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Background Jigsaw method is a structured cooperative-learning technique that lays the groundwork towards achieving collective competence, which forms the core of effective clinical practice. It promotes deep learning and effectively enhances team-work among students, hence creating a more inclusive environment. Objective Present study was designed to introduce jigsaw model of cooperative learning to early-year undergraduate medical students, measure its effectiveness on their academic performance, and evaluate the perspectives of both students and faculty members regarding the same. Methods It was a mixed method research, involving eighty second-year undergraduate medical students. The jigsaw cooperative learning approach was introduced in two themes within neurosciences module. Students were divided into two equal groups, with one group experiencing typical small-group discussions (SGDs) in first theme and other group exposed to jigsaw approach. The groups were then reversed for second theme. Following the activity, an assessment comprising multiple-choice-questions was conducted to evaluate the impact of jigsaw technique on students’ academic performance, with scores from both groups compared. Student perspectives were gathered through self-designed and validated questionnaire, while faculty perceptions were obtained through focus group discussions. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS v22, while thematic analysis was performed for qualitative data. Results The students of jigsaw group displayed significantly higher median assessment score percentage compared to control group ( p  = 0.003). Moreover, a significantly greater number of students achieved scores ≥ 60% in jigsaw group compared to control group ( p  = 0.006). The questionnaire responses indicated a favorable perception of this technique among students, in terms of acceptance, positive interdependence, improvement of interpersonal skills, and comparison with typical SGDs. This technique was also well-perceived within the educational context by faculty members. Conclusion The jigsaw method is associated with higher levels of academic performance among students when compared to typical small-group discussion. The students and faculty perceived this technique to be an effective cooperative learning strategy in terms of enhanced student engagement, active participation, and a sense of inclusivity.

Among developing countries Pakistan has highest demand of sugar i.e., 25 kg per capita per annum. Cane and beet are two major sources of sugar production in Pakistan. Sugarcane production in the country could meet only 75% demand of existing sugar mills. Present study looks into the prospects of sugar beet production especially in water scarce areas to bridge the demand gap and scrutinize the issues and constraints in commercial production of sugar beet. Trends were analyzed using existing published statistics. Water requirement of sugarcane is almost three-fold of the sugar beet. Sugar beet will not put pressure on water resources if cultivated on commercial scale. The government is in favor of beet sugar but sugarcane mill owners are reluctant to encourage sugar beet cultivation due to some technical barrier. Beet growing experiment at different sites of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Sindh have revealed encouraging results.

Globally resources of petro-fuels are diminishing at a rapid rate. Efforts are underway to develop sources of bio-fuels. Out of the known sources of bio-fuels, Jatropha is one of the most promising options. The purpose of this study was to evaluate primarily the regional and global experiences to assess the potential of Jatropha farming in Pakistan and to conduct a comparative economic analysis of alternate feasible options e.g. production of oilseeds, which are also being imported in large quantities. Temporal analysis (1950-09) for edible oil consumption, production and imports is made. Projections for edible oil are worked out up to 2030. As there have been large variations in yield of Jatropha reported by various studies conducted in India and other countries, therefore most reliable data have been selected for analysis to assess the prospects in Pakistan. Comparative economic analysis is made in terms of oil contents, number of crops per year, yield and gross returns of

Organic wheat production was initiated at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) during 1998-1999. Data of wheat grown using chemical fertilizers for the same period were obtained for wheat productivity from the Farm Operations and Services (FOS) crop registers. Water productivity of barani organic desi wheat (C591) grown at NARC was computed using the data of last 10 years (1998-08), which revealed variation from 1.98 to 0.29 kgm-3 of seasonal rain-fall. The correlation between seasonal rainfall and water productivity is very high (0.93). There is a strong correlation between seasonal rainfall and yield of barani wheat. The yield of barani wheat grown using chemical fertilizers varied from 0.41 to 3.21 t per ha represents an eight-fold variation in the wheat yield of last 10 years (1998-08). There were almost three years when the yield was higher than the mean yield and three years when yield was lower than the mean yield by around 1.0 t per ha.

Phyto-synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) having reduced chemical toxicity have been focused globally and become essential component of nanotechnology recently. We prepared green phytochemically (ginger and garlic) reduced NiO-NPs to replace synthetic bactericidal and catalytic agent in textile industry. NPs were characterized using ultra-violet visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The synthesis of NPs was confirmed by XRD and UV-Vis having strong absorption at 350 nm with size ranged between 16–52 nm for ginger and 11–59 nm for garlic. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy confirmed pleomorphism with cubic- and more spherical-shaped NPs. Moreover, exact quantities of garlic and ginger extracts (1:3.6 ml) incorporated to synthesize NiO-NPs have been successfully confirmed by FTIR. Phytochemically reduced NPs by garlic presented enhanced bactericidal activity against multiple drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus at increasing concentrations (0.5, 1.0 mg/50 μl) and also degraded methylene blue (MB) dye efficiently. Conclusively, green synthesized NiO-NPs are impending activists to resolve drug resistance as well as environment friendly catalytic agent that may be opted at industrial scale.

Environmental stringency policy shocks and environmental tax have become fundamental policy tools for mitigating the degradation of the environment. The study explores the effects of environmental tax and environmental stringency policy shocks in the reduction of pollution emissions in China for the time 1993 to 2019. This study is a pioneer in assessing the simultaneous impact of these two policy instruments on pollution emissions in China. For empirical investigation, the study employed NARDL estimation techniques. The NARDL results show that positive shocks in environmental tax reduce N2O emissions by 0.03%, PM2.5 emissions by 0.13%, CO 2 emissions by 0.18%, and GHGs emissions by 0.01%, however, negative shocks in environmental tax increase N 2 O emissions by 0.01%, PM2.5 emissions by 0.07%, CO 2 emissions by 0.28%, GHGs emissions by 0.17% in the long run. The long-run results also show that positive shocks in environmental policy stringency reduced CO 2 emissions by 0.94%, GHGs emissions by 0.77%, while negative shocks in environmental policy stringency increased N 2 O emissions by 0.17%, PM2.5 emissions by 0.50%, CO 2 emissions by 0.63%. The findings suggest vigorous policy implications.

The significance of global green logistics in improving green economic activities is a critically considered and debatable research topic in the context of economic growth and environment. This study aims to analyze the growth and environmental effects of green logistics performance for One Belt and Road Initiative (OBRI) countries over the period 2007–2019. The study used panel data two-stage least squares (2SLS) and generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators with robust inferences. The findings have revealed that green logistics performance improves the economic growth in OBRI, Europe, and MENA economies. While green logistics performance enhances the environmental pollution in OBRI, Central Asia, and MENA economies, it significantly improves the environmental quality in Europe and East and Southeast Asia regions. The control variables have also importance in economic growth and environment in policy implication in OBRI and five sub-regions of OBRI economies. Based on these findings, we can conduct some robust green logistics policies in OBRI.

Sustainable agricultural production is critically antagonistic by fluctuating unfavorable environmental conditions. The introduction of mineral elements emerged as the most exciting and magical aspect, apart from the novel intervention of traditional and applied strategies to defend the abiotic stress conditions. The silicon (Si) has ameliorating impacts by regulating diverse functionalities on enhancing the growth and development of crop plants. Si is categorized as a non-essential element since crop plants accumulate less during normal environmental conditions. Studies on the application of Si in plants highlight the beneficial role of Si during extreme stressful conditions through modulation of several metabolites during abiotic stress conditions. Phytohormones are primary plant metabolites positively regulated by Si during abiotic stress conditions. Phytohormones play a pivotal role in crop plants’ broad-spectrum biochemical and physiological aspects during normal and extreme environmental conditions. Frontline phytohormones include auxin, cytokinin, ethylene, gibberellin, salicylic acid, abscisic acid, brassinosteroids, and jasmonic acid. These phytohormones are internally correlated with Si in regulating abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms. This review explores insights into the role of Si in enhancing the phytohormone metabolism and its role in maintaining the physiological and biochemical well-being of crop plants during diverse abiotic stresses. Moreover, in-depth information about Si’s pivotal role in inducing abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants through metabolic and molecular modulations is elaborated. Furthermore, the potential of various high throughput technologies has also been discussed in improving Si-induced multiple stress tolerance. In addition, a special emphasis is engrossed in the role of Si in achieving sustainable agricultural growth and global food security.