Exposure to NO2 in occupational built environments in urban centre in Lahore

Increased economic growth, urbanisation and substantial rise in automobile vehicles has contributed towards the elevated levels of air pollution in major cities in Pakistan. Aone week study was conducted by using passive samplers to assess NO2 concentration in occupational built environments at two most congested and populated sites of Lahore. Both sites were locatedon the busy roads of Lahore. At Site-I the highest concentration was in outdoors followed by corridor and indoor. While at Site II all the sampling location wereindoors and level were comparable to that of outdoor levelsat Site I. The results suggest the likely contribution of ambient sources in exposure to indoor NO2 in educational and other occupational built environments in urban centres

Exposure to NO<inf>2</inf> in occupationalbuilt environmnets in urban centre in Lahore

Increased economic growth, urbanisation and substantial rise in automobile vehicles has contributed towards the elevated levels of air pollution in major cities in Pakistan. Aone week study was conducted by using passive samplers to assess NO2 concentration in occupational built environments at two most congested and populated sites of Lahore. Both sites were locatedon the busy roads of Lahore. At Site-I the highest concentration was in outdoors followed by corridor and indoor. While at Site II all the sampling location wereindoors and level were comparable to that of outdoor levelsat Site I. The results suggest the likely contribution of ambient sources in exposure to indoor NO2 in educational and other occupational built environments in urban centres

A Qualitative Comparison of ANSYS and OpenFOAM results for Carbon dioxide Plume Transport

This research presents Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations in ANSYS® illustrating emissions of to the air. The CFD simulations is employed to study plume transport in urban environment, i.e., Breivika port in the city of Tromsø. The case study presents a two-phase model considering specific wind strength and direction in the city of Tromsø. Geographical coordinates, temperature, and wind data were obtained from the open sources, such as Google Maps, and Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The results from the simulations indicates a potential outcome with respect to various weather conditions. It was revealed for vessels less than 30 meter chimney height, the higher the wind strength, the lower the plume dispersion, causing the plume to stay closer to the terrain. This brings in a concentrated amount of pollutants closer to the public areas. The terrain in the model is recognizable for the Tromsø port’s location. From the CFD results, it is illustrated that onshore wind with high wind strength could affect the environment. The results simulated in OpenFOAM are qualitatively showing the same as visible in ANSYS®

Prevalence of hepatitis B and C and assessment of responsible risk factors among the vulnerable β-thalassemic patients of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

Approximately 350 million patients of hepatitis B and 170 million patients of Hepatitis C are present worldwide according to WHO. Many risk factors are involved in the transmission of theses deadly viral infections but blood transfusion in Beta thalassemic patients is working with two faces, one as remedy and the other is key risk factor in the spread of silent killers. Thalassemia patients registered in Combine Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalakot and Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Hospital, Muzaffarabad Azad Jammu and Kashmir Pakistan were studied for the viral hepatitis B and C prevalence. A total of 303 (including 164 males and 139 females) individuals, aged between 1 and 12 years were studied. All the understudy participants were interviewed through questionnaire method. After taking written consent from each participant or guardian, 5 ml of blood was collected from each participant and brought to the working laboratory for HBV and HCV screening through ICT kit method. All ICT positive samples were further confirmed through ELISA. Individuals 25(8.2%) were found positive for both hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg) and Anti hepatitis C antibody (Anti-HCV antibody) after initial screening with no coinfection of both diseases. Out of 25 total infected individuals, 05(1.6%) were found HBsAg positive and 20(6.6%) were found anti-HCV positive. All the ICT positive individuals were further confirmed by quantitative Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and 23(7.6%) individuals were confirmed for both hepatitis B and C including 05(1.6%) HBsAg positive as well as 18(5.9%) anti-HCV antibody positive individuals. We can conclude that 8.2% prevalence of hepatitis B and C among thalassemic patients is an alarming health concern which directly indicates to pay attention for ensuring 100% safe blood transfusion

Biodiversity and its use at taunsa barrage wildlife sanctuary, Pakistan

This study determined the livelihood conditions of the peoples of three villages (Bait Qaimwala, Basti Allahwali and Jannu) and their dependency on biodiversity of Taunsa Barrage Wildlife Sanctuary, Pakistan from 2009 to 2011. For socio-economic status, Participatory Human Resource Interaction Appraisal method was used and for biodiversity assessment, direct census method and point count were used. Floral biodiversity contained 79 species of plants including; trees (n=48 species); herbs (n=8 species); shrubs (n=9 species); grasses (n=7 species); reeds (n=5 species) and weeds (n=2 species). Fauna included fish (n=21 species), amphibians (n=3 species), reptiles (n=9 species), mammals (n=14 species) and birds (n=171) species. The high illiteracy rate (64 percent) in the surroundings of TBWS was estimated. Overall the local community was dependent on wetland products for use of fuel wood (77 percent), livestock grazing (100 percent), fishing (90 percent), hunting, freshwater turtles trading (10 percent) and others (9 percent). Villagers who live in mud-built houses constitute 42 percent, concrete houses 30 percent and thatched houses 28 percent. Typical means of transportation in the area was still animal driven cart (25 percent). In Bait Qaimwala 75 percent households were ultra poor. In Basti Allahwali 15 percent households were poor, 35 percent extremely poor and 5 percent ultra poor. In Jannu village, 55 percent households were poor and 45 percent were non poor. There is need to reorganize the social sector and help local communities to fully benefit from the potential of ecotourism. In conclusion, community participation for sustainable use of natural resources in wildlife sanctuary will give a new strength to biodiversity conservation in study area

Silver nanoparticle impregnated chitosan-PEG hydrogel enhances wound healing in diabetes induced rabbits

Non-healing wounds are among the serious complications of type-2-diabetes around the globe, associated with high incidence of bacterial infection, chronic nerve and blood vessel damage, and eventually repeated amputation of limbs and organs. Silver nanoparticles offer strong wound healing potential due to their well-known antibacterial activities. The present study reports the development of silver nanoparticle impregnated chitosan-poly ethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel to accelerate wound healing in diabetic patients. The aim of the study was to formulate a sustained and slow release of silver nanoparticle using chitosan-PEG-Silver Nitrate based hydrogel for the treatment of chronic diabetic wounds. The silver nanoparticle containing chitosan-PEG pre-polymer solution was synthesized by reducing silver nitrate with PEG and chitosan solution, thereby, transforming the silver ions into silver nanoparticles. The resulted pre-polymer solution was then crosslinked using glutaraldehyde to form the desired hydrogel. The developed silver nanoparticle impregnated chitosan hydrogel was characterized using ultra-violet (UV) visible spectrophotometry, Fourier Transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) followed by the determination of porosity, and swelling properties. The release of AgNPs from hydrogel was determined by UV-vis spectroscopy followed by antimicrobial and antioxidant assays. The wound healing efficacy of the synthesized hydrogel was evaluated in diabetic rabbits. The results demonstrated a higher porosity, higher degree of swelling and higher water vapor transition rate (WVTR) for silver nanoparticle impregnated hydrogel compared to bare chitosan-PEG hydrogel as well as improved antimicrobial and antioxidant properties in-vitro and enhanced wound healing capability in-vivo in diabetic rabbits. The hydrogel showed a slow and sustained release of AgNPs over a period of at least seven days manifesting the slow biodegradation of developed hydrogels. The improved antimicrobial, antioxidant and wound healing results indicate that the silver nanoparticle impregnated chitosan-PEG hydrogel can be a promising material for wound healing dressing for chronic diabetic wounds.This article was made possible by the NPRP9-144-3-021 grant funded by Qatar national Research Fund (a part of Qatar Foundation ). The statements made here are totally responsibility of authors. The authors also thankfully acknowledge Mirpur University of Science and Technology ( MUST ), Mirpur, AJK, Pakistan for providing their facilities needed for completion of current study.Scopu