Fluctuations in canal water supplies: a case study

Irrigation management / Water allocation / Canals / Water distribution / Water supply / Performance evaluation / Irrigated farming / Irrigation systems / Pakistan / Chishtian Sub-Division / Fordwah Distributary

Herbicidal effects of aqueous extracts of three Chenopodium species on Avena fatua

Herbicidal effects of aqueous leaf extracts of three Chenopodium species; Chenopodium album L., Chenopodium murale L. and Chenopodium ambrosioides were evaluated on wild oat (Avena fatua L.), one of the problematic weeds of wheat. Among the aqueous extracts of 0, 2, 4 and 6% (w/v) employed in bioassays, 6% of C. album and 2% of C. murale caused significant inhibition in germination of A. fatua resulting in 66 and 34% decline in germination, respectively. Lower concentration of 2% of all the three Chenopodium species enhanced seedling growth of A. fatua. The highest extract concentration of C. album (6%) markedly suppressed both length and biomass of shoot of test weed species. The highest herbicidal effect was exhibited by 6% C. album leaf extract, resulting in 88, 89, 70 and 92% reduction in maximum and total root length, number of roots and root biomass, respectively. This study concludes that the aqueous leaf extracts of C. album contain herbicidal constituents for the management of A. fatua.Key words: Aqueous extracts, Avena fatua, Chenopodium, natural herbicides

Proceedings of the National Conference on Managing Irrigation for Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture in Pakistan, Islamabad, November 5-7, 1996. Volume III - Papers on the theme, Water management below the Mogha

Water allocationWater distributionWatercoursesIrrigation waterIrrigation canalsWaterloggingSalinityWater useDecision makingSurface drainageIrrigation designIrrigation requirementsSprinkler irrigationWheatSurface irrigationIrrigation schedulingCottonCrop yieldSoil reclamationSodic soilsSoil salinityConjunctive useGroundwaterSurface waterFlow measurementIrrigation practicesMonitoringEvaluationFarmer participationFarmers' attitudes

Proceedings of the National Conference on Managing Irrigation for Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture in Pakistan, Islamabad, November 5-7, 1996. Volume I - Inauguration and deliberations

Irrigation managementSustainable agricultureEnvironmental effectsIrrigation canalsFarmer managed irrigation systemsWater distributionIrrigation efficiencyDrainageHydrologyWater reuseTube wellsSoil salinityWater tableWaterloggingGroundwater managementIrrigated farmingInstitution building

Proceedings of the National Conference on Managing Irrigation for Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture in Pakistan, Islamabad, November 5-7, 1996. Volume V - Papers on the theme, institutional development

Irrigated farmingSocial organizationWater users' associationsFarmers' associationsInstitution buildingWater resource managementOperationsMaintenancePolicyIrrigation managementParticipatory management

Root zone salinity management using fractional skimming wells with pressurized irrigation: Inception report

Wells / Aquifers / Pumping / Groundwater irrigation / Water quality / Salinity control / Irrigation programs / Climate / Waterlogging / Drainage / Soils / Land use / Cropping systems / Farm income

Investigation of pulse oximeter failure rates during artificial hypoperfusion utilising a custom made multimode pulse oximetery sensor

Pulse oximetry utilises the technique of photople-thysmography (PPG) to estimate arterial oxygen saturation values (SpO2). In poorly perfused tissues, SpO2 readings may be compromised due to the poor quality of the PPG signals. In order to investigate further the threshold where pulse oximetry fails to produce accurate SpO2 values, we have developed a custom made multimode finger pulse oximetry probe that operates in conventional, reflectance and transmittance mode independently and also in a combined mode called transreflectance. Experiments on twenty healthy volunteers undergoing induced artificial hypoperfusion utilising a brachial blood pressure cuff were performed in order to investigate the possible threshold of failure to accurately estimate SpO2 values from all pulse oximetry modes. The results suggest that the transreflectance pulse oximeter endures more in estimating accurately SpO2 values when compared with the other two custom made pulse oximeters and a commercial finger pulse oximeter

Institutional determinants of inward FDI: Evidence from Pakistan

FDI has been growing at a spectacular pace all over the world and emerging countries have been successful in attracting more FDI compared to developed countries. Institutional factors are becoming more important as determinants of inward FDI for emerging markets. However, research in this area is inadequate and also incosnsistent in terms of findings. In this paper, we have examined the institutional determinants of Pakistani FDI inflows and also examined the relative importance of those factors. The paper has found that certain institutional determinants such as size of the government, legal structure and strong property rights, freedom to trade and civil liberty have strong positive effect on FDI inflows. Among the institutional variables, regulation has been found to be most important to influence inward FDI flow to Pakistan. The paper has also found evidence that there was a structural break in FDI flows in Pakistan which coincides with market liberalization programme in early 1990s. This confirms the effectiveness of conducive institutional environment to attract foreign investment. Moreover, we have found that military government is more successful in attracting FDI compared to democratic government in Pakistan

Change in nutritional status of urban slum children before and after the first COVID-19 wave in Bangladesh: a repeated cross-sectional assessment

The onset of COVID-19 severely disrupted economies and increased acute household food insecurity in developing countries. Consequently, a global rise in childhood undernutrition was predicted, especially among vulnerable populations, but primary evidence on actual changes in nutritional status remained scarce. In this paper, we assessed shifts in nutritional status of urban slum children in Bangladesh pre- and post- the country's first wave of COVID-19 and nationwide lockdown. We used two rounds of cross-sectional data collected before and after the pandemic's first year in two large slum settlements (Korail and Tongi) of Dhaka and Gazipur, Bangladesh (n = 1119). Regression models estimated pre-post changes in: 1) predictors of childhood undernutrition (household income, jobs, food security, dietary diversity, healthcare utilization, and hand hygiene); and 2) under-five children's nutritional status (average height-for-age z-score (HAZ) and weight-for-height z-score (WHZ), stunting, and wasting). Subgroup analysis was done by household migration status and slum area. Over the sample period, average monthly household income dropped 23% from BDT 20,740 to BDT 15,960 (beta = -4.77; 95% CI:-6.40, -3.15), and currently employed fathers slightly declined from 99% to 95% (beta = -0.04; 95% CI:-0.05, -0.02). Average HAZ among the slum children improved 0.13 SD (95% CI: 0.003, 0.26). Among non-migrant children in Tongi, the odds of stunting increased (OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.16, 3.48) and average WHZ reduced -0.40 SD (95% CI: -0.74, -0.06). Despite great economic hardship, and differential patterns of representativeness by household geography and migration status, slum children in Bangladesh generally demonstrated resilience to nutritional decline over the first year of the pandemic. While underlying threats to nutritional deterioration persisted, considerable job and income recovery in the post-lockdown period appeared to have cushioned the overall decline. However, as the pandemic continues, monitoring and appropriate actions are needed to avert lasting setbacks to Bangladesh nutritional progress

Areca nut chewing and dependency syndrome: Is the dependence comparable to smoking? a cross sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Areca nut is the seed of fruit oriental palm known as <it>Areca catechu</it>. Many adverse effects of nut chewing have been well documented in the medical literature. As these nuts are mixed with some other substances like tobacco and flavouring agents, it has been hypothesized that it might also cause some dependency symptoms among its users. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate dependency syndrome among areca nut users with and without tobacco additives and compare it with dependency associated with cigarette smoking among the male Pakistani population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was an observational cross sectional study carried out on healthy individuals, who were users of any one of the three products (areca nut only, areca nut with tobacco additives, cigarette smokers). Participants were selected by convenience sampling of people coming to hospital to seek a free oral check up. Information was collected about the socio-demographic profile, pattern of use and symptoms of dependency using the DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence. We carried out multiple logistic regressions to investigate association between socio-demographic profile, pattern of substance use and dependency syndrome.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We carried out final analysis on 851 individuals, of which 36.8% (n = 314) were areca nut users, 28.4% (n = 242) were the chewers of areca with tobacco additives and 34.7% (n = 295) were regular cigarette smokers. Multivariate analyses showed that individuals using areca nut with tobacco additives were significantly more likely to have dependency syndrome (OR = 2.17, 95% CI 1.39-3.40) while cigarette smokers were eight times more likely to have dependency syndrome as compared to areca nut only users.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Areca nut use with and without tobacco additives was significantly associated with dependency syndrome. In comparison to exclusive areca nut users, the smokers were eight times more likely to develop dependence while areca nut users with tobacco additives were also significantly more likely to suffer from the dependence.</p