Waterlogging and salinity management in the Sindh Province. Volume 1 - The irrigated landscape: resource availability across the hydrological divides

Irrigation management / River basins / Irrigated farming / Climate / Irrigation systems / Irrigation canals / Discharges / Water balance / Waterlogging / Salinity / Groundwater development / Tube wells / Water table / Drainage / Public sector / Land reclamation / Pakistan / Sindh Province / Indus Basin / Rohri / Larkana / Shikarpur / Hairdin / North Dadu / Ghotki / East Khairpur / Sukkur Barrage

Pain assessment and management in different wards of a tertiary care hospital

OBJECTIVE: To assess the pain management by medical team, emergency room (ER) team and Acute Pain team in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was done in Medical Ward, Surgical Ward and Emergency Room of Aga Khan University, Karachi, in March-April 2010. The assigned research medical officer visited the three locations every day and selected patients by way of convenient sampling. The study comprised 75 patients; 25 each in three groups. Information was collected on patient\u27s demographics, general characteristics, type of drugs and modalities used. Specific queries about pain were sorted out like adequacy of pain assessment done by primary physician, pain intensity, any intervention done and pain relief post-intervention. SPSS version 17, analysis of variance and Chi square test were used for statistical purpose. RESULTS: The mean current pain score on the visual analogue score (VAS) was lowest in the Surgical Ward which was being managed by the Acute Pain Management Service (APMS) team followed by the Medical Ward and then Emergency Rooms. The difference was found to be statistically significant. The mean of worst pain score was also the lowest in the Surgical Ward. There was significant difference between wards in terms of the use of pain medications. Proper documentation for pain was done for all patients in the Surgical Ward, followed by the Emergency Room and then the Medical Ward. CONCLUSION: Better pain assessment, re-assessment, documentation and patient satisfaction were observed in the Surgical Ward compared to the other two locations of the study

Severity of acute hepatitis and its outcome in patients with dengue fever in a tertiary care hospital Karachi, Pakistan (South Asia)

Background: Liver injury due to dengue viral infection is not uncommon. Acute liver injury is a severe complicating factor in dengue, predisposing to life-threatening hemorrhage, Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) and encephalopathy. Therefore we sought to determine the frequency of hepatitis in dengue infection and to compare the outcome (length of stay, in hospital mortality, complications) between patients of Dengue who have mild/moderate (ALT 23-300 IU/L) v/s severe acute hepatitis (ALT \u3e 300 IU/L). Methods: A Cohort study of inpatients with dengue viral infection done at Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi. All patients (≥ 14 yrs age) admitted with diagnosis of Dengue Fever (DF), Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) or Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) were included. Chi square test was used to compare categorical variables and fischer exact test where applicable. Survival analysis (Cox regression and log rank) for primary outcome was done. Student t test was used to compare continuous variables. A p value of less than or equal to 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Six hundred and ninety nine patients were enrolled, including 87% (605) patients with DF and 13% (94) patients with DHF or DSS. Liver functions tests showed median ALT of 88.50 IU/L; IQR 43.25-188 IU/L, median AST of 174 IU/L; IQR 87-371.5 IU/L and median T.Bil of 0.8 mg/dl; IQR 0.6-1.3 mg/dl. Seventy one percent (496) had mild to moderate hepatitis and 15% (103) had severe hepatitis. Mean length of stay (LOS) in patients with mild/moderate hepatitis was 3.63 days v.s 4.3 days in those with severe hepatitis (P value 0.002). Overall mortality was 33.3% (n = 6) in mild/moderate hepatitis vs 66.7% (n = 12) in severe hepatitis group (p value \u3c 0.001). Cox regression analysis also showed significantly higher mortality in severe hepatitis group (H.R (4.91; 95% CI 1.74-13.87 and P value 0.003) and in DHF/DSS (5.43; CI 1.86-15.84 and P value 0.002). There was a significant difference for the complications like Bleeding (P value \u3c 0.001), Acute Renal failure (ARF) (P value 0.002), Acalculus cholecystitis (P value 0.04) and encephalopathy (P value 0.02) in mild/moderate and Severe hepatitis groups respectively. Conclusion: Severe hepatitis (SGPT\u3e300IU) in Dengue is associated with prolonged LOS, mortality, bleeding and RF

Cellulose‐based Materials for the Removal of Heavy Metals from Wastewater – An Overview

Water pollution due to increase in population and high rates of wastewater generation have become serious concerns since the last few decades. Heavy metals are amongst the main wastewater pollutants due to their ability to persist in the environment. Materials and techniques are being investigated for the treatment of heavy metals in wastewater. Cellulose is one of the materials gaining attention due to its excellent physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. Cellulose-based materials are being widely studied for the adsorption of heavy metals. This overview highlights research efforts to enhance the role of cellulose in wastewater treatment through cellulose-based materials. It also discusses the effects of cellulose modifications such as cellulose gels, cellulose composites, cellulose derivatives, functionalized cellulose, and nanocrystalline cellulose on the capacity of heavy metals adsorption

Fabrication and Evaluation of Cellulose-Alginate-Hydroxyapatite Beads for the Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from Aqueous Solutions

©2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. In the present study, the potential of synthesized mixed cellulose, alginate and hydroxyapatite beads for the efficient removal of Ni (II) and Cu (II) ions from aqueous solutions was investigated. Cellulose, alginate and hydroxyapatite are known for their individual adsorption capacity. Beads were prepared in different ratios of these materials. The prepared beads were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). FTIR and XRD analysis showed characteristic peaks assigned to cellulose, alginate and hydroxyapatite. Thermal stability was observed to increase with increase of hydroxyapatite percentage in beads. SEM images showed increased surface porosity and roughness with the increase of cellulose percentage. The prepared beads were used for the removal of Ni (II) and Cu (II) ions from aqueous solutions and the process was optimized with respect to pH, contact time, adsorbent dose and initial concentration of metal ions. The values of the coefficient of determination (R2) of the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption model indicated that the adsorbed Cu (II) and Ni (II) ions form monolayer coverage on the adsorbent surface. In kinetic analysis, Pseudo-second-order model fitted the kinetic experimental data well, as it showed high R2 value; above 0.9990

Lignin and lignin based materials for the removal of heavy metals from waste water - An overview

© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH. Water Pollution through heavy metals is the concerned issue as many industries like tanning, steel production and electroplating are the major contributors. Various toxic Heavy metals are a matter of concern as they have severe environmental and health effects. Most commonly, conventional methods are using to remove these heavy metals like precipitation, ion exchange, which are not economical and have disposal issues. Adsorption of heavy metals by different low-cost adsorbents seems to be the best option in wastewater treatment. Many agricultural by-products proved to be suitable as low-cost adsorbents for removing heavy metals efficiently in a minimum time. Lignin residues that involves both agricultural and wood residues and sometimes separated out from black liquor through precipitation have adsorption capacity and affinity comparable to other natural adsorbents. However, lignin as bio adsorbents have the advantage of less cost and gives efficient adsorption results. This study is a review of the recent literature on the use of natural lignin residues for heavy metals adsorption under different experimental scenarios

Genetic dissection of Ni toxicity in a spring wheat diversity panel by using 90 K SNP array

Excess Ni intake has harmful implications on human health, which include chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function, and cancer of lung and nasal sinuses. Like other toxic metals, higher Ni accumulation in grains leads to excess intake by humans when the contaminated grains are consumed as food. There is little information about the genetic factors that regulate Ni uptake in plants. To investigate genetic architecture of Ni uptake in leaf and translocation to grain, we performed a genome-wide association study with genotyping from 90 K array in a historical bread wheat diversity panel from Pakistan. We observed that Ni toxicity caused more than 50 % reductions in biological yield and grain yield, other agronomic traits were also partly or severely affected. Genetic association study helped identify 23 SNP-trait associations involved in Ni uptake in leaf and translocation to grains. These 23 SNPs covered 15 genomic loci at chromosomes 1A, 2D, 3B, 4A and 4B of wheat. The favorable alleles of these SNPs were randomly distributed in subpopulations indicating no selection pressure for this trait during breeding improvement. These regions had 283 low-confidence and 248 high-confidence protein coding genes. Among these, 156 were annotated using databases of wheat and closely related grass species. Since there is no previous report on genetic information of Ni uptake and translocation, these results provide sufficient grounds for further research of candidate genes and varietal development.Peer reviewe

SPECTRUM OF PLEURAL EFFUSION DUE TO RENAL PATHOLOGIES AT TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: To determine the spectrum of pleural effusion due to renal pathologies at tertiary care hospital. Patients And Methods: The one year cross sectional study was conducted at tertiary care hospital. All the patients either gender who were diagnosed as chronic kidney disease (on haemodialysis) were included in the study. These patients were allowed to undergo necessary investigations and treatment. All the specific patients had thorough clinical history, relevant clinical examination and important investigations to explore the pulmonary pathology (pleural effusion) while the frequency / percentages (%) and means ±SD computed for study variables. Results: During one year study period total fifty patients with pleural effusion were explored and studied. The frequency for male and female population was 32 (64%) and 18 (36%) with mean ± sd for age of male and female individuals was 59.82±7.83 and 53.85±6.94 respectively. Gender male 30 (60%), female 20 (40%), pleural effusion 32 (64%). The cause includes idiopathic (unknown) 05 (10%), over hydration 15 (30%), heart failure 06 (12%), parapneumonic effusion 08 (16%), uremic pleuritis 05 (10%), tuberculous pleurisy 06 (12%), malignancy (prostate cancer) 05 (10%). Conclusion: Pleural effusion is regular in hospitalized patients getting long haul hemodialysis due to chronic kidney disorders. Keywords: Pleural effusion, Kidney, Lung and Renal disease

Waterlogging and salinity management in the Sindh Province. Volume 1 - the irrigated landscape: resource availability across the hydrological divides. Annexes

Hydrology / Land classification / Soils / Irrigation canals / Pakistan / Sindh Province / Ghotki Canal Command / Begari Canal Command / Desert Canal Command / Dadu Canal Command / Rice Canal Command / North West Canal Command / Khairpur East Canal Command / Khairpur West Canal Command / Rohri Canal Command / Nara Canal Command / Jamrao Canal Command / Fuleli Canal Command / Pinyari Canal Command / Akram Wah (Lined Channel) Command

Worker remittances and the global preconditions of ‘smart development’

With the growing environmental crisis affecting our globe, ideas to weigh economic or social progress by the ‘energy input’ necessary to achieve it are increasingly gaining acceptance. This question is intriguing and is being dealt with by a growing number of studies, focusing on the environmental price of human progress. Even more intriguing, however, is the question of which factors of social organization contribute to a responsible use of the resources of our planet to achieve a given social result (‘smart development’). In this essay, we present the first systematic study on how migration – or rather, more concretely, received worker remittances per GDP – helps the nations of our globe to enjoy social and economic progress at a relatively small environmental price. We look at the effects of migration on the balance sheets of societal accounting, based on the ‘ecological price’ of the combined performance of democracy, economic growth, gender equality, human development, research and development, and social cohesion. Feminism in power, economic freedom, population density, the UNDP education index as well as the receipt of worker remittances all significantly contribute towards a ‘smart overall development’, while high military expenditures and a high world economic openness are a bottleneck for ‘smart overall development’