrimental microbes. This assessment is based upon the usage of RNAi. This is a deliberate approach in plant disease management for protecting our eye-catching world from the harmful pathogen invaders in eco-friendly mode.

Naturally grown fruits are the nutritional powerhouses in our daily diet which makes our health better. The local fruits are accessible, cheap and reliable without any contamination. These fruits fulfill nutritional deficiency without making person obese and protect us from many chronic diseases include cancer, heart attacks and diabetes. The nutrition taken from fruits makes our immune system (internal army) strong thus complementing protection against viral, bacterial and fungal pathogens. The present study was conducted to evaluate the nutritional composition of some selected fruits Pyrus malus (apple), Psidium guajava (guava), Musa paradisiaca (banana), Citrus maxima (pomelo) available in local markets of Sargodha, Pakistan. Result showed that the highest amount of moisture (86.16±0.91%) and crude fat (3.92±0.14%) was noted in apple while the highest amount of mineral matter (7.11±0.93%), carbohydrates (15.64±0.31%) and dry matter (23.68±1.02%) was observed in banana. Maximum crude fiber (1.82±0.14%) and crude protein (0.56±1.57%) was observed in pomelo and guava respectively. Fluctuation in nutritional composition of fruits was may attributed to varietal (genetic makeup) as well as agro-climatic conditions of the fruit harvest. There is further study recommended to investigate the impact of different climates and fertilizers on nutritional values of cultivated fruit varieties.

Using ab-initio calculations, electronic and magnetic properties of transition metals (TM) (TM = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Ni, and Cu) doped InP have been explored. It is found that, undoped InP exhibits non-magnetic, insulating behavior having an energy gap of 1.40 eV. Furthermore, two types of materials have been predicted in the case of doped systems: (I) magnetic metallic and (ii) non-magnetic metallic. The Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Co-doped InP materials exhibit magnetic metallic nature, while Sc, Ni, and Cu doped systems show non-magnetic metallic behavior. The 3D charge density plots in each case show that more charge accumulates around dopant atoms, which means that large TM-atoms contribute more at the Fermi level.

The objective of the current study is to optimize cooking power and effective efficiency of box type solar cooker. The solar cooker has been designed, fabricated and analyzed. The effect of loading and cooking time on the cooking power and effective efficiency has been investigated. The response surface methodology (RSM) is used to examine the performance of box-type solar cooker. FCCD (Face centered composite design) has been used to investigate the effect of different variables on effective efficiency and cooking power of the solar cooker. The optimized value of loading predicted by RSM was 4.92 kg/m2 for a cooking power of 795.89 watt and effective efficiency of 13.61% respectively. The results of predicted response were compared with actual response. The results demonstrate that the response surface methodology (RSM) is useful in constructing a mathematical model. The experiment was conducted in Faisalabad, Pakistan 31.4181° North Latitude, 73.0776° East Longitude and 184 m above the sea level.

The study was carried out to estimate trace elements (i.e. Fe, Cu and Zn) in blood of unmarried, pregnant and lactating females of district Sargodha and its tehsil Kot Momin. Total 1000 healthy women (age between 20-35 years) were interviewed from rural and urban areas and out of them, 150 females were randomly selected and divided into three groups (unmarried, lactating and pregnant) for clinical examination of Fe, Zn and Cu levels. The selected women were clinically tested and their data was collected and statistically analyzed. Results showed significant differences among three categories of females and females from different areas. Results show that iron concentration in serum decreases as pregnancy progress, especially in 3rd trimester. Copper level in the serum of pregnant females was also significantly higher as compared to lactating and unmarried females. Zinc levels in the serum of pregnant females were higher for both areas as well. Furthermore, trace elements concentrations in the serum of females of urban areas were significantly higher as compared to rural area. Also, zinc and copper level decreased as lactation period progress while iron fairly remains unchanged. Selected parameters such as age group, occupation, smoking, diabetes, blood pressure, menstrual cycle and blood groups were also observed in all groups and wide variation was found among them. In conclusion, females have to follow healthy lifestyle, take diet rich in these trace elements which can aid in maintaining adequate and balanced amount of iron, zinc and copper, to overcome the adverse effects of their deficiency.