No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Purpose Promoting entrepreneurship within agri-food sectors in developing countries can be a viable strategy towards economic development. Predicting which factors will foster entrepreneurial behaviour is somewhat complex. Specifically, a deeper understanding of precursory effects on entrepreneurial behaviour is required to enhance entrepreneurship in the agri-food sectors. This paper aims to explore what predicts the entrepreneurial decisions in the dairy industry of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach The research used an integrative framework built on the entrepreneurial event model and determinants of entrepreneurial intention. Using a partial least square approach to structural equation model estimation, this study tested a conceptual model and its hypotheses based on 174 cases sampled from Pakistan’s dairy industry. Findings The research showed that intention is a strong predictor to start entrepreneurial activities in the Pakistani dairy industry. Amongst precursory factors, perceived feasibility, readiness and conviction were found strongly linked to intention when explaining the causes of entrepreneurial start-ups. Surprisingly, the impact of attitude and triggering event was not significant in explaining the phenomenon under investigation. Practical implications The findings suggest that training and education programmes can enhance critical perceptions such as desirability, feasibility and conviction among farmers to become entrepreneur. For this purpose, government should establish dairy incubation centres in different cities and transform agricultural extension department to help farmers understand market-oriented dairy farming businesses and build their capacity in farm entrepreneurship. Originality/value This research attempted to shed light on fostering entrepreneurship in the context of agri-food sectors in developing countries such as Pakistan’s dairy industry.

Thermochemical heat-storage materials such as magnesium, zinc and iron sulfates offer high energy-storage densities and a reliable means of long-term storage of solar energy. In this research study, the dynamic properties of these three salts were investigated based on their hydration and dehydration characteristics. To investigate the effect of regeneration temperatures on the physio-chemical properties of the materials, four sets of temperatures were used. At 100°C, zinc sulfate showed a significant loss of water as compared to magnesium and iron salts, while in the hydration process at lower temperatures, zinc sulfate showed the highest sorption enthalpy and energy density. Furthermore, the crystallinity of salt hydrates was characterised using powder X-ray diffraction measurements, which revealed that dehydration of water molecules occurred only in magnesium sulfate, whereas partial distortion occurred in iron sulfate with a rise in temperature. Collating the results together indicated that zinc sulfate is more energy efficient than both magnesium and iron sulfate. With a calculated hydration energy density at 100°C of 1·26 GJ/m3, zinc sulfate is the best option among the three salts for its use as a thermochemical material.

Background: The biological potential of prostate cancer is extremely variable. Particular interest is focused on markers not expressed in normal prostatic tissues. pS2 protein expression has been demonstrated in a range of malignant tissues in an oestrogen-independent pathway. Recently, it has been demonstrated that pS2, in prostate cancer, is closely associated with neuro-endocrine differentiation. In the present study, we have analyzed, the potential of Neuro-endocrine and pS2 (TFF1) expression in human prostate cancer determined by immunohistochemistry, in primary adenocarcinoma of the prostate and attempted to correlate this with the clinico-pathologic features of the patient and neuroendocrine expression.

No abstract

The aim of this study was to study the diversified income, its contribution and the effect of income of the households in Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Data were collected from 323 households through face to face interviews with the help of a structured questionnaire. The empirical evidence shows that among the farm sources of livelihood the crop and livestock activities of the household were diversified and have been increased. The adoption of latest seed technologies of maize and wheat had increased the productivity and hence income of the farm households. The sample respondents had also diversified livestock activities. Average income from crop was Rs. 65,350 per annum per household based on total household. While its contribution to total income was 15.08%. Diversification was observed mainly in non-farm income sources. The overall non-farm income contribution to the total income after diversification was 69.40% and the average income was Rs. 300,811 per household per annum income. The contribution of total income from farm sources was decreased by 10.03% after the diversification of income. Agriculture to non-agriculture ratio decrease to 0.4408 after the diversification of income. Average income from the farm sources decreased while from non-farm sources increased. From all sources of income the change was Rs. 1,80,812 per annum per household. But the contribution of non-farm sources was more than the farm sources of income to the total household income. It was concluded from the findings that diversification had increased the household income. The area lack in development compared with other areas of the province. The study recommends further improvements in both the farm and non-farm sources of income for sustainable livelihood and this can be done by investing more in the productive capitals of the rural households.