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Smallholder farmers in northern Punjab struggle to adopt sustainable practices like essential oil extraction, despite their potential to improve livelihoods. Core elements from theory of planned behavior, technology acceptance model, and innovation diffusion theory are amalgamated to develop an adoption model, which is subsequently analyzed using structural equation model. The results unveil significant mediating effects involving attitudes (perceived usefulness, easiness), normative concerns (social influence), and indicating maximum variation (R²) regarding by-product preparation (0.76) and steam distillation (0.65). The model successfully accounts moderating effects of socioeconomic variables, indicating a robust association among latent variables. Hence, improving the adoption behavior among smallholders necessitates a focus on socio-psychological and socioeconomic factors.

 

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Backgrounds: Delay in the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) leads to poor response to treatment and the disease transmission to susceptible individuals. The Xpert MTB/RIF assay efficiently detects Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). The present study aimed to compare acid-fast bacilli (AFB) microscopy, culture, and Xpert MTB/RIF assay in the diagnosis of pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis cases.
Materials & Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology, Government Medical College, Srinagar, India over 18 months from February 2019 to July 2020. Samples were processed and evaluated using AFB microscopy, culture, and Xpert MTB/RIF assay.
Findings: Among the 1862 samples evaluated, 224 samples were found to be positive using AFB microscopy, culture, and Xpert MTB/RIF assay. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay in diagnosing pulmonary TB cases was 98.23 and 97.69%, respectively. Among the smear-negative extrapulmonary samples, 52 (5.75%) and 86 (9.6%) samples were positive in culture and the Xpert MTB/RIF assay, respectively. The maximum recovery of MTB by Xpert MTB/RIF assay was from tissue biopsy specimens. Rifampicin resistance was observed in six samples.
Conclusion: Both culture and Xpert MTB/RIF methods were sensitive in detecting smear-positive samples. Although both techniques missed some smear-negative pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB cases, the Xpert MTB/RIF assay enhanced the detection rate of MTB compared to culture. The Xpert MTB/RIF assay enabled the accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis cases with a rapid turnaround time; therefore, it could assist clinicians to start timely therapeutic interventions for these patients.

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Gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus L.) is one of the most widely cultivated, economically important and common flowering plants worldwide including Pakistan. However, its yield of flower is quite low when grown under agro-climatic conditions of Multan. A field experiment was conducted at the Experimental Area, Department of Horticulture, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan (Pakistan), during 2010-2012 to investigate the effect of micronutrients (B, Zn and Fe) on growth, flower yield and quality of gladiolus cv. Traderhorn. Eight treatments comprised of either each micronutrient alone or a combination of Fe, B and Zn were applied. Corms were planted within the first week of November 2010, and 2011 on 60 cm apart ridges with 20 cm distance allowed within rows. Twenty corms were planted in each treatment, of three replicates. Micronutrient sprays were applied at 30 and 60 Days After Planting (DAP). Application of the micronutrients significantly increased plant height, leaf chlorophyll content, flower stalk length, flower fresh weight, spike length, florets per spike, florets’ fresh weight and diameter, flower vase-life, flower diameter as well as fresh weight of corms. Leaf number and days to spike emergence were only influenced by a combined application of all the three micronutrients. Among the micronutrient treatments, the treatment containing FeSO₄.7H₂O, H₃BO₃ and ZnSO₄.7H₂O (all at 2% level) performed the best for all the parameters except for number of corm per plant, which was not affected significantly by the foliar application of the micronutrients.