Evaluation of Nutrition Surveys in Flood-affected Areas of Pakistan: Seeing the Unseen!

In 2010 Pakistan experienced the worst floods recorded in its history; millions of people were affected and thousands lost their lives. Nutrition assessment surveys led by UNICEF were conducted in flood?affected areas of Punjab and Sindh provinces to assess the nutrition status of children between 6–59 months while Aga Khan University (AKU) undertook a parallel assessment including micronutrient status in their project areas within Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab. Standardised Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transition (SMART) methodology was used. 881 children from Sindh, 1,143 from Punjab and 817 from AKU project areas were measured for anthropometry and their households were interviewed. The findings indicated that while immediate life?saving interventions were essential, there was also an urgent need to address chronic malnutrition. Through high?level dissemination of the survey results, treatment and prevention of malnutrition has become a priority for the provincial and federal government in Pakistan and for donors

Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties

14 p.Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance or biomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, as well as the abundance and biomass of individual species and ecological groups. This global dataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents except Antarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973 and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global database will assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions, for example, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground biodiversity distributions and drivers of biodiversity change

Bay’ al-Salam and Istithne: implementation and challenges

The raison d’être in Bay’ al-Salam and IstithnÉ’ is to help the ummah in answering the basic question in economy – “How do we allocate resources from the rich to the poor?” In Bay’ al-Salam, the rich buyer pays the poor farmer (seller), in full, while the poor farmer agrees to deliver the crops in the future. Much as the society would want to help the poor farmer, the seller is faced with counterparty risks – there are chances that for some reasons, the farmer is not able to deliver the crops to the seller on the agreed date. Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia, although they perfectly understand the concept of “al-GhurmÊ bil-ghunmÊ” (without risk, there will be no gain), still consider counterparty risks in Bay’ al-Salam arrangements to be too big to chew. Similarly, IstithnÉ’ is a unique type of sale contract that is used in the manufacturing or construction sectors where the sale of a commodity is transacted before the commodity comes into existence. The benefit of IstithnÉ’ is the special flexibility of this mechanism such that the full price need not be paid on the spot, at the time of the contract being made. IstithnÉ’ arises in society due to the specific needs of the Muslim population. The growing Malaysian economy in 2014, in which 15.2% comes from manufacturing and construction sectors, as well as continuous support by the Bank Negara Malayisa (BNM) to strengthen the Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) in the country are the supporting factors to encourage the application of IstithnÉ’ financing in Malaysia. However, data from the BNM showed that IstithnÉ’ financing is still scarce. Athough IstithnÉ’ contract is used currently by some businesses, it doesn’t enjoy great popularity due to several factors, mainly because of its risks and regulations. This book – Bay’ al-Salam and IstithnÉ’: Applications, Risks, and Related Issues from the Malaysian Perspective – discusses the inherent risks, particularly the counterparty risks associated with the contract and its potential implementation despite the constraints. With regards to IstithnÉ’ this book recommends to further develop in Malaysia because it holds great potential, and it needs a movement from all elements in the financial system, including the Islamic banks’ promotion of IstithnÉ’ products, to bring about customer demand for it in the market, as well as to bring about supportive regulation from the BNM. It is hoped that, with this discussion on Bay’ al-Salam and the application of IstithnÉ’ financing in Malaysia, our society will be able to provide more answers to the basic question in the economy of how to help the poor and needy

Population Density of Foliage Insect Pest on Jujube, Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. Ecosystem

Jujube, Ziziphus mauritiana L. is the King of arid zone fruits, due to its adaptations to tolerate the biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the occurrence of insect pest is the major threat to reduce the quality and quantity of fruits. The current studies are the first comprehensive evidence on the population density of foliage insect pests evaluated on two different varieties, Golden Gola (susceptible) and White Kherol (resistance) at farmer’s field Tando Qaiser, District Hyderabad during 2007 and 2008. A total of 13 different insect pests which were categorized as major (Ancylis sativa, Euproctis fraterna and Adoretus pallens), minor (Scirtothrips dorsalis, Amrasca biguttula biguttula, Myllocerus discolor, Achaea janata, Agrotis biconica and Aphis gossypii) and occasional (Oxycareous hyalinipennis, Dichromorpha viridis, Tarucus balkanicus and Orgyia postica) based on overall population of two years. The mean population percentage of insect pests indicates the highest percentage for E. fraterna followed by A. pallens, A. biguttula biguttula, M. discolor and S. dorsalis on White Kherol, whereas, Golden Gola was severely infested and showed maximum percentage with A. sativa followed by E. fraterna, S. dorsalis, A. pallens and A. biguttula biguttula. It is concluded that A. sativa, E. fraterna and A. pallens are serious insect pests of jujube. Pest monitoring with direct count and light trap can help to determine the ETL that is most important for the management of various insect pests including these major and minor pest. The present study will hopefully be helpful for management of foliage insect pests of jujube.

Population Density of Foliage Insect Pest on Jujube, Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. Ecosystem

Jujube, Ziziphus mauritiana L. is the King of arid zone fruits, due to its adaptations to tolerate the biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the occurrence of insect pest is the major threat to reduce the quality and quantity of fruits. The current studies are the first comprehensive evidence on the population density of foliage insect pests evaluated on two different varieties, Golden Gola (susceptible) and White Kherol (resistance) at farmer’s field Tando Qaiser, District Hyderabad during 2007 and 2008. A total of 13 different insect pests which were categorized as major (Ancylis sativa, Euproctis fraterna and Adoretus pallens), minor (Scirtothrips dorsalis, Amrasca biguttula biguttula, Myllocerus discolor, Achaea janata, Agrotis biconica and Aphis gossypii) and occasional (Oxycareous hyalinipennis, Dichromorpha viridis, Tarucus balkanicus and Orgyia postica) based on overall population of two years. The mean population percentage of insect pests indicates the highest percentage for E. fraterna followed by A. pallens, A. biguttula biguttula, M. discolor and S. dorsalis on White Kherol, whereas, Golden Gola was severely infested and showed maximum percentage with A. sativa followed by E. fraterna, S. dorsalis, A. pallens and A. biguttula biguttula. It is concluded that A. sativa, E. fraterna and A. pallens are serious insect pests of jujube. Pest monitoring with direct count and light trap can help to determine the ETL that is most important for the management of various insect pests including these major and minor pest. The present study will hopefully be helpful for management of foliage insect pests of jujube.

Herbal plants- and rice straw-derived biochars reduced metal mobilization in fishpond sediments and improved their potential as fertilizers

Fishpond sediments are rich in organic carbon and nutrients; thus, they can be used as potential fertilizers and soil conditioners. However, sediments can be contaminated with toxic elements (TEs), which have to be immobilized to allow sediment reutilization. Addition of biochars (BCs) to contaminated sediments may enhance their nutrient content and stabilize TEs, which valorize its reutilization. Consequently, this study evaluated the performance of BCs derived from Taraxacum mongolicum Hand-Mazz (TMBC), Tribulus terrestris (TTBC), and rice straw (RSBC) for Cu, Cr, and Zn stabilization and for the enhancement of nutrient content in the fishpond sediments from San Jiang (SJ) and Tan Niu (TN), China. All BCs, particularly TMBC, reduced significantly the average concentrations of Cr, Cu, and Zn in the overlying water (up to 51% for Cr, 71% for Cu, and 68% for Zn) and in the sediments pore water (up to 77% for Cr, 76% for Cu, and 50% for Zn), and also reduced metal leachability (up to 47% for Cr, 60% for Cu, and 62% for Zn), as compared to the control. The acid soluble fraction accounted for the highest portion of the total content of Cr (43–44%), Cu (38–43%), and Zn (42–45%), followed by the reducible, oxidizable, and the residual fraction; this indicates the high potential risk. As compared with the control, TMBC was more effective in reducing the average concentrations of the acid soluble Cr (15–22%), Cu (35–53%), and Zn (21–39%). Added BCs altered the metals acid soluble fraction by shifting it to the oxidizable and residual fractions. Moreover, TMBC improved the macronutrient status in both sediments. This work provides a pathway for TEs remediation of sediments and gives novel insights into the utilization of BC-treated fishpond sediments as fertilizers for crop production. © 2022 Elsevier B.V