PREVALENCE OF HELMINTH PARASITE OF DOMESTIC CHICKEN (Gallus domesticus) IN DISTRICT KHAIRPUR, SINDH, PAKISTAN

Poultry is an important sub sector of agriculture and has contributed enormously to food production by playing a vital role in the national economy by contributing towards food security of the country reducing pressure on demand for mutton and beef and earning of foreign exchange. Birds in a traditional and open environment carry a huge risk of parasitic infections. A survey was made to determine the prevalence of helminth parasite of Gallus domesticus in district Khairpur. A total of 46 domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus) were randomly collected from different villages of district Khairpur, were examined for the prevalence of helminth parasite. Seven species of helminth parasites identified, out of which four species of cestodes and three species of nematodes. Cestodes comprises Cotugonia dignopora 44 (91.6%) Raillietina tarquata 40 (86.9%), Raillietina tetragona 20 (43.4%) Choanotaenia infundibulum 6 (13%). Among nematodes 33 (71.7%)  Ascaridia galli were observed. The results of present study revealed that sub-standard poultry farming is a major factor for parasitic infection in local chicken which ultimately cause heavy loss

Predicting Successful Tapering of Biologic Therapy for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Remission – Why are we still using clinical remission criteria to inform decisions?

Remission is the optimum treatment target for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. With the advent of biologic therapies, and the use of treat to target strategies, many more patients are achieving remission. Once a patient has achieved a period of sustained remission, there is little to guide subsequent management and patients usually continue treatment long-term. This may be inappropriate. Recent evidence suggests that some patients may be able to reduce or even stop therapy however, the ideal patient profile is yet to be determined. Potential predictors have been identified, however have not entered routine clinical practice. There is a need for robust biomarkers to facilitate the prediction of successful tapering

Break-up of nano-particle agglomerates by hydrodynamically limited processes

When dry nano-particulate powders are first added into a liquid, clusters as large as hundreds of microns can be formed. In this study, high shear impellers, such as the sawtooth Ekatomizer and rotor-stator impellers were used to suspend and break-up these agglomerates in a stirred vessel. The high local energy dissipation rates generated by these impeller could slowly break up clusters to sub-micron sizes by an erosional mechanism. In comparison, single and multiple passes through a valve homogeniser could quickly break the nano-particle clusters to sub-micron sizes; single pass operation had the highest breakage efficiency for a given specific energy input. For both equipment types, the rate of fines generation was found to be controlled by the maximum energy dissipation rate. However, the size of the fine aggregates produced was a constant and was not a function of the energy dissipation rate

Impact of E-service quality on brand attachment and willingness to spend more

E-service quality is important in current business practices. This concept is yet to be explored in context of influencing other important variables. This paper aims to conceptualize e-service quality relationship with brand attachment and willingness to spend more. Understanding the relationship between these constructs is important for service providers in order to enhance superior online customer service experience. Suggested linkages amongst variables further need empirical support. Theoretical implications and future research directions are also proposed

Prevalence of and factors associated with anxiety and depression among women in a lower middle class semi-urban community of Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: To study the prevalence of, and factors associated with anxiety and depression among women.Design: A cross sectional survey.SETTING: A lower middle class semi-urban community of Karachi, Pakistan.PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1218 women between the ages of 18-50 years.METHODOLOGY: Systematically every third household was identified from which a woman was randomly selected. The Aga Khan University Anxiety and Depression Scale and a socio-demographic questionnaire were administered verbally by trained interviewers for assessing the prevalence of, and associated factors for anxiety and depression.Results: A prevalence of 30% was found. Increasing age, lack of education and verbal abuse were the associated factors found to have an independent relationship.CONCLUSION: Providing education and reducing domestic abuse could lead to decrease in the prevalence of anxiety and depression in women

Electrodeposited Nickel-Sulfide Films as Competent Hydrogen Evolution Catalysts in Neutral Water

The development of low-cost, efficient, and robust electrocatalysts of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a crucial step toward the conversion and storage of sustainable and carbon-neutral energy resources, such as solar energy. Not only the HER catalysts need to be composed of inexpensive elements, they are also desirable to be prepared at low energy cost. In this work, we report that nickel-sulfide (Ni-S) films prepared by facile potentiodynamic deposition are active HER catalysts in aqueous media. Notably, the Ni-S films showed catalytic activity in water with a wide range of pH values (0 to 14), as well as in natural water. In pH 7 phosphate buffer, a current density of 60 mA cm-2 could be achieved with a Tafel slope of 77 mV dec-1 and a Faradaic efficiency of 100%. A long-term bulk electrolysis of the Ni-S film exhibited steady current over 100 h with no deactivation, demonstrating its superior stability in neutral water. Further, an initial activation process was observed, which is likely due to the increase in the effective surface area of the Ni-S film under electrocatalytic conditions. A suite of characterization techniques, including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, were conducted to probe the composition and structure of the Ni-S film, revealing that its major component is Ni3S2 which was preserved under electrocatalytic conditions

Transcriptome assembly, profiling and differential gene expression analysis of the halophyte Suaeda fruticosa provides insights into salt tolerance

Background Improvement of crop production is needed to feed the growing world population as the amount and quality of agricultural land decreases and soil salinity increases. This has stimulated research on salt tolerance in plants. Most crops tolerate a limited amount of salt to survive and produce biomass, while halophytes (salt-tolerant plants) have the ability to grow with saline water utilizing specific biochemical mechanisms. However, little is known about the genes involved in salt tolerance. We have characterized the transcriptome of Suaeda fruticosa, a halophyte that has the ability to sequester salts in its leaves. Suaeda fruticosa is an annual shrub in the family Chenopodiaceae found in coastal and inland regions of Pakistan and Mediterranean shores. This plant is an obligate halophyte that grows optimally from 200–400 mM NaCl and can grow at up to 1000 mM NaCl. High throughput sequencing technology was performed to provide understanding of genes involved in the salt tolerance mechanism. De novo assembly of the transcriptome and analysis has allowed identification of differentially expressed and unique genes present in this non-conventional crop. Results Twelve sequencing libraries prepared from control (0 mM NaCl treated) and optimum (300 mM NaCl treated) plants were sequenced using Illumina Hiseq 2000 to investigate differential gene expression between shoots and roots of Suaeda fruticosa. The transcriptome was assembled de novo using Velvet and Oases k-45 and clustered using CDHIT-EST. There are 54,526 unigenes; among these 475 genes are downregulated and 44 are upregulated when samples from plants grown under optimal salt are compared with those grown without salt. BLAST analysis identified the differentially expressed genes, which were categorized in gene ontology terms and their pathways. Conclusions This work has identified potential genes involved in salt tolerance in Suaeda fruticosa, and has provided an outline of tools to use for de novo transcriptome analysis. The assemblies that were used provide coverage of a considerable proportion of the transcriptome, which allows analysis of differential gene expression and identification of genes that may be involved in salt tolerance. The transcriptome may serve as a reference sequence for study of other succulent halophytes.Pakistan-U.S. Science and Technology Cooperation Program, U.S. Dept. of State and Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, and by the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology at Brigham Young University

Temperature Dependent Viscosity of a Third Order Thin Film Fluid Layer on a Lubricating Vertical Belt

This paper aims to study the influence of heat transfer on thin film flow of a reactive third order fluid with variable viscosity and slip boundary condition. The problem is formulated in the form of coupled nonlinear equations governing the flow together with appropriate boundary conditions. Approximate analytical solutions for velocity and temperature are obtained using Adomian Decomposition Method (ADM). Such solutions are also obtained by using Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic Method (OHAM) and are compared with ADM solutions. Both of these solutions are found identical as shown in graphs and tables. The graphical results for embedded flow parameters are also shown