Proximate composition of Mystus bleekeri in relation to body size and condition factor from Nala Daik, Sialkot, Pakistan

Proximate composition of small catfish, Mystus bleekeri, from Nala Daik, Sialkot, Pakistan was investigated and fluctuation in relation to body size and condition factor was carried out. Mean percentages for water, fat, protein and ash contents in the whole wet body weight of wild M. bleekeri were 77.87, 3.26, 15.01 and 3.87%, respectively. Body composition of the fish was effected by body size; however, condition factor remains constant with observed body constituents (% water, fat, protein, ash and organic contents). Highly significant (P<0.001) correlation Found between percentage water and percentage fat, protein, ash and organic contents in both wet and dry body weight. Investigation of body size on body constituents Reflected decrease in relative amount of water, skeleton (wet and dry weight), increase in fat (dry weight), protein, organic contents (wet and dry weight), and no effect on fat (wet weight) with growth of fish. Additionally, the first reference for proximate composition for M. bleekeri is provided.Key words: Proximate composition, body size, condition factor, predictive equation, catfish, Mystus bleekeri

Electrical transport and optical studies of ferromagnetic Cobalt doped ZnO nanoparticles exhibiting a metal-insulator transition

The observed correlation of oxygen vacancies and room temperature ferromagnetic ordering in Co doped ZnO1-o nanoparticles reported earlier (Naeem et al Nanotechnology 17, 2675-2680) has been further explored by transport and optical measurements. In these particles room temperature ferromagnetic ordering had been observed to occur only after annealing in forming gas. In the current work the optical properties have been studied by diffuse reflection spectroscopy in the UV-Vis region and the band gap of the Co doped compositions has been found to decrease with Co addition. Reflections minima are observed at the energies characteristic of Co+2 d-d (tethrahedral symmetry) crystal field transitions, further establishing the presence of Co in substitutional sites. Electrical transport measurements on palletized samples of the nanoparticles show that the effect of a forming gas is to strongly decrease the resistivity with increasing Co concentration. For the air annealed and non-ferromagnetic samples the variation in the resistivity as a function of Co content are opposite to those observed in the particles prepared in forming gas. The ferromagnetic samples exhibit an apparent change from insulator to metal with increasing temperatures for T>380K and this change becomes more pronounced with increasing Co content. The magnetic and resistive behaviors are correlated by considering the model by Calderon et al [M. J. Calderon and S. D. Sarma, Annals of Physics 2007 (Accepted doi: 10.1016/j.aop.2007.01.010] where the ferromagnetism changes from being mediated by polarons in the low temperature insulating region to being mediated by the carriers released from the weakly bound states in the higher temperature metallic region.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

External morphometric study of hatchery reared mahseer (Tor putitora) in relation to body size and condition factor

Different samples of Mahseer (Tor putitora) were examined for the study of external morphometric characters of the fish. Slopes of log transformed data were used for comparison with an isometric slopes (b=1, b= 0.33 or b= 3). Relationships between wet body weight and external body parts lengths showed that increasing trend was found in all the parameters with the increase in wet body weight. Length of all the external body parts was also found to be increase with the increase in total length of the fish. Highly significant correlation (r = 0.9436) was found with negative allometric growth in the length-weight relationship. Wet body weight showed positive correlation with external body parts length and their weights. The relationship between wet body weight and the condition factor was found linear with no significant correlation, but with total length, it showed inverse relationship with highly significant correlation. This study will help to recognize the morphometric of different variants and to improve body weight for fish breeding and commercial growth.Key words: External morphometery, body size, condition factor, Tor putitor

Acute-on-chronic Liver Failure: MELD Score 30-day Mortality Predictability and Etiology in a Pakistani Population

Background: Cirrhosis is a pathological condition that ultimately leads to liver failure. Acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF) has a high short term mortality rate. Viral hepatitis is the most common cause of liver failure in our local population. We carried out this study to identity the 30-day mortality and etiology of patients presenting with ACLF using Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score predictability. Methodology: This was a descriptive case series, conducted at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan from January 31, 2018 to July 30, 2018. One hundred and eighty five patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled using 95% confidence level and 4% margin of error. Data was entered and analyzed with SPSS version 23.0. Numerical variables including age was presented by Mean ± S.D. Categorical variables i.e. gender, etiology of acute-on-chronic liver failure and 30-day mortality were presented by frequency and percentage. Data was stratified for age, gender, duration of chronic liver disease and MELD grade to address the effect modifiers. Post-stratification chi-square test was calculated using 95% significance (p≤0.05). Results: Majority of the enrolled patients were male (74.6%) while only 25.4% of the patients were female. One hundred and thirty patients (70.3%) had underlying viral hepatitis while twelve patients (6.5%) and forty three patients (23.2%) presented with alcoholic liver disease and drug-induced ACLF, respectively. Eighty patients (43.2%) died within 30 days of admission.The 30-day mortality with respect to MELD grade was statistically significant (p<0.001) with the highest mortality noted in grade-IV and thirty five patients (43.8%) dying within 30 days of admission (p<0.001). Grade-II and III MELD scores also contributed to the 30-day mortality with twenty three patients (28.8%) and nineteen patients (23.8%) dying within 30 days of admission (p<0.001). Conclusion: MELD scores are able to accurately predict the short-term mortality in patients with ACLF and viral hepatitis was the most common etiology in our population. Early detection and use of appropriate prognostic models may alleviate mortality and morbidity in paitents with ACLF

Reducing Blood Pressure through Education on Lifestyle Interventions

This is the virtual presentation on a quality improvement study conducted in fulfillment of the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree requirements. The purpose of this study was to develop an educational plan for patients with elevated blood pressure to increase their knowledge and self-efficacy of lifestyle interventions proven to help lower blood pressure rates