Prioritization of Watersheds in Wular Catchment for Sustainable Development and Management of Natural Resources

The resource development programmes are applied generally on watershed basis and thus prioritization is essential for proper planning and management of natural resources for sustainable development. The study area is situated in Sopore, Bandipore and Sonawari tehsils. It lies between 34°12′24.67″ and 34°36′26.26″ N latitude and 74°26′41.42″ and 74°56′02.90″E longitude. The present study is an attempt to carry out the prioritization on an integrated approach utilizing, land use/cover, drainage morphometry and socio-economic data. The indicators included in prioritization are man- land ratio, population growth, average annual fuel wood consumption, drainage density, forest cover, built up, barren land and agriculture.The prioritization is carried by assigning ranks to the individual indicators and a composite score is calculated. It is revealed from the study that eight watersheds fall under high priority zone, eight under medium and three under low priority zone. The Watershed 1EW2b has attained the highest priority level. The prioritized watersheds are in dire need of management and planning so that the problem of environment degradation in them can be addressed

Geomorphologic Character & Receding Trend of Kolahoi Glacier in Kashmir Himalaya

Glaciers are a valuable source of fresh water which sustain life and provide water for drinking, irrigation, hydro power generation, etc. Besides, these exert considerable influence on the climate of a region and fluctuate in dimension in response to the climatological changes and therefore, these are regarded as sensitive indicators of the climate of a region. Glaciers are in the process of retreat in almost all the parts of the world due to global warming. The same process of retreat is found in the valley’s largest glacier, Kolahoi. Thus, it is of great significance to obtain the accurate information of changes in Kolahoi glacier  (34° 07′ to 34° 12′ N latitude; & 75° 16′ to 75° 23′ E longitude, Liddar valley, Kashmir Himalayas). The study was carried out using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques and thorough field observations were conducted to identify the geomorphologic features. The area of the glacier receded from 13.57km² in 1963 to 10.69km² in 2005, registering a change of 2.88km2at a rate of 0.068km2per year. The Crevasses developed in the ablation portion of the Kolahoi Glacier and the formation of numerous caves at its snout position act as the important indicators of its recession. The result of this retreat will prove disastrous for the valley in many fields like drinking water, agriculture, horticulture, ground water, hydro power capacity of the state, etc. Therefore, we need to make efforts to save this precious source of water for the present as well as for future generations

Biopesticide activity of sugarcane associated rhizobacteria: Ochrobactrum intermedium strain NH-5 and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strain NH-300 against red rot under field conditions

Colletotrichum falcatum is the major fungal pathogen causing sugarcane red rot. Four antagonistic bacterial strains exhibiting biocontrol activity against this pathogen in greenhouse conditions were characterized for production of different antifungal metabolites and biocontrol determinants to elucidate the mechanism of action involved in their antagonistic activity. The strains were also evaluated under field conditions to assess their biocontrol potential. All the strains produced hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and volatile and diffusible antibiotics. In addition, the Ochrobactrum intermedium strain NH-5 produced siderophores and the broad spectrum antibiotic 2, 4-diacetylphloroglucinol (2,4-DAPG); Pseudomonas sp. NH-203 produced siderophores, and Pseudomonas sp. NH-276 produced protease. Two strains, Ochrobactrum intermedium NH-5 and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia NH-300, exhibited good biocontrol activity, suppressing red rot by 44–52% on two sugarcane varieties, SPF-234 and Co-1148, in field experiments. The strains gave consistent results in three consecutive years and showed potential to be used as biopesticides

Climate of the Gilgit-Baltistan Province, Pakistan

The present study focuses on the climate conditions of Gilgit Baltistan. It includes the distribution ofdifferent weather elements like precipitation, temperature, number of rainy days, humidity, wind speed, air pressure,evapotranspiration, sunshine, factors affecting climate, and climate classification. Due to glaciation, the area is badlyeroded and consists of deep valleys and moraines. There is a marked variability between the climates of the eastern andwestern observatories of the area. Mostly, terrace agriculture is practiced in the area with deciduous and alpine forests.Based on temperature, the area has been divided into three distinct climate regions, namely, mild, cool, and cold.Whereas, based on precipitation, it classified into arid, semi-arid and undifferentiated highlands. Chilas is the hottestarea of the province, while Astor and Skardu are the coldest. The study area receives heavy precipitation from localthunderstorms, particularly during April and May. There are four rainy seasons, namely winter, pre-monsoon,monsoon, and post monsoon precipitation. The highest precipitation in the area is observed at Astore, while the lowestat Gupis. The relative humidity is below 55% throughout the year and causes chill with low temperature and crackingin human skins. Based on the variability of weather elements, the province has been divided into three macro, threemeso and six micro climate regions

Ochratoxicosis in White Leghorn breeder hens: Production and breeding performance

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of Ochratoxin A (OTA) upon production and breeding parameters in White Leghorn (WL) breeder hens. For this purpose, 84 WL breeder hens were divided into seven groups (A-G). The hens in these groups were maintained on feed contaminated with OTA @ 0.0 (control), 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0 and 10.0 mg/Kg, respectively for 21 days. These hens were artificially inseminated with semen obtained from healthy roosters kept on OTA free feed. Egg production and their quality parameters were recorded. Fertile eggs obtained from each group were set for incubation on weekly basis. At the end of the experiment, hens in each group were killed to determined gross and microscopic lesions in different organs. OTA residue concentrations were determined in extracts of liver, kidneys and breast muscles by immunoaffinity column elution and HPLC-Fluorescent detection techniques. Feeing OTA contaminated diet resulted in a significant decrease in egg mass and egg quality parameters. Liver and kidneys showed characteristic lesions of ochratoxicosis. Residue concentration (ng/g) of OTA in the hens fed 10 mg/kg OTA, was the highest in liver (26.336±1.16) followed by kidney (8.223±0.85) and were least in breast muscles (1.235±0.21). Embryonic mortalites were higher, while hatachabilites of the chicks were lower in the groups fed higher doses of OTA. Feeding OTA contaminated diets to breeder hen resulted in residues accumulation in their tissues along with significantly reduced production and breeding performance

Pyocin QDD1: A highly thermostable bacteriocin produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa QDD1 for the biocontrol of foodborne pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus

This study was designed to explore alternative antibacterial bioresource products, bacteriocins produced by local strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa QDD1. This bacteriocin (termed as Pyocin) has high inhibitory activity against Gram-positive bacteria including S. aureus, B. cereus, B. thuringiensis and B. subtilis. QDD1 Pyocin production was constitutive, auto-regulated and reached an activity level of 110 AU/mL. It affects 40 % of sensitive cells starting from the 1 st hour. Pyocin QDD1 activity was not affected by Proteinase K, α-amylase, β-mercaptoethanol and 8 M urea. It displayed broad pH stability (pH 3–9) and significant thermostability (121 °C). Considering that the spores produced by Bacillus cereus are highly resistant to cooking temperatures and cause food poisoning upon germination in gastrointestinal tract, Pyocin QDD1's ability to withstand high temperatures can help control Bacillus cereus populations in contaminated food products. Thus, Pyocin QDD1 can be considered as an important bioresource product of industrial applications

Prevalence of toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins in Arabic coffee (Coffea arabica): Protective role of traditional coffee roasting, brewing and bacterial volatiles

Fungal infection and synthesis of mycotoxins in coffee leads to significant economic losses. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of toxigenic fungi, their metabolites, and the effect of traditional roasting and brewing on ochratoxin A (OTA) and aflatoxins (AFs) contents of naturally contaminated coffee samples. In addition, in vivo biocontrol assays were performed to explore the antagonistic activities of Bacillus simplex 350–3 (BS350-3) on the growth and mycotoxins synthesis of Aspergillus ochraceus and A. flavus. The relative density of A. niger, A. flavus, Penicillium verrucosum and A. carbonarius on green coffee bean was 60.82%, 7.21%, 3.09% and 1.03%, respectively. OTA contents were lowest in green coffee beans (2.15 μg/kg), followed by roasted (2.76 μg/kg) and soluble coffee (8.95 μg/kg). Likewise, AFs levels were highest in soluble coffee (90.58 μg/kg) followed by roasted (33.61 μg/kg) and green coffee (9.07 μg/kg). Roasting naturally contaminated coffee beans at three traditional methods; low, medium and high, followed by brewing resulted in reduction of 58.74% (3.50 μg/kg), 60.88% (3.72 μg/kg) and 64.70% (4.11 μg/kg) in OTA and 40.18% (34.65 μg/kg), 47.86% (41.17 μg/kg) and 62.38% (53.73 μg/kg) AFs contents, respectively. Significant inhibitions of AFs and OTA synthesis by A. flavus and A. carbonarius, respectively, on infected coffee beans were observed in presence of Bacillus simplex BS350-3 volatiles. Gas chromatography mass spectrochemistry (GC-MS/MS) analysis of head-space BS350-3 volatiles showed quinoline, benzenemethanamine and 1-Octadecene as bioactive antifungal molecules. These findings suggest that marketed coffee samples are generally contaminated with OTA and AFs, with a significant level of roasted and soluble coffee contaminated above EU permissible limits for OTA. Further, along with coffee roasting and brewing; microbial volatiles can be optimized to minimize the dietary exposure to mycotoxins.Scopu

Dietary Trichosporon mycotoxinivoron modulates ochratoxin-A induced altered performance, hepatic and renal antioxidant capacity and tissue injury in broiler chickens

Ochratoxin A (OTA), an important fungal metabolite in foods and feeds has been shown to induce oxidative stress and cellular injuries to human and animal subjects. This study was designed to investigate the mode of action of a biological modifier Trichosporon mycotoxinivorans (TM), against OTA-mediated oxidative stress and tissue toxicity on broiler chickens. The birds were offered diets supplemented with OTA (0.15 and 0.3 mg/kg feed) and/or TM (0.5, 1.0 g/kg) for 42 days of age, and blood and tissue samples were collected to examine the oxidative stress, biochemical and histopathological parameters. Dietary OTA at all the tested levels induced the hepatic and renal tissue injury as indicated by significant decreased total antioxidant capacity in these organs along with significant decreased (p ≤ 0.05) serum concentrations of total proteins and albumin. The serum concentrations of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and urea were significantly increased, and these observations were further supported by degenerative changes and increased relative weights of liver and kidneys. The dietary supplementation of TM at both tested levels relieved the detrimental impact of 0.15 and 0.3 mg OTA/kg on the studied parameters. The results of the study demonstrated that dietary TM significantly protects broiler chickens by reducing OTA-induced oxidative damage and tissue injury.The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library

Deep Reinforcement Learning for Control of Microgrids: A Review

A microgrid is widely accepted as a prominent solution to enhance resilience and performance in distributed power systems. Microgrids are flexible for adding distributed energy resources in the ecosystem of the electrical networks. Control techniques are used to synchronize distributed energy resources (DERs) due to their turbulent nature. DERs including alternating current, direct current and hybrid load with storage systems have been used in microgrids quite frequently due to which controlling the flow of energy in microgrids have been complex task with traditional control approaches. Distributed as well central approach to apply control algorithms is well-known methods to regulate frequency and voltage in microgrids. Recently techniques based of artificial intelligence are being applied for the problems that arise in operation and control of latest generation microgrids and smart grids. Such techniques are categorized in machine learning and deep learning in broader terms. The objective of this research is to survey the latest strategies of control in microgrids using the deep reinforcement learning approach (DRL). Other techniques of artificial intelligence had already been reviewed extensively but the use of DRL has increased in the past couple of years. To bridge the gap for the researchers, this survey paper is being presented with a focus on only Microgrids control DRL techniques for voltage control and frequency regulation with distributed, cooperative and multi agent approaches are presented in this research

Detection of multimycotoxins in camel feed and milk samples and their comparison with the levels in cow milk

Camel milk has been considered as an important source of nutrients and is commercialized in many countries of the world including the Middle East. This study aimed to investigate the presence of mycotoxins in camel feed and milk samples in comparison with the cow milk. Fumonisins (FUM), ochratoxin A (OTA), and zearalenone (ZEN) were detected in 14%, 39%, and 39% of the tested camel feed samples, respectively. Among the tested camel feed samples, 8.3% and 5.6% were co-contaminated with OTA+FUM and FUM+ZEN, respectively. In the case of milk samples, 46.15% of camel and 63.63% of cow were found contaminated with aflatoxin M1 (AFM1). In total, 16.2% and 8.1% of the milk samples were simultaneously contaminated with two and three mycotoxins, respectively. Although the levels of individual mycotoxins in the camel feed and milk samples were within the European Union (EU) permissible limits, their co-occurrence may pose severe risk to human and animal health due to possible additive and/or synergistic toxicities.This project was made possible by NPRP grant #8-392-4-003 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The findings achieved herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. The publication of this article was supported by the Qatar National Library member of the Qatar Foundation