Effect of Natural and Artificial Diets on the Life History Parameters of Melon Fruit Fly Bactrocera Cucurbitae (Coquillett)

Fruit flies are the noxious pests of fruits and vegetables throughout out the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The melon fruit fly Bactrocera cucurbitae is a polyphagous pest of vegetables and fruits. We evaluated the effect of natural bottle gourd, (Lagenaria siceraria) and artificial diets on the life history parameters of B. cucurbitae under lab conditions. Results revealed that shortest incubation period (3.0 ± 0.54) was observed on natural diet whereas; lowest hatching % (12.4 ± 2.11) was observed on blotting papers. However, reduced larval duration (5.6 ± 0.24) was observed when maggots were provided with bottle gourd as compared with artificial diet (6.6 ± 0.24). Furthermore, significantly (p < 0.05) higher pupal recovery, pupal duration and adult emergence were recorded on natural diet. In contrast, statistically higher pupal weight (p < 0.05) was observed on artificial diet. In addition, number of deformed adults was higher in natural diet as compared to artificial diet. These findings could be helpful in defining more optimum conditions for the mass rearing of B.cucurbitae for use in Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), programmes for various orchards. Key words: Natural diet, Artificial diet, Incubation period of B. cucurbitae.

CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND LIFESTYLE RELATED RISK FACTORS OF BREAST CANCER AMONG DIFFERENT AGE AND ETHNIC GROUPS

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most frequent and leading cause of malignancies in females globally. In Pakistan, breast cancer is most frequently found in younger individuals and late stage presentation is the key feature for clinical diagnosis. Numbers of genetic factors are reported to be significantly associated with the manifestation of breast cancer. A number of factors including gender, age, genetic predisposition, familial vertical history, ethnicity and life style eventually leading to the development of the cancer. Therefore, we identified the role of biochemical characteristics of all participants in the development of breast cancer. 50 breast cancer patients were enrolled in this study. A written informed consent was taken from each of the patients prior to data collection through questionnaire. People belonging to different ethnic groups: Pashtoon was found to be the highest noteworthy figure of breast cancer patients with an overall of 14 (28%) followed by Afghani ethnic group with 7 (14%), Baloch 15 (30%), Hazara 8 (16%), Punjabi 3 (6%) and Sindhi 3 (6%). Key words: Breast cancer, Ethnic groups, Cenar Hospital, Balochistan

Investigating The Molecular Aspects of Theileria Annulata In Naturally Infected Animals, Alongside A Mention of Tick Distribution In Hyderabad And Karachi

Introduction: The Theileria annulata is a haemo protozoan parasite that causes economically significant fatal tick-borne diseases in domesticated and wild animals. Methodology: The research focused on identifying Theileria annulata infection in both cattle and buffalo through molecular methods. To achieve this, DNA extraction was conducted using whole blood samples, followed by the design of specific primers for Theileria annulata and subsequent PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) analysis. Results: Data were also collected on tick infestation and host-parasite relationship. A total of 2400 Cattle and Buffaloes were evaluated during the study. District-wise detection indicated that the highest rate of infected samples was recorded from Peri-Urban (Cattle=88.33%, Buffalo= 61.94%) and Urban areas (Cattle=65.38%, Buffalo=54.10%) of district Hyderabad, while the lowest rate was recorded from Peri-urban (Cattle=24%, Buffalo=17.9%) and Urban (20.38%, Buffalo=16.66%) areas of district Karachi, Month wise detection of Theileria annulata indicated the highest rate in July (Cattle= 74.0%, Buffalo=47.5%) and the lowest rate in December (Cattle=11.7%, Buffalo=18.1%). The prevalence of parasitic infection showed a notable increase (P<0.05) in the areas of the Suburban region than in Cityscape areas. Conclusion: In the molecular identification of Theileria annulata, the infection rate exhibited a notable difference between District Hyderabad and District Karachi, with a higher prevalence in the former and a lower incidence in the latter. Additionally, cattle displayed greater susceptibility to tick infestation in comparison to buffalo

Molecular Prevalence of Anaplasma Marginale in Cattle and Identification of Rhipicephalus, Boophilus, Hyalomma, And Amblyomma Ticks from District Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad

Introduction: Anaplasma marginal is a rickettsial organism and is the causative agent in cattle anaplasmosis. This Parasite attacks the red blood cells after infection of sensitive bovine and is transmitted by ticks. Methodology: The study was aimed to detect Anaplasma marginale through PCR the prevalence of four genera (Rhipicephalus, Boophilus, Hyalomma, and Amblyomma) of ticks, twelve hundred animals were observed, 560 samples of blood randomly taken from cattle that possesses ticks on their body and these samples were shifted to the Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam. The infected cattle exhibited clinical signs such as Temperature, decrease in appetite, nausea, and chills. The study was conducted over a period of one year from November 2020 to November 2021. Results: The results of the study showed a high rate of Anaplasma infection (88.33%) and a prevalence of ticks at Mirpurkhas. Month-wise data reveals that the maximum infection was shown in the month of June and the minimum in the month of November at District Mirpurkhas, while at Hyderabad, the month-wise data indicates the Maximum infection rate in the month of May, and the minimum infection was found in the month of November. Conclusion: Ticks collected from two districts of Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad proceeded for identification of Tick’s genus, and the mostly ticks which were infested on animals concerned with the Hyalomma genus (26.11%) Amblyomma genus (25.37%), Boophilus genus (24.62%), and Rhipicephalus genus (23.88%)

Synergy in penicillin, cephalosporin, amphenicols, and aminoglycoside against MDR S. aureus isolated from Camel milk

This study investigated the synergy testing of penicillin, cephalosporin, amphenicols, and aminoglycoside in the camel milk (n=768 samples), subsequently used for isolation of MDR S. aureus targeting mecA gene. Antibiotic susceptibility of S. aureus showed >90% isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim and resistant against oxacillin, ampicillin, and cefoxitin. Further, 50-85% of the S. aureus were sensitive to gentamicin, oxytetracycline, and chloramphenicol and resistant against cefotaxime, vancomycin, and cefixime. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of cefotaxime, (C) and ampicillin (A) in combination with gentamicin (G) was reduced by 99.34% and 70.46%, respectively, while with chloramphenicol (Ch), reduction was 57.49% and 60%, respectively. In addition, the Fractional Inhibitory Concentration Index (FICI) of G+A, Ch+C and Ch+G combinations showed synergy against 80%, 60%, and 30% of MDR S. aureus, respectively. Similarly, C+A and Ch+G displayed indifferent interaction against 70 % and 30% of isolates, respectively, while the later showed additive interaction against 10% of MDR S. aureus. Altogether, our results described effective combination of gentamicin and chloramphenicol with ampicillin and cefotaxime to combat MDR S. aureus

Effect of Varying Levels of Nitrogen on the Growth and Yield of Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.)

Nitrogen (N) fertilization at higher rates enhances the yield of crop plants; however, overuse of N in cultivation of crop not only decreased Nitrogen Use Efficiency of crop plants but caused severe environmental pollution. Hence, the optimum use of N is perquisite for sustainable development of Agriculture. This study was carried out during 2016, to evaluate the effect of various nitrogen applications on the economic performance of muskmelon. This research work was laid out at experimental site of Horticulture orchard SAU Tandojam with three replications in RCBD. The growth and yield performance of muskmelon was assessed by using six nitrogen (N) levels viz; 0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 kg ha-1. Two varieties including Chandny and golden tumbro were used in the current study.The result showed that effect of different nitrogen doses on the economic important parameters of muskmelon was significant (