Assessment of Vegetative Phenology with Respect to Leaf Elongation Pattern of Avicennia Marina and Rhizophora Mucronata in Hajambro Creek, Indus Delta, Pakistan

Leaves emergence and the rate of elongation have been studied in Hajambro creek in Indus deltaic region, Pakistan. Leaves emergence was found higher during the summer months (mostly pre-monsoon period), that was March April, May and June. Leaves of A. marina that were observed from March to July, till the leaves reached their maximum length (about 77 mm), showed a gradual increase in their length, reaching maximum in April. Leaves of Avicennia marina reached their maximum length (about 77 mm) in about 113 days. The leaves showed gradual increase in their length, reaching maximum in April (0.97mm d-1). The per-day increment in length was 0.54 mm d-1. As reaching their maximum length (77mm), the per-day increment in the length gradually slower down. The leaves of Rhizophora mucronata were observed from February to November. The leaves of Rhizophora mucronata showed elongation rate of 0.24 mm d-1 from the day of the first observation till the leaves reached their maximum length (120 mm). The maximum time required by the leaves to reach their maximum length (120 mm) was 236 days. The rates of elongation of leaves are also fast in summer. The rate of elongation of the leaves was found to be highly correlated with the temperature (

Motion of a Vector Particle in a Curved Spacetime. II First Order Correction to a Geodesic in a Schwarzschild Background

The influence of spin on a photon's motion in a Schwarzschild and FRW spacetimes is studied. The first order correction to the geodesic motion is found. It is shown that unlike the world-lines of spinless particles, the photons world-lines do not lie in a plane.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX2e, second paper in the series (the first one: gr-qc/0110067), replaced with typos and style corrected version, accepted in MPL

PREVALENCE AND ANTHELMINTIC EFFICACY OF ABAMECTIN AGAINST GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITES IN HORSES

The prevalence and anthelmintic efficacy of Abamectin against gastrointestinal parasites under field conditions in Faisalabad (Punjab, Pakistan) was studied in 100 horses. The overall prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites was 75%, including Strongylus spp. (50%), Oxyuris equi (12%), Parascaris equorum (8%) and mixed infection (5%). Among these naturally infected animals, 15 were selected. These horses were assigned to three groups on the basis of prevalent species of gastrointestinal parasites. Each group had five animals, comprising four treatment horses and a control horse. Abamectin was evaluated against these gastrointestinal parasites with a single shot at the dose rate of 0.2 mg/kg body weight administered through subcutaneous route which resulted in 98% reduction in faecal egg count after day 14 post-treatment. Non-treated horses remained positive for gastrointestinal parasites. No adverse reactions were observed during the experimental period. It was concluded that Abamectin is highly effective against gastrointestinal parasites in horses

Potential of electrospun nanofibers for biomedical and dental applications

YesElectrospinning is a versatile technique that has gained popularity for various biomedical applications in recent years. Electrospinning is being used for fabricating nanofibers for various biomedical and dental applications such as tooth regeneration, wound healing and prevention of dental caries. Electrospun materials have the benefits of unique properties for instance, high surface area to volume ratio, enhanced cellular interactions, protein absorption to facilitate binding sites for cell receptors. Extensive research has been conducted to explore the potential of electrospun nanofibers for repair and regeneration of various dental and oral tissues including dental pulp, dentin, periodontal tissues, oral mucosa and skeletal tissues. However, there are a few limitations of electrospinning hindering the progress of these materials to practical or clinical applications. In terms of biomaterials aspects, the better understanding of controlled fabrication, properties and functioning of electrospun materials is required to overcome the limitations. More in vivo studies are definitely required to evaluate the biocompatibility of electrospun scaffolds. Furthermore, mechanical properties of such scaffolds should be enhanced so that they resist mechanical stresses during tissue regeneration applications. The objective of this article is to review the current progress of electrospun nanofibers for biomedical and dental applications. In addition, various aspects of electrospun materials in relation to potential dental applications have been discussed

Electrospinning of Chitosan-Based Solutions for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

Electrospinning has been used for decades to generate nano-fibres via an electrically charged jet of polymer solution. This process is established on a spinning technique, using electrostatic forces to produce fine fibres from polymer solutions. Amongst, the electrospinning of available biopolymers (silk, cellulose, collagen, gelatine and hyaluronic acid), chitosan (CH) has shown a favourable outcome for tissue regeneration applications. The aim of the current review is to assess the current literature about electrospinning chitosan and its composite formulations for creating fibres in combination with other natural polymers to be employed in tissue engineering. In addition, various polymers blended with chitosan for electrospinning have been discussed in terms of their potential biomedical applications. The review shows that evidence exists in support of the favourable properties and biocompatibility of chitosan electrospun composite biomaterials for a range of applications. However, further research and in vivo studies are required to translate these materials from the laboratory to clinical applications

New Development of Anodic Electro-catalyst for Chlor-alkali Industry

Anodic electro catalysts are developed by using a titanium substrate coated with different compositions of mixed oxides, as it follows: ruthenium-titanium mixed oxides; ruthenium-titanium-tin mixed oxides; and ruthenium-titanium-iridium mixed oxides. The performance of electro catalysts was further evaluated by measuring coating thickness, studying coating morphology with microscope, identifying the presence of RuO2, TiO2, IrO2 and SnO2 in coating film, analyzing shape of individual crystal by XRD, performing accelerated life test and current efficiency test of the selected anode. The coating composition of 15% RuO2, 15% IrO2 and 70% TiO2 exhibited premium properties among the studied anodes

THE PREVALENCE OF LERNAEID ECTOPARASITES IN GRASS CARP (CTENOPHARYNGODON IDELLA)

The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of lernaeid ectoparasites in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). For this purpose, 597 fishes (Ctenopharyngodon idella) were examined for lernaeid ectoparasites at a private fish farm located in Multan, Pakistan. Four species of the genus Lernaea i.e. L. cyprinacea, L. polymorpha, L. oryzophila, and L. lophiara were recorded. It was observed that L. polymorpha had the highest (P<0.05) overall prevalence (7.54%), followed by L. cyprinacea (6.53%), Learnaea species which were not identified (2.18%), L. oryzophila and L. lophiara (0.67% each). The relationship between body weight and Lernaea infestation showed that the infection of Lernaea species was significantly (P<0.05) more prevalent in the weight group of 2501-4500g, while the parasites were not found in the weight groups of 4500-6500 and 6501-8500g. Relationship between body length and Lernaea species in fish was also calculated. According to these results, the Lernaea species had significantly (P<0.05) highest prevalence in length group of 9-14 cm and lowest in length groups of 15-20 and >20 cm

New features of scattering from a one-dimensional non-Hermitian (complex) potential

For complex one-dimensional potentials, we propose the asymmetry of both reflectivity and transmitivity under time-reversal: $R(-k)\ne R(k)$ and $T(-k) \ne T(k)$, unless the potentials are real or PT-symmetric. For complex PT-symmetric scattering potentials, we propose that $R_{left}(-k)=R_{right}(k)$ and $T(-k)=T(k)$. So far, the spectral singularities (SS) of a one-dimensional non-Hermitian scattering potential are witnessed/conjectured to be at most one. We present a new non-Hermitian parametrization of Scarf II potential to reveal its four new features. Firstly, it displays the just acclaimed (in)variances. Secondly, it can support two spectral singularities at two pre-assigned real energies ($E_*=\alpha^2,\beta^2$) either in $T(k)$ or in $T(-k)$, when $\alpha\beta>0$. Thirdly, when $\alpha \beta <0$ it possesses one SS in $T(k)$ and the other in $T(-k)$. Fourthly, when the potential becomes PT-symmetric $[(\alpha+\beta)=0]$, we get $T(k)=T(-k)$, it possesses a unique SS at $E=\alpha^2$ in both $T(-k)$ and $T(k)$. Lastly, for completeness, when $\alpha=i\gamma$ and $\beta=i\delta$, there are no SS, instead we get two negative energies $-\gamma^2$ and $-\delta^2$ of the complex PT-symmetric Scarf II belonging to the two well-known branches of discrete bound state eigenvalues and no spectral singularity exists in this case. We find them as $E^{+}_{M}=-(\gamma-M)^2$ and $E^{-}_{N}=-(\delta-N)^2$; $M(N)=0,1,2,...$ with $0 \le M (N)< \gamma (\delta)$. {PACS: 03.65.Nk,11.30.Er,42.25.Bs}Comment: 10 pages, one Table, one Figure, important changes, appeared as an FTC (J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 45(2012) 032004

Prevalent genotypes of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: report from Pakistan

Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major nosocomial pathogen in Pakistan and is emerging in the community. This is one of the first reports of the prevalent genotypes of MRSA in both hospital and community settings in Pakistan. Isolates collected in 2006-2007 were characterized by PFGE, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). PFGE identified nine pulsotypes, the majority of isolates belonging to pulsotypes A (n=70) and B (n=38), which were predominant among hospital-onset MRSA (HO-MRSA) and community-onset MRSA (CO-MRSA) isolates, respectively. Among the HO-MRSA isolates, variants of SCCmec type III were prevalent, whilst SCCmec type IV or variants were predominant in the CO-MRSA isolates. MLST identified two principal sequence types, ST8 and ST239. An association was observed between ST8, PFGE pulsotype B and SCCmec type IV in the CO-MRSA (ST8-MRSA-IV). Similarly, ST239, PFGE pulsotype A and SCCmec type III were associated with HO-MRSA (ST239-MRSA-III). Therefore, the prevalent genotypes circulating in Pakistan at the time of study were ST8-MRSA-IV and ST239-MRSA-III in the community and hospital settings, respectively. A set of HO-MRSA isolates collected in 1997 were characterized by PFGE and SCCmec typing for comparison. The isolates belonged to two PFGE pulsotypes (A, n=28, B, n=11) and contained just two SCCmec types. These results suggest that an increase in genetic diversity occurred over the period 1997-2007 as a result of either microevolution or the importation of strains from surrounding areas

Studies of Decomposition Rate and Release of Nutrients Ammonium, Nitrates, Nitrites, and Phosphatesions During the Decomposition of Oryza Coarctata in the Laboratory Experiment.

He vegetation, other than the mangroves in Indus delta, for example Oryza coarctata is also the source of nutrients for the adjacent coastal environment. The O. coarctata is the major vegetation on the tidal mudflatds of Keti- Bunder (Hajambro creek), Indus delta, other than the Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronataplanted mangrove forest. This is the first report of decomposition rates of O. coarctata in the laboratory. The decomposition of O. coarctata. was conducted to evaluate the nutrients (ammonium, nitrate, nitrites, phosphates) during the decomposition. The decomposition rate was more rapid during this early phase and O. coarctata. decomposed up to 40 % during the first 7 days. Afterwards, the Oryzasp. decomposed slowly and gradually and remained up to 40% of the dry mass. Therefor e, about 60% of the organic matter present in the O. coarctatacan decompose completely in the aerobic conditions of the aquatic environment. The ammonium ions concentration was found 2.75 μM/L at 7th day and highest value was 6.38 μM/L at 124th day of exp eriment. So the amount of ammonium ions increased during the phase of decomposition. The nitrate ions concentration was 1.95 μM/L at 7th day and increased to 2.71 μM/L at 15th day of decomposition, and afterwards the concentration of nitrate decreased gradually and lowest value 0.129 μM/L was recorded in the last day of the experiment. The nitrite ions concentration was found 1.80 μM/L and gradually increased to 3.33 μM/L at 60th day and the lowest value was 3.05 μM/L. The initial concentration of the phosphate ions was 0.84 and decresed gradually during the phase of decomposition to its lowest value at 0.7 μM/L. The concentration of the nitrogen in the O. coarctata was initially between 1- 1.5 mg DW, which increased to about 2 mg DW at the 7th day of the decomposition. The % DW nitrogen contents than decreased suddenly at 15th day reaching up to about 1 mg DW of the decomposed material. This decrease of the t otal DW Nitrogen is very important, as it is the source of the nutrients to the adjacent ecosystem. The results are also strongly correlated with the nutrients values