Tobacco production and curing cause a threat to the environment through injudicious use of pesticides, imbalanced use of chemical fertilizers, and excessive consumption of local firewood. Keeping all this in retrospect, this study has been designed to assess the impact of tobacco farming on family workers, and witness on spot involvement of children and nursing/ expecting mothers in tobacco-related health-hazardous tasks. General objective of the study is to document both the positive and negative environmental and socioeconomic externalities of tobacco production in the study area. It is based both on primary data and secondary statistics. Primary data has been collected from sixty farmers for the tobacco season 2021; including forty contract and twenty non-contract sample farmers. Farmers conceive that tobacco farming has a bad impact on human health (93 %), and causes degenerative deforestation and resource depletion (68 % each). Use of Green Tobacco Sickness gloves and Personal Precautionary Equipment was reported by eighty and sixty-two percent of the farmers, respectively. Impact of the disease on the workers’ health was reported by thirty-five percent of contracted farmers, and 90 percent of non-contracted ones. Thus, the impact of the disease on human health was severe on non-contracted farms, mainly due to little or no use of Personal Precautionary Equipment. Cost of Personal Precautionary Equipment per season at the contracted farms was much higher (US$ 18.0) than at non-contracted ones (US$ 2.0). While the treatment cost of Green Tobacco Sickness or other agrochemical-related diseases of contracted farming households was 2.5 times lower than non-contracted ones. As per the results of the double log Ordinary Least Squares regression model about medical treatment cost, the coefficient of age of household head and use of Personal Precautionary Equipment have negative expected signs and are statistically significant. Laboratory tests of soil and water samples have revealed hazardous levels of Sodium Chloride and Dissolved Oxygen in canal water, which indicate imbalanced use of fertilizers by the growers and leaching of excessive nutrients below the root zone. Tobacco companies’ contracted growers were found to have less occupational health hazards. Thus, raising awareness among tobacco growers about the importance of adopting precautionary measures and use of Personal Precautionary Equipment can reduce the negative effects of tobacco farming.
{"title":"Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts of Tobacco Farming in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan","authors":"Qurat-ul-ain Altaf, Abid Hussain, Bilal Khan Yousafzai","doi":"10.53560/ppasb(59-3)723","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53560/ppasb(59-3)723","url":null,"abstract":"Tobacco production and curing cause a threat to the environment through injudicious use of pesticides, imbalanced use of chemical fertilizers, and excessive consumption of local firewood. Keeping all this in retrospect, this study has been designed to assess the impact of tobacco farming on family workers, and witness on spot involvement of children and nursing/ expecting mothers in tobacco-related health-hazardous tasks. General objective of the study is to document both the positive and negative environmental and socioeconomic externalities of tobacco production in the study area. It is based both on primary data and secondary statistics. Primary data has been collected from sixty farmers for the tobacco season 2021; including forty contract and twenty non-contract sample farmers. Farmers conceive that tobacco farming has a bad impact on human health (93 %), and causes degenerative deforestation and resource depletion (68 % each). Use of Green Tobacco Sickness gloves and Personal Precautionary Equipment was reported by eighty and sixty-two percent of the farmers, respectively. Impact of the disease on the workers’ health was reported by thirty-five percent of contracted farmers, and 90 percent of non-contracted ones. Thus, the impact of the disease on human health was severe on non-contracted farms, mainly due to little or no use of Personal Precautionary Equipment. Cost of Personal Precautionary Equipment per season at the contracted farms was much higher (US$ 18.0) than at non-contracted ones (US$ 2.0). While the treatment cost of Green Tobacco Sickness or other agrochemical-related diseases of contracted farming households was 2.5 times lower than non-contracted ones. As per the results of the double log Ordinary Least Squares regression model about medical treatment cost, the coefficient of age of household head and use of Personal Precautionary Equipment have negative expected signs and are statistically significant. Laboratory tests of soil and water samples have revealed hazardous levels of Sodium Chloride and Dissolved Oxygen in canal water, which indicate imbalanced use of fertilizers by the growers and leaching of excessive nutrients below the root zone. Tobacco companies’ contracted growers were found to have less occupational health hazards. Thus, raising awareness among tobacco growers about the importance of adopting precautionary measures and use of Personal Precautionary Equipment can reduce the negative effects of tobacco farming.","PeriodicalId":36960,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: Part B","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45949180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. N. Khan, Arshad Mahmood Malik, Gulnaz Hameed, Saima Asad
This study aimed to identify the existing onion production practices and constraints at smallholder farms and profitability of onion in the Tando Allahyar district of Sindh during the year 2018-19. The primary data were collected from 24 randomly chosen onion-producing farmers in village Ibrahim Shah using a pre-tested systematic questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate percentages, frequency, and mean, while the benefit-cost analysis (BCA) method was used to determine onion growers' profitability. Results of the study revealed that the overall average total cost and gross revenue of onion production were (Rs. 115120/acre, Rs. 154875/acre) respectively. The benefit-cost ratio was found to be 1.52 for (variable costs) and 1.35 for (total cost), indicating that onion cultivation benefits farmers in the Tando Allahyar district. The most common and local onion variety grown was Nasarpuri, which was cultivated by 87 % of farmers, along with Hazari and Phulkara. However, the farmers were reluctant to use hybrid seeds due to their inability to withstand high temperatures. The main production constraints for onion growers were high input prices, particularly seed costs, and high labour charges for hoeing and weeding. Similarly, low product prices and high transportation costs were major marketing constraints. Due to a lack of technical expertise with current technology, such as a shortage of cold storage and skilled labor, the marketing of excess produce throughout the year was a significant problem for onion growers. It is therefore suggested that a comprehensive marketing capacity building and Global GAP will improve the quality, productivity and profitability of the farmers and open the channel of export for Pakistan.
{"title":"Prospects and Constraints of Onion Production and Marketing: A Case Study of District Tando Allahyar, Sindh-Pakistan","authors":"M. N. Khan, Arshad Mahmood Malik, Gulnaz Hameed, Saima Asad","doi":"10.53560/ppasb(59-3)728","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53560/ppasb(59-3)728","url":null,"abstract":"This study aimed to identify the existing onion production practices and constraints at smallholder farms and profitability of onion in the Tando Allahyar district of Sindh during the year 2018-19. The primary data were collected from 24 randomly chosen onion-producing farmers in village Ibrahim Shah using a pre-tested systematic questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate percentages, frequency, and mean, while the benefit-cost analysis (BCA) method was used to determine onion growers' profitability. Results of the study revealed that the overall average total cost and gross revenue of onion production were (Rs. 115120/acre, Rs. 154875/acre) respectively. The benefit-cost ratio was found to be 1.52 for (variable costs) and 1.35 for (total cost), indicating that onion cultivation benefits farmers in the Tando Allahyar district. The most common and local onion variety grown was Nasarpuri, which was cultivated by 87 % of farmers, along with Hazari and Phulkara. However, the farmers were reluctant to use hybrid seeds due to their inability to withstand high temperatures. The main production constraints for onion growers were high input prices, particularly seed costs, and high labour charges for hoeing and weeding. Similarly, low product prices and high transportation costs were major marketing constraints. Due to a lack of technical expertise with current technology, such as a shortage of cold storage and skilled labor, the marketing of excess produce throughout the year was a significant problem for onion growers. It is therefore suggested that a comprehensive marketing capacity building and Global GAP will improve the quality, productivity and profitability of the farmers and open the channel of export for Pakistan. ","PeriodicalId":36960,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: Part B","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46357716","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The present study was intended to find out the curative potentials of Garlic (Allium sativum) against di-(2-Ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) induced toxicity in the reproductive system of female mice. Forty female mice were divided into four groups (n=10) as the (a) control group was given normal feed and drinking water, (b) aqueous garlic extract treated group (500 mg/kg), (c) DEHP group received 500 mg/kg in corn oil, and (d) DEHP + aqueous garlic extract each at a dosage of 500 mg/kg body weight. All treatments were given daily through oral gavage for 28 days. After completion of the experiment, all the animals were dissected through cervical dislocation to get reproductive organs. Collected organs were weighed and processed through the conventional histology technique of staining with eosin and hematoxylin. This study indicated that DEHP exposure caused a significant decrease (P<0.001) in body weight and weight of the complete female reproductive tract as compared to the control group, while the garlic co-administered group showed prominent improvement in body and organ weight when compared to only DEHP treatment. The adverse effect of DEHP on the histology of the ovary such as a decreased mean number of developing follicles, thin and irregular corona radiata, disruption of cumulus oophorus, and reduction in the size of the antral cavity of the tertiary follicle was observed. However, a significant recovery in the development of follicles was seen in DEHP plus garlic-treated group. DEHP plus garlic extract treatment showed protective effects on the uterus, such as a significant increase in the diameter of the uterus (P<0.001), muscularis, mean number of endometrial glands (P<0.001), and endometrial epithelial heights as compared to only DEHP exposed group. Hence, garlic extract showed significant ameliorative potential against DEHP-induced reproductive anomalies in female mice.
{"title":"Curative Potentials of Garlic (Allium sativum) Extract against Di-(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate Induced Reproductive Toxicity in Female Mice","authors":"Sajida Batool, Riqza Aziz, Sitara Shameem, Marrium Shaheen, Saira Batool, Iqra Aslam, Fatima Iram","doi":"10.53560/ppasb(59-3)720","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53560/ppasb(59-3)720","url":null,"abstract":"The present study was intended to find out the curative potentials of Garlic (Allium sativum) against di-(2-Ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) induced toxicity in the reproductive system of female mice. Forty female mice were divided into four groups (n=10) as the (a) control group was given normal feed and drinking water, (b) aqueous garlic extract treated group (500 mg/kg), (c) DEHP group received 500 mg/kg in corn oil, and (d) DEHP + aqueous garlic extract each at a dosage of 500 mg/kg body weight. All treatments were given daily through oral gavage for 28 days. After completion of the experiment, all the animals were dissected through cervical dislocation to get reproductive organs. Collected organs were weighed and processed through the conventional histology technique of staining with eosin and hematoxylin. This study indicated that DEHP exposure caused a significant decrease (P<0.001) in body weight and weight of the complete female reproductive tract as compared to the control group, while the garlic co-administered group showed prominent improvement in body and organ weight when compared to only DEHP treatment. The adverse effect of DEHP on the histology of the ovary such as a decreased mean number of developing follicles, thin and irregular corona radiata, disruption of cumulus oophorus, and reduction in the size of the antral cavity of the tertiary follicle was observed. However, a significant recovery in the development of follicles was seen in DEHP plus garlic-treated group. DEHP plus garlic extract treatment showed protective effects on the uterus, such as a significant increase in the diameter of the uterus (P<0.001), muscularis, mean number of endometrial glands (P<0.001), and endometrial epithelial heights as compared to only DEHP exposed group. Hence, garlic extract showed significant ameliorative potential against DEHP-induced reproductive anomalies in female mice.","PeriodicalId":36960,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: Part B","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47659172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Naheed Fatima, R. Kausar, A. Ashraf, Muhammad Bilal Iqbal, Quratulain Nawaz
The deterioration of rangeland resources as a result of environmental changes is a serious concern in the Himalayan mountainous region of Pakistan. The present study is aimed to evaluate the response of vegetation cover of rangeland to recent trends in climate parameters, such as the seasonal temperature and rainfall in the Mansehra district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. Correlation analysis was performed between the MODIS data products, i.e., NDVI (Normalized difference vegetation index) and LST (Land surface temperature), and TRMM rainfall datasets of the 2000-2018 period. NDVI indicated a negative correlation with LST of winter (R= -0.56), spring (R= -0.7), summer (R= -0.24), and autumn (R= -0.23) significant (p<0.05) for winter and spring seasons only. In contrast, the correlation of NDVI was observed positive with seasonal rainfall exhibiting coefficient of correlation values of 0.41, 0.79, 0.64, 0.7 for winter, spring, summer, and autumn significant (p<0.05) for the last two seasons only. The low correlation observed between NDVI and LST of summer and autumn seasons is likely because of the prevailing stress condition of chlorophyll contents of the vegetation cover under warming conditions. However, this situation appears to be compensated by the rainfall as indicative of the moderate to strong correlation between the NDVI and rainfall of these two seasons. The least NDVI values observed during the winter season indicate limited vegetation cover for grazing opportunities in the lower valleys. However, an in-depth investigation of production patterns would further facilitate analyzing the grazing potential to support decision-making for long-term grazing management.
{"title":"Response of Rangeland Vegetation to Recent Trends in Seasonal Climate in Mansehra, Pakistan","authors":"Naheed Fatima, R. Kausar, A. Ashraf, Muhammad Bilal Iqbal, Quratulain Nawaz","doi":"10.53560/ppasb(59-3)721","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53560/ppasb(59-3)721","url":null,"abstract":"The deterioration of rangeland resources as a result of environmental changes is a serious concern in the Himalayan mountainous region of Pakistan. The present study is aimed to evaluate the response of vegetation cover of rangeland to recent trends in climate parameters, such as the seasonal temperature and rainfall in the Mansehra district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. Correlation analysis was performed between the MODIS data products, i.e., NDVI (Normalized difference vegetation index) and LST (Land surface temperature), and TRMM rainfall datasets of the 2000-2018 period. NDVI indicated a negative correlation with LST of winter (R= -0.56), spring (R= -0.7), summer (R= -0.24), and autumn (R= -0.23) significant (p<0.05) for winter and spring seasons only. In contrast, the correlation of NDVI was observed positive with seasonal rainfall exhibiting coefficient of correlation values of 0.41, 0.79, 0.64, 0.7 for winter, spring, summer, and autumn significant (p<0.05) for the last two seasons only. The low correlation observed between NDVI and LST of summer and autumn seasons is likely because of the prevailing stress condition of chlorophyll contents of the vegetation cover under warming conditions. However, this situation appears to be compensated by the rainfall as indicative of the moderate to strong correlation between the NDVI and rainfall of these two seasons. The least NDVI values observed during the winter season indicate limited vegetation cover for grazing opportunities in the lower valleys. However, an in-depth investigation of production patterns would further facilitate analyzing the grazing potential to support decision-making for long-term grazing management.","PeriodicalId":36960,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: Part B","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43780979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Adeel Aslam Perzada, A. A. Gilal, Lubna Bashir, J. G. M. Sahito, Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim Kubar
Callosobruchus spp. are global serious pests of pulses. Therefore, two studies were carried out to determine their distribution in three ecological zones of the Sindh, Pakistan along with their damage potential to major pulses. Survey was conducted from Zone-one (Ghotki, Sukkur and Larkana districts), Zone-two (Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas and Shaheed Benazirabad districts) and Zone-three (Karachi district) during March – April 2020. Grain samples of main pulses i.e., chickpea (channa), field pea (matar), cowpea (lobia), green lentil (moong) and daal channa were collected from three locations of each district and brought to Stored Grain Research Laboratory, Department of Entomology, Faculty of Crop Protection, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam for further examination. Three pulse beetle species i.e., C. maculatus, C. chinensis and C. analis were identified from the collected pulse samples as the highest populations of adults, eggs, grubs and pupae was recorded from moong, followed by lobia and gram. No population of pulse beetle was recorded from daal channa and matar. Callosobruchus maculatus was the most dominant species at all sampling as higher beetle populations were recorded from Mirpur Khas and Sukkur districts. Therefore, both these strains were further evaluated for their feeding preference and weight loss assessment on various pulses i.e., gram (chickpea), lobia (cowpea), moong (green gram) and daal channa (yellow lentil) in no-choice under laboratory conditions. C. maculatus showed a significant feeding preference among pulses with lobia and gram being the most preferred, whereas daal channa was the least preferred, hence suffered highest and lowest weight loss, respectively. Therefore, proper storage and quarantine measures are suggested to be taken in the transportation and storage of pulses to restrict the spread and damage of pulse beetles.
{"title":"Distribution and damage potential of pulse beetles, Callosobruchus spp. (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) in Sindh, Pakistan","authors":"Adeel Aslam Perzada, A. A. Gilal, Lubna Bashir, J. G. M. Sahito, Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim Kubar","doi":"10.53560/ppasb(59-3)716","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53560/ppasb(59-3)716","url":null,"abstract":"Callosobruchus spp. are global serious pests of pulses. Therefore, two studies were carried out to determine their distribution in three ecological zones of the Sindh, Pakistan along with their damage potential to major pulses. Survey was conducted from Zone-one (Ghotki, Sukkur and Larkana districts), Zone-two (Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas and Shaheed Benazirabad districts) and Zone-three (Karachi district) during March – April 2020. Grain samples of main pulses i.e., chickpea (channa), field pea (matar), cowpea (lobia), green lentil (moong) and daal channa were collected from three locations of each district and brought to Stored Grain Research Laboratory, Department of Entomology, Faculty of Crop Protection, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam for further examination. Three pulse beetle species i.e., C. maculatus, C. chinensis and C. analis were identified from the collected pulse samples as the highest populations of adults, eggs, grubs and pupae was recorded from moong, followed by lobia and gram. No population of pulse beetle was recorded from daal channa and matar. Callosobruchus maculatus was the most dominant species at all sampling as higher beetle populations were recorded from Mirpur Khas and Sukkur districts. Therefore, both these strains were further evaluated for their feeding preference and weight loss assessment on various pulses i.e., gram (chickpea), lobia (cowpea), moong (green gram) and daal channa (yellow lentil) in no-choice under laboratory conditions. C. maculatus showed a significant feeding preference among pulses with lobia and gram being the most preferred, whereas daal channa was the least preferred, hence suffered highest and lowest weight loss, respectively. Therefore, proper storage and quarantine measures are suggested to be taken in the transportation and storage of pulses to restrict the spread and damage of pulse beetles.","PeriodicalId":36960,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: Part B","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47332503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Qusay Abdulhamza Muttaleb, Ahmed Fali Shahmukh, Dunia Mohi Mohsen
Bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) is a fast-growing vine and seeds germinated quickly in warm soil even if covered with shaded by crops. Due to its high medicinal benefits, it is the most essential vegetable crop. The findings of this study indicated that the germination percentage of the bitter melon variety i.e. Bitter gourd-1 (BG-1) was highly affected by the application of different concentrations of plant hormone. Such an effect was even prominent in comparison without the application of plant hormones. The seed germination was significantly highest (96.4 %) @ NAA 0.9 (900 mg/1000 ml). The germination time (days) was significantly lower 5.10 days @ NAA 0.3 (300 mg/1000 ml) and consistently increased at higher concentration of PGR (7.46 days at NAA 0.6 (600 mg/1000 ml) and 8.53 days at 1.5 (1500 mg/1000 ml), respectively. The germination index was 1.91 recorded higher at the control treatment. The results further indicated that the germination index of bitter gourd increased as the concentration of PGR increased. Overall, these findings indicated that the impact of PGR on the germination index was obvious, and the index enhanced as PGR concentration increased. The seedling vigour index was significantly maximum 1835 recorded at NAA 0.3 (300 mg/1000 ml) and followed by NAA 1.5 (1500 mg/1000 ml) with 1292, respectively. The results further showed that the seedling vigour index of bitter gourd decreased between 709 and 1024 at the control and distilled water treatments. We concluded that seed priming is a tool for sustainable agriculture.
{"title":"Efficacy of Seed Priming through Plant Hormones on the Germination of Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia L.)","authors":"Qusay Abdulhamza Muttaleb, Ahmed Fali Shahmukh, Dunia Mohi Mohsen","doi":"10.53560/ppasb(59-3)711","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53560/ppasb(59-3)711","url":null,"abstract":"Bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) is a fast-growing vine and seeds germinated quickly in warm soil even if covered with shaded by crops. Due to its high medicinal benefits, it is the most essential vegetable crop. The findings of this study indicated that the germination percentage of the bitter melon variety i.e. Bitter gourd-1 (BG-1) was highly affected by the application of different concentrations of plant hormone. Such an effect was even prominent in comparison without the application of plant hormones. The seed germination was significantly highest (96.4 %) @ NAA 0.9 (900 mg/1000 ml). The germination time (days) was significantly lower 5.10 days @ NAA 0.3 (300 mg/1000 ml) and consistently increased at higher concentration of PGR (7.46 days at NAA 0.6 (600 mg/1000 ml) and 8.53 days at 1.5 (1500 mg/1000 ml), respectively. The germination index was 1.91 recorded higher at the control treatment. The results further indicated that the germination index of bitter gourd increased as the concentration of PGR increased. Overall, these findings indicated that the impact of PGR on the germination index was obvious, and the index enhanced as PGR concentration increased. The seedling vigour index was significantly maximum 1835 recorded at NAA 0.3 (300 mg/1000 ml) and followed by NAA 1.5 (1500 mg/1000 ml) with 1292, respectively. The results further showed that the seedling vigour index of bitter gourd decreased between 709 and 1024 at the control and distilled water treatments. We concluded that seed priming is a tool for sustainable agriculture.","PeriodicalId":36960,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: Part B","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48711524","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Workplace accidents are very unpredictable. Protection against these risks and hazards is of utmost importance in every profession. Clothing has always been considered one of the integral parts of personal protective equipment. The present study aims at manufacturing and evaluating protective clothing materials used by chemical workers. It was experimental. Two important resistance characteristics; chemical and fire were assessed against international performance standards. The results highlighted the fact that the right selection of construction parameters was able to make a safe fabric against such hazards. The resultant fabric was evaluated at various washing intervals and was found to be resistant to four selected chemicals through penetration and repellency index. It was also able to resist fire by passing the standard after flame and char length tests. Very little research work has been done in Pakistan regarding the manufacturing and physical assessment of clothing materials used by chemical workers. This study aimed to approach the target area where the protection and safety of the worker should be a priority.
{"title":"Evaluation of Protective Clothing against Chemical and Fire Hazards","authors":"Mehreen Ijaz","doi":"10.53560/ppasb(59-3)710","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53560/ppasb(59-3)710","url":null,"abstract":"Workplace accidents are very unpredictable. Protection against these risks and hazards is of utmost importance in every profession. Clothing has always been considered one of the integral parts of personal protective equipment. The present study aims at manufacturing and evaluating protective clothing materials used by chemical workers. It was experimental. Two important resistance characteristics; chemical and fire were assessed against international performance standards. The results highlighted the fact that the right selection of construction parameters was able to make a safe fabric against such hazards. The resultant fabric was evaluated at various washing intervals and was found to be resistant to four selected chemicals through penetration and repellency index. It was also able to resist fire by passing the standard after flame and char length tests. Very little research work has been done in Pakistan regarding the manufacturing and physical assessment of clothing materials used by chemical workers. This study aimed to approach the target area where the protection and safety of the worker should be a priority.","PeriodicalId":36960,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: Part B","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48570385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rabia Javeed, Nabeela Tariq, Shakeela Daud, AsmaYousafzai, Saba Manzoor, Adeel Ahmad
One of the most common blood-borne illnesses is hepatitis C virus (HCV), Hepatitis C is referred to as the inflammation of the liver and caused by the HCV virus, HCV is estimated to cause 53000 fatalities per year over the world. The majority of HCV-infected patients are unaware of their infection. No vaccine is available for HCV although Interferon is used to treat HCV but effective only 20-38 %, but at present, only a minority of infected persons have been tested and are aware of their diagnosis. The expense of testing may play a substantial role in patients' ability to get rid of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Costs in many low- and middle-income nations, including Pakistan, force the development of novel and economically advantageous testing methods. The major aim of this study is about the effective diagnostic procedure for detecting Hepatitis C in the samples obtained from Balochistan, for this purpose the samples were collected from the health organization BINUQ (Balochistan Institute of Nephrology and Urology Quetta). Twenty (20) HCV antibodies positive patients in the Molecular Laboratory Department of Biotechnology were processed and then subjected to RNA extraction. cDNA was synthesized by reverse transcriptase enzyme. cDNA was used for qualitative analysis of HCV-RNA through nested PCR. According to the study, 09 samples were detected as positive and 7 samples were HCV negative out of 16 patients’ samples. The findings of the present study show comparison of the price for HCV- RNA tests per sample from patients with hepatitis C at various labs. When compared to the other five PCR-based tests in the laboratory-conducted anti-HCV, HCV qualitative, quantitative, and genotyping tests, Shoukat Khanum laboratory reported the most expensive costs for HCV -RNA tests. Dow laboratory HCV-RNA test is comparatively lower than Shoukat Khanum laboratory, while reported lowest and most cost-effective test of Molecular Diagnostic laboratory for anti-HCV. So, our molecular tests for HCV- RNA detection and quantitation showed very good diagnostic and clinical performance over all five public health laboratories.
{"title":"Nested-PCR based Detection of Hepatitis C Virus: Low-cost Strategy in Pakistan","authors":"Rabia Javeed, Nabeela Tariq, Shakeela Daud, AsmaYousafzai, Saba Manzoor, Adeel Ahmad","doi":"10.53560/ppasb(59-3)709","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53560/ppasb(59-3)709","url":null,"abstract":"One of the most common blood-borne illnesses is hepatitis C virus (HCV), Hepatitis C is referred to as the inflammation of the liver and caused by the HCV virus, HCV is estimated to cause 53000 fatalities per year over the world. The majority of HCV-infected patients are unaware of their infection. No vaccine is available for HCV although Interferon is used to treat HCV but effective only 20-38 %, but at present, only a minority of infected persons have been tested and are aware of their diagnosis. The expense of testing may play a substantial role in patients' ability to get rid of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Costs in many low- and middle-income nations, including Pakistan, force the development of novel and economically advantageous testing methods. The major aim of this study is about the effective diagnostic procedure for detecting Hepatitis C in the samples obtained from Balochistan, for this purpose the samples were collected from the health organization BINUQ (Balochistan Institute of Nephrology and Urology Quetta). Twenty (20) HCV antibodies positive patients in the Molecular Laboratory Department of Biotechnology were processed and then subjected to RNA extraction. cDNA was synthesized by reverse transcriptase enzyme. cDNA was used for qualitative analysis of HCV-RNA through nested PCR. According to the study, 09 samples were detected as positive and 7 samples were HCV negative out of 16 patients’ samples. The findings of the present study show comparison of the price for HCV- RNA tests per sample from patients with hepatitis C at various labs. When compared to the other five PCR-based tests in the laboratory-conducted anti-HCV, HCV qualitative, quantitative, and genotyping tests, Shoukat Khanum laboratory reported the most expensive costs for HCV -RNA tests. Dow laboratory HCV-RNA test is comparatively lower than Shoukat Khanum laboratory, while reported lowest and most cost-effective test of Molecular Diagnostic laboratory for anti-HCV. So, our molecular tests for HCV- RNA detection and quantitation showed very good diagnostic and clinical performance over all five public health laboratories.","PeriodicalId":36960,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: Part B","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43309472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Climate change causes low production of most vegetables throughout the world by reducing the quality and quantity of yield. Mitigation of the negative impact of climate change on plant productivity must be emphasized in the development of production systems to improve the efficiency of water use, including mulch. Organic mulch sheet (OMS) is an alternative biodegradable mulch made from abundant renewable materials. This study aimed to understand the influence of OMS application on the growth and yield of chili compared to plastic mulch and to optimize the compositions of OMS made from water hyacinth, coconut fiber, and manure for improving the growth and yield of chili. This study was carried out using a simple randomized complete block design with two controls (without mulch (P0) and plastic mulch (P0M)) and five treatments of OMS compositions (the percentage of water hyacinth, coconut coir, and manure) labeled as PO1 (70:20:10), PO2 (60:30:10), PO3 (50:40:10), PO4 (40:50:10) and PO5 (30:60:10). All tested OMS compositions in this study showed insignificantly growth and yield variables of chili compared to the plastic mulch. Optimum OMS composition for yield variables obtained at 59.39% water hyacinth and 0% coconut coir based on response optimizer using response surface analysis. Insignificant different growth and yield produced from OMS and plastic mulch application indicated that all tested OMS compositions, with biodegradable and eco-friendly properties, can be used to substitute for plastic mulch in chili cultivation.
{"title":"Optimization of Organic Mulch Sheet Compositions in Chili (Capsicum annum L.) Cultivation: Effect on the Growth and Yield","authors":"Aniek Iriany, Faridlotul Hasanah, Atiek Iriany, Febriana Budi Lestari","doi":"10.53560/ppasb(59-3)717","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53560/ppasb(59-3)717","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change causes low production of most vegetables throughout the world by reducing the quality and quantity of yield. Mitigation of the negative impact of climate change on plant productivity must be emphasized in the development of production systems to improve the efficiency of water use, including mulch. Organic mulch sheet (OMS) is an alternative biodegradable mulch made from abundant renewable materials. This study aimed to understand the influence of OMS application on the growth and yield of chili compared to plastic mulch and to optimize the compositions of OMS made from water hyacinth, coconut fiber, and manure for improving the growth and yield of chili. This study was carried out using a simple randomized complete block design with two controls (without mulch (P0) and plastic mulch (P0M)) and five treatments of OMS compositions (the percentage of water hyacinth, coconut coir, and manure) labeled as PO1 (70:20:10), PO2 (60:30:10), PO3 (50:40:10), PO4 (40:50:10) and PO5 (30:60:10). All tested OMS compositions in this study showed insignificantly growth and yield variables of chili compared to the plastic mulch. Optimum OMS composition for yield variables obtained at 59.39% water hyacinth and 0% coconut coir based on response optimizer using response surface analysis. Insignificant different growth and yield produced from OMS and plastic mulch application indicated that all tested OMS compositions, with biodegradable and eco-friendly properties, can be used to substitute for plastic mulch in chili cultivation.","PeriodicalId":36960,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: Part B","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47877518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muhammad Bilawal Arain, Ali Gul Soomro, Shamsuddin Bughio, Rehana Buriro, Aijaz Ali, Saeed Ahmed Soomro
The extensive use of antibiotics has developed antibacterial resistance and also may cause toxic effects (hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity) on vital organs. To overcome this problem, Scientists gain attention towards medicinal plants. Pure Aloe vera (AV) is a common alternative antimicrobial medicine, hence, the current study was conducted to explore its antibacterial potential and compared it with a commonly used antibiotic amoxicillin. During this study, clinically positive mastitis milk samples (n=50) were collected from buffaloes, after microbial culture analysis. Various concentrations (C1=40, C2=20, C3=10, C4=5, C5=2.5, C6=1.25, C7= 0.62, C8=0.31, C9=0.15, C10=0.07 and C11=0.03µl) of pure AV and amoxicillin (μg/μl) were used to evaluate antibacterial activity through minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Gram-positive organisms including Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae. The MIC was evaluated based on turbidity and transparency of the medium. Prevalence of S. aureuswas recorded at 25 (50 %) whereas, 15 (30 %) positive samples for S. agalactiae and 10 (20 %) positive samples were found in mixed bacterial colonies from milk samples. The mean values of MIC at 10 μl of pure AV showed 50% sensitivity against S. aureus whereas, at 5 μl of pure AV showed 52.5 % sensitivity against S. agalactiae. While amoxicillin inhibited the growth of S. aureus and S. agalactiae at 2.5 μg/μl and 1.25 μg/μl concentrations showed 52.5 %, and 55 % sensitivity respectively. A significant (P ˂ 0.05) difference was noticed between both tested groups. It has been concluded that pure AV possessed antibacterial potential and can be used as a safe and economic alternative against infections caused by S. aureus and S. agalactiae.
{"title":"Antibacterial Potential of Aloe vera against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae isolated from Mastitic Milk","authors":"Muhammad Bilawal Arain, Ali Gul Soomro, Shamsuddin Bughio, Rehana Buriro, Aijaz Ali, Saeed Ahmed Soomro","doi":"10.53560/ppasb(59-2)686","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53560/ppasb(59-2)686","url":null,"abstract":"The extensive use of antibiotics has developed antibacterial resistance and also may cause toxic effects (hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity) on vital organs. To overcome this problem, Scientists gain attention towards medicinal plants. Pure Aloe vera (AV) is a common alternative antimicrobial medicine, hence, the current study was conducted to explore its antibacterial potential and compared it with a commonly used antibiotic amoxicillin. During this study, clinically positive mastitis milk samples (n=50) were collected from buffaloes, after microbial culture analysis. Various concentrations (C1=40, C2=20, C3=10, C4=5, C5=2.5, C6=1.25, C7= 0.62, C8=0.31, C9=0.15, C10=0.07 and C11=0.03µl) of pure AV and amoxicillin (μg/μl) were used to evaluate antibacterial activity through minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Gram-positive organisms including Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae. The MIC was evaluated based on turbidity and transparency of the medium. Prevalence of S. aureuswas recorded at 25 (50 %) whereas, 15 (30 %) positive samples for S. agalactiae and 10 (20 %) positive samples were found in mixed bacterial colonies from milk samples. The mean values of MIC at 10 μl of pure AV showed 50% sensitivity against S. aureus whereas, at 5 μl of pure AV showed 52.5 % sensitivity against S. agalactiae. While amoxicillin inhibited the growth of S. aureus and S. agalactiae at 2.5 μg/μl and 1.25 μg/μl concentrations showed 52.5 %, and 55 % sensitivity respectively. A significant (P ˂ 0.05) difference was noticed between both tested groups. It has been concluded that pure AV possessed antibacterial potential and can be used as a safe and economic alternative against infections caused by S. aureus and S. agalactiae.","PeriodicalId":36960,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: Part B","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45249662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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