Hazara University

Cereal crops, wheat, barley, and maize face significant threats from aphid pests (Hemiptera: Aphididae), including species like Rhopalosiphum padi, Sitobion avenae, Schizaphis graminum, Metopolophium dirhodum, and Diuraphis noxia. These aphids cause direct damage through phloem sap extraction and indirect losses by vectoring viruses such as Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV), leading to substantial yield reductions. Amid growing concerns over insecticide resistance, environmental pollution, and non-target effects, biological control using predatory larvae of aphidophagous Syrphidae (hoverflies or flower flies) has emerged as a key component of sustainable Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in cereal agroecosystems. This review synthesizes the taxonomic diversity, biology, and predatory efficacy of aphidophagous syrphids, with dominant species including Episyrphus balteatus (often >90% in European winter cereals), Eupeodes corollae, Scaeva pyrastri, and Sphaerophoria scripta. Larvae exhibit high voracity, consuming 400–1,200 aphids per individual (up to 333 per day in third instars), typically displaying a Type II functional response and area-restricted search behavior. Adults provide additional ecosystem services as pollinators reliant on floral resources. Landscape management strategies, such as sown flower strips (using Asteraceae, buckwheat, alyssum), field margins, and crop diversification, enhance adult abundance, early arrival, and spillover into crops, improving synchronization with aphid outbreaks. Challenges include intraguild predation, pesticide sensitivity (high toxicity from pyrethroids and many neonicotinoids), and the need for selective chemistries. Future directions emphasize habitat manipulation, chemical ecology (HIPVs and attractants), molecular gut-content analysis, and climate-adaptive modeling to strengthen syrphid-based biocontrol in cereal systems.

Diabetes mellitus and gastrointestinal infections remain major global health concerns, contributing to high morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. To address these challenges, a series of oxadiazole-bearing imine scaffolds were designed and synthesized as dual α-glucosidase and urease inhibitors. Among them, compound 5 (IC50 = 5.30 ± 0.20 μM for α-glucosidase; 8.60 ± 0.30 μM for urease) and compound 6 (IC50 = 3.80 ± 0.60 μM; 5.20 ± 0.40 μM) exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity. The invitro potential of these compounds was compared with the standard compounds urease (IC50 = 12.20 ± 0.21 μM) and acarbose (IC50 = 10.30 ± 1.10 μM). All compounds were synthesized and characterized using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and HREI-MS. In silico studies, including molecular docking, revealed strong binding interactions between the active molecules and target enzymes. Density Functional Theory (DFT) analysis provided insights into electronic characteristics such as HOMO-LUMO energy gaps and reactive molecular regions, while ADMET profiling confirmed favorable drug-likeness. Pharmacophore modeling of compound 6 highlighted critical hydrogen-bonding interactions, and molecular dynamics simulations further validated the stability and affinity of the protein-ligand complexes. Collectively, these findings suggest that the synthesized oxadiazole derivatives are promising dual inhibitors with potential therapeutic relevance in diabetes and gastrointestinal infections.

Background: The mountain communities of the Pakistani Himalayas possess rich ethnobotanical traditions centered around high-value medicinal plants such as Trillium govanianum Wall. ex D. Don, Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soo, Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. ex Royle, and Podophyllum hexandrum Royle. These species play vital roles in local health care, livelihoods, and cultural identity. Despite this significance, systematic documentation is limited, posing risks to both traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and biodiversity conservation. Methods: From May 2024 to June 2025, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted across 24 mountain villages in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Neelum, Leepa, and Hattian) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Kaghan, Siran, and Galliat), at altitudes of 2,000–3,300 m. Using purposive and snowball sampling, A total of 120 respondents were engaged, including 98 household respondents and 22 key informants (10 forestry officers and 12 herbal traders) interviews were completed. Field observations and gender-segregated focus groups provided complementary insights into plant use, harvesting practices, and trade. Voucher specimens were authenticated at the Pakistan Museum of Natural History. Data were analyzed thematically for TEK, gender, and governance dynamics, alongside quantitative summaries of market dependence. Results: Community governance structures revealed extensive reliance on TEK for species identification, collection timing, and sustainable use. However, weak institutional enforcement and rising market demand threaten traditional management systems. Conclusions: Integrating indigenous knowledge and women’s participation into formal conservation and livelihood policies is essential for safeguarding both cultural resilience and Himalayan biodiversity. Keywords: Ethnobotany; Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK); Trillium govanianum; Dactylorhiza hatagirea; Aconitum heterophyllum; Podophyllum hexandrum; Gender roles; Community governance; Biocultural conservation; Pakistani Himalayas

Mining soils often suffer from low biodiversity, poor organic matter, and environmental disturbances, which hinder seed germination and plant growth. This study utilized composting and phytocapping approaches to reclaim Fe tailing soil at field scale through addition of different organic residues and Sesbania sesban plant. The improvement of soil quality parameters including pH, soil organic matter (SOM), electrical conductivity (EC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), total N, total P, total microbial count, organically bound Fe, total Fe in soil, and in different parts of the plant were analyzed for 90 days. Organically bound iron was analyzed through Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and microbial community dynamics through 16S rRNA genome sequencing. All treatments showed highly significant difference (p < 0.05) in the pH values compared to C, while within treatments negligible changes in the pH was observed. In case of SOM, organically and plant treated samples showed significant increase as compared to C sample, similarly N, P content, EC, CEC and microbial count, total Fe and organically bound Fe were also significantly increased. The shift of microbial community from lithotrophs to organotrophs was observed compared to control which showed higher abundance of chemolithotrophs. It is concluded that the addition of organic matter enhanced the iron tailing properties along with iron mineralization, while S. sesban has further improved this process and uptake iron efficiently. These findings suggest treatment strategies applicable not only to iron mining sites but also to other extraction sites, including Cu and Pb.

This study examines the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) innovation and natural resource management on Pakistan's economic growth from 1990 to 2024. The time-series econometric technique, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, was used to analyze short- and long-term relationships among economic growth, AI innovation (proxies by patent applications), total natural resource rents, and inflation. The results show that AI innovation and natural resource rents significantly contribute to economic growth, while inflation negatively affects it. These findings highlight the importance of promoting AI-driven technological advancements and sustainable resources used to achieve long-term financial resilience. Based on the results, this study recommends policies to reward AI innovation and adopt sustainable natural resource management practices, ensuring a balanced and robust pathway for economic development.

Global pandemics have become one of the most significant threats to human health, economic stability, and social order in the twenty-first century. The rapid spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19, Ebola, Zika, SARS, and influenza has exposed major weaknesses in traditional public health systems, particularly in surveillance, diagnostics, prevention, and response capacity. Factors such as globalization, climate change, urbanization, and increased human–animal interaction have further intensified the frequency and impact of pandemics, making conventional control measures alone insufficient. This article explores the role of biotechnology and nanotechnology as next-generation defenses in global pandemic preparedness and response. Advances in biotechnology, such as genomic surveillance, molecular diagnostics, mRNA vaccine platforms, monoclonal antibodies, and precision medicine have enabled rapid pathogen identification, accelerated vaccine development, and targeted therapeutic strategies. These innovations allow public health systems to move from reactive outbreak management toward proactive and predictive disease control. In parallel, nanotechnology contributes through highly sensitive nanoscale diagnostics, biosensors, lab-on-a-chip devices, improved vaccine stability, and targeted drug delivery systems, particularly benefiting low-resource and decentralized settings. The article also examines the integration of these technologies into public health infrastructures using digital health platforms, artificial intelligence, and bioinformatics to support real-time data analysis and coordinated decision-making. Ethical, regulatory, and governance challenges including equity, intellectual property, data privacy, biosafety, and biosecurity are critically discussed, emphasizing the need for fair access and global collaboration. Overall, the convergence of biotechnology and nanotechnology offers transformative potential to strengthen health system resilience. When supported by ethical governance, public trust, and international cooperation, these technologies can significantly enhance global preparedness and protection against future pandemics.