Sustainable livelihood capital and climate change adaptation in Pakistan's agriculture: Structural equation modeling analysis in the VIABLE framework.

This study aims to assess the role of sustainable livelihood capital, the mediation of investments and farming purposes, and the moderation of climatic and non-climatic factors in the adaptation process, particularly in the aspects of Crop, Farm, Irrigation, and Economic Management. Moreover, guided by the VIABLE (Values and Investments for Agent-Based Interaction and Learning in Environmental Systems) framework, we analyze stakeholders' actions, priorities, and goals in the climate change adaptation process. A structured questionnaire was designed based on a five-point Likert scale covering the concepts of livelihood capital, climate change adaptation, investment priorities, farming constraints, and farmers' decision-making factors. Field data were collected from 800 farmers during December 2021 to February 2022 in the irrigated agricultural regions in the Indus Plain of the Punjab and Sindh provinces, Pakistan. We employed the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling approach to the VIABLE framework (VIABLE-SEM) to analyze the collected data. The results confirm livelihood capital as the most significant determinant (beta = 0.57, effect size = 0.503) for farmers' adaptation strategies in the Indus plain. Other variables, such as the principal purpose of farming, available investment options, natural and human constraints, appear less important. We identified 13 significant viability pathways that show investment priorities, farming purposes, and constraints faced by the farmers in climate change adaptation. The study also found that non-climatic factors negatively influence (beta = -0.156) the relationship between capital and adaptation, while climatic factors positively influence (beta = 0.050) this relationship. Interestingly, the presence of these influencing factors increases the adaptive capacity of farmers. These findings have important implications for policymakers and researchers in designing and implementing effective climate change adaptation strategies in the agricultural sector of Pakistan.

Simulating exposure-related human mobility behavior at the neighborhood-level under COVID-19 in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Modeling experts have been continually researching the interplay of human mobility and COVID-19 transmission since the outbreak of the pandemic. They tried to address this problem and support the control of the pandemic spreading at the national or regional levels. However, these modeling approaches had little success in producing empirically verifiable results at the neighborhood level due to a lack of data and limited representation of low spatial scales in the models. To fill this gap, this research aims to present an agent-based model to simulate human mobility choices in the context of COVID-19, based on social activities of individuals in the neighborhood. We apply the VIABLE model to the decision-making process of heterogeneous agents, who populate the system's environment. The agents adapt their mobility and activities autonomously at each iteration to improve their well-being and respond to exposure risks. The study reveals significant temporal variations in mobility choices between the groups of agents with different vulnerability levels under the Covid-19 pandemic. Agents from the same group with similar economic backgrounds tend to select the same mobility patterns and activities leading to segregation at this low scale. We calibrated the model with a focus on Porto Alegre in Brazil.

Catalyst-free synthesis of low-temperature thermally actuated shape memory polyurethanes with modified biobased plasticizers.

Recent years have seen research into developing specific application-based materials with particular components. Bio-based polyurethanes (PUs) with self-tightening effect through shape recovery at low temperature have been designed from sesame oil-based plasticizer (HSSO). Without using a catalyst, the produced plasticizer was used to create PU samples. In contrast, orcein-based PU has been created both with and without HSSO. The prepared samples have been analyzed through instrumental as well as chemical analyses for surface chemistry, thermal stability and morphology. The gel content and water absorption capacity of HSSO based PU samples has been observed to be 99.27% and 14.94%, respectively. Shape memory study of the PU samples revealed that HSSO-based PU showed fast shape recovery at 60 °C with shape recovery rate (R r) and shape fixing rate (R f) of 94.44% and 5%, respectively, in 150 seconds, whereas at 36 °C the sample showed 85% R r in 15 minutes with 93.1196 N force and 52.78% R r without force. Low-temperature thermal actuation and high water uptake highlight the prepared samples as suitable candidates for self-tightening structures in textile and biomedical fields.

Photochemical interaction of ascorbic acid and nicotinamide in aqueous solution: A kinetic study.

The photodegradation of ascorbic acid (AH2) in the presence of nicotinamide (NA) at pH 2.0-12.0 has been studied using a 30 W UV radiation source. The reaction follows first-order kinetics and the values of apparent first-order rate constants (kobs) at 1 × 10-3 M NA concentration range from 1.17 (pH 2.0) to 3.61 × 10-3 min-1 (pH 12.0). The values of these rate constants (k0) in the absence of NA range from 0.50 (pH 2.0) to 1.75 × 10-3 min-1 (pH 12.0), indicating that the values of kobs for the photodegradation of AH2 in the presence of NA are about 2 fold compared to those of the AH2 alone. The second-order rate constants (k') for the photochemical interaction of AH2 and NA are in the range of 0.67 (pH 2.0) and 1.86 × 10-3 M-1 min-1 (pH 12.0). The k'-pH profile shows a gradual increase in the rate as a function of pH. This is due to the ionization of AH2 to give ascorbyl anions (AH-) which are more susceptible to photodegradation compared to the neutral molecule (AH2). NA appears to undergo photochemical interaction with AH2 during the reaction by acting as an electron acceptor to enhance its rate of photodegradation. The concentrations of AH2 and NA in degraded solutions have been determined by a two-component spectrometric method at 243 and 261 nm (pH 2.0) with a precision of ±2%. The method has been validated and the results are comparable to the HPLC method.

Seroprevalence and Spatial Distribution of Toxoplasmosis in Sheep and Goats in North-Eastern Region of Pakistan.

Toxoplasmosis is a protozoan disease that is caused by Toxoplasma gondii in livestock and humans. Due to its medical and veterinary importance, it is essential to study the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection among humans and animals in various parts of the world. The major objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and spatial distribution of toxoplasmosis in small ruminants (sheep and goats) of north-eastern region, Pakistan. A total of 1,000 animals comprising of sheep (n=470) and goats (n=530) were examined for T. gondii infection by using ELISA. An epidemiological data was collected in the form of questionnaire. A surface has been generated by using method of interpolation in Arc GIS with the help of IDW (inverse distance weight). The results showed higher seroprevalence of T. gondii in goats (42.8%) as compared to sheep (26.2%). The seroprevalence was higher in females as compared to males in all examined ruminants. Similarly, there is a wide variation in the seroprevalence of T. gondii in different breeds of sheep and goats showing higher seroprevalence in Teddy (52.8%) and Damani breed (34.5%) of goat and sheep's, respectively. The geographical and spatial distribution of T. gondii shows that it is widely distributed in different parts of the north-eastern region of Pakistan. Our results suggest widespread environmental contamination with T. gondii oocysts. It suggests us that small ruminants could be a potentially important source of T. gondii infection if their infected meat is consumed undercooked.

An overview on different aspects of hypodermosis: Current status and future prospects.

Livestock plays a vital role in economic development of a nation and is being used in agriculture for draft power, production of farmyard manure as well as milk and meat production. Bovine hypodermosis is the top culprit among all parasitic infections across the world. Hypodermosis is an endemic disease in the mountainous areas/plain areas and is regularly observed in the northern hemisphere of the globe affecting cattle, deer, yaks and buffaloes. There is a wide variation in geographical distribution of Hypoderma spp. during the years 1945-2015. The manuscript includes a geospatial study that tries to maps the global distribution of hypodermosis in different areas of the world in order to detect hotspots or endemic areas that may be a potential source for disease spread. This information's are very useful to predict the potential high risk areas that are prone to disease outbreak. The present review aims to evaluate the global distribution, molecular discrimination, diagnostics and vaccination of hypodermosis, focusing on its current status and future perspectives towards the management of the disease and its control strategies.