EFFECT OF ENHANCED WATER ALLOWANCE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF TILE DRAINAGE SYSTEM AT SHAHBAZ GHARI PILOT PROJECT AREA OF SWABI SCARP

ABSTRACT Field study was conducted at Shahbaz Ghari Pilot Project Area of Swabi SCARP to evaluate the effect of enhanced water allowance on the performance of tile drainage system, from August to December, 2002. Average water table depth from 17 observation wells at site 1-A and 25 at 1-C was recorded weekly. For the determination of drainage coefficient, laterals discharge was noted from 7 laterals at site 1-A and 2 laterals at site 1-C on weekly basis. To determine EC and pH, soil samples were collected from the root-zone at head, middle and tail of the research area; water samples were collected from all laterals at both site. The cropping pattern and yield of the major crops before and after increase in water allowance were assessed through farmers' interviews. Average water table depth from the ground surface at site 1-A ranged from 0.54 to 1.34 m and at 1-C it ranged from 0.75 to 1.45 m during the study period. Actual drainage coefficient at site 1-A ranged from 1.36 to 2.51 mm/day whereas at site 1-C it ranged from 0.24 to 1.09 mm/day. Average electrical conductivity of soil at site 1-A was 0.84 dS/m. EC of drainage outflow of site 1-A and 1-C was 0.93 and 0.76 dS/m, respectively. The pH values of the soil and drainage water of both sites were alkaline (8.10-8.58). There was no significant change in cropping pattern but yields of sugarcane, rice and wheat were increased by 16, 24 and 37%, respectively, after the increase in the water allowance. According to the farmers, salinity and water logging problems have significantly declined after the increase in water allowance. It can be concluded from results that after increase in water allowance the singular tile drainage system of Shahbaz Ghari Pilot Project area is working well

A prospective comparative study of Proximal Femoral Nailing Anti-rotation (PFNA) and Sliding Hip Screw (SHS) for Per-trochanteric Femur Fracture

Objectives: To determine the functional outcome, operative risks, rate of union, and complication in Per-trochanteric  Fracture fixed with PFNA and SHS. Material and Methods: The present study has been conducted at Shalamar Medical and Dental College Lahore from January 2018 to December 2018.40 patients with per-trochanteric femur fracture treated with proximal femoral nailing anti-rotation (PFNA)  and Sliding hip screw (SHS) were enrolled in our study.20 patients were treated by PFNA and 20 patients by SHS. Timing of surgery, mobilization status, hospital stay, infection, weight-bearing status, radiological union, complications both technical and implant-related, amount of blood loss(ml), C ARM Exposures, and Harris hip score at the end of 6 months were recorded. Results: Union was better in the PFNA group (95%) as compared to the SHS group (85%). Complication rate, hospital stay, surgery timing, and requirement of revision surgery were more in the SHS group. The functional outcome was better in the PFNA group as compared to the SHS group. Conclusion: From our study, we concluded that PFNA is a better alternative than SHS in terms of higher union rates, low complication rates, and better functional outcomes. &nbsp

Analysis of Ketamine, a Rave Drug in Pakistan, using Gas Chromatography Coupled with Mass Spectrometer and Flame Ionization Detector: A Case Study

Ketamine is an arylcycloalkylamine, classified as cyclidine and chemically related to phencyclidine (PCP). Ketamine can be identified using modified Scott’s Test and Alkaline Gold Bromide test. This case study involved the analysis of a Ketamine sample. The sample was analyzed qualitatively by chemical spot tests, FT-IR and GC-MS without derivatization. Furthermore, a developed and validated method was used for the quantitative analysis of Ketamine using Gas Chromatography with a Flame Ionization Detector (FID). The certified reference standard of Ketamine in the range of 10- 100μg/mL was used for developing linear correlation with regression coefficient (R2 = 0.9997) for the method. The method produced percentage of sample as 90.27%. The above mentioned techniques and methods provide comparable qualitative and quantitative analytical results helping law enforcement agencies and the forensic community in screening and quantification of ketamine using GCMS coupled with FID

Comparison of Crop Water Productivity of Traditional and Hybrid Maize Varieties

A field study was conducted on clay loam soil at the research farm of The University of Agriculture Peshawar during Kharif 2012. Objective of the study was to compare the crop water productivity of maize using two traditional (V1=Azam and V2=Jalal) and two hybrid (V3=3025W and V4=30K08) varieties having four replicates. Soil moisture was determined by gravimetric method taking into account soil moisture, rainfall, and irrigation water applied. Crop water productivity (CWP) was calculated by dividing grain yield and total seasonal water applied to each variety. Results showed that CWP of maize variety V1 ranged from 0.75-0.8 kg m-3 with a mean of 0.8 kg m-3, CWP of V2 ranged from 0.82-0.91 kg m-3 with a mean of 0.85 kg m-3, CWP of V3 ranged from 1.16-1.23 kg m-3 with a mean of 1.19 kg m-3 and CWP of V4 ranged from 1.19-1.31 kg m-3 with a mean value of 1.24 kg m-3. Crop water productivity in case of V1 was low compared to FAO reported values. CWP was found statistically significant (P ? 0.05) for the selected maize varieties. Results showed that among all the varieties V4 performed better therefore, it is recommended for irrigated areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Key Words: crop water productivity, hybrid maize, traditional varieties

A situational analysis of HIV and AIDS in Pakistan

HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) transmission has been reduced by protected sex and screening of blood products and other body fluids in the developed countries. It has been reported that Pakistan is at high risk of HIV/AIDS infection but presently the prevalence rate is considerably low. The number of reported cases of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan has been continuously increasing since 1987. By 2010 the total number of registered cases has reached to 6000 and this figure is on the rise with the passage of time. Some serious strategies must be implemented to control this deadly disease

Smart Nutrition Management of Rice Crop under Climate Change Environment

Soil fertility and plant nutrition remained main pillars of agricultural sciences in twentieth century. However, due to recent interest in achievement of sustainability and restricted natural resources, importance of soil fertility and plant nutrition is expected to be increased many folds in twenty-first century. Therefore, increasing rice crop yield under such scenario will require judicious and efficient use of mineral sources of nutrient with combination of natural resources, recycling of bioavailable nutrients, and genetic modification of crops for efficient nutrient utilization. There is an increasing pressure on agricultural land to produce sufficient amount of food needed to feed the growing global population. The pressure is associated with changing weather patterns related to fluctuations in rainfall and temperature, supply of fertilizers inflating price associated with energy demand, which is very closely linked with weather patterns and reducing soil fertility. Increasing rice yield under these constraints will require a rational use of chemical fertilizers with increase the use of natural resources of nutrition, recycling of plant available nutrients, and an exploitation of the genetic potential of crop species to make efficient use of nutrients a key feature to establish smart plant nutrition management in the recent global climate change scenario

Inhibition of full length Hepatitis C Virus particles of 1a genotype through small interference RNA

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis C virus (HCV), a member of the <it>Flaviviridae </it>family of viruses, is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, the only treatment available consists of a combination of Pegylated interferon alpha (INF-α) and ribavirin, but only half of the patients treated show a sufficient antiviral response. Thus there is a great need for the development of new treatments for HCV infections. RNA interference (RNAi) represents a new promising approach to develop effective antiviral drugs and has been extremely effective against HCV infection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study was design to assess or explore the silencing effect of small interference RNAs (siRNAs) against full length HCV particles of genotype 1a. In the present study six 21-bp siRNAs were designed against different regions of HCV structural genes (Core, E1 and E2). Selected siRNAs were labeled as Csi 301, Csi 29, E1si 52, E1si 192, E2si 86 and E2si 493. Our results demonstrated that siRNAs directed against HCV core gene showed 70% reduction in viral titer in HCV infected liver cells. Moreover, siRNAs against E1 and E2 envelop genes showed a dramatic reduction in HCV viral RNA, E2si 86 exhibited 93% inhibition, while E1si 192, E2si 493 and E1si 52 showed 87%, 80%, and 66% inhibition respectively. No significant inhibition was detected in cells transfected with the negative control siRNA.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggested that siRNAs targeted against HCV structural genes efficiently silence full length HCV particles and provide an effective therapeutic option against HCV infection.</p

Soil physical properties, nitrogen uptake and grain quality of maize (Zea mays L.) as affected by tillage systems and nitrogen application

Soil compaction is a global issue pertaining to agricultural lands. The frequent use of farm machinery and field operations at the same depth are the major causes of soil compaction. The gradual increase in soil compaction deteriorates maize grain quality due to reduced nitrogen (N) uptake. Quality food production by reducing soil compaction is the need of time, which can be achieved through deep tillage and N management. In this study, three tillage systems viz. conventional tillage (using cultivator), tillage with mould board plough +2-cultivations (MBP), and tillage with chisel plough +2-cultivations (CP); and three nitrogen levels viz. 100, 150 and 200 kg ha–1 were used to evaluate their effect on soil properties, N uptake and grain quality in maize. Lower bulk density (1.41 Mg m–3), higher total porosity (0.47 m3 m–3) and higher nitrogen uptake (96.01 kg ha–1) was recorded under chisel plough (CP) compared with other tillage systems. Different N levels had significant effect on grain and total N uptake and grain quality, while soil properties remains unaffected. Higher N uptake was recorded with 200 kg ha–1 N application than other treatments. Similarly, 8.51% and 8.57% more grain protein contents were recorded with 200 kg ha–1 N during first and second year respectively. Unlike grain protein, starch and oil contents were negatively affected by N application being higher starch (71.7%) and oil contents (3.41%) with less N supply (100 kg ha–1). However, interaction effect of tillage and nitrogen levels was found non-significant for all studied parameters except for oil contents. Higher oil contents were recorded with MBP along with 100 kg ha–1 N application. Overall study indicated that deep ploughing with CP is important for maize to explore more soil area for nutrient uptake and N is also important for improving grain quality especially protein contents an important food constituent

Consequences of diverse use of nitrogen sources on grain yield, grain quality and growth attributes of hybrid maize (Zea mays L.)

A two year field experiment was conducted to check the consequences of diverse use of nitrogen sources on grain yield, grain quality and growth attributes of hybrid maize (Zea mays L.) at the Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during Autumn 2008 and 2009. Experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with factorial arrangement comprising 3 replications with a net plot size of 3 × 5 m. Treatment comprised two hybrids: that is, H1 (Pioneer-30Y87) and H2 (Pioneer-31R88) with combination of six nitrogen sources S0 : Control (0) kg N ha-1, S1: Urea (50%) + Poultry manure (50%), S2: Urea (50%) + Farm Yard Manure (50%) , S3: Urea (50%) + Pressmud of sugarcane manure (50%), S4: Urea (50%) + Compost (50%), S5: Urea (50%) + (PM+FYM+PMS+ Compost) 50% . Results of grain yield (t ha-1), grain protein content (%) grain oil content (%), leaf area index, leaf area duration, dry matter accumulation, crop growth rate and net assimilation rate was found to be significant during 2008 and 2009. It was concluded that hybrid maize H1 (Pioneer - 30Y87) produced better grain yield (6.14 t ha-1) during 2008 when nitrogen sources S1: Urea (50%) + Poultry manure (50%) was applied in combination as compared to grain yield (6.0 t ha-1) in hybrid H2 (Pioneer -31R88) during 2009. Growth and quality attributes also performed better in 2008 as compared to 2009 at nitrogen sources S1: Urea (50%) + Poultry manure (50%).Key words: Nitrogen sources, hybrid maize, yield, growth, quality