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Simple Summary: Wheat is a staple food in Pakistan and Government of Pakistan stores huge amount of wheat every year to maintain food supply chains especially during scarcity period. Every year, surplus stored wheat is provided to poultry feed manufacturers at lower price and poultry feed manufacturers use stored wheat in diet of poultry with different exogenous enzymes. However, no data is available on the utilization of stored wheat (1.5 and 2.5 years storage) with or without exogenous enzymes in broilers. This study will provide evidence that storage of wheat will require exogenous enzymes in the diet of broilers for enhanced productivity. The current study was conducted to evaluate the effects of stored wheat-based diet (1.5 and 2.5 years stored wheat) with and without the supplementation of xylanase and phytase enzymes in combination or individually on performance parameters, digestibility, digesta viscosity and carcass characteristics of broilers. For this purpose, a total of 640-day-old male broilers were randomly distributed to the 64 pens, and each pen had 10 birds. Two basal isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets contained 1.5 and 2.5 years stored wheat were formulated in this experiment. In the current study, experimental feeds were prepared by supplementing exogenous enzymes in both basal diets with xylanase (500 XU), phytase (500 FTU) alone or in a combination of phytase and xylanase. Performance parameters data represents that both in starter phase and finisher phase, inclusion of exogenous enzymes xylanase and phytase in both basal diets alone or in combination enhance the feed intake, and body weight gain (p < 0.05) and improve the feed conversion ratio in overall phase (p < 0.05). Similarly, supplementation of exogenous xylanase and phytase alone or in combination enhance the nutrient digestibility and reduce the digesta viscosity (p < 0.05). Based on the results of this experiment, it is concluded that supplementation of exogenous xylanase and phytase enzymes alone or in combination in wheat-based diets (stored wheat 1.5 and 2.5 years) enhance and improves the performance of birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide, a deliberate act of self-harm with the intention to die, is an emerging health concern but, unfortunately, the most under-researched subject in Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KPK). In this study, we aimed to identify risk factors that can be associated with suicidal behavior (SB) and to evaluate the prevailing treatment practices for therapeutic efficacy and drug-related problems (DRPs) in psychotic patients among the local population of KPK. A prospective, multicenter study was conducted for suicidal cases admitted to the study centers by randomized sampling. Socio-demographics and data on suicidal behavior were assessed using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), socioeconomic condition by Kuppuswamy socioeconomic scale (KSES) and treatment adherence by Morisky Medication-Taking Adherence Scale (MMAS-4). Drug-related problems and the therapeutic efficacy of prevailing treatment practices were assessed at baseline and follow-up after 3 months of treatment provided. Regarding suicidality (N = 128), females reported more ideations (63.1%), while males witnessed more suicidal behavior (66.6%, p < 0.001). Suicide attempters were mostly married (55.6%, p < 0.002); highly educated (53.9%, p = 0.004); dissatisfied with their life and had a previous history (p < 0.5) of suicide attempt (SA) (20.6%), self-injurious behavior (SIB) (39.7%) and interrupted (IA) or aborted attempts (AA) (22.2%). A greater improvement was observed in patients receiving combination therapy (p = 0.001) than pharmacotherapy (p = 0.006) or psychotherapy (p = 0.183), alone. DRPs were also detected, including drug-selection problems (17.88%), dose-related problems (20.64%), potential drug–drug interactions (24.31%), adverse drug reactions (11.46%) and other problems like inadequate education and counseling (21.55%). Furthermore, it was also found that psychotic patients with suicidal ideations (SI) were significantly (p = 0.01) more adherent to the treatment as compared to those with suicidal attempts. We concluded that suicide attempters differed significantly from patients with suicidal ideations in psychotic patients and presented with peculiar characteristics regarding socio-demographic factors. A combination of therapies and adherence to the treatment provided better outcomes, and targeted interventions are warranted to address drug-related problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicted decrease in water availability for crop production and uncertainty in climatic conditions require devising the irrigation strategies to increase water use efficiency (WUE) for sustainable crop production. The development of crop cultivars with higher WUE is a pre-requisite for such strategies, particularly in developing countries, including Pakistan, who face stern food security challenges. A two-year field study was conducted following a split-plot randomized complete block design to understand the effects of wheat cultivars (hybrid cultivars, 18A-1 and 18A-2, and local cultivar Ghaneemat IBGE-2016), sowing dates (15th November, 30th November, and 15th December), and irrigation regimes [I (103 mm), II (175 mm), III (254 mm), and IV (330 mm)] at four different growth stages of tillering, booting, anthesis and grain filling on wheat productivity, biomass production and grain yield, and crop-water relations. Early sown hybrid cultivars 18A-1 and 18A-2 showed significantly higher biological and grain yields compared to the local cultivar (59% and 69% higher than the local cultivar). Trends in biomass production and grain yield were also similar at later sowing dates of 30th November and 15th December. However, biological and grain yields decreased with delay in sowing for each cultivar. The data also revealed that hybrid cultivars were better suited to deficient irrigation and generally produced significantly higher biological and grain yields under each moisture regime. Cultivars, sowing dates, and irrigation regime differed significantly for their effects on the Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) values, chlorophyll a and b contents but not for carotenoids. Sowing dates and irrigation regimes had significant effects on relative water content (RWC), water saturation deficit (WSD), water uptake capacity (WUC), and water retention capacity (WRC); however, only WUC varied significantly between the cultivars. The phenological data show that hybrid cultivars took more days to maturity and grain filling than the local cultivar, and days decreased with delayed sowing. The biological and grain yields show significant positive correlations with SPAD values (p < 0.001) and days to maturity (p < 0.001). Our study shows that hybrid wheat cultivars can be opted for higher biomass production and grain yields under deficit irrigation scenarios of semi-arid climatic conditions in Pakistan. Moreover, the hybrid wheat cultivars can perform better than the indigenous cultivar even for delayed sowing dates of 30th November and 15th December. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]