Assessment and Characterization of Irrigation Quality of Ground Water in Bahawalpur District, Pakistan.

Ground water development has contributed significantly to food security and reduction in poverty in Pakistan. Due to rapid population growth, there has been a dramatic increase in the intensity of ground water exploitation leading to declining water table and deteriorating ground water quality. In such prevailing conditions, hydro geological appraisal of escalating ground water exploitation has become a paramount importance. Keeping in this view, a study was undertaken to categorize suitability of ground water in the area of Bahawalpur district for irrigation purpose.  Total 19207 water samples were collected from all the five tehsils of district Bahawalpur during the year July 2011 to June 2013. These samples were analyzed and categorized according to suitability criteria of water quality evaluation. 39 percent water samples were found fit, 12 percent were marginally fit and 49 percent water samples were found unfit for irrigation purpose. Majority of water samples were found hazardous for irrigation purpose. The soils under study were heavy texture, medium alkaline, low to medium in P and high in K. It is suggested that there is urgent need to evaluate the effects of tube well water on crop yields. Keywords: EC, SAR, RSC, Ground water, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Determination of total phenol, in-vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of seeds and fruits of Zizyphus spina-christi grown in Oman

ABSTRACTObjectiveTo perform phytochemical screening and to evaluate the in-vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of ethanolic extract of seeds and fruits of Zizyphus spina-christi (ZSC) growing in Oman.MethodsAlcoholic extract of the dry powdered seeds and fruits of ZSC was obtained by cold maceration method and was subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening. Total phenolic content were estimated by using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) was used to determine in-vitro antioxidant activity of plant extracts. Anti-inflammatory activity was investigated by protein denaturation method.ResultsPhytochemical analysis of both the extracts revealed the presence of major classes of phytochemicals such as tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides etc.. ZSC seeds were found to contain the highest total phenolics but ZSC fruits exhibited the maximum antioxidant activity. The anti-inflammatory activity of both parts of the plant extract was significant and comparable with the standard anti-inflammatory drug, diclofenac.ConclusionsBased on the results of this pilot study, it can be concluded that ZSC is a good source of natural antioxidants which can be used to prevent progression of many chronic diseases. Further detailed phytochemical studies are needed to identify the chemical compounds responsible for exhibiting potent anti-inflammatory activity

Nosocomial infections and their control strategies

Nosocomial infections are also known as hospital-acquired/associated infections. National Healthcare Safety Network along with Centers for Disease Control for surveillance has classified nosocomial infection sites into 13 types with 50 infection sites, which are specific on the basis of biological and clinical criteria. The agents that are usually involved in hospital-acquired infections include Streptococcus spp., Acinetobacter spp., enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, coagulase-negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Legionella and Enterobacteriaceae family members, namely, Proteus mirablis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens. Nosocomial pathogens can be transmitted through person to person, environment or contaminated water and food, infected individuals, contaminated healthcare personnel's skin or contact via shared items and surfaces. Mainly, multi-drug-resistant nosocomial organisms include methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia, whereas Clostridium difficile shows natural resistance. Excessive and improper use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, especially in healthcare settings, is elevating nosocomial infections, which not only becomes a big health care problem but also causes great economic and production loss in the community. Nosocomial infections can be controlled by measuring and comparing the infection rates within healthcare settings and sticking to the best healthcare practices. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides the methodology for surveillance of nosocomial infections along with investigation of major outbreaks. By means of this surveillance, hospitals can devise a strategy comprising of infection control practices

Targeted Genome Editing for Cotton Improvement

Conventional tools induce mutations randomly throughout the cotton genome—making breeding difficult and challenging. During the last decade, progress has been made to edit the gene of interest in a very precise manner. Targeted genome engineering with engineered nucleases (ENs) specifically zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) RNA-guided nucleases (e.g., Cas9) has been described as a “game-changing technology” for diverse fields as human genetics and plant biotechnology. In eukaryotic systems, ENs create double-strand breaks (DSBs) at the targeted DNA sequence which are repaired by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) or homology-directed recombination (HDR) mechanisms. ENs have been used successfully for targeted mutagenesis, gene knockout, and multisite genome editing (GenEd) in model plants and crop plants such as cotton, rice, and wheat. Recently, cotton genome has also been edited for targeted mutagenesis through CRISPR/Cas for improved lateral root formation. In addition, an efficient and fast method has been developed to evaluate guide RNAs transiently in cotton. The targeted disruption of undesirable genes or metabolic pathway can be achieved to increase quality of cotton. Undesirable metabolites like gossypol in cottonseed can be targeted efficiently using ENs for seed-specific low-gossypol cotton. Moreover, ENs are also helpful in gene stacking for herbicide resistance, insect resistance, and abiotic stress tolerance

Counterterrorism in Public Opinion: A Cross Sectional Research in Punjab, Pakistan

Main objective of terrorism is to influence wide audience and creates state of fear among them Demand for scaled down of terrorism is foremost phenomenon in Pakistan Public pursued governments for not only sustainable terrorism policy but also react to affairs related to terrorism Present study aimed to collect general information regarding terrorism and government responses to terrorism in the light of public perspicacity A cross sectional survey was conducted with a sample size of 372 inhabitants from Punjab Pakistan The study demonstrated public feelings and thinking regarding responses to terrorism by government of Pakistan and role of military offensive actions Majority of the respondents shown confidence on military response to terrorism Political leadership s policies regarding counterterrorism were not highly appreciated by the public Political affiliation of the respondents affirmed the offensive action against all forms of terrorism Political affiliation significantly favors p 000 0 05 the demand that Pakistan army should be given full authority to control terrorism International assistance to counterterrorism was disproved by the people of Pakistan Demand of negotiation with militant was much significant p 001 0 05 among those who belong to religious organization

Drivers of climate variability and increasing water salinity impacts on the farmer’s income risk with future outlook mitigation

Purpose The main aim of this study is to investigate the impact of climate change and water salinity on farmer’s income risk with future outlook mitigation. Salinity and climate change are a threat to agricultural productivity worldwide. However, the combined effects of climate change and salinity impacts on farmers' income are not well understood, particularly in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach The response-yield function and general maximum entropy methods were used to predict the impact of temperature, precipitation and salinity on crop yield. The target minimization of total absolute deviations (MOTAD)-positive mathematical programming model was used to simulate the impact of climate change and salinity on socioeconomic and environmental indicators. In the end, a multicriteria decision-making model was used, aiming at the selection of suitable climate scenarios. Findings The results revealed that precipitation shows a significantly decreasing trend, while temperature and groundwater salinity (EC) illustrate a significantly increasing trend. Climate change and EC negatively impact the farmer's income and water shadow prices. Maximum reduction in income and water shadow prices was observed for A2 scenario (−12.4% and 19.4%) during 2050. The environmental index was the most important, with priority of 43.4% compared to socioeconomic indicators. Subindex amount of water used was also significant in study area, with 28.1% priority. The technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution ranking system found that B1 was the best climatic scenario for adopting climate change adaptation in the research region. Originality/value In this study, farmers' income threats were assessed with the aspects of different climate scenario (A1, A1B and B1) over the horizons of 2030, 2040 and 2050 and three different indicators (economic, social and environmental) in Northwestern region of Pakistan. Only in arid and semiarid regions has climate change raised temperature and reduced rainfall, which are preliminary symptoms of growing salinity.publishedVersio

Population characteristics of Phthiraptera occurring on Red Whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)

Two phthirapteran species, Menacanthus eurysternus (Amblycera) and Brueelia sp. (Ischnocera) were recovered from 100 Red Whiskered Bulbuls (Pycnonotus jocosus) during March to December 2006. The occurrence of both the phthirapteran species on the aforesaid host are new host records. The prevalence, intensity of infestation, range of infestation, variance to mean ratio, sex ratio, adult nymph ratio, index of discrepancy (D) and exponent of negative binomial (k) were computed. The frequency distribution pattern of M. eurysternus conforms to negative binomial model. The frequency distribution pattern of Brueelia sp. was skewed but not described by the negative binomial

Tool wear progression and its effect on energy consumption in turning of titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V).

To achieve greater productivity, titanium alloy requires cutting at higher speeds (above 100 m min−1) that affects the tool life and energy consumption during the machining process. This research work correlates the wear progression and Specific Cutting Energy (SCE) in turning Ti-6Al-4V alloy using H13 tools (uncoated carbide) in dry conditions from low to high cutting speeds. Cutting condition employed in this study were selected from published wear map developed for titanium (Ti-6Al-4V alloy) with the same tool. Flank wear growth of the tool has been investigated at different length of cuts in correlation with the SCE under different cutting conditions. The useful tool life was found to be shorter at high-speed machining conditions, thus the end of useful tool life criteria (ISO 3685) was reached at a much shorter length of cuts as compared to low-speed machining conditions. The cutting conditions corresponding to high wear rate also resulted in high SCE. Finally, SCE and wear have been related by a linear relationship that can be used to monitor wear and/or SCE utilization during machining. The results help in the selection of appropriate cutting conditions that will enhance the tool life and minimize SCE consumption during machining titanium alloy

Comparative assessment of extraction methods and quantitative estimation of luteolin in the leaves of Vitex negundo Linn. by HPLC

AbstractObjectiveTo find out the ideal organic solvent and extraction technique for the isolation of luteolin from the leaves of Vitex negundo Linn. (V. negundo) by quantitative estimation of luteolin through high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method.MethodsThe leaves of V. negundo were identified by a botanist, cleaned, dried under shade and powdered. Maceration, reflux, Soxhlet and ultrasound assisted extraction techniques were used for the extraction of luteolin from the leaves by using four different solvents of varying polarity such as methanol, ethanol, chloroform, and dichloromethane. A simple HPLC method was used to determine the quantity of luteolin in each sample extract.ResultsThe calibration plot of standard luteolin showed a linear relationship in the concentration range of 100-500 μg/mL with a correlation coefficient, r2 of 0.998. The methanolic extract was found to contain highest amount of luteolin and among various techniques employed for extraction and isolation of luteolin, reflux technique was observed to be the most efficient.ConclusionBased on the HPLC results, it can be concluded that reflux technique using methanol is better than the other extraction techniques and should be preferred for the extraction and isolation of luteolin from V. negundo leaves extract in research labs or industries

Population Characteristics and the Nature of Egg Shells of two Phthirapteran Species Parasitizing Indian Cattle Egrets

The prevalence, intensities of infestation, range of infestation and population composition of two phthirapteran species, Ardeicola expallidus Blagoveshtchensky (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) and Ciconiphilus decimfasciatus Boisduval and Lacordaire (Menoponidae) on seventy cattle egrets were recorded during August 2004 to March 2005, in India. The frequency distribution patterns of both the species were skewed but did not correspond to the negative binomial model. The oviposition sites, egg laying patterns and the nature of the eggs of the two species were markedly different