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Using bibliometrics enables the identification of hotspots in the literature and the discovery of patterns in science. The study was carried out to systematically analyze the published articles on fluoride (F) research from September 2011 to 2020 via the Scopus database, which turned out 1,006 records of research articles after specifying the search parameters. Bibexcel and VOS viewer was used to examine and illustrate the data. A total of 46 countries were highlighted which published the highest number of articles; among them, India was on the top with 193 research articles, followed by China (89), the USA (26), Pakistan (43), and Iran (31). The unexpected overall expansion in the distribution of F-related research from 2015 to 2020 is evident proof of the rising issue of worldwide F tainting. Southeast Asian countries, viz India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran, seem more prone to fluoride contamination in drinking water. A potential reason for the increase is an increasing number of cases of dental and skeletal fluorosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the identification and quantification of airborne pollen grains from allergenic plant species and their relationship with meteorological factors, i.e. maximum and minimum daily temperature, relative humidity, rainfall and wind speed in the city of Islamabad, Pakistan. An aerobiological data set (2010–2012), collected using rotorod samplers in five different sectors of the city, was supplied by the Pakistan Meteorological Department. Pollen of eight allergenic species was identified amongst whichBroussonetia papyriferaexceeded the highest pollen level and, therefore, likely played a key role in aggravating the symptoms of pollen allergy in the city. The mean weekly pollen counts were next correlated with the weekly number of allergic patients visiting hospitals during 2010–2011. Clinical data were acquired from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. The highest number of allergic patients visiting hospital was usually observed during weeks with high pollen level. These results suggest a close relationship between the pollen concentration in the air and the allergy symptoms. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis was performed to establish the relationships between meteorological parameters and daily average pollen counts. A pollen calendar for the Islamabad city was also prepared to provide a guide for the timing and duration of season for all encountered pollen types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deteriorating soil quality and decrease in vegetation abundance are grave consequences of open waste dumping which have resulted in growing public concern. The focus of this study is to assess the contribution of open waste dumping in soil contamination and its effect on plant diversity in one of the renowned green cities of Pakistan. Surface soil samples (n = 12 + 12) were collected from both the open waste dumping areas allocated by Capital Development Authority (CDA) and sub- sectors of H-belt of Islamabad city (representative of control site). The diversity of vegetation was studied at both sampling sites. Significant modifications were observed in the soil properties of the dumping sites. Soils at the disposal sites showed high pH, TDS and EC regime in comparison to control sites. Various heavy metal concentrations i.e., Lead (Pb), Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Chromium (Cr) and Zinc (Zn) were also found to be higher at the dumping sites except for Cadmium (Cd) which had a higher value in control site. A similar trend was observed in plant diversity. Control sites showed diversified variety of plants i.e., 44 plant species while this number reduced to only 32 plant species at the disposal sites. This is attributed to changes in soil characteristics at disposal sites and in its vicinity areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flooding is among the most catastrophic and common natural events. It not only endangers human lives, their livelihoods, and possessions but also devastates the nation’s economy. Increased flooding is an inevitable consequence of climate change. Hence, Identification of flood suspectable hotspots is vital for flood risk management along with disaster handling. The primary objective of this research is to use a frequency ratio model to classify flood-prone zones in two provinces of Pakistan. The flood inventory map was developed using 230 flood location points in Northern Sindh and Southern Punjab. Aspect, profile curvature, elevation, slope, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference soil index (NDSI), distance from the road, distance from the river, land use/land cover (LULC) and rainfall were among the ten (10) determining factors. The data were randomly divided into two distinct datasets, with 70% flood points (161) used for inventory formulation and the other 30% (69 flood points) for result validation. The flood vulnerability map was categorized into five different zones ranging from very low (19.73%) to very high (20.37%) susceptibility range. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and area under curve (AUC) was used to demonstrate the prediction result that yielded a reasonable score of 77.4%. The study suggested that in comparison to other studied districts, Jacobabad is the most prone region with acute vulnerability and constrained resilience. The presented data can serve as a source for tracking, assessing, and predicting potential flood activity in the area and could be beneficial for planners and decision-makers involved in early disaster response planning within the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of information regarding biodiversity status hampers designing and implementing conservation strategies and achieving future targets. Northern Pakistan consists of a unique ecoregion mosaic which supports a myriad of environmental niches for anuran diversity in comparison to the deserts and xeric shrublands throughout the rest of the country. In order to study the niche suitability, species overlap and distribution patterns in Pakistan, we collected observational data for nine anuran species across several distinct ecoregions by surveying 87 randomly selected locations from 2016 to 2018 in Rawalpindi District and Islamabad Capital Territory. Our model showed that the precipitation of the warmest and coldest quarter, distance to rivers and vegetation were the greatest drivers of anuran distribution, expectedly indicating that the presence of humid forests and proximity to waterways greatly influences the habitable range of anurans in Pakistan. Sympatric overlap between species occurred at significantly higher density in tropical and subtropical coniferous forests than in other ecoregion types. We found species such as Minervarya spp., Hoplobatrachus tigerinus and Euphlyctis spp. preferred the lowlands in proximal, central and southern parts of the study area proximal to urban settlements, with little vegetation and higher average temperatures. Duttaphrynus bengalensis and D. stomaticus had scattered distributions throughout the study area with no clear preference for elevation. Sphaerotheca pashchima was patchily distributed in the midwestern extent of the study area as well as the foothills to the north. Microhyla nilphamariensis was widely distributed throughout the study area with a preference for both lowlands and montane terrain. Endemic frogs (Nanorana vicina and Allopaa hazarensis) were observed only in locations with higher elevations, higher density of streams and lower average temperatures as compared to the other seven species sampled. It is recommended to provide legal protection to amphibians of Pakistan, especially endemic species, through revision in the existing wildlife laws. We suggest studying the effectiveness of existing amphibian tunnels and corridors or designing new ones tailored to the needs of our species to prevent their local extinction due to ongoing or proposed urban development which might affect their dispersal and colonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the level of toxic metals (Mn, Zn, Pb, Cd, Co, Cu) was determined in sediment samples from the Chenab River, Pakistan. The potential toxicity of studied metals was determined by evaluating enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (I geo ) and metal pollution index (MPI). Considering the spatial distributional patterns, the metal concentrations were higher at Trimmu Headwork site followed by Pujnad, Khanki, Marala and Qadirabad Headwork sites. Unusual higher concentrations in the deeper sediments were observed, suggesting a historical deposition of the investigated metals in the area. The I geo and EF values revealed that sediments in this study were considerably polluted by Cd and Pb and moderately polluted by other metals. Evaluation of metal toxicity based on mean probable effect concentration PEC quotient confirmed that the Chenab River is seriously contaminated with Cd and Pb. Results of the spatial distribution pattern revealed that rapid industrialization and urbanization nearby the study area were probable sources of metal pollution. Proper measures should be taken by industrial units to ensure appropriate treatment of wastewater before disposing the toxic effluents into nearby tributaries. Government authorities must ensure strict enforcement of the National Environmental Quality (NEQ) standards of municipal and industrial effluents to save the Chenab River from further degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provided the first hand data of trace elements into fish muscles (N = 65) collected from river Chenab in Pakistan during 2013, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). We monitored the health risk associated with consumption of contaminated fish of river Chenab, by the local population. The mean concentrations (μg/g, wet weight), in descending order were: Zn (35.5–54.4), Cu (1.38–4.57), Mn (2.43–4.5), As (0.23–1.21), Cr (0.21–0.67), Ni (0.14–0.34), Pb (0.14–0.31), Co (0.09–0.12), Cd (0.07–0.12) with higher concentration to be observed in the herbivore fish species (i.e., Cirrhinus reba and Catla catla ). The levels of trace elements in different fish species found in this study were compared with similar data worldwide, and with the international standards for consumption. The concentration (μg/g) of arsenic in many cases (>65%) exceeded the FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives permissible limits. From the human health point of view, this study highlights that the local inhabitants, (i.e., fisher folk communities and population frequently consuming fish at about 100 g/day) along the river Chenab are exposed chronically to arsenic pollution with carcinogenic (10 −4 to 10 −6 ) and non-carcinogenic (THQ>1) risks, especially from the intake of Cirrhinus reba . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consumption of contaminated drinking water is one of the major causes of mortality and many severe diseases in developing countries. The principal drinking water sources in Pakistan, i.e. ground and surface water, are subject to geogenic and anthropogenic trace metal contamination. However, water quality monitoring activities have been limited to a few administrative areas and a nationwide human health risk assessment from trace metal exposure is lacking. Using geographically weighted regression (GWR) and eight relevant spatial predictors, we calculated nationwide human health risk maps by predicting the concentration of 10 trace metals in the drinking water sources of Pakistan and comparing them to guideline values. GWR incorporated local variations of trace metal concentrations into prediction models and hence mitigated effects of large distances between sampled districts due to data scarcity. Predicted concentrations mostly exhibited high accuracy and low uncertainty, and were in good agreement with observed concentrations. Concentrations for Central Pakistan were predicted with higher accuracy than for the North and South. A maximum 150–200 fold exceedance of guideline values was observed for predicted cadmium concentrations in ground water and arsenic concentrations in surface water. In more than 53% (4 and 100% for the lower and upper boundaries of 95% confidence interval (CI)) of the total area of Pakistan, the drinking water was predicted to be at risk of contamination from arsenic, chromium, iron, nickel and lead. The area with elevated risks is inhabited by more than 74 million (8 and 172 million for the lower and upper boundaries of 95% CI) people. Although these predictions require further validation by field monitoring, the results can inform disease mitigation and water resources management regarding potential hot spots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]