Search

White-throated kingfisher Halcyon smyrensis is a common resident of wetlands in Asia including Pakistan. Breeding ecology and time budget activity was investigated in 16 active nests at 6 different sites during the current study. Nest construction was primarily initiated by the male while female joined later on. Mean size of circumference of the nest was 3.27 inch, mean length of tunnel 2.82 feet. Clutch size varied between 1 and 5 with an average of 3.25 per nest. Both parents incubated the eggs which hatched after a duration of 15-18 days. Hatching success was 94% while survival of fledglings was 90% in the study area. The most dominant activities performed by the white-throated kingfisher was flying (33.3%) and resting (33.3%) followed by hunting (25.1%) and preening (8.3%). Flying and hunting activities are mostly concentrated in the early morning and evening times which correspond to the energy needs of the species and the resting time peaked during mid-day, may be associated with temperature coping strategy. Difference observed in pre and post hatching activity patterns may be attributed to time needed for incubation and responsibility of providing food to the young ones. White-throated kingfisher makes need based time allocation for various activities to increase reproductive success. The current study documents important ecological and behavioral aspects of white-throated kingfisher. Nevertheless, it is limited to a single breeding season in a small area therefore making broader generalization may not be appropriate based on this study. However, this can be used to replicate the study for month or season wise data collection for better understanding behavioral ecology and time budget activity of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural wildlife habitats are regularly encroached by humans for different purposes, which are heading the biodiversity towards dramatic falls. The presence of several endangered species in many areas remains unveiled due to the lack of faunal inventories. In such situations, it is imperative to make proper records of the existing fauna on local scales to strengthen the conservation practices. Twentyone species representing 18 genera, 12 families and six orders of mammals were recorded in Nowshera district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KP), Pakistan from an inventory conducted from November 2018 to July 2019. Selected locations were scanned by walking and grey literature was used. Five of the recorded species were found in captive breeding facilities while rest of the species were recorded exclusively from the wild. Order Artiodactyla was the most diverse group represented by 7 species from 5 genera in 3 families. Critically endangered Common leopard Pantherapardus an imperceptible resident species of the area was revealed for the first time by using grey literature. Wild boar Sus scrofa was the most dominant and frequently occurring species of the area. Based on the regional conservation status of the recorded species, 3 species are near threatened, 2 species are vulnerable, one endangered and one species is critically endangered. Four species are protected under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife and Biodiversity (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) Act, 2015. Threats being faced by the reported mammalian fauna from human activities are emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The snow leopard is one of the highly valued species from high-altitude mountain ecosystems of Central and Southeast Asia, including Pakistan. This keystone species is facing a myriad of conventional and emerging threats, including poaching and trade, that are poorly documented in Pakistan. To understand the dynamics and drivers of the poaching and trading of snow leopards in Pakistan, we investigated the issue in depth through a multifaceted survey in the snow leopard range of the country. We recorded 101 snow leopard poaching incidences from 11 districts during 2005--2017. The reported poaching incidences varied spatially (x̄ = 9 ± 2.6 [95% Cl: 3-15]) and temporally (x̄ = 7.8 ± 1.09) and accounted for 2-4% annual population loss (n = 200-420) in a period of 13 years. Poaching and trade together constituted 89% of the total incidence reported and animals were mostly shot (66%), poisoned (12%), snared (12%) and captured (4%), respectively. Only a fraction (3%) of the incidences were reported to the relevant law enforcement agencies. Trade routes included large cities and neighbouring countries, even the Middle East and Europe. The average base and end prices for each item were 245 ± 36 USD and 1,736 ± 520 USD, respectively, while maximum monetary fines set as per the law were 275 USD. Our results establish the need for developing multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms at regional, national and international levels and information sharing to curb this menace. Improving the existing laws and surveillance system, while taking the local communities onboard, will further help to this end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Bacterial meningitis is an acute and life threatening infection. It present as a medical emergency, which requires rapid diagnosis and immediate treatment to minimize the risk of morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately the presenting signs and symptoms may not be diagnostic and rarely give a clue to the identity of the causative agents. The laboratory test like latex particle agglutination test (LPA) is therefore necessary to the diagnosis, and establish the etiological agents. Main outcome measures is sensitivity and specificity of LPA test was estimated taking CSF culture as standard, result of LPA compared with CSF culture. Objective: To see the sensitivity and specificity of LPA to cerebro spinal fluid (CSF) culture in etiological diagnosis of bacterial meningitis particularly when antibiotic treatment has already been started. Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: National Institute of Child Health (NICH), Medical Unit-I. Duration of study: The duration of study was one year from 19th August 2019 to 19th August 2020. Result: In our study total number of the cases of 42, male to female ratio was 1.5:1. The most frequent symptoms were fever, vomiting, poor feeding and seizures. We found the causative organism of bacterial meningitis through LPA in CSF of 10 subjects in spite of no growth in CSF culture. In 2 CSF culture positive bacterial meningitis cases LPA is negative. We found the sensitivity of LPA test in CSF as 80% and specificity 68.7%. Conclusion: The study concludes that latex particle aggultination test is superior test for the etiological diagnosis of bacterial meningitis as compared to the conventional test like CSF culture. It has a high sensitivity and specificity and is rapid enough to guide the clinician for institution of proper antibiotics. So it should be include as an adjunct laboratory test for establishing the etiological diagnosis of bacterial meningitis particularly in pretreatment cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the current trends of typhoid fever resistance in the local community. METHODOLOGY: This descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted at UMDC/Creek General Hospital from February to August 2019. Patients of Korangi and Landhi included. A total of 68 patients included, diagnosed clinically and positive blood cultures. The data was analyzed on SPSS 20.0. RESULTS: The average age of patients in this study was 5.16±3.449 years and weight of about 15.88±7.77 Kg. M:F ratio was approximately 1:1. Outpatient admissions were 49(72.1%) and emergency admissions were 19 (27.9%). The duration of symptoms was about 10.91±5.092 days. Out of these 68 patients, 57 (83.8%) had a history of medication for the same disease. The most common co-morbid was un-boiled water intake (66%), followed by malaria (12%). The most common clinical presentations were persistent fever (100%), anorexia (83.8%) and abdominal pain (80.9%). Blood culture and sensitivity showed that MDR/XDR is present in 60 (88.2%) patients. Sensitivity to first-line drugs was found in 1/10th of the study population while sensitivity to Meropenem and Azithromycin was approximately 90%. The complication occurred only in 2 patients (2.9%). Almost all patients recovered and there is no recurrence of symptoms in any of the patients following treatment with fever clearance time of 5.26±1.32 days only. CONCLUSION: This study revealed extensive drug resistance strains of Salmonella typhi in the studied population. This study reported increased use of unhealthy drinking water intake and prior medication which is one of the causes of this emerging resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mass spectrometric method has been proposed for the determination of the isotopic composition of lithium. It is based upon thermal ionization of LiOH loaded onto a single Si[O.sub.2]-coated Re filament. By this method, stable emissions of [Li.sup.+] ion have been achieved for an extended period of time. The proposed method is capable of analyzing trace quantities (~40 ng) of Li in the presence of sodium with an uncertainty of [+ or -]0.000 25 (two standard deviations of the mean).

This study was conducted at Miangan Tarakai Game Reserve from December 01-20, 2017. The main objective of the study was to prepare a checklist of the local birds and to suggest recommendations for conservation of migratory water fowls so as to launch ecotourism programmes. Point count was used for determining number of bird species in a sampling point. A total of 8104 individuals were counted, belonging to 23 families and 30 species. Most of the species represented family Phasianidae (12.90%). The second-most species-rich families included Alaudidae, Accipitridae, Sturnidae, and Corvidae, each of these represented by two species (6.45%). According to the Jackknife species richness estimator, the current study seems to be virtually complete. Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H) (2.91), Simpson's Diversity Index (D) (0.92), and Equitability (E) (0.87) were determined for overall families. Post construction of Jallozai Barrani Dam, migratory water fowls were reported for the first time in the area. According to the results, the area seems to be a promising station for the migratory birds, which can ultimately be very useful to launch bird watching and ecotourism programmes. So far, all the migratory birds have been declared as protected at many Game Reserves across Pakistan. Under the circumstances, it is suggested that that the existing law should be extended to Miangan Tarakai Game Reserve, and that hunting practices of local birds should be strictly regulated and controlled according to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife and Biodiversity Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management Act, 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new mass spectrometric method is proposed for measurement of [sup.234]U/[sup.238]U ratio with a single Daly electron multiplier detector using the general peak jump method. The method is based on precise measurement of the [sup.235]U/ [sup.238]U ratio and [sup.234]U/[sup.235]U ratio, which are used to calculate the [sup.234]U/[sup.238]U ratio using the equation [sup.234]U/[sup.238]U= [sup.235]U/ [sup.238]U x [sup.234]U/[sup.235]U. The results show a significant improvement, i.e., more than 35 times better precision in measuring the [sup.234]U/[sup.238]U ratio with this method ([sigma] = 2.9 x [10.sup.8]) as compared to direct measurement of [sup.23]U/[sup.238]U ([sigma] : 1.1 x [10.sup.-6]). The method widens the applicability of the single collector system, and it will potentially be helpful to improve the precision in the case of the static multicollector system also.

The precision in measurement of trace level uranium isotopic ratio, i.e., 236U/238U or 234U/238U, on single Faraday detector with narrow dynamic range is very hard to achieve. this is mainly due to the narrow dynamic range of a single detector systems. A significant improvement in mass spectrometric determination of 236U/238U ratio has been achieved by employing an alternate method using a single Faraday detector of narrow dynamic range. The method makes use of the precise measurements of the 236U/234U ratio, 234U/235U ratio and 235U/238U ratio, which are used to calculate the 236U/238U ratio using the equation 236U/238U=236U/234U×234U/235U×235U/238U. Despite the fact that correlation of the data tends to increase the uncertainty in the result, our results show a significant improvement, i.e., more than 8 times better precision in measuring the 236U/238U ratio with this method ( σ=3.98×10−08) as compared to direct measurement of 236U/238U ( σ=3.104×10−07). The method widens the applicability of the single collector system with narrow dynamic range and it will potentially be helpful to improve the precision in the case of the static multi-collector system also. The objective of the present study was to compare the results of the same sample analyzed with the present alternate method and the direct method for precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new mass spectrometric method is proposed for measurement of 234U/238U ratio with a single Daly electron multiplier detector using the general peak jump method. The method is based on precise measurement of the 235U/ 238U ratio and 234U/235U ratio, which are used to calculate the 234U/238U ratio using the equation 234U/238U = 238U × 234U/235U. The results show a significant improvement, i.e., more than 35 times better precision in measuring the 234U/238U ratio with this method (σ = 2.9 × 10-8) as compared to direct measurement of 234U/238U (σ = 1.1 × 10-6). The method widens the applicability of the single collector system, and it will potentially be helpful to improve the precision in the case of the static multicollector system also. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple method has been developed for the determination of 6Li atom % using combined atomic emission-absorption spectrometry employing a commonly available natural lithium hollow cathode lamp. Unlike in previous practice, there is no need for specially fabricated and high cost 6Li and 7Li monoisotopic lamps in this method. The method requires adjustment of total lithium contents of the sample, i.e., 6Li + 7Li, to 2 microg x mL(-1) based upon atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) (C(aes)) against a 2 microg x mL(-1) natural lithium standard. The concentration of the sample was then analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) measurements (C(aas)). The difference between the concentration measured by AES and AAS, i.e., C(aes)-C(aas), was calculated. The magnitude of the difference was found to be a function of 6Li fraction in the sample. A calibration curve was constructed by plotting 6Li atom % versus [(C(aes)-C(aas))/C(aes)] x 100. 6Li atom % of an unknown sample can be evaluated by putting its [(C(aes)-C(aas))/C(aes)] x 100 value in the calibration curve. The method is fast, convenient, and precise.

A new mass spectrometric method is proposed for measurement of 234U/238U ratio with a single Daly electron multiplier detector using the general peak jump method. The method is based on precise measurement of the 235U/238U ratio and 234U/235U ratio, which are used to calculate the 234U/238U ratio using the equation 234U/238U = 235U/238U x 234U/235U. The results show a significant improvement, i.e., more than 35 times better precision in measuring the (234)U/(238)U ratio with this method (sigma = 2.9 x 10(-8)) as compared to direct measurement of 234U/238U (sigma = 1.1 x 10(-6)). The method widens the applicability of the single collector system, and it will potentially be helpful to improve the precision in the case of the static multicollector system also.