Proposed business plan for pilot farmer organizations: Extended project on Farmer Managed Irrigated Agriculture in LBOD Project Area of Sindh Province

Farmers' associations / Farmer managed irrigation systems / Irrigation programs / Irrigation management / Drainage / Economic aspects / Income / Operating costs / Maintenance costs / Conflict

THE PREVALENCE OF LERNAEID ECTOPARASITES IN GRASS CARP (CTENOPHARYNGODON IDELLA)

The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of lernaeid ectoparasites in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). For this purpose, 597 fishes (Ctenopharyngodon idella) were examined for lernaeid ectoparasites at a private fish farm located in Multan, Pakistan. Four species of the genus Lernaea i.e. L. cyprinacea, L. polymorpha, L. oryzophila, and L. lophiara were recorded. It was observed that L. polymorpha had the highest (P<0.05) overall prevalence (7.54%), followed by L. cyprinacea (6.53%), Learnaea species which were not identified (2.18%), L. oryzophila and L. lophiara (0.67% each). The relationship between body weight and Lernaea infestation showed that the infection of Lernaea species was significantly (P<0.05) more prevalent in the weight group of 2501-4500g, while the parasites were not found in the weight groups of 4500-6500 and 6501-8500g. Relationship between body length and Lernaea species in fish was also calculated. According to these results, the Lernaea species had significantly (P<0.05) highest prevalence in length group of 9-14 cm and lowest in length groups of 15-20 and >20 cm

Growth Pattern and Morphological Variation of Labeo calbasu Found in Indus River, Sindh-Pakistan

The present work reports the length–weight relationships (LWR) and condition factor relationships for Labeo calbasu collected from Upstream (Matyari) Kotri barrage at, River Indus, Pakistan, because stock assessment helps the fisheries managers to conserve the commercially important fish. Morphological characters of fish as well as Length-weight relationship are an important tool for fishery management. The results of LWR (W= aLb), for L calbasu.  Representing negative allometric growth pattern. LWRs and condition factor relationships were found significantly correlated. A total of 200 and 190 specimens from upstream and downstream were collected, respectively. The assessed values of length-weight correlation and condition factor were calculated as Kn=39.663 (LeCren), and K=11.915 (Fulton) for upstream and Kn=44.066 and K=13.872 for downstream. Length-weight was found with a strong correlation of n= 2.892, a=0.0235 with r2=0.934 for upstream population then the downstream population.  The results of this work would be beneficial for sustainable management as well as fishery managers. 

PREVALENCE OF FASCIOLA HEPATICA IN GOATS AROUND MULTAN

Faecal Samples of 80 goats belonging to Nachi and Teddy breeds were collected bimonthly from areas around Multan, Pakistan. The overall prevalence of Fasciola hepatica in goats and relationship between body weight, age, breed of the host and also effect of parasite on the litter size of the host were studied. The overall prevalence of F. hepatica was 28.75%. Infection of parasite was more prevalent in Teddy than in Nachi goats (42.10 VS 16.67%; P45 kg, the difference was significant (p36 months. The prevalence was significantly different (P<0.05) in different age groups. It was concluded that the prevalence of Fasciola hepatica in goats was significantly affected by the breed age, and body weight of the animal. However, it had no effects on the litter size

Consolidating Literature for Images Compression and Its Techniques

With the proliferation of readily available image content, image compression has become a topic of considerable importance. As, rapidly increase of digital imaging demand, storage capability aspect should be considered. Therefore, image compression refers to reducing the size of image for minimizing storage without harming the image quality. Thus, an appropriate technique is needed for image compression for saving capacity as well as not losing valuable information. This paper consolidates literature whose characteristics have focused on image compression, thresholding algorithms, quantization algorithms. Later, related research on these areas are presented

Studies on serum macro and micro minerals status in repeat breeder and normal cyclic Nili-Ravi buffaloes and their treatment strategies

The present study was carried out with the objective to know the calcium (Ca), inorganic phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) concentrations in serum of repeat breeder and normal cyclic buffaloes during oestrus. On the day of estrus, blood samples were collected from 35 buffaloes with a history of repeat breeding (RB) and 35 normal cycling (NC) buffaloes for mineral estimation. In the second part of the study, 35 repeat breeder (RBS) buffaloes were treated with a mineral mixture given orally for 10 days at the dosage rate of 150 g per day whereas other 35 repeat breeder buffaloes were given no mineral mixture (RBC). The overall pregnancy rate as well as 1st, 2nd and 3rd service pregnancy rate was calculated. The serum calcium, inorganic phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc concentrations were significantly lower (P &lt; 0.01) in RB buffaloes as compared to NC buffaloes. Sodium concentrations differed non-significantly between repeat breeder and normal cyclic buffaloes. Repeat breeder buffaloes (RBS) when fed orally 150 g per day of the mineral mixture for 10 days, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd service pregnancy rates were 42, 25 and 20%, while, overall pregnancy rate in these animals was 87%; whereas in repeat breeder control buffaloes, the overall pregnancy rate was 21%. In conclusion, the concentrations of macro and micro minerals were significantly lower in repeat breeder buffaloes and mineral mixtures should be added in the food stuff to improve reproductive efficiency of repeat breeder buffaloes. Keywords: Buffalo, repeat breeder, minerals, pregnancy rateAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 13(10), pp. 1143-1146, 5 March, 201

The Effect on Compressed Image Quality using Standard Deviation-Based Thresholding Algorithm

In recent decades, digital images have become increasingly important. With many modern applications use image graphics extensively, it tends to burden both the storage and transmission process. Despite the technological advances in storage and transmission, the demands placed on storage and bandwidth capacities still exceeded its availability. Compression is one of the solutions to this problem but elimination some of the data degrades the image quality. Therefore, the Standard Deviation-Based Thresholding Algorithm is proposed to estimate an accurate threshold value for a better-compressed image quality. The threshold value is obtained by examining the wavelet coefficients dispersion on each wavelet subband using Standard Deviation concept. The resulting compressed image shows a better image quality with PSNR value above 40dB

Monitoring and evaluation of irrigation and drainage facilities for pilot distributaries in Sindh Province, Pakistan. Volume 4 - Heran Distributary, Sanghar District

Irrigation management / Monitoring / Evaluation / Irrigation canals / Distributary canals / Drainage / Irrigation practices / Water delivery / Watercourses / Maintenance / Water table / Groundwater / Water quality / Pakistan / Sindh Province / Sanghar District / Heran Distributary

Higher Education Capacity Building in Water Resources Engineering and Management to Support Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal for Water in Pakistan

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals requires a multi‐pronged approach, with a key element being the development of a trained Community of Practice to sustain the advances in the relevant sectors. The engagement of higher education as a catalyst in the development and capacity building of the next generation of professionals and citizens comprising the Community of Practice is essential to meet the challenges of poverty, climate change, and clean water and to sustain those advances past 2030. This paper describes a capacity building program funded by the United States Agency for International Development to partner the University of Utah, in the United States, with Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, in Pakistan, to create the U.S.‐Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water (USPCASW). The USPCASW program includes six core components of Curriculum Reform, Applied Research, Exchanges and Training, Governance, Gender Equity, and Sustainability. This paper describes the project, the activities for each component, and the multi‐level assessment of the program, activities, and impact. The paper also highlights the overarching impact of the program and its alignment with achieving the Sustainable Development Goal for Water. Following the description of the program components and assessment, the paper concludes with a discussion of challenges and lessons learned