Cholera in children in Karachi from 1990 through 1995: A study of cases admitted to a tertiary care hospital

Although cholera is an endemic disease in Bangladesh, India and other countries, it was never a significant cause of gastroenteritis in Pakistan before 1988. Since then, cases of cholera are identified each year, both in adults and children in Pakistan. In order to see the contribution of Vibrio cholerae as a cause of gastroenteritis in children, we reviewed the cases of cholera admitted in the pediatric ward of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. Of 4346 children hospitalized with gastroenteritis during 1990 through 1995, 348 children (8%) were confirmed to have cholera. The youngest child with cholera was seven days old. The mean age was 31 +/- 34 months. The cases of cholera were received from all over the city. Most cases were due to Vibrio cholerae Ogawa biotype ELTOR but the new strain, i.e., Vibrio cholerae 0139 was isolated in 14% cases in 1994. The sensitivity of Vibrio cholerae has also changed. In 1994, the organisms were resistant to commonly recommended antibiotics, i.e., tetracycline, ampicillin and erythrocin but sensitive to ceftrioxone, cefixime, ofloxacin and nalidixic acid. Adequate measures to improve hygiene and sanitation and supply of safe potable water is needed to prevent any future epidemic of cholera in the city

Aluminosilicates and yeast-based mycotoxin binders: Their ameliorated effects on growth, immunity and serum chemistry in broilers fed aflatoxin and ochratoxin

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of commercial toxin binders on growth performance, organ morphology, immunity and serum biochemistry in broilers. Dietary treatments consisted of the negative control (NC): experimental diet with aflatoxin B1 <20 parts per billion (ppb), ochratoxin A (OTA) <5 ppb; control (C) experimental diet without toxin binder; Z1: toxin binder 1 g/kg of zeta plus; Z2: toxin binder 2 g/kg of zeta plus; TX1: toxin binder 1 g/kg of Toxfin Dry; and TX2: toxin binder 2 g/kg of Toxfin Dry). Except for NC, all diets contained 57 ppb aflatoxin B1 and 23 ppb ochratoxin A. Feed intake was higher in the TX1, TX2, NC, Z2 and Z1 treatments than in the control. Weight gain was higher in Z2, TX2, Z1, TX1 and NC than in C. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was poor in C. The control had the highest liver weight, though the weights of the spleen, kidneys and hearts of the birds were similar in all treatments. Gizzard weight, thymus weight, and bursa of Fabricius were lowest in C. The weight of the pancreas was similar among treatments. The antibody titres against new castle disease were higher in treatments Z2, Z1, TX2, TX1 and NC than in C. Urea and creatinine concentrations, and aspartate aminotransferase activity in serum were similar among treatments, whereas the serum alanine transaminase activity was higher in C than in Z1, TX1, TX2, Z2 and NC. It was concluded that growth rate, FCR and immunity indices were improved in broilers fed toxin binder. At lower levels of mycotoxin in feed, 1 g/kg of toxin binder (clay based or yeast based) was sufficient to ameliorate the adverse effects of aflatoxin B1 and OTA, whereas at higher levels of mycotoxins, supplementation of toxin binder should be increased.Keywords: alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, carcass characteristics, growth performance, toxin binders, urea, creatinin

Elucidating the Performance Limitations of Alkaline Electrolyte Membrane Electrolysis: Dominance of Anion Concentration in Membrane Electrode Assembly

Anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) offer a cost-effective technology for producing green hydrogen. Here, an AEMWE with atmospheric plasma spray non-precious metal electrodes was tested in 0.1 to 1.0 M KOH solution, correlating performance with KOH concentration systematically. The highest cell performance was achieved at 1.0 M KOH (ca. 0.4 A cm−2 at 1.80 V), which was close to a traditional alkaline electrolysis cell with ≈6.0 M KOH. The cell exhibited 0.13 V improvement in the performance in 0.30 M KOH compared with 0.10 M KOH at 0.5 A cm−2. However, this improvement becomes more limited when further increasing the KOH concentration. Electrochemical impedance and numerical simulation results show that the ohmic resistance from the membrane was the most notable limiting factor to operate in low KOH concentration and the most sensitive to the changes in KOH concentration at 0.5 A cm−2. It is suggested that the effect of activation loss is more dominant at lower current densities; however, the ohmic loss is the most limiting factor at higher current densities, which is a current range of interest for industrial applications

Geology of South and Southwest part of Uttar Pradesh and its Mineral Significance

The major part of Uttar Pradesh is covered by Gangatic alluvium in the north whereas the southern part is covered by peninsular terrain. This alluvium cover belongs to Holocene age and is mainly dominated by Varanasi older sediments exposed beyond the river basinal areas and Banda younger sediments exposed around the rivers flowing. The older alluvium comprises finer grained, well compacted and more mature sediments occupying extensive stretches at relatively higher elevations. The drainage pattern in region is subdendritic to dendritic type formed by hills and nalas flowing over the soil cover. The Peninsular part of Uttar Pradesh is covered by the rocks of Archean to Mesozoic age. The Bundelkhand craton nuclei mostly composed of Archean granitoids show heterogeneity in texture and composition, intruded by later phase of magmatic activity. The Mahrauni Group of the rocks exposed around Girar, Manpura and Rajaula areas in Madawara block of Lalitpur region. The Bijawar Group is exposed in Sonrai area district Lalitpur of Uttar Pradesh. The rocks of Dudhi Gneissic Complex and Mahakoshal Group are exposed in Sonbhadra and Mirzapur district. Few exposures of Ajabgarh Group rocks are exposed in Mathura district. These Bijawar Group, Mahakoshal Group and Ajabgarh Group rocks are equivalent to Delhi Supergroup. The Bundelkhand craton is capped by the sedimentary units of Vindhyan Supergroup which is exposed mainly in the southern part of Uttar Pradesh and a few exposures are observed in Agra district. The Deccan Trap rocks are also traces in Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh

Bacteriuria and pregnancy outcome: A prospective hospital-based study in Pakistani women

The prevalence of bacteriuria in Pakistani women and its association with complications of pregnancy was studied. Out of 1579 women, 77 had bacteriuria (4.8%). There was no association of age, gravidity, parity, haemoglobin, pre-eclampsia, mode of delivery, gestational age at delivery, preterm delivery and low birth-weight with presence of bacteriuria. With detection and treatment the pregnancy outcome of women with bacteriuria in pregnancy was the same as that of those without